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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 2004)
i ITHUi >art ity sed out The Battalion \olum* MO * I ; ;m |0'> • JO I ** \ si S V A; IS I I ■ sMliUoil SilM (' Opinion: Administration should be held accountable. Page 9 WWW I 1 PAGE DESIGN BY : LAUREN ROUSE employs ie acted j ears. re:;, the medi selling! ies. He s Primaries sweep through Texas Tuesday \ employ; oing. ' most prey a the uj ne the pn )rotocolj th receii; Candidates in close race for District 17 Times By James Twine THE BATTALION he colleti imply y\; -A Med:; c with as ertheyej iproxinii; Id parts K 'posed to they tell: lawyer: the tinker; nated bod and soldi son paid: ith cashier Reid. A employ 'ed to lu beenpfc son has® rested, son hiitK on to lip n against a XXlfortw for and «i m. [en stei 'em ihehospn minplarf : Quadrlct; The race for the District 17 congressional seat was in the midst of a heated battle Tuesday night. Two of the three candidates, Arlene Wohlgemuth, Dave McIntyre and Dot Snyder, will face each other in a runoff election in April. Wohlgemuth and McIntyre both said they felt good about how the race was turning out and were pleased at the support they received in Brazos County. The two candidates were on hand for the primary election results Tuesday night at the Brazos Center. The winner of the Republican nomination will face Democrat Chet Edwards in the upcom ing November elections. McIntyre, who has taught at Texas A&M on the subject of homeland security, has been running a grass roots campaign based in College Station. “Support here is great in Brazos County; it has been all about our volunteers’ hard work,” McIntyre said. Wohlgemuth has been serving in the Texas State Legislature for the past five tenns, and she has been endorsed by five A&M regents. Wohlgemuth expressed her gratitude for the people in Brazos County and her relationship with A&M. “lhave strong ties here at A&M; I am pleased lo be here with friends and family who support us," she said. Snyder, who was in Waco with her supporters on Tuesday night, said, “Brazos County is a very important part of the race.” The race was shaping up to be a runoff between Wohlgemuth and either McIntyre or Snyder at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. McIntyre acknowledged the reality of a pos sible runoff. ' “ljust had two goals coming into the race; to just get a runoff, and through this process shape (heagenda and the arguments of the Republican See District 17 on page 2 (From left to right) John Jackson, Lisa O'Connor, Lane voters to elect their candidates outside the Brazos Thibodeaux and Lauren Schulman try to convince Center Tuesday afternoon. Remaining districts see seat-swapping By Suzanne Gamboa THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS — A Democratic freshman congress man from Houston was bounced from office Tuesday after his district was redrawn by the Republicans, while a veteran lawmaker who switched parties this year easily won his GOP con test. Another race in the San Antonio area was too close to call. Rep. Chris Bell was upset by A1 Green, a former head of the Houston NAACP. With 50 percent of precincts reporting. Green had 8,948 votes, or 67 percent, to 4,205 votes, or 31 percent, for Bell. On the Republican side, Rep. Ralph Hall, who left the Democratic party in January, easily defeated two lesser-known challengers a day after riding with President George W. Bush on Air Force One to a Houston fund-raiser. Hall’s defection landed him crit ical backing from GOP leaders who called at least one primary opponent and asked him to leave the race. “1 had a natural advantage over these guys,” said Hall, 80. “When you have the president and the speaker of the House and the national Republican chairman going for you, it’s hard to break in.” Four-term Rep. Giro Rodriguez was locked in a tight battle with former ally Henry Cuellar in an overwhelmingly Hispanic district that stretches from San Antonio to the Mexican border. With 76 percent of precincts reporting, only about 150 votes separated the two. In another Democratic primary. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, a powerful liberal, easily won the nomination over former state Judge Leticia Hinojosa. During their effort to redraw Texas’ congres sional map last year, the GOP targeted Doggett and Bell by making their districts more Republican. But both men decided to jump to heavily Democratic districts. Bell, 44, ran in a Houston district where about 66 percent of the voters are black or Hispanic. Bell is white, and Green, 56, is black. The Texas Legislature redrew the map last year in a pitched battle that led to two out-of-state walkouts See Seat on page 2 r Femi Paiem A Femod CO# Menisci Title IX still affecting womens lives [Artificial coinpofflrt" repiacerf Articulate surface Stemmed llbial plale Fibula By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION Title IX is still impacting women’s ves, said a panel of six current and ormer Texas A&M athletes Tuesday fternoon. The panel members told personal (counts of how Title IX has affected leir lives and how it is affecting men’s sports as part of A&M’s Women’s Week. Title IX is a federal law passed in 72 that bans gender discrimination onceming academics and athletics in IIschools. It requires that scholarship noney awarded by a school must be eirdi# roportionate to the ratio of male and ha veCf: male athletes, and all equipment or id. 't* y to dreJi' 1 opportunities provided to teams must be equivalent for both genders. Jamie Riojas, a member of the A&M women’s track team and a junior ag economics major, said she appreciates what past women Aggies and Title IX have done for current sports. “Listening to their (other panelists’) stories, it makes me realize how small I am,” Riojas said. “It makes me appreci ate everything we have and realize how lucky we are.” Trigg Crawford Bracewell, Class of 1981, played four years of women’s basketball under the newly passed law. Bracewell said the team had to travel to Poteet, Texas, to face an opponent, and that the team’s “hotel” was local homes or the floor of a Baptist church. Bracewell said she is happy to see the progress women’s sports have made since her playing days, but said more funding for women’s sports is necessary to help continue the benefits. “Women need to reach into their pocketbooks,” Bracewell said. “Men might be more reluctant to give to a women’s sport as compared to a men’s.” The panelists agreed with Bracewell, saying funding and more opportunities were necessary for women’s sports. Ellen Morcom Kasari, Class of 1977 and a two-year member of the volleyball team, said that in the years before Title IX, the only way most women succeed- See Title IX on page 2 i, the n i’s Pro! ed. The ven to aduate brents’Weekend preparations begin role ii fitness ZOO-f The u!!fc y haV I paruapated in the tradltlons and en J°y s P endin 8 "One Sgirit, Or^ramiL), One Weekend" to e profe 1 esideoi Kier, lminis I,J award ty first ■aD By Michael Player THE BATTALION Rick and Doranda Couch never went to Texas A&M, but Parents’j\ Weekend me on the campus “Even though my husband and I did not go to school at ulie Bd M, we feel like we are no less members of the Aggie fam- y,” Doranda Couch said. The Couches have made Parents’ Weekend a part of their f Veteriijpring activities for a few years now. Their daughters, linistrad ebecca and Ashley, attend A&M. “Parents’ Weekend is what really showed me the family tiritof A&M,” Doranda Couch said.“(It) really shows how $ iecampus is family-oriented.” Parents’Weekend 2004 will be held April 16-18 on the ).R.Simpson Drill Field and surrounding areas, and it will e filled with the scent of barbecue and the sound of music s students and their parents gather for a weekend of fun ndbonding, said Raegan Birdwell, Parents’ Weekend com- littee president. “Parents’ Weekend is going to be bigger and better than :r,” Bracewell said. The theme for this year’s Parents’ Weekend is “One Spirit, ne Family, One Weekend,” Birdwell said. The committee ill be coordinating with Whoopstock on April 17 so there ill not be a Tack of things to do on campus, Birdwell said. addition to Whoopstock, April 17 will be filled with a ariety of events, including Midnight Yell, Bevo Burn arbecue and the Maroon and White football game. “Whoopstock is something that goes well with Parents’ Weekend because they can both serve to unify the Aggie fam- ^; Z* rljy'.. i i 1; J! ||pF Aggie Mom’s Routicjue, p a.m. MSC. Vanetxj Show, /-.^O p.m. • Midnight Yell, izia.m. • E>evo Burn Barbecue, 11 a.m. • Whoopstock, 11 a.m. • Maroon and White Game, p.m. * Ail Gniversitcj Awards, 2?AO a.m. Ross Volunteer Performance, 1Z:50 p.m. GRACIE ARENAS • THE BATTALION SOURCE : PARENTS' WEEKEND COMMITTEE ily,” said Meagan Pitcher, director of entertainment for Whoopstock. “We will show diversity with several different styles of music, which will in turn bring people together.” Along with music, Whoopstock will consist of various booths and exhibits. See Parents on page 2 Diem to represent student voice in CBE By Carrie Pierce THE BATTALION A student Ir - has been appointed as student repre sentative for the Council for the Built Environment. Chris Diem, diem a junior politi cal science major, was recom mended by Student Body President Matt Josefy and approved by David Prior, execu tive vice president and provost, earlier this month. Diem is now a full member of the council, and he has the same say as other members, said William Perry, executive associ ate provost. The Council for the Built Environment has received atten tion lately due to the potential closing of Hotard Hall and com munication issues between the council and the student body. “After the Hotard incident, students needed a say on where things are put on campus,” Diem said. The council made the deci sion to add a student two weeks before the Hotard issue even came up, Perry said. Diem is active with student government, Josefy said, serving on the publicity committee, the food services committee and working on the Collegiate Readership Program. Josefy said this representative position is one of the dozen stu dent appointments that the stu dent body president is permitted to make each year. “Chris has demonstrated an incredible ability to work on stu dents’ behalf and will represent us well,” Josefy said. A&M has three other councils; the Educational Environment Council, the Finance Council and the Research Council. The only other council with a student repre sentative is the Educational Environment Council, Josefy said. Although the appointment of a student to the committee was not directly because of the Hotard incident, the incident did make it more evident that one was need ed, Josefy said. “There has been a case being made on why students should be on these councils,” Josefy said. “It became apparent that stu dents on the councils would be beneficial.” Josefy said Diem’s job will be to identify any recommendations the council makes that would affect the students. He can also identify any potential problems and make his own recommenda tions to the council. Diem said he is exploring ways of getting the word out to students about what’s going on. In the future, incidents such as closing of a residence hall with out student input will be prevent ed, Diem said. Josefy said there are not any other universities with major councils where students have an equal voice at the table. “The student government is most effective when we are able to act proactively and preemptive ly,” Josefy said. Diem said he is honored to be appointed to this position. “It is a great opportunity for students to have a voice on this committee,” Diem said. “I’m looking forward to putting stu dent input on these decisions.”