Wednesday, June H
ttedii
pirac
m-
ted
ew
jri-
ur-
md
ton
>ng
hat
;un
lid-
id e
ish-
i to
hey
i of
>wn
i —
y of
:ary
and police forces unde
recent peace accords,
The defense maint
that the purchases cot,
considered self-d
en the years of bloods
Northern Ireland.
The defense also
that Mullan didn't!®
packages he mailed
Claxton during a
cation contained wean
and that Smyth
was acting as a r
for legitimate gundeae
Smyth's fiancee,:
han Brown, was ah
rested and pleaded
to one of 33 i
against her.
She awaits sent®
this month.
• Gore vs. Texas
Vice president's
derogatory
comments based
on misleading
statistics
Page 5
Listen to KAMI) 90.9 FM at 1:57 p.m. for details
on the Texas tobacco lawsuit.
• Check out The Battalion online at
battalion.tamu.edu.
Weather:
Partly cloudy with a
hiqh of 91 and a low
of 72.
THURSDAY
June 15,2000
Volume 106-Issue 153
6 pages
Race-based admissions
may depend on Hopwood
On a roll
5 NATO
KosoviJ
including the bombingofai]
of 1,000 Albanian refugees ret i
to their homes and thedestmctj
he Yugoslav television stafaI
grade, the capital.
I he prosecutor took theumsfv
> of publishing the report'syif
void anv impression itwaswlii|
■Ting the allegations.
In its report, the committeeadi
its findings were based on pn
ements from NATO and from
goslav government, and dial
mbers did not visit Koswfor.
thand investigation.
When asked ior further ink
i, the report said, NATO was
e and refused to answer spec
ostions.
The committee said it found*:
nces in which purely riviliantais
re deliberately bombed.
During the campaign,NATO*'
nes flew 38,400 sorties and dropp |
618 bombs. The committeeffl
ned that among those mumf:
re weapons using depleted©'
i and cluster bombs,
□need by human rights.
Stuart Hutson
The Battalion
Texas A&M University President Dr.
Ray M. Bowen said the University would
return to using race as a determining fac
tor in admissions and financial aid if the
1996 Hopwood decision, which brought
an end to ethnicity-based scholarships at
A&M and other Texas public universi
ties, is overturned.
"If Hopwood were (successfully) ap
pealed, and if there were no other legal
issues to address, A&M would return to
our pre-Hopwood practice of utilizing
75.5%
1995 „„ 1996
race as one of many criteria for admis
sions and financial aid," Bowen said.
The Hopwood case began in 1992
when four white students were denied
admission to the University of Texas
School of Law. The students claimed they
were turned away because preferential
treatment was given to less-qualified His
panic and African-American students.
The case resulted in a 1996 ruling
from three 5th Circuit CourTof Appeals
judges that racial preferences could not
be used in admissions policies at public
universities. Former Texas Attorney
General Dan
Morales then ex
tended the ruling
to apply to schol
arships and finan
cial aid.
On June 7, the
representatives of
the Texas public
universities and
the four white stu
dents returned to
the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals
in New Orleans to
determine whether
old affirmative-ac
tion policies will be
reinstated.
82.2%
1997
"Since A&M has lost its ability to offer
these incentives (scholarships and finan
cial aid) to minorities, it has also lost a
good deal of its ability to appeal to mi
nority students who may already be a lit
tle hesitant to come here because of its
lack of diversity," said Evan Gentry, vice
president of the National Pan-Hellenic
Council and a senior industrial engineer
ing major.
Since the Hopwood decision, A&M's
minority enrollment has continued to de
crease. Before the decision in 1995, African-
Americans constituted 5.1 percent of the
freshman class. In 1999, African-Ameri
cans constituted 2.6 percent of the fresh
man class.
"I would hope that just the resurfac
ing of this issue would make the A&M
administration stop and take a good look
at the situation [at A&M], regardless of
how the court case comes out," said Fe
licia Scott, director of multicultural ser
vices at A&M.
Scott said that since the decision, the
University has looked at new ways to es
tablish a diverse atmosphere at A&M,
but minority enrollment has continued
to decrease.
"The message basically stayed the
same, 'we want a diverse community
See Hopwood on Page 2.
Sonny Certson, a senior accounting major, practices tipping over during her canoeing class at White
Creek. Beginning canoeing class is one of the activities offered for KINE 199.
Prof named to
e-Texas board
i Ge*iteM
OF BRAZOS VALLf 1
%NCY TESTS
on Education
ig
Anna Bishop
The Battalion
Bypassing the wait for
drivers' license renewals at
the local Texas Department
of Public Safety may be just
a click away if e-Texas, a cit
izen commission founded
by State Comptroller Car
ole Keeton Rylander, be
comes Texas' first virtual
government.
Rylander established a
14-branch volunteer task
force commission aimed at
leading citizens in formu
lating ideas for an efficient
online state government.
She has appointed Texas
A&M University economics
professor Dr. Thomas R.
Saving as the health and hu
man services task force com
missioner of e-Texas. Saving
said e-Texas will benefit the
I Texas government.
"There are many efficien-
I cy gains offered
I with e-Texas. To do
i things in a manner
I that would cost less
I time and money is
[truly an asset to
[Texas govern-
Jment," Saving said.
"I am honored
to be a part of e-
Texas. The health
and human task
jforce will recom
mend ways to re
duce costs and in
line health-care administra
tion through the use of tech
nology, increase consumer
choice and strengthen fami
lies," he said.
Rylander said e-Texas
will simplify life.
"Envision a Texas where
a small business like Joe's
Bakery in East Austin does
n't have to. contact the De
partment’ of Health, the
Comptroller's office, the
Worker's Compensation
Commission, and, if they
are a business corporation,
the Secretary of State's of
fice, just to do business,"
she said.
"Envision a Texas
where a sick child at home
can still attend class via the
Internet ... a Texas where
you don't have a separate
permit, a separate report
and a separate check for
the hotel tax, franchise tax,
See e-Texas on Page 2.
■Texas
volunteer task
COMMISSI
force
O N S
tial
ed & Fri 9-5 • Sat 8-
rease
ccountability in
he state's 14 health
nd human service
gencies, Stream-
Asset and Financial Management
Competitive Government
Regulatory Reform
Human Resources Management
E-government
Health Care & Human Services,
j Thomas R, Saving of
L College Station, economics
professor at Texas A&M
Government Performance
Education
Public Safety & Corrections
Environmental/ Natural Resources
Workforce
Local Government Empowerment
Transportation
Legislative Advisory Group
Bonfire defined as a public work
A&M engineers may be held responsible for not speaking out about structure
Staff and Wire
The Battalion
The Texas Engineering Practice Act
states that a public work must be designed
and supervised by a licensed professional
engineer. A public work is defined as hav
ing total costs exceeding $8,000 and re
quiring structural, electrical or mechanical
engineering advice. A Texas Board of Pro
fessional Engineers committee decided
Tuesday that Aggie Bonfire met the defin
ition of a public work.
The decision to define bonfire as a pub
lic work has been an issue board members
have been considering for months. Be
cause bonfire can cost more than $50,000 a
year, according to The Dallas Morning
News, the engineering board committee
decided that a professional engineer
should have been involved during the
planning and construction of bonfire.
The nine-member board was to de
cide Wednesday if a full board investiga
tion on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse is
needed. If a full investigation is complet
ed, and bonfire is found to have violated
state law, the board could impose fines of
up to $3,000 per violation.
Not only could Texas A&M face
fines for violations, but A&M faculty
engineers who did not raise warnings
about the structure could be repri
manded or have their licenses revoked,
officials said.
Under the Texas Engineering Practice
Act, licensed engineers are required to no
tify the board or other officials if they be
lieve that a public work violates safe engi
neering practices.
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen is expect
ed to release his decision on whether bon
fire will continue in the next few days. The
decisions of the engineering board could
play a role in Bowen's decision, and affect
modifications that would be necessary if
bonfire does continue.
Bus Operations exhibits new buses
_ Christopher Brient
The Battalion
On Wednesday, Bus Opera
tions exhibited three of the four
different styles of buses that are
, potential replacements for the
current A&M buses at Rudder
Fountain.
There are currently 59 buses
in use; 33 are 1982 models, and 35
are not air-conditioned. With
over half of the buses approach
ing their 20th year, Gary Jackson,
manager of Bus Operations, said
it is time for Aggies to experience
a higher level of transit.
The main purpose for the bus
exhibit was to get student feed
back on the bus styles. Students
were given tours of the buses and
a survey to complete.
Jackson said the opinions stu
dents express in their surveys
will play a major role in deter
mining the style that will be used.
"We really want to give the
students a quality product for
their money," he said.
Jackson said one of the main
features of the new buses is that
they will all have air conditioning.
"We can compromise on some
features, but [air conditioning] is
a must," he said.
Bus Operations is seeking
feedback on the style of seating to
determine whether bus-riders
will sit face to face, back to back
or in a combination of the two.
66 We really
want to give
the students
a quality
product for
their money ”
— Gary Jackson
manager of Bus Operations
Although all of the proposed
buses are shorter in length than
the buses currently in use. Jack-
son said they are being designed
to hold more passengers at a
higher comfort level.
"I'd rather be standing in [air
conditioning] than sitting in the
heat waiting for the next bus,"
Jackson said.
Jackson said the upgrade of
the buses will not translate to an
increase in the cost of bus passes
in the near future.
"The money is already in the
bank for the new buses. All we
need to do is make a responsible
decision," he said.
Students will also have the
opportunity to assist in design
ing the exterior appearance of the
buses. They will be asked to sub
mit design ideas or vote on de
sign schemes that Bus Opera
tions has already proposed.
Bus Operations and the stu
dent body alike are looking for
ward to this change.
Some students who came out
to view the new buses said they
are long overdue.
"I'm really excited about the
[air conditioning] being on all the
buses," said Adrienne Evans, a se
nior genetics major. As a student
who lives off campus and has-no
car, she is very familiar with the
A&M buses. "I love the idea of
face-to-face seating. The buses get
so crowded sometimes, and I'd
rather not have to cross all those
people to get off. I'm glad they are
giving the students a say in this."
Inside view of the Blue
Bird model; NOVA RTS
model (inset).
Xavier Harrell, a current bus
driver and a senior agricultural
development major, said he is ex
cited about the new transit system.
"This is definitely something
that all Aggies can use, both fac
ulty and staff," he said. "We
definitely need this, we just
have to make sure that we don't
overdo it. I know I can't wait to
drive one of these."
The new buses could be in use
as early as Spring 2001, and as
late as Fall 2001.
Jackson said 12 to 16 new bus
es will be used first, and the oth
ers will be phased in until all the
buses are replaced.
Jackson said the number of
total buses may increase from
59 to 70, with 10 used only for
charter services.