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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2001)
IIESDAYD EC EMBER 4, 2 SECTIONS • 14 PAGES December 3j ! a chance to goiol hat happened." d Simms with | icarly rallied Te« s too little, tools o its first Big Hr tic BCS berth, sday, I told tb Colorado coach \s ith more bean they’re going to tost disappointiKl start Simms areer passing Its dal aspect of Bra ^ throwing a??- n hi s second phi M7. His IDp t made it 39-3 questions abo ic. NEWS IN BRIEF ■ Aggies as hci dock helpedAill •r the lead at3(i-! agios finished I advanced to when an attad II into the net uigies the lo Battalion on iead days I The Battalion will not pub- |sh Wednesday or Thursday, he final publication of the emester will be Friday. Itories and archives are Ivailable on the Internet at ww.thebatt.com. Teenager pleads juilty In murder jftwo professors i the Aggies ne digs. A&AIs :er Erin Lee liddle blocker M: :h had double ch notching s and Lechler 10 digs, ighoms were le, > had li ho had 1 11 Aggies w W isconsin Badge' 6. (/full IT! * ers CONCORD. N.H. (AP) - ne of two teenagers . Jwged with murdering two lartmouth College profes- |ors agreed Monday to plead Milty in one of the slayings. James Parker, 17, will lead guilty to an adult harge of accomplice to ^cond-degree murder in e stabbing of Susanne antop, Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not ay what would happen to e murder charge involving e victim’s husband. “Jimmy has made the deci- ion to accept responsibility r his actions, and is hopeful at his plea will enable his mily and that of the Zantops begin the healing process,” efense attorney Cathy Green aid. “He is now 17, and will ay a very heavy price for his ole in this tragedy.” PUBLIC EYE imj Average per capita income in Texas $26 1999 ,858 2000 $27,871 TODAY Page 3A Silver Taps • The tradition affects many, last ceremony of the semester tonight Page 1B gs headed for Houston • A&M awaits Conference USA opponent in Astrodome OPINION Page 5B Hit the road, Jack • Highway 6 should be a road traveled by naysayers WEATHER TODAY , it- A 40 HIGH 76° F ) LOW 61° F tomorrow Y i' ' 4f|. i HIGH 77° F LOW J 63° F FORECASTS COURTESY OF www.weathermanted.com Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years S E R V I N G THE TEXAS A&M C O M M U N I T Y 6 SINCE 1 8 < ) 3 Volume 108 • Issue 70 College Station, Texas www.thebatt.eom A&M safest campus in nation By Amanda Smith THE BATTALION The words of the Aggie Code of Honor tell stu dents that “Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal,” and according to a report released by the FBI, Aggieland has fewer crimes than any other college in the United States. Texas A&M had fewer violent crimes than any other major higher education institution in the nation in 2000, according to the FBI’s 2000 Uniform Crime Report, released last month. Annually, colleges and universities are required to report all violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape and aggra vated assault. A&M reported only two violent crimes in 2000. Purdue was recorded as having the second-best record with six violent crimes, followed by the University of Texas, with 13 vio lent crimes. Bob Wiatt, director of the University Police Department, said the department works toward improving campus safety. “In the year 2000, we had only two violent crimes,” Wiatt said. “One was a sexual assault and the other a robbery. We feel we are very fortunate. A lot of that goes to the students themselves. The See Crime on page 2A. chad mallam • the battalion o o o o o o o o o o o o yiftw Lowest c.*viae Levels ». -Texas -j fbmje 4 3. U-T - f\ULV\M 13 4: O. of FloRiD ^ 3. VJ. op PVtUHESOtK 2-4 S-OUP-CF - Fe>r^ TLodts OMiFoPM cMve F^PoYvT HoUday donations may drop By Eric Ambroso THE BATTALION As the holiday season approaches, Americans typically reach into their wallet to help the less fortunate. Angela Bies, a lecturer at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, said the six weeks from mid-November through the start of the New Year always are the best time for charity fund raising. However, many charitable organizations are unsure what effect the Sept. 1 1 tragedy will have on this year’s donations. The declining economy and the amount of money raised for the disaster relief efforts in New York and Washington, D.C. have created an unclear future for traditional and local charities. “First, people -should be proactive and take control of their giving,” Bies said. “Families should sit down together in order to determine how much to donate and which cause they want to support. In making decisions, remember that non-profit, traditional organizations are active in providing services everyday and that these needs will not decrease.” Cathy Quintana, executive director of the Brazos Valley chapter of the American Red Cross, said the Red Cross is not actively solicit ing relief funds to specifically benefit victims of the terrorist attacks. “We will always be seeking donations to respond to other accidents,” Quintana said. “Thousands of people have donated to the disas ter relief funds, but other traditional charities need donations too. If all donations are tunneled towards the relief efforts, then traditional chari ties will not be able to respond to disasters in their local community.” Bies said there is concern that illegitimate agencies will take advantage of the situation by soliciting funds that will not be used for chari ty. Bies said the to determine if an organization is legitimate is to request a copy of its International Revenue Service (IRS) tax- exemption certificate or look up the organiza tion on the IRS Website. She added that no more than 30 to 40 percent of a charity’s income should go toward administrative costs, and warns against agencies that claim 100 percent See Donations on page 6B. Easy rider JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION A member of the A&M cycling team goes for an afternoon and headed around Albritton Bell Tower onto Wellborn Road ride. Cyclists started their ride near the Academic Plaza and George Bush Drive. Graduation speakers chosen By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION With a positive outlook on educa tion and a series of good relationships with colleges and universities, Dr. Miguel Angel Rodriguez, president of Costa Rica, will speak to Aggies in the Colleges of Science and Engineering as they prepare to walk across the stage on Dec. 14. Rodriguez was elected in February 1998, and took the oath of office on the following May 8. He will conclude his term in May 2002. “I have known him for over 40 years,” said Jaime Darenblum, the ambassador to Costa Rica in Washington, D.C. “We were class mates at the University of Costa Rica together and he was one of the best stu dents there.” Several Costa Ricans have studied at A&M and programs in the country continue to expand, Darenblum said. “He has a clear vision of the future of Costa Rica,” Darenblum said. After graduating from the University of Costa Rica in 1963, Rodriguez attended the University of California-Berkeley, where he received his doctorate degree. He was appointed president of congress before being elected president. “He has definitely had a distin- See Rodriguez on page 2A. Students help design hospital By Justin Smith THE BATTALION Texas A&M’s College of Architecture unveiled plans for a 4.1-million square foot medical center for McGill University in Montreal, Canada Monday. Planned by almost 150 graduate and undergraduate architecture students, the McGill University Medical Centre will be the new home for six of Montreal’s aging hospitals. The majority of health-care facilities in Montreal have been operating in old buildings, some of which pre-date World War II. The College of Architecture pre viously has worked on M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston and children’s hospitals in Dallas and Chicago. “The hospitals are just being moved to newer facilities and will still hold their same names,” said George Mann, the Ronald L. Skaggs endowed professor of health facilities design. “We assembled a team of 75 third-year, fourth-year and gradu ate architecture students along with 50 third-year, fourth-year and graduate landscape students.” The new hospital facility will house two children’s hospitals, one a Shriner’s children’s hospi tal, and a neurological center, along with the general hospital and emergency-needs building. The center will serve as a region See Hospital on page 2A. SPECIAL TO THE BATTALION Report: Journalism in need of changes By Sommer Bunge THE BATTALION The three-member consultant team that descended on Texas A&M’s Department of Journalism concluded Monday that the department was in need of drastic revision, including building a new facility, hiring at least five tenured faculty and cutting the number of students in the department by half. In a report addressed to College of Liberal Arts Dean Charles A. Johnson, the consultants — journalism professors from the University of Alabama, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas who were nominated by A&M pro fessors — expressed doubt that the Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test that all journalism majors are required to pass is not an adequate “screen for competency in writing.” After extensive interviews and meetings with faculty, staff and students in the journalism and speech communication departments. Journalism on page 6B.