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AccilUFi: CCR remembers hospitality after wreck • Page 3
OPINION: Legalize it • Page 5
THE
Illume 109-1 Issue 155 • 8 pages fljfl®
UPD: $120K in stolen campus goods recovered
109 Years Serving Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Thursday, June 19, 2003
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
More than $120,000 worth of equip
ment taken from the K A MU-TV van
and Rumours Cafe on June 6 and June
11 was recovered Tuesday night, said
University Police Department Director
Bob Wiatt.
UPD has identified a suspect who
has admitted involvement in both
burglaries.
Wiatt said a College Station resident
called police Tuesday and said he
thought his son bought the equipment
that was reported as stolen.
“A local good citizen advised us that
all the property was at his residence
and a friend of his son learned from
The Batt article that it was stolen,”
Wiatt said.
The citizen’s son contacted the sus
pect a week ago, because he and a
friend wanted to start their own video
studio, and told the suspect that he
would be interested in buying the video
equipment. The two boys went and
looked at the equipment and bought it
at a reduced price,
Wiatt said.
Rod Zent, director
of educational broad
cast services at KAMU,
said he was surprised
things worked in their
favor.
“I didn’t expect to see
(the equipment) again,” he said.
Zent said he did not know the con
dition of the equipment or if it still
worked properly, but he is glad it was
recovered.
WIATT
“(The truck) is a major part of our
work,” he said. “Our next project is
A&M’s graduation in August, and a lot
of folks depend on that to see their kids
graduate if they can’t make it to Reed
Arena.”
Zent said KAMU may have to pur
chase new equipment for the gradua
tion, but that will not be determined
until a final analysis of the equipment
is complete.
“They will probably tackle most of
it (today),” he said.
KAMU employees discovered the
van was burglarized 48 hours after the
last time it was driven, which was June
4. Wiatt said the suspect broke through
the passenger side door and crawled
through a small space to get to the back
of the truck.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, UPD had
not turned over any equipment to
Rumours management, Wiatt said.
On June 11, someone knocked over a
wall that separated the cafeteria and the
entertainment area and took more than
$10,000 worth of equipment, including a
42-inch flat panel television.
PERRY
■ ■
:H • THE BATTALION
urselanes, are a
t and must be
Governor calls
special session
By Jim Vertuno
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday called the
Texas Legislature back to the Capitol for a summer spe
cial session on congressional redistricting, reigniting the
issue that sparked a bitterly partisan fight and a dramatic
Democratic walkout in the House during the regular
session.
The 30-day special session will begin June 30. It would
be the state’s first since then-Gov. Ann Richards, a
Democrat, called one on public education in
late 1992.
Perry announced the session in a letter to
fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. David
Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom
Craddick. The letter said the Legislature,
not the federal courts, should be responsible
for drawing voting districts. The current
congressional district map was drafted by
courts after lawmakers failed to approve a plan in 2001.
The governor also said the session could be expanded to
include other “important matters.”
“The recently completed regular session clearly demon
strates that legislators — regardless of political party affili
ation and philosophy — can work together to address issues
important to Texans,” the letter said. “I am confident that
Democrats and Republicans can likewise work together to
develop a map that is fair, compact and protects communi
ties of interest.”
Partisan bickering resurfaced within minutes of Perry’s
announcement; it started with the Republicans.
“We commend Governor Perry for showing courageous
leadership by calling a special session and not allowing
Democrats to continue to disenfranchise Texas voters,”
state Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Weddington
said. “Democrats have stifled Texans’ voices for their own
political gain for too long.”
Perry’s move has been expected since more than 50
Democrats, dubbed the “Killer D’s”, fled to Oklahoma to
kill a redistricting bill in May. Backed by U.S. House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the bill would have shifted the
balance of power in the Texas delegation to the GOP.
U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Arlington, whose district
could be changed, accused Perry of spending the estimated
$1.7 million it costs to hold a special session to “become the
most overtly partisan governor in Texas history.”
“Is there nothing that Governor Perry won’t sacrifice to
do the partisan dirty work of Tom DeLay and the
Republican National Committee?” Frost said.
DeLay has fought for congressional redistricting, argu
ing that results in state elections show that Texas should
have more GOP representatives in Congress. The current
split favors Democrats, 17-15.
The map under consideration when Democrats broke the
House quorum required to conduct business would probably
See Session on page 2
Veterinary veteran
A&M System’s Carter led first vet forces into Afghanistan
By Megan Orton
THE BATTALION
In the deserts of Afghanistan, Lt.
Craig Carter’s role was to ensure the
safety of all the water and food eaten
by soldiers, to facilitate mine and
explosive detection efforts and to
watch the health of working dogs.
Carter, head of the epidemiology
and informatics department at the
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic
Laboratories, was recently awarded
the Bronze Star Medal for leading the
first veterinary forces into
Afghanistan in January 2002.
“I accept this award on behalf of
all my soldiers through whose blood
and sweat accomplished all missions
and made me look good,” he said.
Carter is a member of the 994th
Medical Detachment in Austin, which
entered Afghanistan during Operation
Anaconda. This mission, he said, was
aimed at flushing remaining Taliban
and al-Qaida fighters from the eastern
mountains on the Afghanistan-
Pakistan border.
Those dogs save untold numbers
of human lives through their heroic
efforts in combat environments,
Carter said.
“As veterinarians, we work side-
by-side with the military police,
mine detection squads and explosive
ordinance teams to ensure a safe
environment for the deployed sol
diers,” he said.
The deployment of Carter’s unit
involved many missions like the one
in Afghanistan and in surrounding
countries in Southwest Asia and the
Horn of Africa. These missions
sometimes led the 994th Medical
Detachment into dangerous
conditions.
“Our deployment meant living in
tents much of the time, enduring
extremes of cold and heat as high as
135 degrees Fahrenheit, dust storms,
dangerous snakes and insects, and
the constant threat of hostile fire,”
.
i
TERESA WEAVER • THE BATTALION
See Carter on page 2
A lieutenant and a veterinarian, Dr. Craig Carter is head of epidemiology and informatics at the
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory and a veteran of the 2002 Afghanistan mission.
Violence in Baghdad
leaves 3 men dead
By Arthur Max
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq —
American troops killed two
Iraqis on Wednesday after
Saddam Hussein’s former sol
diers tossed stones during a
protest outside the headquar
ters of the U.S.-led occupa
tion leaders.
Hours later, an attacker
gunned down a U.S. soldier,
capping one of the most vio
lent days, in the capital since
American forces quelled loot-
after the fall of Saddam’s
regime. The soldier and
another who was wounded
Were guarding a propane gas
distribution point.
The slain soldier was the
second American fatality in
Baghdad and the fourth across
Iraq this week — a series of
attacks that U.S. officials say
appear to be well-organized,
not just random killings.
The casualties brought to
188 the number of soldiers
killed in Iraq since the out
break of hostilities on
March 20.
The slain soldier was the
second American fatality in
Baghdad and the fourth across
Iraq this week. The casualties
brought to 188 the number of
soldiers killed in Iraq since
the outbreak of hostilities on
March 20.
Demonstrations have taken
place regularly outside the
arched gate leading to the
compound of Saddam’s for
mer Republican Palace, now
the political and military
nerve center of the U.S.
administration in Iraq. Past
protests, usually by former
soldiers and civil servants
demanding new jobs or back
Postwar death toll
Fifty U.S. servicemembers
have been killed in accidents
and attacks in Iraq since
major combat was declared
over May 1.
Attack
Gas to foot the bill for Qatar campus
SOURCE: Associated Press AP
wages, have been largely
peaceful.
On Wednesday, about 500
protesters confronted a line of
40 troops armed with
See Baghdad on page 2
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
All funding for Texas A&M’s
Qatar campus, scheduled to open
in September, will be provided
by the Qatar Foundation.
Dr. David Prior, executive vice
president and provost, declined to
comment on specific funding due to
an agreement with the Qatar
Foundation about the release of
funding information, but he did say
it will not affect the state of Texas.
His Highness Sheikh Hamad
Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of
Qatar, started The Qatar Foundation
for Education, Science and
Community Development.
The money that the Emir puts
into the Foundation comes from
the abundance of natural gas in
the area, Prior said.
“The country of Qatar is one of
the richest nations in the world in
terms of natural resources. It has the
third largest natural gas field in the
world,” he said. “The country and
the Emir are extremely rich. (The
Qatar Foundation) is going to
invest billions and billions of dol
lars in the new campus.”
Her Highness Sheikha Mozah
Bint Nasser Al-Missned, Consort
of His Highness the Emir, serves
as chairwoman of the Qatar
Foundation and personally
guides the organization’s objec
tives and programs.
The Qatar campus is part of the
venture know as Education City.
The City will provide educational
opportunities from kindergarten to
post college graduate programs.
Already established in Qatar are
the Qatar Academy, The Social
Development Center, The Learning
Center, The Academic Bridge
Program, Virginia Commonwealth
University School of the Arts, the
Weill Cornell Medical College and
Rand Policy Institute.
The Qatar Foundation and
North Carolina University
ceased talks about establishing a
North Carolina University
branch in Qatar, because the par
ties couldn’t agree on a price.
No one from the Qatar
Foundation could be reached for
comment.
A&M Qatar Campus
Money provided by Qatar Foundation
Does not cost the state of Texas anything
IK
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Money in foundation
comes from natural gas
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION