jj Texas A&M The Battalion WEATHER inTsji; /yMYx TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Sunny HIGH: 67 LOW: 40s Vol.89 No.80 USPS 045360 12 Pages College Station, Texas easure moves to Senate ouse overrides President’s veto f bill shielding Chinese students ; House fHIE Students follow debate in Congress lj yss, beyoi warm Precedeni ' agency. - nt to brj khun Mu. Azerbai eedng T' L ider a bre, ianC °nitH WASHINGTON (AP) — The House loted overwhelmingly Wednesday to over- biev V>de President Bush’s veto of legislation rbai J )rotect i n g Chinese students from cleporta ■ '-i 3111 P^ion, while Bush appealed to Republican ienators to resist ana help him keep open ies to the world’s most populous nation. The House vote of 390 to 25 sent the natter to the Senate, where both sides said he outcome of Thursday’s scheduled vote vas in doubt. House Speaker Thomas S. Foley de lated, “I aon’t think what’s most on the ninds of the members of Congress is the sensitivities of the present Chinese lead ership. ... This is a leadership that has in mr judgment failed to respect the rights of ts own citizens.” Rep. Stephen Solarz, D-N.Y., chairman jf the House Foreign Affairs Asia subcom mittee, said, “On the issue of China, the president has lost his credibility.” Bush pinned his hopes on the Senate, where both Democratic and Republican senators predicted a cliffhanger. Tne presi dent, National Security Adviser Brent i to do it soon. tes Tench cel esday, sav > a warn ’s 40 yean Scowcroft and Secretary of State James A le e whoap ilz’s comi lored will ospecdv ar I iful frienc id. , also wj. ned Com ;tters, rds fores ig the ere lumorand Iture f ulz. “Vow :al and he aken ovei sness aii! everyda. appeamt the atten By KEVIN HAMM Of The Battalion Staff Chinese students at Texas A&M are paying close attention to a bill being de bated in Congress that would allow them to stay in the United States after their visas have expired. Junting Lei, an A&M graduate stu dent from Naning in south China, said the legislation is necessary because the situation in China is still uncertain. through the day. Bush was publicly appealing to GOP sen ators to support him in the face of what he termed “crass politics” played by some sup porters of the override. The legislation would affect as many as ,000 Chinese students now in the United States on “exchange visitor” visas. The bill would waive a legal requirement that those students return nome for two years after their visas expire before returning to the United States or going elsewhere. In addition, the bill would permit any Chinese student whose visa has expired — “Right now, the Chinese government tries to convince students that there isn’t any danger in returning home,” he said. “But, most (of the students) believe what they see or have experienced, not what they hear.” Lei said Chinese students probably wouldn’t face any problems in China if they kept silent while in the United States. However, Lei estimated 70 percent of Chinese students at A&M participated in demonstrations at A&M and in Houston after the Tiananmen Square massacre in June. “I believe if I go back (there may be no) punishment,” Lei said. “But, since I used to speak frankly, they (the Chinese government) may ask me, ‘What do you think about June fourth?’ You have to say what you don’t want to say. You have to say something to protect yourself.” “I think most students appreciate this protection,” he said. Approximately 300 Chinese students attend A&M. Although the bill was passed by Con gress in its last session, President Bush pocket-vetoed the legislation. Bush planned to issue an executive or der in place of the legislation. On Tues day the House overrode Bush’s veto. The Senate also will attempt to override the president’s decision Thursday. T he bill would waive until a future date the requirement that foreign stu dents holding a J-l visa return home for two years before applying for non-immi grant status in the United States. Most Chinese students hold J-l visas. as many as 8,000 others — to remain in the United States as long as danger exists at home, and would allow Chinese students to work while in this country. Bush vetoed the measure on Nov. 30 af ter it had passed unanimously in the House and by a voice vote in the Senate. Chinese student groups have lobbied hard for an override of the veto, saying many of them would face political persecu tion at home because they supported the pro-democracy demonstrations that brought a violent government crackdown last June. At the time Bush vetoed the bill, he or dered government agencies to adopt what he contends are essentially the same safe guards. Metcalf removal shocks ex-players By RICHARD TIJERINA 01 The Battalion Staff Letters about Metcalf/Page 3 Snoop\ Former Texas A&M basketball players around the country said attled iht I they Here shocked and saddened wben they heard that Aggie explained Coach Shelby Metcalf had been relieved of his duties Monday. French, T just find it hard to believe that for a guy to have been there for 27 years, regardless of the circumstances, to remove him in the middle of the year, in the middle of conference play ... it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Dave Goff, who played from 1976-80 under Metcalf, said Wednesday. Metcalf, the winningest coach in Southwest Conference history with a 438-306 record, was removed Monday afternoon by Athletic Director John David Crow after a three-day power struggle that split the school. The former coach held an emotional, 45-minute press confer ence after Saturday’s 100-84 loss to Arkansas and said that Crow wanted to oust him from his job. The Dallas Times Herald published a story that day, saying Crow had told Aggie boosters in recent weeks that Metcalf soon would be gone. Crow issued a statement Saturday, saying that Metcalf was still the Aggies’ coach, and that he’d be evaluated at the end of the year lall tourisi d me you .now one i,”’ Schuh ce at the m, which sical dog featurinj >f special Produtj red the urn,sak en askec w, which ■dnesda) 12. in is increa inificatio e West e d workel nic recof usands reform ystem tl mce. i clash bf f Germa i of moi ig, whet zz like every other coach. However, that evaluation came a few months early. Crow re lieved the veteran coach, citing the negative publicitv that had been cast on the A&M Athletic Department since Metcalfs press confer- Crow named John Thornton, who played at A&M from 1973- 75 and was Metcalfs assistant coach since 1981, interim coach for the remainder of the season. Metcalf had one year remaining on his contract. He met with University President William H. Mobley Tuesday night to discuss his possible reassignment. Goff, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said Crow handled the en tire situation poorly. “The Athletic Director is a very powerful position, and when you’re thinking of doing something like this you have to have tact and political regards for what you’re doing,” Goff said. “I don’t know all the circumstances, but maybe John David needs to learn See Metcalf/Page 12 V0R' Next stage of MSC tree removal begins The second stage of tree removal be gan Tuesday at tne Memorial Student Center. The first cuttings began with four large live oak trees on Dec. 21 by a Brenham contractor and the remaining 15 trees are now being moved to other areas on campus. To do this, Texas A&M grounds maintenance has hired out the Houston- based company Instant Shade Trees to remove and replant the trees. It will be a $110,000job. “Really, these 15 trees are just too large for our department to remove,” Mike Goldwater, associate director of grounds maintenance, said. “That’s why we had to go out and find somebody who had the proper equipment.” The proper equipment that was needed to remove the trees included a nine-inch tree spade. Controversy about the trees’ removal began last fall when administrators an nounced that the trees would be cleared in order to expand the University Cen ter. This sparked oppositon from stu dents, the Faculty Senate and the Texas Environmental Action Coalition. The University Center expansion project is now set to begin in March. Some of the trees currently being moved will be replanted along the east gate, while others will be put in storage. The construction process of digging and trenching around the trees at the MSC is expected to continue for the next several weeks. The entire tree relocation project will be finished sometime this winter. Photo by Jay Janner An employee of Instant Shade Trees, Inc. secures a tree Wednesday to be moved for the MSC expansion. Thursday, January 25,1990 Fowl weather Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack Umbrellas of all sorts were seen on the A&M campus Wednesday afternoon as students protected themselves from the rain that fell throughout the day. Board debates future of A&M-WTSU merger By JULIE MYERS Of The Battalion Staff The future of the West Texas State Uni versity merger with Texas A&M was the first item on the agenda when the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board convened in Austin this morning. The meetings today and tomorrow are the last scheduled opportunities to decide upon the union before the issue dies March 31. Merging WTSU with the Texas A&M University System would bring research dollars to the campus in Canyon, 16 miles south of Amarillo. The merger was approved last summer by the Texas Legislature, the WTSU Board of Regents and tne A&M Board of Regents. Last week the merger met opposition when an HECB staff memorandum recom mended the disapproval of the union. “If the HECB were to consider only the advantages and disadvantages to West Texas State University, the advantages must weigh in favor of the proposal,” the memo said. “However, it is the Board’s re sponsibility to weigh considerations other than those of a purely local or regional in terest.” Concerns raised in the recommendation include: • The concentration of universities into two massive systems which might lead to a concentration of political power. The study asks if the interests of higher education throughout the state can be served if one or two groups of institutions can have their way over all others. • The ability of the A&M and UT sys tems to completely fulfill their obligations to the citizens of South Texas and to any fu ture satellite universities. • The dilution of the Permanent Uni versity Fund. The memo says the PUF could be seriously diluted if additional uni versities share in the wealth it generates. Eleven of the 16 institutions in the UT and A&M systems already share in the fund. • The perceived extension of A&M de grees, labels, rings and traditions to WTSU by Canyon area residents. Without the Texas A&M University label at Canyon or Amarillo, the report says there is serious question about how much prestige WXSU will gain by being absorbed by A&M. • Duplication of programs already of fered by Texas Tech. The report says con cerns have been raised about an apparent interest by Texas A&M University in en croaching upon programs and services of fered by Tech. The staff report further recommended that should the A&M-WTSU merger be denied, the Legislature give serious consid eration to a merger with Texas Tech Uni versity. In a prepared statement, WTSU Presi dent Ed Roach said that judging from the comments of the other parts of the system, he sees no reason to believe WTSU will re ceive any less attention because of the Sys tem’s administrative staff. Furthermore, Roach said there did not appear to be a problem with Texas Tech except geographically. “Texas Tech is not a system and has not expressed a desire to join with WTSU,” Roach said. “In addition, the Texas Legis lature mandated a study concerning the feasibility of a merger with the TAMUS or University of Texas System and did not re quire a study of merger with Texas Tech.” Members of the Texas Panhandle legis lative delegation, who had won the support of the Legislature and the regents of West Texas State and the A&M System, told the See Merger/Page 12 Correction A headline on the front page of Wednesday’s Battalion incorrectly stated that Texas A&M’s annual research ex penditures had topped the $250 billion mark in 1989. The headline should have read $250 million, as was stated in the text of the story. The Battalion regrets any confusion this error might have caused our readers.