The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 02, 2001, Image 1
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.