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U
of Alabama suspends fraternity for violations
TUSCALOOSA,
Ala. (U-WIRE) - University of Alabama’s Delta Tau Delta fraternity
has been removed from its house and suspended until further notice
by the University. Cathy Andreen, director of University media relations,
said the fraternity was suspended because of alcohol violations.
Elaine
Globetti, director of student judicial affairs, gave a similar response
for the suspension.
“There
was a number of alcohol violations
that were flagrant and serious,” Globetti said.
According
to University officials, the fraternity violated Article 3, section
d, area 2 in the Code of Student Conduct, which lists “Offenses
Disrupting Order or Disregarding Health and Safety.” The code
outlaws the “use, possession or distribution of alcoholic beverages
except as expressly permitted by the law and University regulations,
or public intoxication.”
This
is not the first time fraternities have been in front of the judicial
affairs board. Sigma Nu and Alpha Tau Omega were suspended in 1996
for hazing. Alpha Tau Omega’s suspension lasted for two years,
and Sigma Nu was suspended for three years.
John
R. Yacup, public relations director for the local Delta Tau Delta
chapter, said the fraternity was removed from its house last semester.
“The fraternity was forced to move out of the house by Jan.
1, 2002,” Yacup said.
Globetti
said the length of Delta Tau Delta’s suspension was still to
be determined, since the appeals process is currently underway.
She added a fraternity could be reinstated on campus at any time
after its suspension.
Yacup
said nothing is final from the appeals process.
Delta
Tau Delta's central office could not be reached to comment on the
situation.
Dallas
loses first firefighter in 15 years
(AP)
The Dallas Fire Department on Tuesday was grieving the loss of Vincent
Davis, the first city firefighter to die in the line of duty in
15 years.
Davis,
an 11-year veteran, was killed from injuries he sustained when a
wall collapsed on him during an apartment building fire Monday night.
A
father of five children ages 2 to 14, he died shortly after he was
taken to Methodist Medical Center in critical condition.
Davis,
42, was the first Dallas firefighter to die in a blaze since Dale
Wayne Rhine died in February 1987 while fighting a house fire in
Oak Cliff, according to department records.
A
second firefighter, Charles Womble, also was caught under the wall
with Davis but received only minor injuries. He was treated and
released Monday night.
The
blaze began about 5:30 p.m. at the apartment complex in the Oak
Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. The fire reached six alarms in about
40 minutes and eventually destroyed the two-story white brick structure.
More
than 100 firefighters, a third of the on-duty force, were called
to help extinguish the fire.
Firefighters
worked frantically to put out the flames and rescue Davis and Womble
after the west brick wall of the building toppled.
No
other injuries were reported. The building was undergoing renovations
and was unoccupied. The cause of the fire remains under investigation
by the Dallas Fire Marshal and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms.
Davis’
death was especially devastating to firefighters at the Oak Cliff
station where Davis spent much of his career.
Fire
department representatives and a chaplain were keeping close contact
with Davis' family, who declined to be interviewed Tuesday.
Funeral
plans were pending Tuesday. The department, which has 1,600 employees,
may hold a special memorial to honor Davis, Dick
Minorities
find Texas A&M “unwelcoming”
COLLEGE
STATION, Texas (U-WIRE) - Minority students choose not to attend
Texas A&M University because of a lack of financial aid and
the perception the university is not welcoming to minorities, according
to a study recently released by Texas A&M’s Race and Ethnic
Studies Institute.
Dhananjaya
“Jay” Arekere, co-author of the survey and an A&M
research associate, said these factors can be attributed to the
1996 Hopwood decision that prevents public educational institutions
from recruiting or admitting students based solely on their races.
The
study found 54 percent of the minorities surveyed who did not choose
to attend A&M were in the top 10 percent of their classes and
had better SAT and ACT scores than their enrolled A&M counterparts.
Arekere said the minority students with the better scores were recruited
to other schools.
Seventy-two
percent of the minority students surveyed who chose not to attend
A&M cited financial assistance as the most important factor
in choosing a college.
The
study, which surveyed students who entered college in fall 2000,
aimed to determine why nonwhite students did not attend A&M.
Arekere said minorities, both enrolled and nonenrolled, found A&M
was not receptive to nonwhite students; however, more than half
of enrolled Caucasian students felt race was not an issue on campus.
“Some
people would harshly characterize those Caucasian response numbers
as resulting from ignorant statements. They just are not exposed
to minority issues or minorities as a whole at all,” Arekere
said. ‘What’s true, especially of this generation, is
that whites are not sympathetic to the difficulties minorities have
to face, especially minorities at a predominantly white institution.”
Arekere
said surveyed A&M minority students felt the issue of race was
ignored on campus instead of being addressed and overcome.
Ashcroft
lauds efforts against homeland terrorism
(AP)
Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday praised law enforcement
agencies for their collaborative efforts in trying to root out terrorists
within the nation’s borders as a means to stop future acts
of destruction.
Ashcroft
also asked all Americans to be “on the highest level of alert”
to possible terrorist acts in the coming days in response to a warning
issued Monday that an unspecified attack could be planned on or
around Feb. 12 in the United States or against U.S. interests abroad.
“Information
is the best friend that freedom has,” he said in a news briefing
at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio. “Prevention
(of future attacks) is predicated on information.”
He
said as part of the Feb. 12 warning, the federal government is trying
to locate 17 Middle Eastern men suspected of having links to Osama
Bin Laden or the Al-Qaida terror network. Most of them are believed
to Yemeni citizens, according to the FBI’s web site.
Ashcroft,
who spoke for less than 10 minutes, did not take questions from
reporters.
Susan
Dryden, a Justice Department spokeswoman accompanying Ashcroft,
said that the attack warning for Feb. 12 was still being investigated,
but that it was made public
because the government would rather err on the side of caution.
“We’re
being careful that, with the Winter Olympics being held in the United
States, that things be as safe as possible,” she said. “Any
time there’s information that’s important to U.S. interests
or threatens our citizens, we want to make sure we provide as much
information as we can.”
Ashcroft
met Tuesday morning in San Antonio with the local Anti-Terrorism
Task Force for a progress report on its efforts. Such panels, representing
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, were set up around
the country shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.
He
said the teamwork typified by the task force was needed to win the
war on terrorism.
“We
need to share because when you work together and share, you multiply
your forces,” he said.
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