THE B
106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
FiSiday • December 3,1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 67*12 Pages
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onfire investigation tactics to be discussed
ommission researching collapse to host open meeting on methodology, course of action to be taken
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
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to the new Norttl
tent. ■ 71 ie commission to investigate the
re are going tok:, g^, n fj re collapse will hold an open meet-
along the way, ; jig i n Board of Regents Annex in the
?, giant step hasat 1 p.m. today to discuss method-
i the 1 louse oil y 0 gy and gather their thoughts before
:i said hisgovend|jlgj nn ;j[ n g t i ie investigation which is
h opping the ten | J| iec iuled to finalize reports by March 31.
11 revocable | 0 i in weese, chair of a team of Universi-
. a hi net L faculty members assigned to aid the com-
11 ay acc | 0 ^ ll! ’miitee and a professor of mechanical engi-
i appealed to .:ga.j sa j c j { j ie meet j n g w jii a u ow the
l "" n8 , a ? M,t ' 'irjembers of the committee an opportunity
ns was d nece;:! i become oriented to their task in the Ag-
environment.
I0cr “The members of the committee were
;s|lected because of their reputation for
jhpnesty and because they are completely
i peace!)
impartial in the investigation having not
attended or taught at A&M,” he said. “As
a result, this is certainly going to be an or
ganizational meeting — part to transmit
some basic information and part for them
to ask some questions so they can get
some footing.”
Weese said the committee will have full
access to any information or help that can
be made available by the University to facil
itate the investigative process.
“This is just one of the very first steps to
ward the goal of figuring out what we can do
to prevent another tragedy like this from hap
pening again,” he said. “The University is op
erating in a mode in which every bit of in
formation the Bonfire committee wants or
needs will be made available.”
Leo Linbeck Jr., chair of the investigative
commission, announced Tuesday the selec-
Bonfire Collapse
Investigation Committee
Meeting
Students may watch the meeting
via closed-circuit television in
Rudder 701 beginning at 1 p.m.
tion of four new commission members:
Veronica Kastrin Callaghan, vice president
of El Paso-based industrial real estate com
pany, KASKO Ventures; Hugh G. Robinson,
chair and CEO of Dallas-based construction
management company, The Tetra Group
Inc.; Allan Shivers Jr., chair of Austin-based
Waste Recovery Inc.; and William E. Tuck
er, chancellor emeritus of Texas Christian
University.
“These four appointees bring a wealth of
experience and varying perspectives as we
delve into all aspects of the inquiry, and I
thank them for agreeing to take on this awe
some responsibility,” Linbeck said in a state
ment Tuesday. “We have a big job ahead of
us, but I have every confidence that with the
talent and resources we have assembled, we
will succeed in our fact finding inquiry.”
This meeting comes after questions were
raised last week by former professors about
the safety procedures practiced at Bonfire site.
Larry Grosse, a former professor of con
struction science at A&M and a professor of
construction science at Colorado State Uni
versity - Fort Collins, said in an interview
with The Bryan-College Station Eagle Tues
day that he questioned if proper stack build
ing procedures, as printed in the Bonfire
safety handbook including interlocking
stacks, sinking first stack logs and wrapping
the bottom two stacks with steel wire were
being followed.
Rusty Thompson, faculty Bonfire advis
er, said the guidelines as printed in the stu
dent-made document were usually followed
as an act of habit.
“Students wrote these to insure the safe
ty of everybody out there working hard on
the stack,” he said. “They are just guidelines
and are in no way University sanctioned,
which means that they may be followed at
the red pots’ discretion, but they are usual
ly followed because they are the best way to
do the work. ”
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PATRIC SCHNEIDER/Thk Battalion
Steve Strazsnicky, a sophomore landscape architecture major, Rodney Hicks, a junior civil engi
neering major, Jacob Jochech, a junior biology major, and Lindsey Guthman, a junior psychology
major, have stew at a pre-finals bash.
Rings to be distributed
early for Class of 2000
BY DIANE XAVIER
AND EMILY SNOOKS
The Battalion
The Aggie Ring Office has moved
the distribution of Aggie Rings forward
a week to insure students will receive
their rings in time for the Class of
2000 Ring Dance, scheduled for April 8.
Kim Bailey, 2000 Ring Dance com
mittee director and a junior sociolo
gy major, said the date of this year’s
Ring Dance was moved two weeks
earlier to avoid scheduling conflicts
with Parents Weekend and Easter.
She said the committee realized the
rescheduling would create a conflict
with the delivery date of the rings.
“The [Ring Dance] committee,
the class council and our adviser,
Peggy Holzweiss, have all been
working with the Ring Office since
earlier this year, when we discovered
there was going to be a problem,”
she said. “Carolyn [Swanzy] in the
[Ring] Office has been working real
ly hard to ensure students will have
their rings in time.”
Swanzy, Aggie Ring Program di
rector, said the rings are tentatively
scheduled to be passed out the
morning of the dance at the Clayton
Williams Alumni Center.
“The rings are usually delivered
around mid-April, but due to the
changes in the dance, we had to
reschedule the delivery date,” she
said. “We have to have a certain
amount of time for [the] manufac
ture’s to design them and time for us
to distribute them. Hopefully, we
will be able to work with it because
of the changes. ”
Bailey said the main concern now
is to make sure students get their de
gree audits in on time.
On Dec. 9 and 10 students can
pick up audit forms at the table for
Elephant Walk pictures in the MSC
hallway.
Students need to complete an au
dit request from Dec. 13 to Dec. 17
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
and may order their rings beginning
Jan. 18 for April delivery.
Students who will not be in the
College Station area between Jan. 18
and Feb. 11 can pick up a mail-order
HOW Td
get your RING
BEFORE the
oo
C3
ring DANCE
at
BEFORE DEC. 17
Get a degree audit
o
JAN 18 - FEB 11
Order your ring
'oQ
APRIL 6 - 8
t^o
Receive your ring
Tte Rinntg Office i® iosMed at
Gaytan Williams. AtLmni Building
BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion
form and be measured for their rings
Dec. 13 -Dec. 21.
see Rings on Page 2.
id get an even fa-
ber 31,
card and
nt
i.
ippy Holidays!'
iade items
lade soups
ce of toppings
blueberry bread
1 topping
tudents prepare for Y2K
BY JULIE ZUCKER
The Battalion
id
esh.
H While threats of Y2K computer
glitches and banking errors weigh
on the minds of the public, many
students at Texas A&M feel the Y2K
Bare is overrated.
■ Richard Kattmann, a sophomore
industrial distribution major, said the
Y2K scare is blown out of proportion.
“The whole thing is causing un-
1 necessary mass hysteria,” he said.
“We should treat it like any other
new year. ”
E Jo Moss, spokesperson for Readi-
ness2000, a coalition of Texas agen-
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Page 3f||jf
Sports
cies promoting Y2K readiness, said
students who take safety precau
tions are on the right track, but
should not get carried away making
preparations.
“Companies have been preparing
for Y2K for over two years now,” she
said. “Odds are problems [on Dec.
31] will be human errors.”
Moss said if people all decide to
pick up their phones to see if they
work, or all flush their toilets to see
if they still have running water, there
will be complications.
Moss said students need to be
aware of pranks others might play
that night.
“Use common sense,” Moss
said. “Don’t panic because your
power flickers or your phones die. It
may be a tree that fell, or someone
playing games.”
Moss said there are three guide
lines Readiness2000 stands by and
tries to tell the public that the best
thing anyone can do is to be in
formed, be prepared and be positive.
Moss said students should pre
pare for Y2K just as they would for
bad weather conditions.
She said students should fill their
gas tanks up before Dec. 30, make
see Y2K on Page 2.
Be Y2K Ready
i batteries
i radio
I nonperishabie foods
i no more than 3 quarts
drinking water
t flashlight
i prescription drugs
Fill up your gas
tank before Dec. 30
Physics prof designs
new, more durable
superconducting cable
BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion
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customer per
•12th ranked Aggies advance
to second round
\&M’s Volleyball Team wins in
Three set sweep.
Page 7
ipinion
•Restless in Seattle
Angry protesters
take to streets
over World Trade
Organization
meeting. til
Page 11
|batt Radio
>Jsten to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57
p.m. for details on reduced rates
for the Northgate parking lot.
MSC Black Awareness Committee,
others hold Pre-Kwanzaa celebration
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
More than 50 Texas A&M University students, fac
ulty and staff joined together in song and dance last
night at the MSC during the Pre-Kwanzaa celebration.
Members of the MSC Black Awareness Commit
tee (BAC), Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, the student
singing group — Voices of Praise and Fade to Black
Dance Ensemble performed during the hour-long
preview to the African-American holiday.
Kwanzaa, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, was start
ed in 1969 by Dr. Mialana Karenga. It is a time for
African-American families to come together to cele
brate and reaffirm their cultural identity.
There are seven principles celebrated in the sev
en-day festival: unity, self- determination, collective
work and responsibility, cooperative economics,
purpose, creativity and faith. Each principle was dis
cussed by a different speaker, and seven traditional
symbolic candles were lit.
Joel Garrett, former BAC chair and a senior busi
ness management major, said the principles of uni
ty and purpose are present at Texas A&M.
“The best display of unity at A&M was two weeks
ago after the tragedy at the Bonfire fields,” he said.
“I went out to the Bonfire site and saw all these peo
ple going to work for a common purpose. Aggie Spir
it calls for unity.”
Shantavia Fields, BAC vice president for student
'MW
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
Shantavia Fields, a member of the MSC Black Aware
ness Committee and a sophomore interdisciplinary
studies major, delivers a speech on Nia, which is one
of the Nguzo Saba or principles of Kwanzaa. Nia means
“purpose.”
activities and a sophomore elementary education
major, said purpose is a principle well-defined in the
committee’s actions.
“The Black Awareness Committee provides stu
dents to gain leadership by planning, coordinating
and implementing a variety of multicultural events,”
she said.
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
Imagine traveling in a fuel-effi
cient hybrid car or receiving an
MRI at almost a quarter of the
cost. These things may someday
be possible thanks to a new su
perconducting cable designed by
a Texas A&M professor.
The superconducting cable, de
signed by physics professor Peter
McIntyre shapes a high-tempera
ture ceramic material into a more
durable coil shape.
“Anyone who has dropped a
ceramic plate knows the troubles
scientists have with this materi
al,” McIntyre said. “The shape of
a coil gives the material substan
tially increased durability, which
might let it be used in something
as rough as a car.”
McIntyre said high-tempera
ture ceramic superconductors,
which function at minus 196 de
grees Centigrade, were discovered
12 years ago and quickly replaced
low- temperature metal super
conductors, which function at mi
nus 269 Centigrade, as the main
area of study because of their po
tential for industrial applications.
“In a normal conductor, elec
trons travel through a conducting
material, such as copper, in such a
way as they smash into atoms and
lose energy,” he said. “This is what
is called electrical resistance.”
McIntyre said the electrons in
superconductors hit the atoms but
bounce off with no real energy loss,
so no resistance is encountered.
He said the material’s ability to
convey electricity with no energy
loss could make the coil invalu
able for many industrial and sci
entific uses.
a
UPERCONDUCTOR5
almost NO electrical
High temperature
superconductors
operate at - t96° C
Superconducting
coils may lead to
cheaper MRI scans
and to more fuel-
efficient hybrid cars
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
“This coil may not only increase
the accuracy of MRI hospital imag
ing of things like breast cancer but
may also make it less expensive,
because these coils can be made
cheaper than what is usually used
in these machines,” McIntyre said.
“In the brave new world of HMOs
this may help out a lot.”
McIntyre said the coils may be
beneficial in the production of
more fuel-efficient hybrid cars,
which use both normal internal-
combustion engines and batteries,
and in power-regulating trans
formers used by power plants.
McIntyre said at a few hundred
dollars a yard, however, the po
tential of superconducting coils
may be momentarily hindered.
“Some people would take this
to a very grand scale and envision
these coils carrying energy to
every house in the country,” he
said. “While they may do that
someday, right now the applica
tions are going to be limited to
small industrial uses and even
then after much more testing.”