Aggielife: Oh Behave! • Page 3 Opinion: Next stop, Tehran
Volume 110 • Issue 28 • 12 pages
A&M reps
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
About 40 Texas A&M representatives, includ
ing 13 students, will depart for the Middle East
Wednesday to attend a week long series of wel
come events for students at the University's new
campus in Qatar.
The Qatar campus opened on Sept. 7 and
offers classes in four fields of engineering includ
ing petroleum, chemical, electrical and mechani
cal to the 29 students currently enrolled.
The students — 15 women and 14 men — will
be entertained by three Aggie Wrangler couples and
a Singing Cadets quartet and will meet with three
student leaders and University administrators.
The Qatar Foundation, which was founded by
the Emir of Qatar, has provided funding for the
Aggies’ travel.
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattaIion.net
to visit Qatar campus
Student Body President Matt Josefy, who is
among those visiting Qatar this week, said he is
looking forward to the opportunity to visit the
Middle East.
“The thing that’s really exciting to me is the
chance we have as Aggies to get to know our
counterparts in another part of the world,” he said.
The group will tour the campus and homes of
faculty, Josefy said, and is even scheduled for a
boat ride. Welcome events include a Texas-style
barbecue, an academic convocation and discus
sion forums with Qatari students.
“Talking with the students is going to be one of
the highlights for me ” Josefy said.
Tommy Ramirez, a senior education major and
singing cadet, said he was surprised to learn about
many of the Qatari customs. Leg-crossing, looking
at women and photographing the elderly or women
is taboo, he said, as is using the left hand.
“I’m left handed,” Ramirez said, “so I am hop
ing I don’t offend anyone.”
The Wranglers opted to alter their attire while
in Qatar to comply with the modest culture, said
Aggie Wrangler President John Riggs. Instead of
their usual skirts, the three women will be wear
ing jeans.
“We’re always conscious of who we represent
and how we portray ourselves and, in turn, the
University,” Riggs said.
Sharing A&M culture is one of the main rea
sons for the trip, he said, which is why the
Wranglers were invited to perform.
“We’re representative of the country western
theme (of the barbecue),” Riggs said. “The posi
tion of being a representative of the University is
nothing new for the Wranglers.”
See Qatar on page 2
• Page 11
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
QATAR WELCOME EVENTS
Texas A&M students and administrators
will spend the week welcoming students
to the University's new campus in Qatar.
Three Aggie Wrangler couples will
perform at a Texas-style barbecue
A Singing Cadets quartet will entertain at
various events
A&M students will participate in
discussion forums with Qatari students
Aggie representatives will tour the new
campus, faculty homes and an oil field
An academic convocation, similiar to the
one held at A&M, is scheduled
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
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Puppy love
Alecia Siems, junior psychology major, plays with Moxie, a 2-month-old Memorial Student Center during the "Lefs Beat the Hell Outta Stress" fair
schnauzer mix, at the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter booth outside the Tuesday afternoon.
Davis terminated
in recall election
By Erica Werner
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES
Californians banished Gov.
Gray Davis just 11 months into
his second term and elected
action hero Arnold
Schwarzenegger to replace him
Tuesday — a Hollywood end
ing to one of the most extraor
dinary political melodramas in
the nation’s history.
Voters traded a career
Democratic politician who
became one of the state’s most
despised chief executives for a
moderate Republican megastar
who had never before run for
office. Davis became the first
California governor pried from
office and only the second nation
wide to be recalled.
Early tallies showed the recall
favored by 1,019,874 voters, or
57.5 percent, and opposed by
755,375, or 42.6 percent.
Other early returns had
Schwarzenegger ahead with
862,217 votes; Democratic Lt.
Gov. Cruz Bustamante with
482,376; Republican state Sen.
Tom McClintock with 200,970;
and Green Party candidate Peter
Camejo with 25,916.
Schwarzenegger prevailed
despite a flurry of negative pub
licity in the campaign’s final
days, surviving allegations that he
had groped women and accusa-
SCHWARZENECCER
tions that as a
young man he
expressed
admiration for
Adolf Hitler.
The 56-
year-old
Austrian
immigrant —
husband of tel
evision jour
nalist Maria
Shriver —
finds himself
in charge of
the nation’s
most populat
ed state with
an economy
surpassed only
by those of several countries.
Schwarzenegger promised to
return the shine to a Golden State
beset by massive budget prob
lems and riven by deep political
divisions.
Voters faced two questions —
whether to recall Davis, and who
among the other candidates
should replace him if he was
removed. They chose to get rid of
the incumbent and put
Schwarzenegger in his place.
About seven in 10 voters inter
viewed in exit polls said they had
made up their minds how they
would vote on the recall question
more than a month before the
See Recall on page 6
Former A&M student convicted,
sentencing deliberation continues
Senate to hear
student opinions
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M Student Senate is offering
numerous chances for students’ voices to be heard
this week, as part of a push for better representation
of the interests of the student body, said Matthew
Wilkins, speaker of the Senate and a junior philoso
phy major.
Starting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night, students
may address the senators on any issue they feel
merits attention.
The Student Government Association’s budget
for this year will be up for debate at the Senate’s
meeting Wednesday.
The three agencies receiving the largest increase
in funding are SGA Diversity ($8,500), Development
($2,500) and Guide ($2,200), a group that mentors
freshmen. All three agencies received no money dur
ing the 2002-2003 academic year.
The SGA Diversity’s request for funds prompted
discussion and an explanation as to why the
increase is needed by SGA Vice President for
Diversity Pablo Rodriguez at the Senate’s last meet
ing, held Sept. 24. The grocery chain H-E-B pro
vided a grant of $10,000 over a two-year period
when the committee was founded in 2001. Now,
Rodriguez said, it is up to the SGA to continue
funding the program.
The committee’s programs include network
luncheons, monthly celebrations and recogni
tions, the diversity team faculty mentor program,
diversity round-table discussions and the third
annual Diversity Symposium, which will be held
Hov. 20.
Development’s funds will be used for post
game receptions, “Development Day” events and
SGA Budget
The Student Senate will be debating the Student Govern
ment Association's 2003 - 2004 budget Wednesday night.
Committee
2002-2003
Allocation
2003-2004
Allocation
Diversity
$0
$8,500
Development
$0
$2,500
Guide
$0
$2,200
Big Event
$3,900
$6,000
Election Commission
$0
$1,000
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE:SGA
securing funds for an All-SGA endowment,
Jackson Hildebrand, SGA vice president for
finance and a junior accounting major, said at the
last meeting.
Student Body President and senior accounting
major Matt Josefy said the Executive Council
must obtain the Senate’s approval for SGA’s
budget annually.
Hildebrand’s presentation showed that overall,
the SGA will spend $4,250 less this year.
Students interested in addressing senators are
asked to show up at 7 p.m. to sign in. The open gov
ernance period will be held near the beginning of
the meeting to allow students with outside commit
ments extra convenience.
The change comes in the midst of “Senate
Listens Week,” which began Monday and will con
tinue through Friday. Senators have been stationed
at tables outside Sbisa Dining Hall, the Commons,
Duncan Dining Hall and Rudder Plaza to discuss
issues ranging from Aggie Bonfire to parking to
tuition increases.
“People can come up to us with issues they
have,” Wilkins said.
The Senate also hopes to compile a massive sur
vey of the student body through visits to classrooms
and distribution at the tables, he said.
“We hope,” Wilkins said, “to reach a sizable per
centage of the student body.”
By Lauren Smith
THE BATTALION
A jury on Tuesday deliberated the sentence
of a former Texas A&M student found guilty
Monday of intoxication manslaughter in con
nection with the death of an 18-year-old passen
ger in his truck.
Deliberations are scheduled to continue
Wednesday.
Stuart “Clint” Thompson, 22, was convicted
in the death of passenger Laina Elizabeth
Bagby,18, a freshman at Southwest Texas State
University, now Texas State University.
Bagby was killed around 4 a.m. June 9, 2002,
after a night of alleged partying when a truck
driven by Thompson flipped three times as he
lost control on an off-ramp. Bagby died on the
scene, and Thompson and a second passenger,
Elijah Garza, were ejected from the vehicle.
The jury deliberated for two hours and 45
minutes before announcing the decision Monday.
College Station police estimate Thompson’s
truck was traveling at 97 mph on the off-ramp
See Deliberation on page 6
Delay tries to end redistricting stalemate
By April Castro
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — U.S. House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay
was in the Texas Capitol for a
second consecutive day
Tuesday, attempting to bro
ker an agreement between
state lawmakers squabbling
over a congressional redis
tricting map.
With Lt. Gov. David
Dewhurst, House Speaker Tom
Craddick and Gov. Rick Perry
out of town, DeLay and other
lawmakers indicated that nego
tiators were making progress
on a map that would put more
Republicans in the Texas con
gressional delegation.
“We are very, very close,”
DeLay said, leaving a morning
meeting in Dewhurst’s office.
“The lieutenant governor has
laid out some very interesting
maps and we’re almost there.”
Texas Democrats have
blamed DeLay for triggering
the state’s months-long redis
tricting attempt, which has
been marked by three special
sessions, two out-of-state boy
cotts and a deep partisan
divide in the Legislature.
Democrats have ended
their walkouts for now, but
Republicans haven’t been able
to get beyond strife within
their own party. Craddick, a
Republican, has been adamant
about ensuring that his home
district in Midland has a con
gressional seat to represent
the Permian Basin’s oil and
gas industry. But a separate
seat in Midland could mean
that the farming and agricul
tural region from Lubbock to
Abilene would lose represen
tation — a move opposed by
Lubbock Republican Sen.
Robert Duncan. The two
chambers have rallied their
See DeLay on page 2