Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1995)
A &z TVl U N E R 101, No. 150 (8 pages) Established in 1893 Monday • June 1, 1995 also i stea;“ d dome icine %• ew fun; -nee cei Revitalizing North gate Ians for the reno- ation project should >ur, K .>e ready for adoption 5'iy September. and sc: Facility Tara Wilkinson creas fHE Battalion Parking is the primary problem accd by Northgate merchants, ac- Drding to recent studies on the area’s revitalization project. The Northgate Revitalization Project, a $500,000 plan to redevelop the area, also includes the proposals for creating more pedestrian access, developing an urban mall and improving streets. Research on the project was done by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum Inc. of Dallas for the city of College Station. The city presented the information last night in the first step of the revitalization. City Councilman Hubbard Kennady said the council ranks Northgate as its No. 1 issue for 1995. Joe Pobiner, directqjr of planning for HOK, said that specific plans in re sponse to the research findings have not been formulated yet. “You can’t talk about Northgate as one animal,” Pobiner said. “There are several issues at once. We want to un derstand how Northgate works. We haven’t reinvented anything yet.” Northgate is defined as the area bound by College Avenue on the east. University Drive on the south. Wellborn on the west and the Bryan city limits on the north. One of the difficulties the Northgate area faces is that three of these bound aries are state-owned roads, Pobiner said. So College Station can’t decide, without state approval, to improve or change the surfaces. Other problem areas identified by research are pedestrian traffic, drainage, promotion of Northgate and the image of Northgate. HOK researched the historical re sources of Northgate and conducted a sur vey of 22 Northgate merchants in order to understand the dynamics of the area. The historical resource survey catego rizes the structures in Northgate as high priority, medium priority or low priority for preservation based on age, historical Stew Milne, The Battalion association and architectural integrity. Kennady said one incentive for North- gate revitalization is that tourism has outranked oil and gas as the No. 1 indus try in Texas. Building the George Bush Presiden tial Library Complex at Texas A&M will draw even more tourists, Kennady said. He said that when George Bush visits College Station, his hosts avoid North- gate because it is an eyesore. “It will take time to take our most vis ible eyesore and turn it into the commu nity treasure that I think it can be — that the council thinks it can be,” Ken nady said. Pobiner said there is not enough park ing for businesses on Northgate. He said the problem is complicated be cause needs for long-term parking for University students, short-term parking for retail business customers and parking for residents are concentrated in one small area. Pobiner discovered that parking con trol signs are often ignored. “When you get a parking permit from A&M, it’s really what you could call a Trunting license,”’ he said. “I’ve seen cars parked in one-hour spaces all day long.” According to the research, another problem is pedestrian traffic on Univer sity Drive. Solutions to alleviate the problem must be weighed against the effects they would have on the flow of automobile traffic, Pobiner said. Todd McDaniel, College Station policy analyst and Northgate project coordinator, said the goal is to im prove many facets of Northgate while preserving its historical character and downtown atmosphere. The plans College Station and HOK are developing will be presented at meetings in mid-June, late July and late August. Pobiner said a final Northgate revital ization plan could be ready for adoption by September. students react to :oncealed handgun bill Twelfth Man Plaza project will raise $5.4 million i University police say irearms still prohibited rom campus. tichael Simmons he Battalion On Jan. 1 it will be legal to carry mpealed handguns in Texas, but the bate law prohibiting weapons on :hool property will keep guns off the exas A&M campus. University Po- cejsaid. Bob Wiatt, University Po- ce Depart- xent director, aid he op- osed the pas- age of the bill aat allows li- ensed Texas esidents to arry concealed handguns. It is a felony offense to. carry a gun n. a school campus, such as Texas &M, Wiatt said. ||tThere will be people who will ring guns on campus,” he said, “and ley will suffer the consequences of lat act.” Wiatt said that new law may also introduce new problems when con cealed handguns are taken to large spectator events, like football games and Bonfire or places where alcoholic beverages are served. “If someone has had too much to drink, a concealed gun endangers the community,” Wiatt said. “Officers are put in a defensive position on routine acts like traffic violations.” Kim Walter, coordinator of student judicial services, said she is also con cerned about the possibility of stu dents bringing firearms on campus. << r p ^ ^ have been several in stances where concerned parents have called, wanti ng to know if their daugh ter or son can bring a gun to school,” Walter said. “But under the University regulations, A&M does not allow them on campus.” During the past year, the Student Conflict Resolution Center responded to fewer than 50 instances of firearm violations, she said. “For the most part, they resulted See Bill, Page 8 a Endowment fund is part of the all-University Cap turing the Spirit Campaign. By Tara Wilkinson The Battalion \V ^ .• < 'A-'.- ''' .- •• x " - ''' \ s .. > IssSv | ’’ - ^ ^ ■> ^ X;' - .. .- The Twelfth Man statue, located out side of Kyle Field is now the central fea ture of the Twelfth Man Plaza. Three granite walls, which honor people who contributed money to the Texas A&M football team, are being built near the statue. John David Crow, director of devel opment for the Athletic Department, said a wall on one side of the statue will list offensive football positions and the name of the person who endowed mon ey for the department. A defensive line endowment wall is on the other side of the statue, and a smaller wall, behind the statue, repre sents the head football coach position. A name on the player position walls requires a contribution of $100,000. Recognition on the head coach endow ment wall requires a contribution of $3 million. The entire project, which Crow said the 12th Man Foundation and the Ath letic Department have been developing for more than two years, will raise $5.4 million. It is part of the all-University Capturing the Spirit Campaign. Crow said only one individual will be associated with each position on the wail. “The quarterback position has al ready been endowed,” he said. “So, for example, if Bucky Richardson, A&M former student and quarterback for the Houston Oilers, wants to be a part of the project, I’d hope to talk him into an other position . ” Ten player-position endowments have been made. Crow said, and one more has been spoken for but has not been finalized. Crow said the function of the en dowment fund is different and sepa rate from the 12th Man Foundation scholarship funds. “The funds generated are not neces sarily scholarship,” Crow said. "The money will maintain the position it is designated for and the football team in general. It can go toward things like hel mets and pads, or it can be used in the academic arena for things like tutorial services, as the athletic director sees fit.” Crow said he wants to eventually have similar endowment monuments for other A&M sports. Roger Hsieh, The Battalion The Twelfth Man Plaza is located at the north end of Kyle Field. The goal to finish the Twelfth Man Plaza is set for the first football game of the season, Crow said. "Hopefully, we’ll be able to have an of- ; ficial unveiling at that time with repre- 1 sentatives of everyone who is honored on ] the wall there,” he said. Crow said the message the plaza will : send is clear. “It will let the world know—and when I say the world, I mean the Aggie world-—that there are a number of peo- . pie out there who are very happy with what’s gone on here,” he said. "There will be people who will bring guns on campus, and they will suffer the consequences of that act." - Bob Wiatt University Police Department Bowen looks back on first year iA&M's president enjoys working with current and ormer students. !y Wes Swift Thf Battalion HDr. Ray Bowen sits quietly in his office n Rudder Tower, the expansive campus stretching behind him in the view of his hghth-floor window. It is a view that 3o\ven has become quite familiar with. ■Bowen said it has been an interesting fear since he became Texas A&M presi- lent in June 1994. ■ He walked right into a brewing contro versy and has been given a “baptism by Ire” in a year filled with constant nega tive publicity for the third-largest univer- sit in the nation, he said. ■ The controversy started almost imme- iiately, when four Texas A&M Board of Regents employees were indicted for tam pering with government documents in an attempt to disguise alcohol purchases as food and beverage purchases. The controversy continued in Novem ber when the former vice president for fi nance and administration, Robert Smith, was convicted for soliciting gifts as a pub lic servant, and again in January 1995 when state auditors criticized Texas A&M System administrators for wasting money and violating several policies and laws. Regardless of the storm of controversy that has surrounded his first year, Bowen said he has never been ready to give up. “There have been plenty of times when it’s hectic and when I wish I didn’t have a certain set of problems,” Bowen said. “But it seems like every time I almost get to the point that I wonder what a mess I’m in, something funny or exciting happens. It’s an interesting mix of highs and lows.” He added that while he has been a key figure in the University’s image, he hasn’t felt he was under any extra pressure. “I think that all university presidents are watched very closely,” Bowen said. “We had some relationships with the media that were difficult, and people were curious about how I would handle and relate to them. I’m not sure it’s any worse than it would have been any where else, given the contexts under which I came in.” The hectic nature of Bowen’s job is evident in his daily schedule. He is rou tinely in meetings and receives a horde of correspondence every day, which he and his staff try to answer. When out of his office, Bowen is usually out drum ming up support for the University with groups like the Development Foundation or former students. Bowen said that the interaction with former students, as well as current stu dents, is the highlight of his job. “Current students are always very in terested in what you’re doing, what’s go ing on and always have a lot of ques tions,” he said. “Former students love the place so much that they like to get around and tell you Wou better not mess this See Bowen, Page 8 Stew Milne, The Battalion Today marks Dr. Ray Bowen's first year as A&M president. Bowen overlooks campus from his office on the eighth floor of Rudder Tower.