s
1
H
nlv.
AIRE
lolor Sfxx'ialist
is Exf^rience
:ialists
: 77840
ion
nil
Off
pen when calling.
r appointment.
16
rge Bush East
SR
night
Offer
Expires
)5/20/02
, MAY
ER END.
and again.’
kicks!
-4pm
THURSDAYMARCH 21, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 114
THE BATTALION
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Candidates focus on preserving unity
Question 1: “What are one or two priorities
special projects you will focus on as a stu-
ent body president?”
Bringing back tradition to A&M students and
uilding a community of respect are the two main
lemes of student body president candidate Lara
tingle’s campaign, which focuses on
^serving the past, promoting the present and
irsuing the future.’
Pringle, a Student Senate committee chair and
nior finance major, said it is essential to save
adition, heritage and spirit on the A&M campus,
id proposes educating students in these topics to
evelop understanding.
‘We want people to understand what’s behind
c\
naterials
This is the first in a three part series that presents the positions of the student body
president candidates on issues of interest to students. Part 2 will run Friday.
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
PRINGLE
it [each tradition], so they can
actually feel an ownership in the
traditions,” she said. "We think
that will bring about one spirit
on the campus.”
Respecting and accepting the
differences of the diverse student population is the
first step toward creating a welcome community
for all students, Pringle said.
She hopes to increase diversity education
classes and ensure that student government organ
izations receive diversity training that will enable
them to effectively address issues of this kind.
Pringle also plans to build academic adviser
evaluation forms that would allow students to
assess the effectiveness of their advisers and
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
COVENTRY
Question 2: “How will you
connect student government
with the students to ensure
their interests are reflected
properly to the University
administration?”
See Priorities on page 6A
Candidate Lara Pringle said it is imperative
that students know and understand what the
administration is doing, and would advocate
administrators having an open-door policy toward
students that would allow them to get student
views and feedback.
“I think that the role of the student body presi
dent, just as much as it is to advocate the students’
position to the administration, it’s also to explain
the administration to the students,” said Pringle, a
senior finance major.
She hopes to ensure students remain updated
on important decisions by using the executive
council to work directly with its counterparts in
the administration.
Pringle plans to put emphasis on getting student
input to the administration.
“We’re at such a crucial time in the University,
when the students do need to have their voices
heard,” she said. “The new administration will
have no idea what role the students have played,
and that gives us the chance to totally remake and
remodel that role.”
Combating the communication problem between
students and administration will be a matter of
working toward more two-way communication,
said candidate senior agricultural development
major Zac Coventry. He believes it is the role of the
student body president to communicate students’
views to the administration.
Coventry plans to use visibility as a key tool in
his push for communication through letters to the
student body with neo accounts and adding a link
See Interests on page 6A
ampaign
hallenged
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
candidates must submit
lisir campaign materials to the
Emission for approval,
ion Dubberly, a sopho-
political science major
“tong tor Class of 2004 vice
raident, said this practice is a
™ant violation of his free
Ifch rights. Dubberly
feng to take down flyers the
ketion commission deemed
"appropriate.
Student government is sup-
KKd to train future leaders,
M they're not preparing stu-
wts to take part in real civic
"lairs when they’re conducting
‘censored election process,”
werly said.
Election commissioner
^aytie Sarandis, a senior recre-
aon, parks and tourism major,
she notified Dubberly
ednesday that he had five
“rs to remove the flyers or
face disciplinary action. If a
candidate refuses to remove
unapproved campaign material,
he will be fined up to $3 per
violation and possibly disquali
fied, Sarandis said.
Election rules adopted by
the Student Senate do not
include any guidelines for cen
soring campaign materials,
leaving the election commis
sioner with complete discretion
to determine what is appropri
ate. Sarandis said she informed
all candidates at the outset of
the campaign that she would
not approve any campaign
material containing curse
words, sexual innuendo or
trademark and copyright viola
tions.
Sarandis said Dubberly had
not discussed the issue with her.
“Not one of my candidates
has approached me concerning
See Challenge on page 4A
Persian New Year
Homayra Moghadasian, president of the Persian Students
Association, shows three-year-old Farzam a traditional
Persian New Year table during a celebration at the
STUART VILLANUEVA ♦ THE BATTALION
University Community Center on Wednesday night. The
goldfish is a symbol of motion and activity. The Persian
New Year, Nowrouz, is celebrated on the first day of spring
ob market worries May grads Regents meet today
By Melissa McKeon
THE BATTALION
Earnir
knis a ^ e S ree a g r e at accomplishment, but stu-
-on
graduate college this May not just with degrees
also Mth worries about their future, according to a
survey by Gradschools.com.
U\, J t IVJVZIO.V^WI II.
fear f 1 flndin 8 a J 0 * 3 a fter graduation” was the biggest
0 ‘ new college graduates (30%), followed closely by
“not getting into graduate school” (23%). Other concerns
include being admitted to the graduate school of choice
and having to pay off student loans.
Texas A&M University Registrar Don Carter said
5,000 students have applied to graduate thi's spring.
With an unpredictable economy and scarce job offers,
many students are choosing to attend graduate school
rather than enter a static job market.
The root of many college graduate worries are directly
related to the economy.
“Many of their concerns, such as finding a job, getting
into the program they want and being able to afford the
tuition, having to work while attending grad school and
being able to afford a place to live, are tied directly to the
economy,” said Mark Shay, the president of
Gradschools.com.
Public hearing on tuition hike
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
See Job on page 2A
Sci-fi descends on
AfkM with AggieCon
B y ^ ar ianne Hudson
THE BATTALION
p
^kenH 6 r reSt dle wee ^ ant l this
from th ’ Knights and legions
another 6 Cight one
sabers j n Wlth red and green light
ac hallv a ^ dax y far, far away—
lernori^c/bf sec °nd floor of the
But n S dent Center -
‘he 33 rd r ^ ardzer s sa Y AggieCon33,
Ven tion a t n ^ Ua * sc ' en ce-fiction con-
^ 0r §eeks f exas A&M, is not just
' s Pan of i d tde S ame room that
11 boar. tle cost umed sci-fi fair
fan S; conv m ° re than -' ust Star Wars
See Star ■^ n V on 'S oer s can expect to
re k uniforms. Dungeons
and Dragons game players and
cross-dressing Rocky Horror
Picture Show fans.
AggieCon33, which will take
place March 21-24 in the MSC and
Rudder Tower, will consist of an
array of activities to satisfy differ-
sci-fi tastes, said Kelly
ent
Sullivan, a sophomore chemical
engineering major.
Activities will include a dealer s
room, a charity auction, a gaming
room, an anime room, guest speakers,
a masquerade ball and interactive
showings of the Rocky Horror
Picture Show.
See Sci-fi on page 6A
Former Singing Cadets
director dies
Bob Boone, the former director
of Texas A&M's Singing Cadets
who sang at every commence
ment and Muster ceremony from
1965 to 1995, died Wednesday
morning at St. Joseph Regional
Rehabilitation Center in Bryan.
During a career that spanned 35
years, Boone and his Singing
Cadets held 722 in-town and 777
out-of-town performances. In
addition to his efforts with the
Singing Cadets, Boone served as
a student adviser to numerous
programs in A&M's Memorial
Student Center and to the "Miss
Texas A&M Pageant."
Funeral services will be held
Monday at Christ United Methodist
Church in College Station.
Students will have one last chance to
address the Board of Regents on two pro
posed tuition hikes at a public hearing at
the Texas A&M System Board of Regents
meeting at 9:30 a.m. in MSC 292.
Immediately following the hearing,
the Board will vote on a $2 per credit
hour fee increase to raise faculty and staff
salaries and the $30 per credit hour
Enhancement Fee that would raise tuition
for the average full-time student about
$400 per semester.
The floor will be open for questions
and comments from students after a
briefing by Texas A&M President Dr.
Ray M. Bowen.
In other business, the regents may
offer students injured in the 1999 Aggie
Bonfire collapse reimbursements for
health expenses by approving an
endowment for almost $500,000.
Regents also will hear reports on
progress of the proposed relocation of rail
roads on campus. Earlier this month, the
Bryan-College Station Metropolitan
Planning Organization said the railroad
will not be moved, but a series of under
passes and overpasses will likely be
installed at major street crossings. An envi
ronmental assessment of the project will
take contractors a year to complete before
construction plans can begin. Contracting
company Carter and Burgess has already
received $1.1 million for the project.
The concept of the Integrative Center
for Homeland Security will be presented
to the regents. If approved, the center will
collaborate national efforts to develop
new technology in the country’s security
in areas including biohazard manage
ment, emergency responses and sociopo
litical issues.
Regents may also approve the concept
of the Center for Information Assurance
and Security, which would educate profes
sionals on security of computer systems
and other communications infrastructures.
IKSlOlr
Opinion Pg. 5B
Big Event or big
deal
Sci|Tech Pg. 7A
GMOs could save
the world
Growing population causing
need for more food
HIGH
\ 75° F
A LOW
48° F
HIGH
% 60° F
4- LOW
44® F