MONDAY
September 25, 2000
Volume 107 ~ Issue 22
2 Sections
A 8 pages
B 8 pages
A&M, Blinn
enrollment
largest ever
Graduate student numbers
main factor in increase
By S t iphen Metcalf
The Battalion
Texas A&M enrollment
has marked a milestone this
fall, surpassing 44,000 stu
dents for the first time in
school history.
“We have definitely been
challenged to provide the
same high-quality education
and services this semester,”
said Texas A&M Provost and
Executive Vice President
Ronald G. Douglas.
A&M ranked as the na
tion’s fourth-largest univer
sity last year with 43,442 stu
dents. This fall, enrollment
increased by 639 to 44,081.
The breakdown of en
rollment indicates mixed re
sults for Texas A&M’s Vi
sion 2020 goals to increase
graduate student enrollment
and minority representation.
Graduate student enrollment
made up 467 of the increase,
with undergraduate studies
making up the remainder of
the increase. Total graduate-
student enrollment now
stands at 7,328.
“We are at a point where
graduate students make up
16 to 17 percent of our total
'enrollment,” Douglas said.
“Most universities have any
where from 20 to 25 percent
of total enrollment coming
I from graduate students.”
| Douglas said the empha-
Isis on developing graduate
| programs is a means of im
proving the reputation of the
entire University.
“Quite often, the reputa
tion of a university is associ
ated with the reputation of its
graduate students,” Douglas
said. “In order to be a more
comprehensive research Uni
versity, we are looking at the
production of new knowl
edge, and graduate students
play an integral part in pro
viding this to the University.”
A&M officials were also
encouraged by minority en
rollment this fall, despite a
reduction of African-Ameri
can and Hispanic students on
campus. African-American
enrollment totaled 1,071,
compared to 1,122 last year.
Hispanic enrollment dipped
by 75 students to 3,686.
Freshman enrollment of
Hispanic, Asian-American
and Native American stu
dents increased by 96,20 and
two, respectively. African-
American freshmen enroll
ment fell by seven to total 174
this semester. Interim Assis
tant Provost for Enrollment
Joe Estrada pointed to the in
crease in minority enrollment
among entering freshmen as
evidence of progress toward
Vision 2020 goals.
“We will continue to ex
plore all possibilities to make
our enrollment more reflec
tive of the population of
Texas,” Estrada said, “and
that includes taking all pos
sible steps to make qualified
under-represented students
more aware of the great op
portunities at Texas A&M.”
Record numbers secure
Blinn’s Wth-largest ranking
I By Arati Bhaitacharya
The Battalion
For the first time, Blinn
' College has surpassed a
12,000-student enrollment
rate, with the Bryan campus
encompassing 8,600 students.
“This semester marks 21
consecutive fall semesters
of enrollmentj increases and
secures Blinn’s ranking as
the 10th largest two-year
college in Texas,” said Dr.
James Calarco, director of
institutional research, in a
press release.
Congruent with Texas
A&M’s census collection,
Blinn reports its class figures
to the state on the 12th day of
class. This year’s numbers
reported an 8-percent in
crease in enrollment from
last year. A boost in the area’s
population, higher A&M ad
mission requirements and an
increase in Blinn’s technical
program have contributed to
the enrollment increase.
Gena Parsons, public in
formation officer for Blinn,
said a significant portion of
Blinn’s student population is
co-enrolled in A&M. The co
enrollment rate has remained
fairly steady recent years, as
Blinn tries providing stu
dents with the best academic
environment possible, in ad
dition to more accessibility
from the instructors.
“We have found that about
1,400 students co-enroll be
cause either they can’t get cer
tain classes or times at A&M,
or just prefer the smaller class
setting,” Parsons said.
Blinn classes hold 30 to
40 students, versus an A&M
lecture class of several hun
dred students. However, Par
sons said many Blinn profes
sors are required to meet and
exceed the standards set for
an A&M professor.
“Blinn instructors are re
quired to get a master’s with
18 postgraduate hours with
in their discipline,” she said.
See Blinn on Page 6A.
Texas A&M Blinn
Enrollment
44,081
(Bryan Campus)
8,600
White
85.7%
80.1%
Hispanic
8.36%
9.3%
African Amer.
2.42%
7.3%
BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion
Student retells last memories
of best friend’s tragic death
By Jason Lincoln .
The Battalion
She never got a chance to say goodbye.
As Carol George stared down Runway 14 at Coul
ter Field Saturday, that was her solemn thought. Her
roommate and her best friend, Sarah Miller, lost her life
on the same field one year ago. The last words George
told Miller were, “you’ll be fine. Just have a blast.”
Sarah Miller and the Cessna single engine aircraft
carrying her on her first Aggie sky dive stalled out just
seconds after takeoff, killing her and four others.
Now George is back on Coulter Field strapping on
her parachute. She said the memory of Sept. 18, 1999,
still haunts her with every jump.
Three weeks into the Fall ’99 semester, the two
freshman roommates had quickly become friends.
So when Miller decided to go sky diving with the
Texas A&M Sky Diving Club, George was right by
her side.
The two could not make the jump together because
the plane was too small. George went first.
But that first jump did not go as planned. Instead of
landing close to the hangar on her static line jump, a
method which causes the parachute to be deployed au
tomatically after leaving the aircraft, George landed
about two miles away. It was almost sunset when she
made her way back to the airstrip, where she received
a warm embrace from her roommate.
“She ran up to me and said, Tm so glad you’re ok.
1 was so worried,’ ” George said. “I told her, ‘good luck,
you'll be fine. Just have a bjast.’ That was the last time
I saw her.”
Just minutes later, George rounded a hangar to find
a frantic scene with some people running for their cars,
others staring off into tfie distance. When she followed
their eyes, she saw the smoke.
“We all just dropped to our knees,” George said.
“Nobody would let me out there, and we just waited.
We were all convinced they would be fine. After all,
they weren’t that far off the ground. We never expect
ed what we got.”
George’s first clue to the severity of the situation
was when ambulances rolled down the runway. Short-
BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion
ly after, the word began to circulate that everyone was
gone, except one. George was told that Miller was still
breathing.
George called Miller's parents to tell them the news;
they were shocked because they did not even know
Miller was jumping.
George rushed to St. Joseph’s Regional Health Cen
ter in Bryan to be with her roommate. But when she got
there, she was informed that it was not Miller — they
had misidentified the person, and it was Lela Futch,
who later died.
A year and five days later, George was staring down
the black tarmac again — remembering the day she lost
her best friend.
See Sky Diving on Page 2A.
BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion
A missing man formation flew over Coulter Field
on Sept. 18, (top) while onlookers remembered
their loved ones (left). As part of the anniversary
of the death of five Aggies, 61 sky divers jumped
this weekend in remembrance of them.
Aggies commemorate
anniversary with jumps
The Texas A&M Sky Diving Club made its return
to Coulter Field memorable by ensuring that the mem
ory of Aggies Lela Futch, Sarah Miller, Rob Puryear,
Jonathan Warden and Mark Woodings leaves a lasting
impression on the Texas sky diving community.
Five days after the one-year anniversary of the plane
crash that killed five Aggie sky divers, the canopies were
back over Coulter Field. A total of420 canopies opened
and landed on the grass in-field of the aifstrip as part of
the Ags Over Texas Memorial Sky Diving Boogie, a
three-day, two-night jump in memory of the five killed.
“It has been a really intense week,” said Aggie Sky
Diving Club President Jenny Hajovsky, a junior psy
chology major. “This is what it is all about — every
body getting together like one big family. It has been a
really special week for us.”
See Memorial on Page2A.
Face Off
STUART VILLANUEVA/The Battalion
Paula Joseph receives a face painting by Holly Reagle, a local artist, at the Sunflower Festival in Hearne
Saturday. Reagle has been painting faces at festivals and for dramatic performances for four years.
Professor
analyzes
murders
By Maureen Kane
The Battalion
A mass murderer has been typi
cally thought of as a psychotic per
son who cannot control his whims.
However Dr. Robert Zajonc, a psy
chology professor at Stanford Uni
versity, argued in a speech that mas
sacres are never spontaneous and are
products of deliberate intelligence.
Using the Holocaust as an exam
ple, he stated that massacres require
“vast administrative apparatus and
command a very substantial bud
get,” and that victims of the Holo
caust were “executed according to
meticulously worked out plans.”
“All human massacres are con
sidered and organized and need im
portant features of organization,”
Zajonc said.
This reasoning leads Zajonc to
disagree with the common belief
that parallels can be drawn between
the behavior of humans committing
mass murder and aggressive animal
behavior.
Zajonc said that most books
about massacres have been written
See Murders on Page 2A.
System Board of Regents approve music degree
By Vanessa Fox
Special to The Battalion
The appointment of Dr. James S.
Cole as interim president of the Texas
A&M Health Science Center and a new
music major at A&M were among the
items approved by the Texas A&M
Board of Regents during its two-day
meeting at Tarleton State University.
During the committee and board meet
ings, 32 agenda items were addressed
and 14 reports were made regarding the
A&M System.
Effective Oct. 1, Cole, dean of the
Baylor College of Dentistry, will also
serve as interim president of of the
Health Science Center institution.
A proposal for a degree program lead
ing to a Bachelor of Arts in Music passed
and will be submitted to the Texas High
er Education Coordinating Board for fi
nal approval. If approved, the degree
program, which will branch out from
music and intertwine with disciplines
such as philosophy and visual arts, will
be offered at A&M through the College
of Liberal Arts.
On Friday, the Regents approved the
creation of the Bush School’s Institute for
Science, Technology and Public Policy.
The family of former Lt. Governor Bob
Bullock donated $1 million to endow the
program. The director of the new insti
tute will be given the Bob Bullock Chair
in Government and Public Service.
“It helps the research within the Bush
school by bringing out outstanding fac
ulty and research projects,” said A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen. “The In
stitute for Science, Technology and Pub
lic Policy will promote to become a bet
ter resource and to impact those stu
dents’ area of study.”
During a closed session, the Regents
passed the project justification of the
Football Complex and Academic Center.
The proposal includes plans for a play
er’s lounge, coaches’ offices, team meet
ing rooms, football dressing and training
rooms to support all football activities.
In addition to the proposal, there will
be 25,000 square feet for an “all sports”
Academic Center.
“We believe ftrimarily that it will help
existing student athletes and it will help
recruiting indirectly,” Bowen said.
In other business, the Regents ap
proved the project for the physical plant
for the Equine Theriogenology Labora
tory to begin opening bids for funding.
Along with other universities within
the system, the Regents granted and rec
ognized individuals for academic tenure
and emeritus titles.
During their visit to Tarleton, the re
gents were given a tour of the high-tech
science building scheduled for comple
tion this January. The Regents were also
included in the ceremony of the ground
breaking for the new student housing
apartments to be completed next fall.
Throughout the two-day event, the
Regents were given reports on progress
within each university in the system.
The reports included 12th-day-enroll-
ment numbers, committee updates, ac
tions taken by the chancellor and vari
ous construction projects. The
Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board
also made a presentation.