1 SECTION • 8 PAGES
RIDAYNOVEMBER 9, 2001 ■
Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
THE BATTALION
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Page 3
A Texas
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FORECASTS COURTESY OF
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Bonfire safety firm chosen
Turner Construction agrees to join planning of tradition for 2002
By Sommer Bunge
THE BATTALION
New York-based Turner Construction
agreed Thursday to provide safety servic
es as part of the Bonfire 2002 planning
team.
The signed contracts are going through
Texas A&M reviewing boards and should
have final approval Monday, said Bonfire
2002 Steering Committee Facilitator Dr.
Bryan Cole. Assuming the A&M review
ing board signs the contract. Turner repre
sentatives will meet with design firm
CBM Engineers of Houston to review the
16 designs and present them to the steer
ing committee. Cole said.
The steering committee will then
choose six designs for the engineering
and safety firms to concentrate on, and
from those designs select three finalists
for the student body to review. When stu
dents can view the designs will depend on
how long Turner reviews the safety
aspects of each design. Cole said.
If the safety firm completes its work
and meets with the steering committee
before Thanksgiving, students will see the
designs on the committee’s Website
beginning Nov. 26, Cole said. If the firm .
takes any longer, the designs will not be
posted until the second week of January.
“If they can get it done safely and cor
rectly within that amount of time, then we
can proceed this semester,” Cole said.
Students will have two to three weeks
to review the designs either way, Cole
said. Once students have had ample time
for feedback, the steering committee will
chose the final design for Bonfire.
University President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen is expected to consider the com
mittee’s recommended design and decide
in January if Bonfire 2002 will become a
reality. If it takes longer for the final
design to be presented to Bowen, Cole
said Bowen’s decision and all the steps to
implement the planning for Bonfire that
would come after it would be delayed.
But Cole said he is optimistic now that
a deal with Turner is pending.
Negotiations with Turner have taken
more than a month to come to fruition.
See Safety on page 2.
125 th Ball
kicks off
at Reed
Arena
By Giselle Wallace
THE BATTALION
More than 1,500 students are
expected to celebrate Texas
A&M’s 125th anniversary in
grand fashion at the 125th
Birthday Ball.
Organized by the 125th student
committee, the ball is part of an
effort to include students in the
year-long celebration of 125 years
of A&M history.
“This dance will give students
a chance to celebrate their
school,” said Veronica Saenz,
chairperson of the 125th commit
tee and a junior finance major.
’’There will be free admission to
students, and the food is free
also.”
The ball, which will be held
from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Reed
Arena, requires tickets for admis
sion, which are available at the
MSC Box Office.
Students are advised to dress in
semi-formal attire, which includes
a black-tie option for men and
cocktail dresses for women.
The ball’s theme will be
“Tradition of 125 years and the
Future to Come,” said Devin
Howard, an organizer of the event
and a senior accounting and
finance major.
“There will be a speaker at the
dance as well as a short video of
the history of Texas A&M
University,” Howard said.
“Artifacts will be displayed as
well, including pictures of the
Academic Building in its early
years.”
The dance will have two DJs,
and the decorations will be
maroon and white, Saenz said.
Reed Rowdies
Chris Hawkes, a senior journalism major (left) and
Matthew Stubbs, a sophomore landscape architec
ture major, both Reed Rowdies, yell on the front
GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION
row during the first half of the basketball game
Thursday night. Texas A&M played Australia at
Reed Arena. See Basketball story on page 5.
Texas A&M’s Shooting Starr
By Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
Dr. Douglas P. Starr, a distinguished pro
fessor of journalism, has experienced a life
full of journalism, military service and edu
cation — all while building a family with
his wife Millie and his five children.
Starr came to A&M in 1986 as chairman
of the Department of Journalism. He
stepped down in 1998 to teach full time.
He focuses on teaching journalism stu
dents how to gather information, analyze
facts and write the truth, Starr said.
CLOSB ,,
PERSONAL
Douglas Starr landed
happily in journalism
Starr received his bachelor degree from
Louisiana State University and later earned,
his masters in 1970 and his doctorate in
1972 from Florida State University. He
served in the Coast Guard Reserve for 20’’
years, served in World War II and the
Korean War, and worked as a professional
journalist for 15 years.
During World War II, he spent 21 months
in the South Pacific, participating in bom
bardments, battles, landings and air raids
while earning 13 battle stars. While serving
in the Korean War, Starr fought in the
Navy’s longest siege, the Siege of Wonsan
Harbor, earning two battle stars.
Starr said he has no regrets about his
service in the war, what he did or what he
had to do.
Starr learned much of his journalism
expertise through years of study and day to
day experiences working as a newsman for
The Associated Press in New Orleans, La.,
Jackson, Miss., and Tallahassee, Fla., as a
copy editor for the Fort Worth Star-
Telegram, a reporter for the North Baton
Rouge Journal and Opelousas Daily World.
Starr worked as a journalist during some
important historical time periods in the
United States.
“I was in Mississippi when the Supreme
Court outlawed segregated schools, and I
was involved with a lot of friction from the
blacks and the whites,” Starr said. “It was a
tough go-about all along, but it was a great
time to be a reporter, because as a reporter
See STARR on page 2.
‘Heroes 5
program
to honor
B-CS
veterans
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
With a combination of danc
ing, music and theater, the
Brazos Valley Troupe and the
city of Bryan will present
“Heroes” in honor of American
war veterans and Texas Task
Force One Sunday at 6 p.m. in
the Bryan Civic Auditorium.
Texas Task Force One is an
urban search-and-rescue team
based in College Station that
participated in the recovery
efforts in New York City last
month.
The program not only coin
cides with Veterans Day, but is
also the two-month anniversary
of the terrorist attacks In New
York City and Washington, D.C.
“This promises to be one of
the most fun-filled family activ
ities ever in the Brazos Valley,”
said Mark Sterling, Brazos
Valley Troupe artistic director.
“It is a day to bind together,
celebrate our country and honor
those who have made it the
great nation that it is today;
those who put their life on the
u
This promises to
be one of the most
fun-filled family ac
tivities ever in the
f f
Brazos Valley.
— Mark Sterling
Brazos Valley troop
artistic director
line everyday for us to enjoy
what we Americans enjoy
everyday, freedom.”
A variety of events are sched
uled for the evening, including a
performance by the Aggie
Wranglers, free photos and auto
graph opportunities with the
Texas Aggie baseball team and a
free clinic allowing children to
determine how fast they can
throw a baseball.
Among the performers are
The Double Js, Fade to Black, (a
dance ensemble of Texas A&M),
violinist Nicole Hall, bluegrass
and folk band Kat’s Kradle and
Shiloh Baptist Church Choir.
Bryan High School’s improv-
isational comedy team and A&M
Consolidated High School’s
Bengal Belles will also perform.
See HEROES on page 2.
.
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