2001-09-06 The Auburn Plainsman

              NTRIGUE SPORTS
iy away:
Soar over Callaway Gardens
a hot-air balloon/C8
artim with pride:
Tigers open season
with shutouts/DI t
RALPH BROWN DRAUj
AUBURN U
nivrrsilv. Alii. MtHV)
A tradition of honesty and truthfulness
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2001 Vol. I OS. \ o . 2. !U) pnj>v
Money-making mascot?
By RYAN LEE
Managing Editor
Volunteers who have worked closely with War
Eagle "Tiger" VI during the past several years
have said Auburn's unofficial mascot has been
transformed from an educational tool into a
money- making machine.
Critics of the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilita­tion
Center (SERRC) and its director, Joe Shel-nutt,
claim that since SERRC gained possession
of the golden eagle, the organization has exploit­ed
her appeal to better itself.
Shelnutt did not comment, saying questions
should be directed toward his attorney, Walter
M. Northcutt. Northcutt could not be reached.
Critics allege raptor center's
director lets profit
supercede philanthropy
INMIH
> Our view/A8
>- Letter to the editor explains
Tiger's situation/A9
SERRC BEFORE TIGER
Prior to its April 2000 acquisition of Tiger,
SERRC found itself struggling financially, and
faced potential reductions in state funding
through the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Kami Perez, who' volunteered at SERRC since
1997, said workers often came out of pocket to
help the Raptor Center function.
"The things we worked with were often
brought from home," said Perez, who also served
as volunteer coordinator and program director
during her four years at SERRC.
"We volunteers gave of (our) own money to get
by with the small things there wasn't money to-buy
to help us do our job better.
"Everything was second-hand, garage sale,
Goodwill-donated — and none of us com­plained
about it," Perez said.
> Turn to RAPTOR.A7
I tawt I taw a putty tat
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Search
for top
officer
delayed
By LAUREN GLENN
Campus Editor
Interim President William Walker will
remain in office for an indefinite period of
time, after the Board of Trustees voted to
delay the search based on a set of findings by
a presidential search consultant hired by the
board.
After months of debate, the Board of
Trustees voted Aug. 31 to delay the presiden­tial
search until a date that has yet to be
determined.
"The current moment is not well suited to
lead a proper presidential search," said Bill
Weary, the presidential consultant during the
board's meeting.
Weary listed reasons such as dissatisfactory
relationships within the University, the cur­rent
investigation by the Southern Associa­tion
of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and the
pending appeal that will be filed by the
trustees to the Alabama Supreme Court
>• Turn to TRUSTEES.A6
MAC MIRABILE — PHOTO EDITOR
SHUT-OUT SCENARIO: Wide receiver Tim Carter runs the ball during Saturday's game against Ball State.The Tigers will face the
Ole Miss Rebels Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Alumni funding
may be in danger
The Auburn Alumni Association could be
in danger if trustees succeed with their pro­posal
of funding scholarships with Spirit
Card revenue.
The idea, proposed during the Aug. 31 Bud­get
Committee meeting, could cut the Alum­ni
Association's budget by 40 percent.
"That would destroy the Alumni Associa­tion
as we know it," said Betty DeMent, vice
president of Alumni and Development
FULL STORY ON BI
PARJTWO IN A SERIES ON DRESS CODES
Downtown bars suspend
dress codes, consult law
By DAWN RUSSELL
and RYAN LEE
Staff Writers
Amidst controversy surrounding recent dress
codes in local bars, Auburn city officials and bar
owners have suspended all dress codes until the
city receives legal advice.
The freeze on dress codes was implemented
after a Tuesday morning meeting where bar
owners and city officials accepted downtown
.committeeman Tom Hayley's offer to provide
legal advice toward creating a minimum stan­dards
dress code.
"We can ask an attorney what elements of law
work in Alabama," Hayley said. "You (owners)
could pick through that... and make a consen-
INSID1
> City Council discusses Blue
Room's 60-40 law compliance/A3
sus. You could get this problem licked."
For now, all Auburn bars have gone to the
most basic dress code of shirt, pants and shoes.
City Manager Doug Watson stressed the impor­tance
of keeping any new dress code to with the
least number of specifics as possible.
In recent weeks, two downtown bars, Bour­bon
Street Bar and The Blue Room, have
received national attention because some per­ceive
their dress codes — which formerly pro-
> Turn to CODES, A6
Debt dangerous for students
By JENNIFER HALLMARK
Staff Writer
In 1999, Joe Simms, a junior
at Auburn, received a
pre-approved credit card in
the mail. Thinking that he
would use it only for emergen­cies,
he applied for the card.
"I figured I'd be responsible.
I wasn't worried at the time,"
Simms said.
Three months later, when
his bank account ran out, he
began charging everything and
racked up a large debt.
Simms, a May 2001 gradu­ate,
is still paying off his card.
He pays $45 to $100 a month
to keep the interest from
accruing. His balance never
decreases.
Now that he is employed, he
JJn avexage ajjpllcgc student owns i!u
•erecfit iffifds ;rfid carries ;i credh deb! ol
|S2,748.-u>fromSFl.N7<)
The average student penult) rule on
student credit cards is _\\SA percent.
right points higher than :i regular
hopes to have the card payed
off in two years.
"The most frustrating thing
is that I keep paying the inter­est
off and I'm not getting any­where,"
he said.
When students allow their
finances to spiral out of con-
MAC MIRABILE — PHOTO EDITOR
trol, dreaded debt can become
a harsh reality.
According to a July 2001
report by the U.S. General
Accounting Office, college stu­dents
are in serious trouble
> Turn to DEBT, A6
WWW.THEPLAINSMAN.COM
CORRECTION
Last week's story about the new admissions policy contained incorrect and out­dated
information. The policy, presented to the Board of Trustees this summer,
was already approved by the office of the President two weeks ago. The Auburn
Plainsman apologizes for this incorrect information.
p : AS
SUBSCRIPTIONS; 844-4! 30
INSIDE
News briefs/A2 Classifieds/B7
Joe Random/C4
Crossword/C6
Sports stats/D2
Our view/A8
Letters/A9
Calendar/B3
ONLINE POLL
^ ^ Were the wristbands to get
%J$ into the student section a
good idea?
Log on, vote, view results at
www. theplainsman. com
Last week's poll
Should the City of
Auburn enforce a dress
code for downtown bars?
Yes n39%
(100)
isr No
60%
(154)*
ED ON RECYCLED PAPER ADVERTISING: 844-9102
A2 CIJE Auburn ^latnfiman Thursday, Sept. 6,2001
tRje Auburn ipiatngman
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\N EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY and
University of Louisville presi­dents
have agreed to pool their
schools' research efforts in a
bid to secure more money from
the federal government.
Following a luncheon with
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton in
Frankfort, Ky., University of
Kentucky President Lee Todd
and Louisville President John
Shumaker formally announced
their intentions to share tech­nological
resources and pursue
collaborative research studies.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Stu­dent
Government President
Marc Adler was arrested on
DUI charges early Friday morn­ing
after Alachua County, Fla.,
sheriff's deputies pulled him
over for an expired tag.
Breath tests performed at the
county jail showed readings of
.066 and .063, according to the
arrest report. The legal limit for
driving in Florida is .08.
Adler would not comment on
the incident. Robert Rush,
Adler's attorney, said the breath
test proves his client is inno­cent.
Deputies stopped Adler's
1997 Porsche at 800 SW 34th St.
in Gainesville, Fla., because the
tag had expired in April, the
report, stated. The report
described Adler as having "red,
bloodshot, watery eyes" and a
strong odor of alcohol on his
breath.
While speaking to the
deputies, Adler stumbled and
fell over, then fell over again,
said Sgt. James Troiano,
spokesman for the Alachua
County Sheriff's Office. After
Adler fell a second time,
deputies decided to administer
field-sobriety tests, which
included finger-to-nose and
standing-bn-one-leg tests.
Adler failed every test, Troiano
said.
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY has
been awarded $360,000 by the
U.S. Department of Justice to
continue anti-violence pro­grams.
Forty other colleges received
similar funding, but Vanderbilt
is the only one U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft visited
to announce the award.
"Vanderbilt is making huge
strides in the nationwide move­ment
to confront violence
against women on campus,"
said Vandy sophomore Pamela
Williams, a student who works
with Project Safe.
DUKE UNIVERSITY'S Muslim
students on the go now have a
centrally located space set
aside for prayer on the Durham,
N.C., campus.
The space — a room in the
former Office of Institutional
Equity in the greenhouse
behind the Bryan Center — is
a "functional step forward,"
said senior Lala Qadir, co-president
of the"Muslim Stu­dent
Association.
The room provides Muslim
students with an area to con­tinue
their practice of praying
five times a day.
- From wire reports
FROM THE MESSAGE BOARDS
Here are some of the wisest, most unusual comments found on The Plains­man's
message board. Log onto www.theplainsman.com to voice your opin­ion.
"I'm suspicious of the gained
spaces myself. I can't remem­ber
so many people having to
park on the curb as there are
now."
— theman
i
"I don't know about any loss or
gain in parking spots, but all I
know is I am having to leave
my apartment 30-plus minutes
before class to find a spot. Last
year I didn't have to worry
about this, it seems parking
has gotten worse because of
the increase of new incoming
students. If that's the case
shouldn't the University have
thought or expected this?"
— Ahab
"The whole bar dress code
thing is fine by me, but since
when does having a tattoo
make you look 'tough' and not
fit for the bar atmosphere? "
— Hawkeye
"1 think that the word hazing
gets thrown around too easily
these days."
—AL06
, there have been
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F o r s o m e p e o p l e , a n y a i u o u i i l o f a l c o h o l m a y l » e i l l e i » a l o r I I ; I I I I ; « M O I LS
IJ; futttl^tl l>y A D K C A / L K T S a n d T i l e D e p a r t m e n t o f I i a n s j i o i l a l i o n . H i g h w a y S a l « - l y P l an
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INTERNET TAX:
Voluntary tax helps schools A5
SPECIAL SESSION:
Legislature-debates funding A5
GPfje guburn ipaindman
STATE & LOCAL
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2001
H3? CONTACT US
Adam Jones, editor
(334) 844-9109
News@theplainsman.com A3
ADAM
JONES
jones@theplainsman.com
I would
vote for
Stephen
Douglas
Popular sovereignty isn't a
phrase passed around the
political playing field these
days. It should be.
Long ago, before the Civil
War, it was talked about quite
a bit. That's because Stephen
Douglas, a senator from Illi­nois,
support the idea. He
believed territories should be
able to decide for themselves
whether the land would have
slaves or be free.
I hope I would not have
voted for Douglas over Abra­ham
Lincoln in the 1860 presi­dential
election. I hope I
would have had the wisdom to
see slavery for what it was and
been an abolitionist.
But if Douglas could some­how
be resurrected or cloned,
I would vote for him today
over any candidate because I
believe in popular sovereignty.
You might even believe in it
and not know it. If you are for
the people deciding issues of
the state, then you to would
vote for Douglas^
I speak of popular sover­eignty
because I believe it
would help mowthis nation
forward. There-are so many
issues that the people could
resolve.
Mississippi didJt last year.
The state voted on whether to
remove the Confederate
emblem from its state flag and
replace it with a-new flag. The
state voted to keep the old
flag. Perhaps the right thing to
do was to change the flag, per­haps
not.
It doesn't matter whether it
was right or wrong, the will of
the people spoke.
Alabama did if two years
ago. The state voted not to
have a lottery. Perhaps it is
wrong to gamble, or maybe
the lottery would bring in
much-needed revenue.
It doesn't matter whether a
lottery is right orwrong. The
will of the people has spoken.
Many states adhere to the
doctrine of popular sovereign­ty
every year America.
America doesn't vote on
national issues, instead we
vote for legislatures and presi­dents.
These candidates run
on issues, believing that a vote
for them is vote for the issue.
They're wrong; ask Gov. Don
Siegelman.
> Turn to Jones, AS
CITY OF AUBURN
Council debates The Blue Room
By Heath Loftin
Assistant State & Local Editor
The major focus of Tuesday's
Auburn City Council meeting
was the consideration of The
Blue Room's status at the end
of it's six month probation
period.
Although a final decision on
the situation was postponed
until the council's next meet­ing,
the topic claimed central
attention at this week's meet­ing.
The Blue Room was original­ly
placed on probation in Janu­ary
in consideration of the
60-percent alcohol and 40-per­cent
food ratio rule.
"The reason you are on pro­bation
is because of your
record-keeping." said Council­man
Logan Gray to The Blue
Room co-owner Pat Grider.
Since no receipts were
issued, it seemed questionable
to authorities whether The
Blue Room was actually in
compliance with the 60-40 rule.
"A lot of money taken as cash
was not used to compute the
food-alcohol ratio. There were
not appropriate receipts for it,"
said Councilwoman Carolyn
Mathews.
Tuesday marked the six-month
point at which the
council was to consider The
Blue Room's progress during its
probation period.
To bring itself into closer
compliance with the 60-40 rule,
Grider made it known to the
council that The Blue Room
has begun to serve a late-night
buffet that includes various
food items from salads to hot
wings to baked potatoes.
Everyone who enters the bar
during the times the late-night
buffet is being served, must pay
a $5 buffet charge whether they
intend to eat from the buffet or
not.
Those patrons who are under
21 pay an extra $2 to afford
security measures that prevent
underage drinking.
With this, profits from food
were reported as enough to
bring The Blue Room into com­pliance
with the 60-40 rule.
Although The Blue Room
owners have started the buffet,
it was not enough to convince
many members of the council
because, at this point, receipts
> Turn to COUNCIL, A4
I'LL FLY
PHOTOS BY: JENNIFER MURPHY —ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Above the trees: A picture of the Auburn skyline taken from the inside of a UH-60 Blackhawk (above). The Blackhawks landed in the ROTC brill
Field and came from Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., to give ROTC recruits orientation flights.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES LAWSUIT
Trustees appeal suit
By ADAM JONES
State & Local Editor
Auburn University has officially
appealed a lawsuit brought against it
by several Alabama newspapers.
The appeal was filed Aug. 31 with
the Alabama Supreme Court.
"We want the Supreme Court to
give clear guidance to what the rules
are," said Lee Armstrong, general
counsel for the University.
Dennis Bailey, attorney for the
newspapers, says he welcomes the
appeal.
"I would like the Alabama
Supreme Court to adopt some of the
statements of Judge (Robert) Harp­er's
ruling," Bailey said. "It ought to
be read by every public official."
Harper, a Lee County Circuit Court
judge, issued his ruling in a case
brought against the board by several
Alabama newspapers. The ruling
sides with the newspapers and pro­hibits
the trustees from meeting
with three or more people without
prior public notice.
The ruling states that trustees Ed
Richardson, Lowell Barron, Jack Ven-able,
Jimmy Rane, John Blackwell,
Jack Miller, Paul Spina, Jimmy Sam-ford,
Robert Lowder Byron Franklin
and Charles Glover have violated the
Sunshine Law by meeting without
giving public notice and meeting in
executive sessions that violate the
Sunshine law's exceptions for public
meetings.
The Sunshine Law states that any
meeting by public officials must be
made public unless pending litiga­tion
or the good name and character
of an individual is being discussed.
The University has filed a Motion
for Clarification with the Circuit
Court asking Harper to clarify some
of his Aug. 15 ruling.
The University claims in the
motion that the ruling does not
address ad hoc committees which
are "gatherings at which three or
more trustees (but fewer than a quo­rum)
who are not on a committee, or
are not gathering as a committee,
discuss Auburn business," according
to the motion.
The motion is asking Harper to
> Turn to LAWSUIT.A4
Similar cases
heard before
By ADAM JONES
State & Local Editor
Auburn University has appealed a lawsuit
brought against it by several Alabama news­papers.
However, the Alabama Supreme
Court has heard similar lawsuits in the past.
"The continuing conflict between the
desires of some public bodies to operate in
secrecy and the right of the public to know
what its servant are doing is not new," Lee
County Circuit Judge Robert Harper said in
his ruling last month.
. The higher court has heard three cases
involving the Alabama Open Meetings law,
or the Sunshine Law, since the law's adop­tion
in 1915. All three were used in the rul­ing
brought against the trustees last month.
Harper issued his ruling in a case brought
> Turn to SUPREME COURT.A4
State & Local Briefs
ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
SCORE ABOVE AVERAGE: Alabama high
school seniors scored above the national aver­age
on the SAT college entrance exam. The
results indicate that Alabama graduates aver­aged
a score of 1113 compared with the national
average of 1020.
The average scores of 559 verbal and 554
math surpassed the national averages 506 ver­bal
and 514 matfcu
About 9 percent of graduating seniors
statewide took the SAT, and the state has bested
the national average for the past 10 years,
according to theS&epartment of Education.
The SAT is administered by the College Board,
and more thaj£80 percent of four-year colleges
and universities use SAT scores in determining
admission. Auburn University accepts either the
SAT or the ACT for admissions.
WOMAN FOUND DEAD: An employee for
Lee County Solid Waste Management found a
dead body inside a dumpster Friday morning.
Letha Ann Gopher of Opelika was discovered
7:30 a.m. at the trash compactor and dumpster
on Lee Road 270. The cause of death and other
details are not being released at this time.
The Lee County Sheriff's office is investigat­ing
the case, but no suspects have been identi­fied
in this homicide.
WEST NILE VIRUS SPREADS: The
Alabama Department of Public Health
announced last Friday that West Nile Virus has
been detected in two more birds found in Jeffer­son
County. The virus has not been detected in
horses or humans in Alabama.
Mosquitoes spread the virus by feeding on the
blood of infected birds. The disease cannot be
spread from person to person.
Most people with West Nile do not get sick,
however, a small proportion of people, primarily
people more than 60, may become ill with flu­like
symptoms.
This is the first time that the West Nile Virus
has been found in the state in two years of test­ing,
according to the Department of Public
Health
PRYOR TO ENFORCE "CHUCK E.
CHEESE LAW": Attorney General Bill
Pryor, Jefferson County District Attorney David
Barber and Circuit District Attorney Randall
Houston said last friday that prosecutions may
process throughout the state against video gam­bling
machines.
Pryor contends that video gambling machines
are lotteries under a new standard set by the
Alabama Supreme Court in its April 26, 2001,
opinion.
Video gambling had been legal under a 1995
law referred to as the "Chuck E. Cheese Law."
The law allows exceptions for skill-operated
"amusement machines" rather than games that
involvexhance. *•
A4 TEfyz Auburn ipiatnsfman Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001
SUPREME COURT: Harper used three cases to get ruling
against the board by several Alaba­ma
newspapers. The ruling sides
with the newspapers and prohibits
the trustees from meeting with
three or more people without prior
public notice.
The ruling states that trustees Ed
Richardson, Lowell Barron, Jack
Venable, Jimmy Rane, John Black-well,
Jack Miller, Paul Spina, Jimmy
Samford, Robert Lowder, Byron
Franklin and Charles Glover have
violated the Sunshine Law as
trustees by meeting without giving
public notice and meeting in execu­tive
sessions that violate the Sun­shine
laws exceptions for public
meetings.
The Sunshine Law states that any
meeting by public officials must be
made public unless pending litiga­tion
or the good name and character
of an individual is being discussed.
Harper outlined three cases, using
them as a springboard to give his
ruling.
MIGUONICA v. BIRMINGHAM NEWS
In 1979, The Birmingham iNews
sued the Birmingham City Council
after the council chose to consider
appointments to the City Board of
Education in a closed meeting.
The Alabama Supreme Court
ruled in Miglionica that all public
bodies must have open meetings
and cannot hold executive sessions
unless the exceptions to the law are
discussed.
"The public meeting requirement
is for the benefit of the public to
ensure that it has the opportunity to
become informed as to the affairs of
its governmental bodies," the court
ruled. "It is intended that the whole
deliberative process be open to pub­lic
scrutiny, rather than that there be
mere formal announcement of deci­sions
already made in private."
Harper used the phrase "whole
deliberative process" in his ruling,
saying that any step in the delibera­tive
process should be public.
Also in the 1979 case, the court
outlined that although many other
states have multiple exceptions to
an open meetings law, Alabama
allows only one exception: the good
name and character of an individual.
(The exception of pending litiga­tion
wasn't in place at the time.)
DALE V. BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Harper also made reference to a
1984 case also involving The Birm­ingham
News and the Birmingham
Board of Education.
In Dale, the newspaper sued the
school board after it excluded the
public from a series of meeting
involving interviews for the superin­tendent
of the Birmingham School
System.
The board argued interviews were
not the same as business, and said
the meetings should be private.
The court rejected the argument
saying informal and formal meet­ings
of public bodies should be open
to the public unless it is an excep­tion
to the law.
"Other-wise, business could be
conducted in secrecy and public
meetings held only to ratify deci­sions
already made in secret," the
court said.
The court again was strict on
what the law said, not adding any
new restrictions to the law.
DUNN V. ALABAMA
However, in 1993, the Alabama
Supreme Court did add an excep­tion
to the Sunshine Law, saying
that discussions between a public
body and its attorney concerning
pending litigation are not subject to
the law.
The court followed the reasoning
to the Supreme Court of Tennessee
by creating a narrow exception.
"We hold that discussions
between a public body and its attor­ney
concerning pending litigation
are not subject to the Open Meet­ings
Act," the Alabama court said.
"We emphasize that this is a narrow
exception and applies only to those
situations in which the public body
is a named party in the lawsuit."
After reviewing the three cases,
Harper came to the conclusion the
Board of Trustees was in violation of
the law.
COUNCIL: Decision tabled for two weeks
LAWSUIT: Supreme Court may take a year to rule
state whether ad hoc
meetings are covered by
the Sunshine Law.
The university is also
asking Harper to clarify
the use of secret ballots,
an item both sides wanted
a ruling on.
Although the ruling
briefly mentions the use of
secret ballots, Harper does
not say "whether the
board and its committees
can, in public meetings,
use ballots on occasions
when it is believed that a
secret vote will lead to a
truer result," the motion
states.
Harper will answer the
motion on Sept. 13. The
Supreme Court cannot
rule on the appeal until
Harper clarifies his ruling.
Currently, the ruling
only applies to the Auburn
Board of Trustees and has
no application to any
other public body. Howev­er,
a ruling by the Alabama
Supreme Court would
extend the interpretation
of the Sunshine Law to all
public bodies in the state.
Bailey says he is unsure
if a circuit judge can rule
on a case that has been
appealed to a higher
court, but he says he'll
leave that decision up to
Harper.
The process takes nine
months to a year, accord­ing
to Bailey.
The plaintiffs include
the Alabama Press Associ­ation,
The Anniston Star,
The Auburn Plainsman,
The Birmingham News,
The Huntsville Times, J he
Montgomery Advertiser,
The Opelika-Auburn
News and The Talladega
Home.
are still not being kept from sales.
"I'm not buying this deal about the $5
buffet," Gray said. "It seems like a $5
cover charge. Your money is half in cash,
you have no receipts and no way to veri­fy
it."
"As far as I'm concerned, the burden
of proof had not been met, and it need­ed
to be," said Councilman John Heil-man.
Councilman Rod Popwell pointed out
that the issue burdening The Blue
Room's case is its need to comply with a
city business ordinance of documenting
receipts that it has neglected during the
probation period.
"I think you have been a little slack on
protecting yourself," said Popwell of
Grider and The Blue Room.
Popwell did go on to say that it was
obvious Grider has been making adjust­ments
to comply with the council's rul­ings.
"I hate to close a man down that is
giving a decent effort, and it looks like
you are," Popwell said.
Popwell went even further by saying,
"The root problem is that this is an
archaic law. He (Grider) has a successful
entertainment business that we are bur­dening."
Apart from the receipt issue, Math­ews
raised a question on the seating, "If
everybody is paying for the buffet, can
everybody eat from the buffet?"
City Manager Doug Watson suggest­ed
submitting the issue to the account­ing
department and its professionals for
consideration. This suggestion was met
with support from many council mem­bers.
The loudest voice of opposition to
Grider and The Blue Room's cause was
Gray.
"This is a restaurant, and not a
saloon, license. I think it is a question of
whether we want saloons or restaurant's
downtown," Gray said.
Gray went on to motion that the
council revoke The Blue Room's busi­ness
license. He later withdrew this
motion.
This was met by a differing response
from Councilwoman Cheryl Gladden.
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"We hired a CPA to audit him (Grid­er).
The CPA says he passed this," Glad­den
said.
Gladden pointed out that if they were
to target the Blue Room for further con­sideration
on the issue, there are also a
number of other businesses that they
would have to take into consideration.
A point also worthy of consideration
to Gladden was the differential treat­ment
The Blue Room seemed to be
receiving from Bodega that had been
taken of probation earlier in the meet­ing.
"Why is there differential treatment
between Bodega and the Blue Room,"
Gladden said.
Other owners of downtown business­es
voiced their opinions during the
meeting also.
Owner of West Coast Pizza Kitchen
Gianfranco Frojo was one of those that
made his opinion known.
"Other businesses have invested a lot
of money to comply with the require­ments,"
Frojo said. "I have a substantial
investment in downtown Auburn, and
I'd like to see its integrity maintained.
"If they lower the standards, we are
going to see more bars," Frojo said.
Owner of Bourbon Street John Smith
also made several comments on its
competitor, The Blue Room's situation. ,
"Laws are there for a purpose and
that is to be followed," said Smith of the
Blue Room's actions. ,
After all of the discussion ended, no
decision was reached. The council
motioned to postpone any definite deci­sion
at this meeting and let The Blue
Room's future depend on a decision to
be at the next City Council meeting two
weeks from now. *
Also on the agenda Tuesday night was
the Historic Preservation Commission.
The council voted unanimously for (
the city to seek status as a certified local
government and for the Historic Preser­vation
Commission to be able to receive (
the funding it has applied for.
If received, this funding will be used
to conduct a survey of the North Payne
Street area.
"This is not the place to limit," Pop-well
said on the Historic Preservation
Commission's operations. '
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Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 WQZ SHubunt ipiatrtsStnan A5
STATE LEGISLATURE
Voluntary tax funding schools
By TIFFANYTRUEBLOOP
StaffWriter
A tax that has been around
since the 1930s may give extra
funding to Alabama schools.
The use tax, also known as
the "conscience" tax, has main­ly
been paid by Alabama busi­nesses
until Fiscal Year 2000.
The use tax pertains to items
or goods received from other
states that did not have an
Alabama tax imposed on them,
such as Internet or mail-order
sales.
The tax is completely volun­tary,
reported by the buyer and
not traced by the government.
The Alabama Department of
Revenue introduced the con­sumer-
use-tax line for the first
time on 2000 tax forms.
"A large part of educational
funding comes from sales
taxes," said Carla Snellgrove, a
spokeswoman for the depart­ment
of revenue. "This is a way
to help that funding."
As of July, the Department of
Revenue reported 6,320 returns
that filled out the
use tax line on
their forms, total­ing
$203,344
going to the
state's education
budget.
"We really did­n't
know what to
expect," Snell­grove
said. "But
for our first year,
we are about
average."
Utah's first year
of use-tax filing
had 3,543 tax
payer returns for $149,844.
Michigan, after several years of
the system, reported 64,650
returns and $2.9 million in use
taxes.
"People really
have no way of
knowing what
Internet sales
really are or
where the money
goes."
Carla Snellgrove
Alabama Department
of Revenue
The Department of Revenue
is attempting to raise con­sumer
awareness of the pro­gram
and evoke more use tax
reports.
"In most
cases, it's not the
individual
attempting to
get around
taxes," Snell­grove
said. "It's
just that people
are just not
aware of their
tax dollars."
Scott Tindle,
a sophomore in
education, was­n't
aware of the
use tax.
"I've never
bought anything off of the
Internet," Tindle said. "I
don't think people should be
able to choose to pay taxes or
not. I think they should have to
anyway.
Kim Marks, 25, an Auburn
University graduate, was asked
if she would pay the use tax.
"I would probably think
about it for a while," Marks
said. "But if it will help our
schools which desperately
need it, I would do it."
The state plans to keep the
voluntary tax line in the 2001
tax forms. For the moment, the
rate for the use tax is 4 percent.
No receipts or proof of the
amount purchased are neces­sary
for filing.
"We are basically on an
honor system," Snellgrove said.
Although no receipts are
necessary for filing, Snellgrove
recommends keeping them for
reference when filing.
"So many articles are out
about Internet sales," Snell­grove
said. "But people really
have no way of knowing what
Internet sales really are or
Special session progresses slowly
Legislators place no
emphasis on ethics
proposals while no bill has
passed both houses
By ROSS MOORE
Assistant State & Local Editor
As of Tuesday, no bill had been passed by
both houses of the Alabama Legislature
dealing with ethics, redrawing districts or
funding projects.
After a week of unveiling ethics propos­als,
legislative committees haven't consid­ered
any of Lt. Gov. Steve Windom's ideas,
and the House passed a resolution last
week asking Gov. Don Siegleman's legisla­tion
to be withdrawn.
The House State Government Commit­tee
did approve two of Siegleman's execu­tive
orders, but the Rules Committee in the
Senate sent them to a subcommittee for
more work.
The bills deal with a competitive-bid­ding
process and requiring anyone seeking
a state contract or grant to disclose any
family ties and lobbyists they hired.
The Senate passed a redistricting plan
30-1, but the House Elections Committee
is rewriting the plan to move more Democ­ratic-
leaning voters into the Third District,
which represents much of east-central
Alabama.
The plan passed by the Senate would
increase the black population in the dis­trict
by 28.7 percent.
A contentious debate was expected on
the issue after the incumbent, Rep. Bob
Riley, R-Ashland, announced his bid for
governor and plans not to seek reelection
for the Third District.
The House also passed a $114 million
teacher-benefit plan and a digital-hospital
bill.
The teacher-benefit plan would offer
public school workers an extra pension
plan to discourage teachers and state
troopers from retiring.
Currently, public school teachers are
allowed to retire after 25 years of service
and receive about 50 percent of their
salaries. This allows teachers to retire
early but receive pension while teaching in
different states.
"We are definitely losing veteran teach­ers
to other states," said Terry Jenkins,
superintendent of Auburn City Schools.
"For some teachers [the plan] is an
attractive option and they may stay a little
longer," Jenkins said. "For some it is a gold
mine."
The House-passed plan would raise the
annual pension rate from about 2 percent
to 2.5 percent every year worked beyond 25
years.
The House also voted 90-6 to allow
HealthSouth to bypass the state certifi-cate-
of-need process and build a new hos­pital.
"This was one of Siegleman's priorities,"
said Siegelman spokesman Rip Andrews.
"Alabama will help lead the country in
technology."
The hospital would be located off of U.S.
'280 in Birmingham and incorporate new
computer technology in partnership with
software company Oracle.
A House committee also approved a sex-offender
bill which would bar convicted
sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet
of each other.
The hill was sponsored by Rep. Victor
Gaston, R-Mobile, who discovered as many
as 10 sex offenders were living in extend­ed-
stay motel in Mobile.
09/02/01 3:46 a.m.,Victory
World Prayer Center —
Eleven trees reported dam­aged.
Estimated damages at
$275. »•*,
-109/01/01 4:30 p.m., Floma-ton
— Two television cables
cut. Damages estimated at $20.
08/31/01 9 a.m., Gay Street
— $30 of damage done to a
clay flower pot. $6 of damage
done to a green lawn chair. $6
of damage done to a green
plastic lawn chair, and one
white and green lawn lounge
chair, valued at $45, reported
stolen.
08/31/01 10:30 a.m., Gay
S t r e e t — Two green, plastic
lawn chairs valued at
$8 a piece reported stolen.
Recovered the same day.
08/31/01 I a m , Glenn
Avenue — One pack of Bud
Light valued at $14.97 reported
stolen.
09/02/01 10:30 a.m., Ridge-wood
Village Mobile Home
Park — Two-hundred CDs val­ued
at $2,000, 12 DVDs valued
at $180 and one beer keg with
tap valued at $50 reported
stolen.
JONES
' : • : . : : . • , : • : . . . : • . • ' . , ' ; . : • •• • . • , • • • • . • • •. . . • : : -: . . ' . ' . . ' .: :: •
Siegelman.
In fact, in America, judges
who aren't elected to office
decide issues. For instance,
abortion: decided by a lawsuit.
Not even our "representatives"
got to vote on that.
Let the people vote on
whether abortion should be
legal. No, the issue wouldn't be
solved for all time, but a vote
would clear a lot of the con­flict.
How about a vote on the
death penalty? Is it right or
wrong? Let the people decide.
I'm not advocating the peo­ple
deciding every issue that
comes before Congress, but
there are some major issues
that the people should have a
say about.
Why not? What's the prob­lem
with having national elec­tions
on issues? Other nations
doit.
Alabama could use a dose of
popular sovereignty too. Let
the people vote on whether
Alabama should hold a Consti­tutional
convention to write a
new document. Why not?
Legislatures should not be
scared of the people's opinion,
they should embrace it — and
polling doesn't count.
This idea that the people are
a great beast whose opinions
change with the wind is old
hat. The people can make edu­cated
decisions about the
state, and those decisions can
be law.
The people should be the
ultimate authority on national
policy. The courts can declare
laws unconstitutional, but at
least give the people a chance
to vote. Now, Americans can
only protest, that's not voting.
Douglas wanted the people
of a state to decide on a law of
the state. He lost, but he had
good ideas.
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MAGNOLIA PLAZA, SUITE 201
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AUBURN, ALABAMA 36830
(334) 321-2006 (800) 598-4692
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A6 Cfte gfaburn ffilainsiman Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001
DEBT: Average students uses three
credit cards, carries $2,700 debt
From Page One
"» when it comes to dealing with
Z debt.
» The report ranks irresponsi1
*» ble credit card use and repay­ing
student loans as the major
factors placing students in the
red.
The Nellie Mae Education
Foundation, a non-profit
organization that provides stu­dent
loans, reports that an
astounding 78 percent of
undergraduates possess at
least one credit card, com­pared
with 67 percent in 1998.
A college student carries an
average of three cards and
posts an average credit card
' debt of $2,748, up from $1,879
in 1998.
Nine percent of card-carry­ing
undergraduates have a
credit card debt of more than
$7,000.
"Often it is easier for a col­lege
student to get a credit
card than a college graduate
, with a job," said Mike
Reynolds, director of Student
Financial Aid for the Universi­ty.
Credit card companies regu­larly
set up shops on college
Jcampuses, setting up tables
outside Foy Student Union,
offering T-shirts and sunglass­es
as prizes for signing up for a
credit card.
Many students apply for
these cards without consider­ing
the consequences.
The average penalty rate on
student credit cards is 22.84
percent, eight points higher
than a regular card.
The penalty rate can begin
as soon as a student misses
one payment. Often, student
cards do not offer a grace peri­od
for payment.
Having high unpaid balances
is the fastest way to incur debt.
"Credit-card debt is the type
that can get away from you
quickly," Reynolds said.
Credit cards do have some
positive aspects for students if
handled responsibly.
The cards can help build a
good credit history, which can
aid students in receiving loans
in the future. Credit cards are
also handy in an emergency,
and they decrease the amount
of cash or checks ,that one
must carry.
Student loans are another
possible debt burden that
many students face. Auburn
offers several types of loans to
students, all with varying
interest rates and time limits
on repayment.
The Federal Perkins Loan,
Health Professions Student
Loan, Institutional Loans, Fed­eral
Stafford Loans and Feder­al
Parent Plus Loans are
available for those who qualify.
Logan McLemore, a sopho­more
in finance, is using the
Federal Stafford Loan for the
second time.
"I wanted to have enough
money for living expenses and
spending," he said.
McLemore said that there is
a good chance he will take out
another loan next year, but he
is concerned about having to
repay it in the future.
"When you get out of col­lege,
you want to start your
own living rather than worry­ing
about paying college loans
the rest of your life," he said.
While loans are a feasible
source of tuition for many stu­dents,
Reynolds advises stu­dents
to be careful in choosing
the amount they wish to bor­row.
"One way students get into
debt is when they take out a
loan for what they qualify for,
rather than what they really
need," Reynolds said. "Often
they find it difficult to pay
back."
The financial aid depart­ment
requires students to have
an entrance interview before
they take out any loans, he
said. The interview prepares
and informs them about their
payment responsibilities.
Auburn also promotes posi­tive
financial habits by the
descending balance plan on
the Tiger Club Card, Reynolds
said.
"Once the money is gone, it's
gone, and you have the respon­sibility
of putting more back
on it," Reynolds said.
To remain debt-free in col­lege,
Reynolds suggests main­taining
a budget and avoiding
credit whenever possible.
The Nellie Mae Education
Foundation offers several tips
regarding responsible credit
card use. Look for cards with
low interest rates, low or no
annual fees, a grace period and
benefits to the card, such as
free gas or airline miles.
Most importantly, students
should ask, "Can I afford a
credit card?"
Handling the burden of
repaying student loans can be
made easier by keeping a
detailed schedule of how much
money is due and when.
Making payments on time is
essential in remaining
debt-free.
Several agencies exist to
help manage debt such as the
National Foundation for Con­sumer
Credit, Genus Credit
Management and Debt Coun­selors
of America.
Sometimes it is also possible
to work out a payment plan
with the credit card company
which may slightly ease the
burden.
RBD Library Thanks Its Student Emplyees
For Helping Move 2 Million Books
Summer 2001
SijiAjayi
Jenny Alexander
Kelly Arnette
Gaurav Arora
CliffAustin
Claudie Babinea
Hector Ballester
Duriel Barlow
Adam Bastusche
Carlos Batista
Daniel Bennett
Lance Brown
Martha Rose Brown
Courtney Bru
Adam Buchanan
Christy Burgess
Brad Carter
Haley Chandler
Sri Chandrasekaran
Gavin Choice
Carten Cordell
Brandon Daniels
Brandi Davis
Travis Denley
Garrett DeVaughn
Robert Elliott
Zach Emerson
Justin Fetsko
Suzanne Flook
Priyanka Gupta
Amelia Hang
Chris Hickman
GregHolberg
Brian Hornsby
JreyHosey
Daewoong "Joh*>
Hwang
Roger Jones
Amit Karkhanis
JakeKilborn
Kwon Kim
Jeffrey Lakey
Jason Lee
Phillip Lee
FengUng Liang
Junshan "Bruce
Chris Ltvaudais
Adam Lovelady
Brian May
Marcus Mayfield
AlegiaMsCall
James McElhinny
Denise Meade
Adam Merrick
Julian Montoya
^'KraigMooney
Rampa "Victor"Mosweu
Ellen Murray
Jamie Nobles
Alice Norman
Darrell Nunnelly
Jason Oleinick
Matt Ortner
Amit Pai
Zach Pargeon
Keelan Parrish
Annan Pascoe
Andi Piski
Andy Putman
John Rasponi
Mary Rogers
Ashley Rubenstein
^^^^ Claire Rumore
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Erick Schwartzkopf
Brannon Shirah
QingNing "Q" Shu
WillShurtz
Ashley Smith
Eric Speaks
Robert Stachler
Jim Striplin
Jason Suess
Thomas Sullivan
Shariq Syed
Keith Taylor
John Thomas
Sasha Tindle
Adi Trimurty
Kevin Tucker
Tony Urech
Matt Valentine
Premal Vora
Adam Walton
Melissa Weeks
Scot Wilkes
Philip Wilson
Farrah Wood
Louis Wright
Zheng "Jenny" Wu
Jared Wunderlich
MattYu
TRUSTEES: Walker to remain interim indefinitely
regarding a recent ruling in a lawsuit filed
against the board for violations of the state's
Open Meetings Law.
Weary listed many events that he said need to
occur before a president could be chosen.
These events include an enhancement of the
structure and function of the board, along with
refocusing and rebuilding the University
administration.
"(The Roard) wants to be known as the fore­most
critic and defender (of the University),"
Weary said. "Auburn must create an adminis­trative
capacity necessary to serve the Universi­ty"
Weary also told the board that Auburn must
identify and begin implementing a shared aca­demic
vision, plan for the faculty required to
advance the University and create a viable
structure that will assist in "staffing- for
advancement."
Weary encouraged the board to see that all of
these things were accomplished before begin­ning
the search for a new president.
"We should postpone the presidential search
until this work has been accomplished," Trustee
Jack Miller, a Mobile lawyer and graduate of the
University of Alabama, told the board.
Trustee Paul Spina of Rirmingham said he
was concerned with the amount of time achiev­ing
these things may take.
"I think (a time frame) will emerge in the
making of the agenda," Weary told the trustees.
"I don't see it as occurring in one brief year. This
could take three or four years.
"There is good work to be done here, lot's of
low-hanging fruit," Weary said.
Superintendent of Education Ed Richardson,
who serves on the board by virtue of his posi­tion,
said he was concerned with how long
Walker could maintain the title of interim pres­ident.
"At some point, the title of interim becomes a
liability," Richardson said, and asked Walker
"Do you have any idea how long you can wear
this interim title?"
Spina said that Walker will have to be pre­pared
to retain the title of interim until a proper
search can be conducted.
"If the term interim makes you (Walker)
uncomfortable, then get ready to be uncomfort­able
because you're going to be interim for a
long time," Spina said.
Walker told the board he was fully prepared
to retain the title of interim and trusted that
University stakeholders will respect that title,
despite its temporary status.
CODES:
hibited cornrows, a popular
hairstyle among
African-Americans — as dis­criminatory.
City Manager Doug Watson
encouraged owners of The Rlue
Room, The Highlands, Bodega,
Bourbon Street Bar. Supper
Club, Tigris and Mellow Mush­room
to address the issue fairly
and as a group.
"There has to be an objective
standard," Watson said. "You
have to judge the book by its
contents and not by its cover."
"If you base the dress code
on minimum standards —
such things as, you have to
have clothes on, or you've got
to wear shoes — I think the
better off you are," Watson
said. "The more you get into
more things, I think the
chances are that you . could
have someone who could be
discriminated against."
The owners agreed to meet
again in three weeks to review
the findings of the attorney.
In reply to accusations made
by local bar-goers and printed
in The Auburn Plainsman last
week, Bourbon Street bar
owner Gianfranco Frojo told
City Cuuncllman Arthur
Dowdell VIP cards were no
longer being given out and
overcharging individuals had
ceased.
While Watson and Hayley
both said Tuesdays meeting
was productive, the discussion
between bar owners was at
times candid and aggressive.
Greg Bradshaw, owner of
Bodega, attempted several
times to distance his establish­ment
from its neighbor, The
Blue Room.
"This whole time (during the
past six months) it has been
The Blue Room and Bodega,"
Bradshaw said, referring to the
way City Council has often
lumped the two establish­ments
together in other bat­tles.
"I think from this meeting
it's obvious that we do things
very differently."
"I think you have some
exclusionary processes at your
door that you're doing to look
after your wallet" Bradshaw
told Blue Room owner Pat
Grider.
Grider rejected Bradshaw's
statement, asking, "By trying
to keep people from fighting
and actually making less
money at the door, you believe
I'm making more money?"
Despite originally stating his
opposition to eliminating his
dress code, Grider agreed to
suspend his policy until the
legalities are worked out of the
cities plan.
Breakfast is
-pedal at
onald's®
Sausage
Biscuit 8c
Hash Brown
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Good at participating McDonald's. Offer good all September 2001.
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 QCIjc Auburn ipiamsfman A7
RAPTOR: Tiger's keeper criticized
for center's financial decision-making
"The Raptor Center itself had basi­cally
been told it needed to become
self- sustaining in terms of money,"
said John Owens, former adviser to
the bird's previous caretakers, Alpha
Phi Omega service fraternity.
"So for (SERRC) that became an
ongoing problem. I think (Shelnutt)
came to the conclusion that one of the
ways he could raise funds is gain con­trol
of the eagle and us"e it as a basis
for fundraising," said Owens, who is
also the former associate dean for
research at the College.of Engineering.
Owens said Shelnutt blew the whis­tle
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser­vices
about minor violations by A Phi
0 in their care of Tiger.
"What he quiet literally did was
turn in APO to U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Services, without bothering to tell
anybody here on campus or with A
Phi O," Owens said.
Owens said these mild violations —
such as taking the bird to away foot­ball
games outside Alabama and not
enough conservation education by A
Phi O — forced fish and wildlife serv­ices
to rule that either an alternative
situation for the bird be presented, or
Auburn would lose its eagle.
,,. Shelnutt offered SERRC as an alter-i
native, and the permit for Tiger
", switched hands April 13, 2000.
J
..TIGER'S NEW HOME
When the eagle was first transferred
from A Phi O to SERRC, many people
reacted negatively. That negative reac­tion
was something SERRC volunteer
Sarah Ress didn't appreciate.
In an April 2000 letter to The Plains­man,
Ress defended SERRC's acquisi­tion
of Tiger, and argued the bird
would be better off in the Raptor Cen­ter.
However, from the beginning of
Tiger's stay, several people have
accused Shelnutt to be overbearing,
rude and power- hungry nr including
toward the former trainers of the bird,
„APhiO.
"We asked (Shelnutt) simply to
allow the fraternity to continue to
interact with the bird and help train it
under his supervision," Owens said.
"He was not willing to accept that; he's
very autocratic."
Ress and Perez both agreed the
atmosphere of the Raptor Center was
noticeably unwelcoming to members
of A Phi O.
"A Phi O members were not treated
respectfully," Perez said. "They were
viewed condescendingly and the lead­ership's
attitude toward A Phi O was
negative from the start.
"It would have been difficult for me
to maintain involvement under those
circumstances," Perez said.
"It was never specifically said to me
(to be unwelcoming), but that' is
exactly what happened," Ress said.
"One of them volunteered very, very
regularly, and he put more time in
than probably most of us had ever
done," she said. "He, within the last
year, was forced (by SERRC leader­ship)
to leave."
THE RUSINESS OF EDUCATION
In order for a bird to be in captivity,
it must be used chiefly to promote
awareness and educate the public
about itself.
Owens, Perez and Ress all agree the
Tiger is primarily being used as a
money- generator, not for educational
purposes.
"It has become a money- making
operation for the Raptor Center,
which it was clear was going to hap­pen
from the start; which is why Shel­nutt
wanted to get ahold of it in the
first place," Owens said.
"The mission of the center no
longer exists," Ress said. "The mission
of the center is conservation, and I
feel as though the reason the center
says it is there is a lie.
"The administration is more con­cerned
with themselves and having
power over other people who work at
the center, which is evident by the
poor treatment they have given to the
volunteers," Ress said.
"I am not convinced education was
ever a high priority of Mr. Shelnutt s,"
JENNIFER MURPHY—ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
MASCOT: War Eagle VI, affectionately known as "Tiger," is a the center of a controversy surrounding the
director of her home at the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center. Former SERRC volunteers and
staff members criticize director Joe Shelnutt for what they view as using the eagle to earn money for the
center, which would contradict the center's educational mission.
Perez said. "I know Tiger was not
taken to a lot of programs because the
people just couldn't pay."
"That operation is largely based on
volunteer work and labor," Owens
said, "and so (Shelnutt) needs the sup­port
of people to do that."
Owens said Shelnutt drove a lot of
his volunteers away because of "his
reluctance to allow the eagle to go out
and do some things — like the Special'
Olympics — apparently because they
weren't willing to pay for it."
"(Shelnutt) committed Tiger to
doing the Special Olympics, doing a
short conservation program," Ress
said.
A few weeks later Ress said it was
discovered that Shelnutt had told the
director of the Special Olympics it was
illegal for the bird to make an appear­ance;
in turn, Shelnutt then told his
then-educational coordinator that
Tiger would not do the show because
the Special Olympics' administration
couldn't get the stadium together in
time.
"He told two big lies because they
didn't pay him enough money," Ress
said.
The price for Tiger to appear at
events has been estimated to be any­where
between several hundred and
$5,000. To generate more money for
the eagle and the Raptor Center,
SERRC leaders approached UPC offi­cials
and secured a major fundraiser:
"Keep Tiger Flying Concert Extrava­ganza,"
with the Reach Boys opening
for a yet- t o - be- announced headlin-er.
For Perez, the negatives of volun­teering
at the Raptor Center became
too much, and she quit two months
ago.
"It was an accumulation of nearly a
year or more of observing people —
that includes volunteers and the pub­lic
— not being treated respectfully
and decently by the leadership," she
said. "I made somewhat of an attempt
to express my views, but I got a nega­tive
response and I wanted to have
nothing more to do with that.
"It took me probably a year to fully
admit to myself that the situation was
very serious," Perez said.
Owens said the primary issue is that
SERRC has withheld Tiger and other
birds from the public, simply for
financial interests.
"I think the main thing people need
to be concerned with is that the eagle
is no longer made available for a low
or no cost basis," Owens said.
After adamantly defending SERRC
two years ago, Ress also quit volun­teering
because of Shelnutt's alleged
practices, but she said this treatment
is not limited to Tiger.
"We kind of felt that (Tiger) is what
most people are concerned about,"
and so critics would use Tiger to draw
attention to a broader problem at the
Raptor Center, Ress said.
JfTff
129 ST. COIIXfiE ST.
LAMEST BAR IIAUBUM
Thurs.
Fri.
Ingram Mill
Sat
lues. Penny Beer
7-9
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Clje Auburn $latmttnan
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2001
^~^ (luje siuourn plainsman COMMENTARY A tradition of honesty and truthfulness
SALLY TIDWELL
Copy Editor
LAUREN GLENN
Campus Editor
FAITH FORD
Intrigue Editor
Editorial Board
NAPO MONASTERIO
Editor
ADAM JONES
State & Local Editor
BRANDON PATTERSON
Sports Editor
OUR VIEW
RYAN LEE
Managing Editor
KATIE PATRICK
Business Manager
MAC MIRABILE
Photo Editor
Baby Steps
Trustees right for postponing search,
but wrong to think that's enough
Let there be no doubt that things
could have gone a lot worse at the
Auburn Board of Trustees meeting last
Friday. At the same time, Auburn could
be — and should be — in a much bet­ter
situation than it is now.
Some speculated last Friday would
be the day trustees removed the inter­im
label from William Walker's title, a
move that would have caused Auburn
to speed down the highway to hell.
Fortunately for Auburn, Walker will
remain president only on an interim
basis until the University is internally
stable enough to conduct a meaningful
and thorough search for a new chief
executive officer. In fairness, Walker
has done as good a job as can be
expected during such tumultuous
times.
However, it is clear that while Walker
has been able to maintain the innate
support that accompanies his title, he
is not the leader most at Auburn
desire.
At face value, the trustees made the
proper decision Friday to postpone the
presidential search; several campus
groups have said they do not believe
Auburn can attract top-notch candi­dates
with the campus's current cli­mate.
The trustees heeded their
concerns and followed their wishes,
and should be congratulated for that.
However, the dirty history of the
Board of Trustees — coupled with its
continued non-response to Auburn's
true problems — lead us to believe Fri­day's
appeasement ceremony simply
was an attempt to pour a little water
on the fire burning under the trustees.
The ambiguity of the board's actions
is a clear indicator that the trustees are
sincere in their efforts to repair
Auburn's image and its spirit.
Not even the most general timeline
has been offered by the trustees as to
how long this self-check process will
take. Nor has the board given any indi­cation
as to how Auburn's change, or
repair, will be determined.
Let's not beat around the bush: If the
trustees were worried about Auburn's
condition and working toward improv­ing
it, several trustees would resign
immediately. If they were to do this, the
time Auburn would spend in an inter­im
stage would be reduced significant-
For the past seven months, the
trustees have actively ignored the com­plaints
of virtually all stakeholding
groups on campus, and dismissed the
very real concerns of faculty, staff, stu­dents,
administration and alumni as
unworthy of a response.
Now, the trustees would have people
believe that after years of microman-agement,
secret sessions, abuse of
power and unethical behavior, they
have confessed their transgressions
and are somehow ready to be honest,
concerned and trustworthy leaders.
In reality, the trustees care little
about fixing Auburn's problems before
the presidential search resumes. They
are obviously more focused on buying
themselves time so they can make it
look as if Auburn's problems are fixed,
while they continue their pattern of
insulting and ineffective governing.
Whore Eagle
Auburn's second mascot
transformed into piggy bank
In April 2000, this editorial board
defended the transfer of War Eagle
"Tiger" VI from Alpha Phi Omega serv­ice
fraternity to Joe Shelnutt and his
Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation
Center.
We said conspiracies surrounding
the bird's move were unfounded para­noia;
the bird was aging, we said, and it
would be better served at SERRC.
Little did we know how right — and
wrong — we would be. Indeed, Tiger is
being better served at SERRC; she's
being served on a golden platter to any
group that can dole out the money
Shelnutt demands to present the bird.
We wholeheartedly admit that what
appeared to be a win-win scenario —
Tiger in a healthier environment at
SERRC, and performing awe-inspiring
tricks at football games — is nothing
more than a suspect way to acquire
money exploiting one of Auburn's most
beloved characters.
Since arriving at SERRC two years
ago, Tiger has served as a savior cash
cow to the financially strapped Raptor
Center. Shelnutt has been accused of
preying on the loyal Auburn support­ers
willing to pay considerable sums of
money Co see the remarkable bird.
Whereas Tiger is supposed to be
used primarily for educational purpos­es,
critics of Shelnutt claim he uses the
eagle to rake in dollars unashamedly.
In an absolutely disgusting gesture,
Shelnutt has been accused of reneging
on his word that he would bring Tiger
to the Special Olympics in Jordan-Hare
Stadium. Upon learning that the Spe­cial
Olympics' administration would
not be able to afford his cover charge,
Shelnutt was a no show.
Shelnutt reportedly told the Special
Olympics administration the reason he
couldn't bring Tiger was because it was
illegal. In the same breath, Shelnutt
told his staff the reason Tiger wasn't
doing the event was because the Spe­cial
Olympics administration didn't
adequately prepare the stadium.
This alleged double talking and
manipulation is a sad example of how
greed and pride can taint even the
most pure symbols.
The massive amount of defections
from SERRC and numerous question­able
practices of Shelnutt warrant an
investigation by the University, which
facilitated the original exchange
between A Phi O and SERRC.
If the University does not explore the
situation at SERRC, one of Auburn's
most revered and unique traditions
will continue to be paraded around,
waiting for its next paying trick.
OUR POLICY
The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages. The unsigned
editorials are the majority opinion of the nine-member editorial board, and are the
official opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed in columns and letters
represent the views and opinions of their individual authors and do not necessarily
reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.
CLAY COX
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THE IbRTOiSE SEATS THE
LINES AT JORDAN-HARE
TV:",
New policy makes magic disappear
Auburn football is very special
to me. There is something
magical about standing in the
student section, cheering my team on
to victory.
I have been a student at Auburn for
three football seasons, and during
that time I have never missed a kick-off.
Until Saturday.
Shortly before 3 p.m., I walked with
my friends from our tailgating spot
down to the Jordan-Hare Stadium to
make sure we had plenty of time to
get in the game.
Instead, I waited in line for more
than an hour, sweating profusely in
the Alabama humidity and missed
kick-off. Needless to say, I was not a
happy camper.
Apparently the hold up was a result
of the new armbands that students
were issued for admittance to the stu­dent
section.
The SG A met Tuesday to discuss
what went wrong. I know the SGA
means well, but armbands are the
wrong solution to this problem.
Maybe we should show up earlier
for the game. Sure, and then we'll
roast in the afternoon sun. I think an
hour is sufficient time for anyone to
LAUREN
NELSON
Assistant Intrigue Editor
nelson@theplainsman.com
get in the stadium.
The SGA sa*id the armbands pro­tect
the student section for students.
Rut what about those students that
did not get season tickets?
In August, I worked a session of
Successfully Orienting Students,
which is an orientation program for
transfers and freshmen who missed
Camp War Eagle. By the time these
students were registered for classes,
their were no student tickets left.
So these students will have to buy
regular tickets if they want to see a
game, but they will be excluded from
their fellow students because they did
not get season tickets. They will miss
out on the magic because they did
not get here in time.
I for one would rather have a
crowded student section full of
screaming Auburn students than a
half-full section that will be seen as a
cue to alumni to take away more stu­dent
seating. Standing in the student
section is part of the Auburn tradi­tion
anyway, as most of the student
body knows. ~
The armbands leave no leeway for
out-of-town visitors and younger sib­lings
to sit in the student section,
either. Yes, I know it is illegal, but how
many of us never have brought a
friend with us to the student section?
Besides, the security guards who are
supposed to be checking for the arm­bands
are looking up hoping to catch
a glimpse of Tiger VI soaring over the
field.
My younger brother is coming to
Auburn this weekend considering
Auburn as a transfer option, and
since he is a fan of another university
in the great state of Alabama, I want
him to experience the excitement of
the Auburn student section.
I know the hand stamp is messy,
and I know there are issues of over­crowding,
but there has to be another
solution.
Please do not have a repeat of last
Saturday. Auburn students are the
most important factor of the game,
and they do not deserve to miss a sec­ond
of the action during their four
special years in the student section.
Parking pains keep me on my bike
Ihate to write with a negative atti­tude,
and I'm sure this subject has
been written about before, but this
is something that really gets on my
nerves.
Parking in Auburn.
Yes, that's right. I can't seem to park
a car anywhere in Auburn without
getting a ticket or being towed. And
one incident the other day really
pushed me to the edge on this subject.
My dad, who lives in LaGrange,
called yesterday to tell me he was driv­ing
down to visit. I told him to come to
The Plainsman office, and he told me
he was scared to park anywhere in
Auburn other than my apartment,
especially on campus.
"Driving in that town is like death,"
he said.
He's right. Parking in Auburn sucks.
I have actually given up driving in
this town altogether. But the last time I
drove, I parked downtown an i left my
car for a few minutes only to return to
find a ticket.
I thought I had enough time left
from the previous patron's quarter, but
sadly I had not. I know it's only $5, but
as many $5 tickets I have accumulated
over the past four years, it seems like
have a meter maid for each parking
space.
Also, the last time I parked on cam­pus
(the only time I parked on campus
last year), I got a ticket. When I got
back to my car and saw it on my wind­shield
I was irate to say the least. I had
parked in C-zone, and I had a C-zone
pass.
I wasn't goir g to pay, plain and sim­ple.
I marched right into the Auburn
University Department of Public Safety
and showed the clerk my ticket, while I
confidently showed her my pass.
"This is expired," she said.
"Expired?" I said.
I didn't even know parking passes
could expire. Yeah, its my fault for not
consulting the Tiger Cub.
NICK
FOSTER
Associate Intrigue Editor
foster@theplmnsman,com
Whatever.
The parking lot near the Student
Activities Center was nowhere near
full, and parking spaces that day were
plentiful. And still, I got a ticket.
I know what the rules say, but there
are principles about this that perturb
me.
The City of Auburn rakes in quite a
bit of revenue, and I would really like
to know what they do with all that
money. They sure don't put it into the
roads. My car couldn't even play a CD
when I used to drive up Magnolia
Avenue.
Auburn University also keeps the
balance of its checkbooks high from
parking revenue. At $15 a head for
passes times almost 22,463, a lot of
money is taken.
This goes without mentioning tick­ets
from campus police, most of which
equal $25 or more.
This makes me mad.
Why, because they take advantage of
students, because they know most stu­dents
will just get the money from
their parents.
It's true many students at Auburn
come from wealthy families where $25
doesn't mean much.
To me it does. So does $5 or $10, or
$1 for that matter. These guys are rip­ping
us off.
My sophomore year I lived at The
Commons, where you can buy a park­ing
pass for a mere $300. What a deal!
I didn't buy one.
But later that year, I wished I did.
My car got towed five times that
year for parking in random places near
The Commons.
Five times. $80 a pop.
I know that's a little careless, but
don't think I wasn't conscious of get­ting
towed each time I parked. I was
not unlucky, I was a victim of a vera­cious
money-scamming towing com­pany.
These guys have signs all over town
that read "TOW AWAY ZONE."
They're not kidding and regardless if
you see the sign or not, if you don't
have their pass, your ass is getting
towed.
For that matter, I don't drive any­more.
I actually left my car in
LaGrange, and I just ride my trusty old
mountain bike.
It uses no gas, therefore it makes no
pollution. Also it forces me to exercise
every day, when I go to class, or basi­cally
anywhere.
Sure, I don't have a car to pick up
dates in, but I've only known one girl
who didn't have a car herself.
Think about it, cars aren't really nec­essary
in this town. Of course I live
near campus, and someone who lives
at Conway A.:res probably wouldn't
want to bike it every day, but people
who live in town could give Auburn a
run for its money.
We should all pick a day of the week
and not drive, at least not to school.
Everyone would walk or ride a bike.
This would surely hurt the police
department's ridiculous revenues and
the Tow Nazi's wallet. Plus, it would
alleviate traffic congestion, slow pollu­tion
and force us all to get a little exer­cise.
It would also be funny to see the
brand new parking lots close to empty.
But seriously, there are so many advan­tages
to alternate transportation, and
since this column won't do anything to
change this town's parking policies, it
seems it is the only solution to the
parking problem.
By the way, my dad and I agreed, he
will pick me up at my apartment
instead of on campus.
^ r ^ W<Wi))et Alauubuuurrnn -ppliaaitnnsstmotaann COMMENTARY A9
A tradition of honesty and truthfulness THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2001
THE EDITOR SPEAKS...
A hard cell; mobile phones not my style
Iguess it was sometime around this
time last year that I got turned
down for a cell phone.
And oh boy, am I glad I did.
It was about this time last year that
I walked into the mall and headed
straight toward the BellSouth booth. I
had it all planned out, I knew what I
wanted, and I knew what I was getting
into.
To this day I don't know why,
though. I guess it was one of those
random wants.
• I had my phone picked out, my plan
maximized to save up to the last
penny, and then came the time for the
credit check.
No credit — being the Spaniard I
am, I didn't have a credit history,
therefore I couldn't get the cell phone
I had so much dreamed of.
I wanted to be cool like the rest of
the people out there.
But now, the more I think about it,
the happier I am that the man at the
Bellsouth booth — a nice man, don't
get me wrong — turned me down on
my petty little want.
Now I hate them.
And no, it's not one of those "I hate
NAPO
MONASTERIO
Editor
editor@theplainsman.com
them" things I just say because I
couldn't get it or because my I'm jeal­ous
of my friends who have them. I
really do hate them.
Call them convenient, useful, reli­able
in case of an emergency, enter­taining
because of the snake games
you can play on them, affordable in
comparison to a regular phone line or
infallible if you need to get a hold of
your best friend.
I don't buy into that anymore.
Why, you may wonder? Well, let me
tell you why: Because of the way peo­ple
overuse them nowadays, especially
around Auburn.
Let's get one thing straight before I
keep on blasting cell phone users: The
main reason cell phones were put on
the market was so that if your carbu­retor
blows up in the middle of the
boonies,you can call a tow truck and
it can take you out of there.
They were meant for important
conversations at important times, not
for petty talks between classes.
That said, you must have a pretty
good idea by now of how I feel about
cell phones — or cell phone usage, I
should say.
So here are some of my top pet
peeves about this 21-century fashion,
a lifestyle I'll probably never get to
understand.
• People leaving their cell phones
turned on during class — Not only
is it an insult to the professors
attempting to get students' attention,
but it is an insult to the classmates as
well. Who would start chatting on the
phone in the middle of class anyway?
If students are not planning on talk­ing,
they might as well hit the power
key before sitting down for a long lec­ture.
Of course, there are the people who
will leave them on to look cool if the
phone rings, but that's just total dork-ness.
No comment about those who carry
their phones to church. It's not like
God is going to call you on your cell
phone in the middle of the service.
• People talking with mics and
headphones — Surely it's nice to be
able to walk around and talk at the
same time without holding your arm
in the same position for 30 minutes.
However, take a minute and look at
these people (maybe yourself) and see
what fools they are making out of
themselves.
1) They look like lunatics, scream­ing
at the alleged ghost friend; 2) They
look like yuppies straight out of New
York City; 3) They look plain dumb,
walking around with wires coming
down their ears all the way down to
their pockets and through their
shirts.
• Chatting and driving — A deadly
combination. If you thought eating
and maneuvering the wheel was bad
enough, wait and see what a cell
phone will do to someone's driving
abilities. Many claim that using
hands-free devices may solve the
problem, but people have to concen­trate
on talking — it's not that easy to
do two things at the same time — and
big bad wrecks have happened while
people chatted on their cell phones as
they were driving down the road. Can't
they wait (or pull over)?
• Play that funky music — But not
as the default ring tone, please. If you
want to have a cell phone, that's fine,
but make it sound like a phone.
There's no need for "Livin La Vida
Loca" blastirfg through that little
device. It will .not make your conversa­tion
more interesting, it will just make
people roll their eyes and wonder.
• Flashy artifacts — Like the ones
you see every now and then shining in
the middle of a dark parking lot.
Lights twirled around the antenna
won't actually make any difference to
your coverage, believe it or not. They
will just make your phone look like it
just came out of the 4th of July.
Don't get me wrong here, though.
Cell phones are useful in certain situa­tions,
but they aren't neccessary for
everyday life.
Until then, I remain cell-phoneless,
YOUR VIEWS
Former band
member misses
Tiger Walk pep
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman,
Please give me a moment to say that as .a
fan and Auburn University/Auburn March­ing
Band alumnae, that the placement of
the band by Roosevelt Drive during last
week's Tiger Walk is a disappointment.
What I witnessed at the Ball State game
Saturday was a "step back" to all of the
years of hard work I put in as a former
member and student. Fans and children
alike were talking among themselves and
asking each other where the band was and
why wasn't it here to play. I saw that the
band was there for Tiger Walk, but only
because I was tall enough and in the posi­tion
to see the tops of tubas off in the dis­tance.
For you see sir, they could be seen
but not heard.
Out of all the things that impressed me
about Auburn as a child, one of the most
important things was its tradition. For me,
tradition revolved around what I saw the
band doing before, during and after the
games. When I later became a marching
band member myself in 1995,1 volunteered
to devout the extra time out of my sched­ule
to be at Tiger Walk. Sir, I NEVER
missed a home game Tiger Walk in my four
years at Auburn.
What I loved so much about Tiger Walk
was the ability to gather the crowd around
and raise excitement toward our wor­shiped
football team. Even the players
became wide-eyed when they neared us
and pumped their hands to get us to play
louder during the bigger games.
Please allow the band to go back to what
it has always done at Tiger Walk. We VOL­UNTEER
and do it for the players, fans and
their children, and our own love for the
team.
PLEASE DO NOT LET ANOTHER
AUBURN TRADITION DIE. Let the band
be heard at Tiger Walk.
War Eagle!
Amanda Burk Mitchell
'99 alumnae
Tiger soars
again, but at
what cost?
Editor, The Plainsman,
During the past football season, "War Eagle"
took a new meaning here on the Plains. After
months of controversy over the transfer of Tiger,
the Golden Eagle, from Alpha Phi Omega's care to
the care of the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilita­tion
Center (SERRC), it all seemed worth it (to
most) as she took her debut flying from high
within the bleachers of the football stadium. Soar­ing
overhead, seemingly propelled by the cheers
below from fans screaming "War Eagle!," she spi-raled
majestically down and finally landed on the
lure, swung by Mr. Joseph Shelnutt, director of
SERRC, in the center of the field. The stadium
erupted in shouts of awe and amazement as fans'
hearts swelled with immense pride at the
moment to be part of theAuburn family.
We, as volunteers, were filled with emotion and
became extremely caught up in our newly found
fame with this magnificent addition to our family.
We defended Tiger, but mostly our beloved
SERRC, against accusations that we "stole" Tiger
and that we were trying to destroy an Auburn tra­dition.
One of us even wrote a letter published in
The Plainsman in an effort to convince the
Auburn community that this transition was bet­ter
for Tiger.
Today, things have changed. While we still
think Tiger is where she needs to be, in a center
specializing in birds of prey, the center we once
loved so much, dedicated so much of our lives to,
is no longer what it once was. As a result, a large
percentage of the volunteer force — undergradu­ates,
graduates, vet school students, professionals,
community members and alumni — have quit
over the past few months. As so often happens,
politics and the quest for power have overshad­owed
the cause. We feel the mission of SERRC —
research, rehabilitation and education — is no
longer a priority for those in charge. Feeling pas­sionately
about the center's mission and seeing it
fall to the wayside, some left, and some tried to
make a change from within. Those who sought
change were ostracized, belittled and eventually
forced to leave as well. Although we are distraught
at what has become of the center we held so dear­ly,
it seems we are powerless to do anything about
it.
This goes beyond an issue of people having
their feelings hurt. It comes down to what's right
and what's not. While we still believe in the cause,
still love the birds and do not want to harm the
center in any way, we want to expose the corrupt­ness
that has infiltrated the organization. We
want to force the administration of the center to
have to answer to someone higher, to be held
accountable for their actions, we want all those
giving their time for the birds to be respected.
And we want the mission restored as top priority.
Quotable
"If the term interim makes
you (Walker) uncomfortable,
then get. ready because you're
going to he interim
for a long time."
Paul Spina
Trustee, speaking about the delay
in the presidential search
SPINA
»*>m j
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CLAY COX — ART EDITOR
It seems, at times, what the SERRC administra­tion
says and what it does are two very different
things. Yes, it's true, in order for SERRC to legally
retain a raptor, it must be used for conservation
education purposes, which Shelnutt does —
sometimes. And remember the concern raised by
Alpha Phi Omega that they never charged people
money to see Tiger and now only those financially
willing and able could see her? Well, while we
denied and ridiculed these statements, it seems
Shelnutt has made liars of us. We have observed
time and again the cancelation of programs (one
for the Special Olympics before an extremely large
audience) or the simple turning down of requests
by organizations for an appearance from Tiger
because "it wasn't a moneymaker." One volunteer
even witnessed Shelnutt saying that if they
weren't willing to put up $5,000, it wasn't worth
his time. This is totally contradictory to the state­ments
made when Shelnutt originally took Tiger
under his care. How fair is it that an icon intended
for conservation education be accessible only to
those with deep-pocket notebooks? It seems
Alpha Phi Omega and others predicted what we
were too naive to see, shrouded by Shelnutt's lies
and manipulation.
This is just one injustice of many with one bird
of hundreds that SERRC received in a year. Provid­ed
an appropriate outlet, we could document sev­eral
innappropriate, unethical and potentially
illegal acts carried out by Shelnutt and those he's
in cahoots with.
So, with football season, when Tiger makes yet
another flight down the field, enjoy it. Revel in the
moment. Watch in awe of this amazing creature.
Realize what an opportunity it is to see a Golden
Eagle soar over your head, because this is an expe­rience
many will never have. Then, ask yourself if
others have the right to experience this, if a child
should have the same chance to come face to face
with this creature as a high-class, moneyed indi­vidual.
And ask yourself if people like Shelnutt
should have the right to make this decision for
you, because he has.
Whether or not you feel as deep a passion for
nature and wild animals as we do, this is your
opportunity to get involved. Stand up for the wel­fare
of Tiger, a bird we've sentenced to Shelnutt s
care, and the hundreds of other birds that arrive
at a center where they are no longer its priority.
Realize what a privilege it is for us to have these
protected species here at Auburn University, and
take a stand for them. Demand that Shelnutt be
accountable to a higher power. The next time he
roars to questioning and concerned volunteers
"This is my raptor center!," make him eat his
words. For it is not his. It belongs to those willing
to uphold the mission of the center, it is our cen­ter.
Protect an Auburn tradition. For the birds.
Terri J. Albrecht-Schmitt, M.S., biological
sciences, 2001
Anita B. Autio, B.S.,
wildlife/pre-veterinary medicine, 2001
Nichole Dozier Hooper, veterinary
medicine, 04
Kami R. Perez, M.S., rural sociology, 1993
Sara E. Ress, zoology, 04
LionellT. Smith, veterinary medicine, 03
HOW TO CONTACT US
BY MAIL: B-100 FOY STUDENT UNION
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, AL
36849
BY E-MAIL: PLAINSM@AUBURN.EDU
BY FAX:(334)844-91 14
The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from
students as well as from faculty, administrators,
alumni and those not affiliated with the
University. Letters must be submitted before 4:30
p.m. on the Monday before publication. Please
limit text to 300 words. Letters must include the
author's name, address and phone number for
verification, though the name of the author may
be withheld upon request. Submission may be
edited for grammar and/or length.
*
IB »
t .amiss
GlONIEMTfl 2002
t
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1
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*
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IT IS THAT Time Of THE YEAR...
flPPUCflTIOnS TO PARTICIPATE
111 THIS YEAR'S PAGEAnT
ARE nOUl HUAILABLE in
THE GLOmERATA OFFICE flllD
BY THE FOY mFORmHTIOn DESK.
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i
flPPUCflTIOnS DUE:
OCTOBER 5TH
come BE n PART OF on onooinG TRnomon.
CALL 844-4254 FOR ADDITIOAAl QUESTIONS.
if
WHEN DARKNESS
FALLS: Auburn takes
steps to make light of
dangerous darkness/
B4
QHje Jilmnt $Hams;man
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6, 2001
*Sr Contact us
Lauren Glenn, campus editor
(334)844-9118
Campus@theplainsman.com
Trustees look to alumni for funding
Board pushes to take Spirit Card funding from alumni association for scholarships
By LAUREN GLENN
Campus Editor
The Auburn Alumni Associa­tion's
funding could be in dan­ger
if trustees succeed in an
attempt to move funding gen­erated
by the Spirit Card from
the association to a scholarship
fund.
The board's budget commit­tee
examined the possibility in
great detail during a meeting
Aug. 31, during a discussion of
whether profits made from use
of the Auburn logos and trade­marks
should be placed into a
scholarship fund.
"That would destroy the
alumni association as we know
it," said Betty DeMent, vice
president of Alumni and Devel­opment,
in an interview after
the meeting. "It would devas­tate
our budget."
Currently, the profits from
the card make up about 40 per­cent
of the association's budg­et,
bringing in approximately
$1.5 million a year.
At least three of the trustees,
Robert Lowder, Golda
McDaniel and Paul Spina, have
served as presidents of the
association, and the use of the
card has
remained the
same since it was
established.
G o l d a
McDaniel, who
recently resigned
as president of
the association
after her
appointment to
the Board of
Trustees, served
as vice president
before being
elected president, giving her
key knowledge and input to the
association's budget.
McDaniel has been a strong
"That would
destroy the
Alumni
Association as we
know it."
Betty DeMent
Vice President,
Alumni and Development
supporter of looking to the
Spirit Card for scholarship
funding, and said because of
the difficult times Auburn
faces financially, the associa­tion
should look to its budget
to aid the University.
"Miss McDaniel was aware of
our budget and
what we do with
it," DeMent said.
However, dur­ing
the time
McDaniel held
positions with the
alumni associa­tion,
these sort of
financial changes
were never imple­mented.
"I think there
could be areas cut
that would not
cut programs," McDaniel said.
The programs McDaniel
referred to are conducted by
the alumni association, often
to raise money for the Universi­ty,
often in the form of scholar­ships.
Bob Kloeti, current alumni
association president, said
McDaniel also served as vice
president of the association's
strategic planning committee,
which worked heavily with the
budget.
One of the primary concerns
the board has expressed is that
although money from the card
is advertised as intended for
scholarships, there is no direct
scholarship fund. The profits,
however, do go towards fund-raising
programs.
Trustee Robert Lowder has
been pushing for scholarship
money, frequently targeting the
Alumni Association.
"We're looking for money for
scholarships and salary
increases," Lowder said in a
post-meeting interview. "(The
> Turn to SPIRIT, B6
MAC MIRABILE — PHOTO EDITOR
FINDING FINANCES: Trustee Jimmy Samford,
president pro tern of the board, listens and participates
during' a discussion of scholarships and alumni association
funding during the board's budget committee meeting.
Enrollment numbers at all-time high
By BRIAN RUSSELL
Assistant Campus Editor
Auburn's enrollment is at an all-time
high and Interim President William
Walker said it may be time to address
how many students the University can
accommodate at the Sept. 24 University
Senate meeting.
"It's an important point," Walker said.
"Would you want 50,000 students?"
"Dr. Walker pulled some people togeth­er,
mostly administrators and a few facul­ty
— about 40 people, to identify what the
big issues are for the University as we are
looking at the future," said Jim Bradley,
chairman of University Senate.
"What Dr. Walker is saying is one of the
things that group should consider is
when you look at the future of Auburn
University, what do we think of in terms
of enrollment," Bradley said.
As of Aug. 31, there are 22,463 students
total enrolled in the University, which is
up from 21,860 a year ago.
Enrollment increased despite the
incoming freshman class for this year
being cut by 113 students, from 3,864 in
fall 2000 to 3,751 in fall 2001.
Walker said the cut in enrolled fresh­men
was intentional.
"We tried to hold that enrollment down
because last year we exceeded our ability
to handle the numbers," Walker said.
The quality of education and comfort
of students was Walker's main concern.
y- Turn to ENROLLMENT, B2
Elections may
move from SGA
Au HECK — PHOTO STAFF
FACULTY ADDRESS: Interim President William Walker addresses
University Senate during its Sept. 4 meeting to discuss the increasing
enrollment at Auburn University.
By ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Associate Campus Editor
SGA Senate is taking the first
step toward moving the elec­tions
process out of SGA's office
in Foy Student Union across the
street into Cater Hall.
Five bills coming to the sen­ate
floor this semester will call
for changes in the code of laws
and jurisprudence. If passed,
SGA will no longer govern its
own elections in-house.
As an effort to make the elec­tions
process more student-friendly,
SGA will no longer
house applications and other
forms during the elections
process.
Michael Solomon, SGA vice
president, said the push for
changes began with last year's
SGA and Elections Board, and
that small changes will be made
throughout the year to make
the process more efficient.
"(SGA) didn't think it was
fair, we just wanted to get new
people involved in the process
so things wouldn't be intimidat­ing.
So, we wanted to move it
into Cater Hall," Solomon said.
At first, the idea was to make
room for E-board in Cater Hall,
but there was not enough secre­tary
support or room for the
board. A task force was created
in the SGA to further develop
ideas for Elections Board place
on campus, resulting in all
forms and official election doc­uments
being housed in Cater
Hall
Arlana Camagna, member at-large
for E-board, said she
hopes the changes will bring
fresh faces to the election
process and SGA.
"With the move to Cater Hall,
It think it's less intimidating
and a little more Auburn
friendly," Camagna said.1,
"When you think Cater Hall,
you think Auburn, and I hope
that will make a'difference in
the next year."
The Miss Homecoming elec­tions
will serve as a trial run,
once changes are implemented.
Drew Parker, secretary of
political affairs, said the Miss
Auburn elections will give stu­dents
a chance to try the new
system of picking up and drop­ping
off paperwork at Cater
Hall on a smaller scale, since
the election is not as large as
SGA elections.
"Miss Homecoming is a good
warm-up for us, I think after all
the changes are made, the elec­tion
process will run a lot
smoother. We'll just have to see
how it goes though," Parker
said.
PARTTWO IN THREE-PART SERIES ON HAZING
DYING
Freshman forum
could see changes
By ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Associate Campus Editor
After debate from members
of the executive committee,
SGA Senate tabled a bill calling
for a code of laws change for
Freshman Forum.
The bill, favored by past
Freshman Forum members and
advisers was tabled to allow for
discussion within senate and
Freshman Forum representa­tives
before being presented on
the senate floor at next week's
meeting.
The code of laws changes
would take the current 60-
member organization down to
45, after an application and
new interview process. Other
new requirements include: a
list of personal ideas for Fresh-
> Turn to SGA, B5
JOIN II
By ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Associate Campus Editor
Last week readers gained
insight into Auburn's history of
hazing. This week we take a look
at current issues on hazing.
Hazing has existed in various
forms throughout organizations
across time and in various geo­graphic
locations. It is not
exclusive to men, women,
Greeks, independents, the mili­tary,
civilians or twenty-some­things.
It is a worldwide issue
that has been brought home to
this University after incidents
like the death of Phi Delta
Theta's Chad Saucier and Jason
Jones suit against Kappa Alpha
Order, Inc.
After the hazing incidents in
the early '90s, members of the
Auburn family questioned the
traditions that cost the lives of
students and the respect of
alumni.
Hank Nuwer, author of
"Wrongs of Passage," spoke at
last year's fall formal fraternity
rush convocation. He warned
would-be members of the fra­ternity
system about the dan­gers
of hazing. Nuwer said
necessary and preventative
changes were made as a result
of Saucier's death and other
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hazing cases.
"Auburn was making an effort
not to have another death after
the Chad Saucier incident, and
to have a good time," Nuwer
said.
Yet, despite progress, other
alleged occurrences of hazing
have been reported within the
last year.
Four calls were made last year
to the hazing hotline for mem-
MAC MIRABILE — PHOTO EDITOR
bers of Greek organizations to
anonymously report hazing on
campus. According to Jamie
Mantooth, Interfraternity
Council adviser, two of the calls
were specific.
"I don't want to say which
(Greek organizations) is on pro­bation
right now and they are
taking steps to rectify the situa-
• Turn to HAZING, B2
NQQCI to VOICQ Your
Opinion?
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B2 W$t Auburn $latnsiman Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001
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GET READY FOR
SIGN ON WITH
CAREER
CONNECTIONS!
Your Connection to On-Campus Interviews
and the CDS Resume Data Base
Access CareerConnections through the CDS website at
wwvr.auburn.edu/eareer - Student Services - CareerConnections
Follow instructions on-line to view the orientation information.
or attend
Career Connections Orientation Sessions
Tues. 9/11 10:30 am RBD Library Auditorium Wed. 9/19 3:30 pm RBD Library Auditorium
CareerConnections is your best bet for making contact with companies interested in Auburn graduates.
For a $25 fee, charged to your Bursar account, you become eligible to take part in on-campus interviews
and have your resume available to any company or organization interested in your particular skills,
education, and experience. Follow instructions on-line to view the orientation information.
EDUCATION
INTERVIEW DAY!
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Student Registration
8:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m.
Students Browse and
Schedule Interviews
10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Student Interviews
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Auburn U n i v e r s i t y Hotel &
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Don't miss the chance
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^ f * ^ ^ Sponsored by Career Development Services & The Student Success Center
Please see our website at www.auburn.edu/career/.
A division ot Student Affairs. '
T O P E — T
ENROLLMENT
"If we add another 1,000 stu­dents
or 5,000 students, do we
have the facilities to handle
them; do we have the faculty to
handle them; or are we going to
have to spend another $50 mil­lion
on facilities," Walker said.
"Those are the issues you have
to consider when you begin let­ting
in more students.
"Even though they each bring
tuition with them, tuition may
not cover everything we need,"
Walker said.
HAZING:
Despite a new admissions
policy for the University, appli­cations
for fall 2002 enrollment
are up.
As of Aug. 28, the University
had received 2,206 applications
for fall 2002 enrollment, up
from 1,551 a year ago.
As of that same date, there
were already 1,142 students
whose applications were
accepted for the coming year,
up from 980 a year ago.
"So it looks like the enroll­ments
are holding and we will
continue to experience growth,
or the potential for growth, that
we have had," Walker said.
Walker said the question that
everyone is going to have to
tackle is how many people
Auburn'can hold.
"I think this institution could
probably grow to 40,000 — I
think it would be a terrible mis­take,"
Walker said. "It's a friend­ly,
tight campus with a
family-type atmosphere.
"You increase the enrollment
very much and that is going to
go away."
tion," Mantooth said. "At this point it wouldn't
help the situation to mention their names."
According to records from investigations, the
phone calls indicated two Greek organizations on
Auburn's campus have been accused of alleged
hazing since last fall semester.
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was placed
on probation after hazing allegedly occurred last
year. As a result, the fraternity was taken before
IFC court and was put on social probation. SAE
remained on probation until it was placed on pro­bation
again for a violation of the social proba­tion.
A brother of SAE, who wishes to remain anony­mous,
said the alleged hazing took place last fall
and the fraternity has tried to correct past mis­takes.
"Really, as a fraternity we don't believe in haz­ing.
There were some problems in the past and
we've tried to correct those. Now there is
absolutely no hazing at all."
The SAE brother said the fraternity's national
organization has supported the chapter since the
beginning of the investigation.
"Nationals felt the incident was minor and rec­ommended
steps to improve the pledge program,"
he said
Since the probation sentence, SAE began to
abide by all University, IFC and national policies
for anti-hazing; strictly monitored by IFC and
leaders of the fraternity's Auburn chapter.
"There is going to be no incidence (of hazing),
and since the criteria for IFC is no hazing, then
we'll be off probation in spring," the SAE brother
said.
However, fraternities do not hold a monopoly
on hazing.
Two National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities
on Auburn's campus were also investigated for
alleged hazing activities last year.
The national Alpha Kappa Alpha organization
placed its Auburn chapter on suspension for vio­lations
of its hazing policy. As a result, the sorority
is not a current member of the University's Greek
system.
Deborah Shaw, director of Foy Student Union,
said the AKA national organization brought the
alleged hazing activity to the attention of the
Office of Student Affairs and said it would like to
see the organization back on campus.
"When they fulfill their suspension time limit
we completely want them back," Shaw said. "It's
important for us to have a strong Greek system,
but we want these incidents to be worked out of
the system."
The other sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, was
placed on probation last spring for alleged hazing
that took place after pledging began.
After attempts to reach members of both AKA
and Delta, no one was available for comment.
The University and its Greek system have taken
steps to end hazing at Auburn with renovated
pledge programs, the hazing hotline, speakers
and an aggressive approach to investigating haz­ing
allegations.
During the last few years pledges have been the
target audience for anti-hazing activities and pro­gramming
on campus in hopes to flush out the
probloms with the new pledge classes.
"Violations of hazing policy are taken very seri­ously
by national organizations and by the Uni­versity,"
Shaw said.
"They have to understand what hazing is, that
it's against national policies, University policies
and it's wrong. If all the pledges refuse (hazing),
what's a fraternity going to do? It's their life
blood."
After speaking with pledges and Greek advisers
at the University, Nuwer said he got the feeling
things are going to change for the better.
"Some campuses have a policing attitude
toward things like this, but here it seemed they
wanted the students to do this for Auburn. They
put a lot of faith in their students."
Read next week's edition to learn about changes
in the Greek system and the improvements to end
hazing on Auburn's campus.
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Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 tTOfje Auburn ^latnsiman b3
/SEPTEMBER
s T H F S Camous O^ m /SEPTEMBERN
' S T H F S
wggcg *~ ' BTlUffi - \m m 11J
ANNOUNCEMENTS
You are invited to help cele­brate
Dean Foy's 85 birthday on
Oct. 20 from 10 a.m.-noon
before the homecoming game
at Foy Student Union. Please
send birthday cards c/o Heather
Mack, 228 Foy Student Union.
The Montgomery Ballet pres­ents
Ballet & the Beasts Sept. 7.
Free admission and perform­ance.
Zoo gates open at 6:30
p.m. for picnicking! Perfor­mance
begins at 7:30 p.m. Call
240-4900.
Auburn Tennis Society is
offering free tennis lessons
Thursdays at 6 p.m. on courts
11-12.
Auburn Open Tennis Tourna­ment,
Sept. 20-23. Visit
www.auburn.edu/tennis or call
502-0722.
The Auburn Circle is now
accepting submissions for the
fall 2001 issue. Submit by email
at auburncircle@yahoo.com or
bring by The Circle office locat­ed
in the basement of Foy Stu­dent
Union.
It's two weeks into the semes­ter
and already sick of Ramen
noodles? Then come to Auburn
Christian Fellowship Thursdays
at 6 p.m. for a free home-cooked
dinner. 315 S. Gay Street.
www.auburn.edu/acf
Come hear the word at
Auburn Christian Fellowship.
Bible study at 6:45 p.m. Tues­days
with a free dinner at 6 p.m.
Visit www.auburn.edu/acf
Lee County Democratic Club
meeting Sept. 10 at the Best
Western University Center, 1577
S. College St. in Auburn begin­ning
at 6 p.m. Public is invited.
Call 826-9713 or e-mail
josiewalsh@mindspring.com.
Listen to Gerald on "The
Bread of Life," a contemporary
gospel show, Sundays from 7-10
a.m. on WEGL 91.1 FM.
Silver Wings Orientation!
Sept. 10,146 Nichols Center at 6
p.m. We provide opportunities
to develop professional and
leadership skills. Call Sabrina at
501-1750 or e-mail silver-wingflame@
aol.com. •
The Outreach Program Office
will be offering a course to pre­pare
you to take the GRE. The
class will be taught Oct. 27-28.
Call 844-5101 for more informa­tion
or to register.
Calligraphy will be taught
through the Outreach Program
Office for those who would like
to improve their penmanship.
All classes are in the evening.
Call 844-5101.
Social Phobia Therapy Group
Auburn University Psychologi­cal
Services Center. Prescreen-ing
required. Fee required for
8-10 a.m. sessions, on Wednes­days
3:30-5 p.m. Call 844-4889.
Adult ADD/ADHD Therapy
Group Auburn University Psy­chological
Services Center. Doc­umentation
of diagnosis
required, as is pre-screening.
Fee required for 8 sessions. Call
844-4889.
MEETINGS
Co-op Registration meetings
will be held on the following
dates in the Lowder Business
Building:
Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. in room 155
Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. in room 019
Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. in room 129
Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. in room 155
Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. in room 110
Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. in room 110
Beyond is a student role-play­ing
organization. Come out and
see what's up, Wednesday at 7
p.m. in 203 Foy Student Union.
E-mail beyond@aubum.edu.
Project Uplift pairs caring
adults with at-risk youth in Lee
County. Now we need you! Sept.
9 1-5 p.m. 2228 Haley Center.
Call 844-4430.
Auburn Women's Organiza­tion:
Concerned about the safe­ty
of you and your friends on
campus? So are we! Join us to
work for change at Auburn. All
welcome! Meetings Tuesdays,
5:30 p.m. 2222 Haley Center.
Auburn Wesley Foundation
meets Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. for
Bible study, Thursdays at 6 p.m.
for fellowship dinner and Sun­days
at 8 p.m. for worship. Bring
a friend. Call 887-3101 or visit
www.auburn.edu/wesley
What do you think of the
size of Auburn's campus?
SGA President Riddick-Seals addresses student ticket wait
After much concern addressed by students
following Saturday's unexpected delays al the
student entry gates ofJordan-Hare Stadium, key
University officials met to re-evaluate the process
and find more appropriate and efficient means
to address the problem.
Student Government Association President.
Brandon Riddick-Seals, was in attendance and
provided timely input concerning steps that
shall be taken to better administer the needed
wristbands for entry to the student section of the
stadium. Much of the concern that was
expressed by students was the lack of personnel
for application of the student wristbands; as well
as only 10 of the 12 student gates being operable.
After much deliberation, the following steps
were concluded upon to belter address the prob­lems
faced during the football season opener:
Instead of only 10 gates being used, all 12 shall
be operable with three attendants per gate. One
to expedite the process of scanning Tiger Cards,
and two additional attendants to administer
wristbands to those students identified as valid
student-ticket holders.
Students are urged to access available Tiger
Card scanners located outside of the stadium
throughout the week prior to gameday. The
checking of one's card will better allow t raffle to
flow at student gates due to an individual having
prior knowledge of whether their card is opera­ble
or not
Students are also urged to be mindful of the
expected delay if entry to the stadium is only
shortly before kick-off. For fewer delays, it is
encouraged to enter the stadium in a timely
fashion therefore allowing for a more comfort­able
(low of traffic.
Also, members of the SGA shall be on hand at
each of the student gales to assist in the event of
such an occurrence in Ihc future.
'fhe SGA is working to remedy those issues
negatively affecting the students of Auburn Uni­versity:
therefore wc encourage students to pro­vide
timely input and be assured that heir needs
are being addressed.
— Brandon Riddick-Seals
SGA President
w
m
u
o
D
O
U
o
"The campus is at its
ideal size now — I don't
think we are capable of
accommodating any
more students
effectively."
Eva Bidgood
Sophomore,
public relations
"We need more dorms
if we are going to
expand. There's not
adequate housing for
incoming freshmen."
Ashley Taylor
Sophomore,
pre-veterinary
medicine
"I think it's about
right. You don't see RH
everyone you know.
You're always around
different people."
David Hagins
Sophomore,
biochemistry
"I think it's too big.
The classes are a good
size, but as a student
you feel like a number."
Rachel Hudson
Freshman,
pre-veterinary
medicine
"The buildings are too
far apart, and we need
newer dorms to
accommodate us."
Crystal Moncrief
Freshman,
engineering
— Photos and Interviews by Jennifer Murphy/Assistant Photo Editor
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With New Activation Receive:
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Free Leather Case
Free Handsfree Earbud
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215 N College St
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54.502.3365 f/haffiffl!
Next to Papa Johns Author^ D«i«r
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All allocated aiitime minutesmust be used in the month provided ancl do not carry over Applicable taxes, assessments, tolls, and dual-mode (analog) long-distance, and roamingcharges are ad d 1 ional. Our digital PCS system is not compatible with ana­log
TTV which may delay orprevent emeigency calls. Additional restrictions may apply. Call 1-800-937-8997 or seea VoiceStream representative formore details. VoiceStream is a registered trademark of VoiceStream Wireless Corporation.
Who doesn't want to have fun
this time of year?
No one, that's who!
That's why we work
so hard at the AU
Medical Clinic!
We want to keep you feeling good and
doing the things you love.
So come by and see the dedicated providers at
the Auburn University Medical Clinic!
And since being sick
doesn't always happen
during the week, we're
open on Saturdays from
8am-12pm.
Hours: Mon 8am-6pm, Tues/
Wed/Fri 8am-5pm, Thu 9am-
6pm, Sat 8am-12pm. (Hours
subject to change.)
Call 844-4416
for an appointment!
Auburn University Medical Clinic
Thursday, Sept. 6,2001 tEfte gfabutn $latns;man B5
Ag college presents a-maize-ing maze
Cornfield maze dons fancy pictures, shapes, AU logo
By TIFFANYTRUEBLOOD
Staff Writer
There is a new way to get lost on campus
this fall, thanks to the College of Agricul­ture.
The college has constructed the Corn-
Field Maize on campus, which opened Aug.
30 and will remain open until Oct. 31.
The maze consists of numerous pathways
cut into a field of 9-foot-tall corn. With
more than two miles of paths and no light­ing,
it may take more than an hour to find
the exit.
"We came up with the idea after seeing an
article in the December issue of Progressive
Farmer about corn mazes," said Bill Hardy,
associate dean for the College of Agricul­ture.
Bob Schmidt, a Greenback, Tenn., farmer,
attracted more than 27,000 visitors to his
field and collected more than $110,000 for
his maze.
Hardy said he felt a similar event could
give major funding to the proposed Ag Her­itage
Park, a project designed to present and
preserve the role Auburn University has
played in Alabama's agriculture.
"The total cost for Heritage Park is esti­mated
at $2.5 to $3 million," Hardy said. "We
already have $1.2 million thanks to the Con­cession
Board, the Alabama Farmers Feder­ation
and the Lowder family. All proceeds
from this event will also go towards Her­itage
Park."
As planning began on the CornField
Maize, outside help was brought in.
Blake and Rod Huffstutler came to
Auburn from Locust Fork and supervised
the planting, design and operation of the
maze.
The brothers have been running corn
mazes for four years throughout the state.
"This is the first year that we have run
more than one maze at a time," Blake said.
"But they have always been quite successful
and fun."
The corn was double planted on May 15
to ensure a thick stand of corn.
Kochan named
education dean
CONTRIBUTED
The product of months of work, the Colllege of Agriculture's CornField
Maize opened in August and will stay open through Halloween.
MORE INFORMATION
>• Call (887) 787-6293 or visit
www.ag.auburn.edu or
www.cornfieldmaze.com.
The pathways were cut in June, taking six
people and 12 hours of work and making a
design in the field which can only be seen
from the air.
"We knew we wanted the AU symbol and
somethine that svmbolized aericulture in
the design," Hardy said.
The final design was found by walking
into a local bookstore and seeing the Col­lege
of Agriculture car decal featuring Aubie
riding a tractor.
It opened Aug. 30 and will run through
Oct. 31, when it will be decorated for
Halloween.
The CornField Maize is located behind
the Hill dorms on Woodfield Drive off of
Donahue Drive.
A concession stand sells drinks and glow
sticks to take through the maze.
"I thought to myself, here's something we
can do," Hardy said. "And with all of the neg­ative
things around, from proration to talk
of trustees, we needed something fun and
exciting that we can all enjoy." .
Business hours are Tuesday and Wednes­day
from 5-10 p.m., Thursday and Friday
from 5-11 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. -
11p.m.
Entrance fees are $6 for ages 12 and up, $4
for ages 4 to 6, and children under 5 get in
free. College students can receive $1 off
admission with their student IDs.
By TODD MCDONALD
Staff Writer
Dr. Frances Kochan is the
new interim dean of the College
of Education.
Kochan became dean in mid-
July after former dean Bichard
Kunkel left to become dean of
the Florida State University
College of Education.
She has a positive outlook for
the future of the College of Edu­cation,
citing Auburn's accred­ited
education program and
distinguished faculty as her
reasons.
"It's really inspiring to see
young people who are coming
into education and are willing
to commit their
lives to it,"
Kochan said of "It's really
education stu- jppfrfog t0 see
As dean, she yOUng people who
would like to
"map out a plan
for the future,"
Frances Kochan
College of Education Dean
SGA: Senate tables bill to
restructure Freshman Forum
From B!
man Forum, a high school GPA
of 2.5 or above, a $10 applica­tion
fee and an essay of 200
words or less, explaining a pre­vious
leadership experience.
Jay McFarland, executive
committee chairman, said he
would feel more comfortable
with the bill if there had been
more time to discuss it with­in
SGA.
"I would like more time. It's
kind of crazy to get he ball
rolling in the right direction
since it's the beginning of
school," McFarland said.
"There are some pretty serious
changes and I think we should
have known about it before."
The once-anonymous appli­cation
will now be paired with
a judged interview by previ­ous
Freshman Forum direc­tors,
an SGA executive staff
member, a faculty member
and an SGA cabinet adviser, a
Freshman Forum adviser or a
Freshman Year Experience
office staff member.
Britney Kemeys, freshman
forum director, • said the
changes are necessary to make
the organization productive.
"We just wanted to do some­thing
different," Kemeys said.
"Freshman Forum is looking
to find its groove and I think
this is the way to do it."
Kemeys said the organiza­tion
needed to be revamped
and down-sized to promote
quality leadership and to
increase its effectiveness on •
campus.
"Last year we had a lot of
people who were left around
and didn't really take a leader­ship
role," Kemeys said.
Another issue discussed was
the rise in application costs
for Freshman Forum appli­cants
to $10 from $7. The
increase resulted in the
removal of the Freshman
Council Program Conference,
now a cabinet position.
"We are just trying to do a
lot of different things to bring
diversity to this group and to
find its niche on campus,"
Kemeys said.
In other business, SGA
unanimously passed a code of
laws change to Elections
Board.
The bill moves the review of
elections violations from the
student senate to the senate
Jurisprudence Committee.
If charged with a campaign
violation, a candidate will now
receive notice in writing. If the
candidate can provide new
evidence against the violation,
the case will be reviewed by E-board,
with appeals going
straight to Jurisprudence.
are coming into
education and are
to keep a focus WUUng to Commit
and continue to . . . . . „
do well. their lives to it
Kochan also
plans to look
for ways to
interact with
the Dublic and
the College of Education stu­dent
council.
Her guiding philosophy
toward her goals is, "Build on
our past, excel in our present
and focus on our future."
Before her current position,
Kochan was the associate dean
for administration and
research, director of the Tru­man
Pierce Institute, and a pro­fessor
in Educational
Leadership — all within the
College of Education.
Other jobs Kochan has
worked include being a class­room
teacher, a principal and a
superintendent at an FSU labo­ratory
school in Tallahassee.
Her experience as a class­room
teacher has led Kochan to
distant parts of the globe. She
spent four years in Guam as a
teacher and director of special
projects. Another four years of
her life were spent on the Trust
Territory of the Pacific.
Kochan cites bringing cultur­ally
relevant material to stu­dents
and coordinating
cooperative efforts between
businesses and social services
as some of her accomplish­ments
at previous jobs.
While in Florida, Kochan
helped start one of the first
family-friendly
school, which
went on to win an
award. Family-friendly
schools
encourage fre­quent
interaction
between schools
and students' fam­ilies.
With the Tru­man
Pierce Insti­tute,
Kochan
helped create the
3-year-old West
Alabama Learning
Coalition. This
group coordinates mentoring
programs in West Alabama.
Kochan said work and writ­ing
within her field are two of
her hobbies.
She has written many arti­cles
and one book, "Voices
from the Field." The book is
about the jobs of school super­intendents
and principals. She
has written another book,
"The Human and Organiza­tional
Dimension of Mentor­ing
in Diverse Settings," which
will be out soon.
r
Write for The Plainsman,
Meetings are every
Wednesday at 7 p.m. in
B-100 Foy Student Union
756 E. Glenn Ave.
Glenn Dean
Shopping
Center
826-6050
Redeem This Ad For
A Free Order Of
Bread Stix
Open Late Thursday, Friday, Saturday!
•jap;::.
Big into
The Plainsman.
Become A
Project Uplift Volunteer
Project Uplift is an agency
whose goal is to uplift the lives
of the children in our county. Vol­unteers
and children establish
one-to-one relationships.
Anyone considering
volunteering may see
volunteers and children
interacting by attending a
Roller Skating Party
Sept. 10* 6:15-8:1S pm at
Lambert's Skate Center
Upcoming Training Sessions
Date
September 9
September 17
October 7
October 23
Time
1-5 pm
4-8 pm
1-5 pm
4-8 pm
Location
2228 Haley Center
2228 Haley Center
2228 Haley Center
2212 Haley Center
Call 844-4430 or visit 1130 Haley Center for more information
Project Uplift is a program of the Lee County Youth Development Center, is a United Way Agency
and It housed In Ine AU Psychology Department In trie College of Liberal Arts
Visit the
| ^jpr Message Boards at...
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Y O U R S O U R C E F O R A U B U R N N E WS
B6 Cfje Auburn plainsman Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001
WU S7iU1XE(hPfSl
if you're Cooking for a smaCC,
friendly church where everybody
mows your name, piease join us at
'Peppered 'UnitedMethodist Church
200 26th St. % Opetika
Virginia (Beckham, Pastor
745-4103
Let us he yourfamiCy
away from home
The
Book Rack
1/2 Price Everyday
OPEN
9:30
TO
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and wonderful gifts!
Great place to shop
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Monday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm
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821-2408
We are open every
morning at 7aml
Coffee
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Cheesecake, Pies & Yummy Cookies
Birthday, Wedding & Graduation CakesI
Premium Line of Coffee & Tea Beverages
Plus much morel
Taylor's Bakery
132 North College Street
Call 502-1112
Facilities improves campus lighting
University
committed to
better lighting as
result of recent
security problems
on campus
By FAITH FORD
Intrigue Editor
Construction on a long-range
plan to increase campus
lighting will begin Oct. 1, and
is scheduled to be finished by
the end of the semester, said
Tom Tillman, university plan­ner.
"This is a high-priority proj­ect
to get the lighting done,"
Tillman said.
"The president's committed
to it, the facilities division is
devoted to it and it actually
doesn't take long to make it
happen."
Last spring six groups
including SGA, facilities and
an outside consultant divided
the campus into seven zones
and toured the areas nightly,
noting dark spots.
"We tried to
consolidate all
of the six dif­ferent
memos
that I received,"
said Tillman,
who also
toured the
campus.
"I asked
myself is it
dim, dark or
dangerous," Tillman said. "The
key was 16 consolidate and
CECE SATTERWHITE — PHOTO STAFF
Further improvements are planned for dim areas around campus, like this C-zone
parking lot for Hill dorm residents between the band practice field and the Arboretum.
decide."
The lighting improvements
were divided into three differ­ent
categories;
"Auburn is a really walkways, road
safe town and it
really riles people
up when something
like this happens."
ways and park­ing
lots.
Fifty acorn
lights for walk­ing
areas, 14
shoebox lights
for streets and
roadways and
nine parking lot
lights were
ordered.
I think you're going to see
Tom Tillman
University Planner
some notable change," Tillman
said.
In addition to the new light­ing,
repairs have been made on
all the inoperable lights.
"That was a big help, just to
get those fixed." Tillman said.
Improved lighting has
already been completed on all
three phases of the Max Mor­ris
parking lot.
According to senior project
manager Randy King, the
lighting was scheduled for
improvement after recent
security problems on campus.
"We doubled the street
lighting and ad