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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2001)
IUESDAYSEPTEMBER 4, 2001 2 SECTIONS • 14 PAGES MEWS IN BRIEF ^g3aylor building |p:je ting rave reviews CO (AP) — Students and the Baylor t v * ■' s ' h ,),) i <n „ j bii4 step into the S ■jl' new law center. Hie new Sheila and Walter ^^^^Imphrey Law Center is open ."iJilfHfte After one week of class- i If the $31.3 million river- 'ont center just off Interstate CT ,5 ' p rofessor Meiissa Ess ^ alls if "a fitting environment HHthe standards to which aw school adheres.” ■s a far cry from the old • Morrison Constitution Hall. O ^"*1 CThe law school’s home ClV10Lj n( L 1955. Umphrey Center also t ISraCi 5 fbout twice as big as ^^■rison. with a three-story ^Hry. classrooms and iffices. ^^He project to replace the nabm^H 001 ' 5 outdated law uiied Nat»or,r' chDo1 facilities began Milution ec 'Ihlost a decade ago. A h raciNnuhc:Vashington, D.C.. architec- il \ comm ure firm designed the aeli war inmri28 000-square-foot build- • isolation o; ng, which besides more rid state. Hce includes technologi- ment was aff ;al aids such as automatic >us meeting Gutters for windows and began Sats f jM 0 recording capability in .1 ran into : -, rac ti C e courtrooms, ung. 1 ,sa.' spokesn ,, * L *-- icus at the ight the div." I good one facts. The is a racist i petration of tiding war c UKide and PUBLIC EYE Number of students who the Israeli g dined in at Sbisa apartheid ge. Tand Commons Dining Halls i Saturday and Sunday are facts, at>. he said. curs hip ic tion 7,575 TODAY ■T^'mida his n you! No. 18 Ags welcome UTSA Volleyball opens home schedule OPINION Page 5B mecessary suspension • Boy sent home for sexual harassment, victim of policies run amok Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years THE BATTALION SE rving the TEXAS A&M COMMUNITY SINCE 1893 Volume 108 * l sslie 8 College Station, Texas www.thebatt.com Rowan removed ]^“£olando Garcia ’ T-nE BATTALION The M enlorial Student Center (MSC) C t)Unt ‘* removed MSC Pivsident J° s ^ R° wan from office ^ yin a closed meeting. Rowan sait ' he Wl,, appeal the deeisi‘ ,n to Vice President ior Slud en ‘ Affairs Dr. J. Malon soUiherland. Rowan, a senior agricultural development major, was inves tigated by Dr. Bill Kibler, asso ciate vice president for student affairs, for allegations of mis conduct on a University-spon sored trip to Italy this summer. Members of the MSC coun cil, which consists of both MSC staff and student leaders, refused to say why they voted to remove Rowan. Ben Moffitt, MSC executive vice president for marketing and a junior See page 5B for a related editorial. political science major, said only that the findings in Kibler’s report warranted Rowan’s removal. Removal requires a two- thirds majority, but the council refused to release any records of the vote. “I respectfully disagree with the council’s decision, but 1 understand they were operating with limited information,” Rowan said. “I wish they would address this issue publicly, or at See Rowan on page 5A. Votes cast in a closed meeting Interpretation of state laws raised By BraNDIE LlFFICK THE BATTALION Citing a questionable exemp tion from state open-meetings laws, Texas A&M students and officials met in a closed session Monday night and removed Memorial Student Center (MSC) Council President Josh Rowan, a senior agricultural development major, from his position. MSC officials prohibited the public — including Rowan — from attending the meeting. Record of the meeting was not made available, and council members were prohibited from making any comment. According to the A&M System general counsel, the information discussed in the meeting falls under the protec tion of the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which gives par ents the right to view their child’s school records and pro hibits these educational records from being released to the media or any other outside organiza tion. In response. The Battalion cited the Open Meetings, or Sunshine Act, of 1976 which See MSC on page 5A. ii I respectfully disagree with the counciVs deci- sion y but I understand they were working with limited information. I wish they would address this issue publicly y or at least they shotdd tell me why I was removed. — Josh Rowan president of the 52nd MSC Council Josh Rowan, MSC Council president and a senior agricul tural development major, presides over the MSC Council, GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION possibly for the last time. In a closed session Monday, the council voted to remove Rowan from his position. PTTS dismisses weekend tickets 92 citations given prior to game will be removed for compliance ANDY HANCOCK* THE BATTALION Traffic begins to build up at the intersection of Wellborn Road and Old Main as students travel to class. By Amanda Smith THE BATTALION The Department of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) is dismissing 92 citations issued to students whose cars were parked in 12th Man Foundation reserved lots and towed prior to the football game this past weekend, PTTS officials said. Angela Newman, PTTS public information officer, said the PTTS administration made the decision to dismiss the tickets because students have made efforts to comply with the parking changes this semester. “It has never happened in the history of PTTS for the administra tion to dismiss tickets,” Newman said. “We want to thank the stu dents who are doing what they are supposed to, but we do realize stu dents are human.” The cars were relocated to Parking Area (PA) 71 on Agronomy Road on West Campus. Citations were given to those students whose cars were still parked in 12th Man lots including PAs 39, 46, 49, 48, 62, 69 and 91. See PTTS on page 2A. Taps to honor 10 Ags tonight By NoNI SRIDHARA THE BATTALION The Albritton Tower bells will toll “Amazing Grace" at 10:15 p.m. as the first Silver Taps of the semester is observed. By 10:20, the campus will be dark as the lights throughout cam pus are extinguished. The Ross Volunteer tiring squad will march across campus and enter the Academic Plaza to tire a 21-gun salute. Tonight's ceremony honors 10 students who have died since the last Silver Taps was held in April. The ceremony is a memorial service that brings the communi ty of Texas A&M together, said Jan Zacek, a sub-chair of the Traditions Council and a senior education major. “Even though A&M is a large university, these students are not just another number," Zacek said. “We have lost 10 important members of the Aggie family and we want to show their families that they fc are all important to us.” Today, all Hags on campus will be flown at half-staff. A list of the names of the honored stu dents will be posted at the base of the flagpole in front of the Academic Building. A drop box also will be placed near the flagpole for A&M students to leave notes of condolence for the families of those honored tonight, said Traditions Council Chairman Jon McFate, a senior biomedical sciences major. Families of the students being honored at Silver Taps will attend a reception at the Forsyth Galleries in the Memorial Student Center (MSC) before joining the crowd in front of the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue in the Academic Plaza. Patsy Lewis is the mother of Melissa Lewis, a senior agri cultural development major who was killed in a May 18 See Taps on page 2A. M JilfeJ. 10:30PM ACADEMIC PLAZA ^fichael Alan Jackson Junioi Indus trial tXstrfbftioti Melissa Christine Lewis Samuel I. Ifernamfez Senior feMtustriai {>ivtrf»»utit>n Chad Burt Garren ScJiiot fufomwtimi .v Operaicm* Hanaar-merrl. Erkut Arcak Airtftrc{xilo<j> Gractuate Stuctnil Vet professors create diagnosis program By Justin Smith THE BATTALION For three years. Dr. Craig Carter, head of epidemiology and informatics at Texas A&M, felt the effects of a long-lasting cold — severe headaches, weight loss and fatigue. After visiting several doctors who character ized his symptoms as a common cold, one had him fill out a survey that included ques tions about his workplace. Carter was diagnosed as having Brucellosis, a disease that usually occurs in cattle. “I got [Brucellosis] while working in a lab. 1 had it for almost three years and lost 50 pounds and felt lethargic,” Carter said. Carter said that when diagnosing a patient, doctors and veterinarians have few resources that are reliable, easy to use and comprehen sive. He teamed up with Dr. Norman Ronald, research associate for the veterinary medical diagnostic laboratory and Texas Medical Informatics Inc. (TMI) to create The Associate for Public Health, a computer pro gram to help doctors diagnose diseases. There are several versions of I he Associate, which include infectious diseases of humans, cats and dogs. The canine and feline versions of the pro gram contain nearly 1,000 infectious dis eases. They will be available to more than 8,000 veterinarians across the country through the Veterinary Information Network. The Associate first began specializing in zoological diseases — animal diseases that can occasionally infect people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the ~ See Carter on page 2A. Kevin Michael n*kura ScnttM Rih iuMttcn. fai* ^ Totnivm Scteote** Heidi Heat her floppy Sottior Vc-toHrMr* Mctttcine Laura Lynn Mezgcr Flnanc'c Lauren Michelle GouNts YtfmbT* ■vtraf t on Justin t ee Stavinoha f stiKMrs ADRIAN CALCANEO • THE BATTALION