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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1997)
T e x a s A & M University ipLJ >h !■/-'».r-UJliJj. .»■ arf\ ,N! f Mm m ' * J )4 TH YEAR • ISSUE 58 • 12 PAGES ■fei V T ■HW| -JljiP TODAY ; ;_ TOMORROW COLLEGE STATION • TX WEDNESDAY • NOVEMEBER19 • 1997 earch under way for missing A&M professor By Robert Smith Senior staff writer [search continued Tuesday for a missing kA&M geology professor who left Bryan pveningof Nov. 13 in his private airplane ded for Van Morn, Texas, officials said. This Cessna 180, Norman R. Tilford of |ege Station departed Coulter Field at Ip.m. Nov. 13 to meet a group of A&M dents on a field trip, said Major Caryl BHBss of Civic Air Patrol (CAP). Weiss said CAP found no new clues after sending seven aircraft from Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana in search ofTilford today. “We sent out aircraft from different states just in case the plane flew out anoth er direction,” Weiss said. Weiss said CAP began searching for Tilford Saturday night after the Air force Rescue Co ordination Center reported Tilford missing. CAP, a volunteer organization, dis patched an aircraft Saturday night to search for an Emergency Locator Signal from the plane but did not find one. Weiss said CAP can find a plane giving an ELT within three to four hours. Airport manager Gary Gandy said stu dents called the airport Friday morning and said Tilford had not arrived in Van Horn. Gandy said the students called again in the afternoon and evening. “I became concerned because it was not like him to not report in,” Gandy said. Gandy said Tilford did not file a flight plan with the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA does not require private flights to file a flight plan, but the administration search es for all flights filed that have not reported landing two hours past their destination time. CAP flew 48 “sorties,” or search flights, with 55 people and 12 aircraft Monday and 22 sorties with 17 aircraft and 54 people Sunday. Each sortie is sent to a specific area of about 15 square miles. Bryan Aviation sent two independent aircraft Saturday. The plane was equipped with a new emergency transmitter, but the batteries in the device last only 48 hours, Gandy said. The emergency transmitter will give an ELT if the plane has a hard land but will not respond if the plane is severely damaged or the engine is destroyed, Weiss said. Gandy said Tilford was prepared for a camping trip and had food, water and a sleeping bag with him. “Every possibility exists that he can deal with the situation out on the field,” he said. lERE : ] 'resentation addresses campus onstruction, future projects By Amanda Smith . Staff writer iBryan-College Station officials ex- pined construction projects to Texas ItM students during a parking and [nsportation presentation last night in [Rudder. [MSC Student Conference on National pairs (SCONA) sponsored the presen- jion about parking issues on the Texas fiM campus and transportation in the yan-College Station area. [Martha Middleton, the vice chair of jiblic relations for SCONA and a Iphomore elementary education ma lt, said the presentation was to edu- Itestudents about transportation is les at A&M and the Bryan-College |ation community. hope that students can become {ware of what’s going on,” Middleton d. “When [students] have a problem !h parking and buses, we want stu- lents to be informed. We wanted the pre- ptation to tie in with local issues.” Representatives from the Texas De partment of Transportation (TxDOT) and Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PITS) at Texas A&M addressed issues dealing with transportation, park ing and construction. After the presentation, students asked questions about transportation issues. Gary Jackson, the PTTS shuttle bus manager, said Texas A&M has one of the biggest fleets of buses in the nation. “We do have an aging bus fleet,” he said. “We are as much as twice as many miles into many of the buses’ life expectancies.” Jackson said the average life expectan cy of a bus is between 150,000 and 200,000 miles. He said PTTS is looking at plans to purchase more buses. “We have to develop a plan that will generate capital,” he said. “We have looked at a lease plan, increasing the transporta tion fee and a possible bond issue. In the end, you may see a combination of two to three factors.” Katheryn Mathis, the PTTS associate director of administration, said the Reed founcil aims to protect Aggie traditions By Karie Fehler Staff writer [The Traditions Maintenance Council was started this se tter to remind Texas A&M students of Bonfire’s goal and to unite Bonfire workers to pre serve traditions. The council, an unofficial stu dent organization, has one rep resentative from each yellowpot and co-chair residence hall. These representatives were vot ed on by former Bonfire yellow- pots, crew chiefs and co-chairs. The representatives voted on an executive council and the council appointed a group facil itator, who sets the meeting agendas and facilitates group discussion. J.W. Washington, the council’s group facilitator and a senior agricultural development major, said the group talked about mo bilizing last spring, but decided to come together when the issue fprofanity on workers’ pots surfaced this year. 1 “We got a lot of people together to tiy and help solve the pro- nity problem and we discovered that profanity actually existed It is so important for 1 Ags to see how the ition is continuing. Ve want to get iback from current onfire workers and se with stories to ^reserve Bonfire’s nosphere.” J.W. WASHINGTON GROUP FACILITATOR, TMC elppi lifestyles “Arsenic and Old Lace” mixes murder and humor in Stage Center production. See Page 3 Women's Basketball earn falls to tenth-ranked anderbilt in season opener. See Page 7 allaway: Corps of Cadets iter valuable lessons in i ork ethic, discipline. See Page 11 online |ttp://battaiion. tamu.edu °ok up with state and Clonal news through The f ir e, AP’s 24-hour online Nvs service. Fraternities, sororities display Greek pride through Letter Day By Wendy Dulaney Staff writer Members of fraternities and sororities are wearing their letters today in support of the Greek System at Texas A&M. Carrie Beyer, a graduate assistant at the Department of Student Activities and an ed ucational administration graduate student, said letter day promotes unity within the Greek community. The three councils that govern the Greek system — Panhellenic, Pan-Hellenic and In terfraternity Council — want members to identify with the large group as well as with the individual fraternities or sororities. Eric Vroonland, president of Interfraterni- ty Council and a senior finance major, said Greeks want to show their presence on the A&M campus. “Letter day will help Texas A&M students recognize what an integral part of campus life the Greek population is and show the spirit of the Greek community,” he said. Vroonland said many students will be sur prised at the number of activities fraternity and sorority members are involved in be sides Greek activities. Beyer said letter day also shows Texas A&M students what a large percentage of the student body belongs to fraternities or soror ities, and more than 4,000 members have the 4A opportunity to show their pride for their fra ternity or sorority. Greeks have been on campus since the 1970s, and were officially recognized by the University in 1990. Jennifer Burns, president of Panhellenic Council and a senior nutritional science ma jor, said fraternities and sororities have dif ferent days to display individual letters. “This is the first time everyone has tried to work to gether,” she said. An All-Greek Forum Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium also will promote Greek unity. Fraternity and sorority members and Texas A&M students, faculty and staff are in vited to the presentation to learn more about the three councils. How does your garden grow? Arena parking area is expected to hold 1,500 spaces designated for off-campus students with blue parking permits. Mathis said that University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen is reviewing a proposal for a 1,500 to 2,000 space parking garage on West Campus. She said that there are no plans to build a parking garage for the George Bush complex. Catherine Hejl, the assistant area engi neer for the Brazos County division of Tx DOT, said she wants students to be in formed of the development of 11 highway construction projects in Bryan-College Station, including Texas Avenue, George Bush Drive and FM 2818. “We have received a lot of negative pub licity on the (Texas Avenue) job,” Hejl said. “They are within two to three weeks on schedule of what they projected in Febru ary 1996. By late spring, the main con struction ought to be done.” Last night’s presentation was a pre lude to SCONA’s annual conference Feb. 19 through 21. V UlSr on only 3 percent of the pots,” he said. “TMC realized that even though this particular issue may have been a bit superficial, it was our catalyst and Bonfire’s traditions needed some protection — we are simply here to preserve, protect and maintain Aggie Bon fire traditions.” Washington described the council as the “middle manage ment” in Bonfire leaders. “We’re the middle management in Bonfire — the upper man agement are the senior [redpots] and top guys, and the lower management consists of the crew chiefs and co-chairs,” he said. “We can help out because through our network of leaders from each dorm, we can get the right story out to workers and encour age them to follow our example — they respect old pots and co chairs and will listen to them on issues like profanity.” Colby Turner, a council member and a senior engineering technology major, said the group wants to work closely with the University on proposed changes to different Bonfire traditions. “We just want to maintain the way we build Bonfire,” he said. “The council wants to work with Bonfire officials and the University to make sure all future changes are truly justified, and maybe to review past changes to make sure those are needed also.” Washington said the council’s plans include contacting former A&M students who were involved with Bonfire to find out their fa vorite Bonfire stories and compiling these stories for future Aggies. “It is so important for OF Ags to see how the tradition is con tinuing,” he said. “We want to get feedback from current Bon fire workers and those with stories to tell to help preserve Bon fire’s atmosphere.” : ■ p isL ROBERT McKAY/The Battalion Sharon Banister checks the condition of a batch of Poinsettas under her care at the Floriculture Greenhouse tuesday afternoon. National Children’s Book Week stresses importance of literature for youth By Rachel Dawley Staff writer The MSC Literary Arts committee is cel ebrating literature through its observance of National Children’s Book Week. The 78th annual celebration, sponsored by the Chil dren’s Book Council in New York City, is from Nov. 17 to 23. “Any Time is Book Time” is the theme for the week, which dates back to 1919. Chil dren’s Book Council President Paula Quint said the week is an opportunity to focus on the importance of books for children. Sarah Lloyd, chair of Literary Arts and a senior English major, said the week helps students and faculty enjoy the books they read as children. “The purpose of the week is to try to get everyone to think about books they read as kids,” Lloyd said. “This allows them to reflect and remember how much fun reading can be.” Several programs are scheduled for the week. Campus leaders, including MSC Di rector Jim Reynolds and MSC President Nel son Burns, will read Shel Silverstein books at Rudder Fountain at 12:15 each day. Bryan-College Station author Kathy Ap- pelt will present a workshop on how to write a children’s book Wednesday at 7 p.m. in 292 MSC. Dr. Donna Norton, an A&M professor of instruction and curriculum in the Texas A&M College of Education, will present “The Challenge of Children’s Books” Thurs day at 7 p.m. in 292 MSC. Norton is the author ofThrough the Eyes of a Child...An Introduction to Children’s Literature, a book used by universities around the world. Thursday’s presentation will focus on different ways books can be shared with children for excitement. It will also use award-winning literature for edu cational purposes. “The focus is to try to get people to read quality books,” Norton said. “During the week, several sources are trying to emphasize fine literature for children. By getting into award-winning books, you study the tech niques authors use and start to appreciate good literature.” Norton said children’s literature can bring history to life through characters and set tings. The books also help students to appre ciate art, she said. Literary Arts raises campus awareness of literature and aims to increase understand ing of books, Lloyd said. The group has 25 members with a variety of majors. Denise Goertz, small programming exec utive for Literary Arts and a senior genetics major, said children’s books have great mean ing. Goertz said she read books such as “Where the Wild Things Are” and Dr. Seuss’ “Hop on Top" as a child. “The programming helps students realize the importance of reading and the impor tance of children’s books,” Goertz said. “We do this week for fun. It is a break to bring you back to your childhood.”