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.