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.”