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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2001)
1 SECTION * 10 PAGES link we’re pii irlines,” said /• first-time txiv xl its Website !o tte, such as the >s to the bus agent or sky g 10 percent ts than it jer rail sendee ikeswomansaii 7 5.(XK) seats. •Tuesday throne pecially i-Washinatonii. NEWS IN BRIEF \nother bonfire )urned Tuesday A second renegade bonfire |uilt by Aggies burned uesday night in Magnolia, espite University officials’ Jepeated admonitions of inding disei': |msanctioned bonfires. According to KTRK-TV louston, about 100 people fere present as the 35-foot, ome with pir^no-tier stack was set ablaze ;> numeroui a I aeencie at A&M. Cie on immunoii ute will app m. h on threats se in San Anr an Services. ',; 2 players scored. th a game-hip; :>ina chipped ii Jaason Smith k lonials. ties returntotheto y in Beaumonttoi rar Cardinals it ’ [ t approximately 6 p.m. The lonfire was built at the High \ w e are a>r. J Meadow Ranch golf course in a lent,” Clarke^ Magnolia, off FM 1774. The our owners of the golf course, I nn > I \i ^ ^ ormer A&M students, n * ■ , illowed the bonfire to be built, ore. prnae nost | y w j^ | rees t| ia t were set programs ^ c | earec j KTRK reported. Cynthia Lawson, executive Hirector of University and Centers delations, said she heard ntion. Bumors of another renegade Jonfire Tuesday afternoon. “When it is something off- ampus, the University’s lands are pretty much tied if he students aren’t breaking ny rules,” Lawson said. Cody Spivey, Class of 1997, ed a small group of former tudents to build the bonfire. t season werek londay. A&.\1 is the Colonials- 1 offensive rebra spies also had a a from their ha lolonials. The.L points from had experience working on Aggie Bonfire during for four led Oniwlii fears, he said. The logs were .tacked around a live tree that m used as a centerpole, and an outhouse was placed atop he bonfire, painted with the words, “t.u. Frat House." David Goff, Class of 1980, telped organize the event, although he did not help build the bonfire. “^he bonfire] wasn’t a pep aMGoff said. “It was about ormer students getting igether to share experiences «d memories. It’s like uster." PUBLIC EYE <r M, In 2000, a reported 22.7 percent of Texans were obese, up from 15 percent in 1995 TODAY :ial 1 i urfacing rotors | 5 +tax Over the river and out of College Station Students head home for Turkey Day :ks slightly higherl OFF niles iERVICE )tate & balance front and rear t, replace PCV ctors, inspect a. 1 door hinges S wash & vacuum.j 5 for m area Irop off. : riday. at Ags take on Stanford • No. 8 A&M in third round of NCAA tournament Three crimes, and you’re out Pro-Con: Three strikes law WEATHER TODAY TOMORROW HIGH 65° F LOW 32° F HIGH 69° F LOW 43° F FORECASTS COURTESY OF www.weathermanted.com Bonfire 2002 designs down to 3 By Sommer Bunge THE BATTALION Bonfire 2002 planners narrowed the design pool for the proposed stack to three in a closed meeting Tuesday. Safety consultant Turner Construction and design firm CBM Engineers are now tasked with perfecting the designs for public viewing on the Bonfire 2002 web site, expected sometime next week. Turner representatives left the meeting with cell phones in hand, telling workers in their Houston branch to start on the process of revising the chosen designs, said 2002 Steering Committee facilitator Dr. Bryan R. Cole. Turner has been working “night and day,” Cole said, to help prepare the safety elements of the three designs, elements that are vital to proceeding to the next step in planning for Bonfire in the fall of 2002. The steering committee cut down a pool of 16 potential Bonfire designs to six last week, and Tuesday chose the three designs students will consider before the committee chooses the final one in late January. By early February, the commit tee hopes to have a final decision from University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen. Bowen’s decision will depend on sever al factors, including cost, how safe he deems the design, and the status of pending litigation that alleges negligence on the part, of Bowen, other administrators and some student leaders in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse. A total of 10 lawsuits were filed in federal and probate courts before the two- year deadline to file Monday. Groff By Emily Peters THE BATTALION When Wally Groff became athletic director nine years ago, Texas A&M was in very poor standings with the NCAA. The athletic program had received numerous repri mands for recruiting practices and athlete favoritism, and A&M was the second-worst rule violator in the NCAA. “My promise when I inter viewed for this job was to run the cleanest program we could possibly run,” he said. “Now we have one of the largest and most compliant staffs in the country.” Under Groff’s motto, “Do it the right way,” A&M athlet ics have shaped up such that when other schools ask NCAA for help dealing with athletic issues, they are told to call A&M for advice. Groff earned a business degree from A&M in 1965 and has not left Aggieland since — nor has his Aggie ring left his finger. His wife, three kids and five grandchildren all live in College Station, but he has built much more than a home and a family here — he has built an athletic legacy. As athletic director, Groff’s jurisdiction spans from recruitment to game security, from Cain Hall study facilities to the construction of the Bernard C. Richardson Zone at Kyle Field. But he said he has a simplified philosophy on how to handle it all. First you must have a great See Groff on page 2. Cold turkey n t i ! t I II I; “The lawsuits have got to be factored in, and they certainly will be a factor,” Cole said. “I can’t speak to his decision, but it’s something he will have to consider.” Cole couldn’t comment on the three final designs, saying they are not com plete. But the three designs the commit tee cut out of the running for the final design had some potential problems in safety and aesthetics, he said. One design was made of a steel cen terpole with cross sections that would See Bonfire on page 2. Bus Ops: Student riders mostly Ags By Amanda Smith THE BATTALION Texas A&M Bus Operations’ pre liminary survey results indicate that the overwhelming majority of bus passengers are A&M students. The survey was conducted after a study indicating that ridership fig ures were up significantly from pre vious semesters. The passage of a $50 transporta tion fee last semester opened access to on- and off-campus bus transporta tion to all students beginning Fall 2001 .»Jdowever, no identification is required for any of the bus routes. Gary Jackson, manager of Bus Operations, said the survey was prompted by concerns that non- A&M students would be riding the buses with greater frequency. “‘There had been some concern expressed last year about the large number of Blinn students who would be riding the buses on the A&M students’ dollar, so we wanted to check to see if indeed this was a problem,” Jackson said. “Thus far, the numbers of riders from cate gories other than A&M registered students is very low — so low in fact the percentages carried out to two decimal places show up as zero. I don’t think we have a problem.” Jackson said Bus Operations will continue to conduct random surveys during Spring 2002, with continued evaluation of ridership figures. “If the number of Blinn students is significant at that point, measures will be taken to get funding from Blinn to subsidize operations,” BRETT MARETH • THE BATTALION Courtney Schmidt, a senior finance major, tries to select a Thanksgiving turkey at a College Station grocery store Tuesday. Turkeys are selling briskly as Thanksgiving Day approaches. See BUS on page 2. f \ TfjTf r.r IliillilP Pil IHI1I01Y1 29,000 FALL 2001 23,000 SPRING 2001 CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION Police urge holiday shopping safety By Amanda Smith THE BATTALION Bryan-College Station officials are preparing for the holidays and urging the Texas A&M com munity to keep safety in mind. Sgt. Betty Lemay, a member of the University Police Department’s (UPD) crime prevention team, said safety should be a concern when travel ing and shopping, particularly during the holidays. “Always, always, practice good personal safe ty habits,” Lemay said. “When leaving for the holidays, whether on or off campus, make sure the doors and windows are locked. Don’t give a thief an easy entrance. This sounds pretty simple, but it is amazing how many entrances are made without force.” Lemay said traveling also demands safety attention, particularly during the holidays when long trips are more likely. Travelers should have See Safety on page 2. «■. lMzi • Have car checked before travel • Travel with an emergency kit • Have the post office hold your mail • Stop newspapers • Engrave valuables and jewelry with driver’s license number F I • Do not carry a lot of cash L J • Use a secure browser when paying with credit cards online Source: UPD and BPD CHAD MALLAM * THE BATTALION UT lobbies to host George Bush library Staff & Wire THE BATTALION AUSTIN (AP) — George W. Bush was president for only a few hours when University of Texas president Larry Faulkner began lobbying to host his presidential library. Faulkner sent Bush a letter in August outlining two possible locations for a presidential library in Austin, one in the north west on UT-owned land near the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, the other on state-owned land downtown between UT and the Capitol Complex. Faulkner got a noncommittal thanks-for-the-interest response from the White House in a letter dated Oct. 23, See Bush on page 8.