Monday, April 12, 2004
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PAGE DESIGN BY: LAUREN ROUSE
ildebrand elected student body president
By James Twine
THE BATTALION
Jack Hildebrand emerged Friday as the 2004-
05 student body president, defeating Will
Adams in the runoff elections.
Hilbebrand, a senior business administration
m[jor, said he was appreciative of the support he
eived in the voter turnout, as well as from those
his campaign team.
“I just couldn’t be more thankful,” Hildebrand said.
The runoff election results were presented at
th Academic Plaza early Friday morning to a
sparse crowd of supporters.
Hildebrand received 4,174
votes (69 percent), while
McAdams received 1,860 votes
(30 percent).
McAdams said he was in good
spirits after receiving the results,
and that it was an exciting election.
“I think it was one of the
proudest experiences I’ve ever
had,” McAdams said.
Hildebrand said the campaigning was hard, but
that he and his campaign team remained focused
HILDEBRAND
on trying to run a good, clean campaign.
Hildebrand said that now he has been elected,
he is ready to work hard right from the beginning.
“Starting from day one I am taking my plat
form and working as hard as I can for the rest of
this semester, to make sure that students know that
I am serious about serving their interests,” he said.
McAdams acknowledged the long road ahead
of Hildebrand and the future concerns of the stu
dent body president.
“There is a lot to be determined from the future
of these elections,” McAdams said.
Hildebrand’s father, Bruce, said that he was
proud of his son and that he believes Jack will do
a great job as student body president.
“He'll do a good job; he really enjoys it, and he
doesn’t mind working hard when he is having
fun,” he said.
Now that the election is over, McAdams said,
he is looking forward to graduation in December.
“I am going to front-load my classes, graduate
in December and become a lieutenant in the
United States Army,” he said.
In other races, Justin W. Griffin was elected
Class of 2007 vice president, receiving 946 votes
(73 percent), while his opponent Anthony
Woolstrum received 334 votes (26 percent).
keeping the Dream Alive’
\wards given for diversity promotion
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
Mandy Lacombe won a diversity
iard without intending to be diverse.
I“I didn't set out to do something in
p;rticular,” she said. “I didn’t make a for-
mil presentation and force (people) to be
di 'erse.”
| Lacombe, a sophomore general stud-
major, said she has been a quadriple-
gtsince breaking her neck in a car acci-
dmtwhen she was in her mid-20s.
I “1 just became involved in activities 1
lis interested in, and nobody else para
ded was involved with them,” she said.
1 o people were exposed to paralysis,
;iidthey had never been exposed to that
h fore.”
I Lacombe received one of 18 Keeping
t iDream Alive Diversity Awards April
5 it the Memorial Student Center.
I Lacombe came to Texas A&M in fall
2102, and said she is considering apply-
ilgtothe Lowry Mays Business School.
I Lacombe said she has been a coun
selor for Howdy Camp and T-Camp and
itved on the Student Government
Jwowation Development Team.
I This year, she is going to be a Muster
Pst and serves on two rodeo committees
the Houston Livestock Show and
ideo.
Lacombe said diverse groups are not
j it groups of people who are of a differ-
race or religion or have a disability.
“For some reason, people just tend to
flits on smaller groups as being
Diversity Awards went to:
Gzmro
Yakut Gazi
Graduate student in
education
Mandy Lacombe
Undergraduate student in
general studies
John Scroggs
Graduate student in
science and technology
journalism
Jennybeth Zambrano
Undergraduate student in
international studies
For a complete list of
groups, faculty and staff
awards, go to:
www.thebatt.com
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : DIVERSITY AWARDS
diverse,” she said. “Diversity is so much
broader than people think.”
Lacombe said every person is diverse
because every person is different in his
own way.
“We’re all diverse in our personality.
See Diversity on page 2A
ii
F
ebate continues over the
re-Sept. 11 memo to Bush
By Pete Yost
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CRAWFORD, Texas — For two years, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice
ill Americans with the impression that President George W. Bush’s pre-Sept. 11 ter-
rlism briefing focused on historical information dating to 1998 and that any current
tfreats mostly involved overseas targets.
Yet the release, under public pressure, of the president’s briefing memo from Aug.
612001, showed that Bush had received intelligence reporting as recent as May 2001
an! that most of the current information focused on possible plots in the United States.
I Bush insisted Sunday he was satisfied that federal agents were on top of the terrorist
tl :at when he read that memo, which detailed Osama bin Laden's intentions on U.S. soil.
1 “I was satisfied that some of the matters were being looked into” and had any spe-
c ;c intelligence pointed to threats of attacks on New York and Washington, “I would
I 'e moved mountains” to prevent it, Bush said during a visit to Fort Hood in Texas.
i l But he said the document, which the White House released Saturday night, con-
t< led “nothing about an attack on America. It talked about intentions, about some
body who hated America — well, we knew that.”
I Should the memo — a leading topic of the Sunday talk shows — have raised
1 lore of an alarm bell than it did? I think in hindsight that’s probably true,” said Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz. He said the Clinton and Bush administrations bear responsi-
bj ity for Sept. 11.
The existence of the president’s briefing memo was disclosed to the public at a
news conference in May 2002. The “overwhelming bulk of the evidence” before
See Memo on page 2A
In memory
' V
Rev. Steve Chappell, left, and Rev. Bill Libby lead the casket of
1 st Lt. Doyle M. Hufstedler III to its final resting place in Elmwood
Memorial Park Friday, in Abilene, Texas. Hufstedler was one of
JOSIE LIMING • ABILENE REPORTER NEWS
five soldiers of the 1 st Engineer Battalion killed in Iraq on March
31, 2004. Hufstedler was a 2002 A&M graduate and industri
al distribution major and a member of the Corps of Cadets.
Mays’ MBA program makes
improvement in rankings
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
The Lowry Mays Business School’s MBA program
was ranked as the 23rd best graduate business program
in the nation in the April 12 edition of U.S. News and
World Report, after ranking No. 51 last year.
The business school tied for the 23rd spot with the
University of Illinois, Indiana University and the
University of Texas.
The magazine determines rankings using input
from the business school staff and faculty, and also
from hiring professionals. The magazine also looks at
the average undergraduate grade point average, aver
age GMAT score, the percentage of students accept
ed in 2003, the average starting salary and bonus, the
number of 2003 graduated employed at graduation
and three months after graduation, out-of-state
tuition and fees and the number of students who are
enrolled full-time.
In comparison with the top-50 ranked schools, the
Mays business school had the highest number of grad
uates employed at graduation with 86.5 percent, and
the highest number employed three months after grad
uation with 95.9 percent.
Carroll Scherer, director of the business school’s
MBA program, said the primary reason the school
yyj
HIGHLY RANKED
The L.owry Mays Business School’s MBA program
was ranked 23rd by U.S. News & World report in
its April 12 edition.
• Tied with University of Illinois, Indiana University and the
University of Texas
- Highest number of graduates employed at graduation with
86.5 percent and 95.9 percent employed three months after
graduation
* Ranked 51 st in 2003
WILL LLOYD • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT & CARROLL SCHEVER,
DIRECTOR OF MBA PROGRAMS
rose in the rankings is because the percentage of stu
dents employed after graduation increased over the
past few years.
“I believe it is a really terrific employment situation
our students were able to attain,” she said.
Scherer said several programs have been initiated
since 2002 to help students find employment after grad
uation, such as employer outreach, training students in
See MBA on page 2A
rHRRATTAUONPWfflTaMliW-fflll
lis Week’s Results:
"What are your plans for th® summer?"
48% □ Summer school
17%ill Internship
16% iH Part-time job
7% HI Relaxing at home
4% [_] Study abroad
3% f 1 Traveling
3% [|3 Research
2% | Work abroad
t Week’s Poll;
liat’s stressing you out the most right now?”
Take this poll at: www.thebatt.com
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
American helicopter shot down
by insurgents near Baghdad, two die
By Abdul-Quader Saadi &
Lourdes Navarro
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FALLUJAH, Iraq — A fragile cease
fire held between Sunni insurgents and
U.S. Marines on Sunday in the besieged
city of Fallujah, where Iraqis said more
than 600 civilians were killed in the past
week. Near Baghdad, gunmen shot
down a U.S. attack helicopter, killing
two crewmembers.
Also, the military suggested it is open
to a negotiated solution in its showdown
with a radical Shiite cleric in the south.
Most of the Iraqis killed in Fallujah in
fighting that started last Monday were
women, children and elderly, the director
of the city hospital, Rafie al-Issawi, told
The Associated Press. A U.S. Marine
commander disputed that, saying most of
See Insurgents on page 6B
DAVID SWANSON • KRT
Members of Echo Company bow their heads in silence at a
memorial service at Combat Outpost in Ramadi, Iraq, Sunday.
Second Battalion, 4th Marines Echo Company has lost 12
marines in the last week.