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.
See Page 11
online
http://battalion.tamu.edu
Hook up with state and
national news through The
Wire, AP’s 24-hour online
news service.