The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 12, 2003 Page: 1 of 20
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the Rice Thresher
Vol. XCI, Issue No. 4
SINCE 1916
Friday, September 12, 2003
ID investigation continues
by Catherine Adcock
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
During the last two weeks, 42 students
have turned in fake Texas driver licenses they
bought from a fellow student in exchange for
the Rice University Police Department's prom-
ise that they will not face criminal charges.
Two weeks ago, RUPD officers discovered
a student had sold dozens of fake IDs to other
students during the spring semester of 2003
and the beginning of this semester. The stu-
dent turned himself in and is cooperating with
authorities, RUPD Chief Bill Taylor said.
The Thresher is withholding the student's
name because at press time no charges had
been filed against him.
RUPD Lieutenant Phillip Hassell said be-
tween 28 and 58 fake IDs associated with the
case have not been turned in yet. Students will
have about two weeks to turn in the IDs in
order to avoid criminal charges, Hassell said.
Assistant Dean will oversee cases
RUPD will refer the cases of students who
turn in their IDs to the Office of Student
Judicial Programs. Assistant Dean of Student
Judicial Programs Don Ostdiek said he will
handle the cases himself rather than passing
them on to University Court.
However, cases involvinguse of IDs, rather
than simply possession, will be referred to U.
Court.
U. Court Chair Brian Cohen said he sup-
ports Ostdiek's decision.
"I feel fine with [Ostdiek's taking the
cases]," Cohen, a Wiess College sophomore,
said. "The logistics of the situation make it
difficult for U. Court to handle that many
cases. Also, [Ostdiek] mentioned that he would
probably consult U. Court at some point for
advice on the case."
Ostdiek said by e-mail that he will solicit
input from U. Court before making judgments
and deciding sanctions in the cases. He said
he will choose fair sanctions that emphasize
education ratherthan punishment for students
who turn in the IDs.
"In assessing sanctions, in general, it is
important to ensure that any sanctions are
fair, consistent and proportionate to the of-
fense," Ostdiek said.
Students with comparable cases will be
treated similarly, but individual factors will
weigh heavily in each case, Ostdiek said.
"[The sanction] depends on what else the
students have done and what the IDs have
been used for," he said.
Students have expressed concern regard-
ing Ostdiek's decision to handle the cases
himself. A student who turned in one of the
See IDs. Page 8
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STUART SINCLAIR/THRESHER
That'd look good in my room ...
Hanszen College junior Eric McGuire looks at the 2003 College World Series Championship
trophy. The trophy is on a nine-week tour of ail the residential colleges.
Long distance rates drop
Friday night fun
MATT CRNKOVICK/THRESHF-R
Lovett College sophomore Justin Yang crouches in anticipation during Will Rice College's Friday night
dodgeball game, as others watch from the sidelines.
by Mark Berenson
THRESHER EDITORIAL. STAFF
Students, faculty and staff re-
ceived a pleasant surprise over the
summer: significantly lower long-
distance rates.
Students can now make domestic
long-distance calls for 3.9 cents per
minuteasopposed to 7 cents per minute
under last year's plan. University de-
partments pay 3 cents per minute.
Telecommunications Manager
Reggie Clarkson said Rice began to
search for a new long-distance car-
rier last spring because of concerns
about the rates that Rice's former
long distance carrier, AT&T and
ACUS — the student service subdi-
vision of AT&T — was charging.
"We felt that the rates we were
getting for faculty, staff and students
were not where they should be given
where the telecommunication indus-
try is today," Clarkson said.
Clarkson said Rice chose
Resicom because the company not
only had the lowest bid but also
provides services offered by few oth-
ers in the industry, such as billing
directly to students.
Rice switched to Resicom July 2.
Based on preliminary analysis of
summer telecommunications costs,
Clakson said savings of about 40
percent over AT&T's rates were re-
alized. Clarkson said she will be
better able to determine whether
those savings will continue at the
end of the month.
In recent years, Rice depart-
ments have spent a combined total
of almost $250,000 per year on long-
distance calls, Clarkson said.
Vice President for Finance and
Administration Dean Currie said Rice
looks for savings of this type continu-
ously, not just ii? fiscally tight periods.
"We are always looking for this
kind of win-win situation," Currie
said. "Rice has less administrative
overhead per student or faculty than
comparative universities, so the cul-
ture is that we are always looking
for those types of savings."
Resicom President Leidy Smith
said all students should have been
See PHONE, Page 7
O'Connor house tenants named
by Lindsey Gilbert
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
The past and the future of Rice will soon
meet in the president's house.
Pending approval by the Board of Trust-
ees, the Admission Office and the Office of
Alumni Affairs will be named the future ten-
ants of the Ralph S. O'Connor House, Presi-
dent Malcolm Gillis' current residence.
Assistant to the President Mark Scheid
said the board will vote on whether or not to
approve the space allocation proposal at its
October meeting.
The Office of Alumni Affairs, located on the
second floor of the Ley Student Center across
from Career Services, and the Admission Of-
fice, located in I^ovett Hall, would make the
move some time during the 2004-'05 academic
year. Renovation of O'Connor House will be-
gin after Gillis moves out this summer.
As announced last spring, the new presi-
dent will live at Wiess House, the off-campus
residence being refurbished at the corner of
Sunset Boulevard and Main Street.
Vice President for Finance and Adminis-
tration Dean Currie, a member of the Space
Planning Board, said demand for on-campus
space is always high. The committee consid-
ered many options before settling on the Ad-
mission Office and Office of Alumni Affairs
proposal, he said.
Vice President for Enrollment Ann Wright
said the logistics of the new location have not
yet been determined, but she hopes the new
Admission Office will provide a welcoming
environment for prospective students.
"We've been accustomed to drawing in
people though the Sallyport and being part of
this major building, but I think in many ways
[the new location ] will be better because it will
offer a homey location to start from," she said.
Both Wright and Mark Davis, the director
of Alumni Affairs, said they think sharing space
will present new opportunities for collabora-
tion between the two offices. Alumni volun-
teers interview prospective students and help
with other parts of the admission process,
Wright said.
Davis said he is looking forward to moving
the Office of Alumni Affairs to a larger, more
visible location.
"We have kind of outgrown our space," he
said. "New space is kind of crucial to us in
order to expand our programs."
Although there will be no sizable addition
to the O'Connor House, substantial renova-
tion will occur. Currie said he thinks the build-
ing, with about 6,000 assignable square feet,
See HOUSE, Page 7
SA retreat
The Student Association will hold its
annual fall retreat tomorrow and Sunday
from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Farnsworth
Pavilion. All students are invited. Admin-
istrators and other campus figures will
give presentations and answer questions.
Be there at noon on Saturday for Chipotle
burritos and noon on Sunday for Papa
John's pizza.
Powderpuff begins
The powderpuff football season kicks
off tomorrow when Lovett College faces
Jones College at 1 p.m. on the powderpuff
field. Four other games are scheduled for
the weekend. Remember, it's okay to be
a superfan.
One-mile run
Registration for the intramural cross
country race ends today. The race is a
college event, and points won by each col-
lege team will go towards the President's
Cup. The run will begin tomorrow morn-
ing at 9:30 a.m. at Autry Court.
OPINION
Page 3
Remembering the many 9/1 Is
A&E
Page 10
Pictures of people getting play
SPORTS
Page 14
Volleyball takes Crowne
"We're going to come out to the commons
and start throwing bread, just something
funny — a monotony breaker."
— North Colleges Servery Manager Angela
Riggs on plans to spice up Thursday meals.
See Story. Page 5.
Scoreboard
Volleyball
McNeese 0, Rice 3
Rice 3, Purdue 2
Soccer
North Texas 1. Rice 0
Weekend Weather
Friday
Isolated t-storms, 83-75 degrees
Saturday
Isolated t-storms, 82-70 degrees
Sunday
Scattered t-storms, 85-71 degrees
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Berenson, Mark. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 12, 2003, newspaper, September 12, 2003; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398516/m1/1/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.