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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2004)
Thursday, April 29, 2004 he Battalion AGGIELIFE: How to pack light. Page 3 »liline 110 • Issue 139 • 12 pages A Texas A&IVI Tradition Since 1893 www.thehaU.eoni PACE DESIGN BY: EMILY HENDRICKSON A charged witli thefts in residence halls By Michael Player THE BATTALION JA resident hall adviser has been charged with fivt counts of burglary for allegedly taking cash m several residence halls over spring break. John “Rocky” Takacs, an RA at Dunn Hall, (jtiiitted to the thefts from Appelt, Aston and ■nn residence halls, according to a probable cJise report tiled by Det. Travis Lively of the t 'University Police Department. He is charged with \ 1 silling $490 in cash and $30 in quarters from two iitatn rooms in Appelt Hall. He is also charged \lh stealing $40, $15 and $5 in quarters from tlee rooms in Aston Hall. Takacs is not only charged with taking coins and cash, but also video games and selling them at Post Oak Mall, according to the report. The report states that on March 22, UPD Officer Joe Fry met with a resident of Appelt Hall who reported that an unknown person entered his dorm and took $30 worth of quarters. The report said Takacs’ access card was used at Appelt Hall on March 17 at 10:09 p.m. An associ ate director of the residence hall's administration told Lively there were discrepancies in Takacs’ activity while he was on duty during spring break. According to the report, Takacs was approached by Lively and Sgt. Alan Baron on April 1, and admitted to entering several dorms during spring break without the residents’ consent and commit ting the thefts. Takacs told police that if a resident was in a room when he entered, he would tell them that he was just checking the smoke detectors. On April 2, in an interview with Lively, Takacs admitted to entering 20 to 30 rooms and taking money in the form of bills. The statement made by Lively shows Takacs’ bank records indicating deposits totaling $3,058.92 in a three-day period during spring break. Takacs said $800 of it was his own money, which was not taken from dorms. Takacs was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Ron Sasse, director of the Department of Residence Life, said there is a strict policy on res ident hall advisers’ master key usage. “We can verify who has master key at all times,” Sasse said. David Parrott, dean of the Department of Student Life, said disciplinary action for Takacs could range anywhere from a warning to dismissal from the University. Student Rules and Regulations state that a stu dent must be notified in writing of violations, and witnesses must be brought against them before disciplinary action is taken, Parrott said. “Although I do not know about the particulars of the case, the accused is entitled to all of the rights afforded to him by the handbook,” Parrot said. “Accusation of wrongdoing is not enough.” If you have any information regarding this case, contact University Police at 979-845-2345. orthgate bars raise dmission age to 21 By Rhiannon Meyers THE BATTALION Hlwo Northgate bars, Bar 315 and The Lil iry, located on University Drive, recently raised their admission age from 18 ears old to 21 years old. ^^HCameron Smith, owner of Bar 315, sai he changed the policy two weeks ago r bei uise it reduces the liability of under- rap" agi drinking in the bar. :1. LoiiH“By going to 21-and-up, we cut down con'.:® perception that we even might be OK | Hh having people underage drinking in igcof.™bar,” Smith said. “It’s just a better sit- v coir:® 011 i° r everyone.” Smith said that Bar 315 was formerly 21 md-up but changed to 18 for awhile. Smith said he is going back to 21-and-up tjavoid the hassles that come with own- an 18-and-up bar. “We used to have a little agreement ththe minors that if we let you in, you OTVi ft drink,” Smith said. “But then people si ipped following that, and it was making it!nuts. I just decided there were enough p ices over 21. and enough places that let minors in, so I made it 21-and-up.” ICosta Dallis, owner of The Library, i^r clanged his policy the same day as Bar 3|and said in a written statement that he Arte Icided to go to a 21-and-up policy to maintain an upscale environment and to reduce the risk of underage drinkers. “The second reason is that we would not have to police underage drinkers,” he said. Dallis said The Library went 21-and- up the same day a new over-21 bar, Logan’s, opened on Northgate. “So now we feel free to narrow our appeal to a sophisticated over-21 clien tele,” Dallis said. Smith said that although the new poli cy has not been popular among the under- 21 crowd, he thinks this new policy will only improve the bar. “There are fewer people in the bar, but the business side of things hasn’t changed,” Smith said. “Now we don't have to spend half our evening chasing kids around and constantly watching for Xs on hands.” Scott McCollum, College Station Police Department assistant chief of operations, said he thinks the bars proba bly changed their policies because the high rate of underage drinking in College Station is a management issue for bars. “1 know we do have a significant prob lem of minors drinking here in College Station," McCollum said. “It’s not a secret. I can’t speak for the bars, but as a bartender See Northgate on page 2A Dig it Sharon Aeschbach • THE BATTALION Senior industrial distribution major Aaron Ford dives for a ball Recreation Center Wednesday afternoon. Ford and his friends while playing sand volleyball with his friends at the Student play sand volleyball at least twice a week after their, classes. |Dollars for Doyle’: students ally to help family of fallen Aggie By Brian D. Cain THE BATTALION ■ When Stephanie ' Schoel read about Lt. Doyle ■ufstedler's death in Iraq last month, she decided to get I ;xas A&M to rally around a fallen Aggie. I “I read an article about Doyle, and I realized that my bother was in (Company) 1-1 with him,” said Schoel, a sophomore biomedical sciences major. “1 read that in lieu of wers, the family asked that people donate to the Grace jshley Fund, named for Hufstedler’s unborn daughter.” Hufstedler, Class of 2001, was killed in action in Iraq on arch 31, leaving behind his wife, Leslie, 25, who is eight- Id-a-half months preg- jint with their daughter, [race Ashley. “1 thought, if every- |fie just gave $1, we Bould have $40,000 to give to the family, and what a great aft that would be,” Schoel said. I Despite her good intentions, Schoel said she ran into sev- e|al problems trying to organize the donations. DOLLARS FOR DOYLE Money is being collected on campus this week to help out Doyle Hufstedler’s wife Leslie and his unborn daughter Grace Ashley. Hufstedler was killed in Iraq last month. A bake sale will be held Thursday in the Academic Plaza To make a donation directly to the Grace Ashley Fund, make checks payable to: St. Paul Uftitad Methodist Church 525 Beech Street Abitene, Texas 70601 For more information, log on to: www.thebatt.com See Doyle on page 6A Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION Source : STEPHANIE SCHOEL Fournalism programs surge in Texas colleges, [despite A&M program closing its doors By James Twine THE BATTALION The closing of- the journalism lepartment at Texas A&M is some- hing to be concerned about, as other jniversities across the state are step- )ing up and expanding their journal- sm departments, said William Alnor, lirector of the journalism department it Texas A&M-Kingsville. With the journalism department’s ;losure at A&M, other Texas universi- ies are looking to ensure that their programs will not get cut. “I don’t know any other university of its size around the country that has decided their program was unimpor tant or that its costs were not worth it,” Alnor said. Alnor said that even before A&M decided to eliminate its program, A&M-Kingsville, which is a part of the A&M System, was in the process of improving its program. “There was a commitment made here a couple of years ago to beef up our program, and we are funneling resources in our department to improve the quality of journalism here,” Alnor said. A&M-Kingsville is not the only Texas university that is expanding its program. The University of Texas and Texas Tech University have also made progress in expansion. Jerry Hudson, director of mass com munication at Texas Tech, said the communication department, which includes journalism, has been receiving See journalism on page 6A Community urged to donate food to needy By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION Chris White, an Eagle Scout, said he is committed to helping the local community any way he can. White said that as an Aggie one should do the same, including donating any food that would otherwise be thrown away. “The Aggie family is always there to help us and other Aggies,” said White, president of the campus chapter of the National Eagle Scout Association and a junior construction science major. “The Aggie spirit reach es farther than just the (Aggie) rings.” The annual Scouting for Food drive, held all over the country by the Boy Scouts of America, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday. All donations will benefit the Brazos Church Pantry in Bryan. More than 20,000 collection bags were filtered throughout Bryan-College Station last week by Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops and Venturing Crews for residents to fill with non-perishable food items that will be picked up Saturday, said George Hester, district Scouting for Food chairman. Hester said that 27,000 pounds of food were collected last year, and he hopes 32,000 pounds of food will be collected this year. “All the bags were put on door knobs throughout Bryan-College Station, and we will go back to pick up hopefully full bags,” Hester said. Hester said local radio station WTAW, or Candy 95.1, will hold a remote broadcast Friday at Rudder Fountain sponsored by the campus chapter of the National Eagle Scout Association of America from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We are asking on- and off-campus residents who will be packing to head home pretty quickly to rather than throw away food, bring it to Rudder and donate to benefit those in need in Brazos County,” Hester said. “I would rather have food put in collection bins, than dumpsters behind dorms or apartments.” White said he hopes to collect as much food as possible, but to also have fun while doing it. White said some people may have never heard of the Brazos Church Pantry, and in the future he hopes stu dent organizations will want to become involved in the drive. Hester said that along with non-per ishable food items, items such as soap, See Food on page 2A Scouting For Food: A food drive benefiting Brazos County will be held Saturday, May 1, sponsored by the campus chapter of the National Eagle Scout Association. -The scouts have a goal to collect 32,000 pounds of food to surpass last year's 27,000. -Local Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops and Venturing Crews passed out 25,000 collection bags. - Candy 95.1 will do a remote broadcast at Rudder Fountain Friday April 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and students are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items. Andrew Burleson •THE BATTALION Source : GEORGE HESTER, DISTRICT SCOUTING FOR FUND CHAIR