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Page 7
The United States must
play a leading role in
halting deforestation
-Battalion Editorial Board
Page 9
The Battalion
Vol. 91 No. 118
College Station, Texas
‘Serving Texas A&M since 1893"
10 Pages
Friday, March 27, 1992
' Eight senators lose positions
for violating absence policy
By Michael Sullivan
The Battalion
nember whe
Jo. 1, The st
its head tryr |
md finally
" Mehargs
eavy rain in I Eight senators — including two
he survey [^candidates currently running for
1 didn'tget!:|office in the upcoming student
■lections — were relieved of their
positions in the Texas A&M Stu-
lent Senate Wednesday for violat
ing its unexcused absence policy.
|_ * I John Ansbach, a junior eco-
lljfliomics major campaigning for
L student body president, said he
never found out about the
een Easter»escheduling of the senate meet
ing, which had originally been
'/ there is sjgcheduled for April 1.
I "I have not been formally noti
fied by the speaker pro tern con-
on the new! [
untry deals
? and outsifi
succeed," I'
cerning my removal," Ansbach
said. "I was told there was some
memo placed in every senator's
box (concerning the date change).
"I check my box every day and
never received a memorandum,"
Ansbach said.
However, Patty Warhol, speak
er pro tern of the senate, said she
informed student goverment
members of the schedule change.
"I wrote a memo notifying the
senators of the meeting, which I
personally placed in each sena
tor's box," she said.
Ansbach said, however, that
the speaker of the senate is sup
posed to have an aide contact each
See Student /Page 4
Legislators prepare for special session
By Tanya Sasser
The Battalion
finances," McHargue said. "At the same
to convey fb t
being floated around in
time, he wants to convey fb the superinten-
' ' ' flc
As the Texas Legislature prepares to meet
in special session, area legislators are doing
their homework to find a solution for the
state's school financing problems.
Sen. Jim Turner, D-Crockett, has his work
cut out for him and he plans to hold a series
of meetings with school superintendents to
gather ideas and solutions regarding the
heavy issue of school finance.
The purpose of Turner's upcoming meet
ings is twofold, said Kevin McHargue, Turn
er's press secretary.
"He wants to get the superintendents'
ideas and opinions on how to address school
dents what's
Austin.'
Sen. Turner will meet with representatives
of 96 school districts, including Hearne,
Georgetown, Huntsville, Brenham and
Crqckett. McHargue said Bryan-College Sta
tion representatives probably will attend at
least one of these meetings.
Rob Giesecke, spokesman for Rep. Steve
Ogden, R-Bryan, said Ogden will be attend
ing the special session when it is held.
"He's got a plan of his own that he's
proposing," he said.
Giesecke said the issue of school finances
is a "tremendously complex issue."
"It's a statewide problem and it needs a
statewide solution," he said. "A lot of peo
ple will be hurt and a lot of people will be up
set, no matter what we do."
McHargue said Turner is concerned about
what type of effects certain proposals will
have on schools at the local level.
"He wants to get their [the superinten
dents] feedback on how to deal with the
school finance issue," McHargue said. "It's
sort of a localized version of statewide ef
forts."
McHargue said Turner plans to solicit
ideas and discuss proposed solutions in these
meetings.
"Sen. Turner wants to see if there are spe
cific concerns and issues that need to be dis
cussed," he said. "He simply wanted to do it
on a smaller scale."
za said,
o give exai
ihem condi
?e'll do it."
at a cutbat
option o|
g to diangfj
ing," she
o cutback
Pentagon cuts
defense jobs
National Guard, reserve units
face severe troop reductions
ORTRUN GINGERICH/The Battalion
A fresh coat
Ottis Johnson, a painter from the Bryan-College Station area,
works on a house in Bryan. Spring is a busy season for painters
since it symbolizes a fresh start. Johnson painted the Kappa
Alpha Theta sorority house last summer.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
Pentagon on Thursday targeted
National Guard and reserve units
in all 50 states for cuts eliminating
nearly 140,000 jobs.
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney
said the money is needed else
where, but a senior member of the
House Appropriations Committee
.said the proposal will “cause great
consternation, to say the least," on
Capitol Hill.
Cheney contended the Pen
tagon is “not a social welfare
agency. We are a military organi
zation. . . . We have to focus on
how we defend the nation with
less mon'ey."
If Congress approves, 830 units
will be cut, eliminating 139,488
slots in 1992 and 1993, with an es
timated savings of $2.1 billion.
Through 1997, cuts would total
234,000 for a $20 billion saving.
There are now 1.15 million re
servists and National Guard mem
bers.
Cheney and Gen. Colin Powell,
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, told a Pentagon news confer
ence that the demise of the Soviet
bloc sealed the fate of the reserve
units, 80 percent of which were
designed to supplement and sup
port active-duty forces in Europe.
“If there is no mission for the
unit, it shouldn't be in the struc
ture at all," Powell said. “The Red
Army is gone."
Under the proposal, the Na
tional Guard will lose 80,000 peo
ple and the Army Reserves 45,000,
many of whom served in the Per
sian Gulf War.
The Navy Reserve will be cut
by 10,500; the Marine Corps Re
serve, by 2,700, and the Air Force
Reserve, by about 740.
See Defense/Page 4
Libertarians
By Matari Jones
The Battalion
Minor or third political parties such as
the Libertarians are receiving a small but
significant increase in voter support —
mainly due to voter dissatisfaction with
Democrats and Republicans in this year's
elections.
"Hard core support for the older parties
is declining," said Keary Ehlers, vice-chair
man of publicity for the Libertarian party of
Texas.
Ehlers said Libertarians have received a
significant increase of votes in state legisla
tive races, even though their share is still in
the single digits.
When the Libertarian party ran their first
garner support as result of voter dissatisfaction
presidential candidate in 1972, they polled
over one million votes or 1.4 percent of the
votes. However, these results could be over
ly optimistic.
Problems that minor parties such as the
Libertarians face include attracting and per
suading voters to abandon years of voting
for one major party or the other. The party
also has to overcome an electoral system
rigged against it.
Dr. Jon Bond, a Texas A&M political sci
ence professor, said there is only one exam
ple of a third party actually winning the
American presidential race: the Republican
party of 1860.
"Traditionally third parties acquire less
than 2 percent of the votes," Bond said. "A
See Libertarians/Page 4
Authoritarian
Conservative
Moderate
Liberal
Libertarian
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of Students
STEPHEN TREXLER/ The Battalion
Opinion survey shows students
hold moderate political views
Matari Jones
The Battalion
A recent opinion survey con
ducted by the Libertarian Party
shows that many Texas A&M stu
dents hold moderate views on civ
il liberties and free-market eco
nomics.
Calvin McKnight, Libertarian
party member and survey distrib
utor, said most students fall into
the moderate category because
they are not really aware of or
concerned with political activity in
the first place.
In a polling sample of 251 A&M
students, 56 students held libertar
ian views, 39 liberal views, 113
moderate views, 24 conservative
views and 19 authoritarian views.
Students who participated in
the survey gave their views on
personal and economic issues.
Respondents were categorized
See Many/Page 4
Battalion file photo
A 1990 tornado touches down
west of Bryan. Several funnel
clouds were sighted at the time.
Season change ushers
in inclement weather
By Jayme Blaschke
The Battalion
Spring has arrived in Texas,
and with it comes the possibility
of severe weather.
Jake Canglose, civil defense co
ordinator for Brazos County, said
everyone in Bryan-College Station
should prepare a plan in case se
vere weather strikes the area.
"Locate the best available shel
ter in case of a tornado," Canglose
said. "An underground shelter is
best, but closets, bathrooms and
small areas away from windows
are good.
"It's important to stay away
from windows and doors," he
said. "Get out of mobile homes —
they offer no protection from tor
nadoes."
Marion Alcorn, a Texas A&M
meteorologist, said tornadoes are
more common in the spring be
cause the weather patterns over
Texas are in transition.
"We're moving from winter to
summer, and the cold air masses
are weakening as warmer air and
the jet stream moves north," Al
corn said. "As the low pressure
systems move north and cross
over us, they cause sever weather
and tornadoes."
The storms this spring, howev
er, should not be as threatening as
See Civil defense/Page 4
Regents OK expansion
Board approves plan to enlarge campus computing sites
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
A computing facilities expansion for the Univer
sity was approved by the Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents Thursday.
The expansion will alleviate the problems of
crowding and limited backup capabilities for the
major computing units on campus, said James
Davidson, a member of the facilities planning divi
sion.
The existing facilities for the Cray Y-MP2/116
supercomputer, and the two large VAX clusters on
campus are inadequate, he said.
"The expansion will provide adequate space for
all the machines to be in one area," Davidson said.
The Cray was installed in 1989 in the High Visi
bility Enclosure in the lobby of the Zachry Engi
neering Center. This facility was created by reno
vating a vending machine area and converting it
into a computer machine room. The VAX clusters
are located in the Computer Services Center.
The new facility will house these computing
units along with the main University IBM comput
ing system. It also will have a general access mi
crocomputer and workstation lab and space for
computer operation training and seminars.
Davidson said the facility will allow for a con
stant power supply for the computers.
The total cost is estimated to be about $2.8 mil
lion. Davidson said the cost is high because there
See Regents/Page 4