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■ The Texas A&M Student
Senate approved a resolution
Wednesday that supports
alid commends the adminis
tration and A&M President
Dr. Ray M. Bowen’s deci
sions regarding the future of
Bonfire.
I “So much unwarranted
criticism has fallen upon
this administration,” said
Bobby Robbins, chairman
of the academic affairs
committee and a senior po
litical science major. “From
algroup that is still only be
ginning to comprehend the
difficulty of Dr. Bowen’s
decision, we are here to say,
■hank you.’ Dr. Bowen is to
be commended for his abil
ity to lead a world-class uni
versity all the while with his
ear open to the needs of the
students.”
The Texas Aggie Bonfire
Resolution, authored by
Robbins and six other sena
tors. discourages student
initiatives for an off-cam
pus bonfire that are not in
accordance with A&M’s of
ficial position.
I "Let there be no mistake:
The student leaders do not
support any off-campus
bonfire,” Robbins said.
I There was some debate
among student senators
about why the Senate
should take the position of
discouraging off-campus
bonfires.
II “We [in this resolution]
are discouraging any off-
cpmpus bonfires, because
Will Clark, speaking on be
half of the Keep The Fire
Burning (KTFB) group,
said that ‘if [KTFB does]
not receive student and stu
dent leader support, [KTFB]
would not hold an off-cam
pus bonfire,”’ Robbins said.
In writing the Bonfire
Resolution, the authors con
sulted student leaders, in
cluding Student Body Pres
ident Forrest Lane, Corps of
Cadets Commander Mark
Welsh, Memorial Student
Center President Nathan
Cray, Residence Hall Asso
ciation President Josh Kay-
lor, yell leaders, class pres
idents and the Traditions
Maintenance Council — a
committee of former Bon
fire leaders. All of these
leaders fully supported the
resolution.
“It is time for student
leaders to step forward; this
resolution is representative
of A&M student leaders do
ing so,” said Lane, a senior
political science major.
Northside Student Sen.
Micah Belden, an author
of the resolution and a ju
nior history major, agreed
with Lane.
“Bonfire, as we knew it,
is dead,” Belden said. “The
IGO-percent student-led,
student-built Bonfire is a
thing of the past. Through
the passing of this resolu
tion, we send a message to
all the world of the strength,
unity and camaraderie of
the A&M student body.”
Members of KTFB,
which is planning an off-
campus bonfire, attended
the meeting and expressed
See Bonfire on Page 8A.
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al behavior of ^■■Possible arsenic contamination of the city
d about 5 pcR^'af Bryan’s soil, water and buildings has led to
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ic injected protei Chemical Co., formerly known as the Elf
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ats ate even more a" Residents who lived in Bryan between
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uiry studies show Try a n between 1992 and 1995 can possibly
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t step, Collins sai^nvironment from its plant in Bryan.
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n if the gene is pa n old farm-chemical plant at 201 West Dodge
:h of the protein. Street in Bryan between Jan. 1,1973 and April
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BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion
50years ago, theMSC was born and became apart ofAggieland
By Joseph Pleasant
The Battalion
Costing $2 million, furnished with $300,000 and
called a joke in an article in theliniversity of Texas-
Austin Daily Texan, the Memorial Student Center
(MSC) opened its doors as the campus living room in
1951 and changed the flow of Texas A&M student life.
Until then, the YMCA Building, Guion Hall and the
Aggieland Inn served as meeting places for the A&M
student body.
The classes of ’35 and ’36 were the first to raise
money to establish the new student union.
The new facility had a ballroom, a hotel, a post of
fice and a number of meeting rooms.
In 1950, the year before its official dedication, the
MSC began to be used by students and offered activi
ties such as tours of the building and an art exhibit spon
sored by the Texas Fine Arts Association.
“The original MSC was only about one-fourth of
the size of the current one; also, when it opened, it
had only three committees. Now we have 26,” said
James Reynolds, director of the MSC. “The MSC
was made to provide programming to enhance life
here on campus.”
This year the MSC will celebrate its 50th anniver
sary by sponsoring MSC Awareness Days on the 21st
of each month until April 21, the day the MSC opened.
Jenny Balaze, executive vice president of assess
ment and finance and a junior accounting major, said
the MSC hopes to raise awareness about its services
through the many events that will be held to celebrate
the its anniversary.
Along with the dedication of the MSC, other events
made news at A&M during the ’50s.
In the ’50s, when the student body was composed
of only male Corps of Cadets members, Marion T. Har
rington, Class of ’22, became the first former student
to be inaugurated as president of A&M.
I ft February 1951, A&M head football coach Harry
Stiteler came under investigation because of an attack
on him in Houston in December 1950. Stiteler was
physically attacked on his way to a banquet honoring
the A&M football team.
The incident led to controversy in the press as A&M
officials and Houston Chronicle employees comment
ed about the identity of the attacker.
Stiteler resigned after admitting that he provided
false information to the press and that the attack was not
as serious as he had made it seem. He was replaced by
former assistant coach Ray George later that year.
A decision to replace Reveille I faced the student
See MSC on Page 2A.
Awareness Day kicks off
The first Memorial Student Center (MSC)
Awareness Day will be today. The Awareness Day
is intended to heighten campus awareness about
the MSC and the 50th anniversary events planned
throughout the year.
Jenny Balaze, MSC council vice president for
assessment and finance and a junior accounting
major, said the first Awareness Day will not have
a coi 1 findtee-organized event.
“There will be no special programming because
the committees are still selecting new members,”
Balaze said.
Future Awareness Days, however, will have pro
grams geared toward a particular decade.
Different committees within the MSC will orga
nize programs for each month leading up to the
re-dedication of the MSC in the spring.
'through the f 50s
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President Truman
announces U.S.
intervention in
Korea; the Peanuts
gang premieres in
a comic strip by
Charles Schulz.
U.S. surgeon
John Gibbon
Jr. creates the
first heart-
Dick Clark hosts the
first "American
Bandstand." The
birth control pill
is introduced,
unavailable to the
lung machine, public for eight years.
20 million
households
nationwide have
television sets, up
from less than ^
million in 1949.
R f'
Supreme Court
votes that racial
segregation
violates the
14th Amend
ment in Brown
vs. Board
of Education.
1
Disneyland opens
in Anaheim, Calif.;
The polio vaccine
is declared safe
for use; Rosa
Parks refuses to
move to the back
of the bus.
.m> m, m-:-
Martin Luther
King Jr. organizes
a bus boycott in
Alabama; Mickey
Mantle leads in
home runs, runs
batted in and runs
scored.
The Soviet Union
launches Sputnik I,
the first artificial
satellite; Jimmy
Hoffa is elected
president of the
International
Teamsters.
The United
States launches
the Explorer I
satellite;
American
Express credit
card debuts.
Alaska and Hawaii
become the 49th
and 50th states in
the Union; Fidel
Castro establishes
a communist
dictatorship
in Cuba.
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•RUBEN DELUNA/Tt Battalion
Regents to meet at Tarleton State
By Danielle Breed __
Special to The Battalion
The Texas A&M Board of Regents
is going to Tarleton. The board meets
six times a year in College Station, but
at times decides to meet at other col
leges within the Texas A&M System.
The board consists of nine members
who serve two-year terms. The board’s
main duty is to set policy for the System.
This includes hiring executive officers,
setting the standards for conducting
business and making broad-based deci
sions for the System. .
According to Cynthia Carter, of Pres
ident Dennis McCabe’s office, the meet
ing will start at 8 a.m. today. The board
will discuss issues ranging from finance
to student and academic affairs.
The Chancellor’s Student Advisory
Board (CSAB) and the president will
represent Tarleton at the board meeting.
Those on the CSAB committee are
Chairman Rob Ferguson, Vice Chair
woman of Administrative Affairs Jen
ny Rothe and Vice Chairman of Re
search and Assessment David Olvera.
Tarleton’s student body representative
on the committee is Student Body
President David Sweeney. CSAB rep
resentatives will report to the board
yearly goals, policies, and issues stu
dents have presented to them that have
been approved by Chancellor Howard
D. Graves.
McCabe will give a “State of the Uni
versity Address” before the board. Mc
Cabe will also share with the board some
of Tarleton’s needs, including funds to
renovate the current science building
and tuition revenue bonds for an event
and recreational center for students.
Bryan residents to sue company for arsenic poisoning
nant in Bryan during the time period are also
included in the suit.
The plaintiffs claim that the plant, which
has since closed, released arsenic and other
chemicals that contaminated soil, water and
buildings. According to the plaintiffs, these
“The attorney for the
city outlined a coun
teroffer, listing all the
financial damages as
a result of arsenic
contamination/'
— Dawn Lee Wakefield
Bryan resident
chemicals increased the risk of some kinds of
cancer and birth defects and caused anguish
and property damage.
Under the proposed civil settlement, the
defendants would pay $41.2 million to a
fund that will be used to pay for the damages
to plaintiffs.
In accordance with a separate settlement
with ATOFINA in 1996, the city of Bryan
will receive approximately $5 million in
reparation for the $23.6 million in damages
to facilities, buildings, the 1 sewer system,
water and the Bryan Municipal Golf
Course.
At the Bryan City Council meeting Sept.
12, the City Council voted 6-1 to allocate some
of the money to the Traditions Golf Course.
Dawn Lee Wakefield, a Bryan resident
who attended the council meeting and has re
searched the negotiations between Bryan and
ATOFINA, said the city was previously of
fered better solutions.
“In reviewing public documents, there’s
an interesting letter written to attorneys of
Elf Atochem from attorneys representing the
city of Bryan, dated March 23, 1995,” said
Wakefield. “[In the letter] the city of Bryan
is refusing a prior offer of $2 million that Elf
Atochem made specifically toward con
struction of a new municipal golf course, one
that would be open to the public. The attor
ney for the city outlined a counteroffer, list
ing all the financial damages as a result of
arsenic contamination.”
Bryan mayor Lonnie Stabler said the coun
teroffer entailed cleaning up the Bryan Mu
nicipal Golf Course, which was damaged
from the ATOFINA chemicals.
See Arsenic on Page 4B.
Task force
to reduce
car traffic
By Rolando Garcia
The Battalion
The solution to the constant
shortage of parking at Texas A&M
is not more parking spaces, but
fewer cars, according to the Cam
pus Access and Parking Task Force,
a panel charged with studying
transportation problems on campus
and finding solutions.
A&M President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen has approved the task
force’s final report and its recom
mendations.
In the report released in early
September, the task force included a
list of recommendations to create a
more pedestrian-friendly campus
and a more efficient, widely used
transit system. Over the next few
weeks, the task force will meet to
prioritize the recommendations, but
Williams said some progress has al
ready been made.
“There’s a lot of recommenda
tions,” said Tom Wilson, director of
Parking, Traffic and Transportation
Services (PTTS). “Some we can im
plement, some we can’t, but we need
to make a list of priorities so we can
fund them as funds become available.
See Parking on Page 4B.