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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1997)
ume 103 • Issue 140 • 6 Pages College Station, TX Monday, June 2, 1997 iEWS Briefs gents approve [port renovations bias A&M University-owned East- t«i Airport will receive enhance- tiiis summer as approved by the of Regents in late May. ;improvements include work on fitaxiwayand new runway lighting, jnding for the$1.4 million pro- pllcome from federal grants Isirport operations funds, to airlines currently use the forconnecting flights to Dal- iodHouston. American Eagle Continental Express offer between the two cities and ;e Station. lunt Aggie facility to t eto West Campus tatAggie faces demolition and f rection this year following the lofRegents’ approval to rena me Field. ■'ecurrent location of the minia- |ski slope is scheduled to be eof two new football practice stobe constructed after the season. omarked for demolition are the jtiinis courts at the south end of tfeld, which have not been used feent years. telly Groff, Texas A&M athletic di- crsaid Mount Aggie will be moved tReed Arena on West Campus, ''mw slope facility will be larg- Irdbetter equipped for classes I tie A&M Ski Club, demolition is scheduled to begin Merits get inside Wat justice system jfeCollege Station Police De- Peotis offering local residents insider's look at the criminal jus- f system. lorrow is the first day of the de w's 21st Citizen’s Police Acad- fllie program’s goal is to show (tents how police departments hteand how police and citizens Jwktogether to reduce crime. lJ 3rticipants will learn about the iryof the department, investiga- procedures and criminal law. (also will be allowed to ride with as on rounds. jlieCitizen’s Police Academy will peryTuesday and Thursday night ighJuly 15 except July 3. LIFESTYLES las Music Festival show- «es orchestral and cham- itmisic throughout June. Page 3 OPINION Force suffers setback and ante by actions of B-52 fiber pilot Lt. Kelly Flinn. Page 5 SPORTS %i’s last-minute jumper 'Mhe Bulls a 84-82 win ir the Jazz. Page 4 University investigates hazing case By Erica Roy The Battalion Three former Fish Drill Team student advisers ac cused of hazing and assault by freshmen Drill Team members will go before a two-panel disciplinary hear ing board this month to determine whether the advis ers violated the Texas A&M University Student Rules. ■ See Editorial, Page 5 Hearings for six other Drill Team advisers also ac cused of hazing and assault were held in May by the same hearing officers. The results of the hearings will not be made public until the last hearing is held, at an undetermined date. Jason Hanson, a senior marketing major, will go be fore the hearing board June 6. The hearing for Grayson Hoffman, a senior busi ness administration major and junior adviser at the time of the accusations, and Zachary Hoffman, a ju nior general studies major and a sophomore adviser, will be held June 16. The two otlier junior advisers accused of hazing and as sault are Javier Chapa, a senior agricultural development major, and Dustin Boyd, a senior political science major. The four other sophomore advisers accused are Luis Torres, a junior computer engineering major; Christo pher Monk, a junior industrial distribution major; Kyle Jud, a junior general studies major; and Michael Poskey, a junior electrical engineering major. If the board decides University rules have been vio lated, the student in question could face expulsion or suspension from the University, a warning or other penalties as decided by the University. Mary Jo Powell, University Relations associate di rector, said June 20 is the target date for making the re sults of the hearings public. Please see Hearings on Page 6 Graphic: Brad Graeber Conduct hearings used to determine rules violations By Erica Roy The Battalion A student conduct hearing is held to determine whether one of the Texas A&M University Student Rules has been violated, and if so, what penalty will be given. The hearing provides accused students an opportunity to ad dress the charges against them. After the hearing, the hearing officers decide if a rule has been violated. The penalties for violat ing a rule include possible expul sion from the University, suspen sion, warnings, University service or on-campus housing removal. The University hearings are in dependent of any charges brought up in the federal or state court systems. Kim Novak, one of the hearing officers for the nine Fish Drill Team advisers’ hearings and a student ’ development specialist in the De partment of Student Life, said the student conduct hearings serve to inform hearing officers of all the facts involved with the charges. “This is an educational process," Novak said, “not a crim inal process.” Student Judicial Services reviews reports from the University Police Department, the Department of Residence Life and Housing and in dividuals. After the reports have been reviewed, Judicial Services de cides if there is enough evidence to have a disciplinary hearing. At the hearings, students can present and question witnesses. Students also may choose to re main silent. Students may have an attorney present at the hearing, and they may request an open hearing. The Battalion makes technological advances By Michelle Newman The Battalion The Battalion and radio station KAMU have joined efforts to create a new radio news program for the Bryan- College Station area. The five-minute news segment will air Monday through Friday at 8:04 a.m. on KAMU 90.9 FM begin ning today. It will include news con cerning the Bryan-College Station community and the Texas A&M Uni versity. Jacqueline R. Salinas, a senior jour nalism major and Battalion radio pro ducer, said the radio news segment will serve two purposes. “First, it will give citizens and com munity members a chance to keep up with local news,” Salinas said. “Second, students get a chance to become in volved in radio broadcasting.” The program is a joint project be tween The Battalion and KAMU. The Battalion staff will produce the segment. Stew Milne, editor-in-chief of The Battalion and visualization sciences graduate student, is looking forward to The Battalion’s use of technologi cal advancements. “Eventually we would like to get into video broadcasting, extend the radio time and include more in the scope of the radio news, like entertainment and interviews,” he said. The Wire, a news service provided by The Associated Press, is available now on The Battalion’s Web page. Texas A&M is the first university in the United States to offer this service to students and the community. The Wire, which has only 100 current members, can be accessed only through a mem ber newspaper. Robert Wegener, general manager of student publications, said The Wire provides an important service for the community. “More important than being the first college to have The Wire,” he said, “The Battalion is doing this for the Texas A&M community.” The Wire will include internation al and national news as well as multi- media, such as sound, photos, graph ics and video clips. Paid advertising, which is available to local businesses, appears on-screen while The Wire is being used by a Battalion patron. Photograph: Tim Moog Jacqueline R. Salinas, Battalion radio producer, records a radio news segment for today’s debut program. Expansion project will add 10,000 seats, new football practice fields Photograph: Rony Angkriwan The Board of Regents recently approved rebuilding of the north endzone of Kyle Field as part of the expansion project. Renovations will begin at the end of football season this year. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion The expansion of Kyle Field, includ ing rebuilding the north end zone of the stadium, relocating utilities under the field and constructing new football practice fields, was recently approved by the Board of Regents. The $30 million project will be fund ed by the 12th Man Foundation and the Texas A&M athletic department. Com pletion of the rennovations is slated for May 1999. The Board of Regents met in Corpus Christi in late May and approved preliminary designs of the renovations. The expansion of the north end zone will add about 10,000 seats, bringing the total to around 80,000, to accomodate football games in the Big 12 Conference. Wally Groff, Texas A&M athletic di rector, said the renovations will give spectators better seating in the north end zone. “We’re planning for the future by adding better seating to accomodate for the Big 12 crowds,” Groff said. He said a club level, a suite level and a new upper deck at the north end will be added. This new seating, he said, will encourage sales of seats in that area since they are the most difficult to sell. The athletic department said they expect to sell out more games with the better seating and sky boxes. The University of Texas recently renovated its Royal-Memorial Stadi um by adding more seats to accomo date the larger Big 12 crowds. UT Ath letic director DeLoss Dodds said the $14 million face lift added a double deck in the west stands. The renovations of Kyle Field, in cluding the practice fields, will begin shortly after the Texas game at the end of the season of this year. Work on the utilities will begin this month. Two escalators will be installed for the new seating area along with a food service area and extra bath room facilities. The north plaza will also undergo construction, including moving the graves of Reveilles I-IV and the Eternal Flame that lies near them. Bill Kibler, associate vice president for student affairs, said a task force chaired by Dr. J. Malon Southerland is in charge of relocating the graves to Cain Park across from Kyle Field. “The graves will temporarily be relo cated until the construction on Kyle Field is complete,” Kibler said. “They are being careful about how it is being done. The graves will be returned after everything is complete.” Wesley E. Peel, vice chancellor for fa cilities planning, said the two new grass practice fields will be located on the site of the deteriorated tennis courts. The full length fields will feature an obser vation tower and camera platform. The Health and Kinesiology Department will utilize the Varsity Tennis Courts that Peel said are of higher quality, well-lit and have spectator seating. Please see Kyle on Page 6. Malcolm X widow critically burned; relative arrested YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) — An early morning fire left the wid ow of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X clinging to life Sun day with third-degree bums over 80 percent of her body, and a young relative was arrested. Betty Shabazz, 63, was hospitalized in “extremely critical” con dition, said Dr. Bruce Greenstein of Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx. “It does not look good for her,” said police Detective Sgt. William Rinaldi. New York Police Commissioner Howard Safir said “there was an acclerant” used in the fire in a back hallway of Shabazz’s apartment. Safir said the apartment door had been forced open. The boy was in custody, charged with juvenile delinquen cy, police Detective Edward Oakley said. He would not iden tify the suspect. Shabazz was conscious and talking when firefighters arrived at about 1:40 a.m., said fire Battalion Chief Anthony Troia.Shabazz told firefighters her young grandson was in the three-bedroom apartment. Police could not immediately find him, but later said a male relative was located. Oakley declined to say whether the youth arrested was the same male relative. Rinaldi said Shabazz’s apartment was not destroyed by the fire, “just the areas surrounding her.” Two of Shabazz’s daughters, Qubilah and Illayasah, were joined at the hospital Sunday by Nation of Islam minister Kevin Mohammad, who said Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was “deeply concerned.” For 30 years, there was a rift between Shabazz and Far rakhan, whom Shabazz said she believed had played a role in her husband’s death. MalcolmXwas assassinated Feb. 21,1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Just a week before, the couple’s New York City home was destroyed by a firebomb. Farrakhan and Shabazz publicly reconciled in 1995, shortly after Qubilah Shabazz resolved federal charges that she had plotted to kill Farrakhan, apparently in revenge for her father’s death. In Chicago, Nation of Islam spokesman James Muham mad said, “At this point, our prayers are with Dr. Shabazz, and we pray that Allah will bring her through this incident so that she may continue to fight in the cause of the liber ation of her people.”