HORSDAYOCTOBER 18, 2001
Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
1 SECTION • 12 PAGES
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Palestinian group
claims killing of
Israeli minister
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel’s
[ourism minister, a retired
general who advocated the
ixpulslon of Palestinians
ram the West Bank and
Jaza, was assassinated
Wednesday in a hotel hallway
-a killing claimed by a radi
al Palestinian group.
Rehavam Zeevi, 75, was
first Cabinet minister to
be slain by Palestinians. His
king provoked outrage in
Israel and raised the specter
i ofanew outburst of violence
ata time when Israel and the
Palestinians are trying to
patch up a shaky U.S.-sup
ported truce deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon pledged “a war to the
against the terrorists,
helpers and those who
sent them."
Israel swiftly reimposed
travel restrictions in the West
that had been eased
this week as part of the Sept.
26 cease-fire deal.
The Israeli security Cabinet
demanded that Yasser
Arafat's Palestinian Authority
arrest those responsible for
assassination and hand
over to Israel.
Otherwise, according to the
statement read by Cabinet
secretary Gideon Saar, Israel
consider the Palestinian
a terror entity and
act "as it is accepted in the
international community to
act against terror entities.”
30.2001 |
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PUBLIC EYE
in
Since the start
of Fall 2001,
29,83 6 students
have used the
computer labs,
and there
have been
418,235 logins
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eceive
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Take a ride
with me ...
CARPOOL drivers
share stories of
driving Aggies
home safely
—
Shadow
chasing
Reed looks to repeal
father’s role in PGAs
Pi 1/30/01-
tive pricio§
E. Villa
23-2392J
Mission
impossible
or heroic?
Pro-Con: Baylor
students in
Afghanistan
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SERVING
T H E
X A S A&M
O M M U N I I Y S I N C
Volume 108 • Issue 39
College Station, Texas
www.thebatt.com
Easterwood areas
have little security
By NONI SRIDHARA
THE BATTALION
ANDY HANCOCK • THE BATTALION
No security measures restrict entrance into the general
aviation side of Easterwood or its airport hangars.
While armed National Guardsmen patrol the Texas
A&M-owned-and-operated Easterwood Airport termi
nals, construction crews on the general aviation side of
the airport just across the runway are left to watch the
planes and hangars.
Easterwood Airport’s director of aviation, John Happ,
said the airport has increased security at both the terminals
and within the general aviation area. When visiting digni
taries fly in. Happ said, security is “very tight” on the air
port's main operational side.
Easterwood Airport is located about a mile from the
George Bush Presidential Library and Conference
Center, that was promptly evacuated and closed after the
Sept. 1 1 attacks.
But in general, Happ said, construction crews on the
general aviation side, informed of security guidelines.
work under the rules imposed by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
“We are well secured for the majority of the time,”
Happ said. “I’m not going to say we’re totally protected
because we do not have a national guardsman with a rifle
walking up and down the [general aviation] area, but I
don't think we’re at that stage yet.”
Last week, a door, locked from the inside, swung open
in the breeze off the side of A&M's hangar on the general
aviation side of Easterwood. Two Beechcraft aircraft sat
inside the hangar. The door was open to a parking lot just
behind Easterwood's fire station. No measures were pres
ent to prevent a person from entering the hangar or reach
ing the aircraft inside.
A 4-foot fence with two unlocked pedestrian gates and
one vehicular gate allowed access to the front of the A&M
and United Airway Systems hangars and the planes inside
them. Runways stood just beyond the hangars. Signs on
See Easterwood on page 2.
Bowen:
more
money
needed
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M is facing a bleak
financial future of growing deficits
and deteriorating academic pro
grams unless a proposed “excel
lence” fee is implemented, A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen said
Wednesday.
At a sparsely attended open
forum to discuss the issue, Bowen
made the case for charging students
a $30-per-credit-hour tuition fee
that would only apply to new stu
dents, which, for a student taking 15
hours a semester, would mean an
average of $400 more per semester.
The fee must be approved by
the A&M System Board of
Regents. Bowen informed the
regents Aug. 29 that A&M is fac
ing a $6.2 million budget shortfall
this year and will be forced to hike
student fees or cut spending.
“We could cut spending and
hold off on the Vision 2020 initia
tives, but 1 really don’t want to do
See Forum on page 2.
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A N II I WANS I I ! It S
ADRIAN CALCANEO • THE BATTALION
Texas collision
Bryan police officer George Aguilar speaks with Daniel Altamirano,
owner of a overturned Mazda Protege on Texas Avenue
Wednesday. Bryan police and fire departments reported to the
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
scene of the two-car collision at 4:42 p.m. Altamirano was treated
at the scene, and Frederick Larson, the other driver, was taken to
a hospital.
Special Olympics training, games
rewarding for athletes, coaches
By Eric Ambroso
THE BATTALION
J
The Special Olympics Fall Classic will be held in
Bryan-College Station Thursday through Saturday.
More than 1,200 athletes will come from around the
state to compete in aquatics, bofcce, golf, softball,
and triathlon events.
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide
year-round sports training and athletic competition
to persons with mental retardation and other devel
opmental disabilities, said Special Olympics
spokesman Scott Patterson.
Athletes train intensively for eight weeks before
each sports competition, but the benefits of Special
Olympics last much longer, Patterson said. The games
give the athletes an opportunity to develop social skills,
improve self-esteem, and acquire physical fitness.
“In order to compete in Special Olympics, a person must
SP1 Cl At Of YMPIC S
0 JM N I N (. ( I K I M O N l I S
I R U> A V , 0 t T . 19 7 ‘I P.M.
v&M Consol i*> vrv.»> H.S. Star him
Aquatic*
lekus A&M
Nataturium
O c t. 1 9 2 1
Bocc* Collage Station ©ct. 19-21
South wood
Golf le it a * A&M ©ct. 19 & 20
Golf Course
Oct. 18-21
Softball Bryan Regional ©ct. 18 21
Athletic Complex
Bryan Aquatics
Triathlon Center, Bryan High 0ct * 20
School surroundings
See Olympics on page 12.
V I ( r O K Y D A N l 1 C L O SI N G
Saturday, Oct. 20 7 9:30p. m.
K» n) akina 1 k \ a s A A M (' \ m pus
ADRIAN CALCANEO • THE BATTALION
Professors debate missile defense
By Jonathan Kolmetz
THE BATTALION
At a time when the United States is seek
ing to create a multinational coalition against
terrorism. President George W. Bush’s
efforts to build a ballistic missile shield
threaten to alienate America's potential
allies, said Chester Dunning, an A&M histo-
Some European leaders
resistant to Bush’s ideas
ry professor who participated in a panel dis
cussion on missile defense Wednesday.
“This rush from the U.S. to do away with
the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty has
caused fear in Russia and China [such that]
Russia and China have signed a friendship
treaty in opposition to the U.S.'s ballistic mis
sile defense,” Dunning said. “The speed that
the U.S. has used to rid themselves of the
ABM Treaty has caused some worries in
Europe. Italy now opposes the U.S. stance on
BMD, and only Poland outright supports it.”
See Wiley on page 12.
A&M hosts
academic
integrity
conference
By Rob Phillips
THE BATTALION
Research shows that Texas
A&M, like other large public
universities, experiences high
levels of academic dishonesty,
and more than 200 representa
tives from schools across the
country will gather at A&M
Thursday to address the dis
honesty problems plaguing
higher education.
The Center for Academic
Integrity, an association com
posed of administrators, faculty
and students from colleges and
universities, is holding is annu
al conference at A&M and Bill
Kibler, president of the center
and associate vice president for
student affairs at A&M, said
the University will benefit from
the ideas discussed at the con
ference to help curb cheating.
Although A&M is known
See Academics on page 2.