PASTRIES Caldwell offers its 4th Annual estival. FE, PAGE 3 1998 FOOTBALL PREVIEW • A&M team readies for third season in Big 12 Conference. INSIDE CHECK OUT THE BATTALION ON-LINE http://battalion.tamu.edu FRIDAY September 11, 1998 attalion 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY ■■TTgrTrnn ges dropped Tist Pradhan 4 County District Attorney fr said he will seek new in ’s against Texas A&M com- *3nce professor Dhiraj Prad- p was dismissed of four icharges Wednesday, n District Court Judge Car- ino dismissed the two offi- iconduct charges and two rges against Pradhan after *ney Travis Bryan III com- *he charges were vague. 'ir said he would reword the ^nt and present the case to B and jury Sept. 22. 4W0 theft charges accuse (iof using state funds to pay Viately $3,000 for a private Jand the two indictments 1m with abuse of official ca- ian was reinstated in Au- Br having been suspended as A&M for a year. An A&M cused Pradhan of misap- ng $100,000 in relation to Dhvate businesses. Tan will make his case suspension before a com- of six A&M professors 3. ember grads t apply today y is the last day to apply for )er graduation. Gardner, associate registrar, re will be a $20 late fee for who do not come in and ap- he deadline. ner said signing up for grad- ver the phone is not enough; must come into Heaton Hall 3ut the application, n Price, assistant registrar, 2 University has been ac- applications for December ion since August. Price said K>er graduation will be held if Arena. There will be three Vhes: the first one will be i^2 p.m. Dec. 18, the second V>.m. Dec. 18, and the last at ^Jec. 19. y/merisaid the three cere- are broken up according to tafriber of graduates. Large are put with smaller col- ^ try and balance the num- ach ceremony. Yell Practice ^ed for tonight light yell practice will take £/might on Kyle Field. ▼ light yell, a tradition dating n 1912, is held the night be- Y ome game as a spirit boost Cb rally. yell leader Brandon Neff rhjnight yell is a reminder to n:s that, as Aggies, they are ^ part of something bigger ^emselves. mlnightyell is one of the great lit A&M that makes you feel nj are a part of something (P>us,†Neff said. “It reminds J t A&M is different than any ^school in the country. It K you proud to be an Aggie.†^void construction hassles, ts are advised to arrive ear- Sto enter the stadium using ^ ithwest entrance next to the uilding. tat for Humanity alternate site ise of rain, the community ion service sponsored by for Humanity scheduled for at 7 p.m. at the Haswell vilion, will be held instead at >t United Methodist Church, 28th Street, in Bryan. Blocker Building gets a facelift • Although initial work was completed at semester break, construction planned to continue through November. BY JOE SCHUMACHER The Battalion The Blocker Building is currently un dergoing renovations to repair a faulty sky light. The repairs to the skyline are to be completed by the end of Novem ber. The repairs have resulted in barri cades being put up in certain areas. David Godsbey, assistant director of physical engineering and design process, said the initial work would have been disruptive, so it was com pleted during the break between sum mer and fall classes. Students do not seem to find the re pairs an inconvenience. Lindsay Morris, a sophomore gener al studies major, has all her classes in Blocker. She said the construction has not been a major obstacle. “I have not found the repairs a dis ruption. It is not very hard to get around, and there are signs to help find rooms,†Morris said. Not everyone has found the con struction a minor inconvenience. Food service workers at Papanicholas, a cof fee and snack shop in Blocker located behind the barricades, said the con struction has disrupted business and causes traffic in their area. Crystal Creel, a food service worker and junior English major, said business is picking up since the semester started, but is still dead compared to what it was last year. Creel said students did not know that Papanicholas was open. Janet Holt, the supervisor of Papani cholas, said the construction has caused the Papanicholas area to become more congested. “People do not want to wait in line, and the lines create a chaotic mess,†Holt said. “However, we are really ap preciative of our customers’ patience and business through all this.†Elsewhere in Blocker, the computer lab considers the construction a minor inconvenience. Stephen McGinnis, Blocker comput ing lab facilitator, said the construction presents only the occasional disturbance. McGinnis said the moving of heavy equipment and the beeping of forklifts backing up are the extent of the distur bances to the computer lab. The project to repair the sky light is a $375,000 project that has been con tracted to Merek Brothers. JAKE SCHRICKLING/T111 Baitauon Portions of the first floor of the Blocker building have been barri caded in order to protect students from the recent construction. Nickel aims to live up to campaign promises BY MEREDITH HIGHT The Battalion As students kick off the new school year, Laurie Nickel, student body president for 1998-1999, is working on issues first addressed in her campaign platform last spring, as well as those that have arisen over the summer. The theme of her campaign, and current platform, is “Laurie Nickel... Serving, Listening, Leading — Uni fying Aggies to Make A Difference.†Although some priorities have been rearranged, many issues are currently undergoing discussion and being worked on in collabora tion with the administration. “The way it works with the ad ministration is there’s a window of opportunity. You have to jump in that window before the opportuni ty is lost,†Nickel said. At the top of Nickel’s agenda this year is the Vision 20/20 plan. The goal of the plan is to make A&M a top 10 public university by the year 2020. Currently ranked 15th according to U.S. News and World Report, A&M is not too far from achieving that goal. “What I’m able to do and learn ing from 20/20 will impact my life forever,†Nickel said. “President Bowen brought the right people to gether. An entire firm went through and studied other univer sities and looked at our university. They said, ‘Let’s get real specific. Our mission is to understand where we are going to be in 2020.’ “We’re trying to be intimately involved. We have a commitment to the process Bowen has set forth. They’re passionate about making this univtasANbolNtBQWoWhiisnisi.'the Student Body President Laurie Nickel wants to help push A&M toward achieveing its Vision 20/20 goals. university we are going to be send ing our children to,†she said. Nickel also has some ideas in mind to improve communication with students and is working inter nally to improve the misunder standings of student government. “We worked all summer on the Web page. We are working with Dr. Southerland on a coffeetalk. It will be two hours, open for any body to come to. We’ll just have coffee and cookies, and students will be able to ask questions and just talk,†she said. The coffeetalks, which will be held three times a semester, will ro tate locations. The first will be Monday, Sept. 28, in the 12th Man. see Nickel on Page 6. Crisis center offers rape counseling AMANDA SMITH The Battalion Rape victims are less likely to report the crime com mitted against them than any other group on campus, according to FBI statistics supported by the Universi ty* Marta Nichols, the volunteer coordinator of the Rape Crisis Center, said society needs information. “We need to educate society more,†Nichols said. “Society has this stigma against rape, and the victim is sometimes blamed.†Texas A&M defines sexual misconduct as “per forming or attempting to perform sexual acts against a person’s will, or in circumstances where a person is physically, mentally or legally unable to give consent.†University Police Department director Bob Wiatt said victims may hesitate to seek involvement from a law enforcement agency. “A lot of people call the Rape Crisis Center because they do not want to get involved with a law enforce ment agency,†Wiatt said. “The center is like a shoul der to cry on.†With the assistance of the Rape Crisis Center, UPD and Student Affairs created a Sexual Assault Protocol to provide information for aiding victims of sexual assault. Nichols said national statistics indicate date or ac quaintance rape accounts for approximately 80 per cent of all cases, but she said the figure is close to 90 percent in College Station. see Counseling on Page 6. Keep it between the lines GREG MCREYNOLDS/The Battalion Todd England and Bob England paint two-way stripes on Welsh Street Thursday afternoon. Financial aid plans for open house BY LESLIE STEBBINS The Battalion The Department of Financial Aid wants to help current Aggies, as well as prospective college stu dents and their parents, learn about the financial process of Texas A&M. Tomorrow students, parents and anyone inter ested can attend the Student Financial Aid Open House. Texas A&M’s Student Financial Aid Department is holding three financial aid and scholarship sessions from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 12, Oct. 10 and Nov. 7. There will be staff members and counselors to as sist students with their questions and provide in formation about scholarships, student employment and other aspects of the financial process. The open houses are scheduled around the home football games to enable parents, students and prospective students to attend. Lisa Kunde, Open House Coordinator, helped plan the open houses. “We planned the open houses on home football game Saturdays so prospective students from out of town could attend,†said Kunde. The Scholarship Resource Center will be open for visitors to find out about scholarship applications and due dates. There are computers set up for students to find out about scholarships and the qualifications needed. “This is a money sense event we are holding,†Kunde said. “We want everyone to come and check out all the options available to them.†The open houses will be held on the second floor of the Pavilion, and students can register for a schol arship drawing to be held Nov. 7. Kyle Field construction limits seating at games BY BETH MILLER The Battalion Before the yells can begin at this Saturday’s football game between Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech, the fans must first make their way into the stadium. Athletic officials have advised students to arrive somewhat earli er than they would ordinarily be cause of the construction under way on Kyle Field. Jim Kotch, athletic ticket manag er, said the construction of “The Zone,†Kyle Field’s current renova tion project, has seen the removal of the stadium’s horseshoe-shaped sec tion, which held more than 12,000 general admission seats. Temporary bleachers are being installed that will seat more than 2,000 people, and ad ditional chairs will be added later to accommodate the larger crowds of this season’s conference games. The construction has also changed the student entrance routes. Kotch said there are four en trances into the stadium, and the ap propriate ramp to take is indicated on each ticket. He said some fans may have to walk a longer distance than what they are used to in order to get to their designated entrances. see Kyle on Page 6.