V
(
m m ^ Tuesday, January 20,2004
The Battalion
Volume 110 • Issue 73 • IK pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
Sports:
Aggies fall to
No. 12 Kansas
Page IB
w \\\\. thebattalion.net
Page design by Lauren Rouse
Marching in memory
•mister Robert Smith (from left) Pastor Anthony Brown, ♦*>« R ev - CaH ,dlebird ' Pas,or Charles Jefferson and Pastor Kris Erskine lead the 7th Annual
^\artin Luther King Freedom Walk at 10 a m on Monday morning with a song of praise Local supporters gathered at Sadie Thomas Park in Bryan to
folk down Martin Luther King Jr street to Kemp Elementary School. The walk, sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, consisted of various organiza-
ns including the Bryan High marching band and Habitat for Humanity.
tudents urged to live the dream
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
Prairie View A&M President George C.
mght urged Brazos Valley community mem-
brs Monday to keep Martin Luther King Jr.'s
Beam alive and remember the true meaning of
Be Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
I “I often worry that when we do some
thing every year that for some people it may
1c e some of its meaning, that after a while,
■e'll just think about it as a celebration, as a
By off of work, or something like that,"
Bright said. "But I think there’s so much
Bore to this day than that.”
I Wright said Martin Luther King Day is a
time to step back and think about the histo
ry of black people and King’s life and what
he would be doing if he were alive today.
If King were alive today, Wright said, he
would be concerned about poverty, war and
black-on-black crime. He would also want
every black person over the age of IS to be
registered to vote and for blacks to take
advantage of educational opportunities.
Bryan-College Station community mem
bers met at Sadie Thomas Park in Bryan and
walked down Martin Luther King Jr. Street,
singing and marching to tunes from the
Hearne High School Eagle Band.
The march ended at Kemp Elementary,
where the participants heard inspirational
speeches from Wright and U.S.
Congressman Chet Edwards.
Entertainment was provided by Karan
Chavis, Marian Anderson String Quartet
and a step routine from Omicron Omega, the
A&M chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority. Agnes Gray, program chair, said
850 people participated.
Edwards said that, as a white person, he
will never fully understand the life of a
black person.
“I have to believe that Dr. King chal
lenged me and every one of us in this coun
try and in this audience today, including our
See Dream on page 2A
Verdict expected
soon in cavalry case
By Elizabeth Webb
THE BATTALION
State District Judge Rick
Davis said he expects to have
a ruling on the Parsons
Mounted Cavalry case by the
end of the month.
The cavalry was suspended
in October 2002 after a mem
ber came forward with allega
tions of hazing.
Twenty-three members of
Parsons are suing Texas A&M
for a permanent injunction that
would keep them from being
punished for underage drink
ing, hazing and physical abuse.
Lawyers in the Parsons
Mounted Cavalry case presented
their closing arguments Jan. 9.
Ronald Hole, an attorney
who represents members of
Parsons, said A&M had been
negligent in its execution of
disciplining the students.
Hole said University employ
ees did not adequately notify stu
dents of the charges, assumed
the students were guilty and did
not observe due process laws.
"You’re entitled to a hearing
in the same semester,” Hole said.
“That wasn’t done in this case."
Assistant Attorney General
Russ Harris said A&M had com
plied w ith due process laws and
that the students understood the
University rules they had broken.
“We gave constitutionally
adequate time of response
under the Texas due process
standard," he said. "All of the
students received a form letter
that listed the rules the student
had violated. All of the students
said they understood the
charges against them."
Hole also said that
University officials had violated
the students’ free speech rights
when they were asked not to
talk about the investigation.
Harris said officials were
trying to prevent the accused
students from joining together
and concocting a story.
“What you’re trying to do is
preserve the integrity of the
ongoing investigation," he said.
Brandon Baate, an attorney
for the plaintiffs, said that the
University’s definition of haz
ing is too vague.
"We tried to nail the
University down on what they
considered hazing, and we got
a different response and inter
pretation from everyone we
talked to,” he said. “How can
you expect 18-and 19-year-old
boys to understand something
that Ph.Ds and University offi
cials can’t explain?”
^ ^ We tried to nail
the University down
on what they
considered hazing,
and we got a
different...
interpretation from
everyone we
talked to.
— Brandon Baate
plantiffs' attorney
In addition, Baate said the
University had previously con
doned the use of hazing. He
said the University was making
an example out of Parsons
members after instituting a
new policy against hazing,
which was not clearly commu
nicated to Parsons members.
Harris said University
President Robert M. Gates and
Corps Commandant Lt. Gen.
John Van Alstyne had made it
known that they were not going
to tolerate hazing of any kind.
"(Parsons members) knew
what they were doing was
wrong, hut they didn’t want to
betray their friends," Harris said.
Tom Matlock, an attorney
representing the plaintiffs, ended
the session by saying that the
University had been neglectful
by ignoring due process of law.
“I don’t think there’s any way
to fairly administer this because
of the passage of time," he said.
I
Former Corps of Cadets member killed in Iraq
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
I Capt. Ernesto Blanco-Caldas was never
without his guitar. The classically-trained gui-
ta ist qnly had to be in one spot for a short time
before he would reach for his guitar and start
liking requests.
I “Ernie had such a beautiful voice and you did
n't have to ask him twice to sing, ever," said his
sister. Carmen Pendergraff. “He would perform
anywhere. He would know you for 20 seconds,
aid then pull out his guitar and play for you.”
I When Blanco-Caldas was deployed to Iraq
in September 2003, his guitar went with him.
The easygoing, passionate soldier, who was
never without a smile, last performed when he
sang "Happy Birthday” for a fellow soldier’s
wife only a few days before he was killed.
Blanco-Caldas, Class of 1998, died Dec. 28,
2003, when an explosive device hit his vehicle
in Qaryat Ash Shababi. On Jan. 6,2004, he was
buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
About 400 people were in attendance at the
funeral, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
“My heart is broken,” said Blanco-Caldas’
mother, Gloria Caldas. “He was amazing. He
made everyone feel special and he made me
feel like 1 was the best mom in the world.”
Pendergraff said that it was incredible how
much of an impact her brother had on everyone.
“My brother touched so many people,”
Pendergraff said. “Everyone that knew him
felt like they were Ernie’s favorite, and that is
a great gift."
Blanco-Caldas. a native Puerto Rican,
moved to San Antonio with his mother and sis
ter when he was 15. Caldas said her son imme
diately fell in love with Texas.
“The minute he hit the ground here, he knew
he was home,” she said. “He went from being
Ernesto Blanco to Ernie Blanco, wearing cow
boy boots and learning how to country dance.”
Blanco-Caldas loved everything about
Texas, from country music and Shiner Bock to
the Texas Hill Country.
In San Antonio, Blanco-Caldas attended
Churchill High School where he became
involved in the school choir. In 1993, Blanco-
See Corps on page 2A
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The family of Ernesto M.
Blanco-Caldas has set up a
scholarship fund specifically
aimed at helping Hispanic
students in the Corps who are
interested in music.
For more information,
write to:
Ernesto M. Blanco-Caldas
Memorial Scholarship Fund
7510 Camomile Cove
San Antonio,TX 78249-2550
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : CARMEN PENDERGRAFF
|rea beef consumption
unaltered by mad cow scare
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
B The unyielding importance of beef to local culture has man
ag'd to survive the blow brought by last month's mad cow dis
covery in Washington state, as area vendors and consumers report
their confidence in the quality of their beef.
I Pat Shields, the Brazos Valley Livestock Commission general
■anager, estimated that when beef markets opened for the new year
in January, prices for beef had dropped 8 to 10 percent. However,
last week’s sales indicated an upward trend.
B “The markets had been closed for a few weeks for Christmas
so we really didn’t know where the market was going to be,"
: Shields said. “But this week, prices are right back to where they
1 were before the mad cow thing came. In fact, last week’s prices
I went up about 10 to 15 percent.”
Mad cow disease, technically known as bovine spongiform
; encephalopathy, is a slowly progressive, degenerative and fatal
I disease affecting the central nervous system in infected adult cat-
• tie, as reported by the Food Drug Administration (FDA). When
1 infected beef is consumed by humans, a similar condition known
I as Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease may develop. The FDA also reports
I that the disease cannot be transmitted through cow’s milk. The
7SC CHOPPED BEEF SMKSmOA
Northgate eatery brings attention to area's confidence in beef quality.
reason for the current scare of infected cows stemmed from
reports of an infected cow, imported from Canada, which was
found in Washington in December 2003.
The Brazos Valley Livestock Commission discourages the sale
of downer cows — cows that are too sickly to walk to sale barns
on their own. While a downer cow may not necessarily indicate a
cow infected with mad cow disease, Shields says it’s safer to dis-
clude them.
See Mad Cow on page 5A
Redman selected as new
VP and chief of finance
By Carrie Pierce
THE BATTALION
A new senior vice president and chief financial officer will join the
Texas A&M staff in February.
Susan Redman, vice president for finance and corporate controller
for Irving-based AdvancePCS, will succeed William B. Krumm, who
retired from his position Jan. 1,2004. Krumm has served as vice pres
ident since 1996. Redman will begin her duties as senior vice presi
dent and chief financial officer on Feb. 16.
Krumm said he will remain with the University for the remainder
of the current fiscal year.
Upon the announcement of Krumm’s retirement, A&M President
Robert M. Gates established an eight- member committee in September
to find a new vice president and chief financial officer. The committee
was chaired by Dr. Jerry Strawser, dean of May’s Business School.
The process to find Krumm’s successor began with ads for appli
cants in The Wall Street Journal, as well as at various accounting firms
and through personal contacts, Strawser said. More than 100 appli
cants were found.
S. Jane Schneider a member of the hiring committee and assistant
See Redman on page 5A