105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
MONDAY
July 26,1999
Volume 105 • Issue 175 • 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
opinion
• Gov. Jesse Venturas return to
pro wrestling shows the same
attitude that won him votes.
PAGE 5
today’s issue
Nation 4
Battalion Radio
Tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM at
1:57 p.m. for more information
about the waiver of state sales
taxes on clothing this August.
sports
• Nolan Ryans27-year career
left impressive statistics and
fond memories for his fans.
PAGES
egents approve auditor,
ew facility construction
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
■he Texas A&M University System Board of
?gt nts approved the selection of the System’s
st chief auditor and the construction of facil-
■ both on and off campus at its meeting in
jtpus Christi last Thursday and Friday,
■atherine A. Smock was appointed to the po-
[ion which was created at the December board
citing. The chief auditor is to serve as a direct
ik between the board and all A&M System au-
i)g divisions.
■he regents passed a proposal to develop a con-
jtrtual plan and design of Phase I of the Joe Routt
la and Mall and to select an architect/engineer
id obtain authorization for the design of the Stu-
‘dt Leadership Retreat Center at A&M.
■he Joe Routt Plaza and Mall project will be
ivided into different phases of construction,
jie first phase will require the placement of ve
hicle barriers at Clark and Throckmorton
Streets, the relocation of the bus and vehicular
drop-off area at the MSC, the relocation of ve
hicular access to the loading dock at the MSC
and the construction of bollards to block Hous
ton Street just north of the west side entrance
and exit to the Koldus Parking Garage.
The regents said the goal of the project is to
provide a safe and protected pedestrian passage
way from the residence halls to the pedestrian ac
cess ways to West Campus facilities and the
planned West Campus parking garage. This pro
ject will also provide a main connection through
the MSC to the north, G. Rollie White Coliseum,
Kyle Field and West Campus. Regents said this
will offer pedestrians a safe route from the MSC
to the Koldus Building and parking garage.
The remaining phases of the Joe Routt Plaza
and Mall project will improve the underground
utilities and finish the surface areas in the com
pleted mall.
The proposed site for the Student Leadership
Retreat Center is approximately 240 acres of dense
ly wooded land southwest of Easterwood Airport.
The proposed plans for the Center include a gen
eral assembly building, four smaller assembly
buildings, four overnight facilities, four outdoor
pavilions, an outdoor amphitheater, a lodge for vis
iting dignitaries and a stewards’ house.
The Board said there is a need for this kind
of facility at A&M to accommodate the 768 stu
dent organizations that conduct retreats and
workshops every year and are outgrowing the
facilities available in the College Station area.
The Board said the goal of the Center is to
provide efficient, functional and convenient al
ternatives to the costly and distant travel that is
currently required to hold meetings, dances, re
unions, movies, seminars, orientations and oth
er functions.
see Regents on Page 2.
RETREAT CENTER
SITE
MARK MCPHERSONAl llh BattaUon
Texas A&M's new Student Leadership Retreat Center will be located west
of campus near Easterwood Airport. The center will provide additional
facilities for student organizations on campus.
Banner day
JP BEATO/Thk Baitai.ion
Senior management major Kris Evans of Camp Siebert Classified paints a “Spirit of Aggieland"
Danner for camp-room decorations Sunday. Fish Camp runs throughout the summer and
continue until the beginning of fall classes.
Prof offers flight theory
Disorientation effect a possible factor in JFK Jr. crash
BY MEGAN E. WRIGHT
The Battalion
A Texas A&M professor is offering his
theories on spatial disorientation, a con
dition that some speculate John F.
Kennedy Jr. may have experienced the
night Kennedy’s plane crashed, killing
Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Kennedy
Bessette and her sister Lauren Bessette.
Dr. Charles Lessard, an associate pro
fessor of biomedical engineering at
A&M, spent two and a half years work
ing with the United States Air Force re
searching and developing training pro
grams concerning spatial disorientation.
Spatial disorientation can occur
when a pilot has little or zero visibili
ty and must rely on the plane’s instru
ments for guidance. A pilot who does
not constantly consult the instruments
but instead relies on his or her own in
stincts may become disoriented by
sensations perceived by the body.
Lessard said one theory as to why
Kennedy’s plane crashed is called so-
matogravic illusion.
“When the plane accelerates,
gravity causes the pilot to be pulled
back and think the plane is pulling
up,” he said. “Not being able to see
“When a new pilot, as
JFK Jr. was, has only
2,000 feet to work
with, it leaves him
almost no time to
correct the problem.”
— Dr. Charles Lessard
Professor of biomedical engineering
a horizon for a point of reference, he
instinctively pushes the nose down
to compensate for what he thinks is
happening.
“He does not know the plane was,
in fact, traveling in a straight line.”
Lessard said that when the nose is
pushed down, the pilot then feels like
he is pitched forward, causing him to
pull back on the nose. Eventually, the
plane may decelerate and lose
enough speed to stall.
“When the plane stalls at a high
altitude, the experienced pilot has a
little time to correct himself,” Lessard
said. “But when a new pilot, as JFK
Jr. was, has only 2,000 feet to work
with, it leaves him almost no time to
correct the problem:”
Another theory for the cause of
the crash that Lessard offered is
called somatogyral illusion. This il
lusion also happens when a pilot
does not check the navigation in
struments and allows the plane to
gradually turn itself into a turning
descent.
Lessard said when experiencing
somatogyral illusion, the pilot will
get an unusual sensation caused by
the inner ear.
see Flight on Page 2.
Carroll honored for
public-relations work
BY SUZANNE BRABECK
The Battalion*
Sherylon Carroll, the associate direc
tor for Public Relations at Texas A&M
University, was honored by PR Week
magazine as one of the “top-40 rising
stars” in public relations.
Carroll, Class of ’82, has been around
Aggies her whole life. She grew up in
Bryan and decided to attended Texas
A&M to stay close to
home, following her
mother’s guidance.
She returned to A&M
in 1990 and has since
won several awards in
her field.
“I am very lucky
that I work in a place
that energizes me,”
she said. “Outside,
when I see all of the
young people walking around, it makes
me feel good about what I am doing.”
As a part of A&M’s Office of Uni
versity Relations, Carroll said her suc
cess comes from a group effort. She
said she and her co-workers draw
from each other’s strengths by teach
ing one another and by celebrating
their successes together and evaluat
ing difficulties.
Carroll, a mother and a wife, said
public relations is not as easy as one
would think. She said she likes it be
cause it is different every day.
Her department is in charge of the
Aggie Hotline, an internal e-mail distri
bution list that is distributed to faculty
and staff. In addition, Carroll has re
sponsibilities including media relations
and radio, television and video pro
gramming.
She also supervises special events,
the office’s electronic communication
services, graphic design and multimedia
presentations.
Carroll received important radio ex
perience from WTAW-KTSR radio sta
tions in Bryan-College Station. There she
was responsible for 12 daily newscasts.
“We have student workers that we
learn from,” she said. “They help us to
keep focused on their needs and desires
— this helps us from getting stuck in our
own mind-set.”
Carroll said one has to have a high-
energy level and enjoy working with
people to succeed in relations.
see Carroll on Page 2.
Austinites
celebrate
Tour win
AUSTIN (AP) — Karl Hauss-
mann watched on the Internet as
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de
France and was astounded.
see Related Column on Page 3.
“God this is cool,” said Hauss-
mann, director of Armstrong’s can
cer research foundation. “This is
amazing. It’s Lance; it’s the come
back; it’s history.”
Haussman was in his office by 8
a.m. yesterday. The European broad
cast of a series of still photos from the
race was sometimes fuzzy and digi
tally mangled. But it would take more
than that to spoil Haussmann’s day.
When the race started July 3, few
thought Armstrong could win cy
cling’s most prestigious and rugged
race. After all, the 27-year-old rider
from Austin was recovering from
testicular cancer that had spread to
his lungs and brain.
see Tour on Page 2.