S AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
pesday • October 12, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 32 • 12 Pages
emorial organized
for accident victims
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BY MATT LOFTIS
The Battalion
Friends and family continue to mourn the loss of
s students killed in an automobile accident in Col-
ge Station Sunday morning.
One A&M student, one Southwest Texas State Uni-
trsity (SWTSU) student and four Baylor University
udents were killed when they were struck by a Ford
anger whose driver fell asleep.
The students were walking on the shoulder of FM
3 to attend a fraternity party at the Tau Kappa Ep-
lon house early Sunday morning.
Memorial services and funeral arrangements have
den made for the victims.
A rosary will be held for A&M student Ted Bruton
his hometown of San Angelo tonight at 7 at the
hnson Funeral Home. Funeral services are sched-
ed for tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Holy Angel Catholfc
urch in San Angelo.
A spokesperson for the Baylor Chaplain Office
lid memorials planned for Tricia L. Calp, Emily
ollister, Erika M. Lanham and Dolan W. Wastel
will be after their private funerals and burials,
scheduled through Friday.
Loretta Panichi, the SWTSU Daily University Star
news editor, said funeral arrangements for William
Flores will be Thursday at Hayes Funeral Home in
Hitchcock, Texas, at 10 a.m.
Bothers Bookstore in the Southgate shopping center
on George Bush Drive will be closed Wednesday in ob
servance of the funeral of Bruton, a former employee.
Lane Stephenson of A&M University Relations said
the students already are being remembered by flow
ers and wreaths placed at the crash site.
Donald Ressler, a high-school football coach in
Dayton, Texas, said he knew Wostal and Flores dur
ing their high-school careers.
“Both of these fine young men were true, dedicat
ed athletes and good kids in high school,” Ressler
said. “My son, Robbie, played football with these two,
and they were truly good friends.”
The driver of the truck fell asleep while driving,
which has raised questions among the student body
about the problem of driving drowsy.
A “Sleep in America” poll conducted by the National
TED BRUTON
TEXAS A&M
ERIKA LANHAM
BAYLOR
DOLAN WASTEL
BAYLOR
TRICIA CALP
BAYLOR
EMILY HOLLISTER
BAYLOR
WILLIAM FLORES
SOUTHWEST TEXAS
Sleep Foundation indicates 72 percent of drivers ages 18-
24 admit to having driven drowsy at one time or another.
According to the United States Department of Trans
portation, Texas leads the nation in fatigue-related
wrecks.
Rob Ferguson, a junior student senator, said in 1998
the Student Senate passed the Lupe Medina Bill,
named after A&M student Lupe Medina, who died in
a fatigue-related car accident in September 1998. The
bill created a committee to promote awareness of fa
tigue-related accidents involving college students.
see Memorial on Page 2.
,orps may
esurrect
Mil Team
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
Winded
I
I
The Class of ’04 may be the first
ohave the opportunity to join the
orps of Cadets Fish Drill Team af-
5on this® terils five-year absence from Texas
A&M if legal proceedings conclude
\#m\one year.
The team originally was dis-
August 5, 1997, by a joint
ledsion by Maj. Gen. M. T. “Ted”
topgood, Corps of Cadets com-
dant; Dr. J. Malon Souther-
, vice president for student af-
irs; and Danny Feather, Corps
fommander for the 1997-1998
thool year.
The decision came after former
Drill Team member Tfavis Al
in filed a lawsuit against Univer-
ty officials and team advisers in
hich he alleged upperclassmen
eat him and forced him to cut
imself with a knife.
Three other former team mem-
ers made similar allegations, lead-
g to University judiciary pro-
teedings which ended in the
xpulsion of one team adviser and
e suspension of eight others.
Hopgood said it may be anoth-
ryear before the Fish Drill Team
eturns to A&M because of contin-
ing litigation.
Hopgood’s statement follows a
ept. 30 ruling by the 14th Court
f Appeals to uphold a Brazos
iounty court-at-law’s dismissal
f hazing charges brought against
ormer Fish Drill Team advisers
usty Hugh Boyd and Javier Cha-
a, who allegedly witnessed haz-
incidents.
Beginning to gel
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
Vivien McDougal, a graduate student in biomedical science, processes an aerglamide gel Monday afternoon.
No charges
pressed in
assault case
BY JASON BENNYHOFF
The Battalion
The Brazos County Attorney’s office declined to press
charges against the two men accused of assaulting a stu
dent who attempted to walk across the Polo Fields Oct. 1.
Ramiro Reyes pressed charges against two junior Bon
fire pots after he said they pushed him off the Bonfire site.
Bob Wiatt, University Police Department (UPD) di
rector, said there was not enough evidence to pursue the
incident further.
“The evidence did not meet the qualifications for a
criminal case,” he said. “There’s no way you could ever
get a jury to convict anybody [with this evidence].”
The case has now been referred to Student Conflict
Resolution Services at Texas A&M. Kim Novak, Student
Judicial Services coordinator, said now that criminal
charges have been dropped, the students accused will
conduct a hearing through Student Conflict Resolution
Services. The hearing will be conducted by representa
tives from the Corps of Cadets and Student Conflict Res
olution Services.
Ramiro Reyes, the victim of the alleged incident and a
senior political science major, said while he hopes the
hearing with Student Conflict Resolution Services helps,
he is disappointed with the decision not to press charges.
“It was really just my word against theirs, so it’s almost
what you expect,” Reyes said. “I mean, I love A&M and its
traditions, but what I don’t like — what it comes down to
— is that more respect is given to traditions than people.”
TYavis Johnson, head stack for Bonfire, said despite
the allegations, the Bonfire atmosphere will remain pos
itive and safe.
“We encourage everybody to come out,” he said. “We
set up barriers defining exactly where we want people to
avoid walking, and we have signs posted saying ‘hard-
hat area,’ so it should be fun and safe for everybody.”
Rusty Thompson, Bonfire adviser, said in wake of the
allegations. Bonfire leaders have made great efforts to
improve safety on the site.
“After the incident occurred, me and Travis [John
son] visited and talked to the other redpots to find out
how to be more proactive in preventing incidents like
that,” he said. “Now there’s tape and hard-hat signs
everywhere for safety. ”
Thompson said while safety is his main concern, he
and Bonfire leaders are working against more than the
potential dangers of a construction site.
“We’re concerned about the perception that redpots
are just out there to hit somebody,” he said. “But they’re
students, and they are sincere about safety.”
The two men accused in the assault, identified as
Josh Broach, a junior redpot and industrial distribu
tion major, and Clayton Frady, a junior Centerpole pot
and construction science major, could not be reached
for comment.
Thd hearing conducted by Student Conflict Resolu
tion Services is scheduled to begin this week.
H
see Corps on Page 2.
Aggielife
•Dream a little dream,,
Hidden
messages
in dreams
| revealed.
Page 3
Opinion
•Racing toward ratification
Columnist speaks on merits of
jiuclear test ban treaty.
Page 11
Sports
• Proving her point
Celia House speaks
on her experience
as a volleyball
player and
her final year
at A&M.
Page 7
Batt Radio
Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at
1:57 p.m. for community news.
Concerns
remain after
garage forum
BY RICHARD BRAY
The Battalion
A forum organized by Southside
student senators allowed organizers
and students who attended to dis
cuss proposed changes to the South-
side Parking Garage.
Lorenzo Gonzales, a Southside
senator and a sophomore environ
mental design, said the “fact and
solution forum” found that the
Senate could not answer many stu
dents’ concerns. He said students
told the forum why they did not ap
prove of the proposition.
William Isenhart, Parking, Traf
fic and Transportation Services
customer-relations manager, was
at the meeting but refused to an
swer questions.
According to a handout provided
at the meeting, the fomm’s objective
was “to generate possible solutions
[or] reactions to the Southside Park
ing Garage situation that are in the
best interest of all parties concerned.”
Renee Watson, a junior speech
communication major, said she
does not see a problem with the
proposed garage changes.
“What [members of the Student
Senate] all want you to hear is that
we paid $348 for a reserved spot,”
she said. “That is what we want
you to understand.”
When students were asked to
provide solutions, they explained
Business Student Council hosts
Distinguished Partners program
GUY ROGERS/The Battalion
The future of the Southside Park
ing garage was the subject of de
bate Monday afternoon.
they could not provide solutions to
problems they do not believe exist,
and that they believe the parking
arrangement in the Southside Park
ing Garage should remain as it is.
“The reason you’re not getting
solutions is we don’t see a prob
lem,” one student said.
Many students, including Robyn
Hutchison, a sophomore journalism
major, voiced concerns that PTTS
would overbook the parking garage
to the point that students would have
difficulty finding a parking spot de
spite having paid $348 for a reserved
spot at the beginning of the year.
“One of the advantages to hav
ing a garage spot is having the abil
ity to leave whenever you want and
know that you will have a spot
when you get back,” she said.
Matt Criswell, a senior me
chanical engineering major, said
he did not think overbooking is a
logical solution.
“They don’t go into our dorms
and say, ‘No one is here, so let’s
overbook their dorm room,” he said.
BY JULIE ZUCKER
The Battalion
The Business Student Council
(BSC) is beginning a Distin
guished Partners program to get
former students back in the class
room, both to aid current students
who complain their lecture cours
es are too monotonous and to aid
professors whose class atten
dance is decreasing.
Cory Willis, executive director
of the program and a senior man
agement information systems ma
jor, said the program will benefit
everyone involved by renewing
the teaching strategy and com
bining the business world with
the classroom.
“Students get to learn the lat
est trends and ideas from the
business community,” Willis said.
“The speakers, who are former
students, get an opportunity to re
turn to Aggieland and give back to
the University, and professors
don’t have to spend their time
searching for guest lecturers.”
The BSC hosted a tailgate party
this Saturday to kick off the pro
gram. One hundred associates of
A&M, distinguished former stu
dents as well as representatives
from companies such as EnForm
Technology, Enron EDS and Fergu
son Enterprises attended.
Willis said the program, aims
to merge the classroom and the
corporate world by bringing com
panies on campus. The program
will find prominent individuals
from the business community and
place them in a class addressing
their area of expertise.
“Students get to learn
the latest trends
and ideas from the
business community/'
— Cory Willis
Distinguished Partners
Professors can call the pro
gram, give a specified class date
and a topic they wish to cover.
The program members search
their database for representatives
who are available at that time to
speak to the class.
“Professors do a lot of research
on the side,” Willis said. “They
don’t have time to call 20 or 30
people to speak to their class. It is
the program’s job to contact
speakers for the professor”.
Program coordinators want for
mer students to come back to
campus to speak, its main focus is
to diversify students’ education.
“The speaker can be either a
former student or not,” Willis
said. “If we get a Stanford grad,
he is going to think differently
than an A&M graduate, and di
versity of education can always be
beneficial to students.
“If we get a recent graduate, he
might have had the same professor
he is speaking for, and that won’t
help students get new ideas.”
Drew Hennig, a junior fi
nance major, said the program
will be helpful for current and
incoming students.
“The program will help make
students more excited to finish
school and get out into the busi
ness world rather than fear what
their career future holds,” he said.
Hennig also said the speakers
are a great change of pace from
the usual lectures, giving stu
dents a reason to come to big lec
ture classes.
The program is part of the
Dean’s idea for the Vision 2020
plan. The program’s goal is to
eventually have two to three guest
lecturers in each business class
each semester. Willis said the idea
has lingered for sometime.
“We don’t want stagnant
knowledge at A&M,” Willis said.
“With the program underway, I
think we are moving positively in
the right direction.”
The program currently is con
tacting and scheduling speakers
for the spring semester.