2003-01-16 The Auburn Plainsman

              City might change parking regulations A3/ Students, University officials discuss parking Bl
Thursday, Jan. 16,2003 TO FOSTER THE AUBURN SPIRIT Vol. 109, No. 15,44 Pages
SACS INVESTIGATION
Report
has its
critics
Somefaculty
complain report
biased toward
trustees
By LINDSAY EVANS
Campus Editor
It all boils down to 35 pages.
On those pages are the
words Auburn constituents
have waited years to read —
they are the verdict, or should
have been.
It has been a drawn-out
process, and everyone involved
is tired.
The accused are weary and
ready to be left alone, the
accusers seem to have exhaust­ed
all options for proving their
case.
And the report is finally out.
The investigation comes
after nine votes of no confi­dence
in the board in 2001, fac­ulty
and community outcry so
loud it was heard in The New
York Times, a call to the South­ern
Association of Colleges and
Schools to investigate and the
lengthy lawsuit that followed.
The report, composed by
Richard Bradley, a court-appointed
Columbus. Ga.. legal
expert, was published Dec. 13
after Bradley spent Sept. 18
through Nov. 15 conducting 52
interviews and combing the
campus for clues.
Bradley examined nine com­plaints
filed in 2001 by the Joint
Assessment Committee, an ad
hoc committee formed by Uni­versity
Senate leaders, with
SACS, the University's accredit­ing
body. He then matched
them with SACS criteria to see
if Auburn was in violation.
The board was found guilty
of "micromanaging" in their
involvement in the 1999 elimi­nation
of the business option
for Ph.D in economics.
"With regard to the former
> Turn to RESPONSE, A9
The
TIMELINE OF SACS INVESTIGATION
> March !3,2.001 —TheUniversity Auburn University with special
Senate establishes the Joint Assess- attention to the performance of die
ment Committee. Its purpose is to Board of Trustees, the faculty, and
find ways to evaluate Auburn's the administration in shared gover-
Board of Trustees. nance" be done by SACS.
>April 3, 200 ! — The JAC recom- >*july 20, 200! — The University
mends "that an external, objective sends its several hundred page
and independent assessment of response to SACS about the com­plaints.
SACS is planning for an
October 2001 visit.
> August 8. 2001 — Interim Presi­dent
William Walker sues SACS for
violation of due process.
• Sept. 27, 2001 — The judge pre­siding
over the case recuses herself,
and a new one is appointed. The
SACS investigation is postponed
indefinitely.Walker said the investi­gation
should be completed by June
2002.
V Jan. 14, 2002 — No ruling on the
> Turn to TIMELINE, A9
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Nominating committee almost finished
Barron pledges not to
halt process
By HEATH LOFTIN
State & Local Editor
Last Saturday may have marked one of the
last meetings of the Auburn University trustee
selection committee.
The committee met to interview a second
group of the candidates seeking three vacant
positions on the Auburn University Board of
Trustees.
Don Logan, committee chairman, former
president of the Alumni Association and AOL
Time Warner executive, said he believes the
committee will be ready to go public with its
nominations very soon.
"We plan to get together the next day or so by
phone and maybe not make a final decision but,
at least, get close," Logan said. "1 think we are
obviously getting close because our deadline for
making selections this week is very close."
The committee consists of five members
including Logan, Alumni Association represen­tative
Andy Hornsby, Alumni Association rep­resentative
Owen Brown, Auburn trustee
Robert Lowder and Auburn trustee Jimmy Sam-ford.
Logan was appointed to the committee by
Gov. Don Siegelman, who declined the position
earlier this year.
Gov.-elect Bob Riley recently announced his
intention to replace Logan on the committee
INSIDE:
>• Our view/A8
when he takes office on Jan. 20.
"Having represented Auburn the last couple
of years, (Riley) has grown to love Auburn," said
Riley's spokesman David Azbell. "That is why
he has taken such interest in the nomination
process."
Many believe this could possibly change the
structure of the committee as Logan is a mem­ber
of the Alumni Association and Auburn
Trustee Political Action Committee is allied
with Brown and Hornsby.
The board and the Alumni Association have
> Turn to TRUSTEES, A3
INSIDE
National champion
Aubie wins the 2003 national mascot
championship Bl
INDEX
Campus BI Intrigue
Campus Calendar B4 Letters
Classifieds B9 Sports ,
Editorials AI0 State*Local .
...CI
. . A l l
. . . D l
...A4
INTRIGUE
Not a regular day
Monday's holiday remembers
American great CI
SPORTS
Stampede
J Alabama comes to town to
face the men's and women's
basketball teams Dl
WWW.THEPLAINSMAN.COM
Online poll
Should America go to war with Iraq?
Log on, vote, view results at www.theploinsmon.com
Yes ET No
> POT STUDENT UNION.AU1URN UNIVERSITY,AL. *6B4f a SUBSCRIPTIONS* §44-4130 • A0VERT1SINGiS44-»IO2
I
A2 Thursday, Jan. 16. 2003 3TI)r Auburn pninstnaii
tKIje Auburn plainsman
lo hosier ilir Auburn Siurit
rhr Auhiini PbitiMi HUIKUM iidk-wl nvwsnapcrol AuhtirnUnlwrKity.il hprtiducvdvnUKl) In .imliinsimi! i.
hcu-'t J In lis adVLTliMitgri'tvtiuc The Auburn Plainsjiian is nuniished every I tiur.U«> anil mt-raijrv IS prim-in$>
pct M • '. ,ii: l! ..it N.ud Invnliturijiti, AulHirn students and faculty. Plmic take only tine otrt) I ir.t
mp) free HldilHinalatriiCNtin s\m. sull nnvhiic..trt'Uidiu-sil.ivv Tptn in'li-lUI rbySludt nl I mini *
_ _ . BUSI\'i:SsS1AM
Kent KruimkA Busiru'S), .Managrr...844-,J102
Allison Kicvis Assistant Manager
TannerMecks layout Coordinator
T.J. dott Circulation Director
Katie Atkins/Copy Uditor
Megan McCool. Creative Director
EDIH1KIA1 S3 M I
Adamjones/Edilor.....844-902]
Justin Smith, Managing Editor
Copy 844-9108
Ginnv Farmer/ Editoi
Brooklyn Noel Associate Editoi
Katie Rahmei Assistant Editoi
lancWalkei Assistant Editor
I auren Glenn Assistant Editor
Campus S44-9US
Lindsay Evans Editor
Anna Claire Stamps Assistant Editoi
James DifTee .Usivt.int Editoi
Statc&Local S44-9109
Heath Loftin I ditoi
Rebecca Davis Assistant Editoi
raisha Pickett Assistant Editoi
Intrigue 844-9112
lanicc Krew, Editoi
Cam Pare! I Assistant Editor
Brooke McCarlej Assistant Editoi
Spurts 844-9104
Brian Kane Editi i
Michael rhompson/Assistant Editoi
Russell Mi • •< Assistant Editor
Design Photo 844-9157
hank Dillai : I'd..:,, 1 ditot
ill i ill Assistant Photo
Katie Brumbeloe/Assistant I'holo
Design Editoi
. • .•. \ n Editoi
Account Executives....
Erin Martin
S,iiall Hudson
Allison Reeves
J.T. Hombuckle
Courtney Lesley
Justin King
Patricia Coopei
Saya Thompson
Kevin l.ott
rheresaStoll
Pete Schwartz
Paul Kardous
AsimAli
Patrick Rice
....844-9107
....844-9120
....844-9102
ADVERTISING POLICIES
• ' .'., i., . (.tftiAlJi'.nm.ii w<rdjiK!5iVl!i«Mi»dt-iavaiidiSi'(iiL»tw.iitiJiJili.iiuil
it rutnlbni»«n .ivdii.il it •illKHafTu J;iniii:h,iM!n-,*tt«irs. Dublin* ,-.| rxin Jl-l.<,pju l*»;il AKIT-
• • - , •> . \faiu lllillKh IVikJJiiKl.M.iH.KhtniMivswu'n^.i^wUiiii^lri-
•-,- 4347* iMMt».-JniHn VtitimLiintTMlvAl .tWJM^h iiurml;tWxH».,MULU.
1 • sti!^n|Hi.itiN an- yHl.u.ir SKJ Nt*mMi.-t" IYn<«diiviK [>i-Lai.v paid *l AuUint, \\.
:-iv:.,|!v/\i*litnillti:Lxj:uiLi^Kl>K*Sti»iiiiil tiMi. ^iximl tmvr\ily Al .**#>
(EI)r auburn <piams.man
Hosted by clonal partner
i network
BEsffiaf jfiji ( M l
Brewery • Restaurant Featuring Riley Yielding
Wednesday M n p l l f j il
3:30 - 9 p.m. Buy met one free
& 2 for l pitchers
Upcoming Events
Bands starting @ 9:30 p.m.
Tim. 16 : Beat Buzz
x-Box Competition
Win a Bud Lite
Fri. 17 : Ethan and The Ewoks
Sun. 19. AFC & NFC Championship Game
OPEN LUt Be hind Kaz & Municipal parking lol.
Tau Kappa Epsilon Alumni
Faculty/Staff Members
Local Residents
Beta Lambda Chapter
Recolonization Efforts
Set for January 2003
Alumni From All Chapters
Welcome To Assist
334-749-3814
Elsewhere...
IN EDUCATION
University of Florida -
Police have noticed an
increase in crystal metham-phetamine
and ecstasy use
among University of Florida
s t u d e n t s in t h e rave scene,
said Alachua County Sheriff's
Office spokesmen Keith Faulk.
Although the increase in
drug use has been restricted
to crystal meth and ecstasy,
police have noticed a consis­tent
issue with crack cocaine
and marijuana, said
Gainesville Police Department
spokesmen Keith Kamcg.
In 2002, t h e Sheriff's Office
reported 574 drug-related
cases. •
He said that in each of t he
cases, multiple arrests could
he made.
In order to catch drug dis­tributors.
Faulk said under­cover
agents will perform
controlled buys on the street
and then charge the suspect
based on how many sales he
made to the agent.
In cases of student-related
drug arrests, Faulk said that it
is more difficult to catch the
drug dealers.
University of Mississippi-
By t h e end of January the
University of Mississippi Judi­cial
Board will convene to
decide what to do with the
three s t u d e n t s charged in the
Nov. 6 Kincannon Hall race
i n c i d e n t
University of Alabama -
Freshman year is often an
exciting time for an incoming
University of Alabama stu­dent,
but amid the excitement
often lies anxiety about
adjusting to college life.
A recent survey has found
t h i s adjustment brings many
changes in s t u d e n t s ' beha%'ior
and a t t i t u d e s . According to
survey results, many freshmen
drink more alcohol, study a
l i t t le harder a n d spend less
time on volunteer work and
exercise than they did in high
school.
The survey, called "Your
First College Year." was given
in April to t h e same students
who participated in an earlier
survey, given during their first
week on campus last fall.
Nearly 25,000 freshmen at 109
four-year colleges took the
survey. Both surveys were
conducted by t h e Higher Edu­cation
Research I n s t i t u t e at
t h e University of California at
L.oS'Angeles, and were also
supported by t h e Pew Charita­ble
Trusts and the Policy Cen­ter
on the First Year of College
at Brevard College.
The results showed that
while freshmen seem to adjust
well socially to college life,
many struggle academically.
By t h e end of freshman year,
t h e number of s t u d e n t s sur-veved
who said they were "f're-
Many people were surprised quentlv overwhelmed" by all
to learn that those who con­fessed
to writing the racial
slurs on the doors of black
students in Kincannon Hall
were also black.
Most students had already
packed their bags to leave for
winter break when university
communications released
information on Dec. 12 that
three s t u d e n t s had been
charged.
The decision about whether
the t h r e e can remain at Ole
Miss lies with the university
judicial board. This bodv is
made up of eight students,
eight faculty members, a stu­dent
chair and an assistant
chair.
In a closed hearing, whose
date according to university
relations has not yet been set.
the board will hear the stu­dents'
testimonies and decide
whether to issue a verbal rep­rimand,
mandate community
service, restitution, suspen­sion
or expulsion or a combi­nation
of penalties.
According to university
communications, the stu­dents
claim the graffiti was
meant as a prank directed at
acquaintances. Although the
three s t u d e n t s confessed
responsibility for the graffiti
to the university, the adminis­tration
will not release their
names.
Ole Miss made national
headlines when the graffiti
was first discovered.
they had to do had grown to
37.8 percent, up from 29.9 per­cent
when they entered col­lege.
While s t u d e n t s reported
studying more than they did
in high school, most got lower
grades in college t h a n they
had expected. Ninety-seven
percent guessed they had
"some chance" or a "very good
chance" of getting a B average
their freshman year, but only
77 percent actually did.
Many also became adept at
working a keg. The percentage
of s t u d e n t s who drank beer
frequently or occasionally
grew from 45.8 percent at the
beginning of freshman year, to
58.5 percent by t h e end of
freshman year. The number of
s t u d e n t s who said they party
six or more hours per week
rose to 26.5 percent from 21.4
p e r c e n t
1 he survey also showed a
decline in volunteer work
among freshmen. At the
beginning of freshman year,
88.5 percent said they "fre­quently
or occasionally" per­formed
volunteer service, but
that number dropped to 62.9
percent by t he end of t he year.
Some university students'
opinions differed from the
survey results in regard to col­lege
adjustment.
— fnnii wire reports
J a n . 2, Q u a d Area, 3:14 p.m.
— A suspicious person was
reported.
J a n . 2, Delta Sigma Pi frater­n
i t y house, 5:52 p.m. — A
delayed burglary was reported.
J a n , 4, P a r k e r Hall, 1:44 p.m.
— A suspicious person was
reported.
J a n . 4, West Magnolia
Avenue, 8:57 p.m. — Housing
problems reported. Mold and
mildew found in t h e apartment.
J a n . 5, Band Lot, 10:15 p.m.
— A suspicious vehicle was
reported.
J a n . 5, H am Wilson Arena,
11:03 p.m. — A suspicious
vehicle was reported.
J a n , 6, West Magnolia
Avenue, 3:54 a.m. — A
prowler complaint was report­ed.
J a n , 6, Sigma Nu fraternity
h o u s e . 4:51 p.m. — Criminal
mischief reported.
J a n . 6, Pebble Hill, 12:35 a.m.
— A suspicious vehicle report­ed.
J a n . 7. Mell S t r e e t . 6:35 a.m.
— An accident was reported
with no injuries.
J a n . 7, I.em M o r r i s o n / D o n ­a
h u e Roads, 5:56 p.m. — A
suspicious vehicle was report­ed.
J a n . 7, Dimstaii Hall. 9:11
a.m. — Burglary reported.
J a n . 7. Haley Center. 10:45
a.m. — Criminal mischief
reported.
J a n . 7. Graves Hall. 3:16 p.m.
— I heft ot property reported.
J a n . 8, West S c h o l a r s h i p lot.
2:50 p.m. — 11 it and run
reported.
Jan. 8. Haley Center, 3:39 p.m.
— Harassment reported.
J a n . 8. Sewell Hall, 10:11 p.m.
— Domestic dispute reported.
J a n . 9, RBD l i b r a r y , 4:13 a.m.
— Subject stuck in an elevator
reported.
J a n . 9, Ross Hall, 1:19 p.m. —
Stolen property reported.
Jan. 9, Student Activities Cen­ter,
11:42 a.m. — Lost/stolen
hangtag reported.
J a n . 9, Foy S t u d e n t Union,
3:05 p.m. — Hit and run
reported.
J a n . 9, Max M o r r i s lot, 5:06
p.m. — Passing out flyers
reported.
J a n . 10, Sewell Hall. 12:36
a.m. — Criminal mischief
reported.
J a n . 10, Sewell Hall, 6:46 a.m.
— Criminal mischief reported.
J a n . 10, Roosevelt/Wire
Roads, 10:08 a.m. — Delayed
hit and run reported.
J a n . 10, Haley Center, 12:51
p.m. — Theft of property
reported,
J a n . 10, B r o u n Hall, 2:44 p.m.
— Theft of property reported.
J a n . 10, Phi K a p p a f r a t e r n i ty
h o u s e . 10:35 p.m. — A fight
with no weapons reported.
J a n . I I , Last Coliseum, 1:39
p.m. — Delayed burglary
reported.
J a n . 11, CDV E x t e n s i o n , 6:23
p.m. — Burglary reported.
J a n . 11. Lee Road. 3 p.m. —
Criminal mischief and trespass­ing
reported. S200 worth of
damage to a door.
J a n . 12. N o r l h l a k e Drive, 9:25
a.m. — Burglary and theft
reported. A Natural Lite keg
and a keg t ap were stolen.
J a n . 12, P l a i n s m a n Apart­m
e n t s . 3:45 p . m . — Criminal
mischief reported. A window
was damaged valued at $200.
J a n . 13, S p e n c e r Avenue. 3:30
p.m. — Criminal mischief
reported. A window valued at
S50 was damaged.
J a n . 13. Lakeside Court
A p a r t m e n t s , 6:35 p.m. —
Harassing communications
reported.
J a n . 14, Wynnsong Cinema
16, 12;45 a.m. — Burglary and
theft reported. A Sony compact
disc FM/AM radio was stolen.
J a n . 14, H i l t o n Garden Inn,
3:31 a.m. — Theft from public-building
reported. S402 in cash
was stolen.
— reports provided by Auburn
Police Department
I
••w-n
u u- . 'M j TECH-NET
Professional
U HM1 f Villi
TIGER
<We Accept
• Tires
• Brakes
• Oil Change
• Mufflers
• All Major & Minor Repairs
Repairs!
| _ 1994 Wire Road-Just Past the VET School • 8 2 6 . 6 6 27
' *•*» •5n%M»'n**jr ^*£,<r«L' » - . --.•wr^.r^- •» j M K U B j a . ^ . . > . M j M » ^ i f l j f i « i i r * a » f v i i i i i a > ^ m , M « — » . ^ » «*«.—»^->-.^. --^_^_J. ._ . .
Off Any Automotive Service J
A U o f f Any Set of Tires
We have Weekly
Specials on
Michelin,
BF Goodwrench
and all other
Major & Minor
expires 3/31/03 '
^ coupon ^
^ *£->•••• s--tmW~ - • • • • • Mi aa -"MM1" ' H i - a n • • ••' BB ^
HMHMMHMI "•"'" ' n 11 in m\\
C!)c 9uburn plainsman Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 A3
File
The nominating committee meets in October, the only public meeting it's held. From left, trustees Jimmy Samford and Bobby
Lowder, Don Logan, Andy Hornsby and Owen Brown. Below Logan presides over the committee.
TRUSTEES: Close to two dozen indi­viduals
are being considered
> From Page I
been at odds at times for the
last several years.
The legislative task force
that pushed the legislation
creating the trustee nominat­ing
committee nearly two
years ago was allied with the
Alumni Association.
If the committee makes its
jnominations as soon as some
are projecting, Riley may not
be able to take his position on
the board.
"If the people the committee
comes up with a' e truly world-class
people, the kind that
need to be on the Auburn
board, (Riley) will have no
problem supporting them."
Azbell said.
Riley attended the last com­mittee
meeting as a guest of
the committee.
Although he did not attend
Saturday's meeting, he was
updated about what had hap­pened
by some of the partici­pants,
Azbell said.
The board positions in ques­tion
are occupied by Sen. Low­ell
Barron, D-Fyffe, Jack
Venable and Charles Glover.
Glover is not eligible to
serve another position on the
board because he is over 70.
but both Venable and Barron
have voiced desires to stay on
the board.
Barron was one of the candi­dates
interviewed at Satur­day's
meeting.
Barron's bid for reappoint­ment
to the board has been a
Riley
"If the people
the committee
comes up with
are truly world
class people, the
kind that need
to be on the
hoard. (Riley)
will have no
problem sup­porting
than'.
—David Azbell
spokesman for
Gov.-elect Riley
controversial one.
His son's company. All Temp
Windows, has been a major
provider of windows to the
University throughout various
projects.
Many have accredited this to
the fact that Barron serves as
chair of the trustees' proper­ties
and facilities committee
that is responsible for approv­ing
architects to write specifi­cations
for windows in
campus buildings among
other projects.
Another source of contro­versy
surrounding Barron
arose in 1999 when Barron,
serving as president pro-tem
of the Senate helped block the
nominations of former Gov.
Fob James.
James was attempting to fill
a seat vacated by trustee and
Montgomery banker, Bobby
Lowder.
At this time, voters, believ­ing
the trustee selection
process had become too politi­cal,
passed an amendment
taking away the appointment
responsibility from the gover­nor
and creating the nominat­ing
committee.
Barron was re-elected to the
position of president pro-tem
by a vote of 19 to 16 Tuesday.
In the last few months,
many stakeholders in the
trustee issue have stated fears
Kile
that, if Barron were to be re­elected,
another incident of
nomination blocking could
arise if Barron was not satis­fied
with the nominations.
In response to these con­cerns,
Barron announced last
week that he will not seek to
block any nominations that
the committee sends to the
Senate floor for confirmation.
Barron told reporters last
week that although he is seek­ing
the position he does not
expect to be nominated to fill
his vacated trustee seat.
Up for nomination to the
trustee's seat are two dozen
individuals including the
mayor of Selma, judges,
lawyers, physicians, newspa­per
publishers, a farmer and a
veterinarian among a host of
other candidates.
BREAKFAST
Now Serving Breakfast
7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Breakfast Bagels & Bagels To Go
io Flavors
-€mmm- I Breakfast .
2 Egg & Cheese Bagel g
99<t 3
I (No Tiger Club Cards) (No Deliveries)
| coupon e x p i r e s 1/23/03
-eeupow
1 -eewoN
! Momma's Love
^ I Roast beef, ham, turkey and Muenster cheese
'$ (Reg.S375)
w/purchase of Large Drink:
$1L, .19
(No Tiger Club Cards)
(No Deliveries)
c o u p o n e x p i r e s 1/16/03
eeweN
1
I
l
l
MUSIC • TV • DARTS
POOL • VIDEO GAMES
Now accepting Tiger Card
Open Sunday - Saturday
7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
At the Vet School in
Overton Hall
Serves Breakfast & Lunch M-F
5 0 0 W. Magnolia Ave.
821-0185
Delivery - 821-9971
Fax- 821-0173
Kinnucan's
WANTS YOU!
Sign up today!
Iiinnucan's does not advertise a lot of sales, but that's not because we don't
offer our customers great deals and competitive prices. It's because other
I stores run sales to clear out-of-season or discontinued merchandise.
Most of the time the selection, quite frankly, sucks, and you're forced to go
with your 2nd or 3rd choice and/or you buy something at full pop! We've never
: felt this is the best way to treat a customer.
y Kinnucan's, instead, sends out a lot of coupons to customers on its mailing
list. The coupons are good for cash off everything and anything in our stores.
Even our bestsellers!
: After all, it makes a lot more sense to buy sandals in the spring than in the fall,
; doesn't it?
So whether you're shopping for shoes, clothing, fitness apparel, home
accessories, sunglasses,watches, or travel gear, you'll find the best the
; market has to offer at Kinnucan's.
I "'' "' ' ' " ' ' ' " ' ' ••! • • II •• - • • — •• ———M ' " • * — '" ' • 1«HII»lll I HI •• I.I I
SAVINGS CERTIFICATE
i $ 1 0 . 0 0 OFF ANY PURCHASE at Kinnucan's, or
j $ 2 5 . 0 0 OFF ANY PURCHASE OVER $ 1 00
; One certificate per customer. Not good with any other offer.
! 'The information below must be completed prior to checkout for certificate to be honored.*
¥ Name
Address
Phone
Customer S
OFFICIAL USE ONLY
In* a
Picture U). required
Kinnucan's
• * • •
887-6100
10-8 M-F/9 6 Sat. 1 (, Sun
Corner of Colleuo and Donaluit
Editorials • Commentary • Letters State i i / Local Thursday. Jan. 16, 2003 A4
IN BRIEF
BARRON REELECTED TO
LEAD SENATE: Son.
Lowell Barron, D-Fyffie,
was reelected as presi­dent
pro-tern of the
state senate.
Barron defeated Sen.
Wendell Mitchell, D-l.
uverne, by a margin of
19-16 Tuesday.
Barron's victory marks
Gov.-elect Bob Riley's
first legislative defeat
since winning the gover­nor's
seat in November.
Riley had sought to
get Mitchell, one of his
Democratic allies in the
Senate, the seat, believ­ing
Mitchell would be
more receptive to his
legislative proposals.
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE
SWITCHES PARTIES:
Rep. Johnny Ford
made it known last
Thursday that he plans
to switch his party
alliance from the Demo­cratic
Party to the
Republican Partv.
Ford, 60, said he
decided to switch par­ties
after being reas­sured
by Gov.-elect Bob
Riley that he would
work together with Ford
to get things done for
District 82.
Ford told reporters
that he believes in rising
above partisan politics
to bring about positive
change from within the
legislature.
REPORT SAYS MOST
ALABAMIANS SUPPORT
ATTACK ON IRAQ: A
recent report in a new
Mobile Register-Univer­sity
of South Alabama
poll showed that a
majority of the 433
Alabamians surveved
agree with President
Bush's foreign policy
and support an attack
on Iraq to overthrow
Saddam Hussein.
More than 50 percent
ofthose surveyed also
said they believe the
United States will
invade Iraq in the next
six months.
QUOTABLE:
"The right to he
heard docs not
automatically
include the right to
he taken scriouslv'
— Hubert Humphrey
Author
—compiled from
staff reports
Up
Smoke
Alabama fails in tobacco prevention programs
By ERIN GRIFFIN
Slate & Local Staff
Recent improvements in county
tobacco-control programs and laws
didn't help Alabama in the American
Lung Association's 2002 Tobacco Con­trol
Report.
The association gave Alabama failing
grades in all four categories of tobacco
control procedures.
"This report should be a wake-up
call to state legislators and governors,"
said John Kirkwood, president and
chief executive officer of the American
Lung Association.
The ALA examined four areas of
tobacco control in each state: tobacco
prevention spending, smoke-free air,
youth access to tobacco and cigarette
tax rates.
"Certainly on some of those we've
earned our F's," said Don Williamson,
Alabama's state health officer.
The failing grade in tobacco preven­tion
mirrors the Centers for Disease
Control report issued in April.
The CDC report examined each state
and determined an amount of
money the state should spend ' This report
to adequately fund tobacco should 1)0 (I
prevention programs. , ,,
According to the CDC ^Oke-Up call' K)
report. Alabama should spend State legislators
$26.7 million to $71.2 million an(J mvemors"
each year in tobacco preven­tion.
However, Alabama reserved
only $360,000 for tobacco pre­vention
in fiscal year 2003.
(NOT), was created by the ALA and
helps teens who say they want to quit
using tobacco.
Alabama Tobacco Free Family pro­gram
provides materials and literature
to educate people about the
harmful effect? of second­hand
smoke on family mem­bers.
Other programs target
pregnant mothers and
school-age children.
Funding for Alabama
John KirkwOOd l 0 b a C C ° P ^ n t i o n pro-
American Lunggrams C o m e s f r o m t h e c'ga-
Associauon president rette tax, the Master
Settlement Agreement
Lee County added another tobacco between the tobacco industry and 46
cessation program last year to target states including Alabama, and private
high school students tobacco preven- agencies.
tion and a control coordinator for dis- Alabama is the only state without a
trict eight, which includes Lee County. state law addressing smoke-free air.
The new program, Not On Tobacco Senator Vivian Davis Figures, D.­Mobile,
introduced a Clean Indoor Air
Act that passed unanimously in the
state senate in 2001 and 2002. Each
time the bill stalled in the House.
Her office staff said Figures will
decide in March if she will propose the
bill again.
The law would prohibit smoking in
public places including hospitals, rest-rooms,
K-12 schools and retail busi­nesses
aside from restaurants.
"We all have a right to clean air," Fig­ures
said.
Figures suffers from bronchitis and
asthma and sometimes wears surgical
masks in Senate hallways to prevent
inhaling secondhand smoke.
Several city and county laws address
smoke-free air to varying degrees.
Mobile has a law prohibiting smoking
in public places, and Birmingham con-
• Turn to TOBACCO, A7
Election debate may
spur state law change
By MATT COLLINS
Staff Writer
With Gov. Siegelman's loss in
the election race to Bob Riley
last November, Alabama's elec­tion
laws became a center of
debate.
Siegelman's campaign was
denied a recount of the election
results.
The law. which allows
recounts only in specific cir­cumstances,
barred the gover­nor's
supporters from having
votes recounted after the elec­tion
ended with Siegelman los­ing
by less than 1 percent of the
total votes.
As the law stands, a state
recount is not allowed. Instead,
recounts must be called in each
individual county, and the law
does not allow for a recount just
because the final count is close.
Siegelman called for an elec­tion
reform committee within a
year of the 2000 presidential
election and the troublesome
recounts in Florida that fol­lowed.
"The secretary of state met
with his subcommittee and
issued a report on possible elec­tion
reforms for Alabama," said
Vicki Balogh, the secretary of
state's director of elections.
"The committee hasn't met
since then."
Any changes to the law would
have to go through the state
legislature.
"It's a long process to get the
law changed, but necessary,"
Balogh said.
Michael Ciamarra of the
Alabama Policy Institute said
that the recount issue is an
example of how important the
need for election law reform is
in Alabama.
"An automatic recount law
should be re-evaluated," Cia­marra
said. "Voter ID would be
the most important reform.
Many states already have such
laws."
"We wouldn't necessarily
want to require photo identifi­cation
to vote," Ciamarra said.
"We don't want to disenfran­chise
anyone."
> Turn to LAWS, A7
Katie Brumbeloe — Assistant Photo Editor
Parking in downtown Auburn may soon be limited to two hours per parking space. The
Chamber of Commerce hopes this will alleviate the lack of available spaces.
Downtown parking to change
By REBECCA DAVIS
Assistant State & Local Editor
The recurring downtown
parking problem may come to a
hault if a new parking meter
ordinance is passed.
The Auburn Chamber of
Commerce is requesting a plan
that will limit the time of park­ing
to two hours.
The Auburn City Council is
reviewing the idea and will vote
on it at next Tuesday's meeting.
"It is a beginning of several
issues dealing with parking,"
said Lolly Steiner, president of
the chamber.
Steiner said the ordinance is
primarily to prevent employees
and college students from park­ing
in the metered spaces for
several hours.
Customers are having prob­lems
with parking because
there is no turnover between
parking space occupants.
"Merchants and businesses
downtown are finding that peo-'
pie are feeding the meters," said
Doug Watson, city manager.
To ensure that residents
aren't abusing the rule, parking
monitors will chalk the tires of
vehicles.
If the same vehicle is still'
parked there after a two hour
time lapse, the driver will be
ticketed.
Watson said two hours is the
> Turn to PARKING, A7
HEATH LOFTIN. EDITOR • f334> 844-9109 • NEWSaTHEPLAINSMAN.COM
« f i i
Pryor considered for
federal circuit judge
By REBECCA DAVIS
Assistant State & Local Editor
Alabama Attorney General
Bill Pryor may become the
next 11th Circuit federal
appeals judge in Atlanta, a
spokesman for U.S. Senator Jeff
Sessions said Jan. 5.
Michael Brumas, Sessions'
press secretary, told the Asso­ciated
Press that President
Bush supports Pryor fully and
thinks he is an excellent
lawyer.
Brumas said Sessions shares
Bush's views and believes Pryor
would make a wonderful cir­cuit
judge.
Pryor, a Republican, has not
commented on the announce­ment
because it is only a con­sideration.
The procedure to
nominate a federal judge is a
lengthy one and could take
months or even a year before a
decision is made.
"When and if that happens,
we'll have some comment,"
said Suzanne Webb, spokes­woman
for Pryor,
"Bill Pryor is one of the more
respected attorney generals in
the country," said David Azbell,
spokesman for Governor-elect
Bob Riley. "Riley said he's done
a great job in Alabama."
Azbell also said it is prema­ture
for Riley to begin a search
for potential replacements
because of the lengthy
timetable.
Marty Connors, Republican
Party chairman, did not have
much to say about Pryor's con­sideration
for judge.
"It's healthier for the candi­dates
if the party does not
comment on the appointment
because it is so politicized."
Connors said.
Pryor was first appointed to
attorney general by Gov. Fob
James and has been re-elected
twice, including last year.
The llth-Circuit vacancy
was created when Emmett
Ripley Cox announced in
December 2000 that he would
step down from the position.
Since then, U.S. Magistrate
Judge William Steele of Mobile
has been considered, but his
nomination has been withheld
for 15 months with no confir­mation
hearing by the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
Organizations such as the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference and the NAACP
have objected to Steele's nomi­nation
because of a decision he
made in a racial harassment
case in 2001.
Pryor has shown his conser­vative
demeanor throughout
his career as attorney general.
He has objected the multi-state
lawsuit against tobacco
companies, and he also
defends Alabama Supreme
Court Chief Justice Roy
Moore's decision to keep the
Ten Commandments display
in the state Judicial Building.
If Pryor were to resign from
his position, he has a few
potential attorney generals
waiting in line.
Some of them who have
been mentioned by Republican
party supporters are Terry
Butts, a former Alabama
Supreme Court justice, Lt. Gov.
Steve Windom, Baldwin Coun­ty
District Attorney David
Whetstone and Montgomery
attorneyjim Main.
No one knows how long the
process of nomination will
take, but it will be a lengthy
process for Pryor.
If Pryor is appointed, "Alaba­ma's
loss will be the country's
gain," Azbell said.
ADEM considers long term action plan
By KARA KOSCELSKI
Staff Writer
The Alabama Department of
Environmental Management
will begin the year's agenda
with three important dates.
Proposal and deliberation
over Alabama's environmental
management will be heavily'
debated.
State agencies and nonprofit
groups have been called by
ADEM to provide input on
this year's environmental
management plan.
Jan. 15 is the date set for the
triannual review of water
quality standards. This review
is required by the Water Quali­ty
Act.
Jan. 15 is also ADEM's dead­line
for all groups and agen­cies
to submit their proposals.
The Alabama Rivers
Alliance, a critic of ADEM, is
looking for a program that
directs its focus on all aquatic
health.
All applicants must be con­nected
with an organized non­profit
group involved in
watershed protection or water
quality monitoring programs,
preferably a group working
within the Alabama Clean
Water Partnership.
The tri-annual review is a
discussion of water quality
regulation. Brad McLane,
executive director of the
Alabama Rivers Alliance, said
it would be wise to put higher
water quality stan-year.
Out of those, only a frac­tion
has been implemented."
Water qualities in the
streams and waters have
improved over the last three
years, but environmental
groups sued twice before see­ing
any action take
dards on the areas "Oliebiggripe place.
affected within the we have With McLane also said
tn-state water war.
The plan needs to
provide cleaner
waterways and main­tain
peace with
industry, government
and residents of the
Alabama-Coosa-Tal-lapoosa
(ACT) Basin.
The ACT Basin is
the focus of the tri-state water
wars. McLane sees the current
proposal of the "water alloca­tion
formula," to be flawed and
to favor the metro-Atlanta
area and the city's growth
interests excessively. The eco­logical
health of the basin,
McLane said, was also
ignored.
"One big gripe we have with
the process is that the state
agency does not respond with
comments they receive,"
McLane said. "We submitted
12 pages of comments last
that it is only under
public pressure that
the agency gets
things done.
"The agency tends
to be reactive, sit
back and not
— Brad McLane respond," McLane
the. process is
that the
agency does
not respond ..."
executive director of the
Alabama Rivers Alliance
said.
ADEM will hold a
public hearing Feb. 5 to dis­cuss
amendments to Division
7 of the ADEM Administrative
Code. According to a public
notice issued by ADEM, there
will be three proposed amend­ments.
They will entail modifying
the monitoring requirements
for radionuclides, modifying
the maximum containment
level for arsenic in drinking
water and filter recycling
requirements for all surface
plants that recycle backwash
water.
The state Environmental
Management Commission, a
commission that sets policy
for ADEM, will discuss a plan
for improving the protection
of state resources at its Feb. 25
meeting.
Pat Byington, a member of
the state Environmental Man­agement
Commission, placed
the issue on the agenda.
Byington, a former director
of the Alabama Environmental
Council, said the plan must
include environmental goals,
objectives and an annual
review of ADEM directors.
The legislature, Byington
said, is not going to give
ADEM provisions unless the
agency provides a plan of exe­cution.
"A proposed strategic plan is
being looked at right now by
various divisions of the
department," said Clint
Niemeyer, spokesman for
ADEM. "Nothing concrete has
been brought forth yet to the
table."
While items are still being
ironed out, two new commis­sioners
were instated two days
before the previous meeting.
Rogers sworn in to national house representative seat
contributed
Mike Rogers is Dist. 3
representative to Congress.
By CARLA MERRILL
Assistant Photo Editor
With his wife and three children by his side,
Mike Rogers recently accepted the title of Con­gressman
for Alabama's Third Congressional
District.
The other 434 members watched with their
families as Rogers took the oath from newly re­elected
House Speaker, J. Dennis Hastert.
"Today is one of the most exciting days of my
life," Rogers said. "I feel truly blessed to be here.
"There is simply no way today could have been
possible if it wasn't for the help of literally thou­sands
of Alabamians over the past two years," he
said. "I am humbled to be here and am proud to
represent the citizens of East Alabama in Con­gress."
Since the ceremony, Rogers said he has been
busy settling into his Montgomery office and
making plans for serving on the Agricultural
and Armed Services Committees.
"I am going to work tirelessly over the next
two years to work on behalf of third district citi­zens,"
Rogers said.
Mike Rogers' office is located in Anniston.
Safe*..., -
-•*
t, *-•' .-4. •
i J^i
m
-,;.-,' 3 iftfci*g
"Si&s*^ / '*&k^v;
m
Ne e dJurniture ?
Apartment Packages starting at
$199 per month
Basic Package Includes:
• Sofa & Chair
• 1 Coffee & 2 End Tables
• 2 Lamps
• 4 Chair Dinette Set
• Headboard, Dresser with Mirror, Chest
• Queen Mattress set
• Add washer & dryer for $49 per month
• 6 Month Minimum Rental
COLORVISION
Rent to Own and Furniture Sales
Opelika Road ™
334-749-9999
o i . n i . i Colorvlalon walMar*
Mall _* l u r i n i M ir
Op.Ilk. K4.
Now Leasin
Spring Semester
Habitat Condominiums
Habitat Condominiums
have the bedrooms and
the kitchen/living room area
on separate floors-
THE ULTIMATE IN PRIVACY!
• Huge Living Spaces
• 2 Bedroom and 2 1/2 Bathroom
• 1 Bedroom and 1 1/2 Bathroom
• Washer and Dryer in Units
• Pool and Volleyball Court
Management by:
Cary-Pick Realty Inc.
334-821-4200 o www.carypick.com
A6 Thursday. Jan. 16. 2003 CThf Hulmrn plainsman
Fire, sales, funding: City sees action during break
Mikcll Frey - Photo Staff
The Clipper, a local restaurant, was gutted by a fire caused by
a melted television wire during the Christmas holiday break.
By TAISHA PICKETT
Assistant State & local Editor
While Auburn students were
on break a number of events
happened in the Auburn-Opeli-ka
area that kept things busy.
The local chapter of the
American Red Cross' disaster,
relief fund ran out. The chapter
assisted more families than
usual this year.
Jennifer Ryan, executive
director of the Lee County
chapter of Red Cross, said there
were 16 fires in the last 45 days.
She said there are normally
about two to three fires a
month.
"It was just the sheer volume
of need," Ryan said. "It was the
end-of-the-year phenomenon."
Ryan said the fund is com­pletely
empty, forcing the chap­ter
to go into other funds
savings.
The chapter is planning a
major fund-raiser in March
that it hopes will help the relief
fund.
The fundraiser, called Heroes
for Red Cross, will last about
three weeks. People can sign
up to be heroes and try to raise
money in different ways.
Another program, called The
Clara Barton Society is a pro­gram
for people who give
$1,000 or more to the chapter.
Local stores also saw the
usual action during the break
in the form of increased sales.
The shopping season
between Thanksgiving and
Christmas was about six days
shorter than last year, which
worried local merchants.
Andrea Jackson, finance
director for Auburn, said
November was the third-high­est
sales tax month ever.
She estimated a 3.6 percent
increase from last year and a
4.5 percent increase in October
from last year.
She said sales tax figures for
December won't be available
until later this month.
The Auburn Chamber of
Commerce held a "Shop
Auburn" campaign to remind
people that sales taxes go to the
city.
The campaign was designed
to keep people from going out
of Auburn to shop. The pro­gram
encouraged shopping
locally at stores such as Books-
A-Million instead.
On Jan. 2, a restaurant in
Auburn was the cause of an
action-packed night for fire­fighters.
The Clipper Seafood and
Steak Restaurant caught fire
because of an electrical mal­function.
Emmanuel Baxevanis, co-owner,
said a television caused
the fire when one of the wires
melted over a period of time.
The restaurant closed for the
holidays, and when he came
back with his 7-year-old son
and Rill Tsatsarouros, co-owner,
they opened the doors and saw
a blaze of flames.
"No one was hurt, we were
lucky." Baxevanis said.
He said the lease states that if
the budding cannot be fixed in
30 days then either party can
break the lease.
The owners of the building
have decided to break the lease
because the roof caved so the
building is not savageable.
"We are considering relocat­ing,
but my family likes it here
in Auburn-Opelika," Baxevanis
said.
Baxevanis said he is thinking
of opening a Greek-Italian
restaurant, but is unsure of the
future at this point.
The Michigan-based Benteler
Automotive Corporation
brought excitement to the area
as it announced it will be con­structing
a new manufacturing
facility in northeast Opelika
Industrial Park.
The plant is expected to
bring about 150 jobs to the area
and could increase to 300 with­in
the next five years.
Construction of the 144,000-
square-foot plant will begin
this month and is expected to
be completed in September.
The company chose Opelika
because of its central location
and its proximity to the grow­ing
number of vehicle assembly
plants in the region.
Benteler Automotive is
owned by Benteler AG head­quartered
in Paderborn, Ger­many.
The company operates
40 production plants in 18
countries and employs 17,500
worldwide.
Lee County will seek the use of surplus revenue
By DANIELLE ASHBY
Staff Writer
For the first time, Lee Count) has an extra SI
million in a Capital Improvements Lund. 1 he
monev came from oil and gas royalties allocat­ed
from taxes.
Manv projects have been pitched to the Lee
County Commission that are being discussed as
possible uses of the monev.
County administrator Roger Rendleman said
the extra monev is a result of "good financial
management."
Though it seems like a lot of money, a grow­ing
list of projects means each one might have
to settle for only .1 small part of what it needs
he said,
Some projects that have been discussed are
courthouse and jail renovations. Roth projects
will cost more than what is available, but the
money could start the process.
The courthouse will begin offering a one-slop
tag office on Oct. 1. and renovations will be
needed to begin the project. Currently, the tax
collector, tax assessor and probate judge's
offices handle tags.
According to recent reports, the Lee County
jail may use the money to expand its facilities.
The 18-year-old facility isn't equipped to han­dle
the volume of people in custody. The county
jail currently houses nearly 300 county, city and
state inmates.
Rendleman said it has been "misreported"
that the money will go toward one specific proj­ect.
The money could go to road construction
and renovations, to the courthouse, justice sys­tem
or a roadside garbage pick-up service
among other projects.
One project that has been hard to get past
the commission is a suggestion to give $250,000
lo the Lee Countv Recreation Board. The board
would use the money to construct a 78-acre
park in Smiths Station. This issue has been
brought up twice and has been voted down
both times by the commission 3-2.
Rendleman said for money like this to be
available in the Capital Improvements Fund
next year depends on how much is allocated
this year, whether any of the projects go over or
under budget and if they save any money from
the start.
Despite the indecision over what to use the
money for. Rendleman said the money will be
used for whatever the citizens need.
I M
YOUR 2 4 HOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS CLUB
GET READY FOR SPRING RREAK
Get Fit
for «$19 .95'
with free tanning
• SUPER Weight loss programs
• Awesome Cardio Deck
• State of the art equipment
• Free personal training *
• Child Care
• Over 100 Aerobic classes monthly
• Kick boxing classes
• Pro shop
• Juice bar
• Tanning and more
• Some Restrictions may apply*
• Free Nutrifit Analysis
• Total Body Workout by Body Solutions
>
•
s
>
MALL
Opelika Hd
1 WaM*i I
* 8 J
OFFER
Expires
1-31-03
CALL NOW
887-7008
Campus Interview
Workshop
• Confused about what to wear to a campus interview?
• Not sure about how to prepare for a campus
interview?
• Nervous about how to act in a campus interview?
If so, please come on
Thursday, January 16, 2003
to Foy 208 from 4-5 p.m.
Sponsored by the Freshman Year Experience and Students in
Transition Office (844-4501)
Division <if Student Affairs \ •
Wyt auburn $lain8ijian Thursday, Dec. 16, 2003 A7
TOBACCO: State receives failing grades on all four eate
gories measuring tobacco prevention by the ALA
> FromA4
sidered adding a law in July
2002.
"Surrounding areas have
upgraded their smoking ordi­nances
to include restau­rants
in clean indoor air
restrictions," said
Tammy Langlois, tobac­co
prevention and con­trol
coordinator for
district eight.
Montgomery recently
passed an ordinance
requiring all restaurants
to be smoke-free.
The AI.A also gave
Alabama a failing grade
in youth access to tobac­co
products.
16.8 percent in Alabama and
16.7 percent in the United
States for youths in grades 9
to 12. About 11.8 percent of
Alabama
"Surrounding
areas have.
upgraded their
smokine
ordinances to
include
restaurants'
youths in the
same age
group use
smokeless
tobacco.
The national
average for
smokeless
tobacco in
this age group
is 9.3 percent.
The mini-
—Tammy Langlois
tobacco prevention and
control coordinator mum age to
buy tobacco
Alabama youths use smok- in Alabama is 19. but store
ing tobacco at a slightly higher clerks aren't required to ask
rate than the national average: for photographic identifica­tion
from customers who look
under 21.
There are also no restric­tions
on vending machine
purchases.
Lastly, the American Lung
Association examined the cig­arette
tax in each state. After*
finding the national cigarette
tax average, the ALA com­pared
each state individually
to this average.
Alabama's cigarette tax is
16.5 cents for a pack of 20 cig­arettes.
The national average
is 62 cents per pack of 20.
Alabama is not alone in fail­ing
the ALA examination: 23
states failed in tobacco pre­vention
spending. 43 in
smoke-free air, 28 in youth
access and 17 in cigarette tax.
Local, state military units
head out for possible war
By MATT TRIPP
Staff Writer
President Bush's War on Terrorism touched
the Auburn area last Monday, when elements of
the Army's 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)
were deployed to Kuwait in support of Opera­tion
Rnduring Freedom.
The 350 members of the 3rd Brigade, which
is based in Fort Benning, Ga„ specialize in
desert warfare, specifically the Middle Fast.
Elise Jackson, a spokeswoman for Fort Ben­ning,
said it is unknown how long the division
will be overseas.
"It is entirely possible, though, that other
units based at Fort Benning could be deployed."
she said.
Upon the brigade's arrival to Camp New York,
it will join its sister unit, the 2nd Brigade,
which has been deployed since September. The
2nd Brigade is based out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
Eventually, all 17,000 soldiers and support
staff assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division will
be in the area.
In addition to the Fort Benning deploy­ments,
Alabama Army and Air National Guard
units could see service overseas in support of
Operation Rnduring Freedom and Noble Eagle.
"Since Sept. 1 1. 2001. all Alabama National
Guard units have been activated," said Lt. Col.
Robert Horton. public affairs officer for the
Alabama Department of Defense.
Horton was unable to speculate if any Alaba­ma
National Guard unit would see service in
the Middle East.
He said 300 soldiers from Detachment 1 of
the 200th Material Management Center, based
in Homewood, departed Jan. 6 for Kaiser-slautern.
Germany,
The 200th MMC provides combat logistical
support to U.S. Army forces in Europe.
PARklNG
> FromM
standard time in most cities for parking meters
and it should be enough time for residents to
enjoy tht' shops and restaurants downtown.
The flies will remain the same, $5 for the first
violation, $20 for the second and $40 for the
third.
Other; issues that will be addressed are what
parking is available to employees of the down­town
a<ea and the possible addition of more
-parkingareas.
"We peed to look at a parking plan to see how
much parking is available." Steiner said. "The
goal is to make sure employees understand
where parking is available."
One of the plans mentioned is to build more
parking decks, but Steiner said it takes time and
money to find the property and begin building.
"To build a new deck, the average cost would
be at about $10,000 a space." Watson said.
When the ordinance was presented at the last
council meeting, most members agreed to it and
Steiner said she thinks it is likely to pass at the
Jan. 21 meeting.
If implemented, Watson said the ordinance
would take effect in a couple of weeks.
"We want to have stickers made to place on the
meters and notify residents of che change," Wat­son
said.
Watson said he believes residents will be sup­portive
of the plan because parking spaces down­town
will not be as limited.
LAWS
>• FromA4
In the Institute's proposed elec­tion-
reform law. voters without
a photo ID would be given a dif­ferent
ballot that could be chal­lenged
il any issues arose.
"Our election reform has been
introduced to the state legisla­ture
and has been passed manv
times in the last six years, and
has been pre-approved by the
Justice Department," Ciamarra
said. "It just hasn't passed by
the state senate."
Besides voter ID. the institute
is also looking to establish
equal representation of both
political parties at all polling
sites.
"We would also like to have
uniform polling hours in all
counties and increased penal­ties
for voter fraud." Ciamarra
said.
Election reform is enjoying
bipartisan support, especially
with the recent election results.
Courthouse to be renovated soon
By KATIE RAMMER
Assistant Copy F.ditur
The Lee County Courthouse
stands as a cornerstone in the
middle of downtown Opelika.
Years of service and expansion
have caused the Lee County
Commission to examine plans
and ideas for a renovation.
The building has simply out­grown
itself, said probate judge
Bill English.
"We are busting at the seams
in departments for space." Eng­lish
said.
He also said the county needs
to address the future in its deci­sion
and take a close look at
how it should spend money for
this project. The Capital
Improvement Fund holds $1
million that could be used for
renovation if approved by the
commission.
The commission's main goal is
to choose an ideal option with
the best use of space, said Roger
Rendleman. count)- administra­tor.
The neoclassical courthouse
built in 1896 has been renovat­ed
and expanded three times.
The last renovation took place
in the '80s and the interior
reflects it. Rendleman said.
"It (the courthouse) has his­torical
significance and should
stay the focal point of service,"
Rendleman said.
The courthouse harbors the
driver's licensing office, the
vehicle tag office and the Coun­ty
Commission Chambers.
A firm out of Birmingham,
Blackstock and Williams, will
be handling the renovation.
Rendleman hopes the build­ing
will be arranged in such a
way that citizens will come in
P
Mikell Frcy — Photo Staff
County Commissioners are
weighing plans to renovate
the county courthouse.
and know where to go with as
little headache as possible.
"It is time to plan for the
future." English said. "Lee
County is definitely growing."
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
Auburn's newest luxury student condominiums are now in two great locations!
The Edge West offers
students a home in the
heart of Auburn: within
walking distance to campus
& Jordan-Hare Stadium!
TkfafeeWd
The Edge at Auburn is
directly adjacent to
Auburn's newest shopping
and restaurant district,
while still close to class!
Safes Center i \
Model Home
Ulit'S'eollege'St""
Model Home/Leasing Center
1114 S. College St., Auburn
502-4747
www.studenthome.com
Don't miss this chance to Get the Ultimate Home Field Advantage! fi
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 A8 Q3)c Auburn plainsman
REPORT
• From Page I
The JAC accused the board of being dominated
by a few trustees, micromanaging and having
financial ties to the University — all violations of
SACS accrediting criteria.
Bradley combed through evidence and inter­viewed
81 constituents to determine whether cri­teria
were violated during three time frames —
before complaints were filed, when the com­plaints
were filed and during the investigation.
Although the report found some evidence sug­gesting
the board violated criteria in the past,
trustees were cleared of several accusations
because Bradley found no evidence they were in
violation now.
Bradley found the board overstepped its
bounds and "micromanaged" in at least one
instance — the 1999 elimination of theBusiness
Option for Ph.D in Economics.
The report follows almost two years of Univer­sity
turmoil, climaxing with the January 2001 dis­missal
of Muse and festering when, in June, the
board unanimously voted to remove "interim"
from President William Walkers title against the
recommendations of some faculty.
After nine votes of no confidence in the board,
the JAC formed, compiled a list of the board's
alleged wrongs and called on SACS to investigate.
A lengthy legal battle followed when the Uni­versity
quickly brought a suit against SACS, halt­ing
the investigation process for about a year.
With the investigation on hold, the board made
changes to ease tensions and give faculty a
stronger voice in University affairs.
Faculty was given a voice on the board in
August, when trustees voted to give University
Senate Chair Barb Streumpler an ex-officio non­voting
seat on the board.
"While the lawsuit was pending, Auburn's
Board of Trustees made a number of improve­ments
in its procedures and processes," Bradley's
report stated. "Although it was suggested that
certain trustees should resign in order to restore
trust and confidence in the Board, the trustees
responded by adding non-voting faculty mem­bers
to each Board committee."
RESPONSE
>• From Page I
charge, this investigation con­cludes
that in 1999. this board
was guilty of 'micro-manage­ment'
in substituting its judg­ment
for that of the trained
educators in eliminating the
business option for the Ph.D in
economics," the report states.
All other complaints may
have violated SACS criteria, as
the JAC believes. Or they may
not have, as trustees have
always insisted. But Bradley's
findings are what count — he
found the board is now in com­pliance
with criteria.
Bradley dismissed the com­plaints
for three reasons: the
trustees were within the limita­tions
of their positions, they vio­lated
criteria in the past, but are
not now. and there isn't enough
evidence to prove they are in
violation.
NOT THE END
The report marks the end of
years of conflict for some.
"I was pleased that (the inves­tigation)
was done." said Presi­dent
William Walker. "I'm just
interested in bunging all of this
to a close."
For others, it is just another
example of how far the trustees
will go to paint pretty colors on
an ugly picture and cover up
wrongs.
Rumored wrongs, alleged
wrongs. Wrongs that led to
protest by outraged faculty, con­cern
that spawned the Auburn
Trustee Improvement Political
Action Committee and such
uproar within the Auburn fami­ly
that students, alumni and
readers of every major Alabama
newspaper have come to know
of Auburn's "trustee situation."
But they're wrongs which still
cannot be proven.
"There's been a lot of accusa­tion
and a lot of rumor and a lot
of commentary," Walker said.
"I've seen no evidence, and 1
keep asking people to show me
any evidence they have."
Editorials have been written
and sides have been taken. It
has seeped into state politics,
where gubernatorial candidates'
comments on Auburn's infa­mous
trustee situation were
scrutinized, and some ATIP
supporters' votes were even dic­tated
by the issue.
The conflict, which trustees
say is based on rumors and per­ceptions,
wound through the
court system, where the Univer­sity
and SACS met in a consent
order and Bradley was brought
in.
"It was a process that Auburn
and the JAC agreed tc and now
we have the results," said Uni­versity
Senate Chair Barb
Struempler. "Am I satisfied? No.
But that was the process."
The report comes after years
of accusations trustees were
linked by shady financial ties to
each other and to the University,
involved in University affairs
beyond the scope of their posi­tions
and puppeteeivd by one
powerful trustee — Bobby Low-der.
"Those close to the investiga­tion,
and to JAC, 1 think were
very disappointed. There is a
segment of faculty very dis-hearted
by the outcome,"
Struempler said. "I think the
items have been looked at, but
apparently, the people with the
right evidence didn't come
through."
Some have said the board got
off the hook because, although
there were interviewees with
oral evidence, there is not
enough fact to hold up under
the legal scrutiny of the investi­gation.
"Presumably, such stringency
will not be in effect when SACS
comes to reaffirm Auburn's
accreditation, and the effective­ness
of the trustees in nurturing
the freedoms so important for
University life will be assessed,"
said Jim Bradley, biology profes­sor
and chair of the JAC.
Others flaw the report
because, of the 81 interview
footnotes, 61 references are
made to trustees. 29 to adminis­trators,
about 25 to faculty, with
only 10 to others, including
ATIP leaders.
"I gave (Bradley) several more
faculty names, and I don't know
why it became more top heavy
on one side," Struempler said.
"As to the imbalance...," she just
shakes her head.
"It appears to me that the
report is flawed in that data
coming from interviews with
the trustees were not held to the
same stringency that data com­ing
from other interviewees was
held," Jim Bradley said.
"But 1 wasn't as disappointed
as some people, because if you
read the report carefully, it's
very critical," he said.
Slanted or not, there are crit­ics
on both sides of the fence. If
some expected for this to be the
final saga in the trustee saga,
Walker doubts it.
"I don't know (if the report's
findings will quiet any of the
critical talk about the trustees),"
he said. "It may. But there are
folks out there who have an
agenda and they're going to
continue with their agenda."
THE NEXT STEP
"I and the JAC and the Uni­versity
Senate never wanted to
jepordize the accreditation,"
Bradley said. "If they make a
recommendation for improve­ment,
what's what we're after."
They may not have gotten the
recommendations yet, but per­haps
that will come in October,
when SACS comes to Auburn
for it's 10-year visit to review
the school's accredidation.
Some say the re-accrediting
committee, made up of college
presidents, chancellors and
those who have a firm grasp on
the workings of a University —
rather than legal expertise —
will be more likely to recognize
problems within the board.
Until then. Richard Bradley's
report is in SACS' hands. SACS
has 30 days to respond to the
report.
"I think we need to be con­centrating
on new board mem­bers,
concentrate on
reaffirmation in October, and
leave behind us the specific
complaints the JAC listed," Jim
Bradley said.
Getting here has been hard
enough, but everyone agrees on
one thing: communication lines
between the University and its
constituent groups have been
unclogged.
"The communication process
has truly emerged in the year of
turmoil we had," said Struem­pler,
who was given an ex-officio
non-voting seat on the board in
August. "At least we've gotten
some good out of this. I'm not
sure it ever would have occurred
if this whole thing didn't mush­room."
For all involved, the benefits
that blossomed from such a
thorny situation will have to be
enough — for now.
"Things are starting to
change, but I'm changing with
them," Struempler said. "I think
it is important to have the cor­rect
ending, but at this same
time, I personally don't know
what else we could do. At this
point, it's a legal process."
TIMELINE OF SACS INVESTIGATION
> From Page I
case has been made. Walker says the * F e b™ary, 2002 - SACS appeals the
planned January SACS visit is postponed. ruling.The investigation is postponed.
can't live with the judge's decision." court-appointed investigator will review
The University Senate reconvenes the issues related to Auburn accreditation.
JAC to study other way to investigate the
board. • Dec. 18, 2002 — The report by the
>• Jan. 16, 2002 — The federal judge rules in * ' " ' * l 6 ' 2 0 0 2 ~ Walker tells faculty nvestigator is published. Walker praises
favor of Auburn. SACS must give due t h a t " T h e i d e a o f a v i s i t b v a non-typical > Sept. 24, 2002 — SACS and Auburn the document as positive news
process. review committee is now moot.They just reach an agreement. An independent,
health* fitness center
Auburn Medical Park
(Just past the Movie Theater on the left)
Hours of Operation
Monday - Friday 5:30 am - 10 pm
Saturday 6:30 am - 6:30 pm
Sunday 1 - 7 pm
887-5666
healthplusfitness.com
1171 Gatewood Dr. #101 • Auburn, Al 36830
Our 50,000 square foot facility offers the most
advanced fitness technology center in the area!
Membership gives you access to:
Free weights, Hammer Strength, Cyber, Life Fitness
Indoor lap pool
FitLinxx computerized training partner
50,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art cardiovascular and
strength training equipment
Health screening and exercise prescription
Group excercise studio
Water aerobics classes
Precision Cycling
Indoor track
Steam room
Pro Shop
Spacious locker rooms
Towel service
Health resource library
___j£ntertainment systems on cardio machines
I
I
I
I
I
I
l
I
I
I
l
l
DISCOUNTED
ENROLLMENT
*$100.00 OFF*
ENROLLMENT FEE
Expiration 1/31/03
\
COMMENTARY
&he Auburn jJiamaman
Investigators methods should be questioned
With the campus closed for the holidays, AU
President William William and University Rela­tions
Executive Director John Hachtel issued
statements heralding the release of the so-called
Bradley report as a major victory for
Auburn.
Richard Bradley, a Columbus attorney, had
as the result of AU's troubling and unprece­dented
lawsuit against its accrediting agency —
been appointed by a federal judge to investigate
charges made by an university-wide committee
alleging that the Board of Trustees had violated
accrediting standards set by the Southern Asso­ciation
of Colleges and Schools. While Bradley
discussed substantial evidence that at least
some of the accrediting standards might have
been breached, he chose to selectively apply
inappropriate legal standards when judging
whether the Board had violated SACS stan­dards.
I believe Bradley's standards, methodology
and even his objectivity and fairness should be
questioned. Furthermore, determining
Auburn's compliance with SACS standards
should never have been a legal matter. Judg­ments
concerning compliance to SACS stan­dards
should not be a legal matter. Such
judgments are and should be made by academic
professionals from peer universities, not by
lawyers.
Let me cite just a few of the problems with
Bradley's report.
Judging from his footnotes, Bradley relied pri­marily
on interviews with trustees and their
hand-picked administrators. While 13 board
members and nine current administrators were
cited in the document, only 10 faculty members
were listed. More telling: 70 percent of the
citations were from administrators or trustees
and fewer than 20 percent were from faculty.
Why? I introduced myself to Bradley, gave
him my business card and indicated that I
would like to talk to him.
I had been chair of the University Senate and
was one of two faculty representatives on the
Commission to Restructure the University. I
was never contacted. I know of others willing to
talk to Bradley who were not contacted. Some
faculty who were interviewed report that
jBradley appeared to be uninterested and even
refused relevant documentation they made
available. Since it was the faculty that was
GLENN
HOWZE
howzcgr@auburn.edu
largely responsible for the charges against the
board, it is curious that Bradley essentially
chose to ignore this group.
A central charge against the board is micro-management,
i.e., trustees involved
themselves in management decisions
that were in the jurisdiction of the Pres­ident.
One specific charge was the
Board's role in denying tenure to Profes
sor Charles Curran in 1991.
Though he was shown a newspaper
article in which Trustee Bobby Lowder
acknowledges the board's role in this
matter, Bradley reports that there is no
evidence to support the charge. He sim
ilarly says no evidence exists that the
board played an improper role in the
establishment of the "grade-forgiveness'
policy — but provides ample evidence
that Trustee Lowell Barron played an active role
in this matter.
When offered a box of documentation con­cerning
the improper role of the board in the
merger of the journalism and communications
departments, Bradley refused it. The only exam­ple
of micromanagement with which Bradley
acknowledged was the elimination by the board
of the Ph.D program in economics. Perhaps he
chose to believe a lawyer friend on this matter.
Incredibly, Bradley also found that the board
was not improperly involved in the manage­ment
of the athletics program. Surejy, Mr.
Bradley was aware that the reason the Birming­ham
News had referred to Trustee Lowder as
the most important man in Alabama football is
not because he has a vanity license plate. Did
Bradley not ask why ex-Coach Terry Bowden
refused to talk to him? Bradley asserts that it is
to be expected that trustees and alumni are
interested in athletics and have contact with
the coaching staff. Surely, he does not believe
that Lowder and the other board members are
just super-fans, members of the Monday Morn­ing
Quarterback Club that meets at the Grill to
discuss the pros and cons of the Hail Mary play.
Bradley was provided with a NCAA report that
contained a warning about further board
involvement in athletics. Is there anyone who
truly believes that Trustee Lowder has not been
actively involved in the management of Auburn
athletics?
Another issue Bradley addresses is the degree
which Lowder controls other trustees. Bradley
dutifully notes Trustee Samford lobbied for
Lowder and Trustee Miller is Lowder's personal
attorney. He reports that trustees Rane, Spina
and Miller serve or have served on
boards of Lowder's bank.
The fact is that at least nine out of
the 11 appointed trustees have busi­ness
relations with Lowder and/or
his Bank and another has been
HOI played the actively involved on Lowder's side in
decisive role Itl a'urnn' politics. Let's assume there
are a dozen banks in Alabama. Does
the reader have any idea of the minis-cule
probability that this occurred by
chance?
The odds are several times greater
for winning the Powerball. Is there
anyone who believes that Lowder has
not played the decisive role in all board
appointments in the last few years? After all,
Lowder was the major contributor to Gov.
Siegelman's campaign four years ago and the
press reports that Lowder was the major con­tributor
to Riley's campaign last year.
Nevertheless, Bradley sides with board mem­bers
who note that all groups have leaders and
Lowder has just emerged as a respected leader
of the board. I doubt if many would assert Low­der
has many of the charismatic qualities need­ed
for leadership.
Bradley gives the trustees a pass on major
financial deals with the University and said they
are not illegal. Lowder bank had the credit card
concession for the better part of two decades
and another of his companies had broadcast
rights for Auburn athletics. Major contracts for
windows have been awarded to a firm owned by
Barron and/or his family.
"Is there
anyone who
believes that
Lowder has
all hoard
appointments
in the last few
years?"
We Now Accept Tiger Cards
Casual convenience and fine dining
all in one place. Want something light
for a dinner break?
We are just across the street!
Try our quesadillas, or one of our
sandwiches like the turkey wrap or
rib-eye philly.
Impress a date or your parents.
Our chefs prepare wonderful entrees
such as crab cake napoleon and
rack of lamb.
See our website at www.auhcc.com
for complete menus.
Don % forget our Breakfast Buffet.
Fresh seasonal fruit, assorted Danish and muffins, bagels and cream cheese,
fruit yogurts, oatmeal, cereals, fluffy scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, sausage links,
potatoes, grits and southern style buttermilk biscuits...$6.75
Hours of Operation
Jreakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sunday
Brunch
Daily
Mon-Sat
Sun-Thurs
Fri-Sat
Sunday
6:30-11 a.m.
11 a.m.-2 p.m
5:30-9 p.m.
5:30-10 p.m.
11 a.m.-2 p.m
Located in the Auburn University
Hotel and Conference Center.
821-8200 ext. 2
At the least, there is an appearance of conflict
of interest. Can you imagine the outcry if Presi­dent
Bush owned a company that supplied uni­forms
to the U.S. military?
For me, the most troubling aspect of the
Bradley report was the seemingly gratuitous
attack on former President William Muse. Ref­erencing
primarily trustees and current admin­istrators,
Bradley characterizes Muse as a weak leader.
Walker chosen by the Board without a search —
is celebrated as a strong leader. The argument
was that the Board got involved in the day-to­day
running of the university and went behind
Muse's back to deal with other administrators
because Muse was weak and could not make
decisions. Several facts belie these claims.
Bradley's report notes the doard began play­ing
an activist role in the Funderburk and Mar­tin
administrations.
It is no secret that Lowder opposed Muse's
appointment as President and worked diligently
from that day forward to have him removed. A
strong argument can be made that the reason
Lowder opposed Muse was that Muse refused to
let Lowder run the university.
After several years of dealing with Lowder,
President Muse applied for positions elsewhere.
When he was chosen as one of two finalists for
the president's position at a major university,
there was a groundswell of support for Muse
and the doard voted to give him a five year con­tract
in order to entice him to stay. (This
occurred during the brief period that Lowder
was off of the board.)
This is hardly the action of a board that
thought that Muse was weak. Once Lowder •
returned to the Board and was successful in
gaining complete control, he was able to get rid
of Muse.
Problems remain at Auburn. I hope we can
all work together to build a better University.
However, this will not happen until the prob­lems
outlined by the Joint Assessment Commit­tee
are addressed. The Bradley report has been
found wanting.
Glenn Howze is professor of agriculture econom­ics
and rural sociology. He is also president of the
Auburn chapter of the American Association of
College Professors. You can reach him at 844-5631.
arc
an<
^tuled after ciaddic r lew LJrteand
hitecture with quiet courtyards
d private balconied, the C/arden
^Jjiitrict had created a 5afe,
affordable place for uou to relax,
itudu and en-jou life while
preparing for the fullul re.
District
Monthly Rental Rates
Effective August 2003
Unfurnished...300.00 to 340.00 per Bedroom
Furnished 337.00 to 385.00 per Bedroom
Choose between our spacious Two Bedroom/ Two Bath and
Three Bedroom/ Three Bath Townhouses.
NOW PRE-LEASING FOR FALL!
LIMITED AVAILABILITY! COME SEE OUR MODEL!
190 East University Drive
http://www.gardendistrictrentals.com
(334) 826-0550
^Mt tlte Ljarcbn Jjiitrict, it i
horn*, tilt' way college should IH
AIO Thursday, Jan. 16 2003
— ' — — * •£
QTlje Auburn $lama:man
COMMENTARY
3Tl)e Auburn ^latn^man
FOUNDED IN L893 AS THE ORANGE & BLUE
Volume 109. No. 15
GINNY PARMER
Copy Editor
LINDSAY EVANS
Campus Editor
JANICE FREW
Intrigue Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
ADAM JONES
Editor
HEATH LOFTIN
State & Local Editor
BRIAN KANE
Sports Editor
JUSTIN SMITH
Managing Editor
FRANK DILLARD
Photo Editor
DANIEL MOORE
Art Editor
OUR VIEW
Incomplete
Long-awaited SACS report not what
Auburn was looking for
It took almost two years to happen
— an independent investigation of
Auburn University and its Board of
Trustees. It came.
While administration praise the
report, the 44-page report submitted
to SACS last month is short on sub­stance.
The problems with the report are
basic information gathering flaws.
The report takes the word of
trustees and University administra­tion.
It presents an issue raised by
faculty in a letter of complaint to
SACS, asks trustees what they
thought about it and reports it as
fact.
"Those close to the investigation,
and to JAC, I think were very disap­pointed.
There is a segment of faculty
very dishearted by the outcome," Uni­versity
Senate chair Barbara Struem-pler
said. "I think the items have been
looked at, but apparently, the people
with the right evidence didn't come
through."
Another Haw with the report is the
abundance of trustee administration
interviews, with few footnotes refer­ence
faculty and staff interviews.
Of the 81 interview footnotes, 61 ref­erences
are made to trustees, 29 to
administrators, about 25 to faculty,
with only 10 to others, including AT1P
leaders.
In elementary school, if Johnny tells
the teacher Billy hit him, the teacher
will ask Billy, who has a history of bad
conduct, if he did indeed hit Johnny.
Billy of course denies the whole event,
but good teachers don't take the word
of the bad children.
The teacher will ask other trust­worthy
students what happened.
Bradley takes the word of the bad
child as fact.
The faculty's opinion was not given
the same weight as the trustees, mak­ing
the whole document untrustwor-i+
ally though, faculty are work-
.iccomplishing the goals they
st ' .'.h — better communica-tic.•••
,>rith the board and shared gover­nance
of the University.
The report noted that since the let­ter
in April 2001, faculty have gotten a
non-voting seat on the board and
committees, all board meetings are
held in public and better communica­tion
has been established.
Still, trustees are showing momen­tary
guilt to save their image. It was
clear last summer when the board
named William Walker president
after the faculty voted against it, that
communication, however blatant, is
being ignored in the face of what
these 12 men want.
There is hope that SACS will see
through this document and give
Auburn the penalty it deserves.
Power moves
The battle over the three upcoming
vacancies to the Board of Trustees
has been interesting at times, ques­tionable
and has displayed raw poli­tics
at the state level.
The nominating committee has
met three times since school let out
for Christmas.
At the first of those meetings, the
committee decided to meet in pri­vate,
turning away media and Univer­sity
officials.
The committee, chaired by former
Alumni Association vice president
and AOL Time Warner CEO Don
Logan, called the state attorney gen­eral's
office for advice before meeting
behind closed doors.
The committee doesn't handle pub­lic
money or make decisions about
public resources so it's legal to meet
in private, but it isn't a sound deci­sion
by the committee.
The five-man committee made up
of the current president and vice-president
of the Alumni Association
and two trustees — Bobby Lowder
and Jimmy Samford — make deci­sions
that effect a public institution.
They should want to meet in public.
The private meetings leave a bad
taste. Committee members say they
are discussing the good name and
character of potential trustees during
the meetings. Even then, the state
Supreme Court has ruled many times
that interviews for public jobs should
meet in public, except for the tiny
part of the meeting when character is
discussed.
Logan and the committee are
wrong to meet in private. Private
business breeds public distrust.
Oddly, the two trustees, who have
been found guilty of violating the
state's Open Meetings law in the past,
wanted the meetings in public.
There is knowledge of public meet­ings
comes from the lesson they
should have learned, but Lowder's
battle for public meetings was more
of a delaying tactic.
Next Monday is an important date.
It's inauguration day for Gov.-elect
Bob Riley, and it's the last day Logan
can chair the committee.
Logan, along with the two Associa­tion
leaders, give anti-board parties a
3-2 advantage, a crucial advantage in
the fight for the nominations.
Riley has said he will serve on the
committee after Jan. 20, and Lowder,
who gave some money to his cam­paign,
wants Riley to be in charge.
No one knows how Riley would
vote because the anti-board political
action committee, Auburn Trustee
Improvement PAC, also donated to
Riley.
Riley should stay off the committee
and let it finish the work that's start­ed.
A new governor needn't dirty his
hands by stirring the waters at
Auburn. Just ask Gov. Don Siegelman
what that means. He'll be free the
next four years.
This new chapter in Auburn poli­tics
is no different from the past. It
involves a struggle for control of
Auburn. Right now, a disliked board
is in control.
If Logan can finish the committees
work by Monday, and he should,
maybe control of the board can start
leaning away from the current board.
DANIEL MOORE
OUR POLICY
The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff an: restricted to these pages. '/'/»; unsigned editorials
are the majority opinion of the nine-member editorial board and are the
official opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed m columns, pictures and letters
represent the views and opinions of their individual authors and do riot necessarily reflect the
Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Hoard of Trustees.
STAFF OPINIONS
Penn State fans, players sour grapes
It was definitely great to be an
Auburn Tiger on Jan. 1 in Orlando.
We all know how the underdog
Tigers upset a top-10 team, yet
again, this season. That's nothing
new. We've come to expect great
things from our team, and it's come
through with flying colors.
Yes, even before the game, I was
proud to bleed orange and blue.
It was a tense, close game the
whole time, and when it was over,
Auburn celebrated and Penn State
sulked. As it should be.
But Larry Johnson and many
Penn State fans I ran into showed
me their true colors as they groused
at Auburn, saying we were a noth­ing
team from Nowhere, Ala., and
that we just got lucky.
Consider Larry Johnson — also
known as the best running back in
the nation. Or maybe not.
Instead of admitting defeat, and
congratulating the winning team
(which, by the way, I would expect
Auburn to do after a loss), he claims
that the Tigers didn't tame the
Lions — PSU just didn't come out
to win. He said his team would have
won if he'd had the ball more.
And then the PSU fans sitting in
my section kept yelling their one
and only, pathetic little chant: "We
are Penn State."
Thanks guys, after the 500th
JUSTIN
SMITH
smUh@theplainsman.com
time, I still wasn't sure who we were
playing. Get some real cheers.
Imagine the look a particular
woman and her husband had after
returning from the concession
stand to get a "sodi pop" (mis­spelling
intentional), only to find
their beloved Nittany Lions were
down 13-9.1 low horrid!
Certainly, this was the result of
those Alabama rednecks cheating,
or something, they surmised.
But how could that be, you ask? It
was widely known that retiring ref­eree
Jack Cramer of the Big East
Conference favored Penn State, and
nearly every questionable call went
against Auburn.
Could it possibly be that Auburn
was simply better than the Lions on
New Year's Day? Impossible, my
Yankee friends concluded.
If Larry Johnson is looking for
someone to blame, he should look
in the mirror. The truth hurts.
Despite him insulting the Auburn
defense, the Tigers kept cool heads
and showed they had far more class
than their Big Ten rivals.
Linebacker Dontarrious Thomas
smiled and simply said "everyone's
entitled to their opinion" when he
heard Johnson's quote.
The Tigers went as underdogs,
upset a higher-ranked team and
came home classy champions.
Too bad I can't say the same thing
for Penn State.
Until New Year's Day, I didn't real­ly
care about PSU one way or anoth­er.
But after the way the Lions' fans
and players I saw acted that
Wednesday, Penn State now ranks
down in the gutter with Alabama.
Now, I'm not one of those guys
who roots for the Tide anytime
they're not playing Auburn. I root
against Bama 100 percent of the
time.
But I'll make an exception just
this once. Alabama will travel to
State College, Pa., next season to
play Penn State, and I hope the Tide
rolls all over the whiny Lions.
13-9.17-7. 23-20. Get used to it.
Hey Penn State: We are Auburn.
Justin Smith is managing editor of
The Auburn Plainsman. You can
reach him at 844-9108.
Bush must remember workers
Before their deaths, I don't
remember the last time I heard my
grandparents speak with sorrow
over the dwindling status of the
stock market. Or any other of the
hard-working, poor-to-lower mid­dle-
class people I know. I have
never heard them speak of what
a shame it is that a CEO. who
most likely has bank accounts
on six different foreign shores,
lost $1 million in a botched
investment.
Which is perhaps why when I
hear about President (ieorge W.
Bush's most recent tax reform plan,
I don't feel any relief or pleasure
myself, because it is clearly moti­vated
to assist those who don'l
need assistance, leaving those who
do with a minimal chance ol relief.
It's easy for a president to be
loved during times ol crisis, if he
takes action, no matter what the
action, anil Bush did.
Yet Bush, who emerged as some­thing
of a force after the Sept 11
attacks, must now prove that he is
as much for the American people
— every person, from blue-collar
laborers to welfare mothers — as
he is for the American corporation,
But this plan that many believe will
benefit only wealthy investors and
CEOs, proves only that he advo­cates
the best interests of certain
Americans — Americans who last
year we all watched with suspicion
as corporation after corporation
faced scrutiny for unethical, and
more often than not, illegal busi­ness
endeavors.
There's the slock market
The president claims that such
massive tax cuts as he proposes,
LAUREN
GLENN
glenn@theplalnsman.com
cuts that would amount to $674
billion, would incite increases in a
stock market that for that past year
has floundered.
And for wealthy men and women
who have recently lost thousands,
and others millions, a healthier
stock market would bring relief. It's
the same degree of relief a man
working two jobs to feed his family
might feel when he doesn't lose a
$100 bet at the racetrack, but it's
relief nonetheless.
Yet the people who genuinely
need tax relief— money for opera­tions
they can't afford, to feed fami­lies
and repair 10-year-old cars they
need to take their children to
school before they head to work in
a factory, or a grocery store, or a
fast-food restaurant — the status
of the stock market is inconsequen­tial.
In fact, many of those people
probably wish their greatest finan­cial
concern was how much money
they made or lost at the hands of a
corporation they had invested
some money, but no physical labor.
Then there's the jobs.
Jobs may be created. Honest, less
greedy businesses may create jobs.
But chances are, those jobs will
only relieve the same people who
would find relief in a healthier
stock market.
And the assertion that by
decreasing the amount of money
large corporations would pay in
taxes would decrease unemploy­ment
is only true if those compa­nies
are forced to use that money to
create more jobs. And even then,
who would those jobs be created
for?
Most of these jobs would be cre­ated
within massive corporations,
often corporations whose profits
do not come from manual labor or
physical production, but instead
through investments, lawsuits, real
estate and other white-collar, pin
stripe, buy-and-sell business
endeavors that have little effect on
those who truly need work the
most — the poorly educated and
the disabled.
A healthy stock market and
decrease in taxes for large corpora­tions
and the wealthy, while per­haps
having a minimal benefit for
the poor and lower middle-class
workers they employ, will predomi­nately
assist only those who require
the least assistance.
Because the stock market bene­fits
mostly large corporations.
And large corporations house
desk jobs.
Desk jobs seat suits.
And too often it is forgotten that
not everyone owns one.
Lauren Glenn is an assistant copy
editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
You can reach her at 844-9108.
QTlje Auburn $lamgmnn Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 AI \
COMMENTARY
Riley has a longer battle ahead than behind
Gov.-elect Bob Riley lost the election.
Yes, he won in November, but he lost
the most importan election other than
the race against Gov. Don Siegelman.
Riley lost an effort to control the Sen­ate.
Try as he might, he could not
muster enough votes to put a senator in
charge that would be favorable to bis
agenda.
And it was a nasty political struggle,
with Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, the
senator who will be in charge of the
Senate the next four years, calling for
reforms that would penalize Riley for
his actions.
In the world of politics, there is poli­tics
and then there is Alabama politics.
With Alabama's weak campaign
finance laws and even weaker restric­tions
on lobbyists, politics is amplified.
Few other places allow voters to see
the greed of lawmakers fighting each
other for pork projects. Few other
states allow for lobbyists like Alabama
Farmers Federation and the Alabama
Education Association to rule govern­ment.
Yet, here we are. A state in desperate
need of reform, electing the same politi­cians
that brought us to this point.
Barron is a perfect example of that.
In the last four years he has thwarted
almost every attempt at meaningful
reform. He blocked attempts at consti­tutional
reform, educational reform
and tax reform.
He'll deny this, of course. After all, he
helped get the automatic teacher pay
raises passed. Great, now teachers can
get a pay raise while students go with­out
Most good teachers probably spent
some of that raise on the classroom
anyway. In a state that doesn't ade­quately
fund education, teachers are
forced to dip into their pocketbooks.
ADAM
JONES
jones@theplainsman.com
Barron has been the puppet of Siegel­man
the past four years, and he will
probably be the thorn in Riley's side.
As pro tem of the Senate, Barron has
the power to assign bills and appoint
committees. If he doesn't like a bill, he'll
bury it in a committee chaired by his
buddy.
He's done it before, and there's no rea­son
to believe he won't do it again.
Riley failed to gain the 18 votes need­ed
to elect a pro tem who would give
Riley's initiatives a fair shake in the Sen­ate.
He got 16 senators to form a coali­tion.
Barron got 19. Most senators don't
want to be on the losing side of a power
struggle.
Last week Barron mentioned reduc­ing
the governors office's budget, an
obvious shot at Riley for waging the
fight
Barron said Tuesday on the Senate
floor after his election that he wants
the fight put in the past. Maybe he will
let Riley's bills surface in the Senate, but
he probably won't
For the past four years, Barron has
been like most other lawmakers. He has
wanted to superglue Alabama's prob­lems
instead of passing new measures
that would reform the state.
Besides that, he's a politician's politi­cian.
He has proposed and passed laws
banning small town police from pulling
over speeders on intersates after he got
a ticket
He's been investigated by the state
Ethics Commission, and his office's
budget has grown larger than that of
the governor.
According to a report in the Opelika-
Auburn News, his office also gives large
amounts of money for personal use to
senators' secrataries. Clearly, he buys off
senators to help him keep power.
That's what all this is about — power.
Barron wants to maintain status-quo
and keep his power. Why rock the boat
when he's doing well?
Alabama can only hope Barron and
Riley can work together the next four
years, or Riley's election was an exercise
in futility.
Adam Jones is editor of The Auburn
Plainsman. You can reach him at
844-9021.
Disappointment follows bowl
game with Auburn
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
The Capital One Bowl fiasco has left
a bitter taste in my mouth. After dis­cussing
the validity of the post game
comments by Auburn defenseman
Reggie Torbor, with Auburn fans, I
have to say that both Larry Johnson
and Torbor were out of line.
I know that losing always hurts, but
Johnson should have taken some time
to cool down before letting loose with
the media about his thoughts. Johnson
came off looking like a poor sport and
a whiner, but I know he is better than
that. I expect more grace from a Pater-no
team.
Torbor's reactionary comments were
just as bad. A sportsman would not
stoop to Johnson's level. Worse, Torbor
made unsubstantiated comments
about Johnson's year and his ability.
Who are you, Reggie Torbor, to make a
comment like that after only seeing
him play for one game. I could've said
that here in the Big Ten you'd be start­ing
on special teams, but I can't after
only seeing you play one game. Just
because he had a bad game does not
mean that he is overrated or lacking
ability. Just because he lacked grace in
his comments, yours do not gain more
validity That Johnson "started it" is
not an excuse for a lack of respect. A
poor winner is just as bad as a poor
loser.
It's too bad that both teams couldn't
have shown more grace. I know that
Penn State players are above this and I
am sure that Auburn players are too.
Congrats on the good win. I also put
this same letter in my own school
paper.
Jon Serianni
Penn State student
Editor wrong to call for tax
increase, criticize business
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
When did The Plainsman become a
paper of liberal blathering? I just had
the pleasure of reading Adam Jones'
column of December 4.1 say 'pleasure'
because it did give me a good chuckle
... mostly because of his naivete. Or
maybe he's an Arkansas native and
went to the Bill Clinton school of "Big­ger
Government, More Taxes Fixes
Everything."
Wonder what would happen if
somebody ... say Mr. Jones ... actually
suggested that Alabama's new gover­nor
look into WASTE in Alabama edu­cation
instead of popping off with a
blatantly liberal-biased (and unin­formed)
opinion about the need to
raise taxes?
For some odd reason that no one
WAT ARC Wc 6oMW
Po WlTWeUT5«i)&t>/\Y
FOOT&ALL-GAIA&S?
YSO'fcC TUNNY,
has been able to pin since the 1960s,
college students feel the need to blast
big business (who the hell do they
think prop up their universities with
grants, scholarships, etc?), large
landowners, the wealthy, etc. Mr. Jones
continues this uninformed, off-base
trend. . •.
Please, go to your J-school. Learn to
interview. Then find out why Alaba­ma's
education system stinks. It isn't
lack of money. (Hint: Look up the word
'accountability.')
By the way, I'm a former long-time
Alabama resident now living in Flori­da.
It's the same here... except these
folks got duped into thinking a lottery
would be their saving grace. What they
weren't told was that whatever amount
of money the lottery generated for
education, an equal amount would be
removed from the general fund.
Result? A net gain of zero. Here's hop­ing
Alabama doesn't fall for the same
garbage.
Eric Thornason
Destin, Fla.
All need God's love
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
I will be the first to admit that I am
no scholar of the Bible. But what is
clear about the teachings of the Bible,
in fact, the teachings of most organ­ized
religions: the tenets offered are
not centered on hate. I was under the
impression that somewhere in the
Bible it states that Jesus said some­thing
to the effect of "what you do to
the least of my people, you do to me."
This is related to that insightful rule,
you know, the golden one, which advis­es
people to treat people like they want
to be treated.
Over the last several weeks of fall
semester I read with dismay the letters
responding to an article printed in The
Plainsman. 1 think the issue here is
much greater than just the presence of
gays and lesbians in Auburn. We, as a
culture and a people, have lost touch
with concepts of compassion, and that
we are in fact all human, and we hurt
and we feel love and we feel fear. Hon­estly,
some of the hypocritical, self-righteous
so-called-Christians around
here scare me. I might not want to sit
down and share my family dinner with
them. I may not want my nieces and
nephew hanging around them for fear
that they might be corrupted by the
narrowness of sight instilled by those
individuals, but if they needed help, I
would not turn my back Would you?
We categorize to keep ourselves safe
and sheltered. But the seeds of good
change break us out of the realm of
safety. We should all plant seeds of
diversity in each other.
Being hateful and full of negative
judgment sets us back as individuals
and a region. It is not wise to rip
through every day shoving everything
you don't like into a closet, or a proj­ect,
a nursing home or a mosque. It
takes work to walk in other people's
shoes. In fact, I should work harder to
walk in the shoes of those who adhere
to a strict religious dictum. We should
all work harder, think more, read more,
challenge our own misunderstandings
and judgments. Auburn University
could work harder to promote diversi­ty.
Most people want the same thing in
their life, to be happy. Finding this
happiness comes in many forms, but
to deny anyone joy in living because
they are a lesbian, or a preacher, or an
Arab, or rich, or poor, or white or
black, this is the sin, this is greatest
tragedy.
Kyes Stevens
alumnus, 1994
Bible preaches love, not hate
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
I am writing in response to Jonathan
Phelps' article concerning homosexu­ality.
Mr. Phelps, son of Fred Phelps,
the radical "preacher" who runs the
"God Hates Fags" campaign, did not
adequately illustrate God and his for­giveness.
As a Christian man, I cannot
with good conscience allow God's
mercy and grace to be pushed aside.
In my five years as a Christian, I have
discovered one thing. Love moves
hearts and changes lives more power­fully
than fear. Fear stirs up anger and
hate, but love cuts to the heart and
makes a true impact on our lives. Mr.
Phelps, if you really want to see lives
changed for Jesus Christ, I recommend
love. If you want a receptive audience, I
recommend that you look past homo­sexuals'
behavior and begin to love as
God has loved you unconditionally.
I am reminded of John 8:1-11, in
which Jesus is faced with a choice in
judging a woman who was caught in
adultery. The law of the day required
that she be executed, and the religious
leaders couldn't wait to hand out the
sentence. However, when asked for his
opinion, Jesus chose love over condem­nation.
"If any one of you is without
sin, let him be the first to throw a
stone at her." (v.7) Jesus understood
that love is a prerequisite for a
changed life, and this woman was
never the same.
Homosexuals, as well as every single
one of us, desperately need to experi­ence
the depth of God's love. People
don't care how much you know, until
they know how much you care. Paul
understood this concept when he
spoke, "If I speak in the tongues of
men and of angels, but have not love, 1
am only a resounding gong or a clang­ing
cymbal." (1 Cor. 13:1 NIV) Mr.
Phelps, your picket signs may get you
on the evening news, but demonstrat­ing
God's love is what gets into people's
hearts.
Drew Jones
junior. HDFS
Speaker not good for A uburn
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
As ya'll may or may not know the
NAACP, in 1991, passed a resolution to
do away with all the history of tl.
Confederacy. This includes the eradi-
DANIEL MOORE — ART EDITOR
cation of all symbols, names, culture,
etc. of the South. The resolution states
the flag as "an odious blight upon the
universe," and "the ugly symbol of idi­otic
white supremacy racism and deni­gration."
Hardly the kind of words you
would expect from an organization
claiming to seek equality and toler­ance.
The NAACP is even known today
as the 'Klan of the New South' to many
southerners.
School, street, bridge names such as
Lee, Jackson, Davis and even pre-
WBTS names as Washington and Jef­ferson
are being changed to MLK and
other civil rights activists names. A
NAACP leader in Texas was asked
when he thought history would be
changed enough to their satisfaction.
Just guess what he said. "Never. Once
we are done with the Confederacy, we
are going after the Alamo." All across
the nation NAACP leaders are deter­mined
to pick and choose history until
it is changed to their liking. Does this
remind you of any leaders of hate in
the past? Eliminating one's heritage
and culture to replace it with another's
hate and lies. I think any person in
their correct thinking would call the
NAACP a hate group.
Well, on Jan. 14, the new Center for
Diversity will be dedicated and Julian
Bond, chairman of the NAACP, will be
giving a speech. Every person of every
culture will be in attendance I'm sure.
In my opinion, those the new Center of
Diversity won't help are those of us
with Celtic and Southern roots. A sad
day in Auburn University history.
The event is for those who may have
some interest in the spreading of this
political correctness, tolerance, diver­sity,
multiculturalism propaganda and
to see what this hate group chairman
has to say for himself. I may not have
the stomach.
Hmmmm ... wonder if they'll have a
Q & A session sometime or have oth­ers
give opinions of this diversity stuff
on this day ... nah I'm dreaming.
Richard Mims
Penn State student
HOW TO CONTACT US
BY MAIL: B-100 FOY STUDENT UNION
AUBURN UNIVERSITY.AL
36849-5323
BY E-MAIL: LETTERS@THEPLAINSMAN.COM
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.
If' > >'>
S E L E ( O N S
'.* .A
&5*>#srs.e
EAGLE 4-. v
* >
" " ^
i ' ...
Orientation Meetings:
Monday, Jan. 13
189 Foy Student Union
8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
B6 Dudley Hall
7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 16
005 Lowder Business BIdg.
6:00 p.m.
Applications Available at the Foy Student Union Desk and 189 Foy.
Applications Due Before Noon, Friday, January 1%, In 189 Foy.
Parent Host Applications Available in February
DMston of Student Affairs
Wbt Auburn $latm*man
On the Concourse • Campus Calendar • Classifieds Campus Thursday. Jan. 16,2003 BI
IN BRIEF
LIBRARIES RESPOND TO
REQUESTS, EXTEND
HOURS: The Auburn
University Libraries
have extended their
hours, responding to
requests from surveyed
patrons. The Ralph
Brown Draughon
Library will be open
later on weeknights
and weekends on a trial
basis. The library is
now open 7:45 a.m. to 2
a.m. Monday through
Thursday; 7:45 a.m. to 9
p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.
to 9 p.m. Saturday.
NOTED THEATER GROUP
TO PERFORM AT
AUBURN: Alley II, a
branch of the Alvin
Ailey American Dance
Theatre, will perform
at the Telfair Peet The­atre
Jan. 23-25. Ailey II,
an internationally
acclaimed group of
dancers and choreog­raphers,
is brought to
Auburn by Auburn
University Outreach,
The Auburn Theatre
Department and The
Opelika Arts Associa­tion.
• •
FACULTY AWARDED:
Four professors from
Auburn's College of
Agriculture and School
of Forestry and
Wildlife Sciences
received the top Alaba­ma
Agricultural Exper­iment
Stations awards
for teaching, advising
and research in 2002.
Winners are Mary
Miller-Goodman,
Dean's Award for
Teaching Excellence;
Bob Nelson, Dean's
Award for Advising;
Daowei Zhang, Direc­tor's
Senior-Level
Award for Research; D.
Allen Davis, Director's
Junior-Level Award for
Research.
• •
QUOTABLE:
"When a student
learns, and you see
that light come on
in their eyes... to
me that's worth a
million bucks"
—Tarik Orgen
professor and chair,
architecture
—compiled from
staffreports
A tiger of a mascot
By ANNA CLAIRE STAMPS
Assistant Campus Editor
Auburn's favorite tiger is once again a national cham­pion.
In Orlando, Fla. this past weekend, Aubie brought
home the first place title in the 2003 College Mascot
National Championship.
"We're so excited and just really proud," said Taylor
Griswold, an associate of Aubie. "The whole year has
led up to this. *nd all of our hard work paid off."
Aubie beat out mascots from universities all over the
country, including third place winner "Smoky" from the
University of Tennessee and second place winner "Big
Al" from the University of Alabama.
"The final three mascots were all SEC mascots, so we
were very proud of that," said Debbie Shaw, Aubie's
adviser.
This is Aubie's fifth national title. He won previously
in 1992,1995,19%, and 1999.
"Aubie is easily the commander of the decade," said
Jeremy Legg, another associate of Aubie.
Aubie and his friends have been hard at work
Aubie wins his fifth
national title
throughout the year to prepare for the competition.
"One of our big goals this year was to win the national
championship," Legg said.
"it was a group effort," Griswold said. "All of us
worked hard together, picking music, making props and
rehearsing over and over."
The first part of the competition was a two-minute
highlight video that every university mascot sent in dur­ing
the fall.
"The video has everything the mascot does during
the year, like community service and sports events,"
Griswold said.
Aubie's video received second place nationwide. The
top 15 videos were selected, and the mascots were invit­ed
to Orlando this past weekend. Each mascot per­formed
a 90-second skit as part of the second portion of
the competition.
"Ours was a skit that centered on Aubie being a chef
in a kitchen," Shaw said. "He had several props, used
them to music and used his animation skills to win the
crowd and the judges."
At the awards ceremony, the winners were called in
order, from 15th place to first. When Aubie's name was
announced as the champion, everyone who contributed
to the award celebrated.
"Jeremy and Trey tackled (Aubie). and then all the
other mascots were hitting and tackling (Aubie)," Gris­wold
said.
The Aubie's coworkers said the large amount of work
during the year was worth it
"It really is a huge commitment, between a 20 and 30
hour week," Legg said.
"During a normal week in the fall, Aubie has any­where
from 10 to 20 appearances, and Saturday is an all-day
commitment," Legg continued. "I wouldn't trade it
for anything."
Parking reduced on campus
By ANNA CLAIRE STAMPS
Assistant Campus Editor
Auburn students will see several
new changes around campus over the
next few years.
Some of these changes will take
place almost immediately.
"If we do it right, we can make it
not only a safer campus, but make it
more convenient," said Mike Krause,
the parking arid traffic committee
student head.
One of the most significant changes
that will take place is the permanent
closing of Roosevelt Drive from Dun­can
Street to Mell Street. This closing
could happen as early as next week
Krause said that for now the street
will be used as a construction staging
point, mainly for the proposed life sci­ences
buildings. Current student
parking on Roosevelt between Dun­can
and Mell will not be available
once the road is closed.
Additionally, University officials
have decided to barricade the Hill
area during Wednesday night chapter
meetings, so that only Hill residents
and sorority members will be allowed
to enter.
The barricade system, first imple­mented
this past fall during rush, is
designed to control the large parking
problem that occurs every Wednes­day
night.
The University is now looking more
Katie Brumbeloe — Assistant Photo Editor
As the University moves toward a car-free central campus, "pedestrian-i/
ut ion," Roosevelt Drive will permanently close from Duncan Street to
Mell Street. Roosevelt could close as early as next week.
closely at the parking situation all students."
over campus. At a meeting this week,
the Auburn Facilities Division
reviewed proposals from two consult­ing
agents. Volkert and Associates
and Wells and Associates, in combi­nation
with Skipper Consulting, Inc.,
both submitted proposals for the
"pedestrianization" of the campus.
Wells and Associates with Skipper
Consulting, Inc. were chosen for their
enthusiasm, willingness to listen to
students and their fair price, Krause
said.
"They have done work with Auburn
before," he said. "They did the game
day situation and they seem to be
very hands-on and into listening to
Wells and Skipper's proposal will
cost Auburn an estimated $89,550,
while Volkert's proposal would have
cost anywhere from $200,000 to
$250,000. Krause said there was not a
large difference in the proposals,
other than the price.
"We're getting a very good deal,"
Krause said.
The Tiger Transit system is also
being closely examined, and, pending
approval, will undergo several
changes in the next few months.
"Everybody realizes the massive
deficiency in the Tiger Transit sys­tem,"
Krause said. "Hopefully we will
• Turn to PARKING, B3
University
Senate outlines
semester plans
By JAMES DIFFEE
Assistant Campus Editor
The University Senate is looking forward to a
productive new year.
After the call to order and approval of the min­utes
President William Walker announced the
dedication of the new Center for Diversity and
Race Relations, the subsequent lecture from
NAACP President Julian Bond and the status of
dean searches.
Walker also spent several minutes discussing
Alabama's education budget. Despite the predict­ed
$500 million — 12 percent — cut, Walker still
maintains a positive attitude.
"Very few, if any, elected officials promised no
new taxes," Walker said. "Perhaps something will
finally be done."
Walker said he is meeting with several promi­nent
persons involved in the budget debate, and
believes the University can help influence the
direction the state takes in its budgeting deci­sions.
"My hope is that over the course of the next
year we will be able to effect positive changes in
our financial situation," Walker said.
Barb Struempler, university senate chair,
echoed Walker's optimism.
"There is no denying that the last 18 months
have been a struggle," Struempler said. "But 2003
> Turn to SENATE, B3
INDSAY EVANS, EDITOR •(334)844-9118 • CAMPUS@THEPLAINSMAN.COM
B2 Thursday, Jan. 16.2003
University pageant coming up
3Tljc Hubum plainsman
By STAC EY ROLLINS
Staff Writer
The Miss Auburn University
Pageant, scheduled Jan. 24. is
not just another beauty contest.
Sponsored annually by the
SGA, each contestant is
required to have a community
service platform. This year's
pageant has 24 contestants and
the theme is "Sweet Dreams."
"Your platform is something
you feel passionate about, or a
community service organiza­tion
you've worked with for a
long time," said contestant
Rachel Osby. a junior in busi­ness.
"It's a way to give back to
the community."
Osby has participated in
other preliminary pageants
across Alabama.
"TheMiss Auburn University
Pageant is a little more nerve-wracking
than any other
because you're doing it in front
of your friends," Osby said. "It's
also the most fun because you
get to know the other girls bet­ter."
Jill Moore, executive director
of the pageant, along with
Joseph Fountain ami James
Kampfer, co-directors, began
preparing for the event the day
after the 2002 pageant.
Contestants are judged in five
categories: private interview, 40
percent; artistic expression in
talent, 30 percent; lifestyle and
fitness in swimsuit, 10 percent;
presence and poise in evening
wear. 10 percent: and overall
composite score. 10 percent.
The winner of the pageant
will receive one year of in-state
tuition.
The first runner-up will
receive one semester of in-state
tuition and the second runner-up
will receive one-half semes­ter
of in-state tuition.
Abby Lane, a junior in appar­el
merchandising, said she has
not had as much pageant expe­rience
as the other girls.
Miss Auburn University will
be her fourth pageant and her
second Miss Alabama primary.
Although nervous. I.ane said
she looks forward to the com­petition.
"I'm going into the pageant
with a positive attitude," Lane
said. "If I do not win a title, at
least I will have made 23 new
best friends."
General, author speaks on war
By KAYLA FREE
Slull Writer
Retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, co-author of "We
Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," spoke at the
Jan. 13 meeting of the Auburn University Acade­my
of Lifelong Learners.
"1 wanted to tell the world what mv great sol­diers
did, and I knew that if I didn't do it. no one
_else would." he said.
Hie 2002 book-based film "We Were Soldiers"
features Mel Gibson as Moore at the la Drang
.battle in Vietnam.
Moore, who commanded two infantry compa­nies
in the Korean War. was an infantry battalion
and brigade commander in Vietnam.
He has received awards including the Purple
Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross and two
Combat Infantry Badges. In two wars. Moore
never lost a man as a prisoner of war or missing
in action.
He is also a sky-diving pioneer, a master para­chutist
with more than 300 jumps and a helicop­ter
pilot.
The decade-long research for his book led
Moore back to Vietnam to walk the battlefields
with opposing commanders.
He and co-author Joe Galloway agreed if the
book was at all successful, thev would institute a
scholarship fund for the descendants of the men
who fought at la Drang.
The program is currently in place and has
raised thousands of dollars.
In his speech Monday. Moore commented on
the current U.S. military efforts. The War against
Terrorism in the United States is "a war without
end." he said. "The enemy is everywhere and
nowhere."
Moore also said the United States should get
out of the nation-building business.
Moore said there were two major tragedies in
the 20th century: "the decline of morality in
America and the Vietnam War."
Moore's speech was open to the public, and
many traveled several hours to hear him speak.
"Men in battle do not fight tor the flag, for the
president or for the American people. They fight
for each other. They fight and die for each other,
and in time they love each other like brothers."
Moore said. "Hate war. but love the American
war hero."
Moore currently lives in Auburn and Crested
Butte. Colo., with his wife of 52 vears. Julie.
At age 80, he enjoys skiing, hiking, climbing
and bass fishing. He is currently working on a
book about leadership.
RHM Fitness
Located in Dorm M
Get in shape for Spring Break!
All new equipment
Treadmills
Elliptical Machines
Weight Machines
Free Weights
Spring Semester for ONLY $100.00
Mon - Thurs.
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Hours t I I IV/UI w i
6:30 am -
6:30 am-
11:00 am -
2:00 pm-
• 10:00 pm
• 5:00 pm
• 5:00 pm
40:00 pm
Come to the Campus Mall for a guest pass
Open to all currently enrolled AU Students
We accept Tiger Club, Visa & Mastercard
Greek system fosters diversity
By ADAM JONES
Editor
More than two years after what many called
racially offensive photographs surfaced at
Auburn University, the Greek system has
become unified, said Greek student leaders.
On Jan. 7, leaders of the Interfraternity Coun­cil,
National Pan-Hellenic Council and Panhel-lenic
Council met for a day retreat to discuss
ways the three organizations can work together
this semester.
NPHC represents all historically black frater­nities
and sororities on campus, and the Panhel-lenic
represents sororities.
Joey Stephens, IFC president, said the organi­zations
also met last year as well.
"After all those events we had we knew we
had to start taking the initiative at the top,"
Stephens said. "We got past the race thing and
started working together."
Although. Stephens said, its
wrong to frame discussion using
race.
'It wasn't a racial thing at all," he
said.
The three share the same office,
allowing students to form friend^
ships, he said. So much so that
members from IFC and NPHC
formed an inturmural basketball
team this year.
"We became friends anyway," he said
really don't have to work on diversity."
This year's retreat mades sense, Stephens
said, because the organizations need to com­municate
about events.
Sara Jane Wait, president of Panhellenic,
agrees better communications between the
three is crucial.
It's very important for us to help each other
out because we're all in this together." she said.
Wait said last year was focused more on unity
between the three, while this year is about
establishing better communication.
The organizations have come up with at least
four ideas that will help communication, said
Robert Nichols. IFC vice president for public
relations
• Each month executive councils from each
will meet in GLO meetings, or Greek Life Office
meetings.
I he meetings. Nichols said, will be a formal
lime lor leaders to meet and discuss events.
• The three would like to co-sponsor a diversi­ty
speaker that would be for the whole campus,
not just Greek organizations.
• The three have plans for a carnival-type
event to be held Jan. 25 at the Lee County Boys
and Girls Club. The carnival will be at the
Boykin Community Center.
• The three would also like to use an Adopt-a-
School program for Greek members to work
together at local elementary schools.
Wait said the GLO meetings will help each
organization work with the other. She said Pan­hellenic
plans to help NPHC with its annual
TigerStomp and the Sweetheart Ball.
PanHellenic helped out with TigerStomp last
year, with one sorority participating in the
event.
NPHC also wants to get more involved in
Greek Week, said Wait.
Stephens said the three organizations have
been meeting for the past year on a regular
basis.
"It started off as a diversity tool,
and it's become just a time to hang
out," he said.
Stephens said the GLO meetings
is way for the three to meet more
regularly to share what's been going
— Joey Stephens on with each organization.
International Fraternity The idea of getting a diversity
Council President speaker is something that the
Auburn Diversity Center already
does, but Stephens said he's not sure if the
Greek Organizations will work with the Diversi­ty
center.
"We are trying to expand programs outside of
Greek Organizations and make it campus wide,"
he said.
The Adopt-a-School program has been in
place a couple of years, but has never had the
level of involvement Stephens would like.
The idea is for members of each organization
to work at an after school care program at a
local school.
Foy Union Director Debbie Shaw and student
affairs adviser Tamara Bowden also attended
the Jan. 7 retreat. An overnight trip is planned
for the leaders of all three organizations at the
end of this month.
"We're all in the same office, so we wanted a
way to start off the new year better," Wait said.
NPHC president Ronnie Howard could not be
reached for comment.
"We got post the
race thing and
started working
together"
"We
^
gptn^GoldAfe
flTog^yjf '£P
Your VIP Membership Includes:
mk 24 hour game room
mk 24 hour fitness
mk 24 hour computer room
mk 24 hour maintenance
mk Brand new tanning bed
free to residents
Resort style pool and
hot tub
mk 3 or 4 bedroom units
A Private baths
A Washer & Dryer in
* * every unit
1255 South College St.
Auburn, AL 36830
826-1202 - phone
826-1271 -fax
*Ov^t On transit route! \^fS\
Che Unburn -plainsman Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 B3
PARKING
>- From B i;/*
be implementing some changes."
Currently, 2,500 students ride the Tiger
Transit daily. This is minute, compared
with the more than 30,000 students that
ride the University of Georgia's transit sys­tem
daily.
"The transit is going to change soon, and
for the better," Krause said.
A full report on the transit system should
be finalized in February, and changes are
expected to come soon after.
"We'll be putting in a lot more bus stops,"
said Krause of the proposed plans.
The proposal also includes the addition
of new campus parking decks.
The two target areas for the parking
decks are the B-ZOne parking lot near the
math annex on Roosevelt Drive and the
area behind the Mill.
The parking deck near the math annex
will have C-zone, R-zone, and B-zone park­ing
spots, and the Hill parking deck will
have C-zone parking. The decks are expect­ed
to be finished in two to three years.
In the meantime, because of safety con­cerns,
96 new temporary C-zone parking
spaces will soon be added on the Hill
behind the poultry science building. Dun­can
Street is also being extended to Lem
Morrison Drive, providing additional Hill
parking.
Currently, the Hill has 618 R-zone park­ing
spaces and 269 C-zone spaces. A recent
study done by Volkert and Associates found
that the Hill needs at least an extra 327
parking spaces. A temporary parking lot
behind the new poultry science building
and the eventual parking deck are expect­ed
to take care of the deficiency.
On Feb. 3, the board of trustees will meet
to hear the proposed parking changes. Once
the board approves the proposals, a bidding
process will begin as the University search­es
for architects and contracting firms.
The entire pedestrianization process is
expected to take around three years, but
Krause is optimistic.
"I hope we can get it done in two. It's not
about convince, it's about campus safety
and that's the main thing," he said.
is going to be a good year."
SENATE
> From BI
Struempler highlighted sever­al
positive points, including the
student body, which she consid­ers
excellent.
"They can challenge us as we
challenge them. It's a win-win
situation." Struempler said.
Struempler even praised the
board of •trustees' liaison pro­gram,
which pairs board mem­bers
with different departments
to encourage communication
and allow the trustees more
access to faculty members.
Originally, Struempler and
other faculty members feared
the program would encourage
the board to further micro-man­age
the University. But some
opinions seemed to have
changed.
"It is important to educate
our trustees about the needs of
the University," Struempler said.
"You have the opportunity to do
just that."
Struempler also encouraged
her fellow senators to apply for
the soon to be vacated senate
chair and senate secretary posi­tions.
Benefits for the offices include
funded conference trips, free
long distance codes, computer
and office supplies, an adminis­trative
assistant and increased
salary.
Steven McFarland opened the
resolution of action items with a
motion for a change in emeritus
status policy and procedure.
According the the new policy.
"Emeritus status may be award­ed
on retirement to faculty hold­ing
the ntnk of professor,
associate professor, or their
equivalents with ten years or
more of sustained meritorious
service to Auburn University."
The previous policy required a
service of 12 years or more.
McFarland said emeritus sta­tus
was designed to "give retir­ing
professors greater visibility,
greater involvement."
Some of the benefits of the
Emeritus status policy include
access to University events,
social and recreation resources;
faculty access to university
libraries; preservation of park­ing,
network and e-mail privi­leges;
and the possibility of
office support, mailing privi­leges
and lab space.
Thirty-seven universities were
polled during the policy change.
It is our aim to make a
model policy," McFarland said.
The motion to change the
policy was passed unanimously.
Struempler brought to action
a second change in policy, this
one concerning the Administra­tor
Evaluation Committee.
'The Administrator Evaluation
Committee conducts periodic
evaluations of administrators
involved in the University's
teaching, research, and exten­sion
programs, then report their
findings to the University sen­ate.
The new policy would remove
the chair-elect of the senate as
the committee chair. Struem­pler
said that the senate chair
didn't have the time to chair the
committee successfully.
After several calls for clarifica­tion
concerning unspecified
points, including the regularity
of evaluations, and the revela­tion
that every faculty concern
.was either addressed oralluded
to in other areas of the faculty
handbook, the motion passed
unanimously.
'The third item brought to
motion concerned faculty
tenure.
All service to the university in
a faculty position counted
towards the seven-year proba­tionary
period before tenure
was assigned. In certain cases
the policy threatened the posi­tion
of faculty members who
held more than one position in
their time at Auburn.
If. for example, a faculty mem­ber
spent three years in engi­neering,
left for a second degree,
then returned to the english
department, the faculty mem­ber
would have had to count
their previous three years
towards their tenure.
'Tenure-track faculty are eval­uated
after several years of serv­ice
to determine if they are on
track to completing their
department's requirements for
tenure. Failure to meet depart­mental
requirements could
result in dismissal.
Under the new policy, "in spe­cific
cases in which an appoint­ment
to a new position entails
significantly different responsi­bilities
or a significantly differ­ent
institutional setting." a fuller
period of probation can be
agreed upon.
"This gives the individual the
power to set their own pace,"
said Tarry Gerber, chair of the
committee that revised the poli­cy.
Gerber's committee also
revised a second policy regard­ing
tenure. If a tenure-track fac­ulty
member is "non-continued"
before their evaluation, the
tenure-track faculty in the same
department as the dismissed
faculty member may vote, by
secret ballot, regarding their
peer's dismissal.
rThc tenure-track faculty will
he able to advise their depart­ment
heads concerning the dis­missal."
Gerber said.
After the new motions were
approved, professor William
Gale addressed the senate on
the progress of the Committee
on Research and Scholarship
Incentive Plan.
The committee was created to
explore the research depart­ment's
proposed incentive plan.
The proposed program would
allow faculty members with
approved grants to receive addi­tional
salary for their research.
Gale outlined the progress his
Committee made since its cre­ation
last November, and pre­dicted
it's conclusion sometime
in February.
The senate concluded with a
lively debate concerning the
2003 budgetary priorities, or
"wish list," that the faculty will
send the board for considera­tion.
The wish list included
increased technical support per­sonnel,
funding for a recycling
system, improved dental insur­ance,
increased faculty salaries,
established funding for a faculty
sabbatical leave program, on-campus
childcare facilities for
Auburn employees and health
insurance for non-student, part-time
employees.
Several senate members
requested a more defined list,
finding many of the items vague.
There was also a discussion
regarding the nature of faculty
raises. Several senators wanted
regular staff to be included in
their pay demands — others did
not.
Renne Middleton, senate sec­retary,
said that faculty and staff
had always been considered
together.
Senate member Cindy Brun-ner
said the conclusion was
"never unanimously drawn'.'
Most senators seemed to
agree there was no reason a staff
raise should directly parallel a
faculty raise.
Struempler encouraged all
faculty members to e-mail their
suggestions. The final wish list
will be placed online for all fac­ulty
members to cast their vote.
CHAlllHGIHG. REWARDING. ESSENTIAL.
•m
• - - 7 . -^
i -
A
y.
;
M
1 V
• t fe
.t-ft
A CAREER
WITH THE
IMMIGRATION AND
NATURALIZATION SERVICE
w w w . i n s . g o v
A CAREER WITH THE INS, NOT YOUR AVERAGE DESK JOB
If you are looking for an exciting career with every opportunity to succeed,
consider the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Whether it's law enforcement, immigration services^management, or technical
support, you'll be contributing to the fulfillment of a vital mission: safeguarding our
nation. The rewards are great, the challenges unique, and the benefits tremendous.
For more information or to apply, visit www.ins.gov.
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZ