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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1990)
conservan Texas A&M Battalion WEATHER TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Mostly sunny HIGH: 80- LOW: 53 : rma a n£f 01.89 No.113 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 20,1990 >ssible, :r said, “jj 'go, the & 'iisidered But the at much ■ His Chris he sister: answers Bush’s questions parties ot in the vote 3y CHRIS VAUGHN )f The Battalion Staff ugh )ffic m ion official met with two Texas \&M committees Monday to ask questions about A&M’s proposal to juild Bush’s presidential library in College Station. Don Wilson from the U.S. Archiv- sts Office met with the University’s \cademic Program Planning Com- nittee and the Steering Committee ;o ask questions and to clarify points n A&M’s library proposal. President Bush gave Wilson a se- ies of questions to ask the commit tees and the committees were to an- iwei the questions during the Ineeting, according to a source close o the issue. I cusH The source dec lined to specific allv ‘Vsv^ay what the questions were. Ill officials Houston itun [lib re, barja Wilson is scheduled to meet with from the University of and Rice University this week. A&M System Chancellor Perry Adkisson, Board of Regents Chair man Bill McKenzie and Michael Hal- bouty presented Bush with a formal proposal for the library site in Jan uary. UH officials and Rice officials, the andlOT other two schools active in pursuing manyfii •e Mayi ;ea fisi island h rays dte sie the library, also presented the Presi dent with proposals in January. Bush has kept his first choice un der wraps, however, and has still not made a firm choice about the site of the library. The source, who said Bush is the first to do such an intensive search for a library, said the meeting was a follow-up to the formal proposal. Dr. Daniel Fallon, chairman of the Academic Program Planning Com mittee, said Bush wants the publicity kept to a minimum. “The President wants to conduct this in an orderly manner,” Fallon said. “We have just been responding to specific questions that he has.” McKenzie was unavailable for comment. Wilson is conducting the meetings because the U.S. Archivists Office is in charge of maintaining and staff ing presidential libraries. His office will play an even larger role in the construction of Bush’s li brary following a recently enacted law that gives the Archivists Office a large input in the actual planning and architecture of the library. Bush has set no timetable for an nouncing the site of the library, according to most sources, but there is speculation that he will make the decision this year. Woman seeks place as senior yell leader !By JULIE MYERS DfThe Battalion Staff >ur ’hedivit oat )elts. tratiom: „ . . f . fr Her motivation tor seeking ottice incluii s not unlike that of her opponents: ter father is an Aggie, her grandfa- ;her is an Aggie and she said she was baDelw xirn an Aggie. Senior journalism major Melissa Martin wants to be a senior yell J, anddi eader—not a cheerleader, “I’ve been around A&M all my li fe,” Martin said. “I enjoy the tradi- ions and thought it would be fun to „ be a yell leader and lead the Twelfth <1* Man" Campaigning for the March 29 election officially opened Sunday at 6 p.m. Northside residence halls opened for candidate campaigning Monday and today and Southside , Umi^dormitories will be open Wednesday l ’ Band Thursday. therpfJf Martin said if she had 20 people I .yiBhelping her she could get more 3ial u "name recognition, but the con straints of having a one-person staff, working in an on-campus job, and serving as president of Aggie Alle- manders, a square dancing club, are real. Td love to have time to knock on doors and meet people in the halls Ibut I’ll probably just slip flyers un der the door and meet as many peo ple as I can between classes,” Martin said. Martin said she can lead yells as well as the men, but that there were some things that she could not do anatomically. “I do not want to be a cheerlea der,” Martin said. “I want to be a yell e leader.” 0 Martin said she hadn’t talked to any truly negative people although some people didn’t think she could win. Martin is not the only woman to campaign for yell leader, Director of Student Affairs Carolyn Adair said. In the past one woman applied and went through the entire election process but lost. Another woman en tered her name in the campaign but withdrew it later the same day, Adair said. Martin said she will not be presi dent of Aggie Allemanders after this semester so she would have enough time to devote to the activities in which yell leaders participate, such as all freshman summer conferences and Fish Camp sessions. All candidates are limited to spending $75 on their campaigns. Martin said she thought this would help her. “If anything, I think the limit will make my signs more noticeable,” Martin said. “People realize, ‘Hey that’s a girl.’ I’m dif ferent.” Martin said that students’ lack of involvement in campus elections could mean the difference in win ning and losing. “I have a lot of support if people willjust vote,” she said. Martin said she is hoping to gar ner enough support to counter the Corps of Cadets votes. “If the Corps goes out and votes as a block and defeats me, that’s the way it goes,” Martin said. “It was a fair election. For those that chpose not to vote, they practically voted with the majority.” The campaign trail Photo by Jay Janner Cathy King, a sophmore psychology major from Nashville, Tenn., The signs try to boost students’ awareness of candidates running looks at the mass of campaign signs posted along Spence Street. for office in the upcoming student elections on March 29. A&M faculty salaries above average among state-supported universities By JULIE MYERS Of The Battalion Staff Texas A&M faculty salaries are above the state average for state-supported universities and se nior-colleges, according to a recent report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Dr. Dean Gage, acting provost and vice presi dent for academic affairs, said the 1989-90 aver age nine-month salary paid to an A&M faculty member is $47,365. This salary reflects an aver age of the combined salaries of professors, assis tant and associate prof essors. Faculty at Texas public senior institutions now earn an average of $41,642 a year (all ranks) compared to the average of $47,089 paid in the 10 next largest states. “Texas is no longer in the top 10 states in fac ulty salaries — and that is with an average 5 per cent salary increase this past fall,” Kenneth Ash worth, higher education commisioner, said in the report. In order of highest average salaries, these 10 states are California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylva nia, Illinois and North Carolina. Gage said the average salaries for the 1 1 states- quoted in the report were accurate but differ ences in costs of living must be taken into ac count. The cost of living in California or New York, for example, is higher than Texas which could actually lower the buying power of faculty in those areas. “Those (top 10) states have more f ringe bene fits,” Gage said. “Their benefit packages offset most differences in the cost of living index fac tor.” Ashworth said the Legislature and the coordi- I exas is no longer in the top 10 states in faculty salaries — and that is with an average 5 percent salary increase this past fall.” Kenneth Ashworth higher education commissioner nating board have shared the goal of moving Texas faculty salaries up to the average of the 10 most populous states. “It is sobering to find out that we are now out side the big 10 competition and are also falling short of the national average by four percent.” The report compares the average budget for faculty salaries and salary ranges by faculty rank for Fall 1989 and Spring 1990. “Texas’ slide in the national salary rankings makes it all the more imperative that our faculty receive the 3 percent pay raise promised this fall,” H.M. Daugherty Jr., coordinating board chairman, said in the report. “Even with the 3 percent, our faculty will earn an average of only $42,891 — and that’s $6,696 short of what we are projecting will be paid faculty in the 10 states with which Texas hopes to compete. “The people of Texas are going to have to face up to providing new resources if Texas universi ties are going to become competitive with the ma jor states again.” Earlier this month, the coordinating board ap proved funding recommendations for the next biennium that call for a 10.7 percent average fac ulty salary increase in 1992 and another 10.8 per cent increase in 1993. Gage said he is optimistic about the pay raise, but historically the Legislature has not funded full recommendations by the board. “We are doing everything we can to fully sup port the 10.8 raise,” Gage said. “We need to stay dose to the eight to 10 bracket to stay competiti ve.” Because of excellent faculty recruitment in re cent years, A&M is under increasing pressure to increase faculty salaries or risk losing them, Gage said. If A&M were to lose faculty, the best teachers and researchers who now develop various re search programs would leave for universities that pay what they are worth. Furthermore, if A&M lost faculty as a result of uncompetitive wages, Gage said prospective graduate students would not come here and doc toral programs would suffer. Both the number of graduate students and the number of doctoral programs offered at a university increase the amount of funding. A&M also receives more money than other universities because of its close ties to engi neering which costs more to provide instruction. Gage said there is no other source of funds for salary increases. “We are stretched to the limit,” Gage said. A&M could get by for a year with only the re cent 3 percent faculty pay raise this fall. Gage said, but to go for two to three years without a further increase would place the University in a serious position. Football returns Receivers coach Robert Ford and the rest of the coaching staff put the Aggies through drills on the first day of spring workouts Monday afternoon. For complete coverage of Spring Training see Page 9 Photo by Fredrick D.Joe Driver questions kidnap charges Mexico (AP) — Four Oklahomans on spring break who claimed they were kidnapped in Matamoras last week paid more than $500 in fines for public intoxica tion and other offenses two days later at South Padre Is land, police said. Meanwhile, one of three Mexicans jailed on a kid napping charge told a Mexican judge Monday that the Americans willingly rode around drinking beer with them late last Thursday night and Friday morning, and could have left their car at any time. The vacationing students, identified as Marland Crabtree, 25; his brother, Darren Crabtree, 19; and Kerry Ramsey, 19; and a friend, Jeff Jones, 21, were ar rested at South Padre Island after police broke up a fight Saturday night, said Sgt. Homer Gonzalez with the resort town’s police department. All four are from the Oklahoma City area, police said. Jones and Ramsey each paid $42.50 in fines for pub lic intoxication, Yolanda Herrera, deputy court clerk, said. Marland Crabtree paid a total of $160 in fines for public intoxication and disorderly conduct, the clerk said. Darren Crabtree paid $277.50 in fines for public in toxication, disorderly conduct and reckless damage, the latter for damaging an automobile with a tire tool, Gon zalez said. Darren Crabtree also was ordered to pay $200 in res titution to the owner of the damaged vehicle, Herrera said. Last week, the four said they were abducted near an international bridge late last Thursday night and were taken on a wild ride around Matamoras before the Mexicans pulled up to a warehouse. “At that point we thought they were going to kill us because last year those people got killed during spring break,” Marland Crabtree said. “They were telling us that we better go in because they had a gun.” A police officer, suspicious of the activity at the ware house, pulled up and arrested the three Mexicans. Their stories brought back memories of violence last year during spring break, when University of Texas student Mark Kilroy was kidnapped in Matamoros and killed at a nearby ranch, allegedly by members of a drug cult. Fourteen other bodies also were found at the ranch. Jesus Rangel Gonzalez, 21, driver of the alleged kid napping car, told a Mexican judge Monday that the Americans drove around with him and his friends and could have left the car at any time in the slow-moving traffic on Matamoros’ busy Avenida Obregon last Thursday night. The bars and restaurants near the Gateway Interna tional Bridge is popular with students on spring break. Judge Manuel Ceballos Jimenez has until Thursday to decide whether to accept the prosecutor’s kidnap ping charges against Rangel, Oscar Garcia Velazquez, 17, and Olga Lidia Castillo, 20, all of Matamoros. The judge read the charges and took statements from the three Monday mprning at the state jail in Matamoros. Rangel told thejudge the incident began as a friendly encounter when the Mexicans invited the Americans to party with them and offered them beer. “We were just driving around the city drinking beer,” Rangel told thejudge. They drove around for about four hours, he said, adding “I don’t know why they called the police.” Rangel said the four Americans were walking away from the bridge, not toward it, when he gave them a ride and that they could have unlocked the doors and exited the car at any time. He also said the female student was not molested, as she claimed, and there were no drugs involved in the incident, as the students alleged. Rangel said he stopped at the warehouse that night because Garcia had a key to the building, and the women in the car got out to use the restroom there.