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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2002)
Nat: HE BATTai Aggielife: Waiting for tickets • Page 3A Opinion: Heroes or religious fanatics? • Page 5B itie I ie told ite ; the Times it- Jineniary. ‘ "i the nc*s the mtenifi, the U S. Ctr ; the founh v ‘ties slamme. ers ot Neu v e Center Hiile anothr i in a Pciutv. '''enters apr. Uj ackers, o I canted Ar.. ■[h.t operar -e 1992 and-, rung with i Afghanis!* he United v licated vsitT uda officii; ssrotc. Big mined eser he lelep: i Gcmians; using a nddt he shapes j d 11. Based vatefe a has drawr. i its broadf ih and si*r Laden and:; Ohio. thrown fnr the dead i aid Logan C. own toOiif- ursmg si^e release rk- ion. ing to ferrto* ■ever al hours; g eastbound; tot Iw war THE BATTALION flfolunic 109 • Issue 8 • 14 pa$»es www.thebatt.coni Tuesday, September 10, 2002 A&M prepares to bid on ocean drilling contract By Rob Phillips THE BATTALION I As the United States and Japan pre pare to embark on a massive interna- ti< nal ocean drilling research program beginning October 2003, Texas A&M will have to wait and see whether it will renew its role as Science Operator of thu project or become a mere spectator. I For the past two decades, Texas A&M has acted as Science Operator for the existing Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), an international part nership of scientists and research institutions throughout 22 countries dedicated to scientific discovery through ocean drilling. A&M’s •on- tract with the National Science Foundation (NSF), which ends in September 2003, has put the University on the map in the earth sci ence world and has pumped millions of dollars into the Texas economy. By the time A&M’s contract is through, NSF will put the new contract out for bid, creating competition among uni versities, said Dr. David Prior, interim provost and executive vice president at A&M. “NSF is constrained to in fact have a public competition,” Prior said. “Of course we want to be the successful bidder, but you can’t preordain the out come of these things. We have assem bled a very powerful package that we will be able to present in support of our case to continue this role.” A&M’s role in the drilling program has brought significant international recognition to the school. As Science Operator for the premier oceanograph ic earth science research program in the world, A&M is granted $38 million a year to contract the JOIDES Resolution drilling ship. The funds come from NSF and the prime contractor of the project is Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), a consortium of U.S. academic institutions and ODP manag er, said Dr. Jack Baldauf, deputy direc tor for science operations at A&M. In addition to operating the Resolution vessel. A&M is responsible for science labs, technical support, pub lication of the crews’ volumes, curation of samples, management of the data base and engineering development. “We are seen internationally as hav ing provided technical and scientific support for these 22 countries over 20 years, drilling all over the world and supporting hundreds of scientists and students in terms of scientific discov ery,” Prior said. A&M has sent a proposal to JOI expressing interest in acting as Science See Drilling on page 2 Weird science TA RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION Fourth year graduate student Mervin Brazile sets up a reac tion to create magnetic materials in the Chemistry Building Monday afternoon. The project is designed to synthesize new magnetic materials. UT tickets scarce Staff Report THE BATTALION Students who camped out in front of Kyle Field this weekend found out early Monday that there were only 437 tickets to be claimed for the game against the University of Texas. Many of those students were, as a result, turned away empty-handed. UT sent a total of 3,850 tickets to Texas A&M, the majority of which went to the 12th Man Foundation, the football team, and the Aggie Band before students were given access to them. The minimum amount of tickets one school has to offer to another is 3,850 tickets, said Tim Allen, associate commissioner of the Big 12 Conference. “We are only able to issue 437 tickets to those who camped out at Kyle Field,” Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Manager Jim Kotch said. “The decision to issue so few tickets was determined last year.” In 2000, the last time A&M played the Longhorns in Austin, UT sent 7,000 Koch said. In 2001, A&M sent UT 6,850. A&M sent 150 fewer tickets due to a Big 12 cutback on visiting tickets. Texas A&M plans on sending UT the minimum 3,850 tickets next year, Kotch said Monday. UT’s football facility, the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, holds 80,082 fans. With only 3,000 tickets coming A&M’s way, A&M students and fans will fill only 0.5 percent of UT’s sta dium this November. Senate debates report By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION A motion to approve the Minority Conditions Subcommittee Revised Report was tabled until the next Faculty Senate meeting next month after much discussion. One senator expressed a concern that several ethnic and religious minority groups would not benefit from the changes presented because the report focused only on blacks and Hispanics. Dr. James Flagg, chair of the Minority Conditions subcommittee, said the emphasis was not meant to be discriminatory. “The intent was to focus on under-represented minorities,” Flagg said. Dr. C. J. Swearingen, an English professor, said the changes See Senate on page 2 ;* A&M to receive more than $9 million from new fee •ski In ew|student|iees Will total about $9 million for 2002-2003 year. • 10% devoted to financial aid • Some will go towards A&M's $6 million deficit • Remaining will fund faculty pay raises ! Source: Office of T he Vice President for Finance TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION By Ruth Ihde THE BATTALION Texas A&M will rake in $9 million during the course of this year from fees charged to new students. At more than $900 per semester for each newly enrolled student, part of that grand total goes toward the University’s $6.2 million budget deficit and the rest is disbursed to student financial aid and faculty raises. Vice President of Finance Dr. William Krumm said the money needs to supply each of the branches of the University’s budget, with about 10 percent going to financial aid for undergraduates and graduate students. “The budget is like a three-legged stool made up of student tuition, private donations and state contributions,” Krumm said. “In order for the stool to be balanced, all three legs must be of equal length.” Some freshmen and transfer students paying the extra fees say they think there is a lot of weight placed on their shoulders. “I don’t think the fee should be applied to only new students,” said Tim Stech, a freshman gener al studies major. “Of all people, I don’t think we should be accountable for it. I don’t think it will benefit our education.” After forking over more for their education than older brothers and sisters attending A&M, other freshmen said they didn’t understand where the money was going. “It sends an unfair message that you don’t understand what your payment is for or what it is going to,” said Michael Savage, a freshman chem ical engineering major. “In a way it is respectful to upperclassmen, but it is unfair to new students.” Fees for new students total about $30 per cred it hour, divided up between additions to various fees found on a student's bill. For new A&M stu dents, the library use fee is increased $15.80 per credit hour and the computer access fee is $4.80 per credit hour. In addition, there are two new fees, the advising fee at $8.85 per credit hour and the Bursar Services fee at 55 cents per credit hour. Krumm said the administration presented sev eral options to the Board of Regents, and the regents decided that charging the fee increases to only new students would be the best option. He said it would be unfair to shock students who were already here with the $30 per credit hour increase. “We tried to be very open and public about it,” he said, “so students who would be enrolling after See Fees on page 5 Economic forecast remains strong for B-CS University keeps unemployment numbers down, economy stable By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION | The economic forecast for the Bryan-College Station area is supe rior to most areas around the coun try, economist Karr Ingham said. “This community is the envy of others because you have a magnifi cent economic engine in Texas A&M University,” Ingham said. ‘'There is a stability with that, and you (Brazos County] are known as the metro area in Texas with the Ipwest unemployment rate.” Some economists say there will be a drop in the stock market this month and an increase in retail sales at the end of the year, but Ingham said the economy in Brazos County is stronger than most. For the most part, the Texas economy is weaker than last year, Ingham said. But Bryan and College Station have a solid foun dation underneath them. “The people here have great con fidence in the economic situation ” Ingham said. Sean Danby, managing partner at Kona Ranch in College Station, agrees that Texas A&M is a major part of the stable economy in the surrounding area. “Events such as [football] games and Parents Weekend draw students, parents and alumni and that’s a big boost for all business es” Danby said. “Right now the overall outlook for businesses in Bryan-College Station is positive as compared to last year.’ Ingham said employment is the biggest economic gauge of an area’s success. Employers do not have to look very hard to find people to fill the job openings in the community, Danby said. “[Because of A&M students] there are a lot of people looking for jobs,” Danby said. “There is plenty of applicant traffic.” Joni McDaniel, a senior biology major, said her job at Post Oak Mall is representative of many students at A&M as well as other employees there. “I’ve noticed that business defi nitely kicks in all around once stu dents come into town,” McDaniel said. “Students take up most of the jobs so much so that hiring slows down a lot when school starts.” Dr. Jerry Strawser, dean of the Lowry Mays School of Business, said the college’s next career fair in October is expected to provide more opportunities for upcoming graduates than in previous, slower years. “We’re seeing companies coming back to recruit who had been here and had taken last year off,” Strawser said. Senior business major Robyn Jones said the Bryan-College Station area is improving the economic out look for the community. “A&M is a great asset for Bryan and College Station,” Jones said. “Students work a lot of the jobs here and spend a lot of the money, too.”
