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Opinion: Rec Center makes right decision • Page 7
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31
April 2i
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17-year-old
girl sexually
Sassaulted
enceof
A 17-year-old girl was sex-
jally assaulted and suffered
cruising and swelling on her
porate lii r ace f roni an a ttack Tuesday
reC:; noming at 2:18 a.rn. in the 9(X)
)lock of University Drive East.
The College Station Police
ts and ta,i
is higher
also seei
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conducts
i rat ion oi
By Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
gton, hop department (CSPD) respond-
emmen;> ;( j t0 incident when the girl
re of the: e p 0n ted that a male in his early
althcaitj )0’ s g ra bhed her and forced
an .^Wier into a secluded area where
le sexually assaulted her, said
Sgt. Rodney Sigler, the CSPD
ublic information officer.
„ The victim chose to enter
lie Nat: ^ cspp) Pseudonym Program
tate Bbi M j
Nelsor
stitute
:o keep her identity confiden-
ial. The program is designed
or sexual assault cases to pro-
:ect the identity, name and life
)f victims when an assault is
) i eported, Sigler said.
t^||l He could not provide any
k'l» r urther information about the
tssault because a formal inves-
jomulco igation is in progress. Sigler
k 1986ti confirmed no suspects were in
iiza killed custody as of noon Tuesday,
le in that. The victim was treated by
irs after:; College Station medics when
■he police responded to the
ed regior incident.
icting In “We will do whatever it
d over Makes to find [the assailant],”
e beforepigler said. “But because of
iQ yearsBie investigation, 1 can’t talk
st violen||tbout anything else.”
I Two previous sexual
> an atl
assaults have been reported
this year in College Station.
In 2001, three sexual assaults
were reported.
Betty Lemay, the crime
prevention specialist for the
University Police Department
(UPD), said the UPD and the
University have made con
centrated efforts to help pre
vent sexual assaults on and
off campus.
“We do pretty much every
thing we can to educate and
prevent sexual assaults, but
you can't always get to every
one,” Lemay said.
The University now offers
self-defense classes through
the Health and Kinesiology
Department which includes
education about prevention of
sexual assaults and steps to
take if a sexual assault occurs.
The UPD also designed a
Pseudonym Program similar to
the CSPD’s program. If a sexu
al assault occurs and is reported
to the UPD. the victim’s identi
ty automatically becomes con
fidential. Even Lemay or those
working with police on the
investigation do not have
access to the victim’s identity.
The UPD Pseudonym
Program also includes a vic
tim’s assistants coordinator to
provide and help pay for
medial bills, rape kits, and
counseling, Lemay added.
See Assault on page 2
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Investigators find
9/11 mastermind
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Investigators believe they have
identified a Kuwaiti lieutenant'
of Osama bin Laden as the
likely mastermind of the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, a senior
U.S. counterterrorism official
said Tuesday.
Khalid Shaikh
Mohammed, designated as one
of the FBI’s most-wan ted ter
rorists, is at large in
Afghanistan or nearby, the offi
cial told The Associated Press.
U.S. investigators believe
Mohammed planned many
aspects of the Sept. 11 attacks,
turning bin Laden’s calls for
dead Americans into reality.
“There’s lots of links that
tie him to 9-11,” the official
said, speaking on condition of
anonymity. “He’s the most sig
nificant operational player out
there right now.”
A second U.S. official, also
speaking on condition of
anonymity, said Mohammed
played a key role in planning
the attacks as did Abu
Zubaydah, the al-Qaida leader
now in U.S. custody.
Within three months of
Sept. 11, according to the offi-
cial, the FBI learned that
Mohammed had moved
money that was used to pay for
the attacks and since then the
United States has gathered
other significant evidence
pointing to him as the key
planner. The official declined
to go into detail, citing a need
to protect intelligence infor
mation.
Mohammed is accused of
working with Ramzi Yousef in
the first bombing of the World
Trade Center, which left six
dead in 1993.
He and Yousef, hiding in
the Philippines, also are
accused of plotting in 1995 to
hijack and bomb several trans
pacific airliners heading for
the United States. Yousef, now
serving a life sentence in the
United States, also has been
accused of plotting to crash a
plane into CIA headquarters.
Mohammed was charged
by federal prosecutors in New
York in 1996 in connection
with the alleged 1995 plot. The
FBI describes him as in his
mid-thirties, sometimes wear
ing a beard and glasses, and
slightly overweight.
hours
with
medley
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"Sgt. P e:
Hub Bart
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perform
Connections in the terrorist network
U.S. counterterrorism officials believe they know who organized
the Sept 11 attack. Officials say Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a
Kuwaiti lieutenant under Osama bin Laden, has been coordinating
attacks against U.S. interests since 1993. He is thought to be
alive and at large in the Afghanistan region.
Osama bin Laden
Nov. 9 videotape shows
he had foreknowledge of
Sept. 11 attack.
t
t
The money man:
Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif
Wired money to hijackers.
Officials believe he is alive.
t
The commander:
Khalid Shaikh
Mohammed
Believed to have
organized and
coordinated key aspects
of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sept. 11 hijackers
SOURCE: U.S. officials
AP
r> A TT A T 1YA
11 / I I / I 1 J 1 \ J
108 Years Serving Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com Wednesday, June 5, 2002
Beat the heat
BRIAN HUFF • THE BATTALION
Houston residents Sammy Aguilar, left, and Kimber Sepeda, right, A&M Softball Camp look on. Almost 200 high school softball play-
practice their head first slides while other participants in the Texas ers from Texas and neighboring states participate in the camp.
Chilifest donates to local charities
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
Despite the rain and mud that
plagued Chilifest patrons in April,
Chilifest 2002 organizers earned
over $ 130,000 and donated 63
percent of that to various organi
zations in the community of
Snook and surrounding areas.
Organizations such as the
Burleson County Co-Texan, the
Boys and Girls Club of Brazos
Valley, the Snook Volunteer Fire
Department, the Snook Lions
Club, and the Burleson County
Fair Association all received
donations for the role they played
in the event.
Chilifest 2002 surpassed its
previous earnings and strength
ened its reputation by better
planning and communication
between the organizers, the secu
rity teams and the community,
said 2002 coordinating commit
tee member and 2003 chainnan
Todd Gilmore.
Gilmore said students enjoyed
the experience of playing in the
mud and listening to the bands
sing in the rain.
Burleson County Sheriff Gene
Barber said the rain was a bless
ing in disguise for the safety
planners. Better coordination and
cooperation between Chilifest’s
student organizers, the Texas
Department of Public Safety, the
Texas Alcohol and Beverage
Commission, and the Burleson
County Sheriff’s Department
created a system that did not
crumble even with the unexpect
ed rain that could possibly have
created chaos.
The Texas Department of
Public Safety had between 25
and 30 police officers patrolling
the area who were available to
help report and manage acci
dents. Due to better traffic con
trol, they could quickly respond
to accidents. Barber said.
Barber estimated attendance
to be approximately 32,000 peo
ple over the two-day period.
Barber noted that traffic was
more of a hassle than expected
because so many attendees
immediately left when they real
ized how wet the event was going
to be, making traffic control more
complicated for the police offi
cers on duty.
The number of automobile
accidents outside Chilifest were
less severe, however, because the
rain, cold and quick departures
cut down the amount of alcohol >
sold and consumed, said Barber.
The tallies for arrests and cita-
Organi'/utlons Hial received money
• Burleson Countv - Go Texan
♦ Boys and Girls Club Of Bra/os Valiev
♦ Snook Vblunteer Tire Department
♦ Snook Lions dub
♦ Burlesort Oount\ l atr Associatioii
Total Mice Numbers
Vrrests ('nations Accidents
TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION J
tions by Burleson Country consta
bles totaled 67 citations, three
arrests and 15 accidents, said
Dennis Gaas, a constable in Pet. 2.
Gass said the TABC also
issued 25 citations and arrested
more than 35 people.
With all the problems with
trash control last year, there were
no complaints of any trash left
behind this year and several local
people were hired from Snook to
assist the cleanup effort, making
it more efficient, Gilmore said.
The continued efforts of stu
dent organizers and meetings
with the Texas Department of
Public Safety helped things go
more smoothly. Barber said.
“The feedback was complete
ly positive, and I look forward to
another great event next year,“
Gilmore said. “Chilifest was suc
cessful despite the rain.”
Andersen helps students find new jobs
By Christina Hoffman
& Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
While the future of Arthur Andersen LLP
continues to look uncertain, the accounting
department in the Lowry Mays College and
Graduate School of Business created a pro
gram to help those students whose permanent
job offers were rescinded to search for new
opportunities.
In the midst of many uncertainties,
Andersen ended recruiting efforts in early
April. Later that month, Andersen decided to
rescind permanent job offers from some
A&M accounting students. Many students
who graduated in May or will graduate in
August began to worry and are now scram
bling for other offers due to Andersen’s
uncertainties.
Dr. James Benjamin, professor and
accounting department head, said they decid
ed to create the program because Andersen’s
future is extremely ambiguous. The depart
ment no longer wanted to wonder whether
Andersen would continue to honor the job
commitments.
The program created a hard copy and an
Internet-based resume book that will be sent
to a variety of public and private accounting
firms. The accounting department will also
personally contact many companies to let
them know about the situation, Benjamin
said.
The program was set up mainly for stu
dents who were scheduled to begin perma
nent jobs for Andersen within the next six
months.
“[Andersen] pulled back a few offers from
students who would begin working this sum
mer, mostly in the consulting practice,” said
Brent Admunson, director of recruiting in the
Houston offices.
Some students originally expecting to
work for Andersen are now finding them
selves in the same job but with a different
firm, because some pieces of the sector have
already been bought out, Benjamin said.
Robert Half Inc. bought out Andersen’s
Risk Management Department allowing
some accounting students to keep their prom
ised jobs.
Many other sectors of Andersen may be
taken over by the remaining four Big 5
accounting firms, he added.
“Reality is, some students may work for us
but at a different firm,” Admunson said.
Students graduating in May or August of
2003 who accepted internships with
Andersen will most likely be able to find new
offers. Most have already begun to find dif
ferent internships, Benjamin said.
Benjamin is assured that the job market for
accounting students remains promising and
feels students will continue to find jobs dur
ing the next 12 months.
“There is still a lot of auditing and busi
ness to take care of, other firms are picking up
Andersen’s business,” Benjamin said. “As
accounting firms grow with more business,
they will need to hire more.”
Benjamin believes the A&M accounting
students will be able to capitalize on those job
opportunities.
“The program seems to be going well and
we are definitely moving in the right direc
tion. Hopefully by fall, all our students affect
ed will have jobs,” he said.