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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 1990)
Texas A&M he Battalion WEATHER TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Partly cloudy and mild HIGH: 70 LOW: 45 .89 No.78 USPS 045360 8 Pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, January 23,1990 removes Coach Metcalf B\ RICHARD TIJERINA " 01 The Battalion Staff tryiiiiH- JidHWhat started out as speculation Bturday ended as fact Monday, ■exas A&M men’s basketball coach SI elby Metcalf, the winningest coach in Southwest Conference history, Ks relieved of his duties by Athletic P Brector John David Crow. ■ John Thornton, a former Aggie Bsketball star in the mid-1970s un der Metcalf and an assistant coach since 1981, was named as interim h< ad coach for the remainder of the sfason. A statement released through the University’s Sports Information De- irtment said Metcalf would be re signed to other duties at A&M, which would be announced shortly. ■ Metcalf, 59, said Monday he was planning on calling University Presi dent William H. Mobley Tuesday ■orning to discuss his new assign- v Bent. ■ However, Metcalf wasn’t sure he’d Bcept a reassignment when asked .Bout it Monday night. fl “I’d rather they just pay me off lile they did Coach Sherrill, and get '• Be hell out of Dodge,” Metcalf said. B Metcalf met with his attorney ~ Bead Davis and had a closed-door Bssion with Crow Monday af- tlrnoon. Metcalf then left and : Bhornton worked with the team at yBactice, preparing for Wednesday Bght's game against Rice, fl “I guess they want me out,” Met- fltlf told the Associated Press earlier frBonday afternoon. “It’s not a good Btuation here.” B AP reported that an Athletic De- jartment source saw Metcalf after Ss closed-door meeting with Crow. ■ “It hit Shelby like a ton of bricks,” tne source said. “I saw him when he Balked out of John David (Crow)’s ■fice. He had a stunned look in his *es. He looked up and said, ‘They Bleased me. T hey released me.’ “You could tell he didn’t believe tey would do it,” the source said. Crow’s announcement came in e wake of statements rnade'by Mef- If in an emotional, 45-minute Iress conference following Satur- lay’s 100-84 loss to Arkansas. It was lie Aggies’ third consecutive confer- Bice loss. Texas A&M Athletic Director John David Crow refused to comment Monday after announcing Photo by Jay Janner that head coach Shelby Metcalf was relieved of his basketball coaching duties. See Sports/Page 7 Removal draws response By JAY PEDEN Of The Battalion Staff Photo by Mike C. Mu Ivey Former A&M Coach Shelby Metcalf watches the Aggies’ 100- 84 loss to Arkansas Saturday. Metcalf was removed Monday. Metcalf charged that Crow had criticized him around campus and at the recent NCAA Convention. Crow issued a statement prior to Satur day’s game denying ever publicly criticizing either Metcalf or the A&M basketball program. Crow, who met with Thornton for 20 minutes prior (b a 10-nTmtueTaTk to the team after practice, declined comment but released a statement saying his decision was in the Uni- See Metcalf/Page 6 Students’ reactions on Monday to Texas A&M’s latest coaching change varied from disappointment to ela tion. Many agreed that head basketball coach Shelby Metcalf was treated badly by Athletic Director John Da vid Crow, and many said a new coach could be an im provement in the basketball program. But few were surprised after the events of the past wTefend Metcalf was “relieved of his duties” as coach and would be “reassigned to other duties,” according to a release from A&M’s Sports Information Department. Crow also named assistant coach John Thornton as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Kimberly Jenkins, a junior agricultural journalism major, said she did not like the way Metcalf was treated. “I don’t think they should have Fired him,” she said. “I think it was dirty pool, talking behind his back like they were.” Chris Trotter, a senior kinesiology major, reacted an grily to the news. “You just can’t up and can him after 27 years,” he said. “I think it was bad professional tactics on Crow’s part. He could have asked for Shelby’s resignation at the end ,of the season if he wanted it. His timing was really bad.” Chad Whitacre, a senior geophysics major, also dis agreed with Crow’s timing. “Crow should have done what he said he was going to do,” he said, referring to Crow’s statement made See Reaction/Page 4 ro-lifers rally on Roe vs. Wade anniversary Ibefy STACY E. ALLEN is j Oi The Battalion Staff rr n Pro-life supporters gathered in the Memo- jhiprial Student Center Flagroom Monday, the {“th anniversary of the controversial Roe vs. Bade decision, for a rally consisting of music Bid speeches. ■ The rally, which was sponsored by ten or- jginizations on campus, attracted a diverse au- “$d]<?nce of students, children and members of the community. Ana Ortiz, freshman psychology major at A&M and one of six speakers at the rally, told the crowd what she experienced when she had an abortion. “It’s a five- or ten-minute process that will completely and tragically change the rest of your life,” Ortiz said. “It has been two years since it happened and I still can’t deal with the emotional loss. It’s not over in five min utes — it’s never over.” Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack Seven-year-old Jennifer Farver of Bryan looks at her “Give Life A Chance” button di ring a pro-life rally in the MSC Flagroom Monday afternoon. The rally was spon sored by 10 organizations on campus. See Pro-choice opinion/Page 2 Ortiz told the audience that the pain of abortion affects women not only mentally, but physically. “I can’t even express the kind of pain I felt,” she said. “Everyone tells you you’re in and out of there and it’s no big deal and that you don’t feel it. That’s a lie.” Jatin Patel, graduate student and one of the organizers of the event, said the purpose of the rally was to inform students about the reasons pro-lifers believe what they believe. “I personally believe to a certain degree that many students don’t know a whole lot about the issue,” Patel said. Patel believes most students are in favor of some restrictions on abortion, and he feels that the information given at the rally could help students make their decisions. Information at the rally included the Diary of an Unborn Child, a chronology of the de velopment of a fetus which ended with ‘To day my mother killed me.’ One pamphlet in cluded color pictures of aborted fetuses, and another encouraged women in crisis preg nancies to consider adoption. No opposition groups protested at the event. John Welch, president of Aggies for Choice, said that he respects the opinions of those gathered at the event, but does not agree with them. “Aggies for Choice believes that every per son has the right to make personal choices concerning their lives, which is why we call ourselves pro-choice,” Welch said. “We be lieve that abortion should be kept as a choice available but not necessarily used.” Katherine Hinson, co-founder of Aggies for Choice and 1988-89 president, said she wants students to understand that pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. “Being pro-choice means that no matter what you believe, you don’t have the right to impose your views on the next person,” Hin son said. “A lot of the anti-choice people seem to think the answer is not to have sex, which is very unrealistic, especially in a college town. We promote birth control instead of abstinen ce.” Laura Yaple, member of Aggies for Life and worker at the rally, said she wanted those in attendance to understand that pro-life does not only fight for life in abortion cases. “By saying we are pro-life, we are saying we are anti-abortion, anti-infanticide and anti euthanasia.” Other organizations sponsoring the event were A&M Christian Fellowship, Baptist Stu dent Union, Brazos Valley Crisis Pregnancy, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha Chris tian Fellowship, Christian Medical Society, The Navigators, Aggie Men’s Club and the Aggie Grass Roots Coalition. Bush reassures anti-abortionists of his support WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush assured tens of thousands of anti abortion demonstrators Monday that “this president stands with you,” as both foes and supporters of legalized abortion marked the 17th anniversary of the land mark Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court deci sion. Bush, declaring his own “deep convic tion” against the court ruling that legalized abortions, spoke for just 90 seconds by telephone hookup to a midday crowd of marchers who gathered at the Ellipse across from the White House. “Before you begin the march, I want to take a minute to share my deep personal concern about abortion on demand, which I oppose,” Bush told demonstrators, say ing the anti-abortion movement reminds Americans “of the self-evident moral supe riority of adoption over abortion.” “Let me assure you that this president stands with you on this issue of life,” he said. Advocates of legal abortion, meanwhile, celebrated the anniversary of the 1973 Su preme Court decision at a luncheon fund raiser and in an earlier ceremony on the Mall remembering women who died as a result of illegal abortions. “The public is on our side,’’Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore., a supporter of legal abortions, said. “It will be a cutting edge is sue in this year’s elections.” The anti-abortion demonstrators marched up Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court after hearing Bush, some members of Congress and other speakers. The U.S. Park Police estimated the crowd at 75,000; the annual march drew an estimated 67,000 people last year. Similar anti-abortion rallies and pro- choice demonstrations were held around the country Monday. “What we’re going to do is show to America that pro-life America is here, awake, that we will not have the women’s libbers’ death marches in our country,” Nellie Gray, president of the March for Life, said. Even as Bush spoke, the Planned Par enthood Federation was urging Americans to call the White House to register their support for legal abortions. Conference to feature black leaders By CHRIS VAUGHN Of The Battalion Staff More than 600 university students from across the nation will meet at Texas A&M Thursday for the four- day Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference. The conference, titled “Discover ing the Keys to Success,” will feature workshops, forums, a career fair and keynote speeches from three black scholars. Dr. James Anderson, a psychol ogy professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Na’im Akbar, a psychologist specializing in African- American studies, and Susan Taylor, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine are among the speakers at the lead ership conference. The SBSLC was created two years ago by black student leaders who saw the need for a leadership conference for blacks in the Southwest. A&M also hosted the event last year. Students from universities in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Ok lahoma were invited. Students from Illinois, Wisconsin and several his torical black colleges also are ex pected to attend. Denise Nance, chairman of the conference, said there were several goals she hoped would be met dur ing the conference. “We want to stimulate leadership skills and provide for a forum of ideas for black students,” Nance said. “We also hope that through talking with students from other schools, there will be new programs implemented.” The workshops, many of which will be taught by A&M faculty, will cover topics such as African heri tage, apartheid, the black family, community involvement, affirmative action and an update on current events in the different majors. The SBSLC will feature a play di rected by Houston playwright Thomas Meloncon Thursday at 8 p.m. in Rudder Theater. The play, titled “Whatever Happened to Black Love?,” is open to the public. Students participating in the con ference will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from ap proximately 30 corporations and See Conference/Page 4