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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1999)
mtmt: lecG BY JASON The Battalia Texas A&) ■vill compete ge Station to -et schedule for action begins mm as a ms face nst Texas n Univer- Horned Saturday a will face nst South- .Methodist ity’s 18th- Mustangs. i the finalsoi ?nce meet onh he 14th-rank: ie their win Arizona lash lowing of the getting ready: meet. U is a tradt and will be oi" weekend," * ling coach Me i the board, i ‘ally strong,an epth. It’s help: i year.” No. 24 At' /ill use thein i a final remit we to do tosu Conference t md to show At ie for this sea; ’s fastest-gr ming off suchi i in Austin, thii ? us with sotti; efore the coni; freestyler Mot MONDAY February 8, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 87 • 12 Pages College Station, Texas 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY ■ ■ ■ ■ " sports • Aggie baseball team starts offseason with sweep of University of Texas Pan American. PAGE? today’s issue Toons 2 Animal Rights Debate 6 Tuesday’s issue As a sport and as a social event, frisbee golf comes into its own in Bryan-College Station. opinion • The author of the 170-hour cap legislation attempts to make amendments, but problems still exist in the current law. PAGE 11 IPD hands inquiry f death to TABC I BY MEREDITH MIGHT The Battalion niyersity Police Department has jed i he investigation of Barry Joseph Il’a death over to the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission (TABC). ail had a blood alcohol level of 0.223 n he fell from the third story of the hwest stairwell of the Southside Park- Jatjage. Vail and two friends were re- ing from a private party near South- t Parkway at the time of the incident. objWiatt, director of UPD, said the y was hosted by two Texas A&M stu- s at their home. rhlre were quite a few attendees,” he . “The hostesses apparently didn’t know Vail.” “Vail and his friends apparently had heard of a big keg party and said ‘Hey, that sounds like a good time,”’ he said. Wiatt said TABC will pursue the in vestigation to determine if criminal charges are necessary. Randy Fields, an agent with TABC in vestigating the matter, said TABC will de termine whether criminal charges will be involved early this week. “Optimistically, we will know by Tues day,” he said. “It’s a matter of going through the statements and talking to the people at the party.” TABC will refer any recommendation for criminal action to the the county at torney’s office. Proposed Permit Increases Permit Current Proposed • Garage priority $270 $396 • Regular garage $240 $348 • Red and Blue lots $75 $125 • Yellow lots $100 $132 • Gated lots $100 $198 • Reserved Spaces $200 $264 • Motor cycle $35 $48 • Night Access $35 $48 • Park- And-Ride $35 $48 All prices are for one year Task force proposes increase in parking fees BY BETH MILLER The Battalion The Campus Access and Parking Task Force has cre ated a list of recommended parking-permit-cost increas es to be evaluated by the Texas A&M Board of Regents in March. The increases, if approved by the Board, will go into ef fect for students in Fall 1999 and for faculty members in March 2000. The task force, formed to design possible solutions to on- and off-campus parking problems, meets every other week. Dr. Jerry Gaston, vice president for administration, said the increase will go to ward funding a new parking garage to be constructed on West Campus and a tunnel under Wellborn Road from Kyle Field to the garage. The garage will replace Parking Area 56, the lot ad jacent to Joe Route Boule vard, near the Student Recre ation Center. Gaston said the increase will be the first of three over a six-year period. He said the University plans to inform faculty and students of the increase be fore the Board reviews it. “We are briefing people on campus as we have the opportunity to do so, in preparation for our presenta tion to the Board,” he said. The increases are: • student on-campus garage spaces will increase from $240 per year to $348 see Permits on Page 10. 10T reaches out to igh-school seniors BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion women, who; eet competition ming off losse; Arizona and j f \vith ('[ie ii hundred twenty Texas high-school seniors who have iinti\ the AM a pepted to A&M on early admittance were given an hat other squ^PF nt0 colle 8 e at A 8g ie Leaders Of Tomorrow JT) conference this past weekend. ' Hr members housed the high-school seniors during fLOR veekend and led participants during group round-table assions. wed from Pf Temy Haupe, Senior Leaders of Tomorrow (SLOT) ex- fensive side of ^ promotions director and a sophomore political sci- rnnks ] ast j n [t|n|ajor, said the goal of the weekend was to help the offensive cate^c ■ )rs decide to attend A&M. erage points d ai |pe said last year’s conference consisted of more than team fidd-goa high-school seniors. and three-poin:;M>ple got to know each other more and exchanged and averageasAenumbers at the end of the weekend,” Haupe said. onnie Miller, a group leader in ALOT and a sopho- e accounting major, said the conference was a suc- i talked to several seniors who were not sure if they ‘ IdScome to A&M at the beginning of the weekend,” \fcUd0Mt said. “By the end of the weekend they said they’d see 'ietnamese Spe text year.” tnamese hoagie mber Whatley, an ALOT member and a freshman busi- irimp chips, and major, said the conference allowed ALOT members to iML-io know each other in addition to helping the partici- e Sandwich Petals. elivery Available hree round-table discussions led by ALOT members in linimum) PhoneOdl groups of 10 high-school seniors allowed future stu- :s to see a perspective of the upcoming college experi- fbflcs included group communication, students’ stance X-AJ -^KllVertain issues and time management. yjW.^vnn Hickey, associate athletic director, talked to stu sr |5 about the difficulty of transitioning mentally to the ^ge atmosphere, leaving friends behind and building ANY TRUCK'? 11601 ' 0118 al college while keeping ties with friends and <fcO0fl ily at home - A^yOlaupe said the highlight of the conference was the tra- 1 fififi r U/pl ;)ns P ro 8 ram presented by the ALOT traditions sub-com- e 'ee. He said the program was highly rated among the 1 icipants during end-of-the-weekend evaluations. College S e Location as I 4-2401 1% see ALOT on Page 2. Looking through time Reunion draws former students from across nation CARING CASAS/Thi Battalion Robert Powell, Class of ’84, reminisces about his college days as he goes through scrapbooks at the Black Alumni Reunion Friday night. Powell, now a major in the Army traveled from Ft. Levenworth, Kan., for the reunion. BY BETH MILLER The Battalion African-American former Texas A&M students from throughout the country rekin dled college friendships and were updated on the present standing and future plans of the University this past weekend. Reunion organizers hosted the former students with a schedule of workshops ad dressing Vision 20/20, minor ity recruitment, the effects of the Hopwood decision and scholarships. Student groups National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), MSC Black Aware ness Committee (BAC), Broth ers of the Round Table, Striv ing In Society To Achieve Success (SISTAS), National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People (NAACP), Southwest Black Student Leadership Confer ence (SBSLC) and African- American Business Society (AABS) hosted a reception for the former students as a way of networking and displaying the organizations. A banquet and “Old-School Party” were held in their honor Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in College Station. Brian Carr, a member of Brothers of the Round Table, said the student-hosted recep tion was a way of connecting with the former students. “This is a unique opportu nity for former students to mingle with current students,” he said. “ [We are holding this reception] to tap the resource of the former students.” Carr said. Brothers of the Round Table, an A&M service organization, works in the community and holds pro grams at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley. He said the group is not finan cially sponsored by anyone, so he was hoping to gain support from former students. Ellecia Williams, Class of ’88, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., is manager of In roads/Portland, a career-de velopment firm. She said the sessions concerning recruit ment were of particular inter est, and she enjoyed network ing with the students. Williams said she is confident in A&M’s Vision 20/20 goals. “I think, coupled with ad missions and other things like recruiting highly talented stu dents, they will definitely get there,” she said. see Reunion on Page 2. jaeiseSAMAC conference emphasizes leadership faid en t$ from across country converge to prepare Latinos for millennium BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion e Committee for the Awareness of Mexican-American ures (CAMAC) prepared high school and college students he millennium and informed them of conditions affect- peir futures through its 12th Annual Southwest Student ference. his weekend’s conference was the largest in five years 30 universities present and a congregation of students iput-of-state schools. arco Davis, a member of the National Conference of La la Hispanic organization that arranges networking op- hities to benefit Hispanic students throughout the na- Said this weekend’s was the largest student-run con gee in the country. avier Valdes, speaker coordinator for the conference and 'HE BATTAL 1 ‘inor environmental design and international studies ma- 1SSIFIED ADVE? Sa ^ d the s P ea Lers gave the students valuable information y can use to enlighten others. CALL FORifThe speakers gave us a brighter insight of what our cul- IF0RMATI0N 81 :? M and made us become more aware of who we are and / a t we are about,” Valdes said. “With that, we can not only teach ourselves, but we can go out and teach the communi ty about themselves.” Angie Castro, adviser to CAMAC, said students gained leadership skills from the conference. “The students gained knowledge to prepare them for lead ership in the next century,” she said. Castro said the decision has made the conference special. “On our campus the Hopwood decision affected the num bers of minority enrollment,” Castro said. “Trying to show that Texas A&M is a welcoming environ ment is sometimes a challenge. “I think that with this year’s high attendance, our confer ence really helped.” DJ. Flores, conference director for CAMAC and a senior accounting major, said participants were left with a favorable impression of the University. “A&M is not known as being very conducive to minority students,” Flores said. “After the conference, they saw A&M in a different light. Knowing that there is a Latino presence on campus will make them feel more comfortable about transferring to A&M.” Terry Roberson/The Battalion Macario Ramirez, owner of a Houston folk art gallery, speaks to students on urban legends. Ramirez came as part of the Southwest Student Conference. Department to present photos taken from space BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion The Department of Oceanography and Meteorol ogy will display photos of Earth from space and ad dress the planet’s surface changes today at 4 p.m. in room 112 of the Oceanography and Meteorology building. Dr. Cynthia Evans of the Johnson Space Center in Houston will present “Astronaut Photos from the Space Shuttle: Observation and Coastal Change” which will focus on the observation of coastal changes, particularly on river deltas. Evans will present slides demonstrating changes in the Earth’s surface features over almost a 35-year period. The photos will show changes in land use, urban structures and agricultural use. Gerard Farrell, University spokesperson, said the department will hold a seminar to give students a prac tical application of scientific concepts they learn in see Meteorology on Page 10.