Friday, Jars,
MONDAY
January 3!, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 80
10 pages
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mall time dealers dominate marijuana sales
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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
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
Page
Listen to 90.9 KAMU-FM
at 1:57 p.m. for details on
an attempted assault.
Check out The Batt
Online at battalion.
tamu.edu