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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2000)
i i ito\ de FRIDAY January 21,2000 Volume 106 Issue 73 14 pages I * I IIJCI k'i ^ ;W 11" [hawn Slocum State representative challenges |o return to $500,000 cap on possible lawsuits exas A&M BY DOUG SHILLING AND JASON LINCOLN The Battalion k shake-up of the Texas A&M all coaching stall'is bringing back sons, replaces Bill Johnson who re cently took the defensive line coach job at the University of Arkansas. Tam Hollingshead, who coached special teams since Slocum’s departure two years ago w ill narrow his focus to oM face. tight ends/ Htu-i .1 two-yeat hiatusi Shawn Offensive coordinator Steve is returning to kggieland Kragthoipe will retain his currentpo ich R.C. Slocum an- sition as coordinator and move from hire his son to coach w ide receivers coach to coach quarter- ■m once again. backs. Kragthorpetakesovei thequar' AWN SLOCUM* QoacSnng [xperience "I ►000 USC (linebacker & special teams coach ) Texas A&M ( outside linebacker and special W*, WWW WHM "‘ teams coach ) IQQi Texas A&M ' - (tight ends and special teams _ .... coach) Texas A&M (tight ends coach ) s A&M in 1987 with a ment degree tan Kickoff Squad, 8* ■ younger biocum will be of coaching the inside lii s and special teams. ;el great about having him ha a fantastic job for us in recn locum said in an interview vv ic Valias Morning News. “I !e brings great enthusiasm t *®rum. and he’s obviously sdrr 'ho s ver>' familiar with our program.” : ©locum coached tight ends and spe- ial teams for the Aggies from 1991- 993 and linebackers and special teams - on i 1994-1997. Illlc left in 1998 to take a similar po- our one areas:, itlm with the University of Southern alifornia. »Vith Slocum's return, Alan Wed- ell will move to the defensive line oac b position. RVeddell, who coached A&M's in- idc linebackers for the past two sea- RUBEN DELUNA/Tm Huunos tcrback coach duties from Ray Dorr stepped down alkr last season due to Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Also, the contract of running backs coach Lawrence Livingston will not be renewed. Livingston has coached run ning backs at A&M for the past two With the coaching moves, only the wide receiver and running backs coaching positions remain open. Slocum hopes to ill I those slots af ter National Signing Day on Feb. 2. The movement with the Aggies has not been limited to the sidelines. Sophomore Amon Simon will make the move from linebacker to fullback full-time to help the Aggies' depth at that position. Also, junior defensive back Ronald Patton will take a medical redshirt next season. BY ROLANDO GARCIA The Battalion State Representative Ron Wilson, D-Houston, who says Texas A&M University is responsible for the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, is challenging the current liabil ity limit on possible lawsuits against the University. “I thought about the fam ilies of the students who were killed or injured, and 1 think the state should provide some economic compensation for the tragedy that occurred,” Wilson said. Current law places a cap of $500,000 that units of Texas state government, like the University, can be made to pay should they be found guilty of negligence in a lawsuit. “Five hundred thousand (dollars] is pitifully small compared to the lives that were lost and the cost of the medical care,” Wilson said. He added that since the cap is “per occurrence”, any award would have to be split among all the plaintiffs in any Bonfire-related lawsuits. Wilson said he plans to introduce a bill, or a constitutional amendment if needed, to increase the liability cap in the 2001 session of the Texas Leg islature. Wilson dismisses the idea of "sov ereign immunity,” the legal doctrine that protects state governments from civil lawsuits. “A state shouldn’t be immune from lawsuits even if it’s legally at fault. Sovereign immunity is an idea whose time has come and gone, and the Uni versity shouldn’t hide behind it,” Wil son said. Though Wilson has not yet deter mined an appropriate figure for the li ability cap to include in his legislation, CODY WAQES/Thk B vitauon Rescue workers clear logs after the Nov. 18 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. If any against Texas A&M University, state law mandates that no more than $500,000 Ron Wilson is pushing for legislation eliminating the law capping the award. he said it will be substantially higher than $500,000. Wilson also said the University is responsible for the Bonfire accident whether or not the investigation finds instances pf negligence or not. “It was a University sponsored event, and that’s enough for me,” Wil son said. Ellyn Perrone, vice president for Governmental Affairs at A&M, declined to comment on Wilson's proposal. "I really can’t comment one way or the other until I’ve seen an actual bill,” Perrone said. In another legal matter, the four con sulting firms hired by the Special Com mission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire to investigate the collapse have asked that Texas A&M pay their expenses if they are called to testify or give depositions in accident-related lawsuits. But state law prohibits such arrangements, Genevieve Stubbs, the senior associate general counsel for the Texas A&M System said. "The state doesn’t indemnify or pay someone clse’s debts. We just don't do that," Stubbs said. Leo Linbeck, chairperson of the Special Commirsiort on the 1999 Ag gie Bonfire, said that without any con tract clause obligating the state to pay for the firms' court expenses, they may choose not to take part in the in vestigation. "It's only fair, that if as a result of their service for us they have to testi fy in court, that they he compensated,” Linbeck said. "I want to emphasize my belief than an arrangement can be worked out, whether we call it ‘indemnifica tion’ or not.” victims choose to pursue legal action be awarded. State Representative News in Brief Report reveals concerns of bonfire stack instability A report describing a debriefing of a dozen engineers involved in the rescue efforts five days after the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse re vealed concerns- among the engk neers of structural instability before stack fell. Peter Keating, an associate civil engineering professor who aided in rescue efforts, expressed concern that the logs on the second stack seemed looser than those on the other three stacks. Engineers in attendance also sug gested that the centerpole be ex amined for defects, the soil be ex amined for instability and the methodology of tying logs together be altered. New engineering building slated to reduce staff Parking Area 5 BY JORDAN DAVIS The Battalion ®Fhc Facilities Planning Committee is recommending that iproposed $35 million building replace 100-150 spots in Park- ng Area 5, a staff lot located between Blocker Building and Jmversity Drive. The elimination of staff spots could cause displacement of ionic student parking. ■The building, first suggested three years ago, will house ver he offices and laboratories of the Department of Chemical •Engineering. liThe committee met Tuesday and unanimously recom mended that the building replace the lot, which has about 100 spaces. The committee acts merely as a recommending body. A&M president Dr. Ray M. Bowen must approve the proposal before official action is taken. Chuck Sippial, interim vice president for administration, ex pects a positive response to the recommendation from Dr. Bowen. Chemical engineering is currently headquartered in Zachry, with labs and classrooms in Richardson and Cater-Matill I lall. But according to officials, this space is not adequate for the rapidly growing department. Although chemical engineering is not the only department experiencing growing pains, the special needs of the depart ment — including its use of hazardous materials in its labora tory classes — make a new building a feasible solution. “Our goal is to provide the best and safest possible labs for the department,” Dr. Don B. Russell, associate dean of the Look College of Engineering, said. “| A separate building] will allow for the use of materials students otherwise could not use.” Russell said Parking Area 5 was chosen because the com mittee felt it would cause the least amount of disruption to students and staff. If the proposal is approved, staff and faculty currently us ing the lot will have to find somewhere else to park. Tom Williams, director of Parking, Traffic, and Trans portation Services, said that this could mean moving those fac ulty and staff into the Northside Parking Garage, effectively displacing northside residents. “I do not agree with the decision,” Will I lurd, Student Body President and the only student member of the Facilities Plan ning Committee, said. "It is not a student-friendly solution; I am against students being displaced.” I lurd was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting. Inconvenience to students was among the concerns of the committee according to one member. The committee, which meets quarterly, is composed of a variety of University officials from both the University and the See Parking on Page 2. BRANDON HENDERSON/Thk Battalion Census office opens in College Station BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion A new local census office in College Station — which held its grand opening yesterday — has brought students job opportunities and a chance to influence the amount of federal fund ing allocated to the state, county and, ultimate ly, Texas A&M University. The census, conducted every 10 years, pro vides statistical information which aids the fed eral government in determining how funds for government programs will be allocated. Danny Stone,the College Station Census Bureau office manager, said college students are encouraged to apply for census jobs. “We’ll need full-time as well as part-time folks to work odd hours when people are at home,” Stone said. “It’s not just an eight-to-five job.” The local bureau is seeking 300 workers for Brazos County and 1,200 workers for all 15 counties for which the office is responsible. Applicants must submit an application as well as take a skills test. Stone said testing sites are set up in each county, and the test consists of basic skills, such as reading, writing, addition and subtraction. "We call it a test, it’s really just a basic skills exam,” Stone said. “Practice tests are available for those folks that feel challenged by having to take a test.” Gustavo DeSousa, International Student As sociation president and senior food science ma jor, attended the grand opening to gain infor mation on how the census will affect international students. Since many international students come form countries that don’t have a census, DeS ousa said he wanted to find out if international students should participate. “We’re not residents, so we want to make sure that all international students know they need to do this,” DeSousa said. “Every person living in the Bryan-College Station area during this time should participate in the Census, re gardless of the county they are from.” Stone said the biggest challenge is educat ing the community on the role they play in mak ing the census a success. “Education is the biggest challenge,” he said. “We have to make sure that everyone knows that they have a bit of responsibility in seeing to it that the census is banded out and re turned.” Census questionnaires for Brazos County will be mailed to each address on March 15, and must be returned by April I. Residents who do not mail in a question naire will be contacted through a follow-up in terview by census workers. Stone said A&M students in the Bryan-Col lege Station area will be counted as citizens of Bryan-College Station. Gustavo DeSousa, president of the Inter national Student Association and a senior food science major, attends the grand open ing of the new Census Bureau in College Station where he speaks with Fred Van- holveck, a recruiting clerk for the bureau. •Aggies^ , C host 12th 'ji|/ 'ranked ~ (,>wl, °y s fjf F •The Year in Film Review of the trends in the movies of 1999. Page 3 • Speaking in tongues Columnists debate 'English onl; laws. Page 13 Listen to KAMU 90.9 FM 1:57 p.m. for details on the upcoming OPAS presentation