105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
MONDAY
March 1, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 102 • 8 Pages
College Station, Texas
m
aggielife
• International week high
lights cultural differences,
expands awareness about
student environment.
PAGE 3
today’s issue
Toons 2
Opinion 7
Tuesday’s issue
Broke college students are better
off in long run. Working for
wealth instills good work ethics.
sports
• Texas A&M baseball
comes from behind to
sweep Oklahoma in
weekend series.
PAGES
Replant gives 300 tress back
lo Bryan/College Station area
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
I The Bryan-College Station community has 300
nt v trees due to the 2,000 students who partici-
p<ited in the 9th annual Replant.
I Katie Dufour, associate director of Replant and
ljunior community health major, said the tradi-
tien of Replant started in 1991 as an effort to give
[back to the environment. In the past, Replant has
Been held at Lake Somerville, but this year the Re-
pl nt committee chose to move it to the Bryan-
ftllege Station area in an effort to increase par-
tripation and satisfaction of the participants.
■ “Students this year have the satisfaction of go-
in;; to the tree they planted and saying 'Hey, I
planted that tree,’” she said.
I Matthew Robbins, Moses Hall crew chief and
apeshman business administration major, said
the group from Moses Hall came to replant be-
fluse they wanted to give back to the environ
ment what is taken out during the building of
Spitfire.
I “We cut down a lot of trees, and [Replant] is a
way to replace what we cut down,” he said. “It’s
the only Bonfire-related event this semester.”
Dan Houchard, Replant Tfee Team Committee
member and a senior horticulture major, said the
trees planted by Replant in the past have had a
low survival rate. He said the low rate is due to
their small size and lack of care after Replant is
over.
“This year the cities of Bryan and College Sta
tion have committed to weekly watering of the
trees,” he said. “We are hoping for a survival rate
of 80 to 90 percent.”
The Replant committee is turning its eyes to
ward next year. Saturday’s event potted 500 trees
that will be planted at future Replant activities.
Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for
student affairs, applauded the efforts of the 2,000
participants.
“At 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, there are
probably many college students doing something
else,” he said.
Dufour said another aspect of Replant is beau
tifying the neighborhoods, schools and parks in
the Bryan-College Station community.
Sallie Turner/Thu Battalion
Kyle Brown, a sophomore general studies ma
jor, plants a tree at Bonham park in Bryan.
Brown and 20 other Moses hall residents par
ticipated in Replant on Saturday.
“In a few years, we will be able to come back
and see that we not only went to school here, but
that we improved the community,” she said.
College Station resident
found dead in apartment
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
Brent Svehalk, a 22-year-old
Austin resident visiting a friend at
Fox Meadows Apartments in College
Station, was found dead in the apart
ment Sunday morning.
Sergeant Bruce Sims of the Col
lege Station Police Department said
the police department received a 911
call from the apartment residents at
11:04 a.m.
They said Svehalk was uncon
scious. His friends performed CPR
on him until the paramedics arrived
to take over life-saving efforts. He
was pronounced dead by Justice of
the Peace Ervin Cain.
“His friends said they were out
partying the night before,” Sims
said. “He laid on the couch when
they got home. When [his room
mates] got up in the morning, they
found him unconscious.”
The cause of death is still unde
termined, but Sims said there is a
possibility of alcohol relation. Sve-
halk’s body is being sent to San An
tonio for an autopsy. The police said
there is no foul play suspected in the
death.
Eugene Zdziarski, assistant di
rector of the Department of Student
Life and a member of the Depart
ment of Student Life Critical Re
sponse Team, said when an A&M
student is involved in an accident,
the University Police Department
alerts the Critical Response Team,
which goes to the scene of the acci
dent and counsels anyone involved.
“Every person needs to mourn in
their own way, and our job is to
guide them in the mourning
process,” Zdziarski said. “No one
thinks this sort of thing will happen
to them or their friends.”
Largest step show in Texas awards contestants at Olympiad
BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion carino casas/i hk Battalion
Members of the A&M chapter of Omega Psi Phi perform their step routine Saturday night during the 10th annu
al Greek Olympiad held in Rudder Auditorium. Over 2,500 students watched Delta Sigma Theta and Phi Beta
Sigma (both from Prairie View) win first place.
BY APRIL YOUNG
The Battalion
More than 2,500 students and
spectators attended the 10th annu
al Greek Olympiad, the largest step
show in Texas, Saturday at Rudder
Auditorium.
The step show consisted of 10
acts, each allotted 10 minutes to per
form their routines.
First- and second-place fraterni
ty honors went to Phi Beta Sigma
and Kappa Alpha Psi, both from
Prairie View A&M University, re
spectively.
Delta Sigma Theta from Prairie
View A&M and Delta Sigma Theta
from Texas A&M won first- and sec
ond-place sorority honors, respec
tively.
First-place winners received
$1,500, and the second-place prize
was $500.
Kim King, step-team chair of
Delta Sigma Theta at Texas A&M
and a sophomore biomedical sci
ence major, said although they
would have liked to receive first
place, they were pleased with sec
ond place.
“We were not really surprised to
receive second place because basi-
Performance Winners
Fraternity:
1st - Phi Beta Sigma (Prairie View)
2nd - Kappa Alpha Psi (Prairie View)
Sorority:
1 st - Delta Sigma Theta (Prairie View)
| 2n^^^elta i Si2ma i Thet^^^MU^ B<| _
cally everyone that performed had
just [rushed] this semester,” she
said. “So we were pretty happy
about second place.”
King said since Delta Sigma
Theta is a non-profit organization,
the money won will be used to fund
scholarships, programs and com
munity-service projects.
Franklin Williams, coordinator
of Greek Olympiad and president of
Kappa Alpha Psi, said the theme of
the step show, “Dawn of a Nu Era,”
signifies how far the show has
come.
“When we first started Greek
Olympiad in 1989, we had quite a
problem getting people to come
out,” he said. “For the past 3 years
now, we have had a sold-out
crowd.”
Williams said the best part of the
show was special guest, “The
Gents,” from Booker T. Washington
High School in Houston, who per
formed during the score tabulation.
“We had a chance to give these
high-school students a tour of A&M,
and they had a chance to ask ques
tions concerning financial aid and
see Step Show on Page 2.
Ceremony
celebrates
library
opening
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
I Sterling C. Evans Library Annex
formally opened Friday with a rib
bon-cutting ceremony in the read-
png room of the annex.
1 More than 150 people from the
Bryan-College Station community,
attended the ceremony. President
)r. Ray M. Bowen, Student Body
president Laurie Nickel and Gradu
ate Student Council President An-
aeliese Reinemeyer were among the
Jniversity dignitaries in attendance.
Fred Heath, dean and director of
Sterling C. Evans Library, said the
annex was designed around the
needs of the students.
Tt was meant to be a facility
diere students would interact with
ane another, with the staff and with
Dr. Malon Southerland (left), Student Body President Laurie Nickel,
William Krumm, Fred Heath and Robert Walker participate in the ribbon
cutting ceremony at the formal opening of the Sterling C. Evans Annex.
the technologies that would enable
them to engage in research and pro
ject development,” he said. “The
student leaders worked closely with
the library staff to articulate their con
stituency’s priorities and concerns.”
Reinemeyer said the library is a
memorial to past writers and to the
future generation of writers.
“Each title, each book, each
golden leaf represents a piece of the
world,” she said.
Nickel recounted her experi
ences as a campus-tour guide dur
ing her speech at the ceremony.
“Students never ask me where
the library is, but students soon
find they will spend more time at
the library than at a football game
or at the Rec Center,” she said.
Heath said the annex is part of
the library expansion goals for
Texas A&M. Four library-system ex
pansions have occurred in the
1990s. In 1994, the West Campus
Library opened; in 1997, the Policy
Sciences and Economics Library
opened and in 1998, the Cushing
Memorial Library reopened after
being restored.
“The official opening of the an
nex to Sterling C. Evans Library is
a milestone in library develop
ment,” he said.
‘Aggies Up All Night’ raises $5,000
for Children’s Miracle Network
BY NONI SRIDHARA
The Battalion
More than $5,000 was raised for the Children’s Mir
acle Network (CMN) of the Brazos Valley by participants
of Aggies Up All Night.
Sarah Elliott, director of Aggies Up All Night and a se
nior accounting major, said 40 participants, known as all-
nighters, stood for 24 hours, and 200 volunteers helped
monitor rest periods and boost morale during the night.
The yell leaders, Aggie Wranglers and Freudian Slip
were among the entertainers for the night.
She said the participants who stood during night could
earn “sitting time” either by winning a game or having
friends come in and buy “sitting seconds” for them.
Charla Dabney, morale director for Aggies Up All
Night and a sophomore psychology major, said the main
foci of the event were the children and their families.
“We are going through 24 hours of pain standing on
our feet, but it is nothing compared to what the children
go through,” Dabney said.
Elliott said there were various organizations partici
pating in the event, but Alpha Phi Omega was strongly
represented with 20 all-nighters and 100 volunteers.
Some of the all-nighters won door prizes during the
course of the event including a stay at the Hilton, a stereo
and a $1,000 scholarship donated by Kaplan, a program
that aids students in preparation for the LSAT and oth
er aptitude tests.
Carino Casas/The Battalion
Sahitya Gadiraju (left), ‘02 biology major, operates
the table as Hugo Cordova (right), ‘01 business man
agement major, anticipates the results of the spin.
Elliott said the participants were full of heart and
spirit, which made getting through the night easier.
“When you are working so closely with a group of
people, you learn not to give up and not to get dis
couraged,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to
meet with many of the families, and this is one of the
main things that makes me want to help again and
again.”
The proceeds from the fund raiser will be presented
to to CMN during their telethon in May.