is
^ Thursday, April 15, 2004
The Battalion
olume 110 • Issue 129 • 22 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
Opinion:
School district
in peril
Page 9B
www.thehatt.com
PAGE DESIGN BY: APRIL WAREHAM
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Indents to request parking spaces for fall
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By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
Students will be given the opportunity to
uest which parking lot they want to park in for
e 2004-05 school year beginning Monday,
der Transportation Services 1 new parking plan,
id IS Director Rodney Weis.
Faculty and staff parking will not be affected
the new plan. Weis said.
Student parking permits will only be valid in
lie assigned lot, compared to the current system
| here permits are valid in any resident lot or any
pmuter lot, Weis said.
“We as students have a vested interest in re-
ialuating the way parking is done; it’s been an
sue on this campus for many years,” said Student
lody President Matt Josefy. “With 400 faculty
being hired, if we don't do something, ultimately
h will lose parking spots to those staff and
| eulty.”
Students can go to the TS Web site Monday to
s bmit their first through sixth preferences for
parking lot assignments.
“(The plan) assures (students) that they’ll actu
ally have a spot in the lot that they choose,” said
Chris Diem, vice president of Student Services.
Diem said students will have a chance to hear
more details and ask questions about the new
parking changes at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Rudder
Theater.
“It is vital that students come,” Diem said.
“This will be an explanation of how parking is
going to work next year.”
The distribution system is priority-based or
seniority-based, Weis said.
Josefy said the parking situation might not be
perfect in the beginning, but that the plan has
advantages.
“We have to give it a shot,” he said.
On-campus residents will be given priority in
the lots close to residence halls, and they have pri
ority over a senior commuter, said Peter Lange,
TS associate director.
A student would automatically remain on the
waiting list for higher priority requests if he didn’t
get his first choice, Lange said.
“If you end up parking in your fourth choice as
a freshman, you will be on that list so that if your
second choice comes open, they will move you
into whatever your second choice is,” said Logan
Renfrew, Southside student senator.
If a space eventually becomes available, the
student will receive an e-mail that will explain
how to redeem the permit, Weis said.
Some students had doubts about moving for
ward with the student portion of the plan, but not
with the faculty and staff side said John Mathews,
the student services chair for the Student Senate.
“After talking with TS and Mr. Weis ... I’m
convinced that there are more benefits than there
are problems with going ahead and doing the stu
dent side,” said Mathews.
Weis said the temporary separation of the stu
dent parking system from the staff system has its
benefits.
“(Separation) allows us, this coining year, to
See Parking on page 2A
Proposed Parking Plan 2004—|
Students will be given the
opportunity to request which
parking lot they want to park in
for the 2004 - 05 school year,
beginning Monday.
Parking areas will be
assigned on a priority basis,
beginning with faculty and
ending with freshmen.
Online requests will be taken
V-) April 19 through July 16 at
http://t ra n sporto n I i ne.ta m u .ed u
Starting July 16, parking
-£) assignments will be
available.
Andrew Burleson • THE BATTALION
Source • TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
mp4
' are •tia
:ation'':|
Get your stomp on
nily Behr, a sophomore applied exercise physiology major, performs
th Delta Gamma at the 6th annual Stompfest held in Rudder Auditorium
ednesday night. The event was sponsored by the National Pan-
Hellenic Council and showcased teams from different Greek organizations.
Delta Gamma placed second behind three-time winner Kappa Kappa
Gamma.
B-CS ranked as a
top place to live
By Aerin Toussaint
THE BATTALION
Bryan-College Station was
ranked 14th in the United
States and first among Texas
cities, in the newly published
book “Cities Ranked and
Rated” by Bert Sperling and
Peter Sander.
The authors looked at several
categories in determining the
ranking, including the economy,
jobs, cost of living, climate, edu
cation, transportation, crime,
arts and culture, leisure and
quality of life, said Tom
Brymer, College Station city
manager.
“Obviously we agree with
their analysis,” Brymer said.
“We’re flattered that they’ve
identified our community as
one which has such a high
quality of life.”
Charles Wood, assistant
director of economic develop
ment, said college towns tend
to rank well on the list.
“You can be a relatively small
community, but offer things that
other cities this size can’t,”
Wood said.
Wood said Bryan-College
Station offers cultural ameni-
TQP-BANK
f \
Bryan-College Station was ranked
14th in the nation and 1st in Texas
on a list of best places for relocation
in a new book written by Pete
Sander and Bert Sperling.
Criteria included economy, jobs, cost
of living, climate, education, health
I care, crime, transportation, arts and
| culture, leisure and quality of life.
College towns traditionally rank well
on the list.
The top community on the list was
Charlottesville, Va., which is home
I to the University of Virginia.
Austin was ranked 23rd.
v y
Andrew Burleson • THE BATTALION
Source • "CITIES RANKED AND RATED"
ties such as the George Bush
Presidential Library, which
brings such notable world
leaders such as Henry
Kissinger and Condoleezza
Rice to the area, and the
Memorial Student Center
OPAS, which brings interna
tionally known Broadway
shows to the area.
Although college students are
often attracted to big Texas cities
such as Dallas, San Antonio,
See B-CS on page 4A
idwards campaigns
n Brazos County
00pm
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
m
30pm
ay only)
your
Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards said that if elected, he
would continue to support research programs at Texas A&M and
would work for better roads and effective jobs for Brazos Valley
residents.
■ “I’m one of only three Aggies in Congress, and I’ve spent 13 years
• . Bipporting research programs at A&M,” said Edwards, who has
served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990. “A&M and
^^■razos County had a profound impact on my public service career,
Bid if I can make a difference on this community and A&M, perhaps
I’ve paid back my debt a little bit.”
f Edwards, Class of 1974, kicked off his campaign for District 17
presentative on Wednesday night at Savannah’s Porch in College
■tation with more than 150 supporters present.
I Edwards, who was moved from District 11 to District 17 after the
Week aimed at academic dishonesty, plagiarism
By Carrie Pierce
THE BATTALION
The University Writing Center and Aggie
Honor System Office have teamed up for
Academic and Professional Integrity Week,
a week of panels and symposiums address
ing plagiarism at school and the workplace.
Faculty, students and parents are invited
to discuss issues of academic integrity,
professional ethics and writing in various
contexts, said Michelle Hall Kells, sympo
sium director and associate director of the
University Writing Center.
“I really see the issue of integrity as
something that permeates the academic
and professional world,” Kells said.
The symposium is geared to help stu
dents write with confidence and without
plagiarism, said Valerie Balester, executive
director of the University Writing Center
and associate professor of English.
“We are getting a conversation going
across different areas of campus for stu
dents to do their best without resorting to
plagiarism,” Balester said.
Students will be taught how to check if
they are plagiarizing, Balester said.
“It will help students manage their time
so they aren’t tempted to plagiarize,”
Balester said.
Balester defined plagiarism as using the
words of another person without appropri
ate attribution.
“This is a problem everywhere,”
Bale c ter said. “A&M is no exception.”
John Huffman, Corps commander-des
ignate and a junior finance major, said that
it is important to not practice plagiarism
because workplaces will not tolerate it.
“It is important that students learn aca
demic integrity while they are at A&M as a
preparation for their real world experi
ence,” Huffman said.
According to a study by the Center for
Academic Integrity conducted by Donald
L. McCabe of Rutgers University, more
than 75 percent of students on most college
campuses admitted to some form of cheat
ing. McCabe's research also found that
academic honor codes serve as effective
ways to curb cheating, but that faculties are
See Plagiarism on page 9A
See Edwards on page 2A
Joshua L. Hobson • THE BATTALION
emocratic Congressman Chet Edwards speaks with students and supporters
Qt a Savannah's Porch Wednesday night-
Yildirim: Sufism stresses love and acceptance
By Michael Player
THE BATTALION
Following one‘s heart as a compass will lead one to God,
said Yetkin Yildirim, interfaith faculty coordinator at the
University of Texas.
Yildirim spoke about Sufism to an audience of about 30 stu
dents, faculty and staff in Rudder Theater Wednesday night, spon
sored by the Interfaith Dialogue Student Association.
“Sufism is a part of Islam that stresses love and acceptance,”
Yildirim said.
Disassociation from materialism is the first step in growing
closer to God,Yildirim said. The word Islam actually means
peace, he said.
Yildirim said Sufism began in the 13th century. When Yildirim
ended his presentation, he fielded questions about Sufism from the
audience, saying that open discussions are what Sufism is all about.
“This (discussions) is what we stress in Sufism,” Yildirim said.
Mert Atilhan, a graduate chemical engineering student from
Albania, said the IDS A consists of members from more than 10
foreign nations, and it promotes discussions of different religions
at its meetings.
Atilhan said IDSA is highly infUienced by Fethullah Gulen, a
Turkish intellect that interprets Islam as peaceful and promotes
dialogue amongst the many religions of the world. Gulen said he
is known for his diplomacy and has met with the pope and the
archdiocese of New York.
It is important for people to see the positive of Islam and not
just the negative, Atilhan said.
“I am from Turkey and to America most people see Turkey as
a place that democracy and Islam coexist,” Atilhan said. “There is
nothing in Islam that keeps people from being free.”
Atilhan said discussions about Sufism and other aspects of
Islam are a good way to promote diversity at A&M.
“We were recently awarded the Diversity Award by the
University, and we are very proud of that,” Atilhan said.