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In an age in which international
harmony is the focus, such
prejudicial, racial hatred [as displayed
by the KKK] is as abominable and as
despicable as it could ever be.”
- editorial page 5
Graduate internship
opportunities available
for minorities in
toxicology page 2
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 166 USPS 045360 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
"Serving Texas A&M since 1893"
Wednesday, July 10, 1991
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TCA adjusts rates for complaining cable TV subscribers
By Susan Maguire
The Battalion
TCA Cable TV will grant across-the-
board rate adjustments for subscribers
who receive complete basic cable pack
ages, the manager of the company's
area branch said.
Randy Rogers said the adjustment
ill show up on subscribers' August
11s.
"The rate will be determined after
the new program is added, which will
probably be this week," he said. "It's
taking longer than we've hoped, but
we're still very hopeful it will be this
week."
Rogers stated earlier in the week that
local cable consumers could receive a 2-
cents-a-day rate reduction if they called
TCA's office in Bryan to complain
about MTV's cancellation.
Rogers specifically stated that no re
funds will be given unless the cus
tomer calls the cable company's office.
Rogers said TCA is still trying to ne
gotiate for the VH-1 music channel and
did not know what channel would re
place MTV if negotiations for VH-1 fell
through.
Very few subscribers have called in
about a rate reduction or a cancellation
of their cable, Rogers said. He also said
no Bryan or College Station city offi
cials have contacted TCA about a rate
reduction.
TCA's franchise agreements with the
cities states that dropping a station
counts as a price increase subject to re
view by the cities.
Rogers said because dropping MTV
is not a long-term cancellation, both
city councils will probably not get in
volved.
Officials with both city councils
could not be reached for comment.
Viacom, the company who owns
MTV, also owns Nickelodeon. Viacom
had insisted that the carriage of Nicke
lodeon be connected with the contin
uation of MTV.
TCA has been granted a temporary
restraining order allowing it to con
tinue carriage of Nickelodeon after the
contract with Viacom expired on June
30 at midnight.
A hearing to decide whether an in
junction will be granted to TCA was
scheduled Monday at the district court
in Tyler.
Rogers said the injunction was post
poned and he did not know if a new
date has been set.
BLUE LIGHT SECURITY
A&M adds
phones for
emergencies
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
An increased number of blue
lights across campus is a result
ot an increase in awareness of
public safety, not campus
crime, a University Police De
partment officer said.
It. Bert Kretzschmar, super
visor of UPD's Crime Preven
tion Unit and member of
A&M's Security Awareness
Committee, said the emergency
phones identified by the blue
tight on top are more like "e-
mergency/convenience" phones
because they have two main
purposes.
One purpose is to be able to
quickly contact UPD in case of
an emergency.
To use the phone, a person
opens the waterproof box and
presses a large red button
which connects the caller to the
UPD dispatcher. The phone
does not nave a hand-held re
ceiver. Instead, the person talks
into a speaker in the box.
Kretzschmar said it is not nec
essary for the caller to say any
thing.
"If a person is in an emer
gency and doesn't have time to
talk, we'll still get a readout in
the office of wnich phone the
call came from," he said. "UPD
will respond — there's no
guesswork."
Kretzschmar said the light in
creases the phone's visibilty, es
pecially at night.
"At night you can see it (the
light) from a distance, and it's
up on a pole in case of obsta
cles," he said. "If you're in a
parking lot, how can you see it
with a car in front of you?"
The second purpose of the
phones is to provide anyone on
campus with easier access not
only to UPD, but other services.
The phones have a regular
phone touchpad which allows
them to be used to make local
calls. Kretzschmar said the
phone's time limit is three min
utes, after which the phones
will automatically cut off.
"The phones are timed so
they're not abused," he said.
Kretzschmar said anyone can
use the phones "in situations
that aren't emergencies but you
still need help."
The phones are especially
SCOTT D. WEAVER/The Battalion
Cathy Goedeke uses one of the emergency phones equipped with a blue light for added visibility.
useful at night to call the shuttle the phones will also be used by "We're taking personal safety
bus service for a ride home or to anyone on campus to report into account.'”
call for help in case of car fail- suspicious activity. The first seven phones in
ure, he said. "We want to educate stu- stalled across campus and those
Kretzschmar said he hopes dents to report things," he said. See University/Page 6
Opponents
rally, fight
deficit plan
A&M community, local politicians protest
budget cuts proposed by state comptroller
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Texas A&M officials, employ
ees, area politicians and friends
of the University rallied Tuesday
evening at the College Station
Hilton to fight recommendations
that could lead to a $53.6 million
cut in the University budget.
Ross Margraves, chairman of
the Texas A&M University Sys
tem Board of Regents, said he is
ready to fight the budget cuts.
"I'm mad as hell, and I hope
you are, too," he told the crowd.
The funding changes, part of a
deficit-reduction plan proposed
by Comptroller John Sharp, are a
result of the Texas Performance
Review (TPR).
Margraves said a common
misconception in Austin is that
higher education is overfunded.
"A&M can educate Sharp's of
fice as to what the needs of the
University are," he said. "Con
tact anybody you know in state
government."
State Rep. Steve Ogden (R-
Bryan) said the scramble to cut
the budget is unneccessary.
"Can we fund higher educa
tion under current revenue?" he
asked. "I say the answer is yes."
Dr. Ed Hiler, deputy chan
cellor for A&M's academic pro
gram planning and research,
said Sharp's plan will hurt the
University worse than any pre
vious action.
"A major cutback could cause
absolute devastation to higher
education," Hiler said. "House
Bill 10 made it clear we are in
trouble."
HB 10 mandated a 1.5 percent
budget cutback in all state agen
cies earlier this year. The result
ing $3.2 million shortfall caused
A&M to cancel classes and elimi
nate student worker positions.
University President William
Mobley said A&M is presently
operating at 1985 spending lev
els. Accounting for increased en-
priations actually shrank from
$3,500 to $2,800 per student.
"We've either become more ef
ficient or less effective, probably
both," Mobley said. "We're
doing more with less."
Dr. Ed Davis, deputy chan
cellor for finance and administra
tion, said he has been working
with state officials, but it is not
an easy job.
"We've been on a roller
coaster ride since January 1991,"
he said. "I've spent time with
Sharp explaining our position.
"We just want him to see the
consequences of (the budget re
duction plan)."
The recommendations include
increasing tuition to cover 25
’Tin mad as hell, and I
hope you are, too.”
- Ross Margraves,
Board of Regents
chairman
percent of education costs and
giving 75 percent of that revenue
to the State Treasury.
This money will be used to
fund other state programs, such
as roads, prisons and welfare.
"The action is to shift the bur
den (of the state) to students and
their parents," Hiler said. "We
provide for other state agencies
by diminishing the quality and
accessability of higher educa
tion."
Mobley said the state has a re
sponsibility to its schools. He
said he opposes taking the funds
gained from tuition increases
and giving them to other state
agencies.
"The state is a direct benefi
ciary of higher education and
should not back away from it,"
he said. "Is it fair to tax students
See Cutbacks/Page 6
Former CIA official pleads guilty, reveals cover-up
WASHINGTON (AP) — A re
tired CIA official pleaded guilty
to two crimes Tuesday in the
Iran-Contra affair and alleged
that the spy agency from the top
°n down had covered up knowl
edge of Oliver North's diversion
ofmoney to the Contras.
Prosecutors said Alan D. Piers,
fetired chief of the CIA's Central
American Task Force, was coop
erating in their investigation of
whether Piers' CIA colleagues
end aides to then-Vice President
George Bush had lied in denying
knowledge of the diversion and
of North's secret network to sup
ply guns to the Nicaraguan re-
Fiers admitted in federal court
that he had withheld informa
tion from Congress about the ac
tivities of Reagan White House
aide North and the diversion of
Iran arms sale money.
The crimes are misdemeanors,
each carrying a maximum one-
year jail term and a $200,000
fine. U.S. District Court Judge
Aubrey Robinson did not set a
sentencing date.
According to Iran-Contra
prosecutors. Piers has told them
that he and at least three other
top CIA officials besides Director
William Casey knew about the
diversion by mid-1986.
North testified to Congress
and at his own criminal trial that
Casey alone among CIA officials
knew of the diversion.
Piers did not implicate Robert
Gates, Bush's nominee to head
the CIA, in knowledge of the di
version, the scheme that dam
aged the Reagan administration
after it was publicly disclosed on
Nov. 25, 1986.
But the fact that so many top
CIA people apparently knew
about it is certain to raise trou
blesome questions for Gates next
week when the Senate Intelli
gence Committee considers his
nomination. Gates was the agen
cy's deputy director in 1986.
North was convicted on three
felony counts of aiding and abet
ting an obstruction of Congress,
destroying National Security
Council documents and accept
ing an illegal gratuity. The con
victions were set aside by an ap
peals court and Walsh is trying
to have them reinstated.
According to a government
statement read in court Tuesday,
Fiers and Bush aide Donald
Gregg were among those pre
sent for a discussion of North's
network at an Aug. 12, 1986,
meeting in Gregg's office.
Fiers and Gregg have both tes
tified about the meeting but have
said they could recall few details.
Fiers has now told prosecutors
that Ambassador to El Salvador
Edwin Corr reported in some de
tail about the contributions to
the North network by Felix Ro
driguez, a longtime friend of
Gregg's.
Gregg is now Bush's ambassa
dor to South Korea.