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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2002)
NEWS TAUo\ Accielife: Outdoor theaters provide summer fun • Page 3 Opinion: Title IX bad for A&M men's soccer • Page 9 TWI7 RATTAf in L ITl 12/ O/x-L 1 olume 108 • Issue 146 • 10 pages 108 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Thursday, June 6, 2002 Field trip XI0N weapor:| s they wit ances.'' rrespons ch thine' policy” t Asia. Advise: will no: 'eapons. i of nucleai presidw n zh Christopher Knudsen, 5, and sister Laura Knudsen, 4, perform operations on a life- size electronic human body at the Children's RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION Museum of the Brazos Valley in downtown Bryan. They were on a field trip with their class from the Brazos Christian School. Faculty senate responds Proposal regarding Zey’s dismissal on agenda By Don White THE BATTALION A proposal deciding the Faculty Senate’s response to the dismissal of tenured professor Dr. Mary Zey because of plagiarism will be on the agenda in hopes for a resolution at its meeting Monday. Zey, a professor of agricultural economics, was initially fired after a University Investigation Committee concluded she pub lished information belonging to faculty member Harland Prechel and former faculty member John Boies and attempted a cover-up. That decision was reversed in April when University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen decided to accept the recommendation of the Committee on Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure (CAFRT) not to fire Zey. According to A&M rules, the CAFRT has limitations to deter mine whether or not a dismissal is for a good cause. In March, Senators amended the rules to hold CAFRT members to a high er standard and underscore the extent of committee’s duties. The proposal was originally brought before the Senate at the May ninth meeting but was sent back to the executive committee to be rewritten after objections from Senate members. Barbara Finlay, associate pro fessor of sociology and senator from the College of Liberal Arts, said she agreed with the spirit of the resolution but felt it was too rushed and lacked the proper background information to make a valid decision. “In my opinion, there was pla giarism and Bowen admitted it occurred, so he shouldn’t exoner ate a person that commits that since faculty members should be held to high standards for aca demic honesty,” she said. “But the resolution itself was not well- crafted.” At the time, she felt the dis cussion was going too fast and motioned to table the proposal until more information could become available, she said. Executive committee member Michael L. Greenwald said the committee put a lot of thought and effort into the proposal and was very sympathetic to Bowen’s predicament of having to decide Zey’s fate based on two commit tee reports that were not com pletely in agreement with each other. He said he felt the proposal was a compromise most people can accept. “We are absolutely committed to academic integrity,” he said. Greenwald felt the Senate needed to make a statement since the rest of the nation is watching to see how the situation is han dled, he said. The ad hoc CAFRT committee recommended amendments to the University rules’ procedures for See Senate on page 2 Commandant nominee speaks at Forsyth Gallery Tuition hike causes burden By Kevin Espenlaub THE BATTALION ser. Isra; ig I ittlef cks. e secuntl i broadcj ht by tb| Despite the additional inancial demands placed on esented faniilies, new fee increases are in halft essential to increasing the i securii)services and continuing the ring, thei;academic progress of Texas r guarW&M University, according to externtuniversity officials. genceaK The Academic Enhancement unit- lee, set to take effect in the fall, lei Razaijwill increase student tuition by negotiatolpo per semester hour for all nander ostudents who did not attend ion AnrjA&M prior to or during the ;w secunjppring semester of 2002. i officialf The increasing tuition rate idition cfcontinues a trend of rising costs at A&M. Tuition has not ye| appoint :tain over / matters- liyeh ilan, hi Sccurit;] lad hop® lab Ian to icials am intained el. increased over $5,000 during the past three years for an aver age student to attend a year of schooling at the University. According to the Texas A&M financial website and Director of University Relations Cynthia Lawson, the average cost for attending one full year of school in the 1999- 2000 school year was $8,150 for a Texas resident. The esti mated cost of one year in the 2002-2003 school year will top $13,300. These figures include tuition, housing, food, trans portation and other living expenses, said Lawson. “We are obviously con cerned about the cost of educa tion for all of our students,” said Texas A&M Vice President for Finance Bill Krumm. “At the same time, we have to move forward with our University and the services we provide. We cannot control all of the factors that contribute to what a year costs because there are several instances, such as housing and books, that the University has no say in.” The funds collected from the fee are expected to con tribute $8.8 million to A&M’s revenue next year, of which roughly 10 percent is expected to be transferred to student financial aid for graduate and See Tuition on page 2 By Lauren Bauml THE BATTALION Unlike Maj. Gen. M.T. Hopgood, 07th Commandant of the Corps of Cadets, who empha sized his motto of “recruit, retain, and graduate,” Lt. Gen. Van Alstyne said he wants to bring the Corps into a more integrated position among student life. Van Alstyne, one of two candidates for the 38th Commandant of the Corps of Cadets, spoke Wednesday afternoon regarding his candidacy for the position left void after Hopgood’s retirement on May 31. Van Alstyne, Class of 1966, currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy in Washington, D.C. After serving in the U.S. Army for 36 years, he feels the only thing that could pull him away from his current position is Commandant at Texas A&M. He wants to continue his goal to make a contri bution to his family, students in the Corps and youth of America, and feels being the Commandant at A&M will allow him to do this. He said his pur suance of the position is with the purest of heart, and he has “no ulterior agenda.” “I feel I can make a contribution to this University. I am overcome with excitement and invigorated to work with [A&M students],” he said. Van Alstyne said every Corps member should pos sess three traits — understanding of self and pure heart, consideration of every opinion but ability to make tough decisions in times of crisis, and being able to focus on the leadership development of others. He said leadership development is the course of choice for youth in Texas, and A&M has potential to have an edge in leadership development. Van Alstyne also said he intends to push the future of the Corps to focus on “basic leadership recruiting, retention, and convincing young RANDAL FORD - THE BATTALION Lt. Gen. John Van Alstyne speaks at an open forum at the Forsyth Gallery about being a candi date for Commandant of Corps. Americans that being part of the A&M system will push them towards their goals.” He added that in order for the Corps to be suc cessful keepers of the Spirit, they must realize the intentions and needs of those they are preserving the Spirit for. oventry takes office, wants to bring unity to A&M community nairman ;a's eco- ?ut cau- coming h pace, s in an Iramatto ositive," s during ikers. its fir 5t nded at ar's firs* he con- BRIAN RUFF • THE BATTALION student at the Memorial < S- pZ ZLs diversity to A&M. By Jessi Watkins THE BATTALION During his term as student body pres ident, Zac Coventry, a senior agricultur al development major, said he hopes to develop a sense of unity among the stu dent body of Texas A&M University. “My number one priority is to bring the diversity of individuals we have here at A&M together as a family,” Coventry said. Coventry hopes to accomplish this primarily through the Fall Activities Council (FAC), he said. In April, students were given a survey, sponsored by FAC, listing several options being considered to take the place of Bonfire in the fall. The main event will be the Bonfire Skills Challenge, a series of activities in a field day-type event Wednesday before the Texas A&M-Texas game, Coventry said. “It is a day of competition with a fes tival atmosphere. There will be bands playing and that night we would try to bring in a big name band,” he said. Coventry said he will also use a tra ditions partnership to accomplish his goal of student body unity. “We brought groups together to dis cuss traditions, the goal being to have consistency among the traditions we profess,” he said. “For example, there is a debate on the exact date that Muster began.” Coventry said he also plans on help ing the new University president adjust to Texas A&M and make sure student concerns are heard by the new president. “One issue on the horizon is the new university president,” Coventry said. “One of my priorities is working with Dr. Gates, when he is appointed, on his transition to the university and voicing student opinions and passions to him.” One way to accomplish this is to have more access to the student body, such as an easy-to-find link on the web, he said. Coventry also voiced his concerns on the challenge students face with the future of Bonfire. “I think the most important charac teristic about Bonfire is it brought Aggies together,” he said. “It brought current students and former students together.” Coventry said Aggies should not divide into groups of different opinions. Instead, he said, they should work together to bring Bonfire back in the future. “I think an off-campus Bonfire would be counter productive to the unity of the student body. I do understand the pas sion of those involved with Bonfire, but it was based on unity.” Coventry said he plans to take the approach of, “All that matters is what we do as a team,” in his interaction with the student body. “I’m an external type of leader. If I’ve been chosen to serve people I should be out there with the people, not in my office,” he said. Coventry hopes while he serves as president people will see how A&M is unique compared to other Universities. “My philosophy is the characteris tic that sets A&M apart from many of the colleges in the nation is our peo ple. Our academics, athletics, and the services we offer our students are first class,” Coventry said. “But what really sets us apart is the people. At Texas A&M people go out of their way to make people feel at home. It’s about teamwork and making us feel like we are part of a family.”