The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 22, 1991, Image 1
ity ting sued from pas^l g more th"A&M mfi ither minor?! do also 's summer ms, which ng program scnool school en#' ight-week apprentice e has a lotto? s," MaidoP iculty is ts. It's a ents than Tuesday Partly Cloudy High near 80 There are a few things you can do to battle bugs without using dangerous pesticides. I collected a few 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.