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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2004)
TALII Thursday, March 11, 2004 Battalion On the Web: The role of women in biology. Volume 110 • Issue 110 • 12 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebatt.com * Watkins steps down iafter dismal season By Troy Miller THE BATTALION IE BATTAl® am play! Texas A&M men's basketball head coach Melvin Watkins resigned Wednesday fol lowing a 7-20 regular season record, capped off by a 0-16 Big 12 conference record. The resignation will be effective after the finishes its season. A&M starts play in Big 12 Tournament Thursday against the diversity of Missouri at 8:20 p.m. at the lerican Airlines Center in Dallas. Bill Byrne, A&M athletic director lanked Watkins for his time at A&M. “I have accepted head coach Melvin itkin’s resignation effective immediately the end of the season,” said A&M Athletic :ctor Bill Byrne. “I thank Melvin sin gly for the high class and positive image (with which he represented Texas A&M.” Watkins was hired as head coach prior to ilie 1998 season after he led his alma mater, Jie University of North Carolina-Charlotte, to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appear- in his only two years as head coach. He never made a postseason appearance A&M. collecting a 60-1 1 1 record during six years. Tm grateful for the opportunity the (Diversity gave me, but it’s time to move oi,"Watkins said. ‘‘I’m proud of the young men on this team. 1 regret that we weren't able to enjoy more success this year, but I feel confident that we have built a solid foundation for the future of the program.” Watkins signed a three-year contract extension during the current season, but it reportedly has a low buy-out. Financial details of Watkins’ resignation were dis closed Wednesday. The focus now turns to who will replace Watkins as head coach at A&M. ”1 want to attract a coach who can recruit basketball players and coach them,” Byrne said. “I go to experts in the sport and ask for their advice.” Watkins is the second coach to leave dur ing Byrne’s tenure. Former women’s bas ketball head coach Peggie Gillom was released shortly after Byrne accepted the athletic director position in December 2002. Byrne said the A&M head coaching job is one of the better positions in college basketball. “We’re Texas A&M University,” Byrne said. “We’re one of the two flagship uni versities in Texas. We live within 100 miles of (Houston). It’s a great opportuni ty for a coach.” Watkins said he isn’t sure where he will go after this season, but that he feels he is leaving a program on the rise. “It’s been great, but you have to win games,” Watkins said. “We feel the program is in better shape than when we got here, but it’s time to step aside and let someone else get it turned around.” PACE DESIGN BY: EMILY HENDRICKSON Buckle up John C. Livas • THE BATTALION Senior Texas state trooper of the Department of Public Bush Parent Center parking lot in College Station. Parents Safety Eddie Carmon instructs Devon Lee (center), Class in the Head Start Program received free child safety seats of 1 999 of Bryan, how to properly fasten child safety belts and training for proper child seat fastening, for Rachel Lee, 2, Wednesday morning at the Barbara •m VP of student £ ! affairs candidate visits campus lion, (li ; secret* is rootst ociati® it strictli :ks agaiis be itish bail ve i of bel«l ire active! latedSmi ions wo! uals * officii By Sonia Moghe and Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION A, candidate interviewing for the vice president for stu dent affairs position will be on campus Thursday to answer questions and meet and greet Texas A&M students, faculty and staff. Ken Reeves, executive direc tor for business development at Nolacomputer services, will be in the J. Stark Galleries from 2:30p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The position has been vacant since May 2003 when J, Malon Southerland retired s indiif after serving in the position for nine years. Reeves is currently working on his doctorate, and is a for mer A&M student. Matt Josefy, student body president and a senior account- ingmajor, said the vice presi dent for student affairs serves as an advocate for students and oversees all aspects of student life from residence halls to the Corps of Cadets to the je used 1 ent pi® 1 j $5741 g n t top Memorial Student Center. a of || “The vice president of stu- trop-b® dent affairs position is the sin- 3 nonpl gle most important position Jsjlyfois when it comes to students being involved on campus,” See Candidate on page 2 Josefy said. Josefy said Reeves’ strengths lie in his background in human resources and his affiliation with A&M. Josefy said student input in choosing the right person for the job is vital, and meeting all the candidates is the best opportunity to understand where each one stands. There will be several candi dates visiting the campus over the next three or four weeks, Josefy said. “The person who ultimately fills this position is someone who needs to be an advocate for students,” Josefy said, “someone who students feel comfortable going to with any type of concern.” Chris Mahaffey, Residence Hall Association president, said he wants someone who under stands the students and spirit at A&M, and who upholds the kind of availability of the administration that students at A&M are lucky to have. “I want someone who is open to that kind of access,” he said. Mahaffey said the vice pres ident for student affairs is the head of the “other education,” Gas prices deplete wallets nationwide By Jason Hanselka THE BATTALION As gasoline prices ignite nationwide, spring break travelers may have to dig deep in their pockets to come up with enough money to get to their intended destinations next week. Most local prices for regular unleaded gasoline average about $1.59 per gallon and may cause travelers to rethink their plans for the break. Beth Rodgers, a junior communications major, said her plans are up in the air. “My boyfriend and I were planning on going to the Red River, but his mom didn’t think that was a good idea,” she said. “She just got back from an expensive trip, and she is concerned about how much gas will cost for us to go to the river.” Rodgers said she spends about $25 a week on gas traveling back and forth to Temple for work every weekend. “Sometimes it feels like it’s not worth it if I’m spending a lot of money on gas just to get to work,” she said. Ryan Carriage, a freshman business major, said high gas prices will not change his planned trip to Colorado. “We really can't afford to fly, so we’re stuck with driving,” he said. “We’re proba bly going to spend a lot of money on gas.” Carriage said gas prices play a role in whether he decides to drive back home to Tomball, Texas, which is about an hour and 15 min utes from College Station. “I don’t necessarily have to go back home, so I usually only go once a month,” he said. “I don’t go more often because I don't want to spend the money on gas.” Kyle Loveless, owner of Tigerland Express, said the highest jump in his gas prices was 16 cents in one day a few weeks ago. “There are regular increases in gas prices on Fridays, but they usually decrease on Monday,” he said. “Now there are increases on Friday that don’t decrease on Monday.” •Local regular unleaded prices currently average $1.59 per gallon • Gas prices normally increase every Friday and decrease on the following Monday • Prices will continue to increase as the year progresses Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION Source : KYLE LOVELESS, OWNER OF TIGERLAND EXPRESS Loveless said increases in gas prices start at the corporate level with commodities exchanges on gas and large purchases of gas by hypermarts such as grocery store chains. See Gas on page 2 Greek students get glimpse of A&M life By Natalie Younts THE BATTALION Four students and their teacher from the American Farm School in Greece are get ting a glimpse of Texas life as they spend nine days learning about the Texas culture and farming. The group arrived in Texas Friday, and were on the Texas A&M campus Wednesday to compare their agricultural school to A&M. Their A&M visit included a trip to the College of Veterinary Medicine, where they played with A&M’s cloned animals: c.c. the cat and Dewey the deer. Seventeen-year-old Lefteris Konstan- toulakis said the cat was just like any other cat and that he enjoyed seeing it. The students will also visit the Department of Horticulture, the Vegetable and Fruit Research Center, the Poultry Research Fann and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum over the next few days. The group is staying at Doubletree Hotel in Houston, and attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and visited NASA, said Catherina Diafa, the teacher from the American Farm School. Konstantoulakis said he was impressed with the livestock animals he saw. The American Farm School is a private agricultural technical school and boarding school in Thessaloniki, Greece, founded in 1904. The students are part of the International Youth Leadership Exchange program. See Greek on page 2 jrly( loci® Students urged to click their mouse in elections of- By Aerin Toussaint THE BATTALION Students are encouraged to vote online or the upcoming student body elections will be held March 31 and April 1, Said Craig Wellington, a graduate student in lanagement information systems and the inline voting director. Open positions include stu- lent body president, junior and (enioryell leaders, class councils or the Classes of 2005,2006 and Student Senate and Residence Hall Association seats and Class of 2004 agents. “A&M is one of the only schools that tnplemented online voting while keeping laper ballots available also,” Wellington said Wellington said that last year, 75 percent f 80 percent of votes were cast online. Wellington said that this year, the online voting system will require users to provide their University Identification Numbers instead of their Social Security numbers. Election campaigning begins March 21, said Melissa Graham, a senior biomedical sciences major and the Texas A&M elec tion commissioner. In addition to voting online, students may also vote in the Memorial Student Center, West Campus Library, Commons Lobby, Student Recreation Center and Sbisa Dining Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Being involved in elections provides a chance to meet a lot of interesting people, Graham said. “The main goal of the election See Elections on page 2 StudentBQdyElectjons2004 (-March 31 and April 1 -Campaign begins March 21 -Voting locations: oMemorial Student Center ©West Campus Library oCommons Lobby ©Student Recreation Center Sbisa Dining Center -Voting times: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - For more election info log on to: www.thebatt.com V Andrew Burleson •THE BATTALION Source: : MELISA GRAHAM, ELECTION COMMISSIONER Sharon Aeschbach • THE BATTALION MSC OPAS & Phoenix Productions formance was held in Rudder and Magic Arts & Entertainment pres- Auditorium Tuesday and Wednesday ent Fame - The Musical - the per- nights.