The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 02, 2003, Image 10

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May 2nd 8 3rd
^ph - 6:30pm
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Ponate your no-longer-needed
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(or your parents) a
TAX DEDUCTION!
Donations may be dropped off at:
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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