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SPORTS:
Texas A&M
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Page 7
)lume 110 • Issue 169 • 8 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebatt.com
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PACE DESIGN BY: RACHEL SMITH
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“The Greatest Show on Earth” swept into
ollege Station much to the delight of children
/oung and old. The Ringling Brothers and Bar
ium & Bailey Circus performed the first of three
hows Tuesday night at Reed Arena.
Despite protests last week from people associ-
ited with the animal rights organization BETA,
he circus entertained an estimated crowd of
fOOO to 5,000 guests.
“My girlfriend dragged me along (to the circus),
ut I like it,” said Joey Dell ingen, a senior biomed
ical engineering major. “Eve never been before;
’in surprised to see it’s more of a musical.”
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bai
ley Circus is a traveling company of approxi
mately 1,200 workers and performers. The
company and animals travel 11 months out of
the year on a two-mile-long train. The train has
bedrooms, restaurants and amenities for the
animals, said Crystal Kiggans, a concession
worker from Salt Lake City.
“We are like a big family,”.said Kiggans,
whose mother worked for the circus as well.
“We see each other (at the circus) and live to
gether on the train. Even when we go out we’re
all together.”
Jonathan Iverson, Ringmaster of Ringling
See Circus on page 2
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Brian Wills • THE BATTALION
Cherie Gregg feeds the elephants pancakes and fruit on the
morning of the circus' first show. The elephants will be perform
ing at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. today. Tickets are available at
the MSC Box Office or through Ticketmaster starting at $15.
Audience gets up-close look at elephants
By Andrew Burleson
THE BATTALION
nost
Members of the China Acrobatic Troupe spin high over the
canopy in a dazzling threering display at Tuesday night's per-
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
formance in Reed Arena. The Ringling Bros, and Barnum &
Bailey Circus will perform two more shows on Wednesday.
When John Standard’s family members flew
in from California to visit him in Bryan, they
had no idea they’d run into a group of elephants
being fed pancakes by clowns. But that’s just
what they found.
On Tuesday morning the Ringling Brothers
and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus invited everyone
to come see the elephants have breakfast. The
meal was served at 11:30 a.m. in front of an ex
cited crowd of parents and children.
Standard said his two grandsons were buying
tickets for the main event when they saw a sign
advertising the morning event.
“I think it’s great for the children to get up close
and personal with the elephants,” Standard said.
Nine-year-old Lezlie Ayn Ramsey agrees
with him. She said she had been to the circus at
Reed Arena before but had never had seen the
elephants so close.
Her mother, Lezlie Ramsey, Class of 1981,
said “We had to buy tickets (for the circus); we
weren’t given a choice.”
The Ramsey children made it clear that they
wanted to see the circus a second time, largely
due to their previous experience, Ramsey said.
“It’s a quality circus; we see it every time it’s
here,” Ramsey said. “It’s a great experience for
the children, and we do everything we can to
bring the kids to A&M so that hopefully they’ll
attend someday.”
“We’ve been fortunate that every time (the
circus) has come to A&M we’ve had something
free in the morning,” said Mary Hellen Bowers,
associate director of Special Event Facilities and
1977 graduate.
Bowers said this is the fourth time “The Great
est Show on Earth” has come to Reed Arena. Since
it opened it has stopped here every other year. In
Texas this year the circus stopped at San Antonio
and Austin before arriving in College Station and
will head to Houston and Dallas next.
“We think we have the best facility in Texas
for the show,” Bowers said.
Molley Pelley, production assistant for “The
Greatest Show on Earth,” said the show staff has
been very happy with the College Station venue
over the years.
“The facilities are great, there’s lots of space
for the animals and it is a great arena, plus the
staff is so great,” Pelley said.
Pelley said she has been with the circus for
seven years, and that this is her third stop in
College Station.
“Reed Arena is such a great central location (in
Texas), where people don’t have to drive very far to
see the show. That and the people here are so friend
ly. This is one of my favorite cities,” Pelley said.
When asked if the circus was likely to contin
ue visiting College Station, Pelley said, “We’re
definitely likely to keep coming. I see no reason
why we wouldn’t come back.”
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By Erin Price
THE BATTALION
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Last Thursday, Casey Brown’s finance class ran late, and she had to
n to the parking lot before her time ran out on the new prepay parking
eters. The outburst caused a classroom disruption, she said.
Many students are divided on whether they like the new prepay park-
g policy on West Campus. Brown, a senior finance major, said the new
method is hard to get used to.
“It is hard to judge how long you need to be at school or at the library,”
own said. “Things pop up.”
Rodney Weis, director of Transportation Services said students must
popay for their parking through new machines in the parking lot next
tt the Wehner building. Students must type the space number in the ma-
c lines, predict the amount of time needed and then make the payment,
said.
“We received a number of complaints from students who wanted a re-
fiind because of the long waiting time,” Weis said. “Long lines also create
lid not lit
The decision for the change was also influenced by the need to replace
the old machines, Weis said. The new prepay machines were four times
less expensive than replacing the old ones, he said.
“The machines are very simple to use and the process is very straight
forward,” Weis said. “Most people will quickly adapt to the new system
and will like it once they get used to it.”
Danny Maher, a senior finance major, said he was running late to class,
parked in the Wehner lot and came back with a $40 ticket on his car. If the
old system was in place, he said he could deal with payment after class.
“It’s just ridiculous to have to predict how much time you need,” Ma
her said. “The operators just sit there, waiting for your time to be up so
they can give you a $40 ticket.”
Maher also said that removing the free parking at night hinders many
students from studying at the West Campus Library.
“Some students stay up there all night studying,” Maher said. “Study
ing a lot shouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket.”
Other students, like Natalie Franz, a senior construction science major,
Student teacher
wins annual award
By Suzy Green
THE BATTALION
Mindi Tipps, Class of 2003, received the Texas
Directors of Field Experience’s “Student Teacher of
the Year” award for her work in Spring ISD during
spring 2004.
This is the third consecutive year that a Texas A&M
student teacher has received the award, which has two
statewide recipients each year.
Tipps attributes her success to her experiences at A&M.
“One of the outstanding things about the Texas A&M
College of Education and Human Development is that by
my second year, I was in an elementary school gaining
practical experiences,” Tipps said.
I ' congestion and safety hazards in the entire area.
See Parking on page 2
See Award on page 2
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3ni
ater outages continue throughout campus
©COLD SHOWERS
By Shawn C. Millender
THE BATTALION
fire sell 1 * Water outages will continue throughout cam
pus until July 24, according to a release from the
d si .Texas A&M Physical Plant.
ly oil Area Maintenance Foreman Paul Watson said
1 tie outages were scheduled to inconvenience
k end” c i tllc * ents as as P 088 ^' 6 -
’s edil A domestic hot water outage is scheduled for
voids® 6 Computer Science/Aerospace Engineering
3 lab and Classroom Building on Wednesday,
lily 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Rudder Center
8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July 17; and
^Jangford Architecture Center on Saturday, July
^^^Wfrom 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Junior environmental design major Josh
JaWogburn said water outages may affect archi
tecture students.
“I’m in (an art) class right now where we have
to use charcoal, and we wouldn’t be able to clean
up very well without hot water,” Cogburn said.
However, due to the timing of the outage, he
said he probably won’t be affected by it.
Watson said domestic hot water outages are
the least invasive to students because water
fountains and sinks will not be affected.
“This shouldn't impact students,” Watson
said. “We do the majority of hot water outages
in the hot months. All of these were approved by
our contacts in the individual facilities.”
Watson said the outages will allow the physi
cal plant to install usage meters and replace
worn-out valves and pipes. The meters will be
used to measure water usage in all the buildings
for a variety of purposes.
“This is routine maintenance,” Watson said.
Physical Plant Director for Utilities Jim Ri
ley said the effort to install usage meters in all
the facilities on campus has been going on for
some time.
Riley explained that buildings on campus are
put into one of two categories: E&G (education
and general) or auxiliary. Auxiliary buildings
are those designated for things such as athletics,
residence life and food services.
“These will calculate utility bills for auxiliary
buildings, since the tenants have to pay their own
bills,” Riley said. “E&G buildings aren’t billed
per se, but this will give us a better picture of
where our costs are.”
Riley said the Texas A&M Physical Plant has
been trying to find ways to cut wasteful air con
ditioning and water usage.
“The bottom line here is we’re trying to keep
our costs low and figure out where we can best
conserve energy,” Riley said.
The Texas A&M Physical Plant announced
there will be scheduled hot water outages
throughout July.
Science/Aerospace Engineering Lab
^ and Classroom Building
Will have a hot water outage from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m.on Wednesday, July 14
Rudder Center
Will be without hot water from 8 a.m. to
12 p.m.on Saturday, July 1 7
bpfl Langford Architecture Center
Will be without hot water on Saturday,
July 24,from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Will. Lloyd • THE BATTALION
Source: PAUL WATSON, AREA MAINTENANCE FOREMAN