Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2002)
} Page 11 M the BATTAI UN ;hu Sports: Aggie offense comes up short • Page 7 Opinion: Bible not reliable reference • '* fired atU mped the fence mg theU.N. con^ several shots in, day. . United Nations T Qiwy ■ hanye vith, demei ^presents more: J other healtk :d for the meer. organizers aitnii ults. Health study fiw breast cancer an! s and heart atta . meeting is on Is tain a goodqualir therapy, antra - eat to nd maintain a nor sessions as a no-: H Volume 109 • Issue 27-12 pages www.thebatt.coni Monday, October 7, 2002 Families By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION Families of six college students killed in an auto accident three years ago in College Station are taking their case to the public. They are demanding that Texas A&M, one of the parties they say is indirectly responsible for their chil dren’s deaths, be held accountable. The Oct. 10, 1999, incident occurred when Brandon Kallmeyer, then a fresh man in the Corps of Cadets, lost control of his vehicle and veered off FM 60, blame pot bashing for TKE deaths killing the six students as they walked along the shoulder of the road on their way to a fraternity party. It was reported at the time that Kallmeyer fell asleep at the wheel, but evidence uncovered during litigation suggests a concussion Kallmeyer suf fered during a hazing ritual the night before may have caused the accident. The families sued Kallmeyer and the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) frater nity, which they say did not provide adequate parking for its guests, forc ing them to park on the shoulder of the highway and walk alongside mov ing traffic. The suit was filed in the spring of 2000 in a Harris County court but dismissed in 2001 by the trial judge before it reached trial, a decision upheld by a state appellate court in April. Unless the Texas Supreme Court reverses the dismissal, the case will be closed, and the families say that could be a bitter pill to swallow. TKE was disbanded in February after several unrelated incidents that were not made public. The fraternity is suspended until June 2004. “It’s time we got the true story out in the open,” said Larry Calp, whose daughter, Tricia, was one of the victims. The accident occurred the weekend of the A&M-Baylor University football game, and four of the victims, includ ing Calp, attended Baylor. One student attended A&M and another attended Southwest Texas State University. Larry Calp said Kallmeyer didn’t fall asleep, but blacked out as a result of an injury sustained during an activity known as “pot bashing,” in which fresh men in the Corps put on their Bonfire helmets and allow other Corps members to strike them on the head, ostensibly to make sure the helmets work. Kallmeyer said in an interview last week that he participated in pot bashing the night of Oct. 9, 1999. The inside lining of his helmet had been removed, so that when he put it on, the metal hel met rested directly against his head, Kallmeyer said. Pot bashing was a long standing See Deaths on page 2 Remember Riley Griffen (left) and Chris Griffen (right) take a closer look at the "Remembering September 11th" memorial exhibit at the George JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION Bush Presidential Library and Museum. The exhibit includes an exclu sive showing of the tattered American flag found at Ground Zero. Jobs for Aggies provides free online service By Sarah Darr THE BATTALION Jobs for Aggies, a new comprehensive online database, was introduced last month by the A&M Department of Student Financial Aid to help students find jobs. The online service is free for students Und employers, and there is no registration required for students, although there is for employers, said Nora Cargo, assistant director of Student Financial Aid. “This database is to help students fund their education while they are in school,” Cargo said. “The services are for all A&M students, not just those on financial aid.” Students need to fill out a personal data sheet with basic resume information such as education, employment histo ry and basic skills. Cargo said. Students can browse the database and find job listings they are interested in, then fill out a data sheet for each one and add a cover letter. The cover letter should explain why they are interest ed in that position and why the employer should hire them, she said. Once students have applied for the job online, they can check back for an update on whether the position has been filled or not. Cargo said. Jobs for Aggies’ focus right now is to get more off-cam pus jobs on the site, said Dan Mason, employer relations coordinator. “We want to give students as many opportunities as possible for jobs, “ Mason said. Having both on- and off-campus jobs available for See Jobs on page 2 Alcohol Awareness Week provides alternatives to drinking By Sarah Runnels THE BATTALION Excessive underage drinking and alcohol poisoning are issues that need t0 brought to everyone’s attention at Texas A&M, said Dennis Reardon, senior coordinator for the Alcohol and Drug Education Program. Alcohol affects relationships, the choices people make, who you go out with, who you leave with and the htngs you do,” Reardon said. ,. There are a lot of students who ink there is nothing else to do on and off campus except drink,” eardon said. “But there are, you just have to use your imagination.” Erin Mazur, freshman business major, said she has met some of the coolest people at A&M while drink ing with a group. “Alcohol is definitely much more obtainable here and easier to take part in considering all the freedom you are given in college,” Mazur said. Mazur said that drinking in col lege gives one a better chance at get ting to know people, but only when it’s done in moderation. Brent Henke, a junior marketing major, said he enjoys an occasional drink, but does not see the point in getting drunk when he can have a good time with one or two drinks, or none at all. “All my friends understand that I don’t want to drink, so I have never felt any pressure and 1 never have to worry about the law this way,” Henke said. The purpose of Aggie Alcohol Awareness Week is to make students aware of the effects alcohol has on the choices they make and how it effects their studies, Reardon said. Students’ abuse of alcohol usual ly affects their grades first, and it is involved in 30 percent of college dropouts, he said. “Our office is not here to tell you not to drink, but to give you the edu cation to make responsible choices for yourself,” said Cynthia Olvera, coor dinator of campus events at Texas A&M. “It is astounding how many students really don’t know the signs of alcohol poisoning and how to take care of friends that are intoxicated.” Reardon said the most common way for students to be injured when alcohol is involved is in a vehicle. For this reason, Aggie Alcohol Awareness Week has adopted NASCAR’s theme of, “Are you in the driver’s seat?” Even with services such as CAR- POOL, a student-run safe ride service, the number of students drinking and driving is still very high, Olvera said. See Alcohol on page 2 Alcohol Awareness Week events Monday & Wednesday • Resource tables at Rudder Fountain 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tuesday * Fact Flags on display in the MSC Flag Room * Mark Sterner speaks about drinking and driving consequences at Rudder Auditorium, 7p.m. Thursday * Mothers Against Drunk Driving resource tables at Rudder Fountain ' TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION Time capsule buried at Cain Park JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION th a p ra r I WUson " An S ,in ( left X representative of Gat 355 °. f 1998 ' looks on as Dr - Robert M - of Tnn^ r ' s ® urbam ' president of the Class ru anc l Enn Bennet, president of the p a . s 2 °03, lower the time capsule at Cain frnrr, i turda y morning. The capsule was a gift Tr °m the Class of 1998. By Lecia Baker THE BATTALION The 125th anniversary of Texas A&M came to a close Saturday as the University buried a time capsule to be unearthed 74 years from now. A ceremony led by President Dr. Robert M. Gates was held at Cain Park on Saturday where the capsule, containing mementos from 28 A&M departments, was buried. The capsule will be uncovered in 2076, the University’s 200th anniversary. The message the time capsule will leave to our successors is: “This is who we are and this is our message in time,” Gates said. He said the items enclosed in the capsule rep resented the timeless Aggie spirit. “The time capsule will provide future faculty, staff, students and other members of the Texas A&M family the opportunity to take a brief glance back on the institution’s array of accomplishments and distinguished history,” Gates said. Luke Altendorf, senior associate director of the Memorial Student Center, chaired the time cap sule committee. Altendorf said the time capsule is a move from the 125th anniversary to the future. Texas A&M is about character, integrity and ethical See Time Capsule on page 2 UT football game to be shown on Jumbotron at Kyle Field By Rob Phillips THE BATTALION This Thanksgiving, Aggie fans can enjoy the Texas A&M- University of Texas football game at Kyle Field, despite the fact that this year’s contest will be decided in Austin. The 2002 Aggieland Thanksgiving Weekend gives Aggies a chance to stay home and watch the game at Kyle Field on the stadium’s Jumbotron. Tickets in The Zone are $ 15 and lower-deck tickets are $5. Students can use their sports pass to sit in the lower deck. The weekend will also include a variety of tours and contests throughout Bryan- College Station. The event was organized partially due to lack of visitor tickets for the game in Austin. This year’s number of available tickets dropped from 7,000 to the Big 12 Conference mini mum of 4,000. “We hope opening the the Zone Club will enable some Aggie fans that do not go to the game in Austin to come to the College Station area and see sights on campus and the com munity,” said Penny King, sen ior associate athletics director for business at A&M. The Brazos Valley Sports Foundation and A&M’s Athletic Department are host ing the festivities. Tiffani Drake, director of the Brazos Valley Sports Foundation, said the event tar gets both current and former students as well as the Bryan- College Station community. Those who sign up for a weekend package will receive a two-night stay at a local hotel, tickets to watch the game inside Kyle Field’s Zone Club, admis sion to the A&M Women’s Basketball Tournament, tour of the George Bush Presidential Library and commemorative T- shirt. Both packages are available for singles, couples and families. The Traditions package offers accommodations at the College Station Hilton, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inn Aggieland, Quality Suites and Super 8. The Reveille Package offers accom modations at Best Western, Kiva Inn and La Quinta. Drake says she hopes the new event will join the long list of Aggie traditions. “This first year if we have 500 people, it’s a start,” Drake said. “We’d like to build on it from year to year.” Activities around the area See Game on page 2
