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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2002)
MKKNati • he BAT’ 1SS] ^ Mctk |v«lu family not her By Lecia Baker THE BATTALION ready had <& ''he recalk "»g- “I felt '>nd offended I As the Industrial Engineering er their firs; department continues its search for a *** ■■^^Bepartment head. Dr. Brett A. Peters has fteen appointed to fulfill the duties as ■iterim head. Peters, a nationally recog nized materials handling expen. said he k excited to serve as interim head of the ■epartment. Peters is responsible for setting the ■irection for the department. He must Sports: Aggies win close call • Page 5 Opinion: Baylor Playboy models deserve punishment • Page 9 THF RATTAT irtlSJ X XXJ-i 1X/A.X X/TlIjIKJIX me 109 • Issue 7 • 10 pages www.thebatt.com IVIonday, September 9, 2002 girl Industrial Engineering names interim head I about fe ns tant pas'kr hi. Lyudt i he first foe gradually d habit of Sf - much as I r. Ixtt she ildn't ought he o said, n f waiting f ions, minutes i* sou Id aiv t flour uos. cr\ out g make decisions concerning the future of the department and facilitate the faculty and staff in their education missions. “We have a strong faculty and a real ly good group of junior faculty,” Peters said. “My mission is to continue their development by making sure the facul ty stays on track.” Peters said he wants to continue doing everything the department’s lead ers have done in the past to make it a top 10 engineering department. “I enjoy the department. It is one of the top in the nation,” said Iliya V. Hicks, an assistant professor in the Industrial Engineering Department. “Dr. Deuermeyer, the previous interim head, did an excellent job and 1 expect the same from Dr. Peters.” Peters will also head the industrial engineering division of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the state’s engineering research agency and a member of the Texas A&M University System. TEES is the agency that facilitates research sponsor ship for the engineer ing departments. With the econom ic downfall, Peters said he recognizes the importance to find external funds to support engineering research. Peters joined the #rJ PETERS Texas A&M industrial engineering fac ulty as an assistant professor in 1992. He was promoted to associate professor in 1997 and professor in 2002. He is currently the Engineering Scholars pro gram coordinator for industrial engi neering at Texas A&M and the director of the Texas A&M Computer Aided Manufacturing Laboratory. Peters said he was attracted to Texas A&M by the quality of the department and the people. Peters belongs to a variety of See Peters on page 2 reshman dies in car accident Waiting game By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION 2 houn £t VAN HECKE April Lorraine Van Hecke, a no emote ■’reshman psychology major. aid she . •ms as killed in an automobile ut Putin i *: accident Sept. 2. work He S Van Hecke was on her way jo College tat ion from icr hometown f Atascosa arly in the norning when [the driver of car she riding in asleep at I wheel. accident did not involve any other vehicles. Van Hecke’s father, ■Michael, said April and her jfamily had moved her things into her dorm room in Krueger Hall on Saturday, but April had hot yet met her roommate face- Jto-face. Van Hecke described Biis daughter as a fun-loving, Khappy and outgoing person (who couldn’t wait to get started fat A&M. Michael Van Hecke said psy chology would have suited [April because she was smart [and she understood people well. April Van Hecke’s close [friend Melinda Mason, a high [school classmate and freshman lat Southwest Texas State Puls said si her hestK Putin wi ld left he' met, I »•’ was in i 1 ied in l^ : ed. he ok, hone character u must mi 1 ’ she rea ls words nt panic te eht he University, said April was a bubbly person who made every one laugh. Both Mason and her father quoted a favorite saying of April’s: “The songs you sing and the smiles you wear make the sun shine everywhere.” Van Hecke said her favorite quote summed up the openness of her character. Mason said she and April had been friends since the first grade and ran varsity track together in high school. “It took her a while to choose where she wanted to go |to college),” Mason said, “but in the end she was very excited about A&M.” The day before she died. Van Hecke called Mason to tell her she would be in town. It was the last time she heard from her friend. Mason said it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. “In our group of friends, we always said that April was the one who kept us all together,” Mason said. Van Hecke’s funeral was held Thursday in San Antonio. Her father said the local church in Atascosa, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, was not large enough for the service. The Silver Taps ceremony which will honor April will be held Oct. 1. ALISSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION Despite the wet weather this weekend, freshman business to go on sale for away games. About 50 students waited in major Erin Curra camps out at Kyle Field to wait for tickets tents over the weekend. ster we Fall Activities Council fills Gates initiates committee to semester with activities search for athletic director Aznar sle. uch as $H’ nent fo id Thursd 3 be barred sex abuse nent thatlj icd must‘ d be regre signs of 1 can cause product use scani he expee i fulness i jted StaK :ent cases native Pn ates have negation' i shops^ shops o. in the ■ text. By Lauren Bauml THE BATTALION Though organizers say nothing can fill the void left by Aggie Bonfire, the Fall Activities Council | (FAC) has a few events lined up to keep students busy this semester. The Farmers Fight Festival, with student com petitions and live bands, and a Bonfire Remembrance this November top the list. Fall Activities Council’s plans began with the kick-off of the A&M versus Pittsburgh Tailgate Barbecue this weekend. The FAC is overseen by Student Body President Zac Coventry. Plans for the fall include Aggie Invasion at Baylor Oct. 12 and a Bonfire Remembrance on Nov. 18. The Farmers Fight Festival will be held on campus Nov. 26, with a competition and interaction among all Aggies, local bands, a yell practice and possibly an as-yet unplanned “big name” entertainer. The FAC was created last spring to plan and coordinate activities for fall 2002. FAC is composed of student leaders from Greek Life, MSC, International Students Association, Residence Hall Association and student government. “It’s great to have such a diversity of leaders sitting on the committee because each can bring a new idea and perspective to the table,” Coventry said. The committee strives to promote unity among the student body of A&M, perpetuate positive tra ditions and provide motivational “buildup” in preparation for the football game against the University of Texas, Coventry said. This year’s activities aren't meant to replace Bonfire, Coventry said. “Bonfire was a tradition that cannot, nor will ever, be replaced ” he said. “The events planned are a means for our campus to bring A&M together as a family.” Planning for the fall activities began this sum mer. Events were created after analyzing the 1,068 surveys gathered this spring to identify the activities that would most benefit the students and community. Kellie Lewis, a junior speech communications major, said each event is a great way to bring Aggies together as a student body. People will come out in force to the events because Aggies “always find success because we stick together,” Coventry said. By Brad Bennett THE BATTALION Though no University rules require a search committee’s help to hire a new athletic director, Texas A&M President Dr. Robert M. Gates has commissioned a committee to review applicants for the job that will be left vacant by long-time Athletic Director Wally Groff in January. Benton Cocanougher, special assistant to the president and a professor of marketing, will chair the search committee. He and about 10 other members, who have yet to be named, will help Gates narrow down the field of candidates. Groff is stepping down Dec. 31 after 10 years as athletic director. A new director is set to take charge on Jan. 1, 2003. Cocanougher said he has no candidates in mind entering the search. He doesn’t know who, if anyone, within the A&M system could be a candidate. Gates has denied rumors he is seeking a new athletic director as a way to get rid of Head Football Coach R.C. Slocum, but Cocanougher said he hasn’t heard the rumors and disagrees with them. “We expect to find some fine candidates because, and I feel strongly about this, Wally Groff and his predecessors, like John David Crow, have built a foundation of a good program built on character,” Cocanougher said. See Committee on page 2 Faculty Senate considers new position to address diversity Fall Activities Council -Full Projects- m Oetotier 11 tty| m gum 9 ROVttmUflff 18 * . ^ Farmers Fight Festival - November 16 T RAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION Several items will be under consideration at the first Faculty Senate meeting of the Fall semester Monday afternoon, including the suggested creation of a new office of vice president of diversity. The new position was suggest ed in a report released Aug. 7 by the Faculty Senate Subcommittee on Minority Conditions, along with a proposal for added funding to make a difference in the recruiting, hiring and retention of minority faculty. The report, titled Student and Faculty Minority Conditions at Texas A&M, lays out several problems the 16 faculty mem bers involved said need chang ing. Dr. James Flagg, an associ ate professor in accounting, chaired the committee and was primarily responsible for the wording of the final draft. Twenty years have elapsed since the lack of minority repre sentation at A&M was first addressed in 1981, and Flagg said this makes 2002 an appro priate time to evaluate. Dr. Robert Strawser, speaker of the Faculty Senate and an accounting professor, has been a member of the subcommittee for about 10 years. He said a major concern of the committee is that the demographics of Texas A&M do not accurately reflect the demographics of the state. Dr. Ruth Schaffer, a visiting professor emeritus of sociology, has compiled a detailed and extensive database, and her work, in the form of numerous graphs and charts, is attached to the report. “It's basically a scorecard on how we’re doing,” Strawser said. According to the report, min imal progress has been made on minority representation at A&M since 1981. Several critical assessments are made about the A&M See Senate on page 2
