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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
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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
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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.