UA and NEC phone records reveal scores of personal calls

One call was made to France. Two 94-minute calls were placed to the switchboard of Texas Southern University in Houston. Still others reached the operator at the U.S. Capitol on several occasions. These calls and scores of others were listed in phone records for the two lines at the office shared by the Undergraduate Assembly and the Nominations and Elections Committee. And from September to November 1992, bills for the lines totalled $423 -- of which over $172 was spent on long-distance charges. But UA members said last night they think most of the calls made from the office were necessary. "I'm quite confident that those calls were not made by UA members on personal business," UA Chairperson Jeff Lichtman said. UA operations are funded by a portion of the $695 general fee that students are required to pay. UA leaders said there have been a number of "extenuating circumstances" which have necessitated the use of the UA and NEC phones for long-distance calls. Lichtman said he made repeated calls to the U.S. Capitol switchboard as part of the UA's effort to "track legislation." "I know that we are interested in the bill that [Colorado Rep. Pat] Schroeder is working on right now about changing the Department of Defense policy on ROTC," Lichtman said. Lichtman said he also called his summer employer at the Democratic Congressional Campaigning Committee in Washington, D.C. to help arrange speakers for the University because he "has some connections there." But Lichtman said he does not know of any student government business taking place in Texas. "In my role as treasurer, I wasn't aware last year about everything that was going on," Lichtman, a College senior, said. The six-minute call to France was made by UA Vice Chairperson Kirsten Bartok as a part of her arrangements for a charity ball which she conducts, Bartok said. The ball is not affiliated with the UA or the University. "The phone call was an emergency," College junior Bartok said. She added that although it has yet to be paid for, she will soon pay off her debt. "That phone bill will be paid before this story is printed," Bartok said. Also included in the phone records were more than an hour and a half of calls made to Wells, Maine, the home of Bartok's father. Bartok said her father helped to purchase and set up the UA's new computer system. She said she called her father for computer advice. Tanya Young, last year's NEC chairperson, acknowledged last night that she, too, used the office phone to call her house. Records indicate that two phone calls were placed to Young's home on April 7 and 20 of last year, costing a total of $12.76 and lasting over and hour and a quarter. "I did call home, but that's it," said Young, who graduated last year with a degree from Wharton. Young denied that she placed calls to Texas Southern, which is also located in Houston. But in a period of two months, 344 minutes of telephone calls were made to the Houston 713 area code. UA adviser Fran Walker, director of student life activities and facilities, said last night that she does not approve of Young's actions. "She should have reimbursed the NEC," Walker said. Although Walker said she does not think the bills were "exorbitant," she did say she hopes members will not make any more personal phone calls. Staff writer Peter Morrison contributed to this story. (CUT LINE) Please see PHONES, page 5 PHONES, from page 1 No H&J; required. Do not bother inserting ! -- Michael ' In my role as treasurer, I wasn't aware last year about everything that was going on. ' Jeff Lichtman UA chairperson

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