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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1992)
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Mostly cloudy Highs in 70s Lows in 40s Always strive to be the best at what you do because someone has to be -Battalion columnist Michael Quinn Sullivan Page 11 Oscar Preview: Silence of the Lambs, JFK and Beauty and the Beast could all come out winners Page 3 CoachTs Dream: Mark Weaver leads charge of A&M men’s tennis team Page 7 French ami ers they anj idy^fiv Vol.91 No. 117 The Battalion College Station, Texas ‘Serving Texas A&M since 1893’ 12 Pages Thursday, March 26, 1992 des and Bril | the two for otal of 44lp cks. ipts Organization strives to place limits on Texas officials' terms By Alysia Woods The Battalion miaii A Texas group is pushing to get the is sue of term limitations on the agenda for the Texas Legislature's next special leg- 1 Tl T10i^ at * ve sess i on to be held in May. **”*'■*■*T)I Armed with a recent poll that shows ■most Texas lawmakers favor term limita- nCWito Texans for Term Limitations would T. '■like to see state officials limited to eight ..p. years in office. in J A1 1 ~ f Mark Sanders, spokesman for the non profit organization, said the group was set up by Rob Mosbacher in January 1991 following his loss to Bob Bullock in the it during a I the Interco: anding soi ■ floors, ould be sa nies, bumii workers cot struggled dozens of eceivingem n front of oss the stu ssy ?sk clerk at: :ire basenv id it appeal n an electn e blaze bef ent set upi tens of peo; ring the Mi Ramadan! fter the dai state lieutenant governor's race in 1990. "We've collected signatures to put pressure on the legislature," Sanders said. "Two hundred thousand people have joined our organization." However, not everyone thinks limiting elected officials' terms is necessary. Dr. Gary Halter, a political science professor at Texas A&M, disagrees with proposed term limits. "I don't think term limits are a good idea as far as legally imposing them," Halter said. "There is something to be said for expertise." Halter said kicking a lawmaker out of office on an arbitrary basis is unfair. According to Sanders and a recent poll conducted by the organization, candi dates in 107 state representative races and 22 senate races believe the public should be given the opportunity to vote on a con stitutional amendment limiting terms. Rep. Steve Ogden from District 14 was among the state officials wjio favored term limits in the poll. . In addition, Sanders said in a recent poll conducted by CBS Inc. 70 percent of Texas voters want term limits. Halter said the issue is usually pushed by the "out" party at the time in an effort to rid the legislature of various lawmak ers. "If you're a politician, it's just a way to keep your name in the news media," Hal ter said. "It's just one of those trendy things that's been with us before." Sanders said the recent issue of con gressmen bouncing checks in Washington has further inspired Texans for Term Lim itations. "There is a tremendous level of frustra tion with voters right now," he said. "We want term limits as an issue in future races." Texans for Term Limitations are now focusing their efforts on an upcoming special legislative session. Sanders said the organization has requested that Gov. Ann Richards propose the issue. "She's the only one who can choose what will be debated by lawmakers dur ing the session," he said. "We'd like to have the issue ready for the November elections." Sanders said Texans for Term Limita tions is part of a national movement, al though each state organization is inde pendent from the others. Twenty other states are affiliated with the organization, he said. Sanders, however, is optimistic that Gov. Richards will support Texans for Term Limitations in May. "She said she was in favor for it (term limits) in her campaign for governor," he said. "Given the level of frustration vot ers feel, it would be in the best interest for politicians to get on board or get out of Funding for clinic runs out Planned Parenthood depletes Title 20 aid By Reagon Clamon The Battalion his is a sa iid nations 1 '' live a* .id tkeW -roontfl nployeesai asJ ts sal saidluK ig. Fourfi ed duringi] ?urn i - e . Onevifl nal injuriej d trucks c to Hangai| id the piK mang ile pieces: j e cockpih row of tl 1 an engitfl G ION V (3/26) IT 2 pm pm Opm 'JTER The cost of Norplant, a newly available method of birth control, and an increase in awareness has drained the federal and state . funds of Planned Parenthood of Brazos County.- Planned Parenthood ran out of their federal and state aid around the first week of March and will be forced to charge its Title 20 clients $40 for examinations and $7 per pack of oral contraceptives, in stead of $20-25 for an exam and four packs of pills. Residents of Brazos County who qualify for Title 20 funding from Planned Parenthood will be paying a lot more for birth control and examinations starting April 1. Title 20 funding is a block fund from the federal government that is matched at the state level and al located by Texas Department of Health to various health agencies in the state. Zita D'souza, clinic director of Planned Parenthood of Brazos County, said the clinic received about the same funding this year as any, but community awareness of their services greatly increased. "There has been a higher rate of teenage pregnancies, so we've been putting a lot of emphasis on going out to the schools and talk ing to various groups and organi zations, encouraging people to come and be screened and if they're sexually active, to use pro tection," D'souza said. "We've done too good a job of recruiting." D'souza said Norplant, a new ly available method of birth con trol which is surgically implanted, has eaten up most of the funding. "The Norplant takes $500 that would otherwise be spent on ex- See Clinic/Page 12 RICHARD BUCKNOR/The Battalion Land, ho! Hannah Pedersen, right, a senior from Houston, and recruiting new members for the Texas A&M Sailing Club Dollie Criste, a senior from Ballinger, take a break from outside the MSC Tuesday . Germany faces troubles of unity By Tanya Sasser The Battalion The reunified Germany faces many problems ahead, but none that cannot be overcome, a professor said Wednes day night at Texas A&M. Dr. Jurgen Wolff, a sociology profes sor at A&M's German partner universi ty in Bochum, Germany, thinks even though the situation in the reunified na tion has not been ideal, Germans will work together to make it succeed. "The economic problems that the re unification has brought with it are cer tainly enormous," Wolff said. "But they can be solved." Wolff thinks the reason Germany will be able to overcome these problems is that the reunification, although it was surprising, was handled well by every one. "The management of the reunifica tion was done in a professional man ner," Wolff said. "TTie breakdown was inevitable. What is unexplained is why the Soviet Union didn't interfere." Both economic and socialization problems are facing the new Germany. Among other actions, taxes have been raised to help pay for the rebuilding of eastern Germany. Wolff said many citi zens in western Germany do not like having to sacrifice their resources to help rebuild the eastern part of the country. See Germans/Page 12 Gadhafi harbors terrorists U.N. Security Council plans vote on punishing sanctions UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The Security Council, angered oyer Libya's about-face on its pledge to turn over suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, will vote Friday on adopting pun ishing sanctions against Libya, diplomats said Wednesday. The diplomats, speaking on con dition of anonymity, said the 15- member Security Council was unit ed in its dismay and passage of the sanctions resolution was assured. The Security Council's president said the council would vote on the measure Friday. The draft resolution, sponsored by the United States, Britain and France, would sever air links with Libya, impose a weapons embargo and require expul sion of most Libyan diplomats. Action on the draft resolution was suspended Mon day when Libya's U.N. envoy announced that the two suspects in the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scot land, in December 1988 would be turned over to the Arab League. The understanding was that they then would be turned over to either the United States or Britain, prob ably via U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt. Libya's statement, described as a “final" decision by Tripoli's U.N. envoy, never was put in writing, de spite requests from Boutros-Ghali and Security Coun cil President Diego Arria, the Venezuelan ambassador. On Wednesday, Libya's leader. Col. Moammar Gadhafi, backed away from the offer, telling a visiting delegation from the Arab League that only the Interna tional Court of Justice could make him surrender the suspects, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the talks. The court in the Hague, Netherlands, was to begin hearing Libya's request for a ruling on Thursday. Libya argues that under international law the men cannot be extradited and must be tried in Libya. “This is very typical behavior for Gadhafi," said Mary Jane Deeb, a Libya expert at American Universi ty in Washington. “This was a trial balloon. They say something, see what the reaction is, then decide if it's to their advantage or not." Gadhafi Governor to decide fate of two state institutions ss, ddm AUSTIN (AP) - Gov. Ann Richards will announce Thursday her decision on whether to close Travis State School in Austin and Mexia State School, two of 13 state 'nstitutions for the mentally re tarded, a spokesman said. A special task force recom mended earlier this month that the hyo schools be shut down and that the state increase its emphasis on community programs. Richards, who has until Thurs- oay to decide on the proposal, Rians a 5:30 p.m. news conference t° announce her decision, said spokesman Chuck McDonald. Closing two institutions is a condition of settling a long-run- ni ng federal lawsuit against Texas' system of caring for the mentally retarded. But more than 3,000 Mexia ^te School supporters rallied at he Capitol Tuesday in hopes of convincing Richards to keep the institution open. Travis State School defenders also have said that the school should not be closed. McDonald had said that an an nouncement would be made Wednesday, but later said it would be delayed. "The governor is agonizing over the decision, McDonald said. “We want to make absolute ly certain that every possibility is explored. That s what she s in structed her staff to do again to- day." He said that Richards was talk ing to her staff and legal counsel, and that she also met Wednesday with Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D- Austin, a Travis State School sup porter. Richards, who is on an eco nomic development push, re turned Tuesday from California. NOTICE Voter's' Guide available March 31 The Texas A&M Voter’s Guide will be distributed March 31. It includes a listing of candidates for student government positions. Individuals running for Student Body President, Yell Leader, Class Presidents, Off-Campus Aggie President and RHA President may submit a written campaign platform for publication. Student Body President and Yell Leaders need to set up times for pictures. Additional information can be obtained in room 013 Reed McDonald or call 845-3316. Professor attacks Darwinism Scientists created evolution to support theories, author says By Jayme Blaschke The Battalion A law professor attacked Dar win's theory of evolution before a largely skeptical audience of more than 100 stu dents and fac ulty at Texas A&M Wednes day night. Phillip E. Johnson, au thor of "Dar win on' Trial," fielded ques tions while at tacking the foundations of Darwinist theo ry for nearly two hours. Johnson claimed evolution is essentially a dogmatic belief created by scien tists to supplant all other beliefs. Johnson "Things look like they were cre ated for a purpose because they were — not through random chance like the Darwinists claim," Johnson said. "There had to be a pre-existing unevolving intelli gence responsible for creation. "Darwinism is effective athe ism," he said. Johnson said the biggest prob lem with the theory of evolution is that the conditions scientists set up to verify theories automatically discount everything that is not evolution. Because science only accepts as fact that which can be verified scientifically, it sets up conditions which exclude explana tions supernatural in origin. "Science is dogmatic, because it states everything that exists can be discovered by science," he said. "If it can't be discovered, then it doesn't exist." Evolution is presented by the scientific community as a fact, he said. If someone questions the evi dence, Darwinists demand an al ternative explanation. When that explanation does not agree with evolution, it is discounted. Darwinism is, in fact, the an swer to a highly complex series of questions designed to result in the Darwinian answer, he said. The purpose of the scientific method is not to investigate the possible ori gins of creation, but to deny the existence of a creator. "When Darwinists go into the field to test their theories, they aren't so much as testing them as illustrating them," Johnson said. "The findings support the theories because that's what is looked for. "To an outsider, evidence sup porting Darwinism is woefully in adequate," he said. "Apparently it doesn't take much to convince a Darwinist."