SPO!
IE BATTAul
EDNESD AY JANUARY 23. 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 78
from page!
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.rd Bernard
A sophomoit
ng added II
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
ch roles.
»y this monr
results: Students support Bonfire
kins said, "'km , , _
xtck at it thfl By Rolando Garcia
ing our nextiJi THE BATTALION
^day), thatsMg on jj rc 2002 planners are
- >n ^^^^tppointed at the dismal
■j*onse to the survey under-
akcn last week to gauge stu-
■t support for the drastically
evjamped Aggie Bonfire. Only
i2. »o students responded to
IIS tO NO.B survey, including less than
rddd ot l * ie undergraduate
.tupent population.
“1 would have expected con-
Based on the low turnout.
Cole said he would not feel con
fident reporting to A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen
that the student body wants to
have Bonfire.
a worn*.. , ■
l ost adcrably more because ot the
Colorado & visibility of thi.s^ issue”
Rn.ilHArrai Bonfire 2002 Steerinj
A&M wome£
?am
f
in Boulder,U
9 Buffaloes i 1 ^ 0 ' ' 111! *^1
3-point atte'^'j an ( °! c
ored (7 90'
e throw liner"
ido its eif
over A&M.
led by sc
ya Rose's
homore gu
iams added
junior fom-
had a dou:*
12 points r
ng
Coordinator Dr.
| Bowen is
I expected to
^ ftl nia ke a final
decision Feb.
8 if Bonfire
| will burn next
Among
those who
completed the survey, more than
90 percent said they supported
having Bonfire under the strict
new safety parameters, but stu
dents were less enthusiastic
about having to pay for it.
Student Body President
Schuyler Houser, a senior indus
trial engineering major, said that
compared to turnout in student
elections the number of students
who completed the survey is an
overwhelming show of support
for Bonfire. Every student
received a link to the online vot
ing site through Neo email
accounts.
Students were asked to
choose from three potential
stack designs selected by the
committee, and almost 97 per
cent chose the wedding-cake
design. All the logs in the
design would touch the ground,
but would be cut to different
heights to give a multi-level
appearance.
Because of the overwhelm
ing student preference, that is
the design the steering commit
tee will recommend to Bowen in
its final report. Cole said. All
designs meet Bowen’s parame
ters, which include the use of
professionally cut lumber, a
one-tier stack and work on
Bonfire will be limited to two
weeks. Cole said each design
could accommodate up to 2,500
workers, but each student would
Student Bonfire Survey Results
See Survey on page 8
Student body population
Number of survey
respondents
Ethnicity~|
Residence
Other 6.3%
Asian-Amerlcan 2.3%
African-American 1.3%
CHAD MALI.AM • THE BATTALION
Jars of clay
5, Colorado <
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who combir
Colorado's:
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19 Texas «
rung and iff
I a 141-80*
University
onroe SaturOJ
s were vA
of nine of ft
ars, who m,
at the Doi
■ws Swimnv
lassie,
hirt freshmf
:ek and R:
ired wins at?
ek won the;
Collins won?
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is win
JOHN L1VAS • THE BATTALION
Rachel Nelson, a sophomore general studies major, teaches
beginner Thomas Wetteraur, also a sophomore general stud
ies major, the pottery technique of trimming. Pottery wheels
and other creative tools are available at the MSC University Plus.
A&M wome'
id diving te. :
md meet in
Tuition hike
proposed for
salary increase
By Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M administrators are proposing a $2 per credit
hour University Authorized Tuition (UAT) increase to raise
faculty and staff salaries starting in the fall of 2002.
If approved, the increase will raise A&M’s tuition from $42
to $44 per credit hour.
“This will be an incremental increase, totaling $2.2 million
dollars for 2002,” said Bill Krumm, the vice president for finance.
The Texas Legislature recently approved a bill that would
raise the maximum cost state universities can charge per cred
it hour from $42 to $44.
This would be in addition to the proposed Enhancement
Fee which could charge incoming students up to $30 per
semester hour, with the average full-time student seeing an
increase of $400 per semester, beginning in Fall 2002.
Krumm said the two proposed fees are not related.
According to research by the Office of Institutional Studies
and Planning and Academe Magazine, A&M ranks 25th among
universities across the country in faculty and staff salaries.
Krumm said A&M needs to keep faculty and staff salaries
competitive with peer universities,to maintain the quality of
education available to students.
He added that the University of Texas-Austin pays full-time
professors an average of $9,000 more per year than A&M.
Krumm stressed that as student tuition increases, so does
the amount of financial aid offered to both undergraduate and
graduate students.
“The UAT increase can be offset with financial aid,” Krumm said.
The Board of Regents will meet and vote on the proposed
UAT increase in March 2002.
A&M President Dr. Ray Bowen said students will be given
the opportunity to express opinions and concerns about the
proposed increase at open forums within the next two months.
Krumm added that tuition hikes occur regularly to keep
pace with inflation.
“Tuition can’t remain flat, but [the legislature] should decide
where the index should be,”Krumm said.
The UAT was last raised in 2001 when it increased from $40
to $42 per credit hour.
against F
)f Louis'0
36, Saturday
ed first placel
/ent.
■
Aggie football team graduation rate low
By Justin Smith
THE BATTALION
a 2001 report released by the
ashman CaF
ted wins in?
000 frees?
hman Kelts
i ona l Collegiate Athletic Association,
m IVI he graduation rate of football players
ped the Aes ro,n Texas is 36 percent, ranking
1 A&M's University eighth in the Big 12.
Jan 26agai? ?The overall graduation rate for the
sin Houston Astudent body is 64 percent.
■Of the remaining 1 1 schools in the
conference,' Kansas State University
I team
held the highest graduation rate with 77
percent and Oklahoma State University
ranked twelfth with 17 percent.
“The numbers in the report don’t
exactly tell the whole story. There are fac
tors that they don’t include which they
should,” said Tim Weiser, the director of
athletics at Kansas State University.
Texas A&M Athletic Director Wally
Groff said the number of players who
go on to play professionally are slated
as withdrawn without graduating.
“We have five to seven players go to
the pros every year, either in the draft or
as a free agent,” Groff said. “Another
thing they don’t include is the number
of players who come back once they go
to the pros and get their degree.”
Groff said another large factor
affecting the rankings are students
transfen ing to other universities.
“If a student transfers from the
school, they are still counted as having
not graduated,” he said.
Groff said some players do not pass
their classes and ultimately fail out or
have other problems, but he said that the
same thing happens to students who are
not participating in athletics.
A new athletic study center at the
south end zone of Kyle Field is being
planned. Computer labs and study facil
ities will be available for athletes, as
well as individual tutoring. Groff said
IRS
IDE
ji
iLb
r 1 ,,
See Graduation on page 8
No. 5
Big 12 soft?;
the Aggies
he conferee
ig 12 champi?
»ed first pin
n of the pos;
ilace votes,
the Big
champion a?
allege Wd
pant last sei
the other ft
es.
sity of Texas
while Kansas
loints ahead!
cott chosen Texas
cientist of the Year
Texas passes No-Call Law
By Justin Smith
THE BATTALION
By Marianne Hudson
. THE BATTALION
I The Texas Academy of Science named Texas A&M
Distinguished Professor Dr. A. Ian Scott the Texas
Scientist of the Year for 2002 for his success in geneti
cally engineering vitamin B-12.
Scott's research involved determining how nature
produces vitamin B-12 and replicating the process
through genetic engineering.
I “Finding out how nature makes vitamin B-12 was like a
detective story,” Scott said. “First we had to identify the 22
genes that make up the vitamin. Then we had to find out
See Scott on page 2
A new law aims to end
quiet evenings disrupted by
pushy telemarketers peddling
their wares.
As of Jan. 1, Texas residents
can register for a no-call list.
Once a citizen is on the list, it
is illegal for a solicitor to call
them. If the solicitor does so,
they will be prosecuted.
“If a telemarketer calls you
and you are on the no-call list,
they can be fined $1000 per
call,” said Theresa Gage,
spokesperson for the Texas
Public Utilities Commission,
which maintains the list.
Gage said telemarketing vic
tims can take the company that
called them to small claims
court. The attorney general has
the option to pursue further
action against the company.
State Rep. Burt Solomons,
R-Denton, the author of the no
call bill, said, “Telemarketers
don’t want to call people who
don’t want to hear from them.”
Solomons said it is a waste
of time and money for telemar
keters to harass people uninter
ested in buying the products or
services they are selling.
However, residents who put
their phone numbers on the list
will not be shielded from all
solicitors. Exceptions include
non-profit organizations, opin
ion polls and calls asking for
support for political candi
dates. Also, any company with
whom a resident has had busi
ness in the last year is allowed
to call them.
This service, unlike similar
services in other states, is not
free. For $2.25 per telephone
number, Texas residents can
be on the no-call list for three
years.
See No-Call on page 2
AggieLife Pg. 4
Once upon a
time ...
Students and faculty
are publishing their work
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