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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1991)
n ve done dh, of Lnroni- er Tony ^mselves ^eluding 'Ville city >n. ■ive is an Seated, tion was cornmis- McNair, a rza and v/ Wednesday Sunny High 80 “It is imperative that President Bush seize the initiative in bringing to frui tion his domestic agenda.” — Larry Cox Column/page 2 Wilson column Kermit Davis Jr. was the wrong man for the A&M basketball coaching job in the first place page? Green Week Battalion offers water conser vation tips. pages The Battalion il.90No. 112 USPS 04536010 Pages College Station, Texas 'Serving Texas A&M since 1893‘ Tuesday, March 19,1991 Kuwaiti leader claims rebel victory in north, south of Iraq NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Kurdish rebels said Monday the Iraqi army was using virtually eveiy weapon it has to try to break the back of the rebellion in northern Iraq. Spokesmen for Shiite Muslims also fiehting to topple President Saddam Hussein maintain their fighters are holding off a three-pronged assault by Iraqi troops on the soutnern cities of Basra, Karbala and Tannuma. Iraq's government-controlled news papers claimed the army crushed the revolt in the south, despite attacks from Shiite rebels that had left cities in ruins. Kuwait's Crown Prince disputed that, saying Iraqi resistance was win ning in the north as well as in southern Iraq near Iran. Officials of the Shiite and Kurdish re bel groups in Damascus and London charged fraqi forces were using napalm and phosphorus bombs to tiy to put down the twin revolts against Saddam. None of the claims could be inde pendently verified. Refugees fleeing Basra told reporters with U.S. troops in southern Iraq that rebels still held parts of the city and were being pounded by Iraqi artillery. Tehran radio, monitored by the BBC j^eogl bv tr in London, said 12,000 to 16,000 people were reported killed on the highway between the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in the Iraqi south. It gave no source for the figure. In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Richard Boucher said there was heavy fighting between Iraqi forces and Kurdisn dissidents in northern Iraq. He said the dissidents “now appear to be in control of large portions of pre dominantly Kurdish areas of northern and northeastern Iraq." Fighting is also continuing in the south along the lower Tigris and Euph rates rivers and in the vicinity of Shia holy cities, he said, adding there had been damage to holy shrines. In Kuwait City, Crown Prince Saad Abdullah al-Sabah told U.S. congress men the Iraqi resistance has the upper hand in nortnem Iraq and in soutnern Iraq along Iran's border. Based on intelligence reports, al-Sa- bah said Iraqi forces “have not been able to control the situation, especially in the northern part of Iraq. “In the southern part of Iraq, espe cially the areas that are in the bor derline between Iran and Iraq, this is some sort of no-man's land. It is not under control of either the Iraqis or the Iranians." “There are a number of groups that are facing the armed forces and the au thorities of Iraq. They have been able to take control of some of the police centers and the government build- ings," he said, without specifying loca tions. In Damascus, Sami Abdul Rahman of the Kurdistan People's Democratic Party said Kurds fighting in the north retained control of a wide swath of ter ritory along the Iranian and Turkish borders. Outdoor l Sports wean)) 'utdoors 5-7826 deswi iniques eekenc }>48 non acludes amping amping on. The nterme- 10 par aationa ; fund* itdoors, ;ertifie( strokes, the San feel for orksho) lipment, because )nt!nues 59 Read y will Aston Hall fire College Station firefighter, Tim Kinchloe, (left) carries fire hoses into Aston Hall to extinguish a Blaze in an upstairs trash dumpster reported at 2:30 Monday afternoon, (below) Kinchloe walks past the dumpster that was set on fire. The blaze was brought under control quickly, but the extent of the damage to the hall was unknown. JAY JANNER/The Battalion KARL STOLLEIS/The Battalion Soviet vote preserves federation MOSCOW (AP) — Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and his maverick rival Boris N. Yeltsin on Monday both emerged from the first referen dum in Soviet history able to claim victory. In the nonbinding election held Sunday in 11 time zones across the Soviet Union, Gorba chev won overwhelming sup port for preserving a renewed federation with the majority of the population. But partial returns showed Yeltsin winning on a question that has been opposed by Gorba chev: Creating a strong presi dency for the Russian feder ation, and filling it by direct election. Yeltsin was elected chairman by Russia's legislature in May. Known as the Russian president, he is in danger of losing that job. The hard-line members of Rus sia's Congress are planning a no- confidence vote on March 28. Even if Yeltsin lost that vote, he would be strongly favored in a popular election. Gorbachev's referendum won by margins of 70 percent to 95 percent in seven of the 15 repub lics: the Ukraine, Byelorussia, and in the five republics of Cen tral Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekis tan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenia and Kirgizia. There were no final totals for Russia and Azerbaijan on Mon day. Local counts were running strongly in favor of the union in the Russian countryside and many cities, but weak in Yelt sin's strongholds, Moscow and Sverdlovsk. In Lithuania, the count could be accurate only if there were at least 200,000 'no' votes, said par liamentary spokesman Harris Subacius. Mobil Corp. creates scholarship program By University News Service Mobil Corp. is showing its )rp. appreciation for Operation De sert Storm servicemen and women from Texas A&M by establishing a $100,000 schol arship fund. Recipients of the schol arships, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 annually, will be known as Mobil Scholars, an nounced Allen Murray, Mo bil's board chairman, presi dent and chief executive officer. Murray said the basis for the scholarships will be active- duty service during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm — from Aug. 2, 1990 to the official end of the war. See Mobil/Page 4 AggieCon activities begin Thursday By Twila Waddy The Battalion Ninja Assassinations, Lazer Tag, Quest and other events dealing with science fic tion, fantasy and horror are only some of the activities at AggieCon this week at Texas A&M. "AggieCon is the largest and oldest an nual science-fiction convention in the Southwest United States," Jayme Blaschke, AggieCon chairman, says. "Fantasy, horror ana comic books, we include a wide range of fantastics and we have a national reputa tion." AggieCon, which begins Thursday and continues through Sunday, is open to ev eryone and is sponsored by MSC Cepheid Variable, a science-fiction fantasy horror committee. AggieCon began in 1969 with a one-day speaker presentation. "It was not called AggieCon then," he says. "It was Science Fiction Week, and it was sponsored by the English department." Author Harlan Ellison spoke during the first AggieCon and visited several English classes at A&M. About 400 people attended AggieCon 3 in 1972, but now more than 3,000 people at tend. "The attendance every year averages around 3,200," he says. "This year we have 52 quests and six major quests." About half the AggieCon participants are from the local area, while many come from Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Another 10 percent come from out of state. "AggieCon is like the first big science-fic tion convention of the year," he says. "We basically kick off the conventioning/' David Mandebille, AggieCon program di rector, says the good weather helps Aggie- Con's attendance. During April and May, the weather still is bad m trie Northwest See AggieCon/Page 10 fs will iedto ing to r Polo eeting in 164 notice itional Build' Is R eC 3n the Sherman sets top priorities as Corps Commander By Karen Praslicka The Battalion Increased recruiting and better students for Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets are some of newly named Corps Commander John Sherman's top priorities. Sherman recently was selected as next year's commander by a board of military officers. Sherman says his main goal as Corps commander is keeping the upperclassmen motivated. "If the seniors and juniors don't keep a sharp appearance and carry themselves well, there's no way we can keep the subordinates motivated, he says. "The Corps' numbers are down right now, and I think we need to get them back up to Miat they need to be," he says. Sherman says cadets should academics as their first Priority, as well as maintaining °ther Corps' standards. "Of course, academics is al ways a first priority," Sherman says. "But so is retention, keep ing people in the Corps." Tne junior history major from Houston has been in the Corps since his freshman year. He says he considered other military schools and academies before deciding on A&M. "But 1 figured we have what I guess you could call the military school of Texas right here," he says. Sherman says A&M offers the same commission as other aca demies but has a "social plus" that other military academies do not. "We (Corps members) can in teract with others besides just military personnel," he says. "I think later in life if we ever de cide to get out of the military, that will act as a real plus." After he graduates, Sherman says the military will "definitely" be a major part of his future, but he is not sure if it will become a career choice. Sherman says his other options include land man agement, politics, or oil and min eral law. The process of becoming Corps commander begins with several interviews during the second semester of a cadet's sophomore year. Interviewers evaluate the ca dets' past performance in the Corps, leadership abilities and academics. From these interviews, cadets are selected for Corps sergeant major, an assistant to the Corps commander. Sergeant majors serve during their junior year. Eight individuals, usually Corps sergeant majors, are con sidered for Corps commander during the second semester of their junior year. They are inter viewed by Coips officers who then choose the Corps com mander. Sherman says he was more surprised to be chosen sergeant major than he is now. "It really hit home when I got it," he says. "I feel relieved in a sense, not that I'm going to slack off any, but now I can take my initiative and be able to imple ment some things I want to." Sherman says he also wants to change the nomination process for Corps commander. He says sergeant majors usually are con sidered for the position, but he believes any cadet should have a chance. Sherman says the Corps com mander has the ultimate respon- siblity for what happens in the Corps. He says although he an swers to Gen. John Darling and other military officers, he makes all final decisions on the cadet level. "It's like how Colin Powell has to clear things through Dick Cheney, but he makes ultimate military decisions," Sherman says. "Cheney won't tell him 'we need to attack here.' Powell says 'we need to do this, may we do it?'" FREDRICK D.JOE/The Battalion A&M junior John Sherman found out about two weeks ago that he has been chosen as next year’s Corps of Cadets commander. Sherman was selected for the position after a series of interviews and evaluations of his leadership abilities and performance in the Corps. Behind him is his staff.