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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1999)
TUESDAY January 26, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 79 • 14 Pages College Station, Texas ead animals found hall laundry room Y ROBERSON ive of the BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion larcasses found throughout I complex, a group of Northside nus consisting of Fowler, Hugh- Bid Keathley halls, has lead to e closure of facilities and group llihg to repair damages. T deer head, two raccoons and identifiable road kill was found Be dryers throughout the halls. ■ incident allegedly happened tween 11:30 p.m. last Wednes- y and the early hours of Thurs- ■morning. Tom Murray, manager for cus- djal and maintenance services ■Department of Residence Life, id his office was called at 7 a.m. hursday to retrieve the animals nd dean the dryers. He said the Ba ryers were cleaned, disinfected nd are now back in service. Rec Romp The individuals responsible for the damage has not been found, but Mike Krenz, coordinator for North Area Residence Halls, said the instance is being investigated. “Most likely it is someone inside FHK,” Krenz said. Murray said the dryers are in working order, but Krenz said they are “locked up for safety” pending further word from the repair ser vice. Krenz said the cost of repairs to fix the dryers will be divided the residents of FHK when the bill is re ceived. Lara Broemer, FHK hall director, refused to comment on the issue. Ron Sasse, director of Residence Life, said he was unaware of the in cident. Krenz said pranks, including water balloons being thrown and shaving cream wars, occur in resi dence halls. “FHK does not have an unusu al amount of pranks,” Krenz said. “Many pranks happen throughout the semester. We generally can narrow down to 10 to 12 buildings with more pranks, but we can’t say who will have the most. It de pends on the year. ” The incident is being deemed a prank by officials, but the use of dead animals is becoming com monplace throughout the cam pus. Each spring, Moore Hall spon sors Moore Hall Road Kill Roundup, and this semester will mark the 12th annual event. Paul Pannell, a Moore Hall resident and a sophomore computer engineer ing major, said new Moore Hall Bonfire crew chiefs list types of dead animals and award points to participants who search the Bryan- College Station area for the ani- The FHK Complex consists of Fowler, Hughes and Keathley halls. The animals’ carcasses were found in the dryers in the halls. Sources from FHK Complex and Moore Hall say the prank was part of an on-going ri valry between the two halls. mals. The event becomes a contest among teams of students, and the carcasses are dropped off at the College Station dump. Pannell has been involved in Moore Hall Road Kill Roundup and said no established community ser vice group sponsors the contest. SBSLC plans return to A&M JH ab ill BY MEREDITH HIGH! The Battalion The Southwestern Black Student Lead ership Conference will continue to be held annually, despite the private parties re quiring police intervention that have oc curred on the same weekend as the con ference. Three parties were broken up by police Saturday night, including a party at the Rack Warehouse, where police officers sprayed pepper spray on a crowd of about 1,000 that overwhelmed security forces. College Station, Bryan, and University police officers and the Brazos County Sheriff’s Department were called in to calm the crowd that was trying to enter the building. Two other parties in Bryan were called off by the Bryan Police Department after it was discovered that the venues did not have the permit necessary to hold such an event. Rodney McClendon, interim assistant di rector for the Department of Multicultural Services, said there is no connection be tween the parties and the conference. “I believe the parties are totally not re lated to the conference,” he said. “The in dividuals at the parties may not have been registered for the conference.” McClendon said the conference had quality speakers and well-behaved students see SBSLC on Page 2. Professor surrenders to police ■v BY BETH MILLER The Battalion Dr. Robert Maggio, director of the Map ping Sciences Laboratory and a professor in the Forest Science Department, turned himself in to the University Police Depart ment yesterday and pled no contest to charges of abuse of official capacity. Bob Wiatt, director of UPD, said Maggio was audited last year as a result of accusa tions against him concerning the misuse of Texas A&M resources and employees. Wiatt said Maggio’s offense is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine. Mag gio was released yesterday on bond. Mag gio said he turned himself in because he could no longer afford, financially, to de fend himself against the allegations. “I have, over the past seven or eight months, spent approximately $23,000 try ing to defend myself,” he said. Maggio said as director of the laborato ry his position is to negotiate business con tracts between the University and sponsor agencies. The contracts determine funding for research and mapping projects con ducted at the laboratory. He said he does not have the authority to sign the contracts; he serves as a contract negotiator between A&M and the agencies. He said the University has accused him of entering into a contract with an agency, rather than just fulfilling his negotiation du ties. see Maggio on Page 2. Tuition mcrease focus of forum BY SALLIE TURNER The Battalion President Ray Bowen will host a public forum today at 3 p.m. to discuss the proposed $4 increase of University Authorized Tuition. “If [the increase in tuition] is approved, it would go into effect for the fall of 1999,” Bowen said. Students’ tuition per credit hour has two parts, one assigned by the state and one assigned by Texas A&M University. Bowen said the forum is designed to in form students of the raise in UAT and to answer their questions. Bill Krumm, vice president of finance, said the Texas Legislature has authorized the University to raise tuition to match the increase of state-authorized tuition, which is scheduled to increase $2 next year. The UAT, formerly known as the general use fee, will be in creased $2 per credit hour to com pensate for not increasing fees last year and $2 per credit hour for this year, costing students an av erage of $50 more each semester. “We would rather not raise fees, but the University has to move forward,” Krumm said. “This is one of the elements we have to balance.” He said the University has cho sen not to increase tuition the past two years in order to save stu dents money. The increase would go toward faculty members’ salaries and to fund facilities, such as the on- campus libraries. “We are using the money to help match the salary dollars we get from the state,” he said. “We need to improve our market posi tion relative to salaries.” Laurie Nickel, student body president, said students should at tend the forum. “It’s important for us to under stand where it is going,” she said. “Students also need to realize fees can be increased at different times in the semester.” Bowen said students should at-' tend the forum to understand management procedures of the University and how students’ money is spent. After the public hearing, the proposal will go to the Board of Regents for another hearing and vote for approval of the increase. MIKE FUENTES/Thh Batfalion Anissa Berridge, a senior petroleum engineering major, runs on the third floor track at the Student Recreation Center Monday night. Rec Center officials estimated 9,000 students, faculty and guests visited Monday. Mud lot to increase parking fees PC to host Hispanic Open House BY EMILY R. SNOOKS The Battalion The Hispanic Presidents’ Council will host spanic Open House tonight at 8:30 in MSC 224. The Hispanic Presidents’ Council is com- iised of delegates from each hispanic orga- pation on campus. A press release from the PC said the purpose of the council is to pro- |ote unity and awareness among the differ- |em organizations and to serve as a voice for (tile hispanic student population. Yvette Urteaga, president of the HPC and jjja senior finance major, said the HPC coordi- jnates events throughout the year to promote ■spanic culture. Urteaga said the Hispanic Open House is similar to the biannual MSC Open House. “The event is like the MSC Open House, but it spotlights our organization. It is a good opportunity for people to meet others with Hispanic origin in a more intimate setting,” she said. Graduate student Velda Pena will speak at the open house. Pena graduated from Texas A&M in 1998 with a degree in management. She is currently working on a masters degree in human resource management and is an academic advisor to undergraduate business students. see HPC on Page 2. BY JASON SCHNEIDER The Battalion The Mud lot parking facility, located at Church and Nagle across from campus, increased charges for the spring semester. Prices increased from $2 per day to $2.75 per day. “Some are upset, some are not,” a Mud lot parking attendant said.” “The price here is still cheaper than the other parking lots. ” Last spring Jack Culpepper, owner of Mud lot, decided to close his property to pursue hotel and retail development, Lar ry Haskins, Culpepper’s attorney, said. “That is still the plan”, Haskins said. “It is still in the making, but moving slow. ” Currently, the engineering for hotel development is taking place for the east side of the property. Club Hotel, by Dou bletree, is a possible candidate, but Haskins said the decision is not final. Skipper Harris, an independent con tractor, currently leases the Mud lot. “I raised the fee because of other costs accumulated on the lot. There was a warning posted on the booth at the end of last semester indicating the increase, ” he said. Although Harris declined to comment on the costs, he said, “I’m in it to make a living, not to take advantage of a bad sit uation. Parking at Texas A&M is terrible. ” A flier posted on Mud lot grounds states the landowner doubled the rent of the property because of an increase in the price of daily parking and semester permits. Harris has leased the Mud lot since 1985, when parking was 50 cents. He said lots near other colleges charge higher amounts for parking, such as $14 per day in Boston or $3 per day Austin. Harris said Mud lot is different and convenient because customers only pay once per day. If customers have to leave, they can get a coupon and come back later in the day. “It would be nice to leave it open, not for us, but for the students,” Harris said. Next semester, as Mud lot closes, Col lege Station officials will begin con struction of a new parking garage. Last May the College Station City Council adopted a resolution to build a parking garage between Second Street and Col lege Main, south of Louise Avenue. At Thursday’s meeting, they will discuss building plans. Tom Brymer, assistant city manager said, “[The opening of the new parking garage] depends on when the land ac quisition is finished.” Brymer said the new garage will have 720-730 spaces. Haskins said the cost would be $2 per day.