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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1992)
!, April 22, d ond time the is latory clubshj >e presidenfe 11 Clinton March 20 at an all-whi; Jck and vowei t. 10 appearaiw per editors; orot was ques membership i "I do think everyone needs the concept of hell.” -Stacy Feducia columnist Page 11 AGGIE WRANGLERS make their cable TV debut on The Nashville Network Page 3 LAST CHANCE:' Aggies aspire for shot at NFL Page 7 The Battalion 'ffice. Hi reap us, we'll loob re and clean; He said hew that his ibs was notev r trary. ike it any mo avis. "If they; upset theap; atter whattyp* ight carry," ional polls, Pe rajor party can Wall Street J« >oll, for exam; h 26 percents compared to h and 30 pent on behalf of I y thank yoi al Aggieland, , "Do you real rough applai a cush job!" s for their spir ditions. Bonfe were a few ofr Zox said. "Wi t quit, youjii X&M would ien his name ed, the wn out )graiff the benefit 11 ren.” le said, hospital f i., are informit , thers about 4 i schools in P® f ■w Haven, C« o offer schfl nts. aky wheel tli Fersh said W t added, "Wfi zlasses is said, red courses an I)wen said, ering as mar) e, and as wool ifferingasgc* nmer,' V hesaii department! r ould liketoh ngs. luctant tosaj aape," Owe® put in a fair! 1 past couple had the fund tch increases! s, head of tltf partment, aid d of the chef could notl* at. iged s," she said Journal artidt s offering mat iness adminit about $40,041 ince tuition lents canproh ■n a two-yea 1 n $20,000. i d he was ah lys to impro' ,f eye on thef is), if it looh s to impro< ! der them," k Vol. 91 No. 137 College Station, Texas “Serving Texas A&M since 1893” 12 Pages Thursday, April 23, 1992 Additional funds save summer courses, increase sections By Michael Q. Sullivan 77ie Battalion Additional funds from the Office of the Provost for Texas A&M will not only save current summer courses in the liberal arts and science colleges, but will also allow more sections to be opened, according to an assistant provost. He warns, however, that the problem is not going to go away. "We have provided some additional funds to the College of Liberal Arts," said G. Dan Parker, assistant provost for Texas A&M. "The message is, if the cuts contin ue, the students are going to start seeing it in the instructional program. Sooner or later, if the cuts continue, it's going to show up big time in the instruction (pro- ID A&M’s executive associate provost assures Student Senate that number of seats in summer courses will remain same/Page 2 gram). We have not started planning on the summer of '93 yet, but right now it's going to be a problem." Parker said the colleges will open addi tional sections and recruit new instruc tors, lecturers and graduate assistants. He said that the science and liberal arts col leges have been the hardest hit by budget problems and lack of courses. "That's where the core of the teaching is done in any university," he said. "Ev erybody has to take history, math and En glish, regardless of major. As far as stand ing on the edge of the instructional bud get, those are the two that are right there. Anytime budget cuts come up, some of it spills off into them." Parker said his office wants class size this summer to be the same as last year. "We want to provide for the same number of opportunity — the number of seats available to students (as last year)," he said. "We've communicated that to sci ence and liberal arts and we think we've finally reached equilibrium. "Evidently all the courses haven't been reopened, but they should. The deans' of fices have assured us that we will ap proach that number." Charles Johnson, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts, said although the summer sessions are out of danger, the future is still uncertain. "This summer is not in jeopardy," he said. "There will be some impact in the next year or two and the college is strug- g lin g" Johnson said offerings in liberal arts, and specifically English, will be increased. especially in high enrollment and prob lem areas, but was cautious about the long-term situation. "We are going to increase the number of seats available — seats that aren't on the books right now — with the help of the departments and the provost 1 s office," he said. "We are in the process of redress ing that (summer courses) and I suspect there will be additional courses and sec tions for the fall and spring, thanks to the help of the provost's office. "It still may not match the course and seat offerings of last year, but we will See Diverted funds/Page 10 Barton appears at Bryan meeting By Reagon Clamon The Battalion Barton Rep. Joe Barton came to the Bryan Library Wednesday to tell residents, among other things, he is still their rep resentative. The Republi can Congress man traveled to Bryan to partic ipate in a " town meeting" with the residents of Congressional District 6, ex pressing his opinions . on various issues and fielding questions from con stituents. Barton started the meeting by clearing up a misunderstanding he said seemed to be prevalent in his district. "I am still the representative for Brazos County," he said. " I will be the representative — unless there is an act of God — until January 1993." Under the new district lines that will go into effect next Jan uary, Brazos County will be split between District 8, which includes Houston, and District 5, which in cludes Dallas — and will no longer be a part of Barton's dis trict. Barton said he will continue to fight the redistricting. "We have a court case pending in Austin under a three-judge Federal panel," Barton said. "The case will be heard in the spring of 1993 and I am still optimistic the Federal court will throw out the plan the state legislature adopted." Barton said if the Federal court See Barton/Page 10 ROBERT J. REED/The Battalion Snake’s alive! Todd Traylor, a graduate of Texas A&M, plays with his 15-foot Burmese python, Natasha, at TEAC’s Earth Day 1992 at Rudder Fountain Wednesday. Traylor’s exhibit was to show people snakes and dispel some of the myths about them. He was also letting people know about the destruction of the snakes’ natural habitat. The objective of Earth Day is to teach people more about the planet and how we affect and hurt it, and how we can help it. Explosions in Mexico kill 184 Multiple blasts devastate Guadalajara; leaders deploy military to keep order GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — A series of explosions in the sewer system ripped open streets, flattened buildings and hurled trucks and cars in the air in Mexi co's second largest city Wednes day. Witnesses said 184 bodies had been recovered, and 600 peo ple were reported injured. The federal government sent the army to keep order in the city of three million, where telephone, electricity and water services had been cut. At least nine explosions begin ning at 10:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. EDT) blasted enormous craters, tossed trucks and buses on their sides and left jagged trenches along Gante Avenue and other streets in the Reforma district of southeast ern Guadalajara. Some residents of the lower- to middle-class neighborhood hacked feverishly at rubble with picks and axes as they searched through the day for neighbors. At least 700 rescue workers were searching for victims. Rescuers helped free passen gers trapped in a bus that fell into a hole caused by the blast. Cars were crushed by falling debris or flipped over like children's toys. Some residents wandered aim lessly among the ruins. Others stumbled through the debris in tears, their clothing shredded. A statement by Pemex, Mexi co's state oil monopoly, said the Houston*. O Mexico City Guadalajara, Mexico Explosion caused by gases leaking into sewage system kills at least 189, injures 600. STEPHEN TREXLER/The Battalion explosions in th£ southeastern Re forma district were caused by liq uid hexane, used to extract edible oils from seeds. The hexane leaked from a private cooking oil factory. La Central, into the sewage sys tem, Pemex said. Even in cool weather, a spark can ignite hexane violently. The city's fire chief claimed the explosions were caused by gaso line. Residents said the stink of a gas had filled the air for at least a day. Hexane's smell resembles that of kerosene. "The leaders of the police and fire department of Guadalajara should be tried as those responsi ble for the catastrophe," Homero Aridjis, the poet and leader of Mexico's biggest environmentalist group, said in an interview in Mexico City. Issue of abortion faces toughest battle in 19 years MSC Political Forum debate addresses controversial topic By Matari Jones The Battalion Women will exercise the right to an abortion with or without the blessing of the government. Abor tion is the destruction of human beings. These were the opposing view points presented Wednesday evening at a debate sponsored by the MSC Political Forum. "The decision concerning an abortion — in both practical and moral terms — lies with the wom an, and no one is going to change that," said Susan Nenney, director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Houston. "Abortion is always the taking of a human life," said Dr. Joseph Graham, president of the Texas Right to Life Committee and a professor at St. Thomas University in Houston. Rural people, poor people, young adults and specifically women of color will be hurt the most if abortions are made less available and more expensive, Nenney said. Regardless of legislation, each woman will decide for herself — as did her mother and grandmoth er — if they need to seek an abor tion. Graham said that since Roe vs. Wade, enough babies have died by abortion to populate the State of California or the country of Canada. If the 1973 Supreme Court deci sion that legalized abortion is overturned, abortion will no longer be a constitutionally pro tected right and the issue will be decided and controlled by indi- ROBERT REED/The Battalion Susan Nenney, a pro-choice advocate, and pro-lifer Dr. Joseph Graham discuss the abortion issue at a MSC Political Forum debate. vidual state legislatures, Graham said. Abortion has polarized political parties, politicized churches, and split families, Nenney said. It is now a political and, therefore, a governmental issue. She said the "anti-choice" movement puts the government squarely in the bed room — directly between husband and wife. Neeney asked the audience to think of themselves as the govern ment and answer the following questions: "If you were the government at See Speakers/Page 10 Pro-choice groups. Bush pressure Supreme Court WASHINGTON (AP) - With legalized abortion poten tially in the balance, the Sup reme Court on Wednesday was urged by an abortion-rights ad vocate to keep women from re turning to "back alleys for their health care" while the Bush ad ministration pressed for protec tion of "those who will be bom." Activists on both sides of the national debate carried placards and chanted slogans outside the court building as the justices presided over a low-key but high-stakes argument in a Pen nsylvania case. Both sides predicted the court's conservative majority would uphold the restrictive state law in an election-year de cision expected by July. Among other things, the law imposes a 24-hour waiting period and re quires married women to tell their husbands before getting abortions. The greater question is whether the decision will re verse or drastically undermine the court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that abortion is a funda mental constitutional right. The Supreme Court in 1986 struck it down, by a 5-4 vote. Three members of that five-jus tice majority are retired now. The court today is seen as far more hostile to abortion.