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Vol. 92 No. 25 (8 pages)
‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893’
Friday, October 2, 1992
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DALLAS — Ross Perot
plunged belatedly into the presi
dential race on Thursday, setting
the stage for a three-way, month
long struggle with President Bush
and Bill Clinton. “Government is
a mess," he said, and vowed to re
pair it.
The Texas billionaire said he
was joining the race because “nei
ther political party has effectively
addressed" economic and other
concerns that are on the minds of
the voters. “We gave them a
chance; they didn't do it," he said
of his rivals.
He made his remarks at a news
conference 11 weeks to the day af
ter he announced he would not
run. He said at that time he be
lieved he could not win and did
not want to be a disruptive influ
ence on the campaign.
He didn't address the likeli
hood of victory in his announce
ment speech before family,
friends and supporters in his
home state of Texas. Instead, he
looked beyond the election,
pledging to dedicate himself to
the public opinion polls. But his
backing dwindled through a se
ries of spring controversies, and
his support now runs a distant
third to the other candidates.
Even so, his entry, coupled
with the prospect of a series of
Independent supporters
ready for Texas campaign
"Our people are good; the Ameri
can people are good, but their gov
ernment is a mess."
- Ross Perot
solving the nation's problems and
rallying the public to the cause.
“Looking forward, working to
gether, we can fix anything," he
said.
Perot once had support rival
ing that of Bush and Clinton in
October debates, had the effect of
injecting uncertainty to a race that
Clinton has led consistently since
July.
Perot cast his announcement as
See Candidate/Page 4
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Cody Burke (left), a freshman chemistry major from Ft. Worth, and Derek Wood, a freshman
ocean engineering major from Southlake, polish up the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross outside
the Academic Building on Thursday. Wood’s dad polished the statue when he was in the Corps of
Cadets in 1969, and Wood wants to carry on the family tradition. “It’s good bull to do things for the
school before a home game because it shows our school spirit to visitors. It shows our respect for
tradition.”
By REAGON CLAMON
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Perot supporters in Brazos and surrounding
counties are geared up and ready to go following
Ross Perot's announcement that he will re-enter the
presidential race.
Lou Zaeske, coordinator of the movement in cen
tral Texas that helped get Perot on the ballot, said the
Perot supporters that had contacted him since the
announcement are "enthused and want to know
what they can do to help."
Zaeske is the chairman of the Independent Texan
Network, a group of volunteers that support inde
pendent candidates. He said the network would be
gin mobilizing soon with the goal of getting as many
votes for Perot as possible.
The network will begin a state-wide direct mail
campaign to the 150,000 names on its database, Za
eske said. The mail-outs are designed to convince
voters that a vote for Perot won't be wasted.
"If somebody votes for principle and conviction,
they don't waste their vote no matter how they cast
it," Zaeske said. "If we vote for Ross Perot, we'll be
sending a very clear message to the two parties."
Zaeske isn't bothered by the possibility of Perot
supporters only swaying a close race to one candi
date or the other.
"I for one don't care for Bush or Clinton," he said.
"It's unbelievable how many people agree that if you
add up all the pluses and minuses for Clinton and
Bush, you don't come out with a dime's worth of dif
ference between the two."
Zaeske said he and many supporters felt "be
trayed" by Perot's "political blunder" on July 16 -
when he withdrew from the race, saying he didn't
want to be a "disruptive candidate" - but his reasons
for originally supporting Perot haven't changed.
"We want to be disruptive," Zaeske said. "We
don't care if it goes to the House of Representatives.
Those congressmen are our elected officials and we
want to hold their feet to the fire."
Many of the common complaints that supporters
had during the petition drive were addressed during
Perot's speech on Thursday, Zaeske said. He faxed
some of those complaints to Perot's headquarters in
Dallas on Wednesday.
The memo stated that Ross Perot should stop say
ing "if the volunteers want me to run" because his
name has already been put on the ballot in all 50
states.
"The operative word should not have been 'if,'"
Zaeske said. "The operative word is 'since' they
want me to run. The volunteers have already spo
ken."
According to the memo, Texas law does not allow
Perot's name to be removed from the ballot once it's
on, so the decision "is already out of Perot's hands."
"Many of us in Texas are going to vote for Ross
Perot regardless of what he does," Zaeske said.
"We are fed up with the Democratic and Republican
blame game . . . we want to shake the bush and see
what comes out of it."
Candidates discuss
issues via satellite
Aggie Democrats sponsor Clinton, Gore telecast in MSC
By CHERYL HELLER
Reporter of THE BATTALION
More than 90 Texas A&M stu
dents gathered in the Memorial
Student Center last night to watch
Gov. Bill Clin
ton and Sen.
A1 Gore dis
cuss issues of
the upcoming
election during
a nationally
simulcasted
young peo
ple's forum.
The pro
gram, which Clinton
was co-hosted
by Rock the Vote, a non-partisan
organization registering young
voters, and "Rockline," a national
ly-syndicated FM call-in show,
was broadcast to over 150 stations
around the country via satellite
feed.
"We wanted a chance to bring
the candidates to the students and
give them a chance to see the is
sues for themselves," said Patrick
Gendron, president of the Aggie
Democrats.
Gendron, a junior political sci
ence major, believes that students
need to get involved with the elec
tion regardless of the side they are
on.
"It doesn't matter how the stu-
Gore
dents are going to vote in the elec
tion," Gendron said. "They need
to look closely at the issues and
learn what's going on."
During the broadcast, Clinton
and Gore discussed election is
sues, including
environmental
concerns, revi
talizing inner
cities, rebuild
ing respect for
laws and regu
lations and cre
ating new
high-tech jobs.
They also dis
cussed nation
al problems,
such as the lack of capital for re
search and development and the
issue of aerospace carriers cur
rently being built in Japan.
"The broadcast was very im
promptu," said Greg Denby, a se
nior civil engineering major.
"Clinton and Gore discussed is
sues that are important to the
American people and what the
Democratic Party wants for Amer
ica. They talked to college stu
dents and answered questions
about what they want to know."
The Aggie Democrats attempt
ed to call in questions during the
broadcast but were unable to get
through.
"I'm not surprised that we
weren't able to call in," Gendron
said. "With about 150 colleges
tuning in to the broadcast, there
wasn't a good chance that we'd be
one of the dozen or so calls that
were taken."
After the broadcast, Gendron
spoke to the gathered students
about the ways they could get in
volved with the issues, and stu
dents were given the opportunity
to register to vote.
"I was really pleased with the
turnout," Gendron said. "We
found out about the broadcast
Wednesday afternoon, and I'm
amazed at the amount of people
we were able to reach in just a
day's time. I think this shows how
much the students really care
about doing something for our
country."
Former A&M boxing adviser awaits trial
University of Nebraska-Lincoln police arrest associate professor on sexual assault charge
By GARY P. CARROLL
City EditorofTHE BATTALION
Clifford Walton, a Texas A&M
former student and former advis
er of the A&M Boxing Club, re
signed as associate professor at
the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln after being charged with the
sexual assault of a member of the
UNL boxing club.
Walton, who received his Ph.D.
in chemical engineering from
Texas A&M in 1987, was arrested
in his UNL office on Sept. 22 and
arraigned Sept. 30 on charges of
third-degree sexual assault.
A member of the UNL boxing
club claimed he was sexually as
saulted by Walton, who was the
boxing club adviser, following a
private boxing lesson at Walton's
home Sept 10.
Walton gave the student a box
ing lesson, and following the les
son, asked the student to disrobe
so he could weigh him. After the
weighing, Walton told the stu
dent he was going to massage
him, and assured the student it
was "a normal thing because of
tight muscles," according to re
ports in the Daily Nebraskan.
The student told his parents
and UNL police that after the
massage he felt uncomfortable,
and that Walton had massaged
him "in an inappropriate manner
and areas."
UNL police arrested Walton
and charged him with third-de
gree sexual assault. In Nebraska,
third-degree sexual assault carries
a punishment of up to $1,000 and
one year imprisonment. Walton's
court date is scheduled for Oct.19.
Walton would not answer
questions, and his attorney was
unavailable for comment.
Walton left the A&M boxing
club in 1987 amid allegations of
the same sort.
Jimmy Area, Class of '87 and
former A&M boxing club presi
dent, said he asked Walton to re
sign his position after several box
ing club members complained of
Walton's behavior.
"I'd heard of (Walton's behav
ior) before, but I thought it was
over with and I wasn't going to
have to deal with it," Area said.
But following a boxing match
in early 1987, some boxing club
members spoke with Area and
other club members about Wal
ton.
"These guys had a party after
Fight Night . . . and they started
talking and they said, 'there's
some shit goin' on,' (with Walton),
and that's when I said it's gonna
stop now," Area said.
Area called the officers of the
boxing club together and told
them he was going to ask Walton
to resign his position with the
boxing club.
He said Walton told him he
would quit on one condition: that
if the club needed him back, they
would ask him.
"I said fine, but I had no inten
tion of doing that," Area said. "I
would have folded the club up
and gotten rid of it as opposed to
asking him back."
Area reported the incident to
Paula Opal, sports club director in
A&M's Recreational Sports De
partment.
"She was shocked; she
couldn't believe it," Area said.
"I told her I'd take over in the
interim until we could get a re
placement, and they ended up
asking me to stay."
Opal would not comment on
the incident but did say that no
formal charges were ever brought
against Walton, and there are no
records regarding the incident.
She refused to confirm or deny
whether she talked with Area five
years ago.
"I'm not going to comment on
anything," Opal said. "Any infor
mation I would have would be
unverifiable because nothing is
written down."
Area claimed Opal called the
University of Nebraska in 1987
and told officials there about Wal
ton's activities at A&M.
Opal would not say whether or
not she called Nebraska, and reit
erated that because officially there
was no incidence of any wrongdo
ing regarding Clifford Walton five
years ago, she could not comment.
"I never heard of that (phone
call) and I really can't comment on
this right now," said Eric Jolly, di-
See Walton/Page 4
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GAMEDAY
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Look for it Saturday, Oct 3