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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2001)
wer ove ships sstion pi - ibling Mria Count : xas attorns extent d isdiction UESDAYOCTOfiER 2, 2001 I Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years 'TUP A T'T A I m it rm o/i i i ivL(iv> 1 SECTION • 12 PAGES NEWS IN BRIEF !s c gamj, PA 43 will be open to guests during 125th Wednesday The 125th Anniversary Celebration of Texas A&M A/ill bring visitors and, with hem, automobiles that will :ause some students to use : aboard ttiepiternate parking areas. Parking Area 43, the com- nuter parking lot near the leorge Bush Presidential .ibrary, will be open of wires: Wednesday only to guests d ittending the Academic lictional bo Convocation Conference at he George Bush Presidential Conference Center. The lot will be closed to fer Lina. A :ommuter students and staff t seemstk nembers not attending the onal water; tion of to s, card the gai 11/ law-abidr. strict Attorr? nation nto interne: mblers car ambling essonze how tack) have nop es in fa;! ig popuk is back and brace! d vintage an cowbo] rty denim, wboy hat' r shirts, ft " is also pit , hip-hops /,” pimp-di raze. ; come a/id, aid incorp" on trends» to create ill le. :onference. The University Center Garage will be reserved pri marily for visitors attending the Academic Convocation scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. A limited num ber of spaces will be avail able for commuters. Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services offi cials urge students to utilize the bus services to campus. On-campus and off-cam pus bus routes are available at www.ptts.tamu.edu. PUBLIC EYE 5 Annity un ikken Dixie Chit cen.active.cor 'thing To Ss oer: an Do It 0569 'ALIGN <r JyJ Total compensation package for MBA graduates of Lowry Mays College and Graduate School at their first place of employment $97,000 TODAY Page 4 Helping hands ■ Aggies give time, effort toward helping victims of terrorist attacks ife on the fast track Freshman forward making immediate impact on Aggie soccer squad OPINION Page 11 Expensive laptops are not the answer WEATHER If TODAY Pinko'S; iVearl TOMORROW ^ HIGH W : ' 850 F LOW 58° F FORECASTS COUF1TESY OF www.weathermanted.com Lowry Mays ranked No. 14 By Christina Hoffman THE BATTALION The Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business was ranked 14th in return on invest ments for graduate students by Forbes magazine. Texas A&M’s master of busi ness administration (MBA) pro gram was among more than 100 school programs researched in the United States and internationally. The study has great importance for the future of the Mays MBA program and its graduate students, said MBA program director Dan Robertson. “This magazine has a great deal of credit and is read by many busi ness executives,” Robertson said. “The high ranking provides a pos itive image for students and MBA applicants. We are named Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business because of the generosity of Mays, so creating and maintaining a positive image is very important.” The research evaluated stu dents’ return on investments, com paring average salary and job opportunities available after gradu ating with an MBA degree to the out-of-pocket costs and job oppor tunities given up by students to pursue the MBA degree. “Two very important concepts were looked at — the salary and time given up and the cost of the program.” Robertson said. “It’s the opportunity cost, you can say, of the salaries and time given up compared to the average costs of the programs and the average salary after receiving the MBA; it’s the average compensation for those who graduate, or the break even point.” The average compensation package for Mays MBA gradu ates, including sign-on bonuses and investment plans, totals $97,000, said Pamela Gerbig, See Business on page 5. ADRIAN CALCANEO • TH CODY WAGES • THE BATTALION College Station firefighters remove an exhaust fan used to remove smoke and carbon monoxide from the Langford Architecture Center after a power transformer caught on fire in the Visualization Lab Monday morning. Students evacuate after Langford fire By Maureen Kane THE BATTALION Students were evacuated from the Langford Architecture Center Monday when a transistor caught fire on the second floor. Bart Humphreys, public information offi cer for the College Station Fire Department (CSFD), said the fire was electrical in origin and that sometimes transistors simply ,mal function or short out, causing fires. “Since it was energized, electricity was running through it and they couldn’t use water, they used dry chemical extinguishers,” Humphreys said. “They had to shut power off to the building. The first time they shut off the power, the emergency generator kicked on, so they had to turn it off again.” Humphreys said the transistor that caught fire was located near the Visualization Lab on the second floor, which contains a high amount of electrical equipment. He said that damage costs could be expensive if equipment was ruined. According to Humphreys, CSFD received the original call about the fire at 9:16 a.m. The first unit was on the scene five minutes later, and the fire was under control by 9:43 a.m. People were kept out of the building until See Fire on page 9. FACT gathers student opinion By Giselle Wallace THE BATTALION The First Time Aggie Contact Team (FACT) will speak to approximately 8,500 undergraduate and transfer students about their opinions of student life, campus events and curriculum during the next two weeks. According to Vanessa Diaz Clark, assistant director of the Department of Student Life, FACT members start calling students during the fifth week of both the fall and spring semesters after the first exams have taken place and students have grown accustomed to the University. “Undergraduate and transfer students will be contacted by orientation leaders, student government and staff to make sure they have settled in to the community, and we allow stu dents to express their con cerns,” Clark said. FACT was created in 1987 by Dr. John J. Koldus, vice president of student services, with the mission to support and welcome new undergradu ate and transfer students to Texas A&M, officials said. No recommendations or requirements are necessary to be a part of FACT or to volunteer for the program. “Students, faculty and staff simply volunteer to welcome new students and assist them in any way,” Clark said. FACT averages 574 calls to students per day. “FACT is a fabulous pro gram that not only welcomes students to A&M, but it gives See FACT on page 9. Finalist chosen for HSC president Dickey to face Board of Regents By NONI SRIDHARA THE BATTALION From a list of 40 candidates, Nancy Dickey is the sole finalist for president of the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center chosen. Dickey previously was the interim dean of the College of Medicine at the Health Sciences Center. The Health Science Center is comprised of the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, the School of Rural Public Health and the Baylor College of Dentistry. The search committee that named Dickey as a finalist included faculty, staff and stu dents, along with the director of the Institute for Biosciences and Technology in Houston and fac ulty associated with the Scott and White Clinic and the Veterans Affair^ hospitals in Temple. “The committee conducted a national search for prospective candidates,” said Dr. Jerry Gaston, a search committee chairman and deputy chancel lor for the A&M system. “We were dealing with an extraordi nary group of capable people. After reviewing their strengths and weaknesses, we suggested three names to the chancellor, who then gave his recommen dation to the Regents.” Dickey’s experience with pri mary care and her 1998 to 1999 presidency of the American Medical Association were rea sons behind her selection, Gaston said. “She is extremely knowl edgeable of the health issues that are problematic in this country,” he said. Gaston said there was a motion in the Executive Session for Dickey to be cho sen for the position. “The committee worked very hard to make this a national search that concluded with the outcome of someone already known to us as the best possible choice,” Gaston said. An official appointment could be made this month. “I am honored by the Regents vote of confidence to name me the sole finalist,” Dickey said. “I look forward to the possibilities of the extraor dinary opportunities at the Health Sciences Center.” She said the Health Sciences Center has a very strong reputation. The College See President on page 9. Winter shaping up to be mild for energy markets NEW YORK (AP) —- With the mer cury dropping and the home heating season getting under way. customers can expect big savings compared with last winter, analysts said. Because of weak demand from indus trial users and a glut in supply, natural gas is 57 percent less expensive than a year ago. Crude oil. from which heating oil is refined, is about 30 percent cheaper per barrel. With no quick turnaround in sight for the U.S. economy, experts believe the downward pressure on energy prices could last through December. “Natural gas prices are a fraction of what they were last year and, on aver age, consumers should expect tremen dous savings,” said Fadel Gheit, an energy analyst at Fahnestock & Co. in New York. Last winter. Americans paid dearly to heat their homes because natural gas sup plies were extremely tight and demand from industrial users was strong. The wholesale price, which traded around $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet in the late 1990s, soared above $10 in January. For a while, natural gas companies raked in huge profits as they cranked up production. But their aggressive drilling eventually bumped up against a sharp drop in demand as the U.S. economy faltered. The country had 2.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in storage for the week ended Sept. 21, compared with 2.40 trillion cubic feet during the same period in 2000. The wholesale price is now slightly above $2.15 per 1,000 cubic feet, com pared with $5 per 1,000 cubic feet at the beginning of last year’s home heating season. Electricity could also be cheaper, since more than 15 percent of the nation’s power is derived from natural gas. Half of all homes in the United States are heated with natural gas, according to the American Gas Association. Thirty-two percent use electricity, 9 percent rely on heating oil and the remainder use wood, alternative fuels or have no heat at all. When it comes to heating oil, which is primarily used in the Northeast, analysts say homeowners could save an average of 30 cents a gallon compared with last year’s prices. A household using 600 gal lons of heating oil during the October- . March season could save $ 180.