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By Lecia Baker
THE BATTALION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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