WEATHER
Today
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Aggielife ... see Page 3
Opinion ... see Page 5
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Tomorrow
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YEAR • ISSUE 165 " 8 PAGES
TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE STATION - TEXAS
Tomorrow
Opinion:
With Governor Bush’s
recent decision, the death
penalty has become a
political tool
not a crime deterrent.
TUESDAY • JULY 7 • 1998
adet roundup
'orps uses summer to talk with parents, recruit incoming students
By Sarah Goldston
Staff Writer
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" ®' s sumrner the Corps of Cadets is
'bs o, to let incoming students know
le b out the opportunities the organiza-
atr«has for leadership and teamwork.
1 . fPdets Mike Rountree, a junior con-
tnsivt notion science major, and Jeff Garri-
theicM |uim>r pin l« >st >ph\ major, are part
v - a recruiting team giving presenta-
ettll ,ns at new student conferences and
riest ound the state.
pajor Glenn C. Burnside, assistant
edirr cruiting coordinator, said the cadets
■ I >eak at Boys State and the Honors In-
kood tational Program. They also address
lucators, parents and prospective stu-
■s. Burnside said the cadets work
■hours with no pay.
jladets put in an enormous amount
Ime and effort," Burnside said.
Mey provide parents and students
I a lot of insight about the Corps."
lyHe said the Corps relies on the en-
uisiusm and efficiency of the hard-
orking staff and student workers,
^■arrison said he and other cadets
jiswer questions parents have about
(Afferent activities and aspects of the
He said many parents are con-
jrned about hazing.
■There is no hazing in the Corps,"
.ountree said. "This is A&M; we don't
LOthat trash."
imp
Garrison said they also talk to
prospective students about experiences
current cadets have had in the Corps.
"One of the most important aspects
of the Corps is the focus on grades,"
Garrison said. "I wouldn't have the
GPA that I have without the influence
of the Corps. Grades are why we are
here at the University."
There is no
hazing in the Corps.
This is A&M; we don’t
do that trash.”
— Mike Rountree
Corps recruiter and junior
construction science major
Both cadets said the Corps provides
an opportunity for students to make
many friends.
Garrison also said the Corps offers a
number of extracurricular activities.
The cadets do a number of recruit
ing activities during the summer. They
participate in the "Welcome to Ag-
gieland" presentation which is present
ed to all new students.
Those who plan to participate in the
Corps are divided into their specific ROTC
groups. They are sized for uniforms and
complete administrative paperwork.
"Usually on the second day of the
conferences during the lunch break,
students have the opportunity to go by
the resource tables set up in Duncan
Dining Center," Burnside said.
A week before school starts fresh
men participate in Freshman Orienta
tion Week.
"During this week, freshmen who in
tend to be in Corps go through a week of
intense training, learning all the aspects
of the Corps," Burnside said.
Freshmen learn how to wear their
uniforms, straighten their rooms and
meet other people in the Corps.
"The most valuable experience a
freshman takes away from FOW is
working as a team member towards
common goals," Burnside said.
"Freshmen will be able to utilize newly
gained skills to enhance their success in
the student's freshman year."
Burnside said FOW is tine springboard
to a student's entire freshman experience.
He said freshmen make many
friends during this week.
"These students learn respect for
each other," he said, "and they rely on
each other.
Photo By Mike Puentes / The Battalion
New fish Brian Friedli learns about various medals from Corps of Cadets members (left to right)
Frank Almaraz (C-l), a junior industrial distribution major, Lindy Lindemann (B-l), a sophomore
forestry major, Bobby Robbins (B-l), a sophomore chemistry major and Mike Sharmer (G-l),
a junior biomedical science major.
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MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
J.R LeCompte, a junior management major, swims to the hoop as Andy Vincent (right), a junior management major,
and Chad Lee, a senior history major, go for the block. The three were playing a relaxing game of pool basketball
after finals Monday at the Student Recreation Center.
News Briefs
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from staff and
Web site offers
legal opinions
Texas Attorney General Dan Morales
announced that his office's Web site now
has archives of legal opinions.
Over 9,500 rulings dating back 45
years will be available at
http://www.oag.state.tx.us.
More than 1 80,000 pages of legal
documents are available in Adobe Ac
robat format.
In the next few months, Morales ex
pects to have all opinions and decisions
dating back to 1939.
Cotton drought
losses at $1.8 B
Unrelenting hot, dry weather across
the state continues to take its toll on
Texas crops, slashing an estimated $500
million from cotton farmers and $1.8 bil
lion from the economy, according to a
Texas Agricultural Extension Service
economist.
The estimated losses, which will climb
even higher if sufficient rain doesn't fall,
have surpassed the 1996 levels when
agriculture last felt the impact of severe
drought, Carl Anderson, Extension cot
ton marketing economist, said.
Cotton farmers that year took a $359
million loss that translated into a $1.2 bil
lion cut to the state's overall economy.
Expected cotton losses this year have
more than tripled in the two weeks
mmmmmM
wire reports
since the Extension Service released its
first drought impact for 1 998, estimat
ing the loss to cotton farmers then to
be $157 million.
According to the Texas Water Devel
opment Board, practically the entire
state is experiencing a severe to ex
treme drought, with crop moisture
deficits of at least 4 inches, and condi
tions are expected to continue at least
through August.
CVEN department
head named
John M. Niedzwecki is the new de
partment head of the civil engineering
department.
Niedzwecki, who holds the Wofford
Cain Professorship in Offshore Technol
ogy, had served as interim department
head since August 1997 when distin
guished professor Dr. Ignacio Ro-
driguez-lturbe returned to full-time
teaching and research.
At Texas A&M since 1 978, Niedzwec
ki specializes in offshore platforms and
coastal structures.
He has worked extensively with the
Offshore Technology Research Center
and leads their fluid/structure interac
tion research area.
He was awarded his Ph.D. degree
from the Catholic University of America
in 1977.
Niedzwecki received his master's de
gree and two bachelor of science de
grees from Boston University.
lorida fire victims allowed to return home
JBUNNELL, Fla. (AP) — With fire-
liters gaining ground, Flagler
Lnty's more than 40,000 residents
| the go-ahead to return home yes-
pay, and authorities said all but a
■idful of the county's houses had es-
■ed damage.
IFire crews had contained the
Izes that forced the evacuation of
I entire county on Friday, though
| threat of flare-ups remained.
jOffidals had previously feared
tot four fires in the county would
kge and bum all the way to the At-
'tic Ocean.
"We are pleased the tide has
tied to some extent, at least tem-
farily" Lt. Coy. Buddy MacKay
|d in Tallahassee.
About 97 percent of the houses in
l gler County escaped the fires, Sher-
Robert McCarthy said. About 40 to
homes were damaged or de-
yed, but officials were still check-
? to get a firmer count.
Some 49,000 acres of the county
had been charred.
Among the unlucky ones were
Beatrice and Gerald Snyder, who have
been married for 47 years. Their home
in Bunnell was destroyed.
"As wonderful as FEMA (the Fed
eral Emergency Management
Agency) has been, that isn't going to
bring back 47 years of stuff," she said.
In Washington today, the White
House announced that President Qin-
ton would visit Volusia County, an
other hard-hit county, on Thursday to
survey damage.
Temperatures today were fore
cast to rise to near 100 degrees, the
high on Sunday afternoon. Isolated
severe thunderstorms were forecast
this afternoon and evening, with 1
to 2 inches of rain possible, emer
gency officials have said it will take
more than 10 inches of rain to ex
tinguish the flames.
There is a 50 percent chance of
more rain the rest of this week but a
storm building in the Caribbean is not
likely to reach the area.
Although officials said the fires
that have ravaged northeastern Flori
da for more than a month ebbed in in
tensity Sunday, there were scattered
flare-ups.
Plumes of smoke lined the sky for
miles, and flames dotted many
stretches of woods.
The fires have covered more than
474,464 acres since Memorial Day.
State officials estimate that more than
2,000 fires have damaged or destroyed
301 homes and other structures and
injured more than 100 people, many
of them firefighters.
Only one death has been reported,
an elderly man who suffered a heart
attack Friday while being moved from
a nursing home.
"We think it's miraculous
there hasn't been more deaths,"
MacKay said.
The cost of fighting the fires has
topped $116 million and losses are
estimated at $276 million.
The federal government has
contributed $66 million.
The damage has been concentrat
ed in three counties along the Atlantic
coast, from St. Augustine south to near
the Kennedy Space Center. More than
100,000 people fled their homes, but
all evacuation orders have been lifted.
The Florida Highway Patrol said
several roads closed because of the
fires would be reopened for returning
Flagler County residents.
However, a 100-mile section of In
terstate 95 from near Jacksonville to
Cocoa Beach remained close.
Within an hour after the Flagler
County evacuation order was lift
ed, traffic on Route 1 appeared nor
mal again. At the Bunnell Thrift
way, the city's only supermarket,
manager Tom Hubbard prepared
for an inundation.
"People will be needing the staples
of life," he said. "They'll go home and
look in their refrigerator and see the
milk is out of date."
ALA.
GA.
Jacksonville
Florida
FIRES: Nearly 2,000 since May 25.
DAMAGE: More than 458,200 acres
and nearly 200 homes burned.
FLAGLER
Ormond Beach
Daytona Beach
VOLUSIA
Titusville
BREVARD
INJURIES: 100. One death
evacuations : Mandatory evacuation
order lifted Monday for Flagler County's
more than 40,000 residents. Mandatory
evacuation orders also lifted in Brevard
County and most of Volusia County.
COST: $276 million in damages and $110
to fight the fires.
June rainfallD
percent of normal drought amount
Severe, less than 20 percent
Moderate, 20-60 percent
□ Slight, 60-80 percent
Miami
Source: Florida Division of Forestry, Accu-Weather, State and federal officials
AP