he Battalion
)luinc 110 • Issue I
lo pages
A Texas A&IM I radii ion Since 1893
AGGIELIFE:
The war on
carbs
Page 3A
www.(liebaH.C(»m
PACE DESIGN BY: EMILY HENDRICKSON
eis explains proposed student parking plan
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M Transportation Services Director
t0 r ‘ jjjdney Weis explained to students that residential
icefrotMority parking areas will not be oversold initially,
an 1 other student parking areas will only be slight-
this nTy oversold in an open presentation Thursday at
v i°lt 7:. 0 p.m. at Rudder Theater.
1 Md^The pl an currently being considered by
adninistrators and will be implemented in the fall
if ipproved.
fuesdaM Jennifer Richard, a junior engineering major,
^If sad she was skeptical about the plan at first, but
:wo * | l" th;t after attending the presentation, she felt posi
tion 'M
lette™
Araij
i hom{
ivalrv;
live about it.
“I just had this conception that they were out to
get us,” Richard said. “Now I feel like this is a real
ly good idea.”
Weis said many students have the conception
that TS is working against them. He said much
of the mistrust was formed during previous TS
administrations.
“Students don’t trust us,” he said. “This is going
to be a great opportunity to earn trust.”
Weis said TS will earn students’ trust by
keeping its promises. Weis guaranteed that
every student will find a spot in their assigned
lot. He said that if there wasn’t an available
spot, it would be because people without valid
permits in that lot were parked there.
Weis said that if a student couldn’t find a space
in his lot, he should call Transportation Services.
After calling, the student could park in an alternate
lot and not receive a citation. TS officers would
come check the situation and tow vehicles without
valid permits in the area.
Jimmy Gatica, a sophomore engineering tech
nology major, said he liked the plan.
“We have such a bad system right now, and it’s
time for change,” he said. “We can only improve
right now. It really can’t get any worse.”
Gatica said he liked that the plan was priori
ty-based.
“If you’ve been here for a while, you’ve
earned the right to park close,” he said. “It’s
almost like waiting to get your Aggie Ring, wait
ing to get those 95 hours.”
Gatica said one of his favorite features of the
plan is the parking area that surrounds three-
fourths of Reed Arena. The area will be named
PA 100, and any valid permit holder could park
there any time.
Gatica said he rarely goes to the Student
Recreation Center because he can’t park there with
his red permit, but that he could park there under
the new plan.
Richard said she also liked the priority system.
“It sucks if you’re a freshman,” she said, “but so
does registration.”
Going the distance
Junior wildlife and fisheries science major Jason
Ballard rides his bike on Turkey Creek Road
ursday afternoon. Ballard is a member of the
g was r—
i coreo
Evan O'Connell* THE BATTALION
A&M triathalon team and is training for the
national triathalon meet this summer.
Student runs for City Council
By Jason Hanselka
THE BATTALION
When students decide to work while attending
school, many consider waiting tables or working as
a cashier, not rezoning and establishing ordinances.
Senior political science major Dustin Crawford
has chosen an atypical student occupation as he is
currently running for a seat on the College Station
City Council.
“(The City Council) affects students’ lives every
day,” Crawford said.
Crawford said the main reason he is running for City
Council is to have student representation on the council.
“Right now the lowest age on the city council is
32, and the average age of College Station residents
is 21.9,” Crawford said. “(The average resident)
needed representation.”
Crawford, 22, said there is an added benefit of
having a student on the City Council.
“Basically, it gives (the City Council) the oppor
tunity to see things from a student’s perspective,”
Crawford said. “Instead of having to go ask a student
a question they would have a student right there.”
A native of Carthage, Texas, and member of
Company F-2 in the Corps of Cadets, Crawford said
he will not graduate until May 2005. Crawford said
he will stay busy his last year in school, especially
if he is elected to the City Council.
“I’ve juggled a job, the Corps and schoolwork so
I’m used to staying busy,” Crawford said.
Crawford’s company commander, senior civil
engineering major Dane Plumley, said Crawford’s
ability and willingness to learn what’s going on in
the community is commendable.
“He’s not doing this just for kicks,” Plumley said.
“He devotes himself anywhere he has interest, and
he seems to really be interested in this.”
Crawford said increased traffic is his biggest
concern with the city of College Station.
“Traffic is going to be a big thing in the future,
VOTE early
Early Voting
for City
Council
Elections:
April 28 to May 10
May 15
Ballots can be cast at College
Station City Hall and Post Oak Mall
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source : DUSTIN CRAWFORD, CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE
and decisions need to be made as a whole,”
Crawford said. “We need to have a solution.”
Crawford said he believes he has a good chance
of winning if he gets students to go out and vote.
“About 4,000 people voted in the last city coun
cil elections,” Crawford said. “If I can get 1,500 to
2,000 students to go out and vote then I can do pret
ty well.”
Political science undergraduate adviser Gary
Halter, former College Station mayor and city coun
cilman, said students who have run for city govern
ment positions in the past have not done well.
“Getting student votes is not an easy thing to do,”
Halter said. “The only times students usually vote is
for presidential elections.”
Halter said another disadvantage for Crawford is
that the elections are held after the end of the semester.
Crawford said the best way to get student votes is
to emphasize and encourage early voting. This
year’s early voting is April 28 to May 10, and bal
lots can be cast at College Station City Hall and Post
Oak Mall. Election day is May 15.
ommencement speakers
cheduled for each college
Graduation Speakers
and cel®
By Elizabeth Knapp
THE BATTALION
Kate Marple is one of 5,300. students who will
eive their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees at 2
|m. Friday, May 14, after four years at Texas A&M.
“I am excited and nervous about graduating,” said
ate Marple, a senior communication major
“It will be hard leaving behind what you are comfort-
ile with, but at the same time anything is possible, and
it is a neat feeling.”
the l
esan
ctM
President Robert M. Gates announced that the four
commencement speakers will be George J. Tenet, U.S.
director of Central Intelligence; Vance D. Coffman, CEO
and chairman of Lockheed Martin Corporation; former
student body president and former Regent Fred McClure,
a Washington, D.C.-based attorney; and Martha Loudder,
A&M’s Faculty Senate speaker.
Gates said Coffman will speak at 9 a.m. Friday, May
14 to students receiving degrees from the Dwight Look
See Speakers on page 2A
Vance D. Coffman George J. Tenet Martha Loudder Fred McClure
CEO and Chairman
of Lockheed Martin
Corporation
Friday, May 14
9 a.m. ceremony
U.S. Director of
Central Intelligence
Friday, May 14
2 p.m. ceremony
Texas A&M
Faculty Senate
Speaker
Friday, May 14
7 p.m. ceremony
Former Student
Body President
and former Regent
Saturday, May 15
9 a.m. ceremony
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source : SHERAN RILEY, ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GATES
European nations reject
truce offer from bin Laden
By Jill Lawless
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON (AP) — Key European nations, including Iraq war opponents
jermany and France, vigorously rejected a truce offer purportedly from Osama
)in Laden on Thursday, saying there could be no negotiating with his al-Qaida
errorist network.
Many saw the audiotaped offer as an attempt to drive a wedge between the
United States and its European allies, and one analyst said it might contain a
he af(V nessage to militants to hold back on attacks against Europe.
The tape, which the CIA said is likely to an authentic recording of bin Laden,
■vas broadcast on Arab TV stations offering “a truce ... to any country which
loes not carry out an onslaught against Muslims or interfere in their affairs.”
In Italy, a nation shocked by the killing of an Italian civilian captured by mil
itants in Iraq, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it was “unthinkable that we
Safety dispatchers honored at safety week
See Offer on page 2A
By Brian D. Cain
THE BATTALION
At 2:40 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2001, a 911
call was received with a crying woman on
the other end. Her 13-month-old baby
had a seizure and was no longer breath
ing. Experienced telecommunications
operator Morris Carillo instructed the
woman, over the phone, to tilt the baby’s
head back, put one hand under her neck,
check the airway and give two puffs of
air. The next thing Carillo heard was the
sound of a baby crying.
“As long as she’s crying, that’s good,”
Carillo said.
Though ambulance crews had been en
route since the emergency call came in,
Carillo stayed on the phone during the 11
minutes it took for EMS to get to the
scene. The baby was fine.
This week, April 12-18, is National
Public Safety
Telecommunications
Week, honoring the
men and women
who serve as public
safety dispatchers
and help millions of
people in need
across the country.
“This week is
meant to recognize
the people who real
ly are the first on the
scene, and because
they work behind the
scenes, we want
them to know that
they’re appreciat-
ed,” said Zeta Fail,
communications manager for College
Station Police-Fire Communications.
These individuals help save count-
WeVe
delivered babies,
administered CPR
and stabilized
trauma victims - all
over the phone.
— Zeta Fail
communications manager
for CSPFC
less lives by responding to
emergency calls, dispatching
emergency professionals and
equipment and providing
moral support to citizens
everywhere, Fail said.
“We’ve delivered babies,
administered CPR and stabilized
trauma victims - all over the
phone,” Fail said.
Morris Carillo said the job
has made him grow up faster
than he thought he would.
“I started this job when I was
21 years old, and anyone who
has worked in a police or emer
gency capacity can tell you that
what goes on at work definitely
affects you at home,” Carillo
said. “You can’t help but take home some
See Safety on page 2A