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Sports: Ags need big rebound after tough loss • Page 7 Opinion: Sad state of affairs • Page 11
THE BATTALION
Volume 110 • Issue 41 • 12 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Friday, October 24, 2003
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Aggies President
Christopher Smith argues that GLBTA deserves student service fees
in a forum Thursday night. Young Conservatives of Texas members
proposed that students vote on which organizations are allocated
student service fees.
Panel addresses access to fees
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
The Young Conservatives of Texas sug
gested students vote on the allocation of stu
dent service fees, at a panel discussion
Thursday, while representatives of the Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Aggies
defended their right to financial support.
Representatives from the GLBTA, the
YCT and the Student Service Fee Advisory
Board met Thursday night to discuss which
organizations should receive student funds.
The discussion panel, sponsored by
Memorial Student Center Current Issues
Awareness, focused on funds accumulated by
the $142 Student Service Fee paid by Texas
A&M students each semester. Currently,
GLBTA receives funding from the student
service fees while YCT does not.
GLBTA President Christopher Smith, a
sophomore psychology major, said the organ
ization receives student funding because it is
a non-political organization.
“GLBTA is a service organization, not a
political organization,” Smith said. “Our
constitution is the same as that of the YCT
but the entire spirit of the organization is
completely different.”
YCT Chairman Matthew Maddox, a sen
ior management major, said his organization
does not receive student funding because it is
a recognized political organization, but it also
participates in service activities.
“YCT is nonpartisan,” Maddox said.
“We do not work for any political party. We
did adopt a constitution to reflect that of
GLBTA almost verbatim. We were denied
funding because our organization is politi
cal in nature.”
Maddox, who is also an opinion columnist
at The Battalion, argued students should be
able to choose which organizations their
funds are allocated to instead of the current
method of dividing the Student Service Fee
among all non-political organizations.
“We do not have a problem with students
being able to fund the GLBTA or any other
organization on campus, but we believe they
should have a choice to do so,” Maddox said.
Maddox called for a student vote on which
organizations students feel should receive their
funding. He proposed that all organizations
should be listed on a ballot, and funds should
then be allocated according to a student vote.
“I believe students would be more willing
to check off organizations that they would like
to spend their money towards,” Maddox said.
Smith agreed the ballot idea is good in the
ory but if funds were allocated according to a
student vote, some more popular, well-known
organizations might have a monopoly over
lesser-known or more unpopular organiza
tions. He said the current allocation of funds
to all non-political organizations allows for
all opinions and views, not just the majority.
See Fees on page 2
Athletic teams
score new housing
By Dan Orth
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M athletes are
moving out of Cain Hall while
opting for better accommoda
tions off campus at The
Tradition at Northgate and the
Callaway House.
Head football coach Dennis
Franchione moved the football
team from Cain Hall to The
Mition this fall.
Charley North, director of
Football Operations, said the
move was because The Tradition
was a better fit for the team.
“The Tradition serves the
players’ needs better by having a
great venue and offering better
amenities,” North said.
With many A&M athletes no
longeron campus, Cain Hall has
filled with other students.
Although NCAA rules state that
residence halls cannot be exclu
sively for student athletes and
each hall must house more than
50 percent of non-athlete stu
dents, the reason for the move
was strictly because of the con
dition of the hall. North said.
Cain Hall was built in 1971,
and North said it is in need of a
renovation before the football
team would consider moving
back in.
Other athletic programs
have also moved out of Cain
Hall and have been living off
campus at The Tradition and
the Callaway House.
The Tradition is also home to
the men and women’s basketball
teams, men and women’s tennis,
men and women’s golf, volley
ball and the equestrian team.
The baseball team and
From Cain Hall to
Off-Campus Housing
Texas A&M athletes upgrade
housing from Cain to:
The Tradition:
- Football
- Men and Women's Basketball
- Men and Women's Tennis
- Men and Women's Golf
- Volleyball
- Equestrian Team
Callaway House:
- Women's Soccer
- Baseball
Still residing in Cain:
- Track
- Swimming
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : MANAGEMENT OF THE
TRADITION, DIRECTION OF FOOTBALL
OPERATIONS, CHARLEY NORTH
women’s soccer team live at the
Callaway House, which is in
close proximity to their fields
and facilities.
A semester at The Tradition
is more expensive than a semes
ter at Cain Hall, but athletes take
advantage of a group rate.
Adam Collett, the managing
director of The Tradition, said
groups of 10 or more receive an
average of 18 percent off rent.
This discount drops the rate
of the most popular room, a two
room/double occupancy, from
$685 to $525 per month.
The athletic teams live
together in a block of rooms but
are still integrated with other
students, Collett said.
Alan Cannon, an associate
athletic director, said the value
of an in-state student athlete’s
full scholarship is $11,108,
See Housing on page 2
Chicks galore
JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION
Henderson Elementary School first grader
Antonio Valadez picks up a two-week-old
chick at the Saddle and Sirloin's Annual
Children's Barnyard at the Louis Pearce
pavilion Thursday afternoon. More than
1,500 children from day care to first grade
will go through the event that hosts horses,
pigs and goats.
A&M proposes
honors college
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
President Robert M. Gates recently
announced plans of the possible expansion of
Texas A&M’s honors program into a college.
“We have an honors program, and it’s good
and we’re proud of it,” said Dr. David Prior,
executive vice president and provost. “The
question now is how can we enhance the hon
ors experience here at Texas A&M?”
Gates and the University’s Education
Council have recommended that a task force be
formed to evaluate the pros and cons of
expanding the honors program into a college,
Prior said. The Education Council, led by Dean
of the College of Education Jane Conoley, will
compile a series of questions to evaluate issues
regarding the new college, including consider
ations for funding for the college, residence
halls for honors students and recruiting efforts
to attract additional students, Prior said.
Edward Funkhouser, executive director of
the Office of Honors Programs and Academic
Scholarships, said an honors college at A&M
would incorporate the elements present in the
current honors program, as well as a new cur
riculum that is different for honors students.
“One of the current program’s strengths is
that it is University-wide and includes students
from any major, which is a characteristic the
new college would retain,” Funkhouser said.
Existing faculty members would teach in
the honors college, with various departments
and faculty contributing to the college.
Vision 2020, implemented by former
University President Ray M. Bowen, refer
ences reconfiguring the University honors pro
gram, Prior said.
“Some peer (universities) have moved from
having an honors program to having an honors
college to attract the best and brightest stu
dents,” Funkhouser said.
George Edwards, a distinguished professor
of political science who teaches honors cours
es, said he thinks highly of A&M’s honors pro
gram and feels this would be a good addition.
See Honors on page 2
Poetry slams into A&M
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
Knox Galleries dedicates
caboose to College Station
The Menfiorial Student Center Literary
Arts Committee hosted a performance by
the acclaimed slam poet Clebo Rainey,
Thursday in an event that has sparked
interest in the art form throughout the
University.
Wearing a shirt that said “I think
therefore 1 slam,” never taking off his
sunglasses and adorned in tattoos com
memorating various wins in national
slam poetry competitions, Rainey per
formed half a dozen poems, some of
which had musical accompaniment, in
the MSC Flag Room.
Slam poetry, invented by Mark Smith
a little more than a decade ago, is the
spoken word as performance poetry with
equal emphasis on writing and perform
ance, Rainey said. It tends to be loud and
powerful, sometimes incorporating vul
garities and drug and sexual references.
“I knew I’d be pushing the boundaries
a little,” Rainey said. “That didn’t get me
thrown out, so I guess I’m okay.”
The idea of bringing a slam poet to
campus was brought up by various mem
bers of die MSC Literary Arts Committee,
who are now planning to incorporate the
art form into their own programs.
“It was something the new students
wanted,” said Kelli Hollinger, the MSC
Literary Arts Committee adviser. “It’s
both entertaining and educational and
we hope that we’ve sparked interest.”
The MSC Literary Arts Committee
also put together a slam poetry workshop
following the performance that was host
ed by Rainey, who handed out books
filled with information about slam poet
ry etiquette and how to run your own
poetry slam performances.
“The best thing about slam poetry
contests is the prize money,” Rainey
said. “Poets don’t make a lot of money.”
Rainey said he is a stay-at-home
husband whose lawyer wife, Nomei,
supports him.
“My wife went to A&M,” Rainey
said. “She said she was a two-percenter
— whatever that means.”
Rainey was originally a musician
who became interested in slam poetry 17
years ago. He deems himself the father
A slam poetry workshop and
performance was held Thursday
afternoon, hosted by poet
Clebo Rainey. • w
GIcjmaa PoeWy
Slam poetry is also known as
"spoken word”
There is equal emphasis on
writing and performance
It involves no use of props or
costumes
I Slam poetry contest:
V Nov. 20, 8 p.m., location TBA
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : POET CLEBO RAINEY
of the Dallas Spoken Word scene and
currently coaches slam poetry teams that
have won national competitions. He
lives in Dallas and frequently works with
poets at Club Clearview located in Deep
Ellum of downtown Dallas, where
See Poetry on page 5
By Nishat Fatima
THE BATTALION
A new historic addition will
become part of the Aggie community
on Friday when the Benjamin Knox
Galleries dedicates an original 1905
red caboose to College Station in
honor of the city’s 65th anniversary.
The caboose has traveled all over
America throughout its 40-year stint
with the Pennsylvania Railroad. It
was recently purchased by Knox from
the Bergmont Station in Santa
Monica, Calif., and traveled to Texas
on an oversized truck trailer.
The two-day student appreciation
event will take place Friday and
Saturday at the Benjamin Knox
Galleries on University Drive and
will also commemorate the 15th
anniversary of the career of artist and
Aggie Benjamin Knox.
Kara Wilson, executive director of
the College Station Depot and Texas
A&M Class of 1998, said the unveil
ing of the caboose is part of an effort
to give Aggies the opportunity to
experience the heritage of A&M
through fine arts. Knox’ paintings
depict various aspects of Aggie tradi
tion and life at A&M.
“We want to make the College
Station Depot a cultural center for the
community and University to pro
mote fine arts,” she said.
Knox, a 1990 graduate of A&M and
resident of College Station, said the
event will include an exhibit of original
paintings from his career.
“We will have a 15-year retrospec
tive showcase that shows the proces
sion from my first piece of art to the
present-day development of my art
career,” he said. “It will be a casual
celebration to promote fine art to the
students in Aggieland.”
Knox, who was also a member of
See Knox on page 2
45-1627