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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2000)
I uesday, June 13,21 Decisions decisions Chris Scarcella contemplating future with Oakland Athletics fitter being selected in the draft Page 2 Listen to KAMU 90.9 FM at 1:57 p.m. for details on an assault in Bryan. • Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu. Weather: Mostly cloudy with a hiqh of 88 and a low of 70. WEDNESDAY June 14,2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 152 6 pages mm i\ Hk'l M =! IX Dorms may become substance free material to repair the roof News in Brief us Ops proposes us replacements Bus Operations will be exhibiting Iree different styles of buses Wednes day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rudder jpuntain. I Rachael Howe, executive director of student services, said the pro posed new buses would replace the lirrent buses. I Howe said buses will be transit Style, similar to those in metropol ian cities. They will have a “metro- ■ansit” look opposed to the “s:hool-bus” look. I The three buses that will be on dis- [Riay are basic, medium and luxury Style. The buses are compliant with itfie American Disabilities Act (ADA), Ijave air conditioning and have han- (jlebars for students to stand. I Howe said the purpose of this ■vent is to gain student input and feed- lack about features students want. I Bus Operations is trying to de- —■ide options like seating arrange- ittent. For example, Bus Operations wants to know whether students f* want seats facing each other or 1 CPC one-behind-the-other. k A W X ItA-VJVv Howe said the buses will provide the same services as the old buses, 1 Such as charter services for student I ■roups, and could be driven as ear- .CXd y 5 f ly as Spring 2001, but by Fall 2001 / i at the latest. f; Information and refreshments will n its traditional foes, Souiv’- p rov - (C j e( j a |. even t. ian and the United State i * ■ nification, the stated goal of ft) DcJllcJS 111013X6 ,, is likely to be a lengthy proci) gttdCkS gU3 I’d re are a host of touchy issues® . Ari , . . J . t/ | KENEDY (AP) — A guard was \ among them North Kore | a kk ec j a t a South Texas prison and nuclear programs, and I-Hiesday, the second attack in less litary presence in South Kon; than a week on an officer at the Con- th Korea's Kim will "broad.]"ally Unit of the Texas Department landing by saying everythirXCriminal Justice. , , „ r, , i v .1 Officer Scott Jendrzey, 21, was es- its to say. Park Toon-Yoiw ■ „. . ’ ^ , . - . ; !Porting inmates to an eating area for cl presidential spokesperst noon ppggi w |-| en p, e was stabbed said Monday.''Hen six times by a prisoner carrying a 9- agree first on theea inch metal rod that had been sharp est and most practi j en ed to a point, said prison system issues " spokesperson Larry Todd. ' . “The officer was struck from be- ’' 1 liind, and as he turned to defend him- quick to downpw tha1; ' s w p en p e received the su- North Korea'sweeke»rficial stab wounds,” Todd said, request to delay tl 1 | The guard, who has been on the summit by a day,a ^ for about a year and a half, was treated at the prison infirmary and ee i al )un ntia rson 'Tuesday. They saidff then was moved to a nearby hospi- nor technical prof' { a | j^ e i n j ur j es we re not consid- held up the schedule ; ered life-threatening and Jendrzey — One Blue Hotepras expected to be treated and re official said glitchefased, Todd said, run satellite transmission! The inmate was identified as Ra^ c d Laden Tyner, 20, serving a 65- non images from Pyongyafl . A , Bar sentence for aggravated robbery ul was responsible. How.e | t Qf Da||as County He was bejng government officials s hg^ j n administrative segregation were no problems. and undergoing questioning by inter- > North's failure to clearly expli bal affairs investigators. The entire prison has been placed on lockdown, meaning all iisoners are confined to their cells. ay prompted a flurry of specu' j South Korean media. hoof ^ Judge orders " itay of execution I HUNTSVILLE (AP) — A convicted <iller set to die Wednesday for dlling a Waco shop owner more Ian 11 years ago won a stay of execution, but the Texas attorney fneral’s office was moving to get reprieve lifted. U.S. District Judge Walter Smith 'dered the state Tuesday to post- Inethe scheduled lethal injection JJohn Albert Burks because the udge said a reprieve he issued re than two years ago still re ined in effect. The Texas attorney general’s of- ice filed a motion of appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and 'Quid work to vacate Smith’s order, pokesperson Heather Browne said. Texas prison officials said they luld continue with regular prepa- ations for an execution until the le al issues were resolved. ■ Burks, now 44, was convicted of illmg Jesse Contreras, 63, owner of 'esse’s Tortilla Factory, during a rob- |ry attempt Jan. 20, 1989. Contr- ras was shot four times and died of is wounds 27 days later. Joseph Pleasant The Battalion Students living on campus in Fall 2001 may not be able to choose whether to live in sub stance free housing. The Office of Student Af fairs is considering making all on-campus resi dence halls substance free next fall. Current residence hall regulations state that students 21 and older are permitted to possess and consume alcohol in their rooms. If the pro posal to make every residence hall substance free passes, it would be against school policy for students of any age to have alcohol in on-cam pus residence halls. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for student affairs at Texas A&M, said alcohol use on campus has been a focal point for his office. "Alcohol issues are a problem and have been a problem," Southerland said. Southerland also said alcohol-related deaths on campus caused the University to investigate substance abuse on campus. The Office of Student Affairs commissioned a University alcohol task force to study behavior on campus and make recommendations to the Uni versity. One of the recommendations was to make all on-campus residence halls substance free. Susan Foster, assistant director of residence education, said substance-free housing reduces "secondary effects" on students in the hall. Foster said secondary effects include disrup tion of sleep and study and damage to property that people influenced by alcohol may cause. "People getting sick in the bathroom in the middle of the night is not good for the students that have a test the next morning," Foster said. But some students say substance-free resi dence halls are not fair to all students. Renee Edmiston, a junior environmental de sign major, said students of age have the right to have alcohol in their rooms if they choose. "Students that are 21 should not have to live off campus to drink; that is not right," Ed miston said. Roshawnda Little, a senior journalism ma jor, said, if adopted, this rule would cause more problems for on-campus students and staff members. "It will just be another hassle for students to find ways to get around the rule, and resident advisors to enforce the rule," Little said. Southerland said one problem with initiating the change is that the University does not have the manpower to ensure underage students are not in possession of alcohol while on campus. The option for students living on campus to live in substance-free residence halls is being of fered for the first time this fall. Those students choosing to live in these residence halls signed an agreement that they will not, among other things, consume alcohol, tobacco or other con trolled substances; that they will not return to the dorm under the influence of those sub stances; and they will not disturb the other res idents as a result of using those substances. Southerland said he is waiting on formal recommendations before he makes a decision on whether it is feasible for the University to institute substance-free housing. The pro posed policy change will not affect students living on campus during Fall 2000, but may af fect on-campus residents in 2001. Substance-Free Floor Community Agreement ! l>o not postoittt, u*«. or fee under the | influence of nay alcohol, tobacco produ Itlnyal drug within the living vlroantent. Uo not participate In any behavior that dUrupis the commuatiy and/or Htc of the KiUcnta us u result of substance use. Share the responsibility of confronting and/or reporting any Inappropriate behavior within rhe comrounUy as related to substance abuse. Participate In healthy communication with community members and staff members, and promote a spirit of civility through my interactions with others. Insure that a resident's guests will adhere to all of the above expectations while visiting the floor. Bands on tap (left) Jesse Davis, lead guitarist of The Nixons, gets up close and personal with the crowd at The Tap on Monday night, (top right) Zack Maloy, lead vocalist, sings to a packed house, (bottom right) Scott Stephens and David Walsh of the California band The Exies open the show. The Nixons are on tour supporting their new album. Latest Thing. Bush to fund TSU, PYAMU Adrienne Ballare The Battalion In an attempt to resolve civil-rights issues in Texas, Gov. George W. Bush made a promise to fund two histori cally black universities to help im prove their recruitment and retain- ment programs. Bush promised to fund Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), an A&M University System school, and Texas Southern University (TSU). "I want all Texans to have an oppor tunity to enjoy the benefits of our state's higher education system," Bush said in a written statement. Steven Rondeno, a graduate student at TSU, said he was confused by Bush's proposal on funding. "Prior to this proposal, when called for help for assistance for funding, we didn't get any favorable response from him at all, which led to problems within the institution," Rondeno said. "It's hard to trust someone who is an authoritative position, who controls the duration of a historically black institution." Rondeno said the lack of funding caused a decline in enrollment at TSU. See Funding on Page 4. Graduation suffers from lack of student interest Administration seeking ways to improve attendance at commencement ceremony Kim Trifilio The Battalion Texas A&M graduates have start ed a new tradition that has opened the eyes of administrators and has them seeking ways to improve their current graduation system in order to keep graduates from leaving commence ment ceremonies early. Dr. Bill Perry, executive associate provost, said this could be happening for two reasons. "I think one of the reasons this is happening is because of the length of the ceremony. Participating in some thing for two hours and 45 minutes is a pretty long time," Perry said. "Anoth er reason is because of the change in venue. When graduation was held in G. Rollie White Coliseum, it was more noticeable when people left early. Now in Reed Arena, it is not as noticeable." Don Carter, A&M registrar, said the problem of students leaving early has gotten worse. "The administration and faculty were upset at all three recent cere monies. Students receiving degrees left before the ceremony ended," Carter said. "It is disrespectful to fel low graduates and their parents to get up and leave." Perry said the administration is thinking of ways to maintain the dig nity of the ceremony without de creasing attendance. "1 think we should make the cere mony shorter," Perry said. "We still want to walk across the stage. This is a time of celebration for students and families. I think most people believe that for an occasion like this, it should be about one-and-a-half hours, but now it is two-and-a-half hours or more." Perry said the ceremony is not pro longed by the length of the com mencement speeches. "The commencement speeches lately haven't really been that long. We have good speakers too, and they're being brief," he said. Shauna Clark, a senior biochem istry major and December 2000 grad uate, said it is obvious why students are leaving graduation early. “Students receiv ing degrees left before the cere mony ended. It is disrespectful to fellow graduates and their par ents to get up and leave.' 1 — Don Carter Texas A&M registrar "It is too long. That's it. There is no other reason," Clark said. Perry said other universities have this problem, but they have found ways to shorten graduation ceremonies. "There are some universities with two lines. Maybe the provost will shake hands with one line and the president will shake hands with the other. This would decrease the time to three sec onds per person instead of five seconds per person," Perry said. "Some cam puses come together for a shorter cere mony, and then they go to their own college ceremony. But then the problem with that is, you wouldn't be able to shake hands with the president." Perry said the administration is al ways trying to attract well-known speakers to the ceremony to increase attendance. "In the past we've had Governor Bush, former presidents and chancel lors of different schools. We try to get someone with an academic connec tion or a state connection," he said. Perry said the president's office is always open to suggestions for speak ers and speakers often have a connec tion to the University. "For example, you might have a president of a university who was in a fraternity or sorority with someone who is now [well known]," Perry said. "On the other hand, the connec tion can be through the student, as long as it's someone to give an enter taining, but meaningful, speech." Perry said Bill Cosby's appearance at First Yell in September might forge a relationship with the comedian that could make him a candidate for a commencement address in the future. "He's a good person to speak at graduation," Perry said. "Assuming he has a good experience here and he develops a relationship with the insti tution, and it's within our commence ment budget. I'd say it could be done." Perry said the administration will brainstorm ideas to increase gradua tion attendance. See Graduation on Page 4.