The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 18, 2002, Image 1

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Volume 109 • Issue 14-14 pages
www.thebatt.com
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
Oct. 1
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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.
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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?
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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