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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2000)
Friday, Jars, MONDAY January 3!, 2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 80 10 pages **i*k'i m i « «j :\in i; w i i * mall time dealers dominate marijuana sales SUSAN RtD0M674F ig major; and K*w bin Lac iTicial m Senegal ais i Dakar told the Asa. ne of Slahi’s detcate :ai declined tocaar condition of anooMi itionals and oneatw connection withihti it Slahi, a citt/enofM ie w as in const,m! art i that was owned bj 1 ntcmational oreanuaot 10 MH'timitii BY BROOKE HODGES AND STUART HUTSON The Battalion Join 1 f t -‘ turns to ^' s apartment after a long day of classes, ItretchcS out on his beaten-up plaid couch, turns on his TV and Inokes a bowl of P ot - Thi^ ^ ^ ie ^ a 'ly routine for an A&M student and small-time l ru j^alcr, who wishes to be known as John. T ‘'i -pioke pot because it relaxes me after 1 go through all the |t rc '^f my day,” John said. “It leaves me in more control than llco|nil would, and when you break it down, it’s really cheap- paving a couple of beers at a bar every night.” Itut Jol in * las been more careful about his use of the illegal lub^c pcf in the past few months because of a steady increase ji : ^ _ts related to marijuana possession by local police. ! ^.ycryone I know is really laying low right now," John said. ■ It s •. i lS I’ke every time you turn around, someone you know is getting busted for handling pot. People are starting to get more careful about when and where they use it.” In 1999, the College Station Police Department (CSPD) recorded 332 arrests for marijuana possession, a rise of 103 from 1998. “When the Brazos Valley Task Force started in 1987, we had one commander and about four investigators,We now have a couple of supervisors and a dozen investigators,” Dan Jones, commander of Brazos Valley Narcotics Task Force, said. Jones attributes the increase in arrests to additional officers and new technology. John said the continuing rise in marijuana arrests has led to an increase in the number of “novice” dealers who sell small quantities of what they have purchased for themselves. “About four years ago, there were constantly four or five major dealers who distributed to a specific area and knew what they were doing,” John said. “Now, there are maybe one or two at any given time, but your major source ofpot in this area is students who go to some place like Houston to buy some for themselves, and end up selling some of that for a little extra cash. Any one who needs a little extra cash can do it.” John said these students are often inexperienced at hiding their marijuana use, and therefore account for a large number of the marijua na arrests. “One officer did a traffic stop, and when the guy stepped out of his car, he had a baggie ofmarijuana sticking out of his front pocket,” Sgt. Allan Baron, an officer for the Crime Prevention Unit with the University Police Department (UPD), said. College Station Police Department data K)x 3E3E1 KMT 100 200 300 number of arrests 400 ROBERT HYNECEK & CODY WAGES/Thk Battalion Baron said the majority of the UPD’s marijuana seizures come from traffic stops or the smell of marijuana coming from a dorm. I fan officer has probable cause, such as a burning mar- See Marijuana on Page 6 And the beat goes on A&M finds new coach HARRY KIRKSEY C O A CiHJ N G C A REE R S*n Yrtncnpc’O 49ert. mmmm SALLIE TURNER/Tnh Battalion Doudou N’Diaye Rose leads the performance of the Drummers of West Africa show Saturday in Rudder Auditorium. All the drummers are members of Rose’s family. BY DOUG SHILLING The Battalion After an offseason of assistant coaching changes, the Texas A&M football team is one step closer to hav ing all of its vacancies filled. Saturday, A&M coach R.C. Slocum announced the hiring of Larry Kirk- sey as the Aggies’ new assistant head coach and wide re ceivers coach. Kirksey has spent the past six seasons as wide receivers coach of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. “I am delighted to have Larry Kirksey joining our staff,” Slocum said. “He brings a wealth of of- Ruben deluna/thk Bat fensive knowledge to our program. His extensive ex perience in the West Coast offense will be invaluable to our team. To be able to bring the offensive philos ophy of Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren and Steve Mari- ucci to our program is exciting.” ] U3- - 3^89 PitlsbuTipi 3WI-8R Honda I'm— Kentucky Slatr JUntvfts -2»-— I'•77*81 - Kentudcy - 3874-78 fOhie} - Kirksey said his relationships with Slocum and Di rector of Football Operations Tim Cassidy, along with his desire to return to college, led him to A&M. “Fve known Coach Slocum for a long time and I’ve known [Tim] Cassidy since about 1984,” Kirksey said. “1 decided 1 wanted to coach again in college football.! Coach Slocum gave me a deal 1 couldn't refuse.” Before his stint with the 49ers, Kirksey spent 20 year$ coaching on the college leveft 1 le coached running backs at the University of Alabama from 1990-1993 and helped lead the Crimson Tide capture the Na tional Championship in 1992. Kirksey was also the running backs coach at the University of Florida from 1984-1988 where he coached Neal Anderson, John L. Williams and Emmitt Smith who went on to an all-pro career with the Dallas Cowboys. Kirksey said he hopes to help out and maintain A&M’s winning tradition. “A&M has always won,” he said. “1 thought 1 could come here and help out in the passing game. 1 think its a great opportunity for me.” ftuAAint ku brunt fUnwunt feu** kocrWPM. 'ThjBI f no* ID . • v. •• Toombs arrested for DUI STAFF AND WIRE The Battalion Ja'Mar Toombs, Texas A&M’s leading rusher and a sophomore general studies major, was arrested early Saturday morning by College Station police and charged with driving under the influ ence (DUI). Twenty-year-old Toombs, who was driving a 1999 Ford Explorer, was pulled over for a traffic violation shortly after midnight Friday and was found to have a blood alcohol level of . 10, Sgt. I )onny Andreski of the jp beat0/Thi; battalion College Station police said. The legal alcohol limit in Texas is .08. Sgt. Greg Leeth of the College Station police said Toombs, who was arrested in May for possession of mar ijuana and placed on deferred adjudication by the Uni versity, will face charges of DUI from the county attor ney’s office. “Any minor under the age of 21, upon whose person we can detect any alcohol while operating a vehicle, is subject to a DUI — a Class C line which is punishable by just a line,” Leeth said. “If he had been charged with a DWI [driving while intoxicated], he would face both tines and jail time.” Head football coach R.C. Slocum declined to specu late on how the arrest will affect Toombs’ status on the A&M football team. “ft always concerns you if there’s any involvement in something like that,” Slocum said. "1 will withhold any comment until 1 find out more about it.” Athletic director Wally Groff said in an interview with the Bryan-College Station Eagle that he was upset with Toombs’ alleged actions. ' “Frankly, I’m disappointed in the fact that he was picked up,” Groff said. “We’ll check into it and see what we’ll do at the proper time.” Toombs just completed his sophomore season and has two years of eligibility remaining. He was A&M’s lead ing rusher this past season with 147 carries for 583 yards and nine touchdowns. 1 Ie also caught nine passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. 1, 2000 - 601 Ru# rate Pefgjiec# -*567, «r b.html native Education Ambassador visits Bush Library BY DANA JAMUS W I’he Battalion n* Before Japanese ambassador Shunji Yanai came to Texas A&M Saturday to facilitate relations between Japanese and American Uni versities, he was asked by an American friend, “What is it that makes A&M especially famous?” Yanai told him it was the George Bush Presidential Library. “No,” the American friend said, “the Dixie Chicken.” Yanai’s whirlwind visit to A&M did not include a stop at the Dix ie Chicken, but it did include a red-carpet reception at the Bush Li brary, complete with an honorary sword arch by the A&M Corps of Cadets. Yanai said he was “very much impressed by many aspects of your wonderful University,” adding that he especially enjoyed the Cold War and Gulf War exhibits at the George Bush Presidential Library. Yanai said the Bush museum’s Cold War display was interesting to him not only from a professional point of view, but also from a per sonal one, because 29 years of his military service were during the Cold War years. Richard Nader, director of the Texas A&M Institute for Pacific Asia, said Yanai is a big baseball fan, and accordingly, he was pre sented with a baseball signed by President George Bush. “This will be a very important item in my baseball museum,” Yanaijoked. Nader said the purpose of this visit is “fostering relations for fu ture academic exchange.” Ronald G. Douglas, executive vice president and provost, said this was an opportunity to further develop mutually beneficial exchanges between A&M and Japan’s universities. A&M currently has 53 Japanese students. In the 1990s, the num ber of Japanese students attending A&M jumped from 20 in 1991 to 170 in 1995, Nader said. STUART VILLANUEVA/Tm Battalion Twenty-three study abroad students are sent each year to univer sities in Japan including Senshu University, Temple University in Tokyo and Mitsui Corporation. Yanai said he was looking forward to a future visit to A&M, but Nader said there are no definite dates set for the ambassador’s return. “This is a good beginning in my tenure in the United States,” Yanai said. In a rush to attend an Asia society annual gala dinner in Hous ton, Yanai and the Japanese consul general, who was also visiting, stayed for just over two hours on A&M’s campus. In a Jan. 5 Washington Post article, Yanai was described as “a diplomat who defies convention.” Yanai is fluent in English, French and German and is “charismatic and confident.” The article describes Yanai as fond of art and fine wines. Davis wins pageant BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion It was a night of long walks and sweaty palms for the eight con testants in the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated’s 15th annual 2000 Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant, but at last, one shined above the rest. “ft is both an honor and a responsibility to be named Texas A&M’s Miss Black and Gold,” Shannon Davis, sophomore biomedical engi neering major, said. “As a pageant winner I want to show young fe males that taking their education seriously and handling themselves in a graceful manner can pay off for them.” The eight pageant contestants left Rodney McClendon, assistant provost and judge for the pageant, with a feeling of high regard for each participant. “All of the young ladies were extremely talented and demonstrat ed a level of grace, style and sophistication worthy of emulation by others,” McClendon said. McClendon said the thoroughness of the scholarship pageant par ticipants made the pageant especially competitive. “ft was extremely difficult to j udge because all of the young ladies were of such high caliber,” McClendon said. “This group of students demonstrated that Texas A&M University attracts the best and bright est students our society has to offer.” Davis said she was just as surprised by the announcement that she had earned the Black and Gold crown as anyone. “All of the contestants possessed a lot of poise and talent, and I re ally didn’t know who would win,” Davis said. “I was totally surprised when my name was called.” Davis said she will seek guidance from Tiffany Grant, senior journalism See Pageant on Page 6. INSIDE • e-slacker. bum Students find ^bargains on the Web. Page 3 • Red Raiders down Aggies, 71-49 Women's basketball team loses to Tech. Page 7 • What wo Jesus do? Gov. George W. Bush embraces Christianity. 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