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Qrj] 104™ YEAR • ISSUE 173 • 6 PAGES
TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY ■ COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
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Tomorrow
Opinion:
Contrary to a recent study’s
findings, women are not
smarter than men.
TUESDAY • JULY 21 • 1998
A&M cross country coach leaves,
accepts position at Sam Houston
By Robert Hollier
Staff Writer
Texas A&M cross country coach and
track and field assistant, Greg Hinze re
signed his position to become the track and
field and cross coun-
ue^tiai
[i
tiboutj fc Photo By Jake Schrickling/The Battalion
i ther' ll burn ban in Brazos County continues because of the drought situation. A more
cerup stringent fire ban was established in Late June when 150 acres burned outside of Col
lege Station on Highway 60.
n need of rain
1 to tkj
ham’'
nmonv
fleged
meter:.
ice,
Lightning is the
primary cause of
fires in the Texas
- Panhandle that
exas,: 1
S have burned
hmince May.
pen AS LUBBOCK (AP) — Thunderstorms con-
lemf® nue to more a curse than a blessing to
uirefighters battling wildfires that have al
ready turned 283,856 acres of farms, ranch
es and forest into fields of charred stumps
Ians Jtlnd blackened dirt.
■ Lightning has been the No. 1 cause of the
more than 6,230 fires that have burned
[ince May 1.
But the storms that brought the light-
I
mng have brought firefighters little help-
[ul
rain, said Texas Forest Service
spokesperson Lou Sloat.
|Wa yU| "The problem with the storms is that
JdiltW 3nl y percent of them bring rain,” Sloat
iracM ia ' c *' "They end up being dry storms or pro-
feconi ^Ung heavy concentrations of rain in a
5ma U area.”
The storms, which forecasters predict
will continue in some parts of the state, also
,101 contribute to fires by producing wind gusts
aftero! wd lower humidity levels.
David Roth, a National Weather Service
meteorologist who is investigating how
weather conditions are affecting fires
hroughout Texas, said firefighters in
Nought-stricken West and North Texas
rave been unlucky.
"Any thunderstorms in the dry atmos
phere could easily start fires across that part
of the state,” Roth said.
Brad McBratney, a fire behavior analyst
studying fires near Lufkin, said that Tex
ans need slow, consistent rain — not spot
thunderstorms.
"With high intensity rain, most of the
rain will run off the surface of the ground
instead of soaking in,” McBratney said.
Firefighters extinguished two major fires
this weekend, one at Palo Duro Canyon
near Amarillo and another at Spade Ranch
in Throckmorton County. A tally of acres
destroyed was not available for the Palo
Duro fire, but officials say the Spade Ranch
blaze destroyed almost 700 acres.
Sloat said that faster responses by vol
unteer fire departments has kept this year
from becoming a "total disaster" like 1996.
That year, 25,000 fires burned nearly 1.5
million acres.
The five largest fires this year were the
Camp Wood Hill fire in Edwards County,
which burned 5,000 acres; the Cibolo Creek
wildfire in Presidio County, 63,875 acres;
the Puducah wildfire complex in Cottle
County, 14,485 acres; the Brewster County
wildfire, 29,000 acres; and the Cash John-
son-Palo Duro Run wildfire, 14,000 acres.
All have been extinguished.
Officials estimate that the state has spent
$9,229,000 battling the fires.
Billy Fowler, a volunteer firefighter
who helped put out the Spade Ranch fire,
said especially sweltering weather makes
firefighting even more of a challenge than
usual.
"It's a little hotter, a little dustier, a little
more smoky," Fowler said. "That makes it
tough to get out there and fight."
Sloat said he has heard those complaints
echoed by firefighters around the state.
"Just standing outside you may be in
106-degree weather and you're nowhere
near the fire," Sloat said. "Once you get to
the front of the fire line it could be 120 de
grees. There's really no way to escape the
heat for the firefighters out there."
try coach at Sam
Houston State Uni
versity, A&M athletic
director Wally Groff
announced Monday.
"Greg has been a
solid member of the
Texas A&M athletic
department family
for many years, and
we hate to see him
leave," Groff said.
"At the same time,
we're excited for Greg and we wish him
well as he takes on this new challenge."
Hinze, Class of '90, served as an assis
tant coach at Stephen F. Austin State Uni
versity and Louisiana Tech before return
ing to A&M in 1992 as a track and field
assistant and went on to become A&M's
first full-time cross country coach.
He has been cross country coach for two
Hinze
years and was an assistant to track and field
head coach, Ted Nelson for five years.
"Tm sorry that Greg Hinze will be leav
ing the Texas A&M program, but I know
he'll do a great job at Sam Houston State,"
Nelson said. "We're going to miss his abil
ity to do all the things he did that made
our program better. I'm sure he'll do the
same great job for them that he did for us
all these years."
During his two-year tenure as cross
country coach, Hinze was named the
Southwest Conference cross country
men's Coach of the Year in 1995 after he
guided the men to a second-place finish
behind Southern Methodist University at
the final SWC Championships.
In the tournament, the men were led by
senior Matt Priest, who became the first Ag
gie since 1966 to claim the individual cham
pionship at the conference meet. The
women were led by Shannon Etchberger
who qualified for the NCAA Cross Coun
try Championships with Priest, marking
the first time in school history A&M had a
male and female participant.
"Being a graduate of Texas A&M, this
was an especially difficult decision for me,
but also one I thought I needed to make
professionally," Hinze said. "Tm excited
about the challenge of overseeing the
track and field and cross country pro
grams at Sam Houston State. I look for
ward to continuing the tradition of ex
cellence established by by John Lumley
(the longtime SHSU track and field
coach) and hopefully building on it, too.
"I have tremendous respect for the job
Lumley has done in building the Bearkat
program and look forward to the oppor
tunity to continue building on that foun
dation. The opportunity to become a
head track and field coach is exciting and
it's great to have the opportunity at an
outstanding university like Sam Hous
ton. I can't wait to get started."
Hinze will begin his duties at Sam
Houston August 3 and is looking for
ward to running the whole show.
"I chose to take the job because they
offered it to me," Hinze said. "The best
part about the new position is that I get
to run the whole program and not just
one aspect of track and field.
see Hinze on Page 2.
Quiet please for the feature
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
Angela Kennedy threads a movie reel for one of the big summer blockbusters at a local movie theater.
Kennedy is visiting relatives for the summer from New Jersey.
Many options available to students buying textbooks
By Sarah Goldston
Staff Writer
Despite growing bookstore options,
high costs, lack of books in stock and low
buyback rates remain problems students
ace when buying textbooks.
Debbie Kelley, manager of Rother's
Bookstore on George Bush Drive, said
the spending habits of students vary
when it comes to buying books.
The average freshman engineering
student can end up spending anywhere
from $350 to $425 dollars on books be-
Ca use they may be taking chemistry, bi-
^ °gy or other engineering courses," Kel-
e y said. "The amount that students
s Pend on books really depends on their
’ttajor and the number of classes they
ma y be taking."
Koenig said bookstores understand
students get frustrated when the books
e y need are not in stock.
Professors are required to fill out a
ra quisition form to order books for the
c a ss, Kelley said. "The requisition in-
^udes the identification number of the
°a au thior, title, edition, publisher
g e stimated enrollment for the class.
0rr ietimes professors will decide to
°Pen up another section of the class, but
time, we have already ordered
e hooks, and that's why there are may
CT P nou 8^ hooks for students."
Lnristy Koenig, textbook coordinator
° r the Texas A&M Bookstore, said the
arn Pus bookstore gets more business
uJI 'K.
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News Briefs
Photo By Jake Schricki.ing/The Battalion
Ronald Riske, a junior computer science major, retrieves a book for a
student at a local bookstore.
than the other stores in town.
"We get more business because we
are on campus, and with the new stu
dent conferences being on campus, the
majority of those new students come to
our store," Koenig said.
Koenig said the MSC normally does
not order 100 percent of the books for en
rollment of the class.
"We expect other stores to order," she
said, "but it may occur that no one orders
so we would put in a rush order to get
books for students."
Some students feel they do not get
back enough money when they sell back
their books.
see Bookstores on Page 2.
Arts Committee hosts
historic homes trip
The Memorial Student Center Visual Arts
Committee is hosting a trip to tour the his
toric homes and art galleries of Galveston on
Saturday, July 25.
Lalaine Little, advisor to the VAC, said field
trips offer a break from class and work.
"This trip will offer an opportunity to stu
dents to leave town for awhile and enjoy
some art," she said.
During the trip, the group will visit the 103-
year-old Moody Mansion and Museum and
the Ashton Villa. The group will also tour art gal
leries along the Strand in Galveston.
Space is limited to 24 people, and there
are only two people on the list now.
"We need at least 12 people to go on the
trip," she said. "If students want to come,
they need to sign up at the MSC Forsyth Cen
ter Galleries between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
by Thursday, July 23. If not enough students
sign up, I have to cancel the trip."
There is a fee of $10 for students and $20
for non-students to cover transportation and
museum admission costs, she said.
Participants are required to meet at 8 a.m.
Saturday by the main desk of the MSC Hotel.
The VAC has sponsored trips to Houston,
San Antonio, Austin and the Dallas-Fort
Worth area.
The VAC is planning to visit a corporate art
collection in Houston at the end of July.
from staff and wire reports
For more information about the trips con
tact Lalaine Little at 845-9251.
Founding medical
dean dies at age 79
Texas A&M University's first dean of med
icine, Dr. James A. Knight, died at the age of
79 in New Orleans Friday.
In 1974, Knight was appointed the found
ing dean of the College of Medicine.
He remained dean until 1977 when he ac
cepted a position at the Louisiana State Uni
versity Medical Center in New Orleans.
Previous to his stint at Texas A&M, Knight
was associated with Tulane Medical School.
Knight retired from LSU in 1991 and re
turned to the University in a part-time ca
pacity until June of 1997.
Knight is survived by his wife, the former
Sally Ann Templeman, and a son, Steven
Allen Knight.
His funeral will be held at Lakelawn Fu
neral Home in Metairie, La.
Today last day to
withdraw from A&M
Today is the last day for students to officially
withdraw from courses for the 10-week semes
ter. Today is also the deadline for students to
drop 10-week courses without penalty (Q-drop).