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^ol. 90 No. 11 USPS 045360 10 Pages
College Station, Texas
A new awareness
MSC Jordan Institute
recognizes international
cultures.
See Page 5
Monday, September 17,1990
Dorms to receive I Souter unveiled
washers, dryers Supreme Court confirmation hearings to resume today
By SUZANNE CALDERON
Of The Battalion Staff
Texas A&M students who have
been without adequate washers
and dryers in their residence halls
will be happy to know new ma
chines are on the way.
A&M’s contract with Fabric
Care, the local company that pro
vided the University with laundry
service for 12 years, expired in
July. The coin-operated machines
since then have been in short sup
ply.
The University has contracted
Web Service Company Inc., with
headquarters in Redondo Beach,
Calif., to run the coin-operated
washers and dryers on campus.
Negotiations still are in progress
for the dry-cleaning contract.
Don Powell, A&M’s business
services director, says Web is
scheduled to begin installing new
machines Friday.
Because of the number of ma
chines being installed, it will take
several days to complete the proc
ess, he says.
Web provides coin-operated
laundry service to college cam
puses across the nation including
the University of Hawaii, Van
derbilt University, Southern
Methodist University and the
University of California at Los
Angeles.
“They are a company that has
been received on many college
campuses, so they are a national
company as opposed to one here
in the local area,” Powell says.
“They are in the business of pro
viding this type of service on col
lege campuses all over the coun
try.”
Rex Janne, A&M’s director of
purchasing, says dissatisfaction
with Fabric Care was not a reason
for opening the laundry services
contract for bidding.
“The level of service they (Fab
ric Care) provided was satisfac
tory — that was not the reason,”
Janne says. “It was the current
market conditions telling us this
was probably a good time to put
out proposals.”
Powell says Web was awarded
the contract because its proposal
indicated it could provide stu
dents and the University the best
laundry services.
Some concern is being raised
because the University will invest
money in an out-of-state com
pany rather than in Fabric Care, a
local company.
Powell, however, says the selec
tion was made only on what was
best for everyone concerned.
“Our only interest is in provid
ing good service at the lowest
prices we can to the students —
See Wash/Page 4
WASHINGTON (AP) — David H. Souter, de
scribed by one senator early in his Supreme
Court confirmation hearings as “the stealth nom
inee,” is not the same mystery man he may have
been to many Americansjust days ago.
His two days of nationally televised testimony
before the Senate Judiciary Committee yielded
significant insights into Souter the man and
Souter the judge.
Everyone was not satisfied with his answers, es
pecially his reluctance to detail his views on abor
tion. But at least something was learned of this
New Hampshire judge who was virtually un
known outside his home state when he was
tapped by President Bush in July.
Perhaps more will be learned Monday — Sout-
er’s 51st birthday — when he returns for a third
day of answering senators’ questions.
Here’s some of what has been learned so far:
• Souter says he gave the Bush administration
no assurances about how he would vote on any
case, including one involving abortion rights.
And he says he has not made up his mind about
how he might vote if the court were asked to
overturn its 1973 decision in Roe vs. Wade legal
izing abortion.
• He believes the Constitution provides a gen
eral right of privacy even though such a right is
not specifically mentioned and that the right ex
tends to married women’s use of contraceptives.
• He thinks constitutional provisions should
not be interpreted to mean only what their fram
ers intended, but what they mean in today’s
world. That separates him from those conserva
tives who espouse an “original intent” approach.
• He disagrees with Justice Antonin Scalia,
the high court’s most conservative member,
about how judges should search out American
tradition in determining some forms of constitu
tional protection.
In a recent decision, Scalia said the father of a
child born out of wedlock is not entitled to cer
tain parental rights because those rights pre
viously had been recognized only for married
people. Souter said he found that reasoning too
confining.
• He never heard his parents refer to another
human being in racial or ethnic terms. “I am glad
I am conditioned by my beginnings, and I am
glad I do not have to overcome them,” Souter
told the committee.
• He is not unflappable. Questioned by Sen.
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., near the end of Fri
day’s session, Souter for the first time began an
swering before his interrogator had finished
speaking.
Iraq unexpectedly opens Kuwaiti border
KHAFJI, Saudi Arabia (AP) — At
least 1,000 refugees from Kuwait
streamed into Saudi Arabia on Sat
urday after Iraqi border guards
opened at least one frontier cross-
in g-
Scores of newly arrived Kuwaitis
were lined up early Sunday to be
processed at a Saudi government of
fice in this border town and waited
to use pay phones to call relatives
who had fled Kuwait earlier.
A Saudi government source who
had spoken to an official at the bor
der said he was told that about 1,000
Kuwaitis had crossed into Khafji on
the Saudi side and each was being
registered by the Saudi government.
The source, who spoke on condi
tion of anonymity, said most govern
ment officials had been instructed to
say publicly that there had been no
abnormal activity at the crossing
point.
Iraq’s motives for opening the
border were not immediately clear.
Several of the Kuwaiti refugees
said the border had been abruptly
opened Friday, but most of those
wno left did so on Saturday.
A Kuwait City lawyer, who gave
his name only as Shaheen, said he
didn’t know why the frontier had
been opened, but said Iraqi Presi
dent Saddam Hussein “is asking the
Kuwaitis to leave Kuwait and go out
across the border.”
He said that in the last three days
about 25 young Kuwaitis, ranging in
age from 15 to 25, had been taken
away by Iraqi soldiers for unknown
reasons.
Shaheen added that he had heard
rumors of several Americans and
other Westerners hiding in Kuwait.
“If you help a Westerner in your
home you will be hanged, but some
people are still hiding them,” he
said, referring to Iraqi threats that
persons caught sheltering Western-,
ers would be put to death.
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Photo by J.Janner
Junior Yell Leader Drew Lewis is carried off the field by freshman siana Saturday. Lewis led a yell practice at the Fish Pond after he
cadets after the Aggies’ 63-14 victory over Southwestern Loui- was thrown into the pond. See related story on page 8.
Business placard allows faculty and staff
more freedom to park in campus areas
By KATHERINE COFFEY
Of The Battalion Staff
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ertificate
The Department of Parking, Transit and Tra
ffic Services started a University business placard
last week to assist staff and faculty who don’t
I have a University vehicle and need to use their
own car to do University business.
The business placard is a parking permit that
allows faculty and staff members to park in va
rious campus areas to do University business
without taking designated parking spaces.
Kathie Mathis, parking administrator for the
department, said they are working to satisfy the
needs of faculty and staff, and she hopes this
placard will help.
The business placard is issued to faculty and
staff for loading or unloading supplies or materi
als, attending meetings or having temporary
business in other campus areas, she said.
Mathis said the department replaced the pre
vious “number one placard” because it allowed
parking in designated spaces, which many times
prevented faculty and staff from parking in their
assigned lots.
“Students, when buying a parking permit,
have choices in different areas on campus, but
the faculty and staff are different in that they
have to park in a certain lot no matter where
their classes or meetings are,” she said. “If they
cannot find a spot in their lot they have to leave.
But on the other hand, students have choices all
over campus to where they can park.”
Mathis said she recommended the program to
Tom Williams, director of the department.
She then decided to work on a solution to pro
vide easier parking access for faculty and staff.
“Our main purpose is to provide a place for
people, including both faculty and staff, who buy
a permit to park,” she said. “We are working on it
the best we can.”
She said the new parking garage, the 30-min
ute parking spaces and more student-allocated
spaces also should help alleviate parking prob
lems.
The parking administration is working with
Bus Operations toward becoming a more user-
friendly administration for students and faculty,
she said.
“We are working toward becoming service
oriented and communicating more with others,”
Mathis said. “It is difficult to come up with a pro
gram that’s not going to hurt or dislocate stu
dents or staff but also allow everyone to do their
j° b ”
The department also is working with Student
Government, off-campus students, on-campus
students and RHA (Resident Hall Association) to
make sure needs are met and parking problems
are solved efficiently, she said.
“I could not have made the changes I did this
year without the input from students,” she said.
“Their input has educated me much faster than
just doing the day to day work and trying to find
the best ways to solve the problems.
“I hope the (student) committee continues to
be candid and open. I want the student commit
tee to tell me and recommend what is needed be
cause they are the only ones I can get a student
perspective from.”
Steven White, the Student Government special
assistant to traffic and transit, said he is working
with the traffic and transit department to make
sure student parking needs are met in the best
way possible.
Student Government is working with the de
partment on the bikeway system, bus and shuttle
routes and parking allocations.
“We need all concerns and positive comments
from students to help the parking,” White said.
“The best way we can represent the student body
is when students write in The Battalion’s mail call
or give us specific comments,” he added.
Students with questions or comments can call
the Student Government office at 845-3051.
RHA, OCA working
together for students
By ELIZABETH TISCH
Of The Battalion Staff
One is on campus and the other is
off, but they work together to ensure
safe and happy living for all Texas
A&M students.
Residence Hall Association Presi
dent Kyle Jacobson and Off Campus
Aggies President Keith Powell spend
several hours a week planning,
drafting and implementing policies
and programs related to student
housing.
Jacobson, a senior civil engi
neering major, presides over about
8,300 students living in residence
halls.
This number, however, excludes
the Corps of Cadets Halls and Cain
Hall, which houses A&M athletes.
He said the Residence Hall Asso
ciation basically acts as a liaison be
tween campus residents and the
University administration.
“The RHA council trys to pro
mote the physical improvements of
the residence halls and also to pro
mote better policies within the resi
dence halls,” he said.
The 24-hour visitation policy was
one of many policies the RHA coun
cil passed after several months of
careful drafting and promoting.
The RHA president said the
council, which includes the 74 hall
presidents, presently is working to
create more coed halls.
RHA is active not only in the mak
ing and promoting of policies but
also in the planning of major cam
pus events.
“This year, we are putting on a ca
sino in Houston during the Texas
A&M football game in Houston,” he
said. “It is in conjunction with the
yell practice which will take place
there too.”
The annual Casino Night in the
MSC also is planned and sponsored
by RHA members.
Powell, a senior economics major,
is responsible for relaying informa
tion to 30,000 students who live in
apartments around the A&M cam
pus.
As president for Off Campus Ag
gies, Powell’s main objective is to get
off-campus students involved with
A&M’s student life.
“I want the students who live off
campus to get involved with the stu
dent activities on campus,” he said.
“Traditionally, it has seemed the off-
campus students are not as involved
as on-campus students.”
Powell works with 14 other offi
cers and executives that make up his
council.
This off-campus group had its
first meeting of the semester with a
large turnout of active members.
“OCA is currently signing up
more off-campus students to be ac
tive members for the next two
weeks,” he said. “People who are in
terested can come by the OCA office
on the second floor of the Pavilion.”
In some cases, RHA and OCA
members work together. For exam
ple, they meet in conjunction with
the Department of Parking, Transit
and Traffic Services to distribute,
student parking spaces.
Jacobson compares the
relationship between RHA and OCA
to a brother-sister relationship
where both ends of the spectrum are
covered.
“If, however, there is any compe
tition between the two, it is a friendly
kind of competition,” he said.
Both Jacooson and Powell said the
two groups will make some visible
changes this year.
“I think things have really
changed this year,” Powell said.
“OCA is going to be very visible
where a lot of people will take noti-
Bells Across America
Constitution 203 years old;
bells ring out in celebration
The bells in Texas A&M’s Al
britton Tower will ring Monday
in unison with chimes across the
nation to commemorate the
203rd anniversary of the signing
of the U.S. Constitution.
At 3 p.m. CDT, the exact time
the Constitution was signed, bells
across the country will ring simul
taneously for 203 seconds.
On Sept. 17, 1787, 39 men
signed their names to a document
which established the world’s first
government of the people, by the
people and for the people. The
Constitution is the world’s oldest
written instrument of national
government.
During the ringing of the bells,
students, faculty and staff are
asked to reflect upon the bles
sings of liberty and the ideals of
justice and equal opportunity
made possible by the document.
The event, called Bells Across
America, is sponsored by the Na
tional Society of the Daughters of
the American Revolution in coop
eration with the Commission on
the Bicentennial of the U.S. Con
stitution.
Two local DAR chapters are
arranging community partici
pation in the event.