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Aggielife: Internships help students with careers • Page 3A Opinion: A&M receives mixed rankings • Page 5B
THE BATTALION
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fnlumc 109 • Issue 4*16 pages
109 Years Serving Texas A&M University
w ww.thebatt.com
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
DA
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Victims’ families skeptical about fair trial
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
\ Mk Brazos County juries may ultimate-
7 1y hand down the verdicts on a series of
{ Bonfire-related lawsuits, but the plain-
tfs’ lawyers remain skeptical about
:eiving a fair trial in Aggieland.
iMasi'^K ^u'ngliil deatli lausuils stemming
^fcm the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse,
-filed by victims’ families in probate
^"•^Burts across the state, have been trans-
BHrred to Brazos County after judges in
| Tarrant, Bexar and Harris counties
ft IfWanted defendants’ motions for a
change of venue. Attorneys for the
defendants argued that state law
requires the trials to take place where
the accident occurred and that trials in
other counties would be inconvenient
for defendants who do not live where
the cases were originally tiled.
Defendants include Texas A&M.
high-level University administrators,
such as former A&M President Dr. Ray
Bowen, student Bonfire leaders and
two construction companies.
Darrell Keith, a Fort Worth attorney
representing the families of Jerry Self,
Christopher Heard and Bryan McClain,
three of the 12 Aggies killed in the col
lapse, said the community’s deep ties to
the University will make it difficult for
his clients to receive a fair trial.
“There’s a serious concern as to
whether citizens can overcome pro-
Aggie sympathies and bias in favor of
A&M and the redpots,” Keith said.
“Many (in Brazos County) suffer from
serious denial and are adamantly
opposed to the litigation.”
The wrongful death suit filed by the
family of Chad Powell in Tarrant
County, and a suit filed in Ward County
by Lanny Hayes, one of the 27 students
injured in the collapse, were also
moved to Brazos County.
The McClain case has been assigned
to Judge J.D. Langley’s 85th District
Court. The others are waiting to be
placed on a docket, but Keith said it
was likely the wrongful death suits
would be consolidated into one court.
He also predicted that Langlely, a
graduate of A&M, would have to con
sider disqualifying himself as a judge
himself, though he would not say on
what grounds.
Langley said he could not comment
on any pending case.
Geno Borchardt, a Fort Worth attor
ney representing the family of Chad
Powell, said once the case is assigned
to a court, he will decide whether to ask
the judge to transfer the case to another
county.
“We’re still looking into whether a
fair trial can be had here.” Borchardt
said. “If we have a fair and impartial
jury, they will rule in favor of my client.”
A&M spokeswoman. Cynthia
Lawson, declined to comment on the
pending litigation, hut said the
University was not worried about any
negative impact from these emotional
and high profile trials unfolding in
A&M’s backyard.
“The parents deserve their day in
Sec Lawsuits on page 2
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'Agreement makes
research
exchange possible
By Rob Phillips
THE BATTALION
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I Officials from the Texas A&M
S> stem Health Science Center
traveled to Seoul, South Korea
Ast month to sign an agreement
■filiating the Center with
■oonchunhyang University
Medical Center.
I The relationship will provide a
. sister school relationship between
OOllSUppr, the two universities, said Dr.
(IS it’s nrr £ ,e orge C.Y. Chiou, professor and
head of Texas A&M College of
Medicine's Department of
Pharmacology and Laboratory
Medicine. The agreement allows
the exchange of faculty members,
residents and medical students for
lecturing and collaborative
research.
ra caution# Health Science Center
President Nancy W. Dickey and
ueticalpov t°llege of Medicine Interim
gjflpcan Roderick E. McCallum
accompanied Chiou to Seoul for
pie formal ceremony and finaliza
tion of the agreement.
The affiliation process
between the two schools has been
Ongoing for several years, since
•oonchunhyang officials visited
College Station in 1999.
“It was really the formalizing
l)f a previously existing agree-
ill ihasseeA nK ’ nt ” McCallum said. “In this
uestions particular agreement we pledged
d “not once 1° d° a variety of activities that
lo/ens of pi” v, °uld exchange students and fac-
Tilty in our programs, so it was
developed a little more than the
previous agreement.”
The affiliation will allow sen
ior medical students to take their
Tocation at the “paper-free”
Koonchunhyang Bucheon
Jrlospital in Seoul. The state-of-
.. the art institution stores all
information and records on a
sophisticated computer system,
2hiou said.
“This hospital is the most
dvanced we have ever seen,”
hiou said. “Every medical stu-
ent can learn something new.”
The Health Science Center has
discussed following
poonchunhyang’s lead of com
mercialization of technology at
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Texas A&M. Chiou added.
McCallum believes the two
countries’ diverse educational
systems and medicine practices
can only broaden Texas A&M’s
medical program.
“Their students and our stu
dents would see different styles
and approaches to the practice of
medicine, and furthermore is the
cultural advantage of learning
something about another coun
try,” McCallum said.
Neil Shah, a sophomore med
ical student, said he was intrigued
at the prospect of studying over
seas.
“It’s a good idea and would be
very interesting to go to Korea,"
said Shah. “It’s a good partner
ship to have.”
The Health Science Center at
Texas A&M is comprised of five
institutions located in communi
ties throughout Texas. They
include the Baylor College of
Dentistry, the Institute of
Biosciences, the Technology and
School of Rural Public Health,
the Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences and the
College of Medicine. The Center
has sister school relationships
with other international medical
programs, including Changung
Medical College in Taiwan and
Nanjing Medical University in
China.
The Center is in the process of
informing students of opportuni
ties provided by the agreement,
on an individualized basis for the
first few years, McCallum said.
“Along with the opportunity
comes the added complication of
finding time in the curriculum to
do this as well as the expense
involved in terms of travel,”
McCallum said.
Elizabeth King, a senior biolo
gy major and premed student,
expressed interest in the program.
“I think it would be a worth
while experience,” King said.
“It would be kind of hard to
leave your family and friends,
but it would be interesting to
see how a different culture
would operate and practice
medicine.”
Memorial service
JOHN I.IVAS » THE BATTALION
Junior psychology major Chris Stravitsch stops to look at a
family photo of former Texas A&M graduate student Michael
Schmidt in the foyer of St. Mary's Catholic Center. Stravitsch
was among many to attend a memorial service for Schmidt
Tuesday. Schmidt died from a head injury after falling from a
golf cart at Fish Camp on Aug. 27.
Nigeria email scam bogs down inboxes
By Jessi Watkins
THE BATTALION
An email scam promising
millions of dollars in exchange
for bank account numbers is
inundating inboxes of Texas
A&M students, staff and faculty.
Jeff McCabe, associate
director of Information
Technologies Issues
Management, said emails ask
ing for help from Nigeria have
increased.
“Recently we’ve seen an
upswing in the Nigeria scam. It
comes in many fonns. They ask
for your help in transferring a
large sum of money of which
you will get a cut if you help,”
McCabe said. “Most people are
becoming more aware and they
recognize this as a scam. Delete
it or ignore it. It is garbage.”
Tom Putnam, director of
Computer Information Services,
said these schemes can be very
dangerous and people can lose
money on them.
“The hoax attempts to con
vince the recipients to open a
bank account with their own
money before receiving their
cut of the sum to be transferred,
at which time their money usu
ally disappears,” Putnam said.
“Generally, if you get an email
promising money, just remem
ber, if it sounds to good to be
true it probably is.”
Other scams are showing up
in student and faculty email
accounts, Putnam said.
One scam claims users can
receive $800 from Microsoft,
Putnam said. Another states the
post office will begin charging
money for email use.
“We get a lot of people that
pass on frauds or hoaxes. You
should delete these, not pass
them on,” Putnam said.
Bob Wiatt, director of the
University Police Department,
said the FBI and Secret Service
are trying to track down those
responsible for the emails, but
many people are involved and
the Nigerian government is not
cooperating in the investigation.
EMAIL SCAM WARNING SIGN
marked "ur
*
■"eonfident
or
enfc
ml*
dollar amounts are
written out in text
say you have been
recommended
sender claims to be
Ni9erian businessmen
lawyer or accountant
contain spelling or
grammatical mistakes
fori
a
SOURCE, www crimes of-persuasion.com
I
MB
MANDY ROUQUETTE • THE BATTALION
Sept. 11 exhibit at museum marks anniversary of tragedy
George Bush Presidential
Library & Museum on
West Campus
9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday - Saturday
Noon - 5 p.m.
Sunday
Closed: Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Year’s Day
Will run through
January 5, 2003
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
By Tanya Nading
THE BATTALION
Nearly a month before the one year
anniversary of Sept. 1 1, the George Bush
Presidential Library opened its doors on a
new exhibit featuring artwork donated by
former President George Bush and his
wife, Barbara.
The exhibit includes paintings of
remembrance from elementary and high
school students along with several artists
from across the United States. An
American flag sofa, crying eagle statuette,
commemerative quilt, deco page art and
several other creations can also be viewed.
“The artists are expressing their grief
and patriotism and showing how they’re
standing up against terrorism,”
Menarchik said.
The “Remembering September 11”
exhibit is located among the “Freedom’s
Journey” exhibit, which displays one of
only 25 remaining original prints of the
Declaration of Independence, historical
weapons, paintings and other replicas of
the Revolutionary period.
“We put the two exhibits together on
purpose,” Menarchik said. “9-1 1 was one
of the most catastrophic events in modern
history. We thought to combine the art and
essays, of a patriotic theme, with the
donated Sept. 11 pieces, and weave all
these elements together.”
Christy Dulaney, an observer of the
exhibit, said while it was difficult to
believe Sept. 11 was a year ago, she still
enjoyed the display.
“They are very talented and I think it
was a very nice idea to create this exhibit,”
Dulaney said. “My only concern is that the
anniversary will be tasteful to the families
of the victims.”
The museum normally receives 2,500
to 3,500 visitors per week, said
Menarchik. He said he hopes to have two
hundred thousand visitors this year, an
increase of 46 thousand from last year.
Menarchik said as summer comes to a
close and people return from vacations, the
library will get a better sense of how people
are reacting to the exhibit.
“With 9-11 coming up we think it’s
going to be the centerpiece at the Bush
Library for the day of remembrance,”
Menarchik said.
The library will host September 11th
activities beginning at 9 a.m. and running
about an hour, he added.
“We hope that the people of the Brazos
Valley will stand up on 9-1 1 and remem
ber what happened, remember that we’re
still standing and be a part of the remem
brance efforts,” Menarchik said, “...it will
be the event in the Brazos Valley and we’re
hoping that several thousand people will
attend.”
The “Remembering September
exhibit will run through Jan. 5, 2003.
1 1”