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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2002)
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 80 TUI7 1* ATT AT inXI 1 rlli oAl 1AL1UJN WOI THE BATTAt war’ ii tended the ut. "We will no^ d chanted, asgm •om Hamas and( tab movement. \ commander, by Israeli force icals and a large m the near futurt ance ich other for thefe J after several \ nave died on the _ HorethanSbmillioii may go toward urchase of 24 new shuttle buses, if ^^Foved b\ theA&M System Board of 'events at their meeting today in HHyon at West Texas A&M. !®'he proposal falls in line with I tBM’s ongoing effort to improve the BMversity's shuttle services. Funds will JANUARY 25, 2002 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY of regents to focus on Bus Ops By Emily Peters THE BATTALION ilestlnlan tel come from the student-approved $50 Transportation Fee, implemented in Fall 2001. which has already been used to purchase new buses, make minor repairs to old ones and eliminate bus passes for off-campus riders. Bus Operations’ ultimate goal is to “obtain a fleet consisting of modern transit buses and a small number of over the road charter buses,” accord ing to the proposal. The board will also consider an Academy for Performing and Visual Arts. The academy would support stu dent organizations that focus on music or performing arts, community groups, A&M’s art collections and arts academ ic programs in three A&M colleges. Eventually, the University will need to consider building an on-campus arts center, the proposal states. If approved, a $250,000 start-up fund for the academy will be met with funds dedicated by the Sterling C. Evans Library to build an arts library collection. The board will also consider reports from the chancellor on the status of the Union Pacific Railroad relocation pro posal and updates on campus construc tion projects, and two possible research centers. The Center for the Study of First Americans would be the only one in the world investigating the initial pop ulations of the Americas, at least 12,000 years before Columbus. The Center for Dynamic Systems and Control at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station would be the only in Texas that will bring technology into research methods on all levels of engineering, focusing on complex integrated systems. ' Ags support —i&M with ipillslicense plates muni and ox) •phcn Middle the complex or mine wor imentalists foi By Anna Chaloupka THE BATTALION ^■exas A&M was outscored last November oniiBng the Thanksgiving showdown with the populateddcs'Irnversity of Texas-Austin, but when it ler which the Be“oiies to displaying school spirit on their Id be released! chicles. Aggies more than double the score, iastate minesm|*)f the total 16,367 license plates display- /e been 24 other Jig collegiate logos on Texas roadways, w hich were I Vggie fans have purchased 8,049 of them, lid. All (hespi aid Roger Poison, public information officer public. nlthe Vehicle, Titles and Registration )i|ision of the Texas Department of IP!HBt^BB^ rails P ortat ' on (TxDOT). ^longhorn supporters had purchased 3,147 i^w<flnse plates, and Texas Tech supporters [ale in third with 3,035 license plates pur- B chased, Poison said. H^Few license plates have been very success- Poison said. “The Aggies have bought W^ > ai. () f the total sold. That is significant." ^^^^^^^Bpecial collegiate license plates are pur- ha ed through TxDOT’s Special Plates lilsion and cost $30 per year in addition to he regular registration fee. ■'he state withholds $5 to administer the •roj ram and sends the other $25 to the IfflCfleslective university for a scholarship fund O'. *4 or low-income students. They like the plate, and they like the eause," e5 ' '***" -‘olson said. “It's a combination of both.” onnle JOflSS Trey Kopecky, a senior agriculture and S@tamu.ed if e sciences major, said the plates allow him 3 show his A&M pride, and supporting cholarships is an added benefit. jBThe scholarship is a good idea,” Kopecky said “It’s a small fee to support the University. HiP Vh r not buy one?” ■L—•.. ^Krthur Carr, Class of 1988, said he has urehased the plates for eight years, but ^ever knew part of the money went to a cholarship fund. ET SERVIQ “I had no idea,” Carr said. “I’m amazed Tat when I pay $30, $25 goes to helping oifceone who needs it. That’s excellent.” iRSpecial collegiate license plates display 'Oth the logo and the name of the university can be personalized for an extra $40, ■ Wolson ■^H’Xpplicalions for special collegiate license j H| BBlates are available at all participating insti- 1 fflBations, local tax offices or can be down- from TxDOT’s Website. fJI ynh 1 Z- L'U, information PfogrdrirfO! A/©st Nothing but net STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION Junior nutrition major Sarah Brannan and other members of the Penberthy Intramural Fields on Thursday. The team's season is set to women's lacrosse team take the field during an afternoon practice at begin this weekend against Baylor University in Waco. A Stout to retire as dean of faculties $ By Christina Hoffman THE BATTALION Dr. Janis P. Stout, Texas A&M’s first woman to serve as dean of faculties and associate provost, is retiring next Thursday. Stout joined the faculty at A&M 14 years ago and was appointed dean of faculties in 1998. Through her position, Stout was recognized for helping A&M diversify its faculty members and curriculum. As dean of faculties and associ ate provost. Stout wears two hats: one as an advocate for the faculty voice and one as a cen tral administrator. She has also been a proponent in implementing the University’s goals for Vision 2020, a project designed to position the University as a top 10 public institute. “Diversity is my number one passion,” she said. Stout received her bache lor's degree from Lamar University in 1966 and later received her master’s in 1968. In 1973, after teaching at Lamar University, she received a doctorate from Rice University. Before coming to A&M, she taught part time as an associate professor at stout Haverford College and lectured at Rice University. She was recruited to A&M in 1987, serving as associate dean of liberal arts and as an associate professor of English. After 14 years of being an integral part of A&M, Stout said she will miss some aspects of the A&M community. “I have always found a huge sense of possibil ity here, a great optimism and a lot of energy in all sorts of ways, among faculty and students both,” she said. “This is really a great university, See Stout on page 2 Andersen blames Duncan for document shredding Spaced Usage ^ ftware ^ / Price ^ IWASHINGTON (AP) — Fired auditor David Duncan was solely responsible for the massive pestruction of Enron documents, officials of the Energy company’s accounting firm told skeptical jaw-makers Thursday. Duncan refused to answer ”stions, invoking the Fifth Amendment. Lawmakers denounced the rushed paper shred- at Arthur Andersen and the complex business jetices at Enron as Congress delved into the ;est bankruptcy in U.S. history. The compa- "lyls collapse cost investors billions of dollars, viped out the retirement savings of thousands of miployees and raised questions about the compa- iy|s extensive political connections. Nancy Temple, a lawyer for Andersen, said she reminded auditors about the firm’s policy for retaining documents but didn’t order their preser vation or destruction after learning of a federal investigation of Enron. “I was unaware of any shredding activity,” she insisted under intense questioning by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigative panel. Lawmakers demanded to know why it took Temple so long — from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s first informal inquiry into Enron on Oct. 17 until the day after the SEC’s subpoena to Andersen for documents on Nov. 8 — to direct auditors to keep the documents. “This guidance never went out when it should have gone out,” declared Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the full committee. Tauzin wanted to know why “scores and scores” of Andersen employees worked overtime to destroy records if the firm’s policy favored preservation, as its officials said. Preserving the documents would only have taken a few hours of locking them up, he suggested. Lawmakers disclosed that the Andersen attor neys had hired an outside law firm on Oct. 9, in anticipation of possibly being sued over Enron accounting. That showed Temple and other Andersen officials had an early indication of trou ble and should have ordered all Enron-related documents to be saved, the House members said. “I knew there was a possibility of litigation but we did not discuss it,” Temple testified. As Congress’ sprawling inquiry into Enron’s collapse stepped up, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman said he will ask that panel to issue subpoenas for Enron’s and Andersen’s documents regarding their contacts with the White House and several federal agencies on regulations affecting the See Shredding on page 2 Food services speaks to Student Senate By C.E. Walters THE BATTALION On Wednesday night, the Student . x J , .Senate spoke with representatives of - complete dm , • . G. „ opd services in their first session ot o 7 3 he year. Ill JgBpie Department of Food Services " •« ^olc senators of a proposal to place a . ll iJ-nifpp house on West Campus, lebsite for completeoe'Oe] lending on student preference, the coffee shop could be at the West Campus Library as a coffee bar simi lar to the Blocker Espresso Bar or a larger coffee house located in the Medical Sciences Library. Food services also addressed common student complaints, explaining that the department must generate its own funding. Senators suggested the price of meals be raised so that students can purchase their meal plans annually, rather than by semester. The Senate also touched on a number of other issues. Currently there are 12 vacant senate seats. Senator Kevin Capps addressed the upcoming local elections, and said senators should put their weight See Senate on page 2 INSIDE- AggieLife Pg. 3 Take it to the house MSC Open House returns for the spring semester Opinion Pg. 9 Military tribunals are just Circumstances similar to WWII tribunals