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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2001)
UESDAYAUGUST 28, 2001 Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 1 SECTION • 12 PAGES X A :. A X College Station, Texas www.thebatt.com Nl WS IN liKII I UPD stresses campus safety ■As the fall semester begins, students are being encouraged ■authorities to stay informed about campus safety issues. ■ Statistics gathered by the University Police Department (UPD) show a 50 percent increase of criminal charges filed during the 2000-2001 iEhool year. ■ UPD suggests taking advantage of several services that are provided. I The Corps of Cadets Guard 'Room offers a 24-hour escort Service, where a cadet will escort students to any location ■ campus. Another service is Be residence hall shuttle, [which operates from 6:30 p.m. | 2 a.m. The shuttles run lutes similar to those run by ius Operations. I Emergency telephones also are located throughout campus. Man gets 20 years for drug trafficking I HOUSTON (AP) - A Ironton man was sentenced to 20 years in prison without larole for helping smuggle larijuana from at least three irug rings through Starr iounty ranch lands. Frederico Perez was a part if a drug-trafficking organiza- :ion that transported about ibout 100,000 pounds of mar ijuana, U.S. Attorney Gregory, r. Serres said Monday. The organization circum vented South Texas border patrol checkpoints by shepherd- V/pg loads of marijuana on jranch roads, Serres said. In one irrest, Perez was found trans- irting 599 pounds of marijua- in another 2271 pounds. PUBLIC EYE m Annual salary of Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen $250,000 TODAY Summer Lovin’ Students remember good, bad summer flings Big 12 fwerhouses? Opening weekend leaves unanswered questions on strength of title favorites Nebraska and OU OPINION Page 11 Cures on the horizon? • Bush should encourage more stem cell research WEATHER TODAY t>Ot)0c&O& tomorrow ooeooooo HIGH 94° F LOW 73° F HIGH 93° F LOW 72° F FORECASTS COURTESY OF www.weathermanted.com MSC president under fire By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION Memorial Student Center (MSC) Council President Josh Rowan is under investigation by University officials for inappropriate behavior during a University-sponsored trip to Italy this summer. ei ■ related editorial on pane I l Rowan, a senior agricultural develop ment major, was one of five student lead ers who, along with three University staff members, acxompanied 31 freshmen on the two-week Champe Fitzhugh Jr. Rowan accused of misconduct on University-sponsored trip to Italy International Honors Leadership Seminar, an MSC-affiliated program. Dr. Bill Kibler, associate vice presi dent for student affairs, investigated alle gations of misconduct by Rowan, and Friday submitted a report to MSC Director James Reynolds. The report will not be released publicly. A student on the trip, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rowan is solely to blame for much of the miscon duct that took place. “Several inappropriate actions occurred on the trip, including inappropriate sexual advances, contributing to the consumption of alcohol by minors and the use of an ille gal drug. There is nothing the MSC or the honors program could have done to keep this from happening. If these allegations are validated by investigators, Josh Rowan is fully at fault,” the source said. Rowan denies any wrongdoing but refused to comment on specific allegations. Another student on the trip, who also asked for anonymity, said Rowan fre quently went out and consumed alcohol with some of the freshmen. “It really bothered me that a small group were going drinking almost on a daily basis,” the source said. “Josh would go out drinking with the guys, but in a way, it was good because he took care of them. Some of [the freshmen] got pretty drunk, and [Rowan] made sure they got home safely and that they got up on time.” However, Rowan set a poor example See Rowan on page 6. Boo Boo is back Senior Yell Leader Arouna “Boo Boo” Davies, a recreation, park and tourism sciences major, leads a yell at Monday's All-University Night in Rudder Auditorium. Davies' eligibili ty was questioned after his election because he did not GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION meet academic requirements. Davies was placed on inac tive duty during the summer and was required to gain a cu mulative grade-point ratio of 2.25 this summer to keep his yell leader position. His active status has been restored. Safety firm needed for Bonfire 2002 By Sommer Bunge THE BATTALION If the Bonfire 2002 Planning Group can contract a safety firm in the next few weeks. Bonfire might burn again in November of 2002, officials say. Vallen Knowledge Systems Corporation, first selected in April to help plan the safety aspects of the Bonfire 2002 design and student leadership structure, revamped the terms of their contract in June, adding stipulations that “we couldn’t accept,” Steering Committee Facilitator Bryan Cole said last week. “In my perception, they wanted out of the contract,” Cole said. “And they wanted us to be the ones to pull out.” The Planning Group rejected the other original applicant as unqualified to work with Bonfire and in June began to solicit con tractors, sending invitations to more than 600 firms. By the July 10 deadline, only one firm had replied to the planning group’s request for qualifications. That firm was deemed unqual ified by the reviewing board of planning group and Physical Plant members, Cole said. A safety firm is essential to the work of the Bonfire task forces. Cole said. Following A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen’s parameters for a “for ever safe” Bonfire, the design, risk management and student training plan cannot be complet ed without the input of safety professionals, he said. “Part of our problem is this is such a unique thing to request from a firm,” Cole said. “There isn’t anybody out there who is a real Bonfire expert.” The Planning Group sought a proposal from Marak Safety Services of Houston in mid-July after looking for a qualified safety consultant who might not have been contacted before. Marak, which specializes in construction and the safety of construction workers, stands as the only contender for the bid to help design Bonfire. “Chances are very good that we will be able to work with Bonfire,” said Jay Marak, owner of Marak Safety Services, and general safety consultant for the AGGIEMM BONFIRE mj* Houston division of the Association of General Contractors. “I don’t think any one has ever done a bonfire before. But especially when dealing with the training aspects, there are hazards that are similar to construction aspects.” Marak will submit his pro posal to CBM Engineers — the design firm hired to create Bonfire — this week, he said. After a review process, which could last a few weeks, the plan ning group will decide whether to accept Marak’s offer. If accepted, the next step will be finalizing the legal agreement between A&M and Marak. Cole said that although it is likely Marak will be hired as a consultant in the next few weeks. If the proposal is deemed unacceptable, he said he does See Bonfire on page 6. PTTS errs spelling on new parking permits By Chris Busta THE BATTALION Beneath the picture of the Texas A&M-engineered maroon bluebonnet on the 2001-2002 parking permits are the words of the scientific name for the flower, “lupenis texensis.” But look in any book or on the horticulture Website, and you will see the correct spelling of the maroon bluebonnet is lupinus texensis. Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) communications specialist Angela Newman said the department feels no embarrass ment for the misprint. In an official statement, PTTS blames the misspelled word on a printing error. “We apologize,” Newman said, reading the statement. “We did not mean to offend anyone. The mistake was a printing error. A reprint would be too costly. We wish we would have caught it before the printing process. We sincerely apologize.” If officials feel no embar rassment in the misspelling, some students do. Junior management information sys tems major Conor McGuire, who noticed the error when he picked up his parking per mit Monday morning, said he was disappointed. “You would think that some thing created here would be accessible enough that the administration of PTTS would be able to spell it, and not embarrass themselves with this incident,” McGuire said. The exact cost of reprinting the tags could not be confirmed by PTTS. Newman said that she was unaware of the spelling error until a horticulture student called the PTTS office Monday. a The mistake was a printing error. A reprint would be too costly. We wish we would have caught it before the printing process. 99 — Angela Newman PTTS communications specialist “I do not believe that we actually knew about the problem with the spelling ahead of time,” Newman said. “We are not embarrassed about the problems with the tags.” University Relations Executive Director Cynthia Lawson said Monday that the misprint was brought to her atten tion last week. Junior environmen tal design major Laura Langford did not notice the misspelling, but said now that she knows, she will probably just laugh every time she gets into her car. “It’s very embarrassing,” Langford said. “They’re always looking for things to say we’re [Aggies] are stupid about, so this will just be another.” GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION