SHE SAID, THEY SAID

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Amid public complaints aboutthe rising cost of college, Go v. RickPe r ry issued an ex e cutive orderTh u r s d ay directing university re-gents to begin setting accountabili-ty standards for the tax money theschools receive.

Me a nwhile, the Le g i s l ative Over-sight Committee on Higher Educa-tion has directed its cert i fied publicaccountant to develop a st a n d a r d-ized budget process. Th at direct i v e

came after two days of hearings onfinancial aid and tuition.

Interim President Charles Sor-ber said the UT System began de-veloping plans for accountabilityr e p o rts last year, long before thego v e r n o r’s announcement thisweek.

“ My sense is we’re way ahead ofthe cu rve on this,” Dr. Sorber said.“We’re way ahead.”

Numerous complaints camefrom parents and students angryover increases that followed the

st at e’s decision to let public univer-sities set their own rates. Some leg-i s l ators questioned whether st u-dents are getting enough informa-tion about financial aid as deregu-l ated tuition rates rise.

“Our institutions of higher edu-c ation should be held accountableto taxpayers for the billions of dol-lars in st ate funding they receiveeach year,” Pe r ry said. “It also is es-sential students and parents know

BY KATE BOLEN AND BRAD ROLLINSThe Shorthorn assistant news edito r

The university ’s new president — on campus next week fora whirlwind of meetings and briefings — says he’s immersedhimself in fact - finding about the institution he’s about to lead.

But James Spaniolo, still finishing hisjob as a dean at Michigan State Un i v e r-s i ty, said he will wait until his official ap-pointment Feb. 1 to talk specifi c s .

“I will probably be fully occupied withm e etings and conv e r s ations most of thew e e k ,” he said by telephone from EastLansing, Mich. “Ho w ev e r, I am lookingf o rward to familiarizing myself with peo-ple and campus issues. The only way todo that is to be physically present andfully engage d .”

W h at ever his official st a rt date, hisjob, in many ways, will begin Th u r s d aywith a welcome reception.

“ It’s a hail-and-fairwell reception,”Spaniolo said.

Interim President Charles Sorber,who has held the top job since RobertW i tt resigned in Fe b r u a ry, will return tohis system vice chancellorship in Aust i non Jan. 31.

Dr. Sorber said he believes Spanio-lo’s main priority is to continue themomentum of the institution, whichincludes increasing the number oftenured and tenured track facu l ty,finding funding for research and ap-pointing an administrative staff.

“I don’t see them as problemary,” Sor-ber said. “I just see them as things he hasto work on.”

He and administ rators here declinedto discuss specifics of his week’s sched-ule, but the president’s itinera ry includesstops at the UT Southw e stern Me d i c a lCenter in Dallas and a meeting with theTexas Higher Board of Education andthe UT System Council in Aust i n .

The next week — Spaniolo’s fi r st onthe job — will be spent partially inBrownsville for the UT System Board ofR e gents meet i n g .

He will be accompanied in the gaunt-l et of meetings by interim Pr o v o st DanaDunn, who said she is excited about hisf o rthcoming appointment.

“We are all looking forward to having a new permanentp r e s i d e n t ,” Dr. Dunn said.

Fa cu l ty Senate Chairman Dennis Reinhartz said he andthe senate met with Spaniolo on Dec. 18 at an introduct o rym e eting set up by Spaniolo himself.

D r. Reinhartz said although there had been numerousm e etings between the senate and Spaniolo during the pres-idential search, a majority of the members had never methim before.

“We are all interested in what he wants to do with the fu-ture of the university,” he said.

Spaniolo was chosen by the UT System Board of Rege n t son No v. 19 from a field of three fi n a l i sts. He said he signedthe contra ct with the university in early Ja n u a ry.

K ATE BOLEN AND BRAD ROLLINSassistant-news.shorthorn@uta.edu

BY CHRISTIAN RAG U N TON AND BRAD ROLLINSThe Shorthorn staff

The university ’s att o r n eyfiled a motion on Th u r s d ayseeking immediate dis-

missal of a former Architec-ture dean’s gender discrimi-n ation law s u i t .

Former dean Ma rt h aLa Gess sued the universityin December 2002 a fewmonths after she was fi r e din August after a little lessthan a year on the job. Sheclaims her termination wasi n fluenced by a “good ole’

boy” network of professorswho made it impossible forher to lead the school.

Her suit seeks reinst at e-ment as dean as well asm o n et a ry damage s .

In its most recent fi l i n g ,the att o r n ey ge n e ra l’s offi c e ,which is representing the

S p o rt s : Me n’s basketball team ranks 3rd in free-throw shooting nat i o n a l l y. Pa ge 10

T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S A T A R L I N G T O N

Fr i d ayJa n u a ry 23, 2004

Volume 85, No. 63w w w.t h e s h o rt h o r n . c o m

Since 1919

R e gents ordered to set taxm o n ey standards for schools

TUITION AND FEES

S p a n i o l ost a rts jobFeb. 1

A D M I N I ST R AT I O N

Before his official appointment, the president will visit campus for meetings and a reception.

School seekssuit dismissal

A R C H I T ECT U R E

“Most burglars don’t like marked property, so just having some sort of identification on your things can prevent them from being taken.”

John MorrisonCampus police officer

“I will p robably befully occupiedwith m e etings andc o n ve r s at i o n sm o st of theweek. H oweve r, Iam lookingfo rwa rd tof a m i l i a r i z i n gmyself withpeople andcampus issues. Theonly way todo that is tobe physicallyp resent and fully e n g age d . ”

James Spanioloincoming universitypresident

BY RAJAL VAS H I S H TC o n t r i b u tor to The Short h o r n

B rad Miller knows fi r sthand how quickly thieves canst r i ke.

“A few weeks ago, it wasraining really bad, and when I

got out of my car I just ran forcover without locking it,”Miller said. “When I got back,all of my CDs and my walletwere go n e .”

He says he considers it alesson learned, if only a bitl at e .

“I always make sure to lockmy door, it was the one timet h at I hadn’t locked it,” hes a i d .

And now he plans to takea d va n t a ge of another det e r-rent: free engraving of elec-tronic equipment.

O p e ration Id e n t i fi c ation isa program that aims to de-crease theft of personal items.The services will be offered onthe fi r st floor of the Centra lL i b ra ry today and are ava i l-able to students ev e ry d ay atthe campus police depart m e n t

8 a.m.-5 p.m.“The police have set up the

table in the libra ry to reachthe large st amount of st u d e n t st h ey can with this progra m ,”said To m my Wingfield, an as-s i stant Libraries direct o r.

Campus police officer Jo h nMorrison will be perf o r m i n gthe engravings and will answer

Id e n t i fi c ation key to theft prev e n t i o nThe campus police offer to engrave possesions as an anti-theft measure.

C R I M E

LaGess’s attorney callsthe move a stalling tacticon the university’s part.

The Shorthorn: Sergios Rahmatoulin

BOOK BUY BACKSStudents wait in line to sell their old text books back at theUTA Bookstore on Thursday afternoon. They receive a smallprice if the bookstore is in need of the books. One of the students said that the low sell-back prices weren’t worth it.

Interim PresidentCharles Sorbersays the UT Systemis ahead of thecurve in complyingwith Perry’s order.

Recently available courtdocuments p rovide the bestv i ew yet of eac hs i d e ’s accounts ofM a rtha LaGess’s h o rt term as A rc h i te c t u redean. The documents in-clude depositionsof interim Provo s tDana Dunn andLaGess as well asan affi d avit fro mformer Provo s tG e o rge Wr i g h t ,who is now p resident ofP rairie View A& M .Other pote n t i a lwitness includen u m e rous pro fe s-s o rs in the Arc h i-te c t u re school.

THE PLA I N T I F F

Martha LagessFrom the former Architecture dean’sdeposition.

“I was subject topervasive genderstereotyping withinthe School of Archi-tecture itself. I wassubject to a situationwhere Provost GeorgeC. Wright made it impossible for me todo my job by allowingmy faculty to reportdirectly to him ratherthan to report to me.”

“I worked in an environment wherewomen faculty were

not treated equally,were not respected ascolleagues and werethemselves subjectedto gender stereotyp-ing. I worked in an environment wherestudents were — female students werenot treated as equalsto male students andwere subject to sexualharassment by thefaculty.”

“It was clear thatalthough there hadbeen female faculty inthe School of Archi-tecture in lectureradjunct positions,there had never beena tenured member ofthe faculty before.”

THE DEFENSE

George WrightFrom former provost’s affidavit.

“LaGess lacked thebasic leadership instinct to be the Dean... LaGess did notseem to understandthe concept of facultygovernance. Shetreated educated,tenured professorslike employees whomshe ‘bossed.’”

“LaGess also made in-appropriate commentsabout professors tostudents and was rudeto people in general.”

“LaGess was continu-ally late or failed toappear at DeansCouncil meetings. ...LaGess ignored alumnitelephone calls ...which were importantto fund-raising andgood community relations.”

Dana DunnFrom interim provost’sdeposition.

“I was asked to offeran opinion as towhether the recordof experience in therole was such that Iwould supportremoval from the role.... I indicated that,yes, in my opinion itwas.”

“LaGess hadalienated mostof the tenuredfaculty with herheavy-handedmanagementapproach andresisted work-ing with them.”

George C. WrightFormer Provost

L AG E S S continues on page 4

T H E FT continues on page 7

T U I T I O N continues on page 7

The Shorthorn: Josh Bohling

SaturdayT h u n d e r-s torms like l y•High 62°F• Low 48° F

SundayW i n d y•High 63° F• Low 39° F

MondayMostly sunny•High 54° F• Low 33° F

— National Weather Service at www.nws.noaa.gov

THE SH O RTHORN

QUOTEWORTHY

THREE-DAY FORECAST

POLICE REPORT

Internationals we l c o m e dto ISO party Fr i d ay night

The semi-annual Welcome to the WorldParty for incoming international studentsis from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday in the University Center’s Palo Duro Lounge.

The event is sponsored by the I n te r n ational Student Orga n i zation, theI n te r n ational Office and Student

Success Pro g ra m s .ISO will provide ente rtainment,

i n te r n ational pro g ram coord i n ator JulieU zd av i n is said. The event will also include food, drinks and door prizes, she ad d e d .

“ I n te r n ational students eat at home al ot,” Uzd av i n is said. “We have Americanfood because sometimes they’ ve neve rbeen exposed to it.”

The event is free and open to the u n i ve rsity community.

— Mindy Hutchison

Children design cities fo rFuture City Competition

Fu t u re cities unfold in young minds asmiddle schoolers ac ross the state p re pa re for the Fu t u re City Competition.

The competition, pa rt of National E n g i n e e rs Week, will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.S at u rd ay in the Nedderman Hall at r i u mwith public viewing 1 to 2 p.m. Theawa rds cere m o ny will be 4 to 5 p.m.

About 200 seventh- and eighth-g rad e rs from 20 schools in theD a l l a s - Fo rt Wo rth area, Lubbock andAustin will compete in the eve n t .

Students have wo r ked on their citiessince Octo b e r, said Jean Eason, Fu t u reCity Competition regional coord i n ato r.

“The eve n t ’s purpose is to get middleschool students inte re s ted in te c h n o l o gyand engineering,” she said. “We givethem the opportunity to ad d ress re a lworld problems, not one aspect of it butthe whole ga m u t . ”

She said students started their city-design on the Sim City computer p ro g ram and then choose pa rt of theircity to cre ate a three-dimensional model.

The fi rst prize winner will re c e i ve atrip to Wa s h i n g ton D.C. for the nat i o n a lcompetition. UTA, Lo c k h e e d - M a rtin andthe Institute of Electrical and Electro n i c sE n g i n e e rs will host the eve n t .

— Mindy Hutchison

CAMPUS BRIEFS

TO DAYWelcome to the World Pa rt y :7-10 p.m., UC Palo Duro

Lounge. The I n te r n ational St u d e n tO ffice will hold apa rty for all stu-dents. For i n fo r m ation call 8 1 7- 272 - 23 5 5.

U TA Radio’s Sport’s Au t h o r i t y :C h r is Moore and Alan Yo u n gwill air at 4 p.m. Also Va l e r i ePowell will air from 5-7 p.m.

R�sum� Writing Wo r k s h o p :2-3 p.m., 316 Dav is Hall.

Free Lunch: noon, Mavs fo rC h r ist building ac ross fro mthe north side of the UC.

ÒMeet the ChapterÓ: 7 p.m., J.G i l l i ga n ’s Bar and Grill at 400E. Abram. Sponsored by DeltaSigma Pi. For directions, callthe re s t a u rant at 817- 274 - 8 5 6 1 .

M u l t i c u l t u ral Greek Council:7-9 p.m., UC Rio Grande Ball-room. Inte rest and i n fo r m ation session.

Welcome We e k :10 a.m.-2 p.m., 132Hammond Hall. Fo rn ew and returning stu-dents in the SOAR pro-g ram. Snac ks will bep rov i d e d .

SAT U R DAYFuture City Com-p e t i t i o n : 7 a.m.-4 p.m.,Nedderman Hall at r i u m .

I n s t i t u te of Electrical and Elec-t ronic Engineers’ annual com-petition. For info r m ation, call8 1 7- 923 -1 032

Business Graduate Re s e a r c hseminar and Libra ry To u r:

1 : 3 0 -4 p.m., 349 Business Building.

Duo-Piano Re c i t a l :7:30 p.m., Iro n sRecital Hall. Larry

W i l ey and JohnSolomons will

p e rfo r m .

UTA FriendshipAssociation ofChinese Stu-

dents and Scholars2004 Spring Festival

Party: 6 p.m., UC Rio Grande

Ballroom A and B. Tickets are$2 per person and $5 for VIP.

C o n versational English Class:7 p.m., The Chi Alpha Housel o c ated at 419 S. Dav is St. onthe corner of UTA Bo u l eva rd .For inte r n ational students.S p o n s o red by Chi Alpha C h r istian Fe l l ows h i p .

Science Graduate Re s e a r c hSeminar and Libra ry To u r:1 : 3 0 -4 p.m., Ransom Hall.

S U N DAYH i s t o ry and ModernLanguages Gra d u a t eResearch Seminarand Libra ry To u r:1 : 3 0 -4 p.m., 31 5 AC e n t ral Libra ry.

Engineer Graduate Re s e a r c hSeminar and Libra ry To u r:1 : 3 0 -4 p.m., Ransom Hall.

M O N DAY

The Maverick Juke b ox presents ÒBeyond the St a r s Ó :7 p.m. eve ry Monday. Tune inat h t t p : / / r a d i o . u t a . e d u .

G a l l e ry opening:“ Pe rsonal E nv i ro n m e n t s ”in Fine Art sB u i l d i n g ’sThe Gallery.The exhibit willrun to d ay thro u g hFeb. 28.

CALENDAR

Calendar submissions must be made by 4 p.m. two days prior to run date. For info r m ation, call 817- 272 - 3 6 6 1 .

Fr i d ayJa n u a ry 23, 2004

CAMPUS NOT E B O O K

T h is is a pa rt of the daily activity log p roduced by the unive rs i t y’s Police D e pa rtment. To re p o rt a criminal incident on campus, call 817- 272 - 3 3 8 1 .

“We are all

i n t e r ested inw h at he wantsto do with thefuture of theu n i ve r s i ty.”

- Dennis Reinhart z

Fa cu l ty Senate Chairman

on the senat e’s thoughts about

the new unive r s i ty pres i d e n t

see page 1

BY CA N DACE SW EATC o n t r i b u tor to The Shorthorn

La u ra Talamantes wasted no

time getting the party st a rted. The UTA Ho sts mentor and a

friend st a rted a game of bowling at

7:10 p.m., although her tw omentees had not yet arrived.

Bowling was just one of a few

a ctivities open to UTA Ho sts p a rticipants at a mixer Th u r s d ay inthe Un i v e r s i ty Center. Some sat and

t a l ked while others opted for a gameof pool. The organization had its

annual event to allow mentors andmentees to catch up after the winter break.

U TA Ho sts, which stands forHelping Other Students To Succeed,is a program in which incomingfreshman and transfer students arepaired with seasoned students ofthe same major who acts as guides.

Talamentes, a psyc h o l o gy junior,said she kept in contact with one ofher mentees, but would meet theother at the mixer.

Mentor Anjenique Anderson andmentee Arriane Hobbs sat in thel o u n ge and attempted to get acquainted with each other over theloud music and television.

Anderson, who was a menteeb efore becoming a mentor last s e m e st e r, said she wanted to be asmuch help to Hobbs as she could.

“I had a mentor that was very i n s p i rational to me, so I decided tot ry to do the same and infl u e n c esomeone else,” the biochemist rysophomore said.

Political science sophomoreJames Urban said he enjoys answering his mentee’s questions onclasses and professors.

“At this point, he knows what he’sd o i n g ,” he said. “It’s more about go i n gfrom semester to semester as opposedto adjusting to college in ge n e ra l .”

While some were mingling, others waited. Yv ette Davis, ab r o a d c a st management freshman,said her mentor never contact e dh e r, despite her many e-mails. Still,she and some friends danced andenjoyed the free bowling.

Molly Alfers, assistant director ofStudent Governance, said one ofthe bigge st problems UTA Ho st shas is keeping the mentors andmentees connect e d .

She said she always advises mentors not to give up trying to get in touch.

“A mentor can help in so manyw ays, not just ‘Where is the libra ry orc a f et e r i a?’ ” she said. “It lets st u d e n t sknow that people care about them.”

CA N DACE SW EATmanaging-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Showing the WayU TA Ho sts’ mixer introduces mentors and mentees

The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade

Broadcast communications freshman Yvette Davis and sociology freshman AsherHeath dance during the UTA Hosts mixer on Thursday night in Bowling and Billiards.The event was held to introduce mentors to mentees.

O f ficers received a reportt h a t t h ree people we re wearing stocking masks on ana pa rtment staircase at 405 S.Oak St. on Thurs d ay.

A vehicle in parking lot 40 on401 S. Pecan St. was b u rg l a r i ze dWednesday. The passenger sidewindow was broken and a compact disc player was stolen.

A man reported his watcha n d wallet we re stolen while hewas working out at 500 W. Nedderman Drive on Tu e s d ay.The case is under inve s t i gat i o n.

A student reported Mondayt h r e e tex t b o o ks we re sto l e nf rom her bedroom over the we e ke n d .

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All rights re s e rved. All content is the pro p e rt yof The Shorthorn and may not be re p ro d u c e d ,p u b l ished or re t ra n s m i t ted in any form withoutw r i t ten permission from UTA St u d e n tP u b l i c ations. The Shorthorn is the student

n ews paper of the Unive rsity of Texas atA r l i n g ton and is published in the UTA Office of Student Publications. Opinions ex p ressed inThe Shorthorn are not necessarily those of the unive rsity ad m i n is t ration. The Shorthorn is published Tu e s d ay - Fr i d ay except schoolh o l i d ays during fall and spring semeste rs and Tu e s d ay and Thurs d ay during the summers e m e s te r. Mailed subscription rates are $50 for a single semester or $100 for one ye a r.Send checks payable to the offi c e .

H OW TO REACH US

e live in an age of visual communication — oncomputer screens, through television and fi l m .We’re trained to recognize and decode someforms. For example, red oct a gons mean “st o p ! ”to someone who has learned to drive. Yet how

m a ny of us are taught the skills which comprise visual litera cy? When we consider verbal texts, we are taught how to go be-

yond recognizing individual words in verbal texts, to be alertto nuances of vocabulary and dialect, to identify quotat i o n sfrom previous works and their associative references and tou n d e r stand how meaning is const r u cted by culture. The sameprocess is taking place visually, though many of us are un-

aware of it. How many people noticethe camera angle chosen by a new sp h o t o g rapher?

Yet a different point of view — ac h a n ge in framing, depth, lighting —l i t e rally presents a different vision ofthe world. And if we recognize the im-p a ct of visual presentation on meaningand emotional response, what aboutw h at is being called “extended litera cy”?

Extended litera cy is a new term fora recent development. It refers to ourex i stence in a world in which we areb athed in intersecting media, combin-ing image, text, sound, hy p e rt ext andi n t e ra ctive communication technology.

F i l m m a ker and Star Wars c r e ator Ge o r ge Lucas recently ex-pressed his concern that unless students are taught the lan-g u a ge of sound and image ry they will be functionally illiterat eas cinema and television professionals.

He was speaking with Elizabeth Daley, the Un i v e r s i ty ofSouthern California’s School of Cinema-Te l evision dean. Th atc o nv e r s ation led to the 1997 creation of US C’s In stitute forMultimedia Litera cy. The intention of the institute is to de-my st i fy what they call “the language of screens”: the way inwhich people express, educate, and entertain by combining the

l a n g u a ges of words, graphics, images, music,sound, and color. The challenge is to under-stand not only the technologies but the rulesand grammar governing the integration ofsound, moving and still images, dat a b a s e s ,i n t e ra ct i v i ty, and above all, the signifi-cance of the ideas which are communicat-ed.

In the The New York Times, D a l eysaid, “When people talk to me aboutthe digital divide, I think of it notbeing so much about who has access,but who knows how to create andexpress themselves in this language .”

I would go even furt h e r. Extendedl i t e ra cy is not only a professional skill,d e s i rable for people entering careers infilm or entertainment technology. It’sn e c e s s a ry for ev e ryone living in an agein which the In t e r n et, advertising, tele-vision and film, sound and text arec o m m u n i c ating meaning — somet i m e ss i m u l t a n e o u s l y.

U TA’s College of Liberal Arts alreadyhas courses, scholars and e-create labs inwhich these questions are addressed. Th ed e p a rtments don’t simply offer courses formajors who will work in fields using thesetechnologies. Th ey teach us all how to considermeaning itself — its const r u ction in culture and itsc o m m u n i c ation through phra s e o l o gy, localiza-tion, tone, glance, and movement. Th ey help usn av i g ate through the world, interpret it, ascer-tain our point of view and express it eloquently.

OPI NIONABOUT OPINION

Jessica Smith, edito ro p i n i o n - e d i to r. s h o rt h o r n @ u t a . e d u

Opinion is published We d n e s d ay and Fr i d ay.

R E M E M B E RThe Shorthorn i nv i tes students, unive rs i t y

e m p l oyees and alumni to submit guestcolumns to the Opinion Pa g e .

Friday, January 23, 2004 Page 3

THE SH O RTHORN

The Shorthorn is the official student newspaper of the

Un i v e r s i ty of Texas at Arlington and is published four

times weekly during fall and spring semesters, and

twice weekly during the summer sessions. Un s i g n e d

editorials are the opinion of THE SHORTHORN EDI-

TORIAL BOA R D and do not necessarily refl e ct the

opinions of individual student writers or editors, Short-

horn advisers or university administ ration. LE TT E R S

should be limited to 300 words. Th ey may be edited for

space, spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous

st atements. Letters must be the original work of the

writer and must be signed. For identifi c ation purposes,

l etters also must include the writer’s full name, address

and telephone number, although the address and tele-

phone number will not be published. Students should

include their classifi c ation, major and their student ID

n u m b e r, which is for identifi c ation purposes. The st u-

dent ID number will not be published. Signed columns

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and serve as an open forum for the expression of fact s

or opinions of interest to The Shorthorn’s r e a d e r s .

Since 1919

EDITOR IN CHIEFAmber Ta f o y a

E - M A I Le d i t o r. s h o rt h o r n @ u t a . e d u

State legislators on the Joint Leg-

islative Oversight Committee on

Higher Education have complained

that some universities’ tuition in-

creases are too steep, particularly

UT-Austin’s hikes.

U T- A u st i n’s tuition increase was

s i g n i ficant partially because it ra i s e d

tuition despite having an enrollment

cap. It’s too late to do any t h i n g

about this, but it’s not too late to

st a rt planning for the next round of

d e b ates on tuition deregulation ex-

p e cted in the next legislative session.

In April, a state committee report

will be available detailing how

much each university in the UT sys-

tem made from its tuition increases,

how they spent it and whether the

increases were justified. UTA ad-

ministrators and students should

begin preparing now for the report’s

impact as well as the next legislative

session where the April report, as

well as a second report, will help

legislators decide whether to place

restrictions on tuition deregulation.

Students need to place themselves

in the decision-making process. Al-

though students were involved last

y e a r, they were directly involved as

c o m m i ttee members only after legis-

l ators passed the tuition deregulat i o n

bill. This year, we need to get inv o l v e d

much earlier, and administ rat o r s

m u st work together with students to

prepare UTA for possible change s .

The cost of higher education has

been shifted from the state to the

students. So, as the purchasers, we

need a process that gives us a voice

in how much tuition we will pay

and where our money will go, if

changes are made next year.

Further, we should start this

process immediately. During last

year’s string of tuition proposals, the

university only had six months to

make one of the most important de-

cisions a university can make.

The final result was a $10 per-

credit-hour increase for this semes-

ter, a $17 per-credit-hour increase

for the next and a $5 per-credit-

hour increase in fees, as well as ad-

ditional ones for nursing and engi-

neering students.

Six months is not enough time to

make a truly informed decision that

involves deciding how much rev-

enue the university needs, deciding

the rates for the many fees we pay

and negotiating a proposal that best

meets the needs of both students

and administrators.

La st year’s Tuition Rev i ew Com-

m i ttee did a good job keeping tu-

ition rates at a reasonable lev e l

and adding ways to help st u d e n t s

p ay for it like the tuition rebat e .

We would like to see that progress

c o n t i n u e .

Students should get involved in next round of tuition talks

E D I TO R I A L/OUR VIEW

Second Chance

EDITORIALROUND-UPThe issue: Legislatorssaid they believe therecent tuition in-creases are too highwhile administratorsclaim they are notenough.We suggest: Everyoneinvolved should havespent more timeconsidering this, butnow that the deal isdone, studentsshould have moresay in tuition propos-als in the future.

Column understatesPatriot Act’s impact

Re: “Patriot Attack” Jan. 21D r. Cornehls chooses his

words so carefully he under-st ates the case against the De-p a rtment of Ju stice for its so-called “Patriot Act .”

He could have mentioned, fori n stance, that H.R. 24 17, the In-t e l l i gence Authorization Act forfiscal year 2004, greatly ex p a n d-ed the definition of a fi n a n c i a li n stitution to include almosta nything and, according to Rep.Ron Paul, R-Texas, on theHouse floor on No v. 20, “will en-able the FBI to demand tra n s a c-tion records from businesses ...without the approval or knowl-e d ge of a judge or grand jury.”

Since the vote was taken onthe very same day as Saddam

Hu s s e i n’s capture, Paul ref e r r e dto its passage as “stealth legisla-t i o n .” Th at part i cular ex p a n s i o nof FBI power had been part ofthe Patriot Act’s cousin, Pat r i o tII, leaked to the public sev e ra lmonths earlier, thus unlike l yever to be enacted on its merit.

Blunders of middle manage-ment within the Department ofJu stice allowed the 9/11 att a c k sto happen. Anyone who doubtst h at should spend 90 minutesw atching “The Man WhoK n ew,” a Frontline report donefor PBS, available online forabout $20.

— John Chase, social justice activist

Sprinklers problem for handicapped

Ju st an issue that mightneed attention: I have noticed

the nicely done handicap park-ing in front of the BusinessBuilding, but I have seen a bigproblem. Although I am nothandicapped, my father is, andI understand the diffi cu l t i e swith parking and simple acces-s i b i l i ty for people who arehandicapped. But recently Inoticed the sprinkler syst e mfor the new plants in front ofthese parking spots, on fullb l a st. The sprinklers are spray-ing water all over cars that arep a r ked in these spots, most ofthem on the driver’s side door.

Now imagine having thedifficulties handicapped peo-ple have, coming back to theircars and realizing that theyhave to walk, wheel, etc.through freezing water all overthem. Not only is it alreadyfreezing outside, but thosewho need assistance, should

not be given the assistance ofa “free shower.”

— Amber Albritton, 2003 alumna

War in Iraq as goodas WWII campaign

The war was a failure, thel i b e rals say. The country we at-t a c ked didn’t have anything todo with the people who at-t a c ked us, they say. Th ey posedno direct threat to the Un i t e dS t ates. We did not capture theleader of the evil regime. Andwe still have troops in the fi e l dwith absolutely no exit st rat e gyw h at s o ev e r. If one puts it thatw ay, then I would be inclinedto agree. The European Cam-paign of World War II was in-deed a complete failure.

— Patrick Bryant, pre-nursing sophomore

L E TT E R S

BETH WRIGHT

W

G U E ST COLU M N

More Than Wo r d s

The Shorthorn: Cory Wells

L i t e ra cy isn’t just reading what’s on the page any m o r e

Tell us what you think at

o p i n i o n - e d i t o r. s h o rt h o r n @ u t a . e d uThe Shorthorn: Ryan Hartsell

— Dr. Beth Wright is the interim Liberal Arts Dean

“While I was dean, I was treated differently because I was female, becauseI ’m a woman. I wo r ked in an environment where women facu l ty were not

t r e ated equally, and were themsel ves subjected to gender st e r e o ty p i n g .”Martha LaGess, former Architecture Dean

Page 4 Friday, January 23, 2004THE SH O RTHORN

u n i v e r s i ty and UT System, re-i t e rates a previous argumentt h at Ta r rant County Dist r i ctJu d ge Jeff Wa l ker does noth ave jurisdiction to hear thec a s e .

The move comes as the casenears its March court date andthe week La Ge s s ’s successor,Donald Gat z ke, moves intothe Architecture Dean’s suite.

This has been the secondtime the defense has cited“sovereign immunity,” whichp r o t e cts government entitiesfrom civil litigation unlessconsent is granted either byst atute or permission from theLe g i s l ature. The fi r st suchmotion, in Ja n u a ry 2003, was

n ever ruled on by the judge. Their pleading also in-

cludes a motion for summaryjudgment which argues thatLa Gess was fired because shewas a poor leader.

“ La Gess was removed fromher position as dean based onl e g i t i m ate, nondiscriminat o ryreason related to her poorwork perf o r m a n c e ,” the docu-ment reads. “Specifi c a l l y,La Gess was a poor leader andcould not eff e ctively conductthe business of the School ofA r c h i t e ct u r e .”

The defendants cite as ev i-dence an affi d avit by formerPr o v o st Ge o r ge Wright whichincludes a litany of charge sabout La Gess’ work perf o r m-ance. Among other things, Dr.Wright said La Gess had“ a l i e n ated most of the tenuredf a cu l ty with her heav y - h a n d e d

m a n a gement approach andr e s i sted working with them toimplement the changes shew a n t e d .”

A spokesman for the attor-ney general said the office couldnot immediately comment.

Reached late Th u r s d ay,La Ge s s ’s Dallas att o r n ey, Te dAnderson, called the filing alegal trick and stalling tact i c .

“ Motioning to dismiss thecase is without merit on theirp a rt ,” Anderson said. “It does-n’t change our game plan andwe believe that there is morea d e q u ate evidence to respondto their dismissal.”

Fu rt h e r, he argued, hisclient’s case adequately proves a“waiver of immunity” necessaryto sue a government entity.

“The st ate is as subject tocivil rights as anybody else, sosovereign immunity is not

going to protect them for theirl i a b i l i t i e s ,” he said. “Pe o p l et h at work for the go v e r n m e n th ave a civil right not to be dis-c r i m i n ated against in thew o r k p l a c e .”

The ever-growing case fi l eincludes a copy of La Ge s s ’deposition, taken Dec. 12.La Gess answered quest i o n sabout the discrimination law-suit for the fi r st time since thesuit was fi l e d .

“While I was dean, I wast r e ated differently because Iwas female, because I’m aw o m a n ,” she said during thedeposition. “I worked in an en-vironment where women fac-u l ty were not treated equally,and were themselves subject e dto gender st e r e o ty p i n g .”

C H R I STIAN RAG U N TO Ncrr3751@exchange.uta.edu

LaGesscontinued from page 1

Friday, January 23, 2004 Page 5THE SH O RTHORN

Page 6 Friday, January 23, 2004THE SH O RTHORN

Friday, January 23, 2004 Page 7THE SH O RTHORN

Friday, January 23, 2004 Page 9THE SH O RTHORN

S.D. politician gets jailtime for wreck

F L A N D R E AU, S.D. — Bill Jan-k l ow, who dominated South Dakot apolitics for three decades as gove r-nor and then congressman, wa ss e n tenced to 100 days in jail Thurs-d ay for an auto accident that killeda moto rc yc l ist and ended Janklow’sc a reer in dis g race. After 30 daysbehind ba rs, he will be allowed tol e ave jail during the day for up to 10h o u rs to perform community serv-ice. After he completes his jailterm, he will be on pro bation fo rt h ree ye a rs, during which he will notbe allowed to drive .

Formerly conjoinedtwins progressing

DALLAS — One of the fo r m e r l yconjoined Egyptian twins has start-ed walking daily with minimal assis-tance, a hospital re p re s e n t at i vesaid Thurs d ay.

Ankle and leg braces help Mo-hamed Ibrahim as he builds muscletone in his legs, officials with theN o rth Texas Hospital for Childre nat Medical City said.

Mohamed and his brother Ahmed

a re pa rt i c i pating in twice-daily ses-sions that include working with phys i-cal, occupational, speech and child-l i fe thera p ists. Each day, they are in-c reasing their strength and dex te r i t yas they take on new challenges, ac-c o rding to the hospital.

The hospital says Mohamed isfearless and will tackle whatever hist h e ra p ists ask of him. Ahmed is morecautious but will take on new chal-lenges with a little encoura g e m e n t .

Both of the 2 1/2 - ye a r-old boysa re adding new wo rds to their Eng-l ish and Arabic vocabularies al-most daily.

The boys, born conjoined at thetop of their heads, we re sepa rate dOct. 12 during a 34-hour surg e ry.

Officials investigate 2 Texans’ arsenal

N O O N DAY, Texas — WilliamK rar and Judith Bruey built an ar-senal in three re n ted sto rage unitsin this rural East Texas town, andfe d e ral authorities still don’t knoww hy.

A fe d e ral raid in April 2003found nearly half a million ro u n d sof ammunition, more than 60 pipebombs, machine guns, silencersand re m ote - c o n t rolled bombs dis-

g u ised as briefcases. Pamphlets onh ow to make chemical we a p o n sand anti-Semitic, anti-black anda n t i - g overnment books we re alsod is c ove re d .

Beside containers of hyd ro c h l o-ric, nitric and acetic acids, agentsfound more than 800 grams of al-most pure sodium cyanide, whichcan only be ac q u i red legally fo rs p e c i fic agricultural or militarypurposes. If the ingredients we rem i xed, they could cre ate a bombp owe rful enough to kill eve ryo n einside a 30,0 0 0 - s q u a re - fo ot build-ing, fe d e ral authorities said.

Violence outburstleaves 9 dead in Iraq

BAG H DA D, Iraq — At t ac ke rskilled nine people in an outburst of vi-olence, including four Chris t i a nwomen headed to jobs at a U.S. mili-t a ry base and two American sol-d i e rs. South of the capital, the secu-rity chief of Spa n ish troops in Iraqwas shot in the head during a ra i d .Two Iraqi policemen we re killedT h u rs d ay and three ot h e rs we rewounded when gunmen fi red on apolice checkpoint between Fa l l u j a hand Ramadi, two insurgency hot s p ot swest of Baghdad .

IN THE NEWS TO DAY

t h ey are getting a quality edu-c ation for their tuition dol-l a r s .”

In his order, the go v e r n o rd i r e cted that the Boards ofR e gents, for each public inst i-tution and university syst e m ,work with the Texas Hi g h e rE d u c ation Coordinat i n gBoard in developing the ac-c o u n t a b i l i ty measures.

Pe r ry pointed out that pub-

lic schools that educate st u-dents in kindergarten throughhigh school have faced ac-c o u n t a b i l i ty standards formore than 10 years.

“The public has the right todemand complete accounta-b i l i ty for its inv e stment in in-stitutions of educat i o n ,”Pe r ry ’s order said. “Syst e m sand institutions of higher ed-u c ation must be able to clear-ly define the need for addi-tional st ate funding in a man-ner which will just i fy the pub-l i c’s continued inv e stment ofr e s o u r c e s .”

Benton Cocanougher, theTexas A&M Un i v e r s i ty Sys-tem interim chancellor, saidthe system welcomes Pe r ry ’scall for increased accounta-b i l i ty.

“The Texas A&M Un i v e r s i-ty System believes that ac-c o u n t a b i l i ty in higher educa-tion is a necessity, and thereare currently sev e ral account-a b i l i ty measures already inplace with more to come,” hes a i d .

The governor set a deadlineof Dec. 17 for receiving the ac-c o u n t a b i l i ty system proposals.

q u e stions regarding propertyt h eft, vehicle burglary and cam-pus safety to interested students.

“ Mo st burglars don’t likem a r ked property,” said Mo r r i-son. “So just having some sortof identifi c ation on yourthings can prevent them frombeing take n .”

Simply writing a name onthe inside of a book is notenough to stop thieves. Le a r n-

ing how to mark the booksc o r r e ctly can have a muchg r e ater impact in prev e n t i n gt h eft, officials say.

“Somebody who st e a l sbooks may see your namew r i tten on the inside and ript h at out because they don’twant a marked book,” Mo r r i-son said. “If you mark thebook in an inconspicu o u splace, you have a much bett e rchance of eventually gett i n gthe book back.”

O fficials say multiple iden-t i fiers on page numbers signif-icant to the student are an ef-

f e ctive measure that is easy toimplement. For inst a n c e ,marking the page numberst h at match your birth month,d ay and year can help st u d e n t seasily recover a stolen item.

Morrison had one last im-p o rtant tip to deter thiev e sfrom breaking in to cars. “Ifyou have a removable facep l ate for your stereo, take itwith you,” Morrison said.“Yo u ’d be surprised how manypeople don’t do that .”

R AJAL VAS H I S H Tnews-editor@exchange.uta.edu

Theftcontinued from page 1

Tuitioncontinued from page 1

2The number of men’s ba s ke t ba l lteams in the nation with a bette rf ree throw percentage than the

M ave r i c ks. Texas St ate is the n at i o n ’s best, shooting 78 .6% f rom the free throw line, and N o rth Carolina St ate makes 78.2% of its penalty shots. U TA ra n ks third, shooting

77.7% from the charity stripe.

B AS K E T B A L L

SLC MEN’S STANDINGSCONFERENCE OVERALL W-L Pct W-L Pct

NW State 5-0 1.000 7-8 .467Texas State 3-0 1.000 8-6 .571SE Louisiana 3-1 .750 11-4 .733 Stephen F. Austin 2-2 .500 11-4 .733 Sam Houston St. 2-2 .500 7-8 .467UTA 2-2 .500 7-8 .467 Louisiana-Monroe 3-2 .600 7-12 .368 Texas-San Antonio 1-2 .333 6-10 .375Lamar 1-3 .250 7-9 .438 Nicholls State 1-4 .200 6-10 .375McNeese State 0-5 .000 4-12 .250

SLC WOMEN’S STANDINGSCONFERENCE OVERALLW-L Pct W-L Pct

NW State 5-0 1.000 12-4 .750 Louisiana-Monroe 4-1 .800 8-8 .500 UTA 3-1 .750 9-7 . 5 6 2Sam Houston St. 3-1 .750 3-12 .200 McNeese St ate 3 - 2 .6 0 0 5 -1 1 . 313 Texas-San Antonio 2-2 .500 4-11 .267Texas State 2-2 .500 2-12 .143 Stephen F. Austin 1-3 .250 1-13 .071Lamar 1-3 .250 4-10 .286 SE Louisiana 0-4 .000 7-7 .500 Nicholls State 0-5 .000 1-15 .063

MEN’S BAS K E T B A L LMAVS FREE THROW LEADERS ## Player FT-FTA Pct 23 Howell, Keith 52-63 .82532 Obasohan, Derrick 45-55 .81821 Johnson, Roy 26-33 .78833 Thomas, Steven 87-112 .777

BY BRITNEY TA B O RThe Shorthorn staff

When it comes to collecting from thec h a r i ty stripe, the Mavericks basket b a l lteam is one of the best in the nat i o n .

According to w w w . n c a a . o r g, in Me n’sB a s ketball Division I, the Mavs rank No. 3in the nation in free-throw shooting. Ateam that was ra n ked No. 8 in the South-land Conference last year with a 67.5 per-c e n t a ge is now shooting 79.2 from the line.The two leading teams are Southland Con-ference rival Texas State with a 78.6 per-c e n t a ge and No rth Carolina State, at 78.2percent.

Senior guard Keith Howell said beingra n ked No. 3 in the country is a big achiev e-ment for the team. Howell, who was thet e a m’s leader in free-throw shooting lastseason with a 79.7 percentage, said a teamhas to be able to make free throws in orderto win games. The difference in this year’steam is that it is more focused on shootingat the line, whereas last year there was poorshooting and the team didn’t consider howcrucial free throws are, he said.

“ La st year, we were just throwing themup there really,” Howell said. “During pra c-tice now, we keep the whole gym quiet andn o b o d y ’s really talking on the free throwline, and we just have time to focus on thefree throw and make it as if it were a games i t u at i o n .”

The free-throw rankings were post e dMo n d ay, and until UTA’s match-up withMc Neese State last Sat u r d ay, they wereleading the nat i o n .

Coach Eddie Mc C a rter said although hefeels good about the ranking, he still wish-es the team was at No. 1. He said what ledthe team to go from No. 8 in the conferenceto No. 3 in the nation has been having bet-ter shooters who concentrate on improv-ing. Lat e l y, the team has been play i n gtough competition, and free-throw shoot-ing has played an important role in their

p e rformance, Mc C a rter said. “I just feel that this team is doing their

job of making their routine the same ev e rytime they shoot, and they shoot with a lotof confi d e n c e” he said. “When you’re play-ing in close games like we have, free-throwshooting can determine whether you winor lose.”

Senior forward Derrick Obasohan saidt h at when a team is ra n ked highly ins o m ething, it shows that they are gett i n gthe job done. Opponents must pick theirpoison because they must choose to eithersend the Mavs to the line or let them play,he said. Obasohan said when he’s on theline, he concentrates on his goal of justtying a game or increasing the team’sscore, blocking out thoughts of missing as h o t .

“If we keep going to the line, hopef u l l yw e’ll be No. 2 or No. 1,” he said. “We justh ave to concentrate on free throws becausewhen the game is on the line, you don’twant to miss them.”

La st season, the team had a game-highof 30 free-throw shots made in a mat c h - u pwith No rt hw e stern State on Jan. 30. Th eteam reached its highest free-throw per-c e n t a ge two months lat e r, shooting 19 of 21at UT-San Antonio on March 1.

Sophomore forward Steven Th o m a s ,who is one of the top free-throw shootersfor the team, said in order to be good at it,a player has to be aggressive on both endsof the court. He said free-throw shooting isalso about being strong on the off e n s i v eend and not thinking about what oppo-nents may do or say.

“It’s all about good concentration,”Thomas said. “People can say some unbe-l i evable things on the line to you from theother team, and you just have to focus andblock ev e ryone out.”

B R I T N EY TA B O Rbkt5463@exchange.uta.edu

SPORT SABOUT SPORTS

B randon Sc h u b e rt, edito rs p o rt s - e d i to r. s h o rt h o r n @ u t a . e d u

S p o rts is published Tu e s d ay through Fr i d ay.

REMEMBER The UTA indoor track and field teams will

open the 2004 schedule when they competeat the Unive rsity of Houston to d ay at 2 p.m.

Page 10 Friday, January 23, 2004THE SH O RTHORN

D o w nt h eL i n e Living on the LineThe Mavs rank No. 3 in the nation for free throws

The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade

The Mavericks are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation for completed free throwswith senior guard Keith Howell leading at 82.5 percent.