FRIDAY
March 2, 2001
Volume 107 ~ Issue 108
8 pages
tiorv News Radio: 1:57 p.m. KAMU 90.9
(•} A? m rWfil • I 1'ii'l k’J 4 ;i>i ki <
www.thebatt.com
Former coach
lies at age 59
lay Dorr remembered as
lard working, dedicated
Son Lincoln
ie Battalion
Ffrnier Texas A&M assis-
football coach Ray Dorr
edlat his College Station
>m| Thursday after his bat-
fwiih amyotrophic lateral
derosis, known as ALS or
ou Gehrig’s disease at 59.
Dorr, the quarterbacks
aach at A&M from 1997-
9,Jeoached 33 years on the
Dllegiate level where he
elped develop some of the
oiintry’s best. In addition to
oaching at Kentucky, USC,
/ashington, Kent State and
vkron, he served as an NFL
uarterbacks tutor for War-
HMoon, Tom Flick, Steve
'Bluer; Chris Chandler,
lugh Milieu, Rodney Peete,
odd Marinovich and Rob
olinson.
■t)orr, diagnosed with
vLS in Spring 1999, re
named the Aggies' quarter-
>a|ks coach through the
99 u season before taking a
losition as special assistant
o^&M football coach R.C.
■cum after the 1999
Uaino Bowl.
■‘Words alone cannot ex
tress the great admiration I
ia|e for Ray Dorr,” Slocum
;aid in a press release. “In
:ollegiate athletics we talk to
)u| players about overcom-
na adversity and handling
he tough times.
||“Ray Dorr was a testimo-
ty to great courage, and he
vas a pillar of strength.
P“He touched so many
lives. Besides being one of
the very best coaches in the
business, he was an even bet
ter person. You could not
meet Ray Dorr without com
ing away blessed. He will tru
ly he missed.,” Slocum said.
II For nine months, Dorr
maintained his coaching po
sition while battling with the
disease. Dorr continued
working because he did not
want to put another burden
on Slocum, whose youngest
son John Harvey was going
through heart surgery.
“He did not miss one
meeting and still kept putting
in the 14-hour days,” Slocum
said. “Ray was teaching
everyone how to approach a
terrible disease in a positive
manner.”
At the same time, Dorr
coached Aggie quarterback
Randy McCown and then-
redshirt freshman Mark Farris
during the most prolific A&M
passing attack since 1994.
“Coach Dorr always had
us prepared, not only for
football, but for life,” Farris
said in a press release. “He
was an outstanding teacher
and a true friend. He was al
ways so easy to talk to about
anything. He truly loved his
players. I know all of the
quarterbacks and players
who have been around
Coach Dorr wanted him to
know how much we loved
him as well.”
A&M offensive coordi
nator and close Dorr family
friend Steve Kragthorpe took
over the quarterbacks coach
ing duties in 2000.
“It was a very, very sad
day for all of Ray Dorr’s
friends and family in College
Station and all over the coun
try,” Kragthorpe said. “But it
is the happiest day in Coach
Dorr’s life because he gets to
go to heaven.”
“He never ever, ever com
plained,” Kragthorpe’s wife,
Cynthia, said.
Kragthorpe recently be
came quarterbacks coach for
the Buffalo Bills, where he
will work with one-time
Dorr student Rob Johnson.
Dorr, known by players
and fellow coaches as the
“Mad Professor,” was given
the Broyle’s Lifetime
Achievement Award in 1999.
The award is presented to as
sistant coaches who have
made significant contribu
tions to collegiate football. In
his 33 years of coaching, the
only time he was not an as
sistant was a four-year stint as
the head coach at Southern
Illinois in the mid-1980s.
Before he was a coach,
Dorr was a three-year starter
at quarterback for West Vir
ginia Wesleyan, where he
compiled a 19-6-2 record.
He is survived by his
wife, Karen; two sons,
Stephen and David; and his
sister, Lynn Clayton.
Funeral services are set for
1:30 p.m. Saturday at Saint
Thomas Aquinas Catholic
Church in College Station.
STUART VILLANUEVA/Thk Battalion
Joe Dickerson (left) was selected as Corps Commander for the 2001 -02 year. Regan Turner will serve as Deputy
Corps Commander.
Dickerson, Turner selected to lead Corps
By Mariano Castillo
The Battalion
Joe Dickerson and Regan Turner
were selected Thursday to lead the
Corps of Cadets as Corps Commander
and Deputy Corps Commander for the
2001-02 academic year.
Dickerson, a junior geography ma
jor, will be the highest ranking cadet in
the 2,000-member Corps. As deputy
commander. Turner, a junior mechani
cal engineering major, will assist in
leading the Corps and serve as com
mander in Dickerson’s absence.
“I’m overcome with excitement,”
Dickerson said. “I want to thank the
board for having confidence in me.”
Dickerson and Turner were selected
by a board of eight senior cadets and
eight members of Maj. Gen. Ted Hop-
good, Corps commandant’s staff.
“The Corps remains the icon of
A&M,” Hopgood said.
Hopgood said the board’s selections
reflect the character, competence and
maturity of Dickerson and Turner.
“Both have outstanding grade-point
ratios,” he said. “They demonstrate
leadership by example.”
Corps Commander Mark Welsh, a
senior finance major, said Dickerson
and Turner are taking charge at a high
point for the Corps.
“The quality of cadets they will lead
is as high as it’s ever been,” he said.
Turner said he feels honored to have
been chosen as deputy commander.
“This is the most humbling honor
I’ve had,” Turner said.
The rest of the Corps leadership for
next year will be selected in the follow
ing weeks. The commanders for the two
Army brigades and the Air Force wing
will be announced next Wednesday and
Thursday, respectively. Commanders
for the remaining major units will be
announced soon after.
Dickerson said he and Turner are ex
cited about next year.
“The Corps is going to do great
things,” Dickerson said.
Replant will plant 800 saplings
By Brandie Liffick
The Battalion
Saturday marks the 11th annual Replant and the last time
the event will take place in the spring semester.
This year’s kickoff will be held at the Century
Tree on Saturday, where registered participants
will sign in and from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Speak
ers include Dr. J Malon Southerland, vice
president of Student Affairs; Forrest Lane,
student body president and a senior politi
cal science major; Pete Smith of the Texas
Forestry Service; and Rachel Hamnlers, the
1998 Replant director.
“Most of Replant’s funding is provided
by Aggie Mom’s clubs and local businesses,’
said Leanne Hall, director of Replant and a se
nior community health major. “The trees are do
nated to us through the National Tree Trust (NTT) as
saplings.”
Richard Jander, tree team leader and a senior agricul
tural economics major, said NTT donated 800 seedlings
to be repotted by one group of volunteers.
“Another group of volunteers will plant some
where around 310 to 312 older trees at the two
The planting sites are chosen based on each areas’ ability
to care for the trees once they have been planted.
“The trees are donated by the National Tree Trust, and
their one stipulation is that they are planted on public land,”
said Lori Salter, Replant adviser and coordinator
for volunteer services. “So Replant looks for
public areas that can devote the time and ener
gy to fertilize, water and generally maintain
the trees.”
Salter said, a large number of commit
tee members made it possible for Replant
to be held twice this year to make the tran
sition from a spring Replant to a fall Re
plant easier.
“We have one set of members working on
Saturday’s Replant, and another set already
planning for the one to be held sometime in the
fall,” said Salter. “The large number of students par
ticipating helps to make the transition an easier one.”
“We have decided to move Replant to the fall simply
because that is a better time to plant the trees,” Salter
said. “Trees survive much better if they can get their
roots in the ground and then fall into the dormant pe-
, . „ T . . , riod during winter. We already have a "high suT-
Bryan ocatmns, Jander said. ruben delnua/the battalion v ival rate, but this will encourage even more of
Volunteers will be assigned at kickoff to go ^ trees t0 surv i ve ”
to Somerville Lake to repot saplings, or to plant older trees The decision to move the traditionaUy spring event t0 the
fall is already facing criticism by students.
at Tiffany Park or the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex,”
said Allison Rosen, associate director of Replant and a ju
nior biomedical science major.
See Replant on Page 2.
Vacation
getaways
add extra
expenses
By Heather Barber
The Battalion
Bulletin boards on campus are filled
with fliers advertising discounted rates
for all-inclusive spring break travel
packages. Featuring beautiful beach
scenes, nightclubs, bikini-clad women
and low prices, the ads tantalize both
the eye and the pocketbook. However,
an analysis of some of the offers re
veals many hidden costs not mentioned
in the fliers.
Many students use spring break to
travel to locations such as Cancun,
Mazatlan and Acapulco through travel
agencies and tour groups. Packages
come in different sizes and may in
clude amenities like snorkeling, wake
boarding, wind surfing and free alco
holic drinks.
For travel companies like Student
Express, found at springbreakfree.com,
their promise of low fares is an impor
tant attraction for college students on a
budget. The price of each package in
cludes “round-trip air, deluxe lodging,
hotel transfers, all resort taxes, add-on
air from connecting city, 24-hour on
site staff, and various discounts.”
Customers seeking a March 10 de
parture date to Cancun may have a
problem because there are no flights
available from anywhere in Texas.
The package advertised for Mazat
lan was also limited, and a departure
from Houston for a four-night stay was
the only option. The cheapest package
was $429, but that does not include a
$200 “air add-on connecting city” or
the $93 for taxes and fees. The total
price jumps to $722.
Other packages include a trip to
South Padre Island for which partici
pants must provide their own trans
portation. The prices do not include the
mandatory $25 fee for registration and
a wristband.
The cheapest South Padre Island
package offered by Student Express
costs $224. Customers will stay at the
Iverness Resort and share a bedroom
with five other people.
When registering for any of the Stu
dent Express packages, the participant
must sign a “tour participant agreement”
that discusses extra fee8 and costs the
student may incur.
For example, customers must pay
Student Express a $40 “fuel surcharge.”
For all South Padre reservations, there
is a mandatory damage deposit of $50
in cash.
Some locations in Mexico require a
$100 room deposit per person.
Other fees that may be incurred in
clude various airport taxes and immi
gration fees imposed by the U.S. and'
Mexican governments and airport au
thorities for all people traveling to
See Costs on Page 2.
Synchronization
STUART VILLANUEVA/The Battalion
M'lyn Jones , a junior biomedical science Recreation Center Natatorium on Thurs-
major, performs the side stroke during syn- day. The strokes must be preformed with
chronized swimming class in the Student the swimmers' head above the water.
Judge rules mandatory drug tests
in schools violate the Constitution
LUBBOCK (AP) —
Mandatory drug testing vio
lates the constitutional rights
of students, a federal judge
ruled Thursday in a seventh-
grade boy’s challenge of the
LockneyIndependent School
District’s policy.
U.S. District Judge Sam
Cummings said he under
stands the motives behind the
policy, but no matter how
good the school board’s in
tentions, its mandatory, “sus
picionless drug testing” vio
lates the Constitution’s
Fourth Amendment.
“The Court... recognizes
that given advancements in
technology and research, a
mandatory drug policy of
testing every teen-age stu
dent could potentially elim
inate drug use for such an
impressionable segment of
our population,” Cummings
wrote, going on to quote late
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis.
“But with such an intru
sion also comes a great price
to citizens’ constitutionally
a
A school
cannot treat its
students as if
they are guilty
until proven
innocent”
— Graham Boyd
ACLU attorney
guaranteed rights to be secure
in their ‘persons, houses, pa
pers, and effects.’ ”
Graham Boyd, American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
national drug policy project at
torney representing 13-year-,
old Brady Tannahill, said the
judge’s ruling should send a
message across the nation.
“A school cannot treat its
students as if they are guilty
until proven innocent,” he
said. “The judge recognizes
that countering drug use
among young people is a very
important goal, but it does not
suspend the Constitution.
Some of the most insidious
invasions of our liberty have
taken place when intentions
have been the very best.”
Lockney ISD attorney
Donald Henslee said he will
advise the district to appeal
the ruling to the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cummings considered a
three-part test used in a 1995
Vemonia, Ore., case that went
to the Supreme Court. He also
considered a 5th Circuit case
involving the East Chambers
Independent School District
near Houston and a Georgia
case, which also went to the
Supreme Court.
In reviewing previous cas-.
es, Cummings wrote that there
are two reasons for establish
ing that a “special need” exists
for such drug testing.
Those two reasons are:
someone performing a high
ly specialized function,
which could affect public
safety, or a school district that
has an urgent need to solve its
drug problem and has contin
ued to fail in alleviating the
problem by other means.
Cummings said Lockney
did not prove either.
He said attending school
is not the same as working in
a highly regulated industry
and that the district’s argu
ment that its policy was nec
essary due to “a significant
drug and alcohol use (and
possibly abuse in some in
stances) among students,”
based on the arrest of a group
of Lockney residents does
not hold up.