The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 24, 1992, Image 1
The Battalion . 92 No. 19 (12 pages) ‘Serving Texas ASM Since 1893* Thursday, September 24, 1992 Quayle looks at health care VP supports medical reform package THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON — Vice President Dan Quayle said Tuesday that the Bush administration wants a package of re forms including tax credits, vouchers and discounts to provide better health care for more Ameri cans. "We want to make health in surance avail able and afford able to every- Quayle one," Quayle told a group of physicians and other medical pro fessionals during a visit to Texas Children's Hospital. Quayle toured the hospital, meeting with patients in the renal dialysis unit and physical and oc cupational therapy areas, as he began a daylong tour of Texas and Arizona. The vice president later was cheered wildly by thousands of Texas A&M University students in College Station. He left the Lone Star state for a brief trip to Phoenix, but planned to return for an appearance Wednesday in Fort Worth. "We want to use tax credits, vouchers and deductions to make health insurance available to everyone and the deductions would be up to $3,750 up to an earned income of about $80,000," Quayle said in Houston. "If you were unemployed, it would be in vouchers, and if you were em ployed it would be in the form of tax credits or deductions." He said the GOP plan would affect some 95 million Americans and be focused on cutting costs See Health Care/Page 10 Family leave bill veto stirs debate THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Democ rats rushed Wednesday to ac cuse President Bush of be traying "fami ly values" by vetoing a fami ly leave bill, while congres sional Republi cans pressed an alternative plan and de fended the president's busy veto pen. Some Republican sponsors ac knowledged there was little chance that Congress, in its wan ing weeks, would embrace Gore Bush's alternative to the family leave bill — a tax credit to em ployers who let workers have unpaid time off in family emer gencies. Still, they used it as a po litical defense following Bush's veto Tuesday evening of the bill that would have required many employ ers to give workers up to 12 weeks off in such cases. "I'm not too optimistic about this," Rep. Fred Grandy, R-Iowa, acknowledged at a news confer ence where Republicans touted Bush their alternative. "I do believe, however, in the next Congress we will have a spirited debate." Bush's veto, while expected, gave Democrats a chance to ac cuse Republicans of empty rhetoric on family values. "After talking interminably about family values, he vetoed the family and medical leave bill. That is not leadership," Democ ratic vice presidential nominee A1 Gore said, campaigning in Georgia. "Seventy-two countries have a family and medical leave act," presidential challenger Bill Clin ton said, with Gore on a cam paign bus tour. "We're being told by this president we can't. I was taught to believe that Amer ica was the we-can country." It was the second time in three years that Bush has vetoed a family and medical leave bill. Democrats planned an override vote in the Senate, possibly this week, but the odds were against them in the House. Bush's action put some Re publicans on the spot, since polls show overwhelming public sup port for the idea of family leave as a minimum labor standard. It comes after Bush sustained his veto of a bill aimed at easing vot er registration and while he faces a prospective battle over his promised veto of a popular bill to regulate the cable television industry. The cable bill passed by veto- proof margins in both the House and Senate. With a vote possible just before the election, it may be the sternest test yet for Bush. Board to decide WTSU's name By REAGON CLAMON Reporter of THE BATTALION West Texas State University may get a name change this Fri day as the Board of Regents meet to decide the question amid some controversy. The new name. West Texas A&M University, will be effective im mediately if the Board votes for the change. Dr. Barry Thompson, Presi dent of WtSU, and the prime motivator in the move to change the name, commis sioned a poll of the Panhandle area in June and the results were less than heartening. According to the poll, con ducted by the Public Policy Re sources Laboratory here at Texas A&M, only 21 percent of the 482 respondents were in fa vor of the name change. Forty- six percent felt either name was acceptable. One-third of WTSU alumni surveyed favored the change while one-third felt ei ther name was okay. Opposi tion to the change is expected and understandable, Dana Olmstead the director of com munication services at WTSU, said. The West Texas university has changed names five times since its establishment, and there has always been some controversy, Olmstead said. "I think you just get to know a university, especially one that you've attended and care a lot about, by a certain name," she said. "When that changes, it's just hard to accept." Olmstead said when West Texas State University changed its name from West Texas State College in 1963, there was a similar reaction. "According to some of the research, there was a period of difficulty," Olmstead said. "A lot of people didn't like it. West Texas State College was their home." There has been some appre hension from Texas A&M alumni in the past over univer sities changing their names to A&M, said Penny Beaumont, vice chancellor for communica tions for the Texas A&M Uni versity System. "The Board of Regents has told institutions that the name 'Texas A&M at-' is not an alter native," Beaumont said. "I think there might be some who feel that there should only be One Texas A&M University. There is a Texas A&M at Galve ston, but it reports directly to the president of Texas A&M University; and I think there are some former students that think the only Texas A&M University should be in College Station." The objective for changing the name, Beaumont said, was to bring WTSU to its par ent university. "Those people who support the name change very much want something that reflects the linkage with the Texas A&M University System," she said. DARRIN HILL/The Battalion Annie Godwin, a senior nutritional science Wofford Cain Pool. Godwin prefers to run, but major from Houston, finishes a lap at the she swims about once a week to stay in shape. Free trade to readjust work force Job loss expected THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - His- panics in California and South Texas will reap some of the bene fits of free trade with Mexico and Canada but also stand to be dis proportionately hurt as the Amer ican work force adjusts to shifting trade patterns, a Latino think tank said Wednesday. The conclusions were drawn from two studies conducted for the Southwest \Voter Research In stitute, a non-profit Hispanic group based in San Antonio, Texas. The proposed North American Free Trade Agreement "is not as good as it's being made out to be in terms of jobs and it's not as bad as it's being made out to be," said Andrew Hernandez, the insti tute's president. The Texas study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio, projects that over five years the trade pact would result in a net gain of 1,617 jobs for Hispanics in the 37-coun- ty South Texas area. The South Texas gains would come in electronics, transporta tion, communications, public util ities and the service sectors, said Avelardo Valdez, one of the study's authors. South Texas job losses will be experienced in agriculture, trade and the apparel and textile sec tors, Valdez said. Valdez' study finds that His panics will have less access than Anglos to new jobs created by in creased trade with Mexico, with on average 1.23 jobs going to an Anglo for every job created for a Latino. "Disproportionately, Mexican- Americans will lose more jobs than non Mexican-Americans," Valdez said. Battle for the bench Incumbent faces re-election By MELODY DUNNE Assistant City Editor for THE BATTALION After two terms on the bench. Democrat John Delaney is facing his first contested election for judge of Brazos County's 272nd District Court. Bryan attorney John Hawtrey is running as a Re publican against Delaney in the November election. Delaney said he hopes voters will look at his record instead of his political party. About one-third of the voters on the A&M cam pus voted straight-ticket in the last election. De laney said straight-ticket voters show poor judg ment. "I think all of them are making a mistake," De laney said. "They could crush some of us. A vote is just too precious to waste or to cast in the blind." The best way to decide on a candidate is to look at their past record, Delaney said. "Hopefully voters are informed on all the races," he said. "I'm confident if they study the record, they will choose the right person." Delaney said he enjoys his job — especially help ing people escape the stress linked to court cases. "Unresolved conflicts create recurring pain," he said. "The faster the case is over, the faster the peo ple can get on with their lives." During his eight years on the bench, Delaney said he introduced a computer-assist ed case manage ment system and telephone hear ings, innovations that reduced the civil case backlog by more than half. "Lawyers from Houston, Austin, Dallas and other places can opt for a telephone hearing to save time and money," he said. Delaney has also used a tape recorder in place of a court reporter, which he said saves Brazos County about $31,000 a year, speeds up appeals and re duces the risk of trial reversals due to incomplete trial records. Judge John Delaney of the 272nd District Court Lawyer seeks seat in court By TANYA SASSER Staff writer of THE BATTALION Republican lawyer John Hawtrey will oppose two-term Democratic incumbent John Delaney for Bryan's 272nd District Court bench position in No vember. Hawtrey is running for judge because he feels he has something to offer the people of Brazos County. Hawtrey has tried cases in about one-third of the state's counties and in all of the state's federal districts, he said. He has had the experience of appearing before the United States Supreme Court. Hawtrey said although he is staring out at a disadvantage by running against an incumbent, he is more qualified based on the variety of experi ence he possesses. "I think I am much more qualified based on tri al experience," Hawtrey said. "To have a wide va riety of lawyers appear before you is not the same as appearing before a wide variety of judges." Hawtrey has his own ideas about the role of a judge. He favors tradition in the courtroom. He likes to "play by the rules" and opposes dras tic change. "1 decided to run against Judge Delaney because I didn't agree with his judicial philos ophy," he said. "He's what we judges call a judi cial activist. He tries to do innova tive procedures that I don't much care for." As judge, Hawtrey sees his job as the admin istration of rules that already exist, not to change them. "Those of us who administer the system shouldn't experiment with it," he said. "We shouldn't be making our own rules. We should be the first ones to follow the rules." John Hawtrey, candidate forjudge of the 272nd District Court