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THE BATTALll
Aggielife: Mission: Possible • Page 3A
Opinion: Ruthless Rumsfeld • Page 7B
THE BATTALION
Volume 110 • Issue 20 * 20 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Josefy: Mentorship a top priority
By Dan Orth
THE BATTALION
Student Body President Matt
Josefy said in his State of the
University address Wednesday
evening that mentorship, academics
and tradition are his biggest priorities.
Josefy outlined the programs he
and his staff have worked on to
improve mentorship, his main empha
sis as SBP.
He said he wants to focus on
strengthening three relationships in
mentoring: the freshman-upperclass
man relationship, the student-faculty
relationship and the student-former
student relationship, specifically in
their areas of study.
In his mentorship programs, Josefy
said he wants to focus on getting
freshmen involved and headed in the
right direction.
“Anything we can do to catch
freshmen, the better our University
is,” he said.
Chuck Sippial, vice president of
administration, said he believes men
toring is important for freshmen
because upperclassmen can show
them the ropes. This would benefit the
students by leading them in the right
direction, he said.
“It would be wonderful if a fresh
man had an upperclassman they could
go to and say, *1 know what you are
going through,’ or, ‘If you have a prob
lem, come to me,’” Sippial said.
In the academic arena, Josefy said
he wants to push experiential educa
tion, which focuses on teaching how to
apply what is being learned in the
classroom.
“It only makes sense that we pro
vide students with the opportunity to
see the direct applications of what they
are learning in the classroom with what
happens in the real world,” Josefy said.
Another emphasis this year is on
communication between students and
student government, Josefy said. The
Senate will hold the first “Senate
Listens Week,” which will attempt to
identify and address student concerns.
Josefy has initiated a program to
inform students of hot issues on cam
pus through Aggie Matters. Thus far.
he said he has noticed positive results
in increased forum participation.
He touched briefly on diversity and
upcoming events dealing with diversity
issues, including the new tag line for the
year: “Great people, great solutions.”
Josefy said he challenges students
“to show that the Aggie Spirit is alive
and well” during Push Week, a series
of events and activities that will take
place in the days leading up to the
University of Texas game.
Jason Impullitti, a senior technolo
gy management major, said change is
inevitable, and he hopes future admin
istrations will follow through with
some of Josefy’s initiatives.
See Josefy on page 12A
8son • THE BATTALION
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Princeton Review
ranks A&M one
of top 351 colleges
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
Princeton Review once
again named Texas A&M one
of this year’s top 351 colleges.
To gauge the schools, var
ious academic, financial and
social factors were taken into
account. Additionally, sever
al other top-20 lists were
compiled, ranking several
specifics of these factors.
According to The
Princeton Review’s Best 351
Colleges, 2004 Edition,
which came out in mid-
August, A&M made it on to
several top-20 lists, boasting
the third best “Jock School”
and having the fifth best
“Town-Gown Relationship”
in the nation.
A&M’s tight-knit commu
nity atmosphere and student
involvement are evident in its
No. 14“Everyone plays intra
mural sports” ranking and its
No. 6 “Students Pack the
Stadium” ranking.
However, a No. 20 rank
ing on the “Class
Discussions Rare” list has
brought concern to current
and prospective students.
Several professors have'
noted this problem and are
currently attempting to fix it,
including Dr. Susan Egenolf,
an English professor at A&M.
She has taken pictures of the
students in one of her larger
classes of more than 100 stu
dents holding numbered
cards so she can learn their
names. Successfully learning
all the names helps facilitate
running class discussions.
“Some people think you
cannot do discussions in
large classes,” Egenolf said.
“I clearly disagree.”
Perhaps A&M has little
class discussion because it is
See Review on page 2A
e e Of
PDINCFTON DFVIFW DANIflNCiS
The Princeton Review ranked 351 colleges on a variety
ol factors in top-20 lists.
A&M ranked:
3rd "Jock Schools"
5th "Town-Gown Relationships"
6th "Students Pack the Stadium"
12th "Alternative Lifestyles not an Alternative"
20th "Class Discussions Rare"
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : THE PRINCETON REVIEW
Laugh out loud
Venture dynamics team members, (from left)
junior international studies and political sci
ence major Lynette Munoz, senior finance
major Jennifer Wu and senior electrical engi
neering major Mike Hall lift senior marketing
major Lauren Lord through a spider web of
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
bungee cords Wednesday afternoon at the
ropes course located off Harvey Mitchell
Parkway for their venture dynamics class. The
class, instructed by Grant Irons, teaches team
building and trust exercises through outdoor
adventure courses.
Students robbed on north campus
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
University Police Department offi
cers are working to develop a composite
of a man who robbed two Texas A&M
students at gunpoint outside Haas Hall
early Saturday morning.
Elmer Schneider, associate director
of UPD, said the students were returning
to campus around 3:25 a.m. when they
were approached by a man asking for
directions to an address in Bryan. About
two minutes later, the man exhibited a
small silver handgun in his left hand and
a large tire iron in his right.
He asked the students for any valu
ables they were carrying, and they
offered him a small amount of cash and
a cell phone. The man was uninterested
in the phone but took the cash,
Schneider said.
“They (the students) used good judg
ment in their response, which was to
comply with his demands,” he said.
The suspect then told the students to
walk away, Schneider said, and when
they looked back, he had disappeared.
The students notified a Haas resident
adviser immediately following the robbery.
The incident was then reported to the UPD.
“It’s important to get police notified
so they have an opportunity to respond,”
Schneider said.
Because vehicles, officers on bikes and
security guards are on patrol, there is a
possibility someone will be nearby when a
crime on campus is reported, he said.
The UPD was unable to locate a sus
pect but shared information of the rob
bery with College Station and Bryan
Police Departments.
See Robbed on page 2A
What to do during a robbery
The University Police Department
Crime Prevention Unit advises
students to follow these recom-
mendations if they are ever robbed.
Do exactly what the robber says,
and don't make any sudden moves.
Remain calm and be as alert and
observant as possible.
Don't try to be a hero; take no action
that would jeopardize you
or someone else's
safety.
Take a
good look
at the robbers,
but do not stare
Do not discuss the robbery
with anyone until after you have
given information to police.
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : TEXAS A&M POLICE DEPT.
Revised Aggie ring requirements benefit students
By Lindsay Broomes
THE BATTALION
Transfer students will be sporting
their Aggie rings sooner than expected
due to a recent drop in the number of res
idency hours required to obtain them.
“Back when I was in school, it was
different,” said Kelli Hutka, Class of
1997, the director of Campus Programs
for The Association of Former
Students. “You only had to have 30 res
idency hours to receive your ring.”
In 1994, the requirements were
bumped up to 60 residency hours, 95
total hours and a minimum 2.0 grade
point ratio. This semester, these require
ments were altered again. Students who
complete 45 residency hours, 95 total
hours and have an overall 2.0 GPR are
eligible to order their rings.
More students are entering Texas
A&M with multiple high school and
transfer college credits, causing them
to fail to meet the requirement until
they receive their degree, Hutka said.
“I am very, very excited,” said
Meagan Burney, a senior education
major. “I was worried about not get
ting my ring until after graduation, but
the new requirements are awesome.”
Hutka said it is important that
every Aggie has his ring when he
crosses the stage at graduation.
“The Aggie ring identifies you
with values and reflects the integrity
an Aggie holds,” she said.
Matt Kainer, a senior civil engi
neering major, said he believes the
changes should only apply to graduat
ing transfer students who want their
rings before graduation.
“If transfer students are not in
jeopardy of graduating without their
ring, they should go by the 60 hour
rule,” Kainer said.
Graduate students will also be
affected by requirement changes.
Previously, graduate students did not
qualify for their rings until they
received their diplomas. This meant
they did not actually receive their
rings until approximately nine weeks
after their graduation date.
Graduate students are split into
three categories and different changes
See Aggie ring on page 2A
JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
Student Body President Matt Josefy addresses stu
dents, faculty and staff Wednesday night at the State
of the University address. Josefy plans to focus on
mentorship, academics and tradition this year.
Web system
to replace
BONFIRE
By Bart Shirley
THE BATTALION
The BONFIRE student information sys
tem used to check schedules, grades and tran
scripts as well as access student and faculty
phone numbers will be replaced by a Web-
based system on Oct 5.
“If it helps access for students, (then)
that’s a good thing, “ said Leanne South,
director of college relations in the College of
Liberal Arts.
Tom Putnam, director of Computing and
Information Services, said the decision to
change the system was made late last spring.
The CIS department had originally planned to
replace the entire A&M system, but those plans
had to be
changed due to
ScSr 8 ' imenew
“This project system) helps access
1S • h? 11 !® glven for students, (then)
pnonty, Putnam J ,
said. “We went that S a good
thing.
— Leanne South
College of Liberal Arts
director of college relations
ahead and decid- 1 ‘
ed to do this now
because people
like it.”
The new
system will
provide the
same services
as the current one and will have several ben
efits over the old system. It will incorporate
both Student Financial Services and Student
Financial Aid.
“We’re very, very excited, “said Larry
Malota, associate director of Student
Information Management System. “Now it’s
a truly Web application.”
Malota said the new system will allow for
a much higher level of security than the
BONFIRE system. Information will be avail
able through a single session rather than mul
tiple sessions and multiple sign-ons to the
BONFIRE system.
Pankaj Mittal, a graduate industrial engi
neering major, said he agreed with Malota.
He said students often get disconnected from
the current system and waste time navigating
numerous different screens.
“I think that interactive will be more use
ful,” Mittal said. “It would save a lot of time.”
Putnam said the new system will be
accessible via the NetID students use to
access their Neo accounts. He said this
will help students in terms of organization
and security.
“The old system provided access by Social
Security number and date of birth,” Putnam
said. “That information is known by many.”
He said the NetID is information that
only the students themselves know, which
will allow SIMS to better maintain net
work security.
“This is a vast improvement, and I think we’re
moving in the right direction,” Malota said.
He said SIMS is open to suggestions from
students once the system is online. Right
now, he said his office is receiving feedback
from students at the registrar’s office and stu
dent workers in his office.
John Hancock, a senior agricultural and
life sciences and entomology major and for
mer Texas A&M-Corpus Christi student said
the system at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was
superior to the one here, so he is positive
about the new system.
“I think with the amount of money we pay,
we ought to have the best they can give,”
Hancock said.
The new system can be accessed at
myrecord.tamu.edu starting Oct. 5.