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Volume 110 • Issue 28 • 12 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
RHA strives to be more leadership oriented
By Carrie Pierce
THE BATTALION
Changes have recently been made to the Texas
A&M Residence Hall Association’s constitution
to make RHA more professional and to help unite
the on-campus community, said President Chris
Mahaffey.
These changes were unanimously
approved at the general assembly meeting
Oct. 1. Five amendments have been added
to the constitution.
"These amendments promote leadership,
growth and camaraderie within residence halls and
between residence halls and the University,” said
Emily Allen, RHA director of public relations.
RHA held an orientation Sept. 21 in which
Mahaffey introduced his Vision Plan, a strategy
intended to make the RHA a premier leadership
organization on campus.
MAHAFFEY
‘‘Residence hall officers and
delegates will also have more
hardcore leadership develop
ment and training under these
amendments,” Mahaffey said.
“We are trying to promote very
strong leadership in the resi
dence halls.”
According to the revised
constitution, RHA serves “to act
as the liaison between residence hall students and
the University and to serve as a representative
voice for on-campus residents.”
RHA continues to hold general assembly meet
ings {o bring together the presidents and delegates
from every residence hall to discuss campus issues.
“We strive to take concerns of on-campus stu
dents directly to the University,” Mahaffey said.
The RHA also publishes Hall-A-Baloo, a
monthly newsletter for all on-campus students.
“This was introduced last year but was only
published once. This year they will be published
every month “Alien said.
The RHA web site, rha.tamu.edu, informs stu
dents of upcoming events hosted for on-campus
students in efforts to promote the mission, values
and spirit of the University within the on-campus
community, Allen said.
“As the enthusiasm within RHA increases, so
will the enthusiasm within the residence halls”
said Carrie Giles, RHA delegate for Neeley Hall.
Mahaffey said an effort is being made to pro
mote on-campus unity and spirit.
“A lot of on-campus students built their Aggie
spirit around Bonfire,” he said, “and after the
tragedy many people gave up, rather than find a
new way to build spirit.”
On Aug. 29, RHA hosted Aggiefest, in which
the on-campus community came together to play
games and become acquainted with RHA, Giles
said.
The next large event planned, The Spirit of
Aggieland, is a campuswide ticket pulling for the
A&M vs. Kansas game on Nov. 1. For this game,
the on-campus community will be invited to pull
as a block, the first time that all on-campus stu
dents, Northside and Southside,will pull together
for a football game.
“This event will foster relationships between
different halls ” Giles said.
Standards have been set in the constitution to
ensure that all hall councils remain active,
Mahaffey said. Appelt Hall, the only hall previous
ly without a hall council, has recently been assist
ed by RHA in developing a strong council.
According to the amendments, RHA has set up
programs within the halls with a wide variety of
activities offered to encourage and assist in the
development of an educational and social
environment within each hall.
See RHA on page 2
Verizon grant to fund
education programs
Puddlin’
By Jenna Jones
THE BATTALION
a
Texas A&M is using a $140,000
grant from the Verizon Foundation to
fund two programs within the College
of Education and Human
Development: the Brighter Horizons
in Early Literacy project and the
Master Reading Teacher program.
The Brighter
Horizons project, now
in its third year, focuses
on promoting youth lit
erary in the daycare
atmosphere. It is a col
laborative effort among
AM, Blinn College,
tbe Texas Workforce
Commission, Child
Care Management
Services and Verizon
Foundation, a division
of Verizon
Communications.
In the project's first
two years, more than
800 infants and toddlers
participated in language enrichment
activities that are expected to enhance
their ability to learn to read.
“We will have worked with over
400 childcare workers throughout the
area by the end of this year,” said Jane
Conoley, dean of the College of
Education and Human Development.
This year, Brighter Horizons will
focus on improving literacy rates
among children under 5 years old.
“Specifically, programs will be
established to engage more fully the
parents of young children to encour
age them to spend more time at
home cultivating their children's
reading skills,” Conoley said.
“Brighter Horizons will place more
than 2,000 books in day care center
classrooms for children
to take home.”
rri • • ^ j. r±i Betty Hanks, the
This,span of the owner f )f Big Top Day
whole package to get Care, said the program
new teachers ready w ' 11 s reat iy enhance the
on the literacy side
and the latest
technology side.
99
— Dean Jane Conoley,
College of Education and
Human Development
literacy and language
development of children.
“With this early-age
practice, it will encour
age them to be more
comfortable with
speaking up,” Hanks
said. “It will give them
more confidence and
help to build up that
confidence before they
reach kindergarten or
first grade.”
Of the $140,000 received. Brighter
Horizons was given $40,000 of the
grant money. For the past two years,
Verizon has also donated $100,000 to
the project.
The remaining $100,000 was given
See Grant on page 2
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Two-year-old Kendall Heath and his big brother Nathan play in pud
dles of water at Research Park on Monday afternoon. The boys were
there with their mother, Rebecca and other siblings. Rain left Research
Park and other places in Bryan-College Station flooded Monday.
Tornado damage surveyed
Wellness fair offers students stress relief
Event Date
Oct. 1
Oct. 12
3 Oct. 14
Od. 14
I Od. 18
I Od. 18-19
Nov. 26-30
Jan. 11-17
March 14-21
'enture. Paddle
:oastal wildlife,
the stars! Visit
3n.
entation class?
irsdays at 3:30
mm
for a reduced
'e information
k&M campus.
By Joshua Hobson
THE BATTALION
From uprooted trees to bricks stripped
[right off of the wall, 25 Bryan homes
incurred significant damage from a mod
erate tornado that touched down between
16:05 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Sunday.
Meterologist Charles Roeseler of the
| National Weather Service in Houston said
the tornado registered an FI on the Fujita
scale, which measures a tornado’s intensity
[ from one to five, five being the most severe.
FI tornadoes are characterized by 73 to
112 mph winds, Roeseler said.
Bill McBroom, a resident of Midwest
[Apartments in Bryan, was in his home
[ when the tornado hit.
"It sounded like a big vacuum,” he said.
McBroom said the sound lasted for
[about 10 seconds right after 6 p.m., fol-
| lowed by torrential rains.
Winds from the storm were enough to
[impale a screen door into the McBrooms’
wooden privacy fence. Connie McBroom
said she discovered their outdoor wall
| clock had stopped at 6:02 p.m.
As of Monday afternoon, Midwest res-
[ idents were still without electricity but had
water and were buying ice at local conven
ience stores in an attempt to keep their
j refrigerated food from spoiling.
Midwest resident Marcelino Ramirez
| Jr. said he was shocked by the extent of
damage.
“I’ve never seen anything like this ever
|... anywhere,” he said.
Monday’s rainfall totaled 2.36 inches,
which broke the previous record of 1.99
inches for that date in 2001.
JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
With a collapsed porch and an uprooted tree,
Marcelino Ramirez inspects his Bryan home Monday
afternoon and evaluates the storm's aftermath.
Roeseler said the heavy rainfall caused
temporary flooding in the area.
Overall, 200 homes in Bryan experi
enced minor damage in the tornado’s quar
ter mile wide and four- to five-mile long
path, Roeseler said. One injury has been
reported, but no fatalities.
Several children were teaming up in the
cleaning effort at Midwest Monday help
ing their parents rake up shingles and
See Weather on page 2
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
Free health screenings, body fat measurement and
massages will be available to members of the Texas
A&M and Bryan-College Station communities today at
the Health and Wellness Fair.
The Texas A&M Student Counseling Services and
Student Health Services have joined forces this year to
offer the “Let’s Beat the Hell Outta Stress” fair, com
plete with prizes, games and food, said Health Fair
Coordinator Christy Ahrens.
“This year’s event will be bigger than in .years past,”
Ahrens said. “It’s definitely a good thing to go to.”
Those wishing to have HIV testing or blood pressure
checks can do so for free at the fair. HIV testing will take
place inside the Memorial Student Center and away
from the rest of the fair to preserve confidentiality,
Ahrens said.
Puppies will also be on hand for fair attendees to play
with, courtesy of the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter, pro
viding an additional way for students to relieve stress.
Health and Wellness Fair
Student Health Services and Student Couseling Services invite all
members of theTexas A&M community to "Beat the Hell Outta Stress."
WHEN:
WHERE:
WHAT:
Tuesday from lOa.m.toBp.m.
.
Rudder Fountain, MSC walkway and Flag room
Free blood pressure checks, HIV testing, body fat
measurements,chair massages,games, prizesand food
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES
Seven or eight games will be available, and a wide
variety of prizes will be given out, said Lori Bienski,
lead office assistant for SCS.
“(Last year) students really enjoyed the fair,” Bienski
said. “They seemed really involved and had a good time.”
The fair will be held in the MSC walkway, Flagroom
and Rudder Fountain area from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SILV
V
Linh Duy hguyen
Chemical Engineering
Texas legislators ponder
moving primary election
By April Castro
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas’
Republican leaders seem to have
no qualms about taking Texas out
of the “Super Tuesday” primary
next year in order to incorporate
still-developing changes in con
gressional lines onto the ballot.
But as options narrow with
each tick of the clock, some
Republicans and Democrats in
the Legislature say they are not
convinced that delaying the
state’s primary is in the best
interest of Texas.
As Republican House and
Senate negotiators continue to
toil over a district map that
See Legislature on page 2