Accielife: A class act • Page 3 Opinion: The evaluation problem • Page 9
THE B ATT ALIO
Volume 109 • Issue 69 • 10 pages
www.thebatt.com
Friday, December 6, 2002
Franchione
labama coach
ranchione accepts
ead coach offer
the
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
Former University of Alabama head football
loach Dennis Franchione has accepted an offer to
come the new head football coach at Texas A&M.
Franchione stepped off a plane at 4:01 p.m.
hursday afternoon and was greeted by 35 fans
ho had camped out all day for a glimpse of the
lew Aggie football coach in addition to the
rongs of media waiting to be the first to report
ranchione’s arrival.
I Easterwood Airport rolled out a maroon carpet,
logo included, for the new A&M football
oach as he exited the plane. The carpet is usually
eserved for dignitaries such as former President
ush and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Franchione was tight-lipped after arriving in
ollege Station.
“I will talk to you guys tomorrow,” Franchione
aid before being whisked away in a maroon subur
ban on his way to meet with University President
r. Robert M. Gates at his campus home.
The A&M Board of Regents, which was hold-
ig its monthly meeting in the Memorial Student
enter Thursday afternoon, celebrated when the
lews reached College Station around 3 p.m.
“Some of (the members of the media) saw us in
he hallway and Dr. Gates got the call,” said Earl
ye, Regents chairman. “Lowry (Mays) and I
ere standing in the hallway with Dr. Gates and I
think we kind of gave away the whole thing.”
[ Nye said that he was glad to have it done, but
as surprised it went so quickly.
“The fact that it went down so fast is a little
it surprising, even to me,” Nye said. “It just
hows what you can do if you put the full press
n the matter.”
Benton Cocanougher, special assistant to the
'resident and the head of the search committee for
new athletic director, said he was pleased to have
ranchione on board.
think (Franchione’s) record speaks for itself,”
ocanougher said. “It will be exciting for all of us.”
While the regents were giving each other high-
ives in celebration, Alabama officials were upset
y Franchione’s decision to leave.
Franchione telephoned Alabama Director of
thletics Mai Moore at 3:20 p.m. Thursday after-
oon to inform the university that he had accepted
he head coaching job at A&M. Moore immedi-
tely began the search to replace Franchione.
“I have formulated a short list of potential can
didates,” Moore said in a statement released by the
labama Athletic Department. “I feel strongly
his hire needs to be an experienced head coach on
he college level, and a person who will have a
ong-teim commitment to the University.”
The Bryan-College Station Eagle reported
hursday night that Franchione’s contract with
&M may be worth $1.3 to $1.4 million per sea-
on. Early reports indicated the contract would be
five-year deal but A&M officials would not
JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION
■
JOHN <5. LIVAS •THE BATTALION
Top: Former head football coach Dennis Franchione is escorted to a university vehicle after arriving at Easterwood Airport.
Bottom left: Franchione talks to University of Alabama quarterback Tyler Watts during the game against Middle Tennessee State
University earlier this season. Bottom right: Atmospheric sciences graduate student Doug Ames and Roberto Gasparini wait
eagerly for Franchioni’s arrival Thursday afternoon.
anticipate
new coach’s
arrival
By True Brown
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M students and
fans began lining the fence
around Easterwood Airport’s
General Aviation building as
early as 10 a.m. Thursday in
anticipation of the arrival of the
new Texas A&M head football
coach, Dennis Franchione.
A crowd that started at five
fans had grown to a few dozen
by the time Franchione’s plane
touched down a little after 4
p.m. Eager fans showed up
decked out in A&M clothes and
at least one had an Aggie flag.
Some brought beer.
The festive atmosphere came
to a head as Franchione exited
the plane to a chorus of whoops
and cheers.
Roberto Gasparini, an atmos
pheric sciences graduate stu
dent, was in a group that showed
up early in the afternoon.
“We stuck around just to
show him how serious we are,”
Gasparini said. “(Franchione
coached) in Texas for a while,
but TCU (where he coached
from 1998-2000) is not A&M.
I’m not dogging TCU, but we
have 80,000 people here when
we play Baylor.”
Some in attendance gathered
after reading posts on the popu
lar Web site www.texags.com.
“I saw it posted that he
would be out here today so I
decided to come on out here and
enjoy the good time,” said Alan
Bass, a junior industrial
See Students on page 2
Alabama fans react in backlash to Franchione’s decision
See Franchione on page 2
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
Fans at the University of Alabama
had a different perspective on Dennis
Franchione’s decision Thursday to
leave Alabama for the top football
coaching job at Texas A&M.
Alabama fraternity members
from Delta Kappa Epsilon decided
to show their displeasure with
Franchione’s decision by hanging a
sign on the front of their house that
reads, “Hey Fran,” with an obscene
gesture below.
Tide fans say they feel hurt and
betrayed by Franchione’s decision
to leave.
“The title of head football coach
of Alabama has such a strong influ
ence on not only the team and uni
versity, but even the state,” said
Jordan Hernandez, an Alabama jun
ior and football fan, during a phone
conversation Thursday night.
Franchione was under contract
with Alabama until 2007, and he
was set to sign an extension that
would bring him $1.5 million a year
for ten years.
“A lot of people thought
Franchione was going to stay at
Alabama,” Hernandez said. “He
had made a lot of statements that he
was here to make sure Alabama
turns around and to an extent he
turned it around. Then he turned to
greener pastures.”
Franchione didn’t say much after
arriving at Easterwood Airport in
College Station Thursday afternoon,
but he did address feelings shared by
See Alabama on page 2
bead
i emhitig
Uweer
it
jifi
}mm
Pittshtffgh
State
in Kansm
m
hmdmmh
for
(hefirH
©f five
I Ffa/ttJiitefie |
tMiflted
National
I CUmOi
\m
tfte
Ifcur
I fTanebWMte |
I named
National
Uoarh
2?
tite
I Ymr
starts the
first of two
msom at
foutfewast
Tfetws State
Univafsity
'Naflted
Kagioit IV
Coaahof
titeYaar
Frnnehteme’s
career at
NewMetde©
finishes with a|
Western
Athletic
Conference
Monntain
Division title
end e 9-4
record
for the season I
Freoehitmt ted
Ifetas Christian
I University te a
1284? win
California in tha_
Son Bowl, th# ■ "
first hew!
victory for T6U
since
• TCU wins
Western
Athlette
Confereneel
title
TCU
wins
Mobile
Alabama
Bowl
coach at the University of
Alabama, Dee. 4
»His stjoad at TCU ranked
first in three NCAA
categories! total defense, |
scoring defense and kick off I
returns
I* TCU wins Western
Athletic Conference title
I* His winning
active Division t A football
coaches
I * Alabama
finished
with a
14= Hi win
over Iowa
State in the
Independence
Bowl
I * Franchione’s
winning
percentage ranks
tlth among activel
division 1A
football coaches
I • Franchione
announced
as Aggie head
football coach,
mQ a.m, Dec, 6
1 Franchione files
to college station
to meet with
A&M
President
Dr, Robert M,
Cates, Dec, i
Student Senate encourages
pike in student service fees
By Eric Ambroso
'THE BATTALION
Student Senate passed a bill
I ednesday night that will recom-
Ira^u t ^ e . current student service fee
e be raised to $12.57 per semester
| h °ur for 2004.
The bill would raise the student
lie™ 106 ^ Ce ^ $-71. It was engi-
L e,ed a nd researched by the
L“ dent Service Advisory Board
. AB), which reviewed presenta-
L^ns from the 21 departments at
L x as A&M that receive money
Irom “■ *
then
student service fees. The SSAB
L,. systematically determined
L or § an i za tions should receive
I n r ln § and exactly how much.
SSA^y Oroza represented the
“ in presenting its final
research to the Student Senate. The
senate voted 32-13 to endorse the
recommendation made by the
SSAB to raise the student service
fee by $.71.
The majority of the revenue made
by the increased student service fee
will go towards salaries, Oroza said.
Different University departments
will use the money to hire advisers
and staff members, both of which
are in low supply.
“One reason for the increase is an
increase in the number of Aggie
Nights,” Oroza said.
Aggie Nights was started last
year to give students an alternative
night life free of alcohol. Held in the
Memorial Student Center, Aggie
See Senate on page 8
Texas replaces TAAS with tougher test
By Amy Adams
THE BATTALION
A new, tougher standardized test will soon be administered
in Texas public schools that will replace the Texas Assessment
of Academic Skills (TAAS) and determine if students move up
to the next grade.
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS),
approved by the State Board of Education in November, will
be administered for the first time in March to students in
grades three through nine. The new test is part of the state’s
accountability system, which rates schools based on test scores
and other factors.
All educational administrators and facilitators will be held
accountable based on the test and ratings.
Despite the concern first raised by the standardized TAAS
test, local professionals say the TAKS won’t leave teachers
“teaching the test.” Instead, some say, TAKS allows teachers to
explore more subject areas, though critics point out the broad
er scope of the test means teachers will only spend more time
teaching about it than before.
The test will validate what teachers are teaching, helping to
ensure that students are learning under state guidelines, said
Clark Ealy, director of assessment, accountability and evalua
tion for the College Station Independent School District.
TAKS will do a better job of measuring whether students
learned the material during the school year, Ealy said.
“The new test is beneficial because it raises the bar for stu
dents in Texas,” he said.
TAKS is more difficult and rigorous than the old test, with
more problem solving, reasoning and in-depth reading com
prehension.
Third-graders will receive three chances to pass the read
ing portion to advance to the fourth grade. In high school,
1 Ith-graders must pass all portions of the test, but they get as
many chances as they need. The test must be passed in order
to graduate.
Teachers are concerned that the new test will be too dif
ficult and prevent students from advancing, said Jessica
Pany, professional development specialist at Crockett
Elementary in Bryan.
In order to prepare students for the test, Pany has provided
after-school tutorials since November. Teachers have also had
in-depth training during the past two years to aid in the test
teaching process, Pany said.
“Although the new test will be harder, it will raise the
See Testing on page 2