Volume 106 * Issue 26 • 12 Pages
RED RAIDERS UPSET
106 YEARS AT TEXAS
21-19 Pg. 7
IVERSITY
timulate londay • October 4, 1999
College Station, Texas
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BY JASON BENNYHOFF
The Battalion
o Bonfire redpots are accused of
saailting a student who attempted to
rosfe the Polo Fields Friday.
Bmmiro Reyes, a senior political sei
nes major, said two men attacked him
He he was on his way home from
rprkat about 11:05 a.m. Friday—shov-
^■rim, which caused his shirt to tear,
ndlyelling obscenities.
The attack allegedly occurred as
Hs walked across the corner of the
olo Fields, about 200 yards from the
clfire site, toward University Drive.
Reyes said he saw a man heading in
jirection as he crossed the field.
■I saw this guy running towards me,”
"aid. “But I thought it was just some
)S [of Cadets] thing. I didn’t think he
going to attack me.”
eyes said the man began to scream
[cenities when he was about 10 feet
away. Reyes said he stopped and was
confused, as the assailant began to push
and shove him off the field toward
Bizzell Street.
Reyes said he asked his attacker why
the assault was happening.
The attacker answered, “Because
you’re on my field, and I’m a junior
redpot.”
Reyes said he then saw another man
running toward them who he thought
would help him, but the second man
also began to push him off the field.
“He would try to pull me, and 1 would
try to resist,” he said. “But when the oth
er guy came, I couldn’t do anything.”
The attackers pushed him onto
Bizzell Street, leaving him to walk
home—this time around the Polo Fields.
Rusty Thompson, Bonfire adviser,
said the Polo Fields are like a construc
tion site, and safety always is a concern
of the redpots.
“They try to dissuade people from
Ryan LocKER/Special to The Battalion
Police gather at the Bonfire site, the site of the alleged assault that took place Friday.
walking across from a safety perspec
tive,” he said. “They do it by asking peo
ple to go around.”
Thompson said he could not com
ment on the specifics of the incident be
cause he had not spoken with Reyes or
his alleged attackers.
TVavis Johnson, head stack for Bon
fire, said he also did not know the spe
cific details of the incident and could not
comment on them.
However, he also said safety is the
mainjnotivation for pots to keep people
from Bonfire site.
Reyes said he asked the name of the
first attacker and the attacker replied
“Josh Brooke.” “I’m going to call the
cops, Josh Brooke,” Reyes said.
Reyes said the attacker answered.
“You can call whoever the f—k you
want, and my name is Broach — B-R-O-
A-C-H. Get it right.”
After reaching his home, Reyes said
he called the University Police Depart
ment (UPD) to report the incident.
Broach declined to comment on the
allegations. The other man accused in
the attack, identified only as Clayton,
said they simply asked Reyes to leave for
his own safety.
Bob Wiatt, UPD director, said he could
not comment on the incident, but he did
confirm Reyes filed a police report.
Wiatt said UPD is conducting an
investigation and as of Friday after
noon was trying to locate the alleged
assailants.
ut draws 2,500 Ags,
u 650 logs gathered
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
More than 2,500 Aggies participated this weekend in
:stcut, in which the trees used in building Bonfire.
■ DanFinnell, a senior redpot and an architecture major.
Mid Biswas the most successful first cut in recent history.
W'There was a big turnout both days, from Corps and non-
palike,” he said. “There were tons of dorms and outfits.”
■
^■nMJinnell said six truckloads, about 650 logs, were un-
jJtled at the Polo Fields Sunday night, with more trees
5nlhe way.
TThere is lots of big wood and straight trees this year,”
t aid.
innell said there were few injuries considering the
aber of people who participated. He said none of the
iliries were serious.
J[lf] you get that many people out there and you get
k numbers working against you, you are bound to have
ae [accidents],” he said. “But safety is 10-fold better
n last year. ”
For Landon Ludlow, a freshman civil engineering ma-
loi first cut came early. By 7 a.m., Ludlow and 48 others
Tidents of Schuhrraacher Hall were at the gates of cut site.
l“The lines were long to get in,” he said. “It took about
ericas a half hour from the time we got in line until the time we
pre in the gates.”
: ree wellOnce at the the cut site, Ludlow said he was impressed
by ihe camaraderie that came with the hard work of cut-
^i-ding down and moving trees.
USlO' 1 Cut w j|] ta k e p] ace eac h weekend until Bonfire burns,
atfthe annual Midnight yell practice before the Aggies’
gram football game against the University of Texas-Austin. Bon-
fire burns Nov. 25.
Renaissance Festival
KIMBER HUFF/Thk Bati align
The Friar was one of the many characters at the 25th annual Renaissance Festival Saturday. The
festival will continue every Saturday and Sunday until Nov. 14.
McCleskey
leaves Corps
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
Col. Lee McCleskey, assistant commander of dis
cipline for the Corps of Cadets, is looking for a new
job at Texas A&M after leaving a position with the
Corps, which he said he was no longer “morally and
ethically able to serve.”
McCleskey said he was originally administrative
ly suspended from his position with pay Sept. 2. The
suspension resulted when copies of misconduct al
legations concerning the mistreatment of freshman
cadets in company K-2 were sent to both Texas A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen and Dr. J. Malon
Southerland, vice president for student affairs, with
out the consent of Corps Commandant Maj. Gen.
M.T. “Ted” Hopgood.
“He understands how the
Corps works and he has
always done what is in the
best interest of the Corps. I
don't think this is any different"
— Forrest Lane
Commander, Corps of Cadets
McCleskey said it was necessary to send the
copies to Bowen and Southerland because the two
had recently talked with the Corps about a zero-tol
erance policy on hazing.
“I felt that I was doing my duty,” McCleskey said.
“I took the words of these two respectable gentle
men to heart, and I felt that they needed to be in
formed that their message had apparently not been
received by all the Corps members.”
Mike Duke, a former member of the Comman
dant’s staff and a personal friend of McCleskey, said
Hopgood became irate after learning of McCleskey’s
actions and temporarily relieved McCleskey of his
duties,
Maj. “Doc” Mills, public relations representative
for the Corps of Cadets, said Hopgood had no com
ment because of an office policy of not commenting
on personnel matters.
Bowen said the chain of notification-of-misconduct
allegations of usually proceeds from the commandant
to vice president for student affair, to the president’s
office but Bowen refused to comment further.
Forrest Lane, Corps of Cadets commander and a
senior political science and economics major, said
while he has not been provided with information
concerning McCleskey, he is confident in Hopgood’s
ability to do what is best.
“He understands how the Corps works, and he has
always done in what is in the best interest of the
Corps,” Lane said. “I don’t think this is any different.”
McCleskey said two weeks later he received a call
in which Hopgood offered to reinstate him with cer
tain conditions, that McCleskey felt hindered him
ethically from continuing his duties.
“I felt I could no longer morally and ethically per
form my duties under those conditions,” he said.
Duke said one condition required McCleskey to
report all allegations of misconduct directly to Hop-
good, he said is in violation of a “Memorandum of
Understanding.”
The memo requires the assistant commandant of
discipline to simultaneously inform both the com
mandant and Brent Paterson, director of student life,
of any allegations of misconduct, so that an investi
gation may be performed by the Office of the Com
mandant and the Department of Student Life.
see McCleskey on Page 2
INSIDE
ions,
uou $
373-5^'
Aggieiife
•Buddy
system
lonfire buddie:
iffermore
han presents.
Page 4'
Sports
•Volleyball defeats ’Huskers
^A&M shocks University of
Nebraska with win over
yf the Big 12 Champs.
Page 12
Opinion
• Beware the
Roboprof
Professors’ actions,
not just laziness
qiay play role in
Student absences.
Page 11
Batt Radio
Listen to KAMIL
FM 90.9 for information on A&M
Football’s loss to Texas Tech.
Photographs
show border,
culture, life
BY BRADY CREEL
The Battalion
A photographic exhibit highlighting the cul
ture of the Texas-Mexico border is now on dis
play at the Friends Congressional Church in Col
lege Station.
Phyllis Frederiksen, a member of the Just
Peace Institute, said the exhibit, titled “Bor
der Studies,” is a collection of photographs
relating to the lifestyle and culture of people
living along the Texas-Mexico border taken
by eight photographers.
She said the exhibit is being offered to the
Brazos Valley so residents can learn about the
blending of the two cultures into one.
“They [residents of the border] have com
bined their cultures to form a new culture,”
Frederiksen said.
The exhibit, brought to College Station with
September’s Hispanic Heritage Month, high
lights the problem of discrimination and is be
ing made public through the sponsorship of the
Just Peace Institute, a local organization ex-
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
The Friends Congressional Church exhibit
shows life on the Texas-Mexico border.
ploring social issues relevant to the Bryan-Col-
lege Station community.
Frederiksen said the exhibit illustrates the en
vironmental and narcotics problems facing res
idents bn both sides of the border. She said there
are many people attempting to live there with
out adequate housing, sewage or electricity.
“Thhy live in very meager and unsafe con
ditions,^’ she said.
The Collection also includes photographs de
picting the diverse landscape of the border.
“Many people do not know the border is
1,248 miles long, from El Paso to Brownsville,”
she said. “[Border Studies] shows people that
this area has a culture all of its own. It shows the
importance of [the] spiritual life of the people. ”
Frederiksen said the exhibit will be open to
day from 5 to 8 p.m. and Oct. 10 from 2 to 4
p.m. The exhibit will conclude on the evening
of Oct. 11. Admission is free of charge.
First Friday event focus:
women’s health, cancer
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
Friday was more than a day to spark
women’s health awareness, it was a day of
celebration.
For survivor Brenda Bridges, Oct. 1
marked the third year of her battle against
breast cancer, a battle she is winning thanks
to modern medicine.
First Friday was held in the atrium of the
Texas A&M College of Medicine Building.
The American Medical Women’s Associ
ation (AMWA) organized the event to bring
awareness to Texas A&M students and fac
ulty about the importance of the early de
tection of breast cancer.
This event is intended to remind women
they should take the first Friday of each
month to do a breast self-examination or to
have a regular mammogram.
Bridges, a First Friday spokesperson, said
her mother, grandmother and best friend
died of cancer and that she never imagined
she too could be stricken by the disease. She
said that is why she wanted to become ac
tive in making women aware of their health.
By telling her story, Bridges said she hopes
KENNETH MACDONALD/The Battalion
Kristen Parker and Judy Merchant partici
pate in the First Friday candlelight vigil,
she can make sure everyone takes the time
to realize cancer can happen to them.
Dr. Terry Jenkins, keynote speaker and an
oncologist and hematologist specialist at St.
Joseph’s Regional Cancer Center, spoke to the
group not only as a doctor but also to offer
his perspective on breast cancer and empha
sized the importance of early detection.
see Friday on Page 2.