Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2001)
lesday, June 12, • I > ■ I home to bee use of death v injection; i opsy will be p originally .e May 16,buttl ament postponij after it was™ 1 withheld neaij documents™ ore his 1997m v:i vi: rNihfv) ,).■/> y June 13, 2001 Volume 107 ~ Issue 154 6 pages 1 News in Brief Campus Internet connection down after flooding ■ Flooding in Houston caused campus computers to ose their primary link to the In ternet this past Saturday (June ?) at about 9:30 a.m. ■ Although A&M's primary in to the Internet has not ■en restored, students are iblo to access the internet on ■npus computers through an alternate link provided by the ■iversity of Texas since Sun- The service has been and /vill continue to be slow be cause the alternate link pro- /ides only an amount of about am sixth the bandwidth of the ■rmal primary link. ■There is no estimated time as to when the primary link will ■ available. Stawser accepts a position as dean ■Jerry R. Strawser has accept- adlthe position of dean of the joyvry Mays College and Grad- jate School of Business at Texas A&M. Strawser, who has aeen the interim dean of Uni- /efsity of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business since 1999, A/ill begin his new appoint- n^nt as dean of A&M's busir ness school July 1. ■Strawser told Texas A&M University Relations that the Lowry Mays College opportu nity is one of the few he would consider leaving the University oTHouston to pursue. Vhile at Houston, Strawser )rams Idery, riming, ring, )ers, irts, ets, irms, More received numerous awards and honors. He was named the Arthur Anderson* and Co. Alumni Professor of Accoun tancy and Taxation, received the Executive MBA Alumni As- iociation distinguished Faculty ^ward, the NationsBank Mas ter Teacher Award, the Melch- 2r Award for Excellence in Re- earch and co-authored several jooks on accounting. Before going to the Univer ity of Houston, Strawser spent ive years teaching at Louisiana itate University. State Dfficer charged with lelping an inmate escape from prison USTIN (AP) — A Travis Behind ^^L- our| tV corrections officer was RjJT^TT^^harged Tuesday with helping n inmate escape from the ounty jail. ■Christopher Troutman, 32, vho had worked at the jail for ight months, was charged dth permitting or facilitating he June 1 escape of Brian /loore. Troutman faces up to !0 years in prison, if convicted, ffjvloore is still at large. Trout- BalaDC6 nan was booked on $100,000 _ . ’ on d. Rotation I, not the service. ieel alignment >3-8575 lhc Aggie Card Battalion News Radio: 1 57 p.m. KAMU 90.9 www.thebatt.com t VlrMi m I A It] J l k f i ^ r W1 University fights copyright infringement of 12th Man Mark Passwaters The Battalion All Texas A&M students and many people around the nation have heard of the “Twelfth Man” tradition in which stu dents stand throughout football games just in case they are needed on the field. What many may not know is that the phrase “Twelfth Man” is a licensed trademark of Texas A&M University. T he University’s collegiate licensing de partment, in association with the Li censing Resource Group, is in charge <5f finding those who violate this license. In the past, infringers on the trade mark have included not only small or ganizations but large ones such as ESPN. One of the more recent violators of the trademark was the group Cock- fans, a group of University of South Car olina fans based in Moncks Corner, S.C. On their Website, Cockfancentral.com, the group dedicated a page to “The 12th Man Club,” an unofficial fan club for Gamecock athletics. The site gives fans a chance to “join over 800 other diehard Gamecock fans by registering for the 12th Man Club.” “The 12th Man Club is a new and unique way to unite behind the Game cocks ... The idea of the T2th Man’ is just that — to be the equivalent of the 12th Man for the Gamecocks ... the 12th Man Club is for Gamecocks who believe in this team” the site continues. When asked about the club and the possibility of an infringement on Texas A&M’s trademark, University of South Carolina Athletic Director Dr. Mike McGee said the school had no knowl edge of or involvement with the club. “We’d just assume they (the 12th Man Club and other unofficial clubs) would go away,” McGee said. The 12th Man Club did come to the attention of A&M’s Collegiate Licens ing Office and the Licensing Resource Group, who sent Cockfans a cease and desist letter on June 4. “We are requesting your cooperation in immediately discontinuing the use of marks owned by Texas A&M Universi ty by removing all “12th Man” refer ences from your Website,” the letter said, adding that legal action may be tak en if changes are not made within 30 days. As of June 11, no changes to the site had been made. “Most of the time, [the infringers] are cooperative,” said Rosa Rodriguez, licensing assistant in the Office of Col legiate Licensing. “They didn’t know See Copyright on Page 2. Six Aggies caught in flood, one drowns awaiting help Stuart Hutson The Battalion Last Friday, six Aggies be gan on their way to a Bob Snider concert at the Satellite Lounge in Houston. The jour ney left one dead and the rest thankful for their lives. Senior information and operations management ma jor Chad Garren was killed in the massive flooding in Hous ton last weekend. Garren and two friends, Mark McDavid and Jeremy Hammond, pulled out of Garren’s drive way only to have Garren’s ve hicle hit with a sudden rush of water. Neighbors claim the street was practically dry only minutes earlier, said Travis Garren, Chad’s brother and a junior industrial distribution major at Texas A&M. T he water carried the vehi cle down the street and slowly began to fill its interior. The three men climbed out of the windows in an attempt to swim to safety, but only managed to reach a nearby tree. A neighbor who witnessed the incident called 911, and a rescue team arrived almost an hour later. During the next few hours, the team pulled two of them to safety, but when they retrieved Chad it was too late — he had already drowned in the steadily rising water. “The two that were with him said that Chad made everyone feel that everything was going to be OK by talking and mak ing jokes,” Travis said. “He took charge of the situation. He was so brave and so courageous — those were the qualities that made him special.” The three were suppose to meet with senior industrial distribution major Hunter Jones, senior psychology ma jor Brooke Mays and senior journalism major Shane Alli son at Chad’s house before leaving for the concert. Be cause of the bad weather, Al lison, Mays and Hunter de cided to go directly to the concert in Mays’ SUV. “To know that we might have been there, and what might have happened — I just can’t imagine,” Allison said. The three made it to the concert which ended shortly after 1 a.m. because of a foot- high flood of water in the building. Leaving the lounge at 3 a.m., the three quickly en countered floodwaters rising above the hood of Mays’ SUV In a desperate attempt to find safely, they parked in a strip mall’s parking lot which rose above the flood level. “It was like an island, but it was shrinking as the water kept coming up,” Allison said. “But we decided that it was the safest place to be. Everything that could go wrong was going wrong. All the cell phones were out be cause of the flood and there wasn’t a sign of police around if some one decided to panic and do something crazy.” Allison said he then waded through hip-high water to a local conven ience store for supplies to get them through the night. “There was so much looting,” he said. “Peo ple were just walking out SPECIAL TO THE BATTALION Above: Interstate 10 was under water Saturday. Below: Shane Allison (left) and Hunter Jones (right) overlook a bridge along a Memorial Park jogging trail in Houston. See Flood on Page 2. SPECIAL TO THE BATTALION A&M senior dies in Colorado Stuart Hutson The Battalion Senior killed when Senior recreation, park and tourism sci ences major Kevin Piskura died Friday near Rifle, Colo., when his vehicle flipped while he was traveling from an Astro’s game in Denver. Piskura, who was doing an internship with the Colorado Bureau of Land Man agement, may be gone, but his friends and family plan to ensure that he and his unique view of life is not forgotten. “He was die type of guy who could walk into a room of strangers and, ten minutes later, be everyone’s friend,” said Todd Up church, Piskura’s longtime friend and roommate and a senior speech communi cations major. “He lived life in the moment and with such a sense of fun that everyone couldn’t help but find life a little better when he was around.” Upchurch said he and other members of the improvisational comedy team Freudi an Slip and Piskura’s parents plan to re member Piskura’s spirit by forming a schol- his vehicle flipped arship to fund one student’s participation in Outward Bound, a semester-long class that places individuals in a wilderness environ ment to teach survival and sporting skills. (( He was the type of guy who could walk into a room of stangers and, ten minutes later, be everyone's friend.” — Todd .Upchurch Piskura's roommate and friend “There was talk of putting the money to ward a scholarships that pays for books, but we figured that that just wouldn’t be Kevin’s speed,” Upchurch said. He said Piskura’s participation in the Rocky Mountains-Colorado Outward Bound program was a turning point in his life. “It was what made him the way that we knew him,” Upchurch said. “Even now, he is still living more than he was before.” Piskura’s father, Jack Piskura, said the ex perience led to Piskura changing his major and philosophy of life. “He was a great kid who had a lot of plans that would make any parent proud,” he said. “After going to the Rocky Moun tains, he was just inspired in a way that kept me and other people around him inspired.” Upchurch said Freudian Slip will match any amount raised by Piskura’s parents. If the amount is more than the cost of send ing one student to the Outward Bound pro gram, the extra will go toward the cost of another student’s attendance. The money contributed by Freudian Slip will be taken from ticket prices for a special show in the fall dedicated to Piskura. Student killed in accident Man charged for the hit-and-run Elizabeth Raines & Stuart Hutson The Battalion Shorty before 10 p.m. on Monday, Heidi Heather Hopps, a Texas A&M senior veterinary student, was killed in a hit-and- run accident in Biyan while jog ging with her husband James Matthew Hopps, a Houston law student, who is currently in crit ical condition. Bryan Police Department (BPD) Sergeant Ernie Montoya said the couple were headed northbound in the 4100 block of College Main near Country Place Apartments and West Brookside Drive when a pickup truck driving on the wrong side of the road struck the two. Montoya said the BPD re ceived a call on Monday night from a witness stating that two people had been hit by a pickup truck that fled the scene. The BPD arrived on the scene with in minutes only to find that Hei di had died and James was in critical condition. James was taken immediate ly to St. Joseph Regional Health Center. Later, he was flown by Lifedight to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, where he remains in critical condition. BPD found the driver of the truck, 2 5-year-old Chad Shead of Bryan, approximately one hour later, when he was involved in another accident at Old Col lege Road near Wellborn Road. Shead’s truck matched the de scription given earlier by a wit ness of a 1995-1998 dark pick up with front damage and the passenger-side mirror missing. The. BPD. immediately took Shead into custody and charged him with three felony counts: two counts of failure to stop and render aid, a third-de gree felony, and one count of intoxicated manslaughter, a second-degree felony. Heidi’s body was identified by police Tuesday when her in ternship supervisor at Booneville Animal Hospital, Dr. Laurie Lipsey, reported her as missing and as resembling the description of the female hit-and-run victim. “I thought she might have been tired and overslept since she helped me with emergen cies Sunday night straight into a long day Monday,” she said. “I was very worried that some thing was wrong when she was one hour late because’she was always early and she wasn’t an swering her phone. “One of our technicians put See Student on Page 2. See Accident on Page 2.