The Battalion
iime 10* • Issue 43 • 12 Pages
Wednesday, October 30, 1996
The Bat I Online: hUp://bat web.tamii.edu
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8 p.m.
t opening of
ch
i the Brazos Valley
AUTO TINT
5E STATION
By Laura Oliveira
The Battalion
portion of Reed Arena collapsed Tuesday
i a crane malfunctioned, causing a chain
lion that brought down the superstruc-
pfthe arena, injuring three workers,
pe accident occurred around 3 p.m.,
i a crane carrying a load malfunctioned
Icollided with a second crane. The second
i crashed into the partially
[pleted superstructure,
Ih would have held up the
of the arena.
Davis, project manager
iuber, Hunt & Nicholas
Ithe company contracted to
Itruct the arena, said a me-
pical failure caused the
ireaction.
he collapse may have been
ided on video. The contrac-
1 insurance company was
jng the scene at the time of
Iccident.
le College Station and
in Fire Departments, Uni-
jity Police Department and Texas A&M
jrgency Medical Services were dis-
|hed to the construction site,
tie injured men were transported by
Is A&M Emergency Medical Services to
[hospitals.
pel Madera, a construction worker who
[injured in the collapse, was taken to
jmbia Medical Center where he was ad-
led for observation. He is in serious but
lie condition.
reddy Rodriquez, another construction
[er injured in the accident, was taken to
oseph Regional Health Center and dis
lat 6:50 p.m.
I third injured man left the construction
jin a private car. It was not reported
per he received medical treatment.
Kelly Petronis, a lifeguard at the Student
Recreation Center and a freshman interna
tional business administration major, wit
nessed the collapse from the outdoor pool.
Petronis said seeing the structure collapse
was frightening.
“It was the most scary, helpless feeling I
have ever felt,” she said.
“There were four major structures in the
middle of the arena,” she said. “Then one
crane fell on another crane
and then that fell on the
big metal structure. It was
like dominoes.
"It was very loud. It
sounded like a bomb.”
Chris Mulvey, a lifeguard
at the Student Recreation
Center and a freshman bi
ology major, also witnessed
the collapse from the out
door pool.
Mulvey said there was a
lingering sound before the
actual crash.
“It sounded like some
thing was tipping over,” he
said. “It seemed like the screeching was nev
er going to end and then there was a huge
crashing sound.”
Construction on Reed Arena began in Sep
tember 1995. The special events center was
slated for completion in early 1998.
Mary Jo Powell, associate director of public
information for the University, said the col
lapse is likely to create considerable delays in
the project’s completion.
"This will have a significant impact on the
construction timetable,” Powell said.
The estimated cost for the arena is almost
$37 million.
The arena will seat 12,500 people and
will be used for graduation commence
ments, concerts, basketball games and oth
er special events.
“It seemed like the
screeching was
never going to end
and there was a
huge crashing
sound.”
Chris Mulvey
Freshman biology major
■llMlHiS
FACTS
'1 nlB* \
Named in honor of
Houston veterinarian
Dr. Chester J. Reed,
AStM's Class of 1947.
SjlllL* DIMS: ■
230,000 gross sq. ft,
with 177,821 $q. ft.
of assembly space. /
7,500 lower seats
and 5,000 bakony
seats.
■
Big-name concerts, /
circus and ice shows,
dirt events, athletic
events, conferences,
conventions arid ' tfT,
special events. 'Ifu
■ J®j
One large 6,000 sq. ft.
and six smaller rooms
totaling 4,800 sq. ft.
C#ii I# ’* V | * MI i4/
$36,750,000
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Left: A construction
worker looks up at the
fallen substructure of
Reed Arena. A crane fell
on the structure causing
it to collapse around
3 p.m. Tuesday.
olitical groups hold debate
h Aggie Democrats clash over education, term limits and economy
able
i #1
e Kettle)
0-3072
RANDOM HaUSENFLUCK
The Battalion
yith less than a week to
before the presidential
[lion, the Texas A&M Al-
ifCappa Alpha sorority
led a crossfire debate be-
|en the College Republicans
the Ag-
Democ-
Tuesday
' p.m. in
MSC.
dlege
lublican
ident Jeff
jtlgston
lated four
|ie Demo-
repre-
atives
r such Perez
ics as
paign reform, education,
economy and congressional
limits.
ivingston, a senior electrical
ineering major, said he was
ised with the outcome of the
[This was basically an oppor-
ity to share Dole’s vision
a group of people,” Liv-
>ton said. “I was happy with
it ... we each got the opportuni
ty to present our agendas.”
Livingston said the
event was not actu
ally a debate.
“It was really just
a presentation,” he
said. “It wasn’t real
biased one way or
the other.”
Kristy Perez, Ag
gie Democrat
president and an
educational psychol
ogy graduate student,
said she enjoyed the
debate with the Col
lege Republicans.
“It’s always fun to tell people
about the Democrats’ plat
form,” Perez said. “We have a lot
to brag about.”
Each side was given four
minutes to give an opening
statement. They were then giv
en two minutes each to present
their side of certain issues. After
the presentations, the panel
took questions from the au
dience. A four-minute clos
ing statement was then given
by each side.
Yoshida Fransaw, Alpha
Kappa Alpha president and a
senior chemistry major, said
the sorority planned for the
debate to be objective.
“We were
concerned
about fair
ness,” Fran
saw said.
“This was the
time and
place. And it
was impor
tant to do it
right before
the election.”
Members
of Alpha Kap
pa Alpha said
they were happy with the out
come of the debate.
Chelsea Johnson, a sorority
member and a senior psycholo
gy major, said the debate was
beneficial to the students who
attended.
“[The debate] was very infor
mative,” Johnson said. “I was
pleased to see we were able to
bring out a mixed crowd.”
Livingston
El Dia de los Muertos
CAMAC seeks to increase
awareness with celebration
By JoAnne Whittemore
The Battalion
The dead are being remembered at Texas
A&M tonight as the MSC Committee for the
Awareness of Mexican-American Culture (CA
MAC) holds its annual festival, el Dia de los
Muertos or The Day of the Dead.
Jessica Hickey, festival coordinator and a
sophomore biomedical science major, said the
celebration traditionally starts on the evening of
Oct. 31 and ends on the morning of Nov. 2. The
dead are said to rise Nov. 1.
“We celebrate for one night, and the dead come
back to walk the Earth the next day,” she said.
Hickey said the festival sometimes begins
weeks earlier to commemorate different types of
deaths, such as those who have died of old age or
in car accidents.
The relatives of the dead gather in remem
brance with gifts and food for the deceased.
“Normally, families build altars, called ofrendas,
in their living rooms,” she said. “These are usually
simple tables decorated with traditional flowers,
typically marigolds, and pictures of deceased loved
ones. They also place the deceased’s favorite foods
and drinks on the altar. If it is a child who has
passed on toys are placed on the altar.”
The festival tonight will honor Dr. Hector Gar
cia, former president of A&M at Kingsville, who
died this year.
Anissa Silva, committee member and a senior
EVENTS SCHEDULE
• 7 p.m. Introduction and welcome
• Ballet Folklorico Dance Performance
Informational session on the religious aspects
of the Day of the Dead
• Informational session on Dr. Hector Garcia
• Question and Answer session for students
• Refreshments served
sociology major, said CAMAC will have an altar
set up for festival attendees to donate non-per
ishable food items.
“The non-perishable food items will be given
as an offering to the dead, and then will be given
to the Brazos Valley Food Bank after the ceremo
ny,” she said.
Silva said the deceased will be honored with a
slide show.
“We are asking people to bring pictures of de
ceased loved ones because we will have a slide
show in honor of them,” she said.
Silva said the committee will explain the pur
pose of the altar and talk about traditional deco
rations. There will also be a traditional dance
performance.
“The Ballet Folklorico is performing La Bruja,
a dance performed by women to summon spirits
before the ceremony,” she said.
See Festival, Page 12
.m.
dnight
i.m.
rry s
|He Battalion
>wer Up
Texas A&M power
N and utilities
plex helps sustain
on campus.
Aggie life, Page 3
M
|rst Glance
eA&M Cross Country
will meet new
ils Saturday at the
112 Championships.
Sports, Page 7
le Session
rst time customers onlfi
coupon per custome'
expires 11-12-96
iendly Fire
pdt: Friendly rivalries
letuate stereotypes
|iot taken with a
ise of humor.
Opinion, Page 11
GSC researches ways to
improve crossing safety
JJOiMiggcx’ on ^MTollJioiFii Road
Scholarship established
By Melissa Nunnery
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Gradu
ate Student Council is re
searching ways to improve
pedestrian safety on the
stretch of Wellborn Road
passing through campus.
Markus Wawzyniak, GSC
academic affairs officer and
a mechanical engineering
graduate student, said he
was inspired to draft the
proposal for safety improve
ments after a friend of his
was killed in April by a train
on the tracks adjacent to
Wellborn Road.
Wawzyniak said the
safety improvements are
necessary because of
heavy pedestrian and au
tomobile traffic on the
four-lane highway that
runs through campus.
The thoroughfare and
its adjacent railroad di
vides West Campus from
main campus. Motorists,
pedestrians and cyclists
must use one of three rail
road crossings to access
West Campus.
Traffic to West Campus
has increased since the
completion of the Wehner
Building, West Campus Li
brary and Student Recre
ation Center.
“I go over there (West
Campus) a lot to use the
Rec Center and my girl
friend is [a] business [ma
jor] and has classes on
main campus and West
Campus,” Wawzyniak said.
John Alvis, a nuclear en
gineering graduate stu
dent, said the problem will
grow worse as the Univer
sity continues to expand
on to West Campus.
“It used to be a long
in memory of student
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
The walk signal at Wellborn Road indicates that pedestrians
may cross at their own risk.
time ago that Wellborn
Road was one of the
boundaries of main cam
pus,” he said. "But as the
University expands, the
problem is going to get
worse and worse.”
Wawzyniak said the GSC
proposal is still in the plan
ning stage.
The GSC is also enlisting
the support of the Student
Senate and Faculty Senate.
“We (GSC) want to get
the attention of the admin
istration and put together a
team ... to see what can be
done,” he said.
See Safety, Page 5
By Carla Renea Marsh
The Battalion
The friends and family of
Go Shibata have helped es
tablish the Shibata Interna
tional Memorial Scholarship
in memory of the Texas
A&M international student.
Shibata was killed when
he was hit by a train April
30, 1996, on the tracks that
run parallel to Wellborn
Road through campus.
Bob Perez, A&M judo
coach and a close friend of
Shibata, said the scholarship
is an excellent way to re
member him.
“His parents wanted Go
to finish his education at
Texas A&M,” Perez said. “He
would have graduated this
December. The scholarship
will allow another interna
tional student to finish their
education at A&M.”
Shibata was admitted to
the A&M campus in Koriya-
ma, Japan, in the Fall of 1992.
He enrolled at A&M in
College Station in the sum
mer of 1994 as a senior
management major.
Rajesh Kumar, president
of the International Student
Association and a business
graduate student, said Shi
bata was an active member
in the association.
Kumar said the organiza
tion is contacting as many
potential contributors as pos
sible for the scholarship fund.
“We plan on contacting
different companies and do
ing fund raisers,” Kumar said.
Susan Droleskey, director
of ISA, said the idea of the
scholarship originated with
family and friends wanting to
honor Shibata’s memory.
See Scholarship, Page 5