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.