Monday, May 21:
•war
planes attacked a militan
;r plant.
iia accused EritreansonSua
near one of the eastern to
pledged to withdraw,
Ethiopians rallied by theli
celebrate the ninth anniveisj
the military regime that
i in 1991 still included thetr
Hey, Mr. D)
ocal DJs bring new
light to
fast-growing
art form
Page 3
Listen to KAMI) 90.9FM at 1:57 p.m. for details on the
death of a College Station resident.
• Check out The Battalion online at
battalion.tamu.edu.
Weather: Partly
cloudy with a high of
95 and a low of 71.
TUESDAY
May 30, 2000 .
Volume 106~ Issue 143
6 pages
* I UliM k’J 4 :WI»'
zzled veterans of the geer
Mussolini's forces alonjs
m — had new triumphs to
trean forces have been dor
gasso Ghidada told theel;
and territories retakenbv
ist days.
ks in this David-and-Goi
country of 4 million —En:
.7 million — Ethiopia-
ny seems, at least for the:
red its slingshot.
ige cnsi
the government,
porter for Australian televkj
^as allowed briefly toil
iry said he saw no sign-;
1 abuse.
ier Sunday, rebel guardsk|
omatic weapons opened:
parliament to let in somel.j
ters for a 90-minute N
service,
rward, Speight stood forlOit
iking hands with supported,
n trading partner Austral)
; New Zealand, the Umf:
md the United Nationsl!
med any deal that replaced
government as giving!
Remembering the fallen
Senate committee
rejects fall Bonfire
At a May 25 Memorial Day Service at the American Legion Post No. 159 in Bryan, Texas State Senator Steve Ogden distributes
American flags to be placed on grave sites of veterans. The service remembered fallen soldiers of all wars.
Football player dies in car crash
■ Staff and Wire
HleXcW A&M defense r lineman Lorn Nichols,
^1, was killed Saturday in El Paso in a traffic acci-
jnt that injured three
ters.
Nichols, who was set
begin his fourth year at
Ml this summer, was
lied when a car crossed
l center median in east
!1 Paso and collided head
with the car in which
was a front-seat
ssenger, according to
ElPnso Times. El Paso police said Gordon Polley
19, of El Paso, was driving westbound when he
jck the median and lost control of his 1991 Mit-
Terry Nichols
subishi, which crashed into the 1993 Honda being
driven by Ruby Williams, 21, of El Paso.
Polley and Jara Harris, 22, another passenger in
the car with Nichols, were taken to a hospital with
serious injuries, police said. None of the passengers
in Williams' car were wearing a seatbelt, police
said; Polley was.
Nichols' coaches and teammates are still
shocked by the tragedy.
"We are all deeply saddened, and our hearts go
out to the family and friends back in El Paso," said
Mike Hankwitz, defensive coordinator for the
A&M football team. "Terry was one of those guys
who played hard in practice, and he will certainly
be missed."
Nichols planned to come back for the summer
to attend summer school and work out, and team
mates were shocked to learn that Nichols was dead.
"Everyone is still shocked about his death," said
Rocky Bernard, a close friend of Nichols and senior
agricultural economics major. "We were all expect
ing him back here this morning. He was loved by
everyone. He is in our thoughts, and his memory
will remain with us forever."
Hankwitz said the team would like to have a
memorial for Nichols in College Station, but
arrangements are still being made with the family.
There will be a viewing on Wednesday from 2
to 9 p.m. at the Sunset Funeral Home Northeast in
El Paso. Tentative funeral arrangements have been
scheduled for Thursday at Post Chapel #1 at Fort
Bliss at 10 a.m. Nichols' final resting place will be
in Norfolk,Va. He will be honored at the Septem
ber 5 Silver Taps.
Maureen Kane
The Battalion
Jonathan Smith, associate professor of
geography and chair of the Bonfire plan
ning committee, said Bonfire should not
occur in 2000 because there is no way to
address all the problems cited in the Spe
cial Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bon
fire Final Report before the fall.
"It was the opinion of the planning
committee that Bonfire should not occur
in 2000 and should not occur in its pre
sent form in the future," Smith said.
The need to modify and reform fu
ture Aggie Bonfires was expressed by
many faculty members
at the Faculty Senate
Bonfire Forum Mon
day. The open forum,
held in Rudder 601, in
volved members of the
Faculty Senate as well
as other faculty mem
bers who chose to
speak. Although stu
dents were encouraged
to express their opin
ions during the forum,
none of the students in
attendance offered
their opinions.
Smith asked all of the
professors' in the geo
sciences department to
send him their opinions on the continua
tion of Bonfire. One-third of all of the teach
ers in the department responded, and two-
thirds of the respondents expressed the
belief that Bonfire should be abolished.
"The disadvantages and detractions of
the event outweigh the merits," Smith said.
"My personal opinion is that Bonfire
should not be reproduced in anything like
its current form."
Both Smith and Rob McGeachin, an
associate professor at the West Campus
Library, discussed hazing in their argu
ments against Bonfire. McGeachin also
cited the University's waste of natural
resources and the lack of control over a
“It was the
opinion of the
planning com
mittee that
Bonfire should
not occur in
2000"
— Jonathan Smith
chair of the Bonfire
planning committee
student function as reasons to discon
tinue the tradition.
"Even events such as Replant are mi
nor efforts in comparison to the amount
of timber cut down every year,"
McGeachin said. He then asked the audi
ence, "How many students flunked out
their freshman year because they spent
too much time working on Bonfire?"
McGeachin said he has heard some of
his colleagues say that "we're (Texas
A&M University) even more of a laugh
ingstock than ever" after the 1999 Aggie
Bonfire collapse.
"The opinion of this institution in the
eyes of our peers is in jeopardy if we let
Bonfire continue,"
McGeachin said.
Faculty members from
various departments
share the opinion that
Bonfire should be discon
tinued, and someplace
part of the blame for the
collapse on the faculty.
Thomas Blasingame,
an associate professor
and assistant department
head of petroleum engi
neering, said he feels fac
ulty could have helped
prevent the collapse.
"The faculty were re
sponsible. This was an
accident, but we should have taken ac
tion. 1 cannot and will not tolerate an
other accident like this on my watch,"
Blasingame said. "1 view November 18
as the worst day in Texas A&M's histo
ry mostly because it could have been
prevented."
Paul Parrish, a professor of English,
also said that the faculty shares the re
sponsibility for the collapse.
"The faculty cannot shirk at respon
sibility in this matter. The only responsi-*
ble course of action is to discontinue
Bonfire," Parrish said.
See Senate on Page 2.
ellborn repairs have
ittle effect on students
Jenny Gentry
The Battalion
The construction on Wellborn should
illy have mi nimal effects on students, ac-
rairding to Tom Williams, director of Park-
ifig, Traffic and Transportation Services.
Road signs were erected soon after
semester finals ended, and the
instruction began on May 15. The first
phase of the project was the removal of
the existing pavement on Wellborn from
just north of Raymond Stotzer Blvd.
luth toward George Bush Drive.
( —j—After the pavement was removed
M iv lune^i m ^ v,e ^b° rn ' the project moved to
M iy 29-June5i a y mori< ^ Stotzer Blvd. The construc-
May 29-June5| on hegan at the Wellborn intersection
May 29-June(>F’d proceeded west toward Harvey
May 29-June tphtchell Parkway.
May 29-June(>; Wellborn Road is currently being
30pm. on closing datuirepaved from Raymond Stotzer Blvd. to
eorge Bush Drive. Williams said the
Biad was repaved because of the age and
JiVear the current road has experienced.
Weekendsl „ c , . r
If Students may experience a small
$17 ■l e ' a y ’ n t rave ' time to West Campus,
* ,,, but an access will always be accessi
ble," said Williams.
S Non Rec Members! Students are wary of any traffic ob-
$3 50 stacles, but feel construction in the
$0 summer is better than road closings in
^imii orlil tllefallandsprin8 -
C1.I I I vl •vTvlU "It already takes me the full amount of
II prices subject to chan$m me to get from main campus to the Bush
✓School, but since it's summer I'm sure the
DAYS
1
4
7
construction won't cause too much de
lay," said Erin Woodward, a senior inter
national studies and political science ma
jor. "As long as it's finished by fall
semester, it shouldn't be a big distraction."
Some students are not concerned
since the construction is not directly af
fecting access to main campus.
"The construction doesn't really
bother me, but I can see how it would af
fect some other students," said Trey
Jansen, a senior English major. "I re
member when Texas Ave. was under
construction a few years ago, and it was
a big hassle for me to get to campus. I
definitely understand where some stu
dents could be miffed."
All of the old pavement was removed
during the break between spring and
summer semesters to reduce inconve
nience to students.
In addition to repaving the road, the
construction project will also lengthen
the right turn lane from Raymond
Stotzer Blvd. onto Olsen Road. Addi
tional lanes will also be added to im
prove the flow of merging traffic at Har
vey Mitchell Parkway and Raymond
Stotzer Blvd.
Bus routes will remain on the same
schedule during the construction to aid
with students' commute to West Campus.
The construction is scheduled to
be completed by the first home foot
ball game.
Task force suggests transportation changes
Railroad identified as safety hazard to A&M community, students
Maureen Kane
The Battalion
Moving the railroad that runs through the
Texas A&M campus is one of many recommen
dations in the Final Report of the Campus Access
& Parking Task Fprce, released in early May.
"This report sets up a vision for what campus
can be and tries to offer a much more enjoyable
campus," said Dr. Tim Lomax, a research engineer
with the Texas Transportation Institute and mem
ber of the task force.
The task force identified the removal of the rail
road through campus and the minimization of
conflicts between pedestrians and bicycles with
vehicles as necessary for the safety and effective
ness of any new transportation system.
Mathis said the most important recommen
dation to implement is moving the railroad, be
cause "that is the most dangerous thing our cam
pus faces."
Other suggestions included limiting vehicular
travel on some streets; creating a second under
ground pedestrian passageway hear Albritton
Tower; adding on-street bike lanes and off-street
bike paths; putting bike racks on off-campus bus
es; providing new buses and vehicles for on- and
off-campus transportation services while increas
ing service to 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
and repairing and reopening Ross Street to vehi
cles. Also suggested were the creation of map
kiosks in key locations on campus to explain the
transportation system to participants and creating
a mandatory student transportation fee to fund
the new system.
Jane Schneider, assistant vice president of ad
ministration, said the committee did not decide
on a specific amount for the student transporta
tion fee. She said that the committee asked,
"how would the system best meet the needs of
faculty, staff and students, and would then put
a dollar amount on that. The committee did not
go into that detail. PTTS would gather that in-
Cory Collins, a freshman business major,
crosses over an idle train between West Cam
pus and main campus. Several students were
forced to find means of getting to class while
the train was stopped for 30 minutes.
formation with adequate information from var
ious constituents."
The report is a compilation of recommenda
tions by the task force. It is not a proposed plan for
a new transportation system. The recommenda
tions will be suggested to, and reviewed by, the
director of PTTS and the vice president for ad
ministration at Texas A&M. "It's up to students to
decide how it can benefit them and make sure ad
ministration and PTTS know if they (students)
support it, and why," Lomax said.
The recommendations of the committee are
classified into three divisions. Diversification refers
to the need to offer options to accommodate vari
ous needs. Integration, the second area, states that
multiple constituents must work together for any
new transportation system to run smoothly. Final
ly, the committee addressed "communication,"
which is the participants' understanding of the sys
tem, the area the committee found most "lacking
in the current system."
The committee's first concern is the safety of
the students, faculty, staff, and visitors to cam
pus. Convenience and attractiveness of the
transportation system are also concerns of the
committee.
Katliie Mathis, the associate director of PTTS
and a member of the task force, said, "The plan
(recommendations) was all based on feedback
from faculty, staff and students - what they
thought would be the ideal situation for the Uni
versity.
"We spent over a year interviewing groups to
see what they want to see, so the improvements
should be wonderful," she said.