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106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
dnesday • September 8, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 8*16 Pages
-o-lot
iversity Education
offers forum on trial
Remembrance
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BY APRIL YOUNG
The Battalion
Tbe relocation of the trial of Lawrence Russell
ewer in the murder of James Byrd Jr. from Jasper
Blazos County has prompted staff in the Office
Di/ersity Education to hold student dialogue
oups to discuss specific issues involved with the
irm such as social power and privilege, racism,
assism, hate crime and healing.
witact Lerne
rr) Dialogue group sessions will be held once a
■;// /(•• ' eek starting the week of Sept. 13 and continuing
\RD rough the week of Oct. 18.
f^B^cky Petitt, coordinator of diversity education,
ud the hate group presence during the trial in
, isper is one reason for the formation of the dia-
HHe groups.
“I saw [Ku Klux] Klanand Panther presence dur-
ig the trial of John William King in Jasper and 1
jtlens.com nticipated that they would come here,” Petitt said.
1 wanted to do something that would allow stu-
ents to talk about their feelings about the trial be-
»|, O.D., PC jg p os t ec i j n our community.”
jptometnst Facilitators will determine a convenient time and
)cation each week for their groups to meet.
The facilitators are faculty and staff who have
undergone a semester of training to teach them
how to facilitate conversations dealing with diver
sity and diversity related issues.
Maco Faniel, vice president of community im
provement for student government and a sopho
more speech communication major, said it is im
portant for students to get involved in the student
dialogue groups.
“Even though we don’t get an opportunity to sit
on the jury, it is important to sit and talk about [the
Jasper trial],” Faniel said. “Looking at history, most
social changes have been brought about by people
ages 18 to 25 , so we are responsible for our future. ”
Faniel said he hopes moving the trial to the
Bryan-College Station area will increase the chance
for the defendant to have a more diversified jury.
“Students other than ethnic minorities should
get involved in the dialogue groups because if only
minorities talk about it, then nothing will change,”
Faniel said. “We need to come together and try to
get on the same page about issues such as hate
crimes and discrimination.”
Darrell Holmes, a citizen of Jasper and a senior
psychology major, said he hopes the trial will bring
about a sense of racial sensitivity.
“My hope is that after this trial more people will
be aware of the tension we have towards races and
what they are sensitive to,” Holmes said. “People
need to let go of the black-white thing so we can
have openness and gain an understanding of how
see Diversity on Page 2.
mi
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§ IHurd set
to address
r University
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4409 S.TettiN vt
Hrvan TXT/W
(409) 846-081
(Near Fajiu R*
BY RACHEL HOLLAND
The Battalion
^Student Body President Will Hurd will out
line his major initiatives for the year and dis-
tuss making Texas A&M a top-ranking univer-
a ■ sity during his State of the University address
tonight at 6 p.m. in the MSC Flagroom.
:f Hurd, a senior computer science and inter
national studies major, said the student body
president traditionally speaks to the Student
Senate at the State of the University address,
but this year he plans to to expand the listen
ing audience.
KrAll us of are committed to making Texas
-\&M a better university and this is an oppor-
:unity to involve all members of the Aggie fam-
ly,” he said. “Various student leaders, admin-
strators and community leaders will also be
here, giving students the opportunity to in-
eract with the people who are responsible for
707 TexasA'Tie betterment of Bryan and College Station.”
Bo* Hurd said one of the initiatives he will de-
822-2t ! icribe in his address is a listserve called “SBP
—■Talk ” a method for him to communicate
Bvaekly with students through email. He will
Jiscuss the role of academics at the Universi-
y and how to establish reasonable expecta-
;rs
, tulips)
lecepted.
wwwunitedityj^ions for faculty and students.
see Address on Page 2
TAMC
changes
program
BY BROOKE HODGES
* The Battalion
The yellow color will remain,
but the Borrow-A-Bike program
will undergo changes this fall —
including updating the mechanics
the of the bicycles — to better
serve students who are looking for
an easier way to cross campus
than on foot or by bus.
The Borrow-A-Bike program, a
sub-committee of Texas Aggies
Making Changes (TAMC), began
in the spring and gives students a
new alternative to campus travel.
Students can borrow a yellow bi
cycle to get to their class and leave
it outside the classroom’s building
for other students to use.
Bob Shelton, co-director of the
Borrow-A-Bike committee and a
senior environmental design ma
jor, said this semester the com
mittee is using the bicycles aban
doned on campus during the
Spring semester. Improvements
made to the program this semes
ter include updating the mechan
ics of the bicycles.
Shelton said the gears were re
moved from all bikes, making
them easier to ride.
This past spring semester the
derailer, used to keep tension in a
bicycle’s chain, was also re
moved. Shelton said removing the
derailer led to the chain falling off
which in the past made students
assume the bicycle was broken;
therefore this year they will keep
their derailers.
At the beginning of the pro
gram many cycles were vandal
ized by students who believed the
bikes were not working properly.
“The bicycles in good [work
ing] order rarely got vandalized,”
Shelton said.
Paige Sherman, co-director of
the Borrow-A-Bike committee and
a junior education major, said the
staff hopes to put more bikes
throughout the campus in order to
make the program seem more
normal.
“If we keep putting them [bi-
ROBBIE GEHBAUER/Tm Battalion
Chris Paul, a freshman general studies major and a member of B-Battery of the Texas Aggie Band, records
names yesterday afternoon of the Aggies to be remembered at Silver Taps. Silver Taps was held last night.
Engineering passes
target enrollment
BY AMANDA SMITH
The Battalion
The Dwight Look College of Engineering surpassed its
benchmark enrollment number and accepted approximately
150 students more than the 1,600 freshman targeted for the fall
semester.
The College of Engineering said the unofficial number of
freshman enrolled in the college is estimated at 1,750.
Karan Watson, an associate dean for graduate and under
graduate programs for the College of Engineering, said the
freshman class of engineers was too large last year.
“It was too high last year,” Watson said. “It was larger than
we are comfortable handling. It also has to do with the re-
. sources we have for other classes as well, not just engineering
classes.”
Last year’s class of 2,064 students marked the largest engi
neering class in Texas A&M’s history.
Watson said large freshmen numbers have impacted other
colleges on campus, increasing the demand for introductory
history, math, science and English classes.
Clifford Peel, a freshman petroleum engineering major, said
he did not have problems registering for either engineering or
core curriculum classes because he is part of a cluster. A clus
ter is a group of 90 students who take three classes pertaining
to engineering together.
“1 didn’t really have any trouble getting classes because the
cluster was already planned with a physics class, a calculus
class and an engineering class,” Peel said.
The College of Engineering offers 14 areas of engineering,
with the highest number of undergraduate engineers enrolled
in mechanical engineering and computer science.
Watson said she hopes to retain many of the freshman en
gineers enrolled for the fall semester.
“We are hoping to retain a lot of the students,” Watson said.
“A lot of students who change their minds about staying in en
gineering change by the end of their freshman or sophomore
year. ”
see Freshmen on Page 2
ANTHONY DISALVO/Tm: Battalion
Texas Aggies Making Changes readies for the new semester by mak
ing changes to its Borrow-A-Bike program.
cycles] out there, people will get
accustomed to them being out
there,” she said. “[It will be a]
normal thing, not a big, new, fun
thing to vandalize.”
Sherman said all the bicycles
originate at the MSC bicycle rack,
and most end up around the Com
mons, John R. Blocker, and back
at the MSC.
Sherman said, last year the Bor
row-A-Bike program was well pro
moted, but this year the bicycles’
release will be kept low key in or
der to try and reduce vandalism.
Ben Rodgers, chair of TAMC
and a junior finance major, said
that the idea for the Borrow-A-Bike
program came three years ago.
Rodgers said the program, which
is active in larger cities, provides
an easy way across campus.
Rodgers said the program was
see Bicycle on Page 2.
IGHT SYSTEMS
liable. Youca' ta
i. Located ne)'
ght
orps of Cadets implements new dining-hall etiquette policy
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
Instead of yelling orders and
light Systems, li* shin S to finish a mea1 ’ the Cor P s
rwood Airport Cadets are now required to
ge Station, TX trn proper etiquette — the cor-
AM) ^ pi acement silverware and
jjg ma nners. The Corps is start-
the school year with a new eti-
lliiette policy at Duncan Dining
- - which reflects the traditions
Old Army.
Corps of Cadets Commander
rrest Lane, a senior political sci-
ce and economics major, said
ider the old procedure, each
det would enter the dining cen-
6-34TT | ta k e t ' ieir own sil verwar e, set
4 air own places, and wait for their
.S • 696-l44 t mrna nding officers to tell them
—. len and how to eat according to
EE ch outfits traditions.
■ ■ “It was a lot more intense of an
perience,” Lane said. “While
;re is some merit to that, we felt
il 8:30pM ltwe nee ded to focus on making
? cadets more prepared for expe-
ny) nces not only in a military set-
gjg, but also in the business envi-
ment they may encounter after
IP?y leave the Corps. ”
Lane said that under the cur
rent etiquette procedure, a few
freshmen from each outfit enter
Duncan and set place settings ac
cording to proper dinning eti
quette for each cadet who will be
eating. He said the cadets then en
ter the dining center, receive their
food, and stand at the table where
they will be accompanied by the
rest of their outfit.
Lane said once the entire outfit
is at the table with upperclassmen
situated at the head of the table,
each cadet greets each other during
what is called the “daily greeting.”
When all the cadets have greeted
one another, they sit and com
mence eating according to proper
dining etiquette, including such
things as placing napkins placed in
their laps, he said.
Nick Ferrata, a freshman cadet
and general studies major, said^tra-
ditional values are still a a part of
meal time.
“Overall I think the change is out
standing,” he said. “Both intensity
and etiquette are still important.”
Col. Shady Groves, assistant
commandant for operations and
training, said the new dining eti
quette allows for a more relaxed at
mosphere which also allows the
cadets more time to eat comfortably.
“The purpose during dinner is
now to allow the cadets to eat,”
Groves said. “In the past, it was
mostly to train with [a] secondary
purpose to eat.”
Thomas Yantis, freshman cadet
and business major, said the new
meal time policy is beneficial.
“We don’t have to rush to eat
and we can eat all we care for,”
Yantis said.
Deputy Corps Commander
Mark Macicek, a senior business
major, said the changes in etiquette
policy were partially due to a return
to the older tradition of “family
style” dinner in which cadets were
served food and were expected to
maintain proper etiquette.
“That policy changed in the late
’80s and early ’90s,” Macicek said.
“It progressed to something which
we felt needed to be changed to
better serve the cadets.”
Tommy Danaher, a cadet and a
junior environmental design major,
said he thinks the new etiquette
policy will be beneficial to cadets
outside of the dining hall.
CHAD ADAMS/The Battalion
Burke Wilson (left), a freshman biology major, Kenny Macdonald, (mid
dle) a junior journalism major and Andrew Chaudoir (right), a freshman
construction science dine in Duncan Hall.
“I think that most girls think
that Corps guys eat like pigs,” he
said “This will definitely help us
develop a more mature and proper
way of eating. ”
On the other hand, Jorge Esco
bar, a cadet and junior wildlife and
fisheries major, said he believes the
changes will be detrimental to the
motivation of freshmen cadets.
“They think that because they
can be relaxed in the dining center,
they can be relaxed outside the din
ning center,” he said.
“It is reflected in the way they
perform in other Corps activities.”
INSIDE
aggielife
Fanning the flames
'Students debate
advantages,
•♦^disadvantages
of smoking.
Page 3
opinion
•The dreaded fifteen
Columnist advises on how to
avoid the ‘weighty’ phenomenon
known as the freshman fifteen.
Page 15
sports
•Aggies sweep Bobcats
Aggie volleyball
garners win over
Southwest Texas
1 State University.
Page 11
Batt Radio
Tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM for
information on the Houston Mu
seum of Fine Art’s film season.