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EDNESDAYMARCH 6, 2002
VOLUME 108 * ISSUE 108
THE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Sex offenders not absent in A&M area
University unaware of campus offender
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
■Jniversity officials said they are unaware that
convicted sex offender is enrolled and living
j n campus.
A 19-year-old freshman in the Corps of Cadets
It'as convicted in 1997 in Washington County of
Ikvo counts of indecency with a child and one
IHit of aggravated sexual assault against a 4-
ear old girl. He was sentenced to probation.
according to an online database of sex offenders
maintained by the Texas Department of Public
Safety (DPS). The sex offender official at the
Brazos County Sheriff’s department said this stu
dent is a high-risk sex offender.
The student sex offender admitted to the
crimes, said he is remorseful, and is “by all means
not at risk for re-offense.”
The DPS Website, http://records.txdps.state.tx.us,
provides sex offenders’ names and current addresses.
See Offender on page 4
130 offenders living in Brazos County
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
More than 130 convicted sex offenders are liv
ing in the Brazos Valley, according to a Website
maintained by the Brazos Valley Sheriff’s
Department.
Tanya Knapp, registered sex offender coordi
nator for the Brazos Valley Sheriff’s Department,
said sex offenders do not have to disclose their
criminal history to landlords unless asked. She
said many complexes only ask about felonies, but
some sex offenses are not felonies.
“A lot of mom and pop places don’t ask any of
those questions,” she said. “But there is a legal obli
gation to disclose the information if it is requested.”
Although Saddlewood Apartments on
Wellborn Road does criminal background checks,
management chose to allow a sex offender to
remain in the complex after reviewing the offense
See Brazos on page 8
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play a game of dominoes Tuesday in front of
Rudder Fountain. The group joined other campus
U.S.-led coalition forces hit opposition
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it are throw 11 GARDEZ, Afghanistan (AP) —
>nd up in Hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaida
re subject tonight ers were killed in fierce fighting
h ultimatelyk-fuasday as U.S.-led coalition forces
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JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION
organizations in building shack homes for Habitat
for Humanity's Homeless Awareness Week.
Coventry, Pringle
face off for SBP
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
The race for student body president usu
ally features a crowded field of candidates
peddling slick campaign literature and iden
tical platforms, but this year the campaign
will be a showdown
between two candidates,
Zac Coventry and Lara
Pringle.
The two-horse race is
unprecedented in recent
memory — the last three
contests required a runoff
because no candidate cap
tured a majority in the
first round of voting.
Pringle, a junior finance major, is a stu
dent senator and chair of the senate’s aca
demic affairs committee. She has served on
the Student Government Association exec
utive council. Promoting traditions and
building a more inclusive and welcoming’
campus environment will be her top priori
ties, Pringle said.
PRINGLE
COVENTRY
“This is a crucial time
— the University is going
through some changes,
and I want the opportunity
to represent the student
body,” Pringle said.
Coventry, a senior
agricultural development
major, is chaplain for the
Corps of Cadets. He has
served as director for the Memorial Student
Center Abbott Family Leadership
Conference and squad leader in the Ross
Volunteers. Coventry’s student government
experience includes the Traditions Council
and Legislative Relations Committee.
“I’ve been incredibly blessed by this
University, and I want the opportunity to
give something back,” Coventry said.
Yell leaders Bo Wilson and Cardo
Walthall, along with Scott Goble, are the
Corps nominees for the three senior yell
positions. Also running are Matt Giese,
Sampson Jordan and Adam Kiehne.
See SBP on page 2
Officials urge safety on break
By Marianne Hudson
THE BATTALION
Spring break often calls to mind scenes of
drunken debauchery, but University officials
are hoping students remember that safety
and fun are not mutually exclusive.
Mission Responsible, an educational
program focusing on safe drinking, travel
ing and sex issues sponsored by the
University Police Department , Student
Health Services and student organizations
will sponsor events to help students make
healthy choices.
The week began at the Student
Recreation Center on Thursday, said
Cynthia Olvera, coordinator of campus
events for alcohol and drug education pro
grams. The Student Recreation Center
stayed open until 3 a.m. and students
could participate in a variety of activities
such as making ice cream sundaes and
watching movies.
“Thursday was a way for students to
have fun and become aware of the safe
spring break program,” Olvera said. “The
rest of the week focused on providing
information.”
Alternative Spring Break set up a boxing
ring Monday in front of Rudder Fountain,
and UPD officers were on site to answer
See Safety on page 2
iressed their offensive in the rugged
iftnountains of eastern Afghanistan, the
them with RPGs (rocket-propelled
grenades) and mortars heading toward
the fight. We body slammed them
today and killed hundreds of those
guys,” said Maj. Gen. Frank L.
Hagenbeck, the commander of the
operation near Gardez, 75 miles south
of Kabul, the capital.
U.S.-led forces continued inching up
the snow-covered mountains, mean
while, trying to reach hideouts still
believed to contain hundreds more al-
Qaida and Taliban fighters. Some forces
entered at least one cave complex,
uncovering weapons caches.
Allied jets flew high over Paktia
province, dropping bombs as well as
decoy flares to ward off heat-seeking
missiles — defensive measures after two
U.S. helicopters were hit Monday in inci
dents that left seven U.S. soldiers dead.
Front-line commander Abdul Matin
Hasankhiel said hundreds of Afghan
and coalition forces have ringed the
mountain range and trapped the al-
Qaida and Taliban fighters higher up.
“They can’t escape. They’re sur
rounded. Slowly, slowly we are push
ing in,” he said.
Hundreds of al-Qaida and Taliban
fighters are believed to be holed up in
the area. Brig. Gen. John Rosa told
reporters at the Pentagon. Bombers and
tactical aircraft have dropped more than
450 bombs on the area since the assault
began Friday night, he said.
The blitz was concentrating on a 60-
square-mile area south of the provincial
capital, Gardez.
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Palestinian rescue workers try to cut open a vehicle owned by a
Hamas activist after it was hit by an Israeli tank shell that killed his
wife and children. See related story on page 8.
Brook: Americas lack of support for
Israel may have pushed terrorists
Sports Pg. 5
Ags blast UTA
No. 13 A&M squad thumps
Mavericks 15-5.
Opinion Pg. 9
Legalize murder?
By Sarah Darr
THE BATTALION
America’s weak support for Israel and coddling
of fanatic Islamic terrorists may have emboldened
the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
said Dr. Yaron Brook during a lecture at Texas
A&M Tuesday.
“We feared declaring one side right and one
side wrong, and our failures invited such an
attempt,” Brook said. “They could smell our fear.”
Brook, the executive director of the Ayn
Rand Institute, discussed the moral and practi
cal necessity for America to stand by its long
time ally in the Middle East as the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict intensifies.
Brook said one reason for the attacks may
have been because Arab terrorists did not
expect America to strike back since the United
States has discouraged Israel from retaliating
against the recent wave of Palestinian terror.
“America has not done enough in supporting
Israel,” Brook said.
See Brook on page 2
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