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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1999)
papery withle,'.. zhou^oi i Zhang^ n g e diedii^ 11 dieneaijj, yand n gers^ s iisrupncr.;- ierepor.: : 106 YEARS AT TEXAS ION IVERSITY Inesday • October 13, 1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 33 • 16 Pages 'omm to address questions ibout A&M’s alcohol policy BY BRADY CREEL The Battalion itudents with questions about Texas A&M’s [hoi policy can find answers today at 7 p.m. he MSC Flagroom at a program presented tie MSC Issues and Ideas Committee, the committee will present the program Ixplain all current alcohol laws, rules and Icies as they pertain to students, fharlie Hemmeline, chair of MSC Issues iIdeas Committee and a senior mechan- : engineering major, said the program is tgned not only to educate students about Ling but to dispel myths associated with and laws concerning the consumption Jlcohol. [We are not ' ere to condemn anyone,” imeline said. “We just want everyone to iw that this is the law.” The program will feature a*panel of rep- Ltatives from A&M, Student Judicial dees, the Department of Residence Life, I the University Police Department, all of |om have experience with alcohol-related K$and students’ misconceptions, temmeline said each panelist will give a linute talk relating the issues to their (jartinents. [■[The panelists] are going to set the stage presenting and answering the preliminary festions," Hemmeline said, dm Novak, Student Judicial Services co- [inator and a panelist, said her part of the rant will hopefully enlighten students as vhat the University rules state about al- U violation. “Part of the focus will be to educate students so they can make better decisions,” she said. Novak said many students do not real ize they can jeopardize their status as stu dents and their abilities to hold leadership positions. Lorna Breault, first-year Student Alcohol Education programs coordinator, said there have been changes in the rules, specifically concerning organizations. The rules state that all membership re- “We ar£ not here to condemn anyone. We just want everyone to know that this is the iaw” — Charlie Hemmeline Chair, MSC Issues and Ideas Committee cruiting shall be free of alcohol, and organi zations must establish precautionary mea sures to ensure that alcohol is not being served to minors or people who appear to be intoxicated. Organizations are also prohibited from pur chasing alcohol with the organization’s funds. “Alcohol is an issue that everyone needs to be concerned about,” she said. Sue Foster, assistant director for Resi dence Education of Residence Life and a panelist, said she will speak about issues af fecting students and alcohol in residence halls. She said many students are unaware of the rules concerning possession of alco hol in the halls. Foster said only students 21 years of age or older may possess or consume alcohol in the residence halls in their rooms. She said residents may not may not store large amounts of alcohol in their rooms and underage students may not host residents who are of age and choose to drink in their rooms. Foster said residents old enough to drink are also not allowed to have open containers in public areas on campus. The number of alcohol-related incidents has increased since last year. Novak said there were 251 students charged with alco hol-related violations during the x 1998-99 academic year. In the seven weeks since the campus re opened Aug. 22, the University has already charged and reprimanded close to 100 students. Novak said University punishments can vary, including expulsion. She said all students charged are required to take an alcohol and drug education class on campus, regardless of whether they have to take a class to satisfy local or state authorities. Hemmeline said that after the panelists make their presentations, a forum will allow students to ask questions through panel moderator Dr. Ted 'Stachowiak, associate di rector of Student Counseling Service. Novak said students should realize that charges imposed by the University are sepa rate from criminal charges, and the students may have to face both. “Many students know there is a rule but don’t know about University reprimands, in addition to criminal charges,” she said. Special to The Battalion Universities’ team finds new asteroid BY CARRIE BENNETT The Battalion Don Carona, a Texas A&M astron omy instructor and program director for the A&M observatory; Dr. Dan Bruton, a physics and astronomy pro fessor from Stephen F. Austin State University (SEA); and Billy McCor mack, an SFA student, discovered a new minor planet, also called an as teroid, orbiting the sun more than 180 million miles from Earth be tween Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid was discovered Oct. 2 while they were tracking a known minor planet at the SFA observatory. He said the team had been look ing in the area where the asteroid was found for three days before it was discovered. “We noticed a mover in the lower right hand corner of the image,” he said. “There is a general hope that if we track one that’s already known, there’s another-one close by.” Carona said the problem with the first spotting was getting definite data to confirm that it was a new minor planet from the image, so they looked again Oct. 3. Carona said during the second spotting he and Bruton saw the as teroid “plain as day” and sent their information to the Minor Planet Cen ter operated by Harvard University for verification that the image was not previously known. He said the center sent the verification Oct. 6. Carona and the team will have an opportunity to name the discovery in a few months. “The temporary designation is J99T04G,” he said. “A committee that specifically deals with the Minor Plan et Center has to approve the name, but it’s pretty, rare that they reject a name. ” Carona said it is not common for a new stellar body to be discovered. “When you take the total number see Asteroid on Page 2. Expressionism vay \INCS 'NMENJ rinium BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion Kevin Thompson, a freshman environmental design major, works on an “expression cube,” a cube designed to represent a feeling that matches that of the creator, Tuesday at the Langford Architecture Center. INC*de Council debates feasibility of Northgate-area garage ielife ccepting naccep- tance omosexual 'students pe with life at A&M. Page 3 Sports •Ags prepare for Kansas fhe Aggies prepare to take on L the Jayhawks on 'Saturday. Page 11 Opinion >ln the eye of the beholder New York City Mayor’s decision to revoke ...... funding for muse- T| um sparks debate Page 15 Batt Radio I listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 11:57 p.m. for an interview with iband Cowboy Mouth. Dean for a Day participants switch roles BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion For students enrolled in Agricultural Education 340, Professional Leadership Development, who hoped that one day their professor would be replaced by someone else, had their dreams come true yesterday when their instructor won the Dean for a Day contest. Dr. Jane Conoley, dean of the College of Education, volunteered her position as dean for the day and switched places with contest, winner, Dr. Chris Townsend, a professor in the Department of Agricul tural Education. Conoley said teaching Townsend’s class was comfortable because of her teaching experience and familiarity with the topic of leadership. “I could see myself going back to being a professor — I love that role,” she said. Conoley said she met with Townsend’s graduate student research team and met with the Agricultural Education advisers. as part of the day’s activities. Townsend said the opportunity to act as BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion Another 725 parking spaces could be added to the Northgate area, if the city of College Station continues its’ plans for building a $6.8 million parking garage. The Northgate parking garage plans, which were previously approved by College Station vot ers in a referendum vote, will tentatively occupy a 1.6-acre site just north of Church Street and College Main. Tom Brymer, acting city manager of. College Station, said building the parking garage is a like lihood as the end of the design and development stage with DeShazo, Tang and Associates, Inc., an engineering and planning firm, nears. “The feasibility analysis indicates that it is go ing to be a financially viable project basically funded by the users of the garage,” he said. “A parking garage will have an impact on the North- gate area.” However, Dick Birdwell, a former College Sta tion City Council member and an engineer, said he is concerned that the parking garage will not pay for itself and taxpayers will be left to pay the remaining costs of the project. “The forecasted revenue from the project has been grossly overestimated,” Birdwell said. “1 am convinced it’s going to cost the taxpayers money. They have not taken a good hard look at the data.” Brymer said DeShazo, Tang and Associates’ estimates indicate that the parking garage will pay for itself in 18 to 20 years, based on estimat ed fees for the parking garage. ADD6T &OMAL 123 PARKINS SPACES COST IS $ & 8 MILLION OCCUPY l\ .j ACRES NORTH OP CMtlRCH STREET AND COLLEGE MAIN ■H JP BEATO/The Battalion “You fine tune that until you open,” Brymer said. “We will be sensitive to the economy.” DeShazo, Tang and Associates estimates that the Northgate garage will generate $2,072 per space during the next five years, compared to the $864 per space generated from the new Patricia Street Promenade Lot during the past year. In order to add the garage to the Northgate area, the city must remove 50 percent of the on street parking, a removal of 175 spaces. Birdwell said he fears Northgate businesses will suffer as a result of limited free on-street parking forcing customers to go elsewhere. “What is going to-happen is the businesses are going to lose business,” he said. “People are go ing to go to other places where they do not have to pay to park.” see Garage on Page 2. Younts International Forum examines U.S., China relations ANTHONY DISALVO/The Battalion Dr. Jane Conoley, dean of the College of Education, took part in Dean for a Day. the dean yesterday was a good experience. 1 “It was a very enriching experience for me, and I learned deans must know a [great deal] about a large organization,” she said. Townsend said that when she arrived yesterday morning, Conoley’s adminis trative assistant, Mary Bauman, had her whole day planned out for her. Townsend said her day consisted mainly of meetings with various people. She said she met with regional education technologists, advisers in the Department see Switch on Page 2. BY STASIA RAINES The Battalion The Kyle R. Younts interna tional Forum will present a fo rum on the economic and polit ical progress in China and its relationship with the United States tonight at 7 in the Bush Presidential Library Complex. The forum, “China and U.S. Relations: Global Stability For the Millennium,” is sponsored by the Institute for Pacific Asia, the Center for International Business Studies, the Lowry Mays College of Business and the China Club. Dr. Julian Caspar, one of tonight’s speaker and the director of fhe Center for International Business Studies in the Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business said this is an appropriate time to hold the fo rum because this year is the 50th anniversary of communist China. “I thought it would be inter esting to update information on where things are now,” he said, “to look back and see what has happened over the last 50 years and where things are going. ” He said the forum is an op portunity to investigate how the United States’ relationship with China should be in the future. “When you have the richest democracy dealing with the largest communist country, you have opposite political partnership.” Gasper said. “We should think if a strategic part nership is how we should go into the future.” Dr. Gabriel Carranza, direc tor of the Institute for Pacific Asia and director of the Latin CHINA & U.S RELATK Global Stability for the Millenium Bush Library & Conference Center Tonight 7 p.m. JEFF SMITH/The Battalion American Program, said rela tions with China will greatly af fect the future of the U.S. be cause it is five times the population of the U.S. and the economy is improving daily. “It can be our best ally or our worst enemy,” Carranza said. see U.S. on Page 2.
