Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1998)
GOOD GOLLY, MjSS MOLLY ‘J^nsinkable , premieres \GGIELIFE, PAGE 9 FRIDAY September 25, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 21 • 10 Pages Battalion 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Regents discuss enrollment FUENTES"- ood for the ?nt for Bonfir: ■NTS ING BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion r. Leo Sayavedra, deputy ticellor of Academic Institu- s and Agencies, discussed se Bill 588 before the Com- lee on Academic and Student ifairs at the Texas A&M Board (Regents meeting Thursday, louse Bill 588 is a first-year date by the Texas legislature |allows universities to auto- Ically accept high-school stu- |s in the top 10 percent of ft graduating class. ■he board debated the bill nd will decide in closed ses- on whether to adopt an op- on that will extend the bill to include the top-15 or 20 percent of high-school graduates re ceiving automatic admission. T. Michael O’Connor, vice chair of the Board of Regents, said he is concerned with diversity ac ceptance at all levels. “I am personally concerned with trying to equalize oppor tunity,” O’Connor said. “Schools have to look at aver age students.” Sayavedra, former president of Texas A&M International Uni versity, said overall the system is experiencing a 2.93 percent in crease in enrollment with 88,069 students over last year. The bill caused white and His panic enrollment to rise by 14.4 percent and 13.7 percent respec tively. African-American enroll ment decreased by 12.4 percent which was caused by a lower amount of students graduating in the top 10 percent. Sayavedra said white stu dent acceptance is higher than minority acceptance. System- wide, around 14,000 Hispanic, 8,000 African-American and 58,000 white students were accepted in 1998. The board discussed using scholarship opportunities to raise low numbers and ensure enrollment of minority students in financial need. see Regents on Page 2. ROBERT MCKAY/Thk Battauon Jon R. Bond, A&M profes sor of political science, talks to students about the impeachment process Thursday night at the Koldus building. Bond: Starr misusing laws BY PATRICK PEABODY The Battalion In light of the current discussions about the possibility of Clinton impeachment proceed ings, political science Professor Jon Bond spoke to a handful of Aggies last night about the impeachment process. “Impeachment is a political process with le gal terms,” Bond said, “It differs from legal pro ceeding in two major ways. First there is no due process in an impeachment proceeding, as would be expected in a regular law proceeding. Second, there is no guarantee of impartiality, no guarantee of an impartial judge or jury.” Bond then spoke about the grounds for impeachment. “While treason and bribery are easy to de fine, the Constitution provides no clear guide lines for high crimes and misdemeanors,” Bond said. “So for impeachments, high crimes and misdemeanors, are what ever the House, decides it is.” Professor Bond also talked about Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr. “Starr has misused the special prosecutor laws, and soon the laws will be up for renew al, and I doubt they will be renewed.” Bond also spoke about how the American people view the Clinton situation. “I have a pet theory concerning this,” Bond said, “We have sports heroes that can hit hard er, throw farther, and run faster, but then we get someone like Dennis Rodman, and even with some of his actions, people make a distinction and still see him as a sports hero. I think this has made a transition into politics, and the American people have drawn a distinction be tween, Bill Clinton, the cheating husband, and President Clinton, the leader of our country.” Uh NEWS IN BRIEF ING V, SEPT, i Computer virus t to detonate |The CIH virus that has infected e computers on the A&M cam- is scheduled to detonate on rday. Iter an infected file is executed, virus will stay in the system’s lory and infect other programs ‘/ley are accessed, he virus is currently running pant across Resnet, the on- pus network and has infected etofthe PC’s online in the res- lence halls. The Resnet home page offers |s for a free procedure to locate disinfect all executable files. ce Corpora/*! rporation Consulting lie Works ibbcr Co. nent Group raternity aims be alcohol free he board of directors of Delta |na Phi fraternity has issued a illenge to their chapters to make n alcohol-free housing by the 112000. belta Sigma Phi National Pres- nt Thomas E. Decker said the iision is meant to promote the ponsible use of alcohol among members. ‘Alcohol is not our only problem,” kersaid in a press release,“But ©hoi is an overwhelming obsta- jto our success in many areas.” the announcement of its al- icl-free initiative, Delta Sigma Phi |s several other national frater- organizations that have taken a 'imilar position. [The Texas A&M Chapter of Ita Sigma Phi was founded in B5. ates ;rica ►opers ib ional In c ' nc. ational ■rvices as iroup Group laroon Out T-shirts m sale at game [Maroon Out, the spirit-building fative for the A&M-Nebraska foot- game, will sell T-shirt at the tball game against the Universi- f North Texas. he maroon shirts cost $5 and i| be available at various sites I'ound Kyle Field. Brandon Neff, head yell leader, id University of Nebraska fans aditionally turn out in force to port the Cornhuskers. “We can show the unity of the je Spirit to counteract Nebras- [s huge following of support who dressed in full red,” Neff said. Initiated by the Class of ’00, Ifcroon Out is sponsored by all le class councils, The Zone and 12th Man Foundation. iKyle Valentine, president of the lass of ’00, said the goal is to III 15,000 Maroon Out T-shirts orthe Nebraska game on Oct. 10. he proceeds from the Maroon Hit initiative will benefit the class Qmcils. Students meet to review campus TV station options BY LESLIE STEBBINS The Battalion A committee is being formed to re search the options for a campus-wide tele vision station. The student cable television program ming review committee will include stu dents from different student organizations across campus. It will have representatives from the Corps of Cadets, Student Govern ment Association, MSC Council, class councils, Multicultural Services and other organizations. These representatives will be in charge of surveying and talking to the students in their organizations and learning what the students would like to see broadcast. Once the committee has formed the pro gramming plans, the goal is to have the channel up and running in the spring. Amanda Allbritton, chair of the com mittee and sophomore agriculture devel opment major, said the committee is made up of a cross section of students in order to determine representative programming. “There is no use having a university channel for the students if we don’t find out what they want to see,” she said. The channel will only be available to those students living on campus, or work ing in departments and offices. Ron Sasse, director of the Department of Residence Life, said A&M has the elec tronic equiprnefif necessary to operate a cable channel that should be taken advan tage of by the students. “We are still in the very preliminary stages of planning, but this needs to be a student-driven project,” Sasse said. “There are many options out there for the chan nel, and we need to hear input about what students would like to see.” Educational Broadcast Services has been involved in selecting the committee and working on ideas for the channel. Rod Zent, director of Educational Broad cast Services and KAMU general manager, is involved in assisting the committee with technical issues. “My role is to spark ideas and capabili ties and let the committee know what is available to them in terms of production and broadcasting,” Zent said. Wheeling and dealing JAKE SCHRICKLING/I hk Baitalion Greg Godsey, a junior environmental design major and the No. 1 ranked Men’s B Collegiate cycler in Texas, practices his biking skills at Rudder fountain Thursday af ternoon. Godsey, a rider for Team Barrel, is also the No. 32 ranked Men’s B Colle giate rider in the nation. Scholarship celebrates 30 years Greeks hope bloc seating promotes unity, spirit BY JOE SCHUMACHER The Battalion The Texas A&M University De velopment Foundation is hosting a 30th anniversary celebration of The President’s Endowed Scholarship. Current students and former students who have received the scholarship as well as founders and donors to the scholarship will be at Reed Arena Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The President’s Endowed Scholarship was founded in 1968 by the Texas A&M Foundation with five scholarships. Harold Johnstone, Class of ’73, was the first scholarship recipient to grad- BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion The Hispanic Business Students Association will be hosting Caliente Festival ’98 Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Academic Plaza. Yvette Urteaga, president of His panic Presidents’ Council (HPC) and a senior finance major, said the festival is a way to celebrate His panic Heritage Month. Urteaga said there will be about 10 to 15 booths from different orga nizations which will sell various items. Many of the booths will fea ture food items such as fajitas, tacos and tamales. Entertainment during the Caliente Festival will include a mariachi band, the Aggie Wranglers, uate from Texas A&M. The scholarship supports approxi mately 700 students this year, and over 3,000 students have re ceived the President’s Endowed Scholarship since 1968. “The founders of the PES are cornerstones of Texas A&M,” Cathy McWhorter, programs co ordinator for the Texas A&M Foundation said. “They not only support A&M with their money but with their time as well.” The scholarship was institut ed to attract top scholars to Texas A&M. Students that receive the scholarship must retain a 3.0 grade-point ratio. Students must also exhibit leadership and acad- the Aggie Dance team and a break dancing team from Austin. Concluding the event will be a Mr. and Ms. Hispanic Heritage Month pageant. The Ms. Hispanic Heritage Month pageant is sponsored by the Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity and the Mr. Hispanic Heritage Month pageant is sponsored by the Kappa Delta Chi sorority. emic excellence. McWhorter said the growth of the scholarship is attributed to the bond between the donor and recipient. “The success of the Presi dent’s Endowed Scholarship is based upon personal interaction between the donor and the stu dent,” McWhorter said. McWhorter said the donors and students have close relation ships and develop a sense of ca maraderie. Many students keep in contact with their sponsors while at school and after graduation. The celebration is open to family and friends of the schol arship recipients. For the Mr. Hispanic Heritage Month competition, each organiza tion that is part of HPC chose a can didate to represent their organiza tion. The application process is based on a student’s grade-point ratio, over all achievements and service contri butions to the Hispanic community. The winner of Mr. Hispanic Her itage Month will participate in a service project with the sorority. For Ms. Hispanic Heritage Month competition, the candidates could be from any campus organization, but still had to meet the GPR requirement and go through an application process which reviews their accomplishments. see Cauente on Page 2. BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion Greek organizations will show their Aggie spirit and unity by sit ting together in a block of seats at Saturday’s football game against the University of North Texas. The Greek block will be similar to that of the Corps of Cadets and will include chapters from the Interfra- ternity Council, the Pan-Hellenic Council and the Panhellenic Council. The Athletics Department has pre pared for as many as 750 students to sit in the Greek block, which will be located on the third deck near the goal line at the north end of the stadium. Kristin Kirby, president of the Panhellenic Council and a senior accounting major, said the Greek bloc of seating will have a different organization process than that of the Corps of Cadets, but similar in that both are showing spirit and dedication to Texas A&M. “I think both groups have the same goal,” Kirby said. “It’s just to support the University.” Scott Lovejoy, president of the Interfraternity council and a senior management information systems major, said the block seating will serve two purposes: to show the Greek organizations’ support of Aggie traditions and to bring to gether chapters of fraternities and sororities that normally would not see each other. “We’ll still be following Aggie traditions as the Twelfth man,” Lovejoy said. Adrian Leday, president of the Pan-Hellenic council and a senior biology major, said the unified seat ing will have a positive effect on the Texas A&M community. “Greeks are not detached from Aggie community,” Leday said. “They are a part of it.” “Well [Greeks] still be following Aggie traditions as the Twelfth man.” — Scott Lovejoy IFC president Kirby said the block seating is not meant to keep students in volved in Greek life apart from oth er students. “It’s not meant for us to be sep arated from the University,” Kirby said. “It’s meant for us to show we love the spirit and tradition of Texas A&M University.” Lovejoy said the seating is not mandatory for students in Greek organizations, but it will be a chance for individuals to meet stu dents in other Greek organizations. The block seating will help Greek organizations from all three coun cils to become more united as they support the Twelfth man. “We are striving for unity amongst ourselves that we can spread to the greater Aggie com munity,” Leday said. Caliente Festival ’98 honors heritage