NEWS
THE BATTALION
ijures 26
of the company’s 561
; plant at the time of the j
iened near an oven where
"ac Hired.
huge fireball, and every- ;
out,” said CTA worker I
vas smoke and dust every-
:s were accounted for, sail
iswoman for the Madison
ompany.
with severe bums, were
ispitals in the region,
general surgeon at Baptist
ter in Corbin, said at least
id bums on more than 80
ysicians for disasters -1
Liu said. “The best thing
or these people.’’
1 had received at least 15
.vere in critical condition,
erred to bum centers at the
Hospital in Lexington and
y Medical Center in
NEWS IN BRIEF
lor student
cted for murder
10, Texas (AP) -
cutors are seeking the
penalty against a formet
r University student
ed of killing his parents
7-year-old brother,
n James Frazier, 19, onte
igle Scout, was indktel
:apital murder charge Feb.
le Victoria County Disttirt
ley's Office on
esday filed a notice seek-
pital punishment,
lighters found the bodies
aniel Frazier, 53; Sally
r, 50; and John Michael
r, 17, on Dec. 13 in their
>n Valley home, about 10
northwest of Victoria,
iminary autopsy results
:d that they and the family
were stabbed to death
1 the house was set on fire,
i Frazier was arrested a
days later. He remains
in Victoria Count) mlien
1 million bond.
:hagrined by
tide.
ganization
imester is a
a Hobby Hall
I by the Hobby
taelly thirteen
i Mr.
rs’s vote was
exhaustively
; and concerns
s have the
RHA has
responsibility.
t of Adniinis-
account be
ids from that
laity of not
>r student
*p leadership
aim, or any
tancial burden
r his hall, he
ing Keathley
is representa-
Volume 109 • Issue 102 • 12 pages
Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Monday, February 24, 2003
Shots, fights end step show after-party early
2003 Greek Olympiad Step Show Competition
_ ———
- Largest annual step show competition in the nation
- 7,000 people attended in 2003; 5,800 in 2002
- After-party at Reed Arena ended an hour early,
prompting confrontations with police
on and off campus
- CSPD made four arrests
IWWMMWIWI
—-
J
TRAVIS SWENSON • THE BATTALION
Source: CSPD, UPD, Ronnie robinett
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
Approximately 6,000 people created a
disturbance on campus early Sunday, fol
lowing an after-party at Reed Arena for
the United States’ largest-ever annual
Greek Olympiad Step Show competition
that ended an hour earlier than expected,
College Station police said.
The step show ran from 7:30 to 10:30
p.m. at G. Rollie White with an atten
dance of more than 7,000, organizer
Ronnie Robinett said.
The capacity of G. Rollie White is
7,800.
A dance for attendees at Reed Arena
immediately followed the step show and
ended between 1 and 2 a.m., Robinett said.
University Police Director Bob Wiatt
said it was an “unruly night,” in which
several cars around G. Rollie White were
burglarized.
“I don’t know that (the burglaries)
were connected, but that is the area that
(some attendees) were in,” he said.
Wiatt said some of the 5,000-6,000
people inside Reed Arena for the dance
were under the influence of marijuana and
alcohol. He said several fights broke out
on the dance floor.
The combination of drinking, drugs
and fighting led to the decision to end the
party an hour early, he said, but UPD real
ized there were not enough officers to
usher the several thousand attendees out.
“Some of them definitely didn’t want
to leave,” Wiatt said.
UPD requested the assistance of the
Brazos County Sheriff’s Office and the
College Station Police Department, call
ing for all available units.
CSPD sent all 23 officers on duty, said
Sgt. Gary Vick.
Vick said that when he arrived at the
Reed Arena parking lot, a crowd of sever
al thousand was standing around the park
ing lot, and he heard shots being fired.
See Olympiad on page 10
Public record
access may be
denied
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A bill tiled
this week would allow gov
ernment agencies to withhold
from the public information
on anti-terrorism planning,
possible targets and bomb
making details.
House Bill 1191, filed
Friday by Rep. Ray Allen, R-
Grand Prairie, is one of more
tkn a dozen bills that would
modify public access to gov-
tuent records and meetings.
Other bills would make
secret intTrrfflcUion about
security at Texas ports, the
names of people holding per
mits to carry concealed
weapons, and private infor
mation about military veter
ans and people who apply for
property tax exemptions.
Open government advo
cates expressed alarm over
the number of bills that
would limit public access.
by bill
“There are a lot of bills to
close records this session,”
said Kathy Mitchell, research
director for Consumers
Union. “Many of them
appear to be related to securi
ty, although many of them are
broader than that.”
Other bills would increase
access to government records,
including one that would stop
government agencies and offi
cials from dragging their feet
when responding to requests
for public documents.
Allen’s legislation seeks to
close records that might be
helpful to terrorists. It would
make secret plans devised by
police departments, fire depart
ments and other emergency
response agencies to investi
gate or react to terrorism or
“related criminal activity.”
A second confidential
category would include
reports in which government
See Bill on page 10
Hitting the slopes
Students in the beginning snow skiing class take advantage of West Campus. Due to recent excessive rain, students were
the favorable weather Sunday afternoon on top of Mt. Aggie at unable to practice for upcoming skills tests until Sunday.
Actor Sean Astin announces ‘Storm of 1900’ project
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
The man who played Samwise Gamgee in the
blockbuster trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” con
firmed Saturday what fans devoted to British
author J.R.R. Tolkien’s definitive work have
known for years: “Tolkien rocks!”
Actor and director Sean Astin said Tolkien’s
character development and epic storytelling is
one-of-a-kind.
Astin was in College Station to introduce his
short film, “The Long and Short of It” as part of
the Texas Film Festival that was in town last week.
The film was shot on a Sunday
during the filming of “The Lord
of the Rings” in New Zealand.
Astin teared up after receiving the
film festival’s Jury Award for his
work on the project in collabora
tion with other actors from “The
Lord of the Rings.”
The screening of the short con
cluded the almost two-hour moderated discussion
with an audience of about 200.
Astin responded candidly to questions about
all things Middle-earth in the question and answer
session following his commentary on films he
acted in including “The Goonies,” “Encino Man”
ASTIN
and “Rudy.”
Astin is currently filming in Canada, but made
a point to fit the trip to Texas into his busy sched
ule, he said.
“I made this trip on purpose, to announce a
project I have been developing for two or three
years,” Astin said.
The film will be based on the 1900 Galveston
hurricane, the “Storm of 1900,” that killed 6,000
Galveston residents in the nation’s deadliest
national disaster. In 2000, novelist Erik Larson
brought the legendary storm to life in “Isaac’s
Storm,” a novel that focuses on meteorologist
Isaac Monroe Cline, who may have failed to
warn Galveston residents to leave town before
the hurricane hit. Astin said he has acquired the
rights to the novel.
He said he will have a love story interwoven
with actual historical events in the picture, similar
to what James Cameron’s “Titanic.” The screen
play has already been acquired, he said.
“Any help you (the audience) can give me will
be greatly appreciated,” Astin said.
He said he intends to film the project entirely
in Texas.
Astin serves as a civilian adviser to the
Secretary of the Army, whom he visited with on
Friday in Hawaii before flying to Texas.
See Astin on page 2
Leaders at summit back
Officials urge countries to side with U.S.
calls for Iraq to disarm
By Jamie Tarabay
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A
summit of mostly developing nations
backed strong calls Sunday for Iraq to
disarm, while Malaysia, the host nation,
warned that an invasion of Iraq would
be seen as “a war against Muslims.”
Preparations for the Non-Aligned
Movement summit opening Monday
have been dominated by the issues of
Iraq and North Korea, both member
countries.
Over the weekend, the 114-member
group, which includes many U.S. allies
as well as bitter foes, drafted a compro
mise statement on Iraq that urged
Baghdad to “actively comply” with
U.N. resolutions, but made clear its
strong revulsion toward a U.S.-led war.
Delegates also were debating a sep
arate statement on Israeli-Palestinian
issues, and appeared likely to label
Israel’s seizure of Palestinian lands as
a war crime, Palestinian delegates said.
Since the 1967 Middle East War,
non-aligned nations have regularly
condemned Israel’s occupation of
Palestinian territory. But the current
meeting appeared set to go further by
endorsing stronger measures against
the Jewish state, the Palestinian dele
gation said.
Heads of state were arriving
Sunday and were to approve separate
declarations during their two-day
summit ending Tuesday.
Non-aligned nations represent the
55 percent of the world’s population
and hold nearly two-thirds of the U.N.
General Assembly seats. Six are mem
bers of the 15-seat Security Council,
where the United States and Britain
need a nine-vote majority to pass a res
olution authorizing an attack on Iraq.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad denounced U.S.-
led preparations for an assault on Iraq,
See Summit on page 2
By Dafna Linzer
THE ASSOCIATED
UNITED NATIONS — Senior
U.S. officials have been quietly dis
patched in recent days to the capitals
of key Security Council countries
where they are warning leaders to vote
with the United States on Iraq or risk
“paying a heavy price.”
For some of the countries, such as
Angola, Guinea and Cameroon —
poor African nations whose concerns
drew little attention before they land
ed seats on the council — there is the
possibility that supporting
Washington’s drive for a new U.N.
resolution authorizing war may reap
benefits down the line.
“For a long time now, we have
been asking for help to rebuild our
country after years of war,” said
Angolan Ambassador Ismael Caspar
Martins. “No one is tying the request
to support on Iraq but it is all happen
ing at the same time.”
Angola’s president, Jose Eduardo
dos Santos, met in the capital, Luanda,
Thursday with Assistant Secretary of
State Walter Kansteiner, who was
diverted from a trip to South Africa to
meet with the leaders of the council’s
three African nations.
“In Africa, the message is simple:
time is running out and we think they
should support us,” said one U.S.
diplomat, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
a
In Africa, the message is
simple: time is running out
and we think they should
support us.
— U.S. Diplomat
The United States and Britain
plan to submit their resolution to the
Security Council this week and will
ask for a vote by the middle of
March — when weather conditions
in Iraq will still be favorable for a
military campaign.
In the meantime, the State
Department has sent some of its top
people to the world’s capitals to
lobby for support even as President
George W. Bush, Secretary of State
Colin Powell and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair work the phones.
The Bush administration has also
recruited the leaders of Australia and
Spain to help push for votes.
“The order from the White House
was to use all diplomatic means nec
essary,”’ another U.S. diplomat said.
“And that really means everything.”
The wording of the order is a twist
on “all means necessary,” — the
diplomatic terminology that authoriz
es going to war.
In the past three weeks, the admin
istration has sent Undersecretary of
State Marc Grossman and Kim
Holmes, the assistant secretary of
state for international organizations to
Mexico City.
Mexican diplomats described the
visits as hostile in tone and com
plained that Washington was demon
strating little concern for the con
straints of the Mexican government
whose people are overwhelmingly
opposed to a war with Iraq.
“They actually told us: any country
See Iraq on page 2