Campus & State
Page 2
The Battalion
Monday, March 9,199i
A&M starts work
on animal center
By K. Lee Davis
The Battalion
Texas A&M dignitaries shov
eled symbolic soil Saturday after
noon to break ground for a new
$522,000 geriatric animal clinic at
what may have been the Univer
sity's first ever indoor ground
breaking ceremony.
The Madlin Stevenson Com
panion Animal Geriatric Center
will be located west of the Veteri
nary Medicine Complex on Uni
versity Drive. Stevenson donated
$2,875 million for a center to pro
vide complete and exceptional
life care for animals after their
owners die or are incapacitated.
Muddy ground at the con
struction sight forced the cere
mony inside. University Presi
dent William Mobley, Board of
Regents Chairman Ross Mar
graves, Dean of the College of
Veterinary Medicine John Shad-
duck, and Madlin Stevenson
were among those who broke the
substitute ground in eight-foot
planter boxes inside a lecture hall
in the Veterinary Medicine
Building.
Animals will be considered
on an individual basis for the
program, with an endowment to
the vet school being one of the
requirements, said Dr. Edwin El-
let, director of the center.
A monetary donation in the
animal's name pays for care for
the rest of the pet's life. Any
money left after the animal dies
goes to either the College of Vet
erinary Medicine, or a specific
program within the college
named by the donor.
Pets such as dogs, cats, birds
and horses will be accepted into
the program, Ellet said.
"We are looking for your run-
of-the mill, well-cared-for animal
whose owner can no longer care
for it," he said.
The privately funded center
will also establish a viable "well
ness" program for older animals
through observation and docu
mentation of aging and the aging
process in animals, and also in
crease geriatric medicine educa
tion for veterinary students, fac
ulty, interns and residents.
The 5,000 square-foot center,
to be finished this August, will
provide a home-like environ
ment for the animal, with living
room space and private sleeping
quarters for every animal - with
out any cages.
The center as currently de
signed will hold approximately
15 dogs and 20 cats, Shadduck
said.
"We don't know if we have
enough room for the first year, or
the first five years, but we'll find
out," he said.
Candidate pays high school students to campaign
WINNIE (AP) - The Cham
bers County sheriff became upset
when his political opponent paid
41 teen-agers to distribute cam
paign material as a civics project.
But the opponent says Sheriff
C.E. "Chuck" Morris is jealous he
didn't think of the idea first.
Constable John Wesley King
f ave the high school seniors a
300 donation Friday for a year-
end, alcohol-free party.
The students at Winnie-Stow-
ell High School were dismissed
from class at 9 a.m. Friday to dis
tribute literature for King's cam
paign, principal Mickey Riggs
said. Their absence was excused.
But Morris said the students
should have been in school in
stead of "out running the roads"
for a political candidate. He said
his office received several com
plaints from county residents.
"Students should be in school
learning," Morris said.
"But here they are tearing up
and down the road, at their par
ents' expense, doing political
work," he said.
Students who distributed the
campaign literature were volun
teers and had their parents' per
mission to participate in the civics
lesson.
"We felt like it was a govern
ment field trip; we wanted to get
them involved in the political pro
cess," Riggs said.
"All the candidates in the
sheriff's race were extended the
opportunity to have the students
distribute their fliers."
King disputes Morris' claim
that he is "vote-buying" because
90 percent of the students in
volved aren't old enough to vote.
Sparks fly after Texas chooses lottery manager
AUSTIN (AP) - The fight
over a multimillion-dollar contract
to operate Texas' lottery is likely
to end up in court, a spokesman
for the state comptroller says.
The comptroller's office an
nounced Saturday that GTECH
Corp. of Rhode Island will get the
job, assuming a contract can be ne
gotiated with the company.
The five-year contract is worth
an estimated $200 million.
A deal could be finalized with
in days, said Greg Hartman, exec
utive assistant to comptroller John
Sharp.
But Hartman said he expects a
court challenge to the selection of
a lottery operator, and allegations
to be made about the winner, be
cause that has been the experience
in other states when such con
tracts are awarded.
"It's going to be real nasty this
week . . . we're just battening
down the hatches," he said.
A former California state sena
tor testified that he was bribed by
a GTECH lobbyist to oppose a bill
the company wanted killed.
GTECH denied the allegation.
Texas' contract will be the
largest in the nation because of the
way it is structured, with one
company serving as an umbrella
organization to handle numerous
functions, Hartman said.
The other bidder for the con
tract is a consortium that included
Control Data Corp. of Minnesota
and Scientific Games of Georgia.
Secqrity guards at Control
Data and Scientific Games said
Saturday that officials were not in.
George Shipley of Austin, legisla
tive representative for Control
Data, declined comment.
Texans pay price
for executions
Taxpayers cover high cost of lengthy
court appeals, putting inmates to death
DALLAS (AP) — It costs Texas
taxpayers millions of dollars more
to execute a criminal than to lock
him in prison for life, a newspaper
has reported.
A study in Sunday's editions
of The Dallas Morning News
found that trials and appeals of
death row inmates take an aver
age 7.5 years and cost an average
$2.3 million per case in Texas.
To imprison someone in a sin
gle cell at the highest security lev
el for 40 years costs about
$750,000.
With 351 condemned men and
four women, Texas leads the na
tion in both death row population
and the number of executions —
46 since 1977, which includes five
in 1991 and four already this year.
Robert Excell White's case rep
resents the death penalty system
at its most costly and inefficient.
He has been convicted twice
for a crime committed almost 18
years ago, but his case was ex
tended again in 1988 when he
won a new trial because state
ments he unknowingly made to a
psychiatrist were used against
him.
It will take the combined ef
forts of county, state and federal
governments — plus about $4 mil
lion in taxpayer dollars — to exe
cute White, The Dallas Morning
News reported.
"There's some things that a
modern American city and state
have got to have," said Dallas
lawyer Vincent Perini, chairman
of the Texas Bar Association's
committee on representation for
death row inmates.
"You have to have police and
fire and public safety protection.
You have to have a criminal jus
tice system," Perini said.
"You do not have to have a
death penalty."
Although life without parole
might save millions of dollars, it
would create a nightmare in the
prison system, said House Correc
tions Committee chairman Allen
Hightower, D-Huntsville.
"From a correctional practb
standpoint, if someone needstt
go to prison for life. I'm fo:
gassing them," Hightower said.
"The end result is thatwithiK
chance or hope of getting outnt
matter how you behave ... there;
no reason not to stab a guard anc
no reason not to kill or rapeanotlv
er inmate."
Hightower said he favors line
iting appeals from what he call;
the absurd, to enough to savear
innocent man.
"Will we ever convict a persor
in this state that's not guilty?Sure
We've done it before, and we'lldt
it again," he said.
"But our criminal justice sys
tem is the fairest system in (lie
world," Hightower said. *
Assistant Attorney Genera;
Bob Walt, one of six state lawyer;
who work to see that the deal!
penalty is carried out, said th
problem is the delay tactics de
fense attorneys use on appeal.
But even with the expense,the
death penalty is worth the effort
Walt said.
"We have no shortage ofvio
lent characters in this state,"he
said.
"The death penalty is some
thing Texans want. They thinkthe
death penalty is an appropriate
punishment."
However, human rights ac
tivists disagree with the dealt
not a coincidence thatthi;
state ranks dead last in the
amount of money it allots to sodi
services," said Rick Halperin,i |
board director of Amnesty Inter
national USA and professorr
Southern Methodist University
Dallas.
"Yet Texas has got 400 peopl
either dead or on death row, 1
Halpern said.
"Millions, millions just wasted
trying to get rid of 400 people. It'i
just sick."
penalty
The Battalion
USPS 045-360
The Battalion is published daily except Saturday, Sunday, holidays, exam periods, and
when school is not in session during fall and spring semesters; publication is Tuesday
through Friday during the summer session. Second class postage paid at College
Station, TX 77840.
POSTMASTER; Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111.
Nows: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University
in the Division of Student Publications, a unit of the Department of Journalism. Editorial
offices are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. The newsroom phone number is 845-3316.
Fax: 845-2647.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the contributor,
and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Texas A&M student body, adminis
trators, faculty or the A&M Board of Regents.
Advertising: For campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For
classified advertising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and
office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-5408.
Subscriptions: Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50
per full year. To charge by VISA or MasterCard, call 845-2611.
ATTENTION TAMU STUDENTS!!!
Do you need 12 TAMU semester credit hours in political
science and history?
Would you like to spend 4 weeks in France visiting
historical battle sites and studying the causes, course and
aftermath of WWII as well as other subjects relating to
war and peace?
How would you like to be awarded a James Earl Rudder
Scholarship that will fund your international study
experience?
Come find out how you can apply for this unique opportunity by
attending an INFORMATIONAL MEETING on:
March 10th 2:30-3:30 PM or March 11th 11:00AM-12:00 PM
Rm 251 Bizzell Hall West or come by TAMU Study Abroad
Programs for information and an application. Application
DEADLINE is March 26th!
MSC Town Hall
Presents
/LYLE\
LOVETT
THE ONLY EASIER
W TO GET A
JOB IS TO WORK
FOR YOUR DAD*
r is.66 off"";
i Complete Resume Package i
® Present this coupon at partidpatins Kinko-s and receive |
| $5.00 off the purchase of a Complete Resume Package. -
_ Packages vaiy from location to location. Offer not good ■
|. in combination with other discounts. ■
m ©1992, Kinto's Graphic Corporation ®
Make a great impression on your future boss (whoever it is) with a
complete resume package from Kinko's. Just give us the information and
we'll give you a full set of professionally designed, laser typeset resumes,
complete with matching envelopes and cover letter sheets-plus you can
choose from a wide variety of papers, styles, typefaces and formats.
kinko's
the copy center
Open 24 Hours
509 University Dr. West • 846-8721
IS CIJKKKNTLY IJMIEUGOIIVG MAJOR
R E j\ O V A T I O N
THIS FALL, MSC STUDENT PROGRAMS WILL
UNVEIL A MODERN VERSION OF A TIME-HONORED
CAMPUS TRADITION.
□UR COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRAM FILMS FOR
CAMPUS EXHIBITION AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST, BUT THAT
WILL BE ONLY PART OF A LARGER FILM SOCIETY WHICH
WILL HOLD AN ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL, AND MUCH MORE
OFl'ICm APPLICATIONS
NOW AVAII.ABI.K
IN TUE DEPARTMENTS OF PROGRAMMING,
OPERATIONS, FINANCE, EXTERNAL RELATIONS,
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, AND PRODUCTION.
GET INVOLVED IN THE NATION'S LARGEST
STUDENT-RUN FILM PROGRAMMING
ORGANIZATION, AND ITS NEWEST FILM SOCIETY
COME BY OUR CUBICLE IN TOE STI D1M
PROGRAMS OFFICE (ROOM 210 MSC) M
AN APPLICATION AND MORE INFO, OK
CALL PAUL AT 847-1435.
(APPLICATIONS DUE MONDAY MARCH 9 BY 5:00
P.M. FOR FIRST ROUND SELECTION.)
©1992, Kinko's Graphics Corporation
Monday, March 30
Rudder Auditorium 8pm
Tickets on Sale NOW
Students $10 Non-students $14
Rudder Box Office 845-1234
or Foley's at Post Oak Mall
All Seats Reserved