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FRIDAY
February 9, 2001
Volume 107 ~ Issue 91
Section A - 8 pages
Section B - 6 pages
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cia-Aranda at formation on Thursday night.
Cadets gather for
Military Weekend
ras
|By Mariano Castillo
I The Battalion
A quest for education, leadership and perse-
erance are traits that link students in military in-
istitutions, said Maj. Gen. Ted Hopgood, Coin-
ihoma City, ■mandant of the Corps of Cadets, to a group cadets
strike hispLaParticipating in Military Weekend.
D.m. and wef* More than 70 cadets from 17 colleges and the
whenweleliw military academies are visiting Texas A&M to
J : wshare experiences from military institutions and
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Jose Garcia-Aranda
West Point junior
Jose Garcia-Aranda, a West Point junior, said
he opportunity to be at the conference serves as a
break and a learning experience.
“It makes you think about issues that we might
ot think about otherwise,” Garcia-Aranda said.
Dr. Jim Olson, CIA officer-in-residence at
he Bush School of Government and Public Ser
vice, led the first round-table discussion with
tories of his most memorable assignments as
n undercover officer.’
“| Dr. Olson] raised some great points for dis
cussion,” Garcia-Aranda said. “The speakers and
round table discussions have been beneficial.”
Topics of discussion included “Ethics and
United States Intelligence,” “Service and Deci
sion” and “The Changing Military Obligation.”
Military Weekend,'an 18-year-old tradition,
brings together cadets from various institutions to
discuss issues pertinent to them as future military
and civilian leaders, said Military Weekend Pres
ident Greg Martin, a senior management major.
“Our goal is to address issues and concerns that
leaders have and facilitate knowledge and com
mentary from the other cadets," Martin said.
It also gives cadets a chance to compare their
lifestyles. .
Garcia-Aranda said the cadets at A&M and
those at West Point share the same principles, but
differ greatly in everyday life.
“It’s a different culture,” he said. “There’s lots
of freedom here. It seems like fun.”
In addition to round-table discussions, Mili
tary Weekend activities include a Military Re
view today at 5 p.m., A&M tours and a Military
Ball Saturday night.
Overall, the visiting cadets have been im
pressed with A&M, Martin said.
“I’ve heard nothing but positive responses,”
he said.
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tudents entering Corps
ises steadily for 10 years
lecruiting new freshman key to continuing trend
r Heather Barber
Battalion
The number of students in the Corps of Cadets
is been steadily increasing during the past 10
jears, said Mark Welsh, Corps Commander and a
:nior finance major.
But Welsh said the perpetuity and size of the
)rps depends on the success of Corps recruiting
Efforts for freshmen.
In August 2000,700 freshmen arrived for Fresh-
jan Orientation Week (FOW). On Aug. 30 there
Jere 1,947 members, including 163 women. This
jgure is a slight increase from last year's numbers,
jhich were totaled 1,938 cadets, 149 of whom
[ere women.These numbers are representative of
rollment in the Corps on the third class day of the
111 semester.
The size of the Corps fluctuates every year, but
: average since 1971 is 2,133 members.
Welsh said the Corps aims for a 75 percent re
tention rate for incoming freshmen. The retention
percentage for the freshman Class of 2004 was
80.69 percent. There were four outfits this year that
have a 100 percent retention rate.
There are certain key times when the Corps ex
pects freshmen to drop out, specifically after FOW
and winter break.
“A&M generally expects to lose approximate
ly half of the incoming freshmen women,” said
Maj. Rebecca L. Ray, executive assistant to the
commandant.
She said that most women do not realize the in
tensity of the Corps until they have actually partic
ipated in the program.
Aside from the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, United States Air Force Academy and the
United States Naval Academy, the Corps is the
See Corps on Page 6A.
Aggies for Life to host
anti-abortion exhibit
By Brandie Liffick
The Battalion
A series of 18-foot-tall panels depicting images of aborted
fetuses will be on display at Rudder Fountain next week.
Members of Justice for All, a nonprofit organization affil
iated with the Genocide Awareness Project, travel with the
5,500-square-foot display to universities across the United
States. Aggies for Life contacted Justice for All and offered to
sponsor the group on the A&M campus.
“Everyone mourns the death of people, but none of us are
mourning these murdered babies,” said Daniel Spenrath,
president of Aggies for Life and a senior computer science
major. “It’s a mother, a child and an action.... Without pic
tures, it’s just philosophical. More than eight mothers go to
Planned Parenthood (in Bryan) a week to kill their son or
daughter.”
Peter J. Durkin, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Houston
iind Southeast Texas, condemned the exhibit 4s “disgraceful.”
“I think it’s hateful towards women and an issue of incred
ibly bad taste,” Durkin said. “These people condemn abortion
and compare it to the Holocaust of the Jews and lynchings.
That type of comparison doesn’t even warrant a response.”
The setup will include a video screen and audio speakers,
on which Spenrath said an embryostopy will continually run.
Unlike a sonogram, which monitors a fetus’ image external
ly, an embryostopy captures images of the fetus internally. The
footage shows a : fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy.
“The embryostopy is very graphic,” Spenrath said. “It
shows the baby moving around and his or her features.
“For those that are doubtful as to whether a baby in the first
trimester of pregnancy is actually a baby, this will definitely
make them think. It is shocking.”
The exhibit has traveled to only one other university in
Texas — the University of North Texas (UNT). According to
UNT student government association vice president Dustee
Tucker, students reacted with mixed emotions.
“The Feminine Majority Leader Alliance, a group here on
campus, protested the Justice for All event,” Tucker said.
“They hung (coat) hangers in the trees and carried hangers
around to symbolize what abortion was like before it was le
galized ... a few words were exchanged. But we had security
present and that seemed to ward off any major incidents.”
Next week, University Police Department (UPD) will ro
tate six security guards on two different shifts for the duration
of the exhibit.
“There have been problems in the past in other universities
because of the graphic nature of the panels,” said Maryann
Weiderhold, a UPD spokeswoman. “We are hoping that our
presence will be enough to discourage problems. We are more
of a precautionary measure than anything.”
Because of problems in the past, interlocking barriers will
surround the display, leaving approximately 20 feet between
it and the observers.
“We do not expect anything bad,to happen.” Spenrath said.
“Typically, [students] are upset the first day the exhibit is pre
sent. You’d think that they would be mature about it. but some
times they are not,” he said.
See Exhibit on Page 654.
Wehner Building
to add new wing
By Courtney Stelzel
The Battalion
The Lowry Mays College and Grad
uate School of Business is once again up
grading its facilities by adding a new
wing, estimated to cost $ 10 million, to the
Wehner College of Business Building.
“The new wing will total more
50,000 square feet and will almost per
fectly match the existing building,” said.
Phil Haas, architectural project manag
er for Facilities and Planning.
Officials said they that state-of-the-
art facilities are needed in order to be
considered one of the most elite busi
ness schools in the nation.
Haas said plans for expansion have
been in progress since Wehner’s com
pletion in 1994. He said the new facili
ty will branch off the main plaza outside
Wehner and work with existing designs
and facilities. •
The first floor of the new wing will
feature a large-scale staircase, an exhib
it area, an extensive lobby, a mock stock
exchange trading Boor and classroom.
The trading room is a model of a
full-size trading floor like the New
York Stock Exchange. The second
floor will consist of public use areas
and classrooms. The third and fourth
floors will house office suites for grad
uate programs.
There is a $10 million budget for
the new wing, but the estimated cost
for the current plan totals $10.55 mil
lion, Haas said
“The only problem we have right
now is how to get this project down to
our budget,” Haas said, adding that the
architectural firm that designed the
plans is working on reducing the costs.
The design plans have already been
approved by the Board of Regents, but
a final draft of the project has not been
completed.
Dr. Don Hellriegel, user coordinator
for the Wehner Building expansion and
a professor of management, said Wehn
er has provided insufficient space since
it was constructed.
See Wehner on Page 6A.
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Physical plant to scare birds away from campus
Methods will include noisemakers,
pyrotechnics to halt, control roosting
By Jeanette Simpson
The Battalion
A plan devised by the Texas
A&M Physical Plant to remove
migratory birds from the Texas
A&M campus will begin Saturday
at 5:30 p.m.
Richard Williams, interim as
sistant vice president for the Phys
ical Plant said workers will use
noise-making devices, including
shell crackers, screamers and oth
er pyrotechnics, to scare the birds’
as they begin to settle for the night
on main and West Campus. The
noise will continue until 6:15 p.m.
“In the past, noisemakers have
been the best method to disperse
the birds,” Williams said. “The
noisemakers do not cause any
harm to the birds, it will just scare
them off.”
The noisemakers will continue
through Feb. 13. Other measures,
including the removal of approxi
mately 40 trees and pruning of all
remaining trees will also take
place, Williams said.
“We will only be removing the
trees which will need to be re
moved for the construction of the
West Campus parking garage,” he
said. “By pruning the remaining
trees, there will be fewer spots for
the birds to roost.”
Les Swick, interim director for
facilities, said the explanation for
the large populations of grackles,
starlings and blackbirds is quite
simple.
“We have built an environment
that is excellent for roosting,”
Swick said. “The trees are all close
together, in a straight line and close
to plentiful feeding grounds.”
Parking areas 56 and 61 will be
closed Saturday and Sunday for
the cleaning and removal of the
trees. Portions of Parking Area 61
may remain closed until Tuesday
in order to complete the tree re
moval.
IFC has
record
grades
Corps average
has slight drop
By Heather Barber
The Battalion
The 18-member Texas A&M Inter
fraternity Council (IFC) posted a
record-high cumulative grade-point ra
tio (GPR) of 2.755 for Fall 2000. The
average GPR of the 1,030 A&M fra
ternity members is three one-thou
sandths short of the national IFC GPR
— 2.758.
“The rise in grades is due to a
recommitment of the IFC to focus on
academics,” said Scott Blackwell,
A&M Greek Life adviser.
The three fraternities with the high
est GPR are Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma
Nu and Beta Theta Pi.
According to the Measurement and
Research Services department at
A&M, the Fall 2000 GPR for the
35,526 undergraduate students was
2.8427. The GPR for the 6,012 fresh
man students was 2.6172.
The fraternities and the Office of
Greek Life work together to maintain
academic goals and standards for fra
ternity members. If a fraternity mem
ber’s GPR is below 2.0 for two con
secutive semesters, they are expelled
from their chapter.
Individual fraternity chapters have
introduced incentives to their members
to encourage scholastic excellence: is
suing better parking spaces and frater
nity-house rooms to members achieving
See Grades on Page 2A.