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Monday, February 20, 2012
The Daily Cougar
OPINION THE DAILY COUGAR
DEFENSE TACTICS
EDITOR David Haydon E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion
by Pedro Crevantes
EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITORS SPORTS EDITOR LIFE
& ARTS EDITOR
OPINION EDITOR
Daniel Renfrow Mary Baak Taylor McGilvray, Joshua Mann Joshua Siegel Jose Aguilar David Haydon
STAFF EDITORIAL
Aggie tries to change outdated tradition
T
exas A&M is a university that prides itself on its traditions, many of which have existed with little change since the founding of their university. Samantha Ketcham, a senior at A&M, wants to radically change one of those traditions.
Ketcham is campaigning to become one of A&M’s senior yell leaders. Yell leaders have been a tradition at A&M for 105 years. As a thirdgeneration Aggie, Ketcham seems to be an ideal candidate for the position. The only problem with her campaign is that A&M’s yell leaders have always been male. Although female Aggies have run for the position in the past, they have never recieved enough votes to change the all-male tradition. Ketcham told The Eagle that students at A&M should try to elect yell leaders that are representative of their student body. “I think it would show the nation and the world that A&M is a more accepting place than people realize,” Ketcham said. Even if Ketcham becomes the first female yell leader at A&M, this will be a tough sell. While A&M is known for its traditions, it is also known for its lack of diversity. According to The Princeton Review, 70.88 percent of A&M’s student body is Caucasian; only 47.53 percent of A&M students are female. In comparison, only 29.2 percent of UH’s student body is Caucasion, and 49.75 percent of our students are female. The Princeton Review ranks A&M third on the list of colleges with the most conservative students and tenth on the list of the most LGBT-unfriendly colleges in the nation. The election of Ketcham would be a step in the right direction for her university, but A&M still has a long way to go before it can prove to the nation that is an accepting place. Nevertheless, The Daily Cougar wishes Ketcham the best of luck in her pursuit to turn an outdated tradition on its head — change happens in baby steps.
E D I TO R I A L P O L I C I E S STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax to (713) 743-5384. Letters are subject to editing. ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.
Defense is desperate Lawyers hold back nothing in the financial Ponzi scheme case
A
fter ruling in December that Texas-based financier Robert Allen Stanford was competent enough to withstand trial, U.S. District Judge David Hittner scheduled USA v. Stanford et al, on Jan. 23. Stanford was charged committing a “bait and switch” international Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly Lindsay conned investors out of Gary $7 billion. The trial, is a battleground between the government and Stanford’s defense team, who seem to be trying everything possible to win this difficult case. The defense team’s tactics include trying to prove that former Chief Financial Officer of Stanford Financial Group and college roommate of Stanford, James Davis, is responsible for the alleged scheme. They also allege that had government groups, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), not intervened, Stanford would have completed the task of paying investors back. However both are difficult to prove for various reasons. First, although it is the CFO’s responsibility to advise a company financially,
Stanford was still the final decision-maker. On Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, the government presented several emails as evidence to the courtroom, including emails with subject line “Transfer of Funds TIOC” (Two Islands One Club). These were a series of emails regarding a risky business venture — building a resort in the Caribbean. Patricia Maldonado asked for the approval of $1,275,000 to go into this resort. This money came from a Societe Generale account in Switzerland that was funded by the Certificates of Deposits from investments. Davis’ alleged reply was for Maldonado to contact Stanford for approval; Stanford supposedly in turn approved this amount, and possibly many other illegal transactions such as this. Investors thought they were making secure investments but based on the evidence presented by the government, they actually weren’t. In fact, the money went to millions of dollars worth of employee bonuses, bills and, not to mention, the TIOC, which was never completed. There is no strong evidence that proves Stanford was actually in the process of paying investors back, especially when emails similar to the TIOC series were sent just weeks before Stanford was caught.
It is obvious the defense team is uneasy. Davis was Stanford’s right-hand man and he has not only plead guilty but has testified against him with believable evidence. Stanford and his defense team only revealed their poker faces. But their desperate actions, such as trying to put the blame on Davis, show their insecurity. Not only are they trying to persuade the courtroom that a man who already plead guilty is at fault, but they even tried to call for a mistrial during recess on the grounds that Davis violated Stanford’s Fifth Amendment rights. Judge Hittner overruled that accusation against Davis and the trial continued. After exhausting many of their options, they are still having a difficult time proving Stanford’s innocence. First the defense claimed Stanford was incompetent. Now they’re blaming Stanford’s employee for all the crime committed in Stanford’s company. What will the defense resort to next? With all of the evidence and witnesses the government has brought in, it will almost be impossible for the prosecution to lose this case. Lindsay Gary is a senior history major and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.
LETTERS UH shouldn’t support Chick-fil-A because of its anti-gay donations It is becoming more clear that Chick-fil-A has donated millions of dollars to homophobic organizations. The question we must ask as a campus community is, why does a University that rightfully prides itself with its diversity and its commitment
to societal change allow this company two locations on campus? What about the LGBT students and their supporters from thousands of faculty members and students? There are other chicken chains that are not donating money to hateful causes that can take its place. — Andrew Reiser, Graduate student
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 743-5384.