Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1997)
"ServingTexasA&M Since 1893” The Battalion olume K) i • Ismk* 115* 10 Pages The Balt Online: http:// bat-web.tanui.edu Tuesday, March 25, 1997 azing allegations lead to suspensions ish Drill Team advisers told to clear out of Quadrangle immediately By Jackie Vratil The Battalion nine student advisers to the |h Drill Team were temporarily )pended Monday evening follow- allegations of hazing and as- Jilt. Six sophomores, two juniors, one senior were told by Maj. In. M.T. “Ted” Hopgood, com- jindant of the Corps of Cadets, to Jve the Quadrangle immediately. ■A University Relations press re- I |se said the suspension resulted I lin one member of the team I larging the advisers with physi cally assaulting him in a Corps res ident hall Saturday night, March 22. Monday, two former members of the team reported incidents of pos sible hazing by the same advisers. Steve Foster, Corps comman der and a senior political science major, said the allegations of as sault have been made and the Corps is working with the Univer sity Police Department in every way possible. “It’s going to take some strict scrutiny and some truthful testimo ny to resolve the problem,” he said. Foster said Hopgood took disci plinary action by telling all nine students to leave the quad. “They were all told to clear out of the Corps area for the night, and move their things out tomorrow,” Foster said. Hopgood ex plained his rea- son for suspending the cadets in a press release. “Texas A&M will not tolerate haz u Texas A&M will not tolerate hazing within the Corps or its associated organizations.” Maj. Gen. Hopgood Corps of Cadets commandant ing within the Corps or its associated or ganizations,” he said. “I find it per sonally distasteful and far from the ideals that the Corps and the Uni versity promote.” BobWiatt, direc tor of UPD, said this case, although in- MiiiiiiiwiiiMBBKPi volving allegations of assault, cannot be looked at with any more or less severity than previ ous hazing incidents. “Each incident is an overt vio lation [of] Corps rules [and] Uni versity rules, as well as Texas rules,” he said. “Therefore, you can’t really call any incident more serious than the others.” In the past, Hopgood has taken action against infractions by dis banding one unit for violating Corps and University rules against hazing. Wiatt said he applauds Hopgood’s swift action involving this matter. “We are not going to tolerate any kind of hazing,” he said. Wiatt said hazing can be as sim ple as telling somebody to drink a beer, but assault includes the phys ical part of hazing. “An assault charge is when somebody physically ‘whops’ you, or if somebody punches you in the nose,” he said. Foster said the freshmen showed no emotion when they were told the specifics of the action being tak en against their upperclassmen. “We answered some of their questions,” he said, “but they really just sat there and listened.” See Allegations, Page 10 PS miMwi T r A'# W f. ■1 » m ?«II1 S'lPi s’4 Defend Yourself Amy Dunlap, The Battalion Megan Stanley, a sophomore poultry science major, tries to stop Julie Daves, a senior speech communication major, from stabbing her in a self defense class Monday. Bill limits settlement payments Proposal would provide uniform standards in state universities By Benjamin Cheng The Battalion The benefits university administrators sometimes receive when they leave their posi tions will be limited if the Texas Legislature passes a bill authored by Sen. Steve Ogden. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and currently is awaiting approval in the House of Representatives. The bill limits the settle ment payments administrators receive when asked to leave their positions. Ogden said the bill was prompted by news paper articles printed in the Houston Chroni cle two years ago. The articles documented cases at the University of Houston and Texas Southern University in which outgoing ad ministrators were paid $750,000 and $216,000, respectively, to leave. Ogden said it is not un common for university administrators to be paid substantial amounts to leave. “They wanted to keep things quiet,” Og den said. Texas A&M President Ray Bowen said the people who make such decisions should be held responsible for their actions. Instead of a bill, Bowen said, supervisors such as the Board of Regents and the governor should correct the mistakes of others. “It’s awfully hard for the Senate to legislate common sense,” he said. Rep. Irma Rangel, chair of the House higher education committee, said the bill provides uni form standards within the state universities. “I think the legislature needs to issue some directions to the universities,” Rangel said. Although Bowen does not oppose the bill, he does not foresee it making those in charge more responsible for their actions. “The objectives are noble,” he said, “but to build it into state law is not necessary.” Bowen said the problems addressed in the bill have not occurred at A&M during his three- year presidency. Ogden said the bill has received little oppo sition as University of Texas Chancellor William Cunningham and Texas A&M Chan cellor Barry Thompson both testified before the Senate in favor of the bill. Ogden said the most significant aspect of the bill is its limitation of excessive salaries for administrators who return to teaching. Ogden said universities should avoid a perceived dou ble standard and need to run an operation the average worker says is fair. “It’s the right thing to do,” Ogden said. Other provisions in the bill limit adminis trative contracts to three years and grant tenure and development leave on a consistent basis with faculty. A&M may not fund bike program Liability risks cause reluctancy in funding of the Borrow-a-Bike program. By Erica Roy The Battalion The Borrow-a-Bike program unani mously approved by the Texas A&M Student Senate may not be sponsored by the ad ministration, a University official said. A fleet of 35-50 yellow bicycles would have been distributed for public use on campus beginning March 16 following the Senate decision. The program was to use abandoned bicy cles confiscated by Parking, Traffic and Trans portation. PTTS would paint the bicycles, the University Police Department would register them and volunteers would repair them. DELAYED | Dr. Carolyn Adair, director for Student Activities, said the decision not to sponsor the program has not been made officially. Adair said the program was a good idea, but the University could not sponsor the pro gram because of the liability risks involved. “If an accident happens and it is (because of) a faulty piece of equipment (on the bi cycle), then the University is re sponsible,” Adair said. The stu dent could then sue the University, she said. A&M may not be able to regularly check every bicycle for damages, Adair said. “We have no idea of knowing where these bicycles go once they are released,” she said. Cass Burton, a freshman senator and a political science major, has worked on implementing the program since September. Burton said he understands the Universi- James Palmer, The Battalion ty does not want to sponsor the program be cause of liability risks, but he thought the pos itive aspects of the program would override the dangers. Nl “I expected the administra- \ tion to work with me,” Burton | said. “I thought we’d be able to find a way around it.” Burton said he assumed a t “ride at your own risk” clause on the bicycles would release the University from any liability. He said an entity is needed to accept responsibility for the pro gram, before it can be started. Burton has three options to find an organi zation to sponsor Borrow-a-Bike. He can ask the cities of Bryan or College Station, a non-profit organization in the community or he can start a non-profit or ganization himself. The bicycles have been repaired and are ready to be painted. Adair said she does not know when the official decision will be made. SC Council revises candidate campaign policy Under the new policy, the MSC cannot support any candidate in the student body elections. By Erica Roy The Battalion The Memorial Student Center louncil clarified and more clear- defined the MSC policy on mpaigning for student body elections last night. The policy does not allow the MSC to formally or informally support any candidate in the stu dent body elections. Chris Williams, MSC president and a senior political science and speech communication major, said the new policy reinforces the old one, and it answers questions MSC members had about the policy. “It is an extension of our origi nal policy,” Williams said. Nellson Burns, the incoming MSC president and a senior in ternational studies major, said the policy helped explain the MSC’s stand on campaigning in the student center. “I think it (the revised policy) does two things,” Burns said. “First, it formalizes existing election policies concerning the student center. Second, it outlines appropriate behavior for MSC volunteers.” Williams said the MSC wants to provide an inclusive environ ment for the student body, and supporting one candidate does not allow the MSC to do that. “This is their (the student body’s) living room,” he said, “and you don’t have political can didates in your living room telling you how to vote.” The revision of the policy is con sistent with the Student Government Election Commission regulations. The policy guidelines include: •Candidates may not cam paign in the University Center, unless the candidate was invited to a meeting. •Campaign materials cannot be displayed in the University Center, unless the candidate is using them to address a meeting. •Campaigning cannot take place at MSC programs, unless the pro gram is sponsoring the candidates for educational reasons. •MSC resources, such as the computer lab, copying machines, e-mail list serves, telephones, physical space and financial re sources, cannot be used for cam paign purposes. Williams said the original policy was vague and did not cover all as pects of the MSC. The new policy makes it clear that no campaigning can take place in the MSC. Before the revised policy, can didates approached the MSC Film Society wanting to place ad vertisements before the showing of films. Under the original poli cy, it was not clear whether this would be allowed. The new policy clarifies this question. Williams said since the MSC approved this policy, they must also ensure that the guidelines are enforced. “Not only is it the Election Commission’s responsibility to enforce this, it is also ours,” Williams said. The Battalion IN SI DETODAY CD CLUBS: They seem to offer terrific deals, but many students say they are more trouble than they are worth. Aggielife, Page 3 Weather Sports Opinion Page 2 Page 5 Page 9 Aviles wants to ensure equal access to A&M He is one of three new regents appointed by Gov. Bush in January. By Erica Roy The Battalion In 1949, Dr. Dionel “Don” Aviles came to the United States from Ponce, Puerto Rico at age 17 to begin his lifelong relationship with Texas A&M University. This week he will begin his term as a member of the Board of Regents. Gov. George W. Bush appointed Aviles, along with Anne Armstrong and Erie Nye, in January of this year to replace outgoing regents Chair Mary Nan West, Alison Brisco and Royce E. Wisenbaker. Aviles is the owner and president of Aviles Engineer ing Corporation in Houston, a company he started 16 years ago. The company spe cializes in geotechnical and environmental engineering services and construction material testing. Aviles received his bache lor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Texas A&M. “As a graduate of Texas A&M, being appoint ed a regent has to be one of the greatest honors,” he said. “To be able to go back and guide the Uni versity and the other schools in the system is the greatest honor I have ever received.” Dr. Leo Sayaverdra, deputy chancellor for aca demic institutions and agencies, said Aviles’ Aviles three A&M degrees provide him with experience and knowledge of A&M. “He clearly understands the philosophy of the institution and the system,” Sayaverdra said. “As you might say, ‘He bleeds maroon.’” In 1993, Aviles retired from the U.S. Army Re serve with the rank of major general. Aviles said his business and military back ground will help him perform his job as regent. “The combination of my business experi ence and military experience have built a good basis to serve the system in a good ca pacity,” he said. Dr. Jerry Gaston, vice president for admin istration, said Aviles’ professional perspective and his status as a former student will enable Aviles to understand the needs of Texas A&M. See Regent, Page 10