MON DAY JANUARY 14, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 72
THE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Top 20 percent plan approved by regents
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION '
Texas A&M could automati-
:ally admit the top 20 percent of
ualified graduates from aca
demically and economically dis
advantaged high schools as soon
is Fall 2003.
The pilot program, approved
by the A&M Board of Regents in
December, will provide opportu
nities to those students w here the
jption to attend college is often
not as obvious, said. Joe Estrada,
nlan presenter and A&M assis
tant provost for admissions.
“Our goals are to ensure that
we are geographically, racially
and economically diverse and
that we are representative of the
state of Texas," Estrada said.
"We feel strongly that a program
of this nature will allow us to
reach those codes."
The Texas Education Agency
(TEA) identifies schools based
on dropout rate, SAT and ACT
scores, percentage of economi
cally disadvantaged students
and average campus budget per ‘
pupil, among other factors. The
TEA identified 253 economi
cally disadvantaged schools.
mostly in rural and inner-city
areas of the state, that A&M
considers target schools for the
Top 20 percent program.
Dr. Ronald Douglas, A&M
provost and vice president for
academic affairs, said, "We are
looking at the students in these
settings who. despite all that, are
doing well.”
Estrada said he has worked to
create a plan that will not disad
vantage students who do not
attend target schools. The
University will test the idea as a
three-to-five-year pilot, beginning
as soon as 2003, Estrada said.
As many as 500 freshmen
from target schools will be
accepted under this program, in
addition to about 6,300 original
spots available for the 2003
freshman class. The regents
approved a one-time stipend for
possible extra instructional
costs, Estrada said.
“We are proposing a very
small program,” he said. “Last
year, only 200 who applied and
would have been accepted under
the new plan were turned away.”
Estrada said this plan is more
See Admissions on page 2A
The Top 20 Percent Plan
Will admit students in the top 20 percent of
1 their classes from academically and
economically disadvantaged high schools.
Unlike the Texas Top Ten Percent Rule, students
must meet A&M's current admission standards
and ACT and SAT minimums.
Eligible high schools will be determined by the
Texas Education Agency.
Source: Provost's office.
FRANK CHANCE • THE BATTALION
Panel to
reconsider
professor’s
dismissal
By Sommer Bunce
THE BATTALION
University President Dr. Ray M.
lowen has asked a faculty panel to
reconvene this month to determine
/hether the dismissal of tenured
Professor Dr. Mary Zey was for
kood cause.
The Committee on Academic
Teedom, Tenure and Responsibility
(CAFTR) in December found that
tey. accused of plagiarism in a 1998
book, should not be fired. But in a let
ter addressed to CAFTR’s hearing
[iffieer, Bowen rejected the conclu
sions reached by the committee.
A University Investigation
tommittee concluded early in 2001
■hat Zey, an agricultural economics
Brofessor, published information
belonging to A&M faculty member
Harland Prechel and former faculty
ftiember John Boies, and then
[attempted a cover-up.
Provost Dr. Ron Douglas accepted
[the committee's recommendation that
Zey be terminated, effective July 15,
S002. After Zey appealed the deci
sion to Bowen, the CAFTR panel
held three days of hearings in
(November and December.
The members found, by majority
[vote, that Zey was not guilty of scien
tific misconduct and that her dismissal
would therefore not be for good cause,
Recording to the Dec. 14 report.
In A&M rules, the CAFTR is I mi
nted to determining whether or not a
[decision to dismiss is for good cause.
“In its report, the CAFTR con-
[cluded that Dr. Zey did not engage in
See Dismissal on page 2A
Cancer claims
I students life
By Anna Chaloupka
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M doctoral student
onathan Brian Borowiec, 41, of
ollege Station, died Jan. 2 from a
are form of esophageal cancer.
Borowiec, who was working on a
octorate in Curriculum and
nstruction with an emphasis in social
tudies, was diagnosed with cancer in
(April 2001.
He taught middle school in
alifornia and Arizona for 14 years
efore moving to College Station in
ecember 1998. Jeffrey Borowiec,
on’s brother, said he decided to
eave his teaching career to be closer
o his family.
“He knew he was making a huge
move,” his brother said. “He thought
t would be the best thing to do.”
Borowiec was concerned at first
about how the professors in his
department were going to respond to
his pursuit of a doctorate degree after
See Borowiec on page 2A
Book smart
* ^
/ *1
IM
Students purchase books at the Loupot’s bookstore
at Northgate in preparation for the new semester.
JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION
Bookstores across town are offering extended hours
to accommodate students in the new semester.
Gramm subpoenaed in
Senate probe of Enron case
Trust fund
established
for Bonfire
victims
By Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M University officials are creating a 50-year
trust fund to cover the long-term health care expenses of
students injured in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse.
The trust fund will be established using the more than
$480,000 in private gift money and the remaining
$250,000 balance from the Association of Former
Students’ Bonfire Relief Fund. The fund’s operating
guidelines should be established by Feb. 1, 2002.
Approximately $750,000 has. already been distrib
uted from the Relief Fund to reimburse families for
medical expenses.
A three-person advisory committee will determine
payments distributed to victims from the trust fund. They
will respond to the needs of specific injuries for the long
term, said University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen.
“The fund speaks to the needs of those students
injured that will need long term medical help as they
age,” Bowen said. “It’s like a partial insurance policy.”
Bowen said money left over at the end of the trust
fund's life will be transferred to an endowed scholarship
fund in honor of the injured students.
A&M officials first mentioned that a long-term health
care trust fund would be ready about a year ago, but the
date for establishing the fund was repeatedly pushed back.
Bowen said the creation of the trust fund was delayed
on the advice of A&M attorneys when the first lawsuit
charging that University administrators were responsible
for the collapse was filed.
“Once lawsuits were filed, [the lawyers] became
more active in decisions because these decisions can
impact litigation,” Bowen said.
Scott Kelly, the Deputy General Counsel for A&M,
See Fund on page 2A
Staff & wire
A Senate panel probing Houston-based energy
conglomerate Enron Corp.’s sudden collapse has
subpoenaed Texas A&M University System
Regent and Enron Director Wendy Gramm.
Gramm, the wife of U.S. Senator Phil Gramm,
R-Texas, has been a member of Enron’s board of
directors for eight years and was a member of the
crucial Audit Compliance Committee as the giant
company’s financial condition was deteriorating.
Her subpoena is among 51 issued by the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations seek
ing documents from Enron, the Arthur Anderson
LLP accounting firm and current and former offi
cers, employees and board members of Enron.
Gramm has also been named in lawsuits filed
by Enron shareholders and employees alleging
that top Enron executives and directors acted on
inside information about the company’s precarious
financial situation and sold their stock before
Enron collapsed.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, a
government watchdog group, Gramm sold 84 per
cent of her Enron holdings for $277,000 in
November 1998. The group also reported that Phil
Gramm is the second largest recipient in the Senate
of financial contributions from Enron, receiving
more than $97,000 from the company between
1989 and 2001. The senator receiving the largest
contribution from Enron is Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison, R-Texas, who received $99,500.
Phil Gramm’s spokesperson, Larry Neal,
declined to comment on the subpoenas.
Wendy Gramm is currently the director of the
Regulatory Studies Program of the Mercatus
Center at George Mason University in Virginia.
She was appointed to the board of regents by Gov.
See Gramm on page 2A
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Bonfire 2002:
A tradition in balance
This Friday is the deadline for student input for
the 2002 Aggie Bonfire. What is at stake and
how did we get here? Visit our Website for a
complete timeline and archive of stories for a
better understanding of the issues surrounding
the Bonfire tradition.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Sophomore killed in
automobile accident
By Anna Chaloupka
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M student Paige Taylor Mixon, 19, a sopho
more economics major from Arlington, Texas, died Jan. 2 in
an automobile accident while traveling to Breckenridge,
Colo., for a ski trip with a group of friends.
Those who knew her remember Mixon as a great friend
and someone who loved life.
Penny Mixon, Paige’s mother, said her daughter was
See Mixon on page 4B
IKSli
Sports IB
A&M’s Rose blooms
against No. 6 Cyclones
A&M senior guard LaToya Rose
led the Aggies with 28 points in
their 88-71 win over Iowa State.
AggieLife 3A
Making the
impossible possible
From looks to lifestyles, students
find ways to keep their New Year's
resolutions.
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