Former student faces more allegations
Oliver arrested in Monroe, La. three weeks ago on suspicion of drug possession

By Matt Jones
staff reporter

William Stuart Oliver, the former TCU student who was arrested on campus on suspicion of drug possession, was arrested in his hometown earlier this month on charges of three counts of drug possession, two with intent to distribute, Officer Harold Freeman of the Monroe, La. police said.

G.C. Barrera, a Fort Worth narcotics officer, said Oliver’s prior and current arrests have prompted further investigations on the TCU campus.

Oliver was arrested Sept. 1 in Monroe after allegedly purchasing drugs in Thailand and mailing them back to himself in Louisiana, according to the Monroe Metro Narcotics Unit incident report.

According to the report, U.S. Customs intercepted two packages containing three vials of Stanozolol and 1,000 Methandienone pills, which are anabolic steroids, and 20 vials of Primobolan, which is an injectable or oral steroid.

After further investigation, a third package sent to Oliver’s home in Monroe was found to contain 15 additional vials of Stanozolol and several other suspected steroid pills, according to the report.

Oliver was also arrested Sept. 12 by Fort Worth police, who reportedly confiscated 542 tablets of Valium, two to four ounces of marijuana and a 5 1/2 inch double-bladed knife.

Freeman, the arresting officer in Monroe, said the confiscated drugs are classified as Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances.

Ouachita Parish narcotics prosecutor Carlton Parhms said Schedule II drugs are cocaine or cocaine-based substances, and Schedule III drugs include stimulants and depressants.

According to the report, Oliver was released on $23,000 bond.

Parhms said the district attorney’s office has not filed formal charges with the court, but Oliver’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 9 in Monroe.

At the arraignment, Oliver is expected to determine counsel and enter a plea, Parhms said.

According to the Louisiana criminal code, the charge of possession with intent to distribute is determined from the quantity of drugs found or confiscated when an arrest is made.

Parhms said possession with intent to distribute is a felony. The minimum penalty is five years imprisonment for each count with the possibility of hard labor. The maximum penalty is up to 40 years for each count, Parhms said.

Barrera said Oliver’s case has also been presented to the Fort Worth District Attorney’s office, but a local arraignment date has not been set.

The FWPD has filed a civil seizure of the $915 found in small bills in a small locked box on Oliver’s desk, Barrera said.

The money raises the question of possible distribution involvement, Barrera said.

Don Mills, vice chancellor of student affairs, said TCU will cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
“This highlights that TCU is not an oasis,” Mills said. “I think that we need to be vigilant about what (happens on) this campus.”

Kappa Sigma president David Roberts confirmed that Oliver was the fraternity’s pledge trainer this semester. As the pledge trainer, Oliver was responsible for the orientation of new members into Kappa Sigma, Roberts said.

“We are a totally clean fraternity, especially in the house,” Roberts said.

Mills said he supports the fraternity and would assist the members in a drug education program or intervention if needed.

“It is sad that this happens,” Mills said. “But, now we have to assure that everyone involved gets the care and services they need to put this behind them.”

Mills said Oliver met with Michael Russel, associate dean of campus life, Friday when Oliver moved out of his room in Tomlinson Hall.

Matt Jones
matthewsjones@hotmail.com

SGA to decide fate of position
Secretary spot could be eliminated or changed

By Kristina Iodice
staff reporter

The Student Government Association has a week to decide if the SGA secretary position should be kept, altered or eliminated.“I think there are a ton of options out there,” said SGA President Ben Jenkins. “The first thing we need to decide is if (the secretary position) is worth even looking into and the second is what we’re going to do if it is.”

He said a decision on the position needs to be made by early next week to allow the student body to vote on any constitutional changes before elections in November.

Jason Cordova was appointed as the SGA secretary after Ben Rebstock resigned about two weeks ago.
Jenkins said it would be possible but difficult to go without the secretary position. Last year, the focus of the secretary position was changed from administrative assistant for the SGA to assisting the president.
“If you pile so much on certain leaders, you cannot accomplish tasks within your time frame as well as (juggle) classes, hopefully, somewhat of a social life, and any other commitments that you have,” he said.

Another possibility is changing the elected secretary position to an appointment, he said.

“If you make it an appointment and no longer an elected position, the students feel like they no longer have a voice in that matter and that is something they’re concerned about,” Jenkins said.

If the SGA secretary position became an appointed position, the person would most likely not be paid, he said.

The secretary is currently paid $1,804 a year, said SGA Treasurer Stine Mosier.

Mosier said she is concerned about how fast a decision is being made on the position.

“Other options haven’t been given a fair opportunity,” she said.

Mosier said she suggested the secretary position be made into an appointment and the salary designated for the secretary be put into a fund to pay other people on the executive board.

Cordova said deciding if the position is worth taking without compensation is up to the individual“Compensation is primarily to reward individuals who are giving such a great number of hours to the position that would otherwise be unpaid,” he said.

The secretary position is what the president and secretary make of it, Cordova said.

“I think that if the president asks a lot of the secretary like he can under the constitution, the position is very useful,” he said.

Cordova said there has been discussion since his first days in student government two years ago about what to do with the secretary position.

The secretary position has been pushed to the front because there was a resignation, Cordova said. This is the first time the SGA has had to answer the question of how to fill the position and how necessary it is to the SGA.

“There might be something we haven’t addressed before that’s come up or better ways to define the position,” he said. “But that’s normal, we do that every year.”

Cordova said he could not remember a semester where the House did not pass legislation to change the election codes or the bylaws.

Jenkins said if students are not benefiting from an SGA position, something needs to change.

“If we get to a point where student government feels that any one position, including secretary, needs to be modified in some sort of way, we will make that modification because we are here for the students,” he said.

Kristina Iodice
k.k.iodice@student.tcu.edu

Greeks participate in Anchor Splash
Delta Gamma raises money for the blind

By Michael Davis
staff reporter

Pi Kappa Phi took home first place as Delta Gamma concluded Anchor Splash, its annual drive to raise money for the blind and for sight conservation.

Half of the money raised during Anchor Splash will be given to the Alexander Eye Clinic, which is operated by a DG alumna, and the remainder will be sent to DG’s national organization. Money is raised from individual fraternities and sororities that compete in events and competitions.

“We ended up raising money for a good cause, and that is what it is all about,” said Collin Sparks, Pi Kapp president and engineering major.

Mary Dawn Henson, DG event coordinator and psychology major, said she hopes to top the more than $10,000 raised last year. This year, the event was condensed from four days to three to make it easier to organize, but the change will make reaching their goal more difficult, she said.

Henson said they won’t know the final amount of money raised for several days because they are still waiting for family member and alumni donations.

The “most beautiful eyes” contest was held for the second year. Students vote on the most beautiful eyes of a representative from each sorority.

“From a Panhellenic standpoint, it was good to see the inclusion of sororities in the ‘beautiful eyes’ contest,” said Panhellenic president Elizabeth Gipson.

The aim of this competition is to gain more sorority involvement. The winner, Kappa Alpha Theta, will share half of the proceeds with DG and use the money for their own philanthropy.

This year, 10 fraternities competed against one another in Anchor Splash by attempting to raise more money than the others. Fraternities also gained points by winning events.

Pi Kapp won the overall competition and the three-on-three basketball competition Tuesday at the Rickel Building. They also won the water relays Wednesday. Delta Tau Delta came in second place. Phi Kappa Sigma, who had won the event for the past two years, came in third.

This year is the 26th year Anchor Splash has been held.

Michael Davis
m.s.davis@student.tcu.edu

Wiesel: fanaticism a threat
Nobel Peace laureate teaches against indifference

By Kristina Iodice
staff reporter

The one point Elie Wiesel wanted students to retain from his lecture is respect for each other.
Wiesel wants students to make a difference and he believes they will, he said after his Wednesday night lecture at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

“Indifference is not the answer,” he said.

Wiesel, a Nobel Peace laureate and Holocaust survivor, spoke on “The Seduction and Dangers of Fanaticism” at the Gates of Chai Lecture on contemporary Judaism before a captivated crowd.

Sandy Record, internal communications manager at the Office of Communications, said part of the stage was moved back because so many people wanted to attend. Event organizers said more than 4,700 tickets were sold, significantly more than the 2,500 they had expected. Proceeds from the lecture will be donated to TCU’s Jewish studies program.

The audience gave Wiesel, author of more than 40 books and a professor at Boston University, a standing ovation as he approached the lectern.

“You are a very special school of higher learning,” he said. “I don’t believe anyone here believes he or she is superior to another.”

It is feelings of superiority and hatred that characterize fanaticism, Wiesel said. And although he doesn’t believe the Holocaust could happen again, Wiesel believes that fanaticism still poses a threat to the world — noting ethnic cleansing and violent wars in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and other parts of the world.
“The fallout from the hatred shown in the last century is still with us,” he said. “Think of all the wars that are still ravaging the world, and the terrorism.”

Wiesel said fanatics typically have limited vocabularies and no ideas, and instead use vulgarity to foster their hatred. He used the Nazi propaganda of World War II as an example.

“A fanatic wants power — the power to destroy, not to build,” Wiesel said. “What they want is to destabilize our moral structure. Hatred creates hatred. Hatred and humanity do not go together.”

Wiesel said fanaticism kills the mind, heart and eventually humanity. But he believes the memories of the Holocaust and other atrocities can safeguard people from perpetuating hatred.

“I still believe in words,” Wiesel said. “They can become carriers of compassion or hate. They can move us to despair or to hope.”
The Romanian-born Wiesel was 15 when was taken to an Auschwitz concentration camp, where both his mother and younger sister were killed. Many of his books delve into the gory details of his 11 months there. But Wiesel, now 72, maintains that he never hated the Germans.

“I believe in justified anger, in creative anger and compassionate anger but not hatred,” he said. “Hatred destroys the victim and the hater.”

John Miller, a sophomore e-business major, said Wiesel spoke profoundly on the inherent equality of people.

“Nobody is better than anyone else because we all come from the same background,” he said.

Julie Miller, a freshman elementary education major, said Wiesel’s views on a person’s potential for hatred were particularly poignant.

“People can be beautiful on the outside but on the inside not be beautiful at all,” she said. “He is still a strong person after seeing such death and pain and inhumanity. He helps people by doing things like this.”

Kristina Iodice
k.k.iodice@student.tcu.edu

LEAPS jumps into action Saturday with higher participation expected

By Chris Gibson
staff reporter

For the second semester in a row TCU students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to serve the Fort Worth community through TCU LEAPS.

As an extension of Student Development Services, the LEAPS program has made it easier for students to volunteer in the community.

“Last (semester) (LEAPS) was on April 1 and we had over 400 students who were able to help out,” said Penny Woodcock, the Student Development Services program coordinator. “The university has been doing things like this for a while, but only a few students had participated. This program gave students the opportunity and many took it.”

Volunteers from TCU will again be participating in a variety of different activities, ranging from spending time with residents at area nursing homes to helping out at the Tarrant Area Food Bank to volunteering at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Students who participated in LEAPS said they enjoyed the experience.

“It was fun to get out into the community and feel like you are making a difference,” said sophomore business major Adam Wheeless. “I don’t think that a lot of students volunteer on their own, so programs like (LEAPS) are really great for helping them get involved.”

Paige Reeve, student chair of LEAPS, said she is pleased with the number of people registered and confident more people will participate this semester than last.

“We believe the more the product is presented the more people will get involved,” said Reeve. “Our main goal is to get everyone excited about volunteering. (LEAPS) is only one day, but our aim is that it will encourage people to volunteer and serve all year.”

This semester’s LEAPS program is scheduled for Saturday. Buses depart 10 a.m. from the Rickel Building and will return to campus by 2 p.m. with lunch provided.

“Our hope is that (students) can help out the community, meet new people they may not have had access to before and hopefully make some good connections,” Woodcock said.

Chris Gibson
c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu

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