Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1999)
son liesday • November 2,1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 47 • 10 Pages exans urged o cast vote n propositions BY ERIKA DOERR The Battalion JP BEATO/Thi ! ;ity of Houston i rather Weibe a hrasher both 1 goals in thes 1 in the game, tal of the gam gton. iopes Sunday to the Aggies' e part of oursi ;h a lot of coni rtion — postseas I Registered voters are encouraged | vote on 17 propositions, including kro that will increase funding for Ixas A&M University, at any of 45 piling booths in Brazos County, lom 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. I Mary Ann Ward, Brazos County |erk, said the State Legislature was I session from January to June dis missing several state-wide topics, laving 17 propositions to be voted }i by the public. Approximately 1,260 people vot- I early for this statewide election. Polling sites include the Manor Blast Jail, the MSC, A&M United Methodist lurch, Rock Prairie Elementary St 100I, the Brazos County Court- House and A&M Presbyterian Church. I Justin Strickland, student services chair and a junior political science major, said the Student Government dissociation has taken the necessary stops to create a strong student-vot er turnout. “I am impressed with the massive Student Government [Association] campaign’s publicity for both Propo sition 13 and Proposition 17,” Strick land said. “1 hope that all registered Aggies will come out to the polls and vote ‘yes’ for Proposition 13 and 17. Since this election offers several benefits to A&M students, I hope there will be many voters supporting Proposition 13 and 17.” Proposition 13 would authorize the Texas Higher Education Coordi nating Board to issue and sell gener al-obligation bonds to finance edu cational loans to students. Proposition 17 would make the Permanent University Fund (PUF) a total-return fund, which provides for a broader, more flexible investment strategy.lt would provide new funds for higher education without in creasing taxes. Citizens must be registered to vote in Brazos County and must bring their blue registration cards to the voting polls, Ward said. in the Big ’sday in SanMoj Student leaders show support 'for ballot item Live...live JP BEATO/Tm Baitai ion Members of the band Live, Ed Kowalczyk (foreground), vocals, and Patrick Dahlheimer (background), bassist, perform Monday night at Rudder Auditorium as part of the band’s The Distance to Here 1999-2000 Tour. CAMAC hosts holiday event honoring dead BY JULIE ZUCKER The Battalion The MSC Committee for the Awareness of Mexican- American Culture (CAMAC) will host a celebration for El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, tonight at 7. Mario Lozano II, CAMAC chair and a senior construction science major, said the holiday is a celebra tion of life and honors loved ones who have passed away. “It is not a sad memorial, but a time to remember all of the good things about those we have lost,” he said. The celebration will begin with a can dlelight procession from the steps of the Academic Plaza to MSC 201. There, ofrendas or altars, will be set up students can place items, including candles and pan de muerto, a kind of sweet bread, in remembrance of loved ones. “You can put flowers or a picture of that person, or if they liked to draw you can put a pad of paper and a pencil,” he said. El Dia de los Muertos began when Aztecs and Spaniards merged their beliefs. The Aztecs believed in an afterlife and that life on earth was a short part of the journey. When the Spanish came to Mexico, the cul tures merged their ideas of saints, gods and memorials into a celebration of life spent on earth. This year CAMAC will celebrate the life of Americo Paredes, an author and folklorist who died last year. His works include George Washington Gomez and With His Pistol in His Hand. Last year, CAMAC honored poet Octavio Paz. The celebration begins with a candlelight 5 >rocession honoring ecesased ioved ones from the Acadef -Plaza?to MSC i o »3a nd.folkl&fisiK? *■ r f I i 9 J l GABRIEL RUENES/Thk. Battalion see CAMAC on Page 2, BY STASIA RAINES The Battalion I Texas A&M student leaders gath ered together yesterday to raise support for Proposition 17. ■ The Permanent University Fund was created in 1876 as an endowment that is funded by state- owned land and min erals, like oil and gas, and provides a per petual source of sup port for certain public institutions affiliated with Texas A&M and The University of Texas systems. RThe principal of this fund currently nay not be spent, aut Proposition 17 would not change that. ■Student Body President Will Hurd stressed the importance of Proposition 17 to the future of education in Texas. ■“A vote for Proposition 17 is an in- zest ment into the future of Texas,” he said. “Proposition 17 means several Mre millions of dollars a year that vill go to higher education in Texas without increasing taxes.” Erin Blaney, Student Government Association public relations director and a junior political science major, said Proposition 17 would aid the Uni versity because it provides a way to increase the amount of mon ey in the Perma nent University Fund. “Proposition 17 is going to modernize the in vestment plan of the Permanent University Fund, and, because of that there will be greater returns on our investment, which means more funding for A&M,” she said. Hurd said Proposition 17 would al low state investors to take advantage of more flexible investment strategies to invest interest from the PUF. “This means about 4 million dol lars more for academic programs used at the discretion of the president of the universities,” he said. VOTING TODAY on 17 propostions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 45 polling sites including: • Manor East Mall - The MSC • A&M United Methodist Church • Rock Prairie Elementary School • Brazos County Courthouse •A&M Presbyterian Church ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion Class councils undergo reorganization BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion Texas A&M’s class councils have re grouped and reorganized to overcome past problems of animosity and lack of coopera tion between individual councils to better serve the A&M student population. Katie Dufour, Elephant Walk director and a senior community health management ma jor, said the reorganization came after a com mittee of class-council representatives met last spring. “The committee’s goal was to find out how we can better deal with some of the problems [facing class councils] by pulling together,” she said. “Some things are working better than others, but this is just sort of a trial year that will lead to a better system next semester.” Katie Hanselka, Class of 2000 president and a senior agricultural development major, said the reorganization is designed to estab lish stronger lines of cooperation and com munication between councils by requiring a meeting of all class-council representatives every two weeks and by more clearly defin ing each class officer’s responsibilities. “In the past, each class would work inde pendently on their own projects,” she said. “The seniors would work on Elephant Walk, and the juniors would do E-Walk,” she said. “This would usually cause problems, because then we wouldn’t have enough people for a lot of the activities.” establish a stronger line of cooperation and communication between councils I individual classes will help one another during projects a clear definition of class officer’s 1 responsibilities required meetings every two weeks of all class council representatives ItESTK U CTIKliVt JP BEATO/Tm: Battalion Hanselka said under the new organization in dividual classes help each other on projects. “This way, we have enough people for all the projects, and the underclassmen have an oppor tunity to learn from the upperclassmen,” she said. Dufour said the increased cooperation has already helped solve some problems, such as the rerouting of Elephant Walk between the Sterling C. Evans Library Annex and the Cen tral Campus Parking Garage instead of down Nagle Street, where the construction could be a hindrance. “It wasn’t a big problem,” she said. “We just got together with some [Bonfire] pots and yell leaders, and the problem was solved.” Dufour said a new point system has been developed which requires each class council representative to accumulate a certain num ber of points by participating in activities, such as selling T-shirts or working on orga nizing Maroon Out. Peggy Holzweiss, class council’s adviser, said she is optimistic the change will contin ue to bring bigger and better improvements in class council activities. “I have never seen the classes working to gether as well and as much as they are now,” Holzweiss said. “It took a lot of courage for the students to break with the traditions of the past, but now they have an even better system that will just continue to get better as time goes on.” INSIDE omeback kid Andrea Book- out returns after stint in Arizona. Page 7 Aggi ‘life •Don’t worry, etc. Part 2 of 5 in the ‘How to do Stuff Better Series’ deals with finding ways to be happy. Page 3 Opinion »Let them work to eat cake lew York uriayor Giu liani has "plan to employ tomeless for shelter. Page 9 Batt Radio Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on a special Bryan City Council meeting. Jordan Institute extends deadline for foreign-internship applications BY MATT LOFTIS The Battalion The MSC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness, which offers Texas A&M students an opportunity to work abroad, has extended the deadline for ap plying for foreign internships from tomorrow to noon Friday. Colleen Crenwelge, Institute chair and a sophomore political science and economics major, said she participated in the pro gram last summer. She said it was something she could use to plan for a future career. Crenwelge worked with Price- WaterhouseCoopers in London on her trip and had the opportu nity to travel throughout England. “I got work experience and saw what life was like in the corporate environment,” she said. “I encourage anyone who hasn’t been abroad before to go on this program.” John Troy, Germany director for the Institute and a sophomore business administration major, said the Institute sent students to London, England; Santo Domin go, Dominican Republic; and Tub ingen, Germany. “I... saw what life was like in the corporate environment/ 7 — Colleen Crenwelge Jordan Institute chair The trip to Santo Domingo costs $1,500, London $2,200 and Tubingen $2,500, Troy said. He said the institute part ly subsidizes the trips to keep costs down. Troy said the application process begins with low-level ability tests for applicants to non-English-speaking coun tries. Once accepted, students attend informational and social meetings throughout the spring semester. Optional weekly meetings also are held to practice foreign lan guages. He said each country has in-country coordinators who meet with students while they visit the country. “International travel broad ens your perspectives, making you a more well-rounded indi vidual,” Troy said. “Our pro gram will expose you to new ideas and beliefs, both in the workplace and general society, that you have never experi enced before.” He said the Institute finds an appropriate internship for stu dents according to their majors. Kim Nguyen, England direc tor for the Institute for and a se nior biomedical science and phi losophy major, said study abroad is an excellent opportunity see Jordan on Page 2. Tracking down memory lane Train ride to game rekindles Ag tradition, recollections BY ROLANDO GARCIA The Battalion The train depot is no longer there, but that did not stop the Houston A&M Club Express from pulling up beside Kyle Field Saturday afternoon. Organized by the Former Stu dents Club of Houston, the passen ger train — 11 cars and two locomo tives — carried more than 200 Aggie fans from Houston to the football game against Oklahoma State Uni versity Saturday. Though it has been decades since the railroad was College Station’s main transportation artery, the event rekindled memories of an old game- day tradition. Pete Stanley, Class of ’46, said when he was an A&M student trains were a popular way to travel to foot ball games. “Back in the early 1950s, trains were the way to go,” he said. “It was a lot of fun then, and we’ll have a lot of fun this time.” Judy Franklin, Houston A&M Club president and Class of ’68, said the Union Pacific Railroad Company of fered use of its passenger train for free to the A&M Association of Former Students, which directed the compa ny to the Houston A&M Club. “I think it was a community-good will type of thing, and who better to hook up with than the largest A&M club in the world?” she said. Though Houston is only 90 miles away, and most people drive to the game, Franklin said the train got an enthusiastic response from club members. She said the club hopes to make the trip an annual event. “One of our older members who doesn’t drive said taking the train would allow him to go to the game,” Franklin said. “It’s also a fun and unique way to travel and a great way to promote the A&M club.” The train parked alongside Well born Road across from Kyle Field. A private reception was held in one of its dining cars after the game for dignitaries and guests before the train headed back to Houston, Franklin said.