The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 27, 2000, Image 1

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    MONDAY
March 27, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 115
10 pages
fr Him m i w ^ ;wiii
&M officials knew of Bonfire safety risks
AUSTIN (AP) — Documents released by
exas A&M University during the ongoing in-
estigation of the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse
at killed 12 people show a tradition that has
leen plagued over the last 40 years by uncor
ded safety risks, the A us tin A merican-States-
reported for its Sunday edition.
Ineffective oversight by University officials
at least partly to blame, the story said.
Official action to deal with safety issues of-
n was short-lived and poorly enforced, some-
mes because of fear that changes to the
[evered tradition would upset students and
Jumni, the newspaper said.
The four-tier tower of logs collapsed Nov.
8, killing 11 students and one former student
,nd injuring 27 others. A five-member com
mission appointed by the University to inves
tigate the collapse is expected to release its re
port in early May.
University officials declined to discuss the
bonfire, citing the ongoing investigation, the
newspaper said.
Retired A&M professor Bill Stout co
chaired a 1990 committee that recommended
shrinking the bonlire.
“In my personal opinion, if they had fol
lowed the recommendations, there’s a good
chance that 12 people would be alive today,”
he told the newspaper.
In Feb. 1960, an aide to the
commandant of Texas A&M,
which then was a military
school, wrote what now
sounds like a prophetic warn
ing about the annual precursor
to the Texas A&M-University of Texas foot
ball game.
“One of the most dangerous parts of the op
eration is the actual stacking of the logs on the
bonfire itself,” the aide wrote, recommending
that the height and size of the bonfire be limit
ed. “We in the administration owe it to the stu
dents to do all we can to help them construct a
bonfire they will be proud of.... However, we
must keep control over them.”
Memos show that during the 1960s, uni
versity officials worried about injuries that stu
dents suffered while building the bonfire, par
ticularly during the tree-cutting phase.
“Accidents during the construction are a
problem, and serious in jury or death could eas
ily occur,” another internal A&M report
warned in 1962.
In the years since, more warnings followed,
but with little effect:
—After the bonfire reached a record height
in 1969— 109 feet, 10 inches — University of
ficials ordered future bonfires capped at 70 feet.
See Bonfire on Page 2.
HISTOBYOf BONFIRE
TiWwJBonfire height limited 70 feet; later 55 feet
1983-.Students required to take safety classes
1M*...Attempt to limit bonfire height to
45 feet fails
f§i9.„L'niversity unsuccessfully
attempts to deal with
drinking around the bonfire
LStudenr killed in bonfire
related wreck
Bonfire collapse kills
12, injtints 27
JP BEATO/The Battai.ion
RYLA SCULL Im B>i
io contributed tc
)m a fan at his I
^gieCon 31.
egents OK
budget hike
ioleiiit
ves of
STAFF AND WIRE
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents vot
ed unanimously Friday to double the $1 million budget and
grant the one month deadline extension requested by the Spe
cial Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse.
The Commission submitted the request for the additional
budget funds and time for investigation a month ago, and Fri
day’s meeting was the Board’s first discussion about granti
ng the requests.
“An infomaed report requires all the information neces
sary related to this accident,” Don Powell, chairman of the
loard of Regents told The Bryan-College Station Eagle. “The
ommission’s job is a complex one, and it’s vital that the in
stigators be given the tools necessary to get to the bottom
)fwhat happened.”
“I found some of the fees
were exorbitant, being an
engineer myself I would
like to make sure we do not
\exceed the amount..."
— Dionel Aviles
Board regent
Although none of the regents cast dissenting votes, Regent
ionel Aviles expressed his concern for some of the costs.
am concerned that we are being held hostage because
fthe situation we are in,” Regent Aviles told the Austin Amer-
'can-Statesman. “I found some of the fees were exorbitant,
eingan engineer myself. I would like to make sure we do not
ixceed the amount and find ways to not spend more than we
ire approving today.”
The vote extended the $1 million budget initially approved
y the Board of Regents in January. The commission was
icheduled to release the results of its investigation on March
J31, but that date has been pushed back to May 1.
larch 31-April 2 | Powell told The Eagle that the Board has been aware since
:he beginning that the investigation would probably take
gerand cost more than the original estimates.
“In this instance, we have two somewhat contradictory sit-
ations,” Regent Earl Nye told the Statesman after the meet-
“We don’t want to spend one dollar more than necessary,
larch 20-28
20/team
oRec
-Highly Skilled
-Moderately Skilfe
-Average Skill
enberthy Intramiiij
aorts Center
i
■ 1 w
See Regents on Page 2.
Music festival declared
more popular than ever
PHOTOS BY GUY ROGERS AND JP BEATO/The Battalion
From top to bottom, left to right: Toxin member spun techno music outdoors, Blue October
played at Shadow Canyon, Jubal’s Tribe outside Fitzwilly’s, Ocean X at the Cow Hop and ravers
dancing outside during a set. North by Northgate was successful and is held every spring.
BY JULIA RECINDUS
The Battalion
This year’s North by North-
gate (NXNG) Music Festival can
be described in one word —
“successful.”
With over 6,000 in total atten
dance based upon wrist band
sales, previous records for
NXNG attendance were probably
exceeded said Mary Beth Myrick,
the volunteer coordinator.
“After Friday, we easily sur
passed our projected attendance,
and Saturday we just kept on sur
passing that,” said Myrick, who
added the final numbers would be
available Tuesday.
Christine Ogilvie, the event
coordinator for the festival and a
senior industrial engineering ma
jor, said NXNG was a success be
cause of a well-established repu
tation and talented performers.
“Last year’s show was really
successful, and we were able to
build on that,” Ogilvie said. “The
talent buyer got some great, big
names, so this year was off the
charts. It was better than I hoped
it could be.”
Myrick believes Vertical Hori
zon, who have a current top 40 hit
with enough sales to earn a gold
record, is the biggest headlining
band NXNG has ever featured.
Country shows were a new
addition to this year’s festival and
received a surprisingly good re
sponse. Catrina Neslage, a fresh
man general studies major and a
volunteer who worked the door at
Shadow Canyon, said she ob
served a mostly country crowd
walking through the doors.
“I think they were really ap
preciative of the different music
and [the fact] that [NXNG]
catered to all music types,” said
Neslage.
A Christian Music stage was
also added to NXNG this year.
“We got a pretty good response,
especially the second night,” said
Paul Meiller, a senior chemical en
gineering major and a volunteer
stage manager who worked the
Christian show on the lawn of the
University Lutheran Church.
“Somewhere around 175
people showed up, and we got
some good comments from peo
ple who came up afterwards,”
Meiller said.
The response was so positive
that doing something similar, like
as an all day Christian concert in
the fall, is being considered.
Of the many stages over the
three nights, the Christian stage
was the only one to receive a
noise compleinl.
Ogilvie said the techno stage
added to the festive atmosphere,
making NXNG seem more like
a big party.
“Spinning is more of an ac
cepted art form than last year, and
people are getting into it and pay
ing a lot more attention to it,”
said Ogilvie.
Neslage added that DJ spin
ning is new to the College Sta
tion area, and its presence drew
a more “liberal” crowd to the
festival.
Ogilvie said there were no
major problems during NXNG.
“All of our problems were
minor; the crowd wasn’t rowdy
enough to cause problems; the
festival kind of ran itself,” she
said. “Our biggest problem was
nctl being able to fit people in
to see a show they wanted to
see. I think that’s a good prob
lem to have.”
Gay Awareness Week
to help foster tolerance
THE BATTALION
By Cyra Gatling
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgendered Aggies (GLBTA) are
celebrating 15 years of recognition at
Texas A&M through Gay Awareness
Week. March 26-April 2 has been rec
ognized as Gay Awareness Week and
is dedicated to increasing awareness of
the GLBTA and helping to foster tol
erance on campus.
Kent Carter, a junior psychology
major and secretary of the GLBTA, be
lieves Gay Awareness Week is impor
tant for the visibility of the GLBTA on
campus and that it is important to as
sert a presence so that others who may
be questioning their sexual orientation
can have a safe and comfortable envi
ronment to go to.
The GLBTA strives to offer a com
fortable environment to gay students and
to increase awareness on campus by
combating negative stereotypes.
“I hope that individuals currently
struggling alone with their sexuality will
discover during this week that there is a
warm and supportive community here
on campus to embrace them and their
validity as individuals,” Carter said.
Gay Awareness Week kicked off
with a presentation at the Unitarian Uni-
versalist Fellowship (UUF) Sunday.
Gender Issues Education Services
will open its library to those interested
in reading material about Gay Aware
ness Week on Monday from 3-6 p.m.
Both GLBTA members and allies of
GLBTA are welcome.
Parents, Families and Friends of Les
bians and Gays (PFLAG) will host an
open house to show the community their
support for those who have sons and
daughters who have come out, Monday
from 7-9 p.m. at Friends Congregation
al Church.
GLBTA will have a booth set up in
the MSC and will be handing out pam
phlets about the organization and selling
t-shirts Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
GLBTA will show the movie “Be
fore Stonewall” at 7 p.m. Tuesday and
the location is to be announced.
Friends Congregational Church will
host a “Wednesday Supper” for GLBTA
members and others at 5:30 p.m. The
meal will be catered and $5 is being
asked per person to cover costs.
GLBTA will hold a campus meeting
to recognize their 15 years at Texas A&M
Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in Koldus 146.
See GLBTA on Page 2.
New journal allows undergrads
chance to publish academic work
INSIDE
BY BRADY CREEL
The Battalion
Agora, a new online undergraduate
academic journal run by Aggies, is giv
ing students a new opportunity to pub
lish academic work.
Scheduled to debut this summer, the
journal will feature papers in humanities
written by Texas A&M Uni
versity undergraduate students.
“This is a chance to con
nect to undergraduate stu
dents who are working in the |
humanities,” said Dr. James I
Rosenheim, a professor of ■'
history and director of the . I
Center of Humanities Re
search, one of Agora’s sponsors. “One
of the things it represents is the in
creasing prominence that humanities is
obtaining on this campus.”
Rosenheim said that in the past it
has been difficult for students in the hu
manities to compete for publication
with those in the sciences or engineer
ing because there has been no outlet for
their work.
“The publication of the research by
our students and students elsewhere is
really what is most significant,”
Rosenheim said.
“The opportunity to do and publish
undergraduate research is often rare at
big research universities, and when the
chance is available, it is usually done in
the natural or social sciences to the ne
glect of humanities,” said Caleb Mc
Daniel, Agora’s founder and editor-in-
chief and ajunior history major. “Agora
will help to correct both needs by pro
moting undergraduate research in dis-
Submissions due April 7
ciplines that are often overlooked.”
Agora is a fully refereedjournal.
All papers submitted will be read and
critiqued by faculty members at
Texas A&M.
“It gives the students in humanities
the opportunity to have their works crit
ically reviewed by others in the field,”
said Dr. Mark Weichold, associate
provbst for undergraduate programs.
Hesitant students are encouraged
to submit an essay because of the
benefits of it being reviewed by hu
manities experts.
“By preparing the manuscript for
submission and getting back serious
comments from faculty reviewers, stu
dents have nothing to lose and a lot to
gain,” McDaniel said.
He said Agora’s greatest feature is
that it is published exclusively online.
The Internet makes it cheaper to pro
duce and accessible from anywhere in
the world.
“The main problem con
fronting Agora in the future
will be perpetuating itself,”
McDaniel said. “But if
enough interested, commit
ted undergraduates get be
hind the project, I believe it
NHMHMIflIMMMHNI will be around long afrer its
ruben deluna/ I he Battalion founders are gone.”
The word “agora” is derived from
ancient Greek, which described the
marketplace in which philosophers
would gather to discuss ideas. Mc
Daniel said one reason he chose “ago
ra” is because the first two letters
spell “ag.”
McDaniel said he plans for future is
sues to be open to undergraduate stu
dents everywhere. The first issue will
be limited exclusively to Aggies.
The call for papers for the summer
issue is in progress. The submission
deadline is April 7, 2000.
• Conversations
with the Batt
A look into the
lives of rock
band Vertical
1 Horizon.
Softball drops 2 games
against OU
Page 7
»A burning
question
The debate over
Bonfire's con
tinuance
Page 11
• Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9
at 1:57 p.m. for details
about the College Station
wage increases.
• Check out The Battalion
online at
battalion.tamu.edu