The Battalion
‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893
Thursday, October 29, 1992
A&M at Galveston replaces ship
By WILL HEALY
Reporter of THE BATTALION
The U.S.N.S. Chauvenet, a 393-
foot research ship, will be trans
ferred from the naval base at Nor
folk, Virginia to Texas A&M Uni
versity at Galveston to replace
their aging training vessel.
A&M at Galveston needs a
new training vessel, the current
training ship, Texas Clipper, will
be 50 years old next year and is
not cost effective to operate, said
Seth Goldman, a spokesman for
Bentsen.
The Texas Clipper has been
operated by A&M since 1965. It
will make its final voyage in the
summer of 1993 to Nova Scotia
and Northern Europe.
Dr. William Evans, the superin
tendent of the U.S. Maritime Ser
vice at A&M, said the Chauvenet
will be a good replacement for the
Texas Clipper.
"She was launched in 1970, can
carry about 190 people now, and
about 50 more berths can be
added without much problem,"
Evans said.
Evans said he had been looking
for ships for several years before
the Chauvenet was selected last
spring. The ship served in the
Persian Gulf War, and it's current
ly used for oceanographic re
search and mapping.
The multiple radar and geo
graphic positioning systems will
be compatible with A&M's train
ing mission, Evans said.
The Chauvenet was decommis
sioned on Oct. 1 and is now in
Norfolk, Virginia. The ship will
sail for Beaumont at the end of
this month. It will undergo an 11-
month conversion where it will
train the U.S. Maritime Service
Corps of Cadets members for ser
vice in the United States Merchant
Marines, said John Merritt, a
spokesman for A&M at Galve
ston.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the
American Bureau of Shipping
must first certify its use as a train
ing vessel.
Some research will be done on
the new vessel, but it will serve
primarily as a merchant marine
training vessel, Merritt said.
The trainees will take on most
of the responsibility of operating
the ship, including the duties of
running the ship's day to day op
erations. Merritt said the naviga
tion, repair work, and operations
of engines will be among the
trainees' responsibilities.
The Chauvenet will make its
first voyage as a training vessel in
the summer of 1994 to a location
that has not yet been decided.
U.S. Reps. Jack Fields and Jack
Brooks proposed the amendment
that gave the Chauvenet to the
Maritime Administration
(MARAD) which, in turn, trans
ferred the ship to the Texas State
Maritime Program at A&M. Sen.
Lloyd Bentsen and U.S. Reps.
Solomon Ortiz and Greg Laughlin
were among the congressmen
from Texas that supported the
measure. The Federal Govern
ment appropriated $4 million for
the Chauvenet for the cost of con
verting the surplus Navy ship
into a training vessel at the urging
of Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, Goldman
said.
MARAD will retain title to the
ship and has the right to take over
the ship in times of crisis, Merritt
said.
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Fraternity could face theft charges
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RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Kris Siegert an Omega Phi Alpha pledge, sits on a line of
money at Rudder Fountain Wednesday. The organization is
attempting to raise a mile of money for the Brazos Valley Council
on Substance Abuse. The last time they tried they raised $700.
Reporter of THE BATTALION
The Brazos County District Attorney's
Office may press charges against pledges of
the Texas A&M chapter of Kappa Alpha
fraternity for theft of decorations for an Oct. 16
"Cruise the Caribbean" theme party.
A 20-foot palm tree, a three-year-old yucca
tree and a gazebo top were reported stolen
from two homes on Wayside Drive during the
week before the party, according to Bryan
police reports.
Three barrels and 60 feet of decorative rope
were also reported stolen from Pelican's
Wharf, 2500 Texas Ave. in College Station
between Oct. 3 and Oct. 16, said Det. Pat
Massey of the College Station Police
Department.
If prosecuted, the freshman and sophomore
pledges could face at least one misdemeanor
theft charge and two felony theft charges.
Bryan detectives contacted Dr. Mike Leese,
coordinator of Greek affairs at Texas A&M
University, last Friday when they became
suspicious that the thefts involved fraternities.
"The detectives suspected that Kappa
Alpha was involved in the thefts but had no
proof until the man who had the gazebo top
stolen went to the KA house and found it
there," Leese said.
Leese said he and a Bryan detective went to
the KA house on Monday and located the
stolen items in a nearby field. Two pieces of
playground equipment and netting from a
College Station park were also found in the
field.
Bill Wiman, minister of education and
administration at First Baptist Church in
Bryan, said that two pieces of playground
equipment fitting the description of the items
in the field are missing from a construction site
behind the church, but he has not yet
identified the equipment as the stolen
property. Leese said the fraternity had planned
to make restitution to the victims and
volunteer services to make up for the thefts
but is now refraining from making restitution
until the district attorney decides whether
charges will be filed.
Interfraterhity Council (IFC) President
Jamey Webster said that although some of the
victims will be satisfied with restitution from
the fraternity, the decision lies with the district
attorney.
"It's not really their choice anymore,"
Webster said. "It all depends on how the
district attorney wants to handle it."
Kappa Alpha President Kurt Knauth said
that until Wednesday morning he felt the
situation would be resolved without charges
being filed against the fraternity.
"The district attorney has reconsidered and
I think they're going to press charges now,"
See Fraternity/Page 6
Looking To The Future
As Corps takes new direction,
doubts, attention will follow
This is the fourth article of a four-part series about the
hanges within the Corps of Cadets since the sexual
harassment controversy last fall.
By JULIE CHELKOWSKI and TODD STONE
>er
for
Reporters of THE BATTALION
No matter what new programs, controversies or
honors befall the members of the Texas A&M Corps
of Cadets - the spotlight will always follow them.
Many cadets accept that they remain the focal
point of the University. Since the Corps is the oldest
organization at A&M and the focal point of tradition,
cadets said it's natural that they get the best and
worst of publicity.
"The visibility is one of the natural corollaries for
being an entity that values honor, loyalty and
tradition," said University President Dr. William
Mobley. "Is it unfair? I don't know. It's just one of
the consequences."
Cadets said they are even more weary of their
visibility, and the consequences of one person
making a mistake since going through charges and
investigations of sexual harassment within the Corps
last fall.
"That (attention) just happens by nature because
we're in uniforms, and we stand out," said Adin
Pfeuffer, public affairs officer for the Corps. "I think
if someone takes one person's actions and
generalizes it on the whole Corps of Cadets, I think
that's ridiculous.
"The Corps is always pretty much under the
microscope," he said. "Sometimes it's tedious and
bothersome, but that's just the way the Corps is.
There's nothing you can really do about it."
Despite the problems of last fall. Corps
Commandant Maj. General Thomas Darling said he
was certain the controversy has not affected
enrollment in the Corps.
"I haven't had any one student tell me that they're
not going to join because of things last year," he said.
Improving enrollment is one of the Corps' top
priorities. Darling said. Still, enrollment within the
Corps has decreased 17 percent since 1989.
Enrollment at the beginning of the fall semester was
1,804. Fifty two students have dropped from the
Corps since.
Darling said there were many different reasons for
the three-year decline. He said two of the factors
contributing to the lower numbers were a decrease in
the freshman class at A&M and a lower demand for
people in the nation's armed forces.
Enrollment management capped off A&M's
attendance at 41,000 and reduced the freshmen class
from 7,500 in 1987 to 6,000 this year. Darling said it
made recruiting more difficult with the smaller
classes. Also, a sharp decline in the number of ROTC
contracts, scholarships and commissions has affected
the recruiting.
"Plus the idea around the country that the war is
over - communism has been defeated," Darling said.
"I think if you talk to recruiters all over the country,
they'll tell you that most young people sense there is
no need for people in the military."
Darling said he hopes eventually to increase
enrollment to 2,600 by offering new initiatives, such
as more scholarships, increased active recruitment
and more emphasis on women and minorities.
"We stand a chance of turning this around next
year if we can get the initiatives approved," he said.
Along with the decreasing number of cadets going
into the military, the Corps is redirecting its purpose
and goals to satisfy the changing needs of its
members.
When Darling came to the University in 1987, he
said about 50 percent of cadets were commissioned
in the armed forces. Now it has dropped to about 35
percent who are pursuing a commission, and 65
percent seeking non-military careers.
Dr. Kenneth Dirks, co-chairman of the fact-finding
panel that investigated the Corps, said, "The
program at the Corps is designed to emphasize
academics — but with that leadership and what it
means to lead, not only in a military context, but in
any aspect of human endeavor."
Darling said the future of Corps is heading in a
new direction with a focus on leadership. He said
the Corps is trying to appeal to more than just people
who will be entering the military.
"We hope to develop a program that the Corps
will continue to have strong appeal to a lot of
students; ' he said.
"The idea is that we want to prepare them to be
leaders in whatever field they go into," Darling said.
"The idea is to develop a leadership program that
will be just as good or better than that of
commissioned students. Leadership classes we've
started this fall is just a start — we want to expand
that. That's the direction we're headed."
But some cadets have not embraced the changes,
and said since the controversy last fall, they have
been inundated with senseless rules and guidelines.
"They're over-emphasizing policies and
procedures instead of instilling a sense of right and
wrong," said a fifth-year senior who completed his
four years with the Corps and asked to remain
anonymous. "That's what it was all about. It was
about hard work and character. They de-emphasized
teaching important things in life."
Mobley said it comes down to a person making a
choice of whether staying with an organization is
worth the ups and downs.
"You get a lot of rewards, but you also have a lot
of rules," Mobley said. "A lot of things you can't do
that other students can do. Every student has to
decide is this a net positive in terms of what your
expectations are."
Other cadets argue that the Corps is diminishing
quality by changing policies to avoid the
controversies of last fall.
"I think it's losing a lot of its effect," said a senior
male cadet who asked to remain anonymous.
"There's no way it can be the same, but from what
I've seen, it has really been downgraded. It's not
producing the quality of leader that it used to.
See Corps/Page 6
Junior Yell Leader Steve Scanlon is carried off
Kyle Field by freshmen in the Corps after the
ROBERT]. REED/The Battalion
Aggies beat the hell outta Baylor last Saturday.
The freshmen carried Scanlon to the fish pond.
Committee hosts'Day of the Dead'
By TANYA WILLIAMS
Reporter of THE BATTALION
The Committee for the Awareness of Mexican-
American Culture (CAMAC) invites students to ex
perience a unique opportunity to celebrate Dia de
los Muertos, "The Day of the Dead."
Though Dia de los Muertos is actually celebrated
on Nov. 2, CAMAC is having their celebration
tonight, Oct. 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in rooms 110
and 111 of the Student Services Building. Admis
sion is free.
The purpose of the event is to "allow the spirits
and the souls" of those who have died to rest in
peace.
CAMAC will present Margarita Tagle-Greenless
as the guest speaker for their celebration. Tagle-
Greenless is a graduate of Texas A&I University and
will begin her graduate studies at Texas A&M Uni
versity in the spring. She is knowledgeable in mid
wifery, anthropology and folklore.
CAMAC promotes campus awareness regarding
the Mexican-American culture. The organization
provides student development programs, tutorial
assistance to grade-school students, and allows oth
ers to learn about the Mexican-American culture.