STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSIT Y IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 The men’s basketball Bears have won their past four conference games, putting them at the top of the UAA heap. Read more inside. Page 3.
Today’s letters question the Sex Issue, Johnny Chang’s cartoons, Student Life’s publishing decisions, and more. Page 4.
VOLUME 127, NO. 56
Do engineers have tails? Forum editor Dan Milstein has the final say on this and other EnWeek conundrums. Page 5.
This weekend, check out Cadenza’s documentary rental picks for a good time. See Page 6.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2006
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Students targeted for check fraud By Marla Friedman Associate Reporter A month ago, an undergraduate lost approximately $3,500 due to check fraud while leasing an apartment to another person. A graduate student was a victim of check fraud two semesters ago while making purchases online. These two scenarios are the most common cases of check fraud. The fi rst occurs when a student is trying to lease out an apartment and receives a fraudulent check as a deposit. The second occurs when the victim buys something online, receives a check or money order for an amount larger than
expected, is asked to cash or deposit it, and is then asked to write a check for the balance of the money. After the money has already been forwarded, the victim realizes that the original check or money order was fraudulent. The scam is generally initiated when people living outside the United States send e-mails to people within the United States. The loss is typically several thousand dollars. On Feb. 9, the Washington University Police Department posted a crime alert regarding check fraud on its Web site, warning members of the Washington University community to report any suspicious transactions.
Warning signs of check fraud, according to the alert, include multiple checks totaling more than the asking price, checks lacking bank information, and checks received via an overnight delivery service. Check fraud might be a side effect of students’ frequent use of the Internet, which allows purchases to take place without face-to-face transactions, said Sergeant Mark Glenn. “This is one of those crimes that comes up every so often that we like to make sure we get the information out so people can protect themselves,” said Glenn. “As the ease of the Internet grows, so [do] these types of crimes, because it’s easier to send out fishy e-mails that are
ENBEAVER, ATTACK!
trying to look for victims.” Students should be especially aware of check fraud, as they often make the ideal victims, said Glenn. “We want students to know that young people are targeted for this because they are just starting [to] build up credit [and] they haven’t had the experience,” said Glenn. “Sometimes it’s easier to contact young people and get the information out of them.” Glenn offered some advice to students to avoid faulty transactions. “Never, ever release any personal information over the Internet unless you’ve initiated the contact with places like your bank,” said Glenn. “Also,
don’t answer any e-mails where they ask you to update your personal info—no fi nancial institution will ever ask for a password or PIN over the Internet [via e-mail], so never give a password or PIN.” Many of the fraudulent checks were going through Western Union. As a result, bankers have been more cautious, causing a recent decline in the amount of check fraud. Jane Hsin, the banking center manager at the University’s Bank of America, said that Bank of America now asks students more questions regarding checks. Despite banks’ increased vigilance, Hsin offers further advice to students. “Don’t be greedy; don’t
think that you should be getting more money than you are supposed to,” said Hsin. “If you do, then something is wrong. Also, if you’re in a situation where you’re not comfortable with something, bring it to our attention.” Although check fraud has not affected large numbers of students, its disastrous effects on a victim’s fi nances have led University police to warn members of the Washington University community. “We don’t have a rash of this going on, but we just like to keep getting the information out to people so they can be careful when dealing with fi nancial information,” said Glenn.
Campus Easy Sales thrives under recent freshman ownership v This student-owned business sells (almost) anything on eBay. By Brittany Farb Contributing Reporter
CAROLYN GOLDSTEIN | STUDENT LIFE
The EnWeek Beaver, constructed with duct tape by EnCouncil, faces off with the Bunny on Monday morning. The beaver was originally designed to cover the bunny statue, but that plan was vetoed by an engineering dean. EnWeek, which lasts through Friday, includes events such as a scavenger hunt, Photoshop contest and egg drop challenge.
ResTech’s services have left some students disconnected
TRISHA WOLF | STUDENT LIFE
Sophomores Caitlin Duffy and Steve Rose work at ResTech on Tuesday. Students recently have been critical of ResTech’s customer service and technical support. By Ben Sales Staff Reporter Some students are unhappy with Residential Technology Services’ handling of computer problems as it contends with the spread of recent Internet viruses and worms. “They made the process much more time consuming and complicated than it needed to be,” said Justin Thompson, treasurer of Computer Technology Unit, a campus honorary society. His computer was hacked last year. Thompson said that, after shutting down his Internet connection, Residential Technology Services (ResTech) made him submit a “Trouble Ticket” from another computer in order to inform his Residential Computer Consultant (RCC) about the problem. “They took forever to get back to me after having forced me to find another computer,”
said Thompson. “[It took] close to a week.” ResTech’s policy dictates that RCC’s must respond to Trouble Tickets within 48 hours of submission. Matt Arthur, director of ResTech, said that although RCC’s try to answer problems in a timely manner, it is often hard to connect with the affected student. “In many cases, our calls and e-mails go unanswered,” said Arthur. “In some cases, the RCC isn’t able to meet this goal. We continue to try…and work with our RCCs to find out what the delays are and how we can avoid them in the future.” Thompson noted that his RCC was unable to fix the problem, and that he had to bring his computer in to ResTech to have it repaired, which took an additional two weeks due to issues regarding the registration of his computer. “The process of getting the
computer into the shop was painstaking,” said Thompson. “The RCC was not thrilled about this and took a long time to do so.” After another two weeks Thompson’s computer was repaired. Though he is happy that the problem was cleared up, Thompson said that ResTech needs to improve its efficiency and accessibility. “[The computer] was fixed, which I give them credit for,” said Thompson. “It was a complex problem; my computer had been hacked. But the problem is in not finding a quick solution after failure, letting the problem linger.” Arthur said that ResTech’s responsibility lies in identifying problems and admitting students to the campus-wide Internet service, not necessarily in fixing computers. “We have never tried to be a computer repair shop,” said Arthur. “It is within our scope to provide assistance with getting folks on the network and, to some extent, help diagnose problems with a student’s networking ability.” Some students, however, depend upon ResTech for computer services and have expressed dissatisfaction at some of its methods, such as shutting down students’ Internet connection when their computers are infected with virii. Arthur responded that ResTech is attempting to find the most viable solution for viruses. “We realized that there was a quicker way for us to find, disable, and notify the users than what we were doing,” said Arthur. “We have made the
See RESTECH, page 2
While some first-year students are focused on a smooth transition into college, six freshmen have a much different concern: running their own business. Last fall, the team of Mike Behrens, Chris Byrne, Stephen Harrison, Zack Kaplan, Andrew Pazandak and Zach Satlin bought Campus Easy Sales in a heated auction from a group of juniors. Although they admit the auction drove up the price for the business, the team is happy with the decision to purchase the company. Campus Easy Sales, a registered eBay Trading Assistant, sells goods brought in by students online. “When a customer first brings in an item, we take a picture. If it is an item of clothing, we have a mannequin to display the clothes for the photo. The item is then shipped off to UPS. We also create a short description of the item. There is a template we use that was here before we took over, but we tweaked it a little bit,” said Harrison, the head of expansion and PR. All of the owners had experience with eBay before undertaking Campus Easy Sales. “In high school, I had a couple of friends that sold stuff on eBay and made a lot of money,” said Pazandak, head of sales. “They showed me how to do it, which obviously now was a good decision.” Although the group is willing to sell almost anything, it must use occasional discretion. For example, the University recently told Campus Easy Sales that assisting students selling textbooks on eBay was competition with the campus bookstore. As a result, customers cannot use the service to sell their old textbooks. “We have had some weird things in the store,” said Satlin, the chief operating officer. “A few weeks ago, someone brought in a car seat with a heat massager. We actually had someone show interest on eBay and asked us how it works! We also have a generation one iPod, which can be considered a collectors’ item today.” The team is satisfied with the success of the business so far and expects business to continue to surge. “We make 15 percent commission, which is very competitive. There also is a $5 listing fee, which also is pretty reasonable compared to other advertising services. But we are still tweaking the price plan,” said
TRISHA WOLF | STUDENT LIFE
Freshman Zack Kaplan works at Campus Easy Sales, an on-campus business owned and operated entirely by members of the class of 2009. Behrens, the company’s chief financial officer. Ironically, Kaplan, the chief executive officer, is the only business major running Campus Easy Sales. Each member, however, holds a position that uniquely uses his talents and abilities. “While it’s hard to divide responsibility among the group because we are equal partners, each one of us holds a position that speaks to our individual strengths,” said Pazandak. From the onset of the school year, the group realized it would have to put forth a lot of time and effort to maintain and improve upon the business’ success. “Right after we took over the business, we put up a lot of flyers and did a lot of dorm-storming. We are still planning on sending out letters to faculty to encourage them to use our business. They have stuff too,” said Byrne, the head of advertising. Along with its goal of attracting faculty as customers, the team also has other ideas for the future. Among these plans is encouraging customers to have as much fun with Campus Easy Sales as the owners are having. “We are thinking more about student outreach—we want them to think we are one of them,” said Satlin.
As freshmen, the owners must rely upon each other to work together and divide their responsibilities. They frequently consult the former owners of Campus Easy Sales, as well. The team emphasized the importance of friendship in running a successful business. “Since we are all friends, it is a big deal, because we have to spend so much time together and get along,” said Kaplan. Campus Easy Sales is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 6-8 p.m. Although this adds up to only six hours per week, the team also said it usually spends up to six additional hours outside of office hours. “We have found that the more time we put in, the more return we see. The more hours we put in outside of office, the better off we are,” said Satlin. Members of the Campus Easy Sales team encourage aspiring business owners to adopt their cooperative mindset and friendliness. They also emphasize taking advantage of Washington University’s Entrepreneurship Program. “Be friends and be smart,” said Harrison. “Now is the time to get into the Student Entrepreneurship Program, which just received additional grant money.”