The Battalion
ord
ume 103 • Issue 99 • 12 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Monday, February 24, 1997
bwn Hall cancels concert
\he group scheduled the
/ent to raise awareness
fbout plans to tear down
fount Aggie.
|By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
The Battalion
lence will reign on Mount Aggie
low ■day because of the cancellation of
rai loncert to raise awareness about plans
ay, to dismantle it.
^■related editorial, Pace 11
Jie MSC Town Hall promised the
■ert in a petition distributed out-
jile ihe MSC last Monday, but it was
II
I
canceled because the project did not
follow any purpose stated in the Town
Hall mission statement.
Stacy Pogue, Town Hall assistant to the
vice chair club and a senior geography
major, said Town Hall had thoroughly
planned out the event but decided Tues
day that supporting the concert would
not be a good idea.
“Town Hall is sorry for not having the
concert,” Pogue said. “We are still con
tinuing to support the rebuilding of
Mount Aggie.”
Dr. Jerry Gaston, vice president for ad
ministration, said there are plans to tear
down the Omar Smith Tennis Center and
Mount Aggie.
“The tennis courts are planned to be
rebuilt on West Campus,” Gaston said.
“There are no plans yet to rebuild Mount
Aggie. However, we are considering it.”
There are two snow ski classes offered
this semester. Beginning snow ski and in
termediate snow ski classes comprise a
total of 15 class sections.
Coach George Jessup has taught sections
of these classes for 23 years at Texas A&M.
“I have enjoyed teaching at Mount Ag
gie,” Jessup said. “It has been outstand
ing to have it.”
The Texas Aggie Ski Club also uses
Mount Aggie.
Chuck Wolf, president of the A&M
Ski Club and a senior civil engineering
major, said the destruction of Mount
Aggie would ultimately eliminate the
ski club.
“Without Mount Aggie, the ski club
cannot function properly,” Wolf said.
“It is a big part of our organization.”
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I irflja Pin\A/f>r I Garret, a four-year-old preschooler at St. Thomas, quickly removes his hand
III 1,8tT 8 UWd | from a pool containing a young sea turtle.
onference focuses on technology
By Jackie Vratil
The Battalion
exas teachers got a glimpse of future
nology at the Association of Texas
hnology Education Conference Feb.
22 in Rudder Tower.
Jlie conference included guest speak-
|exhibits and special interest sessions
ut technology in classrooms across
country.
David Greer, the program director in
■Vorth for the Association of Texas
inology Education, said the associa-
’s main goal is to give teachers a place
jlookwhen they have questions.
“We (the association) try to provide
professional leadership for our educa
tors,” he said.
Julie Moor, president elect of the As
sociation of Texas Technology Educa
tion, is a middle school teacher in Alief,
Texas. She said the theme for this year’s
conference is “Designing the Future, To
gether We Can.”
“Our focus is to inform other teachers
of the technology available,” she said, “so
they can take it back to their students.”
Greer said the conference, along with
the association, targets educators who
use technology in their draft, shop or
other courses that would use technology.
“We are trying to make a shift from the
manufacturing of today to the 21st-cen
tury manufacturing that the students will
need later,” he said.
David Scarcella, a high school manu
facturing graphics teacher at Friendswood
High School, said the conference has giv
en him the chance to see what technology
is available.
“I have learned many new outlooks,”
he said, “and I have learned about some
technology that I will be able to take back
to my students so they can pursue it in
college or in the workplace.”
See Technology, Page 6
Ian shoots seven, self on Empire State Building
'JEW YORK (AP) —A man opened fire
fto a crowd of tourists on the observation
|k of the Empire State Building Sunday,
ig one person and wounding six oth-
|before shooting himself in the head.
Dozens of people — many of them for-
tourists — fled in panic toward the
rays and elevators as the unidentified
i sprayed bullets around the large, win-
ved room that opens onto the observa-
i deck. A baby and toddler were knocked
i their parents’arms in the panic.
[Tve never seen so much blood in my
life,” said Belgian businessman Stef Nys,
who said he saw the man shoot himself
and fall, his dentures popping loose. “The
most scary part was when people started
to panic.”
The man muttered something about
Egypt seconds before he began shooting
at about 5:15 p.m. on the 86th floor ob
servation deck of one of the world’s best-
known tourist sites, authorities said.
Nys, 36, said he heard other witnesses
say the gunman was asking tourists if they
were from Egypt. Police did not know if
there was any significance to his remarks.
A man in his 30s was killed, Police In
spector Michael Collins said. A .380 cal
iber pistol was recovered at the scene.
A 27-year-old man was shot in the
head, while two other men were shot in
the shoulder and a man was shot in the
leg. A 44-year-old French man and his 36-
year-old wife were both shot in the but
tocks. Four women and the two young
children were hurt in the crowd.
See Shooting, Page 6
Intemational Week
Events promote
cultural diversity
By Kathleen Strickland
The Battalion
The diverse student population at Texas A&M
will be celebrated during the 18th annual In
ternational Week which begins today.
The celebration is sponsored by the Interna
tional Student Association and will feature daily
events Monday through Friday.
► See related story. Pace 3
Rajesh Kumar, president of the International
Student Association and a business administration
graduate student, said the purpose of Internation
al Week is to increase awareness of the cultural di
versity on campus.
“[International Week] is about fostering a
greater understanding, appreciation and sensi
tivity to other cultures,” Kumar said. “It’s like tak
ing a journey all around the world without actu
ally leaving this place.”
The theme for International Week is “Many
Faces, Many Places, One Planet.” The week will
feature cultural displays, traditional food, in
ternational entertainment and fashion.
The festivities begin today at 10 a.m. in the
MSC Flagroom with an opening ceremony.
After the ceremony, international cultural dis
plays will open in the MSC. These displays will be
available for viewing on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The cultural displays will give students the oppor
tunity to meet students from countries around the
world and learn about their cultures. About 2,600
students from more than 113 countries will share
their cultures with others through these displays.
Wednesday evening at 6:30 there will be an
international buffet on the second floor of the
International Week
Event Schedule
Monday
Opening Ceremony: 10:30 a.m., MSC
Flagroom
Cultural Display: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., first
floor MSC
Tuesday /
Cultural Display: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., first
floor MSC
Wednesday
International Buffet: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30
p.m., MSC 201-224
Friday
Talent Show and Dress Parade: 7-9
p.m.. Rudder Auditorium
Closing Ceremony and Party: 10 p.m.,
Ramada Inn Ballroom
MSC with entrees from different countries for
students to sample.
Rosa Garza, director of the buffet and a senior
international studies and Spanish major, said the
buffet is one of the more popular events of the
week because it is food-related.
See International, Page 5
Study finds residence
halls in need of repair
By Shea WigginS
The Battalion
Residence halls at Texas A&M need $26.4
million in repairs, a study said last week.
The $300,000 study investigated roofs,
plumbing, painting, carpets and other items in
student living quarters.
An increase in annual maintenance funds
also was recommended by the study to help
avoid future housing problems.
The study, commissioned by the Depart
ment of Residence Life, was performed by ar
chitectural engineering firm Halff Associates
Inc., of Dallas, and R.G. Vanderweil Facility Ad
visors of Boston.
The appraisers said Texas A&M’s housing rat
ing was higher than average for evaluations of
housing by similar studies at other universities.
A&M President Ray M. Bowen said the result
of the study was good news for the University.
“We have historically taken good care of our
facilities, but we are a big school,” Bowen said.
“Ydti would expect the number to be large, tak
en we are the third largest school in the country.”
Bowen said money for repairs will be dis
tributed in a deferred maintenance program
over a period of years.
“It was good planning on the part of our res
idential life staff to get the study, get it orga
nized and get it focused,” Bowen said.
The study also predicted $6 million per year
will be needed if student living quarters are to
be kept in fair condition.
Ron Sasse, director of residence life, said in
a press release that this will be difficult, as the
University spends only $1 million a year now
on housing maintenance.
“That’s why we’re working on a long-range
housing plan — to come to some common
agreement on how we’re going to deal with
these issues,” Sasse said. “Without it, we can
expect to see a slow decline in the quality of our
student housing.”
See Housing, Page 6
UPD establishes reward
for stalker information
By Kathleen Strickland
The Battalion
A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for
information leading to the identification and
arrest of an individual who has been stalking a
Texas A&M student.
The reward is the result of a combined ef
fort on the part of the University Police De
partment and the Association of Former Stu
dents to locate the individual.
Bob Wiatt, director of the UPD, said this is
only the second time a reward has been offered
for information leading to the capture of an
unidentified individual.
“Maybe he has confided to somebody
about what he has done,” Wiatt said. “If they
see that a reward is being given, they may
decide to turn him in for a portion of the re
ward money.”
The Association of Former Students creat
ed a fund for the University to offer cash re
wards for information about felony crimes on
campus. The money is given to UPD to use at
their discretion.
Randy Matson, executive director of the as
sociation, said he is confident in UPD and
Wiatt’s use of the fund.
“The Association of Former Students has
[provided] a reward fund for a number of years
to help the University discourage serious crime
on campus,” Matson said.
A forensic artist produced a composite
drawing of the suspect from the victim’s de
scription. The drawing has been posted both
on and off campus.
The suspect is described as a 19- to 20-year-
old white male, weighing about 170 pounds,
with a stocky build. He is identified as having
short straight blond
hair and blue eyes.
Distinctive character
istics depicted in the
drawing include a
protruding forehead,
a pointed right ear
and a silver loop ear
ring in the left ear.
Wiatt said the ef
fectiveness and ac
curacy of the draw
ing depends on the
victim’s recollec
tion.
“When the suspect
is captured, they
sometimes look re
markably like the drawing,” he said.
Anyone with any in
formation regarding
the individual is asked
to contact the UPD at
845-2345.
See Reward, Page 6