1991
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jonye
Thursday
Scattered
Thunderstorms
High . 93
Start your engines
Texas World Speedway
to hold races for first
time since 1983.
page 3
At least if we are not up to “world
class” standards today, we know
exactly what’s being done to get
there. Or do we?"
Tim Truesdale
pages
Cultural clashes
Advocates of minority sensitiv
ity say “political correctness” is
stifling academic freedom on
university campuses.
page 2
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Vol. 90 No. 148 USPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas
'Serving Texas A&Msince 1893'
Wednesday, June 5, 1991
Association of Former Students funds scholarships for Gulf War vets
By Melinda Cox
The Battalion
Texas A&M students who served in
Operation Desert Shield can now receive
financial aid to return to college thanks to
a new scholarship fund set up by the
University's Association of Former Stu
dents.
"The association was asked if we
would be interested in the scholarships
and if funds would be available," said
Ron Spies, comptroller of the Association
of Former Students.
The association will provide $100,000
in funds over a three-year period for the
scholarships. The former students group
also will select applicants who meet cer
tain criteria. Spies said.
Molly Georgiades, administrator of
Scholarships and Employment at the as
sociation, said the criteria are determined
by the Scholarship Committee.
Some of the criteria for eligiblity in
clude how long the student was enrolled
in school before being called to active
duty and the time left to complete a de
gree, Georgiades said.
She said criteria also could be affected
by the number of students who apply
and are given funds.
Faye Mieth, a counselor for Veteran
Services in the Department of Student Fi
nancial Aid, said the scholarships will be
awarded on a need-basis.
"Students can use the money to cover
the cost of tuition or whatever they
need," Mieth said.
Students who apply for the schol
arship had to be enrolled at the Univer
sity prior to the onset of the war and
have to return to A&M no later than one
year after the end of the conflict.
Students accepted for the scholarship
also must have a 2.0 GPA and maintain a
2.5 GPA throughout the time the student
receives aid.
The scholarship is not limited to un
dergraduate students, Mieth said. Grad
uate students also can apply for financial
aid and must have and maintain a 3.0
GPA to receive aid.
The association is not the only organi
zation providing financial support for
Persian Gulf War veterans.
Mieth said Mobil Oil Corp. also has set
up a $100,000 scholarship fund for veter
ans, but different criteria apply to the
Mobil scholarship.
"Applicants must meet one of three
priorities to receive aid," Mieth said.
"Applicants must be children of veterans
killed, veterans themselves or depen
dents of veterans."
Students interested in the scholarship
provided by Mobil do not need to be pre
viously enrolled at A&M, Mieth said.
"Students who are transferring to
A&M from another university can apply,
or students who were about to enroll in
college before the war are also eligible
(for the Mobil scholarship)," she said.
Spies said the scholarships being of
fered by the association are in the
amount of $1,000 a year for a maximum
of four years.
The scholarships provided by the Mo
bil Oil Corp. are in the amount of no less
than $1,000 a year, but no more than
$5,000 a year.
Georgiades said application deadline
for the association's scholarship is July
22. Interested individuals are encouraged
to contact the Department of Student Fi
nancial Aid, the Veterans Services Sec
tion at 845-4641.
House kills
liberal civil
rights bill
Bush promises to veto
Democrat version of bill
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The
House discarded a liberal civil
rights bill and debated two others
Tuesday, as Democratic leaders
still sought the two-thirds majority
that could make their version im
mune from President Bush's veto.
The House rejected the most lib
eral of three job discrimination
bills before it, voting 152-277
against a purists' bill sponsored by
the Congressional Black Caucus,
Democratic congresswomen and
some liberal lawmakers.
It then turned to the most re-
. strictive version, sponsored by Re
publicans and supported by the
president.
A vote on a third version,
backed by Democratic leaders and
civil rights groups, was put off un
til today.
The action came as the House
neared the end of a long day of de
bate, with Bush's veto threat shap
ing the maneuvering by Demo
cratic leaders. They were
confident their version would pre
vail by a large margin but
struggled to approach the two-
thirds majority needed to override
a veto.
Accusations and insults, build
ing for weeks, proceeded un
abated. House Speaker Thomas S.
See Bush/Page 6
Tennis ducklings
Lori Boylan, a junior accounting major from The Woodlands, encourages
her students at the Texas A&M Tennis Camp. The students were engaged
in a game of “around the world." After losing to another group, their
ishment was waddling and quacking around the court like ducks.
Ethiopian ammo dump explodes
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A mili
tary ammunition depot exploded in a se
ries of thunderous blasts early Tuesday,
burning almost a square mile of factories,
shops and ramshackle homes. Scores were
feared dead.
Officials said it could take days to estab
lish the final toll in the blasts, which the in
terim government of the Ethiopian Peo
ple's Revolutionary Democratic Front
Warned on saboteurs.
It did not name a specific organization,
and no one claimed responsibility.
By nightfall more than 100 people had
been hospitalized, and at least five were
known dead, including a television sound
man. More victims were arriving at medi
cal facilities by the hour.
The British Broadcasting Corporation re
ported late Tuesday that the explosion had
killed at least 100 people. The BBC said
their figure came from the Ethiopian Red
Cross.
The capital and much of Ethiopia's coun
tryside had been beset by unrest for weeks,
much of it blamed on deserting soldiers of
the ousted government and on young,
armed thugs.
The explosions came one week after the
main rebel group shot its way into Addis
Ababa and took over the government fol
lowing the flight into exile of former Presi
dent Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Two other ammunition dumps blew up
during the rebel takeover, one at the Impe
rial Palace and another on the southestern
outskirts of the city.
Red Cross volunteers, aided by residents
and soldiers, were carrying out the search
for victims in the area shattered and
burned by Tuesday's explosions. Officials
said the task could take at least two days to
complete.
Tebebe, the chairman of the Addis
Ababa chapter of the Red Cross, led a small
group of reporters around the devastated
area. He said victims found so far had been
on the perimeter of the blast area.
"When we get into the village it will be
much worse," he said. "The congestion
was very high. I think many people are
buried in those houses. ... In coming days,
the casualty toll will be much greater than
the one we have now."
Tebebe said the depot was the largest of
four such ammunition dumps maintained
by the former government in Addis Ababa.
"It was crazy to have it in an area like this,"
he said.
Back to school
A&M graduates return to campus
for classes, extracurricular activities
By Robin Goodpaster
The Battalion
AggieHostel
Many of the Aggies "graduating" this Friday did
not take any final exams or write any term papers
to get their diplomas, but they did get to enjoy
many of the extracurricular activities Texas A&M
has to offer.
These fortunate former A&M students are a part
of AggieHostel — a program designed for older
Aggies that combines interesting classes with
campus life to bring back fond memories of
Aggieland.
AggieHostel is for A&M graduates ages 65 and
older and their spouses.
It is a week-long program in which participants
can take classes such as "Aggie Folklore: Fact or
Fiction," "Healthy Senior Lifestyles" or "Creative
Writing," said Porter Gamer, chairman of the
AggieHostel committee.
These former students attend classes
throughout the week while also participating in
activities including a square dance, a trip to
Calvert and a tour ot the Messina Hof Winery'.
But the thing that impresses the "Hostelers'" the
most is the involvement of present A&M students,
said Gamer, also the field director of the
Association of Former Students.
Students involved with the program eat with the
former students and go to class with the older
students. They usually end up going on an
unscheduled trip to the Dixie Chicken, he said.
Former students who have not been back to the
A&M campus since their orginal graduation can
see the changes that the University has undergone
in the past 30, 40 or even 50 years, he said.
Aborst 80 senior students regxo. ror me
program each year, and this is the fourth year that
AggieHostel has been in existence.
Aggiet io&ua ai&v, piovidc-; loriner students wttn
the chance to meet with old friends as well as the
chance to make some new ones. Garner said.
Present students who wish to participate in the
program can call Porter Garner at 845-7514.
Groups host youth
in science program
By Jeff M. Brown
The Battalion
Texas A&M is playing host to a
five-week summer enrichment
program for Brazos Valley sixth-
and seventh-graders that focuses
on engineering, science and math
ematics skills.
Lori Cardenas, program coordi
nator, said 30 students are attend
ing TAMUPREP. The program is
sponsored by the College of Sci
ence and the College of Engi
neering. Funding also is provided
by the Department of Energy and
Dow Chemical Co. U.S. A.
Cardenas said applications for
the program were sent to local
school districts in early March.
Students with an average of at
least a B in their overall course
work and their science and math
ematics courses were encouraged
to apply.
The program, which started
Tuesday, includes topics such as
the history of science, logic and
problem solving, guest lecturers
and math labs.
"Students will attempt labs such
as measuring the volume of the
O&M Building," Cardenas said.
"In this program, students will not
just be sitting in a classroom all
day."
She said there will be a competi
tion to see who can build the most
structurally sound model bridge
and most aerodynamic rocket.
Students also will learn about
the physics behind what makes a
bridge sturdy and a rocket fly
straight while building their mod
els.
Participating students are from
the Bryan, Caldwell, College Sta
tion, Hearne, lola, Navasota,
Snook and Somerville school dis
tricts.
Mao's widow
dies; students
remember
Tiananmen
BEIJING (AP) — The govern
ment all but closed Tiananmen
Square on Tuesday, the second
anniversary of the army killings of
pro-democracy demonstrators,
then announced the suicide of
Mao Tse-tung's hated widow.
The news of Jiang Qing's May
14 death was held until the anni
versary was nearly over. Authori
ties may have decided to make the
announcement while security re
mained on alert.
Paramilitary police cordoned off
most of Tiananmen Square in Beij
ing beginning in the early af
ternoon. The square, symbolic
center of power in China, was the
focal point of 1989's massive pro
tests for a more accountable lead
ership and an end to corruption.
Police were aided by an af
ternoon thunderstorm that cleared
the air and the streets.
Patrols also were heavy at Beij
ing University, whose students
played a leading role in the 1989
protests. Three students were
seen led away by security forces
after a brief bottle-smashing pro
test.
A&M sophomore
dies in accident
John W. Brock, 20, a sopho
more general studies major
from Euless, was killed in an
automobile accident May 27.
The Silver Taps honoring Brock
will be Sept. 10.