Monday, August 2, 2004
he Battalion
ume 110 • Issue 179 • 6 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
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OPINION:
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Page 5
www.thebatt.com
PACE DESIGN BY: RACHEL SMITH
Night on the town
ie 21st Annual National Night Out: promoting neighborhood spirit and relationships
By Lacy Ledford
THE BATTALION
lie 21st Annual National Night Out, a pro-
am designed to raise crime and drug preven-
>n awareness and generate participation in
iw y ers immunity anti-crime programs, is scheduled
e Court , r U esday.
my comi^ationai Night Out is an opportunity for com-
naw ®ty residents and neighbors to get to know one
1 Bay, 10 t ier so that they can feel more comfortable
claims :;|jig the police if they see any kind of crimi-
■ictivity occurring within their neighborhood,”
i was siil
n Saudi il-
lmericr
tigatiw
t orden
r efusedl:
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ised, tl-
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deral
said Bryan Police Department Public Information
Officer Walt Melnyk.
National Night Out has traditionally included
events to strengthen neighborhood spirit and part
nerships between communities and police.
Melnyk said block parties are a way community
members celebrate the event.
“We are asking that each block party be reg
istered with the police department,” Melnyk said.
“Once they’re registered, we can send police offi
cers to them to give out crime prevention informa
tion and provide parents with child identification
kits,” Melnyk said.
Sheriff department crime prevention coordina
tor Louis Koronka said that after dark, community
members are encouraged to “turn their lights on
against crime.”
“A satellite measures the light density over all
the United States, and it is later announced which
area had the most participation, judging by which
was the most lit,” Koronka said. “Texas has won
the state National Night Out award four years in a
row, based on the participation of communities.”
University Police Department Sgt. Alan Baron
said it is important for Texas A&M students to
participate in National Night Out because the envi
ronment at A&M is not one that a college student
would typically associate with crime.
“This attitude tends to make students let their
guards down, presenting an opportunity for crime
to take place,” Baron said.
Baron said the biggest problem at A&M is theft.
Cars, backpacks, books, wallets, laptops and bi
cycles are commonly stolen.
“Police officers rely so much on community
members to report crime, but a lot of it goes un
noticed if it isn’t reported,” Baron said.
Melnyk said students are some of the most
See Night on page 2
:s an Arc
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lames Alt;
sues forum to discuss
istory of photography
By Suzy Green
THE BATTALION
[Is
nne Vallone, a Texas
English professor, will
^^uss the development of
ToffSeoBtography in 19th century
/ell and Maud at the Bush Library
jpreme ifeum Issues Forum at 7
i that Dim Thursday.
izensanirThen we look at these im-
in the ges, we are seeing the past
■ahe present,” Vallone said.
^ lese photographs are a way
if uch the past.”
■allone’s speech will focus
■two amateur photographers,
ali Margaret
aeron and
Hfarles Lut-
iski. K : , e Dodgson,
1 Isi known as
sur Sf:!|-is Carroll,
' ! lor of the
itW ce " books,
low [|I he >' were
!S its J"'®, just as
do«*| jli " e ' V u a| -
tsochl^if, The y
widely re
ted, but they
not profes-
iarials.”
[.aura Ap-
alitionJg’ a senior
)U.S.s( !e l lth major,
illedin# a photog-
idsidetPy class at
kkv 11 art school
raisedfoBHouston and
’ anyone can take a good
i since it [Jure without spending a lot
noney.
One thing I learned about ap-
alciating amateur photography
liat it’s not who you are, what
m have or how much money
spend on a camera,” Ap-
liig said. “What’s important
|vhere you are and the image
capture.’
/allone has an avid interest
children’s culture, and her
y of Dodgson as an author
her to learn more about
litography in this time pe
lf she said.
J)odgson and Cameron are fa-
at ^
irovincel
Vallone is
U
One thing I
learned about
appreciating
amateur
photography is
that... what's
important is where
you are and the
image you capture.
— Laura Appling
senior health major
mous for their portraits of women
and children, Vallone said.
“I will have slides to look at
during the speech, so we’ll be
looking at the same images that
Dodgson and Cameron looked
through their lenses at,” Val
lone said.
Vallone has also written a cul
tural biography on the girlhood
of Queen Victoria, consulted on
a film, written an article for TV
Guide and given seminars at the
Children’s Literature Internation
al Summer School at the Univer
sity of Surrey.
now serving as
an editor for the
first Norton An
thology of Chil
dren’s Litera
ture, a six-year
project that will
be out in Decem
ber 2004.
“Hopefully it
will bring more
attention in the
academic com
munity to chil
dren’s literature,”
Vallone said.
Vallone has
received a Uni
versity faculty
fellowship re
search grant and
a College of Lib
eral Arts teaching
award from the
d Press t
Association of Former Students.
Vallone’s speech is part of
the Bush Museum’s Year of
the Woman, said Brian Blake,
the museum’s director of pub
lic relations.
“We had several events and
exhibits related to women, so
we wanted to put this together
and make a coherent theme,”
Blake said.
The Issues Forum brings in
experts year-round to speak on a
variety of topics, Blake said.
“We often look to the rich
diversity of the faculty and
staff at A&M for speakers,”
Blake said.
ixplosion causes
ire, injures four
By Brian D. Cain
THE BATTALION
kn on-campus apartment fire caused by an explosion injured four
jidents Saturday night.
pe fire occurred in the married student housing apartments near
"nsel Drive.
ollege Station dispatchers received a call at 9:20 p.m. reporting
it there was an explosion that caused multiple injuries on University
iperty, said Battalion Fire Chief Thomas Goehl.
(According to a press release from the College Station Fire De-
I'tment, units from the department arrived on the scene at 9:27
n. and discovered that a second-floor apartment was fully en-
Ifed in fire and that there were people outside of the structure who
1 sustained burns.
[‘Four people were taken to St. Joseph hospital for burns,” Goe-
said.
ire Department officials reported that the fire was fully contained
hin 15 minutes of their arrival on the scene.
‘Investigator’s from the state fire marshall’s office and College Sta-
i fire investigators were at the site all day today, but they have not
released their findings,” Goehl said,
he names and conditions of the residents are still unknown.
Chocola’t
From left to right: Acelyn, 8, Summer, 5 and Ike Neff, 4, play with the chocolate
lab they adopted from the Brazos County Animal Shelter Friday. Approved applicants
BRIAN WILLS • THE BATTALION
wearing their pajamas received a 50 percent discount on the cost of adoption from
the shelter, which receives about 9,000 animals a year.
New power line is the answer for blackouts
By Joanna M. Jemison
THE BATTALION
It was the last minute for those who waited until April 15, 2003,
to file their tax returns. Many galloped to the post office only to
find that there was no power; it was back to the days of rubber
stamps and postage that must be licked first.
Texas A&M students can probably remember the April 2003
area-wide blackout that left Brazos County residents without
power for many hours. This blackout was caused by a faulty re
lay in a Bryan Texas Utilities substation. Because of this piece of
equipment, the system shut down when, in reality, the relay itself
was flawed, not the system.
Because of the notoriety of energy transmission problems as
large as or larger than this, a solution has become an immediate
priority for administrators.
Currently, A&M is powered by a single 138,000 volt line. A
plan to bring an additional high-voltage commercial line to cam
pus has been in the works for a few years, said Vice President of
Administration Charles A. Sippial.
Although Sippial said that there are no more blackouts now than there
were nine years ago when he came to A&M, the new line is necessary
to prevent future failures like the one experienced in April 2003.
“When the existing line goes down, we have practically no com
mercial power to the campus,” Sippial said.
Bryan Texas Utilities and A&M have worked out a contract for
the installation and maintenance of the new 138,000 volt line. Dan
ZAP?
('A new high-voitage line should make area-wide^
blackouts a thing of the past on campus.
^ Total cost for the University is $5 million
|| The underground line: 2.8 miles long
The overhead line: about 2.5 miles long
P BTU will fund the underground line and
total cost for the overhead line
There will be a north and south line
v ^
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : DAN WILKERSON, BRYAN TEXAS UTILITIES
Wilkerson, a BTU official, said A&M will pay for the construction
of the channels in which the high-voltage line will be set.
BTU will fund the 2.8 miles of underground line and the total
cost for the approximately 2.5 miles of overhead lines,
Wilkerson said. BTU will also pay for the continued maintenance
See Power line on page 2
Golf tourney to raise money for scholarship
By Lacy Ledford
THE BATTALION
The Seventh Annual Division of Ad
ministration Scholarship Golf Tourna
ment will be held Saturday at the Texas
A&M golf course. Registration begins at
7:30 a.m., with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
Vice President for Administration Of
fice Associate Lisa Foster said anyone can
play in the tournament.
“The tournament is held to raise money
for Division of Administration scholar
ships, which are available to provide as
sistance to an A&M employee or an em
ployee’s dependent child,” Foster said.
Employees who are enrolled in six un
dergraduate credit hours are qualified for
the scholarship. Employee dependents
must be enrolled in nine credit hours.
Vice President of Administration
Charles Sippial said the Scholarship Golf
Tournament is an event that shows the
Aggie spirit.
“This is something we do to give
back to those that do so much for us,”
Sippial said.
Sippial said one of the great things about
working at A&M is that qualified employ
ees are encouraged to take advantage of
the educational opportunities as well.
“You can’t put a price on the value of
education,” Sippial said.
Scholarships are awarded on the basis
of academic achievement and financial
need. They are for one academic year and
provide $500 per semester.
Sippial said students should feel good to
know that some of their tuition indirectly
funds scholarships such as this.
“There are many success stories of stu
dents who have received this scholarship,”
Sippial said. “One of our recipients went
on to graduate and became a captain in the
United States Air Force. She is now serv
ing in Iraq.”
Executive Assistant to the Vice Presi
dent Polli Satterwhite said there have been
some individuals who have received the
scholarship twice.
“If a student’s grades still meet the
qualifications, they can continue to ap
ply,” Satterwhite said.
Two-year scholarship recipient Nicole
Gilbert said the scholarship made it easier
See Golf on page 2