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NEW THE BATTALIA! Aggielife: Beauty in the beast* Page 3A Opinion: Dates that live in infamy* Page 5B THE BATTALION Volume 110 • Issue 30 • 16 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebattalion.net Thursday, October 9, 2003 Students design Cambodian museum ■ | '(dai Ford • THE BATTALION it in the Parsons Mounted □valry is training for Foil , set free lire of any problem as regg asked to wi from her bank account, said police have norea- relieve she was targeted she is the senator’s e said he did not kn he senator was at ett said it was similar to ry that happened in last week, but police : confirmed whether the idents were connected ery bold, it’s very he said. tank is in the heartofa burban shopping div out five miles from i house, have three children, two s and a son. By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION Aki Ra, a resident of Cambodia, has cleared over d,000 land mines that remain from two decades of civil war. Today, six to 10 million mines — nearly one per inhabitant — are still scattered throughout the country, making Cambodia one of the most heavily land mined and underdeveloped nations in the world. Wednesday, 38 Texas A&M architecture students presented their proposals for the transformation of Ra’s listing land mine museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Ra, who can clear up to 100 mines a day using only simple tools, created the museum to display the itcovered mines and help raise awareness and funds irhis efforts. Photojoumalist Richard Fitoussi of Toronto, Canada, discovered Ra and his museum while on assignment in Cambodia in April 2000. “I was fascinated,” Fitoussi said. “The most amaz ing thing about his work is that he works with no equipment.” Inspired by Ra’s efforts, Fitoussi founded the Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Fund to raise money for the construction of a new complex in Siem Reap. “The museum is so rudimentary,” he said. “I thought, why not go in with a bigger plan.” Because of the College of Architecture’s reputation for “architecture for health” projects, Fitoussi invited A&M students to join the effort by developing propos als for the new museum’s design. Junior architecture major Kim Le said the project took on a greater meaning than a typical assignment. “All of us took it so personal that we put in 110 per cent,” Le said. “It’s real; it’s for a good cause.” Lindsay Gavos, a junior architecture major, said she used a peace sign as the inspiration for her design. “It’s a very emotional project,” she said. “I realized this building would be more than a structure. I wanted it to have a subtle symbolic meaning.” Senior Lecturer in the College of Architecture Julie Rogers said students’ ideas for the project were well- thought out. “I’ve never seen a project that has developed to this extent,” she said. “1 think it’s because the students are so dedicated to the cause.” Fitoussi is working with an architect in Toronto and pl^ns to use the students’ designs when developing the final plan for the project. “One project will be chosen to use as a template,” he said, “but they all have elements that can be used.” The new facility will include a museum which See Architecture on page 2A Melissa Gentry • THE BATTALION Sharon Wells, a senior architecture major, works on her museum design. Chicken run Dressed in a chicken costume, sophomore general studies major Delta Zeta Run to the Chicken event Victoria Boreing and other Delta Zeta sorority members on Saturday, will benefit the Houston Wednesday attracted participants to sign up for the seventh annual Gallaudet University. Randal Ford • THE BATTALION . The event, which will be held Ear Research Foundation and Former Ag gets 7 years in manslaughter case By Lauren Smith THE BATTALION A Brazos County jury sentenced a former Texas A&M student convicted of intoxication manslaughter to seven years in prison Wednesday. Stuart “Clint” Thompson, 22, faced from two years of probation to 20 years in prison in connection with the death of Laina Bagby, 18, who was riding in Thompson’s truck when she was killed. Bagby was killed around 4 a.m. on 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 car. In the prosecution's closing argu ments, Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps told the jury that it would be setting the bar in the Brazos Valley for what happens when a drunk driver causes the death of another person. “We have made progress in this community, and we need your help ” Phelps said. “You have a duty in this case.” Phelps asked the jury to consider what kind of message would be sent to the 55,000 students in the commu nity if Thompson walked away with only probation. Jim James, defense attorney, said remorse is the most important part of this case, and Thompson was remorseful the night of Bagby’s death and has been ever since. “Treatment works if you work it, and he has been working it for 16 months,” James said. “I am sorry that he is an alcoholic and did not get it earlier. It (alcoholism) is a disease, and you have to hit rock bottom before you realize that it is.” Phelps said he doubted Thompson was truly remorseful as he did not seem like a man at rock bottom on the night of the accident. Phelps recount ed the prosecution’s case against Thompson, saying he talked as much about his truck as he did about Bagby, refused a blood test, told police on the night of the accident that he did not remember what happened and later recalled the night’s events of what happened to his doctor. “Prison is the real rock bottom,” Phelps said. “Every day he spends in prison is another that he lives that Laina Bagby is dead.” James stood behind the podium before the jury stand, asking the jury to “give Thompson the opportunity to be a contributing member of society.” “Consider not sending him to the penitentiary,” James said to the jury. “He is a hard worker. There has never been an attack on his character throughout the trial.” See Trial on page 2A Replant 2003 scheduled for Oct. 18, rain or shine By Rhiannon Meyers THE BATTALION Cliff Smith said he was not upset at the heavy in clouds that loomed over Replant sites last October. If anything, he was pleased. “The rain changes the aspect of Replant,” said nith, Replant director and a senior philosophy major. “The people that are out there in the rain are the ones who really want to be there.” About 1,000 volunteers participated in Replant last year despite the bad weather. The volunteers worked diligently in a downpour that drenched clothes but did not dampen spirits. “It went incredibly well,” Smith said. “We to stop people from planting trees because the second shift wouldn’t have had anything to plant.” Casey Deen, Replant’s financial director and a senior business major, was on staff for last year’s event. handed out shovels to people who were soaked already,” Deen said. “It was neat to see everyone in the rain planting trees.” This fall’s Replant is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18. Replant, a recognized Texas A&M tra dition that takes place annually, began in 1990 and was created by Scott Hantman in conjunction with the tradition of Aggie Bonfire by planting trees on old Bonfire cut sites, Deen said. According to replant.tamu.edu, the organization originally planted young seedlings in the spring at sites in Carlos, Texas, and later at Lake Somerville in Somerville, Texas. Today, Replant is no longer affiliated with Bonfire, but it continues as a tradition of its own. In an effort to give the trees a better chance of survival, Replant was moved to the fall and the trees planted are now larger and older. Also, Replant sites have also moved to the Bryan- College Station area, Smith said. This year, Replant committees will plant 100 trees on three sites in College Station and one site in Bryan. An estimated 1,000 volun teers are needed for the upcoming Replant. Anyone can volunteer and large groups are encouraged, Deen said. “It’s something you can see being done,” said Vince Nieto, a member of the Replant publicity team and a sophomore microbiology major. “I volunteered last year with Hobby Hall on Replant 2003 Applications to volunteer for this year's event are due Oct. 10. Replant: Saturday, Oct. 18 Shifts begin at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Informational Meetings: Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 8:15 p.m. in MSC 231 Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in MSC 231 Universal design promotes access By Dan Orth THE BATTALION Seth Freeman • THE BATTALION Source • REPLANT.TAMU.EDU Northside and it was a really fun experience. Everyone was standing in the rain ready to help out. It was really cool to see everyone there plant ing a tree.” Replant consists of two shifts of volun teers, one that begins at 8 a.m. and another at 11 a.m. Volunteers meet on campus first for Replant Kickoff at Academic Plaza to fill out release forms, purchase T-shirts and listen to guest speakers. This year’s speakers include A&M Student Body President Matt Josefy and A&M SGA Adviser Bobby Tucker. Following the kickoff, volunteers move to the designated sites to plant trees. Volunteers work in groups of four to five per tree, and each shift lasts about three hours. Colleen Dominick, a first year graduate See Replant on page 2A bung Conservatives protest Coming Out Week By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION The Young Conservatives of Texas paraded banner-clad trucks around the Texas A&M campus Wednesday as part of Traditional family Values Week, which opposes University promotion of homosexual lifestyles through Coming Out Week. The event was intended to express the YCT’s views support ing one-man, one-woman relation ships, said Communications Director Mark McCaig. “Traditional Family Values Week is not to protest people or personal choices,” he said, “but to protest the use of student fees to promote lifestyles we are opposed to.” YCT Chairperson Lucas Kramm said the goal of this week’s events is to raise awareness that Coming Out Week is spon sored by the University. “We view (homosexuality) as a lifestyle that is dangerous and immoral,” Kramm said. Kramm said the YCT was selective of which slogans would be used in the demonstration, and some of the banners originally cre ated were not displayed. “There was nothing hate-filled, nothing bigoted,” McCaig said. Trucks circling campus bore See Protest on page 9A Students should learn about the challenges peo ple with disabilities face and what is done to cope with those challenges to understand what they go through each day, said Anne Reber, assistant director of Services for Students with Disabilities. Universal Design Day, formerly known as Disability Awareness Day, was held Wednesday promoting access in buildings, teaching and services for all students, not just stu dents with disabilities. Reber said there has been a change of focus in disability awareness from understanding by doing to understanding by learning. Reber said students should learn about the challenges people with disabilities face and about what is done to cope with those challenges in order to understand what they go through. The College of Architecture, Instructional Technology Services and Student Financial Services were on hand to show how they help adapt the University’s campus to all students, including dis abled ones. College of Architecture graduate students are taught to be aware of accommodating people with disabilities in designs and to consider accessibili ty when designing. Min-Young Seo, a graduate architecture stu dent, said she works to incorporate all people’s needs into her work. Seo said she strives to envision a way to help with a dis ability when designing. Instructional Technology Services works with professors to help them incorporate technology into their cur riculum and in the process, make teaching materials more available to students with disabilities. Rhonda Blackburn, the lead instructional technolo gy consultant with ITS, said her group promotes universal design for all when helping professors by giving suggestions that benefit all student needs. One way professors make teaching materials available for all is by using HTML formatting on all documents. Blackburn said this fonnatting can be See Day on page 9A