p
PHOTO BY MM SCTU.ES
TUESDAY
April 25, 2000
Volume 106-Issue 135
14* pages
• I ItJk'U'i 4iW I i d
Rubber ducky you’re the one
S'WsMii
:ontinues in
student death
1 V
BY MATT LOFTIS
The Battalion
Texas A&M University police and offi-
isw ith the Hays County Sherrif’s Depart-
ntltill have not located or identified the
lerpf Texas A&M student Kerry Kujawa,
inior mechanical engineering major.
Although no new information has been
cohered, DPS offi-
rs are beginning a
ttine search of Ku-
va’s car and room
d are still search-
l for information
rough Internet and
iai| records,
jliiras believed that
ujaia went to San
nto^iio on April 7 to
Ha girl, named
elle). that he had
eenl corresponding
ith via email. Friends suspected that after
:veral weeks went by the emails supposed-
rsent from Kujawa from Kelly’s account
/ere not from Kujawa and reported him
lissipg. The Hays County Sheriff’s Depart-
lentfound his body shortly thereafter.
Kujawa’s mother, Lucille Kujawa, said
lat she was worried about other people who
re victimized by Internet meetings. She said
le Internet is not a way to meet people and
“Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s
better,” Lucille said.
She said that though no one could help
Kerry anymore, she wanted to be sure his
death would not be in vain.
Lucille said that throughout his life, Ker
ry had loved to help people. He would fix
neighbor’s VCRs or friend’s computers and
anything he could to help.
“Kerry loved help
ing people, and he did
n’t expect anything in
return,” Lucille said.
Kerry was a recip
ient of both the Texas
A&M President’s En
dowment Scholarship
and the National Mer
it Award. Kujawa was
a National Merit Final
ist and scored almost
1600 on his SAT test.
Kerry also ran
long-distance in high school, competing at
one point with shin splints, a broken toe and
a tom muscle that was not completely healed,
Lucille said. Kerry was awarded the “Pride
and Never Quit Award” for his performance,
and the team has continued the award.
Lucille said Kerry had been accepted to
Rice University, but then visited Texas A&M
and fell in love with the spirit and atmosphere.
“When he came out of Fish Camp, his
lat it should not be used for that purpose. blood was maroon and white,” Lucille said..
W -A
“Kerry loved help
ing people, and he
didn't expect any
thing in return."
- Lucille Kujawa
Kerry's mother
pig**:
V
L ■■■ *>*
W 1
■IMP
STUART VILLANUEVA/Tun Battalion
Jana Renker, a sophomore microbiology major, and Crista Benson, a junior biomedical science major, watch as rubber
ducks race in Rudder Fountain Monday. The race was held as a fundraiser for MSC OPAS.
Fraternity denies alcohol violations at Chilifest
CODY WA6ES/The Battalion
hilifest attendees consume alcoholic beverages while enjoying the festival’s activities. Sig-
Ipha Epsilon fraternity denies student alcohol rules were violated at the event.
BY RICHARD BRAY
The Battalion
In recent weeks, the success of
Chilifest has been tarnished by ac
cusations that members of Sigma
Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity
have been bragging about holding
the event with alcohol present, a vi
olation of student rules.
Brent Paterson, the dean of the
Department of Student Life, said he
is uncertain what part SAE played
in organizing the event but the De
partment of Student Life will be
looking into the matter further.
Marc McWilliams, chairperson of
Chilifest, Inc., a member of SAE and
a senior agricultural development ma
jor, said Sigma Alpha Epsilon was not
involved in Chilifest this year.
“Sigma Alpha Epsilon did not
organize Chilifest at all.
“Sigma Alpha Epsilon started
Chilifest 10 years
ago and have
done it every year
until two years
ago,” he said.
“For liability rea
sons and to com
ply with [Texas]
A&M rules, we
decided to detach
the fraternity as
much as possible
so if something
were to happen
Sigma Alpha Ep
silon’s name
wouldn’t be
brought up.”
McWilliams
said SAE was not breaking rules
when it was in charge of the event
in previous years.
“You can’t have alcohol present
if it is an open party,” he said. “By
“It's a closed
party, so we
wouldn't be in
violation of
any rules and
we never were
in violation of
student rules”
— Marc McWilliams
chairperson of Chilifest, Inc.
selling tickets, it’s
not an open party.
It’s a closed party,
so we wouldn’t be
in violation of any
rules and we nev
er were in viola
tion of student
rules.”
Ann Good
man, the associate
director of the De
partment of Stu
dent Life, said
there is the possi
bility of an inves
tigation but it is
unlikely S[AE will
be found guilty of
breaking any Student Life rules.
“There is a possibility that an in
vestigation will be started looking
into the matter. However, at this
point we have no reason to believe
that Sigma Alpha Epsilon was di
rectly involved,” she said.
McWilliams said the accusa
tions occurred because people do
not fully understand the rules.
“There are so many rumors fly
ing around nobody really knows
what they’re talking about,” he
said. “If they would just get the
rules and read them themselves,
they would know.”
McWilliams said that despite
the accusations of wrongdoing,
Chilifest was a success this year.
“Chilifest will be able to give
$62,000 to charity, which is by far
the biggest donation at A&M by
any philanthropy project,” he said.
“There were no accidents and no
problems. The highway department
and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission (TABC) both sent let
ters saying how pleased they were
with the event.”
Students fight to keep
bonfire alive, tradition
BY ROLANDO GARCIA
The Battalion
B With the fate of Aggie Bonfire up in the
air, some students have already begun
Sighting to keep the tradition.
■ An effort called “Keep the Fire Burn-
•ing“ is collecting signatures and selling T-
shirts and bumper stickers outside the
IMemorial Student Center.
■ “I love bonfire, and 1 just wanted to
■mind them how students feel before we
Rave,” said Will Clark, one of the efforts
prganizers and a senior rangeland ecolo
gy major.
Ij So far, Clark said, he and his small
[group of volunteers have gathered over
■000 signatures and received hundreds of
[email messages from students.and alumni
in support of continuing bonfire.
I Beth Ridel, a “Keep the Fire Burning”
organizer and Class of ’99, said she wants
j |iture generations of Aggies to be able to
experience the camaraderie of pulling to
gether for a common task.
I “Working on bonfire has been a great
experience. It really helps develop leader
ship skills, and I formed some great friend-
ihips,” Ridel said.
Clark said he is open to changes in the
lay bonfire is built but he insists that it re-
ftnain a student-organized event.
don’t believe bonfire is inherently
r
risky. It’s been built safely for many years,
and it wasn’t a fluke,” Clark said. ‘There’ll
have to be some changes, but Aggies are
some of the smartest people in the world,
and we can fix it.”
Clark added that it is important that stu
dents make their voices heard now, since
many will not be in College Station during
the summer when A&M administrators will
decide the future of bonfire.
The Special Commission on the 1999
Aggie Bonfire, the panel appointed to find
the cause of the collapse, will release its
findings May 2.
Some students have questioned the tim
ing of the report, since it comes just before
finals and most students will be too busy to
voice their opinions before going home for
the summer.
“It seems the administration puts a lot
of decisions off until the summer. I guess
they don’t want everyone to get ticked off,”
said Megan Chatron, a petition signer and
a junior Spanish major.
The effort has only been Hilly active for
a few days, but the flood of support has
been encouraging, Clark said.
“These stories from old Ags are really
amazing. They articulate why bonfire is im
portant better than I ever could,” Clark said.
“It’s about friendship and the Aggie Spirit,
things you can’t leam in a classroom, and
it’s worth keeping.”
Campus ATMs to change
Machines offer Aggie Bucks, stamps and account info
BY APRIL YOUNG
The Battalion
Over the next couple of weeks, students will notice
some changes to the on-campus Norwest Bank ATMs.
Aside from a name change from Norwest Bank to
Wells Fargo, the new machines will offer students more
services aimed at making the banking experience more
convenient. These new services will allow students to
buy postage stamps and view their statements, check
clearings and other account information.
BRIAN SMITH & BRANDON HENDERSON/Thk Battalion
Another service that students may find convenient is
the added service of deposit envelopes at ATM locations
so that students can purchase Aggie Bucks there instead
of going to the Pavilion.
But some students find one new addition in particular
to be an inconvenience. The new machines will only ac
commodate $20 bills, and therefore will only allow with
drawals in increments of $20.
“We looked at our records, and we don’t think this is
a significant change as far as the amount of money tak
en out out of the ATMs on or off campus,” said Ronald
Hale, vice chairman for community banking at Wells
Fargo. “Generally, looking at the volume and replace
ment of money, we don’t think the volume of $10 with
drawals was a significant number.”
But Matt Moore, a sophomore general studies major,
said he finds the recent change inconvenient.
“The minimum withdrawal of $20 from the ATM
machines on campus will definitely deter me from
using the ATM machines on campus,” Moore said.
“I think it’s pretty stupid to make students withdraw
at least $20, especially since it’s their money and
they should be able to take out as much or as little
as they want.”
Jennifer Konvicka, a senior psychology major, said
she stopped using the ATMs on campus because of the
increase in the withdrawal minimum.
“Usually I use Chase Bank, but since they don’t have
one here, I use any bank,” Konvicka said. “I don’t really
care which bank I use, but the main things I look at are the
surcharge and the increments for withdrawal.”
“Sometimes I just want to get $30, and I don’t want
to get $40 or just $20,” Konvicka said.
See ATM on Page 2.
he Fake Bake Cult
Technology paves the
way for tanning the
masses who used to
worship the sun
Page 3
• Ags hit road for conference
games
A&M softball team heads to Waco,
Austin to take on Bears, Longhorns
Page 11
•Kill 'em all
Proposal to kill feral cats at Ai
completely off; AFCAT caryfvmdle
problem^
!Q>" ‘
Page 1 3
•Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at
1:57 p.m. for details on the
power plant burn victims.
•Check out The Battalion
online at
battalion.tamu.edu