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Mass’s
ament’s
en Coral
Sports: Aggies roll over Jayhawks • Page 5
Opinion: Corps block ruins unity • Page 9
Volume 109 • Issue 37 • 10 pages
www.thebatt.com
Monday, October 21, 2002
Special Olympics goes on despite
By Sarah Darr
THE BATTALION
Bea Trevino knows how her son
feels now, swimming and competing
in front of a crowd with his name
and score up in lights.
Trevino joined 21 -year-old
Brandon Trevino and another moth
er-son duo from Houston in the 25-
meter Freestyle Unified Race as
part of the state-level Special
Olympics on Saturday, swimming
alongside her son to help the team
lake first place in the event.
Brandon Trevino and 16-year-old
tain Parker practiced every week
since June for the swim.
“I enjoy participating with my
son, but I was nervous,” Trevino
said.
Diane Parker said training for
the Special Olympics helped her
grow even closer to her son.
“It’s good to be able to com
pete, and it brings us closer togeth
er," Parker said. “The guys are
very happy.”
Aquatic activities for the
Special Olympics were held
Thursday through Saturday at
Texas A&M’s Student Recreation
Center. In the Unified Race, as in
many Special Olympics events,
peers or family members partici
pate with the athlete, said Randy
Foederer, aquatics director.
Dave Herrington, Class of 1980,
joined hundreds of volunteers this
weekend at the aquatic events. It
was Herrington’s Nth year to vol
unteer for the Special Olympics.
Herrington’s job is to allocate the
volunteers to their specific station
and then shift and add as needed.
“Without the volunteers, it could
n't happen. Athletes are the heart
and soul, but volunteers make it all
come together,” Herrington said.
The aquatic events had a good
turnout of volunteers all weekend,
Foederer said.
All athletes are put into a com
puter system where their gender,
age and ability are taken into
account and competitors are placed
in races according to their ability.
Foederer said. This system ensures
that the athletes compete on about
the same level, he said.
Kevin Hinze, a junior sports
management major, volunteered on
Friday, escorting athletes from the
finish line to the awards.
“I’ve always wanted to do some
thing like this, and it’s great to see the
smiles on their faces,” Hinze said.
Saturday’s events were altered
because of the weather, said Mark
Hanken, director of competitions.
“Our triathlon turned into a
duathlon, because we eliminated
the biking portion,” Hanken said.
“We had four males and three
See Olympics on page 2
wet weather
ALISSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION
Twelve-year-old Kyle O'Conner is congratulated as he
makes it to the finish line at the Special Olympics
Saturday afternoon at the Rec Center. The aquatic
events were the only portion of the competition not
affected by the rainy weather.
Strike a pose
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
freshman chemistry major Sheetal Wadera performs evening. Spicamacy is an Indian student organization
3 classical Indian dance called Sirashitkam at the which puts on Indian concerts and talent displays
Spicmacy Indian concert held in the MSC Sunday open to the public.
Groups plant 220 trees
By Brad Bennett
the BATTALION
Despite Saturday’s rain, more than
pecple showed up to plant 220
tre « tor Replant.
With 1,400 people signed up, it
the best (turnout), but given the
d Vu more t * lan we planned on,”
Reni- ai ' es ^hnson, director of
. Pant and senior molecular and cell
llo gy major.
TreeT tIeeS ’ ^ onate( i by B 16 National
rust, were planted at the Bryan
t'onal Athletic Complex (BRAC)
at Lake Somerville.
Ust 'nThaxton, Replant team leader
and senior agriculture business major,
said he was surprised by the turnout.
“We didn’t expect this many people
to show up because of the rain,”
Thaxton said.
Thaxton, who was in charge of the
BRAC site, said some participants
planted more than they needed to.
“We had to tell people to quit
planting and wait for the 1 1 a.m.
crew so they will have some trees to
plant,” he said.
Sonia Valdez, a senior community
health major, said the rain didn’t
make digging the 2 foot-deep hole
any easier.
“The rain isn’t making the ground
for Replant
any softer, just wetter,” Valdez said.
Todd Watson, professor of
forestry science and speaker at two
of the kickoff rallies, said Replant
was a tradition.
“You can see in pictures that in
1876 this campus was just a bald
prairie and Aggies started planting
trees right away,” Watson said. “You
people are carrying on a longstanding
tradition.”
Watson said the Century Tree,
which was planted in 1890, and the 50
trees planted on Simpson Drill field to
commemorate the 50 Aggies killed in
See Replant on page 2
Police say student lied
about kidnapping
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
A Texas A&M student who said he
had been kidnapped at gunpoint and
forced to drive to Corpus Christi told
College Station police Friday that he
made up the story.
Chris Duke, a senior history major,
contacted Corpus Christi police shortly
after midnight Oct. 8 and told them he
had been approached that afternoon out
side his College Station apartment by a
Hispanic man with a gun. The two got
into Duke’s pickup truck and the
assailant directed Duke to Corpus
Christi, he said. There, Duke reported,
they stopped at a quiet parking lot and he
passed out when the man pointed the gun
at him. Duke said when he awoke, his
laptop computer, cash and credit cards
were missing.
“For whatever reason, he drove to
Corpus Christi and then fabricated this
story,” said College Station Police
Department spokesman Lt. Rodney Sigler.
Sigler said investigators immediately
noticed inconsistencies in Duke’s story.
“None of it made sense. Why go
through all that trouble just to rob him?”
Sigler said.
When police questioned Duke about
the incident, he decided to obtain an
attorney after confronted with the prob
lems in his story. At a second interview
Friday, Duke and his attorney spoke to
investigators and Duke admitted the
story was false.
Duke threw away his credit cards, hut
was not robbed of any
property, Sigler said.
“Chris was under a
great deal of personal
pressure and stress,”
said Jim James, the
Bryan attorney repre
senting Duke.
James declined to
DUKE comment further.
Prosecutors decid
ed not to press charges against Duke for
filing a false report, Sigler said. Making
a false report i-s a Class B misdemeanor
punishable by up to 180 days in jail and
a fine of up to $2,000.
Duke is the Memorial Student
Center (MSC) Council executive vice
president for marketing.
MSC Council President Barry
Hammond declined to comment on
whether Duke would face any discipli
nary action.
New tennis complex
slated for construction
By Lecia Baker
THE BATTALION
The construction of a new intramural
tennis complex is planned to begin on
Nov. 26 north of the existing varsity ten
nis complex on West Campus.
Les Swick, associate director of facil
ities at the Texas A&M Physical Plant,
said the construction has been delayed by
the relocation of the archery range. The
courts are expected to be completed in
June 2003.
Swick said the tennis center will con
sist of 18 courts, 12 of which will be
lighted. Construction of an indoor facili
ty is in the extended plans, but will
depend on future funding, he said..
Francis Thomas, a lecturer in the
health and kinesiology department, said
the construction of the new courts is a
phase project. As funding becomes avail
able, he said, a classroom, restrooms, and
a check-in area for Rec Sports will be
added to the complex.
“Once it’s complete, it’s going to be
one of the premium tennis facilities in the
country” Thomas said.
Associate Athletic Director Penny
King said the existing intramural tennis
courts adjacent to Kyle Field were old
and in need of extensive repair.
The funding for the project, Thomas
said, is split between the Athletic
Department, the health and kinesiology
department, Rec Sports, 12th Man
Foundation and the vice president of
administration’s office.
He said the facility will allow the
University to conduct better tournaments,
camps, and classes and raise the quality
of the tennis program at A&M. The new
courts will be used for kinesiology class
es during the day, and for Rec Sports
activities during nights and weekends.
The relocation of the tennis courts to
West Campus creates additional parking
next to Kyle Field.
King said the need for the relocation
of the intramural courts began with the
construction of the new sports center on
the south side of Kyle Field, which
knocked out 500 parking spaces around
the stadium. Moving the tennis courts
to West Campus will add 350 spaces.
King said.
Wehner expansion brings grad students up to speed with new technology
By Amy Adams
the battalion
Construction
W e hn P 'T u '“ , ! on on the addition to the
finkh r . l ding on West Campus is set to be
n !^ ed by July of 2003.
Jerry . and Ka y Cox Graduate
an dtho Lenter w 'h house graduate students
;, S . e '^ Ce ' v ing their master’s of business
lo n, said Don. Hellriegel, liaison
i nnin ^ ac 'hties and Construction
“Th mana 8 e,rie nt professor,
course^ add 'h° n w dl bring all the business
n V* 16 ^ e h ner building and free up
Morris "u s P ace Cor undergraduate class-
reaiiy ’ a . Hellr ' e gel said. “The addition is
c am reaction in terms of benefits.’
^'nistration
between
Computer classrooms will be located on
the second floor and will be equipped for
laptop access along with hard and wireless
Internet connection. A telecommunications
center will be located in the basement of the
building that will also contain Internet and
telephone connections.
The Cox Center will include a special
events center where receptions and luncheons
will be held and where recruiters can con
verge to set up tables and host presentations.
The Reliant Energy Securities and
Trading Center will take up the first floor of
the Cox Center, aimed to put students in
touch with the business world and gain
hands-on financial experience, Hellriegel
said. The trading center will allow students
to make transactions and decisions that they
will face in the future.
The center will cover more than 71,000
square feet, said Bobby McDonald, project
manager for the expansion. The cost of the
project is about $15 million, but after com
pletion, an additional $500,000 will be spent
on equipment and furniture.
Donations from individuals and organiza
tions, such as Jerry and Kay Cox and Reliant
Energy, helped to fund the addition. The
business school also contributed $4 million.
Most classrooms in the Cox Center will
be named after their major contributors.
Jerry Strawser, dean of the business
See Cox Center on page 2
BASEMENT:
• telecommunicatons center
FIRST FLOOR:
• Reliant Energy Securities and
Trading Center
• Special events center
for recruiters
MANDY ROUQUFTI F • THE BATTALION