Aggielife: CARPOOL celebrates 30K rides • Page 3 Opinion: Republicans will not get black vote • Page 9
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Volume 109 • Issue 48 • 10 pages
www.thebatt.com
Tuesday, November 5, 2002
University plans Bonfire commemoration
By Brad Bennett
THE BATTALION
After a year in which Texas A&M did not
Officially commemorate the anniversary of the
1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse, several
(university organizations have banded together
[ohonorthe 12 Aggies killed and 27 injured in
[heearly morning hours of Nov. 18, 1999.
Last year, families made their way silently
|othe Polo Fields to hold their own memorials
nith wreaths and candles. This year. University
staff and students say they don’t want the fam
ily members to stand alone.
Instead, Albritton Tower will sound 12
low tolls at 2:42 a.m., the time in 1999 when
the 60-foot stack began to sway and tumbled
to the ground, carrying students with it and
trapping them under the stack.
An open reception will allow students and
family members of the Bonfire collapse to min
gle and share memories, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
in the Administration Building. Wreaths will be
laid at the site where Bonfire fell at 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 17, in an area now scarred by construction.
Sponsoring organizations include the
Student Government Association (SGA),
Bonfire Coalition for Students, Traditions
Council and the Memorial Student Center
(MSC) Leadership Enrichment, Action and
Development (LEAD).
Bryan Barton, a member of the SGA plan
ning committee for the Bonfire remembrance
and a senior economics major, said planners
wanted to keep the University-sponsored
remembrance small to allow people to mourn
in their own way.
“We want to bring people together but also
to keep it short and simple,” Barton said.
In 2000, the first-year anniversary, the
remembrance ceremony was too big in scope,
and most attendees couldn’t hear the ceremony
through the rain that night. Bobby Tucker, staff
adviser for the SGA, said this year’s events are
an attempt at achieving balance between too
much ceremony and no ceremony at all.
See Bonfire on page 2
1999
RQflie Bonfire Remembrance Euents
33 mim
4iUli»
Reception in Administration
Building
Wreath laying at the Polo Fields
MSC educational program for
underclassmen, place TBA
Albritton Tower tolls 12 times
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
Wall of memories
JP BEATO III ♦ THE BATTALION
On the way back from the Oklahoma State University football game in the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where a bomb blew up the
Stillwater, Haley Tenbarge, a sophomore general studies major, visits Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995.
Student charged
with taping sex
without consent
By Melissa McKeon
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M student Brennan Jasper Bice was
arrested Oct. 31, after he admitted to videotaping
intercourse with a female student without her
knowledge and then showing the tape to fraterni
ty members.
Bice, 21, a junior information and operations
management major and member of Lambda Chi
Alpha, told police that he videotaped himself and
a sorority member having consensual sex at his
home last month, said Lt. Rodney Sigler of the
College Station Police Department (CSPD).
“The woman was completely unaware they
were being videotaped at the time,” Sigler said.
Court papers show that up to 15 people saw the
videotape on different occasions at the fraternity
house, which is located at 1400 Athens Dr.
Bice told College Station police that he showed
the videotape to his fraternity brothers as a way to
brag about the encounter.
“Bice was arrested and charged with improper
photo or visual record with the intent to arouse or
gratify,” said Wayne Dicky, jail administrator for
Brazos County.
The offense occurred on Oct. 8, but the woman
in the videotape did not file a police report with
the CSPD until Oct. 16, Sigler said.
A source close to Bice said he is a respectable
student with good grades who volunteers and was
president of his class in high school.
“Brennan has absolutely loved going to
A&M,” said the source, who asked not to be iden
tified. “He has so much pride and has been so
See Tape on page 2
Business School
By Esther Robards-Forbes
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M’s Lowry Mays Business School has been ranked
no ng the top 10 Masters of Business Administration (MBA)
0 § ra ms based on Return On Investment (ROI) by Business Week
“gazine.
In the current job market, where starting salaries for MBA grad-
MANDY ROUQUETTE • THE BATTALION
among top 10
uates have dropped 1 2.6 percent in the last year, this means that
A&M MBA graduates can pay off their education faster, usually
after about 4.9 years as opposed to the national average of 5.6
years. Business Week reported. »
The yearly rankings published in the Oct. 21 issue ranked A&M
number nine in providing inexpensive education that leave is its
graduates better prepared to handle living and student loan expens
es, said Dr. Jerry Strawser, dean of the Mays Business School.
“We’ve always been ranked very high in ROI. We’re a good buy
and students realize they can get an outstanding education at the
end of the program,” Strawser said.
The reason A&M’s business school ranks so high may be due to
low tuition costs for both instate and out-of-state students, as well
as the Aggie network of employers, Strawser said.
“A lot of Aggies out there know that our graduates leave with
good business and people skills,” he said.
Students said the ranking helps as they face a rough job market
with an MBA in hand.
“I’ve received an outstanding education at a cost much less than
if I had attended another program,” said Angela Williamson, Mays
MBA student. “I am especially relieved that I will not be repaying
student loans for the next 10 years.”
See ROI on page 2
Campaigner!
afiM LL u A ? <AP ) — President Bush end
as[ a w hirlwind day of campaigning wi
I P m his home state Monday night, n
and § 3 Crowd °T more than 6,000 to get c
u V p te f° r Republican Senate candidc
ornyn and Gov. Rick Perry.
S t a(e eiriocrats also spread out across t
l'y e sd^ ener §i ze voters to get to the po
foer nT ^ aces Democrat Ron Kirk, a ft
retirm ‘a 8 rna y°L in the race to repla
cy, ^ GOP Sen. Phil Gramm. Perry
U-ph 11 u ed by Democrat Tony Sanchez,
^businessman.
Bush
D0 0s f S s P eec h was interrupted twice
“No W 0ni piotesters holding a sign sayi
held, ar ' n Ira q” and a Perry political si
neld upside down.
urge Texans to
The anti-war sign was ripped from their
hands and they were led away with their
hands up. The crowd chanted “USA, USA”
in response to their protest.
More than 1 million people in the state’s
15 most populous counties cast ballots dur
ing the two-week long period for early vot
ing, which ended Friday, the Secretary of
State’s office said.
Wet weather in South and Southeast
Texas could keep some voters at home
Tuesday, however. A storm threatened to
brinu up to 8 inches of rain in some areas
and could cause widespread flooding.
Perry campaigned along with Cornyn
and lieutenant governor candidate David
Dewhurst earlier Monday at a Cedar Park
warehouse.
cast ballots
Sanchez, who has spent tens of millions
of dollars of his own money on his cam
paign, rallied in his hometown of Laredo on
Monday.
Polls released over the weekend by The
Dallas Morning News, the Houston
Chronicle and KHOU-TV showed Perry
with a double-digit lead over Sanchez. The
polls showed the U.S. Senate race closer,
with Cornyn slightly ahead.
“It’s too early to celebrate so we’re
going to continue to work hard throughout
the day until the time the polls close
(Tuesday) evening just to encourage every
one to get out to vote and take 200 of their
closest friends,” Cornyn said in Cedar Park,
See Elections on page 2
Holiday season merits
cautious donations
By Amy Adams
THE BATTALION
With the holiday season approaching, people are advised to be
wary about donating money to charities without taking the proper
precautions.
Jim Titus, operations manager for the Brazos Valley Food Bank,
said to research charities you plan on donating to. Find out if mem
bers of its board of directors are leaders in the community, and if the
charity is publicized and recognized by the United Way.
“Most importantly, know where your money goes and how it will
impact the community,” he said.
Ron Rolett, president of Boys and Girls Club, said it is always a
good idea to visit the charity to see what it does and who it serves.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Brazos Valley suggests
not giving out cash donations, and when writing a check, write the
full and official name of the charity. Check to see if the organization
is listed with the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity and that the
donation will be tax deductible.
The (BBB) also advises potential donors to check the name of
the charity, as some charity names sound the same as other well-
known organizations.
Public information, such as annual reports about the charity, is
See Charities on page 2
TIPS ON GIVING TO CHARITY
p^lg— fi ND out i T !S recognized
by the United Way
Do NOT GIVE
CASH
Check with the IRS to
FIND OUT IT IS LISTED
TAX-EXEMPT CHARITY
See if your donation will
BE EXEMPT
Sources; Better Business Bureau of the Brazos Vau-ev St Jim Titus.
Operations Manager for the Brazos Valcey Food Bank.
MANDY ROUQUETTE • THE BATTALION