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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1997)
October 30l :: oA:S ■ Texas A & M University mmmmm m r TOMORROW ITH YEAR • ISSUE 45 • 6 PAGES COLLEGE STATION • TX TODAY See extended forecast. Page 6. FRIDAY • OCTOBER 31 • 1997 &M students to raise centerpole today mfire continues on time; centerpole and perimeter poles awarded to Corps outfits and residence halls By Karie Fehler Staff writer Hexas Aggie Bonfire will move into its next phase to- /hen centerpole is raised at 4:03 p.m. on the Texas Polo Fields. lophomores were at Bonfire site earlier this week for fehead Wrap.” Students representing Corps of Cadets fits and residence halls lined up for a chance to wrap terpole with cable for stability, phn Gallemore, Head Stack and a senior agricultural ness major, said the process to build Bonfire is on time. k> far, everything’s been running on schedule,” he [. ‘‘Even if it rains on Friday — with no thunder or lightning — we’ll be out there for centerpole.” Each year, centerpole is awarded to the Corps com pany that has worked the hardest at cut, load and un- “I encourage all students...to come out on Friday to see campus gather around centerpole.” CURTIS BICKERS CENTERPOLE POT AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT MAJOR load. Perimeter poles are awarded to two Corps out fits and six residence halls. Gallemore said this year’s centerpole was earned by Company K-2. The perimeter poles were earned by Hart, Aston, Walton, Crocker, Schumacher and Moore Hall. A perimeter pole was awarded to Dunn Hall, but it was taken away because Dunn is not allowed to work in the 1997 Bonfire as an entity. Dunn is not allowed to par ticipate because former Bonfire leaders from the resi dence hall hired a stripper to dance at cut last Sunday. Curtis Bickers, a centerpole pot and a senior man agement major, said the raising of centerpole is a bonding experience for students and marks the be ginning of stack activities. “I encourage all students, freshmen especially, whose only knowledge of Bonfire is hearsay, to come out on Fri day to see the campus gather around centerpole and witness the tradition for yourself,” Bickers said. Scott Caron, a senior political science major and a former K-2 cadet, said centerpole begins the visible part of Bonfire activities. “Everyone has just spent the last two months cut ting down trees, and this lets you see where all of those dead trees are going to go,” he said. “It’s like the whole tradition becomes real when centerpole is [raised] — you can just feel the spirit of Aggieland.” Caron, who has seen centerpole raised for the past four years, said the spectators can get rowdy. “It’s crazy when centerpole goes in that hole,” he said. “People go nuts; it’s like yell practice times 50.” s Comics ar( udents offer pre-cut Sunday church services By Rachel Dawley Staff writer major, | A Sunday morning service pro- efit fromliaidr s Aggies with the opportunity a groupofsD attend church before going to peer diving site. workshop!® l ew chiefs from Dunn Hall start- tyeducatif dlhe tradition of Bonfire church ide varier |r\ i( es this year because Bonfire asset," Bloffpikers often missed regular ser- mainlytotef|f iversityanifi reate an iiEif' list’s a small world ;es r the Stui ation or, said :ome xas be when ■ needed, II interm ;roup of others, idingvvi V- vices due to cut on Sundays. Brad Weber, a Dunn crew chief and a sophomore poultry science major, said the idea came from a similar early morning service he at tended designed for hunters. “I have a hard time making it to church because I’m always busy, especially now with Bonfire,” We ber said. “This is a way for people like me, who want to go to church can go. ’ He said the service also en courages participation from stu dents who have not traditionally been a part of Bonfire. “It helps Bonfire out,” Weber said. “Some students weren’t com ing out to cut because of church. We’re trying to show that Bonfire is for everyone, and we want to help people feel welcome.” Each service features a speaker who gives a short talk. The devotion ends in prayer. Travis Bendele, a member of the executive council for the Baptist Student Ministry and a senior bio engineering major, coordinates the speakers and provides equipment for the service. Please see Services on Page 6. PTTS to alter bus routes for opening 50 RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion Alen Kowan, a senior business analysis major, tests the map (which has lightbulbs representing cities around the world) at the new George Bush Presidential Library. The library is scheduled to open Thursday afternoon, Nov. 6. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter Staff writer Due to anticipation of heavy traf fic during the dedication and open ing of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum next week, Texas A&M Department of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) will alter shuttle bus opera tions Nov. 3-7. A&M’s off-campus shuttle buses will run normal routes all week, with the addition of two temporary bus routes that will travel to and from the Sears parking lot at Post Oak Mall and two stops on campus. The mall shuttles will stop on cam pus at Old Main and Houston Street (near the YMCA Building) and at the West Campus Library on Olsen Road. The Mall shuttles will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., leaving every 10 minutes. A bus pass is not required to ride the mall shuttles. Tom Williams, director of PTTS, said the mall shuttles were necessary because Parking Area 95 on Wellborn Road will be closed. He said PA 95 will be occupied by charter buses loading and unloading visitors to the Bush Library. Williams also said the lot will be used for visitors who will arrive by train. The train will stop near the lot. Williams said he hopes the mall shuttles will be helpful, and if they are, Bus Operations may continue to use them. “We want to continue the shuttles at the mall if we have enough students v^eo: Complex who will ride it,” he said. “We’ve tried it before in the past, but not enough students used it.” On-campus shuttles will run nor mal routes Nov. 3-4, but starting Nov. 5 the West Campus shuttles will not have stops at the Academic Building-West at the George Bush Complex. All Research Park shuttles will not run Nov. 6-7, the dedication on the 6th and the opening on the 7th. Roads through Research Park will be a main access for visitors to the Bush Library. Regular on- and off-campus bus routes will resume Nov. 10. Students who need to use the night bus service to campus can ride the “OF Sarge” night bus that stops in front of the Butler Building and travels to the mall. The service will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Please see Routes on Page 6. ocal woman promotes Iggie spirit through unique umpkin carvings. P See Page 2 sports The Texas A&M Soccer Team concludes the regular season against TCU. Model traditions A&M customs serve as examples for other universities ohnston: World Wide Web ilagued by ego-centered , student homepages. f you ■ r- See Page 5 your to treat!' s necesr' &M st7®p://battalion.ta]Kiu.edu Center enience look up with state and na- ional news through The Vire, AP’s 24-hour online 340 696-jews service. By Jenara Kocks Staff writer Many Texas A&M students describe the spirit of Aggieland as unexplainable with the saying, “From the outside looking in you can’t understand it; from the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.” However, some A&M traditions have become a model for other universities. Some Texas schools have started orien tation camps similar to Fish Camp, an off- campus camp that began in 1954 to teach freshman students about A&M traditions. Jay Young, assistant director of Student Development Services at Texas Christian University and Class of ’80, said TCU used Fish Camp as a model when creating Frog Camp in 1994. “Fish Camp is well-known as the oldest and most successful of these types of camps,” he said. “Just about anyone who wants to start a camp looks at Fish Camp.” Susan Kessler, associate executive direc tor of the Ex-Students’ Association of the University of Texas, said the association looked at Fish Camp and other schools with similar camps when University of Texas or ganized Camptexas five years ago. “We wanted our students to benefit from the same kind of success (with camps) that other schools have had,” Kessler said. She said although the association used Fish Camp as a model, Camptexas is dif ferent from Fish Camp because UT has dif ferent traditions and culture. Young said the students, faculty and staff examined TCU traditions, culture, history, resources and strengths when de signing Frog Camp. He said TCU’s camp focuses more on team-building activities than on history and traditions like Fish Camp does. Jill Newman, chair of Traditions Coun cil and a senior journalism major, said A&M traditions make students feel like a part of something larger than themselves. “Deep down they want that feeling everyone wants and that’s why everyone looks at A&M,” Newman said. Both Young and Kessler said their camps are becoming popular at their schools and a part of their traditions. Young said 60 percent ofTCU’s freshman class attended Frog Camp this summer. Kessler said the number of new stu dents attending Camptexas has doubled every year since it began in 1992. “It’s certainly caught on here and we think it will grow fast,” she said. Newman said A&M’s history of tradi tions set it apart from the rest. “They can start something in 1997, but it won’t have the same sentimental value to those students as the traditions do for students at Texas A&M,” she said. She said the sense of pride for A&M starts at Fish Camp. Center chronicles history of University, Corps of Cadets By Rachel Dawley Staff writer The history of Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets is depicted through displays and exhibits at the Sam Houston Sanders Corps Center. Built in 1992 with private funds, the center provides a presentation of Corps life, including displays on Final Review, the Ross Volunteer Company, the Aggie Band and Parson’s Mount ed Cavalry. The museum also presents the his tory of traditions, such as Muster, the 12th Man, Silver Taps and Reveille. The center displays the second most-exten sive collection of Aggie Rings, behind the As sociation of Former Students. Joe Fenton, curator of the center and Class of ’58, said the idea for the center came from the need for a place to educate people about the Corps and the A&M traditions. “This is a door to the Corps,” Fenton said. “We didn’t have any place that we could call head quarters. We want to preserve the past, promote the present and protect the future. We want to show what it is that makes A&M so different.” One of the many traditions the building has become famous for is the Corps Center Guard. The guard allows sophomore, junior and senior cadets to become involved with the center. Please see Center on Page 6. . ■ ■ S'WW.W? }• ki* ■ IS I*J, i ut ipw rf ACC!!! AND BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center houses exhibits such as an Aggie ring collection and a gun collection.