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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2001)
News in Brief Community - System for verifying grades will be changed for elections Matthews receives death by injection I Ynobe Matthews, the 25- year-old convicted of raping ard murdering 21-year-old Gtrolyn Diane Casey in May 2C00, was sentenced to death F[iday. ■ The seven-woman, five- m in jury deliberated for four- ajpd-a-half hours before re timing with their verdict for ■atthews, who is also ac cused of raping and murder- itjg 21-year-old Jamie Hart ajhd sexually assaulting five other women. Prosecutors said Friday it is unknown if Matthews will stand trial for those charges. I Because Matthews was slntenced to death by injec- tiSbn, his case will be automat ically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Traditions security stabbed Saturday A/Thi Battaim esponsible mer wh6n > sai pact k A security officer working at the construction site of the Traditions Dorm was stabbec in the leg Saturday night. The ofiicer reported he was at tacked by an 1 8- to 20-yeai old African American male who was five-foot 1 1-inches tall and weighing about 1 4C pounds. I The officer was taken tc the College Station Medical Center where he was treated and released*—- - - —= - — iated remain'is. State craft will bet- p err y warns price size of a too r. mcainer can Qougers after storm s.iges, plus c® c 0 v. Rick Perry warned » with the I state agencies late Thursday people. of possible price-gouging espacecraft’s stemming from cleanup ef- hin sheet of re: farts because of Tropical use the sun’s Storm Allison, vard, Chafer• ' "I have become concerned about reports of possible Plfice-gouging in the South- Icist Texas region," he said. "If frpe, such practices will only / from Po^revictimize those devastated b|the flooding." like the iriw^B the Texas Deceptive trade practices Act prohibits charg- ^ood job attlidng excessive prices for fuel, g out the fti'food, medicine and other ne- appreciatech ces sities during a declared di: hateh (Fo.v aster - The penalty is $200 OC at theh’ ^r r v ' 0 l a f' 0n - If the act is t h centurywhuite ™ ne y °ne 6 • i 0r older, the penalty increa: ,d an expedlt.; es to $ , 0 000 per v |' olation civilization ot ,■ Anyone aware of such acth ovie has toiu ities should contact the Atto 'arqssic Park .vney General's office at 1-80( ists is assemblers 7-3928, or via the Internet i icfactor who^w oag.state.tx.us. ime f n f AS f ASTROS fa RANGERS ^ SPLIT LONE STAR SERIES [Opinion iljm quick Tl ' FIX NOT * 4 SOLUTION Battalion News Radio: .1:57 p.m. KAMU 90.9 www.tbebatt.com Robin Lewis The Battalion Last semester, senior Boo Boo Davies was found ineligible shortly after he was elected senior yell leader for the 2001-’02 school year. In a controversial decision, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. J. Malon Southerland allowed Davies to remain a yell leader on the condition that he brought up his grade point ratio (GPR) to a 2.25 this summer. Some lauded Southerland for his de cision while 200 others staged an April 30 protest on Southerland’s lawn. All agreed that the lapse in grade verifica tion should never have happened. In an attempt to halt further lapses, student activity leaders have reformed the campus election process by requir ing three University officials instead of one to verify students’ grades and asking student groups to present a list of re quirements for elected positions. The minimum qualifications, fixed by the University, for a student to hold office " 1 1 '■ ' —J O includes a 2.0 GPR to apply and a 2.0 in all subsequent semesters. The University, however, gives stu dent organizations the freedom to take these recommendations and set higher standards if desired. For example, the yell leaders’ consti tution requires a candidate to have a minimum 2.25 GPR to run and to main tain a 2.0 while in office. Davies, who was mistakenly approved to run for office, was later found un qualified for the yell leader position. “This year, we just made an adminis trative mistake,” said Kevin Jackson, di rector of student activities. He explained that relying on one per son to do the grade checks for all the stu dent organizations was not enough. “We are all human,” Jackson said. “There’s always a chance that a mistake can be made.” The Department of Student Activities See Elections on Page 2. mmm m mmmw mmmm C7 • THREE STUDFNT ACTIVITY OFFICIALS INSTEAD OF ONt WILL VERIFY GRADE REQUIREMENTS •EACH STUDENT GROUP MUST SUBMIT A SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS TO STUDENT'S APPLYING FOR ELECTED POSITIONS r mm Clt===t> CHAD MALLAM/The Battalion Search for design firm continues University unable to reach agreement with one selected Stuart Hutson The Battalion The University’s search for a safety design firm will take longer than expected because of an inabili ty to reach a contractual agreement between the University and its first choice, Vallen Knowledge System Corp. Dr. Bryan R. Cole, head of the University’s Bon fire Steering Committee, said the deadline for se lection of a safety design firm has now been moved to August 1, instead of June 1. The selected firm will work with CBM Engineer ing to finalize three plans which will be presented to the student body for final selection. The two week presentation is still expected to take place at the begin ning of Fall 2001. Cole said the agreement with Vallen Knowledge System Corp. fell through because they wanted to make significant changes to Univer sity’s contract. “The sent it to their lawyers, who basically rewrote it,” he said. “They in cluded a number of points which the University could not accept. One of which was their wish that the University wave sovereign immunity.” Sovereign immunity is a stipulation required by the Texas State Legislature which limits the liability of government officials. Cole said the University could not agree because only an order from the Texas Legislature could waive the immunity. “[The immunity] could slow down our search some,” he said. “But we are opening up our search on a wider scale and we are putting the details of our requirements up front so that potential firms can come into this with their eyes open.” Cole said that the final deadline for the future Bonfire designs has not been altered, and that the University still intends to do its best to have a Bon fire in 2002. Vallen Knowledge System Corp. Administrators could not be reached for comment. tt They sent it to their lawyers, who basically rewrote it. They included a number of point which the University could not accept.” — Dr. Bryan R. Cole head of Bonfire Steering Committee ANDY HANCOCK/The Battalion Former students Miles Oberten, Class of '99; Greg Pryor, Class of '97; Randy Estes, Class of '99 and Brian Mancrief, Class of '99, sway to the Aggie War Hymn Friday night at Enron Field in Houston. Aggie Night at Enron ANDY HANCOCK/7he Battalion Texas Ranger Alex Rodriguez watches as catcher Ivan Rodriguez bats against the Astros Friday night. Maroon-clad fans attend Friday Lone Star game Mark Passwaters The Battalion Last Friday’s Houston Astros-Texas Rangers game at Enron Field already had a distinctive Texas flavor to it, as it was the first time the two teams had ever played each other in Houston. On that night, however, the red of Astros’ shirts and the blue of Rangers jerseys had competition from the maroon of thousands of A&M shirts worn to Aggie Night. The Astros came up with the idea of Aggie Night three years ago and have seen.the program’s popularity gsow each season. “I think it’s really special that we have a night like this, especially when Texas [the Rangers] didn’t seem interested,” said Ryan Bellows, a Class of’00 graduate who now works with the Astros. With the Rangers in Houston, the game seemed to many to take on a bigger meaning. “It’s cool that we have them here. We have the interstate rivalry,” said Layne Wiatt, a member of the Enron Field grounds crews and a senior wildlife and fisheries sciences major . Gov. Rick Perry, Class of’72, threw out the first pitch as the Aggie War Hymn played in the back- See Aggies on Page 2. Perry vetos bill prohibiting execution of AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have banned the execution of mentally retarded killers, saying the state al ready has safeguards in place to pro tect such inmates. The bill “is not about whether to execute mentally re- PERRY tarded capital murderers. We do not. It’s about who makes the determination in the Texas ju dicial system,” Perry said at a news conference. The veto came on the last day he could sign or veto bills before they become law without his signature. Perry criticized the bill as a way of giving judges the power to overturn a jury’s determina tion of whether an inmate is mentally retarded. “It basically tells the citizens of this state ’we do not trust you to get it right,” Perry said. Bill sponsor Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said Per ry’s veto was embarrassing for the state. “It gives us the appearance of being barbaric,” Ellis said at a news conference at his Houston home. “Governor Perry had a historic opportunity to show the world that we are not only tough on crime, but fair and compassionate as well. He missed that opportunity.” The bill would have allowed the jury to determine during the trial’s punishment phase whedier a defendant is mental ly retarded. If so, the person would have been sentenced only to life in prison. If the jury determined the person was not mentally retard ed, a defense attorney would have been able to petition the judge to consider the issue, and two experts would have been as signed to make a determination. If the evidence had shown retarded the defendant was mentally re tarded, the judge would have been required to issue a life in prison sentence. “It sends inconsistent mes sages,” Perry said. “It says to ju ries ’we trust your judgment if you determine that a defendant does not have the mental capac ity to understand what that means. But, we don’t trust you when you determine that he does have the mental capacity to See Execution on Page 2.