Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1999)
106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY hursday • November 4,1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 49 • 16 Pages ise seen in student deaths in Fall ’99 A8dVt senate passes bill on rankings umbers of fatalities tripled from 2 in 1998 to 7 so far this semester CODY WAGES'!!: Dikes the ball lie While Colii the most by i season. 3uffs have not md the first su <a...Kansas rning It is BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion History seems doomed to repeat it- ielf in regards to the large number of iccidents taking the lives of Texas \&M students since school started in ate August. Wade Birch, Student Counseling Service (SCS) director, said a single ieath on a college campus can impact :he student body, but the number of re cent incidents at A&M undoubtedly bas made an impact. In November of 1998 there had been two student deaths during the fall semester. This year, the number of deaths is three times that amount, tanding at seven. “It feels like it has been one of the lore difficult semesters,” Birch said, egarding the Oct. 10 drowsy-driving related accident in which six students ' were killed, including A&M student Ted Bruton, four Baylor University stu dents and a Southwest Texas State Uni versity student. Birch said the impact of such inci dents can affect others beside those closest to the deceased. “With any of these incidents, it has amazed me how many students are impacted,” he said. “It is almost like dropping a stone and the concentric circles going out.” Dr. Brent Paterson, director of Stu dent Life who handles the announce ments of student-related deaths at A&M, said the number of fatalities is alarming this semester. “It seems there are more,” Paterson said. “Over a year’s period, we tend to be fairly consistent.” Consistency is something the SCS encourages in helping students cope with the deaths of other A&M students. Particularly in situations impacting a number of students on the A&M cam pus, Birch said close friends of the vic tim are encouraged to attend a de briefing to share their feelings and thoughts with other students and psy chologists with SCS. “We can get with a group of stu dents and see how they are feeling and what is likely to happen to them,” Birch said. “After the debriefing, we encourage individuals to come talk to psychologists individually at SCS.” The crisis response team, as Birch refers to his staff in these situations, is limited in these meetings with stu dents, he said. “No matter how well you do a de briefing, there are going to be some students who withhold a lot,” Birch said. “The second stage encourages more discussion.” Based on recent efforts to reduce the number of incidents of accidental deaths related to drunken driving and drowsy dri ving, Birch said the impact of the recent deaths on the student body is evident. “When I think about the array of problems happening, I think the inci dents are mainly related to alcohol-re lated driving and drowsy-driving relat ed incidents,” Birch said. “The group of students trying to attack this problem is a pretty clear sign that these situations are having an impact on the campus.” This semester, the Student Govern ment Association introduced Caring Ag gies ‘R’ Protecting Over Our Lives (CAR- POOL), a service offered by A&M students too intoxicated to drive home. see Fatalities on Page 2. MITCHE. n the ining back Hoi 8 yards to becoml iol history to gol second jimeihisi was held scoreleif ly other time HieCi cureless in the first ' a. mg mil /oumalisnimfl: athematics epartment eceives grant BY JEANETTE SIMPSON The Battalion A $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation |(NSF) will allow the Texas A&M Department of Mathematics to ex pand its curriculum at the gradu ate level, fund research for doc- jtoral candidates and introduce undergraduates to mathematical research. Dr. William Rundell, mathemat ics department head, said the grant is part of the Grants for the Vertical Integration of Research and Educa tion in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) program, which awards grants to national research univer- sities to bolster the number of Unit- i ed States citizens involved in math ematical research. “The NSF wants a larger base of * people going into math research,” he said. “They hope to increase the numbers [of people] in [the math] industry, which are at a severe low right now. ” The official start date is not un til Summer 2000, but the college al- jready has started to implement the program on a small scale. Rundell said the department’s focus in executing the VIGRE pro ram is to broaden the training of nathematics undergraduate and raduate students and postdoctor- 1 fellows to allow them to imple- ent mathematical research at the lighest levels. “One of the main thrusts in this rogram is the integration of post- octorates, graduate students and mdergraduates in research teams,” ’Tjhe said. “In this situation, each 'group will have the opportunity to learn from each other. ” The college is proud of receiv- ng the prestigious award, Rundell aid. see Grant on Page 2. Leap log BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion The Student Senate unanimously passed the Student Ratings Reform Bill last night, making it possible for students to read teacher evaluations on the Internet. It is still uncertain when the Stu dent Ratings Reform Bill will be implemented. To regulate the evaluations, five global ques tions will be part of the ratings: • I believe this instructor was an effective teacher. • The exams were presented and graded fairly. • Help was readily available for questions and/or homework outside of class. • I would take another course from this professor. • The amount of reading and/or work was rea sonable for the credit hours received. The questiens will be answered numerically in a disagree/neutral/agree format, which closely fol lows the teacher evaluations currently completed by students. When the bill was originally written, students’ identities were protected by an anonymity dis claimer but was changed to leave out the clause and to make signing the evaluation mandatory. This change is designed to build trust between stu dents and faculty. Under current class-evaluation guidelines, pro fessors can see results of the evaluations almost im mediately. Because students’ names will be includ ed with the evaluation, professors will now have a semester layover before they can see results to pre vent evaluations from affecting students’ grades. Speaker pro tempore Justin Toal, a senior agron omy and business major, said the Student Senate is hoping that all academic colleges will provide the results on the Internet. “By using the five questions, this will ensure conformity and effectiveness,” he said. see Senate on Page 2 Hk KENNETH MCDONALD/Tin: Battalion Lonnie Sclerandi, a freshman health and kinesiology major and member of Company E-2, leaps over an obstacle at the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corp obstacle course near Easterwood Field Tuesday. Center to inaugurate its first president feJSIDE AggieSife pickJ^ TEAMBOAt this2000.coil Crash and burn Learn tips on ow to reject a guy. art of the ‘How to do Stuff Better’ series. Page 3 Sports ►Clutch performer Matt Bumgardner, senior wide receiver, overcomes injuries to | contribute to Aggies. Page 11 Opinion •Turbulent times Airplane manufacturer faces mounting criticism for valuing i bottom line over lives. Page 15 Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 ! p.m. for details on a 4-year-old I who was missing for a day. BY JESSI HIGHFILL The Battalion The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center will formally in augurate its first president, Dr. Jay Noren, at the George Bush Presidential Conference Center at 2 p.m. today. Noren also is the A&M System’s vice chancellor for health affairs. Noren also has been on the medical-school faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was its vice chancellor for health sciences. He received three degrees from the University of Minnesota: a bachelor of arts degree, bachelor of science degree and doctorate in medicine. He received his master’s of public health from Har vard University. The A&M System Health Science Cen ter is the health-sciences university for the A&M System. The creation of the A&M System Health Science Center was offi cially approved by the System Board of Re gents in September 1997. On Jan. 1,1999, Noren became the A&M System Health Science Center’s first president. John Holder, communications spe cialist at the Health Science Center, said there are five specific institutional enti ties under the leadership of the Health Science Center—the Texas A&M Univer sity College of Medicine, the School of Rural Public Health, the Institute of Bio sciences and Technology, the Baylor Col lege of Dentistry and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Noren said the new center will make organizational changes for students in the College of Medicine and for graduate students in biomedical science. “The new Health Science Center will increase opportunities for health educa tion and careers [for A&M students],” he said. “It will give more opportunities for students to pursue careers in the health field, and it will continue to enhance and increase research activity between the Health Science Center and A&M faculty.” Holder said this is the newest health center in the state of Texas. JP BEATO/The Battalion Dr. Jay Noren will be formally inaugurated as the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center’s first president. “The University of Texas already has six health-science centers in the state, but this is A&M’s first statewide health-science cen ter,” Holder said. “It’s really a significant day for the Health Science Center at A&M. ” The Office of Communications for the A&M System Health Science Center said many leaders within the A&M System, the health-education community and health professions will take part in the inaugural activities. Skydiving club continues after tragic accident BY KENNETH MACDONALD The Battalion The crash of a plane owned by Ags Over Texas, a College Station business that provides skydiving experiences area in September will not stop the Texas A&M Sky Diving Club from continuing its skydiving. The team currently is looking at three potential jump sites in neighboring areas to con tinue its jumping interests. Kristen Beard, Ags Over Texas club vice president and a senior journalism major, said club members feel at home at Ags Over Texas even though the club has jumped in other areas. “Ags Over Texas was our home drop zone because it was so convenient,” she said. “It was only a 10- minute drive away. And because it was Aggie-owned and-operated, it felt like family.” A drop zone is a business that owns a plane, rents out a hanger and provides equipment and instruction to skydivers. Beard said members have felt differently about skydiving since the accident but doesn’t know of many people who have stopped because of it. “My friends who died wouldn’t want me to stop,” she said. “Besides, this was not really a skydiving ac cident. If you had a friend who died in a car wreck, you would probably drive to the funeral.” Beard said some find the memories of their friends who died an inspiration to continue diving. “They were skydiving with their buddies; now they are diving for their buddies,” she said Jan Richards, staff adviser for the club, said the group, which has been at A&M for 17 years, is look ing at jump sites in Waller, Wharton and San Marcos. She said all skydiving programs are not the same. see Skydiving on Page 2. MSC creates new Academic League committee BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion The Memorial Student Cen ter’s newest committee, with roots in the College Bowl com mittee and a former MSC NOVA subcommittee, will test its mem bers’ knowledge in the areas of history, literature, science and pop culture at competitions in the coming year. The Academic League, recog nized as the newest official MSC committee will participate in such programs as College Bowl Intra murals, Sports Trivia Competition and the A&M Trivia Competition. Chris Romero, the tentative Academic League chair and a se nior computer engineering ma jor, said the league is looking to add new members. “We are really excited about be ing a committee and are looking forward to a great tournament,” he said. “We hope everyone who likes trivia and games like Trivial Pursuit will participate.” In College Bowl Intramurals, teams of four players compete in games with two seven-minute halves. The top intramural play ers will represent A&M at the re gional competition against stu dents from other universities. including: Rice University, Louisiana State University and the University of Arkansas. The team that wins the regional com petition will compete against universities across the United States in April 2000 at the na tional competition. Romero said A&M’s large stu dent body provides ample hu man resources for College Bowl competition. * “We want to have the best group possible represent the Uni versity at regionals and nation als,” Romero said. “The toughest teams change each year. The ability for teams to do well is di rectly coordinated to advertising to the student body. We are look ing to expand this year.” Application forms for students interested in joining the Academ ic League are available in the Stu dent Programs Office (SPO), on the second floor of the MSC. The Academic League is con sidering hosting an A&M Trivia Competition, which would be the first recorded trivia competi tion hosted by the organization. The Academic League may also host the High-School State Championship, a similar Trivial Pursuit-style competition limited to high-school students-, in March. http://co!legebowl. tamu.edu College Bawl intramurals, Sports Trivia Competition. A&M Trivia Competition GABRIEL RUENES/Thk Battalion
