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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2000)
Thursday, hehrum FRIDAY Februaiy 11,2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 89 10 pages mm a** * i i i i i “We have trouble recruiting students because we do not have a diverse faculty,” Carlson said. “Yet, we also have trouble recruiting faculty be cause of the lack of diversity among the students.” Scott said minority professors often seek places where they can mentor minority students, and A&M cannot compete with universities with more ethnically diverse student bodies. Though A&M’s minority population may be small, Carlson said the Faculty Senate rarely hears ‘ complaints about the working environment on campus. “The complaint that we hear most often is not concerning the way minorities are treated on cam pus, but how they are treated in the Bryan/College Station community,” Carlson said. “The biggest deterrent is the feeling of social isolation in the community.” Individual academic departments at A&M are primarily responsible for the recruitment of mi norities to their teaching staff. In the past, the de partments have had special funds set aside to use in attracting minorities, Scott said. “Recently there have been court movements at the federal level that have made such funds il legal,” Carlson said. “Additionally this legislation has made it so that we can no longer legally know if the people we are hiring are of minority groups.” "These movements in the federal courts have made it hard to make sure that we are hiring a di verse stafY,” Scott said. 1% AFRICAN AMERICAN 4% HISPANIC 7% ASIAN ““ C V A C __ i u A rA 3 12% AFRICAN AMERICAN 25% HISPANIC ASIAN NOT AVAILABLE RUBEN DELUNA/I ni BATTALION Police report DWI trends Bryan DWI arrests decrease, College Station increases lar stralingbythew :o\ eminent, jusl 1 office in July, ilation in attacks on Ting a buffer zo: south coincided w \\ rian-lsrael peace ants a prior coma that it will wiihdrs (iolan Heights bef' I refuses, and says violence wTcn/c/cc to cave m. as getting eioseuop .1 against Svria—at awal from Lei e Syria without its ee method ofpressir ould raise uncomlf iout the presenceoi.' >s in Lebanon, ill not reach anasr; in the next two® know — that tk will meet anddecic iw uni laterally,” C im Ramon, a Bari he Associated Pres vor of a unilateral^ ast other ministers ich talk could inlb BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion When Officer James Woodward arrived on the scene of a motorcycle accident several years ago, there was little question that yet another motorist had fallen victim of hav ing a too many drinks before hitting the road. “The driver had misjudged a curve and collided head first with a legally parked car,” Woodward said. "He died instantly.” Woodw ard has seen a multitude of alcohol-related acci dents during his eight years with the College Station Police Depart ment (CSPD)— ranging from a few' cuts and bruises to death. But Sergeant Ernie Montoya, a Crime Pre vention Unit officer with the Bryan Police Department, said the city of Bryan,, has wit nessed a drop in the number of drivers who cause these accidents. The number of driving while intoxicated arrests (DWIs) reported by Bryan Police Department dropped from 547 in 1998 to 350 in 1999. “Credit for the decrease has to be given to the citizens,” Montoya said. "The public [has been) taking action and get ting a designated driver.” I lowever, the number of DWI arrests by CSPD has risen in College Station from 474 in 1998 to 593 in 1999. Woodward said the rise is likely the result of increased manpower and spending more effort on educating officers about the signs of drunk driving, rather than an increase in drunk drivers. He said officers have also started enforcing stricter reg ulation of large and unruly parties. “College Station is a big party town with the number of students we have,” Woodward said. The Brazos County Attorneys office is responsible for fil ing all DWI arrests made in the Bryan-College Station area. "We will file between 1,600 and 1,800 DWI’s this year,” said Jim Kuboviak. Brazos County Attorney. “Less than half of those will be students.” If a person of any age is stopped by an officer and a blood- alcohol test shows a level over the state limit of .08 percent, a DWI will be issued. A DWI is a class B misdemeanor and carries up to a $2,000 fine and/or jail time. “If you are unable to operate a motor vehicle at any [blood-alcohol] level or age, it will result in a DWI,” Kuboviak said. A police officer can is sue a driving under the in fluence (DUI) to any per son under the age of 21 if a blood-alcohol test shows a level under the state lim it of .08. A DUI carries a class C misdemeanor penalty, which is punishable by a fine and suspension of the offender’s drivers license for 60 days. If a student receives a RUBEN DELUNA/Tm Battalion DWI from UPD, they are required to take an alcohol edu cation workshop from the Drug and Alcohol Education pro gram, said Lorna Breault, Coordinator of first-year student alcohol education. “We talk about the laws and rules and affects of alcohol,” she said. “ But w ; e also focus on values and judgment.” The Alcohol Education Workshop sees approximately 100 students per year for DWIs, DUIs, minors in possessions (MIP) and public intoxication (PI), Breault said. If a student receives a DWI on-campus from UPD, they also go through Judicial Services, said Rick Powell, a stu dents’ attorney with Student Conflict Resolution Services. "Each case is looked at, and a punishment is decided on,” Powell said. “Punishment can range from found not in vio lation — to verbal reprimand — to suspension from [the University].” as are e al- mg :e in Its 111! tional tion. have Hezh SUSAN REDDING/Tin Baitai ion Dressed as Gumby and Frosty, Ramy Hanna, a sophomore environmental design major, and Matt Sneller, a freshman agriculture development major, dance outside the MSC to promote Campus Crusades Thursday. Epicenter closes The Epicenter Sports Bar and Nightclub has temporarily closed due to legal troubles. Epicenter owner Sri Kandalam owes $11,113 in taxes to the county, the city of College Station and the College Station Indepen- News in Brief dent School District. According to a lawsuit, Kandalam also owes money to Charles Parker, a local businessman, and to Chim ney Hill Properties Limited, owner of the building where Epicenter is. “If things work out, it won’t be closed for long,” Parker said in an interview with The Bryan-College Station Eagle. According to the lawsuit, Kan dalam owes Parker about $300,000 from the sale of his ownership of Epicenter to Kan dalam last year for $360,000. Once the legal action is settled, Parker expects the Epicenter to re open for business. tlievii yrio Times l0, T peatf wou] nilitant group than .tence of the Jewis 5ten a withdrawal- 'oacc talks — Hezl xpand its political claim credit as tk c occupiers south, win-win prospecl owed no sign o!'ll l, oect of the rockets' unpted Barak’s anr® jh broadcast meefe tc of emergency, ssidents who stayed ;d to spend the L some, hardly It’ ith mildew-soaked lad not been reph 1 ’ College officials deny tuition-raising motives ded south rather tli.- it in the bowels of hidings. Rachel BO Jed by four bulg .iryat Shmonabm s fed up with reP after 43 years attacks go on intetf , we will gotoa d quiet,” she st is to stay with herd several miles si »o on like this." WASHINGTON (AP) —The more money made available through federal student loans and aid, the more it en tices colleges to raise tuitions, com plained senators who contend students and government cannot keep up. “It is incumbent on us to take a se rious look at the effect of this govern ment spending on tuition rates,” Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Government Affairs Com mittee, told university officials Wednesday. In 20 years, tuitions at pub lic and private schools overall have doubled in the past, after inflation. The increases have made college unafford able for many families, despite the an nual $41 billion in federal grants and guaranteed loans, Thompson said. Senators who fear more federal aid could further drive up college costs speculated that states could raise pub lic tuition caps — figuring more stu dents could afford it because of a larg er loan, a higher grant or a potential tax break on their bill. Senators also said private schools might reduce their campus-based pro grams in favor of students who can af ford to pay their own way with the help __ of federal loans and tax deductions. But college officials denied Wednesday that they were driving up tuition to lake advantage of increases in federal aid, and said there’s little gov ernment can do to control costs. “Tuition price controls will not work and will be destructive of acade mic quality in higher education,” said William Troutt, president of Rhodes College in Memphis, Term. “It’s hard to believe that parents would welcome a decision by the fed eral government to curtail severely their access to loan capital,” said David Breneman, a University of Virgnia ed ucation school dean. Blame the soaring price tags on a handful of the most-expensive private schools catering to students who don’t need aid, said Harvard economist Car oline Hoxby. “There is no evidence that students are being forced to enroll in inexpen sive colleges that are inappropriate for their level of preparedness,” said Hox by. She highlighted Education Depart ment data which shows that since 1970, tuition at the least-expensive schools See Tuition on Page 2. Board appropriates millions to UT BY KATHRYN A. WOLFE The Daily Texan The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously approved two measures Wednesday that will pro vide $400 million for system-wide con struction projects in addition to granting an additional $4.75 million in 2000 for the University of Texas (UT). Funds will now be distributed from the Permanent University Fund (PUF) iffto the Available University Fund (AUF) at 4.5 percent, giving UT more PUF money than before—$4.75 million in additional funds for 2000 and an esti mated $130.6 million by 2005. “I'm delighted to see the PUF finally unleashed after having been virtually frozen since 1993,” said Dan Burck, vice chancellor for business affairs. The investment income from the PUF, the UT and A&M System’s $7.7 billion endowment, is siphoned into the AUF and is used to pay for develop mental projects within the two systems. “I’m delighted to see the PUF finally unleashed after having been virtually frozen since 1993,” said Dan Burck, vice chancellor for business affairs. “I firmly believe that so many good things are go ing to come from this.” Burck said new construction projects funded by PUF monies will help com ponent schools of the UT System realize other benefits, such as attracting gi fts and additional research money and creating new jobs. The new rate will also raise $650 mil lion in bonds over a six-year period to fund construction projects. The second mea sure passed allocates $401 million of the $650 million in PUF bonds for system- wide construction projects, amounting to $196 million for UT System academic components and $205 million for UT System health com ponents. Board Chairperson Don Evans said al though PUF money for construction pro jects is currently allocated evenly between academic and health institutions, that shouldn’t be seen as an arbitrary division or a precedent for future allocations. “...we thought these were the best projects at this point in time,” said UT System Chancellor William Cunning ham. “What we’re really seeing is the fruit of Proposition 17,” said UT President Larry Faulkner. “It was put there with the understanding that it would bring sub stantially greater benefits from the PUF and that’s what we’re seeing.” Proposition 17, a state consti tutional amend ment approved by voters in No vember 1999, al lows PUF funds to be invested more aggressive ly than before, resulting in the potential for greater earnings, while assuming greater risk. Not all of the $650 million of the approved bonds will be spent. $248 million will be saved in case of an emer gency or other upcoming project. Cunningham said he is confident that over the next six years the PUF will con tinue to generate money for new bond programs. “If we have continued expansion of the stock market, we may well have some additional bonding capacity before See Funds on Page 2 “I am glad to see the PUF (Perma nent University Fund) finally un leashed after hav ing being virtually frozen since 1993. ” — Dan Burck vice chancellor for business affairs INSIDE Testing the waters of Faith Page 3 www.new-experiment. com/isabadidea DotComGuy misrepresents online buying. Page 9 • Men's swim team hosts No. I 'Horns m m»r pri j U A • Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for de tails about 'The Potters of Mata ortiz" exhibit. • Check out The Battal ion online at battalion.tamu.edu.