ime 103 • Issue 60 • 8 Pages Friday, November 22, 1996 The Batt Online: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
ative br;
itudent Senate
atority chaptet|
isor Lanita Hw B B
senators vote in
ea brought bff
director of sti ^
qavor of fee hike
tanceslH By Erica Roy Koldus Building,
tions that , The Battalion Nine senators opposed the Stu-
» I dent Center Complex Fee Resolution.
I ()UrS6lVbj’U e Student Senate voted Bergeson said the fee increase
II anVOtk d r esda y n ^ght to support the is needed to maintain the operat-
id :nt Center Complex Fee, ing standards of the buildings.
Q.” ich will be decided by student The cost of maintaining the build-
^^BndumDec. 4. ings, Bergeson said, has increased
Ofdan If students vote to raise the fee, due to inflation.
luncil presiderfi^y $24 P er
■ster, it will
|HM||^^Hase $2 each
iches $30 for
| ■ 1999-00
g mediationsioo! year.
;nerallyresoliRyan Berge-
a, .i Northside
's Judiciaryinltor and a
udents of eadBomore biol-
nd PanHelky major, said
supports the
esident oftbti increase be-
is excludes use it lets the
I Bent body
3ard hashearstow the posi-
)ri of the Stu-
nes it’s bee.: nt Senate.
Brewer said "As senators,
isdictionsisl are well-in-
rvices. rmed on this
ards worktcsM.” he said,
ttional issue Rjsvenue generated from the the referendum is held and the stu-
1 have a re.: e helps maintain, improve and dents have voiced their opinion,
with the a uip the Memorial Student Cen-
said. t, jme Rudder Complex and the See SENATORS, Page 4
Approved Bills
Winter Spirit of Aggieland
Will form a committee to oversee
a campus decoration program
for the winter holidays.
Evans Drink Policy Revision
Allows students to drink in library
if drinks are in airtight containers.
Bonfire Registration
Senate does not support policy of
scheduling registration the night
of Bonfire.
Aggie Band Support
Senate condemns the actions of
Rice and UT in Battle of the Bands.
Election Regulation Revisions
Made changes to current
election policies.
“It’s (the fee.
increase) neces
sary to keep the
MSC, Koldus and
Rudder at the
current stan
dards of service,”
Bergeson said.
Josh Duncan,
a General Studies
senator and a
sophomore gen
eral studies ma
jor, voted against
the resolution but
is in favor of the
fee increase.
Duncan said
the decision to
support the fee
increase should
not have been
made until after
Dave House, The Battalion
Falling Down
Rachel Davenport, a freshman civil engineering major, separates cans after the stack replicating
Bonfire collapsed on Thursday. The Student Y Association hosts this competition between student
organizations to raise food for the Brazos Food Bank.
"Competition prompts
lincrease in Use Fee
Aggies recall Kennedy’s death
In 1963, Bonfire was dismantled in his memory
By Marika Cook
The Battalion
The proposed General Use Fee
nbrease at Texas A&M would be
sed for the sole purpose of rais-
A&M faculty and staff salaries.
Texas A&M Salaries at a Glance LJ~)
9 9
► See editorial. Page 7
he increase is approved, the
F will rise from $24 to $34 per
Tester in the fall of 1997.
The additional money gener
ated will be used to maintain
£\&M’s competitiveness with
^Ither universities in terms of
(acuity and staff.
Jerry Gaston, vice president for
dministration, said A&M’s aver
age salary is slipping in compari
son with its peer institutions.
“In regard to our nationally-re-
nuted faculty, we have gone from
aying 95 percent of average
salaries in 1990 to 91 percent in
1995,” he said. “Clearly, we’re going
How A&M Salaries Compare
to Other Institutions
1990 - 95%
1991 -93%
1992 - 93%
1993 - 92%
1994 - 92%
1995-91%
In F.Y. 1996-
U.T
A&M
Professor
76,393
71,568
Associate
52,715
49,139
Assistant
45,567
42,547
in the wrong direction.”
Classified staff, who are given
a job description and title, are
typically recruited state-wide
and locally.
“In FY (fiscal year) ’96, it has
been determined that it would
take an additional $2,976 mil
lion annually to bring the clas
sified staff at A&M up to par
with equivalent jobs in this
area,” he said. “In other words,
they are making less at the Uni
versity than they would some
where else.”
Texas A&M President Ray M.
Bowen said the additional mon
ey for salaries is needed to keep
the reputable staff A&M strives
to attain.
“Thirty-seven percent of
staff at A&M make less than
$20,000 a year,” Bowen said.
“There will be a small raise in
March if this goes through, and
another small raise again in
September. It’s been a year and
a half since anyone received a
raise. It’s time.”
There are two primary methods
of granting raises at A&M —
across-the-board and merit-based.
See Competition, Page 4
By Melissa Nunnery
The Battalion
In November of 1963, Texas
A&M students were preparing
for Bonfire when they heard the
news that President John F.
Kennedy had been shot in Dal
las. The Aggies dismantled the
structure in his memory.
The only other groups of stu
dents to sacrifice the tradition
were the Classes of T7 and ’41.
Both volunteered for military
service in war.
Mike Marlow, Class of ’64, was
the head yell leader the year Bon
fire was canceled in remem
brance of Kennedy. He remem
bers where he was when he heard
the news of Kennedy’s death.
“I was walking back from
lunch and somebody threw
open their window and shouted
‘The president’s been shot,”’
Marlow said.
Nick McGuire, Class of ’64
agent, was a senior when
Kennedy was assassinated. He
said the students at A&M were
honored to dedicate their Bon
fire to the president.
“We felt pretty good about it,
but we didn’t have a choice,”
McGuire said. “(A&M) President
Rudder called the seniors to
gether ... and told us what we
were going to do.”
W.B. “Zip” Zimmerman,
Class of ’64 class agent, said
dedicating Bonfire to the presi
dent was fitting, since Kennedy
also served as commander in
chief of the armed forces.
“A&M has a strong military
heritage,” he said. “It seemed like
a natural thing to do to make a
statement about the assassina
tion. We thought it was a signifi-
“A&M has a strong
military heritage. It
seemed like a natural
thing to do to make
a statement about
the assassination.”
W.B. “Zip” Zimmerman
Class of '64
cant statement of our feelings.”
Zimmerman said it was not
difficult to get students to partic
ipate in the dismantling and
dedication of Bonfire because
students respected what
Kennedy had done in office.
Marlow said because of his stu
dent leader position, it was part
ly his responsibility to tell other
students Bonfire was canceled.
“Everybody in the country
was saying, ‘What could we do
to honor the fallen president,”’
Marlow said. “It was a very
emotional time throughout the
country.”
The students held a yell
practice around the center pole
of the Bonfire that never
burned. The Texas A&M vs.
University of Texas contest was
to be a big game that year. UT
was the undisputed number
one team in the nation, and
A&M had won only two games
that year, Marlow said.
“There was even talk of can
celing the game,” Marlow said.
“It was the first nationally tele
vised game A&M had been in.”
He said because the game
was such a talked-about event,
canceling Bonfire was a big sac
rifice for the student body.
“We had worked for four
years to be seniors, but in the
end, we knew it was the only
thing to do,” Marlow said.
In 1993, the Class of ’94 in
vited the Class of ’64 to share
its Bonfire. Marlow said about
50 of his classmates attended.
Zimmerman said his class
was proud to be a part of the
1993 Bonfire.
“We got to march in behind
the band. It was an emotional
time for all of us,” Zimmerman
said.
“The Class of ’64 was indeed
proud that the Class of ’94 had
done their homework. They
(Class of ’94) took that and ran
with it, and it was good bull.”
N
IE Battalion
TODAY
lick Holidays
e inhabitants of a
lall, fictional town
iTexas come to life
4 Tuna Christmas.
Aggielife, Page 3
= Wizards
>ok Ends
nsive tackles Chris
man and Cameron
kes anchor the
rjgie offensive line.
B Sports, Page 5
Ehtin’ Words
ard: After writing
fensive opinion
|>)umn, the editor
gptly chose to print it.
Opinion, Page 7
Aggie Sisters for Christ
5K run, walk to benefit Boys Ranch
By Laura Oliveira
The Battalion
Aggie Sisters for Christ is en
couraging Texas A&M students
to participate in a five kilome
ter run and walk Saturday to
benefit the Stillcreek Boys
Ranch.
The Boys Ranch serves as a
school and home for 19 boys
who have been abandoned.
Dan and Margaret O’Quinn
have run the ranch for eight
years without state funds.
Kristin Harrold, an ASC
member and a senior educa
tion major, said the family
chose to be a private institu
tion so religious education
could be offered at the school.
“A Christian family runs it,”
she said, "and they would not
be able to have a Bible class if
they were state funded.”
Courtney Johnson, an ASC
member and a sophomore psy
chology major, said because
the ranch relies strictly on do
nations, they wanted to make a
contribution.
“Stillcreek is a non-profit or
ganization, so a lot of Christian
organizations on campus try
and help them out,” she said.
“They are a neat set of boys.”
Nancy Baber, assistant to
the director of Stillcreek
Ranch, said the different orga
nizations’ efforts have not
gone unnoticed.
“We appreciate their help,”
she said. “So many A&M orga
nizations, and especially the
Aggie Sisters, have shown
such genuine interest in help
ing the boys.”
All profits from the run will
go to the ranch.
Jenny Dillingham, a member
of ASC and a sophomore ele
mentary education major, said
the purpose of the run is to raise
as much money as possible.
“The important thing is’to
raise money for the ranch,” she
said. “All their funds come
strictly from donations, so the
more money we raise the more
money we can give to them.”
The run will begin at Spence
Park at 9 a.m. Registration will
continue through Saturday.
Ircka Birch, a member of
ASC and a sophomore busi
ness major, said almost 240
participants have been regis
tered this year.
“Next year we hope to publi
cize it even more,” she said.
“But in the last few days we
have had a lot of response.”
Johnson said the run is not
the first benefit they have held
for the ranch.
“We do a lot of benefits for the
Stillcreek Boys Ranch,” she said.
“So this is just another fund-rais
er we are doing for them.”
ASC members also do per
sonal projects with the boys.
They volunteer by tutoring
and serving as “buddies” to
the residents.
Erin Bench, an ASC member
and a junior electrical engi
neering major, said the time
she gives contributing to the
boys is spiritually rewarding.
“We are doing it to serve the
community,” she said, “be
cause God calls on us to serve
the community.”
A&M math department
wins $400,000 grant
By Brandon Hausenfluck
The Battalion.
The Texas A&M Geometry, Analy
sis and Topography (GAT) group in
the Department of Mathematics won
a three-year $400,000 grant from the
National Science Foundation.
Dr. Harold Boas, a professor of
mathematics, said the money will be
used in several ways.
“The grant will provide support for
the infrastructure of the mathematics
department,” Boas said. “We hope to
organize some conferences and work
shops and to bring distinguished re
searchers from around the world to in
teract with the department.”
The money will also contribute to
bringing in post-doctorate re
searchers to help with research and
to funding support programs for
graduate and undergraduate stu
dents, he said.
A total of 11 universities were
awarded the grants. Stanford, Colum
bia, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech
and New York University were also
among the winners.
Boas said the grant will bring
recognition to A&M.
“There was just a handful of schools
that won the award,” Boas said. “The
grant helps put Texas A&M in the na
tional scene of mathematics.”
The GAT group is comprised of
seven A&M researchers who wrote a
proposal for the competition outlin
ing how the University’s research
will aid in strengthening the area of
mathematics.
Dr. Peter Stiller, a professor of
mathematics and computer science,
said in a University Relations press
release the researchers’ work has
paid off.
“Texas A&M has made a serious
commitment to this program,”he
said. “And the National Science
Foundation has recognized it as be
ing worthy of support at the nation
al level.”
See Grant, Page 4