The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 01, 1995, Image 1

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101, No. 150 (8 pages)
Established in 1893
Monday • June 1, 1995
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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
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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.