Sports: Crazy eights • Page 7 Opinion: Preferential treatment • Page 11
THF RATTAT TfY\T
iinn jd/lI i/vLii u rN
Volume 110 • Issue 37 • 12 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Monday, October 20, 2003
Student dies after accidental fall
By Bart Shirley
THE BATTALION
Levi Windle, 24, a senior agricultur
al development major from Leander,
Texas, died Sunday at approximately 1
a,m. Windle had been in critical condi
tion since Tuesday night, when he fell
from a fence and broke his neck.
Windle had been climbing the
fence when his feet got tangled at the
top, causing him to lose his balance.
Floris Hampton, Windle’s grand
mother, said he had asked that his
memorial service and the remem
brance of him be a celebration.
“He was such a magnetic personal
ity,” Hampton said.
Windle spent many of his summers
at his grandparents’ ranch in Dodge
City, Kan., with his cousins and broth
er, Brody. Hampton said Windle was
close to his family.
Several of Windle’s friends said he
was close to many of his friends, too.
Sarah Denham, a senior agricultural
economics major, said Windle would do
anything for someone who needed help.
“He was just incredible/ 4 Denham
said. “We were all incredibly blessed
to know him.”
Denham said she had taken a turf
management class with Windle. She
had been absent from a Monday class
and Windle teased her about it during
the class’ next meeting.
“We sat in the very back row,”
Denham said. “He waited until every
one was in the class except for the pro
fessor. All of the sudden, he began talk
ing very loudly, saying things like ‘So,
Sarah ... how come you weren’t in class
on Monday? Oh, that’s right, you were
too drunk to come to class.’ Which was
n’t true, and then all 200 people turned
around and laughed at us.”
She said she was mortified by this
outburst, but it was just typical of Windle,
who found her embarrassment hilarious.
His roommates, Guy Crump and
Hunter Pontious, said Windle’s second
home was the Dixie Chicken.
Pontious said he remembered one
night at the Chicken that found Windle
standing on top of a table, clad only in
white boxer shorts with red hearts on
them, holding a beer in his hand.
Friends since high school in Leander
the trio were regulars at Northgate, and
everyone knew Windle.
“He never stopped smiling,”
Crump said.
Windle was heavily involved in the
Student Bonfire this year. A member
of the Class of 2002, he was a student
leader who missed his own birthday
celebration two weeks ago in favor of
going to cut. A tree was cut down on
Sunday afternoon in his name, and it is
expected to be the centerpole for the
Bonfire.
Crump and a large group of
Windle’s friends have established The
See Student on page 2
Services for Levi Windle, 24, will be today at 2
p.m. at Rudder Auditorium.
Organizations stress
alcohol awareness
By Dan Orth
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M. student organiza
tions and city and state officials
will pool their resources this week
to promote responsibility and safe
ty when dealing with alcohol.
Through this week’s events, these
organizations hope to educate stu
dents on the effects of alcohol and
strive to help them make responsible
dedsions while drinking.
Alcohol-related organizations
including CARPOOL, Responsible
Aggie Decisions and Alternative
Spring Break are composed of stu
dents who want to serve their fel-
/ouvlggies and some who have had
bad experiences involving alcohol.
A student who wished to remain
anonymous said a previous experi
ence changed the way he thinks
about drinking and driving.
“One night in my hometown,
my friend and I were out drinking
and we decided to drive home,” he
said. “We were pulled over by a
cop, and he recognized the fact that
we were drinking and driving.”
He said the police officer escort
ed them home instead of arresting
them, after explaining the legal con
sequences of drinking and driving.
“I realized that my actions were
stupid, and I decided to join CAR-
POOL as a way to offer a second
choice for those who don't want to
put their future in jeopardy,” the
student said.
This week all programs will
converge to promote alcohol
awareness and will get a chance to
share what they do.
During the week there will be
various activities related to alcohol
education including a DWI mock
trial and a speech given by Texas
Gov. Rick Perry.
Aggie Alcohol Awareness Week
Events planned this week aim to
educate students on making \ ^
responsible decisions.
MONDAY-Oct. 20 |
/F
Recruitment tables - Wehner, J m
Rudder Fountain and Blocker, /J
11 A.M.to2P.M.
| TUESDAY Oct.21
DWI Mock Trial - Rudder Audltorim, 7 P.M. to 9 PM.
I WEDNESDAY-Oct. 221
Gov. Perry will speak - MSC Flag Room, 11 A.M. to 2 P.M.
| FRIDAY-Oct. 24 |
fTarty^rol Know How - In front of Sbisa Hall, 11 A.M.
| to 2 P.M.
SETH FREEMAN • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : STUDENTLIFE.TAMU.EDU
The DWI mock trial will be held
on Tuesday in Rudder Auditorium
and will feature a judge, lawyers,
officers and city officials to answer
student questions. The trial will be
an example of one of the possible
consequences a person could face
if they decide to drink and drive.
Former student Jeff
Schiefelbein said he received a
DWI in 1997 and decided to turn it
into something positive. He worked
with peers to develop the student-
run designated driver program
CARPOOL in 1999 which has
been giving safe rides ever since.
Courtney Blankinship, a junior
political science major, said she is
concerned about students who
decide to drive home after drinking.
“I don’t like it when people put
others’ lives in danger,” Blankinship
said. “I think that too many people
get in the car after a night out and do
not think about the consequences of
their action until later.”
See Alcohol on page 2
Keep on diggin’
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Junior aerospace engineering major Adam Saturday afternoon, students gathered at three
Chisholm shovels out dirt to plant a tree during parks in the Bryan-College Station area and in
Replant Saturday. From 8 a.m. to late Sommerville to plant and repot trees.
Chemistry
prof, 86, dies
By Jacquelyn Spruce
THE BATTALION
Arthur E. Martell, dis
tinguished professor
emeritus of Chemistry,
died Wednesday, Oct. 15,
just three days before his
87th birthday.
Martel] was born on
Oct. 18, 1916, in Natick,
Mass., and came to Texas martell
A&M in 1966 during the
big rise in enrollment, said Abe Clearfield,
professor of chemistry and longtime friend
of Martell.
Upon his arrival at A&M, Martell was
charged with building a first-rate chemistry
department.-Clearfield said Martell lured
distinguished faculty, including F. Albert
Cotton from MIT, to A&M, which in turn
brought more first-class faculty.
“He was brought here with the idea of
building the department,” Clearfield said,
“and he built a lot of quality into it.”
Martell earned his doctorate in chemistry
at New York University and his bachelor’s at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute in
Massachusetts.
Although Martell was in the process of
building the chemistry department, he was
also interested in research on coordination
compounds, Clearfield said. Before his
death, he was working to develop com
pounds to combat cancer.
“He is a major figure in the develop
ment of A&M’s reputation in science,”
Clearfield said. “He’s known as a pioneer
who developed a whole era of chemistry.”
Martell retired two years ago but still con
tinued his research, Clearfield said. He said
Martell began to experience kidney trouble,
so he would research as often as he could.
“The days that he didn’t have to have dial
ysis, he would come in to research,” Clearfield
said. “He would amaze people at the things he
See Prof on page 2
Organ donation education
examined in new study
By Justin Smith
THE BATTALION
In early July of 1995, while moving to
San Antonio, one of Steve Brunson’s
lungs collapsed and he spent nearly two
months on a ventilator, during which time
his heart stopped twice.
“On August 19th, the doctors had even
told my wife I wasn’t going to make it,”
said Brunson, a senior accountant for the
Texas A&M University System. “Two days
later, a pair of lungs became available.”
Brunson is one representative from
A&M sharing his story as part of a
nationwide study on organ donation. The
study, which was started in September by
the Southwest Transplant Alliance, is
being conducted at six universities across
the country, including A&M, Rutgers,
Alabama, Arizona, University of North
Carolina-Charlotte and Penn State.
Brunson said he is doing great now,
but has to take 16 pills a day to stave off
rejection. Still, he said it is easily worth it
to lead a more normal life again.
“The most important thing for people
to do is to tell their family that they want
to donate so they can tell the doctors,” he
said. “I cannot stress that enough.”
The purpose of the study is to see if
education will have an effect on people’s
understanding of donation and their will
ingness to participate. This will be
accomplished by surveys on the campus
es before and after the education phase of
the program.
Mike Stephenson, chief investigator for
the project at A&M and assistant professor
in the Department of Communications,
said Rutgers has the same plan as A&M
while two other campuses will concentrate
on a media blitz and the remaining two
campuses will serve as control campuses
receiving no education.
The purpose of the project is twofold.
The first is to increase the number of peo
ple who are willing to donate, and the sec
ond is to emphasize that people must tell
their families if they wish to be donors.
“Even if you have an organ donation
card,” Stephenson said, “your family has
the final decision on what will happen, so
tell them what you want.”
The personalized education consists of
first-hand accounts of organ recipients
and families who have chosen to donate
Organ Donation Information
What to do if you would like to
become an organ donor:
Talk to your family and friends
about your decision
Get a donor card
and show it to your
next of kin
Get a donor
sticker on your
driver license
and make organ
and tissue
donation a part
of your living
will
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : SOUTHWEST TRANSPLANT ALLIANCE
the organs of a loved one.
Another Aggie supporter of the project
sharing his personal story is Jim Snell,
director of Instructional Technology
Services and senior lecturer for
Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health.
Earlier this summer, Snell’s daughter
Leslie Ann was killed in a car accident in
See Donation on page 2
Mulroney to discuss
international issues
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
Brian Mulroney, former prime
minister of Canada, will discuss
international issues and ways of
promoting peace and stability
Monday night at the George Bush
Presidential Library and Museum.
As leader of the Progressive
Conservative Party, Mulroney
served as the 18th
Canadian prime
minister from
1984-1993.
Mulroney was
involved with the
North American
Free Trade
Agreement and
the Acid Rain
Treaty between
the United States and Canada, as
well as tax reform, deregulation, pri
vatization and reduction in govern
ment spending.
Former President George Bush
will briefly introduce Mulroney. The
MULRONEY
two have shared a history together —
specifically with their simultaneous
leadership terms that led to their
involvement in signing NAFTA
along with former Mexican President
Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
This will not be the first time
Mulroney has worked with Bush or
Texas A&M outside of the office. He
has worked with both while participat
ing in A&M’s Program in Presidential
Rhetoric, which peaked during the
1999-2000 school year. Additionally,
both were a part of the ‘NAFTA at 10’
conference, which celebrated the 10-
year anniversary of NAFTA and
placed Bush, Gortari and Mulroney
on a panel assessing NAFTA.
Mulroney is speaking as part of
the Leonore and Francis Humphry’s
International Speakers Program,
which features two speakers per year.
The lecture will begin at 6 p.m.
Monday in the Annenberg
Presidential Conference Center at
the Bush Library. Tickets for the
lecture are available at the MSC
Box Office, The Eagle, WTAW
radio and KBTX television.