00
Q
Saturday
Mostly sunny and mild
High In upper 70s
“We ask that Texas A&M stu
dents continue to respect this
tradition which honors Aggies
who gave their lives for their
country.”
Mail Cali/ page 2
Matthew Wood
Southpaw on a roll
A&M freshman Jeff Granger
leads the No. 17 Aggies against
Arkansas this weekend.
page?
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 115 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" : Friday, March 22, 1991
Navy airplanes collide
Authorities say 27 crewmen feared dead
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two Navy submarine
hunting planes collided Thursday, and all 27 peo
ple aboard were feared dead in cold, choppy wa
ters 60 miles off Southern California, authorities
said.
The Navy listed the crews as missing, but there
was little hope any of the crew members from the
downed P-3 Orions survived.
The all-weather planes were engaged in an anti
submarine warfare training exercise when they
coOided in bad weather, authorities said.
"1 think we have to be realistic here," said Se
nior Chief Petty Officer Bob Howard, a Navy pub
lic affairs officer at North Island Naval Air Station.
"It is very cold out there. We're talking about
what apparently is a mid-air collision ... two air
craft. I would say it would be very grim."
Still, he said, the Navy was conducting an ag
gressive air and sea search of the crash site.
Search and rescue teams spotted some debris
from the planes but found no signs of life.
There was no word on how long the search
would last, but Howard said the Navy would
make "extraordinary" attempts to retrieve re
mains and wreckage.
A Navy helicopter crew flying in the area and
sailors from the destroyer USS Merrill all reported
a ball of fire and loud explosion at about 2:30 a.m.
PST, Howard said during a briefing at North Is
land Naval Air Station.
Regents hear dissent
on tuition rate hike
By Mike Luman
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents consid
ered student objections Thurs
day to a proposed graduate tu
ition rate nike but is expected to
approve the increase today.
The Board also is expected to
approve nine additional campus
fee increases. Some planned rate
hikes are A&M's computer ac
cess fee, bus fee, diploma fee,
transcript fee and field trip fees.
University President William
Mobley told the Board each in
crease is "justified," but the
graduate tuition hike remains
controversial.
"Texas is the lowest of the
states in graduate tuition," Mob
ley said. "In order to strengthen
our graduate programs, we need
some kind of cost increase."
He added that students hurt
Dr. William Mob
ley, told the
Board of Regents
the proposed
campus fee in
creases are justi
fied.
by the fee increase will receive
increased financial aid, stipends
and fellowships. No needy grad
uate student will be deprived of
an education, he said.
At the Board's invitation,
A&M graduate student Rachel
Gibson told the regents many
students remain concerned
See Regent/Page 10
SCOTT 0. WEAVER/The Battalion
Kermit Davis, Jr. and John Thornton shake hands in front of James
Green and Fletcher Cockrell, Davis’ assistant coaches, after Davis
was hired to replace interim coach Thomton in April 1990. The
search for Davis’ successor as men’s head basketball coach began
Monday when Athletic Director John David Crow met with Thornton
to discuss Thornton’s candidacy for the newly-vacated position.
A&M seeks
new coach
Thornton,
Crow meet
By Richard Tijerina
The Battalion
The search for a new men's
basketball coach began Monday,
and Texas A&M Athletic Direc
tor John David Crow didn't have
to look very far to find one of the
first candidates.
John Thornton's office is just
12 feet away.
Thomton, last year's interim
head coach and a longtime assis
tant to former coach Shelby Met
calf, spoke with Crow Monday
about the job opening.
"We talked in general terms,"
Thomton said. "He knows how I
feel about it. I know the circum
stances that he has to deal with. I
think he's aware of what I can do
and my capabilities."
Thomton posted a 5-7 record
last year after taking over for
Metcalf, who was removed by
Grow at midseason. He has
served the last year as an assis
tant to the athletic director.
John Thornton,
and John David
Crow met Monday
and discussed the
position opening
of the head bas
ketball coach.
The Houston Chronicle,
which correctly reported that
Davis would be asked to leave
last week, also named Thornton
as the leading candidate for the
job. Crow denied that earlier this
week, but stressed the need for a
coach who will give stability to
the troubled program.
"There's been an awful lot of
interest in the job, but we've got
to decide what's best for A&M
and go from there," Crow said.
"We need to be veiy, very care
ful. We cannot afford another
setback. We just can't."
Thomton, 38, might be able to
give the Aggies the stability
Crow is looking for. He was a
star player for A&M in the 1970s
See Thornton/Page 6
Gulf War veterans face
civilian re-orientation
By Katherine Coffey
The Battalion
After six weeks of sleeping,
eating and living the Gulf War,
thousands of Desert Storm veter
ans are returning home and fac
ing potential problems of how to
face life, says the director of the
Texas A&M Employee Assis
tance Program.
"They went to the Gulf for a
cause and were pulled together
at one time for adversity; all of a
sudden what they were doing
had real meaning to them, and
they were facing life and death
situations," says Dr. Bruce Pre-
vatt, who heads a support group
for families with loved ones in
the Gulf.
When returning home, one of
the first things they will face is a
sense of boredom, he says.
"They will have a re-evalua
tion of their life and what is im
portant to them, he says.
"But this doesn't mean that
everyone returning home will
face these problems or that the
people who do have problems
will face them all," Prevatt says.
"On the other hand some peo
ple may not experience any of
these feelings and be happy to
be back with their families and
beer-drinking buddies," he says.
When at war, soldiers knew
they had a reason of liberating a
country and removing a dictator
who was killing his own people,
then all of a sudden they are put
back into the everyday routine,
and they probably will have to
do some adjusting, he says.
When asked about the differ
ence of how returning soldiers
were treated in the the Gulf and
the Vietnam wars, Prevatt says
there is absolutely no compari
son.
"When returning home, the
soldiers feel appreciated, loved
and know what they did was for
the most part justified," he says.
"The Gulf War had full support
of Congress and the allies, and it
was a war well-run. The Viet
nam War was micromanaged
from day one, and it did not
have congressional support."
The soldiers in the Gulf also
trained together and then were
sent over to fight in the same
battalion, which allowed group
support, he says.
"They had group support un
like the soldiers of Vietnam who
were sent over individually and
fought with people they've
never seen before," he says.
"The ground soldiers felt like
they would get into Kuwait, do
the job and get out," he says.
"Overall, I don't anticipate
any large problems with the re
turning soldiers, but families
have to be sensitive, under
standing and appreciative to the
See Veterans/Page 6
Spring election offers voters changes
By Bridget Harrow
The Battalion
Texas A&M students voting in student
body elections next week will notice many
changes and surprises on the ballot and in
procedures.
One major change is the extended length
of the election. Elections will be two days —
Wednesday and Thursday — instead of
one.
"In the fall, the (Student) Senate decided
there would be an optional two-day election
for freshman elections in the fall and a man
datory two-day election for spring elec
tions," says Sarah Davis, election commis
sion chairwoman.
"What we are trying to do is increase
voter turnout," she says. "We felt that hav
ing elections on both a Monday-Wednes-
day-Friday class day and a Tuesday-Thurs-
day class day would give more students an
opportunity to vote."
Davis says she is hoping that people who
walk by the first day and are unfamiliar with
the elections will see polls again the next
day and realize the importance of student
elections.
Only three students are running for stu
dent body president, compared to five in
last year's election.
Charles Phipps, a junior chemistry major.
Stephen G. Ruth, a junior management ma
jor, and Scott Hantman, a gradute student
in safety engineering are the presidential
candidates.
Two women are running for yell leader
positions this year. Hannah Bailey, a sopho
more applied mathematical sciences major
is running for senior yell leader, and Patricia
Hollis, a sophomore sociology major, will
run for junior yell leader.
Other candidates for senior yell leaders
are Shawn Roberts, political science; Kelly
Toney, agricultural economics; Trenton Kel
ley, animal science; and Kerry Cox, agricul
tural economics.
See Election/Page 6
A&M to host environmental seminar
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Texas Land Commissioner
Garry Mauro and former Texas
Agricultural Commissioner Jim
Hightower are two of more than
50 speakers lecturing at Texas
A&M this weekend during The
Oklahoma and Texas Environ
mental Meeting (TOTEM).
The first annual conference of
Texas and Oklahoma conserva
tionists will bring more credibil
ity to environmental interests,
says Scott Hantman, TOTEM
conference coordinator.
"TOTEM is an excellent op
portunity for college and high
school environmentalists to pre
sent current (environmental)
programs and activities taking
place at city, state and corporate
levels," Hantman says.
The Texas Environmental Ac
tion Coalition (TEAC) will host
the conference as the Region 5
Coordinator of the nationwide
Student Environmental Action
Coalition (SEAC). Texas and Ok
lahoma comprise Region 5 of
SEAC.
TEAC got local groups fired
up Monday for the meeting with
"Green Week," a week-long se
ries of activities intended to in
crease environmental awareness
in Bryan-College Station.
Hantman says students and
community are meshing to
gether.
"Green Week has been su
per," he says. "We've had a lot
of support from Aggies. Every
one's been thinking green since
St. Patrick's Day."
Mary Albert, public relations
chairwoman for TOTEM, says
preparations for the conference
are "going great."
She says she expects more
than 50 different speakers and 25
groups to contribute to the event
during the weekend.
Albert says she expects more
than 500 people will attend the
conference, and not all of them
are from Texas or Oklahoma.
"We have some people com
ing in from Milwaukee, from
Minnesota and from New Mexi
co," she says.
Albert says the conference will
allow people from different areas
to learn from each other. Indi
viduals will be able to share their
knowledge with everyone else.
"Having experts to talk to us
means we'll be informed before
taking action," she says.
Lecturers will address subjects
such as carcinogens, endangered
species, recycling and national
energy policy.
However, Albert says she
does not want to deliver a
doomsday message. She says
she wants to make people want
to do something not feel like
See TOTEM/Page 10
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