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suggestions that you might find
helpful.”
— Ellen Hobbs
page 2
Sweet Sweep
Billy Harlan’s clutch single
gives Aggies a sweep of Texas
and a share of league lead
pages
Mid-East Conflict
Baker supports international
talks to solve Arab-lsraeli
conflicts
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 136 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&Msince 1893" Monday, April 22,1991
Fewer supporters take part in local Earth Day celebration
By Katherine Coffey
The Battalion
Despite a smaller turnout at
this year's Earth Day celebration,
the president of the Texas Envi
ronmental Action Coalition said
local residents still support envi
ronmental concerns.
"We didn't need to invest as
much time as last year, but the
community still came out and
supported us," said Charles Al
bert, also an A&M physics grad
uate student.
Albert said TEAC organized
the local events at Hensel Park
for the national celebration of
Earth Day, which is today.
The environmental commit
tee, however, hopes to get other
student organizations and local
businesses involved next year,
he said.
"I think we are seeing the pur-
ose of Earth Day is changing to
e mainly a celebration for peo
ple already involved in the pro
tection of the environment," Al
bert said.
Sunday's celebration had
about 30 organizations ranging
from the Texas Populist Alliance,
Aggies Against Bonfire and
Bryan Iron and Metal Co., the
organization responsible for the
Bryan-College Station recycling
project.
Earth Day celebrations in
cluded numerous speakers dis
cussing issues such as dolphin
survival, low-cost energy effi
ciency and A&M's work with a
Louisiana wildlife refuge.
Other groups had booths set
up in the park concerning similar
environmental issues.
Wendee Finley, a junior wild
life and ecology major from Dal
las and a TEAC member, said
she believes it is good to see peo-
E le come out and support issues
ke conservation ana recycling.
"It is nice to have so many
people show up," Finley said.
"It's great to give things away to
kids. They are the next genera
tion and are most important to
our future."
Finley, who studied abroad in
Australia, said she eventually
wants to research the conserva
tion of animals and the environ
ment.
Albert said he became in
volved in TEAC because he be
lieved the student group could
impact the local area.
"We don't try to shock peo
ple," he said. "We're not saying
that everyone should stop driv
ing their cars or anything.
"We realize this is how society
is, and we are finding ways as to
what we can do to make it bet
ter," Albert said. "We want to
approach people not like ene
mies of the environment but like
fellow citizens who should be
concerned."
Volunteers offer time, love
A&M groups participate
in annual Special Olympics
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Jennifer Rieck congratulates Demond Linton, of Montgomery, on his
second-place finish in the 400-meter run Friday in the Area 6 Special
Olympics. More than 1,000 volunteers helped with the annual event.
By Timm Doolen
The Battalion
More than 1,000 volunteers,
mostly Texas A&M students,
contributed time and love this
weekend to turn ordinary com
petition into Special Olympics
for about 500 disabled people.
Many A&M groups, includ
ing Alpha Phi Omega, the Ag
gie Men's Club, Aggie Alli
ance, Omega Phi Alpha, Alpha
Kappa Psi and the Corps of Ca
dets contributed volunteers to
the games Friday and Saturday
at Tiger Stadium in College
Station.
These were the Area 6 Olym
pics. Area 6 is composed of 15
counties in Texas, including
Brazos County, where the
games have been for the past
six years.
Leslie May, Area 6 director,
said events included bicycling,
for the first time, gymnastics
and, of course, track and field,
which is the main competition.
In other areas of Texas, spe
cial athletes compete in bowl
ing, basketball and aquatics.
May said the games are a
family event that benefit every
one involved — athletes, vol
unteers, organizers, coaches
and relatives.
"I think the gist of this event
and the gist of Special Olym
pics is to participate and share
with other people," she said.
"It enriches a lot of lives."
She said athletes and
coaches take the events se
riously, with training starting
nine to 12 weeks before the
games. The top three winners
in each event advance to state
competition, and the best at
state go on to international
competition.
Events are divided into cat
egories according to disability,
age and intelligence level. The
track and field events are simi
lar to the Olympics version but
with special categories for
wheelchairs.
Most of the participants are
mentally retarded, but some
have other disabilities, such as
muscular dystrophy.
Shar Lewis, pledgemaster of
Alpha Phi Omega, said APO
supplied many volunteers and
coordinated all the other vol
unteers.
"I've been doing this for
three years, and no matter
what I'm doing, it just feels
good to be helping," Lewis
said.
Many of the volunteers
served as "buddies" to ath
letes. Buddies make sure ath
letes arrive to their events on
time, and coach and encourage
athletes during the competi
tion.
"You go out there not know
ing what to expect, and once
you get there and see all the
athletes' excitement and emo
tion, you realize how trivial
your own problems are," said
Heather Barnes, a buddy for a
young boy in a wheelchair suf
fering from muscular dystro
phy.
Another volunteer, Greg
Johnson of the Aggie Men's
Club, echoed this sentiment.
"You realize how special ev
erything you have is," he said.
"When you go there and see
kids doing so much with so
little, your own problems seem
so small."
Becky Parker, assistant field
director for track and field, said
it is more than the Special
Olympics to the children.
"It's like the real Olympics to
the special kids," she said.
Residents rally to save duplexes
Kris Fredericksen and John Mollenhauer, provide entertainment at an open
house to raise awareness about A&M’s plans to destroy 55 duplexes.
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
Residents of the University-
owned duplexes adjacent to the
Skagg's shopping center rallied
Sunday in an effort to bring pub
lic awareness to Texas A&M's
plan to demolish the duplexes.
Christy Claxton, graduate stu
dent in English, said the rally
was a chance for the "human si
de" of the issue to be presented.
Claxton said the residents in
vited University and state offi
cials to the rally but received no
response.
"The University needs to rec
ognize the student factor in this
issue," she said.
The residents have been trying
to discuss the issue with Univer
sity officials for three weeks, but
officials aren't returning resi
dents' phone calls, Claxton said.
"We were let down that none
of them (University officials)
could stop by," she said. "We
were out here for four hours,
and nobody could stop by."
Claxton said she no longer
wears her Aggie ring because it
"doesn't represent what the
school says it does."
The residents are trying to get
the issue on the agenda for the
Board of Regents meeting May
17 but have been unsuccessful.
"We just want an opportunity
to present our case," Claxton
said.
Vicki Smith, a resident whose
husband is an electrical engi
neering major, said she has
made at least 40 phone calls to
University, city and state offi
cials to make them aware that
families and students will be los
ing their homes.
"The University isn't showing
any concern," Smith said. "But it
has a responsibility to its stu
dents."
In a previous interview, Don
ald Powell, director of Business
Services, said the duplexes were
an "embarrassment to the Uni
versity." Smith said in response,
"Some people just moved in dur
ing March. Was the University
not embarrassed enough then to
tear them down?"
Smith said even though there
are housing programs to help
the residents, the programs are
limited, and they can't help all
the families at once.
"And they only offer you
trucks to help you move if you're
moving into married student
housing," she said.
Several residents said rent
throughout College Station is in
creasing, and it may be because
the rental agencies know that
about 100 families will soon be
looking for places to live.
Smith said the residents are
willing to work on the duplexes
themselves if they could get per
mission from the University.
"They (University officials)
don't even want to hear from
us," Smith said. "They keep
hoping we'll go away, but we
See Residents/Page 4
'Softly call
the Muster'
Loved ones
pay honor
to deceased
By Troy Hall
The Battalion
Family, friends. Aggies and
former students mustered
around the world Sunday to
honor more than 100 deceased
comrades, including three for
mer students killed in Operation
Desert Storm, during A&M's
most solemn tradition — Aggie
Muster.
Over 8,000 people attended
the largest Aggie Muster, held in
G. Rollie White Coliseum at
Texas A&M University. But Ag-
f ies around the world "cele-
rated the tradition and shared
the spirit" of this year's Muster
Day.
Candle-lighting ceremonies
were held in over 200 Texas loca
tions, in 43 states, 26 countries
and at seven Operation Desert
Storm locations. Bill Youngkin,
Class of '69 and president of the
former student's association,
said.
"The tradition of Aggie Muster
is our richest, most beautiful,
our best," he said while welcom
ing friends, family and former
students to the University.
The Muster tradition began
June 26, 1883, as a celebration by
alumni to remember all the good
times of the past.
Muster originated for the pur
pose of "living over again our
college days, the victories and
defeats won and lost upon drill-
ground and classroom. Let every
alumni answer a roll call," wrote
the former students in 1883.
Danica Milios, sub-committee
chair for Muster awareness, said
the A&M Muster committee is
trying to renew the origin of the
first Muster.
"Muster is a celebration, a
time to get together and renew
our faith in A&M," she said.
Adm. Jerome Johnson, Class
of '56 and vice chief of naval op
erations for the U.S. Navy, com
plemented Aggies serving in
Operation Desert Shield and all
< See Muster/Page 10
HUY THANH NGUYEN/The Battalion
AGGIES SWEEP LONGHORNS
Texas coach Tommy Harmon (center) is restrained by Texas A&M and UT
players during a fight in the first game of Saturday’s baseball double-
header at Olsen Field. Both benches cleared during the fight A&M swept
the three-game series over the longhorns — only the second time UT
had been swept since 1972 — and moved into first place in the South
west Conference standings. See page 5.