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Student
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The BATTALION • Special Pullout Section
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-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.