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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.