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