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
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TODAY
t>Ot)0c&O&
tomorrow
ooeooooo
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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