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Volume 103 • Issue 107 • 10 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Thursday, March 6, 1997
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Gen. Hopgood announced selections for top leadership positions
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The top seven leadership positions
the Corps of Cadets for the 1997-1998
school year were announced Wednes-
iy by Commandant of Cadets Maj.
Gen. M.T. “Ted” Hopgood Jr. in a cere
mony at the Sam Houston Corps of
Cadets Center.
Hopgood said there were 31 appli
cants for the seven positions.
‘Ttwas a fair but difficult process to
choose the commanders,” he said.
The new Corps Commander is
Cadet Daniel M. Feather, a senior eco
nomics major, from Squadron 8. Cadet
Kenneth M. Evans, a senior manage
ment major from Company A-l, was
named Deputy Commander.
Feather said he was surprised by the
announcement.
“I felt I could count the last thirty
beats of my heart before the an
nouncement,” Feather said. “I have
been very nervous about it for the past
two weeks. It was a great surprise.”
Feather said die focus of his term will
be recruiting and retention. The com
mander’s duties include responsibility for
the 2,200 members of the Corps of Cadets.
This year, Feather served as the
Corps’ leadership training sergeant.
Feather will address the Corps of
Cadets for the first time at Final Re
view May 10.
Evans said he is looking forward to
being Deputy Commander and assist
ing Feather.
“I am ready to support the com
mander,” Evans said, “and carry out the
directives of the Commandant.”
Duties for the deputy commander in
clude serving as commander in Feather’s
absence and helping him as needed.
Evans served as the Corps’ adminis
tration sergeant this year.
The current Corps commander,
Stephen Foster, a senior political sci
ence major, said he is happy about the
selection of the new leaders.
“I think this group of young men
that we just selected are some of the
finest cadets the Corps has to offer,”
Foster said. “I’ve watched them grow
through their Corps experience, and I
think they’ll do a better job than we
did this year.”
See Commanders, Page 6
Amy Dunlap, The Battalion
Wing Commander Randall Schmedthorst (2nd from
right) and Combined Band Commander Clay Kennedy
(far right) greet cadets in the receiving line following the
ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
Board suspends fraternity
^ At an IFC Judicial
Board Hearing, Phi
Gamma Delta
received a three year
suspension for a Jan. 8
hazing incident.
By Marissa Alanis
The Battalion
Phi Gamma Delta fraternity re
ceived a three-year suspension for
violating the Texas A&M University
and Interfraternity Council hazing
regulations at the IFC Judicial Board
hearing Tuesday night.
The penalty stems from a Jan. 8
hazing incident in which pledges
were subjected to a “hosing down”
with a water hose outside the fra
ternity house.
In addition to the suspension,
the board recommended the chap
ter not be allowed to return to cam
pus until the spring semester of
2000 and a recommendation be
made to the national organization
to suspend their charter.
Matt Airhart, chief justice of the
IFC board and a junior industrial
distribution major, said after re
viewing the situation, the Judicial
Board made the determination that
Phi Gamma Delta pledges were
subjected to hazing.
“The Board did feel that there
was evidence of concern as well as
an environment of inappropriate
behavior,” Airhart said.
Matt Huppe, a Phi Gamma Delta
member and a senior community
health major, said the fraternity
plans to appeal the Board’s decision
and that the members believe the
decision was unjust.
“The fraternity feels that the pun
ishment does not fit the act that we
did,” Huppe said. “The fraternity just
doesn’t believe that the act warrants a
three-year suspension that was given.”
David Bethel, Phi Gamma Delta
president and a junior finance major,
said the fraternity members will stay
together during the suspension.
See Fraternity, Page 6
Place of Worship
Chapel invites members of all faiths
Short Circuit
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
Carlos Rodriguez, a senior civil engineering major, and Carissa
Mardiros, a senior civil engineering major, manipulate a current through
a circuit board in an electrical engineering lab Wednesday afternoon.
By Graham Harvey
The Batt alion
Christians, Buddhists and Baha’is
are just a few of the religious gr oups
that worship in All Faiths Chapel.
Constructed in 1957 and formally
dedicated in 1958, the chapel con
tinues to provide a place for Texas
A&M University students of all reli
gious backgrounds to congregate.
Millie Wright, manager of sched
uling and services for the University
Center, is in charge of setting times
for various student religious groups
to meet in the chapel.
While All Faiths Chapel primarily
as a meeting place for student reli
gious organizations, Wright said, pri
orities are given to funerals, memor
ial services, non-sectarian religious
holiday programs, weddings and
baptisms. Except for weddings,
which cost anywhere from $75 to
$175, use of the chapel is free.
“It is the center for on-campus re
ligious activities,” Wright said. “Many
former students even come back to
get married in the chapel.”
The current monthly report from
the department of scheduling and
services lists 11 different student
groups, all of which are booked for
chapel meetings in March. These
groups include the Catholic Students
All Faiths Chapel, constructed in 1957,
religious backgrounds to congregate.
Association, which meets in the
chapel twice a week for Mass, the
newly formed TAMU Buddhist Asso
ciation and the Voices of Praise choir.
Dennis Bush, faculty sponsor for
the Baha’i Club and manager of the
University Center, said the Baha’is
use the chapel for intergroup prayer
meetings and teaching sessions for
non-Baha’is.
The Baha'i faith is based on the
teachings of Baha’u’llah, a 19th-cen
tury Iranian prophet.
Dave House, The Battalion
provides a place for students of all
“We believe there is only one God,
one religion and one mankind,” Bush
said. “We are working toward the uni
ty of the planet, and the Baha’i prayer
sessions in the chapel are for the uni
ty of mankind.”
Chris Yates, head of the Reformed
University Fellowship and director of
the Presbyterian-sponsored Campus
Ministry, said the chapel provides a
necessary service to the University.
See Chapel, Page 6
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37
Article ranks A&M low in value
Kiplinger's financial analysis compares 51 state schools
By Kevin Cummings
The Battalion
Ranking Texas A&M University in
the bottom 20 percent in value, a re
cent article in Kiplinger’s Personal Fi
nance Magazine raises questions
about whether Aggies are getting their
money’s worth.
Public university costs have risen 55
Percent over the past 20 years, adjusted
for inflation.
Although this increase is less than the
The Battalion
INSIDETODAY
MARCH MADNESS:
A&M looks to upset OU
in the first round of the
Big 12 championships.
Sports, Page 7
'Wmmmammmmaamamm
Aggielife Page 3
What's Up Page 6
Opinion Page 9
costs of private institutions, which have
nearly doubled in the same time period,
these price increases prompted the
magazine to take a look at the value of
state universities.
In March, Kiplinger’s conducted a
financial analysis of 51 state schools
across the country and ranked them
in terms of overall value. The relative
value of each school was evaluated on
a scale of one to five, five being the
highest. A&M scored a one.
The article considered such factors
as student-to-faculty ratio, tuition ad
justed for average family income, li
brary books per student and admis
sions standards.
Rome Walker, the assistant manag
er of student financial services, said
the findings in Kiplinger’s are contra
dictory to his personal experience.
“In my dealings with other students
and universities across the nation, I’ve
found A&M is perceived to be one of
the best buys in the nation,” he said.
“As long as our programs are perceived
to be top-notch in agriculture and en
gineering, we are going to continue to
draw out-of-state students.”
Katherine Boyd, a senior geogra
phy and reading major from Virginia,
said she was drawn to A&M because
of its long-standing tradition despite
the cost of out-of-state tuition.
“My grandfather and brother both
are Aggies,” she said. “I always want
ed to go here.”
Kiplinger’s financial analysis did not
take into account special programs of
fered by the schools in the study.
Penny Pennington, recruiting co
ordinator for the Texas A&M honors
program, said with enrollment dou
bling in the past ten years, A&M has
one of the largest overall honors pro
grams in the country.
She said A&M Offers a unique
learning environment to about 6,000
students a year.
“The honors program offers a hands-
on learning style and provides an envi
ronment in which they (the students)
achieve a higher academic understand
ing of the material,” she said.
Despite the report, many students
find A&M provides excellence in their
field of interest.
Emily Bell, a freshman agricultural
development major from Missouri,
said she researched many other
schools, but came to A&M because of
its reputation.
“A&M is well known for agricul
ture,” she said.
“Everywhere you go, people say
A&M is the best.”
Conference to explore
women's studies, issues
By Kathleen Strickland
The Battalion
In conjunction with Women’s History Month,
the South Central Women’s Studies Association
will hold its 1997 conference at Texas A&M Uni
versity this weekend.
Pam Matthews, director of women’s studies
and an associate professor of English, coordi
nated the conference.
“We are expecting about 150, maybe up to
200 people,” Matthews said. “This is the first
time that the conference has been held here, and
it’s nice that it could work with Women’s Histo
ry Month. In fact, Saturday is even Internation
al Women’s Day.”
The conference will begin with a reception
tonight from 7 to 9.
Sessions begin Friday and continue through
Saturday. They include such topics as being an
academic woman, research on violence against
women, stories of women in the Academy,
women’s bodies and lives and the movement of
women from the background into the foreground.
There also will be a banquet Friday at 6 p.m.
The keynote address will be given by Susan Kop-
pelman, author of “Women in the Trees: U.S.
Women’s Short Stories About Battering and Re
sistance, 1934-1994.” Her speech, “Saving
Women’s Stories, Saving Women’s Lives,” will
emphasize her book, giving a brief overview of
25 years of research and uncovering women’s
short stories dating from 1811 to 1997.
A victim of abuse, Koppelman said she hopes
to use the book to teach others how to save the
lives of victims of domestic violence.
“Battery is a major problem in this country,”
she said. “It is never a woman's fault and no
woman deserves to be battered.”
She said everyone, not just women, should
read her book.
“Not all men are batterers, but most know
and care about some woman who is a victim of
domestic violence,” Koppelman said. “I hear
from men and women who are concerned
about sisters, friends or daughters who have
been battered.”
The conference will end with a reception Sat
urday from 4 to 6 p.m. During the reception,
there will bea performance of music by women
composers.
The performance was organized by Laurine
Elkins-Marlow, a lecturer in philosophy and hu
manities, who will play piano selections.
“In addition to the piano,” she said, “a harp
sichord, recorders and other early instruments
will be featured, along with singing.”
Other performers include Bonnie Harris-
Reynolds, Patty Creel, Dr. Lisa Peterson, and Dr.
Robert Boenig.