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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1991)
The Battalion Vol.91 No. 46 College Station, Texas “Sewing Texas A&M since 1893” 8 Pages Monday, November 4, 1991 Budget cuts impact A&M colleges differently Budget effects on A&M colleges AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES: LIBERAL ARTS: •$500,000 cut •$400,000 cut •leave associate dean position vacant •reduction in class sizes and offerings in •delay faculty hiring spring and summer school •reduce departmental operating expenses < BUSINESS: MEDICINE: •10% lower in salaries than other schools •delay replacing faculty and staff •search for 4 department chairmen delayed ENGINEERING: VETERINARY MEDICINE: •4% cut •$500,000 cut •reducing faculty recruitment funds •probably leave positions vacant •behind in salaries GEOSCIENCES & MARITIME STUDIES: •worried about accreditation visit in ’93 •$200,00 cut LIBRARY: •hardest hit are TA stipends and depart- •no cuts; it was protected from budget mental operating expenses cuts by administration By Chris Vaughn The Battalion Texas higher education fought 12 long rounds with the Legislature this summer, nearly getting the knockout punch several times. But thanks to some last minute ma neuvering, higher education went the dis tance, only to come out the loser and sporting a Texas-sized black eye. Higher education watched the Legisla ture trim its 1992-93 budget further in the areas it needed it the most, and increase its budget in the not-so-urgent categories. As Texas A&M assistant provost Dan Parker says, "It's a classic case of giving us money to buy a bicycle when we need new shoes." Officials with higher education know the cuts could have been much worse, and caution that the Legislature hasn't put the knife down yet. Most administra tors are predicting another budget cut in early 1992. What the state did provide A&M with was $189.7 million for fiscal year 1992, which began Sept. 1. That state appropria tion combined with tuition, fees and inter est from the Permanent University Fund, gives A&M $276.8 million for its educa tional and general budget. The educational and general budget funds what really is the heart of the Uni versity - classrooms, faculty and staff salaries, and the library. Legislators did appropriate $7.4 mil lion more to A&M this year than last year, which led most of the public to wonder why A&M officials are complaining about making cuts. But that $7.4 million plus several mil lion more was appropriated specifically for staff group insurance. Social Security contributions, longevity pay and work men's compensation insurance. Remove those categories, and A&M took slightly more than a $4 million budget cut in its academic units. "This will have an impact on all the programs of the institution," says Dr. E. Dean Gage, A&M's provost and senior vice president. "It will stymie a great deal of the momentum we created over the last few years." A&M's eight academic colleges suf fered an average of a 2.5 percent cut in their budgets, while the administration took a 4 percent cut. The shortfall has af fected each college uniquely, but the most damage has occurred in faculty salaries and recruitment, departmental operating expenses, and summer school. The following is a brief look at how five of the eight colleges, two professional schools and the library have been affected by the financial crunch: THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES One of A&M's most established and nationally recognized colleges swallowed about a $500,000 budget cut. See Budget/Page 2 Poll shows Whitmire lags behind opponents HOUSTON (AP) - A recent poll shows that incumbent Kathy Whitmire is trailing her two top contenders in the mayoral race, al though many voters have not de cided who to vote for in Tuesday's election. The Houston Chronicle Poll, which surveyed 411 registered voters Oct. 29-31, showed Bob Lanier with 31 percent, Sylvester Turner with 21 percent and Whit mire with 16 percent. The remain ing third was undecided. If no candidate gets the majori ty of votes, the top two finishers would meet in a runoff election. The poll's results, published in the Chronicle's Sunday editions, indi cated Turner would meet Lanier in a runoff. However, the poll's margin of error was six percentage points, meaning Whitmire was statistical ly within range of edging out Turner. In a similar poll conducted in September, Whitmire was favored by 31 percent, Lanier had 26 per cent and Turner had 14 percent. The 411 respondents in last week's poll were among the 500 polled in September. The remain der couldn't be reached, the news paper said. University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray conduct ed the surveys for the Chronicle through the university's Center for Public Policy. Murray said part of Whitmire's sharp drop could be blamed on bad news in Houston involving sensational crime and job layoffs. The 411 responses were adjust ed to reflect a voter turnout that is 60 percent Anglo, 30 percent black and 8 percent Hispanic. According to the poll, Turner had 35 percent of the black vote, compared to 18 percent for Whit mire and 1 percent for Lanier. Forty-six percent of the black re spondents were undecided. Whitmire led Turner, a black lawyer and state legislator, among blacks in the September survey. Lanier, who once chaired the Texas Highway Commission and the Metropolitan Transit Authori ty, attracted the support of 47 per cent of the white voters surveyed last week. - Stack 'em up KARL A, STOLLEIS/The Battalion Crewmembers from various dorms work on centerpole was raised Thursday. Stack starts at the first level of bonfire Sunday afternoon. The 6 p.m. daily until bonfire is complete. Talks conclude amiably Israelis meet with Syrians, Lebanese, after 5-hour session with Palestinians MADRID, Spain (AP) - Is raelis and Palestinians on Sunday held "good, businesslike" direct talks — their first ever — and pledged to try to move on to more substantive issues such as Pales tinian autonomy within a few days. In another milestone, hard-line Syria overcame hesitations and opened its one-on-one meeting with Israel late Sunday night — the first talks between the arch foes in 43 years. A Lebanese dele gation also held separate talks with Israel. Following their nearly five- hour session, the Israelis and a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delega tion displayed an amiable spirit, in contrast to a week of confronta tional speeches and snubs during last week's ceremonial opening phase of the historic Madrid talks. Still to be settled is where the substantive negotiations will be held. In a joint statement, the two sides said they would consult about when and where to hold substantive talks, "which it is hoped will take place soon." Secretary of State James A. Bak er III, speaking of the site and tim ing of future meetings, said: "This is an open question." But he told reporters the peace conference marked a "good beginning" to ending regional conflict. "There have been, and as I have said, there will be obstacles," Bak er said. "They have not deterred us until now and they will not..." After the Israeli-Palestinian talks, the participants shook4iands for photographers, and the chief Israeli delegate, Eliakim Rubin stein, referred to his Arab counter parts as "my friends here." At one point he answered a question both in Arabic, with the word "Inshal- lah," and in Hebrew, with the words."Mirtzeh Hashem" — both meaning "God willing." "There have been, and... there will be obstacles. They have not deterred us until now and they will not." James A. Baker III, Secretary of State The participants mingled in the hallways outside the meeting room during breaks, drinking cof fee together and chatting, Israeli delegates said. And Palestinian Elias Freij, the mayor of Bethle hem, said "there were many light moments,” including a few jokes. As if to underscore the high stakes, however, PLO chief Yasser Arafat said in Tunis: "If the nego tiations do not lead to a positive outcome, we will continue the ji had," or holy war. He added that the intefadeh, the Palestinian uprising against Is raeli rule in the occupied lands, would "go on, wave after wave." Drug dealers see jail time as cost of doing business DALLAS (AP) — For some drug dealers, a short stay in the penitentiary is merely the cost of doing business in Texas and is no longer viewed as a deter rent, authorities say. Take the case of Verlean Crow, for example. Crow was convicted of dealing cocaine in Dallas, and prosecutors want ed to him to spend several years behind bars. Last June, the 47-year-old felon received a 15-year prison sentence on four counts of sell ing cocaine. But like thousands of others convicted on drug offenses. Crow's sentence didn't mean much. He was paroled last month after serving only 18 months. Crow's case isn't the excep tion in Texas — it's the rule, ac cording to a study by The Dal las Morning News. Results of the study were published in the newspaper's Sunday edi tions. The study involved 635 in mates released from state pris ons during the week Sept. 9-13. Interviews with state offi cials and annual parole statis tics indicate that the public outrage about drugs and crime has not led to longer sentences for those convicted of drug of fenses. Campaign ’92 Democrats await Cuomo 1 s election intentions MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - There's one more Democratic shoe to drop in — or out — of the 1992 presidential campaign, and it's the big one. New York Gov. Mario Cuomo could become the instant frontrun ner over the current six-man field if he says yes and runs. Democrat ic leaders wish he would at least say when. The Cuomo question lingered over a weekend that launched the final "pressure cooker" phase of an abbreviated campaign for New Hampshire's leadoff presidential primary election Feb. 18. Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Govs. Bill Clinton of Arkansas and L. Dou glas Wilder of Virginia, and for mer Sen. Paul E. Tsongas of Mas sachusetts matched campaign styles and proposals before the state Democratic convention on Saturday. Clinton, Wilder and Tsongas shared an hour on statewide television Friday night. Former California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. didn't attend. Chris Spirou, the state Demo cratic chairman, said the pressure is on now in a campaign that will be waged over less than four months, instead of the year and a half to two years that past candi dates have spent organizing and hunting votes. Spirou said that's why 80 to 90 percent of the Democratic activists at the boisterous midterm conven tion Saturday hadn't decided which candidate to back. "There aren't 10 percent of these people that are committed," agreed J. Joseph Grandmaison, a former chairman who's been orga nizing and managing primary campaigns for 20 years. Thus far, he's uncommitted for 1992. Cuomo's possible entry was a factor; some Democrats said they were waiting to see what he'd do. Dennis Murphy, a state lobby ist for the National Education As sociation said Cuomo could "ex press a vision" for Democrats the way Ronald Reagan did for Re publicans. Mario Uuomo