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UESDAYOCTOfiER 2, 2001 I
Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
'TUP A T'T A I m
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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
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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.
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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
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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.