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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1987)
Thursday, October 1, 1987/The Battaiioo/Page 3 ce 1 right, in the 'eceive tivitiesofthe >olicy of Jtion. ept criticism of 10 well. 1 expect runs both l a two- >meoneto as been said he problem will notmakeii to know what I he law gives u to make use iiirnalism irThe is “intake' lot ongoing take” will be ds on the is during that 1 we are on a anselingfor" 1 iu don’t want unseling. make a ■ agency or [. | a waiting h st k'ices. When icrsonal s, of course) de at the A h Steal , Report stat^ :h a strong, esent, one country.” oncerned national and hope this or a frt ell ° ind to know : care. s social Student r rp (/JIM CO0% / $0% Student Student By [enny Hynes Reporter ‘This year Student Government’s main objective is to be more open and serve students as a whole,” said Texas A&M Student Body President Mason Hogan speaking at Fountain Forum, a program sponsored by the sophomore honor society Lambda Sigma. “We don’t claim to have all the answers but we have an open door to any suggestions.” Three vice presidents in Student Government also spoke at Wednes day’s Fountain Forum, the first of the semester. A fifth-year senior from Clyde, Hogan outlined the organization and functions of Student Govern ment. “Student Government is com prised of three branches — the legis lative, executive and judicial bran ches," he said. “There are over 300 people in Student Government.” Hogan, a 22-year-old animal sci ence major, said the Student Sen ate’s 87 members, who represent housing areas and academic colleges in the legislative branch, are elected each spring. Student Government executive branch members — three vice presidents and several commit tee chairmen — are selected through an interview process. I he judicial branch of Student Government comprises a judicial board chairman and eight board members. “The main problem we’ve run into this fall is that there are not State and Local body leader explains Government concerns enough positions in Student Gov ernment for all the students that want to get involved,” he said. “Ag gies naturally want to get involved and have an interest in what’s going on around their campus and we sometimes just don’t have anything for them to do. “We are not up here to be a bunch of stiff collars, out to help our flame eternal again.” The Class of ’83 donated the eternal flame but failed to provide enough money for its upkeep. Student Government Vice Presi dent for Programs, Renee Dix, ex plained some of the programs spon sored by Student Government. These include Parents’ Weekend, Aggie Muster, the Freshman Pro- “The main problem we’ve run into this fall is that there are not enough positions in Student Government for all the students that want to get involved. ” — Mason Hogan, A&M student body president r6sum6s. I believe everyone we’ve se lected for Student Government this year actually has a genuine interest in their fellow students and this campus.” Brian Banner, Student Govern ment executive vice president for administration, discussed his role in leading about 40 university commit tees, including the Who’s Who Selec tion Committee, Traffic-Appeals Panel and Intramural Advisory Board. Banner, a junior in speech com munications from Hurst, discussed a Student Government survey to de termine faculty members’ reactions to the faculty lounge planned for Rudder Tower. He said Student Government also is working with the Class of ’83 to raise money to “make the eternal grams Committee, Traditions Coun cil, Aggie Blood Drive and Big Event. Dix also works on COSGA, Conference of Student Government Association, a national program for Student Government members. “It’s like a big student council con vention,” explained Dix, a market ing and management senior from Abilene. “We have delegates from all over the United States, Canada and England.” Dix said Student Government is promoting a new program designed to allow more students to become in volved in campus activities. “One way we’re trying to get more people to participate is through our High School Public Relations and Recruitment Committee,” she said. “Any student can go back to their hometown and give a presentation to promote Texas A&M to their high school. It’s a big service to their com munity and to Texas A&M.” Jody Manley, vice president for development, explained Student Government’s new Executive Coun cil. The council, which consists of the student leaders and faculty adviser Dr. Carolyn Adair, helps the branches of Student Government work together. Manley, a senior journalism major from Dallas, said the council is work ing to start a telephone events line, “kind of like a party-line,” which would allow stuaents to find out about campus events. She said the council also is working to put flags on the empty flagpoles near Kleberg Animal and Food Sciences Center, examine the use of the new com puter access fee and put a student representative on the Board of Re gents. Council members also are working to start an ‘adopt-a-high- way’ program within Student Gov ernment. “Student Government is an op portunity for growth in leadership and communication skills,” she said. Fountain Forum, which began three years ago as a weekly “Sufly’s Symposium,” has in the past fea tured yell-leader candidates, football players, faculty leaders, Battalion staff members and other speakers of interest. Lambda Sigma will hold the programs on a biweekly basis near Rudder Fountain. Texas leaders back supercollider plans, stress voter support WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of Texas political heavy weights, including House Speaker Jim Wright and Gov. Bill Clements, stressed Wednesday that Texans must pass a $500 mil lion bond issue in support of the supercollider if the state is to re main in competition for the giant atom smasher. More than 20 other states are mounting major efforts aimed at capturing the $4.4 billion project, which the Texas officials said would bring $1 billion a year for the next 20 years to the economy of the victorious state. “This provides Texas with the chance to become the world leader in high energy physics into the 21st century,” Wright, a Dem ocrat from Fort Worth, said. Behind Wright, in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol, stood Sens. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, and Phil Gramm, R-Texas; Clem ents; Reps. Jack Brooks, D-Beau- mont; Beau Boulter, R-Amarillo; Martin Frost, D-Dallas; and Joe Barton, R-Ennis. Clements said,“We feel it’s a real turning point, a fork in the road for Texas. We are in a no- holds-barred fight with states like Illinois and California.” Stressing that the competition will be fierce, Clements said the word has to get out to the voters that the state must pass the $500 million in general obligation bonds or fall behind the other competitors. The general obligation bonds, along with $500 million in reve nue bonds already authorized by the Texas Legislature, make up the heart of an incentive package offered by the state to induce the Energy Department to locate the giant atom smasher at one of its two official sites — Amarillo or Dallas. Bentsen said voters would have to seek out the resolution, num bered 19, out of a list of 26 pro posals to be voted on the Nov. 3 ballot. “We’ve had some tough times in Texas, and here’s a chance to move out into new frontiers,” he said. “California and Illinois will be going all out to win it.” Gramm, usually for cutting government spending, joined his Democratic colleagues in support of the bonds, saying it will ensure the state’s economic vitality into the next century. “I don’t usually ask people to spend . . . but this proposal is an investment,” Gramm said. “It’s seed money. It’s a chance to lay a new cornerstone in the economy of Texas.” Ex-fugitive says he set up prison-bidding company for ‘good reason’ HOUSTON (AP) — A man who was re cently captured in Idaho said he set up his own company to bid on prison contracts when he was a Texas prison system official, but added he did it for a good reason. “We had to get inmates out of tents in September 1983,” J.R. Pitts told the Hous ton Chronicle from a tiny visitors room at the Bonner County Jail in Sandpoint, Idaho. “All I did was expedite the job.” A few hours after an Idaho judge re fused to lower his bond, Pitts said Tuesday he believed he could beat the Texas theft charge that landed him in jail. Pitts was captured after three years as a fugitive. He said he set up a company to bid on Texas Department of Corrections pro jects to speed up work on court-ordered prison improvements. Pitts, 40, is facing extradition proceed ings involving a 1985 Madison County theft indictment that alleges he made off with $17,500 in prison funds through bid-rig ging and kickbacks from contractors. He denied pocketing the funds. “The paperwork doesn’t represent what really happened,” Pitts said. “I didn’t take any money.” As a contruction superintendent, Pitts was under pressure to complete several in mate cell blocks before the deadline im posed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice, he said. Under state law, three companies must bid on equipment and service expenditures. On some occasions, only one or two compa nies were avilable to bid. In order to meet the three-bid require ment, Pitts formed J&R Enterprises, a Pal estine-based company that would join in the bidding — usually submitting a bid a few dollars higher. Unfortunately, he said, the other compa nies sometimes dropped out of the bidding, leaving Pitts’ company as the only bidder. He said he then performed the required work. “Maybe I went at it wrong,” he sai<; “Maybe I should apologize to the state of Texas and the people.” Pitts also said he was unaware of the theft charge against him despite repeated trips to Texas. He said he first became aware of the charge when he was arrested on Sept. 19 — just hours before his wedding — on the Texas warrant. Pteta -Hut Introducing the GXMMKKXEa Ptea ‘-Hut teraouzazsa PIZZA HUT DELIVERY AGGIE SPECIAL 2 Medium Cheese Pizzas for $9" or 2 Large Cheese Pizzas for $12" Pan or Thin-n-crispy NO COUPON NECESSARY Extra toppings 2 Medium $.99, covers both pizzas! 2 Large $1.49, covers both pizzas! CALL 693-9393 1988 Aggieland Student organizations Recognized student organizations that wish to appear in the 1988 Aggieland must complete and turn in an organiza tion contract in 230 Reed McDonald by Friday, Oct. 2. There will be a $10 pen alty for those organizations that missed the Sept. 25 deadline. Contracts should be in your boxes in the Student Finance Office. If you have not received a con tract, you may pick one up in 230 Reed McDonald. Class pictures Freshmen and sophomores can have class pic tures taken on the following days: Last name G-L Sept. 28-Oct. 2 Last name M-R Oct. 5-9 Last name S-Z Oct. 12-16 Photos can be taken from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at AR Photography II 707 Texas Ave., Suite 120B (across from the polo field) 693-8183