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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1999)
TUESDAY April 20, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 132 • 10 Pages College Station, Texas • Third-ranked Texas A&M Baseball Team picks up win against Tarleton State University. PAGES Battalion Radio Find out about Family Out- reacKs candlelight service on KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57p.m. arking Website to solicit input ]dmpus Access Task Force places focus on students, visitors, staff fter his ft Dr Sundo. BY SAMEH FAHMY The Battalion Campus Access Task lisdikeoo! >rce created an online survey to ! iiistdearies; the transit needs of stu- ^estMJnts, faculty, staff and visitors let’s hit wa the Texas A&M campus. Tie task force, consisting of stionar > students, faculty, staff and ;otallofi: ryan-College Station Chamber ituper . Commerce members, was de- :ve thegned to recommend a plan to ihit. iprove accessibility onto and boutii. ' ithin the A&M campus. ;ood. -The survey can be taken at lieinihr :tp://access.tamu.edu and was asigned for faculty, staff, stu- up the. hits, visitors and vendors. Mary Miller, associate vice president for administration and a committee chair, said the group wants to gather customer input to use in its recommendations and decisions. Dr. Thomas Woodfin, associ ate professor of landscape archi tecture and urban planning, ad dressed the task force at Monday’s meeting and discussed how the Vision 2020 applies to parking and campus access. Woodfin suggested imple menting a light rail system simi lar to a monorail or train system that would loop through cam pus, connecting main and West Campus with a pedestrian un- “We need to make recommendations for substantially improving the system starting now/ — Mary Miller Committee chair derpass, and replacing surface parking with well-positioned parking garages: Woodfin said the accessibility goals of Vision 2020 involve restoring a sense of identity by preserving physical expressions of University traditions, such as Military Walk. Miller said the recommenda tions of the task force will be consistent with the long-term goals defined in the Vision 2020 plan but will be designed for im plementation sooner. “We need to make recom mendations for substantially im proving the system starting now,” she said. The task force is drafting a vi sion statement, which will direct the recommendations of the group. ; Jason je!s Possum as 'J upbyllif /3 innings* >sto two i® game. (or the 3$ : with ones giesniov?" place itiK- University to reward iversity romoters remony will recognize work Texas A&M faculty and tudents in order to heighten ampus awareness. BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion Texas A&M faculty, students and departments 'ho exceed the boundaries of their mission state- lem to promote diversity on campus will be hon- red today during the 1999 Diversity Awards Cer- mony at 10:30 a.m. in 206 MSC. jfi|arolyn Sandoval, assistant coordinator of di- ersity education in the Department of Multicul- iral Services, said diversity does not always re- 5ive the recognition it needs. | ‘|n light of recent legislation, such as Hopwood, hasn’t been easy to promote diversity on college ampuses, and it’s even made the discussion bout diversity sometimes difficult,” she said. I*Sandoval said the awards are presented to in- ividuals and groups whose primary responsibil- y is not to promote diversity, but who take it pon themselves to do so. Sandoval said the awards are significant be- ause recognizing different types of people is of teat value. ■mhese are people who, through their actions, todd that,” Sandoval said. iFelicia Scott, interim director of the Department ^Multicultural Services, said most diversity ward recipients do work that is rarely seen. BpVIost of the individuals have what I would call quiet spirit, in that they do what they know |ls to be done,” Scott said, he Department of Multicultural Services and ^Office of the Dean of Faculties and Associate 'rovost will present awards for undergraduate and duate students, support and professional staff, ■inistrators, student organizations, depart- ents , offices and faculty members. |Roganne Thueson, accommodations counselor ■e Office of Services for Students with Disabil- Ps, said the Excellence Awards presented by the JCe of Services for Students with Disabilities re introduced into the Diversity Awards Cere- y last year because disabilities are a form of versity. Bl think it’s a great way to enhance awareness |students with disabilities and recognize the jders in working with students with disabilities,” Ueson said. iScott said peer nominations of award recipi- hts, which are open to anyone on campus, makes be diversity awards unique. KT think it’s important that the University, as a vhole, recognizes what these individuals are do- |’ Scott said. “Diversity should not just be the onsibility of the Department of Multicultural ices. ” Having a ball GUY ROGERS/The Battalion Roger Allgood, a junior marketing major, unloads golf balls at the Penberthy Driving Range. Allgood has worked at the driving range for two years. Council candidates discuss B-CS issues BY JEFF WOLFSHOHL The Battalion The Munson Avenue controversy, Proposition One on the May 1 election ballot, was the major discussion top ic last night by Bryan and College Sta tion city council candidates concern ing the attraction of businesses into the community. The local candidates forum, spon sored by the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, was at the College Station Hilton and Conference Center. Dennis Maloney, a College Station place five candidate, said the road should remain closed to preserve the safety of families and homes. He said exposing the road to the traffic in crease would decrease the property values of the residential area sur rounding Munson Avenue. Bill Davis, another College Station place five candidate, and Winnie Gar ner, College Station place three can didate, spoke in favor of opening the street. They said Munson Avenue was originally closed with safety hazards in mind, and that if it is reopened, the city should conduct experiments to properly address the danger concerns. All of the candidates agreed that the closure decision should be made by the voters May 1. Other elements of business attrac tion discussed were tax breaks, an nexation, ways to increase tourism through tax-revenue spending, and growth and its impact on the com munity. James Massey, a College Station place one candidate, and Garner said the city should use the tax revenue to market the community, but Shannon Schunicht, the other College Station place one candidate, said the councils should reinvest the money to improve its existing attractions. A question posed by an audience member addressed the projected pop ulation growth of Bryan and College Station collectively to 300,000 citizens within the next 25 years. The audi ence member questioned whether or not the cities are prepared to ade quately assess the needs of the ex panding community. Dr. Russell Bradley, a Bryan district three candidate, said the city should help citizens adapt as they encounter changes, and people should begin planning for future housing needs and neighborhood expansions before the drastic population increase be gins. B-CS City Council Candidates College Station Candidates Dennis Maloney, place 5 Joe Dan Franklin, place 5 Bill Davis, place 5 Winnie Garner, place 3 Shannon Schunicht, place 1 James Massey, place 1 Bryan Candidates Rudy Schultz, district 3 Dr. Russell Bradley, district 3 Speaker to address NATO intervention BY BETH MILLER The Battalion Any answer to the question “Should the United States and NATO be in volved in the Kosovo situation?” is controversial. Dr. Joseph Dawson said. Dawson said he will not try to per suade his audience, but rather he will offer points for consideration during his speech at 7 tonight in 301 Rudder on this topic. Dawson, director of the Military Studies Institute, said he will discuss recent history of the situation and ex plain why he believes President Clin ton and NATO delayed action against Yugoslavia as long as they did. He said he believes that Clinton, having been at a young age during the 1960s, was acting in accordance with the popular slogan “Give peace a chance.” He said he believes Clinton was reluctant to use military force in the hope that peace talks would eventually be suc cessful. Dawson said he perceives the situ ation in Kosovo as being a way to re tain the province, and that ethnic cleansing is a method of ridding the area of citizens who wish to be inde pendent from Yugoslavia. Nicole Bourbois, a member of MSC Political Forum and a freshman see NATO on Page 2. Aggie Earth Week to commence at MSC Flagroom BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion The Environmental Issues Commit tee (EIC) of the Student Government Association will begin Aggie Earth Week today with an Environmental Ca reer Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the MSC Flagroom. Royce Rufila, co-chair of EIC and a junior industrial engineering major, said Aggie Earth Week started in 1990 with the purpose of promoting envi ronmental awareness and educating A&M students and the community There will be tables with games, T- shirts, face painting and fliers at Rudder Fountain from 10 a.m. to noon Wednes day and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Jennifer Weizer, co-chair of EIC and a sophomore aerospace engineering major, said the games include “Patch the Ozone,” an environmental version of Pin the Tail On the Donkey and “Stomp and Shoot,” in which people crush aluminum cans and toss them into recycle bins. Weizer said students who participate in the games can win T-shirts designed by a student at Rock Prairie Elementary School in College Station. Thursday, Earth Day, A&M students may participate as honorary judges in selecting the design for next year’s T- shirt, which will also be designed by a Rock Prairie Elementary student. Weizer said she hopes Earth Week : 11 t-*"* a edgeable regarding environmental re lated issues. “We just want people to become more Earth conscious,” she said. Rufila said Bryan and College Station will be hosting Earth Day Activities at the Polo Fields. In celebration of Earth Day, the Texas A&M University Children’s Center is hosting the “Week of the Young” and other Earth Day activities sponsored by Master Gardners’ Club, the A&M De partment of Horticulture, Texas Agri cultural Extension Service, A&M Food Service, A&M College of Veterinary see Earth Week on Page 2.