lie Battalion
01.89 No.51 USPS 045360 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, November 10,1989
. Germany opens Berlin Wall Who needs a d ° 9?
in response to citizens’ exodus
'^BERLIN (AP) — “Open the gate!
Open the gate!” chanted about 100
Easi Berliners who gathered Thurs
day night at the Brandenburg Gate,
the huge monument just over the
Berlin Wall in East Berlin.
^■inally with government appro
val, the military did.
^Kast Germans coursed through
Berlin Wall checkpoints and others
entered West Germany at other bor-
""der crossings. Jubilant people
pranced and danced atop the Berlin
Wall, a sight unthinkable only hours
earlier.
ast Germans reacted to the news
with astonishment.
■ is it really true?” asked Mario
^ftmidt, 18.
^■Now I no longer feel locked in
here,” said Uwe Landgraf, 28, who
hoped to travel to Paris.
“I think that even some of those
who left recently will come back
now,” said a 25-year-old electrician
who would give his name only as
Thomas.
“What joy! This is the best thing
that happened in 100 years!” yelled
a West Berlin man as he crossed into
what had just earlier been forbidden
territory.
East Germany’s embattled Com
munist leaders said Thursday they
opened western borders and would
allow citizens to travel freely any
where for the first time since the
Wall was erected in 1961.
The move ended decades of fenc
ing in East Germans to prevent their
flight to the West and could leave
the wall — a symbol of the differ
ences between East and West —as a
mere monument to the Cold War.
Since 1961, 191 people are known to
have died while fleeing to the West
from East Germany.
New Communist leader Egon
Krenz also urged a law ensuring free
and democratic elections in a des
perate attempt to gain control of his
country.
More than 200,000 East Germans
have fled West so far this year; more
than 50,000 have left since Saturday
alone. Hundreds of thousands of
people have taken to the streets to
demand democratic reforms and the
end of 40 years of one-party rule.
Guenter Schabowski, a member of
the ruling Politburo, said East Ger
many’s heavily fortified frontier with
West Germany would be opened as a
provisional step until a law is passed
to allow East Germans greater free
dom of travel.
Schabowski did not say when the
law would be passed and it was not
immediately clear when the borders
would be opened. He also said East
Germany was not yet ready to tear
down all its barriers.
The decision, made during a Cen
tral Committee meeting, means all
East Germans “can travel over all
East German border checkpoints,”
including through the Berlin Wall,
Schabowski told reporters in East
Berlin.
President Bush said if East Ger
many makes good on its promise to
allow free emigration, “this wall built
in ’61 will have very little relevance.”
Apartheid shanty constant target
tor vandalism, racial intolerance
3y Kelly S. Brown
Df The Battalion Staff
aasm does not exist at Texas
\&M, or so that’s the train of
:hought of some.
k; Apparently, a different train of
ihought stops daily at A&M, and
ivhat’s on board is difficult for many
:o believe.
J»The Students Against Apartheid
shanty, which was erected Sunday
near the Academic and Harrington
buildings, has been the target of sev
eral vandalism incidents this week,
ending with its destruction Wednes
day.
in ^rpouglas Pace, a freshman aero
space engineering major, said he
witnessed the shanty’s demise.
HHe was leaving Harrington class
room building around 6:20 that eve
ning when he saw a “group of black
college-age-looking men tearing
down the shack.”
HHe said he watched from 30 feet
away as the “12 or so guys silently
^tore the boards from the structure,
kicked the walls and threw pieces of
it all over the place. It freaked me
out.”
Hit took the men 10 to 15 minutes
l to dismantle the shack, Pace said,
r i and in that time scores of students
U passed by.
,/>■ Pace said while the vandals
weren’t concerned with anyone see-
f ing them, onlookers did their best to
look the other way.
1', H “The guys took no precautions,”
r he said. “They just went about their
business, while people passing by
p tried to disassociate themselves from
** the incident. I think everyone was
too scared to do anything because
these guys were pretty big. ”
)tl Speculation by University Police
'» Department Director Bob Wiatt,
said while it’s impossible to know the
motive of the vandals, it could be
If that whoever did it might have been
offended by the racist remarks writ
ten on the shack Tuesday.
“KKK, White Supremacy and
Long Live Racism,” were inscribed
on the walls of the structure.
SAA President Irwin Tang, a
sophomore political science major,
said he’s hesitant to believe the eye
witness’s account of the Wednesday
incident, citing that “black people
wouldn’t do it, even in retaliation for
the racist remarks which were spray
painted over by Wednesday morn-
ing.”
The shanty was built to fight rac
ism, he said, not condone it.
“I have no idea who did this,”
Tang said, shaking his head. “It defi
nitely didn’t fall down on its own
accord — there were pieces every
where, with one piece tied around a
tree.”
Tang said while the purpose of
the shack is to illustrate the poor
conditions the black people suffer
through in South Africa, it shows
that racism is not only alive in South
Africa, but at A&M as well.
Students who have been at A&M
the past several years may remember
the controversy the shanty has
brought each time it is built.
Some cry out it’s an eyesore, while
others say it’s the necessary element
to shake those unaware of the plight
in South Africa, and still others take
an apathetic stance.
Whatever one’s opinion, Wiatt
said, no one has the right to destroy
the shanty or do anything to it be
cause it is a legitimite structure rep
resenting an A&M-recognized orga
nization that has gone through all
the paper work to get a permit to
display it.
Wiatt said one of the stipulations
he gave for allowing the shanty on
campus was that the SAA would not
sleep in the shack at night like they
have in years past.
“Several years ago they slept in it
to make sure no one would vandalize
it,” Wiatt said. “Our concern was
that five or 10 drunks would stumble
upon the shack and some kind of vi
olence would erupt.”
Wiatt, who* called the tearing
down of the shanty ‘dumb,’ said
whoever the people are sneeking out
under the cover of darkness with the
intent to deface the shanty are actu
ally enhancing the SAA’s cause by
drawing more attention to it.
And attention the shanty has
brought.
Two years ago two students cruci-
See Shack/Page 12
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Paige Schlender, a junior psychology major from New Braunfels
who believes that dogs aren’t always man’s best friend, pets her
snake Thursday afternoon. Cuba Libre, a six-foot boa constric
tor, keeps Schlender company by regularly traveling to and from
her classes in her backpack. Between classes, the snake slith
ers around outside.
Senate discusses plan
to delay MSC expansion
The Faculty Senate will discuss
a resolution Monday to postpone
and revise plans for the Memorial
Student Center expansion.
The resolution, from the Per
sonnel and Welfare Committee,
proposes to revise the plans to
avoid destroying one tree, heavily
pruning two trees and transplant
ing five trees.
The second part of the resolu
tion proposes that the plans be
postponed until students, former
students, faculty, staff and citi
zens at large have an opportunity
to review the current plans.
Members of the committee
have been working on the resolu
tion since August when they first
learned of the MSC expansion
plans, Dr. Benton Storey, chair
man of the committee, said.
Storey, Class of ’49 and a pro
fessor in the horticultural sci
ences department, said the reso
lution, more than anything else, is
to give students a chance to have
input about the expansion since
money from their fees will help
pay for the project.
The Faculty Senate meeting
will be in 601 Rudder from 3:15
to 6 p.m.
Committee examines choices
for overdue library expansion
By Mia B. Moody
Of The Battalion Staff
Expansion of Sterling C. Evans Li
brary is overdue, but thanks to pro
posals by the Library Expansion
Committee, changes will begin as
early as next year, Irene Hoadley,
NOTIS program in library/Page 3
director of Evans Library said.
“With buildings going up all over
campus, library renovations were
put off, but this has been designated
as the year to plan some alternatives
for expansion of the library,” she
said. “Expansions will probably be
gin next year.”
The Library Expansion Commit
tee has come up with five alterna
tives and is talking to students and
faculty members to see what they
want done. Three of the proposals
favor remodeling the library and the
other two favor building new library
facilities, she said.
“I
I—ibrary renovations
were put off, but this has
been designated as the
year to plan some
alternatives for expansion
of the library.”
— Irene Hoadley,
Evans Library Director
Hoadley said it will cost $150 per
square foot to make expansions. The
most popular idea among the com
mittee would expand the library into
the adjacent parking lot, which
would provide more space for stacks
and staff offices. Another of the
committee’s ideas would connect the
library to the Agriculture Building
by a tunnel.
Constructing a new building on
the west end of campus, which
would have stack space, electronic
access and a large amount of study
space, is another popular idea
among the group, Hoadley said.
The committee also proposed en
closing the sidewalk area around the
library and turning it into group
study facilities.
Another alternative suggests a
food facilities and study area library
with no space for books.
A&M fans leave opponents with mixed impressions
By Holly Becka
Of The Battalion Staff
PART 2 OF A 2 PART SERIES
I Losing shows some of a person’s
character, but winning shows all of
It
According to some, in recent ath
letic events, this idea of sports-
anship seems to have been thrown
y the wayside by the fans of success-
ul Aggie teams.
Two University of Houston stu-
ents claim they were harrassed by a
roup of Texas A&M students at a
olleyball match featuring the two
ichools. Recently, at the Rice-A&M
botball game, students from Rice
niversity and members of Rice’s
arching Owl Band say they were
ffended when the Aggie crowd had
an impromptu yell practice during
most of the MOB’s halftime perfor
mance, drowning out the band.
Aggies retaliated because the Rice
Owl mascot disrupted the beginning
of the A&M band’s performance by
breaking the ranks of the band
members.
Head Yell Leader Waylan Cain
said it was his decision to have the
yell practice.
He said he believed he was justi
fied in doing it because he’s seen the
way the Rice band has ridiculed
A&M in the past. He said in addition
to the mascot interrupting the Aggie
band’s performance, some male Rice
students who were dressed as yell
leaders were shouting obscenities
and making gestures at the A&M
crowd.
Cain also said after he and the
other yell leaders escorted the owl
mascot from the field, band mem
bers and the Rice students dressed as
yell leaders harrassed freshman
Corps members who set up line
markers for the Aggie band.
“I was just tired of it,” Cain said.
“Our fans were starting to yell and
gesture back, and I didn’t want us to
stoop to their level by cussing and
exchanging gestures. I just wanted
them to leave us alone, and the yells
were a polite way for us to say
‘enough’ and ‘do your own tricks
yourself.’ ”
Cain said he ended the yell prac
tice when he thought it had been ad
equate. He led all of A&M’s yells
once.
“That was enough to let them
know we didn’t appreciate it,” Cain
said. “In the past we’ve tolerated
that, and it was my decision this year
to pay them back. I got a warm re
sponse and whoops from the crowd
and I thought we had a pretty good
response to do that. I think it was a
good way to handle it.
“As yell leaders we try to keep
people from cussing, making
obscene gestures, throwing things or
verbally harrassing people from
other teams — stuff that would not
reflect well on A&M.”
Corps Commander Matt Poling
said he understood Cain’s reasoning,
but he didn’t agree with it.
“I went on the field and told them
that was enough because I thought it
was inappropriate,” Poling said. “I
think part of being an Aggie is yes,
we’re better, but we shouldn’t have
to advertise it. General Ormond
Simpson said that Aggies should be
confident without being arrogant,
and I think there is an arrogance in
fans now.
“I hate to say it, but the Aggies
were better fans when the football
team was 2-7 than now. I believe we
have more class than we showed.”
Dr. Ken Dye, the MOB’s band di
rector, said the Rice mascot and the
students dressed as yell leaders were
not affiliated with the band.
“I can understand the reaction,”
Dye said. “Your fans were angry the
owl ran out there. But I think the
way it was handled was an overreac
tion.”
Dye said the mascot, a woman
who was elected by the student body.
was unaware of A&M’s tradition of
not allowing people to run through
its band.
Dye said the MOB members tried
to finish the halftime performance,
but they found it difficult to do so.
“They were mad, but they knew
you were mad when the owl ran onto
the field,” he said. “It puts you in an
awkward spot to complain about a
situation that’s very volatile.”
Dye said that since Rice was cele
brating its homecoming (during the
A&M-Rice football game, he thinks a
negative perception of the Aggies
will result because of fans’ actions.
“There has always been a tension
when our schools have come to
gether, but its gone well for quite
some time,” Dye said. “This will
make it bumpy, but we’ll just deal
with it as it goes. A lot of alumni
were there and were angered. Many
have written letters to A&M.”
A&M student Heather West, a ju
nior economics major from Mexia,
said it was hard not to become in
volved in the peer pressure of partic
ipating in the retaliatory yells.
“My best friend and I didn’t par
ticipate,” she said. “I can understand
the reaction, and I think the reaction
was merited, but retaliation is some
thing not appropriate of A&M.”
She said she didn’t think A&M’s
reputation of being courteous to visi
tors would be tarnished.
“I don’t think it will give A&M a
reputation of being rude because it
was not a very populated game and
there was not enough coverage of
it,” West said. “And I think that a lot
of people understood why A&M did
what it did. The few Rice fans I was
with could understand why A&M re
taliated.”
“What I think we need to remem
ber is that what the mascot did was
on her own initiative and it wasn’t
the band, although those were the
people affected.”
A&M Student Body President Ke
vin Buchman said he didn’t think
A&M fans had meant their reaction
to be malicious.
“Looking back, I think everyone
agrees it was inappropriate,” Buch
man said. “I don’t think that it was
done maliciously, and I don’t think
it’s all the yell leaders’ fault. I don’t
want to seem like I’m coming down
on them. The crowd egged them
on.”
Rice students and MOB band
members Stephen Balkum and Erik
Daniel both said A&M fans directed
their disgust at the wrong group.
Daniel said he wasn’t sure what
provoked A&M fans.
“As far as I could tell, I didn’t see
how they could react like that,” Dan
iel said. “I heard it was preplanned.
“I don’t think this changes any
thing (in our schools’ relationship) in
the long run. Rice people just started
saying, ‘Oh, well. That’s the way they
are, and that’s they way we are.’ I
thought it was a childish way to get
us back, but it’s more of a personal
thing for me.”
Balkum said he was upset that the
yell practice lasted the entire MOB
performance, and essentially ruined
his school’s halftime activities.
A&M student Missy Davis, a soph
omore psychology major from Aus
tin, said she attended the A&M-Rice
game with her grandparents, who
celebrated their 50th Rice reunion,
her parents, who celebrated their
25th reunion, and her brother, who
celebrated his senior homecoming.
“Because I was sitting with rela
tives I saw it from their point of
view,” Davis said. “That wasn’t spirit
or sportsmanship at all — it w'as
rude. If Rice ever had any respect
for A&M, it’s blown.”
The Battalion has received many
letters to the editor about this issue.
Most writers have stated they were
upset with fellow fans’ behavior, but
more letters defending the Aggies’
behavior have been submitted within
the past few days.
A&M graduate Susan Rowland
Rice wrote to The Battalion, saying
that because Aggies have accepted
the MOB’s abuse in the past, the
See Fans/Page 12