k * Jr' ' >!t'■t > ! baW 1 IH, CHRISTMAS JEE Students can get into may spirit by choosing, (rating tree. othei MaiV PAGE 3 iiin balls will liy (lUemsevYi'-l i house. Sam;, uu balls Nos, Wjsj I of the season-;! ioned. HEADED FOR THE HEISMAN? • University of Texas running back Ricky Williams has his sights set on trophy. SPORTS, PAGE 7 CHECK OUT THE BATTALION ONLINE http:!/battalion, tamu. edu FRIDAY December 11, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 72 • 12 Pages :ems cover « Dominos » Link Bracelets I< Rings Bracelet & Necldm zv/elry i Rings ifi purchase i s last ins welcome. I«M -85 Oak Mall ■v/this ad, 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY .partment residents lo without heat Pro-life group protests clinic ribbon cutting BY AARON MEIER The Battalion With temperatures in the 40s last it, 69 units of the Willow Oaks rtment complex located on 29th et in Bryan have been without tral gas since Dec. 8. s many as 150 residents of the plex have been left without t, hot water, and stoves or ovens, herie Holekamp, a leasing agent |the Willow Oaks complex, said residents should have their gas ored today by noon, olekamp said a leak was de ed Dec. 8 and was supposed to e been repaired the next day. ever, when repairs first were ducted, several other leaks were cted and required repair. ‘Currently we have repairmen ning cameras through the line to ure there are no further leaks,†ekamp said. ‘With finals coming up, this is worst possible time for this to pen,†said Cindy Garcia, a Wil- Oaks resident with out gas and [raduate student in accounting. The management at Willow Oaks made 10 apartments available to the residents so they can bathe or sleep. The complex also has made portable heating units available to residents, but Garcia said they were given one heating unit for their three bedroom apartment. Holekamp said the complex is under no obligation to provide the heating units. “We don’t have to supply any thing,†Holekamp said. “At the ex pense, we feel one will be sufficient for the evening.†A petition has been circulated among residents asking the Willow Oaks management to provide a pro-rated refund for the duration of the gas outage. Holekamp said the complex will not offer the refund. “The lease the residents sign say we are allowed to turn off the gas for any period of time to get it fixed,†Holekamp said. Following the completion of the repairs, officials from the city of Bryan will inspect the gas line before restoring gas to the residents. BY BETH MILLER The Battalion Brazos Valley Coalition for Life members have begun to cir culate a petition calling for the prohibition of a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Planned Parenthood facility. Susan Nenney, director of com munications for Planned Parent hood of Houston and Southeast Texas, said the Bryan Planned Par enthood clinic will not provide any new services nor have a rib bon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening until after Jan. 1. Lauren Donohue, executive director of Brazos Valley Coali tion for Life, said the group has joined with local business mem bers to circulate a petition ask ing the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors to reverse its decision to support a ribbon-cutting cer emony for the new clinic. She said the petition has more than 100 signatures of business members and mem bers of the community, and there is no minimum number of signatures they must obtain. Donohue said the mission of the Chamber of Commerce is to promote the economic well-be ing of the community. She said if the Chamber of Commerce allows Planned Par enthood to hold a ceremony for its new clinic, it will not be achieving its goal. “For a community organiza tion like the Chamber [of Com merce] to celebrate the opening of an abortion clinic goes against the morals and values of both the business members and the com munity members of Bryan and College Station,†she said. Donohue said the petition will be presented to the Board of Di rectors at its next meeting Dec. 15. Dyann Santos, clinic director of Planned Parenthood, said the group is proud of the new facility. Santos said Brazos Valley Coali tion for Life had a ribbon-cutting ceremony when it opened its of fice, and Planned Parenthood members did not object to it. She said Planned Parenthood is a legitimate business, a women’s health care center, and she said the organization should be able to hold a cere mony to celebrate the opening of its new facility. Christmas wishes tudent, Southerland eet about attacks BY JOE SCHUMACHER The Battalion Pu Wang, a graduate market- student repeatedly shot with )aintball gun by three men and e youth, all residents of Bryan tile waiting to cross at the in section of Wellborn Road and e Route Drive, met with J. Mal- i Southerland, the vice presi- nt of Student Affairs, to discuss ter legal actions against his al- ed perpetrators. Wang said in a written statement charge of Criminal Mischief and sault by threat both class C mis- meanor offenses, do not carry nishments equal to the crime. T\vo of Wang’s alleged attackers nt to court Dec. 3. Josh Morris aded no contest and received fobation. Richard Dizerega, also of yan, filed a motion of continu- ice and will be tried at a later date. “The men who attacked me de- rve to be punished,†Wang said. Southerland said he would sup- brt Wang in whatever action he iould decide to pursue. One op en mentioned was to supply 'ang with limited financial sup- ort should Wang decide to pursue further legal council. Wang has also received legal advice from Rick Powell, the students’ attorney for the department of Student Life. Powell said Wang could pursue a civil case against the alleged per petrators. Powell said Wang can file charges in the court even though he is an international student. “He is a resident,†Powell said. “The venue is proper here and ju risdiction applies.†Powell said he has discussed the current case with city attorneys and said they are handling the situation like any other. He said the situation is in the hands of the officials. Wang said he wants the Univer sity to be more proactive in pursu ing attackers of students. He said he wants to let the community know that attacks on students will not be tolerated and to urge students to take legal action when assaulted. “I want to let every student know that they have the legal right and ability to stand up for them selves,†Wang said. Mary Lou Dizerega, the mother of Richard Dizerega, said the situation has been blown out of proportion. JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion Kent Ludiff (left), a 5-year-old College Station resident, and Kyle Ludiff (right), a 9 -year-old College Station resident, pose for a photo with Santa Claus Thursday afternoon at Post Oak Mall. see Attack on Page 2. Tickets not required for graduates’ guests BY BETH MILLER The Battalion As finals approach and the semester draws to a close, nearly 3,000 Texas A&M students are preparing to graduate and begin their lives in the “real world.†Donald Carter, Texas A&M registrar, said there will be three commence ment ceremonies this se mester. Graduate and un dergraduate students in the colleges of Business Ad ministration, Education, Medicine and Science will walk the stage Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. The colleges of Archi tecture, Engineering, Geo sciences and Veterinary Medicine will hold their commencement ceremony Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Liberal Arts will hold their ceremo ny Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. The ceremony Friday at 2 p.m. will include Beverly E. Ledbetter, vice president and general council for Brown University, as speak er for the evening. The Honorable Jorge Quiroga Ramirez, vice pres ident of the Republic of Bo livia, will speak at the 7:30 p.m. ceremony. Dr. Frank Rhodes, presi dent emeritus of Cornell University, will speak at the ceremony Saturday. Carter said he anticipates an attendance of between 800 and 900 graduates at each ceremony. Guests of the graduates will not be re quired to have tickets to at tend the ceremony. Carter said professors are required to have graduating seniors’ grades turned in by Tliesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week, de pending on the dates of their final exams. He said a list of students who have been academically cleared for graduation and students’ honors standings will be posted Friday at die Pavilion. Caps and gowns are available at the University Bookstore in the MSC. All undergraduate students will wear identical caps and gowns. Graduate students’ caps and gowns vary de pending on their colleges and majors. Residence halls ready to close doors FINALS SCHEDULE December 11 (Fri) 7:30-9:30 a.m. MW 5:45-7p.m. or later 10 a.m.-noon MWF 8-8:50 a.m. 12:30-2:30 p.m. TR 9:35-10:50 a.m. 3-5 p.m. TR 11:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m. December 14 (Mon) 8-10 a.m. MWF 9:10-10 a.m. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. MWF 12:40-1:30 p.m. 1-3 p.m. TR 8-9:15 a.m. 3:30-5:30 p.m. MWF 4:10-5:25 p.m. December 15 (lues) 8-10am MWF 10:20am-ll:10pm 10:30am-12:30pm MWF 3-3:50pm 1-3 pm TR 3:55-5:10pm 3:30-5:30pm MWF l:50-2:40pm December 16 (Wed) 8-10 a.m. TR 12:45-2 p.m. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. MWF 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. 1-3 p.m. TR 2:20-3:35 p.m. 3:30-5:30 p.m. TR 5:30-6:45 p.m. or later Students to serve as research ambassadors BY ANDREA BROCKMAN The Battalion Texas A&M student researchers will travel to Austin in January as “research ambassadors†for the first Texas A&M Research Road show. The roadshow will begin with an exhibit that will be displayed from Jan. 8 to Jan. 15 in the State Capitol Ground Floor Rotunda. The exhibit will provide informa tion about research at Texas A&M and highlight eight on-going re search projects. The primary event of the road show will be a reception in the Capitol Extensions Capitol Grill on Jan. 13 for members of the Texas Legislature, hosted by Texas A&M University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen. Those invited include Gov. George W. Bush and Lt. Gov.- elect Rick Perry, Class of ’72. During the reception more than 30 graduate and undergraduate students will present 17 research projects on topics ranging from ge netics to nautical archaeology to military history. Robert A. Kennedy, vice presi dent for research and associate provost for graduate studies, said the reception will give students the opportunity to talk with legis lators one-on-one and explain the value of their work not only as a learning experience, but as a ben efit to Texas. “These students will be terrific ambassadors for Texas A&M’s academic and research pro grams,†he said. Cory Ramsey, a graduate stu dent in anthropology, is one of the students participating in the roadshow. Ramsey currently is working on the conservation of artifacts from the La Salle shipwreck of La Belle, a French ship wrecked in Matagor da Bay in 1686. “We have over a million arti facts, including glass trade beads, which the French were going to use to trade with the Native Amer icans,†she said. “A skeleton was also found, and its skull is displayed in the George Bush Presidential Library Complex. After 300 years, part of the brain was still intact.†Ramsey said they are currently conserving brass pots, candle sticks, cannon balls and ax heads from the excavation. Dr. Ed Funkhouser, associate director of the Office of Honors Programs and Academic Scholar ships and a professor of biochem istry and biophysics, said another purpose of the roadshow is to demonstrate Texas A&M’s strong culture of involvement with un dergraduates in scholarly pursuits. The display in the Rotunda will have a “learning-by-doing†theme, he said. “For example, our students of science are working in scientific laboratories on cutting-edge re search with internationally ac claimed scholars,†he said. BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion All on-campus students must leave their residence halls by Dec. 19. Mack Thomas, assis tant director of Residence Life, said students should follow certain steps when moving out. “One main thing that we ask students to do is to un plug everything before they leave, which will help elim inate the risks of any fire hazards, and also take home any valuables,†he said. Phil Coleman, a resident adviser in Aston Hall and a junior electrical engineering major, said students should defrost their refrigerators, close their blinds if on the first floor, set their thermostats to 70 degrees and clean their rooms before they leave. Thomas said students who are changing halls need to have everything moved before the semester break. He said residents of Eppright and Wells halls who were affected by the flood will have to complete the hall-change process af ter the break because the rooms damaged by the wa ter will be recarpeted. Sgt. Allan Brown, a member of the University Police Department’s crime- prevention unit, said the department gets a few theft reports on campus over the holidays, but not as many as they do off campus. “We’ll have security constantly around, but they can’t go into every room to see if everything is all right,†Brown said. Brown said students should take theft-preven tion measures. “Many students may take home their stereos, televisions and VCRs, but they don’t realize that they can have 25 CDs ranging from $250 to $300,†he said. Brown said UPD tries to help curb theft by encour aging students to take pre ventative measures. “We encourage students to engrave their driver’s li cense number on any items possible and to also record serial numbers,†he said. Brown said students also should do the same for bicycles and take them home or lock them up in their rooms if possible. Residence halls will re open for the spring semes ter on Jan. 13.