The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 04, 1987, Image 1

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    The Battalion
ol.82 No.l 11 (ASPS 045360 14 pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, March 4,1987
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Worth A Thousand Words
Tra\ a. ^uuvor huddvug coustrucUon ma^or tram Litvdale,
sketches the System Administration Building Tuesday afternoon for a
Photo by Tracy Staton
class. Rutledge said he was trying to “imagine morning shadows,” as
the assignment was supposed to be drawn in the morning sun.
Reagan picks
FBI man to fill
CIA position
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Reagan on Tuesday chose FBI
Director William H. Webster, who
brought the bureau out of a crisis
nine years ago, to take over the em
battled CIA.
Webster would replace William J.
Casey, who resigned after under
going surgery for brain cancer.
Reagan had nominated the CIA’s
acting director, Robert M. Gates, to
take over the top spot. But the presi
dent withdrew that nomination
Monday after it became clear Gates
would face stiff Senate opposition
because of the Iran-Contra affair
and the CIA’s involvement in it.
The nomination of Webster, on
the other hand, received quick praise
from Senate Democratic Leader
Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia,
who called him “a highly regarded
professional who will bring much-
needed credibility to the CIA.”
Reagan, in a statement released at
the White House, said, “Bill Webster
will bring remarkable depth and
breadth of experience, as well as an
outstanding record of achievement,
to this position.”
White House spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater said the president called
Webster at 9:20 a.m. CST Tuesday
and offered him the job. Webster
“said he wanted some time to con
sider this and would let us know as
soon as possible,” Fitzwater added.
Webster called back just after 6
E .m. — after news of the selection
:aked out — and accepted.
Fitzwater said there were “no can
didates yet” to replace Webster at
the FBI.
Webster, leaving FBI headquar
ters late Tuesday, said it was “a call
from the president” that made him
decide to take the job.
“The president asked me to do it
and I’m pleased to do what I can in
the line of duty,” Webster said.
Justice Department sources said a
debate was still under way over who
would be nominated to take over the
FBI, but that the leading candidate
was U.S. District Court Judge Lowell
Jensen, who had served as deputy at
torney general in the Reagan admin
istration before being appointed to a
judgeship in San Francisco.
Before coming to Washington,
Jensen served for many years as a
county prosecutor in Oakland, Calif.
He worked in that office with Edwin
Meese III, now Reagan’s attorney
general.
Jensen, questioned in San Fran
cisco after a jury trial session on a
patent case, said, “I am not a candi
date for the top FBI job.”
“I am completely satisfied with my
position here and I am looking for
ward to serving” on the bench, he
said.
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Attorney: Students need
understanding of DWI
Study: Texas leads nation in jobless
without unemployment benefits
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LENCE
LL EXPERTS
By Curtis L. Culberson
Staff Writer
Increased police efforts to crack
lown on people who are driving
vhile intoxicated and rigid judicial
nterpretations have made it more
important than ever for students to
mderstand and exercise their rights
vhen stopped for DWI. College Sta-
ion attorney William W. Vance says.
Texas appellate court interpreta-
ions have limited a person’s right to
:onsult with an attorney until after
he crucial decisions of whether or
lot to take the breath test and to be
ideotaped have been made.
“The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals has held that you are not
mder any type of custodial interro-
ption when taking the breath test or
icing videotaped,” Vance says.
Custodial interrogation requires
hat the defendant be advised of his
:onstitutional rights before question-
ngby law enforcement officials.
In addition, local police have
tepped up efforts to arrest drunk
Irivers. The four-month-old Brazos
bounty DWI Task Force has ar-
ested 29 people for DWI on the
light nights it has been on patrol.
Jniversity Police arrested 18 people
or DWI from September 1985 to
lugust 1986 and have arrested 11
icople from September to Jan. 31.
“If you are arrested for DWI,
ou’re going to have several deci-
ions you will have to make immedi-
tely,” Vance says. “Probably the
Host critical will be whether or not to
akethe breath test."
If a person refuses to take the
reath test, his driver’s license prob-
bly will be suspended for 90 days.
A person is entitled to a Depart-
aent of Public Safety hearing, but
enerally the license would he sus
pended, Vance says.
“If you take the breath test and
our blood alcohol level is found to
e above 0.1 percent,” Vance says,
the chances are about 90 percent
ou’re going to end up with a DWI
onviction.”
Vance says he has tried a lot of
>WI cases, and the chance of getting
onvicted in court on a DWI charge
only about 20 percent to 30 per-
ent if a person has refused to take
ie breath test, providing there was
io accident.
Vance advises consideration of
■ ,i ie consequences of a DWI convic-
;j§| on when weighing the breath-test
cision.
“I personally would rather lose
hy license for 90 days than have a
AVI conviction that would be on my
cord for ten years,” Vance says.
A first offense DWI conviction is
unishable by 72 hours to two years
i jail and a fine ranging from $ 100
[$2,000.
/ * The second most-important deci
sion is whether or not to be video
taped, he says.
“I advise people to stand before
the camera and say, ‘I wish to exer
cise my right to remain silent,’ and
not say or do anything,” Vance says.
It is important that a person re
member his rights and try to stay
calm, he says. Most people are
point. He says some lawyers will
speak with students for no charge.
Most first-time DWI offenders re
ceive two-years probation and a fine
and must complete some type of
community service. However, Vance
says before a student pleads guilty
he should think about the conse
quences, including an estimated
“If you are arrested for DWI you’re going to have sev
eral decisions you will have to make immediately.
Probably the most critical will be whether or not to take
the breath test. ”
— William W. Vance, College Station attorney
scared and nervous, because they
are afraid of going to jail and for
some it may be the first time they
have been arrested, he adds.
Some police officers will try to
take advantage of a person’s appre
hensive state and try to convince him
to take the breath test, Vance said.
Police officers might say “we will let
you go home if you pass the test” or
say that “someone just passed the
test,” Vance says.
What the officers don’t say is the
breath test can be failed even if the
blood alcohol level isn’t above the le
gal limit.
Lack of sleep, improper eating
and physique type can all affect the
results of a breath test, Vance says.
A blood test is more accurate than
a breath test but it can be hard to
have one taken, Vance says. In most
cases it is up to the arrested person
to find transportation to a hospital
where one can be taken within two
hours of the arrest.
“Often it is difficult or impossible
to post bond and be released within
the two-hour period,” Vance says.
The days of less-stringent en
forcement of DWI laws are long-
gone, Vance says, so the best thing to
do is not to drink and drive.
But if a student chooses to drink
and is stopped for DWI, Vance says,
he should be courteous to the officer
and should try to memorize the con
versation between himself and the
officer.
If students find themselves faced
with a DWI charge or any other
charge, they should try to post a cash
bond, Vance says.
Some students panic because they
are afraid of jail, he adds, but they
don’t need to worry because they will
not be held with hardened criminals.
Vance also suggests students shop
around before hiring an attorney.
Some attorneys are charging up to
$1,000 to handle cases students
could handle themselves with gener
ally the same outcome, he says.
However, Vance says a student
should speak with a lawyer at some
$10,000 to $15,000 increase in insur
ance premiums over the next ten
years and the affect a DWI convic
tion may have on future employ
ment opportunities.
DALLAS (AP) — As hard times
continue in the oil patch and on the
farm, Texas leads the nation in the
number of people trying to get by
without a job or unemployment ben
efits.
More than 500,000 Texans find
themselves in that predicament, sur
passing second-place California by
12 percent.
The findings were contained in a
survey released Monday by the Cen
ter on Budget and Policy Priorities
in Washington.
The study said a record number
of jobless Americans exhausted their
unemployment benefits in 1986, and
Texas had 10 percent of the total.
“Although we have been free
from recession for four years, the
unemployment system is providing
far less coverage than during pre
vious economic recoveries,” said
John Bickerman, research director
of the non-profit center. “The safety
net for unemployed families, espe
cially those out of work for long pe
riods of time, has eroded substan
tially.”
The study said Labor Department
statistics show that an average of
32.9 percent of American jobless re
ceived benefits each month last year.
But more than 5.5 million were with
out coverage.
The proportion of jobless who
were getting unemployment checks
broke 1985’s record low of 33.6 per
cent, the study said.
Texas last year had more than
552,000 unemployed people without
benefits.
Convicted killer executed
for crime spree begun in CS
HUNTSVILLE (AP) — Eliseo
Moreno, convicted of killing a state
trooper during a 160-mile crime
spree that began in College Station
and left five others dead in 1983,
was executed by lethal injection early
Wednesday.
Moreno, 27, a former lawn mower
repairman from Donna, had
spurned efforts to save his own life.
He told the judge who set his execu
tion date in January that he wanted
no appeals.
Moreno was the second Texas in
mate to be put to death this year and
the 22nd — more than any other
state — since Texas resumed the
death penalty in 1982.
Attorney General Jim Mattox said
Moreno died at 12:19 a.m.
Tindal said Moreno, who was exe
cuted for the fatal shooting of Texas
Department of Public Safety
Trooper Russell Lynn Boyd on Oct.
11, 1983, did not want to be a pris
oner who sat around awaiting the
outcome of appeals.
A&M campus helps out handicapped
Services assist disabled students
By Daniel A. La Bry
Staff Writer
Handicapped students come to
Texas A&M for more than just
school spirit, a friendly atmo
sphere and academics.
The fact that A&M is a rela
tively flat campus with a lot of
curb cuts doesn’t make the top
ten list of most Aggies, but is an
important characteristic for a spe
cial group of students — those
who are wheelchair-bound.
Another attraction is that A&M
has an office to assist learning dis
abled students with special tutor
ing, hearing-impaired students
with getting their lectures
printed, and visually-impaired
students with getting their lec
tures taped.
The Handicapped and Vet
eran Services office, located in
Hart Hall, provides assistance to
students with learning or physical
disabilities.
Dr. Charles Powell, coordina
tor for handicapped services, says
from his observations and what
the handicapped students tell
him, the fact that A&M is accessi
ble and has a handicapped serv
ices office has been a factor in
handicapped student enrollment.
Powell says A&M has an advan
tage over other campuses because
it is relatively flat. Campuses like
the University of Texas and
Southwest Texas State University
may be well-designed for hand
icapped students, he says, but the
hilly geography makes it difficult
for a student to get around.
Michael Douglas, a senior rec
reation and parks major who has
Handicapped Students at A&M
Part two of a two-part series
been in a wheelchair since 1982,
says A&M is easier to get around
on than several other campuses
he has visited, but besides the ge
ography, he also likes the atmo
sphere and academic standards.
“Everybody on the campus is
really friendly,” Douglas says. “If
you need help getting in and out
of a door, everybody is usually
more than happy to help you
out.”
Powell says, “A&M tradition
ally attracts people, whether they
are handicapped or not, because
of other people’s experiences
with A&M.”
Providing a comfortable atmo
sphere is a major goal for the
Handicapped and Veteran Serv
ices office, Powell says.
The services really have grown
out of the needs of handicapped
students, he says. The office
works with the University com
munity to resolve any problems
encountered by handicapped stu
dents so the students can better
meet their educational and per
sonal goals.
Belinda Lane, a blind student
who is taking graduate courses to
qualify to teach English as a sec
ond language, says, “They (hand
icapped services) are a good sup
port system. It’s a nice place to go
so you don’t feel lost when you
first get here.
“They (handicapped services)
give you a place you can go and
take your test. If you need your
test read to you, they read it to
you. They also have people there
who will write down your answers
for you.
“Another great service they
have is when volunteers come in
for an hour or two at a time to re
cord books for people. That helps
a lot, especially since they are vol
unteers and the cost of hiring a
reader is avoided.”
ope
idic
of the handicapped services of
fice soon. The office, located in
the north end of Hart Hall, con
tains two cramped offices and a
few small rooms. The smaller
rooms double as a storage area
for odds and ends used to repair
broken wheelchairs, and quiet
rooms used for test taking or
reading into tape recorders.
“Right now the major problem
is getting the money to expand
and adding new staff,” Powell
says.
He has asked the College of
Architecture and Environmental
Design to suggest an upper-level
student to help redesign the
Handicapped and Veterans Serv
ices office as a class project.
“I can’t really afford to pay the
University planners to do that,
and even if I did, they wouldn’t
know exactly what I wanted,” he
says.
Powell pictures an office with
quiet cubicles for test-taking or
recording reading material for
blind students, a computer area,
storage area, repair areas — and
the list goes on. Also, he said he
pictures a full-time staff member
to help tutor the growing number
of learning disabled students.
“There’s no limit to expand-
See Handicapped, page 14