THE BATH
Tuition
Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Friday, March 28, 2003
comp
111 IN
Continued fronipj; ;
block since Febnian
student efforts tosavet
‘‘Where the cutswiS
hurt A&M is in prop;
the Dairy Science
Parker said. “We'll»
Dairy Science
the floor when tnisisou
Coventry said he
“just get back to tilt
were before” all the
cuts took place.
“We would have to
$23 more per seraesiei
Obviously we’re
be able to do that," heat
One proposed
between budget cuts an
ulation is differential
which would set difa:
for classes based on
department, and a flat
which would set a ras
semester for students
less of the number o
they choose to take.
"The hybrid of deressl
is differential tuition,"
said. “Personally, fra
favor.”
A&M System Qa
Howard Graves is tenia
supporting a deregi
sponsored by S
Florence Shapiro, wl
schools to raise
times the amount cm;
charged at all state institut
Students realize thate
will rise eventually, hut
would rather a govern
institution implementit.
“I’m against derepli
because eventually, mil
going to go up anyway.
Lindsay Shanklin, ajunio
keting major and student!
eminent representative. 1 pi
having the government sell
rate instead of deregulate
Regents
Continued from page j
Regents, the highest gt
body at A&M. Only ones®
showed up to do so.
Jessica Daniel, a soplffi
psychology major, cited h
m computers and
signs in classrooms
)f how the University sl»
spend money more effe
>efore raising fees.
“Fees may have to
increased, but maybe iff
vas spent more efficient!
vouldn't be (as many) hi
roblems,” Daniel said.
Singing for the moment
Alpha Idol competition recreates American IdoV on campus
By Nishat Fatima
THE BATTALION
Take thousands of superstar wannabes, a
scathing judge and a few million dollars worth
if high-profile sponsors, and you have a hit tel-
vision series. If you take several talented
ocals, the not-so corporate sponsorship of
ientury Scholars and Alpha Phi Alpha, and
it with some heart, you have Alpha Idol.
Unlike its mainstream predecessor. Alpha
ol’s main purpose is not to find the stars of
oday. Rather, with the help of some creative
participants, it is a fund-raising event to help
the Aggies of tomorrow.
Luis Lugo, one of Alpha Idol’s founders, is
member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Lugo, also a Century Scholar, said the idea for
the event came after he was approached by the
Century Scholars to assist in a fund-raiser.
“One of my brothers in my fraternity sug
gested that we incorporate the ‘American Idol’
theme into the fund-raiser to make it more
interesting and appealing,” said Lugo, a sopho
more chemical engineering major. “Everybody
in Alpha Phi Alpha liked the idea, so we took
the idea back to the Century Scholars office
and decided to call it Alpha Idol.”
Shasta Porchia, recruitment and retention
co-coordinator at the Office of Honors
Programs and Academic Scholarships, said the
event came to form after Century Scholars
decided to raise funds for future Aggie Century
Scholars.
“Since we are always encouraging the
Century Scholars to get involved in community
service events like this, we immediately said
yes,”’ she said
Porchia said Century Scholars wanted to
have a fund-raiser to help Century Scholars
who are seniors in high school and have
already been accepted to Texas A&M, but do
not have the money to attend new student con
ferences.
The contest was open to any
body who was interested, regard
less of age or location. Audition
tapes and videos were taken before
the event took place, Lugo said.
“We even received a lot of out-
of-town contestants, and many that
weren’t even students,” Lugo said.
“The judges watched the videos and
narrowed it down to 10 finalists,
who will perform at the actual
event Sunday night.”
Lugo said some audition videos
will be shown at the event, as
well.
To separate the event from
“American Idol”, Lugo said
there will be a “Showtime at
the Apollo” twist to Alpha
Idol. Fully equipped with
a master of ceremonies,
Lugo said the Apollo
theme will bring humor radhika
to the event.
“Since we aren’t going to hurt or offend
anybody, we decided to add a comedic MC to
take care of the humor element,” Lugo said.
“We are aiming to have the MC interact with
the crowd and get them involved and really
in to it. “
Winning the Alpha Idol contest could mean
more than just 15 minutes of fame. The winner
will receive a cash prize of $500, Lugo said.
Hesfree Talents will also have scouts attend
ing the event.
“It’s exposure and fun while helping
out a good cause,” he said. “It’s basically
a win-win situation for the contestants.”
At the competition, the 10 will be
narrowed down to five, and from
those five, one Alpha Idol per
former will be selected as the
winner. Porchia said aside from
talent and stage presence,
crowd reaction will be a major
factor in choosing the winning
THIRUNARAYANAN • THE BATTALION performer.
“The audience is going to be a big indicator
for us,” said Porchia, who is one of the event’s
four judges. “Even in ‘American Idol’, it ulti
mately comes down to what the audience
wants. I think that the judges get a lot of cues
from the audience.”
Porchia said Alpha Idol will have the same
basic elements as Fox’s hit TV series, except
for a judge everybody loves to hate, such as
Simon Cowell from “American Idol.”
“Fm a fan of ‘American Idol’ myself, and I
think that it’s the bluntness that makes it so
appealing,” she said. “But, since Alpha Idol is
for a good cause, we have no intention of being
rude or even bluntly honest. Even when we
were watching the taped auditions, we didn’t
feel like we were in the position of criticizing
anybody’s musical talents. We hope that the
event will be a fun and different type of com
munity service fund-raiser.”
Christopher Brient, a member of Alpha Phi
Alpha, was also a judge for the initial auditions and
said he thoroughly enjoyed the judging process.
“We all took notes based on the performanc
es,” said Brient, a senior agricultural journal
ism major. “I enjoyed giving the contestants
some constructive criticism. Right now, I am
looking forward to the battles between the
finalists.”
Organizers hope to make Alpha Idol an
annual event, Brient said.
Lela Flores, a freshman general studies
major, said she has been an avid follower of
“American Idol” since its debut on the small
screen last year and plans to attend Sunday’s
competition.
“I think it was a great idea to take ‘American
Idol’ and incorporate it into a good cause,” she
said. “It’s also a change from all of the regular
bake sale and car wash type of fund-raisers.”
Alpha Idol will premiere on Sunday, March
30, inside Rudder Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $7.
THE ONLY THING WHITE
Madeleine aidti
o speak on campi
Former Secretary of Sill
ladeleine Albright and!(
mbassador to Israel and
dward P. Djerejian will dif
ability in the Middle East*
at 8 p.m. in
uditorium as part oftM
acture Series.
Albright served as theE
,S. Secretary of State andis :
st woman to
in. She is also the #
nking woman in the hi#
e United States,
Djerejian is an expert onp
il, economic, security and [i ;
aus issues in the Midc
Pickets are available
SC Box Office, rangir
-7 for students and Jl(Tl‘
n-students. For more
ition, call 845-1234,
PALIOt
)r in Chief
chad Crow, Sports Editor
ris Jackson, Sci/Tech Editor
in Livas, I’lioto Editor
ben DeLuna, Graphics Editor
ic Brown, Radio Producer
Webmaster
lily, Monday through Friday du# !:
lursday during the summer sess !
s A&M Univensity. Periodicals (W#
nd address changes to The Balt*'
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