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THURSDAY
February 4,1999
Volume 105 • Issue 85 • 16 Pages
College Station, Texas
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
lenate passes 170-hour cap bill
BY MEGAN WRIGHT
The Battalion
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their childre naong the bills passed by the Texas
vithroom Student Senate last night.
■Concerning the 170-hour-cap rule
tassed by the Texas Legislature this
last summer, three senators authored
ibill and a resolution to present to the
date Legislature. Chad Wagner, a
reshman political science major, was
me of the authors of the bill and reso-
ution.
^BThe resolution basically states the
V&M student body’s position on the
70-hour-cap rule,” Wagner said. “It
hoivs our support for writing an
imendment to the current legislation.
Vs tar as I know, no amendments or
uijMstments have been written by leg-
slajors yet. Because the resolution was
lifted, it is going to help our argu-
nent when we present the bill.”
H’he bill, which calls for the re-
Jftlding of the rule to count complet
ed hours and not attempted hours and
"■"Ivould have the cap pertain only to stu-
ljlent> enrolling for the first time in a
Mm. l/Vate-iunded public university as of Fall
m. AJiggt), was not passed in the senate. It
• vas referred to a committee for further
| O/'^pN^pearch and adjustment and will be
JLi^^AJuresented to the senate during the Feb.
sports
• 1999 Aggie football
recruiting class draws na
tional attention ranking
among the top 5.
today’s issue
Aggielife
State
opinion
Friday’s issue
A&M baseball and softball
teams kick off respective seasons
page 11 with weekend openers.
• Death penalty debate wages on
with concerns over racial
discrimination and ethical
dilemmas playing out.
PAGE 15
17 meeting.
“By passing the bill in the Student
Senate, the legislation won’t be direct
ly affected,” Wagner said. “This will
show our stance and hopefully per
suade the Legislature to author a bill
of their own. When it is passed we are
register early as student workers. With
the passage of the bill by the Faculty
Senate, resident advisers will be al
lowed to register early with other stu
dent workers this April.
“This policy will go into effect for
Fall 1999 registration,” Ferguson said.
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“For all the work that they [RAs] do for
students, I think it is the least we can do.’
going to contact other universities and
hopefully get a unified stance from all
state-funded schools in Texas. This has
to go beyond Texas A&M if we are go
ing to fix this problem.”
A resident adviser compensation
bill was adopted during the meeting.
Student senator Rob Ferguson, a
sophomore political science major,
said the purpose of the bill is to com
pensate for the lack of benefits the res
ident advisers receive. According to in
formation presented last night, the
definition of a student worker at Texas
A&M is stated as a student who works
a minimum of twelve hours per week
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. Resident advisers work at least 21
hours per week and are not allowed to
— Rob Ferguson
Student senator
“It will affect about 150 RAs. For all the
work that they do for students, I think
it is the least we can do.”
TVvo bills being implemented this
spring during student body elections
were passed during the meeting. The
educated voter bill will implement a
supplemental candidate guide to be
distributed with each ballot handed
out during the elections. Courtney Es-
chbach, a student senator and fresh
man political science major, said the
booklets will contain information
about the candidates and their goals
for office.
“This will allow the voter to know
more about the candidate than just
their name,” Eschbach said. “It is just
a trial basis; for this spring and next
fall’s freshmen elections. After that,
the senate will review the policy and
modify, if it was necessary. ”
The second bill passed affecting
this semester’s election concerns new
regulations for off-campus campaign
ing. The new regulations limit signs to
be posted on public property to be no
larger than 11 by 17 inches. Off-cam
pus campaigning will be restricted to
organization meetings, radio pro
grams, car paintings, signs and tradi
tional campaign material including T-
shirts, buttons and stickers.
Four resolutions showing Senate
support were also passed. A resolution
concerning the pilot program of plac
ing Career Center advisers in various
advising offices in selected colleges
was adopted as well as support for the
Colombia earthquake relief efforts and
the tax-free textbook bill being re
viewed on by administration.
Three bills, including the setting of
election dates, a proposed addition of
a bachelor of science degree in biolo
gy and the suggestions for the 170-
hour-cap rule were referred to various
committees and will reappear during
the next meeting.
Election Commissioner Dawn
McGill, and 10 new senators were
sworn into office during the meeting.
Four senate vacancies remain, appli
cations are due in the Student Gov
ernment Office Feb. 12.
Weekday sundae
M # • Jr
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ERIC NEWNAM/Thk Bati align
Laree Vinson, a junior animal science major, makes a
butterscotch sundae in the Rosenthal Meat and Dairy
Center Wednesday. The Center plans to sell homemade
ice cream this summer.
;?tudents may be unaware
f alcohol penalities
lay for ittfBY andrea brockman
it limited! The Battalion
Ramifications of alcohol
ffenses, particularly minor
Tpossession (MIP), con-
‘buting or selling to minors,
Jiving while intoxicated
DWI) and driving under the
•influence (DUI), can be un-
I'.lear to students.
■lick D. Powell, a stu-
lent’s attorney in the De-
iartment of Student Life, said
aws and amendments to
aws were passed to increase
he penalties for alcohol of-
enses in Feb. 1997.
ffiPowell said some offend
ers still do not realize the se-
ions trouble they may be in.
jAn MIP ticket used to re
mit in a fine and an alcohol
[education class,” he said,
■cause of the new law, a
ninor now also may face
.50
'telivery
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community service and a
thirty-day license suspension
on the first offense.”
Powell said the third MIP
becomes a Class “B” misde
meanor with a maximum of
a $2,000 fine and six months
in jail.
He said minors should be
careful in the presence of al
cohol.
“You might just be trying
to be helpful by carrying a
case of beer,” Powell said,
“but if you get caught, you
will get an MIP whether you
are drinking or not.”
Among the new laws is
driving under the influence
of alcohol by a minor, a Class
“C” misdemeanor with a
first offense punishable by a
maximum $500 fine, be
tween 20 to 30 hours of com
munity service, a possible
60-day license suspension
and an alco
hol aware
ness class.
Powell
said to receive
a DUI the of
fender must
be a minor,
and his blood
alcohol con
tent (BAG)
does not have
to exceed the
legal limit.
“Even if
the minor
only drank half a beer, he is
subject to a DUI,” he said.
“However, if the BAG is
above the legal limit of .10,
he will receive a DWI.”
A DWI is a Class “B” mis
demeanor in which the per
son is operating a motor ve
hicle with either a BAG of
more than .100 or does not
Drinking Offenses and Penalties
MIPs
• First offense may result in a fine, atten
dance of an alcohol -education class,
community service, license suspension.
DWIs
• First offense may result in a $2,000 fine,
jail time, suspension of license.
jpuis
• First offense punishable by a maximum
fine of $500, community service, sus
pension of license, required attendance
of alcohol education class.
Suit over law school
goes into mediation
have normal use of mental
or physical faculties due to
alcohol, a controlled sub
stance, a drug, a combina
tion of two or more of those
substances or any other sub
stance into the body.
Powell said there have
see Alcohol on Page 2.
BY NON! SRIDHARA
The Battalion
District Court Judge
Suzanne Covington in Austin
sent the Texas A&M-South
Texas College of Law lawsuit
into mediation with represen
tatives from the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board
Tuesday.
Last summer, A&M pro
posed the addition of a law
program to the University by
affiliating with the South
Texas College of Law. Once
this proposal was rejected,
A&M and the South Texas Col
lege of Law joined forces to
sue the coordinating board. In
rebuttal to this action, the co
ordinating board filed a law
suit claiming the affiliation
was illegal.
Jim Ashlock, executive di
rector of University Relations,
said the judge told the parties
involved she preferred not to
make any rulings at the pre
sent time.
“She said if one side won
the case, then the other side
would probably just appeal
it,” Ashlock said, “so we
needed mediation to take the
case out of the court.”
Ashlock said A&M is sup
portive of this ruling.
“We need to get back to
our normal relationship with
the Higher Education Coordi
nating Board,” he said.
Don Tomlinson, professor
in the Department of Journal
ism, said he was delighted to
hear of the ruling.
“I see this mediation as a
win-win situation,” he said.
Tomlinson said in a media
tion you will never have one
side win and another side
lose.
“Both sides end up satis
fied because the whole case is
over,” he said, “but they have
not fully achieved what they
wanted to achieve originally. ”
Tomlinson said if the medi
ation proves to be unsuccess
ful, then they will have to re
port this to the judge, and they
will proceed with an actual tri
al.
“All parties involved have
to be willing to make a com
promise,” he said.
see Lawsuit on Page 2.
Itudents learn about
Aliving with disabilities
BY AMANDA PALM
The Battalion
■Texas A&M students experi
enced what living with a disability
is like during Disabilities Awareness
Day at the MSC yesterday.
■ Students listened to disabled
■ers talk about their lives at a pan
els discussion and participated in
Access Challenge to learn first hand
about having a disability.
■ Sarah Whitlock, a junior psy
chology major who has cerebral
jpalsy and uses a wheelchair, was a
member of the panel. She said she
wanted to participate to share her
personal experience about living
1 with cerebral palsy.
■ “It’s not that you are disabled,
you’re ‘differently abled,”’ she said.
Tkku MfflttfP’Where is more to me than just a
t'RilNQi SUMMER $ machine, and I want people to re-
that.”
David Pearson, a junior finance
major, said he was impressed with
the panel members.
I “The panel had such good atti-
Terry Roberson/The Battalion
L to R: Derek Speakmon,a junior
history major, and Kelly Shepard, a
junior accounting major, watch as
Steven Schmidt, a freshman gener
al studies major, listen to a cassette
that simulates the audio capabili
ties of a hearing-impared person.
tudes and focused on how much
their families supported and en
couraged them,” he said. “Those
who are not disabled complain
about little things like walking to
class, not realizing how easy they
have it. The panel members were
an inspiration.”
see Disabiuty on Page 2.
Huntsville chaplin
to speak at forum
BY BETH MILLER
The Battalion
The death penalty will be dis
cussed tonight at a forum hosted
by the Just Peace Institute, a com
munity-wide organization ad
dressing social and environmen
tal issues.
The discussion at 7:30 p.m. at
Friends Congregational Church in
College Station will present the
audience with a two-person pan
el of experts on the death penalty.
Dr. Daniel McGee, professor of
religion at Baylor University, and
Father John Gallagher, professor
of moral theology at St. Thomas
University in Houston, have writ
ten about and researched the
death penalty and will answer
questions from the audience.
The Rev. Carroll Pickett, a for
mer death-house chaplain for the
Huntsville Unit, will speak to the
group about his experiences serv
ing more than 145 death-row in
mates. Picket worked in
Huntsville when death row in
mates were executed at midnight
rather than the current 6 p.m. ex
ecution time. He met with in
mates during the days of their ex
ecutions and fulfilled special
requests for them including spiri
tual guidance and arranging for
them to partake in final commu
nication with family members.
After Pickett’s address, the
panel members will give brief
speeches from religious points of
view. A question-and-answer ses
sion will follow.
Phyllis Frederiksen, member of
the Just Peace Institute, said Texas
A&M students, faculty, staff and
see Forum on Page 2.
A&M students contribute
to Colorado hospital design
BY APRIL YOUNG
The Battalion
Graduate assistant Kristy
Walvoord and 14 upper-level de
sign students will leave today for
Colorado to participate in design
ing a women’s and children’s
pavilion at Memorial Hospital in
Colorado Springs.
John Castorina of FDS Interna
tional in Irving, Texas, invited
Professor George J. Mann, Ronald
L. Skaggs, Endowed Professor of
Health Facilities Design, and the
students to design the new
200,000-square-foot women’s
and children’s pavilion.
Castorina said the project will
expose the students to profes
sional service firms and give them
an opportunity to present their
ideas.
“As a former student of Texas
A&M University,” Castorina said
in a press release, “I do under
stand the significance of student
participation with real projects, as
well as exposure to professional
service firms and an introduction
into the ‘Aggie Network.’ The
fresh uninhibited ideas that are
often created by students, at
times, reminds and educates pro
fessionals on the limitless oppor
tunities that may be forgotten due
to perceived constraints.”
In Colorado Springs, the stu
dents will listen to staff needs and
meet with the fire marshal to dis
cuss the accommodations that
the design should provide. The
group will return to College Sta
tion Feb. 7 to begin work on the
designs.
The undergraduate students
will focus mainly on the outside
structure and basic floor plans,
while Kristy Walvoord, winner of
the 1998-1999 American Institute
of Architects/American Hospital
Association Graduate Fellow
award in health facilities planning
and design, will look into plans
for women’s services offered at
the pavilion.
see Colorado on Page 2.