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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1987)
Tl4 x ^' M D _ 4.4. _ 12 ^ M 1 ne t5attalion Vol. 87 No. 2 7 LISPS 045360 8 pages College Station, Texas Wednesday, October 7, 1987 ^ : ^--j i in j . , y — |2 Photo by Robert W. Rizzo Perched outside a bar along the Northgate strip, Leonard Andrew “No Frats: A tradition since the beginning.” Both Andrew and Cox and Larry Cox, two senior agronomy majors, sport shirts that read, claim this shirt to be the bar’s official shirt. Congress OKs bills banning Iranian items WASHINGTON (AP) — Con gress overwhelmingly approved leg islation Tuesday slamming the door on all imports from Iran, with back ers saying that while it may have little practical effect, such a ban would send a signal of outrage over Tehran’s behavior in the Persian Gulf. The Senate voted 93-0 for a bill that would immediately ban all im ports from Iran — primarily oil — unless President Reagan certifies that the ban would harm U.S. inter ests. The House followed suit, voting 407-5 for a similar measure. The two bills differed slightly, so further ac tion still would be required before the bill is sent to Reagan, who had not yet taken a position on the legis lation. “It is outrageous to learn that American dollars have been flowing into the Iranian war machine,” said Rep. Mel Levine, D-Calif., a sponsor of the import ban. The House version also gives the president authority to enter into ne gotiations with other countries to convince them to ban Iranian im ports. The ban would last until Iran halts belligerent acts against gulf shipping. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., the bill’s Senate sponsor, said he hoped the action would “force the administration to face the issue squarely ... in a fashion that it cannot be ducked or bureaucrati cally swept under the rug.” The overwhelming support for shutting down U.S. imports from Iran reflected frustration on Capitol Hill about events in the gulf, where the administration has committed U.S. military force to escorting oil tankers against the wishes of many in Congress. A&M sees 6.4 percent rise in research funding By Lee Schexnaider Staff Writer Even with a drop in state appropriations to Texas A&M University, the institution was able to increase its research funding 6.4 percent to $176 million for 1987. The lastest national rankings for re search funding show A&M is ranked 11th with $147.1 million in research and devel opment funding for J985, said John Jan kowski, science resource analyst for the Na tional Science Foundation. The number one institution was Johns Hopkins Univer sity with $388.6 million in funding, Jan kowski said. Associate Provost for Research Dr. Du- wayne Anderson said the 1986 rankings will be released in November by the NSF. He said the 1986 Figures show $165.4 mil lion in research funds for A&M. Anderson said expected higher rankings may help the University by attracting even more research dollars. Research Funding for Texas A&M System 1985 1986 1987 “This is truly remarkable in a time when state support for research and higher edu cation was diminished,” Anderson said. “The remarkable record that the University has achieved is due in large part to the ac tion of our Board of Regents in adopting their ‘Commitment to Texas’ resolution last year.” Feenan D. Jennings, executive director of University research systems, said the program helped the University through the lean times when legislative appropriations were low. He said that of the program’s $53 million available, $20 million was available for re search. The research money was used for new faculty, instruments and equipment, Jennings said. Anderson said that the University is try ing to move away from more volitile state funding toward federal dollars. “We have found A&M ranks 19th nation ally in the amount of federal funds it gets,” he said. “We are positioning the University in such a way that it can increase its involve ment in federal programs.” Figures provided by Jennings show that A&M received $85 million in federal re search funding for 1986-1987. Anderson said the move toward federal funding is connected with the University’s attempt to increase the proportion of grad uate to undergraduate students. Currently there are 16 percent graduate and 84 per cent undergraduate students at A&M. The new policy of enrollment caps approved at the Sept. 22 Board of Regents meeting will try to increase the graduate student popula tion to 25 percent. “The two are linked because graduate education depends on graduate students persuing independent research programs themselves,” Anderson said. He added A&M cannot do original research on state apporpriations. “Alone no university can,” he said. Anderson noted that all major research institutions ranked in the top 20 in funding by the NSF have large, externally spon sored research programs. “The universities are ranked as high as they are primarily because of their grad uate research activities,” he said. Jennings said that continued state fund ing of research can help the state by provid ing the fruits of the research, which include new technology, products and manufactor- ing techniques. “The argument is really based on the fact that those states which have invested heav ily in higher education, in particular re search and graduate studies, have econ omies that are a lot better off than the state of Texas,” he said. He gave the examples of Massachusettes and California that have highly diversified economies. Jankowski said that effect of research on state economies might be something worth while to investigate. “I think that might be an excellent topic,” he said. “Quite frankly, it’s one I’ve been toying with in my mind as far as something we (NSF) might like to look into." Panel votes ‘no’ on Bork, recommends Senate rejection WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge Robert Bork’s embattled nomination to the Supreme Court suffered its worst setback yet as the Senate Judi ciary Committee voted 9-5 Tuesday to recommend his rejection and a key Southern Democrat, and a fifth Republican joined the opposition. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the committee chairman, said he didn’t see “any reasonable prospect that Judge Bork will be confirmed.” Reagan insisted at the White House that he would not give up the fight. But his spokesman said “it’s tough” to win now. And Tom Koro- logos, a lobbyist brought in by the White House for the Bork fight, said, “I’m not kidding anybody; I’m not sure it’s over but we’re in trouble.” Some Democrats were openly urging Reagan to find a replacement nominee. The Judiciary Committee recom mended that the full Senate reject the nomination when it comes up for a vote, probably within two weeks. Before the vote, Reagan rejected all talk of giving up. “There’s no backing off,” he said. “I’m going all out.” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said after the committee made its decision: “We’re disap pointed but we’re pushing ahead.” He conceded, “It’s tough. There’s no doubt about it.” The committee vote fell roughly along party lines, with Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania the only Re publican to join eight Democrats in recommending rejection of Bork’s nomination. The committee’s five other Republicans were on Bork’s side. Before its final vote, the panel voted 9-5 against sending the nomi nation to the full Senate with a rec ommendation that it be approved. The outcome had been expected. But Sen. Howell Heflin’s decision was suspenseful, and his support was coveted by both sides. “I must vote no,” he said, adding that he was following the old adage, “When in doubt, don’t.” Heflin’s defection was particularly damaging to Bork’s chances for con firmation, since White House offi cials were hoping to use a “yes” vote from the former Alabama Supreme Court justice to attract other conser vative Southern Democrats to Bork’s side. The committee moved to send the nomination to the full Senate for a final showdown later this month. The nomination suffered another setback when Sen. Robert T. Staff ord, R-Vt., became the fifth Republi can senator to announce his opposi tion. The committee debate mirrored arguments made for weeks. Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., urged Reagan to withdraw the nomi nation. “Let’s begin again,” he said. Sen. Orrin Hatch — himself men tioned as a possible substitute nomi nee — said, “If we politicize the judi ciary of this country ... we will lose one of the most valued liberties and freedoms.” A&M committee considers plans for University Center expansion By Cindy Milton Staff Writer The Texas A&M University Cen ter advisory committee is discussing plans for a long-term construction project — costing more than $10 million — that will provide more space in the University Center for student activities and organizations. “The demand for space has ex ceeded what we have to offer,” Ste ven Hodge, manager of.the Univer sity Center, said.. “We’re working with ideas and needs for growth, and, if the Board of Regents ap- roves of our proposals, then we’ll e able to sit down with some ar chitects and get some real plans wor king.” When the University Center — in cluding the MSC, Rudder Tower and the Texas A&M System Board of Regents Annex — was completed in 1973, the space was enough to ful fill the needs of the students and fac ulty at A&M. However, the enrollment at the time was 18,400 — less than half of the 39,079 enrolled today and stu dent activities have increased accordingly. Hodge said proposed expansion plans are being discussed to solve the space problems. A statement of justi fication for the expansion of the cen ter will be submitted, along with pro posals, to the Board of Regents in November. “We’re talking about two or more additions to the center and a lot of remodeling and rearranging,” Hodge said. The University Center advisory committee has been working on ideas to fit the needs of the growing University for nearly 18 months, he said. The advisory committee — which consists of four faculty mem bers, the student body president and the president of the MSC Council — will make the presentation to regents next month. The statement of justi fication will explain to the regents why the expansion is necessary, state which organizations needs space and make suggestions for construction. The primary function of the Uni versity Center is to provide space and facilities for student activities, but with the constant growth of the University, there is cramped and limited space for meetings of stu dent organizations, Hodge said. Student organizations who want more space and facilities — such as the student-run radio station KANM — give their requests and ideas to the advisory committee. Hodge has a book several inches thick of propo sals from student organizations. In 1983, the Student Activities Of fice, originally located in the MSC, was moved to the Pavilion because it needed more room, Hodge said. However, because there are so many student organizations within the of fice, even the Pavilion cannot pro vide enough space for them, he said. Further expansion will be dis cussed for the Placement Center, lo cated on the tenth floor of Rudder Tower, the MSC bookstore and cafe teria, just to name a few, he said. The center’s growth may include the addition of another wing to the MSC, but there isn’t much space to work with, he said. Funding for the expansion is in excess of $10 million, but until the Board approves a plan, the amount to be spent won’t be set, Hodge said. The money will come from Univer sity Center usage fees, building use fees and expenses paid by business enterprisers involved in the project, he said. If the proposals are approved by the Board in November and the plans with the architects go smoothly, the expansion of the Uni versity Center should be completed by 1991, Hodge said. 4 candidates face runoffs for top 2 freshman positions By Drew Leder Reporter After about 900 freshman vot ers had their say at the ballot boxes Monday, two candidates for the Class of ’91 president and two for vice president remain in the race. Steven Wehrheim, a political science major, and Heather Glenn, a business major, will face each other in a run-off election Thursday to determine who will be freshman class president. Seven other candidates for the of fice were eliminated from the race Monday. Steve Stembridge, a student government election commis sioner, announced the results of the election Tuesday afternoon at the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue to a small crowd of students, many of whom were candidates. After the results were read, Wehrheim, who got 20.8 percent of the vote, said he was happy with Monday’s outcome and at tributed it, in part, to the support he received from the Corps of Cadets. “I’m excited,” Wehrheim said. “I think I got the backing of the Corps. “I hope (Thursday) I can get the support of the whole fresh man class.” Glenn, who received 16.7 per cent of the presidential vote, said she was pleasantly surprised that she is still in the running. “I’m very pleased,” she said. “I really wasn’t very hopeful last night.” Vice-presidential candidates on the run-off ballot will be Steve Miller, a political science major, and Jason Wilcox, a general stud ies major. Voters Monday gave Miller eight votes more than Wil cox and eliminated 10 other vice- presidential candidates. The other three class offices up for election Monday were filled without requiring a run-off elec tion. Freshman voters elected David Waddleton as class treasurer, Les lie Frizzel as secretary and Krissa Edwards as social secretary. Friz zel and Edwards ran unopposed. Also Monday, senators for the nine freshman seats in the Stu dent Senate were elected. The senators are Jason Bone, David Jones, Miles Gibbons, Patrick No lan, Melissa Rasberry, Michael Saxe and Randy Stevens. The voter turnout of about 900 students was less than Student Government representatives said they had anticipated and wanted. Stembridge said one reason for the small voter turnout was that some students didn’t care enough about the elections to show up. Stembridge said the large size of the freshman class also may have indirecdy affected voter turnout. Because there are so many freshmen at A&M, many candidates may have been un known to voters, he said. Another reason so few voters showed up, Stembridge said, was that the voting location outside the library, which has attacted a lot of voters in past semesters, was moved inside the Pavilion be cause of the construction going on near the library.