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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
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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
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urfacing rotors |
5
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Over the
river and out
of College
Station
Students head home
for Turkey Day
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wash & vacuum.j
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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.
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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.