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Texas A&M
The Battalion
Vol. 88 No. 137 USPS 045360 16 pages College Station, Texas
WEATHER
FORECAST for FRIDAY:
Partly cloudy and hot with a slight
chance of afternoon showers.
HIGH:87 LOW:65
Thursday, April 20,1989
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
Fans, like these pictured outside Olsen W in n o longer be allowed to watch games
Field at the Baylor series earlier this year, f r0 m the railroad tracks outside right field.
UPD bans seats by tracks
after UT series incidents
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
Aggie baseball fans will be pro-
hibiied from watching games
from the railroad tracks behind
the right-field wall of Olsen Field
following several incidents at last
weekend’s series.
The decision was made by
Texas A&M officials because of
the unruly behavior of the hun
dreds of people gathered along
the tracks Sunday f or the double-
header with the University of
Texas.
“With such great potential for
injuries, arrests and for lawsuits
to be filed against the University,
we decided to nip the problem in
the bud,” Bob Wiatt, director of
security and the University Police
Department, said.
Wiatt made the recommenda
tion to ban students from the
tracks to Robert Smith, vice presi-
deni for finance and administra
tion. Smith, who attended the
games and witnessed people
walking on top of boxcars from
his seat in the stands, agreed, and
President William Mobley was in
formed of their decision.
“The drinking, rowdiness and
stupidity of people who want to
play chicken with trains helped
precipitate our decision,” Wiatt
said. “It started on Saturday, but
it got out of hand on Sunday.”
Wiatt said people were jump
ing onto the ladders of the box
cars as they slowed, running on
the roofs of boxcars, and stand
ing on the tracks when a train was
approaching and jumping off at
the last minute.
“T heir behavior was preposte
rous,” Wiatt said.
Although possession of alcohol
is prohibited on A&M’s campus,
the 15-foot right-of-way next to
the tracks belongs to Southern
Pacific Railroad and is not owned
by A&M.
It is this 15-foot right-of-way
that gives the crowds gathered to
watch the games an extra induce
ment to be there, Wiatt said.
Signs asking spectators to stay
15 feet from the tracks were ig
nored, he said, and therefore the
owners of the tracks have given
A&M officials permission to keep
students out of the area.
People backed-up their vehi
cles so the tailgates were hanging
over the tracks and the owners
had to move them each time one
of the 10 to 12 trains passed, he
said.
Wiatt also said Union Pacific,
who leases the tracks from South
ern Pacific railroad, called Mon
day expressing their concern.
“One engineer Sunday had to
stop his train because one pick-up
didn’t move,” Wiatt said.
Union Pacific also told Wiatt it
would be willing to press criminal
trespass charges against people
who entered the 15-foot area.
Two people were injured Sun
day, but neither injury was re
lated to the trains.
One man suffered a broken
jaw when a fight broke out and
the assailant was arrested for
public intoxication. Another man
broke his ankle after slipping on
spilled beer in the back of a truck.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission called Wiatt offering
to help by ticketing minors in pos
session of alcohol during the
games.
Wiatt said officers will be pa
trolling the tracks during the
sold-out A&M-Arkansas series
May 5-6, forbidding people to en
ter the area.
The new rule does not affect
people who watch the games
from the other surrounding
fences, Wiatt said.
University Inn to open
as private dormitory
By Becky Weisenfels
EDITOR
Univeristy Inn will have a new
look next Fall — and a new clientele.
University Inn will become Uni
versity Tower beginning in Septem
ber. The new privately-owned, co
educational dormitory will offer
maid service, a private shuttle to
campus, an indoor pool, a weight
room and 24-hour security, Jamie
Sandel, leasing manager, said.
The hotel is now being remodeled
to have more storage space, new fur
niture, new carpet and dorm-size re
frigerators, Sandel said. The rooms
will have private bathrooms, tele
vision and telephones.
About 300 rooms will be available
to house more than 700 students. A
cafeteria will be built in place of
some meeting rooms on the ground
floor, and will be equipped to serve
more than 500 students at each
meal. It also will be open to the pub
lic, and meal plans will be available.
Students who live in the dormi
tory, which is on the corner of Texas
Avenue and University Drive, will be
paying between $3,600 and $7,600
for nine months, including meals.
The most expensive rooms on the
A&M campus, in modular residence
halls, cost $954 per semester or
1,908 for nine months. A seven-day
meal plan costs about $800 for a se
mester. For nine months on campus
(modular dorm) with meal plan, a
student can expect to pay about
$3,500.
The cost of University Tower
rooms is contingent on the number
of occupants in a room and the type
of room. Sandel said rooms will be
larger than the current on-campus
residence hall rooms.
Payment plans are available.
Students are required to sign a
nine-month lease upon moving into
the new dormitory.
The meal plan, included- in the
price of the rooms, includes three
meals on each weekday and two
meals on Saturday and Sunday.
Sandel said students will be the
first priority of the owners, even
though hotel rooms and convention
services still will be available.The
firm that manages Dobie Center and
another dormitory at University of
Texas will be managing University
Tower.
The new dorm will require an ex
panded staff, with cooks, secretaries
and student resident advisers being
hired, but Sandel did say the firm
would try to purchase as much as
possible locally.
Sandel is accepting applications
through April 26 for 10 resident ad
visers for next year. The advisers,
who should be students, will get free
room and board at the dorm.
The 17-floor hotel was previously,
considered by A&M officials for con
version to dorm space, but was even
tually dismissed because of, among
See Hotel/Page 10
TABS chief reassignment
not demotion, ag dean says
By Stephen Masters
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Rumors that the director of the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station was demoted when he was reas
signed by University System administrators are false,
the dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sci
ences said Wednesday.
Neville Clarke, director of TAES since 1977, has
been reassigned to a newly created position, associate
deputy chancellor for federal initiatives, said Charles
Arntzerr, dean of the agriculture college. A t ntzen said
the reassignment is not a demotion, but did not say the
position was an advancement for Clarke.
“Most people think of promotions in terms of a large
salary increase,” he said. “I don’t have the right to say
when a person should get an advancement or a raise.
That’s up to the Chancellor (Perry Adkisson) and the
Board of Regents.”
Clarke was unavailable for comment Wednesday
night. Adkisson was out of town, but members of his of
fice referred all calls to Ai ntzen.
Arntzen said a search will be conducted by the re
gents to fill the space vacated by Clarke as director of
TAES. The Bryan-College Station Eagle Wednesday
cited anonymous sources saying Arntzen would be
named director. The move would have Arntzen serving
as dean of the college, deputy chancellor of agriculture
and life sciences and director of TAES.
Dr. Herbert Richardson, dean of the College of Engi
neering, holds a similar position. Richardson serves as
deputy chancellor of engineering and director of the
Texas Engineering Experiment Station.
“We’re reorganizing the composition of the Agricul
tural Experiment Station, and that includes getting an
associate dean,” Arntzen said. “The associate dean will
lie selected in a joint appointment with the ag experi
ment station director. It's up to the regents to consider
who will fill those positions.”
All personnel decisions must be approved by the re
gents before becoming official. The next Board meet
ing is the third weekend in May.
Arntzen said Clarke will be responsible for bringing
revenue to the agricultural program from the national
level. He said Clarke will be leading a federal research
initiative that u ill attempt to obtain $500 million from
the federal government for agricultural research.
Clarke was working primarily on the state level be
fore the reassignment, Arntzen said.
He said Clarke was informed of the decision on Mon
day. The decision to make the change was reached by
the consensus of System administrators, including
Chancellor Perry Adkisson and the various deputy
chancellors, Arntzen said.
Decisions will continue to be made by using the con
sensus format among agricultural administrators, Arnt
zen said, and Clarke will still be involved in all decisions.
“I don’t think this can be seen as something nega
tive,” Arntzen said. “I think this is something positive
on the part of the agricultural program.”
In addressing the rumors, Arntzen said it likely was
much ado about nothing.
“I think people are trying to generate intrigue over
what should have been a normal operational change,”
Arntzen said. “As you restructure a program, there
might be somebody who regards a decision as some
thing negative.”
Explosion
on battleship
kills sailors
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A huge
gun turret packed with gunpowder
exploded in flames on the battleship
USS Iowa near Puerto Rico on
Wednesday, killing at least 47 sailors
in one of the worst naval disasters
since the Vietnam War.
The death toll from the accident,
which happened during a gunnery
exercise, “could go higher, but we
don’t know at this point,” said Lt.
Cmdr. Steve Burnett, a spokesman
for the Atlantic Fleet, based in Nor
folk.
He said the number of crewmen
injured had not been determined.
Two ships participating in the
same exercise collided Wednesday
afternoon about 500 miles east of
Jacksonville, Fla.
Buchman fills Student Government posts
By Kelly S. Brown
STAFF WRITER
Beth Ammons, Kristin Hay and
Craig Sandlin were appointed by
Student Body President Kevin
Buchman to be his executive vice
presidents in the Student Govern
ment.
The Student Senate approved
Buchman’s nominations in Wednes
day night’s meeting.
Buchman said he is confident with
his selections, and believes “they will
be a successful and solid group.”
Part of a vice president’s job is to
keep the student body president
abreast of issues on campus and of
student’s concerns.
Ammons, a sophomore political
science major, will serve as executive
vice president for programs. Her ex
perience with Student Government
includes being a senator, a COSGA
delegate, a committee member of
project visibility, executive assistant
for development, external affairs
committee sub-chairman for the
community, a public relations com
mittee member and a freshman aide
to the Student Senate.
Hay, a junior psychology major,
will fill the position of vice president
for administration. Hay’s student
government involvement includes
being a senator, co-chairman of the
election commission and a member
of the Class of’90 council.
Hay has served on five Senate
committees including external af
fairs, student services, academic af
fairs, rules and regulations and the
faculty senate academic advising
subcommittee.
Sandlin, a sophomore manage
ment major, will serve as the exec
utive vice president for devel
opment. He was an executive
assistant to 1988-89 Student Body
President Jay Hays. Sandlin also was
vice chairman of project visibility, a
COSGA delegate and served on the
traffic appeals committee and stu
dent services committee.
Four other executive positions
also were filled during the meeting.
Ty Clevenger, a sophomore politi
cal science major, was elected as
Speaker of the Senate.
One of the goals he presented is to
increase communication between
the administration and the student
body, and to increase Student Gov
ernment’s credibility.
Mark Werner, a senior accoun
ting/finance major, was elected
Speaker Pro-tempore.
Werner said his goals are to moti
vate and unify the Senate, while
dealing with its “biggest problem of
lack of communication.”
Chuck Keffer, a sophomore elec
trical engineering major, won the
nomination as rules and regulations
committee chairman.
MADD urges
action on bill
AUSTIN (AP) — Mothers
Against Drunk Driving on Wednes
day urged state lawmakers to act on
an open-container bill they say is be
ing held in committee while liquor
interests lobby against it.
Representatives of the anti-drunk
driving group called a news confer
ence to say the measure by Rep. Bill
Blackwood, R-Mesquite, has been in
the House Liquor Regulation Com
mittee several weeks without a hear
ing.
Student Senate calls for change
in A&M’s health insurance plan
By Kelly S. Brown
STAFF WRITER
By a small margin, the Student Senate approved rec
ommendations made by the student health insurance
committee, that Texas A&M return to a cumulative de
ductible on its health plan.
Debate on the issue, however, did not center on
whether the school should return to a $100 per year de
ductible instead of the current $100 per incident de
ductible; instead, discussion concerned what insurance
company A&M will contract next year.
For the past 15 years A&M has done business with
United Group Insurance, but concerns over the past
three years have been voiced by the committee as to
whether United Group Insurance is the best buy for the
student.
The committee recommended two features be ap
plied to whatever company is chosen — a cumulative
deductible and a one-year contract guarantee, rather
than a two year guarantee. The committee said a
shorter contract period is necessary because of volatile
medical service and insurance costs.
Leanne Rogers, the senator who introduced the reso
lution, said the five member committee, comprised of
administrators and students, came to the Senate for an
opinion after arriving at a 3-2 decision to switch to a
new firm.
“Obviously, the three wins,” Rogers said. “But the
committee didn’t want to return the recommendation
to Dr. John Koldus without knowing exactly what the
students want, and what will be absolutely the best.”
Although the committee has been unable to reach a
clear consensus on which insurance carrier to select, it
narrowed the number of companies from six to two. In
competition with United Group Insurance is Pearce &
Pearce, which has the lower cost of the two.
The committee’s report stated that Pearce & Pearce
has aggressively sought to insure A&M’s students, and
See Senate/Page 10
Mirror, mirror
Tamara Joyce, a sophomore physical educa
tion major from Grapevine, takes a closer look
Photo by Frederick D. Joe
at one of the entries in the sports car show,
part of this weekend’s Aggiecross XXIII.