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Sports: Tennis team sweeps doubleheader • Page 5 Opinion: Ethics courses needed • Page 9
ATTAT TON
JlYL X/VJ-iiVylN
[Volume 109 • Issue 114 • 10 pages
Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
A new prayer
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Members of the Texas State House
of Representatives bow their heads
during the opening prayer Tuesday
morning by Imam Bikhash of the
JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION
Fort. Worth Islamic Association. This
is the first time a Muslim has said the
opening prayer during the Legislative
Session.
Yell leaders may face sanctions
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
In addition to University investi
gation into allegations of hazing in
Parsons Mounted Cavalry, three yell
leader candidates who are members
of the Corps of Cadets unit are stay
ing tight-lipped on whether they
could face disciplinary sanctions.
About half of the cavalry unit,
some 30 cadets, will be brought indi
vidually before a Student Life disci
plinary panel and could receive penal
ties ranging from a warning to expul
sion from the University. Junior yell
leader Jonathan Lusk and Corps yell
nominees John Magruder and Paul
Terrell are members of the unit.
The cavalry investigation is separate
from a hazing investigation involving
the yell leaders, said Dr. Dave Parrott,
dean of Student Life. Parrott declined to
discuss the specifics of the allegations
and whether they implicated all five yell
leaders, but said his department began
an investigation the week before spring
break after yell leader adviser Rusty
Thompson forwarded hazing allega
tions to Student Life.
The fact-finding phase of the inves
tigation is complete, Parrott said, and
a Student Life disciplinary panel will
conduct a hearing for each of the yell
leaders involved and decide whether
to hand down sanctions.
An inquiry into the Parsons Cavalry
case concluded that juniors had been
hazing sophomores by hitting them
with axe handles and forcing them to
perfonn exercises in a pit of urine and
horse manure, said Corps Commandant
Lt. Gen. John Van Alstyne.
Magruder declined to comment on
the investigation, but said he hoped that
suspicions of wrongdoing would not
erode students’ trust in him.
“The Corps put me in this position
because they think I’m a good leader,”
said Magruder, a junior English major.
Lusk and Terrell could not be
reached for comment.
The operations of the cavalry unit
have been suspended since October.
Van Alstyne said he would personally
interview every member of the unit to
decide whether they would remain in
the cavalry, and would then determine
whether the organization would be
allowed to continue.
The student body elections are
March 26-27.
Candidates tout SBP platforms
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
Candidates for student
body president touted their
platforms and campaign
promises to students at a
forum Monday evening.
The forum, sponsored
by the Residence Hall
Association and held in the
Sbisa quiet room, gave
candidates campaigning
for student body president,
yell leader and class coun
cil positions the opportuni
ty to introduce themselves
to the student body.
However, most of the
students present were cam
paign volunteers sporting
their candidate’s garb.
Karl Pfluger, a senior
political science major, said
he is running for student
body president because he
wants “to give back to the
school that has given (him)
so many incredible oppor
tunities.” Having had
A&M students in his fami
ly since 1920, Pfluger said
he is “proud of the present,
and focused on the future.”
Luke Cheatham, a sen
ior civil engineering
major, has lived on campus
for three years and is
presently a resident advis
er in Walton Hall.
Cheatham said he
would be a tireless advo
cate for students.
“I know what you guys
want, but I know what our
problems are too,”
Cheatham said.
Stoney Burke, a senior
international studies major,
said his campaign focuses on
what it means to be an
Aggie, what it means to be a
student and what it means to
be a part of the community.
If elected, Burke said, he
plans to implement cheaper
and more convenient park
ing for students and health
ier dining options on cam
pus.
Kyle Carlton, a junior
business finance major.
said his campaign is about
service and family, and he
wants to avoid focusing on
power. A key element of
Carlton’s platform is a
campus calendar that
would display the events of
all student organizations
on campus. This calendar
would include a column in
which the student body
president and the MSC
council president can voice
their opinions.
Ed “El Ramos” Brown, a
senior economics major,
highlighted his outsider sta
tus, blasting student gov
ernment leaders for being
See Forum on page 2
Troops prepare for combat in Iraq
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By David Espo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq —In an edgy prelude to
war, Saddam Hussein mocked an American
[ultimatum Tuesday to surrender power, and
the Bush administration claimed public sup
port from 30 nations for its international
coalition supporting Iraq’s disarmament.
The streets of Baghdad captured the
moment — panic buying by residents bracing
for a fearsome U.S.-led attack, side by side
with a government-prompted, mass demon
stration in support of Saddam.
“This war, in short, is tantamount to geno
cide,” charged Mohammed AlDouri, Iraq’s
ambassador to the United Nations, in one of a
string of insults the Iraqi high command
hurled at Bush.
It was a daylong act of defiance in the face
of an invasion force of more than 250,000
troops ringing Iraq, a nation of more than 23
million that Saddam has ruled brutally for
nearly a quarter century.
One day after President Bush set his dead
line of 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, troops in
the Kuwaiti desert loaded their ammunition
and combat gear into fighting vehicles, ready
to invade on short notice.
“I think I’d probably have a better chance
of being elected pope than we have of Mr.
Saddam Hussein leaving the country,” Capt.
Thomas A. Parker said aboard the USS Kitty
Hawk — an aircraft carrier preparing to take
on a supply of 1,000-pound, satellite-guided
bombs from a nearby munitions ship. “So this
is probably going to follow to its logical con
clusion.”
As the hours dwindled toward Bush’s
deadline, the White House worked to keep
Saddam guessing.
Presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer
would not rule out a U.S. attack before Bush’s
48-hour clock ran out. “Saddam Hussein has
to figure out what this means,” he said.
One official, speaking on strict condition
of anonymity, said Bush was leaving the
door open in case Saddam makes a pre-emp
tive attack or U.S. intelligence warns that
one is likely.
Underscoring what Bush said on Monday
night, Fleischer said U.S. troops would enter
Iraq, either as an invading force or as part of
an unmolested effort to locate weapons of
mass destruction.
At the same time the administration pre
pared for an invasion, it announced a series of
steps at home to protect against terrorist attacks.
“We know that our interests have been
attacked abroad. And we should prepare for
potential attacks, either here or abroad at
this time,” said Homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge.
The plan, dubbed “Operation Liberty
Shield,” heightens security at the nation’s bor
ders, airports, seaports and railways, at
Foreign opinions of the United States
Many countries have an unfavorable opinion of the United States,
according to a recent poll. In addition, fewer Americans approve
President Bush’s handling on foreign policy.
Favorable opinion of the United States
CZD 1999-2000 HI 2002 Bi March 2003
100 percent
Britain France Germany
*2002 data unavailable
Do you approve or disapprove of
the way George W. Bush is
handling the nation’s foreign
policy? (Responses for U.S. only)
■■ Approve L J Disapprove
I I Don’t know/refused to answer
Spain* Poland Russia Turkey
If Iraq is disarmed and Saddam
Hussein is removed from power
by the U.S. and its allies, do you
think the Middle East region will
be more stable or less stable in
the long run than it is now?
More stable I I Less stable
70 percent
Aug Sep Oct Mar Apr
2001 2002
U.S. Britain Russia Turkey
NOTE: The poll is based on interviews with 5,520 people in nine nations from March
10-17 with a margin of error varying from 3.5 to 5 percentage points.
See Iraq on page 2 SOURCE: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
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Kyle Carlton:
Campaign stresses
service projects, unity
CARLTON
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
Service, Kyle Carlton said, is
a centerpiece of his campaign
for student body president.
In the student senate,
Carlton helped formulate the
Texas Aggies Building Spirit
(TABS) proposal, a fall pro
gram based on service projects.
Carlton said the eventual
implementation of TABS is one
of his top priorities. Students
would be involved in designing
and building projects across
the state in partnership with
Habit for Humanity, and the
leftover wood from the build
ings could be used to make a
scrap fire, he said.
“It’s about coming together
to make a difference, and
building bonds through serv
ice,” said Carlton, a junior
finance major. “We can take a
horrible tragedy and turn it into
something positive.”
Texas A&M President Robert
M. Gates has said Bonfire
would remain on hiatus until lit
igation is resolved.
Carlton said he would
oppose efforts by Unity Project
to hold an off-campus bonfire
this fall.
“(An off-campus bonfire)
only serves to divide the Aggie
family,” he said.
The camaraderie and unity
inspired by the TABS service
project would also create a more
welcoming and diverse environ
ment on campus, Carlton said.
Although he opposes using race
as a factor in admissions or
financial aid, Carlton said he
supports efforts to target more
private scholarship money to
minorities and working with
black and Hispanic student
groups to recruit more minority
students.
Carlton said he would
encourage involvement in cam
pus activities by publishing a
weekly calendar of events.
Students are often unaware of
pLMtLI
Student Body^
E
This is the second of three installments featuring two of the six
candidates for student body president The profiles are based on
candidate interviews with The Battalion editorial board.
Stoney Burke:
Advocate of campus
relations, involvement
BURKE
the events and functions put on
by student groups, leaving many
events underattended, Carlton
said.
“(An events calendar) would
enable Aggies to support other
Aggies,” Carlton said.
Carlton said he supported the
student fee increases that were
voted down by students in the
fee referendum in February. If
students had known more about
what the fee hikes would be
spent on, they would have voted
for the increases, Carlton said.
Carlton said he is open to
supporting some forms of
tuition deregulation, but would
oppose giving the A&M
University System Board of
Regents unrestricted authority
to set tuition rates.
Student government is most
effective when it works closely
with University administration
Carlton said.
“Regents and administrators
will listen to students if you pres
ent a good case,” Carlton said.
By Rob Phillips
THE BATTALION
If elected Texas A&M stu
dent body president, former
Student Government
Association vice president for
campus relations Stoney Burke
said he will “actively represent
the Aggie student community”
by setting attainable goals for
strengthening the University
now, not later.
Burke, a senior international
studies major, said he wants to
increase student involvement on
campus by placing more empha
sis on extracurricular activities,
establishing online message
boards within student govern
ment and educating students
about campus issues such as
new fees and parking changes.
“(Getting students more
involved) is something that’s a
cliche that you’ll hear every year,
but you never can have enough
involvement,” Burke said.
Burke said he voted in favor
of all three fee increases in the
February fee referendum, but
said there is a difference
between voting simply for per
sonal reasons and making deci
sions that affect the entire stu
dent body.
“If I’m sitting at the chair of
the Student Fee Advisory
Board, I have to look at that
and be like, ‘How is this going
to affect students,’ and I have to
get adequate feedback on that,”
he said.
A&M needs a more wel
coming and diverse environ
ment, Burke said.
“Every single student at this
University pays the exact same
amount of tuition and fees, but
we don’t all receive the exact
same amount of respect,”
Burke said.
Burke said he would like to
get students more involved in
improving community respect
for minorities by establishing
incentive-based diversity pro
grams that provide academic
extra credit for students who
participate.
“Some of them may be just
thinking about academic extra
credit, but once they’re in that
room they could learn so
much,” he said.
Burke said he will focus on
returning the burning of
Bonfire to campus in some
shape or form and building it
up from there.
“We have to start small and
I think the administration has
shown that the burning can be
feasible and we can start small
with that burning and build
up,” he said. “And how that
burning takes place, whether or
not that’s through a service
project, that seems to be possi
bly in the works.”
As SBP, Burke said, he
would not support the Unity
Project off-campus bonfire,
saying it impedes the efforts to
bring Bonfire back to campus.