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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2002)
Rfi! Big 12 championship hopes all but dead • Page 5 AeeiiLIPi! Rent comes to College Station • Page 3 THE BATTALION Volume 109 • Issue 43 • 12 pages www.thebatt.com Tuesday, October 29, 2002 Student gunman kills three, himself at Univ. of Arizona TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A student Junking out of the University of Arizona nursing school shot three of iis professors to death Monday, then ailed himself as dozens of terrified stu- lents rushed to get away. Police said Robert Flores Jr., 41, ipecifically targeted the instructors, ailing one in her office on the second loor and shooting the others in a burth-floor classroom as students dove or cover. Flores walked to the front of the jassroom and shot the first victim sev- ml times, then went to the back of the oom and killed the second victim. Senior Julie Raymond said she was taking an exam when the gunman came in. “We just thought that he was late for the test,” Raymond said. “Then he started talking to instructors and fired shots. All of us ducked under the tables and then ran out of the room. At first, I thought it was a joke and realized it wasn’t when I heard the shots.” Flores told students in the room to leave. He was later found dead by offi cers searching the school. University Vice Provost Elizabeth Irvin said Flores had failed a pediatric nursing class and was struggling in a critical care class. Bomb squad members were called in after a backpack or package was found underneath the gunman’s body. The suspect had threatened to blow up the building, though it was unclear when the threat was made, police said. The college and nearby buildings were evacuated. More than six hours later, authori ties were still checking for explosives. The victims — Robin Rogers, 50, Barbara Monroe, 45, and Cheryl McGaffic, 44 — all were Flores’ instructors. Police Chief Richard Miranda said. “It’s too soon to say why he com mitted this terrible deed,” Miranda said. “We have determined that there are many issues in Mr. Flores’ life, all of which are a factor.” Flores, a Gulf War veteran, worked at the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System as a licensed practical nurse, and was studying to become a registered nurse, officials said. It wasn’t clear in which branch of the military he served. Anu Nigam, a 29-year-old graduate student, said she and her husband were outside waiting for a shuttle bus when a woman came out of the building with a See Shooting on page 2 0 100 mi; Utah Colo. 0 100 km Arizona Calif. Phoenix Tucson MEXICO Four dead in shooting at the University of Arizona SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI AP Putin will give broader power to military MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin aid Monday he will give the military broader power :ostrike against suspected terrorists “wherever they nay be" after a hostage siege at a Moscow theater :nded with 118 captives dead, most from a knock- Mgas used by Russian authorities. Doctors said all but two of the hostages who lied succumbed to the fumes pumped into the heater by Russian special forces before they itormed it, 2 l/2 days after heavily armed Chechen rebels staged an audacious raid. Russian officials kept the substance a secret :ven as doctors treated the hundreds of survivors. b.S. officials identified it Monday as an opiate related to morphine. Also Monday, the U.S. Embassy said it had located a body believed to be that of an American who died during the rescue opera- tion. Tmo Americans are believed to have been lit the theater. I Consular officials were trying to find someone I ’Mk) could positively identify the body, an mbassy spokesman said, declining to comment n the cause of death or give any other details. In televised comments, Putin said he would e P tip measures against terrorists because of hat he called growing threats that they could use werful weapons, and he suggested Russia ould not refrain from launching strikes abroad. Russia will not ... give in to any blackmail. Ucrnational terrorism is becoming more impu- :n t, acting more cruelly. Here and there °und the world threats from terrorists of the | e of means comparable to weapons of mass istruction are heard,” Putin said at a meeting >th government ministers. If anyone even tries to use such means in rela in to our country, Russia will answer with meas- ® s ndequate to the threat to the Russian ■deration. In all places where the terrorists, the ganizers of these crimes or their ideological or See Military on page 2 Stuck in a rut JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION Andy Fay (left), a senior engineering technol ogy major, and Tom Walling (right), a junior electrical engineering major, try to remove another classmate's Ford Explorer from the mud by Canoe Lake at Riverside Campus on Monday afternoon. Gates pledges money for scholarships By Lauren Smith THE BATTALION University President Dr. Robert M. Gates pledged $50,000 last week to establish a minority scholarship fund called the Foundation Excellence Award (FEA). The money, which will go to the Texas A&M Foundation program, provides scholarships for nearly 395 undergraduates. The Texas A&M Foundation is a private, non profit corporation with the job of directing this par ticular scholarship program and managing assets in support of the University. The Foundation sets a goal of endowing 100 scholarships per year, said Rosanne McFadden, director of public relations for the Foundation. The Foundation is close to meeting its goal, McFadden said. Since diversifying A&M’s campus is one of the top priorities'of Vision '2020, a detailed plan of action for making the University one of the top 10 public universities in the nation, administrators are acknowledging the lack of minority students currently enrolled. Creators of the Vision 2020 plan, along with Gates, agree that the A&M campus needs to be more representative of the state of Texas. A&M is 9 percent Hispanic and 3 percent black, according to Fall 2002 figures, while per centages for the state are 32 percent for Hispanics and 12 percent for blacks. “Although the FEA has not been around long, it will do nothing but help the University more closely resemble the state’s population,” said Jody Ford, assistant director of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Any outstanding student who meets admission requirements and is from an economically or edu cationally disadvantaged home could be a candi date for the FEA. “As a staff member of the Foundation, I feel it See Scholarship on page 2 Napper speaks about U.S.-Kazakhstan policy By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION ^diplomatic tug-of-war in the nat: n ,J e , , i ormer USSR has made Ka J ied between Russia and China, s Amk Slte African interest, s Nannpr S ^i 0r to Kazakhstan, Larry N; ^ ’ ^* ass °f 1969, spoke to a full 11 ents and faculty at the George Bus overnment and Public Service Me Wernoon. Na!l a2a * < * lstan ' s a strategically locate* said, that borders Russia, Chir Sill: * 1 fMffffflg 891!$ * m wmm is NHMDWfll mmm #§*#§# immmm fMmm RMfia reignite the “Great Game,” he said, referring to the struggle between Imperialist Russia and Imperialist Britain over controlling countries when both were world powers. “We would like to see the emergence of independent countries making their own deci sions,” he said. “We would rather not have every U.S. diplomatic victory be a Russian or Chinese loss.” Napper said it has been easier to cooperate with Kazakhstan after Sept. 11 because of less intense pressure from Russia and China in recognizing the American need to find allies in its war on terror. “Our current policy is maximum trans parency, to let everyone know what we are doing,” he said. “We want to ensure that this area does not become a cockpit for great con flict of any kind.” Napper said Kazakhstan has allowed American military to use its air space and has even offered the use of its military bases in the military action in Afghanistan. “For strategic purposes, the military decid ed to use bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan instead,” Napper said. Kazakhstan native and freshman econom ics major Arklat Zhumadilov said that among Kazakh citizens, there is a fear of China due to its proximity. Zhumadilov said that about 40 percent of the population is traditionally Muslim, but many young people are non-religious. See Ambassador on page 2 Candidates’ campaigns for justice of peace focus on Boyetfs record By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION In a contest for Brazos County Justice of the Peace that pits youth against experience, both challenger Jared Copeland and incumbent George Boyett agree Boyett’s 14- year record is the main issue of the campaign. Boyett presides over the 3rd Precinct Court, which encompasses most of College Station, including the Texas A&M campus. The legal training and practical experience he has gained during his years on the bench prepared him For the role, Boyett said. Copeland, a 21-year-old A&M student, has centered his campaign on attacking Boyett’s record, accusing the judge of unethi cal behavior. “All that experience does n’t matter when you have no ethics and no integrity,” Copeland said. Although he has never observed Boyett’s court, Copeland said he has heard from some that have appeared before the court COPELAND that Boyett treats people in a belit tling and disrespectful manner. Boyett, Class of 1957, dis missed Copeland’s complaints, saying he always listens to and is respectful towards those who appear in his court and doles out punishments as required by law. “I’m not in the happiness busi ness, I’m in the consequences busi ness,” Boyett said. Boyett cited minors consum ing alcohol and truancy as the biggest problems the court must grapple with. Getting delin quent kids back into school is one BOYETT of the most important parts of his job, Boyett said. “You’d be surprised at how many kids turn themselves around,” Boyett said. Minors caught with alcohol for the first time are usually given pro bation, and have the opportunity to keep the violation off their perma nent records. “I believe in giving everyone a second chance,” Boyett said. Copeland said one of his top pri orities would be to extend the court’s hours to include sessions on nights and weekends to make it more convenient for those who must appear before the court. “I’ve been out in the community, campaigning and going door to door and I proposed these ideas after lis tening to people,” Copeland said. Copeland has also criticized Boyett for viewing individuals who come to his court as sources of rev enue for the county, questioning why Boyett’s court takes in more revenue than the county’s other Justice of the Peace courts. But Boyett said the county’s Justices of the Peace agree on a fine schedule for various offenses. The precinct takes in more rev enue, Boyett said, because the University is located in the precinct and the court handles more alcohol violations than other courts. Copeland has accused Boyett of violating judicial ethics because he has not recused himself from cases involving On-Line Real Estate, a See Election on page 2