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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2003)
Live Demos May 2nd 8 3rd ^ph - 6:30pm Rudder Exhibition Hall Exhibition April 28 - May 8 8am - 5pm Rudder Exhibition Hall Screening Of Films May 2nd 8 3rd /pm Rudder Iheatre Eree Admission VIZAGOGO 2003 Brought to you by the Texas A&M Visualization I laboratory Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries Ponate your no-longer-needed clothes and other household items, while giving yourself (or your parents) a TAX DEDUCTION! Donations may be dropped off at: 2600 S. Texas Avenue Bryan, Texas Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries trains and employs people with disabilities or disadvantages. 823-2083 10A Friday, May 2, 2003 NEWS THE BATTALION A&M produces retailers of the future ! Retailing Studies graduates prepared students, retailers sa\ By Maria Halkias KRT CAMPUS COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Why would anyone get a college degree to work in a store, only to log long hours for low pay? Texas A&M senior Sandra Cherie Long and her peers in the Center for Retailing Studies hear that question a lot. Her clever comeback: "I don't want to be stuck in a cubicle someday." In a few weeks, the Livingston, Texas, native, who covered her college costs work ing at The Gap, will be among students graduating from the university's Mays Business School. About 25 of them will receive a rare diploma — a Certificate in Retailing. That means these students know exactly what they're get ting into. Within five years, some will be store managers making at, or close to, six-figure salaries. They will be responsible for the profits and losses of an H-E-B supermarket or a Kohl's depart ment store, each representing a multimillion-dollar business and supervising a couple of hundred employees. A few will be leaders in the retail industry. Retailers say the A&M stu dents are among the most pre pared graduates entering retail careers, having completed a program that's evolved over 20 years into one of the best — if not the best — retail schools among only a handful in the nation. "We don't recruit at any other college campus," said Kevin Fuller, director of recruit ing for the Dallas-based Container Store. "I don't know what they put in the water here, but these seniors are gracious, confident, aggressive and well- trained consistently year after year." The center's concentration in the discipline, from both aca demic and real-world perspec tives, makes its graduates sought-after recruits for retail ers' management tracks. But the uncertain economy has slowed even their job searches this year, along with this year's 1.3 million other spring college graduates. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that companies in all industries expect graduate hiring to be flat this year. Retail employment has slipped back to year 2000 levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And unemployment in the 20-to-24 age bracket is at its highest level in nearly 10 years, the bureau said. May graduate Lyndsey Schroeder of Lewisville, Texas, one of the school's top retailing candidates, says she's noticed that companies are taking longer to make offers. "The last couple of weeks have been stressful with the war, and it seems not as many companies are sure about their hiring," said Schroeder, who hasn't yet committed to a cou ple of recent offers. Most students are just now hearing back and responding to offers in a process that starts each year at the end of January with the school's Retail Career Fair — the only campus job fair exclusively for the industry. Attending this year were about 30 recognized retail chains cov ering the spectrum from dis counter Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to luxury seller Neiman Marcus Group. "Right now, the market has shifted to retailers as more stu dents are looking for jobs. That started happening after 9-11," said David M. Szymanski, director of Texas A&M's Center for Retailing Studies. This year. Target Corp. recruiter James Haverland offered 10 executive trainee positions from a pool of "over 500 resumes — and I rarely get over 350." "It's a challenge. We aren't having a lot of turnover right sra raid kirn By Ibrah THE ASSOC Patric Schneider • KRT CAMPUS From left, Sandra Long, Stephanie Shumway, Jake Fullwood anil Lyndsey Schroeder have received job offers before graduation from tin Texas A&M Center for Retailing Studies. now," he said. Four stores open ing in Austin, Texas, later this year are being staffed mostly with managers transferring from other regions. Szymanski said the good news is that "retailers haven't stopped coming. They realize in good times and bad they need to maintain a relationship with students." Elizabeth Kendall-Lee, a human resources manager for the Ikea store in Houston, said the company is trying to "build our bench" with management trainees for a much larger Houston store opening next year and for expansion that the firm says may include Dallas in a few years. "I'm so impressed with the students at A&M. They have a desire to be in retail, whereas at other colleges, they have no idea what retail is all about," Kendall-Lee said at the January Career Fair. And despite the fact that her business isn't a household name, "they know who we are," she noted. Ikea is a Swedish-based chain of 154 low-price home furnish ing stores in 22 countries, including 16 in the United States. Target recruiter Haverland has been tapping the center since 1992 and has hired about 100 interns and 300 executive managers. "I have many running stores and working in region al operations," he said. The A&M Certificate in Retailing "is proof to employers that this graduate has a sincere interest in retail ing," Szymanski sail Students must maintain a 31 grade point average and com plete a list of business courses. Indictments expand charges against ex-Enron executives By Kristen Hays THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON — Federal prosecutors, broadening their probe into the collapse of energy trading giant Enron Corp., slapped former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow with 31 more charges Thursday while indict ing his wife and nine other former executives on multiple counts of fraud, insider trading and other charges. Lea Fastow, 41, and six ex-Enron officials sun-endered to federal authorities in Houston just after daybreak, then were taken in hand cuffs to court. A seventh executive was to turn himself in later. Andrew Fastow and two oth ers named Thursday had been charged in an earlier indictment. Fastow’s wife is a fomier assistant treasur er at Enron, which imploded into bankruptcy in late 2001, costing thousands of people their jobs and erasing the savings of thousands more who invested in its high-flying stock that quickly plunged to become worthless amid a Byzantine series of questionable financial transactions. Prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that expanded the 78-count indictment against Andrew Fastow Oct. 31 to 109 counts to include charges of securities fraud, insider trad ing, falsification of accounting records and tax fraud. It also names former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. and former finance executive Dan Boyle. A second indictment, list ing 218 counts, expanded charges already filed against former Enron Broadband Services executives Kevin Howard and Michael Krautz to include that unit’s chairman and co-chief executive Kenneth Rice, former presi- There are many people at Enron... who are responsible for reducing the seventh-largest corporation in America to rubble. — Andrew Weissmann Enron Task Force prosecutor dering, insider trading, keeping false and records, submitting false tax forms, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. The indictments allege Rice, Hirko, Hannon, Yeager ai Shelby sold large amounts Enron stock while they knew the broadband unit was fai bringing themselves some i million in profits. The govern ment is seeking forfeiture more than $100 million of those profits. The charge against Lea Fastow individually includes six counts alleging conspiracy [brothers Yousef to commit wire fraud, money laundering, aiding and abettin? and filing false tax returns. “There are many people! >9 GAZA CIT Israeli troops : stronghold on off the most in Gaza Strip fighting, just a [tors presented plan. Twelve I led, includi la top boml Also Thurst opened fire on side a Jewish West Bank, ar ; attacker, the Palestinian Israeli oppe accused Prime Sharon of using cut the new 1 minister, Ma before he has a promise to disai However, a said Israel wo anti-terror cam] not give Ab Wednesday, a g The Israeli i more than 200 men with ant grenades and h sives against Isr fired machine Sixty-f were woundec critically. The violence after internation sented a new pe called “road ma statehood withii Palestinians ha plan, while Isra major reservatic The road m Palestinian crac groups and an Jewish sett 1 erne Bank and Gaza with a gradual from the autono zones its troops during 31 montl In Madrid, S Colin Powell ur; take steps towa the plan. “We ne to terror — am Israeli side as w at the start of Europe and th Powell was expe Sharon and Abb; The Gaza came a day afte out a suicide b< Aviv pub that 1 and two music Israeli military link the raid to tl ing they were Hamas fugitive dent and co-chief executive Joseph Hirko, for mer chief operating officer Kevin Hannon, and former senior vice presidents Scott Yeager and Rex Shelby. They are charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, money laun- Enron and other institutions, including Merrill Lynch, who are responsible for reducing the seventh-largest corporation in America to rub ble,” Enron Task Force prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said. ’’For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Lindsay Adams Christy Gonzales Ashley Lockwood Jill Ahrens Erin Gundy Whitney McCants i^ choie Aldape Katherine Harrison Amber McKinley Chelle Archer Pam Higginbotham Marcy Morlock Abby Banks Beth Ann Hollas April Morton Allyson Bishop Darian Honigsfeld Christina Pack S '* rah Burke Natalie Hovel Julie Pence Amy Channels Lauren Hussey Rachel Richards Courtney Chapman Lauren Jones Stacy Schroeder Sonya Dobson Kristen Kassner Whitney Smith Lauren Dunnaway Jennifer Korbeli Meredith Stallings Allison Farmer Melissa Krueger Kim Stockton Katy Furtwangler Martha Little Gretchen Lochry Leslie Wolfe The ladies of Delta Delta Delta would like to thank our seniors for all that they have done for us. Congratulations to all of you. ..we love you and wish you the best of luck in the future! IF YOU ORDERED a 2003 Aggieland and will not be on campus next tall to pick it up, you can have it mailed. To have your yearbook for the '02-03 school year mailed, stop by room 015 Reed McDonald Building or tele phone 845-2613 (credit cards only) between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m, Monday through Friday and pay a $7 mailing and handling fee. Cash, Check, Aggie Bucks, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover accepted. Ayman Abu Hei NEWS I Britain car N. Ireland BELFAST, North -British Prime IV canceled Northei s Thursday, s divisions amonj Protestant voter: bring "complete < Blair said he p the May 29 elect lieland's dissolve the autumn. But could be d outlawed li Amy doesn't ex| violence, cease i ties and disarm. Gaining such i oient "goes to t Good Friday , referring to proposed between British Irish Catholics in accused the IRA': a "point-blanl beyond "general future IRA action Northern Irelar f999 overcame < divisions to fori ^ministration inn Fein. But Britain, fee ( the main P % down the cr last Octob '^plicated Sinr IRA spy ri