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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1993)
mmmmm iber 22,1993 inedy leans nt clings to i book, but nkel secret in to a tape ard was as- ahnson and ompanying ch after he with John- swimming him about nemo book le FBI agent i. ere/' he re- e saw it," i the tape." , the page eme to kill ig when the irren Corn ed that FBI aover could ?s removed, have disap- etween the ion. v," Howard x-president. * 1 ed classes homore in funeral of ice become e of revela- president's lot to pol- esaid. r y unlikely know the what hap- 1, it is pos- ng new ev- rward, and le will con- and make r years to ire still fas- ssination of said. i: n 013 ipply. mding inding The Bati alion The Battalion Vol. 93 No. 62 (10 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Tuesday, November 23,1993 City prepares for Bonfire festivities Ceremony now more accessible for disabled students By Kim McGuire Thl Battalion A section of Parking Lot 51 near the Zachry Building will be reserved Wednesday night for students with disabilities in an attempt to get them closer to Bonfire. PITS officers will rope off a section of the lot and students in wheelchairs have the option of watching Bonfire from the lot or from the adjacent road, which will also be blocked off. Zack Coapland, chairman of the Bonfire Advisory Committee, said the decision to reserve the lot for students with disabilities was based on recom mendations stemming from a meeting earlier this month with the Program Access Advisory Committee, a com mittee of faculty, students and staff who advise organizations sponsoring campus events on how to make the events accessible to students with dis abilities. The access committee presented proposal that called for a flatbed truck to be brought in next to the site so stu dents in wheelchairs could see Bonfire from the top of the truck, he said. "It wasn't really feasible though See Access/Page 6 Aggie Tradition A guide to this week's events and activities Elephant Walk •When: 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23 •Site: The Class of '94 will meet at Kyle Field to begin Elephant Walk. The Class of y 95 will meet at Bonfire site where the junior yell lead ers will lead the class in a yell practice. The juniors will then walk to Kyle Field where Frank W. Cox III '65, author of 1 Bleed Maroon, will speak. •Students can take pictures with an elephant at Bonfire site. Bonfire •When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24 •Site: Polo fields near the intersection of University Drive and Texas Avenue. •TV.: KAMU-TV/Channel 15 will broadcast Bonfire live from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Home Sports Entertain ment will air the ceremony again at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Thursday. •Many roads will be closed to traffic around the Bonfire site starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening. Those roads include the intersection of University and Bizzell street. East Main and Bizzell Circle, and the inter section of Ross Street and Spence Street. •University Parking, Transit and Traffic Services Director Tom Williams encourages parking along the outside curbs of New Main or in Parking Areas 50 and 51. Parking will not be allowed on Ross or Lubbock streets. •Also, Brazos Transit will provide shuttles from the K-Mart and Manor East Mall parking lots. The University will operate shuttle buses from the west campus to Fish Pond before and after Bonfire. Texas A&M — UT Football Game •When: 7 p.m. Thursday, November 25; The Corps of Cadets will march in at 5:35 p.m. and the Fish Drill Team will perform directly after march in. •Site: Kyle Field •T.V.: ESPN will broadcast the game live. By Geneen Pipher The Battalion Complaints from College Station residents have prompted city officials to make some changes in their han dling of Texas A&M University's Bon fire Wednesday. This year the College Station Police Department will take a two-tiered ap proach to deal with the automobile and pedestrian traffic as well as the post- Bonfire festivities. Major Mason Newton, of the College Station Police Department, said the goal of the first stage is traffic control. "Last year we experienced great amounts of parking problems," New ton said. "We're trying to reduce con gestion on the minor roads that could block, not only public safety vehicles, but also just the normal citizen who lives in that area," he said. "We got so many calls last year saying they couldn't get out of their driveway, or they couldn't get to their house. That's By Jan Higginbotham The Battalion The Texas A&M University College of Science has been rocked with contro versy recently following the research activities of Dr. John Bockris and a $200,000 donation he received for his efforts in attempting to turn mercury into gold. Dawn Wakefield, former director of development for the College of Science, said she advised the Development Foun dation and the University administra tion not to accept the gift that has led to investigations by the Securities and Ex change Commission, Texas A&M and what prompted this change." Newton said stage one will begin about 6 p.m. with the deployment of officers and the complete closing of all residential streets east of Texas Avenue to through traffic until 10 p.m. Officers will patrol the community during stage one to make sure the roads stay clear and all necessary traffic can get through. "We're going to have traffic officers the University's internal auditor. "It was my prerogative to offer ad vice as Director of Development for the College of Science and as a four-de- greed Ph.D. chemist who was best suit ed to make a recommendation as to the scientific credibility of the gift," Wake field said. "They went above my head at both the college and the Development Foun dation to accept this gift, which has re sulted in yet additional damage to our scientific reputation." Wakefield said that after spending three years working to protect the Uni versity from further embarrassment caused by Bockris she was rewarded down in the area of the main roads to help people who have accidents and make sure people can get to their homes," he said. "The other function will be to keep the roadway clear. Peo ple often times have a tendency to try to park on the medians and in other places where they are not supposed to, and the roads need to be clear in case an emergency vehicle needs to get through." by being fired. Several Texas A&M professors have also responded to Bockris' research. A letter signed by 11 professors was sent to Bockris early last week calling for the professor's resignation. Dr. John Fackler, A&M chemistry professor and former dean of the Col lege of Science, was one of the profes sors who signed the letter. Fackler said the letter simply stated that it was rather embarrassing that Bockris had accepted money to explore a project that does not make any sense. "The letter was very polite," Fack ler said. "It simply asked him to step down." In addition to officers patrolling the areas around the site, officials with the College Station Police Department sug gest people use the Interurban Trolley System's Park and Ride, which will be running every 20 minutes. "We estimate the Park and Ride will cut down on almost two to three miles of traffic," he said. "The buses will Fackler said that in 1982, when he was teaching at another school, Bockris started the research on turning mercury into gold, and the project caused Texas A&M to lose respect from other schools. "It turned into a typical Aggie joke," Fackler said. Wakefield said even after all of the difficulties the University has experi enced following Bockris' mercury pro ject, the school has supported the rea soning of academic freedom of research to accept additional gifts on behalf of Bockris, any of which should have been questioned. See Research/Page 6 See Changes/Page 6 Brazos Valley Orchestra performs in Rudder Kyle Bumett/THE Battalion Franz Anton Krager conducts the Brazos Valley Orchestra during the Presi dent's Concert held Monday night in Rudder auditorium. The orchestra per formed a symphony by Antonin Dvorak and a violin concerto by Johannes Brahms. Mere than 300 people attended the performance. Director says she advised against accepting gift for mercury research V.P. candidate emphasizes unity, core curriculum H 'Tt's clear to me that there is a strong sense of unity and a very proud student body at A&M." VR for student services candidate By Lisa Elliott The Battalion The latest candidate for vice pres ident of student services said he is impressed with the unity of the stu dents and faculty at Texas A&M University, and he wants to contin ue that tradition if he is selected. "It's clear to me that there is a strong sense of unity and a very proud student body at A&M," said Dr. William Bryan, vice chan cellor for student affairs and pro fessor of design and management at the University of North Caroli na at Wilmington. Bryan has been interviewing with committees, officials and stu dents at A&M since he arrived in College Station Saturday. Bryan said he is pleased stu dents at A&M get involved in campus activities, and this is one of the things that separates A&M from many other campuses around the nation. If he is selected for the position, Bryan said he plans to stress the importance of the core curriculum because it enables students to be well-rounded in a variety of areas. He said it is difficult to identify exactly what his objectives will be if he is selected because he needs to get a feel of the student popula tion first. "Student populations change from time to time," he said. "Dif ferent needs will be there from one year to the next." Bryan said although he hopes to take Dr. John Koldus's vacated po sition, he can never take his place. "Koldus has done a super job serving the campus," he said. "No one can replace him." Bryan has developed a series of programs that established a lead ership center and a substance abuse center and plans to put the leadership skills he has developed to use at A&M. "I would be a servant of the campus, a servant of the students and a servant of the staff," he said. Bryan will be on campus until Tuesday afternoon. He said he looks forward to meeting more students and faculty members in the future. Inside Aggielife • An old Ag's trek from San Antonio to Bonfire Page 3 Sports •Coming on Wednesday: The A&M-Texas football preview. Don't miss it! Opinion •Editorial: Beware Aggies! The T-sips are coming! Page 9