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THE BATTALION
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AGGHUFi: A cultured kind of life • Page 3
Opinion: Blood for diamonds • Page 5
THE BATTALION
Volume 109 • Issue 177 • 6 pages
109 Years Serving Texas A&M University
www.thebatt.com
Tuesday, July 29,
Workers unaffected by retirement law
By Jacquelyn Spruce
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M University System
employees will not be affected by
recent changes regarding retirement
qualifications, said Steve Hassel,
associate vice chancellor for human
resources.
The Texas Legislature passed two
bills last session changing the years
of service and age requirements for
employees wanting full retirement
benefits.
Hassel said a request was sent to
Attorney General Greg Abbott asking
for an explanation of the bills, because
although they increased retirement
requirements, they seemed to conflict.
The request was also an attempt to
find out if current employees are
grandfathered or exempt, Hassel said.
“With the grandfather clause, the
benefits our current employees have
will remain current,” Hassel said.
The old law allows employees to
receive full benefits when they reach
age 55 and have five years of service,
or meet a “rule of 80,” when their age
and years of service add up to 80.
However, under the new law,
employees must be 65 years old and
have at least 10 years of service before
becoming eligible.
Hassel said only employees hired
on or after Sept. 1 will be affected by
the changes. Those hired before Sept.
1 are still eligible for full benefits.
Since so many people could have
been affected by the new law, Hassel
said he is pleased that Abbott took
time to address the problem.
“Throughout the whole University
System we would have had about
2,100 employees affected by the new
law,” Hassel said. “These people
already had between five and 20 years
of service.”
Some employees would have been
forced to retire early or take other
action to ensure full benefits for them
selves and their families, Hassel said.
“Expecting individuals at this point
in life to adjust to the changes is a hard
thing to do,” Hassel said. “We are very
pleased to have the grandfather clause
approved.”
Barbara Becvar, office associate for
department of sociology, said she has
already begun the retirement process.
“I had already sent off the paper
work,” she said. “I was planning on
retiring and finding work elsewhere,
because I wouldn’t have been able to
retire without those benefits.”
She said she is relieved to hear about
the grandfather clause because she has
been working hard to be eligible for
See Workers on page 2
I 'll
CHANGES IN
ns
Employees can receive full
benefits when they reach the
age of 55 and have five years
of service
tuiuawMk
Employees must reach the
age of 65 and have at least
10 years of service
Current employees not
affected by new law
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE: TEXAS A&M HUMAN RESOURCES
Modern golf
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Senior accounting and management information systems Aggie Disc Golf Club, which competes throughout the year,
major Derek Henry practices his putting skills at the disc golf Disc golf was first designed and implemented in 1975 in
course at Research Park Monday. Henry is a member of the Pasadena, Calif.
Task force develops
energy-saving ideas
By Karen Yancey
THE BATTALION
Several projects have Begun
to develop energy saving ideas
that will involve Texas A&M
faculty, staff and students.
A report from a temporary
energy task force appointed
earlier this year by Charles
Sippial, vice president for
administration, recommended
the creation of a permanent
energy task force.
Sippial said the task force
was created to come up with
ideas of how the University
can get consumers to con
serve energy by turning off
copiers over the weekend or
using a sleep mode on
computers.
The report said most of the
Texas A&M’s
low-investment solutions to
conserving energy have been
implemented. The most diffi
cult task will be communicat
ing how to participate in ener
gy- saving techniques and how
it will benefit the energy con
sumers on campus.
“The yearly utilities bill for
operations is $58 million,”
Sippial said. “All energy sav
ings get passed onto the cus
tomers so there is an indirect
financial benefit to conserving
energy.”
A&M has spent several
years trying to find ways to cut
energy costs, Sippial said. It
currently has a $63 million util
ities capitol plan, of which $33
million in energy saving
See Energy on page 2
The System Board of Regents approved
three projects:
V$1.4 million chiller for central utility plant
t$1 million boiler for West Campus plant
®$1.9 million for the management and
metering off energy consumed -31
Projects total $4.3 minion
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION
Troop entertainer
Hope dead at 100
By Lynn Elber
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Bob Hope’s one-liners gen-
iy poked fun at presidents, blunted the sting of com
bat for American soldiers from World War II to the
GulfWar, and ultimately made him the most revered
of American comics.
Hope, who turned 100 on May 29, rode a
genial wave of success in movies, radio and tele
vision to a position unique among entertainers. He
died Sunday of pneumonia at his Tokica Lake
borne, publicist Ward Grant said Monday. His
family was at his bedside.
As the 20th century’s good humor delivery man
forU.S. troops, Hope took his show on the road to
bases, field hospitals, jungles and aircraft carriers
around the world, peppering audiences with a fusil
lade of brief, topical gags. One of them centered on
former President Nixon and the Watergate scandal.
“I bumped into Gerald Ford the other day. I said,
Pardon me.’ He said, T don’t do that anymore.’”
Hope’s humor lacked malice, and he made him
self the butt of many jokes. His golf scores and
Physical attributes, including his celebrated ski-
jwip nose, were frequent subjects:
“I want to tell you, I was built like an athlete once
" big chest, hard stomach. Of course, that’s all
behind me now.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine a world without Bob
Hope in it,” said Woody Allen, who cited Hope’s
1942 film “Road to Morocco” for pointing him
toward comedy.
“The nation lost a great citizen,” President
George W. Bush said Monday. “Bob Hope served
eur nation when he went to battlefields to enter-
hin thousands of troops from different genera-
bons. We extend our prayers to his family. God
bless his soul.”
He was “the best loved, most admired and most
successful entertainer in all of history. He is quite
simply, irreplaceable,” longtime “Tonight Show”
Bob Hope 1903-2003
Many roads taken in Hollywood films
Comedian and actor Bob Hope died Sunday. He appeared in
dozens of movies, most notably a series of seven "Road" movies
with his longtime friend Bing Crosby.
1938
"The Big Broadcast of
1938"
“College Swing”
“Give Me a Sailor"
“Thanks for the
Memory"
1939
"Never Say Die”
“Some Like It Hot”
“The Cat and the
Canary"
1940
"Road to Singapore”
"The Ghostbreakers"
1941
1947
“My Favorite Brunette”
“Where There’s Life”
1948
“Road to Rio”
“The Paleface"
1949
“Sorrowful Jones”
‘The Great Lover"
1950
“Fancy Pants”
1951
“The Lemon Drop Kid”
“My Favorite Spy”
1952
“Son of Paleface”
1961
“Bachelor in Paradise”
1962
"Road to Hong Kong”
1963
“Critic’s Choice"
“Call Me Bwana”
1964
“A Global Affair"
1965
“I'll Take Sweden”
1966
“Boy Did I Get a Wrong
Number"
1967
“Eight on the Lam"
“Caught in the Draft"
“Nothing but the Truth"
“Road to Zanzibar”
“Louisiana Purchase"
1942
"My Favorite Blonde”
“Road to Morocco"
“Star-Spangled
Rhythm"
1943
“They Got Me
Covered"
"Let's Face It”
1944
“The Princess and the
Pirate”
1945
“Road to Utopia”
1946
"Monsieur
Beaucaire”
1953
“Road to Bali”
"Off Limits"
“Here Come the Girls”
1954
“Casanova’s Big Night”
1955
“The Seven Little Foys"
1956
“That Certain Feeling”
“The Iron Petticoat"
1957
“Beau James"
1958
“Paris Holiday”
1959
“Alias Jesse
James"
1960
1968
“The Private Navy of
Sergeant O'FarreH"
1969
“How To Commit
Marriage”
1972
“Cancel My
Reservation"
1979
“The Muppet Movie"
1985
“Spies Like Us"
SOURCE: Associated Press
host Johnny Carson said.
Steve Collins, an Army helicopter pilot who
served in Vietnam, met the comedian when he fer
ried troops to one of Hope’s 1968 Christmas shows
at an Air Force base.
“You knew where the guy’s heart was. He really
felt for us,” said Collins, 56, of San Diego.
The English-born Hope began in vaudeville and
ended up conquering every medium. When Hope
See Hope on page 2
Democrats leave for New Mexico,
Perry calls second special session
By Natalie Gott
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Democratic state
lawmakers fled Texas on Monday
for the second time in three
months to thwart a Republican
drive to redraw the state’s con
gressional districts.
Eleven of the 12 Democrats
in the state Senate left for
Albuquerque, N.M., as a first
special session called by the
governor to address redistricting
drew abruptly to a close and he
called a second special session,
which began Monday afternoon.
The second session could last up
to 30 days.
“We’re availing ourselves of a
tool given to us by our Texas
Constitution to break a quorum,”
Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos of
Austin said at a hotel in
Albuquerque, where the 11
Democrats met with reporters.
“It’s not about Democrats, it’s
about democracy.”
“This is not an action that we
take lightly. There are not many
issues that would rise to this kind
of action,” said Leticia Van de
Putte, chairwoman of the Senate
Democratic Caucus.
Standing in front of a Texas
flag, Van de Putte said more
than 1.4 million minorities in
her state would lose effective
congressional representation if
the Republicans redistrict
according to their wishes.
New Mexico state police
guarded the hotel, partly out of
concern that “bounty hunters”
might show up to whisk the law
makers away.
“There was some concern that
our (Republican) leaders would
attempt to use off-duty officers,
security guards, bounty hunters”
to forcibly bring the lawmakers
back to Texas, said Sen. John
Whitmire.
Asked how long the group
might stay in New Mexico, Sen.
Judith Zaffirini of Laredo said:
“Thirty days. More if it’s neces
sary. Our commitment was 30
See Democrats on page 2
Student indicted for campus thefts
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
A Texas A&M student and former walk-on
football player was indicted on four charges of
theft Thursday after police said he admitted to
stealing $130,000 worth of equipment from cam
pus locations last month.
Jonathan Wesley Mayfield, a junior speech
communications major,was indicted on the theft of
between $100,000 and $200,000, theft of between
$1,500 and $20,000 and two counts of burglary of
a building.
Mayfield is accused of breaking into the media
van belonging to KAMU-TV and taking audio and
video equipment valued at about $113,000 and
breaking into other campus locations, according to
University Police Department reports.
Mayfield told police he took a projector from
Kyle Field in April during a
power outage, a computer from
the Langford Architecture
Building and $8,300 worth of
equipment from Rumours Coffee
House.
Mayfield said he took the
equipment because he wanted to
mayfield start a video production company
with a friend, according to police.
An indictment does not indicate guilt, but
means a grand jury believes there is enough evi
dence to warrant a trial.