airstr
jermes waits
ned Grozny and other toms
and ground forces have
allenging Gudermes.
RUSSIA
ssian-occupied
Chechnya
ay • October 29, 1999
106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 45 • 10 Pages
POW to return to campus
Former Kosovo detainee to re-enroll at A&M this spring
agler Building
o be dedicated
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
The new Jon L. Hagler Building lo-
;ed at the corner of Houston Street and
[3Borge Bush Drive, which will house the
cas A&M Foundation, will officially be
dicated tomorrow at 9 a.m.
Rose Ann McFadden, manager of
mmunications for the Texas A&M
undation, said the building-dedi-
tion ceremony will feature remarks
mthe building’s namesake, Jon L.
gler, Class of ’58; Don Powell,
air of the Texas A&M Board of Re
nts and A&M President Dr. Ray M.
wen.
She said the building will be open
viewing, and entertainment will be
vided by the Singing Cadets.
McFadden said the building has been
med after Hagler because he was the
d donor for the building project.
After graduating from A&M, Hagler
rned an MBA from Harvard Univer-
He is now working in investment
magement in Boston. He is also a
nas A&M Foundation trustee and
co-chaired the Vision 2020 project
with Bowen, who is his former col
lege roommate.
McFadden said the building project
was funded by private gifts from 79 in
dividual donations starting at $50,000.
Nine of the donors provided money for
specific rooms.
The construction began in April
1998 and took 18 months to com
plete. The Texas A&M Foundation
staff is presently conducting business
in the building.
McFadden said that before the new
building was completed, the Foundation
was housed in a renovated bank build
ing at the corner of Dominik Drive and
Texas Avenue. She said the building was
too small for the Foundation.
She said the building is equipped
with offices and meeting rooms.
“We have five meeting rooms, two
conference rooms, one seminar room
and one board room,” she said. “We
also have over 100 offices, which will
be used by the Foundation staff.”
see Hagler on Page 6.
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
For Steven Gonzales, a former prison
er of war, going to class is a welcomed ex
perience. This spring, Gonzales will re
turn to the Texas A&M University campus
to complete his degree.
Gonzales left A&M after finishing his
freshman year in Spring 1995 and enlist
ed in the United States Army.
Gonzales, along with two other sol
diers, was captured during the Kosovo
Crisis last spring and was released from a
Yugoslavian prison camp May 2.
Gonzales was dismissed from active
duty Oct. 22. His discharge is classified as
honorable and a Secretarial Authority,
which the Army secretary approves and
decides if the release is for the good of the
Army or the soldier.
Gonzales said he is anxious to get back
to just being a college student and at
tending classes.
“Of course 1 want to get back to college
life,” he said. “But I’ll probably be com
plaining soon.”
Gonzales said that during his freshman
year, he lived in Dunn and Lechner halls
and was a mechanical engineering major.
Gonzales will live off campus when he
returns to A&M and will continue to pur
sue a mechanical engineering degree.
Gonzales said he considered joining the
Corps of Cadets for a short time during his
freshman year but later changed his mind.
“Of course I want to get
back to college life. But
111 probably be complain
ing soon”
— Steven Gonzales
Former prisoner of war
He said that while he was enlisted in
the Army, he had an opportunity to leave
and come back to A&M as a Corps mem
ber. He said he would then re-enterdhe
Army as an officer.
He chose not to return to school to ac
cept an enticing mission in Kosovo.
Gonzales said after his release from the
prison camp, he was introduced to many
famous people.
“We got to meet [George W. Bush],
President Clinton, the Secretary of De
fense (William H. Cohen) and Chris Tuck
er,” he said.
“We’ve spent quite a bit of time with
Rev. [Jesse] Jackson.”
Jackson went to Yugoslavia during the
soldiers’ captivity to negotiate their re
lease. Gonzales said that when they were
released, they were signed over to Jack-
son personally.
Gonzales said that since his release he
has accompanied Jackson to several
events and feels their relationship has
grown more personal.
He said he does not know if the Uni
versity will have him speak about his ex
perience in the prison camp, but if orga
nizations asked him, he would feel
comfortable presenting his story.
Gonzales said his three-year break
from college may have postponed his
graduation, but he hopes to get back and
complete his bachelor’s degree in me
chanical engineering. He said he also is
considering graduate school.
“I want to thank the A&M student body
for all their support during the crisis,” he
said. ’’Many students sent e-mail to my
parents with wishes and support. The ex
perience showed me exactly how close
Aggies really are.”
Canceled flight
Hopgood bans ‘Great Pumpkin’ tradition
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
The Corps of Cadets Quadrangle
was unusually silent last night, on
what would have been “The Flight
of the Great Pumpkin,” because
the annual event was canceled this
year by the Corps of Cadets Com
mandant M.T. “Ted” Hopgood, de
spite the attempts of Company C-2
to reconcile differences.
The Flight of the Great Pumpkin
is an annual event in which junior
and senior members of Company
C-2 find a large pumpkin and
throw the pumpkin into one of the
Aggie Band dorms in a ceremony
during the week of Halloween.
Steve Morrison, commanding of
ficer of C-2, said the midnight cere
mony attracts thousands of people
to watch the pumpkin, perched on
top of a junior’s head and guarded
by upperclassmen, as it makes its
way from the arches of the Quad to
the Aggie Band dorms nine and 11.
“There are 30 or so juniors and
seniors trying to protect the pump
kin versus the 100-and-some-odd
band freshmen who try to stop for
ward progress,” he said.
The pumpkin is usually de
stroyed near the entrance of the
Duncan Dining Center.
Col. “Doc” Mills, media rela
tions coordinator in the office of
the commandant, said the 30-year-
old tradition was canceled because
of the risk of injury.
“[Hopgood] disapproved The
Flight of the Great Pumpkin be
cause he felt that the potential for
Gabriel Ruenes/Tiii Battalion
injury was too great, and it would
not be prudent for the University to
have it this year,” he said.
The leadership of C-2 sent a
proposal for the event to Hop-
good, who initially denied it, Mor
rison said.
“We met with the commandant
for an hour and a half to discuss
how we could compromise, and
then sent up a modified proposal,”
he said.
The commandant appreciated
the effort to redesign the event to
be in compliance with all guide
lines of The Standard, the Corps of
Cadets rule book, but said that the
risks were too great, Morrison said.
The tradition began in 1969 and
was created by members of Com
pany C-2 who decided to play a
Halloween prank on the band out
of boredom. Former members of C-
2 come to see The Flight of the
Great Pumpkin annually.
• Aggies
^return home
to face OSU
Players comment
^1# on loss to Okla
homa University,
upcoming game.
Page 7
Batt Radio
en to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m.
pdetails on a new field day program
rBryarvCollege Station children.
Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority will host the ninth
annual Halloween on Sorority Row from 7 to 9
p.m. this Sunday to provide a safe place for the
children of the Bryan-College Station area to
trick-or-treat.
Zeta Tau Alpha coordinated the event so
that each sorority house will host different ac
tivities. Events include face painting, bean-
bag tossing, bobbing for apples and cookie
decorating.
Arann Tyler, member of Zeta Tau Alpha
and a junior agribusiness major, said (hat
through the event, the sororities provide a
safe place for children to go to have fun on
Halloween.
“It is important there is somewhere safe
where children can go to participate in Hal
loween with some of the things that go on in
the world these days,” she said. “You never
know what can happen.”
Zeta Tau Alpha has taken such safety mea
sures as stationing members along the streets
College of Education
marks 30 years at A&M
GABRIEL RUENES/The Battalion
with flashlights to ensure the safety of trick-
or-treaters.
Sharon Robinson, a member of Zeta Tau Al
pha and a junior accounting major, said this ser
vice is a safer trick-or-treating option for children
this Halloween than going door-to-door.
see Sorority on Page 6.
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
In celebration of 30 years of excellence,
the Texas A&M College of Education will
host an open house today and tomorrow,
beginning with the dedication of a sculp
ture to be placed in the new Education
Plaza on the west side of the Harrington
Education Center Office Tower.
The 12-foot bronze sculpture titled
“Shaping the Future” was designed for the
College of Education by William McGlaun
and is symbolic of the role teachers play
in shaping the lives of their students.
Janeen Wood, development relations
coordinator and dean of the College of Ed
ucation, said the sculpture was chosen
from three designs proposed by McGlaun.
The chosen design depicts an open
book with children rising from its pages,
symbolizing the children’s emergence
into their futures.
A woman standing adjacent to the
book represents all teachers guiding chil
dren in their growth. Wood said this
sculpture is the only piece of campus art
that features a woman.
An informal reception will be near
the Education Plaza at 9:30 a.m., fol
lowed by the official unveiling of the
statue by A&M President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen at 10 a.m.
The celebration will continue Friday
evening with an anniversary gala at the
College Station Hilton to honor 30 gradu
ates of the College of Education.
Wood said the nominees were chosen
for their outstanding service, both in the
field of education and other areas.
Saturday morning the College of Edu
cation will welcome guests to an open
house held in the Harrington Education
Center Classrooms building.
All students, former students and par
ents are invited to attend interest ses
sions, visit the centers and laboratories
and meet with the faculty and staff of
the college.
“The open house is a good opportunity
for parents and students to meet with the
dean and faculty,” Wood said. “It is also im
portant to recruit potential students and
promote the College of Education.”
A barbecue lunch will be served from
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.