Texas A & M University
4 th YEAR • ISSUE 40 • 8 PAGES
TODAY
TOMORROW
COLLEGE STATION • TX
FRIDAY • OCTOBER 24 • 1997
dtstwyed
rj; Sorority recognized
local fund raiser
Si! he sorority with a plaque.
nat’swhai ftntj-drug parade
MosegiiE!’
( ; scheduled in Bryan
'[yipUprv > ^
®The Brazos Valley Council on Al-
thatH :0 ^ 01 anc * Substance Abuse and
lavervi he Prevention Resource Center Re-
resui^erTion 7 is sponsoring a parade and
ally in celebration of Red Ribbon
m on ;: Yeek at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 25 at the
said. Palace Theatre in Bryan.
beablettP Red Ribbon Week promotes a
irug-free community.
ng [apMBbe parade will feature Parson’s
irplayfcvloi.nted Calvary, College Station
thebei i/layor Lynn Mcllhaney, Sparkey the
j expect .-"ire Dog, PC. the Robot, the Bryan
i.Theyk >olice Department and D.A.R.E. car.
pthe rally will feature motivational
wexcite.;p ea k ers , information booths,
nimitme;raises, f 00C i anc | entertainment.
Court settles
dispute
-/Um AUSTIN (AP) — School rules limit-
r Sl’ ag hair length for boys — but not
ss cev >' r * s — don’t violate state law, the
exes Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
13.X f
|The requirement that males wear
ejuveifheir hair no longer than a certain
Then en gth may be out ste,:) with the so "
:iaPnorms of the moment, but it does
Massa^ot deprive male students of an
g ur0 |)(.Kiual opportunity to receive an edu-
i , :ation or to participate in school func-
ions,” Justice Priscilla Owen said.
^ Facie '.She wrote the the court’s 7-1
^rnc/ipipion, which was signed by five
° /J fcidkes.
xeningGr The decision reversed a ruling
discoum )y the 3rd Court of Appeals, which
ii Maria .Dad said the Bastrop Independent
""School District violated the law
vhen it suspended Zachariah
foungate from Mina Elementary
school in 1990.
CORRECTION
^ yOi Yesterday's Page 1 Student
rOD# enate stor Y should have
Jsaid the Student Senate
mdisagreed with a Faculty
Senate subcommittee rec-
»mmendation to change
the co-enrollment policy
of the University.
Jews for Jesus:
Organization
deviates from
traditional
Jewish beliefs.
See Page 3
Texas A&M Soccer Team
5d cam retums home for a pair of
tlic
big weekend games.
See Page 5
actories
) at 015
opinion
ar cop!
Ferguson: Americans have
ith yoiii r teht to separate soldiers
rumibeifrom United Nations’ battles,
contad
See Page 7
mttp://bat~web.tamu.edu
)rs Hook up with state and
national news through The
l/Vire, AP’s 24-hour online
✓news service.
Stack kicks off with Centerpole arrival
he Texas A&M chapter of Kap-
>a Kappa Gamma sorority was rec-
ignized by the Mental Health and
dental Retardation of the Brazos
telley yesterday for the sorority’s
iervice and fund raising for the
dHMR during the past five years.
pMHMR dedicated and named the
avilion at the MHMR Mary Lake
Complex in Bryan after the sorority.
•ijRGappa Kappa Gamma members
‘ aiSed money at their annual golf
ournament to help fund improve-
ents of the complex and rebuild-
gthe pavilion.
The Bryan-College Station Cham-
jef of Commerce also presented
By Karie Fehler
Staff writer
Centerpole will arrive at the Polo
fields today at 4:03 p.m., beginning
a week of Bonfire stack preparation.
The pole, which was donated by
Bobby Ferguson of Ferguson Cre-
osoting in Lufkin, Texas, is made of
two 50-foot long poles, which are
spliced together.
Dave Saiter, a senior centerpole
pot and a construction science ma
jor, said a group of centerpole pots
and brownpots traveled to Lufkin
Thursday to pick up the poles.
“We took an 18-wheeler to
Lufkin and brought the poles back
to the Polo fields,” he said. “We
rolled them off the truck, and every
body starts to have a good time.”
iy Sorrel, a senior redpot and a
finance major, said when center-
pole arrived last year, a hush fell
over the Polo fields.
“As soon as everyone sees us
coming, there’s a sound of awe —
then there’s just silence,” he said.
“When the pole actually hits the
field, though, everyone starts scuf
fling and fighting for a spot along
the perimeter.”
John Gallemore, Flead Stack and
a senior agricultural business ma
jor, said centerpole pots ensure
there is a stable connection be
tween the two poles.
“Centerpole is made of two poles
roughly the size of telephone poles,”
he said. “There is a lot of work that
goes into making sure they fit to
gether and are stable — nobody
wants Bonfire to fall before it’s time.”
The process of preparing center-
pole begins with freshmen mop
ping the pole with water. The water
fills the pores in the wood and
makes the poles more resistant to
warping or cracking.
Gallemore said the centerpole
pots then splice the poles together,
using chain saws to create an inter
locking cut. The spaces in the con
nection are filled with one gallon of
wood glue for tradition and caulk for
support. Four steel plates are bolted
to the connection to ensure stability.
“We try to make sure all of the
holes are filled with caulk and glue
and that the structure is really stur
dy,” he said. “After that is done, the
sophomores gather for Pisshead
Wrap — that’s where they wrap the
pole with 700 feet of steel cable.”
Fish Wrap, held after Pisshead
Wrap, involves wrapping old rope
around the structure before it is
raised. Fish Wrap is performed by
freshmen in the Corps of Cadets
outfit that wins centerpole.
Curtis Bickers, a senior center-
pole pot and a senior manage
ment major, said each year a
Corps outfit is awarded centerpole
for their hard work.
“We look at who’s been working
the hardest out at cut, load and un
load, and they are awarded center-
pole,” he said. “It’s really an honor
for the outfit, and their flag flies at
the top of the stack until it burns.”
Bickers said the winner will be
announced Tuesday or Wednesday
morning.
Please see Centerpole on Page 2.
DEREK DEMERE/The Battalion
Students work to raise one of the
perimeter poles for Bonfire at the Polo
fields Wednesday.
man
RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion
Kyle Ross,a freshman journalism major, DJs for KANM radio station at the Koldus Building Thursday afternoon.
Renovation
to libraries
nears finish
Facilities officials credit good
weather for early completion
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
Student Senate backs proposals
‘Take-out’service, Aggie Ring resolution and Blinn co-enrollment supported unanimously
By Bran dye Brown
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Student Senate unan
imously supported the University Food
Services “take-out lunch” service, the
Graduate Student Council’s proposal for
Aggie Rings for doctoral students and the
current Blinn co-enrollment policy
Wednesday night.
The University Food Services will offer
“take-out” lunches beginning in Spring
1998. The Senate also supported this pro
gram last year, when Food Services man
agers went to the University of Texas to
study a similar program.
The Aggie Rings for Ph.D Candidates
Resolution, in conjunction with the Grad
uate Student Council, asked the Ring com-
for doctoral students.
The resolution asks doctoral students be
allowed to apply for their senior ring upon
reaching Ph.D candidacy.
Craig Rotter, student services chair and
an agricultural education graduate stu
dent, said doctoral students are on campus
for four to five years.
“Ph.D students are on the campus long
enough to take an interest in the Universi
ty, but the focus has been on the under
graduate level,” he said.
“Many want to get involved, but they are
not included.”
mission of the Association of Former Stu
dents to re-examine the Aggie Ring policy
Please see Senate on Page 2.
Construction of the Cushing Library, the Un
dergraduate Library and the parking garage next
to Evans Library is scheduled for completion in
June 1998.
Texas A&M Facilities and Planning officials said
the early completion date is due to good weather.
Charlene Clark, development and promotion
coordinator for Evans Library, said the original
completion date was late summer of ’98, with
move-in scheduled for September 1998.
The Facilities Construction Division of Facili
ties and Planning said the parking garage and the
Undergraduate Library are in the final stages of
completion.
Work on the Cushing Memorial Library also is
reaching completion.
Clark said Joe Cortes, project manager of Cushing
Library, reported Cushing to be 45-percent complete.
“They poured the third floor Tuesday,” she said.
“Everything is on schedule.”
Cushing will house special collections, rare
books, manuscripts and archives.
A walkway connects the Evans Library and the
Undergraduate Library on the fourth floor.
Clark said the glass walkway is not usable yet.
“The bridge is almost complete,” she said. “It
needs interior finishing and those final touches
like lighting and carpeting.”
The six-story Undergraduate Library will house
the library system and 60 group study rooms.
Tom Williams, director of the Department of
Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services, said
the garage will have some contract parking, but
most of the parking will be for visitors to the library.
“This is the first time library users will have
parking,” he said. “It is a great asset for students as
well as visitors.”
The garage will have eight levels with 600 park
ing spaces.
Next year in October, Evans Library will begin to
remodel its first and second floors. The work on
these floors should be finished in June 2000.
Pictures of the construction progress can be seen
on the A&M homepage at http://www.tamu.edu/li-
brary/announce.html. 5!
Construction updates, project information and
library announcements also are on the site.
PROFILE:
J. Malon
Southerland
By Karie Fehler
Staff writer
Erie
S Vroonland
Southerland
Dr. J. Malon Southerland, the
vice president for Student Affairs, is
known on the Texas A&M campus as
a link between students and faculty.
Southerland said he emphasizes an open-door pol
icy because students are his priority.
“One of the key functions of my job at Texas A&M is
to attempt to have the time to have vision and per
spective on the future so that I can begin to move towards the service production or
activity production that students are going to need as time goes on,” he said.
Southerland also strives to be accessible to students and A&M organizations.
“I never say no to an invitation,” he said. “The only reason I won’t attend a func
tion is because I have already said ‘yes’ to someone else.”
Curtis Childers, student body president and a senior agricultural development ma
jor, said Southerland is committed to his job and is quick to respond to students’ needs.
By Rachel George
Staff writer
Interfraternity Council Presi
dent Eric Vroonland, a senior fi
nance major, says he is a typical
Aggie. He eats at Freebirds at
least five times a week. He does not spend as much
time in the library as he should, and his favorite tra
dition is Silver Taps.
Vroonland, a first-generation Aggie from Richard-
Vroonland
Please see Southerland on Page 2.
son, Texas, said he chose Texas A&M because it had a home-like feeling.
“I really liked the fact that it [College Station] was a college town,” he said. “The
small-town atmosphere gives A&M a down-to-earth feel.”
Vroonland said fraternity Rush was an opportunity for him to meet people and be
come involved in the A&M community.
“Rushing gave me the opportunity to meet many people,” he said. “It was an ex
cellent way for me to explore my leadership capabilities.”
Please see Vroonland on Page 2.