"il 3,15I
TERRIFIC TANDEM
llllfe Rico Rodarte and Eric Horan
double A&M tennis success.
Zs# Sports, Page 5
NO PASS, NO PLAY, NO CHANGE
The Texas Legislature should not alter the law that
keeps failing students from extracurricular activities.
Opinion, Page 11
CLASSES TURN TO E-MAIL
Students and professors are using e-
mail more often for assignments.
Aggielife, Page 3
et a
hnson's
■mtribiiii
onCht Vol. > No. 124 (12 pages)
The Sin
“Serving Texas AdrM since 1893 ”
-
Tuesday • April 4,1995
&M fraternities recognized for academic success
Sigma Chi and Alpha Gamma Rho re
al, T ceived the Princeton Review's Academ-
dBar ic Excellence Award.
By Kasie Byers
IThe Battalion
The Texas A&M chapters of Sigma Chi and Alpha
Gamma Rho fraternities received the first Chapter Aca
demic Excellence Award presented by the Princeton Re
view Sunday.
I I The award, created as a joint effort between the Prince
ton Review and Texas A&M Interfraternity Council, rec
ognizes the scholastic efforts of A&M fraternities.
John Lopez, local director for the Princeton Review,
[said academics are a side of fraternity life that are highly
Q stressed but rarely seen by non-fraternity students.
“I know there are a lot more to fraternities than peo
ple hear about because I was a member of a fraternity
] d p owe as an undergraduate,” Lopez said. “Academic excellence
Collegial was always stressed within my chapter, but it was not
itrodi:;; often seen by others.”
Lopez said the Princeton Review has been working
ince last semester to become more involved with the
1 he cr fjGreek system.
“I see this award as a way to create academic compe-
I star; tition among the fraternities and encourage them to
i tosh ! strive toward academic excellence,” he said.
The award is divided into two divisions. Maroon Divi
sion and White Division, the prior consisting of fraterni-
tly.’
leift
Aligns;:
Jrug F--
n raeei
VVindckj
power!
'or them'
1 train!,
re fort
i Rotf
nd inti
named!
11-Amer
only tw
ntomak
ots.
,. with more than 50 members and the latter with 50
ties i ,
members or less.
Sigma Chi, with a chapter grade-point ratio of
2.880, received the Maroon Division award and Alpha
Gamma Rho, with a GPR of 2.855, received the White
Division award.
The average GPR for men at A&M is 2.68 and for
women, 2.80. The average GPR for the sororities is 2.86
and 2.63 for the fraternities.
Scott Gilbert, president of Sigma Chi, said the local
chapter has a long history of academic excellence.
“Recently, our local Sigma Chi chapter was recog
nized nationally for high academic achievement,”
Gilbert said. “I hope this award will force other frater
nities to try to achieve and to reach the level that we
have academically.”
Recipients of the award are given individual plaques
and their names are placed on a plaque in the IFC office.
The award is presented each semester to the fraterni
ties with the highest GPRs within each division.
Andre Kostelnik, IFC Scholarship and Intramural
Chairman, said he hopes this award will show the
broader campus community that academics are a cen
tral part of fraternity life.
“We want to stress the importance of academics as
well as camaraderie and brotherhood within the Greek
system,” he said.
Lopez said this is the first award of its kind, but he
has been speaking to other Princeton Review offices
with the hope that other fraternity chapters will have
the opportunity to be recognized for academic excel
lence as well.
Bart Mitchell/THE Battalion
end ad
shales.
7410“
tation
ersity
le wM
i! Our
ve will
ficenf
/ got it!
Shelly Doggett, a junior landscape architecture major, and Holly McNurlen, a senior health education major,
fight for position on an incoming ball during a women’s lacrosse scrimmage Monday evening.
Yell leaders look forward to exciting
year as leaders of the Twelfth Man
□ The new yell leaders, all
members of the Corps of
Cadets, agree that they
are a cohesive group.
See Yell Leaders, Page 10
tness
35ure
53. A
orina
By Gretchen Perrenot
The Battalion
The newly elected yell leaders say
next year will be a good year for
A&M school spirit.
The new yell leaders, who are
also all members of the Corps of
Cadets, agree that this group will
work well together in building
Twelfth Man spirit.
David Kemp, 1995-96 senior yell
leader, said next year’s yell leaders
will be a cohesive group.
“We’ve had several meetings al
ready and everyone shows so much
heart and desire,” Kemp said. “This
is going to be a really great group.”
Henry Hewes, 1995-96 senior yell
leader, said this year’s group will be
even better than last year’s group.
“We know each other, and we are
wiser to problems that arose last
year so we can make it a better
year,” Hewes said. “Next year’s
group will make it even better than
our group, as well.”
Chris Torn, 1995-96 junior yell
leader, said the leaders have been
raised on a common ground in the
Corps of Cadets.
“David Thornberry and I have
been buddies since
last year,” Torn said.
“He’s -in my outfit, so
we’ve been through a
lot together already.
“I have a lot of re
spect for David Kemp
and Henry Hewes,” he
said. “And Michael
Thornberry is a gen
uinely great guy.”
David and Michael
Thornberry, 1995-96
junior and senior yell
leaders, promise
there will be no
brotherly spats as fel
low yell leaders.
“My brother and I
get along great,”
Michael Thornberry
said. “We don’t fight
much at all.”
David and Michael
said they had both al
ways wanted to run .. .. , _, . _
for yell leader. Henr y Hewes, 96, and Chris Torn, 97.
Bart Mitchell/THE Battalion
A&M System leads state in
women- and minority-
owned business contracts
Q The A&M System had a high
er percentage of contracts
with HUBs than any other
state agency in 1 994.
By Lisa Messer
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University System ad
ministrative office awarded a higher per
centage of contracts and purchases to
women- and minority-owned businesses
than any other state agency during fiscal
year 1994.
The A&M System awarded 26.5 percent,
or $24.9 million, of its $93.8 million total
expenditures to women-owned and minori
ty-owned businesses, also known as histori
cally underutilized businesses.
That percentage is more than the per
centage awarded by any of the other ten
state agencies with the most expenditures
in fiscal year 1994. The percentage almost
doubles that of the agency with the next
highest percentage of 14.3 percent.
The System’s contracts and expenditures
to HUBs increased from fiscal year 1993’s
reporting period, in which the administra
tive office spent 15.8 percent or $12.1 mil
lion, of its $76.4 million total expenditures
with HUBs.
Dr. Barry Thompson, chancellor of the
A&M System, said working with women-
and minority-owned businesses is a System
& oal -
“We have greatly intensified our efforts
to identify and work with women- and mi
nority-owned businesses in the past year,
and that effort is paying off,” Thompson
said. “However, we must strive to ensure
that all the universities and agencies in our
System continue their goal of increasing
business with HUBs.”
Tom Bullock, coordinator of special pro
jects for Facilities Planning and Construc
tion, said the System is making special ef
forts to increase involvement with HUBs.
“We have improved our coordination
with System members so purchasing agents
know about the increased emphasis on
awarding contracts and purchases to
HUBs,” Bullock said. “System HUB teams
meet regularly to determine how we can
improve our performance to reach the good
faith effort goal of awarding 30 percent of
our contracts and purchases to certified mi
nority- and women-owned businesses set by
the 73rd legislature.”
Of the System’s $93.8 million in expendi
tures, $90 million was spent in the System
construction program, which is headed by
Gen. Wesley Peel, vice chancellor for Facili
ties Planning and Construction.
Peel said A&M’s efforts are not specifi
cally to hire minority-owned contractors
but to make them aware of the System’s op
portunities.
“We don’t want to select HUBs that are
unqualified, but we have made an effort to
notify HUB firms about our projects,” Peel
said. “We encourage HUB firms to submit
bids to general contractors that complete
our work.”
Peel said most HUBs are subcontractors
that bid to general contractors who put in
bids to the A&M System.
He said A&M requires general contrac
tors to make a good faith effort to use
HUBs and to provide A&M with evidence
that they have done that.
Peel said the percentage of work in the
A&M System awarded to HUBs could be
negatively affected if several bills before
the Texas Legislature pass.
“One bill defines HUBs but precludes
companies that gross more than $2 million
or $3 million,” Peel said. “If that bill is
passed and you get to that level, you no
longer constitute a HUB. A company could
n’t be a certified HUB even if it is minority-
owned. That would punish success and ad
versely affect our percentages.”
Old Main Society considers
restoring Military Walk path
Michael Thornberry said his deci
sion to run did not have anything to
do with his brother’s participation in
the race.
The 1995-1996 yell leaders are David Thornberry,
‘97, Michael Thornberry, ‘96, David Kemp, ‘96,
□ The proposal calls for restor
ing the central pathway that
once led from Sbisa to Guion
Hall, where Rudder Theater
now stands.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
The Old Main Society is hoping to revive
a part of A&M history through a proposal to
restore Military Walk.
The society unveiled its proposal Monday
to restore the walkway that once stretched
from Sbisa Dining Hall to Guion Hall, where
Rudder Theater now stands.
Constructed in 1918, Military Walk was
the primary path for campus life during the
early 20th century.
Cadets would line up in formation three
times a day and march from the Guion Hall
to Sbisa for meals.
Shortly after the Southside Corps dorms
and Duncan Dining Center were built. Mil
itary Walk declined as the m^jor center of
campus.
The walk was demolished in 1971 and re
placed with barriers, kiosks and grass malls.
The society’s proposal includes restoring
the central pathway, original vegetation
and lampposts.
The kiosks and barriers would be re
moved to provide an unobstructed view from
Sbisa to Rudder Theater.
Bryan Mason, new construction and
campus improvements crew co-leader, said
that in its prime. Military Walk was a
unique landmark.
“Military Walk was something that set the
campus apart from other campuses,” Mason
said. “Now it’s not. It’s just another part of
the campus. Students don’t have any idea
what Military Walk is or where it ran.”
Mason said the demolition of the walk
has left some without a sense of history.
He said Legett Hall is one of the few
original buildings on Military Walk that
still stands.
“Some students don’t get a very good idea
of what Military Walk is,” Mason said.
“This is where people had fun, lived, ate and
took classes.”
Greg Keith, president of the Old Main So
ciety, said that restoring Military Walk
would correct the mistake of demolishing it.
“What they did to Military Walk was just
terrible,” Keith said. “The University was
growing by leaps and bounds. Military
Walk just got chewed up.”
Mason estimated the cost at $75,000, ex
cluding the cost of the lampposts and removal
of the barriers, kiosks and grass malls. But
Mason also suggested several ways to fund
the project, such as alumni donations.
Dan MacGilvray, Old Main Society ad
viser and architecture professor, said that
any alumni donations would have to be so
licited soon because of the probable age of
the possible donors.
“If the walk began to fall into disuse near
the end of World War II, then the people who
would donate would be in their 70’s now,”
MacGilvray said. “The time to act is now.”
Class gifts are another funding possibility.
Keith said that the $75,000 restoration
would fit perfectly in the usual price range
of class gifts.
“Classes usually raise about $96,000 for
their class gift,” Keith said. “Why not
choose this project?”
Keith called the restoration a long-term
project.
He cited five other buildings on campus
as needing more immediate attention for
restoration.
“This is a something we could always do,”
Keith said. “Right now, I see this as our
number five priority. It’s behind Puryear
and Law Halls, the DeWare Field House
and the Downs Natatorium.”
Texas A&M Archives
Military Walk looking toward Sbisa Dining
Hall in 1928.