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WEDNESDAY
November 1, 2000
Volume 107 ~ Issue 49
12 pages
mmi * I i\ HI eik T i 4;Wli’
EMS proposes
mercy clause
Eddie Leal, 6, searches for candy in a pile of hay with the
help of freshman biomedical science major Heather Vordo
at a carnival in front of the Memorial Student Center on
STUART VIUANEUVA/The Battalion
Tuesday evening. The carnival was organized by the Resi
dence Hall Association to provide safe Halloween fun for
area children.
By Sommer Bunge
The Battalion
The Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) is seeking Student Senate legis
lation for a mercy clause to make stu
dents immune from University punish
ment when they call EMS seeking
assistance for alcohol-related problems.
Students who dial EMS for medical
help in alcohol-related cases on the
Texas A&M campus may face reper
cussions from University officials,
such as suffering possible losses of
scholarships and funding.
Officers from the University Police
Department (UPD) monitor calls made
to EMS and regularly respond to those
involving students seeking emergency
care for alcohol poisoning or overdose.
UPD follows that procedure to ensure
that EMS workers are safe when deal
ing with inebriated students, said UPD
Director Bob Wiatt.
UPD does not issue citations to those
in need of emergency care, but officers
make a notation of the event in their re
ports, Wiatt said. The notation is then
sent to the Department of Student Life,
where student records are kept on alco
hol-related occurrences.
Each time a student violates Univer
sity rules on alcohol use, a letter is sent
to the student’s parents, said Director of
Student Life Brent Paterson. The letter
describes health issues related to drug
and alcohol use, and the student is in
formed of the process, he said.
Violation of any University rule that
leads to the suspension of a student re
sults in that student not being in good
standing with the University, as outlined
in the A&M student handbook. Such
standing with the University may, in
some cases, result in A&M withdraw
ing a University scholarship during the
student’s suspension, Patterson said.
EMS Chief Jack Van Cleve voiced
his-concerns before the general assem
bly of the Residence Hall Association
last week. Van Cleve, a senior commu
nity health major, said the mercy clause
exists on other college campuses and
protects students seeking emergency
care for alcohol-related incidents.
Van Cleve met with Chad Wagner,
speaker of the Student Senate and a ju
nior political science major, who is
sending his concerns to the committee
tonight. Senators and members of the
Student Services Committee are inves
tigating the issues to determine whether
legislation is in order.
Van Cleve’s concerns arose in the
spring after he received a phone call
from the mother of a student whom
EMS had treated for high levels of in
toxication. The mother questioned the
policy of calling police to the scene and
told him that her son could lose his
See EMS on Page 5.
nicure
Manicure!
Design
hase
rust
Irazos County Courthouse
Arena Hall
Galilee Baptist Church
136 and 146 MSC
College Station I.S.D
Administrative Offices
Lane calls for support of2002 Bonfire
By Brady Creel &
Elizabeth Raines
The Battalion
Almost one year after the
1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse,
members of Keep The Fire
Burning (KTFB) have can
celed their plans for an off-
campus bonfire. Amid con
troversy concerning his
leadership role, Student
Body President Forrest Lane
is encouraging students to fo
cus their energy and time on
planning for a successful
2002 Aggie Bonfire.
Lane said that he knows
some students are still cam
paigning for changes in the
parameters set forth by A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen
for Bonfire 2002, but he said
their efforts are futile.
“I don’t understand advo
cating something that won’t
be changed,” Lane said. “The
parameters will not be
changed.”
Becky Bartschmid, a
sophomore journalism ma
jor, organized a petition be
seeching Bowen to reinstate
cut, increase student in
volvement and allow a Bon
fire in 2001. Bartschmid is
soliciting signatures in the
MSC breezeway this week.
KTFB board members
have spoken out against
Lane, accusing him of pur
suing personal interests and
those of the administration,
instead of those of the stu
dents. When asked about re
fusing to represent KTFB,
Lane said, “Our doors have
been open the whole time.”
He denied accusations of
representing administrators’
opinions.
Despite the media circus
that has trailed KTFB in the
past six months, Lane said
only a handful of students
came to his office to voice
their concerns.
Will Clark, a KTFB board
member, accused Lane of ly
ing about telling students he
"J don't understand
advocating something
that won't be changed.
The parameters will
not be changed."
would riot represent them to
A&M administrators. Clark
said Lane told a student he
would not present a petition
to the administration, despite
his policy of addressing is
sues raised by students.
“They asked if a majority,
or if, in theory, all of the stu
dents signed that petition,
would he take it to the admin
istration and represent the stu
dents, and he said ‘no,’ ’’Clark
said after the Bonfire forum
held Sunday.
Lane said misunderstand
ings clouded his intentions;
he said he has and will con
tinue to advocate student
views, but would not champi
on KTFB’s cause.
“I think they want me to be
a sponsor — almost a leader
— and I’ve said ‘no,’ ” Lane
said, explaining that he would
represent but not endorse
KTFB. “We have to be some
what objective.”
Lane said many people
have talked about his role as
a student representative, yet
he has not been given any
petitions, nor have many
students met with him. But,
if petitions are brought to
him, he said, he will take
See LANE on Page 2.
art residents
ay get cooler
urvey says 70percent oppose
175
fcion
Rd
Sommer Bunge
<e Battalion
In a survey conducted
i|y Hart Hall Council
[resident Stephen
llaskey, nearly 70 per-
lent of the hall opposed
Jdding air conditioning
to Hart. Despite those re
sults, Blaskey recom-
[tended Tuesday to Di-
dor of Residence Life
ton Sasse that Hart be-
)me an air-conditioned
[all beginning in Fall
[002.
Only 26 percent of the
Residents supported be
coming air-conditioned.
Hit Blaskey found that
learly 85 percent of
[hose opposed to the pro-
)osal were upperclass-
ten who would not be
[ffected by the transition
pair conditioning.
“It turns out that the
People who will be here,
tnd who it will actually
iffect, do want this to
tappen,” Blaskey said,
Personally disagreeing
with the proposal but ac
knowledging that he
must represent what the
residents want.
“It turns
out that the
people who
will be here
and it will
actually af
fect do
want this
to happen.”
— Stephen Blaskey
Hart Hall Council
President
In September, Sasse
sent Blaskey’s proposal
requesting input on the
possible air conditioning
of the hall. At the begin
ning of Fall 2000, Hart
had nearly 40 vacancies,
Sasse said. He said that
the University has lost
money for programs and
funding due to lost rent
income. Residence halls
are not subsidized by
state funding.
Following the success
of Walton Hall’s conver
sion to air conditioning
this fall, Sasse gave
Blaskey and the Hart Hall
Council until Tuesday to
respond to his proposal,
which would likely fill
the vacancies in Hart.
Blaskey, a senior civil
engineering major, sur
veyed Hart residents to de
termine the hall’s response
to Sasse’s proposal.
Hart’s community is
built on open doors, run
ning fans and congregat
ing in the air-conditioned
lounge, Blaskey said, ex
plaining why most older
residents felt air condi
tioning was unnecessary
and could potentially hurt
the community.
“A big part of Hart is
the first two weeks when
a student comes to live
See Hart on Page 5.
Gore focuses on economic boom
Environment, armed forces, surplus also important campaign issues
By Stephen Metcalf
The Battalion
Even though the White
House gained an overwhelm
ingly high approval rating over
the past eight years, Democra
tic presidential candidate Vice
President A1 Gore is not look
ing to blindly continue the ac
tions and policies of the Clin
ton administration. Indeed,
Gore has spent much of his
campaign speaking with voters
in an attempt to convey who he
is, where he comes from and
what his own policies entail.
Although Gore’s campaign
li If has emphasized the economic
(p It boom the country has enjoyed
since he took the vice presi
dential office in 1993, Gore is
using events throughout his
lifetime to illustrate how he
will bring his own legacy to
the White House.
As the son of former U.S.
Sen. Albert Gore Sr., Gore Jr.
spent much of his early years
splitting time between Washington, D.C., and
his family’s farm in Carthage, Tenn. He grad
uated with honors from Harvard University
with a degree in government in 1969 and
promptly enlisted voluntarily in the Army and
served as an reporter in Vietnam. After return
ing from Vietnam, Gore studied religion at
Vanderbilt University before becoming a po
lice and city hall reporter for The Tennessean
in Nashville. Gore also had a brief stint at Van
derbilt Law School before getting elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. He
served in the House until he was elected to the
U.S. Senate in 1984, where he stayed until he
took the office of the Vice President in 1993.
Gore sought the Democratic presidential nom
ination in 1988 and won Democratic primaries
and caucuses in seven states.
Throughout his current campaign, Gore
has drawn on these experiences in an attempt
to relate to voters.
Alison Friedman, director of Students for
Gore at the Gore campaign headquarters,
emphasized the importance Gore places on
the environment.
“A1 Gore has spent his lifetime working on
an environmental policy that is more forward-
looking and deals with issues such as global
warming,” Friedman said.
Eight years ago Gore wrote Earth in the
Balance, a book that describes the perils of
global warming. According to The Economist,
Gore supports a strong government-led ap
proach to dealing with air and water pollution.
He also backs a $7.8 billion effort to clean up
the Everglades in Florida and seeks to enlist
the cooperation of the Big Three automakers
to triple the fuel efficiency of vehicles.
At the National Guard Association of the
United States General Conference, the vice
president cited his past experience in the armed
services and as a congressman as evidence that
defense is a priority in his campaign.
“My own experiences gave me strong, un
shakable beliefs about our obligation to keep
our national defenses strong,” Gore said in a
Sept. 12 speech. “As a senator, I broke with
my party and voted to support the Gulf War
Vice President Al Gore is pushing the eco
nomic boom in his campaign.
when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait —
because I believed America’s vital interests
were at stake.”
Gore maintains that the armed forces
should be updated with the latest tactical
weaponry and must be ready to promote mis
sions of peace and stability.
The fate of a projected $4.19 trillion, 10-year
federal budget surplus is also taking center
See Gore on Page 5.