Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1998)
N THE STACKS Campus Library ~~~^rings learning resources ^business, agriculture ||Knfs. GGIELIFE, PAGE 4 HORNS HAND IT TO AGGIES • Sykora ties school match record for digs in losing ef fort. SPORTS, PAGE 7 CHECK OUT THE BATTALION ONLINE http://battalion, tamu.edu THURSDAY October 1, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 25 • 10 Pages 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Committee debates student rights in College Station s at the iMunson Avenue, formerly used as a north- i>uth passage through a section of College Station, runs parallel to Texas Avenue ^rough College Hills neighborhood. Currently, it has speed humps, stop signs and large barricades restricting tlru traffic. • The barricades were erected June 15 in response to complaints made by residents of the College Hills neighborhood. }*(! j • The barricades, along with speed humps land periodic stop signs, are the last ele- ,iie rt Iments in a series of attempts to restrict traf- 1 8 era rr CI -fic on Munson Avenue. .sen. To'BT • Before these measures were taken, a par- inorny. t' al barricade was erected at the intersec- mists, ition of Lincoln Drive and Munson Avenue, ly’s de:j ral fid It 5.5 pd epreser] mndfo i as reu ^ towai; atfon. J) aid flood victims BY BETH MILLER The Battalion The Munson Avenue Traffic Committee will meet tonight at 7 at the College Station City Hall to continue discussion about the barriers on Munson Avenue and possible alternatives to blocking the entrance at Do- minik Drive. The barriers, erected June 15 in response to complaints made by College Hills residents of ex cessive traffic and disorderly be havior, have been a topic of de bate in College Station. A committee was formed to present a resolution to the situ ation to the College Station City Council, and the first meeting was held July 30. One committee member said more than 100 residents volun teered for positions on the com mittee. Twenty-eight people were selected to serve on the committee, each representing a street in the area. Sharron Knutson, a former committee member who recent ly resigned, said there have been a series of attempts prior to the barricades to control traffic on Munson Avenue. These includ ed a partial closure at the inter section of Lincoln Drive and Munson Avenue and the addi tion of speed humps and stop signs along Munson Avenue. The unidentified committee member said the committee has made little progress. The mem ber said the committee has practiced ranking methods, in which the members express their opinions about different suggestions, but no official res olutions have been made. The member said the major ity of the group has declared re moval of the barricades as its primary vision for the city, and the group has passed a motion twice recommending that the barricades should be removed. “Anything you do to any one street is going to affect another street/' — Sharron Knutson Former committee member However, the member said the recommendation has not been made to the city council because Bruce Norton, inde pendent facilitator of the com mittee, did not consider the committee’s 63 percent and 62 percent approvals a total con sensus on the issue. The member said some of the debate has concerned stu dents’ roles in the issue. The member said a small percentage of the committee believes stu dents should not be involved in the discussions because they are not permanent residents and do not officially pay taxes for College Station. However, the member believes students do essentially pay taxes through rent payments. Knutson said some committee members believe students do not hold the same values as the resi dents in their definition of what constitutes a quality neighbor hood. She said she disagrees with this generalization and believes anyone who decides to live in the area holds the same ideals. Knutson said she would like to see the committee members with differing opinions come to a compromise. “I would not object to stop signs or traffic lights to slow down and regulate the flow of traffic. Anything you do to any one street is going to affect an other street,” Knutson said. Both Knutson and the unidentified committee member said they believe the barricades will ultimately have to be re moved. The unidentified mem ber said the issue is not just about the Munson Avenue bar ricades. The member’s belief is the issue is also a reflection of the residents’ concern about turning Munson into a major north-south passage through the city, in addition to the existing Texas Avenue, Texas Highway 6, FM 2818 and Wellborn Road. Knutson said she would not be opposed to the suggestion of constructing Munson Avenue into another major street for traffic through College Station. “You have to be realistic. If you are going to be a growing community, you have to grow,” Knutson said. ndraiser brings Student*, from Texas A&M’s —■—'ina Club, the Chinese Stu- IAssociation and the A&M Rolidated High School Or- Itra danced and made mu- far flood relief last night at dder Theater. jie program of Chinese isic, dance and demonstra- fls and western music rasied Jiey for a Yangtze Flood Re- |Fund. te Fund was set up to help Jims of the worst floods in a in more than 40 years. y ly have affected more than |0 million people, killing al- 3,000. he Chinese students and Ity were joined at the con- by Wenjie Mu, the Consul ducation from the Repub- |)f China’s Consulate Gen- office in Houston, who ked those present for their nerosity in supporting the Id victims. lirector for the evening’s program was Jiang Cao, presi dent of the China Club. “All of these things hap pened thousands of miles from College Station, but everyone here tonight showed their kind ness, compassion and support for the flood victims,” Cao said. “I can only say thank you.” The A&M Consolidated High School Varsity Orchestra, which is itself raising funds to perform in China during a 10- day trip to Beijing and Shang hai next summer, played American folk music and clas sical works by Handel and Borodin. Children from the Chinese School in College Station danced and played instru ments. Chinese college stu dents performed a variety of vocal and instrumental pieces. The program also included a fashion show of traditional Chi nese women’s clothes and two martial arts demonstrations. Head of the Class Freshmen cast ballots for class officers; Weems, Babcock ready for run off. GREG MCREYNOLDS/Thk Battalion Worden Babcock, a political science major, will compete in the runoff. BY AARON MEIER The Battalion With friends and family looking on, the officer and Student Senate candidates for the Class of ’02 gath ered around Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue last night to hear the re sults of the election. Election Commissioner Chris Chase, a senior history and English major, said around 2,000 freshman cast their ballots, and he hopes a high number will turns out for the runoff elections to be held Tuesday, Oct. 6 and Wednesday, Oct. 7. Each candidate for class council must win a majority of the votes to be elected. For Student Senate, the five candidates receiving the most votes are elected. A runoff will be held for class president between Worden Babcock, a political science major, and Beth Weems, a biomedical science major. Weems said if elected she hopes to unify the freshman class through various events. “We are a really large class,” Weems said. “I hope to be able to in crease the unity of the freshman class.” Babcock, responding to a speech Student Body President Laurie Nick el made during the freshman cam paign process, said the relationships he has formed during the campaign have contributed to his candidacy. “Win or lose,” Babcock said. “I’ve had a wonderful experience and have high expectations for the freshman class.” All other Class Council positions also will go into runoff elections. The candidates for the freshman class vice-presidency are Jessica Miller and Jay Moore. Kristi Austin and Jennifer Wise will face off for the position of class secretary. Class of ’02 social secretary can didates are Bobby Wright and Nik ki Ogan. For the position of freshman class treasurer, Kory Hamman and Ryan Plesko will go into the runoff. For the final class council posi tion, Melissa Magdelena and Jen ny Martin will compete for class historian. The freshman class senators are Trent Collier, Lindsey Garrett, Sun- GREG MCREYNOLDS/The Battalion Beth Weems, a biomedical science major, will also compete in the runoff. nye Owens, Chad Wagner and Jen nifer Wise. The number of freshman sena tors has been reapportioned, de creasing the number of senatorial seats for the freshman class. Last year, the Class of ’01 elected seven senators, compared to five this year. This year’s election had 15 can didates for the freshman class pres ident and 23 candidates for for the Student Senate positions. The results of the runoff election will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue. \opulation of wild cats ills A&M campus home BY ANDREA BROCKMAN The Battalion I colony of feral cats has been Ig and reproducing on the Texas kl campus for 15 to 20 years, pr. Alice M. Wolf, a professor in [Department of Small Animal icine and Surgery, said there d be approximately 300 semi- | cats living on campus. However, this is only an esti- |e,” she said, “we do not know Jiure.” Volf said a breeding female Id potentially have six to eight pns per litter, and in this cli- e, three to four litters per year. —Their population would ex- ie if it were not for frequent ths from malnutrition, disease [loss of kittens,” she said. “It is |ty sad to have all these sick, [ering and dying cats. ” jTeral cats are very secretive and lally only come out at night to ige the dumpsters for food. Dur- the days they live under build- 5and wander in drain pipes.” Wolf said one source of the cats students who abandon their pets, fit is very important for students 5^B)e responsible pet owners, and GREG MCREYNOLDS/The Battalion Estimates suggest up to as many as 300 semi-wild or feral cats are living on the A&M campus. if they cannot keep them, at least find them good homes or turn them over to the animal shelter. The cats didn’t just drift in here, somebody dumped them.” Dawn Fradkin, a veterinary medicine graduate student, found ed the Aggie Feral Cat Alliance and began implementation of the TTVAR (Tfap, Test, Vaccinate, Alter and Release) two months ago. see Feral on Page 2. CSPD investigates Northgate assault BY JOE SCHUMACHER The Battalion A graduate student and resident of the Northgate area was assault ed and robbed at approximately 12:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of Church Street. Ruan Young Hong, a chemical engineering graduate student, was struck from behind by a red, four- door car while riding his bicycle. According to College Station Police reports, after he was knocked to the ground four white, male sus pects got out of the car and struck Hong repeatedly. They then took his wallet and fled the scene. Hong was taken to the hospital with a swollen face and lacera tions, and was later released. Sgt. Charles Fleeger of the CSPD said there is no indication this was a racially-motivated attack. “Right now we are investigat ing it as a robbery,” Fleeger said. “He (Hong) has not reported any thing that would indicate that this was racially motivated. “We usually wait a day or two before questioning a person that has been assaulted. Their recol lection may not be at 100 percent after the trauma.” Sgt. Donnie Andreski of the CSPD said the assault is not cur rently being treated like a hate crime. “There has to be more than a race-on-race crime,” Andreski said. “If something was said about the person’s race or sex during the action or the victim was targeted due to his race, then it would be considered a hate crime.” A&M will not pursue further Pradhan 7tBY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion An administrative hearing will be held Oct. 6 to consider the cir cumstances under which Texas A&M University professor Dhiraj Pradhan was placed on a year-long administrative leave in August 1997, said Jim Ashlock, executive director of University Relations. The six-member committee pre siding over the hearing will not consider further mandatory ad ministrative leave for the comput er science professor. The hearing was initially re quested by Pradhan, a native of In dia, after he filed a civil suit against the University in which he claimed Texas A&M had discriminated against him and violated his First Amendment rights. Gaines West, Pradhan’s attorney, said they no longer plan to attend the administrative hearing because it cannot compensate Pradhan. “They cannot restore the year he lost,” West said. “They cannot replace what he lost. This is not a hearing to determine further sus pension of Pradhan.” Ashlock said the committee of University professors plans to hold the administrative hearing, despite Pradhan’s request for withdrawal. “If anything, the hearing will be to determine whether the University acted properly,” Ashlock said. “It would be a pre sentation of the University’s case. The prospect of putting him on administrative leave is not an option. By withdrawing his request for the hearing, he is essentially withdrawing his ap peal with the University.” A University audit accused Prad- NEWS IN BRIEF Yell practice set for Overland hotel Midnight yell practice for the Texas A&M-University of Kansas football game will be held Friday at the Marriott Overland Park in Overland Park, Kan. The hotel is located on In terstate 435 at Metcalf (Exit 169). On-campus yell practice will be held tonight at 7 at the arch es in front of the Corps of Cadets’ Quadrangle. suspension han of misusing more than $100,000 in University funds for benefit of his two personal businesses. In a separate investigation, Pradhan is scheduled to go to tri al Dec. 3 after a grand jury indict ment on charges of misusing gov ernment property valued at more than $25,000 and less than $100,000. Pradhan could face two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to a $10,000. The University hearing will be held at 6 p.m. It has not been de termined if the hearing will be closed to the public.