Monday, September 18,20]
TUESDAY
September 19, 2000
Volume 107 ~ Issue 18
2 Sections
8 pages
6 pages
Highlights:
• Krayzelburg fertcis off Welsh for gold in men's
100-meter back — new Olympic record.
• Megan Quann wins gold in 100-meter
breaststroke *— new American record.
• Women's softball loses to Japan (2-1), breaking
112-game winning streak.
• Men's gymnastics finishes fifth in team
competition.
Tonight's scheduled events:
• Swimming, equestrian, rowing, women's final
gymnastics, volleyball, softball, soccer, tennis,
archery, boxing, cycling and sailing
Medal count:
The United States and
Australia are tied with
13 medals each.
RUBEN DELUNA/Thi Battalio
Council against supporting bonfire
Former Bonfire crew chiefs against student involvement with KTFB
By Mariano Castillo & Brady Creel
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Traditions Mainte
nance Council (TMC), a group of former
Bonfire crew chiefs and chairs, de
nounced student support of Keep The
Fire Burning (KTFB) Monday in a state
ment issued as a letter to the student body.
TMC urged students to “stay home
when KTFB has their first cut.”
“Spend that time hanging out, getting
to know your dorm buddies, and ensur
ing that our student body stays as .close
without Bonfire as it was with it,” the let
ter encouraged.
TMC, a group that claims it knows
as much about Bonfire as anyone, took
an official position concerning the off-
campus bonfire Monday. Members of
TMC met with KTFB board members
PM(
nroi
irirormally two weeks ago and have
taken time since then to determine their
position, said Aaron Rigamonti, presi
dent of TMC and a senior speech com
munication major.
“We ... cannot support the efforts of
Keep The Fire Burning,” the letter stat
ed. “We do not feel that KTFB has
enough expertise, manpower, or the
proper goals to carry on the tradition of
Fightin’Texas Aggie Bonfire.” *
Joe Dyson, a KTFB board member
and a junior, would not offer a comment
on behalf of KTFB. In response to the
letter written by TMC, Dyson said he
would “take it with a grain of salt.”
KTFB board members say TMC nev
er met with them.
Rigamonti said the informal meeting
took place at a dead pot's — a former
Bonfire leader — house on Sept. 6. Will
Clark, a board member of KTFB, who
Rigamonti said was there, said he does
not recall the meeting.
“1 guarantee we’ve never met with
TMC,” Clark said. “I have never spo
ken to TMC and never met with them.
Any information they have must be
second-hand. TMC does not have a lot
of credibility with me.”
Members of TMC said they realize
that Bonfire as they knew it will never
exist again.
“There is no amount of debating that
will bring bacl£ our Bonfire or, more
importantly, our friends,” the letter stat
ed. “Aggie Bonfire has always been a
symbol of bringing all Aggies together
to work toward a single unified goal.
We do not want to see this tradition be
come something to tear us apart as a
University.”
Rigamonti said TMC was told that
previous Bonfire leadership was in
volved in helping KTFB.
“In the meeting that we had with
[KTFB ], we didn't get that feeling from
them that they had enough of that lead
ership, and we didn’t want to be associ
ated with what they are doing,” Riga
monti said. “We are not associated with
KTFB; we do not want to be associated
with them, and we don’t intend to be.”
Clark questioned the existence of
TMC, saying that such an organization
cannot exist because A&M no longer
recognizes previous Bonfire leaders.
“[TMC] is not recognized by student
affairs as an official group,” said Forrest
Lane, student body president and a se
nior political science major.
Melissa Lloyd, public relations offi
cer for TMC and a senior agricultural
journalism major, said that, no matter
what KTFB builds and calls a bonfire, it
will never be Aggie Bonfire.
See TMC on Page 3B.
•< ai,
EA & RYLA SCULLThk BatW*>
Estival brought peo-
os Caporales, plays
lem.
D
MPO
jto hold
forums
Invites input on
{railroad reloaction
y Cyra Gatling
The Battalion
The Bryan-College Station Metro
politan Planning Organization (MPO)
Is holding three forums for residents
land students to provide input and re-
teive information on the progress of re
locating the railroad tracks located
alongside Wellborn Road.
“We want to ask the public to pro
vide input, and we want to offer insight
to the alignment of the tracks,” said
MPO director Michael Parks. “Ween-
lourage anyone with input and we de
sire as many people as possible. We
lope to have maps for the public to
Iraw their own lines.”
The MPO’s goal is to recommend
viable solution that will accommo-
late projected increases in popula-
ion, auto and pedestrian traffic, and
ailroad freight throughout the next
iO years. Additionally, it plans to im
prove safety within the rail corridor
nd to reduce conflict and “wait time”
tat autos and pedestrians experience
the crossings. Parks said.
All of the forums will provide the
ame information and will be held at
ifferent times in the community. Res-
Jents and students who go to the fo-
is a 1 ine ol ST^O, au llm ma y s jg n L1 p |- 0 receive a newslet-
offense is $283. Thei w jth updates and future forum times
1 is a Class-B misdemt Rnj locations.
) to 180 days in jail, an » Past forums on June 27-29 had
()()() fine. Wightly attendance ranging from 60 to
s our norm to check of 120 residents and students. Parks dis-
ance calls,” Leeth said' fussed the area under study, project
not give someone acilfjpasks and issues, and a public in-
e go out there and see' Jfolvement plan,
g on. If we get a call™ “Safety is a concern,” Parks said,
mt complex and we caid {We don’t like seeing students crossing
de, then we will takes 1 ® 16 tracks for class,
orcement.” m Parks said the MPO is also taking
irty goers arc caudii • ^ nt0 account cost, economics, and so-
alcohol to minors, K dal , and environmental effects The
racks may not move if there will be a
reat negative impact.
Continued from Pof
• officers' plan of acffl|
ng out the disturbance
with an initial drive-bu
r understanding of the?
Dressed in plain dtf
(.Is w as dropped off ate
away from the party*] :
toers would not see him*
e then walked up to the;’
ed to get invited inside
: is a police officer. Hi
;o inside if he is invi
;aid. “If someone has hi!
nd people are walking!
m there is no problemw
walking in as well.^
forcing the law.”
ssed in a police unit
waited out of sigh
ds to enter the party. E
ipproached the residi
he had received a I
call.
ten I would get ini
knocked on the li
ds said. “There was!
)tion and they said,
le cops are here." I stof
tid, ‘1 am the polio
ds added that many (j
scattered through the
trying to hide and dii
inks.
sturbance of peace cita|
;-C misdemeanor. The
dice officers will mak
oers pour out the alcoh 1
e several kegs, then the
confiscated,
y violations also occur
1 do not require an of
e residence,
a state law that states
annot be sold after 1
onvenience store, excel*;
ys, and 1 a.m from! 3 ?
tid. “If someone is
c property after those In 1
y will be cited for cote 1 )
hoi during prohibited W
is said officers also will-
>n the street if they ap|
ng funny because that" 1
die intoxication viola#
ere was a traffic viola#
all in another patrolf
e of it,” he said,
riday night, peak hoU
ell between 12 a.m.i
t until 3:30 a.m., whe
ent back to the station
I disturbance calls were
lecked.
See MPO on Page 3B.
Forums will be held for Bryan-College Station
[residents and students to provide input and re
Jinforrnation on the progress of the relocation of the
"ailroad tracks.
I'.will be three forums:
■ Tuesday at the First Church of God
Fellowship Hail at 2002 Highway 21 Bast
| from 6:30 to B,:.3Qp;m.
• Wednesday at the Mary Branch Elementary
I School Cafeteria at 2040 West Villa Maria
[ fcwi®3®lte®:30p*.
■ Thursday at the College Station Conference
Center at 1300 George Bush Drive from
11:30 a.m. to 1:30p*.
Saw on' study ropu
v vt!
7-member panel discusses voting with students
By Stephen Metcalf
The Battalion
The power of voting and participating in the
political process should not be taken lightly, ac
cording to a seven-member panel that conversed
in an open forum with a modest but animated
group of Texas A&M students Monday night.
Alpha Phi Fraternity Incorporated, a service
fraternity, sponsored the event in an effort to
combat apathy among young voters and to ad
dress issues important to African-Americans.
“Voting is an opportunity to communicate,
an opportunity to be heard,” said city of Bryan
Youth Services Coordinator and panelist Ron
nie Jackson. “If you don’t say anything about
how you vote, people don’t take you seriously.”
Fellow panelist and A&M history professor
Dr. Albert Broussard echoed Jackson’s senti
ment and said that, in addition to giving per
sons credibility, voting binds individuals to
their community and injects an element of re
sponsibility and accountability into society.
The panelists also included Lincoln Center
Supervisor Lance Jackson, Managing Editor of
The Bryan-College Station Eagle Joe Michael
Feist, Concerned Black Men of Brazos Valley
President Michael Cornelius, College Station
Councilman Dennis Maloney and Assistant Di
rector of KAMU-TV Dr. Sharon Colson.
Panelists steered clear of partisan argu
ments but talked candidly about a number of
local, national and global issues.
Although the meeting’s dialogue was am
icable and even produced laughter from the
audience at times, students expressed serious
concerns about issues such as racial profiling
and the future of affirmative action.
Jackson said that many African-Americans
support affirmative action and other govern
ment initiatives because the private sector has
failed African-Americans in the past. He also
said that minorities can hasten the demise of
“Voting is an oppor
tunity to communi
cate, an opportunity
to be heard.”
— Ronnie Jackson
Bryan Youth Services Coordinator
racial profiling by cooperating with police.
"Minorities have to decriminalize commu
nities and start turning people in,” Jackson said.
Panelists reminded audience members that
many of the true issues are overlooked.
“We have ignored the AIDS epidemic in
Africa but give Israel money,” Cornelius said.
“Illegal drugs have not been discussed by ei
ther of the presidential candidates. We need to
think about the world as a whole instead of fo
cusing on individual needs.”
Steve Yancy, a member of Alpha Phi and a
senior manufacturing engineering technology
major, said the event was held to benefit all
students, not just African-Americans.
“People need to be aware of the election”
Yancy said. “We want to get the issues out
there and have students voice their opinions.”
Ring dunkin’
Use of biotech com
suspected in tacos
PATRIC SCHNEIDER/Tiih Battalion
Loreie Dornak, a senior accounting major, and Kelly Tays, a senior English major, dunk their Aggie rings
with Dornak parents, John and Paula Dornak. There was no ring dunking tradition when Dornak's par
ents graduated in 1976 and 1977.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The government is investi
gating whether taco shells
sold in stores under the Taco
Bell name contain a variety
of biotech corn that is not
approved for human con
sumption due to questions
about whether it could cause
allergic reactions.
The crop, which is geneti
cally engineered to kill an in
sect, is grown on less than 1
percent of the total U.S. com
acreage and approved for use
only in animal feed. But tests
commissioned by an anti
biotech environmental group
found traces of the com in taco
shells that had been purchased
in suburban Washington.
Officials with the Envi
ronmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) said
they were looking into the
finding and that the FDA may
have its own tests done. Kraft
Foods Co., which made the
taco shells, said it would con
sider a recall if further testing
confirmed the initial results.
“Our concern, of course,
is whether or not this product,
which is registered for animal
feed, is somehow illegally
Bowen appoints new
VP of administration
finding its way into food that
people eat,” said David Co
hen, an EPA spokesman.
If the test results are cor
rect, FDA officials said, they
would consider action to get
it out of the food supply.
The corn at issue, which
is produced by Aventis Corp.
and goes under the trade
name StarLink, is the only
biotech crop that is not ap
proved for human consump
tion. It is one of several vari
eties of biotech corn that
contains a bacterium gene
that makes the plant toxic to
the European corn borer.
A scientific panel that ad
vises EPA was unable to de
cide this summer whether
the protein in the corn,
Cry9C, should be allowed in
food. The protein has shown
resistance to digestive juices
and heat, signs that it might
cause allergic reactions.
Aventis is required to
have agreements with farm
ers to make sure that the
corn is kept separate from
grain that is approved for
food use. The company
could lose its license to mar
ket the crop if it violated
EPA’s restrictions.
0OOOQDOOOD
S T \< II C I ll U I
By Kristin Rostran
The Battalion
RUBEN DELUNA/Thr Battalion
Prior military experience and Pen
tagon work may not seem likely quali
fications for a Texas A&M administra
tive position, but Charles A. Sippial has
worked his way from the military,
through the administration of two uni
versities, to the position of Texas A&M
vice president for administration.
Sippial was named to the position af
ter serving as interim vice president
since October 1999. A&M President Dr.
Ray M. Bowen appointed Sippial to the
position June 13.
“He has experience in the job, and,
throughout our search, he kept coming
up as the most qualified,” Bowen said.
Sippial served as the assistant vice
president for the A&M Physical Plant
for four years before being appointed to
his new position. As vice president for
administration, Sippial leads approxi
mately 2,500 employees in 13 depart
ments, including Physical Plant, Park
ing Traffic and Transportation Services
(PITS) and Food Services.
“Food Services is one of our most
competitive departments, because we
are competing against everybody in the
Bryan-College Station area who owns a
restaurant or food establishment,” Sjp-
pial said. “It is not mandatory for peo
ple to eat at our dining facilities, so it is
See Sippial on Page 3B.
Provost and
Executive
Vice President
division
of Academic
Affe-OL—™.
Dr. Ronald
G. Douglas
»second in fine
to the president
• ati deans report
to him from the
nine colleges
and the library
»responsfoie for
aB academtc
progreros
. m teaching
Research
Dr. Richard Ewing
• reports to Douglas
' provides encouragement
and development to
research acti vities and
opportunities
Dr. Robert
Walker
• responsible
for
University
fund raising
Charles A.
Sippial
• responsible for most of
the service, support and
auxiliary departments
• Food Services
• Presidential Conference
Canter
• Human Resources
• Research Parts
• Physical Plant
»Security and University
Police
• Parking, Traffic and
Transportation Services
Dr J. Malon
Southerland
• responsible for student
service and student life
activities, a few of
departments include:
«Residence Life
• Student Life
»Recreational Sports
»Memorial Student
Center
• Student Health
Services
»Student Life Studies
»Student Activities
»Multicultural Services
William B. Ellyn
Krumm Perron©
* University's * responsible
chief financial for
officer legislative
* chief financial and external
adviser to affairs
the president
* Financial
Management
Services
* Environmental
Health and Safety
* Student Financial Services
* Payroll Services
' Budgeting