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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1999)
5309 A2322 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY MONDAY May 31, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 143 • 6 Pages College Station, Texas PAGE 4 today’s issue Campus 2 News 6 Battalion Radio # Listen at 1:57 p.m. to 90.9 KAMU-FM for updates on the trial of the second man charged in the death of James Byrd Jr. opinion • Fans' unfair expectations for Phantom Menace take fun out of movie experience. egents select Graves s chancellor finalist BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion I The Texas A&M University Board of Regents Elected retired three-star Gen. Howard Graves B the finalist to become the Texas A&M Uni versity System Chancellor. Robert Allen, a Board of Regents member Dm Houston, said the selection process began ne months ago. He said the Board of Regents red the world-renowned search firm Korn ^Krry to look for the most qualified candidates of' tl fill this position. what™ “We told them we were looking for some- it ihaiWie with diversified and vast management ex- ihat tfrBrience, experience dealing with government, d reguBid we wanted them to have high academic IBedentials,” Allen said. “We were particularly id noi Bterested in finding someone who had some llsfrorBperience in corporate management.” I Graves graduated from West Point in 1961 lones&Bhere his studies focused on the hard sciences, fth-veaBcluding math, engineering and physics. He ihletic Boved on to Oxford University, where he was he v.. ' a Ithodes Scholar and earned bachelor of arts, faster of arts and master of letters degrees. Graves said when he was attending West int, 60 percent of his curriculum was math d sciences and 40 percent was liberal arts. “I did very well in the math and sciences it not as well in the liberal arts areas,” Graves id. “This is why 1 decided to round out my ®ucation by earning my bachelor of arts in litics, philosophy and economics and my asters of letters degree in modern history.” Graves was assistant to Adm. William owe and Gen. Colin Powell when they wed as chairs of the U .S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. He served as superintendent of the Army r ar College and later became Superintendent o West Point. “This is the equivalent to being the CEO of a corporation,” Allen said. Graves said his duties when he becomes chancellor will be equivalent to being in charge of a multifunctioning corporation. “You have to work the boundaries,” Graves said. “I will be responsible for strategic plan ning concerning public affairs, legislative affairs and relationships with people that will affect our welfare. ” He said some of his other duties will include resource management and allocation of funds to try to balance the needs of the flagship and regional universities. Graves said upon becoming chancellor he would like to develop and maintain close per sonal relationships so that he and others can work together for a shared vision. “IPs important to me to get a a lot of insights and ask a lot of questions of the people who are leading and working the A&M System..." GEN. HOWARD GRAVES “It’s important to me to get a lot of insights and ask a. lot of questions of the people who are leading and working the A&M System be fore I make any decisions about actions which need to be taken,” he said. “I want to find out what has been done, is being done and ought to be done from outstanding people who are wrestling with certain issues before developing firm opin ions of my own.” Allen said Graves was also assistant to for mer Secretaiy of State James Baker during the latter part of the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm. Graves is currently a visiting pro fessor of World Peace at the LBJ School of Pub lic Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught international politics and is cur rently teaching personal ethics. University President Dr. Ray M.Bowen said he has heard great things about Graves’ and looks forward to working with him. Graves said he has no specific plahs as of yet for the System. “I have principles of operation which I’m sure are being practiced already, such as the pursuit of excellence, honesty and integrity above all, but I do not come with an agenda for dealing with current issues,” he said. In a press release, Gen. Colin Powell said, “His judgment is consistently sound, he is smart as the devil and gains peoples’ confi dence rapidly. He was one of the Army’s fore most educators.” Dionel Aviles, a member of the Board of Re gents, from Houston, said Graves’ selection will be posted with the Secretary of State’s office because it is required by law that the Board must post finalists at least 21 days before final action is taken. In other business, the regents also ap proved a proposal for the dismissal of A&M computer science professor Dhiraj Prad- han, to be effective July.l. Pradhan was found guilty of misappropriating Universi ty funds for personal use. Pradhan has filed counter law suits. Pradhan was out of town and unavailable for comment. Other items approved by at the Board of Regents meeting included: •The preliminary design for the Coastal Engineering Lab at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station in College Station • The schematic design for the O.R. Simpson Drill Field Reviewing Facility • For the Master of Agriculture Degree Pro gram to be offered through distance education. ANTHONY DISALVO/The Battalion Pallbearers carry the casket of former Texas Sen. William T. Moore Sunday. Moore was entombed in a mausoleum at Restever Memorial Park in Bryan. A&M remembers efforts of Moore Senator led push for women’s admission BY VERONICA SERRANO The Battalion “He was determined and persistent,” A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen said of former State Senator William T. “Bill” Moore, Class of ’40. Moore, nicknamed the “Bull of the Brazos,” died last Thurs day in Bryan at the age of 81. One of Moore’s contributions to the University was the fight he lead in the Senate to allow women to be admitted to Texas A&M. Bowen said Moore believed admitting women to the University would “better A&M and Texas.” Moore and then-University president Earl Rudder “caused it [the admission of women to the University] to happen,” Bowen said. Moore’s first step in his fight for women to attend the University wqs to propose legislation in 1953 to the Texas Senate, and it was passed without debate or objection. According to an Associated Press ar ticle published in The Battalion in 1953, Sen. Searcy Bracewell of Houston, Class of ’38, and other senators had been ab sent when the vote had been taken. Af ter Bracewell heard the bill had been passed, he engaged in a debate with Moore, and for more than an hour, the former A&M students argued back and forth. An Associated Press reporter quoted Moore as saying, “Why should we deny girls the right to attend that college see Moore on Page 2. A&M tops ’49ers in Regionals BY DOUG SHILLING The Battalion Coming into Sunday’s championship I round of the 1999 NCAA Regional at Col- I lege Station, the Texas A&M Baseball I Team faced the daunting challenge of I having to win twice against Long Beach I State University with a depleted pitching I staff to advance to the NCAA Super Re- I gionals. On the strength of an outstanding I pitching performance by freshman I Khalid Ballouli in the afternoon and an I offensive outburst in the evening, the Ag- I gies (50-15) turned the trick as they de- I feated the ’49ers (35-25) to move on to I the Super Regionals, where they will face I Clemson University. “Obviously I’m very proud of the | team,” A&M coach Mark Johnson said. “We did it the hard way, but this team has a strong resolve. KB (Ballouli) gave us a great outing this afternoon, and Chris Russ bulldogged it through for us, and our hitters stepped up for us.” In the deciding game, the Aggies put up 17 runs, including eight in the third inning, to clinch the regional title 17-7. The 17 runs off four Long Beach pitchers were the second most allowed by the ’49ers this year. Long Beach State coach Dave Snow said the onslaught of runs was due to their lack of pitching depth. SALLIE TURNER/The Battalion Texas A&M juniors Courtney Weller (28) and Dell Lindsey (16) and senior Matt Ward (far right) celebrate with teammates at Olsen Field Sunday night after the A&M Baseball Team’s 17-7 victory over Long Beach State University to capture the 1999 NCAA Regional crown. The Aggies will face Clemson University in Super Regional competition Friday. “What hurt us was our starting pitch ing,” he said. “We were never able to get more than five innings out of our starters. They (A&M) just really swung the bat well.” Regional MVP Steven Truitt led the way for the Aggies in the championship game going 2-for-5 with a grand slam in the pivotal third inning. In the tournament, TTuitt was 9-for- 23 with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Johnson said Truitt seemed to be “in a zone” during the tournament. “This is as comfortable as I’ve seen Steven in the box since he has been here,” Johnson said. “I don’t think they thought they could get him out and I don’t think he thought they could get him out.” All-Tournament performer Daylan Holt also had a great game at the plate for A&M going 4-for-6 with a home run, three doubles, four RBI and three runs scored. see Aggies on Page 3. Friends mourn student’s death BY VERONICA SERRANO The Battalion Friends of 19-year-old John Earl Willard said they will miss the intelligent and caring Texas A&M sophomore who was killed in an automo bile accident. Willard, a computer science major from Fair- field, was killed Thursday af ternoon when his truck struck a tree on Highway 6. Eric Peterson, Willard’s roommate and a junior com puter science major, said, “He [Willard] was a saint.” Kristin Byers, who will be attending Blinn College in the fall, said Willard could make anyone happy. “He was a really strong person,” she said. Tim Sherber, a Fairfield resident who grew up with Willard, said he was an outgoing person who concentrated on his schoolwork. “He was one of the smartest people I know,” Sherber said. “He was a real caring person. If you made a friend with John, you made a friend for life.” Byers and Sherber said Willard’s goal in life was to become a millionaire. “He even had a license plate border that said, ‘Millionaire in Progress,”’ Byers said. Trooper Robert Turner of the Highway Pa trol, who was at the scene of the accident, said Willard’s vehicle was headed north on Highway 6 when it crossed the southbound lanes and veered into a ditch, where it hit the tree and caught fire at approximately 12:05 p.m. Turner said the cause of the accident is pend ing autopsy results. Willard’s funeral was held Sunday in Fair- field. WILLARD
