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Front page:
Kay Bailey Hutchison visits
Bryan-College Station area.
104™ YEAR • ISSUE 175 ’ 6 PAGES
TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
THURSDAY • JULY 23 • 1998
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luccess of A&M’s ring has prompted other
niversities to borrow from the tradition
Rod Machen
City Editor
ggies know their ring is spe
cial. Now, other Texas schools
.are showing they recognize its
|alue, too.
Both the University of Texas and Bay-
l>r University have instituted a single-
^le class ring, similar to the Aggie Ring.
Jim Boon, executive director of the
(x-Students Association, said UT ad-
linistrators such as former President
lobert Berdahl saw what a unified class
Eng means to A&M.
'What precipitated the ring was a
ampaign to enhance the sense of pride
»n campus," he said.
Carolyn Swanzy, director of the Ag-
;ie Ring Program, said the two rings are
Jery similar.
"I can't believe they put a shield on
It," Swanzy said. In addition to the
[rest set in the top of the ring, she also
bointed out the oval-type top, a star
bn each side of the top and the
grooved edges as similarities.
Prior to December 1996, UT stu
dents had many options for their ring,
much like a high school ring. This De-
:ember, previous ring licenses will run
but, making the new ring the only
pvailable option.
Boon said he was surprised by the
[support alumni have shown toward the
new ring.
"A number of alumni have pur-
piased the ring," Boon said.
Boon said he thought unified class
Hngs were becoming popular, espe-
Jrially in state schools such as Universi
ty of Michigan.
"This seems to be a trend that is
[QD
Photos Courtesy of Texas A&M Association ok Former Students and University ok Texas Ex-Students’Association
taking place around the country,"
Boon said.
Three years ago, Baylor introduced
a single class ring. Alan Bowden, di
rector for special programs for the Bay
lor Alumni Association, said he has
been impressed with how the rings
have been received.
"Its been pretty good," Bowden said.
"I think we've spjd around 2,500,"
Bowden also cited A&M as an exam
ple of what a unified class ring can do.
"We saw how A&M's ring was
successful," Bowden said. "The pur
pose of the ring is to promote school
spirit and keep some of the school's
traditions alive."
Rice University, like A&M, has had a
single class ring for decades.
Philippa Angelides, department co
ordinator of student activities at Rice,
said Rice's ring is unique: if a student
does not graduate from the university
wi thin three years of receiving his or her
ring, the student must return the ring.
Not returning the ring means the
university will put a lock on a stu
dent's transcripts.
In response to these new rings,
Swanzy sees it as a good thing.
"As the saying goes, 'Imitation is the
highest form of flattery'," she said.
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Photo Courtesy of NASA
lan Shepard died in his sleep from complications caused by leukemia in Mon-
?rey, Calif., at age 74. Shepard's first space flight was in 1961.
Monterey, Calif., (AP, —Alan Shepard,
who died in his sleep Tuesday night at age
74 while being treated for leukemia at a
Monterey, Calif., hospital, was "one of the
great heroes of modern America," Presi
dent Clinton said Wednesday.
His flight in 1961, America's first
manned shot into space, inspired a gener
ation of engineers, scientists and astro
nauts — and persuaded President
Kennedy to pledge the nation to a race for
the moon.
"None of us who were alive then will
ever forget him sitting so calmly in Free
dom Seven atop a slender and sometimes
unreliable Mercury Redstone rocket," said
the president.
One of the original — now almost
mythic — seven Mercury astronauts,
Shepard twice flew into space: the May 5,
1961, flight of Freedom 7 that opened the
age of American manned space flight and
the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 to the
moon's surface.
see Shepard on Page Z.
Former A&M cadet
receives confirmation
for 4-star ranking
Rod Machen
City Editor
Texas A&M can soon call a former stu
dent one of the highest-ranking members
of the military.
Lt. Gen. Patrick K. Gamble, Class of
1967, will take over as commander-in-chief
of Pacific Air Forces, at Hickam Air Force
Base in Hawaii, attaining the rank of gen
eral when he does.
According to Maj. Gen. M.T. "Ted" Hop-
good, Commandant of the Corps of Cadets,
A&M has produced over 200 generals, but
Gamble is only the fifth to attain the rank of
general. This is currently the highest rank
of any active military officer.
Gamble began his military career after
A&M as a 2nd Lt. in Vietnam, where he flew
394 missions as a forward air controller.
He progressed through the ranks and
was nominated by President Bill Clinton on
June 3 for the rank of general. His appoint
ment was confirmed by the Senate on June
25, and he will receive his fourth star on
June 31, in Hawaii.
His early start as a decorated veteran
from Vietnam helped Gamble attain this
high rank, Hopgood said.
"In his case, he started off very good,"
Hopgood said.
In addition to a degree in mathematics
from A&M, Gamble received an Master of
Business Administration from Auburn as
well as graduated from the Air War College.
Gamble has served as commandant of
cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy and
most recently as the deputy chief of staff for
air and space operations at Air Force head
quarters in the Pentagon.
Both leadership and administrative ex
cellence are important in order to become a
general, Hopgood said.
"He has shown his ability to administer
Lt. Gen. Patrick K. Gamble
as well as lead," Hopgood said.
Gamble reviewed one of the Corps
march-ins before a football game last fall.
Hopgood recounted something Gamble
said.
"I was pleased to hear him say that he
got a great start in the Corps of Cadets,"
Hopgood said.
A press release quotes Gamble as saying,
"There's simply no question in my mind, as
I look back through the years, that my edu
cation and Corps of Cadets experience at
Texas A&M had a most profound impact on
my life's work in the inilitary,".
Even with Gamble's ability, Hopgood
said he is more impressed with him as a
person.
"He's a down-to-earth guy and a gen
uine quality person," Hopgood said.
Materials returned after 67 years
By James Francis
Editor in Chief
Checking in overdue books is an ordinary oc
currence for librarians at the Technical Reference
Center (TRC) in the College of Architecture.
But when Paula Bender, coordinator of
learning resources for the TRC, received three
magazines that had been checked out 67
years ago, it came as quite a shock.
"We're always surprised when we get
something like this in the mail," Bender said.
Richard Colley, who attended Texas A&M
in 1931, checked out the magazines over three
decades ago.
Colley went on to become an architect at Col
ley Associates in Corpus Christi until he passed
away in 1984. In 1995, another office was opened
in Austin as a successor to Colley Associates.
When the new office came into contact with
the magazines, Bess Althaus Graham, an asso
ciate at the firm, returned them to the TRC.
"1 think we got them about around the ninth
of July, and I wrote the thank-you letter on the
13th," Bender said. "The letter that accompa
nied them was written on July 5."
An excerpt from the letter, which came from
the office of Madison R. Graham, Architect, read:
Photo By Jake Schrickling/ The Battalion
Paula Bender, the Technical Reference Center
librarian, and staff members (front) Adam Gal
lagher, (back, left to right) Eric Von Lehmden,
Rowena Philbeck and Stephanie Folse display
the magazines that were 67 years overdue.
"Please find three issues of American Archi
tect enclosed. Richard S. Colley seems to have
'borrowed' these issues when he was a student
in 1931. He never completed his degree, but he
did become a highly successful architect in Cor
pus Christi, until his death in 1984."
SEE MfIGfIZINES ON PflGE 2.
News Briefs
from staff and
lexas Constitution 2000
tentatively adopted
The Texas Constitution 2000 has been
entatively adopted by the Texas Constitu-
ional Convention following action by dele-
)ates meeting on July 11.
A transition plan was also approved at the
2th session, which was held at the Texas
Tech University Center near Junction.
More than 50 "fine-tuning" motions
^ere acted upon during the Saturday
orning session, and the transition com
mittee's plan was debated vigorously
hrough the afternoon.
"We are pleased with the productivity of
is 12th session," chairperson Don Henson of
El Paso said. "We believe Texans will embrace
new constitution with enthusiasm."
The cornerstone of the Texas Constitution
2000 is the Declaration of Rights (Article 1),
which defines individual rights in clear, un
equivocal ordinary English.
"We have from the beginning worked to-
wire reports
ward a concise document which leaves no
doubt about our intentions," Henson said.
Delegates to the convention have insist
ed that no parts of the constitution could be
in conflict with the Declaration of Rights.
"We have drafted a constitution which
binds the power of government, and places
most political power at the county level,"
Henson said.
Delegates plan to meet at least once
more for a formal adoption ceremony,
with a ratification committee now working
toward a "Constitution 2000 Jubilee" in
Austin within the next few months. The
ratification process (Article 9) calls for the
appointment of 1 2 Texans to lead the rat
ification effort.
Ratification follows the model of the U.S.
Constitution (Article VII) by establishing
county ratification conventions.
The Texas Constitutional Convention was
convened on July 4,1997 at the historic Old
Irion County Courthouse in Sherwood, and
delegates have been meeting monthly and
semi-monthly since then.
m ^ C'' ^ rk
Wm-*‘ *
/
i
iit§
Ross
McCaskill, a
junior
architecture
major,
practices for
the slalom ski
for the Texas
A&M
Waterski
Team
Wednesday.
McCaskill
and the rest
of the team is
getting ready
to make
another
attempt at
going to the
nationals.
-1
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion