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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1999)
init 106 YEARS A3T TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY ION esday • September 14,1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 12 • 20 Pages ro< triends mourn passing W ^ A ^ ^ t FOODS psychologii itli a “verv [)f Texas A&M student BY EMILY R. SNOOKS The Battalion Close friends of deceased Texas A&M udent Mark Dennis Klockentager, oti! n his death and strive to inform the udent body in order to help those in milar situations. Klockentager, a 21-year-old senior arketing student from Lake Jackson, id aspirations of becoming the tungest governor of Iowa. He commit- d suicide Friday morning at his home . i College Station. Leuh Russell, Klockentager’s best friend id a junior management information sys- ms major, said he was still reveling about rdering his class ring just a few weeks ussell said that to a perfect stranger, entager seemed like the happiest, motivated person, but to his closest iends there was a different profile, cptj “He was unhappy and had a lot of is- ^mes, but not about grades or his parents,” ussell said. “He had talked about suicide Cf" r M e b ut I never sa id anything about it.” ^ V 1 Hi Rachel Perry, a longtime friend of . , v lockentager’s and senior environmental cienee major said she, and others had one out together Thursday night with Jockentager, who was in good spirits the ntire night. •epiug force said vesteri. raen S troA 1 ’ be Tiri “He was so happy that night, he talked about how he wanted to go to law school in TUlsa,” she said. “When we were drop ping him off at home he was talking about how we were going to an Astros game Fri day night.” “He had talked about suicide before but I never said anything about it — Leah Russell Friend of suicide victim Russell said he was her best friend and she was the last person he spoke with and they had argued before his death but she knows it is not her fault. However, she ex pressed regret that she did not inform oth ers of his depression and said she encour ages students to tell someone if any of their friends ever say anything about ending their lives. “Please tell someone about [suicide],” She said. “Don’t keep it in like I did.” Carissima Gori, a senior speech com munications major, said she considered Klockentager her best male friend and a great person all-around. Gori said Klockentager was an ex tremely good-looking, intelligent, kind person who always brought her spirits up, but seemed to neglect his own emotions and feelings. “Mark would become obsessed with his looks and being fit and dwell on [his] failed relationships,” she said She said she believes certain common beliefs at A&M may have an ill effect on students interpretations of what is expect ed of them in college. “Just because we go to A&M and that most people are engaged by the time they are 20 doesn’t mean that anyone who doesn’t follow that same path is a fail ure,” she said. Perry said she is upset because appar ently A&M has contacted people who knew him but no one has reached her, a close friend since high school. “I myself want to go and talk to some one but no one [from A&M] will help me or wants to talk about it,” she said. Perry said that improvements need to be made as far as campus services to aid students in need of help. She said students see Student on Page 2. Byrd’s sister reacts to trial testimony BY RYAN WEST The Battalion Mylinda Washington, sister of James A. Byrd Jr., the 49-year-old African-American male who was dragged to death in Jasper, said she does not feel prison is responsible for making killers, in response to today’s opening testimony. “At this point, 1 still have faith in the ju dicial system — color is irrelevant,” she said. Washington said the prosecution worked hard to put the details of the case together, and they have a strong case. “It’s hard to say [how the trial is going],” she said. “It’s very tiring, and I’m emotion ally drained.” Washington is taking vacation time from work to stay in Brazos County for the next couple of weeks, or until the trial’s end. The first morning of the trial moved quickly — the prosecution’s opening state ment was less than 15 minutes long and the defense chose not to make a statement. Following their opening argument, the prosecution brought in witnesses, includ ing several convicts with gang related tat toos, who knew Brewer during his former prison years. One witness for the trial, former mem ber of Texas Syndicate (TS), a Hispanic- American prison gang, showed the TS tat too displayed on his arm. “[If you are not in a gang] and if you ain’t strong enough or smart enough, you will get killed or raped in prison,” the for mer TS member said. The witness said when he met Brewer in the Texas Department of Correction in the Summer of 1998, he asked Brewer what he would do if he had the [Byrd] situation to do all over again. “ [Brewer] said he’d do it better,” the wit ness said. “He said if it was up to him he’d take the whole population and shoot them behind the head — man, woman and child. ” Another witness, former member of the Confederate Kings of America (CKA), the Anglo-American prison gang Brewer led for a short time, said gang affiliation provides protection in prison. “If you’re a small white person in prison, you are preyed upon—you can get killed, turn homosexual or kill yourself,” the for mer CKA member said after showing the Ku Klux Klan symbols, confederate flag and burning cross tattoos covering his stomach. He said although he does not feel as strongly about racial hatred as before, if a prison officer said there was no need for gangs in prison he would laugh at him. “You either get with your kind or have a lot of problems throughout your [prison] stay,” the witness said. Testimony throughout the week will of fer further insight into Brewer’s character and recount the death of James A. Byrd Jr. for the Brazos County panel of jurors. The right chemistry A&M marks achievements of Dr. Frank Cotton BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion More than 120 chemists and students of chemistry from all-around the world gath ered in the George Bush Presidential Confer ence Center last night to celebrate the career achievements of Dr. Frank Albert Cotton, a distinguished professor of chemistry and di rector of the laboratory for molecular struc ture and bonding at Texas A&M. The event was the second annual cele^ bration of a professor chosen by the Univer sity provost office and council of distin guished professors for his or her outstanding achievements in research and his or her ac complishments while at A&M. Cotton said while he feels honored, the importance of the event was to show the world A&M’s outstanding faculty. “I feel it is appropriate that A&M use this opportunity to show its distinguished pro fessors to the nation and to the world,” Cotton said. Cotton received his Ph.D. in 1955 from Harvard University. In his 44 years of pro fessional chemistry, he has obtained numer ous achievements including the National Medal of Science in 1982 for his work in or ganic chemistry and an appointment to The National Science Board in 1986 and 1992. Marye Anne Fox, professor of chemistry and chancellor at North Carolina State Uni versity, said Cotton first began his studies of inorganic chemistry at a time when physical chemistry was the dominant area of study. “What he brought with him was a pas sion for originality,” Fox said. “Inorganic is now one of the most studied fields of chemistry, and Al Cotton is one of its pre mier researchers.” Carlos Murillo, a professor of chemistry at the University of Costa Rica and an ad junct professor of chemistry at Texas A&M, said some of Cotton’s biggest achievements are the text books he has written which have reached thousands of students. “Advanced Inorganic Chemistry has now had over half a million copies sold and is used all over the nation,” Murillo said. “Many, many students have benefited from Dr. Cotton’s wonderful insight.” Cotton has also written Basic Inorganic Chemistry, a college text which has been trans lated into eight foreign languages, and Chem istry-An Investigative Approach, a high school text used in high schools around the country. George G. Stanley, a professor of chem istry at Louisiana State University, said one of the achievements which sets Cotton apart from other research scientists is the sheer numbers of his 1,421 research papers. 111 Ph.D. graduates and 156 post doctoral Fel lows he has produced during his career in chemistry. “These are absolutely remarkable and mind staggering numbers for any chemist,” Stanley said “These papers and chemists have had a tremendous impact on the study see Cotton on Page 2. sports •Taking on the world 'World Cup player , Martha Moore brings experience to Texas A&M. Page 15 aggielife •Flat Broke jLearn how to manage money i/hile earning an education. Page 3 opinion •Frankenstein foods [Europeans have [overreacted to the (introduction of - ^genetically altered <foods into markets. Page 19 Batt radio [Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 11:57 p.m.for details on Bryan’s • search for its citizen of the year. %}■ Campaign effort focuses on teaching responsibility BY JULIE ZUCKER The Battalion Texas A&M is joining with 112 other universities in the National Campaign for Alcohol and Drug Ed ucation which aims to enhance awareness among college students about the dangers of binge drinking. Patti Collins, coordinator of cam pus-wide alcohol and drug educa tion at A&M, said the campaign is designed to change students’ per ception of drinking. She said one- third of high school students come to college with an image of binge drinking as part of college life. “The idea that everyone boozes is ridiculous,” Collins said. “If we can change that idea students have, we have made the first step in the right direction.” The campaign’s main focus is to convince students not to binge drink. Collins said binge drinking is equal to a man consuming more than five beers in one hour, or a woman drinking more than four hours. It can also be related to chug ging, drinking to get drunk, drinking too fast or mixing drugs and alcohol. According to the National Har vard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study in 1997, three million college students met the standard for binge drinkers. The study said one in five students identify themselves as a frequent high-risk drinker. Collins said engaging in high-risk drinking is life threatening, and stu dents need to know the facts. She said most students at A&M don’t put themselves in a high-risk drinking situation. “Students don’t come to college to become alcoholics,” Collins said. “That is why our campaign is so im portant. We need to reach the stu dents and help them before they hurt themselves.” According to a 1998 survey con ducted by the Department of Edu cation, 56 percent of A&M students do not engage in high-risk drinking. The campaign at A&M is moti vating students to become aware of the risk by incorporating the infor mation into curriculum. A&M hosts career fair, 2nd largest in nation mmsMWmmmm&mm -Three million college students met the standards ; a for binge drinking in 1997 -1 in S students identtfv themselves as frequent high-risk drinkers ROBERT HYNECEK/The BATTALION Collins said there will be infor mation available through kinesiolo gy classes. Alcohol 101 workshops, peer educators and counseling ser vices at A.P. Beutel Health Center. The campaign is starting a project called “The 21st Birthday Card” where cards will be sent to students on their 21st birthday to remind them to celebrate responsibly. Daphne Dykes, a sophomore business major, said the campaign needs to get the word out about the effects of high-risk drinking. “As long as the campus is aware of the problems high-risk drinking has, students will listen,” she said. “I just know students will drink no matter what.” see Campaign on Page 2. BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion The Fall 1999 Capitalizing on En gineering Opportunities Career Fair, is giving engineering majors a chance to meet with representatives from various companies and increase their chance of getting a job after gradua tion, which begins today and runs through Thursday in Reed Arena. Danny Boyer, the career fair chair and a senior mechanical engineer ing major, said 200 companies from around the world will attend the fair to help students find jobs. “[We’ve done this] for 12 or so years, but this is the biggest,” he said. “This is the second largest en gineering career fair in the country. ” An estimated 4,000 students are expected to attend the fair and meet with representatives from companies. Boyer said some large compa nies attending the fair are Dell, Compaq, Microsoft, Texaco, Shell Oil, NASA and Anderson Consult ing Company. filing on Engineering A’REER FAlRd?.- Over 200 compaMcn will he represented today through fridey in Reed Arc/i.i > JP BEATO/The Battalion Terry Frank, a senior mechanical engineering major, said the career fair is an opportunity to meet with companies. “ [This] gives me a good chance to talk to employers, get my resume out there, and talk and see what they have to offer when I graduate in May,” Frank said. “I’ve been every year and it’s very exciting because I’m really looking for a job.” Justin Ring, the Capitalizing on Engineering Opportunities Career Fair Fall 1999 golf director and a se nior civil engineering major, said to day begins with a golf tournament on the A&M Golf Course in which a student will be paired with a repre- see Fair on Page 2.