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106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
--— —
iday • October 1, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 25 • 12 Pages
afety, spirit, unity:
irst cut to kick off
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
odywageWs! cut W 'N begin tomorrow when Aggies
formal [t^T at a woo ded patch off FM 1361 near
uringamH™^ 6 to cut trees ^ or Bonfire, the annual yell
;*|H|Hce held before the Texas A&M, University
Texas-Austin football game in November.
Ar estimated 2,500 to 4,000 Aggies are ex-
Jd to participate in the first phase of cut.
Jclsh Broach, a junior redpot and an industri-
(di|tribution major soid participation is always
ghlfor first cut.
“first cut is always a big number bringer,”
Dajch said.
proach said the number of participants will
■ease as students’ academics take priority
/er| extracurricular activities.
Busty Thompson, Bonfire adviser and MSC
ssistant director, said safety will be an issue, as
is every year.
There are three priorities at Bonfire — safe-
omens
awareness
vent’s focus
ty, spirit and unity, but the safety of the students
is [of] the utmost importance,” Thompson said.
“This may be the first time for some of these stu
dents to cut down a tree.”
Whitney Turner, a Kruger Bonfire co-chair
and business major, said students who wanted
to attend cut must have attended one of the
classes held this week by the senior redpots to
teach students about safe and proper conduct in
the woods.
“Safe conduct would be calling ‘clear’ when
when you are about to swing or ‘headache’
when a tree is falling,” she said.
According to Bonfire policy, participants at cut
must wear jeans, steel-toed boots and protective
glasses, which will be handed out at the site.
Medics will be at the site to deal with any injuries.
Policy states that rest stops will also be avail
able for the safety of weary drivers and their pas
sengers while they transport logs back to the
Bonfire site.
Also, alcohol is not tolerated at any Bonfire-
related activity, and those who violate this pol
icy will be asked to leave the area.
Contributing to Bonfire is the Bonfire Reload
Committee, which will be at the cut site delivering
water and lunches to the students participating.
In the future, the cut site will be the site of a
new power plant operated by Alternative Fuels
Corporation.
Collision
CHAD ADAMSTm Baitauon
A collision occurred at the intersection of Coke and Lewis Streets Thursday at 6:10 p.m., involving a Jeep
Grand Cherokee and Toyota. The drivers, Jim Butler of Bryan and Angela Winker of College Station, were
not seriously injured in the accident.
*Nov\
Serv/fifl
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
HcoM'm
^Ffve years ago, the First Friday event began in
us Christi as a way to remind women to take
e First Friday of every month off as a day to care
■hemselves and their personal health.
■Dday, the event has been brought to College Sta
: fi»by the Texas A&M chapter of the American Med-
Cu MWomen’s Association (AMWA) as a way to bring
%Weness of early detection of breast cancer to the
community.
■risten Parker, president of the A&M chapter of
«VA and a second year medical student, said the
Jea to bring the event to A&M began when she first
Blessed the event in Corpus Christi with her
^ nother.
clmi)<1 : “i W as just so moved by the entire event that I
ew it was something that had to happen at A&M,”
leer said.
Parker said the motivation for the original event
gtmmed from the idea that women are often so
)ftsy taking care of their family and friends they of-
^ fin forget to take care of themselves.
jWe decided [to] join with other organizations
such as the American Cancer Society and St. Joseph
ional Cancer Center to instead put on an event
t will remind women of the importance of breast
cancer detection, such as monthly self examinations
and regular mammograms,” she said.
Shannon Blalock, a member of the A&M chapter
of AMWA and a second year medical student, said
Garages to begin charging
handicapped students
ue
jf'Hu,, a.,.,
JEFF SMITH/The Battalion
the event will begin with a candlelight walk as a way
of honoring those who have survived the battle with
breast cancer, as well as a way to attract the com
munity’s attention so they can learn about this dead
ly, but correctable illness.
“Breast cancer is one of the most deadly cancers
in women, but it is also one of the most curable,”
Blalock said.
“It is a real tragedy that more people don’t real
ize that.”
The event starts at 6:30 p.m. with a candlelight
walk from the Grove near Albritton Tower to the Col
lege of Medicine’s facilities on West Campus.
The First Friday event will also feature speakers
to discuss their personal battles with the deadly dis
ease along with some of the most recent discoveries
made toward a cure for breast cancer.
BY RICH BRAY
The Battalion
Starting today, Sarah Whitlock, a senior psychology
major who requires the use of a wheelchair, will have to
pay for a parking garage space, like many other Aggies.
Whitlock is an officer in Sigma Phi Lambda, is a
Breakaway volunteer and attends football games; the
only difference between Sarah and most students is that
she was born with spastic cerebral palsy, which is
caused by brain damage resulting in abnormal func
tioning of the nerves controlling her arms and legs.
“I can do everything that everyone else can do,”
she said.
For the past few weeks, signs have been posted out
side the entrances to all of the parking garages on cam
pus stating “persons with county issued handicap park
ing placards, handicap license plates and/or Disabled
American Veteran license plates will no longer be ex
empt from parking fees in timed areas and garages [and]
will be subject to the time restrictions posted at timed
parking spaces. ”
Tom Williams, director of the Department of Parking,
Tf-affic and Transportation Services (PTTS), said some
patrons of the parking garages want everyone who parks
to pay for parking.
“Basically, handicapped parkers had always been ex
empt from paying the parking meters or paying in pay
areas,” he said. “This caused concern with the people
in all of the pay areas, airports and cities especially. ”
**** NOTICE ****
- EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 1999 —
««1 cauntr-tosord handicap parking placards.
tca*s* patvs and or Oisablnii American Veteran
xw PM" ** no bngnr be exempt from parking teas
(f> fmev area# anti garages.
t *^nas‘ r ’ s r’, CC0 'Vance win.
?■>*
CHAD ADAMS/Thi: Battalion
Signs like these have been placed at parking garages
on campus.
Williams said he anticipates no problems with charg
ing disabled garage users.
“The handicapped students, if they choose to park in
a garage, I don’t think, will mind,” he said. “The hand
icapped community, those who are truly disabled, are
just asking for a place to park.”
Whitlock said she agrees and does not mind paying
a fee to park.
“I don’t really care that I have to pay, as long as I can
get a spot,” Whitlock said. “Many other handicapped
A&M students feel the same way. They just want to have
a place to park.”
INSIDE
/alu<
visrt
Aggielife
•Daily Grind
Students put
up with
itressful,
lead-end
[jobs out of
lesperation]
•age 3
Sports
• Ags set to open Big 12
Conference play
'his weekend’s game against
Fexas Tech kicks off competition.
Page 7
Opinion
• Access denied
Charging disabled
students garage fees
poses new
obstacle for some.
Page 11
Batt Radio
Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9
at 1:57 p.m. for details
on upcoming Brazos Valley
Orchestra performances.
Reception to honor
African-Americans
India business, technology
topic of panel’s discussion
BY NONI SRIDHARA
The Battalion
African-American students, fac
ulty, staff and administrators will be
recognized at a reception celebrat
ing and honoring “Thirty Years of
African-American Tradition”
tonight at 6:30 in Reed Arena.
Betty Hanks, Class of ’69 and
owner of Big Top Learning Center in
Bryan, entered A&M as one of the
first African-American students in
1965, determined to get an educa
tion and become a teacher.
“I am a very outgoing person,”
Hanks said. “I didn’t see color. Even
though I would be the only black
person in my class, it never really
bothered me. Most people didn’t act
like [color] was factor either.”
Hanks said she chose to come
to A&M because she is originally
from Bryan, and it was conve
nient to home.
“I was confident and knew I’d be
able to excel [even if I was in the mi
nority],” she said.
Mary Broussard, coordinator for
special programs for the associate
provost for undergraduate pro
grams and academic services, said
this is the first reception honoring
African-Americans at A&M.
“We are celebrating students,
faculty and staff who have played a
big role in helping TeXas A&M to re
main one of the world’s primary in
stitutions,” she said.
Others recognized include Bryan
County Commissioner Carey
Cauley; Mel Pruitt, a retired educa
tor and community activist; and
James Courtney, Class of ’67 who
was the first African-American to
graduate and earn a doctor of vet
erinary medicine degree from A&M.
Broussard said they will recog
nize past African-American stu
dent leaders, such as Ronnie Mc
Donald, the first African-American
yell leader; Bobby Bisor, the first
African-American MSC president;
and Frederick McClure, the first
African-American student body
president.
BY JULIE ZUCKER
The Battalion
The common man in India first
logged onto the Internet on Aug.
15, 1995, and according to the In
dia Business and Technology Con
sortium (IBTC), India has the fifth
largest economy in the world and
is poised to become a powerful
participant in the world’s future
market.
The IBTC will host a panel dis
cussion today from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
in G. Rollie White 267 about the ad
vancement of Internet use in India.
Four guest speakers will spend
10 minutes each discussing ways
the Internet affects the business
link between India and the Unit
ed States.
Sunil Menon, president of IBTC
and a business administration
graduate student, said the pur
pose of the discussion is two-fold.
“This panel is going to get across
to people that the technology in In
dia is advancing rapidly,” he said.
“It will also inform the audience of
the expanding business opportuni
ties through the Internet.”
Dr. Willis Marti, a computer
science senior lecturer, will dis
cuss the technical aspects of the
internet, its working and present
situation in India and the changes
and improvements in relation to
India joining the information su
per highway.
Dr. Manjit Yadav, internet mar
keting associate professor, will fo
cus on the business commerce be
tween businesses in India and the
relationships India has with other
web educated countries.
Dr. Ramdas Menon, a sociolo
gist, will present the social impact
of the Internet in India and citi
zens’ responses to the addition of
the internet in their country.
Closing out the panel, Mr.
Pradeep Kumar, Income Tax
Deputy Commissioner, will discuss
the role of India’s government,
GOI policies, security systems re
quired for e-commerce in India
and the road map for the future.
Dr. Arvin Mahajan, professor
of finance at A&M’s Lowry Mays
School of Business, will moderate
the final discussion which is open
to local graduates, undergradu
ates and the business in the com
munity. IBTC will provide free piz
za for patrons.
“We hope to accomplish many
things during the discussion,”
Menon said. “But most important
is the fact the Internet makes the
world a smaller place, and the ad
vancement of other countries can
benefit the rest of the world.
News in Brief
Bush School target
of false bomb threat
University Police Department
officials evacuated the George
Bush School of Government and
Public Service yesterday between
1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. due to
an anonymous bomb threat.
Bob Wiatt, director of Universi
ty Police Department, said police
inspected the building and found
no evidence of explosive devices.
Charles Johnson, head of the
Department of Political Science,
said the evacuation resulted in
several classes between 2 p.m.
and 3:30 p.m. being canceled.
“Students in these classes
should be prepared to pick up
where they left off on Tuesday, in
cluding being prepared for missed
tests,” Johnson said.
“If they have any questions,
they should try to contact their
teachers.”
Wiatt said if the caller is found,
he or she may face the charge of
“issuing a false report,” a class A
misdemeanor which is punishable
by a fine of up to $4,000 and one
year in prison.
“We get anywhere from four-to-
six of these types of hoax calls a
year,” he said. “But that doesn
mean that they aren’t serious,
criminal offenses.”
The George Bush Presidential
Library Complex did not evacuate
patrons.