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‘Cheerleader’
pose sheds bad light on TCU
An
escort posing as a cheerleader on a Web site has school
administrators and police looking into possible legal
action.
By
Angelica Rosas
TCU
tries hard to sell itself, but not this hard.
An escort posing in a photo as a cheerleader atop the
brick name plate on Stadium Drive has school administrators
and police outraged. It was not clear if the photo had
been digitally manipulated.
An e-mail was sent Thursday to school officials and the
TCU Daily Skiff from someone claiming to be an alumnus
expressing outrage over the photo. The e-mail had a link
to an escort site where the picture was located.
“I think it’s totally inappropriate,” Chancellor
Victor Boschini said. “I would most certainly not
be in favor of a business making money off our good name,
especially prostitution.”
The woman, who identified herself as a 21-year-old sophomore
named “Sunny,” told a reporter she was not a
TCU student and then immediately hung up the phone.
When Boschini opened the forwarded e-mail for the first
time during a phone interview with the Skiff, he gasped.
“This is horrible, this is horrible,” he said.
He said he was personally offended and immediately called
Rob Ginsburg, of McDonald Sanders, P.C., the law firm
which has served TCU for over 25 years.
“He contacted me because he found the use of the
name and images of Texas Christian University in this
manner highly offensive,” Ginsburg said. “He
asked if this conduct gives rise to any claim under applicable
law.”
Ginsburg would not comment further on what actions are
being taken.
Detective Kelly Ham is leading the TCU police investigation.
He said he has contacted “Sunny” and the company
advertised on the site and given them a 24-hour deadline
to remove the picture from the Web site.
“It is a violation of several laws and we are proceeding
with an investigation,” Ham said. “We are considering
the possibility of investigating criminal charges.”
Administrators and police called the Kelly Alumni Center
to verify if the sender of the e-mail, who identified
himself as Calderhan Squeeb, was in fact a member of the
1981 graduating class as was said in the e-mail. Lynda
Hamilton, alumni relations administration assistant, said
she told authorities that Squeeb is not an alumnus.
“It’s a trick from someone who wants us to open
the e-mail,” Hamilton said. “This has never
happened before.”
Don Mills, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, was also
offended by the photograph’s connection with the
school. He said the affiliation with the school is what
is important. If the school were to take action, he said,
they would turn it over to the school lawyer to place
an in-court injunction.
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Courtesy
of www.eros-dallas.com
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| This
photo of an escort named “Sunny” depicts
a woman atop the TCU sign near Stadium Drive. An
e-mail link to the photo was sent to campus officials. |
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