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hosts Kansas State • Page 7 Opinion: Understanding the conflict • Page 11
BATTALION
Volume 109 • Issue 81 • 12 pages
Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Friday, January 24, 2003
Fails family fights to preserve son’s memory
By Melissa Fowler
THE BATTALION
On Nov. 30, 2002, Texas A&M football play
ers joined a grieving family at a funeral for one
of their own.
Parents of deceased freshman defensive line
man Brandon Fails held a funeral, took their son
to the cemetery where his body was laid to rest
and ordered a headstone for his grave.
Yet until Jan. 16, Charles and Valarie Fails
were missing one thing besides their son: his
death certificate.
Fails was pronounced dead Nov. 25 following
a collapse in his Cain Hall dorm room. Since
Brazos County does not have a medical examiner,
an autopsy was conducted by the Travis County
Medical Examiner’s Office.
Justice of the Peace for Travis County
Margaret Meece said the death certificate was lost
in the mail, and she received it on Jan. 6 and filed
it 10 days later.
“It is a horrible feeling for any
parent to have to wait as long as
we had to wait to get a death cer
tificate,” Valarie said.
Not only was Fails’ death cer
tificate delayed by almost two
months, but it contradicts the
findings of his autopsy report.
The autopsy reported the cause
of death was a blood clot which formed in Fails’
right leg as the result of an October injury to his
right knee during football practice that required
surgery.
Even though the autopsy reported Fails’
death as an accident, the death certificate filed
this month lists the death as occurring from nat
ural causes.
Had the death certificate ruled Fails’ death as
an accident, his family could have collected
$100,000 from a practice and player death benefit
for families of A&M athletes who die as a result
of sanctioned athletic activity, according to The
Associated Press.
“This is not about money,” Valerie said, “this is
about justice. All we asked for was a death certifi
cate and for it to be right.”
Meece filed the death certificate and is
responsible for the final ruling on the cause of
death in accordance with state law that gives jus
tices of the peace that power in counties without
a medical examiner.
At the time of Fails’ death, Meece’s husband,
Patrick, was the justice of the peace and disput
ed the autopsy findings, theorizing the blood
clot was the result of a lung infection, not his
prior knee surgery.
Margaret Meece was elected to replace her
retiring husband in January, and while not sharing
his theory on the cause of the blood clot, she did
investigate and said she doubts the autopsy find
ings. Neither Patrick nor Margaret Meece have
any medical background.
“They (Patrick and Margaret Meece) are just
lawyers and are going against a medical examiner
with the proper education for the type of work
they are in,” Valarie said.
In her investigation Meece said she contacted
emergency room doctors at St. Joseph’s Hospital
where Brandon was pronounced dead and read as
much as she could about blood clots.
“I do not have a medical degree but I have
access to a lot of people who do,” Meece said.
While Meece agrees with the autopsy that
Brandon died as the result of a massive blood clot,
she does not believe it was caused by his surgery.
In defense of her ruling, Meece said that as a
blood clot ages it breaks up and fragments so
extremely large clots - such as the one responsi
ble for Fails’ death - are not very old. She said
the average life of a blood clot is ten days and
that from her research it would be impossible
for the clot to have remained in his system an
extra three or four weeks past the ten days fol
lowing his surgery.
“I could find no evidence to indicate there was
a way for it (the blood clot) to breach the three-to
-four-week period (post surgery),” Meece said.
See Fails on page 2
FAILS
Puppy love
Josh Hobson • THE BATTALION
Adrienne Murphy, from Dallas, tries to pull her sleeve out of the Station pet store. English Bulldogs have gained even more pop-
mouth of an English bulldog, Thursday afternoon at a College ularity because of its exposure on “The Osbournes.”
Regents approve additional
campus plan funding
By Brad Bennett
THE BATTALION
The Board of Regents granted an addi
tional $500,000 in funding Thursday to the
Campus Master Plan, a design plan aimed
at making A&M a more pleasing campus
and meet academic and architectural
needs.
President Dr. Robert M. Gates said the
plan is important because past planning
had no unified plan and the citing of build
ings was seemingly done at random.
“This campus’ (design) deserves aes
thetic quality and feeling of oneness,”
Regent Lionel Sosa said. “Many of our
(A&M) campuses have a hodgepodge
look.”
Regents also approved 34 other agenda
items, including a new Ph.D. program in
Hispanic Studies, the establishment of five
new learning and research centers to be
based at A&M and contracts granting the
title “Emeritus” to three retiring members
of the Board.
The Board also reviewed $585 million
dollars in construction jobs; $341 million
are still in the planning process. Despite
recent budget constraints, no changes to
construction plans were made.
In the only resolution directly affecting
a degree, the regents approved the propos
al establishing a Ph.D. of philosophy in
Hispanic Studies.
Dr. Charles Johnson, dean of the
College of Liberal Arts, said the Ph.D.
will “move beyond the study of lan
guage and will include literature, cul
ture and even policy.”
See Master on page 2
A&M may require applicants
to take writing skills test
By Lauren Smith
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M officials
said they are unsure if they
will follow the University
of Texas’ lead in requiring
high school seniors enter
ing college in Fall 2006 to
take writing skills admis
sions tests.
Starting in the spring of
2005, the Standard
Aptitude Test (SAT) will
include a 25-minute writ
ing sample that will direct
ly measure the writing abil
ity of prospective students.
“The idea is a proctored
writing sample with noth
ing but the student, the
paper, and a No. 2 pencil,
an event similar to a cap
stone experience to every
school’s writing curricu
lum,” said Dr. Bruce
Walker, associate vice
president and director of
admissions at the
University of Texas.
Following the June
decision by the College
Board to add the writing
test to the SAT, the
providers of the American
College Test (ACT) admis
sions exam are offering an
optional writing test. The
ACT is not required for
admission to A&M.
“I fully, expect that other
major universities in Texas
and beyond will adopt the
writing test as part of their
admissions standards,”
Walker said.
A&M, however, will
wait on a series of tests to
decide if it will add the test
or not.
“Because the test is still
See Writing on page 2
Rec Center proposes new fee
Helicopter crash kills four Marines
By Rhiannon Ubelhor
THE BATTALION
The Student Recreation Center’s proposed
$10 increase of the Rec Center fee is pending in
the Student Senate and will be approved by
Student Services Sunday, speaker Pro Tern Logan
Renfrew said.
Dennis Corrington, director of the department
of recreational sports, said the Rec Center is more
than 7 years old and is in need of repairs. The
increase, if approved by administration, would
raise the fee from $78 to $88.
“Roofs usually need to be repaired every 10 to
15 years, costing up to $2 million. If funds are set
aside each year to maintain the Rec Center,
Proposed Rec Center Fee
- Increase from $78 to $88
- Will generate $8.6 million
for A&M
- Two options:
•Increase fee by $3 per year
•$1 0 for three years
Travis Swenson • THE BATTALION
Source: DENNIS CORRINGTON, DIRECTOR OF REC CENTER
then all students, now and in the future, will
share equally in maintaining the building,”
Corrington said.
Corrington said the fee will generate $8.6 mil
lion for Texas A&M, which includes the aquatic
center. The University of Texas’ rec center gener
ates $8.7 million, but does not include its swim
ming facilities
The proposed fee would cover a weight and
fitness room expansion, the Penberthy Intramural
Sports Center expansion, student worker wage
increase, a new sports.club coordinator and main
tenance of the facilities now and in the future,
Corrington said.
The weight and fitness room is full between
the hours of 5 p.m. and 11 p.m, which is when
most students want to work out, he said, so one
goal will be to control the overcrowding.
Penberthy Field currently supports 200 to 300
games per year, and there are more intramural
teams that want to join, but do not have the play
ing space, Corrington said.
Corrington said the Rec Center is a major fac
tor in recruiting for A&M that could help increase
the number of faculty and diversity at the.
University.
Keeping with University President Dr. Robert
M. Gates’ Vision 2020 goal of improving campus
See Fee on page 12
FALCON HEIGHTS, Texas
(AP) — When he saw the two
fireballs after a South Texas mil
itary helicopter accident, it was
clear to witness Larry Sholl that
the occupants of the two chop
pers had no chance.
“There was nobody that
could have survived that,” said
Sholl, 67, who lives in a state
campground near the site where
four Marine Corps reservists
died when their AH1-W Super
Cobra helicopters collided
Wednesday night.
“There was no way to help
them,” Sholl said Thursday.
“ We heard a loud boom and all
of a sudden the engines in the
helicopters quit, so I went out
side and looked and there was a
ball of fire.”
He saw another fireball
close by.
The Marine Forces Reserves
said in a release that witnesses
saw the two helicopters collide
and go down in Falcon State
Park shortly before 9 p.m. CST.
Wreckage from one helicop
ter was just inside the entrance
to a recreational vehicle park,
and burn marks from that crash
stretched for about 40 yards.
The other crash site was about
300 yards away, with rotors and
other charred helicopter parts
strewn between them. Brush and
prickly pear cactus were black
ened about 40 yards around, a
witness said.
Officials said the reservists
were helping the U.S. Border
Patrol with surveillance of
Falcon Lake, a huge Rio Grande
reservoir that straddles the U.S.-
Mexico border and is a known
hot spot for drug trafficking.
Noise from the collision jolt
ed the 40 or so residents, most
of whom are retirees from north
ern states and Canada.
“I thought it came down
where the other campers were,”
said Eileen Ruiz of Milpitas,
Calif. “My heart was racing.
Everybody came out to watch.”
The Marines killed were
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Two helicopters
crashed killing
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Gulf of
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State Park
AH-1W Super Cobra
Primary function: Ail-weather
day/night attack helicopter
Length: 58 feet (17.67 m)
Height: 13.7 feet (4.17 m)
Speed: 169.05 mph (272 kph)
Ceiling: 18,700 feet (5,703.5 m)
Range: 294.4 miles (473.8 km)
Armaments: One 20 mm cannon;
four external wing stations to hold
rockets and missiles
SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI; AP
See Crash on page 2 u 3 Marine corps.