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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2002)
V I IN J I RNatk 1 he BAIT] Aggielife: Students and their motorcycles • Page 3A Opinion: Unity Project needs to get organized • Page 5B - THE BATTALION ections ontrolled Kashrr officiate had exp( favor of indeper, fened to killthos ^ays stretchino Volume 109 • Issue 14-14 pages www.thebatt.com Wednesday, September 18, 2002 Oct. 1 mm / Southerland retires effective next August 31 By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION Ct ®ce President for Student iff airs Dr. J. Malon outherland announced his Jtirement Wednesday, capping 36- vear career at A&M. Southerland’s resignation, ffeciive Aug. 31, 2003, is the itest exit of a high ranking dministrator since A&M 'resident Dr. Robert M. Gates Dok the helm of the University ast month. Former Provost Dr. ’on Douglas and former Uhletic Director Wally Groff lave also resigned, ^■outherland, who has served as vice president for student affairs since 1993, said the choice to leave was his own. “It’s been a remarkable 36 years, and the time is right for me,” Southerland, Class of 1965, said. “As a student, I never imagined that I would see this institution evolve into a world class university while still recognizing important parts of its past.” He announced his retire ment almost a year before his departure to allow a search committee plenty of time to find his replacement, Southerland said. In a statement. Gates said he accepted Southerland’s deci sion with regret. “(Southerland] has provided literally decades of dedicated leadership and service to Texas A&M. Under Malon’s direc tion, student affairs at A&M has been one of the most inno vative, most imitated programs in the U.S.,” Gates said. Although he will leave it to others to decide whether or not his tenure was a success, Southerland said he is proud of the open-door policy and student- friendly environment he helped to foster in the department. “I think students knew that :ker abu they could see me anytime, in my office, at home, or e-mail me, and its important to an institution our size for students to know they can approach [administrators],” Southerland said. Student Body President Zac Coventry said Soptherland has been a friend and tireless advo cate for students and will be sorely missed. “For 36 years Dr. Southerland has poured him self into this University and its students, and that speaks vol umes about his character,” said See Retiring on page 2A J.P. BEATO III • THE BATTALION Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for student affairs, announced his retirement effective Aug. 31, 2003. Look closely ciah have w H'K) I S. troop two hascvisfe operaiiiXM® .ikon to hdsr •ence in an n i ula and Taliaj tying toregrasi ijured in thek n by hcte : treated iI \ pccted to military sj nclear ttlutte .ehicle hi!** Special at® irea, which; * \eral moir horittes »as- ::is|Cf Glilbti icved to be k o rally Talite i 11 had. or I k .md mte imM\ rgentinai lie pilgrim kills 38 investigating ; that the bus shortly before: oad and turn: iOO feet Sir it took pl3 cf ovince horde' nountains some 600 ! uenos Aires iich was her “ligious shrifr the neighs uman, waste police said BRIAN RUFF • THE BATTALION Nautical Archaeology Program student Eloise Eilert inspects a cast from a two-piece mold dur ing her Anthropology 606 class at Anthropology Building Tuesday afternoon. the Attack on Iraq would affect foreign students By Jeremy Osborne THE BATTALION An attack on Iraq would only affect a limited number of students at Texas A&M, faculty members said this week. Monday night, Iraqi officials agreed to allow United Nations (U.N.) Weapons Inspectors back into the country. This came on the heels of a speech made by President Bush last Thursday to the U.N. asking for support to end the current Iraqi regime led by Saddam Hussein and growing momen tum for military action. “Saddam Hussein’s words cannot be taken at face value,” White House Spokesman Ari Fleisher told the Associated Press. “(Hussein is playing] rope-a-dope with the world.” If the U.S. chooses to force a regime change, some Texas A&M students might experience problems, said Suzanne Droleskey, director of international pro grams for students. “Some students may be cut off from their families or bank accounts due to political crises” Droleskey said. “Similar things happened to Kuwaiti students dur ing the Gulf War.” The United States will seek a U.N. Security Council resolution detailing what Iraq must do. President Bush said Hussein has delayed, denied and deceived the world. Powell said inspectors are not enough because disarmament, not inspections was the issue. “We have seen this game before,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said to the Associated Press Tuesday in response to the latest development. If there is an incident, Droleskey said the International Programs office will contact foreign students and do anything it can to help. Iraqi students were enrolled at Texas A&M in the spring, but numbers for the fall are unavailable. Professor of Geography Dr. Robert Bednarz said a war would probably affect foreign graduate students. “It would become much more time con suming to get visas and paper work done,” Bednarz said. Some accepted graduate students with plans to come to A&M. he said, might be unable to wait a semester or a year. “It would become much more time con suming to get visas and paper work done,” Bednarz said. But, he said, if Desert Storm is an indi cation, the University as a whole would be minimally affected. Dr. George C. Edwards III, a professor of political science, said that a war would See Attack on page 2A Tough Man contestant in critical condition Crane company sues Bonfire victims By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION ween n J A crane '^defendant ween iouth John Comstock, Matthew operator named as a in lawsuits Stemming id KorfiUrom the 1999 Aggie Bonfire col- , lapse is alleging that three students P SUDWd; j n j ured in the accident are to blame i Korea ($ for not alerting others to the dangers a we ;at the construction site. n ir ys ; The petition, filed in Brazos Kofi: County by the attorney for Harry 1 ^ Crouch and his employer, Zachry Se0LJ 11CP Construction Corporation, contends ie b e f a " s that ting claim? South day. 11 lege that a rs, Pvt- Jt the brawl er opp oSlt! ; fong-wom* Thg University Police Department jt fliers a (UPD) and the College Station Police san gi’ rls ‘ Department (CSPD) will team up for the er being 5 ' third year for The Noise Abatement and - vehicle Alcohol Task Force. 3 other sol The task force, created in the fall of ie ones ass ai 2000, aims to decrease the number of iy declin^ loud parties and the consumption of i-languag e alcohol by minors in College Station, ead. “When kids get in apartments they go crazy, and other residents don’t like the drunk screaming,” said Bob Wiatt of the Robbins and Dominic Braus are partly responsible for the collapse. All three students have filed suits against Texas A&M, top University administrators, and former Bonfire student leaders, in addition to the Zachry company and Crouch, who was operating a crane when the stack fell. “(The plaintiffs] argue that every one out there should have known about the dangers, and if they are right, then these students were there too and are also at fault,” said Jim Cowles, a Dallas attorney represent ing Zachry. Cowles added that the petition is merely a legal tactic and that his clients are not seeking any damages from the injured students, and he does not believe any students should be held liable for the collapse. The University was recently dismissed as a defendant in Bonfire-related law suits filed in federal court, but the plaintiffs plan to file their claims in state court. Cowles said he filed the petition to ensure that the lawsuit is See Lawsuit on page 6A By Ruth Ihde THE BATTALION Mike Kuhn, a 26-year-old Bryan resi dent suffered injuries this past weekend at the Tough Man Contest at Texas A&M University’s Reed Arena, said Mary Helen Bowers, associate director of Reed Arena. Kuhn was listed Tuesday night in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit of St. Joseph’s Regional Health Center in Bryan. Kuhn underwent brain surgery. According to reports, Kuhn felt ill after he fought the second of the three rounds and told his coach he did not want to continue. When ringside doctors went to check on Kuhn, he passed out and was taken to St. Joseph’s within 10 minutes of collapsing. “It is an absolute tragedy,” Bowers said. Although the Tough Man Contest was held at Reed Arena, the event was not a University related activity, said Lane Stephenson, Deputy Director of University Relations. “This was absolutely not a [Texas A&M] University function,” she said. Bowers said Reed Arena was rented out to Tough Man Contests, a part of Adorable Promotions. Every year. Tough Man has around 20 to 30 tournaments in Texas. This is the first time Tough Man was held at Texas A&M, Bowers said. Adorable Promotions, based in Bay City, Mich., was not available for immediate comment. The Texas Department of Licensing oversees combative sports, including box ing and the Tough Man contests, and enforces strict regulations for these types of events. The state of Texas’ carefully regulates combative sports and has governing rules for age, weight and physical requirements. Bowers said. According to the Texas Department of Licenses, competitions for combative sports must have emergency medical personnel and doctors on site to treat injuries that might occur. Kuhn is a resident of Bryan, and works for Bay Limited, a company that does con tract work for the Physical Plant at Texas A&M, according to paperwork turned in by Kuhn to the Tough Man Competition. He fought in a previous match on Friday and was competing with others for a $1,000 prize. Alcohol Task Force back for third year By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION UPD. “So many people called the College Station Police saying these are students and to get some help from the University, so we teamed up.” The force is comprised of a team of three UPD officers and three CSPD offi cers who patrol areas of College Station Thursday through Saturday nights on weekends of home football games. Lt. Rodney Sigler of the CSPD said teaming with UPD helps in responding to several violations at once. “The original idea was to address the numerous amounts of loud party calls because CSPD spends a lot of time going back and forth from parties,” Sigler said. “We have a lot of citizen complaints from those who couldn’t sleep because the noise was so loud.” The hours the force operates are flex ible depending on who the Aggies play that weekend and how many parties are going on. “It depends on the night and the game, but officers may work as early as nine at night to as late as five in the morning,” Sigler said. “I already have the [Texas]Tech game marked on my See Task Force on page 2A NOISE ABATEMENT TASK FORCE 2000 1,441 citations issued 2001 1,579 citations issued operates Th-Sat, 10pm-4am on home football weekends Number of citations issued for q ^ University of Louisiana - Lafayette game: Q SOURCE: UPD AND CSPD MANDY ROUQUETTE « THE BATTALION