Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2004)
f ■ ^4 TT^ Tuesday, June 8,2004 The Battalion ml 0 ISM Volume 110 • Issue 148 • 6 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 AGGIELIFE: Aggieland 101 Page 3 \\w vv.thebatt.com PACE DESIGN BY: RACHEL VALENCIA Bonfire Coalition schools the Class of 2008 reas spitali By Erin Price THE BATTALION Rachel Wright was in the eighth grade when ^Bonfire collapsed on Nov. 18, 1999 and barely lemembers hearing about it on the news. She said Ihe had no idea what Bonfire was really about, but Tow that she has a brand new outlook on the Vggie Spirit. Wright, an incoming freshman biomedical sci- [nces major, was one of the many new students vho stopped at a table set up by the Bonfire toalition for Students at her New Student Conference this summer. Roger Abshire, BCS president and senior polit ical science major, said many new students, like Wright, do not know what Bonfire is really about and that he hopes to educate them on the tradition. BCS is a University recognized organization whose goals include exemplifying the Bonfire spirit and ensuring that safety is the primary con cern of all Aggies with regard to the return of Bonfire, according to the organization. “We want the new students to know as much as they can about Bonfire,” Abshire said. “The more they know, the better educated their decisions will be in the future regarding Bonfire.” Laura Laubach, public relations coordinator for BCS and a senior English major, said there has been enormous support from new, current and for mer students for the program. “We have had people tell us how glad they are that there are students who still want Bonfire back on campus,” Laubach said. “We basically want the new students to know who we are and what we do.” Laubach said there is a large number of people, including current students, who have never heard of Bonfire. “Most of those who don’t know about Bonfire are from out of state or out of the country,” Laubach said. “That is why it is important that we are out there.” Jack Hildebrand, student body president and senior accounting major, said his class never wit nessed a Bonfire and that it is important to educate students on the tradition. “(BCS) has been doing a great job working hard this summer to educate the new students on Bonfire,” Hildebrand said. Hildebrand said that when Bonfire is brought back to campus, the younger classes will need to know what the tradition was truly about. Abshire said new students can join BCS in the fall and help promote Bonfire’s return to campus. BCS will have tables setup by Rudder Fountain on June 16, 23, 25 and 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and also throughout the fall semester. >fpeo[ toefit; never &M singer eatured at “ Corps center won By Natalie Younts THE BATTALION Few Aggies know that Carl T. i “Doc” Sprague was America’s y first singing cowboy star. Fewer know that Sprague graduated from Texas A&M and lived in Bryan until his death in 1979, said Dennis Williams, president of the Carl T. “Doc” Sprague Foundation. An exhibit featuring Sprague be on display at the Sam Houston Sanders Corps , |f Cadets Center through June 19. “(Sprague’s) hometown and his alma mater ought to be recognizing him as an important contributor to Oar American culture,” Williams said. I Sprague, Class of 1922, recorded a hit song, |When the Work's All Done This Fall,” in 1925 that old more than 900,000 copies. Sprague was the first working cowboy to record a lowboy song, and had the first hit record by a cowboy jinger, Williams said. Lisa Kalmus, curator for the center, said she was impressed with Sprague’s accomplishments. I “For people now, to sell close to a million copies is picH igene or the S d Sul costui for lei n Celt See Sprague on page 2 Got game? BRIAN WILLS • THE BATTALION Texas A&M women's basketball assistant coach Kelly Bond instructs campers dur ing the elite scrimmage round of the Women's Basketball Camp. Bond, along with several players from the Aggie women's basketball team, helped about 115 aspir ing players improve their game. Bond, formerly an assistant coach at Arkansas under Gary Blair, came to A&M after Blair, A&M's women's basketball head coach, offered her a position on the A&M staff. &M leads Texas schools n six-year graduation rates was ced, By Joanna M. Jemison THE BATTALION A new study shows that Texas A&M contin- es to produce six-year graduation rates that re higher than any other Texas university. According to the National Center for ducation Statistics, A&M surpasses other mysifjtate schools in minority six-year graduation ates as well. 74.9 percent of A&M students enrolled in 996 graduated by 2002, improving on the pre- ious year by approximately two percentage oints. In the report, the Texas Higher ducation Coordinating Board allows students six-year time frame for graduation. The University of Texas came in second place with 70 percent. A&M also led other state-wide universities among black students, with a 63.91 percent rate of graduation, and Hispanics, with a 62.38 percent graduation rate. Hispanic and Black categories were well above the state averages. A&M did not lead with Asian students, but held a 70.45 percent graduation rate. With white students, which represent more than 75 percent of the student body, Texas A&M had a 77.24 percent graduation rate. In 2002, A&M awarded 9,965 undergradu ate degrees for students in their first major. See Graduation on page 2 A&M LEADS IN GRADUATION ■^^""*11 i ap According to a recent study, Texas A&M’s graduation rates are higher than other state schools: Within a six-year time frame to graduate, 72.9% of A&M’s students received diplomas, the highest of any Texas University Texas A&M led minority graduation rates among Texas schools with a 63.91% graduation rate among African-Americans and a 62.38% graduation rate among Hispanics Texas A&M led the state among Caucasian graduation rates with 77.24% receiving diplomas WILL LLOYD • THE BATTALION SOURCE • TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD ter av; lleged al-Qaida statement warns of attacks as aval entprit By Mohamed Khalifa r with] THE ASSOCIATED PRESS g CAIRO, Egypt — An Internet 36 shoj statement signed by an al-Qaida s. Gro*ell in Saudi Arabia warned 1\ mil 1 4onday that the terror network so t 411 target Western airlines, mili- ttendaJ ary bases and residential corn- lion, 1 lounds and told Muslims to stay million way from Westerners, as hist The warning of attacks in “the ig thetf iear future” appeared on a Web site 11,2(1 mown for posting messages from nilitants, including the video in inivertf diich a terror group with al-Qaida inks executed Nicholas Berg, an merican kidnapped in Iraq. The authenticity of the state- ent, signed “Al-Qaida on the rabian Peninsula,” could not be onfirmed. Al-Qaida uses the term ‘Arabian Peninsula” to refer to audi Arabia because it rejects the •re sevi] ;. Besif flocked isin in' ogul fficedj rule of the Al Saud dynasty, after whom the country is named. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Brian Roehrkasse, said “this particular threat appears to be focused on Westerners in the Arabian peninsula.” “While al-Qaida has demon strated its ability to attack Westerners, there is no indication from this information that al- Qaida is currently targeting airlin ers in the United States,” Roehrkasse said. The statement did not specify that airline attacks would be limited to Saudi Arabia — but suggested that more attacks on Western targets in the kingdom were imminent. It warned that everything asso ciated with “crusaders” — the term used by militants for Americans and Europeans — While al-Qaida has demonstrated its ability to attack Westerners, there is no indication ...that al-Qaida is currently targeting airliners in the United States. — Brian Roehrkasse spokesman, Dept, of Homeland Security including “compounds, bases and means of transport, especially. Western and American airlines, will be the direct targets of our next operations in the path of holy war ... especially in the near future.” The world’s second-largest travel firm, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Inc., said such threats are not new and the industry had already upgraded its security. “If in fact this is a legitimate statement from al-Qaida, we are certainly not going to change the way we do business,” said Steve Loucks, a spokesman for the Plymouth, Minn.-based company. “We definitely believe this gov ernment is working to strengthen and secure our skies.” State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli noted that existing U.S. travel warnings call attention to possible threats to commercial aviation in Saudi See al-Qaida on page 2 Scholarship promotes diversity in education By Carrie Pierce THE BATTALION In the early 20th century. Col. George W. Brackenridge wanted to give young people the opportu nity to advance themselves in their personal and profes sional lives through higher education. Brackenridge set up the Brackenridge Foundation, which offers thousands of scholarship dollars to stu dents each year, said Emily Thuss, a member of the Brackenridge Foundation board of trustees. This year, The Brackenridge Foundation has part nered with Texas A&M to offer scholarships to two incoming freshman, said Dale Suel, scholarship coordi nator and teacher certification officer for the College of Education and Human Development. The scholarship is for students pursuing a teaching certification from the College of Education who are from San Antonio or Bexar County, said Mary Ullmann, coordinator of the Foundation Excellence Award Program. . “(Brackenridge) has a particular interest in young people who otherwise might not get a higher educa tion,” Thuss said. Brackenridge was president of the San Antonio Water Works Company, president of a trust company, director of the Express Publishing Company and presi dent of the San Antonio school board, Thuss said. The Foundation was his main form of philanthropy. “Education was the interest of the whole family,” Thuss said. . Brackenridge’s sister, Eleanor, was the founder of Texas Women’s College, Thuss said. The Brackenridge Foundation Scholarships are Foundation Excellence Award scholarships, which are offered through the Texas A&M Foundation and are pri marily need-based, Ullman said. Ullman said there are currently 180 Foundation Excellence Award scholarships granted each year. An average of 800 students apply. “The scholarship requires that students make a mini mum 2.5 GPR,” Ullmann said. The Brackenridge scholarships are designated for students from underrepresented ethnic groups and are a part of the One Spirit One Vision Campaign, Suel said. “The program is designed to help promote diversity,” See Scholarship on page 2