Battalion
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/Oi. 89 No.47 USPS 045360 12 Pages
it.
College Station, Texas
Monday, November 6,1989
Parents receive recognition
from A&M for contributions
By Michael Kelley
; Qf The Battalion Staff
—
■ When Dr. Pat Hubert and his wife
Ui Goldie came to Parents’ Weekend in
1 April, they had no idea they would
■ return to their home in Riviera as
th< most famous parents in Aggie-
land.
■ The Huberts were named the
IH89-90 Aggie Parents of the Year
JApril 9 during the Parents’ Week
-end, All-University Awards Cere-
m-ny.
“It’s the most wonderful thing
1 that probably ever happened to us,”
i «r. Hubert, class of ’51, said. “I can’t
^Hank the Parents’ Weekend Com
mittee enough for this great honor.”
H Dr. Hubert graduated from
J W exas A&M in 1952 with a degree in
veterinary medicine. While at A&M
He spent two years in the Corps of
i!H ac lets in the outfit B-Athletics. He
lived in Hart Hall, the athletic dorm,
because he was a member of the Ag
gie baseball team. He said he would
have spent all four years in the
Corps, but the time constraints from
his studies and athletics did not allow
him to.
His baseball career significantly
changed his life. He was voted All-
American in 1951 and All-Southwest
Conference in 1950 and 1951. In
1980 he was inducted into the Texas
A&M Hall of Fame.
Awards were not the only thing
that baseball brought to Dr. Hubert’s
life, it also led to the introduction be
tween him and his wife Goldie. He
was playing for a semi-professional
baseball team in Sinton when a
friend introduced them.
The Huberts have nine children,
eight of whom have attended A&M.
Seven of them have at least one de
gree from A&M. They were nomi
nated three times for the ‘Parents of
the Year’ award, but it was the appli
cation from their youngest son John,
class of ’88, that won them the
honor.
Dr. Hubert describes himself as
“violently pro-Corps.” Three of his
sons were in outfit F-2 in the Corps.
All three have officer commissions
in the U.S. Army.
“I cannot understand a student
going through A&M and not going
through the Corps,” he said. “Girls I
can understand, but boys I don’t.
You miss half of your education by
not being in the Corps.
Mrs. Hubert said she is also a
strong supporter of the Corps.
“We feel like we miss half of the
(football) game if we’re not here an
hour early to watch the march-in,”
she said about the Corps’ military re
view before each Aggie football
game at Kyle Field. “The leadership
you can gain from the Corps is valu
able and the friendships you make
last a long time.”
“I think without the Corps, A&M
would not be A&M,” he said. “If you
want anything done at A&M, you
call the cadet colonel (the Corps
commander) and say ‘hey, we want
this done,’ and it gets done. It’s al
ways been that way.”
Mrs. Hubert said they would be
glad to come back to Aggieland to
speak to student groups. She said in
terested student organizations
should contact the Parents’ Week
end Committee of Student Govern
ment and they will relay the mes
sage. She asks that they be given
early notice so they can make prepa
rations for the trip.
Diane Purinton, chair of the Par
ents’ Weekend Committee, said the
Huberts, like all parents of the year,
were selected based upon three cri
teria — family support, community
Photo by Fredrick D.Joe
The Parents of the Year 1989-90, Goldie (left) and Pat Hubert,
accept their award from Roxanne Wernli.
involvement and A&M involvement.
The three parts are rated by over 30
committee members who rate appli
cations and determine who they feel
are their top three choices. The final
choice is made at the end of Feb
ruary.
Any currently enrolled student
can nominate their parents to be
Parents of the Year.
(Left) Sergeant Dale Cuthbertson of the Bryan
olice asks the community for more public sup-
ort for the war on drugs. (Right) Children of the
nited Baptist Church of Bryan listen to the
peakers at the rally. Lonise Bias, mother of bas-
Photos by Mike C. Mulvey
ketball star Len Bias, who died of a cocaine over
dose, spoke at the rally. She urged people to
support the war on drugs, saying, “People don’t
need to hear any more sad stories. They need to
be motivated to stop the madness. 1
Regent says Board will go
all out to get Bush library
By Kelly S. Brown
Board to elect new Prairie View A&M president
Of The Battalion Staff
The Board of Regents are serious
about Texas A&M’s bid for the
George Bush Presidential Library —
so serious one might say they’re will
ing to do anything.
William McKenzie, chairman of
the Board, said they’re making an
all-out effort to secure the library —
doing “a little more than some
might” in hopes of catching Bush’s
eye.
And what’s more eyecatching
than having a street named after
you?
A month ago controversy arose
over the renaming of Jersey Street to
George Bush Drive, with dissenters
citing the reasoning behind naming
the street after Bush as haphazard,
since Bush has not even indicated
that A&M will receive the bid.
McKenzie said Bush has indicated
the library will definitely be in
Texas, although he has not made a
The president’s seat at Prairie
View A&M has been empty since
May when Dr. Percy Pierre retired,
but the Board of Regents hope the
vacancy sign will be taken down
within the month.
The Board met in a special session
Friday to receive a progress report
from the Prairie View A&M Univer
sity Presidential Selection Commit
tee. No action was taken; however,
the Board does intend to make a de
cision after a vote via a telephone
conference meeting Nov. 13.
Bill Presnal, Board executive sec
retary, said there appears to be two
finalists for the office —Julius Bech-
ton and Henry Ponder.
Bechton is the former director of
the Federal Emergency Manage
ment Agency and a retired three-
star general. Ponder is the president
of Fisk College in Nashville, Tenn.
decision as to where. Rice and the
University of Houston are in the
running, as well as Bush’s alma
mater, Yale.
Members of Bush’s staff came to
A&M in late October to survey the
proposal and see what’s being done
to get the library. Bush’s staff is visit
ing other schools who have made
bids.
The Board has chosen a site off of
George Bush Drive on the far west
side of campus for the library, McK
enzie said. There’s livestock on the
property now, but A&M has pur
chased land elsewhere in College
Station so the animals can be moved.
However, the city may be the one
having to make room. McKenzie
said the library would bring a million
vistors to College Station for the first
few years, then approximately
600,000 people each year after.
McKenzie said they have no idea
when Bush will make his decision,
but predict it should be during 1990.
All aboard! Trolleys begin service
to 300 stops in B-CS Wednesday
By Cindy McMillian
Of The Battalion Staff
Something from the past is about to take Bryan-Col-
lege Station into the future.
Buses that look like turn-of-the-century trolleys will
begin serving regular routes Wednesday, making get
ting around town a lot easier for residents who are tired
of fighting traffic or who don’t have automobiles.
The Interurban Trolley System is the cities’ only
form of public transportation. The project is a joint ef
fort between the two cities and has been in the works
for several years, said Margie Lucas at the Brazos Valley
Community Action Agency.
Four trolleys and one Grumman bus will run week
days from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., stopping at 300 trolley stops
on five routes. A trolley will visit each stop once an
hour, and a sign with the time the trolley departs every
hour will mark each stop.
The different routes basically divide the twin city
area into four quarters: northeast, northwest, southeast
and southwest. One trolley with capacity for about 30
passengers will serve each “quarter,” and the 47-passen-
ger Grumman bus will serve stops on Texas Avenue
only.
The cost of a ride is 50 cents for adults, 25 cents for
children ages six to 12 and free for children under six
who are accompanied by a customer. Trolley riders
who need to transfer from one bus to another still pay
the price of just one ride, Lucas said.
Patrons don’t even pay that during November— the
service is free to everyone during its first few weeks of
operation. Lucas said her agency hopes the free fares
will encourage people to try the new system.
Trolleys are already used in several cities around the
state, including Austin and San Antonio. Bryan-College
Station adopted the system in an attempt to serve resi
dents without cars and to cut down on traffic by provid
ing locals with an alternative ride to work, Lucas said.
The trolleys won’t stop on the Texas A&M campus,
but stops will be available on all four streets bordering
the campus.
Ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Bryan and College Sta
tion will officially welcome the new system Tuesday, but
regular trolley service begins Wednesday. Maps of trol
ley routes should be available to the public some time
next week, Lucas said.
unite
raise money
Selina Gonzalez
| The Battalion Staff
J Greek Week, which begins today,
in attempt by Texas A&M’s 3,000
raternity and sorority members to
Rise money for United Way, Greek
leek director Jason Peterson said.
I “We want to have a good time and
iclp out Brazos County,” Peterson
Id.
■ Members of the Greek Week ex-
lutive board began planning this
feek’s events last semester, he said,
lie events include a banner day, a
leek life seminar and awards, letter
ly, two nights out, a children’s day
|ee Greeks/Page 7
Refugees continue to flee from E. Germany
SCHIRNDING, West Germany (AP) —
Thousands of young East German refugees
rolled into West Germany at the rate of more
than 100 an hour Sunday, causing a traffic
jam that stretched several miles back into
Czechoslovakia.
“The people will keep fleeing as long as
they can,” said Christian Schreiber, a 23-year-
old East German who joined countrymen tak
ing advantage of the new freedom to escape
their Communist homeland through Czecho
slovakia.
Driving their sputtering Trabants and
Wartburgs filled with stereos, luggage and
children, the refugees needed to travel only
15 miles from the East German border to
reach Bavaria in West Germany.
At least 15,000 East Germans had arrived
in West Germany via Czechoslovakia by Sun
day, West German border officials said. They
came by special trains from Prague or drove
their own cars to the border after learning of
the new escape route. Schirnding was the clos
est border crossing for those using the new
route.
The refugees ignored pleas by new Com
munist Party leader Egon Krenz to remain in
East Germany and scoffed at his promises of
reforms. So far this year, about 170,000 peo
ple have left seeking freedom in the West.
“People just don’t trust the government,”
said Schreiber, a dental technician from Staa-
ken outside East Berlin. He and his wife and
son had been waiting seven hours in the cold
and had a long wait still to go.
“How long will they keep coming? That you
have to ask Mr. Krenz!” said Uwe Luethje, the
federal border police duty chief Sunday af
ternoon.
“You can see how patient these people have
been,” Luethje added. “They learn that from
waiting in lines for so long outside shops.” 1
On Friday, Communist officials in East Ber
lin agreed to allow neighboring Czechoslova
kia,to open its western frontier for East Ger
mans seeking to go west. East Germany on
Wednesday lifted its month-old ban on travel
to Czechoslovakia, the only country East Ger
mans can visit freely.
Those who have stayed behind have de
manded that the East German government
make democratic reforms and allow freer
travel. As many as 1 million people demon
strated on Saturday in East Berlin urging re
form.
In East Berlin, a sign prominently dis
played outside the City Hall during a debate
between local officials and citizens on Sunday
said: “The Communist Party is driving the cit
izens out of the country.”
Like most of the tens of thousands of East
Germans who have fled West since August,
the majority of the latest round of newcomers
were young people, many with small children.
“The older people just can’t pick up and
start a new life somewhere else,” Schreiber
said.
Many refugees milled around their cars,
others dozed, while parents bravely tried to
keep their children amused as temperatures
dipped to 40 degrees. Like the Schreiber fam
ily, many had to wait seven hours or more at
the checkpoint.
Prof predicts
low turnout
of voters
By Julie Myers
Of The Battalion Staff
If mid-term elections are consid
ered “off-year” elections because of
low voter turnout, the Nov. 7 races
could be termed “off-year, off-year,”
said an associate professor of politi
cal science at Texas A&M. •
Proposed Amendments / Page 8
In fact, Dr. Patricia Hurley said if
one were to walk around campus
they would find many students are
unaware of the 21 proposed amend-
See Voters/Page 7