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Opinion: Sweet 16 bound • Page 5
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onfire Anniversary Schedule of Events I
• ^, Remembrance ceremonies for the fourth anniversary of the 1999 Aggie Bonfire
If! uoessa •ipollapse will begin Monday.
Ross Volunteer Honor Guard at Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue
Albritton Tower carillon of the bells
Candlelight vigil at Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue
I p.m. Presentation by Hans Butzer, MSC 126
1:42 am Anniversary of 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse
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A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Monday, November 17, 2003
A&M remembers Bonfire victims
GRAPHIC BY: GRACIE ARENAS • THE BATTALION
PHOTO BY: JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION
ISOURCE : OFFICE OF THE COMMANDANT, FALL ACTIVITIES COUNCIL
By Carrie Pierce
THE BATTALION
Bonfire Remembrance Day will
begin Monday to commemorate the
fourth anniversary of the 1999 Aggie
Bonfire Collapse, in which 12 Aggies
lost their lives and 27 were injured.
Texas A&M and several student
organizations have come together to
host the remembrances.
“Our goal is to provide families
and students a chance to come
together to remember, reflect and
grieve. This simple ceremony was
an appropriate way to do that,” said
Matt Josefy, A&M student body
president. “Obviously there will be
people to reflect and grieve in dif
ferent ways.”
Beginning at noon Monday, a
Ross Volunteer Honor Guard will be
in place in front of the Academic
Building at the statue of Lawrence
Sullivan Ross, said Maj. Joseph
“Doc” Mills, media relations coor
dinator for the Office of the
Commandant. A picture of each of
the victims will form a semicircle in
front of the statue.
The ceremony this year will not
be held on the Polo Fields, where
the 1999 Bonfire stood, due to con
struction for the Bonfire Memorial
taking place on the centerpole site,
Josefy said.
The Honor Guard will remain in
place until the remembrance cere
monies begin at 5:45 p.m. with the
carillon of bells at Albritton Tower,
said Jason Sherrieb, chair of the
Bonfire Remembrance Committee
and director of Fall Activities Council.
The Corps of Cadets will march to the
Academic Plaza, Mills said.
“It is important to remember and
honor the students who died doing
something for the University that
they loved to do,” Sherrieb said.
“But it’s much more than just hon
oring those who died, but also the
people who were injured.”
At 6 p.m., families or representa
tives of the families of the Bonfire
victims will walk from the flagpole
to the statue, where there will be a
single candle lit. One by one, they
will light a candle and place it in
front of their loved one’s picture.
“We want to remember and rec
ognize what happened, and that
we’ll never forget,” Sherrieb said.
At 7 p.m. Monday there will be a
presentation by Hans Butzer, co
designer for the Oklahoma City
National Memorial, about memori
als. This presentation, which is open
to all students, will be held in room
126 of the Memorial Student Center.
On Monday night, a reception
will be held for the families of the
12 fallen Aggies, Sherrieb said.
“We know not all the families will
be able to make it back, but we want
ed to provide that option,” Josefy said.
Other than the Spirit of
Aggieland playing from Albritton
Tower, no formal ceremony is tak
ing place at 2:42 a.m. Wednesday
morning, the time the 1999 Aggie
Bonfire stack swayed and fell, send
ing students scrambling out of its
path and trapping dozens beneath it.
“We are letting students do what
ever they want and letting whatever
happens happens,” Sherrieb said.
Residence Hall Association
President Chris Mahaffey said each
residence hall will do whatever the
residents feel is appropriate.
Bonfire Coalition will be hand
ing out maroon ribbons and selling
remembrance day T-shirts Monday
and Tuesday by Rudder Fountain.
Bonfire Coalition is a student organ
ization whose main focus is to get a
safe bonfire burning on campus
See Bonfire on page 2
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By Erin Price
THE BATTALION
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The Brazos Valley Rape Crisis Center will
Ida free women’s safety awareness class
from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday that will teach self-
defense techniques and feature awareness
and prevention educational speakers.
“We really try to tap into the college com-
/uunity,” said Lori Yarbrough, director of edu
cational programsTbr the Rape Crisis Center.
We (are) going to have door prizes, it’s free,
nd it could potentially save your life.”
The program is open to women ages 13
nd older and is being held at the Student
Center Auditorium at Blinn College in
Bryan, Yarbrough said. The program usually
draws about 50 to 100 participants, and
organizers are hoping for more this year.
“We do this every semester,” Yarbrough
said. “Personal safety is a big issue, even in
a place like College Station.”
Frank Haislip of Haislip Taekwondo USA
,1 be the main speaker this year and will
teach self-defense maneuvers. Sheriff Chris
Kirk, University Police Department Director
Wiatt and UPD Police Sergeant Betty
Lemay will also be involved with the safety
irke v.erv ;lass by explaining which weapons women
as team,tli (can use to protect themselves and how to
Aggies a5|gfj n( | sex offenders in their area, she said.
Melissa Kalka, a junior business major
, looks I* from Dalian i s a volunteer at the Rape Crisis
Center. She stressed the importance of
attending the program.
“The guy who is teaching is amazing,”
Kalka said. “You need to protect yourself in
any circumstance, not just rape.”
Kalka, who is a rape survivor, speaks out
to many groups about the importance of pro
tecting oneself and being aware of one’s
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See Defense on page 2
Time to celebrate
Suzzette Devloo, left, celebrates with teammate Laura
Probst, center, who assisted Devloo in the Aggies' first goal
on Duke University Sunday afternoon. Carrie Berend, right,
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
also joins the celebration. The Aggies defeated Duke to
advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. For
more soccer coverage, please see page 5.
olditch named head of petroleum engineering
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
After a nationwide, two-round
search, the Department of Petroleum
Engineering found its new head in a
Texas A&M professor with three
degrees from Texas A&M, who is also
a member of the Petroleum
Engineering Academy of Distinguished
Graduates at Texas A&M.
Stephen Holditch, a professor
emeritus in the petroleum engineering
department and 1969 graduate, will
take on the position
of department head,
effective Jan. 12,
2004.
Upon the resigna
tion of the former
head in February, a
committee was
formed to conduct a
nationwide search
for someone to lead the department, said
G. Kemble Bennett, dean of the Dwight
Look College of Engineering. The
search committee recommended three
candidates qualified for the position,
and Holditch was selected in the second
round of interviews, Bennett said.
In the future, Holditch plans to
enhance the already strong reputation
of the petroleum engineering depart
ment and strengthen its research fund
ing and research output.
“Being an Aggie petroleum engi
neer should be the most respected self-
definition within the upstream oil and
gas industry,” Holditch said.
To achieve this excellence, Holditch
said the department must have the best
students and faculty, improve the relia
bility of funding, enhance the quality
of research and strengthen its relation
ship with the industry.
By developing a five-year plan, the
best and brightest petroleum engineers
can be brought into the department as
students or faculty through petroleum
engineering activities at the Qatar
campus and with University President
Robert M. Gates’ plans to hire new
faculty, Holditch said.
Energy production and energy use
See Petroleum on page 2
HOLDITCH
Gunman arrested
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
A man who reportedly threatened people with a
rifle was taken into custody by College Station
Police officers early Sunday morning at The
Exchange on Luther Street after officers surrounded
the apartment the man was in for nearly two hours.
Officers were dispatched to the complex at 10:48
p.m. Saturday night in response to a report of a man
at apartment complex early Sunday
with a gun. At 12:41 a.m., the man exited the apart
ment and was taken into custody, according to police
reports.
Senior environmental design major Trent League,
a resident of The Exchange, said he was surprised to
see nearly a dozen patrol cars outside his apartment
when he returned home around 11:30 p.m.
“There were three cops standing out in front of
our building,” League said. “They said it was a haz
ardous area and we couldn’t go inside.”
League said the apartment police had surrounded
was across from his own in building 17; however, he
didn’t know any of the residents who live in the four-
bedroom apartment. He said at least two officers
were positioned at the back of the apartment,
crouched between patrol cars with their guns drawn.
He and his friend decided to leave the complex
after bystanders informed them that the situation
involved a man with a gun. League said.
As they were leaving, League said the College
Station tactical team arrived.
Focus on
International
Education
By Lauren Smith
THE BATTALION
This week students will have the oppor
tunity to learn about the cultures of 3,700
Texas A&M international students from
115 different countries as part of
International Education Week.
U.S. Secretary of Education Ron Paige
and Secretary of State Colin Powell have
declared Nov. 17-21 International
Education Week, a nationally observed
event held for the fourth time.
Julio Jana, president of the
International Students Association, said he
is excited about having a week to educate
people about international affairs, bringing
all students together.
“We are living in a global world,
everything that happens here affects other
parts of the world,” Jana said. “By pro
moting international awareness, not only
on campus but in the Brazos Valley, a
more welcoming environment to foreign
affairs will be created.”
In a Sept. 17 memo, University
President Robert M. Gates said
International Education Week will be a
time for Texas A&M to join schools and
colleges across the country in celebrating
many opportunities for students to gain
global knowledge and cultural awareness.
In the past year, nearly 1,100 A&M stu
dents went on 23 study abroad programs.
Jennifer Baker, a senior industrial distri
bution major, said studying abroad in France
changed her life, and she plans to teach
English in Japan following graduation.
“It completely changed my world view,
and I strongly recommend it to anyone, even
if it is only for a short time,” Baker said.
Lynne Masel Walters, head of internation
al studies and associate professor of journal
ism, said “it seems like everyone is coming
here, and we are not going over there.”
“We are on top of the heap right now,
but somebody else might end up there
because they were better educated about
the world,” Walters said.
The ISA is making a campuswide effort
to get everyone on campus to wear some
thing international Monday, anything from
an international hat to a T-shirt with a flag.
Bill Kibler, interim vice president of
Student Affairs, will make a few remarks
See International on page 2
International Education Week Events
MONDAY
• Grand opening of CAVE (international student
lounge)
• Address from Bill Kibler, VP of Student
Affairs, 5 p.m., CAVE
TUESDAY
• Brown Bag luncheon, "Miscommunications in
Intercultural Encounters,” 12 p.m. -1 p.m.,
Harrington 616
WEDNESDAY
• International Education Resource tables,
10 a.m. - 2 p.m., MSC Flag Room
• Living, Working, Teaching Abroad, 5 p.m.,
Career Center
THURSDAY
• Martial Arts Education, 7 p.m., MSC Flag Room
FRIDAY
• Cultural Forums, locations across campus
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : WWW.TAMU.EDU/ISA