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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2000)
CHAD ADAMS/Thi Hai iai k James Johnson, a senior management information systems major, skateboards by Rudder Fountain. See related story about Xtreme games on page 3. WEDNESDAY February 9, 2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 87 12 pages VlVk'i =fJ ft i Vi =1; WI i'l Campus construction Ditches to temporarily close Texas A&M streets BY ROLANDO GARCIA The Battalion A utilities construction project slated to begin in a few weeks may temporarily close some roads on cam pus and interrupt vehicle traflle. Charles Darnell, an assistant utili ties director for Texas A&M Physical Plant, said work on installation of new electric wiring would begin soon, though no exaet date has been set. The project will involve extensive ditch digging to get at utility pipes and wiring that lie beneath paved streets and will begin at Fish Pond and wind through campus across Wellborn Road to Agronomy Road. The project will continue along FM 60. “The designers have taken great pains to keep the construction offthe roads,” Darnell said. “The news here is that despite this mas sive project, there’s going to be relatively little traffic disruption.” Most of the work will involve “boring,” a process in which work ers dig an underground tunnel to the utility pipes beneath the road, allowing construction work to proceed without interrupting traffic. But when construction begins near Fish Pond, it will be nec essary to close and reroute traffic on Houston and Ross Streets, Darnell added. The project will take at least a year and a half to complete. Tom Williams, director of Park ing, Traffic, and Transportation Services,. said he is concerned about the traffic mayhem that may result from the construction around Fish Pond, and is asking that work on that stage of the project take place during the lull between the spring and summer semesters. “We’re doing our best to ask that they schedule work so it will have the least impact on traffic,” Williams said. See Construction on Page 2. RUBEN DELUNA/Tm Battalion Students prepare to file taxes BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion Jennifer Carlson, a sophomore biology major, will receive money from her rich uncle this spring, but it won’t be inheri tance — it will be an income tax refund from Uncle Sam. “1 am looking forward to getting my in come tax return this year,” Carlson said. “I had two jobs last year so I am expecting a big refund.” Most students who earned a wage during the 1999 tax year will need to prepare and then file an income tax return by April 17. Kenneth Vargas, spokesperson for the In ternal Revenue Service (IRS) in central Texas, said the only way to get a refund is to file for an income tax return. “If you had taxes withheld, you are en titled to the refund of that full amount and this year filinii is easier than ever," Varuas said. “One of the neatest things going right now, especially for college students with simple tax returns like the 1040EZ, is the option to file their taxes free over the Inter net with the IRS e-file.” With e-file, refunds can be returned as soon as two weeks after submission, half of the time it takes for the traditional paper re fund. Students also have the option of hav ing the refund deposited directly into their bank account, which usually takes about one week. Carlson said she plans to take full advan tage of the electronic option. “I plan to file for my return on the Inter net and have it deposited into my bank ac count, but I’m a little worried since there has been so much hacking going on lately,” Carl son said. “On the other hand. I’m a little more com fortable with filing online since it is a gov- See Taxes on Page 2 MINAR February 11 Rudder Tower —i rm. 601 9:30-10:45 A.M international student, fACUITY, 4. STAFF 11:00-12:00 P.M. u.s.citizens t. residents 1:15-2:30 PM international student, FACULTY, f. STAFF 2:45-3:45P.M. U.S. CITIZENS i RESIDENTS 4:00-5:15 PM. international student, FACULTY, (, STAFF RUBEN DELUNA/Tm Bai iai.io r Officials declare parental notification of alcohol offenses a success experiment dance tation lignment 33-8575 BY BRADY CREEL The Battalion Texas A&M’s parental notification policy regarding un- Iderage alcohol violations on campus has been declared a suc- Icess by University officials. | “I think the important part of what has taken place this past semester has been communication between students and their parents,” said Dr. Brent Paterson, director of Student Life. Student Life notifies parents only when alcohol violations bccur on campus or at University-sanctioned events. Parents bfstudents who receive citations from the College Station Po lice Department or Bryan Police Department do not receive a |etter of notification from the University. Paterson said it is too early to look for trends in behav ioral change as a result of the parental notification program, but he believes that communication between students and parents has improved. 1 Cabrina Scott, public information officer for the College Station Police Department (CSPD), said CSPD supports lind endorses the parental notification program, but has not “I think the important part of what has taken place this past semester has been communication between students and their parents/ seen any significant change in statistics. Lorna Breault, coordina tor of first-year alcohol and drug education programs, said the introduction of the notification program was not as dramatic of a transition for incoming freshmen as it was for some of the students who have already been here. “The incoming freshmen have not had the opportuni ty to experience freedom without fear of their parents being notified, whereas upper classmen who have lived in liberation of their parents sinee high school are now faced with the consciousness that their parents will be notified if they are found in violation of stu dent rules,” she said. But Breault said students should realize the University is not out to get them. “Texas A&M is approaching this policy from a healthy point of view, where we are tak ing the best interest of students, and not looking to sanction or discipline students but to make students healthy and smart,” she said. Students that receive an al cohol violation could face dis ciplinary action through the De partment of Residence Life, Student Conflict Resolution Services, Office of the Com- mandant, or Athletic Depart ment, depending on their individual situation and involve ment in any of these organizations. Disciplinary action for alcohol violations is handled on a case-by-case basis in the Corps of Cadets, said Col. Doc Mills, media relations coordinator for the Corps of Cadets. The Corps follows guidelines of student rules, but stu dents are disciplined according to “The Standard” — the book of guidelines and policies that all cadets must follow. — Dr. Brent Paterson Director of Student Life The unit commanders, along with upper classmen, are charged with enforcing those guidelines. Mills said Major Gen. Ted Hopgood, commandant ofthe Corps of Cadets, has implemented a program in which stu dents do not posses or consume alcohol in the residence halls or in the Quad area. There are currently five outfits with alcohol-free dorms. • Student athletes go through the same disciplinary actions that any student would, in addition to any reprimand they re ceive from the athletic department, said Dr. John Thornton, as sociate athletic director. “It is almost double jeopardy for them,” he said. “They are students, and much like any organization —whether it be athletic related or not — we get a gamut of things that come up from time to time.” The athletic department follows the guidelines of both the University and NCAA. Universities were given the option of parental notification when the Family Education of Rights and Privacies Act (FERPA) was amended in October 1998. Paterson said approximately 120 notification letters were sent last semester, and this number falls in the range he expected. Ich News in Brief :epted. 707 Texas Ave. Bryan 822-2141 r : in« By: CRCING it) ded »coupon. iy other discount) UTocinve STemuzRTioN LcnN Modern Studio Comstock transferred to Dallas rehab hospital John Comstock, the last Texas A&M {student remaining in the hospital due to iinjuries received during the 1999 Aggie [Bonfire collapse, was transferred to the Zale Lipshy University Hospital in Dallas (Tuesday to begin rehabilitation. Comstock, a freshman biomedical sci- jence major from Richardson, spent 83 days (in the intensive care unit at the College Sta tion Medical Center. Comstock was up graded to “serious” condition Jan. 26. “We join Aggies everywhere, parents (around the world and community sup porters who have kept the vigil for this purageous young man,” said Tom Jack- Ison, CEO of the Medical Center, in a press release. “He goes on with our best wish- jes for continued recovery and a full and joyous life.” In the press release, Comstock ex pressed gratitude to the Medical Center’s ptaff and said he was overwhelmed at the jiews that his transfer is official. “I owe everything to the staff at the PVIed. They are the reason I am here to- pay,” he said. “This has been a long road already. I pm looking forward to getting well and be ing back at Texas A&M this fall.” Bonfire investigation unds may not be enough The $1 million Texas A&M University Hotted for the bonfire inquiry will proba bly be inadequate, an investigation offi cial said. Kent Lietzau, the chief of staff for the Special Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire, told The Bryan-College Station Ea gle that the commission is prepared to ask for more funds. “The budgets for each team were based on the bare essentials,” Lietzau said. “Whether more funds will be needed is dependent upon several factors, includ ing on what the teams find out in the next few weeks and on the testing situation.” He added that an extension of the March 31 deadline may be necessary. The commission also released details of the $1 million budget Monday. The largest por tion, $450,000, goes to Kroll Associates, one of the four consulting firms hired by the commission to investigate the cause of the collapse. Kroll will coordinate an in formation and document sharing system among the four teams and will conduct ex tensive interviews with officials, partici pants and witnesses. Another firm, Packer Engineering, will collect $250,000 to review the physical factors leading to the collapse, and will an alyze Centerpole, the logs and the soil be neath the structure. Fay Engineering will evaluate and test previous bonfire models at a cost of $150,000. Performance Improvement In ternational is charging $150,000 to study the human and organizational factors be hind the accident. McKinsey & Co., the firm managing the investigation, is billing $30,000 for expenses, but is not charg ing professional fees. Grad student offers memorial INSIDE BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion Many designs and opinions have been offered to the Depart ment of Student Affairs about “what” the Bonfire collapse memorial should be, but Wilber A. “Tex” Williams has submitted a reason “why.” “There has been a lot of talk about how this can be built to re member those 12 students,” said Williams, a graduate architecture student. “The bigger question is, ‘what does this mean for the facul ty and students of the University and the tradition itself?’” Williams has designed a “char- rette,” or a quickly built model, of how he feels the memorial should be constructed. The model has been displayed in the architecture building’s en tranceway for the last three weeks, but it is not the design Williams wants people to notice — it is the model’s statement about the col- Environmental design majors Dawna Houchin (R) and Summer Simnacher view a model of a proposed Bonfire memorial in the Langford Architecture building. STUART VILLANUEVA/Tiii: Battalion lapse’s significance. “I think this is the most impor tant event in A&M’s history be cause its symbolic relevance for the University,” Williams said. “This happened not only as we move into a new millennium, but at a time when A&M is trying to become a truly world-class university.” Williams said the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse symbolizes the changes the University must make before it realizes its potential as a world-class university. “I believe all tragedies happen for a reason, and this isn’t an excep tion,” he said. “This represents that we must change some things, so that we can overcome those barriers that some of us cling tightly to.” Williams said these “barriers” include a lack of unity and diversi ty among the A&M community and an adherence to the ways of the past which must not be forgotten, but changed to better survive in today’s world. “Bonfire can’t continue to go on the way it was built in either spirit or structure,” he said. “The way it used to be built was, in some ways, symbolic of the old South’s atti tudes and perceptions.” Williams said a new Bonfire tradition should incorporate more See Memorial on Page 2. • Vining's pitch- " ing helps L \gs to 3-1 .victory • Xtreme Aqqies search for new thrills. Page 3 • Promoting hate and fre speech Matt Hale blurs line of 1 st amendment rights. P a 8 e ^ • Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on Texas' unemployment. • Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu.