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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1995)
i 28, 19! isses e on gy P) -T\ ■ion, Co: nergy p ional sec; -he Unit iliance in’t aei first tii tates’tol Lion caii Student 5 day • March 28, 1995 The BATTALION • Special Pullout Section ■ic oil pi mB onB r low ie nat: pectei be dial y certs Helms senate; ittee. i ahea students set to E>ick 1995-96 leaders id nati a pad tory re!, to U.S. P -Students can vote on lass officers, student ,Senators, student body s7™|resident and a student sTtjeferendum Wednesday ,vil|nd Thursday. unlikeliK isa Messer I Battalion 1'he goal of the Student Government’s eption Commission is to increase voter lout during the 1995-96 student body Htions. . Chelsey Ferguson, election commission- r, said that 19 percent of the student body s s the most that has ever voted in an elec- ! *°T 1 ,!!^h e said that although that number is ^ ^ omparable to other large universities, she , r y Sni-jants more students to turn out for elec- ,ittee. % s this y ear - ast TmBWe’ve tried different publicity tactics to e Depa'^ P e °P^ e ou ^ vote,” Ferguson said. “It’s roleuir ot ou ^ an d vote for so-and-so or get out ^U.S. : n d vote for this person, but just get out declinedM vote.” /es to he! Any registered A&M student may vote larkingei the elections Wednesday, March 29 or jstry. hursday, March 30 from 8 a.m. until 6 then Coim. ise Bode Tolling sites will be located at the endei\tP(omorial Student Center, Sterling C. if Amer'Vans Library, Zachry Engineering Center md the West Gazebo, which is located on Vest Campus by Ag Cafe. Voters should bring their current stu- ent I.D.s to the polling sites. Students may vote for candidates for student body president, yell leaders, Class of ’96, ’97 and ’98 class councils. Residence Hall Association, Off-campus Aggies and Student Senate. Ferguson said students may vote for any position that affects their class. For exam ple, a student who entered the University as a member of the Class of ’96 may vote for any general election position and for Class of ’96 council. Ferguson said the ballots are checked by Measurement and Re search Services to ensure students vote by their class. If a student in the Class of ’96 voted for Class of ’97 president, that vote would be invalidated. Members of the Class of ’95 may also vote for their class gift and class agents. Ferguson said the Class of ’95 agents is a new addition to the ballot. “They usually vote for agents at their se nior banquet,” Ferguson said. “We’ve worked a lot with the Association of For mer Students to let them vote for the agents earlier than usual. Since they vote for the class gift, why not the agents?” Students may also vote on a health care referendum that would consolidate all stu dent fee funding for the health center into one fee. Election results will be announced Thursday at midnight in front of the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue. Ferguson said she anticipates several run-off elections being needed because many offices, such as student body presi dent and class council positions, must cap ture a majority of the votes instead of a plurality. She said when five or six people run for the same office it is difficult to earn a ma jority without a run-off election. Run-off elec tions, if needed, will be held Thursday, April 6 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the same polling sites as regular elec tions. Ferguson said the election commission will pass out “I voted today” stickers to stu dents after they vote in order to promote the elections. She said the commission tried to give candidates more opportunities to reach dif ferent voters this year. “I’ve been really impressed with the cre ativity of people’s campaigns,” Ferguson said. “But at the same time, they’re staying within the rules. Not too many problems have come up. “We haven’t seen a lot of mudslinging this year. A lot of candidates have been working together because they realize one of them is going to be elected to the office.” lass of ’95 Gift proposals to go before voters sr Endowment Package comes from many student organizations The third choice is an endowment pack- The endowment would cover the costs o eryl Cryer Battalion Unlike other traditions that make 3xas A&M unique, no one seems to know _J>w the tradition of class gifts upon grad- ition from the University originated. However, the Class of ’95 Gift Commit- eiis continuing the tradition with the re- anis im release of six choices that seniors will ote on during student body elections this \ a tropic and Thursday, j can juste Matt Upton, co-chair of the gift commit- e; said the committee had several goals in ind when selecting the six choices, i Langute lQ ne 0 f our goals as the Class Gift LivTwtf'■ m itt ee was to find a gift that benefit- study'' v ^ t10 ^ °nly the University and the future ihc vvorl ; Udents,” Upton said. and pfi* Kristen Nevius, also a co-chair of the jction i! h committee, said the committee plans yV<w//'" bave the gift in place by their fifth-year >Union. They plan to spend approximate- jdfll $95,000 of the money that the class has 4, dsed in its years at A&M. hH the class balls, boot dance and [jW^erything — those were all going into - de,” Nevius said. “So basically, all along r four years, we’ve been working for , to give a class gift.” -lass of '95 Scholarship the first choice on the ballot will be the |lNs of ’95 Scholarship. It would offer -year scholarships worth $1,000 to members of each incoming freshman ss. Endowment Package The third choice is an endowment pack age that would provide funding to four foundations and organizations on campus, including a Diamond Century Club Mem bership package through the Association of Former Students. “That’s something a class has never done before,” Nevius said. “It generates $1,000 every year to help with the student organizations.” “There’s a Muster endowment and a Sterling Evans Library endowment,” Nevius said. “The Sterling Evans is used to purchase books and journals and it’ll have the Class of ’95 name on them in the book.” The Muster En dowment would help maintain that tradition. There is also a John J. Koldus Endowment that would assist stu dents with emer gency aid and pro vide funding. “Basically with this package, what we were doing is instead of just giving one lump sum to one facet of the school, we were trying to create a package where we could give a little bit to all areas,” Nevius said. comes from many student organizations. The endowment would cover the costs of setting up and cleaning G. Rollie White and may be used to bring in more family members for those honored at Muster. The final decisions regarding the use of funds will be at the discretion of the Muster Committee. Class of 1995 Gift Ballot Sterling C. Evans Library Endowment The fifth option is a Sterling C. Evans Library Endowment that would provide for group study rooms in the West Cam pus Library. Evans Library would also have books, journals and bookshelves with the Class of ’95 emblem, Nevius said. Student Leader Retreat Center The final choice is the construction of a Student Leader Retreat Center on land adjacent to Easterwood Airport on West Campus. “(The gift) will provide partial funding for a 4,000-square-foot multi-purpose en closed building that will accommodate nu merous leadership and things at the re treat center,” Nevius said. “The building will be known as the Class of ’95 Building and it will actually be the first structure implemented on the retreat sight.” [That goes into effect the day we gradu- N-” Nevius said. “Scholarships and en- ^ments go into effect that day.” I«-|—-exas A&M College Model IVWIBHie second option is a model of Texas College as it stood in 1910. ’“The reason for doing this is because Te are two buildings that are still pre- t today on campus that were present Wthe at time,” Upton said. |The two remaining buildings — Nagel U and the Analytical Services Building Jnd their 1910 counterparts may be [Ifced in the Sanders Corps of Cadets iter, since the history of the school be- with the Corps of Cadets. Muster Endowment Package The fourth choice would be a Muster package that would establish a monu ment, possibly on the mound near the Sil ver Taps Monument by the flag pole in the Academic Plaza. It would also provide funding for the continuance of the tradi tion. “The reason we selected to do that was because eventually, not only will it benefit so many people through the years but it will benefit every Class of ’95 member as we pass on from this life and as we go through that process of Muster,” Upton said. “We chose it because it benefited everyone. We felt that that would go to the student body and eventually will touch so many people’s lives,” he said. Currently, the funding for Muster The only two choices that would require physical maintenance are the Muster Mon ument and the 1910 campus model. The maintenance costs or continuance of all of the gifts has been allotted in the prices of the choices. “Some of the gifts don’t cost the full amount,” Nevius said. “What happens is the No. 1 gift, whatever the class decides on with the most votes, that’s where the money will go. There might be excess money left over and that money will go down into the second gift chosen by the class, and it goes all the way down the line. You can almost have one or more of the choices.” Class of ’95 President Cody Burke said the the gift committee will know the re sults on Thursday night, but they will not be revealed to the rest of the student body until later. “We will not announce those results un til the senior banquet on April 22,” he said. 1. CLASS OF 1995 SCHOLARSHIPS Establish four one-year $1000 scholarships. The scholarships will be available by application to any new incoming student with a letter of recommendation from a member of the Class of '95. 2. 1910 MODEL OF CAMPUS A museum quality 1910 model of the campus which will be on display as part of the history of Texas A&M. Will include the only two present buildings - Nagle Hall and Analytical Services, the second Bonfire, the Interurban Trolley, Old Main, and many other historical buildings that were once a part of campus. Location: To be determined, possibly in the Corps Center. 3. ENDOWMENT PACKAGE 3 • Endowed Diamond Century Club Membership - Through the Association of Former Students, it will be used to directly benefit student organizations and life. • John J. Koldus Endowment — For the quality of student life, it will be used to provide loans or grants to students and assistance for student organizations in support of Texas A&M traditions. • Muster Endowment - Used to aid Muster in operation and maintenance costs in order to help the committee become self- supporting. • Sterling C. Evans Library Endowment - Used to purchase new books and journals with the Class of '95 name on them. 4. MUSTER MONUMENT AND ENDOWMENT - A monument depicting the symbolic lighting of candles to com memorate those Aggies that have gone before us. The endowment will be used to aid Muster in operation and maintenance costs in order to help the committee become self-supporting. Location: To be determined, possibly near the Silver Taps monument. 5. STERLING C. EVANS LIBRARY ENDOWMENT - Establish an endowment for the renovation of a West Campus Library group study room which will bear the Class of '95 name. The Library will match the endowment. In the Evans Library, a Book range / Book plate endowment will be established for the purchase of books and journals. 6. STUDENT LEADER RETREAT CENTER Would provide partial funding for a 4,000-square-foot, mul tipurpose enclosed building that will accommodate the numer ous leadership initiatives of students and student organizations. This activity center will be known as the Class of '95 building and would be the first structure implemented on the retreat site. Location: University property adjacent to Easterwood Airport.