)1
attalion News Radio: 1:57 p.m. KAMI! 90.9
www.thehatt.coni
hing
par-
■ At
)tmg
from
i not
andi-
-and
sdri-
Jt, 62
oting
nong
i vote
’inse-
iraeli-
h the
>eople
'raelis
bings,
s and
ng in-
could
e out-
: heels
ssions
ny Is-
:ent of
all of
ghbor-
lyboth
ofsup-
ctions,
y over
i Arabs
bet.
-ampus
lighting
crucial
at A&M
ByTamra Russell
T/je Battalion
Junior nutrition major Katlin Mc-
Crady calls a Corps escort when out
and about in the dark
“1 took the Corps escort if 1 had to
walk a long way at night because it
made me more comfortable,” Mc-
Crady said.
Because outside lighting at night is
a crucial crime deterrent, the task of
making sure the campus is properly
lighted falls to the University Police
Department (UPD) and the Security
Awareness Committee.
“Lighting is an ongoing process
!hat, from the police department stand-
toint, is addressed on a daily basis
vith our security and police personnel,
who, while on duty, if they note areas
hat need lighting or lighting that is out
iue to a defective light bulb, then they
a
I took the Corps es
cort if I had to walk a
long way at night be
cause it made me
more comfortable.”
— Katlin McCrady
junior nutrition major
ndsev- report it on a daily basis,” said Elmer
jlchneider, chair of the Security
l^wareness Committee and associate
said be Jirector of UPD.
hopee Residence Hall Association Presi-
lent Josh Kaylor, a sophomore agri-
^^lultural development major, said stu-
concerns about hghting in
:an he| arl > cl| l ar areas are usually addressed.
JUdri “There are definitely a few areas
neet * corrections, but Dr.
* ufefouthcrkmd. vice president for stu-
11 lent affairs, and the people from op-
ong eiations take a lighting tour every se-
^ a ml fester, an d they normally tend to
Q Ut ^ 0 rrect those areas where they see de-
grriesal^eHC'eS’” Kaylor said.
j n galso; Schneider said Southerland and
3rgesofifr vera ' students accompany the com-
itingobfittee on annual nighttime surveys to
issa# areas lacking lighting, and, ifnec-
ntence- c f iS ary will ask University administra-
| Ion for additional lighting.
I The campus must meet both Uni-
► lersity and national* guidelines for
* ■ lighting levels, Schneider said.
Hot f “Those lighting standards are taken
into effect on everything we do on
Itmpus, whether it’s a parking lot or a
Ireet or lighting in and around side-
—Threfwalks and buildings,” he said,
iptivity'; Increased lighting around side-
ker Ke r lalks and buildings is one way to re-
jiy witb : ;duce the opportunity for crime on
r, but ff |timpus, but it does not always stop
hazy <%ime, Schneider said,
action “A lot of times when we go out and
I secwllkabout lighting, people want to ask
tfCheJe, ‘Where are the areas that we
spentgjshould avoid?’ and I refuse to answer
ofW^Mat, not because there aren’t places
itionD like on cam p USi 5m because of
1 b* aZI !ihe attitude it builds that if they’re in
1 area ^ at * s we b-lit. then they don't
:)0 ' have to worry about crime,” Schnei-
J - , ;V dersaid. “Lighting is one of the tools
z Lfeed to prevent crime, but it all has to
6 on us t0 * :)e aware °P our sur "
where ;f® undin g s -”
to cM
tion .
at
ery bef]
i luck
ivity
Artificial turf
■
Ramy Hanna, a junior environmental de
sign major, puts mode} grass on a scale
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
topographical profile of a proposed pro
ject for Life Lines Foundation.
Former Cadets
may stand trial
Court rules 2 should be charged
with failing to report } 97 hazing
Staff & Wire
AUSTIN — Twp former Texas
A&M students could stand trial on
charges of failing to report a hazing in
cident involving the Corps of Cadets,
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
ruled Wednesday.
Former Cadets Dustin Hugh Boyd
and Javier Chapa were indicted in a
March 1997 hazing incident that result
ed in A&M’s Corps of Cadets Fish Drill
Team being disbanded.
Two lower courts had previously de
cided that requiring a student to report
hazing in which he may have partici
pated would violate the constitutional
right against self-incrimination.
The court of criminal appeals, how
ever, said state law provides for civil and
criminal immunity from charges that
might result from reporting or testifying
about the incident.
The all-freshman drill team was dis
banded after a member complained
that upperclassmen beat him and
forced him to cut himself with a knife.
Nine students, including Boyd and
Chapa, were charged with misde
meanors and suspended from A&M af
ter three more freshman made similar
allegations.
A 1986 law designed to stop hazing
made it illegal for anyone with firsthand
knowledge of a hazing incident at an ed
ucational institution not-to report it to
authorities.
The decision to discontinue the Fish
Drill Team came as a three-part agree
ment reached by Commandant Maj.
Gen. M.T. “Ted” Hopgood, A&M Vice
President for Student Affairs Dr. J. Mal-
on Southerland and 1997-98 Corps
Commander Danny Feathers.
Both the trial court and the 14th
District Court of Appeals in Houston
said the law violated the defendants’
constitutional rights against self-in
crimination.
The court of criminal appeals ruled
unanimously that both defendants
would have been entitled to immunity
had they reported the charges. The court
then reinstated the charges against Boyd
and Chapa.
University administrators worried
that the rulings would strip them of a
valuable tool when investigating hazing
incidents.
Southerland; A&M President Dr.
Ray M. Bowen; Lane Stephenson,
deputy director of University Relations;
and Maj. Doc Mills, public relations
spokesman for the Office of the Com
mandant, all declined to comment on the
recent developments, citing the Univer
sity’s policy prohibiting comments
about ongoing legal proceedings.
As a senior cadet in 1965, Southerland
served as president of the Association of
Former Fish Drill Team Members.
Mark Welsh, 2000-2001 Corps com
mander and a senior finance major, also
declined to comment about details of the
decision, but said a feasibility study is
being conducted to determine the possi
bility of reviving some form of a fresh
man drill team.
The Corps of Cadets Fish Drill Team
was introduced to A&M in the late
1940s. At the time, the Fish Drill Team
See Decision on Page 2A.
Man shot by Secret Service
White House officials: President Bush was never in danger
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man
brandishing a gun outside the White
House fence was shot by a Secret Ser
vice officer Wednesday after a 10-
minute standoff, officials said. The
episode triggered a tight midday securi
ty clampdown.
President Bush was safe in his resi
dence, exercising, at the time. Vice Pres
ident Dick Cheney was working in his
office. Laura Bush was at the family
ranch in Crawford, Texas.
AA/hite House Shooting
An Indiana man waving a gun outside
the White House fence was shot in
the knee by a Secret Service officer
Wednesday. No shots were fired by
the man during his encounter with law
enforcement.
PENN S YLVA_N I A_AV E.
Fence •
Old
Executive
Office
Building
Southwest i
i-- gate
O)
X
te
White House
Area of
shooting
The Ellipse
Treasury
Dept.
EST,
500 feet
Sources: White House: AP wire reports
“The president understood that he
was not in any danger,” said White
House press secretary Ari Fleischer.
The wounded man was Robert W.
Pickett, a 47-year-old accountant who
lived by himself in Evansville, Ind., ac
cording to law enforcement officials. He
was taken to nearby George Washington
University Hospital where he was to un
dergo knee surgery and psychological
evaluation. He was in stable condition.
Officials said the episode began
when police heard shots and approached
a man with a handgun on the sidewalk
outside the fence on the south side of the
White House.
“He was waving it in the air — it was
pointed at the White House gf one point
— and pointing it in all directions,” said
Park Police spokesman Rob MacLean.
At one point, the suspect placed the gun
in his mouth, MacLean added.
White House press secretary Ari
Fleischer said officers on regular patrol
“heard shots fired and proceeded to sur
round the subject.”
“A 10-minute standoff ensued upon
which time the Secret Service fired a
shot into the suspect’s leg,” Fleischer
said. Asked why officers fired on the
suspect, Fleischer said they “felt it was
necessary. ... He was armed with a
weapon that he had discharged.”
The confrontation occurred on a
street frequented by tourists, within sight
of the fountain on the South Lawn of the
White House.
Secret Service spokesman Marc
Cqnnolly said an officer fired one shot,
which struck the gunman in the right
knqe, and no shots were fired by the man
during his encounter with police. How
ever, law enforcement officers were in
vestigating whether the man fired shots
before police approached him.
Pickett was not listed in Secret Ser
vice files as a known threat to the pres
ident, law enforcement officials said.
Evansville police said he did not have
a criminal record. Secret Service
agents were seeking a warrant to
search his home.
Neighbors back home described
Pickett as a friendly man, an accountant
who had lived in a modest home in
Evahsville and kept a neat lawn. He fre-
quehtly jogged. •
“I was really surprised. As far as I
kne\y, he was an outstanding neighbor,”
said Lewis Gates.
At the hospital, Dr. Yolanda Hay
wood, associate professor of emergency
medicine, said the man was conscious
and balm but had not said anything.
Secret Service agents were using
metal detectors in an effort to find shell
casings to determine how many shots
were fired in the incident.
1 '
See Gunman on Page 7A.
Aggies tutor local
elementary kids
By Elizabeth Raines
The Battalion
Thousands of local ele
mentary school children are
progressing by leaps and
bounds with the help of
Texas A&M student volun
teers, school district offi
cials say.
“Each year we document
the progress of a child work
ing with an Aggie buddy
with a pretest at the begin
ning of the year and a post
test at the end of the year,”
said Dr. Katy Pruitt, the
Bryan Independent School
District director,of compen
satory education. “On aver
age, every year the students
working with a volunteer
have an increase in their
reading level of two years.”
Wanda Williams, a par
ent of a Bryan student, said
that one-on-one tutoring has
helped her son tremendous
ly in his classes.
“With all the students in
the classes at different lev
els, it can be very frustrating
for both the teachers and the
students,” Williams said.
“Luckily for us, my hus
band and I are able to be
flexible with our time and
get our son to after-school
tutoring with his teacher.”
For Bryan ISD and Col
lege Station ISD students
who cannot attend after
school tutoring, more than
2,500 A&M students donate
time once a week to give
them the attention they need.
Christine McFarland,
coordinator of the Celebra
tion of Learning program at
College Hills Elementary
School, said they have iden
tified students who do not
receive enough one-on-one
attention or love at home or
school.
“The volunteers are both
role models and mentors to
the children they work
with,” McFarland said.
College Hills is one of
the five elementary schools
in College Station that par
ticipates in a school volun
teer program.
“Not only do we use the
program as a way to help
students who are behind,
but we also utilize it as an
accelerated program for
See Tutors on Page2A.
pata on courses available
leade^
)C 0 f fy Rob Munson
-KtC# Vte Battalion
iday n lC ; | Whether looking for an easy
gd tres Aor a c j ass t b at f lts t b e j r ] earn _
m wel'.Ia needs, students can now go
of c3®ii ne to find the right professor,
y cliee 1 l The Student Government As-
tishe v Sciation’s (SGA) online course
n e T^lide and Pickaprof.com both al-
0ddeO • | ov students to browse for free a
"iue h-' iarchable database that contains
_Acher evaluations and course
ne ^°n® adc distributions.
3 ion '|J When it is fully operational,
ion, m sgA course guide Website
^Mtp://sga. ta m u. edu/gu i de) will
all iw students to review state-
Websites offer a
comprehensive
look at professors
ments, awards, syllabuses, course
evaluations and grade distribu
tions of individual professors.
SGA Executive Vice Presi
dent Rob Ferguson, a senior po
litical science major, said it is
important to make course infor
mation available to the student
body on the Internet.
Professors can submit a gen
eral overview of their courses.
This can be useful for students
who wish to find a teaching style
that will help them learn the
most, Ferguson said. Teaching
awards also provide a useful way
to determine how a professor has
performed in the past.
“If information is accessible
on the Internet, it can help make
the faculty become better teach
ers,” Ferguson said.
The SGA Website features
grade distributions, Q-drops,
withdrawals and the number of
See Grades on Page 2A.
Electrical
changes
install new sewer
line with three
manholes at Hogg
Street
Revise basement air-
conditioning system
Remove asbestos
from building
Total renovation
expenses
RUBEN DELUNAAThe Battalion
Sbisa costed $2 million
more than anticipated
By Rob Phillips
The Battalion
Due to unanticipated setbacks, the
year-long renovation project of Sbisa
Dining Center exceeded its budget by
more than $2 million.
An original budget of $6.6 million was
decided by the Board of Regents in De
cember 1997, but it was increased to $10
million the following July due to new ideas
for the project. Once the remodeling got
underway, many complications arose,
boosting the final cost to $12.5 million.
“There were a few extra things we
needed in the landscaping and so on, and
these things we just put in our budget,”
said Cindy Zawieja, associate director for
Food Services.
Much of the additional cost went to
upgrading the air-conditioning, electrical
and plumbing systems in the basement,
said Guy Cook, assistant director of the
facilities constmction division and Sbisa
project manager.
“There were probably 15 items that
See Sbisa on Page 7A.