Battalion News Radio: 1:57 p.m. KAMU 90.9
arrested in Colorado
One commits suicide, others still at large In
WOODLAND PARK,
Colo. (AP) — Acting on a
tip, authorities on Monday
captured four of the seven
convicts who broke out of a
Texas prison nearly six
weeks ago and allegedly
gunned down a policeman on
Christmas Eve.
A fifth inmate killed him
self inside a motor home that
lad been surrounded by au-
horities in this foothills com
munity about 50 miles south-
est of Denver.
The whereabouts of the
wo other inmates were un-
nown. Authorities said they
nay have been in Woodland
'ark as recently as Sunday
nd may have left to get
nore money.
“The story is by no means
over,” said Mark Mershon,
the top FBI official in Col
orado. “We have two suspects
that are still on the loose.”
This story is
by no means
over.”
Mark Mershor
FBI official
The heavily armed in
mates — including murder
ers, rapists and armed rob
bers — had puzzled and
alarmed authorities by re
maining together after
bluffing their way out of
prison Dec. 13. The slaying
of the Dallas-area officer 11
days later only increased
fears that the inmates might
want to go out in a blaze of
gunfire.
Among those arrested was
George Rivas, 30, the sus
pected ringleader who was
serving a life sentence for
robbery and kidnapping. In
vestigators have portrayed
Rivas as fearless and shrewd
with a powerful hold over the
others, but authorities said he
expressed remorse as he ad
mitted to the slaying of the
policeman.
“He stated that he had a
change of heart, change of
life and he wanted this to
end,” said State Patrol
Trooper Eric Zachareas,
who was at the convenience
store where Rivas and two
others were arrested.
Rivas had dyed his hair
blonde and another inmate
had dyed his hair orange in an
apparent attempt to avoid
scrutiny, Zachareas said. He
also said some of the fugitives
may have been at a Colorado
Springs bar late Saturday.
“Apparently, they were
out partying,” he said.
The convicts arrived in
the area on Jan. 1, said Teller
County Sheriff Frank Fehn.
He offered no other details of |
their activities, nor how they
covered the more than 800
miles from the prison in
south Texas.
Authorities said a week
end tip prompted by the show
“America’s Most Wanted”
led to the capture.
QmrWn^lqqs
Dec 13,12000 - TTw gang1t>rea>«_
mm of the Connalty Uniton Kenedy,
southeast of San Antonio
I Dec 15, 2000-TWo of the
| fugitives, ringleader George Rivas
| and Donald Newbury, are suspected
| of robbing a Radio Shack in
I Pearland, a suburb southwest of
i Houston
Dec, 24, 2000 - The convicts are
suspected of robbing an Oshman s
sporting goods store in Irving and
killing responding officer Aubrey
Hawkins.
Jan. 3, 2001 - The U S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in
San Antonio charges the men with
weapons violations. An autopsy
report is released showing that the
slain Irving officer suffered 11
gunshot wounds - six in the head -
and was run over by a vehicle.
Jan. 4, 2001 - FBI agents in the
Dallas area file separate federal
charges of unlawful flight to avoid
federal prosecution for capital
murder, making the manhunt
nationwide.
Jan. 11, 2001 - The Texas Board of
Criminal Justice releases a "serious
incident review," which says prison
staff missed opportunities to prevent
J the escape.
I Jan 15. 2001 - The FBI adds
($140,000 to the $300,000 reward
■fund.
] Jan. 22, 2001 - Law enforcement
officers outside Colorado Springs,
1 Colo., arrest four of the seven and a
(fifth commits suicide.
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
Student
assaulted
on campus
Student rule changes finalized
I) Uniuersitu can
P unish students
or off-campus
misconduct
!) Students must
take at least 12
hours at B&M to
be enrolled full
time
Undergrads must
fiaue T.0 GPR to
enroll in graduate
courses
attes at fittp//stoxtent-rules tamu edu
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
By David Johnson
The Battalion
Annual changes to
student rules, which
usually occur in the fall
semester, arrived in the
spring semester this year
instead.
. “Final approved revi
sions -had not been re
turned prior to the start
of the fall semester,”
said Brent Paterson,
Dean of the Department
of Student Life.
Changes affect poli
cies on registration, stu
dent conduct code and
sexual assault.
Until this semester,
any undergraduate or
graduate student was re
quired to have at least six
registered hours to run
for or hold an elected of
fice at A&M. Now, grad
uate-students can run if
they are taking fewer
than six hours.
The idea for the new
rule originated in 1999
when Tracey Forman
was working on a mas
ter’s degree project that
required a proposal of a
fictitious policy. As a
graduate student and a
student worker, she
knew that graduate stu
dents’ larger workloads
make taking six hours
difficult. Using the class
room assignment to
tackle this problem, she
turned her “fictitious”
proposal into a reality.
“I wanted to give grad
students the same oppor
tunities as undergraduate
students,” she said.
Forman proposed to
the Graduate Student
Council in January 2000
that graduate students
taking fewer than six
credit hours be allowed
to run for office.
Changes in state laws
also affected student
rules. The Cleary Act
requires all state-spon
sored schools to report
crime statistics annually.
Kim Novak, director
of Student Judicial Ser
vices, said the law al
lows the University to
hold students account
able for off-campus mis
conduct related to stu
dent organizations, such
as fraternity parties.
Registration rules
have been modified to
clarify that a student
must be registered for 12
hours at A&M to
achieve full-time student
status.
“You can’t split six
and six between A&M
and Blinn; it has to be
A&M only,” said Rob
See Rules on Page 2.
By Brady Creel
The Battalion
A 19-year-old Texas
A&M student was assaulted
at about 12:30 a.m. Monday
as he walked on the A&M
Golf Course, said Bob Wiatt,
director of the University
Police Department (UPD).
The student, whose name
has not been released for se
curity reasons, was walking
on the jogging path along
George Bush Drive when he
heard footsteps behind him.
Wiatt said the student
stepped to the side, assuming
that the oncoming footsteps
were those of a jogger. How
ever, the person struck the
student in the back of the
head with an unknown ob
ject, knocking him to the
ground. As the student fell,
the assailant grabbed the stu
dent’s backpack, ripping one
of the straps off.
“He went into the young
man’s pocket, took his wal
let and fled,” Wiatt said.
“[The student] described the,
assailant as a Caucasian or
Hispanic male, approxi
mately 6 feet tall, clothed in
all black and a hat.”
The student's wallet was
later found and the contents
scattered on the ground.
“The only things taken
were the Texas driver’s li
cense and $7,” Wiatt said.
Further details of the in
cident are sketchy, Wiatt
said, and the investigation is
ongoing.
One factor that played an
important role in the assault
was the student’s use of his
cell phone. Wiatt said the
student's girlfriend’s phone
number was programmed in
the phone’s one-touch mem
ory, and the student was able
to call her. She alerted the
police, who responded with
in minutes.
“The cell phone got im
mediate attention,” Wiatt said.
Since the assailant was
not identified, he has not
been apprehended, he said.
Although patrols have not
been increased, UPD offi
cers are especially alert to
suspicious activity.
Wiatt said students must
take a proactive role in safe
ty on campus, and despite
popular misconceptions, the
campus is not always a safe
place.
“This is nothing more than
a microcosm of society on
this campus,” he said. “You
have to be alert and if you are
walking, thinking about your
next class, there are people
out there looking forward to
making you a victim.”
Wiatt said it is impossible
to tell if this was an isolated
incident, but students should
take precaution when walk
ing by themselves.
“If you have two or
more people, it is very un
likely that anything would
happen,” Wiatt said.
See Assault on Page 12.
ood Services gets
edmological update
Touch-screen registers cause few
problems, new hours established
Ih Shannon Galary
Tin ’ Battalion
I Adjusting to new
hours and new equip-
[«ent caused a few
headaches last week
'lr the Food Services
Department and the
students it feeds, but
■ficials say the
■oblems are only
short term.
I The checkout
Huipment at campus
lining centers was
Wire than 10 years old
||d severely in need
an upgrade, said
Imputer systems
knager Jon Gardner.
^ foraf “The cash registers
new (> v vere old and slow, and
jningp hcy didn’t provide a
.rientaWhole lot of flexibili-
)f q 0 (: y,” Gardner said.
■ He said the old
, nKllA /quipment was so out-
ariuaf® 6 ^ that it was diffi-
i nil an
anuaF
ebrual
ebruaf'
ebruaf'
cult to find replace
ment parts.
The new system
uses the ethernet in
stead of telephone
lines and allows Aggie
Bucks, cash and meal
plans to be processed
at one register.
The new system,
which will cost about
$400,000, will be up
graded as new soft
ware becomes neces
sary and available.
Food Service work
ers have hit some
snags trying to use the
new computers, and
many students’ cards
are being rejected.
“The card readers
on the new terminals
are not as sensitive as
the old card readers,”
Gardner said.
Mary McFarland,
a student worker at
Sbisa Dining Hall and
freshman sociology
major, attributes some
of the problems to the
large number of new
workers and the need
for more training on
the new computer
system.
“Once they get up
and running, they'll be
fine,” McFarland said.
“There’s still a few
kinks to work out.”
The new hours for
the Sbisa and Com
mons Dining Halls
also caused some un
expected problems,
said Cynthia Zawieja,
associate director of
Food Services.
Sbisa and the Com
mons are now open for
dinner on Sunday
evenings but closed
See Food on Page 6.
Student worker and senior geology major Kate
Wiederkeher uses one of the new touch screen
computer cash registers at the Commons Market
STUART VILLANUEVA/The Battalion
to serve a customer on Monday. The new registers
have been installed at all Food Services dining lo
cations on campus.
Sbisa Dining Hall begins Internet access program
Degree hours change
bmaF Wnculty Senate (intends engineering criteria
J ly Brandie Liffick
j- kiosk Battalion
iion cfeWThe Faculty Senate approved
ijjBny changes to the Dwight Look
HHlege of Engineering’s curriculum
its monthly meeting Monday. If
rgettwoved by Texas A&M President
t Kafr. Ray M. Bowen, the changes will
c fi^ar in the 2000-01 course catalog,
he biomedical engineering de
ment decreased the number of
-/ours needed to graduate from 135
!■ 1030 hours. The nuclear engineer-
ng department decreased the total
number of hours needed for a degree
from 135 to 132 hours. The aero
space and mechanical engineering
departments each eliminated two ki
nesiology credits that are no longer
required by the core curriculum.
The emeritus status policy now
includes faculty members who die
while employed by the University.
Faculty members can be awarded
emeritus status if they are in good
standing when they die, and if the
See Senate on Page 12.
By Tamra Russell
The Battalion
After receiving a facelift last
year, Sbisa Dining Hall will leap
into the 21 st century with a new pro
gram called E-meals that allows stu
dents with laptop computers to ac
cess the Internet while eating.
“We thought since so many peo
ple had laptops they could bring
them in and work while they eat,”
said Cynthia Zawieja, associate di
rector of the Food Services Depart
ment. “It’s kind of like a cyber cafe.”
Jon Gardner, computer systems
manager for Food Services, said he
has received a lot of requests for an
Internet cafe, but getting enough
computers and maintaining them
would be too difficult.
Gardner said any Macintosh lap
top with an Airport, or a PC with a
wireless card that is compatible with
an 802.1 lb wireless network proto
col, will work in the building.
“Most laptop computers come
with an Airport or wireless card,”
Gardner said. “Then students will
have to run virtual private network
(VPN) client on their laptop to get
access to the network.”
“We’re not charging the students
anything for the service and it does
n’t cost us much because we need it
for our staff anyway, so it’s just a
perk that we can give back to the
students,” Gardner said.
Gardner said Food Services does
not know how many students will
use the service.
“We can run 20 to 30 users per
base station, and we have three base
stations set up for student use,”
Gardner said. “If we end up having
more than 30 users per base station,
we will add more base stations.”
• Right now, students without
VPN client on their computers will
not be able to use the wireless ser
vice in Sbisa, but Gardner said it
will soon be possible.
Sbisa is the only location on
campus set for wireless service, but
Gardner said he hopes that more lo
cations will offer service once the
network is finalized.
“My goal is to have every Food
Service location offer wireless ser
vice by the end of the year,” Gard
ner said. “The long-term goal is to
have the entire campus covered by
a wipeless umbrella so you can ac
cess the Web from anywhere, even
outside, but that is still a couple of
years down the road.”
Property
missing
from hall
By Brady Creel
The Battalion
Three Spence Hall residents filed
complaints with University Police De
partment Monday, reporting that items
were missing from their rooms after
they returned from winter break.
Bob Wiatt, director of the Universi
ty Police Department (UPD), said the
reports indicated that jewelry and mon
ey were taken from the rooms with no
evidence of forced entry. “Somebody
had to use a key to get in,” Wiatt said.
Amy Sandlin, a sophomore civil en
gineering major, said her pearl necklace
was taken during the break. She said that
Saturday night was the first time she had
wanted to wear the necklace since she
returned, but when she opened her jew
elry box, it was not there.
To ensure she had not taken her
necklace home during the break and
forgotten it, she waited until Sunday
and called home to see if she had left
the necklace there.
Sandlin said the necklace was the
only item of any value left in her room.
She said her roommate was not miss
ing anything, but she had taken almost
everything home with her.
Sue Foster, Residence Life assistant
director for residence education, said
that items are often stolen before the
break, sometimes weeks before resi
dence halls are dosed.
“Sometimes we have (reported
theft) situations, when in reality, some
thing could have been missing for
some time,” Foster said.
Foster and Wiatt said reports of
missing personal items after a break are
not unusual.
“It is pretty common, especially
during winter break when people are
not in their rooms,” Wiatt said.
Tom Murray, manager for custodi
al and maintenance services, said two
access card databases are maintained
See Spence on Page 6.