THURSDAY
March 1, 2001
Volume 107 -Issue 105
Section A -8 pages
Section B - 8 pages
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uide
Southerland rejects dry-campus
Sommer Bunce
'emattalion
Texas A&M Vice President for
Hnt Affairs Dr. J. Malon Souther-
id|ejected a proposal to make the
mpns alcohol free this fall.
In. i decision released Wednesday,
aitherland said the alcohol policy
residence halls will be changed
affect students of legal drinking
e next year.
~ Alcohol will be allowed in rooms
nly if both residents are of legal
e, j Southerland wrote in a memo
drlssed to Ron Sasse, director of
jsidcnce Life.
According to rules already in
ace. students who are 21 may keep
Alcohol to be prohibited from rooms where minors reside
alcohol in a room if they do not con
sume it in the hallways or with their
doors open and if they do not allow
access to alcohol to minors.
In response to this aspect of the
decision, Sasse said that any room
with a student younger than 21 will
not be allowed to have alcohol. Res
idence Life will attempt to assign
people of the same age in rooms to
gether, Sasse said, though more dis
cussion within the department is nec
essary before changes to current
assigning take place.
Residence hall advisers and hall
staff will ■ follow normal room-
change procedures to accommodate
«
I'm satisfied with
this ruling.”
—SMatt Fuller
Residence Life Staff Council
students who wish to have a room
mate of legal age, Sasse said.
So-called “squatter’s rights” will
still exist for residents assigned to a
room, Sasse said. In an email ad
dressed to Residence Hall Associa
tion executives, Sasse wrote that no
underage student currently assigned
to a room with a student of legal
drinking age will be required to move
to oblige the older student.
“In other words, an of-age stu
dent could not tell his roommate
that they had to leave because he
wanted someone who was of age so
they could have alcohol in their
room,” Sasse said.
Last summer, Southerland ap
pointed a subcommittee on alcohol
to find ways to combat alcohol
abuse on campus. The subcommit
tee gave six recommendations, in
cluding making the campus resi
dence halls alcohol free.
Before making a final decision
on the dry-campus issue, Souther
land asked for input from Resi
dence Life and thq Residence Hall
Association (RHA).
In January, RHA delegates voted
unanimously against the dry campus
proposal. ,
“Fm satisfied with this ruling,”
said Matt Fuller, a Hart Hall resident
adviser and member of the Residence
Life Staff Council. “It’s a good rul
ing for students and administration
both because it addresses a problem
that we do have on campus but it
doesn’t hurt a student’s legal rights.”
Most of the subcommittee’s oth
er recommendations have been im
plemented, including the recom
mendation that substance-free
housing be made available by the
Fall 2001 semester.
Southerland’s decision requires
more substance-free housing op
tions to become available to meet
student demand.
See Decision on Page 7A.
borm contract
renewal begins
1
iference
_ on campus need
to renew or cancel
contract
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
VB rady Creel
heBattalion
Residence Life contract renewal
Jgins today for pn-campus residents
ho wish to live in residence halls
?aiu next year.
• Cherney Rydl, associate director of
esidence Life, said all students cur-
:ntly living on campus need to inform
J esidence Life of their decision, re-
ardless of whether they wish to renew
r cancel their contracts.
Rydl said cancellations and deposit
iflnd checks will be processed for
udents who choose not to renew their
antract. Renewed contracts can be
arfceled before April 1 with no penal-
', she said. •
■here will be some changes to next
ear’s on-campus configuration.
■Kydl said Keathley and Hughes halls
'ill be closed starting January 2002 in
le third phase of the renovation plan for
balcony-style halls. Schuhmacher was
renovated in Spring 2000, and Mclnnis
is currently undergoing renovation.
Residence Life will also claim a big
ger stake on the Quadrangle next year.
The upper three floors of Kiest Hall,
which are currently occupied by -the
Corps of Cadets, will become a non
cadet female Residence Life hall. The
first floor will remain in place for the
Corps staff.
Rydl said the decision-to utilize more
of the Corps housing was made after a
study of A&M students and Corps re
cruitment and retention was done.
The first floors of Aston and
Krueger halls will become substance
free next year.
Sue Foster, associate director of Res
idence Life, said the new substance-free
floors will not include a grandfather
clause for current residents.
“If they want to stay there, they
would have to stay in the (substance-
free) program,” Foster said.
The decision to use the two Commons
halls was made for multiple reasons. Fos
ter said Residence Life wanted to offer
the substance-free program to students
with physical disabilities and meet the
demand of incoming students. Currently,
all substance-free floors are on the third
or fourth floors of the buildings.
“It is not surprising that a lot of in
coming freshmen are interested in liv
ing in the Commons,” Foster said.
“That’s really what guided our choice.”
Foster said the inaugural year of the
substance-free program has been suc
cessful, and Residence Life expanded
the capacity of the program because it is
See Renewal on Page2A.
Three cars collide on University
Clearing scene of accident delays traffic
By Brady Creel
The Battalion
Four people walked away unharmed
from a Wednesday afternoon vehicle ac
cident in which two vehicles struck a car
leaving campus when it failed to yield
right-of-way.
Vernon Autry of Brenham and Dawn
Smith of Caldwell were traveling west
bound on University Drive about 5:30
p.m. Autry’s Chevrolet S-10 pickup was
in the left lane and Smith’s Ford Explor
er was in the center lane.
Christopher Lee
gineering major,
Terry, a sophomore chemical en-
struck two vehicles on University
BERNARDO GARZA & ANDY HANCOCK/The
Drive with his car Wednesday. No one was injured
in the accident.
Danny Junek, a patrolman for the
College Station Police Department
(CSPD) said the driver of the Civic was
Christopher Lee Terry, a sophomore
environmental design major. The pas
senger in the car was Jessica Marie
Taylor, a sophomore chemical engi
neering major.
Autry said he and Smith were about
side by side when they struck the Civic,
which was turning left onto University
Drive from Houston Street.
Autry and Smith broadsided the
Civic, and the momentum car
ried them across the street, and
over the curb next to the
Loupot’s Bookstore building.
Smith said her airbags de
ployed and she was wearing
her seatbelt.
Junek said ambulances re
sponded to the call, but no
one needed to be taken to the
hospital.
“It was basically a minor ac
cident, but just looked big be
cause of where it was at, and it
was 5 o’clock traffic,” he said.
The manager of the book
store said none of the employ
ees saw anything, but they
heard some noise from up
stairs.
Junek said Loupot’s sus
tained minor damages.
“One of the vehicles struck
the south wall and cracked
some bricks and bent a win
dow frame,” he said.
Junek said westbound traf
fic on University Drive was de
layed while the scene was
cleared. Normal traffic re
sumed shortly after 6 p.m.
A
ggiestry
lo reduce
ower bills
By Rob Phillips
Jbe Battalion
J Because of a surprisingly cold
prwmter in Bryan-College Station,
■udents have seen their wallets
^ grow thinner while paying for in-
1 | ££31 creased electricity costs in recent
Months.
The power cost adjustment, a fig-
e used in determining utility bills,
is nearly doubled from .008 to
1)14. This, in addition to the in-
creased use of heat during the win-
m ter months, has resulted in unusual-
/ j ly high bills, a major concern for the
average college student.
1 I Cathy Starks, customer service
^Supervisor for College Station Util-
N lilies, said many students have asked
S ip 0111 the rising costs but she thinks
tire power cost adjustment will drop
■ext month.
■ “At this point, the temperatures
are leveling off, and it seems to be
going back down,” Starks said.
■ Many students returned from
TMLpyinter break to find their electric
|■)ills more expensive, partly because
K lyBhe heaters had to remain on. Starks
Mrjaid.
See Elect ricity on Page 7A.
Women’s successes important to University
By Risha Bryan
The Battalion
Texas A&M will celebrate
Women’s History Month, a national
celebration honoring women’s
achievements, with full extravagance
this month. Following the theme, “A
Celebration Success,” Women’s
Spirit Month ’01 sponsors of events
throughout March highlighting the
achievements, issues, motivations
and interests that define women’s
lives. The celebration begins today,
with the annual luncheon and awards
ceremony featuring Liz Carpenter, a
journalist, author and formqr press
secretary for Lady Bird Johnson,
wife of former president LBJ,
Dubbed “a political artifact, an
aging feminist and author and lec
turer,” Carpenter covered the Roo
sevelt administration as a reporter
and the Johnson administration as
press secretary and staff director.
Carpenter was chosen by former
President Gerald Ford to serve on
the International Women’s Year
Commission in 1976 and 1980.
President Clinton honored Carpen
ter’s writing talent by appointing
a
Women's Spirit
Month is especially
significant for Texas
A&M because
women have not
always been here.”
— Lara Zuehlke
publicity co-chairwoman
her to the advisory committee of
the White House Conference of
Aging. Carpenter recently pub
lished her fourth book. Start With a
Laugh: An Insider’s Guide to
Roasts, Toasts, Elgies and Other
Speeches.
Other highlights of Women’s
Spirit Month include: “The Ages of
Women’s Health,” a program fea
turing Yvonne Green, associate di
rector of women’s health at the Cen
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention; a series of brown-bag
luncheons; lectures on women in
history, entertainment and public
service; and other performances.
“Women’s Spirit Month is a good
opportunity for all people in the Bra
zos Valley to recognize the activities
and successes throughout the com
munity’s history,” said Lara Zuehlke,
publicity co-chairwoman for
Women’s Spirit Month and commu
nications specialist for the Lowry
Mays College of Business.
“Women’s Spirit Month is especial
ly significant for Texas A&M be
cause women have not always been
here. We want to recognize the ac
tivities women have brought to the
See Women on Page 7A.
A8dVfs reputation in military remains strong
By Mariano Castillo
The Battalion
The most famous saying of Aggie lore may
be the quote credited to Gen. George Patton:
“Give me an army of West Point grads, and
I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas
Aggies, and I’ll win a war.”
Texas A&M’s history is linked closely to
the military. A&M began as a full-time mili
tary academy and continues to commission
more officers than any other school with the
exception of the military academies.
As the University changes, so have the
type of military training on campus and the
armed forces.
Even though the military is not the same as
in Patton’s day, former and current A&M stu
dents in the military sector say that the Uni
versity maintains a strong reputation in the
armed forces.
Col. Jake Betty, Class of’73, will complete
28 years of service in the U.S. Army in May.
As adviser for the First Brigade of the Corps
of Cadets, he has seen many A&M graduates
enter the armed forces during his career.
After graduating, Betty immediately went
to Fort Benning, Ga. Fort Benning was com
posed of students from all over the nation par
ticipating in infantry training.
His training at Fort Benning gave him an
opportunity to observe people from other
training backgrounds, Betty said.
“Our people were more prepared to go
into the military than others from ROTC
programs , he said.
Betty said he remembered being more
ready than students from other military insti
tutions, such as the Virginia Military Institute
and the Citadel.
Historically, comments from A&M re
garding the military have been positive. There
are also instances when people’s actions work
ing with Aggies have made strong statements
about A&M’s military reputation.
During his active Army career, Betty was
chosen from a company in the 101 st Airborne
Division to solve some problems because his
superiors trusted Aggies.
“There was already one Aggie in the com
pany,” he said. “I was specifically assigned
there because I was an Aggie. They didn’t beat
around that issue.”
An A&M degree is valuable in the Army,
Betty said.
“[The position received] was not so much
because of me, but the reputation of A&M,”
he said.
Many cadets question the value of Corps
See Military on Page 2A.
This is the final story in a three-part series
about the value of a Texas A&M degree.
Part I focused on the international presence
of A&m graduates and Part II focused on
the Aggie Network. The focus of today is
military reputation.