IVERSITY
Monday • August 7, 1995
) recen
xDOT delays
bcas Avenue
construction
iship,:
?ad^3The construction will not disrupt the
ii a fall's football game traffic. The construc-
lion was originally scheduled for Septem-
anei jer but will not begin until December.
sokann
, Jy Katherine Arnold
I arc * 7 ..
he ^.Jhe Battalion
234-fo i p.
thatsc I'fThe Texas Transportation Commission rejected bids
maw 'or construction on Texas Avenue, which will delay con
'd in i iti-uction until December, Texas Department of Trans-
andv, 30 rtation officials said.
project will widen Texas Avenue between Uni-
srersity Drive and Dominik Drive to six lanes with a
< n landscaped median. There will be left-turn access at key
make
Hations.
. JPhillip Russell, director of transportation planning
j n g F attd development for TxDOT, said only two construction
ton p;; Jnpanies bid on the Texas Avenue construction when
theraTxDOT began accepting bids in July.
■ater." ■The less expensive of the two bidders was still $1 mil
lion over the anticipated cost of $3.8 million,
rbstof‘‘ Because there has been so much construction activi
ty this summer, we are hoping that is why we only had
two bidders,” Russell said.
""’"’■TxDOT will be able to get a better price on the con-
froatia gfcruction if more companies bid on the project, he said.
1 ,0 ’ ?
least we are going to miss this
( l year's football season. We are going to
jhhit a couple of them anyway, but not
capita 1 tHis year."
— Phillip Russell
director of transportation planning and development for TxDOT
Croala Denise Fischer, public information officer for TxDOT,
3 ^ said construction was scheduled to begin in August. Af-
° n J"‘tfflr the bids for the project were received, they had to be
'.yapproved by the Texas Transportation Commission in
ij ^Austin. Because of the high cost, the bids were rejected.
nontlwTxDOT will now accept bids in October. If a contract is
^mpl-giT' - Td in October, construction will begin in December.
■Construction will not take longer, it will just extend
000dive months beyond the scheduled date of completion,
he re! Russell said. The project is expected to take 24 months.
^jt-There is one benefit to the construction being pushed
Gun nt back, R US sell said.
rs^TTAt least we are going to miss this year’s football sea
son,” he said. “We are going to hit a couple of them any
way, but not this year.”
Construction on Wellborn Road (FM 2154) will begin
in mid-September. Young Contractors, Inc. was award
ed a $3.7 million contract to add paved shoulders and
reconstruct the pavement on Wellborn Road. The con
struction will extend from FM 2818 to Greens Prairie
Road in Wellborn. The project is scheduled to be com-
ploted in Fall 1996.
■ A contract for construction on George Bush Drive will
go out this month to widen the road to four lanes, Fisch
er said. That project is scheduled to last 20 months.
Balloon Classic takes flight
□ The 5th annual Brazos
Valley Balloon Classic was
held at Lake Bryan and in
cluded a Balloon Glow,
balloon launches, and boat
and jet-ski races.
By Libe Goad
The Battalion
H ot air balloons filled the
early morning skies with
brilliant color, and jet
skis and boats stirred the waters
of Lake Bryan this weekend dur
ing the 5th Annual Brazos Valley
Balloon Classic and Hydro-fest.
The three-day festival fea
tured balloon launches and boat
and jet ski races during the day.
In addition to a carnival and
various food and craft vendors,
music by Rockafellas, Vince
Vance and the Valients, Against
the Grain and Ezra Charles and
the Works offered entertain
ment in between events. Bal
loons made nighttime appear
ances in a Balloon Glow, where
pilots illuminated anchored bal
loons with blasts from propane
burners Friday and Saturday.
The Texas summer weather
carried an agenda of its own,
which may be the reason for a
smaller turnout than expected
See Balloon, Page 3
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Front to back: Dick Goss in "Cablevision," Cheri White in "Texas Wildflower" and Steve Lom
bardi in "Texas Flag" fly over Bryan Lake Park Sunday morning as part of the 5th annual Balloon
Classic and Hydro-fest.
k&M commencement
let for this weekend
the
(hichis
Ring
More than 2,000 students
ill receive their degrees at
this weekends' commence-
lient ceremonies.
D
By Tara Wilkinson
ie Battalion
Speakers for the Aug. 11-12 Texas
M commencement ceremonies, state
p. Robert A. Junell and Dr. Amy Free-
an Lee, said graduations should be fun
Bid lively.
B Junell, of San Angelo, is serving his
second term as chairman of the House
Bipropriations Committee. Lee, of San
■itonio, is an artist, educator and hu-
Banist who is currently chairman of the
Board of Trustees of The Wilhelm School
B Houston.
B Junell will speak Friday, Aug. 11 at
the commencement ceremonies for the
Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sci
ences, Business Administration, Educa
tion, Geosciences and Maritime Studies
and Science.
Although he has not yet decided on a
speech topic, Junell said his speech will
be anything but boring.
“Fve been to lots of graduations and
I don’t remember anything that was
said,” he said. “So I’m going to try to do
something short and humorous with a
message.”
But as a Texas Tech University grad
uate, Junell joked that his topic might
allude to his alma mater.
“Maybe it will be, ‘Should A&M be
merged with the Texas Tech System,’”
Junell said.
Lee, who will speak Aug. 12 at com
mencement ceremonies for the Colleges
of Architecture, Engineering, Liberal
See Commencement, Page 6
Summer Finals Schedule
Summer session 1995 final examinations
are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednes
day of this week. This schedule gives the
assigned times for final exams according
to class meeting times. Finals for one-hour
courses are given in the final class period.
Second 5-week term
Wednesday, Aug. 9
Class meeting time:
8-9:35 a.m.
10-11:35 a.m.
12 noon-1:35 p.m.
2-3:35 p.m.
Exam time:
8-10 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
-12:30 p.m.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
10-week semester
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Class meeting time:
MWF 8-10 a.m.
MWF 10 a.m.
-1 2 noon
MWF 12 noon
-2 p.m.
MWF 2—4 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 9
Class meeting time:
TR 8-10 a.m.
TR 10 a.m.-l 2 noon
TR 1 2 noon-2 p.m.
TR 2—4 p.m.
Exam time:
8-10 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
-12:30 p.m.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Exam time:
8-10 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
-1 2:30 p.m.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Fate of general use fee still undecided
□ The Board of Regents will
vote on on the proposed
fee increase at its Aug. 31-
Sept. 1 meeting.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
After a summer-long controversy,
| the approval of the proposed general
1 use fee increase now rests in the
■ hands of the Texas A&M Board of Fte-
gents.
The nine-member Board will vote
| on the proposal at its Aug. 31-Sept.1
| meeting. Several of the regents said
j they want to hear all perspectives and
collect all the information before com
mitting to a position on the proposal.
Mary Nan West, Board of Regents
chairman, said she has not decided
how she will vote. She also said each
regent may not decide until the final
vote.
That uncertainty kept administra
tors busy most of the summer. In addi
tion to the normal annual budgeting
process, University policy-makers con
sidered the fate of the general use fee
when developing contingency plans for
budget cuts and salary increases.
Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M presi
dent, said his staff has prepared for
every possibility and can only sit back
and wait for the regents’ decisions.
“We’ve got all aspects of this situa
tion worked out,” Bowen said. “The re
gents have really given no indication
of what they’re going to do, but every
one’s really optimistic [about the pro
posal]. Right now, the most stressful
thing we can worry about is how the
football team will do against LSU.”
The regents received an in-depth
look of the situation at their July 26-
28 budgetary workshop in Salado.
Bowen discussed the proposal with the
regents and answered their questions.
Bowen said most of the questions
focused on the effects, such as de
creased class access and possible lay
offs, that the budget cuts would have
on the University. He explained that
he was not surprised by the questions.
“This is one of the hardest decisions
this Board’s going to make,” Bowen
See Fee, Page 6
I-Camp helps international students
adjust to American culture, A&M
□ ISA still needs stu
dent volunteers to
teach A&M tradi
tions to incoming in
ternational students.
By Javier Hinojosa
The Battalion
I-Camp eases internation
al students’ difficulties of
venturing to new places for
the first time and meeting
different people with unfa
miliar customs.
The International Stu
dents Association (ISA) is
sponsoring the second annu
al camp that will help in
coming international stu
dents with the transition
from their own cultures to
the traditions
and customs
at Texas
A&M.
Many posi
tions remain
open for stu
dent volun
teers to assist
with the camp
scheduled
Aug. 19.
Magali Hinojosa, ISA
president, said A&M stu
dents are encouraged to
meet students from all over
the world while serving as I-
Camp volunteers. It helps if
students are international
students or a members of the
ISA, she
said, but it is
not required.
“There are
a great num
ber of U.S.
students that
are in the
ISA,” Hino
josa said.
“The organi
zation focus
es on international students,
but does not limit their
membership to just interna
tional students.”
Attending this year’s I-
Camp, which focuses on fa
miliarizing international
students with the University
and American culture, are
150 international students.
Hinojosa said helping the
international students make
friends is another ISA goal.
“Many students come to
A&M by themselves and
don’t know anyone,” she
said. “We provide some time
where they can interact with
members in their group.”
Suzanne Droleskey, di
rector of International
See CAMP, Page 6