Aggielife: Workout junkies • Page 3A Opinion: A vacation from the law • Page 5B
i Lilli
Volume 109 • Issue 80 • 16 pages
Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Byrne, Franchione contracts to be approved
Board of Regents Agenda
By Brad Bennett
THE BATTALION
Athletic Director Bill Byrne
land Head Football Coach
jDemiis Franchione will over-
Icome their last hurdle in becom-
Jing official members of the
(Texas A&M family today when
|the Board of Regents officially
[approves their contracts.
The regents’ contract
[approval is guaranteed and
merely a formality, said Bob
Wright, director of communica
tions for the Texas A&M
University System.
Also on the regents’ agenda
is authorizing the creation of
five new learning centers, creat
ing a Hispanic Studies Ph.D.
program and renaming the out
door tennis center.
Dr. Manuel Martin-
Rodriguez, director of Hispanic
Studies at A&M, said he is con
fident the regents will authorize
the Ph.D. program.
“It is an extremely elaborate
process in which the proposal
has gone through in order to be
considered by the regents,”
Rodriguez said.
If approved by the regents,
the proposal will need to be
approved by the Texas Higher
Education Coordination Board
before being offered at A&M.
The higher education board’s
process can take several weeks
and requires visitation by the
board members.
Rodriguez said the program
could begin as soon as the
Spring 2004 semester but will
probably be held off until Fall
2004. Rodriguez said he will be
able to minimize costs for the
new program by not hiring new
faculty to overcome recent
University budgetary con
straints.
Budgetary constraints have
not led to any cutbacks in the
$585 million allotment for con
struction which is being
reviewed by the regents, Wright
said.
“This (reviewing construc
tion) is a standard item at every
See Contracts on page 2A
Approve contracts of new Athletic Director-
Byrne and Head Football Coach Franchione
Establish five new learning centers
Approve Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies
pprove construction budget
Protesting the penalty
University System Office of Communk ations
TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION
Bill could
abolish Texas
death penalty
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
n
. 1'J
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Rich Woodward and other members of the Texas Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty in Brazos Valley, hold up a sign that says STOP EXE
CUTIONS at the corner of Texas and Walton Wednesday evening. The
Brazos Valley chapter consists of roughly 50 members who protest
every time someone is executed in the Brazos Valley. Robert
Lookingbill was executed in Huntsville by lethal injection Wednesday.
In 1989, Robert Lookingbill beat his sleeping
grandparents with a 25-pound metal bar, only to
steal $568 from his grandmother’s purse to buy
cocaine.
His grandmother died 10 days later from head
injuries, but his grandfather survived with brain
damage. On Wednesday, Lookingbill was execut
ed by lethal injection in Huntsville.
On Jan. 8, state Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-
Houston, proposed a bill to the Texas legislature
to abolish the death penalty in Texas. If this bill
is passed, it will take effect Sept. 1, 2003. In a
Houston Chronicle editorial, Dutton said that by
placing a moratorium on executions, the problems
could be identified and solved.
His bill is the latest legislative action since
Gov. Rick Perry signefd a law that made post-DNA
testing available to inmates to see if additional
evidence can be found to prove their innocence.
Earlier this month. Gov. George Ryan ordered
the release of all 167 inmates on death row in the
state of Ilinois. In a Houston Chronicle article,
Ryan said the flawed legal system of Illinois was
a major factor in his decision.
Supporters of the abolishment of the death
penalty have long been active in Brazos County.
The Brazos Valley unit of the Texas Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) held its
customary vigil on the corner of Texas Avenue
and Walton Drive in College Station Wednesday
night to protest Lookingbill’s execution.
The chapter holds vigils at this location every
See Penalty on page 2A
Campus master plan to
remodel aging buildings
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
Top representatives from two firms that
have undertaken the job of A&M campus
planning were on hand Wednesday after
noon to field questions from students and
faculty.
Austin-based Barnes Gromatzky
Kosarek Architects, Inc. and Boston-based
Michael Dennis & Associates have been
working with an advisory and steering
committee on the plan since August 2002.
The planners’ four main problems
with the current campus design are the
railroad, the distance between buildings,
the landscaping, and the aesthetics of the
[CAMPUS DESIGN FLAWS
• Railroad
I Distance between west and
MAIN CAMPUS
I Lack op campus-wide
LANDSCAPING
Lack op attractive buildings
ft
post WWII buildings, Karl Gromatzky
said.
One firm representative called the post
WWII buildings “utilitarian hulks.”
“They have no elaboration of detail,”
the representative said. “The quality
ranges from pretty boring to a waste of
space.”
The specific buildings presenters said
were in need of reconstruction included
several West Campus edifices.
The planners qualified their words with
praise of the “communal feel” at the cam
pus’s center.
“The historical core of campus is beau
tiful,” Gromatzky said.
Michael Dennis said the beauty of the
main campus has been an inspiration to
planners.
“The administration building, the
library, and the Academic building have an
excellent communal relationship between
buildings, sidewalks, and open space,”
Dennis said. “Now we want to see that
happen on the West Campus.”
Dennis said he wants to see the campus
center shift from Evans to the Simpson
Drill Field within the next 50 years, as a
more natural connection between West
Campus and Main Campus.
“What made the campus beautiful in
its early history was that its buildings
framed quadrangles,” Dennis said. “We
are going to imitate that when we set
apart quadrangles of green space on West
Campus around which future buildings
will be built.”
Campus bus hits SUV; no injuries
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
Bus accidents at A&M have
increased due to new or altered
routes because of the growing rate
of construction on numerous cam
pus roads, said Gary Jackson,
Transit Services (formerly Bus
Operations) Director.
An A&M bus was involved in an
accident Wednesday morning at the
intersection of Raymond Stoltzer Dr.
(University) and Discovery Drive.
The bus was traveling westbound
on Raymond Stoltzer Dr. when it
failed to give the right of way to a
Ford Escape traveling eastbound
and attempting to make a right turn
onto Discovery, said Lt. Rodney
Sigler, College Station Police
Department public information
Officer.
“It was a pretty good impact ” he
said.
With 19 passengers aboard the
bus, there were several complaints
of injury; however, none were life
threatening, Sigler said.
The driver of the Ford had minor
injuries and was transported to
College Station Medical Center,
Sigler said.
Jackson said both drivers were
apparently trying to beat the light.
“Our drivers are usually very
careful,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the damage suffered
to the bus was minor, although you
can tell it was in an accident.
The bus is easy to fix and will be
back on the road by next week,
Jackson said.
“It was unfortunate, but it could
have been much worse,” he said.
Jackson said after every accident
involving a bus, the driver receives
an opportunity to go before a board
of five of his peers, which includes
dispatchers and trainers, with all the
details of the accident. The board
then decides what disciplinary
action should be taken.
“Everyone thinks the students are
easy (on each other), but they really
are harder than we would be,”
Jackson said.
Jackson said drivers who have
wrecks may be fired or have a severe
punishment of transferrance to a dif
ferent route.
Transit Services statistics indi
cate that for every 100,000 miles
driven, four to six accidents occur.
“Drivers drive approximately 1.2
million miles a year, so five acci
dents is actually very good,”
Jackson said.
Reports also show that the num
ber of accidents increases at the
beginning of each semester due to
Fails family disputes death ruling
By Rob Phillips
THE BATTALION
Source: Michael Dennis
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
See Plan on page 2A
The family of deceased Texas
A&M football player Brandon Fails
is disputing a ruling by Justice of the
Peace Margaret Meece stating that
Fails died of natural causes.
According to The Associated
Press, the ruling could prevent the
family from collecting a $100,000
practice and player death benefit
available for families of
A&M students who die
because of a sanctioned ath
letic activity.
Fails, 18, died Nov. 25,
2002 after collapsing in his
Cain Hall dorm room. An
autopsy performed by the
Travis County Medical
Examiner’s Office originally
reported the cause of death to be a
massive blood clot inside of Fails’ leg.
FAILS
after an
football
According to the Bryan-
College Station Eagle, Meece
claims that the clot was not
more than 10 days old, mean
ing that it could not have
resulted from the injury or sur
gery. This finding is in opposi
tion to the autopsy results that
suggest Fails’ death was the
result of a clot that developed
October knee surgery due to a
practice injury.