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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2000)
Thursday, Febnaiy] THE FRIDAY February 25, 2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 99 8 pages st tim ily painted saints and! she had not heard oftte: nor did she know hews, ro. he stadium, Ahmed Mist Id computer prograc icone known as the pop: and that he lived soraesj ut that was it. if they don't show it,J; OlrKI *1 A > ■ win * ;M I av Diversity statue still on hold BY ROLANDO GARCIA The Battalion Lawrence Sullivan Ross and Earl Rudder may soon have company if a long discussed plan to erect a monument to diversity on campus ever comes to fruition. , Walter Wendler, vice chancellor for academic affairs planning and re search, and until recently, the chairperson of the President’s Advisory Com mittee on Arts Policy, said a variety of ideas for a monument have been pro posed over the last two years, but none have secured the necessary funding. “We want this monument to celebrate the different kinds of people that come to A&M, and we’ve gotten a lot of good ideas, but we just don't have the resources,” Wendler said. Funding for all outdoor artwork on campus must come from private sources, Wendler added. Currently under consideration is a “Unity Plaza” in the area between the Cushing Library and the Academic Building. No plans have been composed, Wendler said, and there may he a design contest held to choose a proposal. However, the project has been in limbo because the Committee on an Arts Policy has not met for several months due to the lack of a chairperson. Sher- I an Riley, an assistant to President Dr. Ray M. Bowen, said Tom Regan, dean |of the College of Architecture, will be appointed chairperson of the commit tee next week and a meeting will convene soon after. Previously, there had been discussion of erecting a statue of Matthew Gaines, an African-American member of the Texas Senate during Recon struction who was instrumental in the passage of land grant legislation that helped create colleges like Texas A&M. But like other diversity monument proposals, the statue proposal fell through due to lack of funding. Wendler said life-size bronze stature can cost between $100,000 and $150,000. Hoop dreams MELISSA SACKETT/Tin BATTALION Philip Augustine (R), a junior biomedical engineering major, and Cristina Yrigoyen, chairperson of Engineering Week and a se nior biomedical engineering major, play on the bungee run Thursday near Rudder fountain. ptiuns arc excited thatikn and are eager to see b " says Rasha Solimaiup icrt. “It is important Ik )eace and security.” be John Paul II’s first trip Muslim, but 1 ani-thriftc exclaimed Amr Abbas. Si olorful wall ofsofidrinbl is will give a true image i show the world we w i no discriminattOB.” , a trendy coupl ri st ian s, were wt to see ti pe. coming because oflkf, nonth at ei-Kusheh, tora ,s,” says Ahmed Shaft],at expressing a widely heli Copts. . 2, Muslim extremists lot or beat to death 23 pe of them Christians, ini aisheh, south ofCairos msual for Egypt, Coptsi majority in the village. :li the visit was anno® ■ward, Coptic church ol oe did not involvehittsl iflicts. Because of the expense related with permanent monuments, the impetus for their creation usually comes from a handful of patrons willing to finance the project, Wendler said. “The statue unveiled last semester at the Quadrangle (of Lt. Gen. James 1 Hollingsworth, Class of’40) happened because three or four people decided this i was something they’d like to do,” Wendler said. “If somebody proposes a piece | of artwork and if it makes sense and has funding, we’ll approve it.” The committee’s delay in moving forward with one design for a diversi- | ty monument does not reflect a lack of commitment to the project, but dif- I ferent ideas on how best to do it, said Paul Parrish, English professor and committee member. “There's a question about just recognizing one individual as opposed to hon oring the principle of diversity,” Parrish said. He acknowledged that funding would be an issue, but that he was confident onceadesign was agreed upon, they would be able to find donors. ■ Mitchell Rice, director of the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute at Texas A&M, •Esaid having statues that memorialize only white men can compound the percep- ■ (im (hatA&M doesn't embrace div ersity. I “Having some kind of monument that recognizes a notable minority person I would demonstrate that A&M is open to diversity and enhance its image in mi- | nority communities throughout the state,” Rice said. Kallmeyer dismissed of charges BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion A Brazos County grand jury voted unanimously Wednesday to dismiss any criminal charges against Brandon Kallmeyer, the Texas A&M freshman an imal science major who fell asleep while driving on FM 60, killing six students walking to a fraternity party Oct. 10. The jury “no billed” Kallmeyer af ter being presented with evidence col lected by the College Station Police Department. The evidence was presented by Dis trict Attorney Bill Turner, who also of fered his interpretation of the evidence. “The question was one of criminal negligence, and in this case we did not find that the evidence indicated he de liberately took any undue risks,” Turn er said. “This was a criminal case, meaning that it had to be shown that he performed a voluntary act such as ig noring any indicators of extreme fa tigue or other hazardous conditions like drug or alcohol use.” Turner said that if Kallmeyer's case had not been dismissed, he would have gone to criminal court and potentially faced 180 days to two years in prison or live years of probation. Kallmeyer said he was confident the jury would dismiss the charges. “I knew that this would happen. 1 did everything in my power to help at the site [after the accident], and I have cooperated in every way that I could,” he said. “1 still feel sorry for every thing that has happened, but I am jusf glad that [the criminal proceeding] is all over with.” Kallmeyer said that the families of the students have agreed not to press any civil charges against him. Kallmeyer fell asleep while driving on FM 60 after dropping off his girl friend at her parents’ house in Indepen dence, Texas. Kallmeyer’s truck veered onto the shoulder of the road and struck eight students. One A&M student, a Southwest Texas State student and four Baylor students were killed. Police determined that neither al cohol nor drugs played a role in the accident. Greek Olympiad to showcase "stepping" BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion G. Rollie White Coliseum will be filled with the art of rhythmic stomping and clap ping, better known as “stepping,” during the 11th annual Kappa Alpha Psi Greek Olympiad Saturday at 7 p.m. Fraternities and sororities from various uni versities throughout Texas, including Prairie View A&M University, University of Texas, Sam Houston State University and Texas A&M University will display their stepping talent. The fraternities and sororities are each compet ing for a $1,500 grand prize and a $500 prize for second place. The show is part of Kappa Weekend. Six members of the A&M chapter of Zeta Phi Beta will perform at the step show. Yvonne Obimgbe, Zeta Phi Beta “step mas ter” and a senior community health major, said she hopes the hard work and dedication of the team pay off. “We have had practice every day and we have been putting in long hours to make sure the we have the stamina and the energy to put on a true performance that the crowd will enjoy,” Obimgbe said. Obimgbe said her team’s routine will consist mainly of stepping. “We have a few dance routines in our performance, but it will be more geared to ward what a step show is all about, so we will be mostly stepping,” Obimgbe said. This year, two high school performing acts, the Booker T. Washington Gents and the Mademoiselle Step Team from Book er T. Washington High School in Houston, will also be stepping at Greek Olympiad. Kappa Alpha Psi plans to use the high school students’ visit as a recruitment opportunity. “We are going to give them a tour of the cam pus, answer any questions [the students] have about A&M and hand out our Kappa Alpha Psi Achievement Award applications,” said Alvin Nelson III, Greek Olympiad chairperson and a senior management information systems major. The Kappa Alpha Psi Achievement Award is a minority scholarship that is awarded to a male, graduating high school senior in the Bryan-College Station area who is going to college. Greek Olympiad is said to be the largest step show in Texas and brings more than 3,000 spectators from around the state to A&M to enjoy the performance. “Ever since 1997 when we sold out Rudder, we have been known as the largest step show in Texas,” Nelson said. “We hope to keep the attendance high so that we can continue to put on our com munity service projects.” Curtis Pete, president of Kappa Al pha Psi and senior computer engineer- rm? awfti waffa avfwa hi OLYMPIAD FRIDAY FIB 25 AT 7 P.M. R0LIII WHITE COLISEUM AN® fWM THmuGmurnm* Wftt SfNP RUBEN DELUNA/Tm: Battalion ing major, said the step show is an education al opportunity. “Anyone who may not know what stepping is will have the chance to see the talent of step ping that Greek organizations do,” Pete said. “People who don’t know about historically black fraternities and sororities will also have the chance to learn about them.” Kappa Alpha Psi kicked olf Kappa Weekend with Kappa Kancer Awareness Week on Thurs day, when speakers from M.D. Anderson Can cer Center in Houston came to A&M to help in crease cancer awareness. Part of the proceeds from the step show will be donated to the cancer awareness fund in ad dition to the scholarship fund. The winner of the Kappa Alpha Psi Reten tion Award, a minority scholarship awarded to an A&M freshman, will be announced during Saturday’s show. :ICE. GUARANTEED. Alcohol reported at bonfire collapse COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Recently released documents show that alcohol was present at the fatal Texas A&M bonfire col lapse, as already shown by evidence previ ously uncovered. One report de scribes how sever al students work ing on the bonfire approached Texas A&M police offi cer Roger Paxton, one of the first to arrive at the scene. “Several ofthe individuals I spoke with had an odor of an alco holic beverage on their breath,” Pax ton said in a Nov. 24 report. “One of the red pots want ed to know when they could start stacking Bonfire again.” The red pots and brown pots are students involved in bonfire construction, so named for the color of the helmets they wear. The Nov. 18 bonfire collapse killed 12 and injured 27. Two men who worked on the rescue, Juan Mendez and Todd Reynolds, both told investi gators that they discovered beer cans at the scene. They also complained to A&M offi cials about their public stance that alcohol was not involved. “They feel that the university is mislead ing since there was alcohol out there,” Deena Wallace, an A&M assistant general counsel, wrote in a Nov. 24 e-mail to A&M police, the Austin Ameri- can-Statesman re ported Thursday. An earlier po lice report indi cated an officer found beer cans, three empty and one full at the site. Toxicology re ports on two dead victims indicate they had been drinking. Jer ry Don Selfs blood alcohol was twice the state’s legal standard for intoxication, and Je remy Richard Frampton’s level was almost four times the limit. A beer can was also discovered inside Frampton’s overalls. “Several of the individu als I spoke with had an odor of an alcoholic bev erage on their breath. ,f — Roger Paxton Texas A&M police officer “They [the police] feel the University is mis leading since there was alcohol out there/' — Deena Wallace A&M assistant general counsel Students fasting for charity World Vision 30-Hour Famine supports hunger relief BY ANNA BISHOP The Battalion Fighting the rush hour lunch lines in the Memorial Student Center’s Hullabaloo is of no concern for Texas A&M student Russell Gray, a freshman general studies major. For the next 30 hours, Gray will ignore the rum bling of his own stomach for the purpose of raising mon ey to fight world hunger. Gray is one of thousands of students across the United States participating in the World Vision 30- Hour Famine, WORLD VIS 3 On n n i FAMINE ON beginning on Feb. 25. Gray said he heard about the fundraiser over a radio broadcast while home one weekend in Lubbock. A 30-hour sacri fice of food, he decided, is a small price to pay to help aid hunger re lief programs around the globe. World Vi- talion sion, a non-prof it Christian relief agency, began the annual event nine years ago and has watched as it grow to incorporate students from over 250 colleges and universities na tionwide. Cathy MacCguI, spokesperson for the 30 Hour Famine, is encouraged by the popularity and growth of the event. “We have seen an increase in the number of service clubs, fraternities, sororities and religious organiza tions,” MacCaul said. “This is an innovative way for many groups to work together and make a significant impact on the problem of world hunger.” The goal of the fast is not only to raise money, but also to give participants a limited understanding of how it feels to experience hunger. Participating students will go without food and con sume only liquids. For each hour, sponsors have been asked to pledge money toward the cause. Last year, more than 600,000 students across the United States raised more than $8 million through spon sor pledges, according to World Vision. The money raised during this year’s 30 Hour Famine will be used in Rwanda, Kenya, North Korea, Tanzania, Peru and the United States. MacCaul said an important aspect of this event is to recognize the needs of others around the world, as well as those within the United States. Developing compas sion and a desire to make a difference in the lives of oth ers is the ultimate goal of the event. Celebrating its 50th year in 2000, World Vision is the largest privately funded international Christian human itarian agency in the United States, working in nearly 100 countries through more than 4,000 projects. ? d NS IDE • Conversations with the Batt Interview with director John Frankenheimer • Can J.C. be made P.C.? Debate over Jesus statue escalates political correct ness to crous levels. Page 3 • Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on the Alaska bonfire memorial. • Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu