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Page 3
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PAGE DESIGN BY: RACHEL SMITH
In the aftermath of tragedy
fter apartment fir e y
esidents, students still
arfor their safety
By Suzy Green
THE BATTALION
BEven though more than a week lias elapsed since the July
131 explosion in the U-l building of the University married
dMHident housing, residents remain afraid for their safety.
■ “I don’t feel very safe in the apartments,” said Rahul
K l^JyBbeiro, president of the University Apartments Commu-
^■ty Council. ”1 feel a bit scared.”
■ The explosion, and the subsequent fire it caused, re-
■Ited in the death of the 4-year-old daughter of doctoral
■ident Saquib Ejaz.
B Areport, which will include the cause of the fire, has not
It been released by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, said
Indy Lawson, executive director of University Relations.
jEjaz’s wife was injured in the fire and is now listed in
| fair condition at the John Sealy burn unit in Galveston.
Ejaz’s parents, who are visiting from Bangladesh were also
I imed in the fire and are both listed in critical condition.
Many of the residents of University apartments are in-
■mational students.
■ Zahir Latheef, president of the Muslim Student As-
! ftciation, is worried about his friends who are living in
tlie apartments.
JPtll “A&M needs to pay a lot closer attention to these
T^ffw artments an< ^ their condition,” Latheef said.
I Ribeiro said the gas leak was reported to A&M main-
pn tc lance before the explosion.
VOffl “There was a smell of gas reported by at least three
sidents the day before and on the day of the explosion,”
ibeiro said.
A maintenance worker changed a hose line inside the
lartment, Ribeiro said. Ejaz was told to keep the windows
uch moiii 086 ^ unt ‘l someone could perform a major repair to the
exterior leak on the following Monday, Ribeiro said.
U-l residents are staying at the La Quinta Inn on Tex-
it that kit Avenue, but police are available to escort residents
g mffjto the apartments to get anything they need, Ribeiro
^id. A date for them to return to their apartments has
ot been set.
According to the University Apartments Fire Web site,
hich can be accessed from the Texas A&M homepage.
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Fund established
for 4-year-old
killed by fire
By Natalie Younts
THE BATTALION
A fund has been established for two Texas
A&M graduate students from Bangladesh
whose 4-year-old daughter was killed after
a July 31 explosion at the University-owned
apartment where she lived.
The girl, Lamiya Zahin, died Aug. 2 at
the John Sealy Hospital at the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston from in
juries caused by the explosion.
The Saquib Ejaz Benefit Fund, named for
Lamiya’s father, will help pay for the medi
cal costs of her mother and grandparents,
who suffered severe burns.
The money will also help buy food and
clothing, said Zahir Latheef, president of the
Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) and a
senior accounting major.
“(Ejaz) lost everything in the fire, in
cluding the most precious thing he had, his
daughter,” Latheef said.
The girl’s mother, Lufthansa Kanta, and Ejaz’s
parents remained in critical condition at the John
Sealy Hospital, Latheef said on Sunday.
Checks should be written to Saquib Ejaz
and sent to the First American Bank, 711 Uni
versity Drive, College Station, TX 77840.
“I would like to request, on behalf of the
father, for the community to keep the family
in their prayers,” Latheef said. “They need it
at this critical time.”
See Apartment on page 2
University Police Department security officer Connie Phillips
escorts a resident past the front of the boarded second-story
one-bedroom University-owned apartment to retrieve personal
Al ION
belongings. The University has closed the apartment building
where 4-year-old Lamiya Zahin was fatally injured and is currently
replacing all of the exterior gas lines in the complex.
SAQUIB EJAZ BENEFIT FUND
2
A fund has been established for two Texas A&M graduate
students whose four-year-old daughter died from an
explosion in a University-owned apartment.
Checks can be written to Saquib Ejaz and sent to:
First American Bank
711 University Dr.
College Station,TX 77840
Will Lloyd* THE BATTALION
Source: ZAHIR LATHEEF, MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOC.
"ish Camp celebrates 50 years of fun
By Joanna M. Jemison
THE BATTALION
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It’s not just a bus route, a student organization,
a four-day sabbatical for those who volunteer
r it, but Fish Camp, for many of its attendees,
a memory of the Aggie family that stays with
udents beyond their time in College Station. It
ays with them for life.
This year, Fish Camp is celebrating 50 years
f making memories and welcoming freshmen,
rom its humble beginnings in 1954 when for-
ner student activities director Gordon Gay
tudged out to the wilderness with a small group
students, Fish Camp now accommodates
,500 “fish” and more than 1,000 volunteers and
ounselors each year.
Hosted in the piney forests of Palestine, Texas,
ish Camp will hold six four-day sessions.
A 50th Anniversary Reunion for Fish Camp
/ill be held at Texas A&M University Sept. 10-
. Those who have participated in Fish Camp in
le past are invited to attend. Festivities will in-
lude a staff social, First Yell and Midnight Yell
ractice on Friday Sept. 10. On Saturday, Sept.
, there will be a director breakfast, Fish Camp
ailgate party and a concert that evening. The fes
tivities will be scheduled around A&M’s football
game against Wyoming.
Some of the first students who participated in
Fish Camp will attend this year, along with mem
bers of Gay’s family, to share their memories of
the early days.
Fish Camp has evolved into a yearly celebra
tion of new Aggies as their counselors teach the
fish Aggie traditions, how to adjust to campus life
and how to join student organizations.
“I met a lot of friends, I learned the traditions
that prepared me to go to football games, plus,
I had a great time,” said Chris Teff, senior bio
medical sciences major.
Laura Boren, Fish Camp adviser, said she be
lieves said the essence of Fish Camp is freshmen
arriving with limited knowledge of Texas A&M
and leaving, forever dedicated to being an Aggie.
At the end of each day, camps attend gather
ings called “campfires,” a program that brings
in special guests or motivational speakers. Other
programs include themed mixers, small group
discussions led by counselors and outdoor activi
ties such as volleyball and ultimate Frisbee.
“I’m excited about going to Fish Camp, meeting
See Fish Camp on page 2
FISH CAMP TURNS SO
Fish Camp will celebrate its 50th anniversary
this year. A reunion will be held on September
10th and 11th.
The camp is in Palestine, Texas
More than 1,000 volunteers and counselors
will participate this summer
Freshmen will participate in team-building
exercises
Gordon Gay, former student activities
director,began Fish Camp in 1954
yanWolii: demonstrates
the backstroke while practicing a synchronized swimming
skit on the fourth floor of Rudder Tower.
Will Lloyd • THE BATTALION
Photo by: BRIAN WILLS
Source: LANE STEVENSON,
OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
Bush forum celebrates the ‘Year of the Woman’
569
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By Chelsea Sledge
THE BATTALION
Lynne Vallone, Eng-
fish professor and author,
poke for a small crowd on
hursday evening at the
eorge Bush Presidential
ibrary. To commemo-
ate the Bush Library Is
sues Forum’s “Year of the
oman,” Vallone spoke
bout the portrayal of
19th century women in photography with a
ipecial focus on the work of Charles Dodson
nd Julia Margaret Cameron.
“Photography explores a literal relation-
ihip between the subject and the viewer,”
/allone said. “It holds past and future time
ind explores things in the subjects’ worlds
hat are not here anymore.”
Dodson, whose pen name was Lewis
arroll, wrote several children’s books in-
VALLONE
eluding “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
and also photographed Alice Little, for whom
his book was written. He was one of the most
outstanding photographers of the Victorian
Age although only four of his photographs
were published, Vallone said.
Cameron, however, was a renowned pho
tographer in the 19th century. Unlike Dod
son, her photographs were widely exhibited.
Her style of large, close-up photographs also
juxtaposed Dodson’s work, Vallone said.
“Both Dodson and Cameron had inter
ests in capturing the beauty of young girls
and young women,” Vallone said. “Although
their constructions of girlhood, both in poem
and portrait, were very different.”
These photographers’ intense fascination
with girlhood and exploring childhood inno
cence seemed a little strange to some mem
bers of Vallone’s audience.
“I just find it strange that (Dodson) was so
obsessed with taking pictures of little girls,”
said senior finance major Tom Yarrington.
“Where were the kids’ parents when this was
going on?”
Many of the photographs, especially
those of Cameron, did have a resigned, nos
talgic and sensual mood, Vallone said. She
believes viewers today are moved by them
because they remind us of the loss of child
hood in ourselves.
With modem developments, such as the
digital camera, Vallone said the types of pic
tures will change.
“Digital processes make it easy to just de
lete (pictures),” Vallone said. “Any moment
can be captured now.”
Vallone also discussed the differences
in how girlhood is portrayed in photographs
today, such as those taken by Lauren Green
field in her book Girl Culture. In the Victo
rian Age the photographs depicted a more
natural girlhood, and today, there is more of
an artificial beauty for a consuming audience,
Vallone said.
Vallone specializes in children’s literature
See Forum on page 2
Parents win settlement
from bar in son’s death
By Suzy Green
THE BATTALION
The parents of former Texas A&M student Michael Wagener,
who died from alcohol poisoning five years ago, were awarded
$5 million in a settlement against the owner of a bar on July 28,
but alcohol serving procedures are not likely to change, said the
manager of a local bar.
“(This settlement) is not going to affect us at all,” said Rob
Worrall, manager of Carney’s Pub and Blarney Stone. “We
know (running a bar) is a risky business; you’ve got to watch
out for your customers because no one else will.”
Wagener died on his 21st birthday, Aug. 3, 1999, after
a night of drinking on Northgate, capped off by consum
ing approximately eight shots of hard liquor at the shot bar
Coupe De Ville, which is no longer in business. Wagener
was later found dead in his apartment with a .48 blood-al
cohol level.
Wagener’s parents, Thomas and Susan Wagener, will receive
their settlement money from the owner of Coupe De Ville, Cal
vin Dean Coffer.
“A bar’s sole responsibility is to regulate the drinking
of alcohol,” Worrall said. “If you’re at a party or behind
Northgate, there’s nobody controlling the drinking and
nobody watching out for people who don’t watch out for
themselves.”
Luke Poindexter, a senior finance major who works as a bar
tender at Fox and Flound, said he tries to be careful about the
amount of alcohol served to customers.
“I’m sure this lawsuit will probably make people think twice,
but it’s still going to happen,” Poindexter said. “As a bartender,
we take a lot of responsibility... but sometimes you look back
and wish you hadn’t served someone so much.”
Worrall said that situations like Wagener’s are the reason
bars have liability insurance.
“If someone gets in a wreck after leaving our bar, we’re liable
for that, too,” Worrall said. “Liability insurance is required and
Carney’s Pub and Blarney Stone have the highest amount of
coverage that exists.”
Jared Patterson, a senior political science major, said he
thinks College Station bars do a good job of regulating how
much people have to drink.
“I’ve been to places on Northgate where they won’t give you
certain shots that are really strong unless they know that you
haven’t been drinking yet,” Patterson said.
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell how much someone has
already had to drink, Poindexter said.
“Some people are more difficult than others to tell how
much they’ve been drinking,” Poindexter said. “It also de
pends on the amount of contact I’ve had with them through
out the night.”
Carney’s Pub and Blarney Stone try to keep track of how
See Settlement on page 2