Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2002)
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 105 'HE BATll fRIDAYMARCH 1, 2002 I npTjTj' RATTAT TOM I 1 JLllHi O/Vx X /vl^l V^IIN TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Corps leaders announced Musharral believes alive Pete H confesses. kidnapp^ Pearl is airs Feb. 15Pg feiects Saw and predks breakthroug 48 hours Feb. Ifi f :re spokesman investigator g^ngornrr 'samemier vigor' asnfi Feb.ZOWj, e*ecu1ive Sj Qcidster a companyst iKat Pe»i^ soon Feb. 21 US Embassyri : receives e.^r Pearl hast* The tanks: ALISSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION Junior agricultural economics major A. Spence Pennington is con gratulated by a friend after being named Corps Commander. By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION The Corps of Cadets announced Thursday that juniors A. Spence Pennington and Travis Nichols will lead the cadets dur ing the 2002-03 school year to carry on the 125-year tradition of Corps leadership. Pennington will serve as Corps Commander and Nichols will serve as Deputy Corps Commander. “The Corps is not intended to be easy, and has high standards but leaders have even higher stan dards,” said Commandant of Cadets Maj. Gen. Ted Hopgood. “The candidates have met all demands asked of them.” The two were chosen from a total of 35 cadets by an 18-mem- ber board, consisting of military officers and current cadet leaders. Pennington is an agricultural economics major and currently serves as sergeant major of the Corps of Cadets. He will become the highest ranking cadet in the 2,000-member Corps of Cadets and will lead the largest uni formed body of students outside the U.S. service academies. Pennington is enrolled in Air Force ROTC and seeking a com mission as a second lieutenant after graduation. “The Corps is on the way to great things,” Pennigton said. “I look forward to carrying on the vision and working with an amaz ing person like Travis.” Nichols is an animal science major and serves as sergeant major of the 1st Brigade, a Corps unit of 400 members. After grad uation he will pursue a civilian career, as approximately 70 per cent of graduating cadets do. “I am excited to work with the new commandant and the new University president,” Nichols See Corps on page 2 Early voting ikistan’&pic to save hat tnent tete Pearl, vki pregnat f in a k iat she felt everything told Pearl murder w act. accord why the the Pearl minced andc*; /her said sudl usually done ith the invec: otape delivert: uthorities in! e 3 8-year-old forced to sa; bl lowed by if Pear/’f M Brazos County election officials Marvin Emshof and Betty Nall man the republican primary early voting room. The Republican and Democratic primary early voting meeting rooms. Early voting will end JOHN LIVAS is available at March 8. •THE BATTALION the first floor Freeze hurts Texas crops Unexpected cold weather worries Texas farmers Health center to adjust excuse guidelines By Sarah Darr THE BATTALION [Physicians and nurse practitioners at the k\ .ij'ii,i. y\b Beutel Health Center are following strict guidelines in adhering to Texas A&M ^University Student Rules when providing stu- •dents with class excuses, officials said. tly related to a whose glctkl, States. The ao'|:- ms, helicopter:k or example, inB rists, though#4 e. has never pro' i it believes hart works, but the) Haysia, Iranar: al-Qaida anditf|| pt. 11 terrorist* of the U.S.-ledfH roblem is “The student rules about missing class because of illness are not being changed, we are just trying to apply it more consistently,” said interim Student Health Director Terry Pankratz. Pankratz said the biggest problem the health center faces with excuse notes is when students ask for a note to be excused from a missed class after they have been sick, without having seen a doctor at Beutel. Beutel employees cannot issue a medical excuse without witnessing the problem, because they cannot determine if the student was really sick, Pankratz said. He said it is at the physician’s discretion whether an excuse will be issued. Student See Guidelines on page 2 By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION Temperatures dramatically dropped into the teens late Tuesday night, breaking the record low and bringing concern to farmers across Texas. Bryan-College Station temperatures reached 17 degrees early Wednesday morning, shattering the previous Feb. 27 low of 31 degrees that was set in 1977. Associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences Dr. Mike Arnold said many crops may have been damaged from the unexpected temperature drop. Arnold said peaches, melons and squash are especially sensitive to freezing temperatures. “I suspect that a lot (of crops) were harmed. We got unlucky this year,” Arnold said. Associate professor and extension fruit specialist Jim Kamas was assessing the bud damage to crops in Gillespie County Thursday. He mainly deals with fruit crops such as berries, peaches and grapes. “There was a 71 degree drop in temperatures over a 30- hour period,” he said. “I’m concerned.” Kamas cut open dormant flower buds to view the extent of the harm caused by the freeze and is predicting damages ranging from 50 to 80 percent. Still, Karnas said there is hope to produce a full crop even with the loss, because growers eliminate approxi mately 90 percent of plants in a crop each year to thin out the fields. Because of this, there may not be any serious loss because of the freeze. Damage to crops is being assessed and will be complete in the next two to three days, Kamas said. Two rules of thumb used in crop growing are the 50 per cent and 90 percent “frost-free” dates, Arnold said. The 50 percent frost-free date is March 1, meaning there is a 50 per cent chance there will be a freeze after that date. March 15 is the 90 percent frost-free date, predicting a freeze after this date only one out of every 10 years. “One thing you can bet on in Texas is fluctuating tem peratures,” Arnold said, but added that such a severe tem perature drop is abnormal for this time of year. Domestic plants such as flowers can be safe from cold temperatures if they are near a wall or fence, Arnold said. Most of these types of plants should not have been damaged, but tomato plants are not likely to withstand a freeze, he said. 2002 ELECTION Brown challenged by Brazos judge in District 14 A1 Jones, Brazos County judge, is challenging state Rep. Fred Brown, R-College Station, in the March 12 Republican primary for the State House District 14 seat. The winner of the primary will be unopposed in the November general elections. The Battalion is profiling both candidates and will select a candidate to endorse. By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION anistan wasJ- AlJones JONES imental step; career plann- dw to condo-' ed research' icision our Success! . reenter.tamu.e< lus 845-5139 ! Bryan-College Station needs better representation in Austin, Al Jones said, and his track record as Brazos County judge shows he can get things done. Jones is chal lenging Rep. Fred Brown in the March 12 Republican primary for the District 14 seat. I “Seniority without leadership has no real value, and Mr. Brown hasn’t demonstrated real leadership,” Jones aid. “He has not been an effective representative for this district.” Jones said he has worked with Sen. Steve Ogden, R-College Station, to move up Highway 6 on the state’s funding priority list, and Brown has done little to get more transportation funding for the district. “We’ve gotten things done by being proactive, but we didn’t receive any help from Mr. Brown,” Jones said. Jones also questioned Brown’s credentials to chair the higher educa tion committee, pointing out that Brown does not have a college degree, and said Brown has obscured his educational background. The substantial student fee hikes proposed by the University of Texas and Texas A&M are inevitable results of increased services and improved quality, Jones said, and with the state facing a budget shortfall next year, students will have to shoulder more of the cost of higher education. Jones said the system for funding public schools is unfair to wealthy school districts. The “Robin Hood” plan, which requires affluent districts See Jones on page 2 BROWN Fred Brown Poised to assume the position of chair person of the higher education commit tee in the Texas House of Representatives next year, Fred Brown said expanding access to college and keeping costs down for students will be his top priorities in the next legisla tive session. Brown is seeking a third term rep resenting District 14 in the state legis lature and is being challenged in the March 12 Republican primary by Brazos County Judge Al Jones. Brown, currently vice chair of the higher education committee, will like ly become chairperson of the panel if, as political observers expect. Republicans gain a majority in the Texas House. Although the state is facing a $5 billion budget shortfall, increased spending on higher education is an investment that will give Texas the skilled workforce it needs to be eco nomically competitive, Brown said. The Texas Grant, which Brown co sponsored in 2001, provided $200 mil lion for low-income Texas students to attend college, and Brown said he would work to continue the program. “The only way for Texas to survive economically is to make sure our brightest students have a college edu cation,” Brown said. Brown expressed his dismay at University of Texas and Texas A&M officials who are proposing substantial fee hikes, up to $ 1,000 a year for most students, and said other alternatives should be found to meet the universi ties’ needs. See Brown on page 2 Sports Pg. 5 No. 22 Red Raiders invade Olsen Field No. 17 Ags open Big 12 play with 3-game series against Texas Tech WUATKi 40% HIGH 50° F LOW 117® F S.AT'UR'.DAY 50% HIGH 55° F LOW 3*5^ F FORECASTS COURTESY OF