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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2000)
iidav m ensedhisij < out tip g, nine! ics, and led pitch <-1 Posadar] I toward il iy Payton 1 to throw e throwt ■t as he i iattl ense toast ic emoti'od '98 Big | > a certaind Cat offens y linebad hat w :t Kyle Ft simplyq fourth-tot ningpero State, Ne wn as the .waving ai nly expect itc-A&M 10 all-timij ids, there .s w'ell.Aif Kyle Field posting ei: iningstrel ason s ;9 1-6) only* t was atAi hat myster' • The environment • Juvenile justice • Poverty • Peace • Violence College students are more con cerned with idealistic and social issues than older Americans. Ac cording to a report done at the National Youth Convention, these are the most relevant issues to young Americans. wMm- 1 • • • RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion Candidates not reaching young voters her let § imore pi it Kan&', iey and I fledVft- and wotsei’ ;h.Wewett !: : t-of-d3te fc five she#' i a Me' 1 '" 1 " how proudtj ntly I wasp' ild have m eived byl'- \ggie 3rlhavetf ;tant p you Delin' 1 ' e a signifc it possible 1 other peop |!: By Si ephen Metcalf The Battalion With elections a little more than a week away, candidates are scrambling to motivate people to sup port them at the polls. De spite the push, many col lege students, such as Elaine Liao, a senior ac counting major, question whether candidates care about appealing to young people or even seek to ad dress issues that concern them. “They really are not trying to focus on appeal ing to our age group, to begin with,” Liao said. “They don't think we mat ter because we live in this bubble and we don’t keep informed. It’s probably our own fault. I don’t think that a lot of us go out and vote, and they try and appeal to the people they think will vote.” Voter apathy among people between the ages of 18 and 24 is signifi cantly higher than that of other age groups. Accord ing to the Website www.rockthevote.com, less than one in three peo ple in the 18-to-24 age group will vote. In stark contrast, two out of three people between the ages of 65 and 74 will vote. Chelsea Allen, a senior speech communication major, attributes the dis crepancy to a lack of uni fying experiences for young people. “We never had to watch our country fight a long war, whereas older people have, and as a result they have a lot of patriotism and appreciation for their rights, which makes vot ing important to them,” Allen said. Liao said that many people do not believe they can make a difference. “I think there are so many obstacles in the way that it really doesn't mat ter if one person votes or not,” Liao said. “Life will go on. Someone else will vote. I think that is the mentality many people have in college.” Jennifer Fitzgerald, also a senior accounting major, reiterated Liao’s point. “Older people have ex perience, and they know what they stand for,” she said. “They consider their vote as meaning more. They realize how impor tant it is to have a voice. Young people say they want a voice, but do we really take time to go vote or take time to know the issues?” Fitzgerald and Liao also lamented the process of registering to vote. “It is such a hassle,” Fitzgerald said, “especial ly for college students who See Issues on Page 5. MONDAY October 30, 2000 Volume 107 ~ Issue 47 10 pages lomii it • i AKijfl k’i 4; M i It concerning ge studenis: KTFB calls off 2000 bonfire By Sommer Bunge The Battalion Keep The Fire Burning (KTFB) announced Friday that it will not build an off-campus bonfire in 2000. Due to time restraints and prob lems with insurance the group de cided not to follow through with its Nov. 22 bonfire plans. KTFB could have proceeded with cut this weekend and finished in time for the planned burning of the stack, but that would have left “a lot of room for error,” said KTFB board member Will Clark. Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen imposed a two-year morato rium on Aggie Bonfire in May after the Special Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire released its report on the Bonfire collapse. KTFB, which originally formed to oppose the abo lition of Bonfire, announced in Au gust plans for a student-built, off- campus bonfire. KTFB cited the safety of its smaller-scaled design and promised strict enforcement of anti-alcohol and safety regulations at cut and stack sites. It continued its plans un til the group was faced with insur ance problems earlier this month, causing it to cancel plans for first cut. Clark said Aggie Bonfire’s bad safety record contributed to the dif ficulty in insuring the KTFB bon fire. He said that putting together an insurance plan to protect the student workers took longer than the group expected. “The way the University has ad dressed safety issues in the past meant we had to prove everything we were planning [to the insurance companies],” Clark said. “Separat ing ourselves from the University [Bonfire] was really tough; their ne glect for safety issues put a shadow on us. No matter how safe we went about it, insurance companies would look at [what was done at Ag gie Bonfire in the past] and say, ‘That could happen.’ ” KTFB submitted detailed maps of the bonfire’s location, safety manuals and carefully worded procedure plans to insurance companies for review. Insurers met with the group before consulting industry professionals to See Bonfire on Page 5. Advocates question Lane's leadership By Sommer Bunge & Brady Creel The Battalion Members of Keep The Fire Burning (KTFB) made an appearance Sunday at an open forum in tended for discussion of plans for Aggie Bonfire 2002 and questioned Student Body President For rest Lane’s accurate representation of the Texas A&M Student Body. Questions focused on the Bonfire planning committee and regulations for the 2002 blaze. However, KTFB board member Will Clark led the inquiry in a different direction. See KTFB on Page 2. Aggies tame Wildcats email m atmum CHAD ADAMS/The Battalion Cornelius Anthony puts the "hurt" on Kansas State The Aggies went on to defeat K-State 26-10 in front tight end Brian Casey, during the game Saturday. of a crowd exceeding 80,000. Class of ’95 gift dedicated By Noel Freeman The Battalion Aggies now have a per manent memorial to reflect the meaning and significance of one of the most hallowed Texas A&M traditions: Aggie Muster. The Muster Memorial, de signed by A&M professor of architecture Dr. Rodney C. Hill, is the gift of the Class of ’95. It was formally presented to A&M by Class of ’95 agents Jennifer Watkins Blackmon and Matt Upton in a short, simple ceremony fol lowing the Texas A&M vs. Kansas State football game on Saturday. The memorial is west of the Academic Build ing, across the flower mound from the Silver Taps memori al, also designed by Hill. The memorial, which stands about 7 feet tall, is topped by a sculpture of two hands, one male and one fe male, each holding a candle, representing the exchange of light that occurs April 21 at Muster ceremonies around the world. The base of the memo rial describes the history of Aggie Muster. Hill’s son and daughter-in-law, both mem bers of the Class of ’91, served as models for the hands. Shaffer Art Foundry of Arlington casted the sculp ture from the form created by Hill. The base was creat ed by Timeworks in College Station. The gift was the end result of a campaign by the Class of ’95 that raised approximate ly $95,000. The class will use $50,000 of those funds to create a Muster endowment. “This gift reflects the See Gift on Page 5. College Station train depot begins construction Groundbreaking ceremony marks second phase for the building Aggie artisfs gallery i 1# on NTS ivodl A/ork nu.ed u in an om By Elizabeth Raines The Battalion A groundbreaking ceremony ook place on Saturday, marking he second phase of construction rf a replica of the College Station rain depot. It will be used as a gallery by Benjamin Knox, self- lescribed as the “Texas Aggie \rtist.” “I am rebuilding the College Station train depot because it is uch a unique landmark,” Knox aid. “I am excited to present it to Texas A&M and the city of College Station.” The train depot served as the pri- nary mode of transportation to and 'rom College Station for approxi- nately 70 years. The depot re vived its name from train conduc tors announcing the stop at A&M as the “college station.” “I am excited to present it to Texas A&M and the city of College Station” — Benjamin Knox Artist “The depot held a special role in Aggie history and tradition until the use of the automobile replaced train travel as a more convenient mode of transportation,” said Kara Wilson- Anglin, executive director of the Benjamin Knox Gallery. The city of College Station was chartered in 1938 and got its name from the depot. By 1958, the depot was no longer in use, and it was torn down in 1966. “I remember catching the train at the depot when I was little,” said Royce Hickman, president of the College Station Chamber of Com merce. “I am so proud of Benjamin for bringing it back.” The gallery will be located at 405 University Drive, directly across the street from Knox’s cur rent gallery. In June, Knox ap pealed to the College Station City Council to rezone the location for his new gallery. The city council COURTESY OF BENJAMIN KNOX Benjamin Knox's gallery is scheduled to open October 2, 2001. The gallery will be a replica of the bid College Station train depot. rezoned the land so Knox could build the new gallery there. At a September signing appear ance, Knox announced his plans for the depot replica and unveiled four new prints. Salek from the print titled “The College Station” will help fund construction costs. The opening of the new gallery is scheduled to coincide with A&M’s 125th anniversary — Oct. 2, 2001. Kursk sub divers find additional victims SEVEROMORSK, Russia (AP) — Venturing further inside the sunken Kursk nuclear submarine, divers recovered more bodies Sunday from amid the jagged metal and silt that fill the wreck stuck in the Arctic depths. The number and identity of the bodies remained unclear, Russian naval officials said, apparently be cause the remains were badly dam aged. All 118 men on the Kursk were killed after it was shattered by an ex plosion and crashed to the Barents Sea floor on Aug. 12. As the slow, solemn recovery work continued, a mourning ceremony for the Kursk submariners was held Sunday in the closed Russian military town of Severomorsk. Remains of four Kursk sailors were recovered last week; and four caskets, draped with the white-and-blue flag of the Russian Navy, were carried atop armored personnel carriers into a sea front square under a cold, clear sky. Taking off their hats, Russian sailors dropped to one knee in the snow that had fallen on the Arctic town. A long, low horn of farewell sounded from the warships bristling with antennas and cannons in the harbor. 66 This is very hard. But I think it is necessary. Our children deserved this” — Zoya Dudko Mother of victim “This is very hard,” said Zoya Dud ko, whose 30-year-old son Sergei was among the crew. “But I think it is nec essary. Our children deserved this.” The names and ranks of all 118 of ficers and sailors were read out, and Dudko burst into tears when she heard her son’s name. A few steps away, the young widow of Lt. Dmitry Kolesnikov, Olga, looked out over the square, her eyes fixed on the sun hang ing low over the horizon. A note found in Kolesnikov’s pock et when his body was recovered Wednesday told a horrifying story of 23 survivors gathering in the subma rine’s ninth compartment, hoping to get out through a jammed escape hatch. Based on that note, Russian and Norwegian divers worked through Saturday night to cut a hole in the hull above the compartment at the stern of the submarine. But the thick rubber and steel would not yield, said Vadim Serga, a Northern Fleet spokesman in Severomorsk. The divers were forced to enter through a hole they had cut earlier in the eighth compartment and grope their way along narrow passages into the ninth, he said. There, the divers found several more bodies.