Thursday, June 22.2'
Listen to KAMU 90.9 FM at 1:57 p.m
for details on the
death of a construction worker on
Highway 6.
£h,eck out The Battalion online at
battalion.tamu.edu.
• Get on the bus
Much-needed improvements
give commuting students
list of reasons to use
new shuttle buses
Page 5
Weather:
Partly cloudy with a
high of 93 and a low
of 73.
MONDAY
June 26,2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 158
6 pages
4 ft i ftik'l k f i ^ rki i il
m.
laybooks
o online
sells collegiate,
ofessional playbacks
k Passwaters
The Battalion
sually, early summer is a
■ of rest and relaxation for
Hege football coaches. This
■mer, however, is different,
■stress levels for several ma-
ftollege football programs
If higher than usual,
arlier this spring, an
tin-based Website called
brtsPlayBooks.com put the
■books of major college
I professional football
Inis up for sale. For as little
;B9.95, any interested party
)uld buy the 1999 playbooks
pm schools such as Texas
University of Texas,
hlversity of Florida and Vir-
inia Tech.
fcportsPlayBooks.com, ac-
ording to a statement on its
B, "desired to be a resource
r youth, junior high and
Ri school coaches." The sale
[recent playbooks, however,
^bothered college football
■rams across the country,
t Some schools are less con-
jmed about having their
afbooks for sale on the In-
met than others.
■Coach (Steve) Spurrier
id the staff are not overly
ncerned about it," said
mie McCloskey, the associ-
f jlirector of athletics at the
aihersity of Florida. "Every
tne is filmed, every prac
tice is filmed. There's a lot of
sharing."
Others view the situation
more seriously.
"I was astonished to see
(hat our playbooks were for
sale from any venue, much
less the Internet," said Hous
ton Nutt, coach at the Univer
sity of Arkansas. "That is pri
vate information that we
would never want in the
hands of our opponents."
Christine Plonsky, associate
athletic director at the Univer
sity of Texas, said that the sale
of such information by Sports-
PlayBooks.com or on the auc
tion site eBay was "a source of
concern; these (playbooks) are
the coaches' livelihoods — it's
their business plan."
Plonsky also noted that in
an attempt to keep UT play
books from becoming public
knowledge — a message in
the Website's discussion fo
rum said that UT's playbook
was "easy to find" — coach
Mack Brown and the coaching
.jtaff would be making "dra
matic changes in how play
books are to be distributed."
Texas A&M found out
about the Website after it was
advertised in USA Today, ac
cording to Tim Cassidy, asso
ciate athletic director for foot
ball operations.
See Playbooks on Page 3.
Huntsville death penalty, execution demonstrations
(Left) New Black Panther Mono Matafa kneels at a burning American flag. Many demonstrators gathered in Huntsville on Thursday to debate
capital punishment and Gary Graham's death- sentence. (Top right) Quanell X, chair for the New Muslim Movement, holds a burning, bloody
Texas flag that symbolizes the unjust execution of Graham. (Bottom right) Skip Davis (left) and a man who wished to remain anonymous face off
in a debate regarding the death penalty, while Charles Lee, Grand Dragon of Camellian Knights, overlooks.
tar strikes pedestrian
crossing University Dr.
Chris Cunico
The Battalion
■Chris Romero, a mathematics gradu-
te student, was struck by a Honda Civic
s he attempted to cross University Dri-
efrom the Texas A&M University cam-
> Hs Thursday.
■Officer Rhonda Seaton of the College
|| Ition Police Department said Romero
fas stmck by the vehicle when the light
hanged to green while Romero was
aid way across the intersection,
■Seaton said Romero misjudged the
ate of the oncoming traffic and sprinted
Boss the remaining lanes before being
ii| by the westbound vehicle.
■Seaton said the driver was traveling in
he far right lane, and the driver's vision
Vas obstructed by vehicles in the middle
left lanes, waiting at the stoplight.
■ As the driver proceeded legally
hrough the green light, Romero en
tered his lane, resulting in the subse
quent impact.
"When the light turned green, I never
even saw the car coming until it was too
late," Romero said.
He was rushed by ambulance to the
College Station Medical Center immedi
ately following the accident.
Romero suffered a cut on his forehead,
as well as several lacerations on his legs,
as a result of the impact with the wind
shield. The driver of the vehicle remained
unharmed.
Romero was treated for his injuries
and released from the College Station
Medical Center early Sunday morning.
He is currently in stable condition and re
cuperating at home.
"I'm feeling better, but still pretty beat
up," Romero said.
No information has been released on
the driver, who is a minor.
Evans to offer textbook reserve
Anna Bishop
College Station
Discount Paging
418 D-l Texas Ave.
979/764-5900
md initial credit processing lee
ils and local calling plan boundaries
Members of the College Station Fire Department clean the sidewalk on
Northgate after a Honda Civic struck a pedestrian crossing University Drive.
The Battalion
The load on Texas A&M students' shoulders
will get lighter with the Fall 2000 opening of a stu
dent textbook reserve room in Evans Library.
"Lugging around bulky textbooks is uncom
fortable, especially when I have a break between
classes and want to spend a good hour catching up
on my reading for one specific class," said Renee
Edmiston, a junior environmental design major.
"If textbooks were available for students to
use on campus, I would rejoice in the fact that I
could leave this anvil-like textbook at home,"
Edmiston said.
According to Rob Ferguson, executive vice
president of the student body, the 51st session of
the Student Senate passed a resolution to provide
at least one copy of .each textbook for student use
in a controlled environment.
Ferguson said the idea is for students to use the
reserve room for convenience and in emergencies,
not to substitute buying a personal copy of a book
at the beginning of the semester.
"The reserve would give students an opportu
nity to skyn through texts before buying a per
sonal copy at the bookstore, or provide a way to
help students who have had their texts stolen at
the end of the semester," Ferguson said.
The goal between Student Senate and Evans
is to have one or two copies of each text from
each class.
"Students must realize the importance and sat
isfaction which comes with owning his or her own
copy of a text. The textbook reserve is intended to
be a backup plan, not a substitution," Ferguson said.
The idea for a textbook reserve room was sug
gested by students and faculty.
Ferguson said SGA is currently ironing out all
of the details with Evans to make this project a
long-term success.
Evans Library lecturer Laura Lillard said
Evans is making arrangements with various
book distributors to obtain book contributions,
because the reserve room will not function from
Evans Library's funds.
"(Evans) is writing letters contacting publishers,
See Textbooks on Page 2.
A&M envisions top 10 ranking
_ Joseph Pleasant
The Battalion
By the year 2020, Texas A&M
hopes to be ranked among the top 10
public universities in the United
States, and Vision 2020 outlines the
steps A&M will take in its pursuit.
The University hopes to accom
plish this ranking by meeting each
goal set in the Vision 2020 report.
President of Texas A&M Dr. Ray M.
Bowen said the University is com
mitted to reaching the goals outlined
in Vision 2020.
"Everything we do in principle is
designed to improve the University
and reach our goal of being in the top
10," Bowen said.
Bowen said A&M plans to im
prove the faculty by hiring well-
known and highly regarded scholars.
"We are investing as much as we
can in recruiting faculty and retain
ing our good faculty," he said.
Thomas Wehrly, former speaker of
the Faculty Senate and a statistics pro
fessor at A&M, said the University has
already made progress in this area.
"The faculty is of high quality
and is competitive with the national
top 10. They are continuing to get
better," Wehrly said.
The University also plans to de
crease the faculty-to-student ratio by
hiring 60 additional faculty mem
bers over the next five years.
Walter Wendler, vice chancellor
for planing and system integration
for the Texas A&M University Sys-
44]
Everything we
do in principle is
designed to im
prove the Univer
sity and reach
our goal of being
in the top 10.”
— Ray M. Bowen
Texas A&M University president
tern, said A&M's faculty-to-student
ratio is lacking when compared to
other universities.
"The best institutions in Ameri
ca have faculty-to-student ratios
significantly lower than ours,"
Wendler said.
He also said smaller class sizes
will aid faculty in their personal re
search projects.
"High-quality scientific discov
ery and scholarly work takes con
centration of time, energy and intel
lect. There is no way to do all the
things a faculty member is expected
to do as a research scientist and a
See Top 10 on Page 2.