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Aggielife: Never too late • Page 3
Opinion: High judgement • Page 11
Volume 110 • Issue 38 • 12 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Ttiesday, October 21, 2003
Mock trial to increase awareness
DWI Facts
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
Eighteen-year-old Laina Elizabeth Bagby was
not present the day 2002 fall semester classes
commenced at Southwest Texas State University.
On June 9, 2002, Bagby, who was visiting a
friend, was killed in a one-car rollover near the
southbound University Drive off-ramp of Earl
Rudder Freeway South. The driver of the car, 21-
year-old Stuart “Clint” Thompson of College
Station, was intoxicated with a blood alcohol level
of.268, more than three times the legal limit of .08.
This event is one of the many that Khris
Thurmond, victim assistant coordinator for the
Brazos Valley Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, has faced in her Five years with the organ
ization. Thurmond said even though the MADD
Brazos Valley Chapter has seen few driving while
intoxicated cases, the impact left by each is
tremendous.
“Our stats are low, but that doesn’t matter if
you are one of those stats,” Thurmond said. “One
case is too many, because driving while intoxicat
ed is 100 percent preventable.”
Prevention is exactly what organizers of Aggie
Alcohol Awareness Week aim to accomplish. The
week is an annual fall event organized by the
Department of Student Life Alcohol and Drug
Education Programs. This year’s theme, “Law and
Order: Responsible Aggie Unit,” is illustrated by a
mock DWI trial scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday in
Rudder Auditorium.
The mock trial is sponsored by the Coalition on
Alcohol Responsibility and Education, a commu
nity, campus and alcohol industry coalition effort
dedicated to reduce alcohol abuse and underage
drinking.
The trial will be a replica of a DWI trial with a
judge presiding and genuine attorneys and officers
playing the roles. One student will be “arrested”
from the audience by the officers and will act as
the defendant. After the judge makes his ruling
and gives the sentence, the trial will conclude with
a panel of guest speakers to whom attendees can
direct questions.
“With this trial, students can see in real life that
this could happen to anyone,” said Dennis
Reardon, senior program coordinator for ADEP.
“We want to make sure students understand the
severity of underage drinking, abusive drinking
and driving while intoxicated.”
A DWI offense is considered a Class B misde
meanor, said Texas A&M University Police
Department Sergeant Allan Baron of the Crime
Prevention Unit. Those convicted of a DWI charge
can face a fine of up to $2,000, 180 days in a
county jail, the loss of driving privileges, commu
nity service and probation.
If a student is convicted of a DWI on A&M’s
campus property, they can face University sanc
tions on top of criminal sanctions, including
deferred suspension, a strict form of probation,
said Jeff Stefancic, coordinator of Student Judicial
and Mediation Services.
Reardon said organizers chose to hold a mock
DWI trial to illustrate the recent alterations to
DWI laws.
“There have been changes in the laws regard
ing underage drinking and driving while intoxi-
Tuesday's mock DWI trial aims to
raise awareness about the leyal
consequences of drinking and driving.
ff It is estimated that one out of every two
1 i Americans will be involved in an alcohol
v related accident in his lifetime.
\ Alcohol related crashes are the
\ leading cause of death for
v Americans between the ages
X N of 16 and 24 years old.
\ More than SO percent of all fatal
1 highway crashes involving two
\ or more cars are alcohol
i | related.
1 The risk of causing an accident
is six times greater for
, intoxicated drivers than for
, sober drivers.
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : WWW.NH-DWI.COM
cated and we wanted to highlight these changes,”
Reardon said. “Consequences are much more
See Trial on page 10
JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION
Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th Prime Minister, along with former
President George Bush were the inaugural speakers at the Lenore and
frauds Humphrys International Speakers Program Monday evening at the
/trmburg Presidential Conference Center.
Mulroney stresses
close relations
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
Former Canadian Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney spoke
Monday evening at the George
Bush Presidential Library
Complex about the benefits of
keeping tight-knit relations
with other countries and of
supporting President George
W. Bush.
Former President George
Bush gave opening remarks
about Mulroney, whom he
said he regarded as a family
friend.
“I was blessed when I was
president to have a prime min
ister and candidate not only
that could work closely with
but whose advice I respected,”
Bush said. “(Advice) not just
on the irritating matters of
trade that come up between
prime ministers and presidents,
but more importantly on the
affairs of the entire world.”
Bush said a poll was recent
ly taken among Canadians to
determine the most popular
prime ministers, and that
Mulroney came in second only
to former Prime Minister
Lester Pearson.
In attendance for the speech
were Mulroney’s wife, Milla, as
well as Barbara and Jenna Bush.
Mulroney shared anecdotes
of his political career, including
See Mulroney on page 2
Sound off
Freshman aerospace engineering major and
Corps of Cadets fish commander Ryan Geyer,
left, and sophomore general studies major and
past fish commander Jose Marin work on vocal
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
discipline during Corps drills Monday afternoon.
Marin is helping Geyer work on his vocal vol
ume and the expansion of his diaphragm, which
will help him communicate effectively.
Corps officials
inspect cadet
residence halls
By Lindsay Broomes
THE BATTALION
On Sept. 29, the Office of
Commandant conducted a routine inspec
tion of the Corps of Cadets’ dormitory
rooms, as authorized by the University’s
guiding directive for the Corps, The
Standard, said Maj. Joseph “Doc” Mills,
the Corps media relations coordinator.
To assist members of the
Commandant’s staff in conducting the
inspection, the Commandant’s Office
obtained the services of Interquest Group,
Inc., of Houston'to provide contraband
detection dogs and professional handlers.
“The dogs are trained to search for
drugs, alcohol and explosives,” Mills
said. “The inspection was conducted on a
no-notice basis, and dorms and rooms
were inspected randomly.”
A senior Corps member who wished
to remain anonymous said he was both
ered by the searches.
“I felt that my privacy was being vio
lated,” he said. “It was disturbing for
them to think that cadets would actually
possess that sort of thing, and they
showed us no evidence that the act was
justifiable.”
A clause in a residence hall lease is not
necessary to search the dorms, Mills said.
Members of the Commandant’s staff,
as well as cadet leaders, are authorized by
the University to conduct formal and
informal inspections of cadet rooms and
halls to check on the health and welfare of
cadets to comply with Corps and
See Corps on page 2
Ten killed in Gaza air strikes,
worst Mideast day in months
By Ibrahim Barzak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NUSSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip
- In the bloodiest day in the Gaza Strip in
months, Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded
militant targets Monday, killing 10 Palestinians,
including seven in a refugee camp where a car was
destroyed, and wounding about 100.
The violent Islamic movements Hamas and
Islamic Jihad threatened revenge, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon pledged more raids and
the State Department advised U.S. citizens to
defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
With prospects for Mideast peace efforts fur
ther clouded, U.S. officials confirmed that John
Wolf, the head of the team monitoring imple
mentation of the troubled U.S.-backed “road
map” peace plan, was not planning to return to
the region soon.
The bombing raids Monday came a day after
Palestinian militants fired eight homemade
rockets from Gaza into southern Israel and
Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli patrol
in the West Bank, killing three soldiers and seri
ously wounding a fourth.
Israeli aircraft struck in five separate loca
tions, hitting a suspected Hamas weapons cache
twice, another storehouse and a car carrying
suspected militants.
The nighttime strike in the Nusseirat camp in
central Gaza, in which 75 people were wounded
in addition to the seven killed, was the bloodiest
since an April missile raid on a Hamas leader in
Gaza City killed nine people.
Residents said Israeli helicopters fired three
missiles at the main street, destroying a car. An
Israeli army statement said the vehicle was car
rying members of a Palestinian terrorist squad
fleeing after a failed attempt to breach the bor
der fence with Israel a few miles to the north
east.
But Israel’s Channel 10 TV said that none of
the dead were militants, characterizing the
refugee camp strike as a “mistake.”
Residents said one of the dead was a doctor
who was treating victims when a second missile
struck. The identity of the other victims was not
immediately known.
Hundreds of camp residents carried charred
pieces of the vehicle aloft and chanted,
“Revenge, revenge.”
In Gaza City, Israeli helicopters fired mis
siles at a building in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood,
Three Israeli strikes
in four hours
Military helicopters and
warplanes unleashed a string of
missile attacks in Gaza City
Monday, killing two Hamas
members and a bystander and
wounding 23 other Palestinians.
Reveille VI euthanized
0 5 mi
0 5 km A
W
ISRAEL
^ Jabalr
Gaza
Strip
Suspected Hamas
warehouses targeted
See Gaza on page 1 0 SOURCES: Associated Press; ESR! AP
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
Former Texas A&M mascot
Reveille VI was euthanized
Saturday because of failing health.
The 10-year-old American
collie served as the University’s
First Lady for more than seven
years, from November 1993 to
May 2001, at which time she was
retired due to increasing prob
lems with arthritis and epilepsy.
Company E-2 Commander
Matt Stalcup said the decision to
put Reveille to sleep was made
by her veterinarian and caretak
er, Dr. Charles Hall, who has
watched over the collie since her
retirement.
“It was a judgment between
her suffering any longer and put
ting her to sleep,” Stalcup said.
Reveille’s retirement two years
ago came after her condition,
diagnosed in 1996, worsened.
“It was in her best interest,”
Stalcup said. “It was so she could
have a more relaxed lifestyle.”
During her tenure as mas
cot, Reveille oversaw the
University’s first Big 12
FILE PHOTO • THE BATTALION
Reveille VI was mascot from 1 993
to 2001.
Championship in 1998 and
President George W. Bush’s
inaugural ball in 2000. Her
successor, Reveille VII, is 3
years old.
Plans for Reveille’s burial
and a ceremony at Kyle Field
are tentatively scheduled for
early November. The former
mascot will be buried outside
the North side of Kyle Field,
along with the University’s pre
vious mascots.