Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2003)
THE BATTALION urst: ction 3 me lie Gott iTED PRESS N.M. — With II boycott of the Texas >nal redistricting, It. arned Tuesday that he to force them to return cuss our legal options, hat there are a number mpel the attendance of ewhurst told reporters ITitte of San Antonio, ;mocratic Caucus, said until she sees what 1 with him during the er persona seems to be ecial session,” Van de el the lawmakers are out of reach from the who can compel the rapitol. an who presides over onsideration of a law- :ting his comments to au don't come back in going to be forced to eluding legal options, t position.” elves, have been con- ough when asked about they are vague, saying their options open, say they are resolved il redistricting. Their brought the Senate to in week because not nt to make a quorum. U.S. House Majority been pushing for state state’s congressional trends show the state 'P representation in crats outnumber delegation, s lied Texas shortly ick Perry called a sec- ssion on redistrictine, o previous sessions. difficult to detect.'' / said. Closer scrutiny lies is just one way that yered system of airport an detect a sophisticat- ; said. js have struggled to assengers since the Hacks. Darryl Jenkins, George Washington /’s Aviation Institute, terror warnings will )le from flying during aid be the peak sum- season. of this is good," id. “These are not the lings that cause people ps.” Cronan, spokeswoman Transport Association, roup for major airlines, are trying to work with Homeland i t y. i 2002! 3cM bus route hoice: y the bedroom >e an apt. note matching iternet & with HBO a Aggielife: Easing the pressure • Page 3 Opinion: Mental health crisis • Page 7 Tor P ATT AT miVT 1 iiii oAl 1AL1UJN Volume 109 • Issue 183 • 8 pages 109 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Thursday, August 7, 2003 University ends hiring freeze, travel restrictions By Jacquelyn Spruce THE BATTALION Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates lifted the hiring freeze last Friday, hoping to find employment for the 39 people laid off last month. Gates said the freeze, issued Jan. 28, was in response to the state’s budgetary shortfalls and was to last as long as necessary. It applied to the hir ing of all staff positions, excluding faculty, and restricted most employee travel on state appropriated funds. According to the A&M human resources Web site, Gates said both freezes were effective. “They have been instrumental in addressing our budget reductions,” Gates said. David Prior, executive vice president and provost, said attempts to end the freeze had been going on for a while. “No one was sure how budgets would work out in terms of the Legislature,” he said. “We’ve now progressed from a lot of uncertainty.” Now that the hiring freeze has been lifted, Prior said he hopes it will pro vide more opportuni ties for those who lost their jobs. “We’re trying des perately to help them in every possible way,” Prior said. In July, Gates announced that 250 positions would be eliminated; but, because of the hiring freeze, 211 of those positions were already vacant. Susun Irza, director of human PRIOR resources, said the Human Resources Department has been doing all it can to help individuals who lost their jobs. It set up a temporary career center, pro vided access to human resource classes and helped individuals prepare resumes and prepare for interviews. As of last Friday, the Human Resources Department has seen only a slight increase in the number of jobs available as well as the number of applicants, Irza said. “Now what we are waiting for is the departments who want to actually list available positions,” she said. “We’re not seeing a great flood of positions coming in as of now.” Irza said the number of vacant jobs is unknown. “All of that is dependent on each department,” she said. “Some depart ments found other ways to fill those positions so they won’t be the same as before.” Irza said individuals within the University System that were laid off would have priority over individuals outside the University. Car break-ins foil CS police By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION College Station police said they do not plan on making an arrest in the near future after a spree of car robberies hit College Station last weekend. More than 10 cars in different College Station locations were broken into between Friday night and Sunday morning, said Lt. Mark Langwell, public information officer for the College Station Police Department. “With people visiting and with all the tour- tiaments we had in town, it left more potential for breaking into vehicles,” he said. Langwell said police believe this is the work ofseveral different people, not just one person. “In some cases, the passenger window was broken and in others the car was left unlocked,” Langwell said. Langwell said the weekend spree of break- lis not the first for College Station. College towns are more susceptible to car robberies; it (gets worse from time to time, Langwell d. He said with football season and residence il move-in around the corner, police want to pet the word out so people can protect their cars. “You gotta lock your car and don’t keep valuables in them,” Langwell said. Langwell said wherever you go, park in well- areas or in areas where the car can be seen. “Just be weary of any suspicious activity,” he See Break-ins on page 2 How to prevent motor vehicle theft When you park your car, close the windows, lock the doors and take the key with you. Install and use anti-theft devices, whether an alarm or a protective device such as a club or a collar. Be sure to activate the device every time you leave your vehicle. Keep valuables out of sight, preferably locked away in the trunk. If you have two cars and one of them is easy to break into, park it in your driveway so it's blocked by the other car. RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE: COLLEGE STATION POLICE DEPARTMENT Aggies start first practice under Fran By Dallas Shipp THE BATTALION The Texas A&M football team began its first fall practice under A&M football coach Dennis Franchione Wednesday afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year. The heat index soared to nearly 110 degrees, but it did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the players who were still screaming and hollering three hours into practice. Franchione said the heat was a factor but that it would help the players devel op a mental toughness they have been lacking. “We can’t worry about (the heat),” he said. “We may have to play at these tem peratures sometimes. We just have to get mentally tough enough to handle that and handle the ability to focus when we get tired. I think we have the physical toughness, we just need to have the grit and mental toughness.” Mental toughness is on the top of Franchione’s repair list this year for the Aggies. Last year’s team lost leads late in the fourth quarter, a problem Franchione said he believes can be solved. “I’m not really getting on them too much. I’m just trying to take them to a level they need to be mentally tough enough to play this game,” he said. “We gotta find 11 guys that are mentally tough on both sides of the football.” After 31 years of coaching, Franchione said, there is no gauge to measure the ability of players to fight through the heat of two-a-days, but he said he has always had a knack for that kind of thing. “I can watch them practice and 1 can see who can focus through fatigue,” he said. “You can see mental toughness as you watch your players. You can see who’s got it and who can push through pain and see who can’t.” Senior animal science major Paul Harding said he’s glad Franchione is putting mental conditioning at the top of his list. “That’s one thing we needed,” he said. “In the mid to late 90s the fourth quarter was ours, there was no slowing them down. But it’s been lacking in the last few years.” Wednesday was also the first action sophomore quarterback Reggie McNeal RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION Head Coach Dennis Franchione talks to the Aggie football team before the first practice Wednesday afternoon. Below: The team puts their hands together before the start of Wednesday's practice. The season starts Aug.30. has seen since having surgery for a sports hernia in July. “I’m sure he’s going to have some soreness but that’s a natural thing to hap pen through fall camp after surgery, but that’s just part of it,” Franchione said. “He’s not hurt; its just part of his rehab.” McNeal will compete with junior quarterback Dustin Long for the starting quarterback spot this fall. Unlike many Aggie faithful who have already picked the quarterback they would like to see lead the Aggie offense this year, Harding said he doesn’t know who he would pick. “If Reggie can perform the way he did against OU last year I think he’s by far the number one selection,” he said. “But Long put up stats every game.” Coaches have remained tight-lipped as to who will be No. 1 on the depth chart at quarterback, nor have they given an estimate as to when that deci sion will be made. The Aggies will kick off the 2003 season on Aug. 30 against Arkansas State at Kyle Field. randal ford • the battalion Light in August If JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION College Station Fire Department Lt. Timmy Fickey (left) and Lewis Clinkscales respond to a two-alarm fire in the 9000 block of Sandstone Drive Wednesday afternoon. The blaze engulfed five acres belonging to Texas A&M mechanical engineering professor Leroy “Skip" Fletcher. A possible out-of-hand controlled burn is under investigation as the fire's cause, firefighters said. Marine advisory team lands in Liberia By Glenn McKenzie THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MONROVIA, Liberia — A team of U.S. Marines landed in Monrovia on Wednesday, flying in on olive- green helicopters that passed almost unnoticed over a ruined city where people are preoccupied with searching for food after weeks of fighting between government and rebel troops. The seven Americans came to coordinate U.S. logistical support for a steadily building peacekeeping force of West African soldiers at the airport 30 miles from the capital. The force’s Nigerian commander said he would have enough troops by Thursday to send some into Monrovia itself. The U.S. team flew in from a three- ship Navy group carrying 2,000 Marines off Liberia. But President Bush said Wednesday that no larger American force will go ashore until warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor leaves the country. Repeating a U.S. demand, Bush declared during his vacation in u An elected president can't leave in a hurry. — Daniel Chea Liberia's defense minister Crawford, Texas, “We would like Taylor out.” Nigerian officials told The Associated Press the Liberian leader was talking of leaving Aug. 16 or 17, and was holding out for a full airport sendoff with pomp and ceremony fol lowing his promised resignation Monday. “An elected president can’t leave in a hurry,” Taylor’s defense minister, Daniel Chea, told AP. But the Nigerian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they and others were trying to speed Taylor’s exit. Taylor, a Libyan-trained former guerrilla fighter blamed for 14 years of conflict here, is pinned up in central Monrovia after a two-month rebel siege. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed, and hunger and sickness are widespread among the 1.3 million residents and refugees crowding the capital. In the government-held part of the city, market stalls offered little more than potato greens and chili peppers. Rice, the staple food, was nowhere to be found. Thousands of civilians streamed out of Monrovia’s rebel-held port car rying bags of rice on their heads. Rebels had commandeered shipping containers there and gave out the rice, people said. “They gave me two persons’ share because I helped them carry,” said Prince Maxwell, a 22-year-old stu dent. The U.S. helicopters carrying the Marine liaison team roared in out of See Liberia on page 2
