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Parking
citations follow up-trend
The MSU Police Department issued approximately 1,000 more tickets during this past fall semester than they did during the fall 2001 semester. The influx of citations is attributed partly to the parking strain at the beginning of the semester, but Police Chief Michael Hagy said other factors play into this increase as well. “There is always an undocumented portion of our citations that we never identify because these vehicles have no affiliation with the university,” Hagy said. “So there is no direct correlation in the two numbers.” Another reason these numbers skyrocketed could be that the police department started giving citations in an area that had never been covered before. “The area in front of the Hardin building has historically never been enforced,” he said. “But this year we decided that we better enforce it. That helped increase those numbers.” Hagy said the majority of the tickets issued were to those students who parked in reserved parking and to people who parked unregistered vehicles. “These were two areas where we couldn’t be flexible,” he said. He admitted this did have to do with the parking situation at the beginning of the semester. “One of the things that didn’t help this year is the fact that there was a concern for parking. As a result of that concern, more students felt compelled to park in faculty and staff spaces,” he said. Hagy also credited the police department with doing a better job of identifying people, adding to the list of potential reasons for the jump in recorded citation numbers. “As we become more efficient and do a better job it, makes it appear that we are issuing more citations when in fact, we probably have been issuing the same amount,” he said. Although a new parking lot was constructed, providing available parking on campus, Hagy has predicted still many more citations in the future. “That parking lot will more than satisfy our needs for parking. However, it’s not in close proximity to any building, many citations will still be issued every day. “I believe there’s a certain segment of our community that will still park wherever they want to, especially on a cold, rainy day, and get $5 ticket.” Since this parking lot is not close to any particular building, as most students like their parking spaces to be, Hagy suggests using the shuttle bus. “I will acknowledge the fact that there’s not convenient parking in front of every building for every student,” he said. “That’s a problem at any college or university. But if someone can’t find parking, they can ride the shuttle bus.”
Moon
suit remains unsettled The fate of both the MSU administration and of former University President Henry Moon rests in the hands of Judge Jerry Buchmeyer, as he decides whether the lawsuit will progress or end. The decision is pending on two motions filed by the university calling for dismissal of all charges or movement of the case to the federal district court. “It remains Dr. Moon’s position that he is tenured,” Moon’s attorney, Harold White said, which is why he feels it is necessary to proceed with the suit. “What Dr. Moon wants is his teaching position,” White continued, “and to be able to go back to work.” Moon filed his response within the 30-day window allowed by the administration’s motions. A settlement at this point seems unlikely, according to White, who said Moon would be willing to meet with the defense, but has not felt the defense has provided opportunity to meet as such. “There has never been an opportunity to settle because there has never been meaningful settlement discussions,” White said. The attorney general’s office declined to comment on the case. “If MSU wants to sit down and look at it in a realistic fashion,” White said, “we would be more than happy to listen to anything they want to say.” In his response to the administration’s motions to dismiss his claims, Moon listed incidents which he feels proves his grievances. Moon claims the Board of Regents and specific members of the administration illegally fired him, stripped him of his tenure, denied him the opportunity to teach and unfairly reduced his salary.
INS__________________________________continued
from Main is currently affecting five of MSU’s international students. “As of last Thursday, they (INS) added a new group - call-in group number four. Call-in group number four includes citizens or nationals of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Kuwait,” Walker said. “That will affect a handful of our students from Bangladesh,” Walker said, referring to about five students from that country. These non-immigrant F-1 students will be required to register with the local INS between the dates of Jan. 13, 2003 and Feb. 21, 2003. “These students will have to go the Dallas district office with all of their immigration documents and they will have to be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed. We have had one student who already registered, and he said it was fine – no big deal – they just asked him some questions, photocopied his documents and sent him back to school,” Walker said. She said many of these students are concerned but not scared. They simply want to complete the documentation necessary for them to remain within the new regulations of the INS. “There’s nothing wrong with that. We go for car registration and all that stuff so it doesn’t matter if you have to register yourself,” Pakistani graduate student Asad Farooq said. Farooq said he does not feel offended or disturbed in any way by the new INS registration process. Farooq’s most important concern is keeping his file up-to- date on the new SEVIS system and getting registered. “If there’s a problem in this country and you can help them out there’s nothing wrong with that. We do know that there is a problem out there with Sept. 11 and all that stuff . If we can help them out by getting registered so that they can find out those are the bad guys and these are the good guys I think it’s going to help us,” Farooq said. “I’ve been contacting students and they have been also coming to see me on their own. Actually all of the students who have needed to register so far have come to see me before I contacted them because they have heard about it via word-of-mouth from their friends who are students in other areas in the United States,” Walker says. According to the CNN Student News Article “Foreign Students Fret over INS tracking,” dated Jan. 10, 2003, 400 men of Arab and Muslim origin were imprisoned in Los Angeles while trying to register and six students in Colorado were arrested by the INS because they failed to register for the required number of courses. “It may affect people’s desire to come to the United States to study if it’s more difficult to come to the United States or uncomfortable to be in the Unites States and students from particular countries may consider going elsewhere for studies. You can’t really say what the long term effects are going to be yet,” Walker said. “Basically INS is looking for anything that indicates that someone does not have the intent to be an F-1 student. If someone comes here and they don’t register for a full load of classes, or they seem to be making failing grades, or they don’t start school when they are supposed to– those things may indicate that their intention is not as sincere as an F-1 student’s should be,” Walker said.
Shindell_____________________________continued
from Main the education students receive at MSU is top notch, but the problem is in the administration, not the teachers. “How the Board treated Henry Moon and how the public treated me was unfortunate,” he said. “We all have choices, and my choice is to work for an ethical organization that puts the students first.” “We knew he was leaving about three weeks before he told us, so we had the chance to get the paperwork completed,” Clark said. “Anytime you have a vacancy like that, there are things that need to get done.” He declined to comment on Shindell’s remarks. Clark said that the Career Management Center is still working hard to serve the students’ needs. “It hasn’t missed a beat,” he said. One of the things Clark said the center is doing is using money earned at job fairs for bookstore vouchers given to MSU students. “They set some money aside, and Mike Snow goes through and randomly selects students for the free vouchers,” he said. “What’s amazing to me is that some students don’t use the free money. I guess they think there’s some sort of catch, but there isn’t.” The center will also continue to implement its, “Don’t Give a Walk Program,” which has already been used several times this semester due to professors’ illnesses and absences. Clark said there is a national search in the works for Shindell’s replacement, but in the meantime, Stephanie Sullivan will serve as interim-director. MSU will continue to accept applications until Feb. 1, and they will finalize the search by May.
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in Shape for the New Year
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