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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1998)
Texas A & M University TODAY TOMORROW MM WM Op YEAR • ISSUE 84 • 12 PAGES COLLEGE STATION • TX THURSDAY • FEBRUARY 5 • 1998 Raffle fines in construction areas doubled hfot, r d ele cir ' 3 M , c w e S r'oouiv- l f °rait it ; found. I^r of t puldfc Kroim' H 000 t • • ar : ML REQUIRED riCKETS & TOWING ENFORCED By Jennifer Wilson Staff writer Motorists traveling through Col lege Station may want to be more cau tious when driving on Texas Avenue. A new state law mandates that drivers violating traffic laws in construction zones will have their fines doubled. Ron Pigott, assistant general counsel of the Department of Pub lic Safety in Austin, said the law, ef fective since January 1998, is de signed to make construction zones safer for traffic and con struction workers. Pigott said the law applies to all public roads, not just major roads or highways. The fines are only doubled if the construction workers are pre sent when the violation occurs. “In marked construction areas the standard maximum $200 fine will be increased to $400 if a viola tion occurs,” Pigott said. Lieutenant Robert Meyer of the University Police Department (UPD) said because the law is new the department has received a handbook stating the law, but the law will not be ignored. “If a person is stopped in a traf fic violation we will mark on the ticket if it occurred in a construc tion zone,” Meyer said. “It is up to the judge and the court to handle it from there.” Julie Kuder, court administra tor for College Station Municipal Court, said the law is not only to protect the workers’ safety, but drivers’ safety as well. Kuder said when a case reaches the court the fine will always be doubled. “Violations can include a court cost and a fine, but only the fine is doubled, not the entire cost of the ticket,” Kuder said. Pigott said the Department of Public Safety has placed signs in major construction zones on heavy traffic highways and roads warning drivers of the doubled fine. Shelley Smith, a junior business major, said she thinks the new law will not only benefit the safety of construction workers but the safe ty of drivers also. “I think it will help people to slow down and be more cautious drivers,” she said. “Sometimes it is hard to see the construction workers if you are driving on the highway, and the new signs help drivers be aware that they are about to drive into construction.” Pigott said that all Texas courts will be fully prosecuting violators of the new law. ,as tS8ii •Inthi fonlv Sa4- j const I Saudi- (thin f liss Greek A&M pageant d raise money for charity diAt By Amanda Smith iraCyf Staff writer of the* 9 lb he second annual Miss Greek Js. 1 will kick off tonight at 8 in HUt derlAuditorium. The pageant, hen tiTsosed by Delta Sigma Phi fra- unet ityjvill include 15 contestants sajdjjt 15 Texas A&M sororities and ( ] SU! feature music performed by [qhiev Music Factory. uni 2 fri Geva, Miss Greek A&M di- na t, or and a senior computer sci- jfljj.e major, said the pageant raises m . ley for two charities, Phoebe’s v su [,(' r ie and the March of Dimes. j|j Ian We are estimating that dona- Sij ..s will run into the five-digit obers,” Geva said. “We hope , (| i T aise about $10,000. We have ,jj n working on the pageant :e the early fall. It is a really event.” I hHnon Enson, a Miss Greek Vi contestant and a sopho- re psychology major, said she II ;lad to represent Alpha Chi jjega sorority and to help raise * ern ney Tor charity. I have already gotten so ch out of becoming involved nfi Miss Greek A&M,” Enson (\\i. “Phoebe’s Home is our irity ’s philanthropy. I think ♦ : the pageant is a good cause 1 j/] it is going to be fun.” said that Delta Sigma contacted all Texas A&M ow ' irities, some of which then route selected contestant representa tives for the pageant. Geva said contestant selection ANNUAL was partly based on the contes tants’ academic achievements and their contribution to sororities. Student judges will include Student Body President Curtis Childers, Corps Commander Danny Feather, Pan-Hellenic President Michael Stewart, MSG President Nellson Burns and In terfraternity Council President Scott Lovejoy. The winner of the pageant will receive $800 and the runner-up will receive $400. Geva said the pageant has grown since its start last year. “My goal of setting the pageant is to come back in 20 years with my family and to see my fraternity brothers running the Miss Greek A&M,” Geva said. A post-pageant party, featur ing Tone Loc and C+C Music Fac tory, will start at 10 p.m. at the Texas Hall of Fame. Advance tickets are available for $10 at Marooned Records and at the Rother’s Bookstore on Harvey Road. Tickets are $15 at the door, which will open at 8 p.m. “The post-pageant party is not a Greek event,” Geva said. “Stu dents should buy tickets in ad vance and enjoy the pageant and then the party afterwards. (The pageant and party) combine mu sic, comedy and entertainment.” Advance tickets are available for $6 at the Greek Boutique and the MSG Hallway and will be sold for $8 at the door. [who erilit 5 ! ome sweet home leed Arena prepares to open to Aggie fans with April Muster id. 1 jpY Kelly Hackworth iiro 5 ' 1 '! \i Staff writer |ieiest% Gertb The April 21 opening of Reed rena will give the the Texas tafM Muster Ceremony a new [id iDnie, and will lead to more ere )mi outer parking on campus. kltwG The opening of Reed Arena, | The riginally scheduled for Fall arilif 197, was delayed by an incident i which a crane fell on the struc- 1 ire, causing it to collapse and kiilGjuring three workers, e acif Sti iart Taylor, Special Event Facil- iiiit esl manager, said the accident I ( in slped detennine Reed’s first event. "GT' “Since that happened, we said f luster would be our first event,” Is j iylpr said. Lse,' 1 . ATer Muster, Reed will host the lien) 1 adt ation ceremonies in May. sefTTfeylorsaid the arena’s 12,500 ca- |rea! acity should eliminate the limited :kei system that was required for Inna aduation ceremonies in G. Rollie faite Coliseum. Each student was air Tailed to 10 tickets at graduation the -remonies in the coliseum, jsiit Steven Hodge, head of Reed crema activities, said that there |eep f illfbe a ticket system for the lay graduation ceremonies, but ie's fid he does not anticipate hav- Ja' tg a limit-after this semester. Ird^iBvVe’re afraid people will want Lib see the new building and that | u rs ill [take away from the families drt ter for graduation,” he said. [pi O her activities planned at Reed jllcli rena this semester include A&M jnallinkolidated and Bryan High [ary -hool graduation ceremonies, [oveil Hodge said planning is under- | e nt ay for family shows, such as a cir- hyiiHduring the summer, and con- IdeiKw are expected to begin in the fall. Jl'Otv rences, banquets and shows are being planned >r the summer. BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion Texas A&M’s Reed Arena will open April 21 for the Muster Ceremony. The building will also house graduation ceremonies as well as both men’s and women’s A&M basketball teams. The 244,000 square-foot facility is eight stories high and has four levels. It includes four 1,200 square- foot meeting rooms, a 6,000 square-foot meeting room, a 7,000 square-foot team practice area with a permanent wood floor and numerous dressing, locker, film, press and multipurpose rooms. The 24,000 square-foot perma nent concrete floor will allow Reed Arena to host dirt events, including rodeos. The 98-foot ceiling is de signed to support 100,000 pounds of concert equipment. Reed Arena is surrounded by four commuter parking lots with 1,500 spaces. The east end will also have 100 staff spaces. The new parking lot will leave Olsen Field parking open for spring events, including baseball, soft- ball and track and field. Tom Williams, director of Parking, Traffic and Transporta tion Services, said the new lot will be open April 1. “My hope is those students riding the bus will stay with the bus because it is a better option,” he said. “It’s always better to have 50 students in busses than 50 cars on the street.” Williams said more tags may be issued “if necessary,” and bus stops may be adjusted to accom modate the demand. The parking at Reed will be paid-parking during events and will be closed to A&M com muters during events. “That shouldn’t have an impact on students because at night not many students will be using that area to park,” Williams said. The funding for the $36 million facility comes from two sources — $34 million is from the revenue fi nancing system of the University Authorized Fee, and $1.5 million is from parking facility reserves. The arena was named for Dr. Chester J. Reed, a Houston vet erinarian and class of ’47. Dr. Reed contributed $10 million to an A&M endowment program. Paint by number Wm ■r • v 'i \ l’ itk, 1 NICK RODNICKI/Special to he Battalion Jhonny Langer, a paint specialist with Local Color Studios in Houston, works on reproducing the original 1932 stenciling work in the reading room of the Cushing Library. Prosecutors reject offer for Lewinsky's testimony INSIDE aggielife ^ WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecu tors investigating an alleged presi dential affair and cover-up rejected a written offer from Monica Lewin sky to testify in exchange for im munity, individu als familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday. Lewinsky’s lawyers submitted the offer Monday night before the former White House intern left CiTirtorT town for California, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s office decided Wednesday to reject the offer, which came after two weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations designed to secure Lewinsky’s cooperation. Starr’s office “is not interested in the offer at this time,” as it acceler ates its grand jury investigation, one source said. Attorney William Ginsburg, who represents Lewinsky, saidWednesday he could not discuss his dealings with Starr’s office. “It would be irresponsible to talk about the negotiations,” he said. Ginsburg would say only he was continuing to work on developing a criminal defense for his client, who has been informed by prosecutors she is a target likely to be indicted. Starr’s spokeswoman, Deborah Gershman, did not immediately re turn a call seeking comment. The rejected offer does not nec essarily mean that talks between the sides won’t continue, but it sig nals that prosecutors are content to press ahead with their grand jury investigation in the absence of Lewinsky’s cooperation. Previously, Ms. Lewinsky had of fered to testify that she had sex with Clinton, backing away from her af fidavit in the Paula Jones lawsuit stating that she did not have an af fair, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Clinton has publicly denied hav ing sexual relations with Lewinsky, who began as a White House intern in 1995, then moved to a paid White House job before being transferred to the Pentagon in 1996. The White House saidWednes day that Clinton has “cleared the air” about the Lewinsky matter, but former senior adviser George Stephanopoulos said nagging questions remain. Co-enrollment offers students good, bad of both Texas A&M and Blinn. See Page 3 sports The future of Aggie football takes a big step forward with Signing Day commitments. See Page 7 opinion Voss: America’s focus on health, working out puts too much weight on image. 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