I
rmTTT
FBIDAYMARCH 22, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 115
81
TTiur? i> a nr'T a I ir\XT
1 ilxl oiVl 1 Al^HJIM
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Presidential list may not be final
By Sommer Bunce
THE BATTALION
The three candidates named by the Texas
t&M Presidential Search Committee as eon-
:nders for the University's top spot may not be
leonly candidates for the job.
Saying that the three were not “finalists”
:cause that was too technical a term. Deputy
Chancellor Dr. Jerry Gaston said the three candi-
lates whose names were released Tuesday are
:op!e the search committee is “interested in.”
Gaston and several members of the search com-
littee would not confirm or deny rumors of two
Idditional unnamed candidates waitimi in the
wings.
The three candidates for the spot A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen leaves vacant June 30
are Robert Gates, the former interim dean for the
George Bush School of Government and Public
Service and former director of the CIA; Richard
Herman, provost and vice chancellor for academic
affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign; and Jon Whitmore, a provost at the
University of Iowa. Herman and Whitmore are
scheduled for a round of campus visits beginning
next week.
Gaston said others also may be considered in
the search process.
The A&M System Board of Regents, which is
not bound to the committee’s suggestions, will
make the final decision on who will be the next
president of A&M. The Regents can potentially
nominate and approve a candidate who has not
been screened through the search committee. As
Gaston said, the search process “does not con
clude until the Board has made a decision.”
“Until that time, there are any number of pos
sibilities of things that may happen in the next
weeks and months,” Gaston said.
Aside from the leeway granted to the Regents
in selecting a president, the search committee may
bring forward more names of potential candidates.
“There are no other potentials [candidates] sched
uled, but it is conceivable that there will be more in the
future,” Gaston said. “These are the three people who
have been scheduled ... many possibilities abound.”
Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, was widely rumored
to have wanted the University’s top position. His
name was not among the three candidates, despite the
expectation that Gramm, a fonner A&M economics
professor, would be nominated for the job.
Uncertainty lingers over whether Gramm applied for
the University’s top post or interviewed with the
search committee, but talk in the Austin political
arena Thursday concluded that Gramm still may have
a chance, reported the Austin-American Statesman.
Given the possibilities still open to the Regents
and search committee of who can be named a candi
date, Gramm, who has maintained ties to the
University, still may be a potential candidate.
See Presidential on page 2
.ousers
eto
lands
By C.E. Walters
THE BATTALION
Mustering less than the three-
ourths majority required, a
tudent Senate vote to override a
'residential veto was not passed
Vednesday night, 19 to 20.
The amendment to the con-
litution that Student Body
'resident Schuyler Houser
etoed would have required the
Indent body president or an
ppointed representative, to
bid both a Northside and
|l|hside student forum in the
^semester. It was passed by
^Senate along with an addi-
i°nal amendment that would
e( |iiire the forums be formed
Northside and Southside
enntors.
The amendment was created
insure that a president com
municate with students.
The original legislation,
'Wch was passed last month.
Nnired the student body presi-
en t to be at both forums, but
Gators changed the amend-
Jnt to allow for an appointed
? Presentative to be sent to
| ev e Houser's concerns that
P amendment would tie a
I'are president's hands and
Nbly be used for impeach-
1 purposes.
Houser said she felt legislation
See veto on page 8
Ducks on a pond
Junior agricultural economics major Jay Fields
and senior agricultural development major
Frank Biediger float in Rudder Fountain with
STUART VILLANEUVA • THE BATTALION
plastic decoy ducks on Thursday. The two are
members of the Texas A&M chapter of Ducks
Unlimited, a wetland conservation organization.
A&M tuition
will increase
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
A Texas A&M System
Board of Regents committee
will approve the largest student
fee increase in A&M history
today and offer endowment
money to students injured in the
1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse.
The Academic Enhancement
Fee will charge $30 more per
semester credit hour starting
with students who enroll next
fall, requiring the average stu
dent to pay $400 more in tuition
each semester.
Parking, diplomas, tran
scripts and medical services
will also be more expensive, in
addition to a new software
licensing fee and a $2 fee
increase for faculty salaries.
Increases come in the midst
of A&M’s poor fare in last
year’s legislature and an emerg
ing $6 million budget shortfall.
A&M President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen assured the board that
A&M tuition will remain at the
cheaper end of the Big 12
Conference, and that 10 per
cent of the fee will be set aside
for financial aid.
Approval came following a
open forum attended by five
students, where one student
spoke in support of the
Enhancement Fee and three
expressed concern whether
prospective students are aware
or will have time to consider
them in their decisions to
attend A&M in the fall.
“It’s hard to get students
here now to care about some
thing they won’t have to deal
with. Students this will affect
do not know about the fee
increase. I think we are jump
ing the gun here,” said Jack
Long, Student Senate speaker
and a member of the Young
Conservatives of Texas.
Bowen said a letter explain
ing the fee increase will be sent
to applicants as soon as possible.
April Sommers, student gov
ernment vice president for policy
and a senior microbiology and
See Increase on page 8
Proposed Tuition Rates for 2002 - 2003
Curr a/i t students:
f M mM
{/learning itudeois
fa/ Fait2002 —
Source: Office of the Vice President for f inmee
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
iversity and leadership a top SBP priority
15 is the second in a three part series that presents the
positions of the student body president candidates on
SSues °f interest to students. Part 3 will run Monday.
By Sarah Szuminski
' THE -BATTALION
Question 3: How do you plan to foster a more diverse and
PRINGLE
%ant *
atmosphere on campus, and what are your views on
Hop 20 plan?
nu y is the key factor in creating a respectful A&M community, said student
ij P re sident candidate Zac Coventry, emphasizing a necessary attitude of
^your neighbor.”
oat we’ve got to have is a reaching out.” he said. “This campus is no longer
See Diversity on page 2
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
Question 4: How do you plan to foster the philosophy “lead
by example?” What do you believe a student leader’s role is
for promoting this idea, and should they be held responsible
for their actions?
To candidate Zac Coventry, holding the title of student body
president requires maintaining a public and private life that is
respectable.
“When you go to bed at night, you better be able to look in the mirror and say, T’m
proud of who I was today, what 1 represented and the decisions I made,’ ” he said.
Being a campus leader makes it impossible to put your private life in a box,
Coventry said. He said being accountable means having your life open and visible to
the public and surrounding yourself with people who will hold you to your standards.
See Lead on page 8
COVENTRY
I “oOS
European Union Center opens
fJnio n c cutti ng was held to celebrate the opening of the European
n er at the George Bush Presidential Library Complex.
By Tanya Nading
THE BATTALION
A group of 13 distinguished men and women
from around the world participated in the official
opening Thursday of Texas A&M University’s
European Union Center at the George Bush
Presidential Library Complex.
A three-year grant was awarded to A&M
International Programs Office for the establish
ment of the center in December 2001 by the
European Union Commission, making it the only
center of its kind in the state of Texas.
“We are one of the 15 centers in the United
States funded by the European Union
Commission,” said Dr. Michael Laubsher, direc
tor of the center. “It is a significant achievement
for A&M that we are in that company, that we
can do something in international development
efforts on long-term basis.”
The center’s establishment at Texas A&M is
important because of the close relationship Texas
has with Europe, Laubsher said.
“Our relationship with Europe is both eco
nomic and cultural. It’s important that we
enhance the appreciation between Europe and the
United States, as well as Texas,” he said.
See Center on page 10
Sports Pg. 5
Aggies set for
showdown
with OU
No. 22 A&M softball team
hosts No. 9 Sooners
HIGH
59° F
LOW
30® F
SATURDAY
jj. 4'
HIGH
70° F
LOW
F
FORECASTS COURTESY OF
www.collegeweather.com
rt ,