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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2003)
i THE BATTALIA S ed from page j| increase the i give married coupls tandard deduction,! :d lawmakers to* nesses to expense t ). hite House contimis or complete elim» taxes on divides Hommerce Secretan ans met with y and told repottej o “get it to zero." idend cut’s hefty cm isury — nearly SK constructed as wants — has pn re for lawmakers mil budget for tax a e allocated less to tax cuts, settinji SO billion. Democrats coi /ednesday that III policy will do ney in the handsd who died, i. “It’s clear tit (heir memory will Aggielife i leaders’ top prion el ping hard-press# ass families,’’ sail t-S.D. criticized ideas ill ular tax cuts for pat LION uring the fall and spnngsee y holidays and exam peiiods|t ). POSTMASTER: Send aid® 77843-1111. versity in the DivisionofStadenl McDonald Building, taw® i /www.theb3lt.com / nent by The Battalion. Foica^ sing, call 845-0569. Ad0&/| /through Friday. Fax: 8018. dent to pick up a sing! per school year, $30 foitlielal Visa, MasterCard, Discow,# The Battalion Page 3A • Friday, May 2, 2003 A memory in progress More than three years after Bonfire’s collapse, sculptors and architects continue to create a memorial Miranda Adams Three years fter the 1999 ,ggie Bonfire dllapse shook :he University, ifforts are reing made to ray tribute to he memory of the 12 Aggies ADAMS free n i 111 it st* * A«fcM bridge HEARD WEST Nathan Scott West, "Scott," had wanted to attend Texas since he was in junior school. West, ath a n ' s father, said chose A&M because that's where his friends wanted to go. West's future at A&M was cut short, however, when he was in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. Richard West has seen plans for the Bonfire memorial because he served on the jury that chose the design. He said he is pleased with the plans chosen and believes that the memorial will be a fitting ibute to the 12 Aggies who lost See West on page 8A Lucas Kimmel Lucas Kimmel loved everyth i n g about Texas His high school friend, lames Winton, now a senior fology major, said, "Lucas boked forward to being in the Corps, Bonfire and his Aggie Ring." Lucas was killed just a few months into his freshman year in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse never get to experience these things. Lucas was a biomedical sci ences major, a member of Company D-2 in the Corps of Cadets and a recipient of a ROTC scholarship. Winton said even dur- high school in their home town of Corpus Christi, Lucas always spoke about going to KIMMEL See Kimmel on page 4A By Kendra Kingsley THE BATTALION be immortal- zed through different monu ments and tablets in their honor. Miranda Adams was only a jun- nority Leader Tos ™ * Te f, as A&M when the Bonfire collapse ended her life. She was survived by family mem bers including her older brother „ , . Mark Adams, who is a senior aeri- 5 mall businesses# cu | tura | deygiopment ■ room for the r sal. deeply disturbed the Republican leak willing to sacrii the child tax our working familie m for president’s!' redit proposal,” fords, I-Vt. major. Adams recently got the chance to see the plans and blueprints for See Adams on page 4A Christopher Heard With aspirations of becoming a lavy Seal commando like his ither, Christopher Heard joined Corps of Cadets Company K-2 at Texas A&M in 1999 but was killed in the Nov. 18 Bonfire collapse his freshman year. This year, Christopher would have been a senior and eligible to in as a Marine in the summer 2003, according to the Aggie Daily, "He was a Marine in every sense of the «d," said Col Jim irteleben, a pal science professo r, according to the Aggie Daily. Sachteleben requested that Heard be named an "Honorary Marine." The title See Heard on page 4A Nathan Scott West BULVERDE, Texas — Nestled in the Texas hill country, Erik Christianson’s studio has become an integral part of an Aggie tradition. In this tiny town, his garage-tumed-studio houses photos, biographies and clay sculptures of the 12 1999 Aggie Bonfire victims. Commissioned to sculpt bio-portraits — sculpted portraits of each student — Christianson spends his days and nights carefully breathing life into once un formed clumps of clay. “I want to capture those students’ true charac ter in my work,” he said. “Having photos (of the students) is always really important, but knowing their personalities always helps with adding expression to the bio-portrait. Each one of the stu dents has his own little spark, and I’m trying to put that in there.” Christianson said he first became interested in sculpture as a 14-year-old living in Hawaii. While there, he met a University of Hawaii professor who practiced the Hari Krishna religion. “(The sculptor) was always welding, sculpting and buffing models of his gods” Christianson said. “I became very interested in what he was doing, and he saw that I had a knack for recog nizing proportions.” More than 20 years later, Christianson became a part of Texas A&M history when he was com missioned by the University to sculpt bio-portraits of the 12 Bonfire victims. The bio-portraits, which will be cast in bronze and feature the like ness of each student killed in the Nov. 18, 1999 Bonfire Collapse, are the only handmade ele ments of the Bonfire Memorial. Because of the intense detail involved with each bio-portrait, Christianson said he must see at least seven photographs of each student before he begins to sculpt. The victims’ parents are also consulted when Christianson makes final changes to the bio-portraits. “When families come to look (at the bio-por- traits), they immediately look into theif son or daughter’s eyes and try to determine what needs to be changed,” he said. “Some people have a good eye for detail, and some will say T don’t know what it is. but something’s off.’” When Richard West’s family first saw his son Scott’s bio-portrait, his daughter immediately pin pointed minor differences between her brother and the clay image. Christianson. West said, was more than willing to correct the sculpture. “He’s an excellent artist and I think he’s doing his best to recreate the portraits that the families have given him,” West said. “He’s doing a very accurate job, from what I can tell.” Christianson said he expected strong reactions when family members saw the bio-portraits for the first time, but has been impressed with the strength all, so far. have shown. Richard West said he was satisfied with his son’s bio-portrait from the moment he saw it. “(The bio-portrait) was what we expected,” he said. “We’d already seen one before we went and looked at ours, and Erik knew what we wanted before he ever started on it.” For Christianson, such a reaction is its own reward. “My ultimate goal is to make families happy with the bio-portraits,” he said. “If the family doesn’t like the bio-portrait. I’ll start from scratch and do it all over again.” Christianson said that because he researches each student before working on their bio-portrait — a process which takes an average of 15 days — the project has become a more intimate endeavor. “Each individual you do makes the project very personal,” he said. “I love doing the artwork and 1 feel like I almost know each of the kids, but I wish I had been able to meet them under differ ent circumstances.” While he has created well-known sculptures, such as the life-size sculpture of.Juan Seguin in Seguin, Texas’ Central Park. Christianson said his current project has affected him in a way other projects have not. See Memorial on page 7A JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION Sculptor Erik Christianson said studying photographs and drawing preliminary sketches of Miranda Adams helped him capture ‘‘the essence of her big smile and warm personality” when sculpting her bio-portrait. Chad Powell As a sopho more in Dr. Jeff Morgan's honors calcu lus class, Chad Powell did not go unnoticed. "He was a super guy, very well-liked by his classmates," Morgan said. "1 was teaching a very sharp group, and Chad was one of the top kids." The class met five times a week and cultivated several close friendships.When Bonfire fell, Morgan said, the class- Jeremy Frampton POWELL Jerry Don Self Although it has been three years since the Bonfire that Jerry Aggie Collapse, made Don Self, a jun ior engineering major, one of its 12 victims, SELF See Powell on page 7A friends and family believe his memory is still alive. Self's tribute Web site, http://www.lamarvikings.com/tr ibute, has been a means for friends, family and peers to share their thoughts and feel ings about his loss. One tribute See Self on page 4A Jeremy Frampton was a senior at Texas A&M when he lost his life in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. FRAMPTON Jeremy's father, Richard Frampton, said he looks for ward to writing about his son for the memorial because he has so many things he wants to say he doesn't know if it will all fit. Frampton went to San Bryan McClain An agricul ture major from San Antonio, Texas, Bryan McClain had seen the 1998 Bonfire burn. The fol lowing year, MCCLAIN See Frampton on page 7A he became part of Texas A&M's history when he was killed in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. McClain, who attended James Madison high school and had been on the swim team, was a member of See McClain on page 8A FRANKS Michael Ebanks When Sara Thornton met Michael Ebanks in the M S C Flagroom, she did not know how much her life would be changed. 'The day before Bonfire fell, I was studying in the MSC, and I noticed this guy who was playing the piano," said Thornton, an urban planning graduate stu dent. "I started talking to him, and I found out that he loved Bonfire. It was pretty much his life that semester." When Bonfire collapsed the following night, Thornton said See Ebanks on page 4A Christopher Breen Christopher Breen, the youngest of seven sib lings, was the first in his family to attend Texas A&M. His brothers and sisters had all attended The University of Texas, but Breen broke out of the family mold by attending A&M and joining the Corps of Cadets. A former Bonfire brown pot and 1996 graduate, Breen returned to A&M in 1999 to help build Bonfire. Early on the morning of November 18, 1999, his family received the call that BREEN See Breen on page 8A Tim Kerlee When Tim Kerlee Jr. packed his bags and left Bartlett, Tenn., to join the Aggie com munity, he soon became part of In the aftermath of losing their son in the Bonfire collapse, Tim Sr. and Janice Kerlee left Tennessee to live in College Station and become closer to the community where their son spent his finals days. Janice Kerlee said she is pleased with the Bonfire Memorial's progress. "I think (Overland KERLEE HAND See Kerlee on page 4A Jamie Hand Jamie Hand came to A&M because it was " a fami ly thing," her sister Kristen said. "Our oldest sister also went here, and she always talked about it," Hand said. "I guess that is why Jamie wanted to come here, too." Hand has seen the plans for the Bonfire Memorial and she said that it would honor Jamie and fulfill its purpose. "I saw a sample, and it is going to do what it was made to do," Hand said. "But it can't tell a life story." Hand said that although it was a hard situation, there is always something good to be found in the bad. Kristen met one of the redpots through the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse, and now they are engaged. "I might not have met him if not for what happened," Hand said. "He is my soulmate." -Sarah Darr
