The Reporter

PEEKING S H RUTH AT iTETSD'N UNIVERSITY VdIuitib CXIX Issue 22 Thompson Gives Reasons Why 2004 Rape Report Was Not Disclosed By HEATHER MARTYN A student's 2004 sexual assault claim was never investigated or disclosed because the student requested that no investigation take place, Vice President Deborah Thompson said. Because the school did not investigate the rape as allegedly was the student's request, the location ofthe sexual assault was not determined, and an official report was never filed. "I definitely did not request that the school not investigate. If it had done its job and gave me the advice that I needed and the help that I needed, being the freshman that I was far away from home, I would not be having to go through every day with the physical and emotional scars for the rest of my life," the student in reference said when contacted for a response to Thompson's comments. According to Security On Campus, Inc., a company which compiles the statistics required by the U.S. Department of Education, incidents that occur in places off campus and that are not patrolled by Public Safety, such as downtown Deland, are not included in the questionnaire that Public Safety sends to the U.S. Department of Education. "Each school must disclose crime statistics for the campus, unobstructed public areas immediately adjacent to or running through the campus, and certain non-campus facilities including Greek housing and remote classrooms," Security On Campus Inc.'s website reads. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires the university to provide students, parents, prospective students and the general public with statistics regarding murder, sexual assault, burglary, hate crimes and auto theft, otherwise known as "Part One" crimes, that occur on campus. The statistics are required to be collected by those who hold significant responsibility on campus in regards to the safety of student's and activities on campus, such as Public Safety officers. "[The questionnaire] asks questions about crimes on campus, defined as geographically on the campus itself," said Public Safety Chief J.D. Hess. "I gather our statistics from reports that we write during the year, we have codes that are all documented, and that is what I use for my crime stats." "The penalty of lying on that report is hefty, and I'm not about to do it," he added. According to Security on Campus, Inc., the Department of Education can fine those schools who do not comply with the Act up to $27,500 or the schools could face other consequences. Every college and university in the United States is sent this questionnaire to be filled out annually by the first of October each year with statistics from the previous three years. "I think the importance of having the Clery Act is from a national level, parents and students want to know the level of safety.they can expect in a community they will be entering," stated Thompson. "So having a requirement to report actual investigations and reported crimes on your campus is an important tool to have available to students and parents." Thompson also commented on the mass email sent out Friday, April 20, in response to the student's initial allegations, "because the subject matter that was addressed in the article, being sexual assault, is of such a serious nature the university felt it was important that any victim know what the procedures are and where the university truly stands with regards to how serious we view these situations," Thompson said. "I truly could not allow one night go by without addressing the issue." The student who made the allegations said that she is "appalled that the administration broke another federal law." According to the student, who cited the Federal Education Records and Privacy Act, Deborah Thompson had no right to disclose her information in the public email that was sent out Friday, April 20. "The only person to whom my written waiver gave permission to disclose my private educational records was Dean Espinosa, and only under the circumstances that the information be solely shared with Mike Riggs from The Reporter," the student said. The student also contacted The Reporter to clarify that she was misquoted in her interview and did not report a second sexual assault to Espinosa. "I wasn't sexually assaulted a second time, I was drugged a second time, but my friend brought me home where I filed a police report while Public Safety was in my room." When Hess was questioned about this incident, he said that sexual assault is different than being drugged, and thus handled differently. For those who are sexually assaulted, Thompson says they can seek help from Public Safety, the Health Services Offices, the Counseling Center oh campus, or the Women's Council. "We are most concerned with the student's safety, that is our number one concern with any crime situation, that our students are in a safe environment and are aware of what their rights are," Thompson said. Contact Heather Martyn at hmartyn@stetson. edu. More To Getting Good Jobs Than GPA5 Hiring . Managers Say By BETHANY POLLER (U-WIRE),.WACO, Texas - The stress is palpable. The tension could be cut with a No. 2 pencil. It's that time of year again: The weeks leading up to finals packed with term papers, tests and projects. Most students are trying to secure the grades they want, but grade point average may not be as important in the long run as some students think. A 2005 job outlook survey performed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 70 percent of hiring managers said they screen applicants based on their grade point average. As part of the survey, the association gave the participating employers a list of skills and qualities and had them rate these qualities on a scale of one to five. One meant it was the least important to employers and five meant it was the most important. "They rated GPA of a 3.0 or better at a 3.6, meaning it is between somewhat important and fairly important," said Andrea Koncz, employment information manager for the association. Fifty-eight percent of the employers use 3.0 as the cut-off, meaning that tKe employer would not call the applicant in for an interview if the GPA was lower than that. . When asked what was most important when looking at two equal candidates for a job, participants responded that the applicant's major was most important, followed by leadership positions they had held and then GPA. Extracurricular activities and volunteer work were placed below GPA. Koncz said 267 employers responded to this survey from a variety of fields nationwide. So why do students want good please see JOBS A2 Spring Cleaning Can Save S By AMANDA SHAFF (U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. - Spring has more or less sprung and soon April showers will reveal May flowers. Until that time, though, a rainy day might be best reserved for spring cleaning. Students learn the value of cleaning when it comes to living in the dorms and renting off campus. Lost deposits and avoiding fees may be just a good cleaning away. Glen Schumann, the associate director for housing facilities operation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said students must fill out a form when they move in, and the form is used again for checkout at the end of the year. Schumann said it is understood that the floor will show some wear, and the point ofthe form is to point out any obvious damages that will cost money to fix. "The most important thing is to leave it the. way they got it," Schumann said. Some students make changes to their rooms to make it feel more like home, but all changes must be temporary. Closet doors removed for easier access must be reattached, drapes that were taken down for new ones must be put back up, and the signature heavy black phone disconnected for a feather-light cordless has to be reconnected. Even the pillow that comes with every room must remain for the next resident. At the end of the year, a cleaning list is given to every resident, Schumann said. For some, the list is a much bigger task. "For some people who haven't cleaned all year, it's pretty dusty at the end ofthe year," Schumann said. The medicine cabinet is a place most residents forget to check before they leave, Schumann said, while others intentionally leave things behind that they don't want. "Some would just prefer to have us clean it and pay the fee," Schumann said. Facility staff members have to go through every room before the rooms can be used for summer conferences, and cleaning individual rooms takes a lot of time, Schumann. The fee charged for inappropriate checkout is $50. Jerry Shoecraft, the property manager of Lincoln's Claremont Park Apartments, said he uses an inspection sheet for people who move so pre-existing conditions and damages can be documented, and a cleaning -list is provided when they move out. An inspection is performed after residents clean, and they are then given the opportunity to fix any deficiencies. Shoecraft said cleaning and caring for the apartment is left up to the resident. "You can't really police how people live in their own residence," Shoecraft said. "Once they sign a lease agreement, they own that apartment until the lease ends." Cyndi Ostgaard, the resident manager of Deer Park Apartments, sug^ gests keeping things clean instead of letting it pile up. She said the biggest problem is residents not doing a thorough cleaning. There are several small things that add up quickly when it comes to cleaning and keeping a deposit. Ostgaard said light fixtures should be cleaned and that residents should ask about hidden things and have managers point out things that need to be done. Communication is key. "We charge to have blinds cleaned;,if you're a heavy smoker that could be an issue," Ostgaard said. Ostgaard encourages taking pictures of the apartment in the condition it is when students move in. She stressed that recording anything and everything is as important as reading the lease well. . "Never assume your lease is like everybody else's," Ostgaard said. Some household items act as good cleaning agents, Ostgaard said. Putting a lemon in a cup of water into the microwave helps because of onsy the steam. Washing windows with newspaper leaves fewer streaks, and bleach helps prevent hard water from developing in toilets. Balconies and patios are often places where stuff gets left behind, especially when people move out during winter. Ostgaard said she has had residents even leave holiday lights up. She suggested people check inside and outside thoroughly and make sure they ask permission before painting the walls or hanging a large plasma TV. "I've run into so many units with students who have let it go," Ostgaard said. "They usually have a parent come in who swears up and down." Andi Krummel, a junior sociology major at UNL, is getting ready to move out of her duplex. She said she hasn't had too many problems in the past but doesn't expect to get her deposit back this time, citing issues with her landlord. "When you have a good landlord it works," Krummel said. "I had an ant problem, but she said that wasn't her problem, it was mine." Krummel said the bad communication is a problem and her calls to the landlord aren't returned. She said she never had a problem while living in the dorm. Though she found carpet stains present when she moved in, Krummel advised students to clean the carpet monthly as well as vacuuming twice weekly. Procedures for moving out should also be read over carefully. "For my lease I have to give notice on the first of the month or else I end up paying for subsequent months," Knirnmel said. For Krummel, cleaning is hardly a seasonal thing. She dusts, vacuums, cleans her entire residence every week. Not standing for clutter, she often gives things she doesn't want to charities. "If there are a lot of students living together and they want to do a garage sale in the spring, that would be a good idea," Krummel said. Thursday, April 26,2007 Columnist Fired For Plagiarising Blogger's Posts By TORI GIBBS Reporter political columnist Katherine Ray was fired over the weekend after editors discovered that she plagiarized several articles. "It is a violation of the Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics to submit another author's work as your own," said Mike Riggs, Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter. "[We] immediately informed Katie Ray of her dismissal from the paper and are taking steps to inform the original authors of the infringement." Ray submitted three articles to The Reporter that were traced back to blogs posted at www.townhall.com. Only one of the articles was published in The Reporter. The plagiarized piece that The Reporter published was entitled "Too High Too Sly," by Ray, and was taken from Matt Lewis' syndicated blog post, "Giuliani & Partners," which Lewis published on February 28. The second plagiarized column, which was not published due to space constraints, was titled "Money, Money, Money" and was from Dean Barnett's "Deconstructing the Money Primary" posted on April 2. The third article was. titled "Giuliani on Abortion... Again" and came from Matt Lewis'- "On Abortion: Rudy Criticized Pope John Paul II / Defended Clinton" posted on April 19. This article, which was not published, is what led copy editor Sarah Lynch to suspect Ray of plagiarism. "I was going through the article, editing, punctuation mistakes when I noticed that she had cited a huge chunk of an article from the New York Times to explain a point in the article," said Lynch. "Thinking I could find the original Times article somewhere, I copied the first sentence and pasted it into Google— I clicked on the first link and found a blog entry with her "article", at which point it was obvious that she had not written it." Opinion editor Patrick McMahon said that when he confronted Ray via e-mail about her actions, Ray explained to him that she had hyperlinks at the bottom of her original emails. "This is not true in any of the three cases," he said. "She explained her work was attributed, but only her name was on the email and the article." "Regardless of whether or not the links were present in the original versions of the articles, Ray did not have permission from the original authors or from The Reporter, to submit previously published articles," Riggs said. "Had Ray sought permission to turn in another writer's work—which she did not, we would have informed her that The Reporter does not publish work by writers outside the Stetson community unless the pieces are pulled from a student wire service, due specifically to issues of copyright violation and the fact that a student newspaper should be filled with writing from the community it seeks to inform." , "Editors are more often weary of bad writing and reporting than we are skeptical of a writer who seems to be doing her job too well," said Riggs. "It was a jolt in the sense that now we are skeptical of the very kinds of writers we rely on to put out a good paper." Contact Tori Gibbs at tgibbs@stetson. edu. »WEATHER »LIFE OPINIONS »SPDRTS . , \ \ Trista Etheridge give some Letters to the editor re Coverage of the Wildcats- "•'" * X"*** ''' r w;'. great deals for summer garding the "Undisclosed Hatters game. ■"■iw#l*f--''* , ~-^t,p&>**°"" "■"-^g*****^*' vacations. Rape" story. 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