mber 29,
ing
itative
Vol. 92 No. 23
The Battalion
(10 pages) “Serving Texas A&M Since 1893” Wednesday, September 30, 1992
s treated at
•lade and at
ing crime |j
•e're buildia
;ainstMr,Ij
the crime li|
r c ase again;
•nty Sherifi'
Proechel sal:
-witness fd
hide toKa
nplex in Cat
e recovered i
revolver ait;
with Starts
puties fom]
th five bullft
ed to mufili
lid.
ted to quee
lay, Proeche
^operating
Home games bring higher hotel rates
By TODD STONE
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Many Bryan-College Station hotels raise
room rates during football weekends by an av
erage of 40 percent, according to a Battalion
survey of 12 local establishments.
Dallas resident George Linskie, Class of '38,
believes these pricing practices are unfair - so
he chose to charter a private plane to B-CS
with friends rather than pay the higher hotel
rates.
"We can fly down on an expensive airplane
with an open bar for less than what it would
take to get two rooms for the weekend at
(some hotels)," Linskie said. "We've been liv
ing with this for some time. We understand
they (hotels) have to survive, but it's getting
ridiculous."
Local hotels were surveyed for rates on a
non-football weekend (Sept. 26) and for this
weekend's football game featuring A&M vs.
Texas Tech. The average rate for Sept. 26 was
$51 while the average for Saturday is $72. All
rates were for two people in a standard room
without discounts.
I Jennifer Blackenship, director of sales for
the College Station Holiday Inn, said increas
ing rates for football weekends is unfair and
unnecessary. Rates for Holiday Inn, Motel 6
and La Quinta Inn are the same for football
and non-football weekends.
| "Just because more people are coming to
town, why try to take advantage of them by
raising the rates?" Blackenship asked. "That
(raising rates) doesn't sound like good cus
tomer service to me."
Dick Forester, director of the Bryan-College
Station Convention and Visitor Bureau, de-
/
dined to comment on hotel pricing policies
and its effects on the local economy.
Maher Hathout, general manager of the
College Station Hilton, said raising rates is just
a matter of prices rising to mirror demand.
"Every hotel has different rate structures
based on demand and supply," Hathout said.
"For higher demand, the rates will be in the
upper tier."
The state attorney's general office agrees.
Ron Dusek, spokesperson for the office, said
setting different rates is just a part of capital
ism.
felt, and how it could affect their business,"
Crow’ said. "I don't want to dictate how they
should run their business — just as I wouldn't
want them running the athletic department.
"They're just looking to fill their house."
Many hotels also require a two-night mini
mum stay for football weekends. Crow said
this could restrict how many fans go to foot
ball games because many fans would stay in
town only one night if they were not required
to purchase a room for two nights.
Without the two-night minimum, an open
night could be available for other fans to at-
"Obviously, if it starts to hurt our revenue we have
to look at alternatives — such as five or four home
games and more games on the road. I hope the al
ternative is not to schedule fewer home games.
That certainly hurts the students, and we wouldn't
want that."
-John David Crow, Texas A&M athletic director
"We have a free market system," Dusek
said. "Now if they secretly conspire to fix
prices, that would be against the law. That
would violate the state's anti-competitive busi
ness laws."
Linskie wrote a letter to Texas A&M Athlet
ic Director John David Crow about his com
plaints because he believes some hotels are
"killing the goose that laid the golden egg."
Crow, in turn, distributed the letter to nine lo
cal hotels.
"I feel like I needed to let the local hotels
know at least how one of our former students
tend games and have rooms to rent as well.
Crow said.
Still, Crow is uncertain whether the two-
night policy has affected this year's ticket
sales.
"Obviously, if it starts to hurt our revenue
we have to look at alternatives — such as five
or four home games and more games on the
road," Crow said. "I hope the alternative is
not to schedule fewer home games. That cer
tainly hurts the students, and we wouldn't
See Hotels/Page 6
(■TeguU^ekendTatesT^ecou^^epn^^to^ootbangameweekendTate^o^up^Oc^s)
‘Average does not include rates of La Quinta Inn, Holiday Inn, or Motel 6.
Anns Ben-Musa /The Battalion
Y
iilability
[
tint!
>9
lus
IX
1
1
ays sale 5
ss ttiaa
*
[ON
Rd.
: rial)
JENNIFER LOCKARD/lhe Battalion
Tom King, a junior history major from Houston, enjoys the behind Keathley Hall on Tuesday. The forecast for today calls for
weather while studying for a Politics of Postwar France class highs in the 80s, lows in the 60s with lots of sunshine.
Merchants petition A&M regents
Northgate business owners protest
potential food services privatization
By MACK HARRISON
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Northgate merchants are
protesting the proposed privatiza
tion of rood services at some
Texas A&M facilities with a peti
tion claiming local businesses will
be hurt in the process.
Danny Dodd, owner of
Spanky's Good Grub and Pub in
the Northgate area, said privatiza
tion would have a negative im
pact on off-campus businesses
across the street from the Univer
sity.
The proposal calls for a private
food services firm to bring fast
food franchises to Sbisa Under
ground and Billy Mac's at Easter-
Wood Airport — in competition
with non-franchise restaurants on
Northgate.
Dodd, who is circulating the
petition, said he plans to send it to
the A&M Board of Regents today.
"I hope the Board of Regents
realizes what kind of impact it
(privatization) will have on peo
ple here," Dodd said. "It's hard
enough for businesses in the sum
mer."
KYLE BURNETT/The Battalion
Ron Cooper, an employee at Spanky’s Good Grub and Pub, takes
a phone order Tuesday evening.
happen, and the organization is
looking into the matter.
"We're concerned about this
new move," Baig said. "I know
the merchants at Northgate are di
rectly affected (by privatization)."
Both Dodd and McGuire said
food services privatization paral
lels the private acquisition of the
MSC Bookstore two years ago.
Dodd said A&M did not allow lo-
Dodd said local restaurants
should have been included in the
bidding.
"It's going to be the small guys
that shut their doors," he said.
"A&M used to care about local
merchants."
Jim McGuire, owner of the
Cow Hop, located on University
Drive across from A&M also said
A&M officials did not inform
business owners of the proposal.
"If the school was interested in
having (private) restaurants, I do
think it would have been nice if
they had asked the people on
Northgate," McGuire said. "I nev
er saw anything."
McGuire said he was unaware
of the Northgate petition and feels
it will do little good. He said the
administration will do what it
wants to regardless of what peo
ple think.
"If there is one (petition), it's a
little late," McGuire said. "Their
minds are already made up — its
going to go through."
Kim Baig, president of the Bra
zos Valley chapter of the Texas
Restaurant Association, said it is
too early to say exactly what will
cal merchants to bid on the con
tract for bookstore operations.
Dodd said he plans to talk to
the Bryan-College Station Cham
ber of Commerce about the issue
and get as much information as
possible.
"We're going to see what hap
pens," he said. "We want to get
feedback. We want to see what
our options are."
Junior cadets face
restrictions on yell
practice traditions
By JULIE CHELKOWSKI
and TODD STONE
Reporters of THE BATTALION
The Corps of Cadets will have
new restrictions placed on them
because of 'good bull' turned bad
at the Sept. 12
midnight yell
practice, a
Corps official
said.
Corps
Commander
Matthew
Michaels said
members of
the Corps of
Cadets who
chase or phys
ically engage people running
across Kyle Field during midnight
yell practice will not be able to
participate in the following yell
practice.
The penalty will extend to the
cadet's entire unit. Michaels be
lieves this will deter a cadet from
breaking the rule because he or
she will not want to penalize his
or her unit for the mistake.
Michaels said cadets are in
structed to stay in their positions
on the track at Kyle Field at all
times, no matter how many stu
dents run onto the field.
"If someone or a whole group
of people wants to run across the
field that's fine," Michaels said.
"They can run across that field, be
a bad Ag, stand out there and
look like a fool because no one is
going to chase them."
Controversy arose during the
first home yell practice when
fighting broke out as cadets at
tempted to prevent A&M stu
dents and non-students from run
ning onto the field.
Michaels said that if nothing
else, the incident at yell practice
has at least made people more
aware about problems that can
occur.
"Now that the issue has been
brought out, there will be a lot of
civilian students saying, 'hey,
that's bad bull,'" he said. "I think
people are aware of the traditions
on that side of the house and peo
ple are going to say 'Hey, I'm not
going to run out there, I'm going
to be a good Ag.'"
Tim Sweeney, associate direc
tor of student activities, said the
incident at the Sept. 12 yell prac
tice is a concern for many stu
dents and he plans to address it
with various student organiza
tions.
"Just the outcry has people
stirred up and upset about what
happened, which I'm glad to see,"
he said.
Sweeney said he will try to
communicate the purpose of ju
niors on the field to groups such
as Residence Hall Association, In
terfraternity Council, and other
organizations that deal with large
groups of people.
He said the role of the Corps
during yell practice needs to be
defined because there is much
misunderstanding among stu
dents.
"They (the juniors) are there to
be a symbolic, formal, psychologi
cal barrier," Sweeney said. "Their
purpose is not to chase people,
rather, to ask people to leave and
escort them off the field. Crowd
control is a very delicate thing."
John Koldus, vice president of
student services, agrees and said
the meaning of traditions such as
yell practice need to be explained
through a brochure or other form
of literature.
"From one generation to an
other, it (tradition) gets lost in
translation," he said. "It's simply
a matter of making sure that you
"They (the juniors)
are there to be a
symbolic, formal,
psychological barrier.
Their purpose is not
to chase people,
rather, to ask people
to leave and escort
them off the field.
Crowd control is a
very delicate thing."
-Tim Sweeney, associate
director of student
activities
continue the communication from
one group to another."
Koldus said people need to
know what are and are not tradi
tions. More specifically, they
need to know Kyle Field is not a
memorial.
"It is not Kyle Field Memorial
stadium," Koldus said. "The flags
(around the stadium) honor the 55
individuals that were killed in
World War I who were Aggies.
But it's not a tradition that Kyle
Field itself is a memorial."
Officials are concerned with
the upkeep of the turf, and ju
niors' only purpose is to signify
that going onto the field is inap
propriate.
Although witnesses have said
about 50 people participated in
the fighting. Bob Wiatt, director of
University Police, said UPD will
See Corps/Page 6
Koldus