AGGIE OFFENSE BREAKS OUT IN 62 -13 ROUT OF TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE
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106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
)nday September 20,1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 16 • 16 Pages
Plane crash kills 5
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BY STASIA RAINES
The Battalion
Five people were killed Saturday night when a
plane owned by Ags Over Texas carrying a group of sky-
divers crashed in a private pasture near Coulter Field.
The deceased included owner of Ags Over Texas
and former A&M student Mark Woodings; former
students Jonathan Warden and Lela Futch; and cur-
Irent students Robert Puryear, the pilot and a senior,
land freshman Sarah Miller.
■ The Department of Public Safety said the plane,
la Cessna model 182A, commonly known as "Duct
i lTape” because of its silver color, ascended 300 to
400 feet, then appeared to stall. The plane veered
right and then plunged nose first into the field,
■ catching fire shortly after impact. The cause of the
Icrash is still under investigation by the Federal Avi
ation Administration (FAA).
Mary Eperson, safety and training adviser for Ags
Over Texas, said no one can speculate on the cause
of the accident until the official investigation is com-
|pleted and the report is released.
Ags Over Texas had not had a fatality in its 12
years of operation. Eperson said the future of Ags
Over Texas in unclear right now, but it is unlikely the
program will continue.
Gary Gandy, owner and operator of Coulter Air
Field, the airfield Ags Over Texas uses, said after
learning the details of the accident, he believes it
was caused by the pilot’s negligence.
He said this kind of accident usually occurs when
the plane’s nose is too high, and the turbulence di
rectly over the wings causes the plane’s engine to stall.
"Unfortunately, it is very common,” he said. “In
fact, this is-the second time an accident of this kind
has occurred at the [Coulter] airfield this month.”
He said the most common cause of skydiving ac
cidents is stalling with no recovery because the back
of the plane is overloaded. Gandy said when this
happens, it is next to impossible for a pilot to re
cover from a stall.
TYavis McHam, director of public relations for the
A&M skydiving club and a senior journalism major,
was an eyewitness to the tragedy and said he be
lieves the fault for the accident lies in a random mal
function of the aircraft, and not the pilot.
He said the A&M skydiving club is not affiliated
with but uses the services of Ags Over Texas be
cause it is the only drop zone in the area.
McHam said Ags Over Texas is an impeccably run
business with excellent safety habits whose instruc
tors have gone through rigorous training programs.
see Crash on Page 2.
CODY WAGES/Thf. Battalion
A Cessna model 182A owned by Ags Over Texas crashed onto a private pasture by Coulter Field in Bryan.
CHAD ADAMS/Thk Battalion
hDrew, a junior agricultural economics major, jumps on the “Spider’s Web” at the Weekend Warmup.
irst Yell may not be last
rganizers seek to establish program as tradition
BY JULIE ZUCKER
The Battalion
After a sold-out weekend of activities and in-
based support by Texas A&M football fans. First
ill could possibly be a new tradition at Texas A&M.
Comedian Bill Engvall, the Singing Cadets, Chi
mega Productions and Freudian Slip performed
Rudder Auditorium to a sold-out house before
idnight Yell Friday night.
Rusty Thompson, adviser to the yell leaders,
lid he knew he could count on Aggies to sup-
irt a new tradition.
“Seeing all the Aggies this weekend was spe-
al,”he said. “The fellowship and support was
ire Aggieland.”
Thompson has worked with the yell leaders
nee April.to finalize the details of their hopes for
rstYell. He said they wanted to start a weekend
: support through First Yell for the kickoff of the
lotball season.
Zach Leonard, a sophomore general studies
major, said he was impressed with the activities
of the First Yell weekend.
“I was looking forward to the first game,”
Leonard said, “but with the addition of First Yell,
it just made the whole weekend more awe
some.”
Randi Rose Moon, a freshman at Texas A&M-
Galveston, said she was impressed by the sold-
out show and the talent in each performance.
“There is no doubt that I will be back next
year,” she said. “The shows were incredible,
with a great turnout.”
Jeff Bailey, head yell leader and a senior agri
cultural systems management major, said he
was honored when participants said they liked
the First Yell festivities.
“We weren’t out to make a new tradition,”
Bailey said. “But with all of the positive feed-
see Yell on Page 2.
A&M officials deny tenure
to assistant sociology prof
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
As the Texas A&M Football Team
was warming up for the game against
Tulsa University Saturday, John Boies,
an assistant professor of sociology, was
packing the contents of his office after
having been denied tenure and a future
at the University.
According to a letter written by Dr.
Ron Douglas, executive vice president
and provost of A&M, Boies was denied
tenure because Boies produced “scant
published work to establish a strong re
search program.”
Boies, however, said he was denied
tenure because of the influence of two
other professors of sociology, Mary Zey
and Steven Murdock.
Boies said his problems with his co
workers began in May of 1995 when he,
along with Harland Prechel, another
professor of sociology, filed charges of
plagiarism against Zey.
Zey filed charges of plagiarism a few
days later against Boies and Prechel.
Repeated calls to Zey and Murdock
by The Battalion were not returned.
Charges against all three were re
viewed and dismissed by the University
administration; however, Boies said the
initial conflict led to ill-will between him
and Zey, a senior faculty member in the
Department of Sociology.
In August of 1997, Boies began the
tenure review process, which would de
termine whether he would be accepted
as a full professor at A&M.
Douglas said tenure applicants teach
for five to six years as an assistant pro
fessor, then are reviewed by their de
partment faculty and department head,
the dean of their college and then the
University provost, who decides
whether to send their applications to the
University president.
“It was in my
judgement that his
appointment to
tenure was not in the
University's best in
terest/'
— Ronald Douglas
Executive vice president and
provost of Texas A&M
Boies was approved by the dean of
the College of Liberal Arts but was de
nied acceptance by Douglas.
Douglas said that while it is rare
someone who is approved by a dean is
turned down, it occurs for about three of
the 50 to 75 applicants he reviews for
tenure each year.
“As for why those who approved the
tenure of Boies did so, I don’t wish to
speculate,” Douglas said. “But I looked
at what was included in his file, and it
was in my judgment that his appoint
ment to tenure was not in the Universi
ty’s best interest.”
Boies said he thinks Douglas’ deci
sion was influenced by the intervention
of Zey and her husband, Murdock, who
compiled a letter signed by five sociolo
gy professors titled the “minority report”
that claimed Boise had misrepresented
his research and publications.
Boies took his case to the Committee
on Academic Freedom, Responsibility
and Tenure (CAFRT), which ruled the
tenure process had not been properly fol
lowed and should begin again because
Douglas had seen the letter prior to his
decision on Boies’ tenure.
CAFRT submitted their decision to
University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen,
who decided not to follow the commit
tee’s decision, thus terminating Boies’
employment with the University.
Douglas said it is the president’s
choice whether to follow CAFRT’s deci
sion according to his own best judgment.
“The president looked at the case and
decided that the minority report did not
contain any information that was not al
ready in Boies’ file,” Douglas said.
“Therefore, another review process just
was not needed.”
Boies believes his denial of tenure
also was a result of the University’s ten
dency to punish “whistle blowers”
who try to point out plagiarism in oth
er professors.
“The University just wanted to get rid
of their problem,” Boies said. “So they
moved Zey, who has a lot of pull, to the
Department of Agricultural Economics,
while they gave me the boot.”
Douglas said the University does not
discourage whistle blowers and ade
quately investigated all charges brought
forth by both Boies and Zey.
“Any previous actions in such a way
did not have any effect on the final de
cision,” Douglas said.
merit
business
t;
•Prankster, Prankster
Aggies share
tales of Puckish
behavior on
campus. _______
Page 3
students
selectee
sports
•Ag volleyball team takes all in
tourney
Women sweep GTE Aggie classic.
Page 14
opinion
•Too pretty for
Stereotypes of
women in A&M’s
Corps of Cadets
are unfair, untrue.
the Corps?
Page 15
Batt radio
For the latest on the Jasper
dragging death trial, listen to
KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m.
Curbing pollution
focus of program
BY ERIKA DOERR
The Battalion
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the typical U.S.
family spends a staggering $1,300 a year on utility bills.
National Pollution Prevention Week a program to help curb
the amount of waste produced by Americans begins today and
continues through Saturday.
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission said
throughout the week, cities and businesses will highlight their
pollution prevention and waste reduction achievements, expand
on current pollution prevention efforts and create new initiatives.
Katie Fritz, public works recycling coordinator for College
Station, said this is the first year to officially recognize the Na
tional Pollution Prevention Week.
“College Station has a clean city program, through Clean
Texas 2000 and we’ve taken a pro-active approach to help pre
vent pollution before it gets worse,” she said. “The main goal
of this week is to educate people about pollution prevention
and about how to help take care of our natural resources.”
Fritz said Texas A&M students can participate in pollution
prevention week by riding the A&M shuttle bus, using a bike,
conserving water and by keeping blinds closed to help reduce
the energy used by air conditioning units.
“Pollution prevention practices can be incorporated into
student’s and families daily activities,” she said. “You’d be sur
prised what a difference it would make in reduction of pollu
tion if 45,000 students would help in this effort.”
- use the A&M shuttle
- use your bike instead of your car
- keep all blinds and curtains drawn
- take measures to conserve water
- recycle waste at the City of Bryan
Recyling Center on Briarcrest
ROBERT HYNECEK/Thf. Battalion
Lorayne Perry, a senior biomedical science major, said the
week will provide students with the ideas about how they can
protect the environment.
“As A&M students, we can reduce the amount of products
and chemicals we use that are hazardous to ourselves and to
the environment,” she said.
Fritz said last year, the city of College Station recycled or
composted 2,718 tons of materials into beneficial use.
College Station is trying to improve air quality, which will
directly affect students, by creating a bikeway loop to try to
lure students away from their cars.
“This loop will start around George Bush Drive, go through
Bee Creek park, then under Texas, through Central park,
around Wolf Creek amphitheater, around Post Oak Mall, and
then finally, head back to A&M campus,” she said.
Fritz said students can take their recyclable waste to the
City of Bryan Recycling Center, located of Briarcrest, behind
Chick-Fil-A.
see Recycle on Page 2.
A&M employees
must register for
Selective Services
BY ROLANDO GARCIA
The Battalion
All new Texas A&M University male employees be
tween 18 and 25 years of age must now register with Se
lective Services, meaning their names are now required
for participation in the national draft lottery in order to
be eligible for a job at A&M.
Larry Potts, associate director for human resources,
said men must comply with the Selective Service law to
be eligible for employment in any branch of Texas state
government. The policy is in keeping with a new state
law that went into effect Sept. 1 including the Texas
A&M University System.
Federal law currently requires all male citizens, ille
gal aliens, refugees and legal permanent residents to reg
ister with the Selective Service System upon turning 18
years old. The system is maintained in the event a mil
itary draft is reinstated.
Only non-citizens who are in the country on student
or visitor visas are exempt from registration.
Potts said the policy would only apply to university
employees hired after Sept. 1 and includes full-time em
ployees as well as part-time and student workers. It also
see Draft on Page 2.