Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2003)
‘ Aggies anottiep 1)11 to the m r track rft nst them. :can gofaitv 1 defender °f the goaf came here I four and ,' pionshipno; dl four year. get some n. f reconvene espectively. in the work :y. a different be, so wefc erent ihiti: J. "There is e, for we i the par: :e with Ker;:. "we still li\; )rld," in:: s" will k i ffort to diw ) the seete.. :nts live s who vs * indivit being ep. niation asp ring things! a constant i: •ut whatte ' will be kip a natural (E is, and we a son said, the diate many oft nentors die ng to A&t mot waittot ne of those j wait tosfl chat youtl I. sium was 'N- -B. the m \ssociati«i? T Multfi Departmett vities ant of F® j.m.t ice Acgielife: Where have all the howdies gone • Page B Opinion: Big brother is watching • Page 7 THF RATTAT TON A LLJu AJZjl X X-TLXjXVyii Volume 110 • Issue 62 • 8 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebattalion.net Monday, November 24, 2003 SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION Student bonfire burns By Sonia Moghe THE BATTALION The centerpole in this year’s off-campus stu dent bonfire collapsed at 3:13 a.m. Nov. 22, pre dicting that Texas A&M would beat the University of Texas in next week’s highly antici pated football game. Traditionally, if the centerpole of bonfire col lapses before midnight, it is predicted that A&M will lose to Texas, but if it collapses after mid night, A&M will win. This year marks the second year a bonfire was held off campus. Since the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse that resulted in the deaths of 12 Aggies and the injury of 27 more, Aggie Bonfire’s ties with the University have been severed. Approximately 13,000 people attended the bon fire, which took place on the privately-owned property of Brad Zimmerman, an Aggie support er, said Mack Lampton, Unity Project director. Paul Harding, a senior animal science major who helped build the bonfire, said the atmos phere Saturday night was one of anticipation and excitement. “People weren’t quite sure what to expect because it wasn’t a cake design like old bonfire,” he said. The event was a success, Harding said, bring ing together new and old Aggies. This year’s attendance exceeded last year’s. “When it lit, there was a moment of silence,” Harding said. “People were in awe at how amaz ing it looked.” One minor injury was reported at the bonfire, which was treated on site. None of the ‘gray pots’ — students who were tending the bonfire — were hurt, Lampton said. Aggie yells were conducted on autopilot in the absence of the yell leaders, as thousands of peo ple waited at the site for about 7,000 who were held up en route because of shuttle bus delays. “We probably should have had more buses,” said Aaron Stagner, spokesman for the Unity Project. “We even had lots of people walking down the road to get there.” Shuttle bus delays were due to a surge of peo ple heading to the bonfire around 7:30 p.m., Harding said. “We knew it was going to be a long trip, but the problem was that everyone showed up at the See Bonfire on page 2 Far left: Senior agriculture major Jim Bouse leads the crowd in Aggie yells during Unity Project's off-campus bonfire held Saturday night off Dilly Shaw Tap Road in Bryan. The lighting of the bonfire was originally scheduled for 8 p.m. but was postponed for nearly two hours due to the large amount of stu dents waiting to get in. At least 10,000 Aggies came out to show off their burning desire to beat the University of Texas. Near Left: Students take a knee during the off-campus bonfire Saturday. The bonfire was approximately 50 ft tall with a bright orange outhouse on top. This year was the Unity Project's second year to build and burn a student-run off-campus bonfire. SHARON AESCHBACH* THE BATTALION Two American soldiers pummeled by Iraqi teens By Mariam Fam THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSUL, Iraq — Iraqi teenagers dragged two bloodied U.S. soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing the killings as a burst of sav agery in a city once safe for Americans. Another soldier was killed by a bomb and a U.S.-allied police chief was assassinated. The U.S.-led coalition also said it grounded commercial flights after the mili tary confirmed that a missile struck a DHL cargo plane that landed Saturday at Baghdad International Airport with its wing aflame. Nevertheless, American officers insisted they were making progress in bringing sta bility to Iraq, and the U.S.-appointed Governing Council named an ambassador to Washington — an Iraqi-American woman who spent the past decade lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote democracy in her homeland. Witnesses to the Mosul attack said gun men shot two soldiers driving through the city center, sending their vehicle crashing into a wall. The 101st Airborne Division said the soldiers were driving to See Soldiers on page 8 Attacks continue Gunmen shot and killed two American soldiers driving in Mosul on Sunday. A crowd then looted their vehicle and pummeled their bodies with concrete blocks. Elsewhere, one American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb, just outside Baghdad. TURKEY Two American soldiers shot and killed SYRIA T IRAQ SAUDI X ARABIA 0100 mi 0 100 km Kirkuk * \ uk / sBagh<j IRAN ad American soldier killed by roadside bomb % KVW. \ SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI AP Aggie soccer ends season in Sweet 16 Staff & Wire THE BATTALION Penn State used a goal and two assists by Heidi Drummond in Saturday’s NCAA third-round game to defeat the No. 17 Texas A&M soccer team 3-0 at Jeffrey Field in State College, Penn. A&M ended its season with a final record of 13-6-3. The Aggies are one of six teams in the nation to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 each of the last five seasons. No. 5 Penn State improved to 19-2-3 and will play the University of California-Los Angeles in the NCAA quarterfinals next weekend. “If you are not going to win, you want to get knocked out by a better team,” said A&M coach G. Guerrieri. “Penn State is a great team, both physically and tacti cally. The three goals they scored were all excellent goals.” Penn State took the lead in the 13th minute on the 19th goal of the season by Herrmann Trophy finalist Joanna Lohman. Lohman scored from inside the six-yard box, beating sophomore A&M goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak low GUERRIERI and to the right. The goal was set up by consecutive passes from Tiffany Weimer and Drummond, who were both credited with assists. The Nittany Lions continued applying offensive pressure to the Aggie defense, and Drummond scored her 15th of the season five minutes later when she fin ished a cross from Ali Krieger to give Penn State a two-goal lead. Early in the second half, Wiemer, also a Herrmann Trophy finalist, scored her 21st goal of the season to give Penn State a 3-0 lead. A&M’s lone senior, midfielder See Sweet 16 on page 8 Liberal Arts college reviews Dean Johnson By Rhiannon Meyers THE BATTALION Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts continued a review of College of Liberal Arts Dean Charles A. Johnson Friday afternoon in a confidential meeting. Faculty members met with Associate Provost and Dean of Faculties Karan Watson and Provost and Executive Vice President David Prior to evaluate Johnson’s performance as dean. This meeting marks the second phase in an ongoing review of Johnson, beginning with a faculty questionnaire about him. “Faculty members filled out a ques tionnaire evaluating Johnson’s leader ship, promotion of the college to the University and outside public and managerial style,” said C. Jan Swearingen, professor of English and Liberal Arts Caucus leader. Watson said this midterm review is a mandatory process in accordance with University Rule 12.99.99.M5 section 3.4.1, “the provost shall initiate a pre liminary review of new deans within the first 24 months of service.” Reviews of deans are University-wide occurrences. In the review, faculty members evaluated Johnson’s strengths and weaknesses and made suggestions, which will then be passed on to Johnson following the review. “This review is a way of taking the pulse of the faculty,” said Dr. Douglas Starr, a professor of journalism. “Some like the things he is doing, and some don’t.” Several professors said some of Johnson’s actions within the college have been controversial. “Some policies having to do with exemplary merit raises are controver sial,” said Janet McCann, professor of English and a member of the Liberal Arts Caucus. Other actions, including Johnson’s recommendation to close the Department of Journalism and his poli cies concerning teaching versus research have caused a stir within the college. However, several professors expressed satisfaction with Johnson’s performance as dean. “Dean Johnson is doing exactly what he should be doing,” said Kim Hill, a professor of political science. “If we want to be a better college and a bet ter University, we are headed in the right direction with Dean Johnson.” Swearingen said an announcement is expected in two weeks regarding the results of the review. University action towards Johnson will depend upon the results of this review. “It’s just a lot of discussion right now,” Swearingen said. JOHNSON Date for annual Elephant Walk approaches By Jenna Jones THE BATTALION Whitney Walker, a senior education major, has to skip class to attend Elephant Walk this year. She attended Junior E-Walk last year as well but left early because of “cold and nasty” weather. “I am going with some friends that I have known always and some that are new from school, which represents my time here well” Walker said. “It is a time of closure, some of your final moments with your friends here in your last year of school. I definitely think it will be a memory that I will always keep with me.” In the fall of 1922, the Texas A&M class of 1926 decided to take one final walk around the campus to remember their time spent in Aggieland and the friends and memories they had made. As they walked single file, each man with his hand on the shoulder of his friend before him, an observer noted that they “looked like ele phants, about to die.” Thus the second-oldest standing tradition at A&M was born: Elephant Walk. In subse quent years, this became a tra dition reserved for seniors that takes place before the last foot ball game of the season each year, according to A&M Class Councils. “It started revolving around a particularly bad football sea son, so one of the things that Elephant Walk signifies is that the seniors are no longer part of the Twelfth Man, representing their ‘death,’” said Heather Louder, co-director of Elephant Walk and a senior international studies major. “That’s why it happens before the t.u. game every year.” As the years progressed, Elephant Walk became a much- anticipated celebration. “It is meant to be a time of remembrance, unity and class togetherness,” Louder said. “It is one of the last times for the senior class to come together at an event specifically for the senior class.” See Elephant on page 2 Elephant Walk 2003 -Nov. 25 • Began in 1922 as a way to help the football team • Symbolic of the end of the senior class' worth to the student body • Class of 2005 starts Jr. E-Walk at 2:06 p.m. and Class of 2004 starts at 2:04 p.m. at Kyle Field For more information, see: http://classcouncils.tamu.edu/elephantwalk CRACIE ARENAS • THE BATTALION SOURCE : CLASS COUNCILS