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• Listen to KAMU 90.9 FM at 1:57 p.m
! for details on a man convicted of fail
ure to stop and render aid after hitting
a child with his car.
iafo* Check out The Battalion online at
battalion.tamu.edu.
• The sins of the father
Apologies blur
history of U.S. slavery
Page 5
Weather:
Sunny with a high of
98 and a low of 74.
MONDAY
July 17, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 168
6 pages
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Preacher calls portrait’s removal‘censorship’
I might call her...
jse man o man,
cSCORE
te a prol
Kim Trifilio
The Battalion
Since its removal, the Gibb Gilchrist
portrait that hung in the entryway of
the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI)
Building has been an issue of concern
for Dan Bates, a preacher and editor of
[he Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me
God newspaper.
Bates held a press conference in the
parking lot of the TTI building Friday
to discuss the removal of the portrait.
In June, Herb Richardson, director
of the TTI, removed the Gilchrist por
trait, which displayed Gilchrist sitting
in front of a likeness of Confederate
Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Bates, speaking from the bed of his
pickup truck, said he wanted Texas A&M
and the Texas Transportation Institute to
hear what he had to say.
"I am very passionate about this is
sue and everything else I believe. 1
think some of the glass on the Texas TTI
was even vibrating as I spoke/' Bates
said about the press conference.
Bernie Fetti, a spokesperson for TTI,
said no one from TTI attended Bates'
press conference.
In an earlier interview, Richardson
said the portrait was removed after a stu
dent expressed displeasure with the por
trait and the message it portrayed.
But Bates said the removal of the
portrait came after a political science
professor conducted a survey to deter
mine whether the Gilchrist portrait of
fended students. According to Bates,
most of the students surveyed were of
fended by the portrait. A female repre
sentative was asked to approach
Richardson, and he decided to take the
picture down, Bates said.
Bates said neither the student nor
the professor has been identified.
Bates said the portrait removal was
censorship because the TTI building is
not owned by the University.
In a statement regarding the Gilchrist
portrait, Richardson said it was removed
from the lobby after careful consideration.
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gust 21st-23rd
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July 19th
gust 2nd St 9th
(Townshlre Campus)
June 8th
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"After the issue of the appropriate
ness of the picture of Gen. Robert E. Lee
in the portrait's background was raised
by a student, we became concerned this
controversy would detract from a
recognition of Mr. Gilchrist's many pos
itive contributions," Richardson said.
"Mr. Gilchrist was a giant in the field of
transportation, and his contributions to
Texas transportation and to the Texas
A&M University System should be the
primary focus of any exhibit describing
his illustrious career."
Richardson said TTI continues to
look for an appropriate way to honor
Gilchrist in the Gilchrist building. Dan Bates pro1;ests Friday the removal of the Gib Gilchrist portrait
See Gilchrist on Page 4. from the Texas Transportation Institute Building on West Campus.
Code change has glitches
Switch from 409 to 979 affects more than B-CS area
Bull rider Kenneth Decuire of Liberty, Texas listens intently from the chutes as the national anthem opens the
29th annual PRCA Rodeo at the Tabor Road Arena in Bryan on Friday.
Anna Bishop
The Battalion
Rebecca Austin, a University of
Southern Mississippi-Hattisburg
student, is still using the 409 area
code to call College Station be
cause the 979 area code has not yet
gone into effect in Hattisburg.
"I call College Station fairly of
ten to talk with my friends. They tell
me to use the new area code (979),
but it doesn't go through," she said.
Adrian Black of GTE head
quarters in Dallas said the prob
lem Austin is experiencing occurs
when local service providers do
not update switches on the local
exchange routing guide (LERG).
"The problem is not associated
with GTE or anything on our
part," Black said. "The problem
boils down to local phone'service
providers. Not all local phone
companies promptly enter the
new codes into the LERG.
"While there is no penalty for
not updating information, there
will be a sufficient amount of re
pair work to be done after Aug. 5
and customer satisfaction is at its
all-time low," Black said.
Word of the area-code change
. from 409 to 979 has been circulating
through the Bryan-College Station
area for nearly six months.
The "grace period," as Black
calls it, allows long-distance users
to dial both the 409 and 979 area
codes until Aug. 5, when 979 will
become the only usable code for
the Brazos Valley.
Black said there are "glitches"
in certain local phone service
providers' systems that will cause
problems, including the problem
Austin faces, when the new code
goes into effect next month.
"Smaller, less technological
communities, like Hattisburg,
Miss., for example, will be a prime
target for service repairs if local
phone companies do not fix their
problem promptly," Black said.
Black said GTE is currently in-
troducing five to 10 new area
codes throughout the state, all of
which must be followed through
by local phone service providers
by the end of the grace period.
Barb Blackwell of the North
American Numbering Plan of
America (NANPA) said the Public
Utility Commission of Texas
(PUCT) approved a three-way geo-
graphic split of the 409 numbering
plan area (NPA), commonly known
as an area code, in February.
Blackwell said the 409 area
code had too many users and the
NPA code needed to be expand.
The NANPA Website lists lo
cal communities at risk of being
unable to dial the new 979 area
code after Aug. 5.
AREA CORK
CHANGES
become permanent
Aug 5
Gig c Em Week helps new
^ | students to adapt to A&M
Bryan preacher gathers people with money
HPHRTMINIS'
ial Housing Opportunity
.melrose.com
o The WIRE
e Associated Press
overage from one of the
:alion’s web page.
photos, graphics, sound and video.
Joseph Pleasant
The Battalion
Senior management major Mechelle Ryland said
he felt out of place when she started her first semes-
er at Texas A&M, but she said a program the Uni-
'ersity has begun should help freshmen make a
mooth transition into the University.
"When I first moved here I was lost and it felt real-
y awkward," Ryland said. "I wish they had [held Gig
Em Week] when I was freshman; it would have made
ne feel better about moving here and starting school."
Welcoming new students and helping them feel at
lome in Aggieland is the mission of Gig 'Em Week,
sponsored by the Department of Student Life and the
Dffice for Student Orientation.
Vanessa Diaz Clark, coordinator for Student Life
Orientation, said the first days after a new student
noves to A&M can be the most difficult, but Gig 'Em
Week provides a chance for new students to adjirst to
their new surroundings.
"[New students] move here and a lot of times they
feel lost. They are away from home and their family
— it can be a really tough time," Clark said.
Clark said Gig 'Em Week also provides an op
portunity for the department to provide informa
tion that was not given to students during their new
student conferences.
"There just is not enough time during new student
conference to give students all the information they
need. This gives us another chance to communicate
with them," Clark said.
Laura Wimberley, assistant coordinator for Student
Life Orientation, said Gig 'Em Week is an opportuni
ty for new students to meet each other so they can
avoid feeling out of place like Ryland did.
See Gig ‘Em on Page 4.
BRYAN (AP) — Subtlety is not a part
of one Southeast Texas preacher's plan to
gather more people around his flock.
Every Sunday morning, the Rev. Rick
Sebastian cruises around the missions,
cheap motels and housing projects of
Bryan in a big blue bus emblazoned
with this plea: "We will pay you $10 to
come to church on our bus."
Sebastian, minister at New Life in
Christ, admits the message is a gimmick
but feels strongly about his cause.
"It gets them into church, and if we
can get them into church where they can
hear the word of God, their lives can be
changed," the reverend told the Houston
Chronicle.
When someone accepts his offer, Se
bastian drives them to his small, nonde-
nominational church where the choir is
made up of his wife, Patricia, and two oth
er women. They are backed up by the
church orchestra: a youth minister on the
guitar and one drummer.
Sebastian, who is from Detroit, said
he has been preaching most of his life. A
few years ago, his ministry duties took
him to Jacksonville, Fla., whele the idea
of paying people to attend church was
“It gets them into
church, and if we
can get them into
church where they
can hear the word
of God, their lives
can he changed.”
— Rick Sebastian
New Life in Christ minister
first born in his mind. Back then, he
paid $5.
In Bryan, most people turn Sebastian's
offer down. But since he started a few
months ago, some come forward as takers.
"I'm looking for a blessing," said
Bernie Kindred, 49, as he climbed into
the air-conditioned bus one recent Sun
day. "Oh, I can use the $10, but I'm look
ing for a blessing, too."
Jimmy Allen, 43, has become a regular
on the bus and said his life has changed
since he started going to church.
"I don't drink no more. I've stopped
that partying," Allen said.
Sebastian has even used the bus idea
as a sort of religious roundup. One Sun
day, Allen directed Sebastian to a cheap
motel where they picked up Patricia
Gamble and her five children for a trip
to his house of worship.
As promised, Gamble and her chil
dren each got a $10 bill.