IOND AY MARCH 25, 2002
VOLUME 108 * ISSUE 116
BATTALIA
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TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
Early planning for A&M to house the
ional Center for Homeland Security was
roved by the board of Regents Friday. The
ter will make A&M the hub of collaborated
onal efforts to develop new security technol-
in biohazard management, emergency
tonses and sociopolitical issues.
.S. Rep. Kevin Brady presented the idea to
slature Wednesday in the midst of President
’s requests to make national security a
national priority due to increased vulnerability
post-Sept. 11.
The National Security Agency said A&M is
heavily qualified for its already-established pro
grams, including the National Emergency
Response and Rescue Training Center, the Food
Safety Inspection Service, and the Texas
Transportation Institute. Officials said A&M
would look to Congress to fund the $120 million
project over a five-year period.
The regents also passed a myriad of fees for
A&M and A&M system schools. The academic
enhancement fee will charge $30 more per
semester credit hour starting with new students
next fall, requiring the average student to pay
$400 more in tuition each semester. Parking,
diplomas, transcripts and medical services will
also be more expensive, in addition to a new
Software Licensing fee, and a $2 increase for
faculty salaries.
Regents also heard that the football complex
soon to be built on the south end of Kyle Field is
already working under budget.
Careful planning coupled with low bid proposals
from construction companies will result in a project
price $1.9 million below the originally-proposed
price. Regents approved construction contracts and
the University’s partnership with the 12th Man
Foundation, who will fund the $23 million complex
solely from private endowments.
The complex, which is beginning construction
this month, will house football dressing rooms,
training rooms, coaches’ offices, lounges and an
athlete study center. Upon the complex’s expected
completion in August 2003, stadium capacity will
increase from 82,600 to somewhere between
102,000 and 104,000.
In other business, the railroad will not be
removed from the A&M campus, Chuck Sippial,
A&M VP for Administration, reported to the
See Regents on page 2
f Christina Hoffman
THE BATTALION
lege
5]
lome Texas A&M students
an Aggie voice on the
Station City Council.
:e the 44,000 A&M stu-
5 living in College Station
;e up over half the popula-
ofCollege Station, a group
tudents is running for posi-
s on the city council feel
should make the majority
:e heard.
aime Cruz, Jr., a 23-year-
senior economics major, is
ling for mayor of College
so he can provide a
efor the students at A&M.
n hCollege Station, we have
minority ruling and the
(My being ignored,” Cruz
want to be a voice for
jWfldents, a voice which has
on deaf ears until now.”
ct. Ws May, four of seven city
lc 'l positions will be avail-
for election, including the
'ion of mayor. The College
City Council meets on
second and fourth Thursday
f ver Y month. It is not a full-
administrative position,
said.
Hie mayor has many advisers
elpwith decisions, Cruz said,
dore, his young age will not
This ability to serve on city
Incil.
A'eir duties are to make
•'hat the policies being set
hare in sync with what the
"•lation, as a whole, wants,”
12 said. “We mostly vote on
policies that the people want.”
Cruz said he is serious and
fully committed about running
for mayor. He has not received
any negative comments, but
said he sometimes feels people
are not taking him seriously
because he is a student.
He said students need to
step up to a challenge of this
kind. He felt an obligation to
run for mayor after realizing
the lack of representation for
students in College Station.
“Earlier in the fall semester,
I began attending the city coun
cil meetings regularly. It struck
me as odd that in a college
town where we, the students,
make up well over half the pop
ulation, there wasn’t anybody
on council who represented
us,” Cruz said.
Cruz will run against three
other mayoral candidates: Dick
Birdwell, age 71, who served
on the College Station council
from 1988-1992, and again
from 1996-1998; and
Councilman Ron Silvia, who
first announced he would run
for mayor in February.
Last week, Chris Field, a 19
year old Blinn College stu
dent, filed to run for College
Station mayor.
Cruz is not the only student
aiming to provide a voice for
A&M students. Corps member
T.J. Flowers, a junior history
major, is running for Council
Position 4 and Natalie
See Mayor on page 2
B
IONDS
Chris Field, 19 - BUnn College freshman
Jaime Cruz, 23 - Texas A&M senior
Ron Silvia, 64 - City councilman
Dick Birdwell, 70 - Former city councilman
Source: City of College Station
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
One-year-old Dakaiya Brown watches from her front door as senior accounting major Adrian Sumter and other members of Delta Sigma Theta
paint her house in College Station during the 20th Big Event on Saturday. Nearly 3,000 Aggies participated in the community service project.
Big Event celebrates 20th year
By Melissa McKeon
THE BATTALION
Approximately 6,730 Texas
A&M volunteers celebrated the
twentieth anniversary of Big
Event Saturday by helping at
over 550 sites in the Bryan-
College Station area .
Tasks included fixing, clean
ing, painting, weeding, planting
trees and building fences.
The students gathered at
Simpson Drill Field at 9 a.m. for
a kick off event that included a
concert by Saving Dawn, as well
as free food and drinks.
Ashley McAlpine, director of
Big Event and a senior industrial
engineering major, told the gath
ered students they were “a testa
ment to the true Aggie spirit.”
A&M President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen also addressed the stu
dents.
“Being out here makes all
Aggies proud. This is a great
tribute to your commitment to
your fellow Aggies,” Bowen
said. “You set a wonderful
example. You support each
other, the University, and the
community.”
Corps of Cadets outfit A
Company, Rho Delta Chi sorority
See Event on page 2
A*
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Sophomore english major Ryan Cates scrapes the paint off a
house Saturday at Big Event.
andidates support Bonfire’s return SGA reverses flier decision
This is the third of a three part series that presents the positions of the
student body president candidates on issues of interest to students.
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Question 5: What are your views
on Bonfire’s absence? How will you
work with a new administration and
I;.*,, the student body to cope with the
fthe 90-year tradition?
COVENTRY
p o
tfire candidate Lara Pringle, bringing back
1rir> IS 3 t0p P riorit y f° r her administration.
c om T ant ® on f* re back, I am advocating for Bonfire
jug.? ac k safely and I accept the administration’s
p r j , at 11 won’t be here in 2002,” she said.
^de e . Sa '^ s ^ e feds it is necessary to move past the
''fire ,ClSl ° n and focus on what can be done to ensure
u re -j 8 , retu rn in 2003 and its continuation in the
"fire e ,* 3est way to do this is to educate students on
“I’ve^ * tS mean i n gr she said.
de rsta e , en t0 Bonfire since I was 1 1 years old, so I
ing} e n . the importance behind the tradition,’
derm ^ think we need to make sure that other
Po" s do > too.”
ire [k e sen i°r finance major, Bonfire is about much
n watching logs burn on the Polo Fields. The
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
90-year tradition encouraged cama
raderie, teamwork and bonding and
developed unity among the groups that
were involved, she'said.
Working with Traditions Council to write up a pro
posal including the history and tradition behind Bonfire
and explaining its importance to the student body and
the University will help the new president to understand
its background, Pringle said. She plans to actively
involve students who have worked on Bonfire and stu
dents that plan to work on it in the future.
Pringle sees the need for an activity to promote unity
on campus in the way that Bonfire did. Possible sugges
tions by Pringle include a competition or a community
service project.
Finding and adopting a new tradition will rely on stu
dent involvement, Pringle said, explaining that a new
activity cannot be decided solely by leaders in student
government. It is imperative to have input from as much
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
The Student Government Association
Election Commission reversed its recent
decision to censor a class officer candi
date’s campaign flyers.
Shannon Dubberly, who is running
against Christopher Farmer and Stephanie
Goodman for Class of 2004 vice president,
was instructed Wednesday to remove his
flyers, which the commission deemed
inappropriate, or face fines and possible
disqualification. Election commissioner
Caytie Sarandis, a senior recreation parks
and tourism major, said she notified
Dubberly Friday that all fines against him
would be dropped and he would be
allowed to distribute the flyers.
“We [The election commission] still
believe it’s distasteful and not in the best
See Flier on page 8
See Bonfire on page 8
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IKS I
Sports Pg. 5
Aggies romp over
Sooners
Opinion Pg. 9
Beyond a shadow
of a doubt
America’s backup government
is causing more harm than good
WLATNLU
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