THE
iSdVI among top-10
chools attracting
lerit scholars
BY BRADY CREEL
The Battalion
hr sophomore chemical engineering
Sam Keen, the choice of where to
| school was a tough one.
een, a National Merit Scholar, grad-
with the largest class in the history'
jdway, Texas w ith 20 students in
Sports
work,
he Rec
tonton-
acility,
it ion in
though he was already accepted to
schools, including Massachusetts
tie of Technology (MIT) and Slan-
Jniversity, Keen had to base his de-
i on more than just academics.
I boiled down to financial reasons,”
said. “I had to have scholarships to
|i
scholarships thnuigh the Terry Foun-
n and National Merit Program.'
^een is among many of the nation's
’p nigh school seniors who decide to at-
nJ Texas A&M each vear. This year,
&h 1 attracted 181 scholars, moving the
niyersity up two spots to sixth place
i|jn g die nation's ranking of schools witlt
iCipiost National Merit Scholars.
■' Ihey explore just beyond what is re-
Hxl for them to earn a degree, and they
<pe. t to be on the cutting edge of things.”
■[The National Merit Scholars] arc stu-
ents that will be deciding a lot of the fu-
iire. Shannon! stradit,recruitingcoordi-
itcjr for the Oftice of I lonors Programs
\cademic Scholarships, said.
iTcxas A&M is the best of all w orlds
them,” she said. “They get to experi-
: a friendly campus where they get to
xience leadership opportunities.”
lie number of National Merit Schol-
t A&M rose by 32 students from 149
'tie year ago.
■‘We increased the number of our Na-
ionul Merit Students by 20 percent this
'ear ’ E strada said. “This is the highest
ear ever. It is a banner year for us. A lot
udents want to go to a school that has
teted students like them.
The academic prestige is important.
■ as A&M | has distinguished itself al-
eady because it is nationally ranked,”
hlsaid.
■Part of Texas A&M’s success in at-
rac ing National Merit Scholars can be at-
ributed to the recruiting efforts of the Of-
ice of I lonors Programs and Academic
scholarships.
exas A&M has one of the best pro-
[jraius as far as National Merit Scholars
isiting,” Kelly Shiebert, National Merit
Scholar and a sophomore mechanical en-
itleering major said.
HTexas A&M has several conferences in
vhich high-achieving high scluxil students
ire invited to campus.They attend an 1 lon-
>rs class and stay overnight in Lechner
floors Residence I fall.
H flie (Xftce also has an aggressive mail-
ng campaign. Letters are mailed not only
fom the 1 lonors office, but from the Pres-
dent's office as well.
■ However, other National Merit stu-
lents at A&M said their decision was
Wed on A&M's terrific combination of
icing close to home, affordable and hav-
ng a good academic reputation.
I “l wanted to stay in state, so it was
between Baylor and Texas A&M," Natal
ie R. Wilson, National Merit Scholar and
a sophomore zoology major, said. “After
that, it came down to financial reasons. 1
was able to afford Texas A&M, partly be
cause of the National Merit Scholarship."
Wilson is a Presidential Endowed
Scholar, a scholarship aw arded by the of
fice of Honors Programs and Academic
Scholarships. However, as a National
Merit Scholar, she received additional
scholarship money from the University.
IS C H 0 L HRS
* if 4 W &
1) Harvard/ Radcliffe
2) University of Texas
3) University of California
4) Stanford University
5) Rice University
At IrM
O ) I tM Hi (Qt IT!
7) University of Florida
8) Yale
9) University of Chicago
1 0) University of Oklahoma
RUBEN DELUNA/I m Battai.ion
All money awarded by the University
and the Office of 1 lonors Programs and
Academic Scholarships is independent of
any scholarships given by the National
Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Students initially enter into competi
tion by taking the PS AT in their junior year
of high school. Students must score in the
semi-finalist level to be considered, and
must meet further requirements to he con
sidered a finalist.
"The [National Merit] finalists are all
excellent. The finalists have the highest
potential for college, and they usually have
something that makes them stand out,"
Gloria Ladendorf, public information as
sistant director for the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation, said.
Approximately 8,000 students were
named National Merit Scholars last year,
and 7,700 are expected this year.
Texas A&M awards a $2,000 scholar
ship to all National Merit Scholars who
name Texas A&M as their first choice
upon becoming a finalist.
“It was a good value for the education,
and close to home,” Anthony Garza, Na
tional Merit scholar and a sophomore
chemical engineering major, said.
Having been accepted into both MIT
and Texas A&M, Garza was also faced
w ith the decision of whether to go to an ex
pensive private school, but is happy with
his choice.
“I don’t have any regrets about coming
here,” Garza said. “Texas A&M is an awe
some place.”
SALUE TURNER/I m BATTALION
A student injured in the Aggie Bonfire collapse, who wishes to remain anonymous, looks at the remains of
one of the most treasured traditions at Texas A&M University yesterday afternoon. Reflection and remem
brance continue everyday on the Polo Fields and in the hearts of every Aggie.
Bonfire commission
creates info hotline
BY ROLANDO GARCIA
The Battalion
At its third meeting yesterday, the Special Commission
on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire voted to hire Performance Im
provement International (Pll) to examine what role human
behavior may have played in the collapse of the structure,
particularly among the bonfire workers.
PI I is the fourth investigative team hired to assist the com
mission in determining the
cause of the collapse of the
1999 Aggie Bonfire.
In a presentation to the
commission, Chong Chiu,
CEO of PIT said mechani
cal failures and individual
human error are usually
symptoms of a deeper fail
ure in the organizational
and management structure.
The commission also
received updates from the
three other teams involved
in the investigation.
“We’ve got an extraor
dinary team of profession
als assembled for the task. They're competent, experienced
and skilled in their fields,” Leo Linbeck Jr., chairperson of
the commission, said.
“And I don't think there’s any more we could do as far as
assembling the necessary resources to find the cause," he said.
One team, led by Fay Engineering, is charged with re
searching the historical design of past bonfires to determine
how the bonfire should have been built.
Armed with photos of almost every bonfire from the last
70 years, as well as prior stack statistics and dimensions, the
Fay Engineering team will produce drawings and analyses.
A second team, led by Packer Engineering and charged with
investigating the physical factors leading to the accident, reported
they had completed an analysis of tlie equipment used at the stack,
and were now measuring, weighing and classifying the logs.
A soil evaluation and a detailed analysis of the centerpole
(which is now in three pieces) to determine the cause of the
fracture are currently planned.
Linbeck also announced the creation of a 24-hour-a-day
hot line (1-888-765-3977) that will allow individuals to re
port information concerning the bonfire collapse. Each
caller’s name may remain confidential.
Thp commission
also discussed legal is
sues which need to be
resolved with the firms
before contracts can be
finalized.
Whether the com
mission is considered
an independent state
agency or an advisory
hoard to Texas A&M
University and whether
the commission has the
authority to award con
tracts and spend public
funds is yet to be deter
mined.
In a related matter, the commission decided to include claus
es in the contracts which pledge that the University will pay
for the firms’ court expenses if they are called to testify in a
lawsuit against the University concerning the bonfire collapse.
Even with the prospect of litigation against the University,
Linbeck said the commission would conduct an independent in
vestigation and would not skew the results in any way to shield
Texas A&M from legal liability.
“The commission is committed to finding the truth, no mat
ter what it may be,” Linbeck said.
The commission has cancelled a meeting previously planned
for Feb. 1. The commission’s next meeting will be Feb. 22, when
it will be presented with a final budget for the investigation.
B onfire Houm
IV! el 5iB.ii.9jim
2f U01HU n DflV
RUBEN DELUNA/Tm: Battai.ion
lowing
ouston
i room
12 in
18—
Feb. 2
18—
Feb. 9
14-
larch 1
larking
roiects
2000
/—
jne 15
' basics
enjoy-
r at the
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520
du
PITS aims
to improve
arking lots
BY JORDAN DAVIS
The Battalion
I Texas A&M students owe last se
mester’s parking permit fee hike - the
largest since the late ’80s - to a slate of
new construction projects aimed at im
proving the campus parking shortage.
1 One of the construction projects be
ing paid for by the fee increase is cur
rently underway on main campus. The
Department of Parking, Traffic and
■"ansportation Services (PTTS) is ex
panding the size of Lot 50, a commuter lot
located just east of the Zachry Building, by approximately
640 spaces.
I The expansion, which should be ready for student com
muters by Fall 2000, will actually add about 2000 spaces be
cause one parking space generally accommodates three ve
hicles during the day, Tom Williams, director of PTTS, said.
[ In order to pay for a long list of construction projects, it
was necessary for PTTS to raise fees, something Williams
said the University had put off since 1996.
| Residents and commuters faced a $50 fee hike at the be
ginning of last semester, while the cost of parking garage
spots rose $78.
i “The fee increase was necessary to pay for the upcoming
Building projects,” Williams said.
btX.lfinilH (4)St
Parking
Lot 50
Extension
Parking Lot
Parking
Garage
Underground
Pedestrian
Walkway
Parking Lot
Parking Lot
East of
Zachary
West of
Reed
Arena
North of
Rec Center
Under
Wellborn
Road
1 M
$800,000
$ 30 M
$ 10.65 M
Olsen Field $400,000
George Bush
Academic
$ 1 M
RUBEN DELUNA/Thf. Battalion
“Students should keep in mind that the fees A&M stu
dents pay are still less than what students at most universi
ties pay,” he said.
In addition to the expansion of Lot 50, the fee increase
for parking will also offset the costs of constructing a park
ing garage adjacent to the Student Recreation Center on West
Campus and an underground pedestrian walkway under
Wellborn Road to make the walk between main and West
Campuses safer for students.
Other building projects planned this year are parking lots
on West Campus, including new lots at Reed Arena and at
(he George Bush Presidential Library Complex, as well as
new parking areas next to the driving range near Penherthy
Intramural Sports Center and an extension of West Drive.
King Jr., Reagan, Kennedy
make scholars list of 100
best speeches of the century
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a
Dream” speech took top honors on a sur
vey listing the top 100 speeches of the
20th century.
The survey was conducted by Dr.
Martin J. Medhurst, professor of speech
communication at Texas A&M, and Dr.
Stephen E. Lucas, professor of speech
communication at the University of Wis-
consin-Madison.
The survey polled 280 oratory schol
ars representing all 50 states. Those
polled were asked to list 25 American
speeches from the last 100 years and rate
each speech’s rhetoric and impact.
King’s speech placed first because of
his use of powerful oratory in a masterful
way, Dr. Rick Rigsby, speech communi
cation senior lecturer at A&M, said.
“It was a powerful response to a moral
crisis in the nation. Its words painted
vivid pictures we could understand. The
themes challenged the nation,” Rigsby
said. “We [the nation] could no longer
wait. [Tire speech] unified the entire na
tion in the concept of freedom.”
“King’s speaking ability was a major
part of the [civil-rights movement],” Rigs
by said. “His major role was to explain
the movement. If you have an organiza
tion, and no one to explain the organiza
tion, you have a weak organization.”
Of the top 10 speeches polled, five
were delivered in the turbulent decade
of the ’60s.
“The ’60s raised the bar for oratory be
cause of all the movements [the anti-war
effort, civil rights movement, and women’s
liberation] converging,” Medhurst said
Many of the speeches on the list were
delivered in times of crisis, such as for
mer President Ronald Reagan’s “Address
to the Nation on the Challenger Disaster”
which was rated eighth, Medhurst said.
“I think in moments of crisis there has
to be some way of communication with
the American people,” he said. “Ronald
Reagan gave the eulogy [instead of the
scheduled State of the Union address]. [It
was a] moment of crisis. Ele wanted to as
sure people that the space program would
continue. He wanted to speak to the
school children ... which he did.”
Reagan tied with former Presidents
John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt
for the most speeches on the list, with
six listings.
WEDNESDAY
January 19, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 71
14 pages
Senate
to discuss
fee hikes
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
The discussion of new student fees
tops the Student Senate’s agenda for the
first meeting of the semester tonight,
which includes acknowledging those
who offered support during the 1999 Ag
gie Bonfire collapse.
Although the agenda for tonight’s
Student Senate meeting has not been fi
nalized, certain issues will be ad
dressed. Brian M inyard, speaker of the
Student Senate and a senior biochem
istry major, said.
“There will most definitely be a res
olution to thank all of the universities that
offered to help us during the bonfire ac
cident,” Minyard said. "We want to make
sure that we express our gratitude to all
who helped us."
Tonight’s meeting will also address
the possible student fee increases, in
cluding increases in the Student Recre
ation Center access fee and the library
access fee.
“I hope to make
A&M the epitome
of metropolitan
recycling"
. — Will Hurd
A&M Student Body President
Dr. Fred Heath, Dean of Sterling C.
Evans Library, will he giving a presen
tation addressing the increase in library
access fees.
“We are coming back to the students
to request this fee increase in order to
support the digital electronic revolution
that has come upon us more rapidly than
we had anticipated,” Heath said. “More
and more of our materials are becoming
available on the desktop 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. To continue to make
these sources available to the 43,000 stu
dents on our campus, we must increase
fees to support the technology.”
Will Hurd, student body president
and a senior computer science and inter
national studies major, is also setting an
agenda for the spring semester.
Hurd will focus on an enhanced re
cycling program and drawing attention
to the 2000 census.
“I hope to make A&M the epitome of
metropolitan recycling,” Hurd said.
I lurd’s plan to improve recycling en
tails establishing basic recycling of ma
terials such as paper and plastics in
donns and offices and then reducing the
waste produced by A&M by methods
such as increasing the use of online forms
to decrease paper usage.
Hurd will also continue to make the
Student Government Web page a portal
for current students. 1 lurd said he wants
to gear this Website to students, making
everything easily accessible. Hurd will
also work with College Station officials
this semester to educate students on the
importance of the 2000 Census.
“The more students that fill out the
census card, the more money College
Station, and A&M will get in the future,”
Hurd said.
•Year in TV
A review of the
television
trends of
1999.
Page 3
• Former A&M coach
Sherman named Pack
head coach
Page 11
Controversy a
'local
atter
>rfce citizens
nId make
Sion.
Page 13
Listen to KAMU 90.9 FM at 1:57
p.m. for details on a GTE work
er's death.