The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 08, 1990, Image 1

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WEATHER
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HIGH: 71 LOW: 53
fol.89 No.90 USPS 045360 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, February 8,1990
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By SELINA GONZALEZ
Of The Battalion Staff
Sororities at Texas A&M now
have the University’s stamp of ap
proval.
A&M and the 11 sororities have
been negotiating the University’s
recognition of the sororities for
about two years, Dr. Carolyn Adair,
director of student affairs, said.
For the decision to become offi
cial, all sorority members and their
S overning board, called Panhellenic,
ad to agree on the proposal.
Adair said the voting process was
completed in late January.
“Now that they will all become
recognized student organizations,
we will parallel them with the Interf
raternity Council (social fraternity
system) and with our black Greeks,”
Adair said.
Panhellenic will be recognized as
the sororities’ governing body.
Dr. John J. Koldus, vice president
for student services, said he was
pleased the sorority system will be
added to the list of University-spon
sored student organizations.
“From the institutional point of
view, we would rather have a good
relationship administratively with all
of our student groups,” Koldus said.
“From their side, it gives them the
opportunity to have all the services
available to them that all other stu
dent organizations presently have.”
The sorority members now can
use campus facilities, have name rec
ognition on campus and participate
in intramural recreational activities.
Koldus said he didn’t see any dis
advantages with the University rec-
ognizition of the sorority system.
Sororities historically were not
recognized by the University, Kol
dus said, because the Texas A&M
Board of Regents chose not to do so.
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Photo by Phelan M. Ehenhack
A&M center David Harris watches as TCU scores the final
points of a 72-67 victory over A&M in G. Rollie White Coliseum
Wednesday night. See game results/Page 11
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By SUZANNE CALDERON
Of The Battalion Staff
PART 2 OF A 3-PART SERIES
When the idea of coed residence halls was intro
duced at Texas A&M, there were concerns about how it
would work out, South Area Coordinator Rick Turn-
bough said.
But, he said that one semester after their inception,
everything is going well in the halls and their future
looks bright.
“I think just the fact of having both sexes in the same
building was a concern in the beginning but it’s proved
just the opposite,” Turnbough said.
He said that besides the typical roommate conflicts
there have been no complaints from the residents.
Comments from the residents have been overwhelm
ingly positive, he said.
In fact, when the Residence Hall Association Coed
Oversight Committee conducted a survey of residents,
most said they would move into a coed hall again, Kyle
h, officii Jacobson, chairman of the committee, said,
and oil I “Overwhelmingly, the response to that question was
‘yes,’ ’’Jacobson said. “Some people even circled it two
or three times.”
Three coed halls are currently on the A&M campus.
Wells Hall and Eppright Hall house mostly upperclass
men and are new modular-style halls on the southside
of campus. Lechner Hall, a freshman honors hall, is a
new modular-style hall on Northside.
When asked why he liked living in a coed hall, Wells
Hall resident Rodney Ahart, a junior political science
major, replied simply, “Girls.”
Although men like the idea of women being around,
and women like the idea of men being around, ro
mance doesn’t run rampant in the coed halls, residents
and resident directors said.
“I thought it was going to be one big date party, but
it’s really not,” Liz Legg, a junior psychology major and
first floor resident adviser at Eppright Hall, said. “Eve
rybody is friends and goes out in big groups as friends.”
A few romances can be found. Hardy Brown, resi
dent director for Wells Hall said, but they are few and
far between.
“There has been a surprising lack of interest dating-
wise,” he said.
North Area Coordinator JoEllen Newman said living
in a coed hall provides opportunities for residents to
understand their peers of the opposite sex better.
“I think they’ve learned so much from each otherjust
from sitting in the hall talking to each other,” Newman
said. “They’re learning things from each other without
the pressure of a relationship.”
Turnbough said another advantage of living in coed
residence halls is that students are given a more realistic
outlook about life outside the University.
“Coed residence halls give students more of an op
portunity to learn how to adjust to normal society living
— a living-with-the-opposite-sex-type of environment,”
Turnbough said.
said other advantages are that someone always
is available to walk you to your car and to help move
things in at the beginning of the semester.
Security is another reason for living in a coed hall.
Turbough said the visibility of men on female floors
discourages strangers from wandering around.
Corp official conducts
investigation of hazing
By KEVIN HAMM
Of The Battalion Staff
A Corps of Cadets official is con
ducting an investigation to deter
mine if hazing was involved in an in
cident that prompted a cadet to go to
A.P. Beutel Health Center and later
withdraw from the Corps.
Former cadet Shannon George, a
sophomore biology major from
Silsbee, withdrew from the Corps
Friday, a week after he went to the
health center complaining of a sore
back and abdomen.
Dr. Kenneth Dirks, director of the
health center, said George came in
complaining that he had stiff mus
cles and trouble straightening up.
George said he had run extensi
vely that week, training for the
Corps’ annual three-mile run and
doing aerobic running, Dirks said.
George said he was required to do
push-ups and sit-ups for an hour
also, Dirks said.
Dirks said George received Mo
trin and a one-week excuse from
military activities.
The administrative hearing offi
cer in charge of the investigation,
Maj. Gerald R. Betty, said the inves
tigation was ordered Friday after
George withdrew from the Corps.
The investigation began Monday, he
said.
Betty declined to comment on the
status of the investigation, but said it
would be conducted according to
University regulations.
Lt. Col. Donald J. Johnson, assis
tant Corps commandant, said the in
vestigation focuses on the period be
tween George’s training for the
three-mile run and Jan. 26, the day
he went to the health center.
Johnson said that one day the up
perclassmen overseeing George’s
training weren’t satisfied with his
performance. They thought he
should put more effort into better
ing his time, he said.
“We think some excessive physical
activity took place,” Johnson said. “If
University discipline seems to be dic
tated by what is found, that will take
place.”
Hazing is illegal according to Uni
versity regulations and state law.
Betty said the first step is to notify
the cadets who were involved in the
incident that they are under investi-
gation. A three-day waiting period
follows before those under investiga-
don meet with the administrative
hearing officer. During the waiting
period the hearing officer collects
any information relevant to the in
vestigation.
At the conclusion of the investiga
tion, the hearing officer submits a
report to the commandant of cadets,
recommending whether or not any
further action should be taken.
Depending on the cadets’ sched
ules, the three-day waiting period
may be extended, Betty said.
Herb George, Shannon’s father,
declined comment on the investiga
tion, saying he feels the Corps
should have time to complete their
inquiry in as open and fair a manner
as possible.
Adviser: U.S. foreign aid
reflects American life
By SUZANNE CALDERON
Of The Battalion Staff
Jerald Caffey, Eppright second floor resident ad
viser, said he thinks women feel safer knowing men are
around.
Living with members of the opposite sex has its dis
advantages too, Wells Hall resident Anna Presley said.
“Boys hog the TV and leave the laundry room a
mess,” Presley, a sophomore marketing major, said.
Wells Hall resident, John Reasons, a sophomore elec
trical engineering major, said, “You can’t wake up and
go strolling around in your underwear — there’s always
that element of surprise.”
Brown said noise has been the only real problem.
“The beginning was kind of rocky because the expec
tations noise-wise with a male hall on a Friday are just
different from a female hall,” Brown said. “When you
bring those two elements together, the guys first
thought we were forcing them to live in a morgue, and
the females thought that another day of this would
really be trying.”
Resident directors and resident advisers said prob
lems with visitation hours in the coed halls have not
been any worse than in other halls.
Public areas in the coed halls, like hallways and
lounges have 24-hour visitation. Residents can have
members of the opposite sex in their rooms untill 11
p.m. on weekdays and 1:30 a.m. on weekends.
Except for the 24-hour visitation in public areas, the
visitation hours in the coed halls are the same as in
other halls on campus.
“People have been pretty good about when visitation
ends,” Brown said. “They’ll just go out in the hallway or
study lounges. They don’t try to hide it as much.”
Turnbough said residents’ behavior has proven that
coed halls can be successful.
“Residents (in the coed halls) have been a very good
“I
I think just the fact of having both
sexes in the same building was a concern
in the beginning, but it’s proved just the
opposite.”
— Rick Turnbough
South Area coordinator
example for the rest of the campus — I’d like to see us
get some more coed halls,” Turnbough said.
Turnbough may get his wish if the RHA Coed Over
sight Committee, a one-year committee studying coed
housing, recommends that coed housing continue at
A&M.
Kyle Jacobson, a junior civil engineering major and
chairman of the committee, said when coed halls were
proposed last year, part of the legislation called for a
committee to study the coed halls.
The committee, which will report to the Department
of Student Affairs and the RHA president, will make
recommendations about the coed halls remaining coed
and the construction of new coed halls.
Jacobson said the committee’s final recommendation
will not be made until after Feb. 14 because the results
of the survey of residents are still being processed.
Foreign aid is a confusing issue in
the United States, but it doesn’t have
to be, the senior public affairs ad
viser for the World Bank said
Wednesday in the opening address
for Student Council on National Af
fairs XXXV.
John Maxwell Hamilton said the
scope of foreign aid is so vast that
many people are uncertain of its
purpose and effectiveness.
In his speech titled “The Origin,
History and Purpose of United
States Foreign Aid,” Hamilton said
the concept of foreign aid is old.
Back in the ’50s, he said, a cultural
historian pointed out that the
United States is a country with a his
tory of strong voluntary giving.
“This reflected a significant factor
about Americans and American life
— we are a country that believes in
volunteerism, a country that believes
in giving,” he said.
That is how foreign aid got its
start — through America’s entrepre
neurial and “can do” spirit, Hamil
ton said. For example, he said, as far
back as 1812, the U.S. government
sent aid to help earthquake victims in
Venezuela.
Hamilton said whether it is 1812
or 1990, the debates about foreign
aid have remained essentially the
same.
Three guiding purposes have
governed what happens in govern
ment assistance, he said.
The first of these purposes is that
the United States gives money and
aid for humanitarian reasons. The
second is to further U.S. ecomomic
objectives, for example, creating
markets abroad. Lastly, Americans
give assistance in order to promote
American values, like democracy, to
other countries.
Hamilton said many arguments
have been raised about these pur
poses for foreign assistance.
Some have said there should be
conditions on foreign aid, or else
foreign aid should only be given to
those countries that have a tie to U.S.
businesses, Hamilton said.
The United States’ motive for giv
ing foreign aid to promote Ameri-
See Aid/Page 8
Graduate dies
of leukemia
By JILL BUTLER
Of The Battalion Staff
Funeral services are pending
for Juan Manuel Basombrio,
Class of’89, who died of leukemia
Wednesday.
Basombrio, 22, a biochemistry
major from Houston, graduated
from Texas A&M in May 1989
and was commissioned in the
Navy. He was a member of K-2
outfit in the Corps of Cadets, a
Fish Drill Team adviser, a Ross
Volunteer platoon leader, ser
geant major of the Sixth Battalion
as a junior and commanding offi
cer of the battalion as a senior.
Basombrio, originally from
Peru, received the Legion of
Valor Award and the Senior
Merit Award, was named Distin
guished Naval Graduate and was
recognized in Who’s Who Among
American College Students in
1989.
Jeff Barbieri, a senior, environ
See Basombrio/Page 8
New licenses slow fake ID use
By JULIE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
Minors who use “fake IDs” will
find liquor harder to obtain as soon
as the last batch of old Texas driver’s
licenses expires in 1992.
Since January 1988, the Texas
Department of Public Safety has
changed the front of all new or up
dated cards to curb the counterfeit
ing or alteration of driver’s licenses.
If the minor is younger than 18,
he must face sideways in his picture.
If he is between 18 and 21, the
words “Under 21” are stamped on
the front.
Additionally, every new license is
sued, regardless of the age of the
owner, is stamped on both sides with
transparent, embossed seals of the
State of Texas.
Bouncers and bartenders at local
clubs recognize the differences be
tween the old and new cards. They
also know, for example, that a per
son born in 1967 should have a new,
updated license with seals that are
nearly impossible to duplicate inex
pensively.
“These (new cards) are a step in
the right direction,” said Ron Stone,
College Station Texas Alcohol and
Beverage Commission Assistant Su
pervisor.
“There are not nearly as many
flea market IDs as there used to be,”
Stone said. “Word has gotten out
that they’re not worth the paper
they’re printed on. Everyone knows
they are fake.”
Already most bars, grocery stores
and convenience stores will not ac
cept temporary paper licenses with
out a picture ID or an out-of-state
driver’s license.
“If we serve alcohol, we are ex
pected to know what all 50 licenses
look like,” Phil Harrison, a senior
anthropology major and a Duddley’s
Draw bartender, said. “But we don’t
accept out-of-state licenses as proof
of age unless they are obviously over
21.”
Stone said bars by law are not an-
Proposal threatens existence
of happy hours throughout state
By JUUE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
jy hours will he banned
statewide if the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission adopts a
B roposal presented last week by
'exam War On Drugs, Mothers
Against Drunk Driving and the
Parent Teacher Association.
Lowell Lasley, a former TABC
employee and independent attor
ney who drafted the proposal for
the coalition, said they had 1,363
reasons to present the proposal to
TABC. Department of Public
Safety figures indicate that 1,363
people were killed on Texas high
ways in 1989 as a result of drunk
driving.
TABC General Counsel Joe
Da mail said the proposal would
ban happy hour advertisements
and promotions.
Technically, the proposal only
bans advertisements, but Darnall
said that the way the proposal is
worded, it would lead to a total
ban,
“They would be asking
prohibit discounted am
us to
free
drinks during ladies’ nights,
happy hours and other promo
tions,” Darnall said.
“They are focusing on a hand
ful of Dusinesses selling dlinks
during rush hour,” Darnall said.
“This is far more widespread and
far reaching than is needed to
reach their goaf”
Instead of a ban, Darnall said,
the coalition should help TABC
identify those establishments who
act irresponsibly, and the com
mission would solve the problem
using the laws already on the
books.
Lasley said, however, that a
legislative decision was not a vi
able alternative to the coalition.
“Not speaking for the coalition,
but as an attorney, the political
reality of that is the alcohol lobby
is so strong in the Texas Legis
lature that other groups do not
have any real chance of getting
proposals passed,” Lasley said.
“if TABC already has laws on
the hooks, they need to get rid of
See Happy hour/Page 8
thorized to confiscate altered or
counterfeit licenses. They can only
refuse service.
Harrison said that if he thinks IDs
are fake, he can only tell the patron,
“Sorry,” and show them the door.
Consequently, Stone said College
Station TABC only confiscates four
or Five altered and counterfeit li
censes a month.
Using or making counterfeit li
censes or ID cards with the intent to
circulate is a third-degree felony
which stipulates two to five years in a
state penitentiary.
Making or using altered licenses is
a Class “C” misdemeanor and carries
a $25 to $200 fine for the first of
fense and a $100 to $500 fine for the
second offense. The amount of the
fine is left to the judge’s discretion.
If convicted of these charges, the
defendant also faces three to twelve
months suspension of his or her li
cense.
Borrowing or lending a valid li
cense is also a Class “C” misdemea
nor. Having more than one valid li
cense at a time is also a Class “C”
misdemeanor.