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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2002)
i’he battJ Sports: Cinco Ranch wins 7-on-7 • Page B Opinion: Animal rights activists need to focus • Page 7 THE BATTALION Volume 108 • Issue 170 • 8 pages 108 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Monday, July 22, 2002 N' New president’s employment contract finalized By Christina Hoffman THE BATTALION I Incoming Texas A&M President Dr. I Robert Gates will make an annual salary I if $300,000. beginning Aug. I, accord- lig to his employment contract with the lexas A&M University System signed by Chancellor Howard Graves. Current University President Dr. Ray Bl Bowen will retire on July 31. The employment contract with Gates runs from Aug. 1 through July 31, 2005, with a possible extension upon agree ment in writing between the A&M sys tem and Gates. The base salary agree ment can also be adjusted with agree ment of the two parties. The contract requires Gates to serve as the full-time president throughout the term of the agreement. According to Section 2.02 of the con tract, “Gates shall perfonn the normal duties and responsibilities of president of Texas A&M University, with the atten dant prerequisites and responsibilities of the position.” Gates will be allowed to fulfill all speaking contracts if committed prior to May 8, 2002, by using vacation time or leave without pay for any full day he is absent from the University. The contract also states Gates will receive employee benefits including a pension plan and wel fare benefits governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. He will also be reimbursed for out-of- pocket expenses for ‘normal, customary, and reasonable GATES expenses related to the performance of his duties,” according to Section 3.04 of the agreement. Gates will also receive a membership to a club of his choice, but is required to pay the dues and personal expenses. In addition, the contract says Gates and his family will reside at the presi dent’s house located on Coke Street with all utilities, housekeeping, maintenance and other related costs paid. n • THE BATTAUC'I ena. Wooteni ie Texas ASlI s ne\ sadoi mia (the avenui located), ine of contentii ilitical analyst ■ former Presii nomination to he appointment Spanish — a st have been olitical ally of Bur w ledge of the bout contact with Bus he will become s. establishment, if Mexican descent] often had tica| esiablishn 11 moredistouVxtVi Rough rider r fE Professional bareback rider Matt Buckner of Sherman, Texas, rides in the 31st Annual Bryan Breakfast Lions RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION Club PRCA Rodeo at the Brazos County Rodeo Arena on Highway 6. The rodeo went on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By Molly McCullough THE BATTALION Texas A&M researcher Dr. Thomas D e Witt is studying physical characteristics of fish to help discover better ways to conserve i e m in the wild, which could possibly lm ProVe the fishing industry. Some of the characteristics DeWitt and his team are examining include placement of the m °uth, length of the tail, head, crushing plates ln the mouth and overall body structure. These structures can change in certain er >vironments according to factors such as purnber of predators and human levels of lm Pact on the area. Environmental differences that typically Produce population divergence include preda tion, competition, or abiotic stress,” said J^^itt, an assistant professor in the Impairment of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. he basic issue here is conservation.” . DeWitt started his initial research on the j ss ue approximately eight months ago, primari- 1 r°cusing on a species of fish located in the thf of Mexico. This species, Gambusia affinis, r mosquitofish, is one species known to adapt °an environment with predators, he said. One of the ways the mosquitofish adapts s y developing a longer tail to help swim W3y from predators faster. DeWitt has lln d similar patterns in other types of ° s 4uitofish, as well as other fish in the Gambusia family. Another difference DeWitt and his team noticed is the placement of the mouth between two populations of the same species offish. For example, if the fish feeds from the top, the mouth is slightly higher on the head as supposed to a bottom-feeder. “Many of these species are endemic, meaning they live in only a highly localized region and are therefore extremely vulnerable to extinction,” said DeWitt. Around six months ago, DeWitt applied his research to the red drum fish, a species known for commercial over-fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department had previously banned commercial fishing of the red drum and had also put size limits on the fish for private fishermen in an effort to increase its numbers. The red drum has made a comeback due to the combined efforts of reduced fishing and the release of around 30 million hatchery red drum fish into the wild. To help preserve these fish, DeWitt is now looking for ways to produce red drum with certain wanted qualities to help ensure sur vival of the species. This is vital because the red drum provide billions of dollars in the fishing industry, DeWitt said. DeWitfs research is not limited to the Gulf of Mexico; he is also conducting research in the Bahamas, Venezuela and Africa, and plans to travel to the Virginia coast. He also plans to write a grant proposal to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help further his research. Hutchison helps approve bills to fund A&M research By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved two bills that will provide four different A&M research projects totaling $50.5 mil lion if passed through the Senate and the House, then agreed upon in con ference committee and signed by the President. Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and requested these funds for A&M. A spokeswoman from Hutchison’s office said while the bill has not yet been passed, A&M is on track to receive these funds. The largest portion of these funds, $35 million, would go into the four-year-old National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC), pro viding a $20 million increase. “(This amount) would more than double our training budget,” said Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, direc tor of Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). “1 think [this funding] is an affirmation of the quality of our training program, and indicates the great need for the training we deliver.” The national response center trains emergency responders to deal with national emergencies includ ing acts of terrorism. “NERRTC at A&M is the coun try’s premier training location for first responders,” Hutchison said in a press release. “The Center pro vides a demanding, hands-on course to prepare those who might deal with acts of terrorism.” Bennett said the NERRTC has delivered over 600 courses on ter rorism incident preparedness to over 23,000 emergency responders from all 50 states under the Department of Justice, Office off Justice Programs and the Office for Domestic Preparedness. In addition, $7 million will go toward the development of an air sampling system used by soldiers to detect pathogens that are air borne, including anthrax, and $1.5 million will fund the development of an electromagnetic beam capa ble of disinfecting biological weapons and disabling nuclear and chemical agent warheads. Another See Hutchison on page 2 Allocation of possible $50,5 million coming to A&M *.• $ 5 5 million for A & M * s premier national training program * $7 million for quantum optics (laser weapons, faster computers) jp $7 million for air sampling-system to detect airborne pathogens V $ 1 *5 million for electromagnetic beam that disenfects biological warheads and disables nucleate he raical agent warheads TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION Center for Study of the First Americans comes to A&M Researcher focuses on fish conservation improvement By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION Texas A&M has become the home of the Center for the Study of the First Americans (CSFA), making A&M the only university in the country with a center dedicat ed to studying the first inhabitants of the continent. Dr. Michael Waters, professor of anthropology and geography, and associate director of the CSFA, said the center’s function is to study the archeological question of when and how the first peoples arrived. “That is one of the great mysteries of North American archeology, and it’s an important question to answer,” Waters said. Some of the questions raised are addressed through an interdisciplinary scientific approach. DNA analysis, examination of skeletal remains and archeological dat ing are used, among other methods. Dr. Robson Bonnichsen, professor of anthropology and director of the CSFA said A&M is a good location for the center because of its reputation. “Texas A&M has an outstanding anthropology pro gram and the department supports study that complements the kinds of things the center does,” Bonnichsen said. The CSFA, which was moved from Oregon State earlier this month, is associated with the departments of anthropology and geography and is located on the second floor of the Anthropology Building. “We have offices and lab space there,” Waters said. “We’re planning on a grand opening during the spring semester.” The CSFA was approved by the Board of Regents at the end of March and is now an official Texas A&M center. “The new center will attract students [to the anthro pology department] because of its educational possi bilities,” Waters said. “It is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to be involved in the ongoing research.” “The center will provide excellent research oppor tunities for students and we have many resource mate rials that will create a stronger anthropology depart ment,” Bonnichsen said. The center is still publishing a journal, The Mammoth Trumpet, and will also publish magazines and books on the peopling of the Americas. The center also sponsors conferences that will be See CSFA on page 2 WorldCom Inc. files Chapter 11 NEW YORK (AP) — WorldCom Inc. will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday, the embat tled telecommunications company’s chief executive John Sidgmore told The Associated Press. The bankruptcy would be the largest in U.S. history and the latest in a spectacular series of corporate col lapses. Sidgmore said the filing would take place in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, and ensure that the company receives about $2 billion in financing while it reorganizes. “The first priority was to stabilize the company finan cially,” he said. “We don’t think that there will be any significant impact on the employees and vendors, for that matter, and we should have plenty of cash to make it.” Sigmore said the company would look into selling some of its peripheral businesses, but not key franchises like MCI or UUNET. MCI is the company’s core long distance business; UUNET is a major Internet player. Despite the bankruptcy, no immediate disruptions are expected for Worldcom’s millions of MCI long distance customers or at UUNET, which accounts for 29 percent of the capacity on the nation’s busiest Web routes. In Washington, spokesman David Fiske said the Federal Communications Commission was monitor ing the situation. He said the FCC would work to “protect consumers against any abrupt termination of service and to protect the integrity of the telecommu nications network.” WorldCom admitted June 25 that it had falsely booked $3.85 billion in expenses to make it appear more profitable. The same day, the company fired chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, who was later accused by company auditor Arthur Andersen of withholding crucial information about WorldCom’s bookkeeping. Clinton, Miss.-based WorldCom also announced layoffs of 17,000 workers, or 20 percent of its global work force.
