BOBCAT BALLERS
ROLLING PURPLE HILLS Despite government proposals, hallucinogen remains legal SEE TRENDS PAGE 7
Men’s Basketball team to play 7 p.m. Wednesday
FORGIVE DON’T FORGET Student shares view on thick and thin skin
SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
SEE OPINIONS PAGE 5
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
WWW.UNIVERSITYSTAR.COM
NOVEMBER 28, 2007
WEDNESDAY
VOLUME 97, ISSUE 39
Asbestos found in Sterry Hall pipes Report raises residence hall concerns By Nick Georgiou News Editor A risk management team report recommends an abatement be conducted in Sterry Hall after asbestos was discovered in pipes on the first floor of the building. The risk management team conducted an assessment after a maintenance worker expressed concern about being exposed to the cancer-causing agent in the building. The Nov. 12 report recommended the hiring of a licensed consultant and the removal and replacement of all ceiling tiles in the building, in addition to the abatement, which is a costly process reducing or eliminating asbestos. Terry Dowdy, risk management office director, said he did not think anybody had been exposed to asbestos in the building. “We didn’t see anything that would cause us immediate concern, but until we get a licensed consultant out to do a complete assessment and get some air samples I can’t, with 100 percent certainty, say there aren’t some particulates in the air,” said Dowdy, who has worked in the environmental compliance
Athletic audit finds inconsistencies, probationary status to be removed By Jackie Baylon News Reporter The Internal Audit and Compliance Office conducted their annual audit on the athletics department and found some inconsistencies, though they will not jeopardize Texas State’s NCAA eligibility. The audit report, which was conducted in March, stated recruiting logs were incomplete and spot checks by the athletic compliance office were not performed. A total of 116 recruiting logs were reviewed and 77 of them had one or more issues concerning unrecorded data. The athletic compliance office has since revised the recruiting logs to include dates regarding when each sport must submit their logs to be reviewed. The assistant athletic director has designated spot checks for compliance. Another fault found was a social security number listed as the same number for two different athletes on two forms. “In this one situation, you got an error where someone just plugged in the wrong number on the declaration forms, but the names are correct,” said Scott Lazenby, assistant NCAA athletics compliance director. “On a situation like this, the
conference office on eligibility declaration forms does not look at social security numbers because they don’t keep track of those. They are looking for the names. So the names were all correct, it is just the social security was wrong for somebody.” Inconsistencies were found in the eligibility declaration forms as well. The forms being faxed to the conference office were not always stamped or signed. As a result, the Internal Audit and Compliance Office could not ensure whether the athletics office was in compliance with department policy. Lazenby said the inconsistencies were not major violations. He said people needed to be reeducated of the proper procedures so the faults would not be repeated. “They come back every year to check if we are doing what we said we were going to be doing to correct the faults,” Lazenby said. “We have to show proof of what we said we would do.” He said it was important to perform everything by the books because there are various violations and they do not look good on the record. “You can have a small, minor violation, but if you don’t take the
business for more than 30 years. “My guess is that there might be, but whether those are asbestos, I couldn’t say.” Asbestos, a mineral fiber commonly used in construction materials, is found in most buildings, particularly older ones such as Sterry. “Anything that was built before 1976 you can assume it has asbestos in it,” Dowdy said. Asbestos is not harmful unless it becomes friable, which means the substance can be easily crumbled into smaller pieces. Asbestos can then pose a health hazard because people breath in the particles. The degree to which it can be harmful depends on the amount of asbestos found in the material, which usually ranges from 1 to 5 percent. “If it’s 1 to 5 percent and its bonded with other materials, there’s a good possibility it will leave the (person’s) system,” Dowdy said. “But pure asbestos, the fibers themselves are very jagged (and) anything with moisture they just stick to. The chance of them being expired from the system are pretty remote.” It has not been determined whether the asbestos observed by the risk management
team in Sterry is friable or not. “That’s why we want to license (a contractor),” Dowdy said. “We’re not allowed to take air samples.” In Texas, a consultant has to be hired to take the air samples. Dowdy said he did not know if the university had hired one yet. William Nance, finance and support services vice president, said a group composed of representatives from the facilities department, Residence Life and the risk management office will review the preliminary assessment Dec. 3 and make their recommendation. The facility department is involved because it is “responsible for managing the planning, budgeting, scheduling, programming, design and construction of all new and renovation projects related to Texas State facilities.” Pat Fogarty, facilities associate vice president, could not be reached for comment. The finance and support services division assumed responsibility of the asbestos, indoor air quality, mold and lead program from the facilities department this year. Dowdy, who has been at the university for See ASBESTOS, page 3
PLASTIC PROBLEMS
Texas State cracks down on abuse of university credit cards By Scott Thomas Assistant News Editor The director for the Office of Audit and Compliance is in the process of establishing an internal compliance program after several reports showed the use of procurement cards were abused by university staff. Yvonne Eixmann, the director for the Office of Audit and Compliance, said the internal compliance program aims to decrease the abuse of procurement cards, which are a type of credit card used for various purchases. “Every faculty, staff, and I think student workers, are going to have to take 17 training modules,” Eixmann said. “It’s stuff about how to use (procurement) cards, how to make purchases (and) all the rules you have to
follow to protect student privacy.” A 2006 audit of the Office of Special Projects, which coordinates all university presidential events and oversees the President’s House, showed the cardholder in four of the five procurement accounts reviewed was also the account manager. The report stated this was the result of an oversight and is not in the best interest of the cardholder/ account manager or the university. “You’re supposed to make sure you’re not the person making (purchases) and reviewing them,” Eixmann said. The report states account managers and cardholders should be separate individuals in order to maintain expenditure integrity and See PLASTIC, page 3
See AUDIT, page 3
Monty Marion and Spencer Millsap/Star photo illustration
UPD reports increased car burglaries Misplaced student frustrated By Katie Carmichael News Reporter
The University Police Department is investigating 12 car burglaries committed during October and November in garages and parking lots around campus. Paul Chapa, UPD captain of operations, said a combination of items left in the vehicles were stolen, including stereos. “We are diligent in our patrol of those areas, but we have yet to make any arrests,” Chapa said. He said students, faculty and staff should practice basic crime prevention techniques for vehicles. “Park in a well-lit area, if you can,” he said. “Put your valuables out of site, under the seat or in
Today’s Weather
Sunny 70˚
Precipitation: 10% Humidity: 61% UV: 4 Moderate Wind: SSW 10 mph
your trunk. Make sure to take the extra second to prevent burglaries. It gives the burglars more incentive to break in to your car when the doors are unlocked or valuables are left in sight.” The areas affected have been the Jackson Hall parking lot, Tower Hall Garage, Wood Street Garage, Charles Austin Drive, Student Health Center parking lot and San Marcos Hall Garage. Chapa said students can call the non-emergency UPD line at 245-2805 to report any suspicious activity. — compiled by Alex Hering, news reporter
Texas State student Chase Fruge has not lived on campus all semester, yet he and his family recently completed a $1,600 payment to Residence Life for room and board. Fruge, accounting freshmen, was originally given a temporary room assignment, but he said a residence hall director advised him to wait for permanent housing. Halfway through the semester, Fruge said he still had not been assigned a permanent dorm room to live in. Room assignments at Texas State are made on a first come, first serve basis. Students who turn in applications on a later date face the possibility of not receiving the hall of their choice or, in some cases, being without a permanent place to live.
Two-day Forecast Thursday Sunny Temp: 67°/ 50° Precip: 0%
Friday Cloudy Temp: 73°/ 57° Precip: 10%
“I was kind of a last minute Texas State student,” Fruge said. “I got accepted, but I didn’t really plan on going here. I was going to go to LSU, (but it) didn’t work out for me, so given the situation, my housing application went in pretty late in the summer. I had all my stuff turned in, and I was good to go. Then about two days before move in, I called and (Residence Life) were like, ‘Well, we have you as temporary housing, so we’re not really sure.’” Fruge was instructed to call the Residence Life office the morning of move-in to receive his room assignment. He was told Aug. 16 to contact Beretta Hall, where he would most likely be placed. He received a temporary assignment in Beretta with a resident assistant, and was told a permanent room would be found for him as early as the following week. He was assured this process would
not take long and the hall director suggested he commute from his parents’ house in Buda while waiting. A week later, Fruge contacted the residence hall regarding the status of his room. “It seemed like all the spots were full expect for the room with the RA and he had moved the furniture around and stuff to make it compatible for one person,” Fruge said. He said the hall director then advised he would be better off waiting until permanent arrangements could be made, instead of making the RA move the furniture back. Weeks went by and Fruge was forced to get a job to pay for the extra gas he was using to commute everyday. He began adapting to his arrangement until he
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