J """■ ^ "W" Tuesday, June 22, 2004
The Battalion
ime 110 • Issue 156 • 8 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
OPINION:
Challenging the
black community
Page 7
uvvw.thebatt.com
PAGE DESIGN BY: RACHEL VALENCIA
ngineering dept, interim head moves up
By S.C. Millender
THE BATTALION
e Dwight Look College of Engineering has
(id Dennis O’Neal head of its mechanical
;il eering department.
□ Neal, Class of 1973, is the holder of the
'Ifredge/Paul Professorship in Engineering
Bation and has served as the interim depart-
nt head since May 2003.
BDi\ O’Neal has done an oustanding job of
v|ig as department head,” said G. Kemble
nlett, vice chancellor and dean of the College
of Engineering. “Following an exhaustive
search. Dr. O’Neal was clearly the best candi
date to lead the mechanical engineering program
and I look forward to his continued contribu
tions to the department, college and entire
University in the future.”
O’Neal was one of four final candidates
being considered for the job.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” O’Neal said.
“I’m anxious to serve the department and I’m
looking forward to the challenges associated with
running one of the biggest mechanical engineer
ing programs in the country.”
O’Neal came to Texas A&M in 1983 as an
assistant professor after earning his Ph.D. in
mechanical engineering from Purdue University
in 1982.
“The reason I came is to work with students,”
O’Neal said. “Interacting with them and being
able to solve problems is something I enjoy. If a
faculty member comes to me with a problem, I
like being able to hook them up with the resources
they need to solve it.”
O’Neal said the department is currently facing
one pressing issue.
“We desperately need to hire new faculty,”
O’Neal said. “A strategic plan is in place in con
junction with the dean and the president to hire
new faculty over the next four years.”
Bernie Koronka, a department of mechanical
engineering office assistant, has worked with
O’Neal since last May and considers him a great
co-worker.
“He’s a really great person to work with,”
Koronka said. “He’s got a lot of confidence in
himself and that makes my job a lot easier.”
See Engineering on page 2
Sew carefully
BRIAN WILLS • THE BATTALION
1 or
sse) andj
jlerablel
ery Bingham, a graduate student of nuclear engineering,
■elds a hole in a Teflon component that will become a target for
ion beam. Bingham has been fabricating the parts with the help
of Ron Hart, a professor of nuclear engineering, for about two
weeks and has spent the entire semester planning and designing
the project.
T Love America’
Display to be held at Bush Library
By Erin Price
THE BATTALION
He may be young, but his love for
Elvis Presely is just as powerful as the
motion in his hips. Jason Adams, a 29-
year-old Elvis impersonator from
College Station, started his career in
Las Vegas three years ago and said he
is looking forward to his Fourth of July
performance at the Bush Library.
“I’ve played in Las Vegas and all
over Nevada, but this will definitely be
the highlight of my career,” Adams said.
Adams is one of the many acts
invited to perform at the College
Station Noon Lions Club 44th Annual
“I Love America” celebration and
fireworks display hosted by Texas
A&M, The George Bush Presidential
Library and the cities of College
Station and Bryan.
Adams, a 1993 graduate of A&M
Consolidated High School, said he is
honored to be a part of this celebration
because very few people get the oppor
tunity to do a show on the Fourth of
July at a presidential library.
“The performance will be some
thing different because of the emo
tions involved in the celebration,”
Adams said. “I am sincerely appre
ciative and it feels very good to asked
to be here.”
Brian Blake, public relations spe
cialist for the Bush Library said
admission to the event is free, but
you have to pay for concessions
once inside. College Station Noon
Lions Club sponsors most of the
Bush Library Hosts Lions Club's
Fourth of July Celebration
The George Bush Presidential
Library and Texas A&M University
will host the College Station Noon
Lions Club's annual Fourth of July
Celebration, "I Love America."
- Bush Library & Museum open from
noon - 8 p.m.
- Concessions open at 5 p.m.
- Live entertainment begins at 5:30 p.m.
- Special Performance by Elvis
Impersonator at 8:35 p,m,
* Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra
with Brazos Valley Chorale at 9 p.m.
/- Fireworks Display before 10 p.m.
Andrew Burleson • THE BATTALION
Source: BRIAN BLAKE
games and activities.
“This is our gift back to the commu
nity for all their support during the year,”
Blake said. “It will be a lot of fun.”
Adams will be accompanied
throughout the evening by performanc
es from the Texas High Life Band,
Magician Sneak Pete Rizzo and the
Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra,
Blake said.
Costumed characters, such as
George and Martha Washington and
Abraham Lincoln, will be in atten-
See Bush on page 2
cket leaves atmosphere
private manned flight
By John Antczak
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TO
MOJAVE, Calif. — An ungainly-looking rocket plane punched
rough the Earth’s atmosphere and then glided home to a desert land-
Idonday in history’s first privately financed manned spaceflight —
/jyage that could hasten the day when the final frontier is opened up
| tying customers.
ilot Mike Melvill took SpaceShipOne 62.2 miles above Earth, just
little more than 400 feet above the distance considered to be the
tlidary of space. The flight lasted just 90 minutes.
The spaceship — with its fat fuselage and spindly white wings —
is carried aloft under the belly of a carrier jet. The jet then released
spaceship, and its rocket engine ignited, sending it hurtling toward
ace at nearly three times the speed of sound. It left a vertical white
>hr trail in the brilliant blue sky.
SpaceShipOne touched down in the Mojave Desert at 8:15 a.m. to
elirs and applause.
Melvill, 63, said seeing the curvature of the Earth was “almost a
i ;ious experience.”
“It was really an awesome sight,” he said. “It was like nothing I’d
e seen before, and it blew me away.”
WHA'l the flight is an important step toward winning the Ansari X Prize,
■rif I See Spaceship on page 2
Slant leap for private spaceflight
■paceShipOne completed the first privately financed manned
paceflight Monday. The spacecraft climbed to 62 miles above
le Earth before it landed. It was designed by Scaled Composites
nd funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
I
lentkaimch aircraft
carried SpaceShipOne
to about 46,000 feet
1 (higher than the
. cruising altitude of a
r 78^ commerc ' a ' aii-liner)
and released it
Rocket
engine
fired a
moment
after craft
was released
Wing sections
and tail booms
rotated upward
during re-entry to
create drag, then
reset for the
glide down
to Earth
RCE: Scaled Composites
AP
Aggie moms create new scholarship
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
The J. Malon Southerland Aggie Leader Scholarship was
established by the Austin Texas A&M University Mothers' Club
to provide financial assistance to students who display strong
leadership skills.
Nancy Harrison, while serving as the club’s scholarship
chairwoman during the 2003-2004 school year, said the schol
arship will provide assistance to students from the Austin area
who have completed at least 30 hours at A&M and demonstrate
leadership qualities.
“We wanted something that went on and on after we’re long
gone,” she said.
The club has committed to giving $25,000 to the A&M
Foundation for the scholarship by 2009. So far, the club has
donated $8,000 toward the scholarship, said Patsy Nichols, who
was the club’s president during the 2003-2004 school year.
The money for the scholarship will come in the form of inter
est and dividends from the $25,000. No student will be awarded
the scholarship until it is fully endowed, or complete. Once com
plete, one $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a student per
year and will be valid for one year.
Nichols said the money has been raised through Singing
Cadets concerts and the James Avery Exclusive Block Texas
A&M Bracelet, which sells for $90.
Nichols, whose son, Travis Nichols, is a sophomore in the
College of Veterinary Medicine Biomedical Science Program
and former deputy Corps of Cadets commander, said she enjoys
helping students.
The club usually gives up to eight $500 scholarships to Austin-
area students per year. She said the members decided they want
ed an additional scholarship that would be perpetual.
“Students 100 years from now will still get scholarships
through this funding,” Nichols said.
Edmond Solymosy, director of development for the Division
of Student Affairs, said all Aggie Leader scholarships carry the
name of J. Malon Southerland, the former vice president of stu
dent affairs.
“He inspired the scholarship. It was called the Aggie Leader
Scholarship,” Solymosy said. “When Dr. Southerland
announced his retirement, the Division of Student Affairs
thought that a nice tribute to him would be to name this scholar
ship in his honor.”
Aggie R-r-ring surveys student mentoring
By Suzy Green
THE BATTALION
An Aggie R-r-ring survey conducted in
spring 2004 found that 63 percent of Texas
A&M students have mentors, and that
mentors usually provide general advice
and guidance about career planning.
Aggie R-r-ring is a monthly telephone
survey program that gathers student opin
ions, said Darby Roberts, assistant direc
tor for the Department of Student Life
Studies. Its goal is to provide information
to A&M about its students.
“We identified mentoring as an
important topic on campus and thought
it would be an interesting survey,”
Roberts said.
The survey may help campus mentor
ing programs understand how students
are using their mentors, Roberts said. It
may also help faculty members under
stand the needs of their students.
Paul Ammons, an information and
operations management professor, mentors
students through the ATMentors program.
Ammons said he decided to become a
mentor because he always had mentors
in his past.
“It’s critical for freshmen and impor
tant for older students to have mentors,”
Ammons said.
Mentors can serve as an added source
of information or just someone to talk
to, he said.
Ammons said mentors themselves can
also benefit from the experience.
“(Mentoring) keeps me young and in
touch and gives me a chance to talk to
students other than who I teach,”
Ammons said.
Peggy Georg, a junior agricultural
development major, found her mentor
through the Aggie Access program.
“Coming from a small town, like I did,
to a big university like this, it helps hav
ing someone who knows the ropes,”
Georg said. “Having a mentor makes the
transition easier, especially since you’re
away from family.”
Georg and her mentor meet daily to
work together on the Aggie
See Survey on page 2