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106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 70 • 16 Pages
Fall 1999 in review
File Photos/The Battalion, Brewer/AP
(L to R) A drowsy driving accident near the Tau Kappa Epsilon house claimed six lives. A plane crash in Bryan killed five. A Bryan jury found Lawrence Russel Brewer guilty of capital murder. Bonfire collapsed killing 12 Aggies.
Texas A&My Bryan-College Station face trials y tragedies over course of year
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
Texas A&M University and the Bryan-
College area have seen many changes and
tragedies this semester. Stories from low
ering of the legal blood-alcohol level to the
conviction and death sentence of a Jasper
man to the deaths of students and former
students have affected attitudes on this
campus and in the community.
Most recently, media throughout the
nation have turned toward A&M, ques
tioning procedures, asking tough ques
tions and, like many, demanding answers.
Yet, it was not just the tragic incidents that
moved the media to continue to focus on
the campus.
Lower-blood-alcohol-content law
goes into effect
A law passed by the Texas State Legisla
ture lowered the legal limit of blood-alcohol
content (BAG) from 0.10 to 0.08 early this
semester. Lowering of allowed blood-alco
hol levels means that with one drink, 1
ounce of 80-proof liquor, a 12-ounce beer,
an 8-ounce wine cooler or a 4-ounce glass
of wine — a 175-pound male would be
legally intoxicated after three drinks in one
sitting. A 125-pound female would be legal
ly intoxicated after two drinks. The lower
ing was an effort by the Texas Alcoholic Bev
erage Commission to decrease the number
of deaths caused by people driving under
the influence of alcohol.
Jasper TYial
Lawrence Russell Brewer, the second
of three men tried for the dragging death
of James Byrd, Jr., was sentenced to death
following a f capital murder conviction o.
A change of venue brought the trial to
Bryan; not only did media flock to the
area, but the trial also brought many con
troversial groups to the area. The trial
moved groups at A&M to speak out about
racial diversity and sensitivity.
Plane crash kills 5
Not long after classes resumed for the
fall, the A&M family suffered the loss of
several Aggies. A Cessna model 182A
plane owned by Ags Over Texas crashed
onto a private pasture by Coulter Field in
Bryan, killing five people. Authorities
speculated that the plane, commonly
called “Duct Tape,” ascended 300 to 400
feet, then “stalled” and plunged nose-
first into the field.
Those who died were Mark Woodings,
owner of Ags Over Texas and former A&M
student, former students Jonathan War
den and Lela Futch, and current students
Robert Puryear, the pilot and a senior, and
freshman Sarah Miller.
Car accident claims 6 lives
Another tragedy struck A&M in mid-
October when Brandon Kallmeyer, a fresh
man animal science major, fell asleep
while driving on FM 60.
Maj. Mike Patterson of the College
Station Police Department said
Kallmeyer’s Ford Ranger veered onto
the shoulder and struck eight student
pedestrians. The accident occurred near
the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity
house. Six students were killed and two
were injured.
Those killed were Ted W. Bruton, a 21-
year-old A&M agriculture and life sciences
major, and Baylor students Tricia Calp,
Emily Hollister, Erika Lanham and Dolan
Wastel and William Flores from South
west Texas University.
The eight students had parked on the
shoulder and were preparing to cross the
road to attend a party at the TKE house.
Bonfire Collapse
Eight days prior to the biggest game
of the A&M football season, Bonfire
collapsed in the hours just before
dawn. Within minutes, the Corps of
Cadets, members of residence halls
and other students gathered to help
find those who were trapped within
the stack.
Some helped to move the logs, most
prayed, some just stared in complete
disbelief of what had happened. In the
end, 12 Aggies died, 27 were injured
and Aggies around the world grieved.
In the hours, days weeks that followed,
and businesses provided support for
those working on the rescue effort and
the families whose children were.
Churches opened their doors to hold vig
ils and prayer services to help students cope
see 1999 on Page 2.
egents approve
ew passageway
BY BRADY CREEL
The Battalion
lion encourages lettecl
nust be300wordso:a
Jthor's name, c
)n editor reservesthf<|
ngth, style, and acaft]
lifted in person at0131
valid student ID. Ler,?:|
eeatta/Zon-MaJ A pedestrian passageway will
ii3 Reed McDonald indge the gap between two
:xas A&MUniversiti Iwoiids, Main Campus and West
Col 7 e |«^iiii' TX fprcpus. by eliminating the barri-
t s that now separate them —
ellborn Road and the Union Pa-
JA. [HrKJVJ - I i i
battletters@hotinai!6 tailioad tracks.
I Tom Williams, Parking, Traffic
ndlVansportation Services (PTTS)
frector, said the $10 million pedes-
an passageway was approved by
Je Board of Regents last week,
onstruction of the passageway
iwrSotieh jflad new West Campus Parking
fC irage will begin in Fall 2000.
I Alice Macfarlane, project man-
jager for Facilities Planning for the
lexas A&M University System, said
lit:any new academic and recre-
ptional buildings — including the
leorge Bush Presidential Library
§r~ have been built on West Cam-
fus recently.
Macfarlane said Wellborn Road
and the Union Pacific railroad tracks
present a hazardous situation to those
who need to get to West Campus.
“Safety will be a primary con
sideration in the design of this fa
cility, which will be an attractive
amenity for Texas A&M Universi
ty,” she said.
Macfarlane said pedestrian traf
fic across the thoroughfare has
risen dramatically, and projected
increases in automobile activity on
Wellborn Road and Union Pacific’s
train activity creates a safety con
cern for students.
The pedestrian passageway not
only will integrate Main Campus
and West Campus but also will
beautify the area in between.
Macfarlane said the passageway
will connect the new West Campus
Parking Garage to the areas sur
rounding it. The passageway will
start at the Kyle Field plaza and
will pass beneath Wellborn Road
Consultant: Samples
from Bonfire site
indicate stable ground
Special to The Battalion
The pedestrian passageway will link Main Campus and West Campus.
and the railroad tracks. It will
come in at ground level of the new
parking garage, and one ramp will
continue toward the Student
Recreation Center.
“On the west side, it will be in
tegrated to the West Campus Park
ing Garage and recreation sports
center,” Macfarlane said. “On the
east side, it will join the plaza in
front of Kyle Field.”
The passageway will span 60 feet
at its widest point. There will be a
five-foot designated bicycle lane on
both sides of the passageway.
Williams said there will be some
diversion of both vehicular and rail
road traffic during the construction
project, but the tracks and Wellborn
Road will remain as they currently
are once the project is complete.
“The railroad tracks will remain
see Passageway on Page 2.
IDE
ion.
AN ^
Dhousto |,/1
Aggielife
•Horseshoes,
four-leaf clovers,
rabbit’s feet and a
#2 pencil
Students share
superstitions.
Page 3
Sports
•Texas A&M Men’s Basketball
Team prepares for big games
over break
Aggies preaare to face Long-
The other edu
cation
Opportunities
reward stu
dents in an in
tangible way
Page 15
Batt Radio
listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57
p.m. for details on community
news.
Eight hotels join
Lupe Medina Bill
travel program
BY JULIE ZUCKER
The Battalion
Within the past few weeks, eight hotels in the Dallas
area have pledged to help prevent car accidents caused
by drowsy driving by joining a program that offers stu
dents a place to rest when traveling.
The program formed under The Lupe Medina Bill,
which passed in September 1998. The program has
grown from a few hotels helping out in the Bryan-Col-
lege Station area to 18 hotels throughout Texas. Super 8
Motels and Hampton Inns allow traveling students to
stay overnight at discounted rates. Students who are 55
miles away from their campuses when they arrive at the
hotel can qualify for the discounts with student IDs.
A year and a half ago, Rob Ferguson, a junior politi
cal science major, lost his close friend Lupe Medina,
Class of ’98, in a car accident caused by drowsy driving.
Since then, Ferguson initiated the Lupe Medina Bill to
help students arrive at their destinations safely.
“I knew I needed to start some way to combat drowsy
driving,” he said. “Eleven students in Texas alone died
last year from drowsy driving. ”
Ferguson recently traveled to Baylor University and
Texas Tech University to create partnerships for the
program. Baylor and Tech held Drowsy Driving Aware-
lupe
Medina
Bill
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
The soil conditions at the Bon
fire site did not contribute to the
stack’s collapse, according to an
independent consultant hired by
Texas A&M University.
Philip Buchanan, president of
Buchanan-Soil Mechanics Inc. of
College Station, told The Dallas
Morning News yesterday that tests
on soil samples taken the day af
ter the collapse indicated nothing
unstable about the ground at the
Bonfire site.
“It was not a soil failure,”
Buchanan, who related the event
to the collapse of a grain silo,
said. “There are cases where there
have been silo failures where the
soil would fail under a grain silo
and it would more or less capsize.
But that did not happen here.”
Bill Kibler, associate vice pres
ident for student affairs and for
mer Bonfire faculty adviser, said
Buchanan’s analysis of the soil’s
role in the collapse may be pre
mature.
“I don’t think that it is prudent
to jump to conclusions about
what did or did not cause the col
lapse after every new piece of ev
idence is revealed,” Kibler said.
“This will be a valuable piece of
information, but we won’t have
any sort of definite answers until
the commission releases its report
in March.”
Kibler said the role of the
ground’s stability may have been
more obvious after the last col
lapse in 1994, but it still may be
an important factor in the investi
gation.
“In 1994, it obviously was re
vealed very quickly that the
ground played a big role when it
fell because of the extreme weath
er conditions, which made the
soil extremely damp,” Kibler said.
“They were able to treat that by
mixing lime and ash into the soil
see Bonfire on Page 2.
♦ 18 hotels across Texas offer
disc©fed rates to students
who are more tfrao 55 miles
\ away- from cam,pus
V • 7 3 percent of
^ m i students will fall
I 7 ' Iiasleep once behind
r™—^ ! :r e wnaIMfl | MMi
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
ness Days last week and handed out lists of con
tributing hotels.
“It is important everyone knows the effects of drowsy
driving,” Ferguson said. “I am trying to get every vice
president of student affairs on campuses on board be
cause drowsy driving affects every student.”
Jon Rolph, Baylor University student body president
and a junior telecommunications major, said Baylor is
interested in supporting the program to prevent students
from harming themselves and others.
“Baylor lost seven students in seven weeks to driving
accidents, and we are behind this program emotionally
and passionately,” he said.
Rolph said Time Warner Cable in the Waco-Killeen
area recently finished filming a public service an
nouncement about the effects of drowsy driving.
see Medina on Page 2.
Aggie animal-rights group
offers aid to abandoned pets
BY RICHARD BRAY
The Battalion
Aggies Animal Welfare And
Rights Ethics (AWARE), an on-cam
pus animal-rights group formed to
educate people about animal-wel
fare issues, is offering to pick up and
find homes for pets that otherwise
would be abandoned.
Jennifer Gentry, president and
founder of Aggies AWARE and a ju
nior English major, said the group
organized the program because it co
incides with its goals.
“Our mission is to protect the
rights and welfare of all animals,”
she said. “[This program] falls un
der both categories.”
Gentry said she did not realize
abandoned pets was a problem but
heard from older members of the
community that it is in the Bryan-
College Station area.
“Apparently, a lot of people,
when they graduate, don’t want to
take their pet with them,” she said.
Gentry said the problem could be
avoided if students recognized the
responsibilities involved in pet own
ership and were certain they could
provide stable homes for their pets.
“Before people adopt their pets, they
really need to think about what they are
going to do with them when Christmas
comes, when the summer comes and
when they graduate,” she said.
Kathy Bice, executive director of
the Brazos Animal Shelter, said she is
unsure how successful the program
will be because she does not believe
students should be singled out as the
only source of the problem.
“It is not unique to students,” she
said. “It doesn’t matter if you are
young or old, rich or poor — there is
a pet-ownership problem. It doesn’t
matter if you are a student or not. ”
Bice also said December is typi
cally the slowest month of the year
for finding abandoned pets.
Students interested in finding their
pet a new home can email Aggie
AWARE at: jag3101@labs.tamu.edu.