Daily Toreador The
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11, 2013 VOLUME 88 ■ ISSUE 12
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Six Flags to reopen Texas Giant ride ARLINGTON (AP) — Six Flags Over Texas is reopening the ride from which a park-goer fell to her death this summer. The Dallas-area amusement park announced Tuesday that the Texas Giant roller coaster will reopen this weekend. The ride will have new seat belts and redesigned restraint bar pads. Six Flags says its investigation into the July incident found no mechanical failure on the ride. The family of the woman who died after falling from the ride has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the amusement park company. The company says in a statement that people with “unique body shapes or sizes” may not fit into the ride seat. It will now offer a roller coaster seat on the ride line for riders to judge for themselves in advance if they fit.
Feds seek to legalize marijuana banking WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and federal banking regulators will help clear the way for financial institutions to transact business with the legitimate marijuana industry without fear of prosecution, Deputy Attorney General James Cole told Congress on Tuesday. The issue has taken on greater urgency now that Colorado and Washington have become the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Currently, processing money from marijuana sales puts federally insured banks at risk of drug racketeering charges. Because of the threat of criminal prosecution, financial institutions often refuse to let marijuana-related businesses open accounts. The problem occurs in states that have laws permitting medical use of marijuana. In 1996, California voters made their state the first to allow medical use, and 19 more states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar laws.
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
Reynolds: Big government not necessarily bad thing
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President Obama delays Syria vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised address Tuesday night that recent diplomatic steps offer “the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons” inside Syria without the use of force, but he also insisted the U.S. military will keep the pressure on President Bashar Assad “and be ready to respond” if other measures fail. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Obama said he had asked congressional leaders to postpone a vote on legislation he has been seeking to authorize the use of military force against Syria. Acknowledging the weariness the nation feels after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama said, “America is not the world’s policeman.”
And yet, he added, “When with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should OBAMA act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional.” “Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria,” he declared. The speech capped a frenzied 10-day stretch of events that began when he unexpect-
edly announced he was stepping back from a threatened military strike and first asking Congress to pass legislation authorizing the use of force against Assad. With public opinion polls consistently showing widespread opposition to American military intervention, the White House has struggled mightily to generate support among lawmakers — liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike — who have expressed fears of involvement in yet another war in the Middle East and have questioned whether U.S. national security interests were at stake in Syria. Obama had trouble, as well, building international support for a military attack designed to degrade Assad’s military. Suddenly, though, events took another unexpected turn this week. First Russia and
then Syria reacted positively to a seemingly off-hand remark from Secretary of State John Kerry indicating that the crisis could be defused if Damascus agreed to put its chemical weapons under international control. The president said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, and he added, “I will continue my own discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, he said the United States and its allies would work with Russia and China to present a resolution to the United Nations Security Council “requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control.” SYRIA continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Game-day logistics Thursday game brings parking challenges By TYLER DORNER Staff Writer
Challenges may arise with traffic on campus for buses, students, faculty and staff as the Texas Tech versus Texas Christian game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Tech will host the Horned Frogs in their first Thursday home football game in 20 years. With about 11,000 more students than that previous game, parking services was dealt a difficult hand to keep traffic running smoothly throughout the day. Managing director of the Office of Communications and Marketing Chris Cook said the Commuter West parking lot will be open for student parking until 5:30 p.m. Essential employees staying on campus after 2 p.m. can stay in their previous spot or relocate to a permitted lot. “When they (traffic and parking services) started the process they looked for the areas that aren’t affected by a typical game day and Commuter West is one of those places,” he said. Buses will run on their normal schedule until 4 p.m. when the Commuter North and Satellite lots must be cleared. The Masked Rider bus will stop at 4 p.m. while the Red Raider and Double T buses will continue running until their scheduled end times, Cook said. Plans for handling the traffic on Thursday started to be in talks in May when traffic and parking services had its first meeting about the subject, he said. PARKING continued on Page 3 ➤➤
MAP COURTESY OF PARKING.TTU.EDU
For a closer look at the map visit http://www.parking.ttu.edu/events/ttu-vs-tcu-football-parking or dailytoreador.com.
Tech chooses not to cancel classes for football game By CARSON WILSON Staff Writer
Texas Tech will face Texas Christian on Thursday, and, despite rumors, classes will not be canceled. “The university’s first priority is to the academic mission of the institution,” said managing director of the Office of Communications and Mar-
keting Chris Cook, “and thus to maintain a regular class schedule as much as possible.” However, he said professors are in charge of attendance policies and are left to determine class times. “Per university policy, class attendance policies are left to the instructors of record,” Cook said. An associate history professor, Tim Nokken, whose classes will not be canceled, said he received an email saying
classes were not supposed to be called off. “One of the things is, we were told that the university will remain open,” Nokken said, “so that classes were not to be canceled.” Confusion has been circling around campus with not only class schedules, but also parking and bus route issues. Nokken said he has experienced such confusion. CLASSES continued on Page 3 ➤➤
Tech welcomes 4th National Academy member to College of Engineering By NIKKI CULVER Staff Writer
Generations reflect on Sept. 11 tragedy — LA VIDA, Page 5
INDEX Crossword.....................5 Classifieds................7 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................7 Sudoku.......................2 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
Texas Tech welcomed its fourth National Academy member Tuesday in the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center. Danny Reibel, a quality and quantity researcher, will serve as a Jack Maddox Distinguished Engineering Chairman in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering. Reibel was previously at the University of Texas at Austin. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Lamar University and received his ADVERTISING: 806-742-3384
doctoral degree in chemical engineering from California Institute of Technology. “Today, we’re going to recognize some individuals who have laid the ground work for Texas Tech,” REIBEL Chancellor Kent Hance said. “I mean, that’s one word you can use, but I think they’re much more than pioneers.
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They’re very special to Texas Tech.” Hance also recognized Jim and Sue Maddox of the Maddox Foundation, who were in the audience of 60 attendees. Five Maddox scholars, who are Tech students in the College of Engineering and received scholarships from the Maddox Foundation, also were in attendance. “It truly is a very special time to be affiliated with Texas Tech University and what a great day for Texas Tech when we announce the newest Maddox Chair,” President M. Duane Nellis said. “We
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have so much to be proud of and today is a particular point of pride. I would like to thank the Maddox Foundation, Jim Maddox and his family, for their support of the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering and the tremendous support you have provided for these endowed chairs. We truly appreciate your support.” Nellis said he attributed the success of the College of Engineering to the students, faculty, staff and the support of the Maddox Foundation.
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