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The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 40 (12 pages)
‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893’
Friday, October 23, 1992
Tech Greeks
insult Blacks
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUBBOCK — Black students at
exas Tech University say an
[apology by a fraternity for a party
that reportedly included members
dressed in racially offensive cos
tumes won't be enough.
The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity
party reportedly included two
white members posing as blacks
kneeling at the feet of another
partygoer dressed as a Ku Klux
Klan Grand Dragon.
"They (the fraternity) crossed
the border and went totally hay
wire. An apology is not enough
this time. We want more/' said
Sonya Myles, Texas Tech's 1992
homecoming queen and president
of black sorority Alpha Kappa Al
pha.
Myles said the fraternity and
the Fashion Board, which in
cludes some students studying
fashion design, held a party Oct.
9.
Myles, who said she has seen
photographs of the episode, said
the group ridiculed blacks by pre
tending to have large lips, wear
ing Afro wigs and painting their
faces black.
Myles said she filed a com
plaint with the Dean of Students
office on Oct. 15, the day after she
was told of the party.
a photograph that had a pic-
of a KKK member with two
"I went to Party Time Photos
and saw pictures of people run
ning around with Afro wigs and
having the physical appearance of
blacks," she told the Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal. "There also
was a
ture
whites who were dressed as
blacks at his feet.
"It was totally atrocious."
Myles said Hispanics por
trayed as gang members were
also among the photos.
Pi Kappa Alpha president
Todd Ross refused comment on
the alleged incident, the newspa
per reported. No one answered
phones at the Pi Kappa Alpha of
fice Thursday.
In a prepared statement, Ross
said that two members were
thought to be dressed in a manner
offensive to minorities and were
asked to leave.
The fraternity, the statement
said, "does not participate in, pro
mote or condone behavior that
discriminates against minorities."
"The Epsilon Gamma chapter
of Pi Kappa Alpha has taken mea
sures to ensure the same kind of
behavior does not recur," the
statement said. "The chapter and
its members sincerely regret that
the incident occurred and otter
See Greeks/Page 12
ROBERT J. REED/The Battalion
Head stack red pot, Steven Owen and the other senior red pots unload the bonfire center pole from the truck at the stack site
Thursday afternoon. Center pole will be raised next Thursday afternoon.
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Koldus hopeful sanctions produce campus awareness
By GINA HOWARD
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Texas A&M administrators ap-
‘ proved sanctions imposed by the
i Interfraternity Council last week
| for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fra-
| ternity.
The sanctions were set against
j the A&M chapter of SAE after it
f was found guilty of violating uni-
! versity rules by hosting a "jungle"
party where pledges wore black
I paint and grass skirts and were al
legedly pursued by fraternity
members in fatigues.
Dr. John Koldus, vice president
for student services, approved the
sanctions and said the event has
increased the University's resolve
to work to create a campus envi
ronment that is culturally aware
and sensitive to the feelings of all
its members.
"I think it's important that all
of us use this as a learning experi
ence," Koldus said.
The sanctions included disci
plinary probation for two years,
administrative evaluation of the
fraternity's programs and a $1,000
fine that will be applied to cultur
al sensitivity programs for A&M.
Koldus said that much consid
eration will go into the decision of
how the fine money is spent, and
most likely, it will be used to help
fund many different projects.
"We are going to do a lot of
thinking about how to appropri
ate the money," he said. "I don't
think one single program will be a
cure-all. We're thinking about a
variety of programs."
There are a wide variety of
programs and opportunities al
ready on campus for understand
ing and multiculturalism and ef
forts by these groups will contin
ue in the future, Koldus said.
"The key to all of this is educa
tion, the sanctions are only part of
the solution," he said. "A lot of
the responsibility rests with the
leaders of the institution. We sim
ply have to do more things to
make people more aware."
"The key to all of this is education,
the sanctions are only part of the
solution. A lot of the responsibility
rests with the leaders of the
institution."
-Dr. John Koldus, vice president for
student services
Early voting ends October 30
Early voting for Nov. 3rd elec
tions is currently going on in
room 138 of the Memorial Stu
dent Center.
Anyone who is registered to
vote in Brazos County may par
ticipate. Voters should bring their
voter registration card with them.
Early voting is available Mon
day - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The early voting period extends
through Oct. 30tn.
Fraternity to carry game ball
from Waco to A&M for MDA
By WILL HEALY
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Members of Kappa Sigma Fraternity will carry the
game ball for Saturday's football game from Baylor
to Texas A&M to raise money for the Muscular Dys
trophy Association.
Fifteen bicyclists and 10 people in a caravan will
carry the ball from Baylor's Floyd Casey Stadium be
ginning at 3 a.m. Friday.
The group from Kappa Sigma will then spend the
next eight to nine hours riding down Highway 6,
carrying the ball from Waco to College Station.
Fund-raising in the towns between the two cities has
already been done, said Kindle Sanders, a senior his
tory major from El Paso who is in charge of organiz
ing the event.
Kappa Sigma will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday
to prepare to bring the ball to Kyle Field. The foot
ball will be brought into the stadium and handed
over for the game at 1:30 p.m.
Sanders said he expects the fund-raiser to raise
$200-$300 for the MDA. All the money raised will
stay in College Station to benefit Brazos Valley resi
dents who have muscular dystrophy.
"This event will raise money for MDA's vital re
search and local patient service projects," said Janice
Langlinais, program coordinator for the Brazos Val
ley MDA chapter.
Members of Kappa Sigma started the tradition of
carrying the ball from Waco six years ago.
Two years ago the benefit raised $450.
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Charity 'auction' draws
multicultural concerns
By MACK HARRISON
Reporter of THE BATTALION
A Texas A&M official said his
department encouraged organiz
ers of a charity fund-raiser to
change the format because the
department felt a date auction
might offend people.
The director of Texas A&M's
Department of Multicultural Ser
vices said date auctions might
convey the wrong image or of
fend people.
"Some people could relate it
to a slave auction," Kevin Car-
reathers said. "It might eventual
ly set a precedent for things that
might be very inappropriate and
insensitive."
The auction, held Thursday
and organized by Eppright Hall,
originally was to feature six stu
dents and University President
William Mobley. Participants
could bid for a dinner date with
the person of their choice, with
proceeds going to the United
Way.
Instead, the group sold raffle
tickets for the dinner with Mob
ley and auctioned off the din
ners. The winners of the dinners
then drew lots for their dates.
Kori Remmler, Eppright Hall
secretary, said Multicultural Ser
vices knew about the auction as
early as Sunday but did not meet
with hall representatives until
Wednesday, the night before the
auction.
"We were informed we could
change the format or postpone
the auction," Remmler said. "We
were not given the option to get
back to them.
"We didn't have time to plan
or consult," Remmler said. "It
most definitely hurt us."
Steve Huye, Residence Hall
Association delegate for Ep
pright Hall, said Gloria Flores,
coordinator of student develop
ment and multicultural pro
grams, met with a group from
the residence hall the night be
fore the auction and told them
they could either change the
fund-raiser's format or postpone
the event.
"(Flores) told us she had
heard concerns that the format of
auctioning people off could be
offensive to some people," Huye
said. "We as a group decided it
would be better to change the
format than to have conflict."
Flores was unavailable for
comment Thursday night.
Kim Kidwell, vice president
of Eppright Hall, said multicul
tural services should have
shared their misgivings with hall
officers earlier in the week.
"The main thing is they knew
about the (auction) beforehand,
but they only told us about it last
night," Kidwell said Thursday.
Elizabeth Culnan, hall trea
surer, said the new format de
tracted from the event. She said
Eppright Hall raised $221 for the
United Way, but the hall could
have raised more money if the
event had gone as originally
planned.
"(The change lent a certain
amount of confusion," Culnan
said. "People didn't understand
how the raffle would work."
Kidwell, who served on the
MSC All-Night Fair Committee,
said the auction the committee
held last spring brought in over
$800.
"We had no objections (to the
spring auction)," Kidwell said.
"It was the same format and
place. We saw no reason to
change."
Huye said if Eppright's auc
tion had gone as the planners in
tended, it would have brought in
more money.
"I think we'd have been able
See Auction/Page 5
RICARDO S. GARCLA/The Builalwn
A&M student Laci Naylor, second from left, Dwayne Purvis after being the highest bidders
Kathrin Noser and Kim Robertson receive their at the 'Dinner and Date Auction' held Thursday
dinner certficates and names of their dates from in the MSC Flagroom.