Aggielife: Indie bands in College Station • Page 3
Opinion: USA ready for woman president?* Page 7
108 Years Serving Texas A&M University
Volume 108 • Issue 148 • 8 pages www.thebatt.com
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
Second commandant candidate speaks at forum
By Jessi Watkins
THE BATTALION
Lt. Gen. Ronald House, Class of 1967,
one of two candidates for 38th
Commandant of the Corps of Cadets and
head of the Department of Military
Sciences, said the next commandant will
lead the Corps through a time of change.
“For the Corps to remain relevant to the
state and nation it will have to change,”
House said Monday afternoon in an open
forum at the Forsyth Gallery.
House said he plans to continue the
good relations between the commandant
and cadets developed while Gen. Maj. M.T.
Hopgood served as the 37th Commandant
for six years.
“Knowing Ted Hopgood, 1 would have
to assume there is a good relationship right
now” House said. “Assuming that, 1 would
just want to sustain it.”
House said he is a strong team player
and team builder.
“My strength has always been team
play. The commandant may be the quarter
back of the field, but it is only going to
work if we work together.”
House said he believes changing an
organization as bound in traditions as the
Corps requires an ample amount of com
munication and contingency.
“Do we lead the change or do we get
changed, and I think most people would
prefer to lead the change,” House said.
“When 1 talk about change I don’t think
I'm talking about revolution. I’m talking
about evolution.”
He said an increased racial, ethnic and
gender diversity is an adjustment the Corps
needs to make in the corning years.
“I know their strength is diversity, and if
organizations are going to thrive in the 21st
century, they are going to need to have that
strength you get from diversity” House
said. “The Corps will be stronger with
increased diversity. This university is
almost 50 percent women. In that environ
ment an organization is going to need to
have as many women as possible.”
House also said the Corps cannot isolate
itself from the rest of the University.
“The Corps has to be part of a team,”
House said. “It cannot be insularly. The
Corps is critical to the University but it is
just a part of the University, and it needs to
look for ways to integrate with the
University.”
House and Lt. Gen Van Alstyne, Class
of 1966, are the two final candidates cho
sen by the commandant selection commit
tee, chaired by Dr. J. Malon Southerland.
Southerland and the selection commit
tee hope to appoint one of these candidates
as the 38th Commandant of the Corps by
the end of this summer.
JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
Lt. Gen. Randolph House, candidate for commandant of the Corps of
Cadets, speaks during an open forum at Forsyth Galleries on Monday.
Staring into the sun
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Don Corona, director of the Astronomy teaching
Observatory, aligns a high powered telescope up to the sun
for his students to see Monday night's rare annular solar
eclipse. The Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes are usually
only used for nighttime viewing, but with a mirrored solar
filter the Physics 307 students were able to view the
moon eclipsing the sun. The next solar eclipse will not be
until 2005.
Terrorism forum
examines policy
By Courtney McDonald
THE BATTALION
Young, old and former Aggies
attended the first of three forums
on National Issues of Terrorism
at the George Bush Library and
Museum Monday night to partic
ipate in a discussion surrounding
topics on terrorism and the
approach America should take to
answer problems of national
security.
Suggestions to combat ter
rorism and raise national secu
rity ranged from full scale mil
itary action to rethinking the
way Americans interact with
foreign nations.
The discussion was moderat
ed by Taylor Willingham and
Conor Seyle, while both affiliat
ed with the National Issues
Forums, who acquaint them
selves with the title of being a
citizen of America.
The “public conversation,”
coined by Willingham, included
discussion on three possible
actions America could take in
regards to terrorism.
The purpose of the delibera
tive group discussion was to
encourage “citizen to citizen
conversation so as to strengthen
democracy (in America),”
Willingham said.
Approach one was the
“Sword of All-Out War.” This
opinion addressed the impor
tance of the United States to use
the military in any means neces
sary to search out and destroy
the parties responsible for ter
rorist actions.
The major consequences
encountered when following this
view would be extreme military
costs. Also, the possible reper
cussions of warring nations
would be a major global conflict.
To support the military
actions even more, opinions of
reinstating the draft encouraged
nods'ttnd comments of approval
by many of the participants.
The second approach was the
“Shield of Homeland Security.”
This concept dealt with the option
of changes within the United
States involving heightened secu
rity measures and the possibility
of having national identification.
Personal inconvenience was
an issue in this area of discus
sion. The line that defines free
dom and inconvenience was dis
cussed between the participants.
Having no more pocket
knives and fingernail clippers in
travel bags was one thing to the
participants, but there was a dis
agreement of opinion about hav
ing to register all firearms.
The last approach to terror
ism dealt with the “Battle for
See Terrorism on page 2
Class of 2002 to renovate Spence Park
By Ruth Ihde
THE BATTALION
After much deliberation, the Class of
2002 Gift Committee decided to use the
funds it raised throughout its four years at
Texas A&M to renovate Spence Park, hop
ing to make it a safer and better place to
enjoy outdoor activities.
Spence Park, located south of the Koldus
Building and across the. street from Kyle
Field, is a well known area for joggers and
bikers. It provides a place for students to
rest after a day of classes and is a popular
place for picnics, especially during the foot
ball season.
Through T-shirt sales. Elephant Walk,
Ring Dance ticket sales, and other class
fundraising efforts over the last four years,
the Class of 2002 will completely fund this
project with an estimated budget of
$75,000, including the $7,500 endowment
for ongoing maintenance and future repairs
to Spence Park, said Bridger Roy, 2002
Class Gift Committee chair and a senior
telecommunications engineering technolo
gy major.
The gift will include needed repairs to
the jogging and walking trail and additional
lighting around the park and trail. There are
also plans to build a new 25 square foot
pavilion complete with electrical outlets and
a new swing set, Roy added.
The process of renovating will take around
two months, he said, but it will take addition
al time to work through a bidding process to
hire a company to build the pavilion.
Roy said within the last two weeks, the
Board of Regents had approved the project
and is ready to start the bidding process.
See Renovate on page 2
Spence Park renovations $75,600
University endowment
57,500
Bonfire memorial donation $25,000
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TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION
American arrested in
“dirty bomb” plot
* Jose Padilla, 31, also known as
WASHINGTON (AP) — The gov
ernment on Monday announced the
arrest of an American accused of plot
ting with al-Qaida terrorists to deto
nate a “dirty bomb” to spread
radioactive material, possibly target
ing Washington.
Authorities said the alleged
scheme, involving a former gang
member from Chicago who was raised
Catholic but converted to Islam, went
only as far as the planning stages.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton
indicated the man was carrying plans
for the attack when he was picked up
in Chicago.
Abdullah al Muhajir, was arrested on
May 8 as he flew from Pakistan via
Zurich, Switzerland, to O’Hare
International Airport. Officials said
the CIA and FBI had helped foil the
alleged plan, and FBI agents were
waking for Padilla as his plane arrived
at the gate. Authorities said they
believed he had returned to conduct
reconnaissance for al-Qaida.
President Bush said, “We have a
man detained who is a threat to the
country and that thanks to the vigilance
See Dirty Bomb on page 2
Vet lab joins Homeland Security network
By Lauren Bauml
THE BATTALION
The Texas Veterinary Medical
Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) at
Texjas A&M, will soon join a newly
formed national network, funded by
the Office of Homeland Security.
The program will assist in the identifi
cation and response to outbreaks of
foreign disease and possible threats of
bioterrorism within the animal and
agriculture industries.
The National Network of
Diagnostic Laboratories for Animal
Disease Monitoring and Diagnosis,
overseen by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), will set up five
animal and five plant core diagnostic
labs nationally, one being in College
Station. Each core lab, and the addi
tional six satellite animal diagnostic
labs, will be strategically located
throughout the United States.
Dr. Lelve Gayle, director of
TVMDL, feels this joint status with the
Homeland Security Network will give
TVMDL, as well as A&M, the national
visibility they both need and deserve.
He also feels the additional core and
satellite labs are very important because
of a threat of accidental introduction of
disease in the United States.
“This program will allow for rapid
detection and response to outbreaks
the Federal Government alone does
not have the capacity to deal with,” he
said.
The TVMDL seems like a viable
choice due to its current position as the
largest and most productive veterinary
diagnostic lab in the world. It receives
160,000 requests annually from Texas
animal industries asking for assistance
in the diagnosis of animal disease,
Gayle said.
The TVMDL will receive approxi
mately $2 million for two years, with
an option for a third year, to serve as
the core lab for Texas. The funding is
supported by a $328 million budget
allocated by President George W. Bush
and Congress earlier in the year to
strengthen the USDA’s homeland
security in response to any possible
See Network on page 2