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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1987)
r ,( HP , a_ TexasA&M m_m !• | lns,de The Battalion Vol.82 Mo. 117 GSPS 045360 10 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, March 12, 1987 Lefs hit the beach mA&M chooses leader ""ror Corps of Cadets IUIUSo[> inline K By Daniel A. La Bry Staff Writer Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets is etting a new “top gun.” Air Force Vfaj. Gen. Thomas G. Darling, Class if ’54, has been named the new Commandant of the Corps of Cadets nd head of the School of Military ciences. Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student services, made the for mal announcement 3 p.m. Wednes- ourt upholds Irazos County use verdict AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals changed mind Wednesday and upheld a leath sentence it had thrown out last B ear because jurors were allowed to love their cars during the trial. On a 7-2 vote, the court affirmed [he capital murder conviction of urtis Hall Harris in the beating ^eath of Timothy Michael Merka. lerka was slain in Brazos County af- Jer stopping to help four men whose Jehicle wouldn’t start. Last September, the appeals court loted 6-3 to overturn Harris’ convic- lion, saying it was improper that ju rors were allowed to leave the court house to move their cars just before eginning deliberations. Wednesday’s decision to uphold he conviction was branded “a com- ilete flip-flop” by Judge Marvin eague, one of two judges who op- osed the action. Judge Sam Hous- fion Clinton also dissented. I “It should be easily recognizable In all that the majority opinion’s molding will undoubtedly be popular with the prosecuting attorney, the ■rial judge, the jurors and probably a majority of the citizens of Montgom- |ry and Brazos counties who happen ||o be familiar with this case,” Teague ^vrote. Our decisions, however, should ever rest on what might be popular ith the masses,” Teague said. But the majority opinion, au- hored by Judge Chuck Miller, said the facts indicated that the court’s prlier decision was incorrect. I According to court records, Dis trict Judge John Martin of Conroe ftllowed jurors to leave the court- ffltouse briefly —just before deliber ating on the guilt question — so they lould move their autos to the court- fiouse parking lot and that they had lio improper contacts while away ■rom the courthouse. day during a small meeting in his of fice. Darling will replace Col. Donald L. Burton, who retired in September 1986 after serving as Corps com mandant for four years. Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Darling Koldus said Interim Corps Com mandant J. Malon Southerland will return to his previous position as as sistant vice president for student services. During a phone interview from his home in Virginia, Darling, who recently retired from his position as chief of staff for the U.S. Atlantic Command in Norfolk, Va., said he plans to start his new position in early July. “I’m confident the Corps is the best in the country, and I would like to press on and make it even better,” the new commandant said. Koldus said he wanted someone who had the expertise, professional ism and patience to work in an edu cational environment like Texas A&M, pointing out that Darling had served as commandant to the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk for three years. Of the four finalists being consid ered, Koldus said all were qualified and all were Aggies. Koldus said let ters were sent out to all flag officers who were Aggies asking them if they were interested in the position or if they would like to nominate some one. Darling, originally from Abilene, said his wife, Evelyn, is excited about returning to Texas. She is originally from Hamilton. Darling has a 32-year-old daugh ter, Suzanne, and a 29-nine-year-old son, David. His son, who works in Houston, graduated from Texas A&M in 1980 with a bachelor’s de gree in finance and his daughter, an attorney, attended school in Vir ginia. Anti-hazing bill passes Senate, raises penalty AUSTIN (AP) — The Senate ap proved an anti-hazing bill Wednes day that was written as a legislative response to the deaths of two stu dents, one at Texas A&M and the other at the University of Texas. Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos said his bill redefines hazing to increase the penalties to fines and jail time. Barrientos, D-Austin, said he be gan thinking about the hazing issue two years ago after a Texas A&M student died after doing calisthenics. Last year a UT student died of alco hol poisoning. He said in the past nine years, 40 young people have died in hazing in cidents in the United States, but the Texas hazing law has not been changed since 1937. Barrientos’ bill, which was sent to the House on voice vote, increases the penalties for individuals who commit hazing from the current maximum of $250 and 90 days in jail to a maximum fine of $1,000 and 180 days in jail if there is no serious bodily injury. If there is serious bodily injury, the penalties would be a maximum fine of $5,000 and a jail term of one year. If the offense results in a death, the maximum penalty would be a fine of $10,000 and a jail term of two years. Just Clownin’ Around A performer in the Royal Lichtenstein Quarter Ring Sidewalk Circus juggles at Rudder Fountain Photo by Tracy Staton Wednesday. The A&M Catholic Student Associa tion hosted the circus. See related story, page 4 U.S. plane shot down by Honduras air force TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — A U.S.- registered DC-3 airplane piloted by an American was shot down by the air force after it entered Honduran airspace on an apparent drug mis sion, the government said Tuesday. All three people aboard were killed. The plane was probably carrying narcotics from Colombia, said a statement issued by the armed forces Tuesday night. The aircraft was shot down at 11:30 p.m. Mon day in western Honduras after failing to answer repeated requests to identify itself or to land on a specified airstrip, the statement said. The pilot was identified by personal docu ments as Joseph Bernard Mason, who carried U.S. and Panamanian pilots’ licenses, the armed forces said. A spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, speaking on condition his name was not used, said details about Mason were be ing withheld while relatives were notified. Immediate identification of the other two peo ple on board was impossible because their re mains were scattered over a broad area, accord ing to the statement. No drugs were found in the burned wreckage “but it is believed the cargo was thrown out by the crew shortly before the plane was intercepted and brought down,” the statement said. The statement said the plane’s route was simi lar to the plane captured three months ago carry ing two Colombians and a load of pure cocaine valued at an estimated $500 million. Libyon family keeps up tradition started in 1960s Family members travel around world to A&M By Amy Couvillon Staff Writer Each year since the mid-1960s, at least one member of the Ben-Ali family has been enrolled at Texas A&M. This wouldn’t be unusual if the family was from Texas, since many A&M alumni have sent generations of descendants to A&M. But the Ben-Alis have sent their sons and daughters almost halfway around the world — from Libya. Amer Mohammed Ben-Ali, 1 1th in the family’s Aggie legacy, was born in 1965, one year after his old est brother Muftah came to the United States to go to A&M. Amer, an environmental design major, will graduate in May. “We are nine who came — imme diate family,” Amer says. “And then, if you count my in-laws, we — are 11. Those 11 are who grad- uated. If you count more, those ■ who just attended for a while, you B can go on and on.” Indeed, the Ben-Ali clan seems J to have no end. Muftah graduated | in 1968 and Zaineb, his wife, fin ished in 1971. “She is Ben-Ali, too; she is my first cousin,” Amer says. “It is very, very common in Libya to marry your first cousin.” Another brother, Fathallah, graduated in 1974, followed rap idly by Fouzi and Shamsiddin — who they call “Habib .” “We had a 1974 graduate, 1975 [liW 1 B graduate, 1976 graduate and a 611 B 1977 graduate,” Amer says. “Then, in 1977, Habib was going on for his master’s and my other /wl :lon Stm Plaza •7221 ; Ad |."0fl perVisi ■87 brother Khaled and his wife came in and started at A&M.” A sister, Samiha, graduated in 1985 after Amer began in 1983. One of his younger sisters at tended A&M for a year, but re turned to Lybia to get engaged, Amer says. Amer’s father, Haj M. Ben-Ali, only had a high school education. Until 1950, when Lybia attained its independance from Italy, Lybi- ans were prevented by law from seeking further education. So Haj, who died in 1983, made sure all his children had an opportunity to go to college. A natural question — one Amer hears all the time — is why his fa ther chose to send his children more than a quarter way around the world to A&M. The answer is family legend. Haj Ben-Ali — so the story goes — was doing business in Benghazi, Libya with some men from Fort Worth. “They sat down and talked to my father about business and things like that,” Amer says, “and he no ticed something on their hands. It was the A&M ring. So my father asked them,‘What is this ring?’ ” “See, in Libya, we have rings al ike if you belong to the same tribe. So my father asked them ‘Does this represent a tribe?’ And they said ‘No, no — It’s from the greatest school in the world.’ ” They were talking about A&M. “You know.” he says with a smile. “They were good old Ags talking about A&M. What do you expect?” At any rate, Haj was impressed Amer Mohammed Ben-Ali, Libyan student with the stories and decided to send his first son,.Muftah, to A&M. The rest is history. Amer says the most important thing he has gained from studying in America is learning how to ad just. “About 70 percent of what I’ve learned has been around this cam pus, more than I learned in class,” he says. “The way I feel about it, I ad justed to here and I can adjust to anywhere. “I used to have this attitude that I’m Libyan, and that’s it. But there isn’t a better country than the other one, and there isn’t a better human being than the other one. It’s just different. You have to adjust your self.” Amer says student life in Libya is very different than student life at A&M. “Some things you have there you don’t have here, and some things you have here you don’t have the re,” he says. “Like services, you know? My God, if you want a Domi no’s pizza, you just call on the phone and get them here. It’s dif ferent. “Libya is an Islamic country and it’s a lot more conservative. Talking to our opposite sex is a lot more for mal. . . . We have a very, very beau tiful culture. We have a beautiful family life and social life. It’s beauti ful, but it’s different, more formal than here.” Amer hasn’t been home to Lybia since 1984. During summer and Christmas breaks, he stays with a brother who attends the University of Texas or with a sister who at tends school in Canada. When the United States bombed parts of Libya in early 1986, Amer had a few tense days as he waited for news. “I was very worried about my family for two days, because I was not able to get in touch with them,” he says. “I was worried about my family, my home. I was very hurt that 120 people that I call my broth ers and sisters got killed for no rea son. All these kind of things hurt me.” His friends in environmental de sign were very understanding, and most people did not connect him with the negative image of Libya they might have had, he says. But he was bombarded by the media, which was very difficult for him. “Everybody wanted to have an interview then,” he says. “Every body. I got calls at two in the morn ing. I’d say, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it.’ “Can you imagine if I came on TV and I say my opinion, because my opinion is my opinion? “There are some crazy people who don’t understand that I don’t have anything to do with this. You see, me, I’m here for one reason, which is school.” Although he tries not to take a political stand, Amer says he be lieves in peace. “You should always try to solve things another way,” he says. “You know, Rambo-acting never helped anybody. That’s the way I think about it, but I don’t get into that.” One of the biggest adjustments he had to make at A&M was dealing with the misconceptions people had about his country. “They would ask me, ‘Do you have cars in Libya?’ And I’d go ‘Of course we do!’ I’d get so mad. “But now I understand they don’t do it because they think we’re stupid, they do it because they don’t know better. And I understand this now, but in the beginning, I didn’t.” Amer says before he came to the United States he, too, had stereo typed images. “I pictured America, you know, the highway glittering and the lights coming out. I was picturing like all these movies we see. “Driving from Houston Inter continental to College Station through Highway 45 is not very pleasant. I thought ‘My God, what am I doing here?’ “It was horrible at the beginning for me. I was very homesick, but now it’s very different, Amer said, adding that he probably will be very homesick for College Station when he leaves. After graduating in May, Amer will go home to Lybia.