The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1996 Page: 7 of 20
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Rice
students of
lias already vii
on campus.
Hie victim. Will Rice College
freshman Alex Hernandez, received
an e-mail message Jrom a company
called Global Communications indi-
cating that he had an outstanding
debt and threatening legal action if
he did not pay.
WJien Hernandex,called the 809
area code phone number provided
to resolve the problem, he was put'
on hold for several minutes and
never talked to a real persyn
What Hernandez didn't know
until afterward was that the 809 tin n 1-
ber he called was a "pay-per-minute"
call to the Caribbean.
H<• rnan(1 ez hasn'i received his
bill yet, but charges could run as
high as $25. per minute
Campus Police LieutenHiff Terry
Rvals. with Investigations and Spe-
cial Operations, is warning all stu-
dents and staff not to call numbers
in the 809 area code.
"I want to make people aware not
to call these numbers," Ryals said
"Call the police department first,"
The 809 area code is a valid num-
ber that covers islands in the l/arib
bean, but is also a Common area-
Code i^i phone scammers to use
because it looks like a U.S. area
code.
According to Ryals. Hernandez
has been the only person to report
this scam, but he has "picked up
information from other universities
that are being targeted."
Ryals also warned that the scant
can come in different forms. "Some-
limes the message warns that a fam-
tly member has been ill or arrested,
or vou have won a contest," he said,
ruse these are international
don't have any jurisdic-
tion. and there isn't much we can
do." Ryals said.
To avoid seams over the phone,
Ryals recommends a technological
fix: caller-ID. "1 will loan caller-II) to
students that are receiving obscene
calls." Ryals said.
"Don't be afraid to hurt their
feelings," he said. "Report anything
suspicious and be wary of someone
asking for money."
When Hernandez got the e-mail
from Gkfbal Communications, he
replied because it "sounded similar
to a company 1 had purchased sup-
plies from," he said.
Hernandez described what hap-
pened once he reached the number.
"You hear this conversation in the
background; the point is to keep yon
on the line. At the end it tells you
you've been scammed," Hernandez
said.
"At first 1 thought maybe a friend
had played a joke on me,"
Hernandez said. "When 1 read an
article in Money Magazine, that's
when 1 found it was a scam."
Hernandez called the phone com
pany, but "they can't do anything
until all the calls are tabulated at the
end of the month," he said.
Long-distance provider
switch
In a separate incident ..about 15
students had their longdistance pro
vider switched without their con
sent after entering a raffle.
Will Rice College Master Shelley
Cochran said that the student,s were
switched after entering a raffle for a
TV. which was sponsored by the
phone company Treseom.
Students didn't know they had
been switched until tliev received a
letter in the mail.
Cochran called Tresconi and
talked with a representative on the
phone. The representative said that
the student's raffle tickets had been
placed on the wrong pile and agreed
to switch all the students back to
their original long-distance provider
and waive all transfer fees,
Cochran said, "I've been very
pleased with their response; it wasn't
a fly-by-night company. They were
very helpful."
While Cochran said that this was
not a scam, she said, "I"don't think
phone companies should be able to
do (switch providers! so easily."
"You give your phone number
out and who knows what's .going to
happen," Cochran said, "(t's one
more thing students don't need to
worry about."
Fake 'Cosmopolitan* caller
For the past two years, many Rice
students have been harassed by a
caller claiming to be a writer from
Cosmopolitan magazine. A Wiess
College student was recently vic-
timized by the same type of call.
The caller claimed to be conduct-
ing a survey, asking personal ques-
tions about their sex lives, Occa-
sionally, he has asked victims to
pose in their rooms for a "fashion
shoot."
One victim of the scam, who
wishes to remain anonymous, said,
"I thought it was for real. 1 was really
angry about it. However, there was
nothing 1 could do about it."
She also said, "If (a fashion shoot |
sounds too good to be true, it is. We
all need to be wary o! this individual,
and realize that professionals won't
call you over the phone "
The Campus Police have not yet
caught lilt' Cosmopolitan caller.
— Staff writer A Ida Sfhtconke
<•ontributed to tins article
'lis;<>
Rankings
mow page 1
when its essential structure remains
the same," SA Vice President for
InternaT Affairs Michael Munson
said.
Another complaint the coalition's
members share is that U.S. News;, by
ranking each university, is judging
what is unpossible to judge.
"The ratings are silly. There is no
why to. finely tune the differences
between-the nation's outstanding
•uiivrrsiw'l'iwith .1 few formulas];"
Ru eV, Vice Pr< sklent u! finance and
Administration Dean Cufne. said.
"These rankings have what we call
tlie illusion of pnvision, not pre,-s
siofi.'
ITie Mail ion I students ais>. .> wrote.
"Moreover, the ranking;-, are arbi-
trary, IwH'deriiig on irresponsible,
subjective and olteu misleading, but
are- taken as dogma by many pro
spective college applicants, employ-
ers and parents."
The ratings are sillv
There is no way to
f"inelv tune the
differences between ...
universities.' -
— Dean Currie
Vice President of .Finance and
Administration
The h.\ has become involved in
the movement, passing a resolution
Mondav night recommending that
U.S V.and World Report reiorm
111eii ranking s\ stem.
"It's important to reiorm a sys
lem that has never had any ovei
sight to it," SA Vice President for
Kxternal Affairs Charles Klein said.
SA members were concerned
with the importance the rankings
have to prospective college student v
"You consider it the truth.''
Munson said. "The quality of some
schools can be overlooked |by stu
dentsl because they might not he
(Hie of the top 10 schools."
Stirdents are- not the only partici-
pants in tile reform movement, Tin-
On Oct. 18. india-rock band Satlsfact, from Washington slate, played to a
large crowd in Sammy's. The concert was sponsored by KTRU'. *
Homecoming Schedule
Friday
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
10 p.m.
Saturday
8:30 a.m.
9 a.m.
9-11 a.m.;
Noon
• Wiess College TG
• Bonfire, playing field at Entrance 12
• Sociology Department 25th Anniversary Reception.
Foyer and Plaza. Sewall Hall
• Concert, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra,
Stude Concert Hall
• Oktoberfest, Sid Richardson College
• Thresher alumni breakfast, Cohen House
• Gallery Talk, Rice University Art Gallery,
y Sewall Hall
• New building viewing, A self-guided tour.
Computational Engineering Building
. • Rice alumni rugby game, alumni vs. undergrads,
Playing field, Entrance 12
• ADVANCE Tailgate Party, Stadium Lot
2 p.m. • Homecoming football game,
Rice Owls vs. Utah Utes, Rice Stadium
7:30 pan. • Owls volleyball, Rice vs. Air Force Academy,
Autry Court
8 p.m. • Concert, Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra.
Stude^ Concert Hall
10 p.m.-2 a.m.* Esperanza. Innova Design Center
A complete schedule of homecoming events can be found in the
homecoming program, available at the Student Center.
president ofStanforc) University has
sent a letter to James Fallows, editor:
of U.S. News and World Report, urg-
ing the reform ol tjie ranking sys-
tem Klein believes that the two sides
will co|ue together soon.
"There will !*.• a-middle-ground
coinpromrseeventually." Klein said
Possible resolutions include list
trig colleges alphabetically and rank
mg colleges categorically, m m ad
of using an overall scheme Mi an
while, students are left to judge lor
themselves the usefulness ol US
News rankings in then decision-,
"The phenomenon ol rankings-
has taken 'on a life of its own
(. ostello said. "It probably si ti (i d as
a marketing tool, and it has turned
out to be a highly-read issu<
SA Business
The Student Association Senate met Monday. The following were discussed.
• The SA committee to evaluate Introductory Physics is working with the Physics Department on student
evaluations. Students currently enrolled in Introductory Physics can fill out evaluations at the end of this
week. Any other students who have completed"Physics 101. 11.1 or 125 can also fill out evaluations
available from the department.
• The polls will he open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Grand Hall of the Student Center.
• Interested in online course evaluations? Ask Scott Ruthfield.' *
Next meeting: Monday, at 10 p.m. in Kelley Lounge of the Student Center."
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Beard, Marty & Rao, Vivek. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, November 1, 1996, newspaper, November 1, 1996; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246551/m1/7/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.