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
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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.
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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
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TEAMBOAt
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Crash and
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Learn tips on
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art of the ‘How
to do Stuff Better’ series.
Page 3
Sports
â–ºClutch 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