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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2000)
i'i 11] J U f i ^; W | to be id t foddeil ed animsj intCrem umans ifl s is eatai ourt dissolves ffiliation with outh Texas Jy Staff & Wire ■A state district judge correctly dis- ||ved a partnership between Texas A&M and the private South Texas ■liege of Law, an appeals court ruled ■ursday. ■in a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 3rd Bart of Appeals in Austin decided stale District Judge Suzanne Coving- pr had grounds to void the affiliation Krause it had not been approved by Ihe Texas Higher Education Coordi- ■ing Board. The board oversees pub ic colleges and universities. ■“South Texas' argument that the affil- pon agreement is merely a compact ph a private institution, and therefore fts not come under the auspices of the ftrd's authority, fails,” Chief Justice Marilyn Aboussie wrote for the majority. ‘iSouth Texas, in the lawsuit against he board, said the state had no authori- rto approve the affiliation, but the But ruled that the possibility that A&M ■ild spend public money in the agree ment demanded the board's approval. ■The court agreed with Covington’s King, handed down Aug. 2, 1999, that i&M has no authority to teach law. ■“Neither A&M's mission descrip- jion nor its table of programs state that ■ruction in law is within A&M’s role pd mission,” Aboussie wrote. ■South Texas, in downtown Hous- ion; and A&M began a partnership in lanuary 1998, giving the law school he A&M name while remaining a pri- /ate school. iSouth Texas had been referring to it- Bfas “South Texas College of Law af- iliated with Texas A&M University” lefoieCovington’s ruling. Aboussie • and Justice Bea Ann Smith found that Covington properly ordered the schools to cancel their af filiation agreement, which meant South Texas could continue working with A&M, but had to cease using the A&M name. In dissent. Justice Lee Yeakel wrote, “I do not believe that ... (the coordinating board) has the power to expand its enumerated functions in or der to prohibit or discourage coopera tive efforts between public and private institutions.” The schools, which have waited more than a year for Thursday’s deci sion, both said they would confer and evaluate their options. ‘‘We could ask for a rehearing, ap peal to the (state) Supreme Court, let it go or go back to square one and sit down with Texas A&M and work with the co ordinating board and do it they way they insist we need to do it,” said South Texas spokeswoman Sheila Hansel, adding that the school’s board will dis- .cuss strategy in meetings next week. A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen, speaking from the A&M System Board of Regents meeting in Dallas, said A&M would wait to see what South Texas does before reacting. ‘‘We remain committed to an affilia tion with South Texas College of Law and we will explore all avenues, includ ing going back to the coordinating board,” Bowen said. “We will be talking to South Texas College of Law about the next steps they might take.” Lane Stephenson, deputy director of See Partnership on Page 2. Dancing in the dark Aggie Players Marisa Saenz, a senior theater arts major; Amber Verret, a ju nior elementary education major; and Erica Garcia, a senior theater arts major, perform in Shakespeare Pastiche on STUART VILLANUEVA/Thf. Battalion Thursday night at the Fallout Theater. The show featured the Sonnets of William Shakespeare set to music and dancing under black lights. See related article on Page 3. Student Senate approves two new fee bills Election Feb. 20 & 21, 2001 >50 for unlimited access to bus Jsystem: on and off campus.weekend | service, new buses and service to the mall and movie theaters. $1 increase per semester credit hour, maximum of $12 per semester to provide unlimited official transcript and degree copies. V0^©«||:CP| fttboctain during tine sf»eciall elec Ho n» BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion By Jeanette Simpson The Battalion The Texas A&M Student Sen ate passed two bills and created a referendum at the final meeting of the semester Wednesday. • The student body will vote on the referendum Feb. 20 and 21, 2001. The first of the bills on the ref erendum was the Transportation Fee-Bill. This bill, if approved by students and the Board of Re gents, will create a $50 fee per student each semester. “This $50 fee will provide un limited access, on and off cam pus, for all students; weekend service; more routes and greater frequency; new buses with air conditioning; and service to places such as the mall and movie theaters,” said Gary Jack- son, manager of Bus Operatidns. The bus system is funded by the sale of bus passes, charter revenues and a portion of the student services fee. This in come keeps Bus Operations running, but the lack of funds has forced service levels to be decreased, Jackson said. The second fee approved for the referendum was the Records Management Fee Bill. This fee is designed to provide an unlimited number of official transcripts and degree certifications to students and former students. The Records Management Fee would be a $1 per semester credit hour fee, not to exceed $ 12 a semester. This fee would replace the current $5 per official transcript fee. The referendum will appear in February in a special election, in stead of in the usual spring stu dent body elections, so students can vote before the March meet ing of the Board of Regents. Students can vote on new bus colors at Bus Ops site By Brooke Hodges The Battalion Aggies are being asked to vote again this year, but this time it is to choose the paint color for the new A&M buses. Seven choices can be seen and voted on during the rest of the semester on the Bus Operations Website: www-busops.tamu.edu. The 22 new buses will begin operating in May or June 2001. . “Hopefully by the first of the year, we’ll have a new paint scheme,” said Gary Jackson, manager of Bus Op erations. Some students have voiced opinions about wanting the new buses to read “Texas A&M” instead of “Texas A&M University.” The colors available are maroon, white and gray, Jackson said. Jackson said the two or three designs with the most votes will be presented to focus groups that will make a final decision. The fate of the older buses will be determined by a ref erendum later, Jackson said. Families of wreck victims sue IKE By Rolando Garcia The Battalion Families of five of the six students killed in a car accident Oct. 11,1999, outside the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity house have filed a lawsuit against the fraternity and Brandon Kallmeyer, the A&M student who was driving the vehicle involved in -the accident. Kallmeyer, a sophomore animal sci ence major, was driving on FM 60 when he fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road, hitting eight stu dents who parked on the shoulder and were preparing to cross the road to at tend a party at the TKE house. The victims of the accident were Ted Bruton, a 21 -year-old A&M stu dent; Baylor students Tricia Calp, Emi ly Hollister, Erika Lanham and Dolan Waste!; and Southwest Texas State University student William Flores. Trial is set to begin Jan. 15,2001, in a Harris County district court. According to the petition filed by the families’ attorneys, Kallmeyer was guilty of negligence because he drove while he was physically inca pacitated and he failed to keep his ve hicle on the road. Kallmeyer volunteered for and passed a blood alcohol test after the ac cident. No criminal charges were filed against him. But the plaintiffs’ petition saves the bulk of its negligence accusations for the TKE defendants, including the lo cal fraternity chapter, the national TKE organization and the fraternity corpo ration that owns the fraternity house. TKE failed to provide safe and ad equate parking for its parties, the law suit says, forcing many party-goers to park on the shoulders of both sides of FM 60. Because the limited grassy area bordering the highway shoulder is next to a steeply sloped drainage ditch, guests had to walk along and cross the unlighted highway at night on the way to the TKE Party Barn. The lawsuit also says TKE had been warned by the police of the dangerous situation created by unsafe parking along the highway, but neglected to limit the number of guests invited or provide additional parking. In a legal brief filed in court by San Antonio lawyer Jerry Gibson, TKE’s attorney, the fraternity denies the families’ allegations and said the ac cident was caused by conditions be yond its control. Also, Gibson filed a motion re questing the judge sanction the plain tiffs’ attorneys for placing an adver tisement in an Oct. 23 issue of The Battalion. He said the advertisement See TKE on Page 2. Florida lawmakers ready to appoint presidential electors 1 (AP)—A1 Gore’s lawyers battled for Ws political survival in the Florida and l.S. supreme courts Thursday, pleading against delaying fresh vote recounts iven one day” as a half-million ballots sped by rental truck to Tallahassee. GOP lawmakers jockeyed in the state capital to award the presidency to George W. Bush in case the judges would not. 1 “When the counting stops, we want to be prepared to lead this nation,” Bush Said in Texas between transition meet- igs with retired Gen. Colin Powell — ffle star of his Cabinet-in-the-making. ■fficials said the meeting cemented Powell’s position as secretary of state in a presumptive Bush administration. I In Florida, the GOP-dominated state 'legislature drew a step closer to appoint ing its own slate of presidential electors as a committee urged leaders to call a spe- |ial session. Democrats called that “a ■azen power play,” while they worked elsewhere to keep Gore in the game. |. Bush, whose brother is governor of Florida, raised no objection to the Leg islature’s actions, and his lawyers de fended the lawmakers’ right to name a GOP slate. “It’s time to get some finali ty,” Bush said in an appearance with Powell at his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Hundreds of miles away in Florida, Lt. Jim Kersey’s squad car headed up the ballot brigade as it passed a hand made sign reading “No chad zone.” Also Disney World. “Oh, my God,” he said. “The whole world is watching.” And what sights to see: Lawmakers cussed and fumed in a legislative com mittee room; the two could-be presi dents plotted their transitions to power; legal briefs ricocheted between the na tion’s courts; and the banana-yellow rental truck — swarmed by police and media vehicles on Ronald Reagan Turn pike — carried contested ballots to Cir cuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls’ court. See Election on Page 2. Jeff Kempf approved as Battalion editor in chief By Marium Mohiuddin The Battalion The country may not have a new com- ; .,v 7 / mander in chief, but The Battalion has a new llliltlfefc- editor in chief for Spring 2001. Jeff Kempf was approved as editor in chief Thursday by Ronald Douglas, provost and vice president of academic affairs. The Student Media Board is a 10-mem- ber panel that nominates candidates for the position and sets standards relating to Stu dent Media — The Battalion and The Ag- gieland. On Nov. 21, the board met to inter view candidates, and it nominated Kempf, a senior management major, for the position. “He has been managing editor for the summer and fall and obtained a lot of valu able experience,” said Dr. Barbara Gastel, chairwoman of the Student Media Advisory Board, interim head of the department of journalism and associate professor of jour- stuart villanueva/the battalion nalism of medical humanities. “He enters Jeff Kempf, a senior management major and with a good deal of knowledge about the po- current managing editor for The Battalion, will sition. The role is a very responsible role on be the editor in chief for Spring 2001. campus. He has the background.” Ron George, adviser for The Battalion and a lecturer for the journalism department, said he has worked with Kempf for many se mesters and that Kempf has demonstrated his capabilities for the position. “Jeff is a capable and experienced young man,” he said. “He will continue to improvfe the quality and will be good for morale. He is an approachable person and has a good nose for the news.” The award-winning Battalion is a million- dollar business with a circulation of 22,000. Kempf said this fall, the newspaper made some great progress in coverage and design, and he said he hopes to continue this progress in the spring. “We are going in a good direction and we are covering our bases, and we need to continue in that direction,” he said. “I would like to see more coverage about the surrounding community. There are many students [who] live off campus. This is their community, their neighborhood and their streets. Students are our main focus. We are here to inform readers about every aspect.” See Editor on Page 2.