NEWS
THE BATTALION
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Sports: Late heroics lift A&M in season opener • Page 5
Opinion: Doctors leaving their mark • Page 9
Volume 109 • Issue 94 • pages 10 Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com Wednesday, February 12, 2003
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Student leaders, alumni support deregulation
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By Melissa Fowler
THE BATTALION
AUSTIN, Texas - Student leaders and
alumni from Texas A&M and the University
ofTexas at Austin lobbied for tuition dereg
ulation Tuesday as part of the Orange &
Maroon Legislative Day.
Deregulation would grant universities
local control over tuition, giving them the
freedom to set and raise their own tuition
rates without state approval. Under this sys
tem, individual boards of regents would
have the authority to regulate tuition instead
of the state mandating a limit to the amount
of tuition a student can be charged at a pub
lic university.
At the Legislative Day Kick-Off Event,
Speaker of the House Tom Craddick said he
supported tuition deregulation.
“We are going to pass a bill to give you
flexible tuition,” he said. “The board of
regents are elected to run universities and
should be given power to do that.”
Student Body President and senior agri
cultural development major Zac Coventry
agreed that when a board is charged with
running a university, it should be granted
controls to accomplish that.
UT President Larry R. Faulkner and
Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates
spoke to a crowd of volunteers from both
schools and oriented them on the issues of
focus for the lobbying effort.
The more than 250 Orange & Maroon
Legislative Day participants divided into
predetermined groups of both Aggies and
Longhorns to canvas the capital and visit
representatives in their offices.
The group office visits were part of the
event’s goal of letting alumni and those
directly affected by the universities share
their personal stories with state leaders.
“We at A&M and UT have a story to tell
and this is the day for you to tell that story
of how A&M or UT has changed your life
and enriched the community,” Gates said.
“We need to remind legislators that these
two universities are priceless assets of the
state of Texas that require continued
investment.”
Rep. Barry Telford’s Legislative Director
N. Alex Winslow, a UT graduate, expressed
concern for students and the negative effect
raising tuition rates could have on future
Aggies and Longhorns.
In defense of deregulation, junior politi
cal science major Megan Stephenson
See Austin on page 8
JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION
Left to right: Douglas Duke, a University of Texas alumnus,
Zac Coventry, student body president; Junior political science
majors Megan Stephenson and Natasha Eubanks take notes
in the halls of the Texas Capitol Building Tuesday.
Ross Volunteers
cleared of charge
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
The Ross Volunteers Honor Corps
organization resumed activities Tuesday
liter an investigation by Corps of Cadets
officials cleared the unit of
allegations that they had
feupted a Feb. 3 antiwar
protest.
Corps Commandant Lt.
In. John Van Alstyne
*1 the cadets were con-
ikting a regularly sched
uled practice drill in front
ofthe Academic Building
fat day, and did not do or
say anything intended to
intimidate the protestors.
However, because of
: close proximity of
peace demonstrators to a
group of uniformed
cadets involved in mili-
tary drills with nonfunc-
.1 weapons, the situation was ripe for
misunderstanding. Van Alstyne said.
“Some of the Ross Volunteers were
just8 to 10 feet from the periphery of the
, and they’re dealing with people
have a very different view of
fangs,” he said.
Ross Volunteer Commander Phillip
Noack said he never doubted the investi
gation would vindicate the unit.
“We were just out there doing our
normal routine,” said Noack, a senior
wildlife and fisheries science major.
To avoid any potential confrontations
in the future. Van Alstyne
said Ross Volunteer lead
ers will now be required
to check each week with
University officials to see
if any rallies or protests
will be held in areas
where the unit practices.
“IPs a big campus,
and for that day, we can
find somewhere else to
practice,” he said.
Some of the peace
protest organizers will
meet with the Ross
Volunteer leadership to
tell the cadets why their
practice drills came
across as hostile and
intimidating. Van Alstyne said.
“(Ross Volunteers) are a great group
of young fellas, and this experience will
help to heighten their awareness and
See RVs on page 2
(Ross Volunteers)
are a great group of
young fellas, and this
experience will help
to heighten their
awareness and
sharpen their
judgment.
— John Van Alstyne
Corps Commandant
Grand jury to hear
Parsons hazing case
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
A Brazos County grand jury will
begin an investigation Thursday into haz
ing allegations in Parsons Mounted
Cavalry and 27 cadets in that company
have been subpoenaed to testify.
The operations of the Corps of Cadets
unit have been suspended since October
after a senior cadet accused other cavalry
members of hazing underclassmen.
Brazos County Attorney Jim
Kuboviak said the grand jury inquiry
would supplement the investigation
already conducted by the University
Police Department by forcing the cadets
to testify under oath.
“If they lie, they can be charged with
perjury,” Kuboviak said.
The grand jury can also grant immu
nity to selected witnesses, he added.
“I’ll present them (the grand jury)
with the evidence, ask what they think,
who they would like to talk to, and where
they would like to go with the investiga
tion,” Kuboviak said.
After the grand jury inquiry, he will
decide whether to pursue charges against
the accused cadets.
Kuboviak told the Bryan-College
Station Eagle in its Nov. 2 issue that in
addition to hazing, some cadets may also
face assault charges. Kuboviak declined
to discuss the allegations, but the Eagle
reported in the same issue that a source
close to the investigation said some
cadets are accused of beating other caval
ry members, urinating on them and dous
ing them with water and horse feces.
About 60 cadets are members of the
cavalry, which is best known for firing
the cannon at Texas A&M home football
games and Midnight Yell Practices.
Although operations of the unit have
been suspended. Corps Commandant Lt.
Gen. John Van Alstyne said a limited
number of cavalry members are still per
mitted at the unit’s facility at Fiddler’s
Green to maintain the stables and take
care of the horses. Equestrian training
has also resumed, he said.
The cadets who could face criminal
charges are still prohibited from Fiddler’s
Green, Van Alstyne said, and the unit’s
limited operations will continue if
charges are filed.
See Cavalry on page 8
Parsons Mounted Cavalry
Oct. 15, 2002
B Lt. Gen. John Van Alstyne,
commandant of the Corps of Cadets,
suspended the unit because of
underclassmen hazing allegations
from a senior cadet
Nov. 2002
D University Police Department begins
criminal investigation of the allegations
Feb. 13, 2003
D Brazos County grand jury inquiry
regarding the hazing allegations
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source: the Battalion, The Bryan/College
Station Eagle
How many?
Randal Ford • THE BATTALION
Fans at the Texas A&M men’s baseball team’s season A&M-Corpus Christ! 6-5 with an Aggie homerun in the bot-
opener at Olsen Field guess the number of engines on the tom of the ninth inning. The teams' next game will be Feb.
coming train Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies beat Texas 21 against UCLA.
States raise college tuition to balance
budgets; experts see no end to the pattern
By Steve Giegerich
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cash-strapped states from coast to
coast are weighing hefty tuition
increases for public colleges and uni
versities, prompting experts to won
der aloud if state schools are pricing
themselves out of the market for
most students.
“This trend is going to catch up
with the middle class at some point,”
said Barmak Nassirian, an analyst
with the American Association of
Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers.
Vermont, Hawaii, West Virginia,
Oklahoma, Alabama, Arizona,
Florida, New York and Utah are
among the states that have already
adopted or are considering tuition
hikes at public institutions for the fall
semester.
The budget woes have been espe
cially painful for University of Oregon
junior Rachel Pilliod, who may forego
her senior year if an additional tuition
hike is imposed next fall. Students at
Oregon this year have already faced
tuition increases of $10 per credit hour
for the winter and spring terms. That’s
more than $100 per term for a
full-time student.
“I’m ahead on my credits so I can
graduate with the bare minimum for a
degree. That’s graduating without hon
ors and that’s graduating without the
classes that will fully develop me,” said
Pilliod, a self-described middle-class
student who has assumed most of the
cost of her own education. “The real
determining factor will be my ability
to pay for school next year.”
If she can’t afford the extra classes,
Pilliod fears it will affect her chances
of getting into graduate school.
The tuition increases at Oregon and
elsewhere come in an academic year
when tuition at four-year public insti
tutions jumped by an average of 9.6
percent, according to the annual sur
vey of college costs released last
October by the College Board, the
owner of the SAT exam.
The National Center for Public
Policy and Higher Education reported
in a study released Tuesday that stu
dents at public, four-year colleges in 16
states were hit with tuition hikes of
more than 10 percent for this academic
year.
One expert sees no end in sight.
See Tuition on page2