Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1999)
106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 13*18 Pages JAOJ2*- PEDICL triends of the NRA liather for auction Bnan, IX ^ 4409 (409) 84641 (Near Fajita H: BY CHRIS MENCZER The Battalion tch rs tulips) Nearly 600 second-amendment ‘pporters, including State Senator ‘ve Ogden and Brazos County eriff Chris Kirk, attended the sev- th annual Friends of NRA (Nation- Rifle Association) banquet and ction last night at the Brazos Cen- in Bryan. :e related editorial on Page 17. At the auction. Friends of NRA ?mbers auctioned off guns, art, cepted. ye|ry, hardware, knives, all-terrain ^hicles and gift certificates. Frtends of NRA, while part of the ,1A foundation, is an apolitical, 707 Tews J|iL ro f-^ ec i uca tional organization, “'st [ year’s banquet and auction 1 sed more than $30,000, which “ikbd second in Texas and sixth na- nally. ’Officials are optimistic that this wwwun lt ^ ar ! s event wil1 garner more than ?ir expected goal of $40,000. ; Proceeds of the auction are to be donated to “Eddie Eagle,” the NRA’s national education program designed to teach children to stay away from guns; Refuse to be a Victim, which is a women’s self-defense program; the 4-H Club skeet range; and the Boys Club of America. Jack Lester, secretary-treasurer of Friends of NRA, said the turnout marks a noticeable increase in at tendance from last year’s event, which did not surprise event offi cials due to recent clamor for stricter gun-control laws. Larry Tatom, guest speaker and NRA field representative for South Texas, said participation increases when talk of gun control legislation heightens. “The more legislation is passed to restrict [gun-ownership] rights, the more people turn out,” he said. Tatom, Class of ’76, has been a guest speaker for the A&M Young Republi cans and was active in the Aggieland chapter for the NRA, the first collegiate chapter of the NRA nationwide. John Lilly, Brazos Valley Friends, of NRA chair, said Friends of NRA is ded- CHAD ADAMS/Thk Battalion Dr. Gene Howard, an ordcrined Bap tist minister and a preacher, recites his original patriotic poetry at the Friends of the NRA fundraiser dinner. icated to educational, not political ends. “We are not the NRA,” Lilly said. “We are a sister organization. We are 100 percent non-political. We support gun education at a grassroots level. “If people are educated and trained, you are not going to have ac cident,” he said. “You are not going to‘ have tragedies. ” Lilly said between $15,000 and $20,000 of merchandise was auc tioned off at the banquet. Court denies union A&M, law school fight to keep affiliation BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion ■ The Texas Supreme Court denied a position for a stay which would allow Texas A&M and the South Texas College of Law to indefinitely continue their affiliation agreement be ginning Sept. 28. Texas A&M and the South Texas College of Law will chal lenge the Texas Higher Educa tion Coordinating Board Nov. 3 in the 3rd U.S. Court of Ap peals, in hopes of maintaining the affiliation agreement signed between the higher education institutions in January 1998. Sheila Hansel, public rela tions manager of the South Texas College of Law, said the denial of the stay will only nominally affect the in stitutions. “We get to keep doing the academic arrangements, like faculty exchanges,” Hansel said. “Texas A&M can’t make ap pointments to the Board [at South Texas]. We will be in compliance on the 28th.” A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen was not available for comment yesterday on the de nial of the stay. After the affiliation agree ment was signed between A&M and the South Texas College of Law, the coordinating board said A&M should have consult ed the board before signing the affiliation agreement with the South Texas College of Law. The coordinating board is responsible for oversight in the distribution of diplomas by state-funded higher education institutions, including both schools. Hansel said the affiliation agreement is advantageous for both schools. “The affiliation allows for Texas A&M to claim a law pro gram without adding a sepa rate law program and faculty, and with the benefit of a 75- year-old law school,” Hansel said. “We get the affiliation with the giant Texas A&M University. ” Guide: A&M campus 3rd least gay-friendly BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion “Alternative lifestyle is not an alternative,” at Texas A&M, according to The Princeton Re view Guide: The Best 331 Colleges, 2000 Edition, which ranked A&M as the third least gay- friendly campus nationwide. The catalog is an annual publication that ranks students at 331 colleges nationwide on college-re lated topics based upon surveys from more than 59,000 students who were randomly surveyed. Students were asked whether or not students, faculty and administrators treat all persons equally regardless of their sexual orientations. Duke University is reportedly the least gay friendly, followed by the University of Notre Dame. Jordan Davis, secretary of the Gay, Lesbian, Bi sexual and TVansgendered Aggies (GLBTA) and a sophomore English and political science major, said a predominate conservative attitude is what brings many people to A&M, but it is also what keeps some students from feeling included. “A&M is unique in that it requires an emo tional investment which brings its students to gether in with a bond that extends far beyond school spirit,” Davis said. “I think that every one should be disturbed when some students are kept from being a part of this bond because of prejudice.” Jackie Mohrfeld, a senior mechanical engi neering major, said much of the discrimination comes from what she calls “the good old boy attitude” of many of A&M students, including herself. She said the attitude reflects the con servative values predominant at A&M. “Even the word ‘gay’ is a word you would use if you didn’t like something,” she said. “You might say, ‘line dancing is gay,’ if you don’t like line dancing.” The catalog also ranked A&M 11th among universities holding strong conservative values in a category titled “Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution.” David Kessler, a member of GLBTA and a se nior English and history major, said gay people have always encountered difficulties at A&M in cluding being tormented by fellow Aggies and being ignored by the administration. “Part of the problem is always going to be Top ten least gay frieiully universities in the nation as ranked by The Princeton Review Duke University University of Notre Dame 3. Texas A&M University 4. Truman State University 5. Grove City College 6. Hampton University 7. Wheaton College 8. Westminster College 9. Miami University T 0. Johns Hopkins University ROBERT HYNECEK/Tm Battalion the inherent attitude about gays at A&M,” Kessler said. “But it seems that the administra tion does not want to do anything to dispel this attitude, despite the fact that it claims to be an inclusive university.” Kessler said the University’s administration has ignored the gay rights since 1976 when the predecessor to GLBTA, Gay Student Services, requested to be recognized as an official stu dent organization. The University denied the request, resulting in a legal battle, which ended in 1985 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to a de cision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordering A&M to recognize the student group. Kessler said A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen’s recent refusal to include a sexual ori entation statement in the non-discrimination policy of the Student Rules Handbook as an ex ample of the administration’s refusal to help its gay population. “The inclusion of the statement would be a pro-active step that would show the University as an institution that will not tolerate sexual orientation discrimination,” he said. Kessler added that Duke University, which see Campus on Page 2. 'hp' -/T SYSTEM ble. Youca Located ne 1 If INSIDE aggielife Parking, parking everywhere - but dents. Page 3 sports Cowboys’ Lett suspended for seven games •efensive tackle punished for vi- lating substance abuse policy. Page 13 opinion [433 Big Brother is back in business , 696-144Slectronid urveillance F sminiscent of iast injustices. Page 17 3;30PM The Battalion Online , Iheck out The Battalion on the ') _J/eb at battalion.tamu.edu. Sbisa to close temporarily BY ERIKA DOERR The Battalion The doors to Sbisa Dining Hall, an 87-year-old building on Northside, will close its doors Dec. 15 for the renovation of the food court, kitchen, nearby piz za parlor and seating areas and for the integration of a new marketplace concept. It will be reopened for partial business in the fall of 2000. Cindy Zawieja, associate director of dining services and project manager for Sbisa, said the renovation aims to get away from stereotypical cafeteria foods and mod ernize to appeal to the needs of students and faculty. “What the students and faculty won’t see is all the work — about $5 million worth — on the entire in frastructure of Sbisa, such as the electrical wiring, the plumbing, a badly needed new roof and the air con ditioning,” she said. Zawieja said the marketplace concept will include freestanding stations, such as a cook-your-own food area, a carving station and an entree station. There will be an internationally-branded food court as well serving foods such as Italian, Mexican, Chinese, baked goods, hamburgers and french fries. “I feel that by offering Outbound [Dining] meals and having cash facilities available to students, we will have Changes to Sbisa • Sbisa will close Dec. 15 • The food court, kitchen J pizza parlor and seating will be renovated. • The new market will serve a variety of foods, including Mexican, Italian and Chi nese and baked goods. JPBE/VmTHiHnriAi.ioN more dining options,” she said. “Students want flexi bility, and by renovating Sbisa, we are changing food services for the future. This is an impressive, state- of- the-art concept with a beautiful architectural design.” Ron Beard, director of dining services, said alter native dining centers will be provided for students. He said partial renovations were done during the 1997 and 1998 summers, and Sbisa has had numerous ad ditions since its construction was completed in 1912. “There will be many [other] places on campus for students who regularly eat at Sbisa [to eat at during renovations],” Beard said. “During impact times, around 11:30 [a.m.] tol:30 [p.m.] for lunch and 5:30 to 7:30 [p.m.] for dinner, transportation will be avail able for students who would like to eat in [the] Com mons Dining [Center], Portable trailers will be on the north side of campus offering Outbound [Dining] and samplings of supplies from the Underground Market, which will also be closed due to renovations.” see Sbisa on Page 2. Ensuring diversity Scholarship foundation targets minorities BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion One-hundred forty-five students are attending Texas A&M this fall, because of new Foundation Excel lence Award Scholarships (FEA), awarded primarily to minorities through the privately-funded Texas A&M Foundation. Of the 145 FEA recipients select ed from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants, 55 percent are Hispanic, 30 percent are African-Americans, 13 percent are white, 1 percent is Asian and 1 percent is Native Amer ican, according to a report from the Texas A&M Foundation. Following the 1996 Hopwood decision handed down from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, all public universities in Texas were banned from considering race in admissions and awarding financial aid through grants and scholar ships, leaving the private sector to distribute minority scholarships. Molly Georgiades, the Excellence Awards coordinator for the Texas A&M Foundation, said the scholar ships were created partially in re sponse to the Hopwood decision. “It was started sort of as a re sponse to Hopwood,” she said. “The University can do what they can in terms of scholarships. The foundation explored these scholar ships as an option.” Last week, Texas Attorney Gen eral John Cornyn retracted the Hop- wood decision. The University of Texas Board of Regents has appealed the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap peals, in hopes that the court will overturn the decision. Georgiades said the scholarships will provide another means to re cruit students to A&M through as sistance from the private sector. “The reality is that for a lot of kids, scholarships determine where they go,” Georgiades said, noting the need to evaluate the scholar ships before pursuing a similar pro ject for fall of 2000. Jake James Herrera, a freshman computer engineering major, said see Diversity on Page 2.