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page 2
“Should the
movement seek
to make the sexes
equal in a world
created by men or should women
refuse to conform to a world they
were not allowed to help create?”
— Tim Tmesdale
$cf
Spring cleaning, almost
A&M baseball team just misses
sweeping Arkansas for the first
time since 1977.
page?
“Whether justice
was done”
Journalists from the alternative
media urge Americans to doubt
the reasons for fighting the war
pages
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 116 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas
'Serving Texas A&M since 1893'
Monday, March 25, 1991
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Gov. Richards to address Spring 1991 graduates
By Mike Luman
The Battalion
Gov. Ann Richards was confirmed
as a spring commencement speaker
during Friday's Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents meeting.
University President William Mob
ley, who contacted Richards, said she
is scheduled to speak during the 2 p.m.
May 10 ceremony.
State Comptroller John Sharp will
speak during the 7:30 p.m. May 10 cer
emony, he said. The May 11 com
mencement speaker remains unde
cided.
In the first meeting for new regents
Alison Leland and Mary Nan West, the
Board approved a package of campus
fee increases, including a graduate tu
ition rate hike.
Resident graduate tuition will rise to
more than double the present rate of
$20 per semester credit hour by 1993,
the new rate depending on the mini
mum amount set by the Texas Legis
lature at the time.
Non-resident graduate tuition will
rise to more than $160 per credit hour
by 1993.
Regents also approved several cam
pus construction projects, including a
$1.3 million Easterwood Airport run
way upgrade.
The Board awarded the contract to
Palasota Construction of Bryan.
William McKenzie, during his last
meeting as board chairman, said he ex
pects the Federal Aviation Administra
tion to pay all but 18 percent of the run
way renovation.
Regents considered and rejected
three new plans for the proposed Lo-
Trak project. McKenzie said he was not
satisfied with any of the proposals.
"We have agreed to give a substan
tive amount of time and money to this
project, but if I had to go with one of
these proposals I would not," McKen
zie said.
The Board also accepted a $452,352
construction bid by the Bryan firm
Young Brothers, Inc. for repairs to
Houston and Throckmorton streets.
Action was delayed on a west cam
pus expansion of A&M's library facili
ties.
Under the delayed plan, a $9 million
library building would be constructed
near the new College of Business Ad
ministration building.
Regents approved preliminary de
sign of the west campus College of
Business building in January.
In other business Friday, the Board
approved the establishment of the In
stitute for Marine Life Sciences at Texas
A&M at Galveston.
Mobley said the institute will bring
together experts from the A&M system
to study tne effects of industry on
coastal waterways.
The institute will promote conserva
tion of endangered species such as
Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, and study
long-term results of farming of marine
animals, he said.
The Board also approved a licensing
agreement between the System and
TechSource Development Corp., a
Houston-based company, to work to
gether for commercial development of
a potential AIDS therapeutic treat
ment.
Regents elect
new chairman
By Mike Luman
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents on Fri
day elected Ross Margraves Jr.
Board chairman and Douglas
DeCluitt vice chairman.
Margraves, Class of '63, said
his goal will be maintaining qual
ity education at universities in
the A&M system while battling
Legislative budget shortfalls.
"Things like administration
and upkeep are important, but
the students are our primary
purpose for being here," Mar
graves said. "The goal is to pro
vide the best quality of education
possible."
Margraves' election, however,
comes during a crisis in Texas
higher education funding, as for
mer state Sen. Kent Caperton
made clear to the Board Friday.
Caperton, now a lobbyist for
higher education interests, said
state universities face an imme
diate $800 million budget short
fall with the budget situation ex
pected to worsen.
"It's very sobering," Caperton
said. "I don't see a solution
ahead. I see a major train
wreck."
Caperton said A&M must find
new ways to cut expenses to off
set the "staggering" budget
shortfall.
He said A&M realistically
might be able to trim only a frac
tion of operating expenses paid
by state funds.
Margraves, a partner in the
Houston law firm of Margraves,
Kennedy and Schueler, P.C.,
said finances undoubtedly will
dominate his attention as Board
chairman.
"A great deal of my time will
be directed toward finding ways
to increase finances of this Sys
tem, sort of getting the most
bang for your buck," Margraves
said.
Caperton's analysis of the fi
nancial situation is accurate, and
the key to surviving the financial
crisis is for the Board not to make
mistakes. Margraves said.
"We need to see every dollar
spent is spent wisely, and make
sure we don't pay for anything
twice," he said.
Margraves said his intent is to
formulate plans with A&M's re
gents to get the most "mileage"
out of University funds.
"I think we just need to be
smarter in decisions and money
we spend," he said. "The Texas
See Margraves/Page 4
Hutchison resists
state tax proposal
By Greg Mt. Joy
The Battalion
A proposed state income tax
would take away an important
advantage Texas has in attract
ing corporations, said State Trea
surer Kay Bailey Hutchison Fri
day at Texas A&M.
Hutchison spoke during a
meeting of the College of Busi
ness Administration Devel
opment Council. She said the
lack of a state income tax is one
of the few advantages Texas has
over other states.
"When you ask a new busi
ness why they moved to Texas,
they will usually give you two
reasons," she said. "One is the
central location of our state, and
the ability to get to either coast in
the most efficient ways. Second
is that there is no state income
tax."
Only six other states do not
have a state income tax, Hutchi
son said. If one was imple
mented, Texas would lose eco
nomic development, she said.
"In fact, a study of the last
eight states to adopt a tax shows
that all but one have already in
creased the tax in the last 10
years," she said.
The lack of an income tax has
helped businesses overlook
See Treasurer/Page 4
Train collision leaves
student hospitalized
A Texas A&M student re
mained in Humana Hospital in
serious condition following a col
lision with a Union Pacific train
near the comer of Wellborn and
Cain roads.
Witnesses say Debbie Noel
Wilks, 27, did not notice the
northbound train that struck her
ehevy b-JLU pickup about z a.m.
Saturday.
Wilks was heading east on
Cain Road about one-half mile
south of College Station.
D. P. S. Officer Bobby Gideon
said Wilks had a .02 blood alco
hol level, the equivalent of one
beer.
Wilks was alone in the car.
Land Commissioner connects
environment, economic gain
Environmentalists gather
for first TOTEM conference
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Environmental solutions are
intertwined with economic im
provement, the Texas Land
Commissioner said Saturday
in Texas A&M's Rudder Audi
torium.
In the keynote address to
The Oklahoma and Texas En
vironmental Meeting (TO
TEM), Commissioner Garry
Mauro said environmental
concerns are changing the way
economies operate, and re
gional businesses and govern
ment agencies must follow na
tional trends.
"This area of the country
must get in on the beginning,
using our initiative, resources,
technology, brainpower and
universities in ways that first
change our economy and envi
ronment and then create eco
nomic growth and jobs for our
states," Mauro said. "We ei
ther do that or we will be left
behind."
Mauro gave the Mexican
government's decision to close
down the March 18 Refinery in
Mexico City for public health
reasons as an example of chan
ging business practices.
"Mexico's experience also
proves it's better to act before
the situation is out of control,"
he said.
However, the environment
and the economy do not have
to be enemies. Helping the en
vironment does not mean
hurting the economy, he said.
"That's no law of nature,"
Mauro said. "It's a product of
failed vision."
Environmental cleanup also
can be a catalyst for tremen
dous economic growth, he
said.
For example, converting
from fossil fuels to natural gas
not only reduces air pollution,
it also benefits Texas' and Ok
lahoma's economies, Mauro
said.
Texas has 27.5 percent of the
nation's natural gas reserves
and Oklahoma ranks second
in reserves among the 48 con
tinental states, he said.
"A nationwide environmen
tal cleanup emphasizing natu
ral gas would mean hundreds
of thousands of new jobs for
our region," Mauro said. "Bil
lions of dollars in annual
See Mauro/Page 6
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Environmentalists from
Brownsville to Bartlesville,
Okla. converged on Texas
A&M this weekend for The
Oklahoma and Texas Envi
ronmental Meeting (TOTEM).
Students and speakers from
Texas and Oklahoma met for
the first time to share ideas
from their respective commu
nities. Participants attended
activities that included
workshops, speeches, con
certs and fieldtrips.
More than 130 people had
registered for the conference
by Friday evening, with more
participants arriving the next
day, said Mary Albert, TO
TEM public relations chairwo
man.
"There's a lot of people
coming into town just for Sa
turday," Albert said.
The Texas Environmental
Action Coalition played host
to the regional conference.
Bryan-College Station resi
dents also participated in TO
TEM, she said. Sixteen local
restaurants offered discounts
to TOTEM participants, and
local groups partipated in an
ecofair Sunday.
"We feel like the commu
nities and A&M have given
excellent support," Albert
said.
Scott Hantman, conference
coordinator, said the confer
ence was going "super."
"Tm so happy everything's
going as planned," he said.
"We've got a good turnout."
TOTEM also offered a
unique activity Saturday
morning. Marchers in the
"Think Green" Silent Walk
journeyed from Rudder
Tower to the field between
the O&M Building and the
Langford Architechture Cen
ter.
The walk emphasized per-
See TOTEM/Page 4