The Rice Thresher, Vol. 88, No. 15, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 5, 2000 Page: 1 of 12
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the
Vol. LXXXVIII, Issue No. 15 — EXTRA
SINCE 1916
Tuesday, December 5, 2000
Senate passes KTRU resolution unanimously
by Olivia Allison
THKKSHKR KDITOKIAI.STAIT
'ITie Student Association Senate passed a
resolution condemning the "manner in which
the administration of Rice University shut
down KTRU" while also expressing disap-
pointment in the student management of
KTRU at last night's SA meeting.
The resolution, which passed unani-
mously, was the third resolution passed by
this senate. It states that K TRU acted in an
unprofessional manner. However, the resolu-
tion also states that the SA "is deeply disap-
pointed at the administration's clear violation
of the sovereignty of the Student Association
of Rice University.... The administration does
not have the right to interfere with the internal
affairs of a student organization and still claim
to support student government."
The senate discussed the resolution for
about an hour and a half. Much of the discus-
sion centered on a sentence that originally
stated that the SA was "embarrassed by the
student management of KTRU."
Wiess College junior Josh Ginsberg, one of
the authors of the resolution, said the commit-
tee chose the word "embarrassed" because
the SA should have supervised KTRU's ac-
tions.
'The reason that we chose to use the word
'embarrassed' in terms of K TRU was, as the
parent organization of KTRU, we take respon-
sibility, and we should feel embarrassed if
those under our supervision do not act prop-
erly," Ginsberg said.
Baker College President Melissa Buddie
said many students at Baker were, in fact,
embarrassed by K'FRU's actions. "There are a
lot of people at Baker College that feel that
what KTRU did was a mistake and they are
embarrassed by their actions," Boddie said.
However, KTRU Station Manager Johnny
So said because he was not told to punish his
DJs by any administrators prior to the shut-
down, he did not feel that his actions were
wrong. "I'd like to make it clear, the mecha-
See RESOLUTION, Page 7
ROB GADDI/THRESHER
Students silently protest the KTRU shutdown outside President Malcolm Gillis' house last night. Members of Rice's
Board of Trustees were arriving for dinner at the president's house during the protest.
Protest held outside president's house
by Mariel Tarn
THKKSHKK KDITOKIAI.STAI'T'
About 140 people taped KTRU
bumper stickers over their mouths
and lined the driveway in front of the
president's house in a silent protest
yesterday evening. Members of the
Board of Trustees, who were arriv-
ing for a dinner at the house, saw
protesters showing their support for
a student-run KTRU.
The group, mostly undergradu-
ate students, started gathering in
front of President Malcolm Gillis'
on-campus home, the Ralph S.
O'Connor House, at about 6 p.m.,
after the end of the K1 RU rally in the
academic quad. The crowd of pro-
testers grew, and board members
began arriving at about 6:45 p.m.
after the regularly scheduled board
meeting that occurred during the
day.
In addition to symbolically silenc-
ing themselves with bumper stick-
ers, students also held candles and
protest signs with such messages as
"Save KTRU," "100% student con-
trol" and "KTRU is a COMMUNITY
not an ASSET."
Police Chief Bill Taylor said he
was present at the protest to ensure
that the dinner would not be inter-
rupted and also to ensure students
were allowed to protest in a free and
fair way, he said.
Wiess College senior Lizzie
Taishoff, a KTRU I)J, handed out
bumper stickers and told students
they couldn't interfere with anything
happening and that as long as they
didn't block the driveway, they would
not be asked to leave.
"It definitely went smoothly,"
Brown College freshman Toby
Shute, a I)J who helped coordinate
the silent protest, said. "I think we
caught everyone entering the
house."
'Hie immediate reactions of board
members walking among the pro-
testers ranged from smiles and
waves to apparent avoidance of eye
contact.
"Most of them were just very cr>i
See SILENT, Page 0
President Gillis comments on KTRU situation
Thresher Kditor in Chief Brian
Stoler interviewed President Mal-
colm Gillis and Vice President for
Public Affairs Terry Shepard yester-
day morning on the KTRlI situation.
Printed below are excerpts from the
interview. 'Hie Thresher requested
an interview with Vice President for
Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho.
However, Camacho was unavailable
for comment yesterday because of
the Board of Trustees meeting and
meetings with studentsabout KTRU.
How was the decision to act made
Thresher: Who was involved in the
decision to suspend KTRU's student
programming?
Gillis:That recommendation was
brought to me at 1 o'clock in the
afternoon of Wednesday, and that
proposal.
Thresher Hy Dr. Camacho?
Gillis: Yes. ... I'm the president,
so I'm responsible. No matter who
was involved or who brought it to
me, I'm responsible.
What caused the university to act
Thresher: There have been, from what
[ Vice President for Public Affairs Terry
Shepard I has said and I)r. Camacho,
there have been a couple of different
reasons for why the action was taken.
Gillis: I only know of one.
Thresher: Three reasons: One reason
is that it was in direct response to the
actions of the two DJs Tuesday night
simultaneously broadcasting sports
and music. Another reason is that the
organization of KI RU had problems,
in particular that the leader was not
elected by the student body. A third
one is that there have been growing
problems in terms of discussions be-
tween KTRU and the university over
the past couple months.
Gillis: II is true that we have been
concerned about KTRU not being
accountable to the student govern-
ment. ... And it is true that there
have been significant difficulties in-
volved in the negotiations because
in the committee they kept thinking
they had agreement and then later
on they'd find out they didn't have
agreement. But those weren t cited.
What was cited to me was that the
manager refuse'' to tell the DJs they
could not do that anymore.
Now what happens? Well, you've
Brown president resigns
by Mark Berenson
THKKSHKK SI AIT'
Brown College President Timo-
thy Werner turned in his resigna-
tion Friday, saying he was unable to
effectively complete his term due to
conflicts with the university admin-
istration.
Werner's resignation is effective
Jan. 1, at which point Brown junior
Mike Chapman, the college's inter-
nal vice president, will take over.
'This is the first time in at least
four years that i college president
has voluntarily resigned.
Werner, a senior, said his gen-
eral reason for resigning is that it
was the only thing possible that was
fair to the college and himself.
"My choice ... was either to re-
main president and boycott all uni-
versity responsibilities that 1 have,
to abdicate them, or to continue on
and be frustrated," Werner said.
He said it would be unfair to
Brown if he did the first, and he
could not do the second.
'"ITiat's one of the largest parts of
my job, as I found out, working with
the administration," Werner said.
Brown Master Albert Pope said
he respectfully disagreed with
Werner's decision. "1 certainly didn 't
want 'Tim to resign," Pope said. "1
think he would be much more effec-
tive protesting the things that hr is
protesting being a college president
than not."
In his resignation letter, Werner
cited specific incidents in which he
felt the student government's actions
were restrained by the administra-
tion. These were the handling of
sexual harassment issues on cam-
See PRESIDENT, Par' H
seen this before, 1 know. Read it
again. And remember it's a board-
held license.
[Gillis points to a copy of the min-
utes from the July 12, 1970 Board of
Trustees meeting where the board
approved of the university seeking an
FM license from the FCC, subject to
some guidelines. The guidelines were:
"The installation to be at no expense
to the University: the broadcasting to
clearly state that the station is oper-
ated by the students of Rice University
and reflects their opinions; that it
does not represent the official position
of the University; that the policies
governing the operation of the station
shall be determined by the President
of the University and continuous su-
pervision of the broadcasting shall be
maintained by the President. I
Now, what would a reasonable
person do if he is held responsible in
writing for this when you know you
don't have accountability on an on-
air station, particularly 50.000 watts?
... What would a reasonable person
have to do, if you are the board's own
representative and the board's got a
license, what would a reasonable
See GILLIS. Page 11
it
KiJANA KNIGHT/THRESHER
1990-92 KTRU Station Manager Rodney Gibbs (Brown '92) speaks at
the rally yesterday afternoon in the academic quad. See Story. Page 9.
What is this
publication?
The Thresher continues its
coverage of the K I Rl shut-
down with today's 12-page
extra edition. In the opinion of
the editorial staft, the events
of the past few days need to be
reported before Friday, which
in why we produced this news-
paper.
The last regular issue of
the Thresher for this semester
comes out Friday. I he letters
deadline is tomorrow at noon.
NEWS Page 10
Hutchinson apologizes for stickers
NEWS Page 10
KTRU presents draft proposal
NEWS Page 12
President, provost's letters re KTRU
OPINION Page 2
Senate acted courageously
OPINION Page 3
Werner explains his resignation
OPINION Pages 4-5
Thresher receives many letters
Upcoming Pages
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Stoler, Brian. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 88, No. 15, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 5, 2000, newspaper, December 5, 2000; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443151/m1/1/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.