ON
Listen to KAMI! 90.9 FM at 1:57 p.m. for
details on Labor Day festivities
. at Lake Bryan.
• Check out The Battalion online at
battalion.tamu.edu.
Consent to play
Blue October
brings its band of
home-grown musical
honesty to B-CS
Weather:
Partly cloudy with a high
of 98 and a low of 73.
TUESDAY
August 29, 2000
Volume 107 ~ Issue 3
2 Sections
A 8 pages
B 8 pages
i Mki rWTA AI ftik'lt'i =1 r W1 ft’fll
* •
eopening of Sbisa delayed until Spring 2001
ign company, hangs
ning students to town.
Richard Bray
Battalion
jConstruction delays will force
[sa Dining Hall’s Underground
d Court to open for the Spring
semester, instead of opening
s tall as originally scheduled.
“We were never going to gpt
Isa back [this semester],” said
nthia Zawieja, associate director
he Department of Food Services,
ewere hoping to get the Under-
und Food Court back, but that’s
ready to give back to us.”
When the Sbisa building was
jilt in 1911 and 1912, good blue-
nts were not saved, making the
rent constmction project difficult
eep on schedule.
“The building was added onto
wo killed
Arkansas
hooting .
ics, www.AggieAthletics.ti
> is free.
;n’s and women’s basket
ag their third season sharc|
3-seat Reed Arena ( "
us across from the
ation Center). Admission;
in All-Sports pass, ail
range from $4 to
n’s games and $6 tolliT
games.
e equestrian team comp#]
ck Freeman Arena (on Huf
ell Parkway (F.M.
of the Parsons Moui
ties). Admission loallflj%fay ETTEV 1 L L E , Ark. (AP)
'moreA&MtickelUf»(|' opeo ' ,le were p 110 ' dea,h 'l 0 "'
he official siteofTexaiil ■“ a « aren murder-surcide m
iaculty onice at the University or
jkahsas, authorities said,
campus police conlirmed tne two
jalities, which took place on the first
j of classes, said spokeswoman
ContinuedJromPf gn Gregory.
erson’s log-on namecanE Earlier, another spokesman, Roger
fference between being at lliams, said there was a report of at
sly and being dismissed.! 1st three shots in a second-floor of-
ty Milburn, the associat & in Kimpel Hall,
of Career Counseling.P® Kimpel Hall houses faculty in a
rployers, professors anli jmberof departments — c.ommuni-
intances see the name Nation, drama, English, foreign lan-
address as one of the -(pages and journalism, Williams said,
ons a student can make,'| |j ourna ii sm department chair-
aic J- . .■man Patsy Watkins said police ar-
an t pick a name that be.fj v ! ec j at t j ie building at 12:20 p.m.,
ou are and what you ca -^ man y 0 f t| 1e 50- to 60-student
IC L advising that ViV :]asM-ooms on the second floor of
o the impact aliasescr|gp e i p| a |i WO uld have been filled,
our chosen name isthe w^i^g j e p t t ) ie building in an or-
i u y r T^ o s !i| 'r hii i'’ w s T 8 ,he d y had been
ful thine^ Wcitkins smcl.
; designed Neo tocrawi, ““ we ; ve J b “" ,0 , ld is th^, , , shots
s to replace the agmgs4 e ^en fired, Watkins said
/ in place, Putnam said I foumahsm faculty members Larry
y expectation is thatstffl and Robert Care y said P ollce had
y flexible and willgravitf | ed them t0 leave their first-floor of
fice,” he said. ^ es - Kimpel Hall is shaped like a T,
dents’can create their acoi itli classrooms along the long end of
owing the instructions offlT and offices across the crossbar,
v.neo.tamu.edu or visit
fips and information.. . es
at the student computii?) '
ion pages
three times during the course of that
history, and you didn’t know what
was up there until we tore it apart
and took the roof off,” Zawieja said.
The Sbisa renovations began in
December, 1999.
The scope of the project changed
drastically once demolition work
began in the spring, Zawieja said.
According to the adjusted budget
for the project, the increased scope
of the renovations will raise the cost
by $1.4 million. It will include the
replacement of deteriorated and un
safe electrical systems; replacement
of the heating, ventilation and air-
conditioning systems in the base
ments; replacement of damaged
sanitary sewer and drain lines; re
placement of badly deteriorated
roof deck; and completion of work
on the ground level.
All of the wiring and plumbing
had to be replaced, the air condi
tioning systems had to be redone,
and the plumbing and sewer in
Hogg Street that connected to the
building has to be replaced.
“Everything we found just added
to and complicated the project, so
we really added to the scope once
we found other problems,” said Za
wieja, adding that difficulties were
to be expected in a project this size.
“There’s always a rew problems
with understanding specifications,
or someone didn’t understand it, or
it wasn’t done that way or this was
left out of the project and we’ve got
to add it back in, so we just contin
ue to find problems and have to de
cide how we are going to handle
them,” she said.
Zawieja said the renovations
may be completed well before the
spring semester, but the building
will then be tested before it is re
opened in January.
“It might be turned over to us at
the end of October or early Novem
ber, but then we have to go in and
test and make sure all the equipment
still works that was old ... so that
we will be up and ready to go spring
semester,” she said. “It doesn’t pay
to move into Sbisa after Thanksgiv
ing when there’s only two weeks
left in the semester if—in fact,
we’re done by then.”
Zawieja said that, in some in
stances, the lack of good blueprints
forced the workers to add to their
original plans for the project.
“The supports for the roof, we
thought, were going to be in good
shape, but when we got up there
we realized we needed some extra
supports,” she said. “It’s things
you really couldn’t see from just
standing there, and old blueprints
didn’t tell you the whole story of
what really happened.”
However, Guy Cooke, assistant
director of facilities construction,
said he did not consider the condi
tions inside the building “prob
lems.” He said they are typical in
old buildings.
“Any time you get into an old
See Sbisa on Page 2A.
Extra Sblss
Reiiitfiiians
An increase in the scope of
renovations will raise the cost
hy $1.4 million.
v unn&fjl
electrical systems
Damage* saaltary
sewer see irate Hites
reefiesit
njpiyff g|2!
ffll!
BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion
All-University Night
STUART VILLANUEVA/The Battalion
The Class of 2004 was welcomed to Aggieland Monday during All-University Night. The
yell leaders led the Aggie Band on a march around campus, collecting students at loca
tions along its route. President Dr. Ray M. Bowen and Vice President for Student Af
fairs Dr. J. Malon Southerland were among several University administrators who greet
ed the crowd a,t Kyle Field. Following the introductions of Aggie athletics, the yell
leaders led the crowd in a yell practice.
Freshman in legal
battle over sticker
Graduation decoration causes disapproval
By Brady Creel
Texas drought breaks record
amu.edu/scip.
Fayetteville
'
Two people shot to
death at University
of Arkansas
o
Little Rock
ARKANSAS
Louisiana
Miss.
lubhouse, hotel add to course plans
jsychologists to 1
/ith relationship prof
r they involve significan;
•ents or professors,
erybody has trouble de* |
meone else important if f
t some point. ... The Iff
g how to approach thefji |
” Birch said. “Dealing
ors is no exception. 5
link they can deal ’
by lying to them, bi
t need to be straightfor
tot always like dealin,
hool teachers.” .
h said one of the mostittpATHAN Rogers
Ctions Of the SCS Battalion
on. |jhe developing partners of the
hours a day, seven Editions Golf Course and
here is a human voic®ntry Club met to create a con-
; to help you if youtf’ act on Aug. 15, ensuring the
ing something that ^rj struc fi° n °f a clubhouse and
trouble dealing with,"^ tel that wil1 accompany the
t can be something^ Nicklaus-designed golf
a breakup with .
nd or girlfriend, or il4 rhe meet ' n * between the f >-
'ere as having “a T , c . ontr f tors . was
k TherP is nnp Pmef: :ffan 8 ed when the returned con -
' . . \ „ huction estimates exceeded the
ogist in the mor IJ, 1 :,||inal price guidelines.
the afternoon. ofMjpon completion, the entire
here is a hot line... raditions project will span 800
1 get either a trained C
or or psychologist.'' *
AP
DALLAS (AP)—A history
making drought in North Texas
has all the signs of continuing
for days — or even weeks —
and the rain forecast elsewhere
in the state is not much better.
With no precipitation in the
forecast Monday, the record of
58 consecutive days without
rain in the region — first set in
1934 — was vulnerable.
A rainless Sunday tied the
record, which had been repeat
ed in 1950.
“We will have the record all
ourselves,” said Lonnie King, a
National Weather Service mete
orologist in Fort Worth.
The National Weather Service
forecast this week calls for con
tinued temperatures at or ex
ceeding the century mark along
with dry skies.
“We could very well have 65
to 70 days without rain,” said
Michael Mach, another NWS
meteorologist in Fort Worth.
A 58-day drought interval first
occurred in Texas May 25 to July
21, 1934 during the Dust Bowl
years of the Great Depression.
“But one thing to keep in
mind about 1934 was the streak
was broken by 0.01 inches of
rain — barely above a trace,”
said Mach.
The dry spell happened again
Nov. 4 to Dec. 31, 1950.
This year’s streak started
July 1, and more heat and sun
shine are forecast for the region,
said Joe Harris, an NWS mete
orologist in Fort Worth.
Statewide, agriculture and
livestock producers estimate they
have already lost $595 million
this year to the parched condi
tions, said Texas Agriculture
Commissioner Susan Combs.
In Central Texas, a steady
drop in the Edwards Aquifer has
threatened supplies in San An
tonio and surrounding cities
that rely upon the underground
reservoir. In the Houston area,
many livestock ponds and small
lakes are low or dry.
See Heat on Page 2A.
acres in west Bryan, south of
Villa Maria Drive. It is estimat
ed to cost $275 million.
Traditions will benefit from an
affiliation agreement with Texas
A&M, catering to local residents
and former students and serving
as the home fairway for the A&M
men’s and women’s golf teams.
The four major parties in
volved in the project were each
given different responsibilities
for maintaining the integrity and
timeliness of the construction.
In the contract, ClubCorp of
America agreed to give 10 per
cent of the net profits to the city
of Bryan for a profit participa
tion contribution of $ 1 million.
Also, Campus Hotels of Wis
consin and the CF Jordan Com
pany of El Paso agreed individ
ually to purchase memberships
at the club. The Army Corps of
Engineers is negotiating with the
Traditions group to make sure all
environmental regulations are
agreed upon and met.
“Not a single thing is being
sacrificed when it comes to the
development of Traditions,”
said Ken Kasten, senior vice
president of ClubCorp. “Each
member of the development
team is adjusting so that Tradi
tions is a success.”
Traditions will feature a golf
See Golf on Page 2A.
The Battalion
Ashley Spence, a freshman journal
ism major, made a trip to College Sta
tion earlier than most freshmen do.
Spence came in May to buy a Texas
A&M sticker to wear on her mortar
board at her May 26 high school gradu
ation ceremony, never imagining that it
would land her in a legal battle.
Despite admonitions from school
personnel against disrupting the dignity
and decorum of the ceremony, Spence
decided to wear the sticker. She and her
family went to court earlier this month
with La Grange Independent School
District about disciplinary action result
ing from her decision.
According to a statement signed by
Spence, she told La Grange High
School guidance counselor Karen Doo
ley, “I have worked so hard for four
years,” as she walked onto the field at
graduation.
Dooley said she was unaware that
Spence was planning to wear the stick
er at graduation.
Spence had mentioned wearing the
sticker to very few people. She said she
discussed it with a teacher, who en
dorsed the idea.
In past years. La Grange High
School has added comments to stu
dents’ transcripts as a result of their be
havior at graduation. According to tran
scripts of Spence’s account of the
exchange between her and Dooley, an
other student had already been required
to remove a sticker from her mortar
board before Spence was asked to re
move her A&M sticker.
“We filed an injunction to have the
comment removed from my transcript
so we could have a clean transcript to
send to all of these scholarship commit
tees,” Spence said. “We felt that com
ment could jeopardize my chances for
scholarships.”
Spence and her family decided to
forego two potential scholarships — one
of which could have run into five-digit
figures.
Fayette County Judge Ed Janecka
said that he chose not to grant the tem
porary injunction because he felt-that
evidence of irreparable damage was not
presented by Spence’s lawyers.
“On the back of all transcripts, there
is a comments section,” said La Grange
ISD Superintendent of Schools Erwin
A. Sladek Jr. “We tell the youngsters
that if they do things that are inappro
priate at graduation, or if they are dis
ruptive at graduation, or cause a dis
traction ... then we make a comment on
the transcript.”
Spence said that during the week af
ter graduation, La Grange High School
principal Bill Wagner added a discipli
nary comment to Spence’s transcript,
which was then sent to Texas A&M.
Spence did not know that the comment
had been added or the transcript had
been sent.
“At the hearing, they said they didn’t
want to send the transcript [to me] with
that comment on there when the princi
pal and counselor would be out of town,”
Spence said, “because they knew that we
were going to have a problem with it.
“We felt that if [Texas A&M] saw
that — not necessarily my scholarship
would be taken away — but that it might
have some [negative] effect on me lat
er,” she said.
However, the Department of Honors
Programs and Academic Scholarships
does not consider disciplinary action
when considering scholarship appli
cants, said Djuana Young, the assistant
director of Honors Programs.
“We make our scholarship decisions
based on information received from stu
dents,” she said. “We do not require stu
dents to provide us a final transcript.”
Although the honors office does not
require the final transcript, the office of
admissions does. A final transcript is
necessary to complete a student’s record
with the University.
Sladek said he suggested that Spence
meet with Wagner. Sladek said he and
Wagner consented to considering a
change of wording. However, .Sladek, a
1970 graduate of Texas A&M, said he
received threatening phone calls from
Spence’s lawyers the following Monday
morning, and the lawyers entered the
game on both sides.
COURTESY PHOTO/The Battalion
Ashley Spence, a Lechner scholar
and freshman journalism major, is
involved in a legal battle concern
ing a comment of disciplinary ac
tion her principal added to her tran
script after graduation.
Russ Ham, legal counsel for the
Spence family, confirmed that the
school offered to change the wording l
but said no specific offers of the exact
wording had been made.
“We felt like they left us with no al
ternative,” Spence said. “They didn’t
follow their own procedures set up in
the handbook as far as taking any disci
plinary action. Over the course of June
and July, there was back-and-forth sug
gestions as to settle this.”
Spence said that once lawyers were
brought into the negotiations, her fami
ly and La Grange ISD could not discuss
See Graduation on Page 2A.