STATE
’HE BATTALION
man
d
color became gray-
Maturino Resent
ported similar blad-
other killings, includ-
episode on Dec. 17o[
when, during a
;a break-in, he found
Dught were abortion-
terials. Enraged, lie
ped and killed Dr.
:nton in the murder
him on death row.
)1 letter to his trial
Hannon, Maturino
iccurately described
o home, down to tie
behind the lot, tno
ence styles lining tie
and “some big tree
touches the house."
Jer if Diamantina
>jaco will beletgofor
rat 1 did,” he wrote,
aid Darryl Kolojaco
5 access to a car tie
s slaying ^nd could
licked up Maturino
Also, Wisner said
Resendiz mispro-
dojaco’s first name,
r inconsistencies,
ry does not died
npossible,” Wisner
Resendiz’s comic-
itence recently were
the Texas Court of
ppeals. His coun-
tomeys will continue
e process unless he
which will requires
imion that he is com-
«ce such a decision,
n holds such a hear-
allows Maturino
stop his appeals,the
1 set an execution
:h hearing currently
hough Maturino
insanity claim was
Harris County jury,
orney Les Ribni
> client is unstable
lold the secrets of
gs that would die
a the Texas dea ;
ot self
sh Creek Bridge on
long the waterway
weapon had been
n the remote area of
:y on the northern
ingel ing Wildlife
et holes through the
hrough the driver's
or with the Texas
isings recovered at
the type of'pistol
r Green.”
: evidence also was
I by the Anderson
*ounds” on Green's
ith the information
“...There is noevi-
is (Green’s) verbal
med that two wril-
i have been recov-
jicide notes,
irovided to us by
.ink said,
irt-time dispatcher
as a 10-year veter-
ear from the Drug
three children.
0 Texas. Taken: CD
'2 p.m. Burglary of
1 Dominik. Taken:
13 p.m. Warrant
t/family violence),
17 p.m. Making
ole, 313 S. College
;t.
58 p.m. Making
ole, 313 S. College
st.
01 a.m. Warrant
tg arrest, evading
tic threat), 313 5.
a.m. Making alco-
217 University Dt-
1 a.m. Aggravated
>H 6 S. No injuries,
a.m. Major acci-
: oster. Bruises and
injury.
> a.m. Runaway,
other.
Aggielife: Give me a home • Page 3
Opinion: Lackluster Legislature • Page 5
BATTALIO
Volume 109 • Issue 149-6 pages
109 Years Serving Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
ranks
Goals for diversifying
THE CORPS
By Karen Yancey
THE BATTALION
The new Junior Cadet
Achievement Program, started by the
Corps of Cadets in 2002 to diversify
the Corps, is expected to bring results
s fall, Corps staff said.
The program focuses on recruiting
high school students from the Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps, said
Sgt. Gen. Maj. Dennis Hastings, assis
tant director of recruiting for the Corps.
The Junior ROTC is a program that
offers leadership training mirroring that
of the military.
“We are focusing on the Junior
ROTC because it is beautifully
diverse,” Hastings said.
About 38 percent of the Junior
ROTC is black, 37 percent white, 24
percent Hispanic and the remaining 1
percent consists of Asians and other
ethnic groups. Forty-nine percent are
women and 51 percent are men,
Hastings said.
“Among the ladies, 60 percent are in
leadership positions,” he said.
There are half a million Junior ROTC
cadets nationwide, and 650 high schools
in Texas have Jr. ROTC programs.
The JCAP recognizes the achieve
ments of Junior ROTC cadets and
invites them to see the Corps at Texas
A&M, Hastings said.
“The first time they ran the program
in 2002 it was a success, and they have
run the program two more times since
then,” he said. “It is significant for
A&M to be attracting these outstanding
minority students because they are
highly sought after by other schools.”
Applicants to the JCAP are repre
sented by 30 different states, and
requests for applications have come
from Italy and Germany.
Students coming from the JCAP
will be more diverse in gender and eth
nicity than the typical class entering the
Corps, Hastings said.
“(A&M) President (Robert M.)
Gates has been extremely supportive of
our progress in this program,” he said.
The key factor of success in the pro
gram is the Commandant of the Corps
of Cadets, Lt. Gen. John VanAlstyne,
he said. Since he came here, he has
been a strong force pushing the pro
gram forward. Maj. Joseph “Doc"
Mills, director of public relations for
the Corps, said they will not know what
the numbers for the freshman class will
look like until freshman orientation
week. However, he
pointed out that the
Corps can only admit
students who are
already accepted to
A&M.
“Since A&M is
not very diverse, the
Corps is not very
diverse,” Mills said.
Hastings said cur
rent cadets are aware
of what is happening
because they are
directly involved in
the Spend the Night with the Corps
program where they see the people who
are interested in joining.
“The cadets are involved in contact
ing these outstanding students, hosting
them and in the post-recruiting effort,”
Junior Cadet Achievement
Program, started in 2002
New equal opportunity
officer position
— Increase the Corps'
retention rate of
freshmen female
cadets
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE: CORPS OF CADETS
he said.
Commander Paula Monge has host
ed many Spend the Night with the
Corps programs.
See Coros on cage 2
Fiery destruction
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Bryan firefighters battle a blaze in the 5000 block of Leonard Road ignited near the hot water heater in her garage. Shirk and her son
near Riverside Campus on Monday evening. Though the cause returned home from dinner in time to witness two sides of their
remains undetermined, resident Leslie Shirk said flames may have house collapsing. Shirk said her cat and dog died in the blaze.
Gates: fall tuition
will hold steady
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
There will be no further
tuition increases for the fall,
Texas A&M President
Robert M. Gates said in a
memo Monday.
However, students
should brace themselves for
an increase in the spring
semester.
“We will do all we can to
keep that increase as low as
possible,” Gates said.
The University’s funding
for the next two years seems
to be positive as A&M ended
up with a total reduction in
state revenue of about .5 per
cent, Gates said.
The budget includes an
allocation by the Legislature
of $10 million for each of
the next two years to add
more faculty.
Gates said A&M is not
suffering as many deficit
problems as institutions in
40 other states, and overall,
the state of Texas has been
treated well.
“In some (states), state
funding for higher education
is being slashed,” Gates said.
“Both academic programs
and tuition are being affect
ed dramatically. That has not
happened here.”
During the past 10 years,
the number of tenured facul
ty at A&M has declined in
eight of the nine colleges,
and that puts a negative bur
den on the student-faculty
ratio, class size, the percent
age of freshmen and sopho
mores taught by tenured fac
ulty and the overall national
rank of the University, Gates
said.
“We are going to turn this
around,” Gates said, “and the
Legislature has given us the
wherewithal to begin.”
Gates said it is the
University’s plan to hire 100
new tenured faculty during
fiscal year 2004 and will
continue to add new faculty
during the next four years.
The negative side to the
budget is that the University
has an estimated state rev
enue of $208.5 million for
fiscal year 2004, which will
be used mostly to pay
salaries and benefits. That
figure is $1.3 million lower
than what was available dur
ing fiscal year 2003, Gates
said.
Even with the approval of
the enhancement fee last
year, A&M still has $20 mil
lion in fiscal requirements
above and beyond the rev
enue provided by the state.
See Tuition on page 2
Bush Drive E. closed for expansion
Faculty examine health care cuts
By Amanda Land
THE BATTALION
Douglas Slack, a professor from the
Department of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
presented a state senate proposal to the Faculty
Senate Monday that will reduce health benefits
of part-time state employees.
Slack said that the proposal recommends that
the state contributes no more than 50 percent of
part-time employees’ insurance costs.
This would increase graduate student monthly
health insurance costs by more than $600, he said.
Slack encouraged faculty to find a solution to
help ease the expense for graduate students.
The Senate also approved a five-year joint
bachelors and masters degree in health educa
tion, certificates in supply chain management
offered to Mays Business School MBA. inter
national business, MSA and MS students and
certificate programs in sustainable urbanism and
tree removement.
Additionally, the Senate approved that courses
taken through the study abroad program will satis
fy the core curriculum, international and cultural
diversity requirement.
Hurtado vies for VP of diversity spot
By Rob Munson
THE BATTALION
The City of College Station
has closed one lane of George
Bush Drive East from Texas
Avenue to Dominik Drive as
construction begins to widen the
heavily traveled road.
The $2.3 million project,
scheduled to be completed by
February 2004, will transform
George Bush Drive East from
two lanes to four lanes. Lanes
for biking and walking are also
included in plans.
Glenn Brown, College
Station’s assistant city manag
er, said that the $2.3 million
includes construction and land
acquisitions.
Nineteen parcels of land
were acquired from College
Station residents along the
road, but no land was con
demned and no legal proceed
ing came out of the long, stren
uous process, he said.
Brown said George Bush
Drive East serves dual functions
because it starts in an east-west
direction from Texas Avenue
and then turns north-south
before reaching Dominik Drive.
“The project will improve
George Bush Drive East.,” he
said. “The traffic will flow bet
ter so motorists can get to
points east and west and north
and south.”
Brown said the need for a
four-lane street stems from the
traffic bottleneck created by tak
ing two lanes away from George
Bush Drive when drivers cross
Texas Avenue.
No current plans exist to
widen the road to four lanes
from Dominik Drive to Harvey
Road.
Brown said the east-bound
lane off Texas Avenue is open
now, but will likely be closed for
construction when west-bound
lanes are completed.
Eddie Sherman, a senior
nuclear engineering major, said
the timing of the project will
present problems for him and
other drivers.
“George Bush Drive East is
the beginning of a shortcut I use
to get around all the traffic lights
on Harvey Road,” Sherman said.
“I think it will only compound
the traffic problems College
Station has in the fall.”
Sherman said that while he
believes many drivers will find
themselves at odds with con
struction during the summer and
fall, widening George Bush
See Bush on page 2
By Justin Smith
THE BATTALION
With a more diverse faculty,
there will be a trickle-down
effect and a change in curricu
lum and enrollment, said Dr.
Sylvia Hurtado, the second of
three candidates slated to make
an appearance on the Texas
A&M campus in hopes of net
ting the newly formed position
of vice president of diversity
and associate provost for institu
tional diversity.
Hurtado gave a presentation
Monday on how A&M can pro
pel itself into being a leader of
research universities.
Hurtado said she feels that
the quickest way to diversify a
school is to begin with the facul
ty-
She said bringing a diverse
faculty to a university, along
with reaching
japPllgk out to the com-
jBrU munity and nur-
9 ,/«»•%. flp luring relation
al ships, can help
diversity grow
Hi and produce a
well-balanced
HURTADO cr0 p ^ stU( j entS5
bringing prestige to the school.
Hurtado, who currently
serves as the division chair and
director of the Center for the
Study of Higher and Post
Secondary Education at the
University of Michigan, out
lined the continual process that
a school could take to broaden
its diversity horizons.
“My goal is to work myself
out of a job because that would
mean we are living in a society
where there is understanding
and respect,” she said.
She said that a school should
first look at campus traditions,
history and enrollment when
deciding what to do when diver
sifying. She said attempts should
be made to build and improve on
a school’s past without treading
on tradition.
Hurtado said that diversify
ing the faculty is one key factor,
but not the only step.
“You want to continually
See VP on page 2
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Construction crews work on widening the former two-lane George Bush
Drive East on Monday.