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1 )X News in Brief
pportofCatb -Community —
igwithtopctj an sentenced to
,1 for area murder
July 12, 2001
lume 107 ~ Issue 170
8 pages
fork repre*
Force One?
:e House Jan
ow.
•ctween SdiE
. Cardinal^fcLLEGE STATION (AP)—
Prairie View man has been
of good ntenced to life in prison for
jence,” Bushs liny a Navasota woman after
i to visit diet:If interrupted a dispute be-
on Ellis Island him and girlfriend,
am , he bom A| l :)ert Lee Stoneham, 24,
n slogan. T as f ounc l guilty earlier this
Wof killing Perneisha Moore,
dolphGi*^ 1 "? |ud 9 e lerry Sandel
■ed the sentencing udg-
3 r meonn , ent Monday
isiire. Air.iMi* C c ° rd ; ng to court test imo-
ivoild. /, Stoneham and his girlfriend
•cmocrat A -ere arguing in September
t in Novembc J9 at a housing complex
eas in New 'hen Moore asked them to
:K*d me dour ike their disagreement some-
i ink the same J» re ^Ise.
j:]Btoneham shot Moore in the
l»t with a small-caliber semi-
•matic pistol.
Bandel considered Stone-
am's criminal history in as-
essing his punishment. Stone-
Iarn had been paroled in
|A^ember 1 998 from a state
————iripon where he was serving
n.12. 10-year concurrent sen-
rested Mondjences for aggravated assault
)f murder aregp a deadly weapon and de-
nd was of a controlled substance,
bail at Sacn-lf
J ail * § State
^dler dies after
told detecti; being left in SUV
iis home-fT:
sabel was ft PLANO (AP) — A 3-year-
his deskw old boy died Wednesday in a
of the sec oot sport utility vehicle where
and fell tc oe apparently had been play
ing at his family's Plano home;
police said.
■ Temperatures in the Dallas
■burb were near 100 degrees
■me time he was found. The
SFiperature inside a closed ve-
■je in such heat could reach
■0 degrees, the National
n*0Cl a her Service sa id.
^S^^jB^olice said Cory Clark was
O P^onscious when para-
marriage all^p^'os arrived. They believe
need to coming Was in the vehicle for about
right thing.” i n ^ in r utes befor e he was
y members were
. Q r UrKt s de the house.
Va ‘ V I b°y w as transported to
ot includetho-jL Medjca| Center
r advisorybo^Here he later died,
ig leadersot:"|i;Po|ice are investigating the
opal bishop,sheat h, which they say appears
1 representatwe an accident.
rofessore : P n charged with
College andtiprcler of girlfriend
:re Dame ■* , A %
■ASPER (AP) — A 22-year-old
erress fromhf ft Pe '. ma o has been indicted in
heamendKC,*^*. 0 ' his gi-K-iend,
^er-^ Bt in the head outside her
orne in June.
-tantthanp^^larcus Dwain Brown was
with no po- parged Monday with capital
iui der in the death of Thomas,
ve adopted ■9- she is the mother of his two
defining n 1 Mhren, ages 4 and 1 7 months.
yoman.Da^ l as per police said that
islatureswoTOwn, who had an on-again,
ar it to pass. 8^9310 relationship with
cpwral veaiswH" 195 ' went to her home on
-ess Thereli‘ Jn< ' 9 and allegedly dragged
. . r er out of the house before
t3tution-o* otjng her ,
ituation is nitfa
els said. “It
: courts —
d
INSIDE
Aggielife
Utah jud|
vsuits cli ;
1 fornicad
cause peoj
ed, plaini
it danger
ing sex.
barged ali
e about t
i Anient
nth of $
Battalion News Radio:
1:57 p.m. KAMU 90.9
www.thebatt.com
ias filed a fli
ic charge.
Design contest deadline near
Stuart Hutson
The Battalion
Junior industrial distribution major
Amanda Dieter has put weeks of work and
years of emotion into a design for a piece
of art that may never see the light of day.
.Dieter’s work is not for a class. It is not
for fun. Dieter’s design is her own vision
of a memorial that encompasses the
emotional strife that was the 1999 Aggie
Bonfire collapse.
Ever since that chilled November day
when tradition became tragedy, those af
fected by the collapse have searched for
a suitable memorial to the fallen Aggies.
Now, a special committee appointed by
the University is accepting applications
for the memorial’s design.
T he deadline to register for the con
test is Sunday; however, design submis
sions are not due until Aug. 31.
“Bonfire means so many things to so
many people,” Dieter said. “Everyone
has their own memories and experi
ences. It’s going to be hard to capture
all that spirit and have it reflected in
this memorial. Anyone who can do it
should be rewarded.”
Designs will be reviewed by an unan
nounced jury of noted art, architecture
and engineering professionals from
around the country, as well as selected
representatives from the A&M commu
nity — one of whom is a parent of one of
the Bonfire victims.
The jury will choose four designs to
be reviewed by two corresponding com
mittees who will provide feedback. The
first committee will be composed of fam
ily members of students who were in
jured or killed in the collapse and the in
jured students themselves.
T he second committee will be com
posed of students, former students, fac
ulty, staff and administrators.
“We want to ensure that as much of
the A&M community as possible has in
put on this memorial,” said Vice Presi
dent for Student Affairs Dr. J. Malon
Southerland. “But the professionals are
there to ensure that the memorial will
work practically and aesthetically.”
The jury will review the feedback
and announce the winner on March 7.
The four finalists will receive $10,000
each, and the winner will receive an ad
ditional $10,000. Submissions that re
ceive honorable mention will receive a
total of $30,000.
So far, the committee has received
designs suggestions ranging from life
like statues of the 12 carrying a log to a
memorial garden to a fire-proof pole
that could serve as a center pole for fu
ture bonfires.
See Memorial on Page 2.
1. Area last of Houston Street and North ot Clayton Williams Alumni Center
2. Area Northeast ot the lack K. Williams Administration Building
3 Cam Park
4. Polo field
RUBEN DELUNA/THf Battalion
Flying leap
JP BEATO/The Battalion
Ben Inman, a graduate zoology student, watches as Ryan Reist, a junior nutrition
science major, takes a leap off a 20-foot cliff into the waters of Lake Georgetown
Wednesday.
Safety issues
discussed at
conference
Elizabeth Raines
The Battalion
Representatives from more
than 200 colleges and universi
ties throughout the United
States and Canada met at Texas
A&M this week to discuss
everything from the sick build
ing syndrome to the correct way
to dispose of hazardous waste.
On any campus,
you have all differ
ent types of people
with all different
types of safety
hazards.”
— Dr. Robert Emery
University of Texas Houston
Health Science Center
Representatives attended
the five-day 48th Annual Inter
national Campus Safety,
Health and Environmental
Management Association
(CSHEMA) Conference. The
conference, part of the Na
tional Safety Council-Campus
Safety Division, gave safety and
health professionals from dif
ferent college campuses an op
portunity to discuss present
and future safety issues.
“On any campus, you have all
different types of people with all
different types of safety haz
ards,” said Dr. Robert Emery
from the University of Texas
Houston Health Science Cen
ter. “This conference allows for
[the different college represen
tatives] to share their experi
ences and address different is
sues of importance.”
Each day of the conference
was divided into diree tracks and
52 classes. Different tracks in
cluded: fire and life safety, emer
gency disasters, laser safety, and
the sick building syndrome.
Emery said the sick building
syndrome was one of the major
issues discussed at this year’s
conference and a topic he sees
returning as a major safety issue
to colleges in the years to come.
Benita Mann of San Diego
State University said sick build
ing syndrome occurs when oc
cupants of a building complain
of a set of symptoms such as
headache, fatigue, memory loss
or throat irritation, that cannot
be related to a specific cause
such as but are alleviated when
the person leaves the building.
“You often see signs of mold
and bacteria growth in discol
ored walls, floors, ceilings and
carpets,” Mann said. “Just
cleaning — even with bleach —
See Safety on Page 2.
Wilkens put to death
HUNTSVILLE (AP)
Apologizing profusely and re
peatedly asking for forgive
ness, convicted killer James
Wilkens Jr. was put to death
Wednesday night for a shoot
ing spree that claimed the lives
of his ex-girlfriend’s 4-year-
old son and her new boyfriend
almost 15 years ago in Tyler.
“I am sorry. Please hear me.
Please understand. In the
name of God, please forgive
me,” he said, looking at San
dra Williams, the mother of
the 4-year-old killed in the
rampage. Only Williams, shot
in the back, survived.
“Find peace and comfort. I
am sorry. For your sake, for
give me, all of you,” he said,
looking at Williams and the
child’s two grandfathers, who
also witnessed the execution.
Then he turned to several
friends who also were witness
es and expressed love to them
and thanked them for “giving
me more than I deserve.”
Then Wilkens prayed, ask
ing God to forgive “die horror
I have committed.”
After telling the warden he
was ready to go and urging that
“God be with all of you,’ ” he
exhaled once, gasped a couple of
times and slipped into uncon
sciousness as the drugs took ef
fect. He was pronounced dead
at 6:23 p.m. CDT, eight min
utes after the lethal dose began.
Wilkens, 39, was the 10th
condemned inmate to be exe
cuted this year in Texas, where
a record 40 convicted murder
ers were executed last year. At
least seven more executions
are scheduled over the next 10
weeks.
Wilkens was already on pa
role after serving 14 months of
a five-year sentence for robbery
when he was arrested a day af
ter the child, Larry McMillan
Jr., was shot repeatedly as he
cried on a couch. Also killed in
the rampage two days after
Christmas 1986 was Richard
Wood, 28.
Wood was dating Wilkens’
former girlfriend. According
to testimony at his trial,
Wilkens broke into Wood’s
empty trailer home and wait
ed until Wood and Williams
and the child returned from an
out-of-town holiday trip.
All three were shot when
the apparently jealous and en-
raged Wilkens opened fire
with a .22-caliber semiauto
matic rifle. Only Williams,
shot in the back, survived.
Wood was shot in the head.
The child was shot 13 times.
CSU adopts new
alcohol
LONG BEACH, Calif.
(AP) — Nine months after a
California State student drank
himself to death, the nation’s
biggest university system
adopted some of the most
sweeping restrictions in the
country on college drinking
Wednesday.
The restrictions include
limits on alcohol-company
sponsorship of parties both on
and off campus.
“This is not a California
problem. This is a national
higher education problem,” said
Chancellor Charles B. Reed af
ter the unanimous vote by the
trustees at CSU, which has
about 368,000 students at 23
policies
campuses. “Xhe message is that
we are going to pay attention.”
The new policy bans, for ex
ample, naming student events
after a brand of beer. These ac
tivities — popular among fra
ternities, sororities and other
organizations — rely on funds
and products provided by alco
holic-beverage companies.
The policy applies to off-
campus parties held by univer
sity organizations.
Other directives include
developing early-intervention
and treatment programs, no
tifying students of changes in
alcohol laws and rewarding
See CSU on Page 2.