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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2000)
Online voting available FOR STUDENTS npiqff? I rllLi WEDNESDAY March 29, 2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 117 14 pages MVi :^Wl\ m i 4;f:VW:T^i T i ftlj Cl Vi =1; W i Vision’ to help bring ew facilities to A&M BY DOUG SHILLING The Battalion A major overhaul is now in the works for Uetic facilities at Texas A&M. Forthe first time in school history, the Texas &M Athletic Department, along with the 12th an Foundation, have announced a capital mpaign for athletic facilities. “The Championship Vision", kicked off on arch 24th, is a plan to raise $35 million for nprovements and additions to A&M's athlet- iacilities. A&M athletic director Wally Groff said the ipital campaign arose out of a look at what &M needed to improve its facilities. “Prior to kicking off the capital campaign self,'’ Groff said. “I had engaged an architec- iral fimi out of Dallas, HKS, to assist me in jveloping an athletics master plan. Rather lan shooting from the hip and saying, ‘Let’s ithis project then this project,’ we looked at erything we’re going to need for the future. “That had been ongoing and it has really jlminated recently. Now that the capital cam- aign has kicked off, we can make some of lose plans possible.” Some of the proposed improvements/ad- itions are: A west campus training room and lock er room center. • Construction of a seating bowl, football complex and academic center at the south end zone of Kyle Field. • Renovation of the backstop, new suites, ad ditional bleachers, covered batting cage, new message board/scoreboard and a baseball muse um at Olsen Field. • New bleachers, press facility, locker rooms and storage at the Frank G. Anderson Track and Field Stadium. • Construction of an indoor tennis facility at the Varsity Tennis Center. • Renovation of tlie soccer field at the Aggie Soccer Complex. • Renovation of Cain Flail athletic dorm. • Construction of a North End Plaza at Kyle Field. • Construction of new parking structures at Kyle Field. • Construction of new ticket offices, new grand entrances, bunker suites, founders suites, new main concourse at entry level and club lounge at suite level along with renovation of the main bleacher facade and concourse at sec ond deck of the West Stands At Kyle Field. The top priority on the list will be the con struction of the West Campus training room and locker room center. The facility, which will cost $2.5-3 million, will provide dressing rooms and training rooms for soccer, softball and men’s and women’s track as well as a training room that, in addition to serving those four sports, will also work with men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s basket ball and baseball. The money has already been raised for the facility and the project has been initiated. Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen has already approved the project and all that is needed now is Board of Regent approval. Groff said optimistically, he hopes to break ground Fall 2000 and have the facility com pleted in time for the 2001 -02 academic year. The second priority will be the construction of the Football Complex and Academic Center and seating bowl at the south end zone of Kyle Field. Groff said the completion of the complex and seating will be a three or four step process. The first step will be to complete the foot ball Complex and Academic Center. The complex, which will run from $15-20 million depending on design, will house the football coaches offices, locker rooms, a foot ball team auditorium and meeting rooms, stu dent athletic lounge and an athletic academic service center. The athletic academic service See Facilities on Page 2. RFNOVATF CAIN HALT CX>MSTl KIT NEW PARKINCi sm jchuls at kyll — FIFJ D MmMi OISENFlFin cussTKOcr UAS£r».\u. mcsgum <x*isntwrT nc» sorres OONSraUCT ADOfTKTNAL W.CSO RJ*5. OysgmLK TOO^KDOttAnXC e.XGC KENOVMT BAOCSTUr New sooftiuaxitD <X*NSTRiX T WEST 1 KAlNfNG ROOM I CXXFR RCXJM CENTER RENOVATE SOCXER CTJNSTTM JCT fNTXXTR ILNNISIACaJIY FR ANK Ci. ANDERSON TRACK AND THXD SlAUft ?M '<X )NSl’Kl«r{ NhW W >wm-ws ANS PKKVN rucajirv cs&.\0£ aoAiu* ’> stcampus \ Jr * *"*’> 1 A-'- i xxtr v .. ■■ \ » v ATHLETIC FACILITIES MASTER PLAN - 2000 SKETCHES COURTESY OF THE 12TH MAN FOUNDATION Clockwise from top right: sketch of the new seating bowl, football complex and academic cen ter at the south end zone of Kyle Field, map of the renovations, sketch of new en trance in front of The Zone, sketch of new west cam pus locker and training facility, sketch of the new south end seating for Kyle Field. CONSTRUCT sot !TH KND ZONE SLATING BOWLAI KYI.F.FIW.D FOOTBAU.COMW FX& ACAOLMIC CLN1 UR CONSTRI XT NEW ATH1 FTK ACADFMIC SERVICE (KNTKR CONSTRI fCT NEW FOOtBAI I. COACHES OFFICE C< )NSTRI KT NEW KTXJTBAf l ■ 7 t X'KFR ROOMS CONSTRI ITT FOOTR Al » TRAM Al -OtTORTl -M ANT) MFFTTNCi ROOMS CONSTRI XT ST! HFNT ATHI JnC* I OlfNCtF CONSTRI HTTNEW FOOTHA! I FXXHTTMENT ROOM j FXLSTINX7 Bt mTHStK | NEW Sl RENOVATE:!) Rt II JQfNOS I NEW n A7A. r I-V w ommission es candidates BY BRADY CREEL The Battalion Campaigning officially ended at midnight on Tuesday, but some candi- lates will have unfinished business with the Election Commission because of fines received due to campaign violations. I “[The candidates] have been really careful that they know the rules and ley know what they can and cannot do,” said Ashlea Jenkins, election com- pssioner and ajunior political science major. “They have been really want ing to follow the rules this year.” However, the Election Commission has assessed over $500 in fines be muse of campaign violations. The Election Commission, part of the Student Government Association, as20 members who regulate the student elections. Campaigning officially began at 12 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, and any ampaign activity before that time is against election regulations. Student body president (SBP) candidates Jeff Schiefelbein, a senior man- ■gement major, and Corey Rosenbusch, ajunior agricultural development najor, were both fined for misuse of email. The fine was also because they ASSESSED FT TOTAL FOR ALL CANDIDATES BRANgQN GARRET1 wSShiane mmm rosenbusch jef^Tchiefelbein RUBEN DELUNA/Teii: Battalion ed to show the party on their campaign expenditure sheets. Schiefelbein hosted a party before campaigning officially began. Shiefelbein aid his function was a barbecue—not a party — for his campaign staff and their friends, and it came as a result of an email being inadvertently sent on a listserv. An email accidentally sent to a listserv was also blamed for a barbecue iltimately canceled by Rosenbusch. Election Commission regulations do not lermit people outside of a campaign staff to participate in campaign events tefore campaigning officially begins. Because the barbecue was cancelled, there were no expenditures to be re ported to the Election Commission. Forrest Lane, SBP candidate and a senior political science major, had a vehicle painted and parked in a staff parking lot before noon Sunday. Lane said the pre-campaigning was just an accident. He said someone drove a shoe-polished vehicle before it was time. Any form of campaigning which interferes with the natural flow of pedes- frian or vehicular traffic is also forbidden. Lane was fined for having a truck in the median on Highway 6, north bound into College Station. Rosenbusch’s campaign was fined for campaign activity in the medians 3t the comer of Wellborn Road and George Bush Drive. Regardless of whether or not the candidate is aware of how their staff is Campaigning, if any member of their staiT is in violation of air election reg ulation, then the candidate is fined. Advisers gamer student criticism BY MAUREEN KANE The Battalion Clay Hicks, a senior sports manage ment major, was going to have to change his graduation plans from December 2000 to May 2001 when he was informed by one of his advisers that he needed to complete technical writing in order to graduate. Fortunately the department head arranged for him to take the class via correspondence. Hicks attributes the gap in his curricu lum in part to the turnover of advisers in his department during the past two years. “I’ve been through three academic ad visers in the past two years in my major. Every time one tells you one thing, anoth er one tells you another,” Hicks said. “I was upset at first. Then they actually did their job and bent over backwards to fix it.” Other students have had better experi ences with their advisers. Todd Keith, a senior information sys tems major, believe his academic adviser is well-informed and helpful. “My adviser is highly qualified. I al ways go to a real adviser — the same one every time — so I make sure she knows my case,” Keith said. Some students are not as confident in their advisors, however. Russ, ajunior engineering technology ma jor wishes to be identi fied only by his first name. “My adviser is terrible. You have to wait in line because he doesn’t have set of fice hours, and doesn’t make appoint ments so you better have your questions ready because he’ll run you out of there as soon as possible,” he said. “I’ve asked him • to help me find classes and he’ll say to look in the book. He really doesn’t help you at all. He’s qualified, he just doesn’t care if 1 pass or fail.” Dr. Mark Weichold, associate provost of undergraduate programs and academic services, said the qualifications for acade mic advisers vary by department, and there are faculty as well as non-faculty, advisers who are usually active in the University Ad visers and Counselors Committee (UAC). “They [non-faculty advisers] will avail themselves of the resources of UAC more readily than faculty members because UAC is the paraprofessional organization for Ad visers and Counselors. I think you’ll find good advising in both categories of advisers (faculty and non-faculty),” Weichold said. According to Dr. William Bassichis, an academic adviser in the physics department, anyone on the faculty could volunteer to be a faculty adviser. Although there is no spe cific training to be an adviser, Bassichis said that new advisers learn through experience, with the help of senior advisers. “Other faculty undergraduate advisers work with me and help register students. That’s how they learn the ropes. That’s what I did, and that’s how I became the un dergraduate adviser,” Bassichis said. Cathy Littleton, senior academic advis er for the Department of Geosciences, be came an adviser in a similar way. “I went from an administrative secretary to an adviser before I had completed my un dergraduate degree. I had always worked with students and the dean, so I was im mersed. Some things I knew better than fac ulty advisers,” Littleton said. See Advisers on Page 6. See Commission on Page 6. about campaign platforms The following three student statements were mistakenly not printed in The Battalion’s 2000 Student Election Guide Ricky Wood Senior Yell Leader I believe in A&M and its student body. I have faith in what the Lord has entrusted within each one of us. This campus is breathing; it is pulsing, f feel it every time 1 say, “Howdy,” shake a hand, receive a hug, see a smile, or hear a wildcat. Everywhere I go, in everything that I do, 1 will always trust in the power of the student body. Ky|a Crozierir*'”*" m iF““ H NHi tyiit ; Class of 2001 Secretary Howdy! My name is Kyta Crozier and I am an animal science major from Gonzales, Texas. I am running for Class of 2001 Secretary. This year, 1999-2000,1 have served as chair of the Historian of 2001. I want to continue to be involved in activities for our class and help with decisions that will make Texas A&M a better place for all students. Next year is going to he a great one! As seniors, we have an opportunity to leave a special mark on Aggieland before we graduate. I would like to meet as many of you as possible, get your ideas, and take advantage of this opportunity! Chad Olsen f lC" On-campus Southside Senator HOWDY! My name is Chad Olsen and I am a sophomore political science major from Brenham, Texas, and also a proud member of the the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. I came here as a first generation Aggie and college student from a large Chris tian family of 15, and I’d like a chance to give something back to this University. As a Senator, my primary agenda is to en sure that my constituents are heard on key concerns such as parking, the railroad removal, online registration, and more. So, Let YOUR voice be heard!! Vote Chad Olsen for Southside Senator. INSIDE •Dixon helps Aggies down Bearkats Page 9 •The many faces of art Pop and environmen tally-concerned pieces represented at MSC Page 9 •Misguidance counselors Quality of A&M's academic advisers need improvement for students' sake •Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details about bomb threats at several Bryan schools. • Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu