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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2002)
m HE B ATTAL||] rssaj electioiis| e| ectronicvo Electronic ltes w ith COBs ih-tech equifrj Louisiana unties rushccj uted equipmec} ting fiasco Ifcjj mirched the: vote in Flenl ant that mad®] ed more qaidj )le, analysts fi, ■re majorprohal could forestall ’004. w] have higM nks to a nen i I law to helps: ted equipment ia ; defeated raoi' ole amputees President B> Security. ; GOP in ^ t Democrat tic Gov. bi 'atives bit: i the OOP’s S ivenes in Mi ults showedf by incumbes , for Democit: its threatened won the ri# own a challee lief of! ey Graham trom Thurmo® mer College 1 ve the SenaK Aggielife. Lords of the dance • Page 3A Opinion: Diversification or racism • Page 5B 'TUT? I riii ATTAT TO [Volume 109 • issue 50 • 14 pages www.thebatt.com Thursday, November 7, 2002 Gates announces ‘full support’ for Slocum By Dallas Shipp THE BATTALION Texas A&M President Dr. Robert M. 3ates said in a statement released Wednesday that A&M head football [coach R.C. Slocum has his full support, [despite the Aggies’ lack of success on he field this season. Gates said any [decisions about Slocum’s job would be nade by the new athletic director, who Is yet to be named. “It is my policy that the athletic jiirector will make decisions with espect to the programs and the coaches [under his or her purview,” Gates said. Slocum, in a statement released Wednesday evening, said he appreciates Gates’ support. “I am proud that our administration liH SLOCUM here at Texas A&M recognizes that there are numerous factors in evaluating a coach in a college setting," Slocum said. Gates said all departments on campus would be evaluated, includ ing the Athletic Department. “During this academic year, at my direction, Texas A&M University will review virtually every major program on campus in tenns of perfonnance, effec tiveness and potential,” Gates said. “I intend that all of our athletic programs, including football, also will be evaluated expeditiously by the new athletic direc tor as soon as he or she is hired.” Slocum, who has struggled to lead the Aggies to victory this season, is facing his first losing season as head coach of the Aggies. After starting the season ranked No. 23 in the nation, the Aggies have fallen out of the rankings and are in danger of not receiving a bowl bid if A&M doesn’t pull off a sixth win for the season. This would be the third time in Slocum’s 14-year tenure as head coach and the first time since 1996 for A&M not to go to a bowl. "We place a high value on the total development of the young men in our program. However, make no mistake, we do value winning and champi onships and we are not pleased with our current record," Slocum said. Earlier this season, Slocum relieved offensive coordinator Dino Babers from his play-calling duties in an effort to give the offense a boost. While the offense has since improved, Slocum’s defense has still failed to halt the offense of the University of Nebraska and Oklahoma State University. Slocum said in a media conference on Monday that he can’t concern him self with the rumors concerning his future at A&M. “You spend your time working on things you have control over and the things you can do something about,” Slocum said. “Everybody to some extent or another deals with that.” Despite Slocum’s troubles this year. Gates says he is behind Slocum’s efforts. “While our football season to date has been disappointing, Texas A&M has a fine head coach,” Gates said. “Coach Slocum has my full support.” The search for a new athletic direc tor received a boost Tuesday. Benton Cocanougher, chairman of the A&M search committee told a Houston See Slocum on page 2A History lesson A&M seeks new energy provider am i #J8y JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION After the free cake and ice cream, students from the Willis Presidential Library Complex during a special celebration of Independent School District got a tour of the George Bush Bush Library's fifth anniversary. By Lauren Smith THE BATTALION The Texas A&M University System has joined hundreds of thousands of Texas shoppers seeking new energy providers, a move which could reflect posi tively on student’s pocketbooks. Since electric deregulation began Jan. 1 in Texas, A&M has banded with six other uni versities in the system to find a better price for their electricity. In 2001, the Energy Systems Lab, part of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), saved taxpay ers $1.5 million by taking less, money out of the University’s pocket, said Dr. Dan Turner, the lab’s director. Turner said taxpayers can expect similar savings in the years to come. Energy costs, have been ris ing for years, leaving A&M departments such as Residence Life scraping the bottom of the coffers and turning to student fees for help. Reed Arena has also struggled under the weight of prohibitive energy bills. Officials hope deregulation will cure the troubles. The agencies and companies in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERGOT) all have the chance to save money with the option to subscribe to other electricity sources aside from their local service. Most of the state of Texas is in the ERGOT, which covers most of the major metropolitan areas of the state, including universities and agencies within the A&M system. “Before deregulation, the seven universities were divided into specific areas and billed respectively. Under that sys tem, there was no choice for who provided electricity,” said Susan Linenschmidt, a research engineering associate working on the lab’s project. “With deregulation, people have the opportunity to pick their provider.” Several companies are bid ding for a contract with the sys tem, Linenschmidt said. “We are going through them to find out which one meets our needs best,” Linenschmidt said. The University contracted the lab to collect data and send out proposals for contract’s to electricity providers. See Energy on page 2A onths. relinquished >aign last i# - being re-efc who retired *ack ttrol Republican party sweeps Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — re sident Bush and his party avored sweeping midterm v ' ctor i e s Wednesday began sketching an agenda Jii d 1 new ’ Hepublican-con- n e d Congress. Minority °use Democrats jockeyed for sitipn in the event Rep. ar d Gephardt steps down Party leader. I m excited to be able to Hon ur' 1 offense,” said ^Publican Sen. Trent Lott of L,i Sl ^PPi’ the once and re Senate majority leader. inclnrt ld GOP [ ,nonlics wil1 Cland n r De P arme "' ° f UrseS ? Securi ty as wel1 ^ eci d ax cuts to help the jconomy He added that exno S 'l Uc *' c ' a l nominees could ex Pft speedier review n ° P ubIic aide, • J dunng the da y’ and givinoTk^ be Wanted to avoid L a PPearance of gloat- and m here ’ s . a lot more to do Ward 6 P res ' dent looks for- Demn„ t0 working with doit” 1 ? 1 - 8 and Republicans to Fischer s P°l <esman ’ Ari 5] ^P ublicans were assured of s m the new Senate, a gain of two. Democrats had 48, including one independent. One race remained in doubt, in Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu will face Republican Suzanne Terrell in a December runoff. In the House, Republicans had 227 seats — a gain of four — and led for one more. Democrats won 203, and led for three. There was one independent. The elections marked a remarkable triumph for Republicans, who bucked histo ry to gain seats in a midterm election in which they held the White House. Democrats conceded the obvious. “This was one tough night,” Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on the morning after, appearing on NBC’s “Today” show. And some party activists grumbled about the party’s lead ership. “There wasn t any uni fied message,” said David Worley, former chairman of the party in Georgia. “I think the national leader ship did a miserable job of giving a theme to the election. See Vote on page 2A Honesty, integrity tops CEO’s business ethics By Amy Adams THE BATTALION Honesty, trust and integrity are the essential elements in business ethics today, said Richard Kovacevich, presi dent and CEO of Wells Fargo, in a speech Wednesday night at the George Bush Presidential Library Complex. In his speech, “Ethics in Business,” Kovacevich addressed a crowded room and posed the question, “What has caused the epidemic of ethical elapses in corporate America?” Greed and theft have always been a part of human nature, Kovacevich said, and corporate fraud has always existed, but the year 2002 seems to have been hit the hardest. Kovacevich said the root of the prob lem lies in the blind adherence to finan cial rules. Moral questions are turned into legal technicalities, he said. Corporate leaders are focusing on accounting rules rather than applying principles and policies to their business, Kovacevich said. “Rules tell you what to do while prin ciples tell you how to make ethical deci sions,” he said. “Rules are complex letters of the law that are easily manipulated. Principles are universal over cultures and are the fundamental spirit of the law.” See CEO on page 2A JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION Richard M. Kovacevich, CEO of Wells Fargo, spoke at the Program on Ethics at the George Bush Conference Center on Nov 6, 2002. Tours highlight Bush Library’s fifth year By Jeremy Osborne THE BATTALION “This is the 41st President of the United States. You’re too young to remember, but he was the president during the Gulf War.” Tour guides leading groups of Boy Scouts and local elementary students through the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Complex explained history to children on Wednesday, during the museum’s 5th anniversary. The celebrations were small — cake and ice cream — with the former President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush missing from the scene as they celebrated their son Jeb’s reelection to the governor ship of Florida. But for the school children who w-ere congressmen and lobbyists for the day, the anniversary was living history. “It was so important for us to be here because this is a great marker for this to be here in College Station,” said 11-year-old Matthew Hernandez, a door prize winner. “We’re just celebrating.” Retired volunteers led the children, pointing out the original copy of the Declaration of Independence hanging in the Changing Exhibit Gallery, the full- sized plane similar to the one Bush flew in World War II, Gulf War exhibits and a re creation of the Camp David office from which Bush worked when commanding the troops. Bob Wilkinson, a retired military man who was posted at Camp David, leads tours through the Museum every Wednesday. Like Bush, he served in World War II. He sees the Museum as part of the nation’s memories. “I enjoy this, it’s fun,” said Wilkinson, a self-proclaimed expert on Camp David. In addition to role playing, students and adults participated in trivia games about the former President and First Lady for prizes. Prizes ranged from museum posters to pho tos autographed by Bush. More than 800 visitors toured the museum during the celebration. “That’s probably a 40 percent increase over a normal day,” said Brian Blake, muse um public relations director. Museum Curator Patricia Burchfield said visitors can see pieces of America’s past, and in the five-year duration of the musuem, exhibits have explored aspects of American culture ranging from Cold War documents to a planned display of art from the American West. “We consider ourselves an American his tory museum,” she said. The anniversary festivities will conclude on Friday night, when the Bush’s celebrate the dedication anniversary at a private party. About 1,400 guests will enjoy dinner, a salsa band and fireworks.