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.