State
j Page 2 ~ The Battalion
Police chief clarifies hiring stance
Homosexual officers violate
state law, Rathburn says
DALLAS (AP) - Police Chief
William Rathburn, in what he calls
a clarification of a previous state
ment, says homosexuality should
be used to disqualify someone
from the force since it is addressed
in the state penal code.
Rathburn's latest statements
were made in a memo sent to the
Dallas City Council Saturday.
The council is expected to de
bate a controversial policy
Wednesday that bans lesbians and
gay men from the Police Depart
ment.
The Dallas Morning News re
ported Sunday that Chief Rath-
burn's memo cites Section 21.06 of
the state penal code, which makes
sexual relations between people of
the same sex a misdemeanor.
The law was declared uncon
stitutional in 1990, but state Dis
trict Judge Paul Davis' ruling is
being appealed.
"While I am aware of no evi
dence to suggest that gays and les
bians are unable to perform the
duties of police officers, I do not
think that the Dallas Police De
partment should hire individuals
who have a significant history of,
or acknowledge an intention to
continue, committing deliberate,
frequent violations of the law,"
Chief Rathburn said in a statement
to the City Council.
"As long as homosexual con
duct remains a violation of Texas
state law, I think that the depart
ment should treat disqualification
based on Section 21.06 by the
same standard as it treats most
other Class C violations, he con
tinued.
Council member Chris Luna,
who is leading the fight to over
turn the ban, said the memo ap
pears to be a change from Chief
Rathburn's statements two weeks
ago.
At a Jan. 9 news conference,
the chief said he was unconcerned
about the sexual orientation of his
officers.
Luna said he will ask City
Manager Jan Hart and Acting City
Attorney Sam Lindsay to deter
mine whether Chief Rathburn was
pressured to change his statement.
"I can tell you straight out no
one influenced me," Chief Rath
burn said. "This is what I believe."
During an interview Saturday,
Chief Rathburn said his memo —
and his statements from the news
conference — are consistent with
comments he has made regarding
the hiring of lesbians and gay men
since becoming the Dallas chief,
the Morning News reported.
He said his personal beliefs
about sexual orientation should
not be a factor in the department's
hiring policy.
"Whether an officer likes Sec
tion 21.06 or agrees with it is im
material," he said. "As long as it is
the law, he has to respect and obey
and enforce the law."
But Luna disagrees that the
chief is only clarifying his views.
The council member called Chief
Rathburn's memo "a major vari
ance."
Grand Prairie
voters pass
tax increase
to fund track
Airline objects to rail project
Former aerospace executive accuses Southwest of deception
WASHINGTON (AP) — Southwest Airlines is
conducting a "highly deceptive" campaign against a
proposed $5.5 billion high-speed rail project in Texas,
a former aerospace executive charges in a new book
that hit stores last week.
Dallas-based Southwest has filed two lawsuits in
state district court to derail the bullet train project,
which would.link Dallas, Houston and Dallas-Fort
Worth International Airport by 1998. Austin and San
Antonio would be added in 1999.
Texas would be the first state in the nation to
have such a rail line — joining the ranks of France,
Japan, Germany and Italy.
Southwest opposes the 200-mph train system,
saying it is unneeded, slower than airplanes and
eventually would become a burden to taxpayers.
But Joseph Vranich, author of "Supertrains: Solu
tions to America's Transportation Gridlocks," con
tends train systems have been penalized by federal
policies that funnel monies to highways and airports.
Laws that favor tax-exempt financing for airports
over high-speed rail need to be changed, says
Vranich, a former Boeing and Grumman aerospace
employee who later worked for Amtrak and the High
Speed Rail Association.
. Vranich says Southwest's contention that aviation
isn't subsidized is an "infuriatingly false claim."
But Jim Parker, Southwest vice president and
general counsel, attacks several of Vranich's exam
ples of airline subsidies and calls the book a "propa
ganda piece for high-speed rail interests."
Parents find lost record of remains
(AP) — Residents across the
state voted their pocketbooks in
tax rollback, sales tax and bond
elections over the weekend.
Grand Prairie voters passed a
half-cent sales tax increase Satur
day to fund a multimillion-dollar
bond $65 million package for con
struction of a top-class race track.
A total of 6,868 voters support
ed the increase, while 6,336 op
posed. Almost 35 percent of the
city's 38,000 registered voters
turned out.
Raising the city sales tax to 7.75
cents on the dollar would fund the
track expenses, to be coupled with
at least $30 million in developer fi
nancing.
"It is super," Mayor Duane
McGuffey said. "I really feel that
Grand Prairie has made a rite of
passage. I feel that we are pro-ac
tive for development and for
growth."
The Texas Racing Commission
is expected to approve a Class 1
track for North Texas this year.
Track sites in Dallas and Parker
County also have been proposed.
FORT WORTH (AP) - For six
years following Melissa Jackson's
1983 disappearance, her parents
remained in the same apartment
complex so she could easily find
them.
But it .was Laura and Leslie
Jackson who found their teen
ager, who was misplaced all along
by a Grand Prairie police comput
er.
Until last summer, the Jack-
sons never knew that their daugh
ter's remains, discovered by police
in 1986, were being kept in the
Tarrant County Medical Examin
er's Office.
"It's a relief. I know where
she's at," said Mrs. Jackson. "But
I'm lost without her."
On Saturday, nearly six years
after Melissa's bones were found
by construction workers March 9,
1986, in Bedford, the Jacksons held
a memorial service for their
daughter.
With the remains found, police
are now tracking a bigger mys
tery: Who killed Melissa and an
other young woman whose body
was found 800 yards away from
where the Jackson's daughter was
found?
An autppsy ghowed that
Melissa was stabbed to death.
"The odds of two skeletons be
ing found 800 yards apart and not
being put there by the same per
son are so small I wouldn't even
want to speculate," said Bedford
Detective Biff Schuessler.
Monday, January 20,1
Health Center urges
breast self-exams
Vl
Salina Eubanks
Special to The Battalion
Breast cancer is the number-
one killer among women under
age 50 and the number-one can
cer diagnosed in women in the
United States.
Approximately one out of
every nine women will develop
breast cancer. Each year, more
than 43,000 women die of breast
cancer, and approximately
175,000 new cases are reported.
Most breast cancer cases occur
in women, but around 900 men
are diagnosed with the disease
each year.
Although these are sobering
statistics, there is good news.
Eighty percent of breast lumps
are non-cancerous. Also,
through early detection and
treatment, over 87 percent of
breast cancer patients can be
saved.
Knowledge of the risk fac
tors associated with breast can
cer, awareness of possible
symptoms, and practice of
breast self-examination are keys
to early detection and treatment.
The importance of early detec
tion cannot be overestimated.
The major risk factors in
clude age (35 to 45), and any his
tory of breast cancer in the fami
ly, especially concerning one's
mother or sister. However,
eighty percent of women with
breast cancer have no risk fac
tors.
Appropriate breast care in
cludes regular periodic self-ex
amination and also regular ex
amination by a physician.
These steps toward early detec
tion should be taken by all
women, regardless of the ab
sence of risk factors or symp
toms.
Self-examination should fct
performed monthly by all col
lege-age women. This piactict
is important because mos;
breast cancers are discovered k
the women themselves. A pro
fessional breast exam is recore-
mended every three yearsfe
women ages 2t) to 40.
In regard to self-examina
tion, breast cancers are hard an:
non-painful. Lesions with con
stant or periodic pain are almos:
always noncancerous. Hower
er, any suspicious chanpi
should be reported promptlyk
a physician.
Mammography is anothe:
procedure vital to early cance
detection.
A mammogram isanX-raj
of the breast which can find can
cers too small to be felt by
woman or a physician. A base
line mammogram should h
performed on a routine basis be
tween the ages of 35 to 39.
A tumor takes approximate
ly six to eight years to becomt
large enough to be detectedh
mammography. A cancer large
enough to be felt by a woman or
her physician is probably eigh
to ten years old. However,at
this point, a significant percent
age of these lesions have not be
gun to spread (or metastasizel
making a cure possible.
If you would like to lean
more about breast cancer, an;
how to perform an effective
breast self-examination, please
visit the Health Education Cen
ter in Room 16 in the basemen
of the A.P. Beutel Health Center
or call 845-1341 or the Ameri
can Cancer Society for more in
formation.
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IN ADVANCE
The Physical Plant will take suggestions from students, faculty,
and campus workers on how to improve safety on the Texas A&M
campus. Suggestion boxes will be located in the O&M Building, the
Memorial Student Center and the Langford Architecture Center.
The Physical Plant will work to implement any viable suggestions
to better work, traffic, environmental, and student safety at A&M.
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AGGIE BASKETBALL
USE YOUR ALL SPORTS PASS
AT ALL HOME GAMES
Next Game
Men Jan 22 vs Texas Southern 7:30
Men Jan 25 vs. Rice 7:30
Men Jan 29 vs. Houston 7:30
Women Feb 1 vs. Texas Tech 7:30
KTAM for the Men...1240 AM WTAW for the Women...1150 AM
°i'T&y y
CONTACT LENSES
ONLY QUALITY NAME BRANDS
(Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Sola/Barnes-Hind)
For Standard Clear
«P f > M U U FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT LENSES
K (Can be worn as daily or extended wear)
■ Pair
+FREE SPARE PAIR
Call 696-3754 for Appointment
*Eye exam not included
■Sdlu ehdsQec. J'l, 19?M Extended thru Jan. 31, 1992
Charles C. Schroeppel, O.D., P.C.
Doctor of Optometry
707 S. Texas Ave.-Suite 101D
1 Blk. South of Texas Ave.
& University Dr. Intersection
College Station, Texas 77840
r ^
KICK-OFF FOR YOUR FUTURE...
CAREER BOWL III
RETAILING SYMPOSIUM
January 26.1992
201 MSC
GAMETIME: 9:00 a.m.-12:30 P.m.
The Gameplan Includes:
<■> Internships
<B> Resumes
<■>Business Etiquette
<H>How to Market Yourself
All MAJORS ARE INVITED TO PLAY !
BUFFET LUNCHEON SERVED
*Tickets are $3.00. Available in Blocker
from January 21-24 f9:00 a.m.-4:00 P.m.J
4
WELCOME BACK
AGGIES!
SUPER HOT
SAVINGS
ON
DOUBLE
PRINTS
AS LOW AS
Good on developing
and printing 2 sets of
standard size 3" prints
a single set of 4"prints.
From 110, disc, 126 or
35mm color print film
C-41 process only.
0012 exp.
15 disc $2.99
24 exp. $4.99
36 exp. $6.29
Limited offer from
Jan. 21 - Jan. 27, 1992
PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES
located, in REED MCDONALD with drop boxes
in the Common Market and Sbisa Underground Market
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of:
Associated Press
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Texas Intercollegiate
Press Association
The Battalion
Editor-in-Chief
Douglas Pils
Mamaging Editor
Bridget Harrow
City Editor
Mack Harrison
Lifestyles Editor
Rob Newberry
Editorial Board
News Editors
Jason Morris
Morgan Juday
Opinion Editor
Brian Boney
Photo Editor
Karl Stolleis
Sports Editor
Scott Wudel
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is published daily except
Saturday, Sunday, holidays, exam periods,
and when school is not in session during fall
and spring semesters; publication isTuesday
through Friday during the summer session.
The Battalion is a non-profit, self support
ing newspaper operated as a community ser
vice to Texas A&M University and Bryan-Col-
lege Station.
The Battalion news department is man
aged by students at Texas A&M University in
the Division of Student Publications, a unit of
the Department of Journalism. The newsroom
phone number is 845-3316.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editorial board or the author, and
do not necessarily represent the opinions of
the Texas A&M student body, administrators,
faculty or the A&M Board of Regents.
Subscriptions
Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester,
$40 per school year and $50 per full year.
Phone: 845-2611.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas
A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-
1111. Second class postage paid at College
Station, TX 77843.
Advertising
Advertising information can be obtained
from the advertising department at 845-2696
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., orby
visiting the office in room 015 Reed McDonald
building.
Advertising Manager
Patricia Heck
Adviser
Robert Wegener