A Z J ^ L
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The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 49 (10 pages) “Serving Texas A&M Since 1893” Thursday, November 5, 1992
Cisneros heads A&M students respond to election
appointee lists
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO - Former
San Antonio Mayor Henry Cis
neros led the list of Texas names
floating around Wednesday as
possible appointees in President
elect Bill Clinton's administration.
"Henry Cisneros — that seems
to be everybody's top name," said
Dallas attorney, novelist and Clin
ton campaign fundraiser Paul
Coggins. "I've always thought in
many senses Henry would rather
be in an appointive position rather
than an elective one."
Coggins said Cisneros has been
mentioned most as Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development
or Transportation.
Another Clinton campaign offi
cial in Texas, media director Craig
Sutherland, said he has heard Cis
neros mentioned possibly as Sec
retary of Education as well as
HUD.
"He's got a strong background
working in urban areas. That in
cludes education and housing and
urban development," Sutherland
said.
Cisneros, who now runs a pri
vate asset management company
in San Antonio, resigned his seat
on the Federal Reserve Bank
Board in Dallas earlier this year to
become a senior adviser to the
Clinton campaign.
Cisneros was in Little Rock,
Ark., Wednesday and not immedi
ately available for comment, his
office said. He has said he did not
get involved in the campaign to
secure an administration position.
but would not rule out accepting
an appointment.
Campaign officials point out
that their speculation is just that
— speculation. In the next several
weeks the Clinton administration
will start to take shape.
"I don't think there's anybody
out there that's any surprise,"
Sutherland said. "Your Henry Cis
neros, your Garry Mauro, I'm sure
are going to be under considera
tion."
Mauro, Texas Land Commis
sioner, headed Clinton's campaign
in Texas and is also often men
tioned as a possible Clinton ap
pointee. He also was en route
from Little Rock Wednesday and
not immediately available for
comment.
Meanwhile, Coggins said that
in the final days of the campaign
he was asked to prepare a resume
for the new administration.
"If there's a position that seems
like a good fit. I'd be interested,"
Coggins said, adding that he
would consider posts in the Jus
tice Department or the Office of
General Counsel.
ANAS BEN-MUSA/The Battalion
World reacts to U.S.
presidential results
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
They stopped doing deals on the Manila exchange. They quit argu
ing at a political congress in Zaire and listened to bulletins from Ameri
ca. In the new Ukraine, they tuned in to see how an old democracy
works. The world's millions watched the United States remake its polit
ical face overnight and pinned a lot of hope Wednesday on a youthful
U.S. president-elect.
"Youth is progress," concluded Ukraine's prime minister, Leonid
Kuchma.
Bill Clinton, 46, could have gotten a morning-after preview of the
kind of global headaches that await him: While worn-out Democrats
slept late in Little Rock, U.S. envoys were taking steps in Geneva to slap
punitive tariffs on European farm goods. In Asia, where traders on the
Philippine exchange put down their order sheets to watch U.S. returns
on television, stocks rose. In Europe, stock indexes held steady and the
dollar's value was mixed.
"The revitalization of the American economy is important not only
for the United States alone but also for Japan and for the whole world,"
said Japanese Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe.
Watanabe cautioned at a political rally Tuesday that the Democrats
would "apply the brakes to Japan's selling products cheaply." A vital
America "will have an importance far beyond the country's own bor
der," said Denmark's Conservative prime minister, German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl's congratulatory message struck a more down-to-earth
tone, reminding Clinton of major tasks ahead: "Our hopes for a more
peaceful world and for the carrying out of human rights, democracy
and a market economy everywhere in Europe still have not been ful
filled."
By JULIE CHELKOWSKI
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Now that the 1992 presidential election is
over, some Texas A&M students expressed
their views on the outcome and their concerns
for the future of the country.
Some students said they were
relieved that the race was over,
but disappointed with the re
suit.
Henry Hewes, a freshman
general studies major, said
the American people were
fooled.
"I think we're in trouble," _ ,
he said. "I think the American
people have been fooled by
Bill Clinton. He (Clinton) is not 'v
going to be able to fix it (economy)
anyway. I think he's Mowin' a lot of ^***r»,
smoke — I don't trust him. I don't think
he knows anything about the White House."
But Jeff Pollard, a junior from Orange, said
the United States is ready for a change and
electing Clinton is "a step in the right direc
tion."
He said it was time for a change in leader
ship and Clinton offers a fresh start. Pollard
also said having a Democratic president, as
well as a Democratic congress will help get
things accomplished.
"A lot of people thought that there was a
good balance with a Republican president and
Democratic congress," he said. "Now, there
will probably be more cooperation."
Still, other students said they were unsure
of what was in the future as Clinton leads the
way.
Albert Castro, a senior from Houston, said
he is afraid of people testing Clinton's weak
nesses, such as foreign affairs.
"I don't think he's a good role model (for
foreign affairs)," he said. "I wouldn't be sur
prised if something was to happen in the Mid
dle East just to see how Clinton would re
spond."
Maura Cutshall, a senior English ma
jor, said the key to a successful presi
dency is for America to stick to
gether and it's Clinton's respon
sibility to see that it is accom
plished. "It (the race) was very
combative," she said. "I hope
they stick together. The
whole election was dividing.
Now he's (Clinton) going to
have to try to pull some pieces
together.
"I think there's going to be an
effort to try to pull it all together,
but I don't think it's going to happen
completely. That's just the way Ameri
can politics goes, especially after the rhetoric of
this campaign He's going to have to make a
sincere effort to get anything accomplished."
Some students said George Bush's loss can
be attributed to the way he organized his cam
paign,
"I think a lot of it had to do with how he
(Bush) ran his campaign," Maura Cutshall, a
senior English major, said. "He ran a very
negative campaign, I don't think people took
to that very well."
Mark Neitzey, a senior from Kingwood,
said Bush was hurt by not following on the
same campaign path as Clinton did until it
was too late.
"He didn't start going on talk shows until
the end," he said. "He kind of jumped on the
bandwagon. He should have started beating
Clinton at his own game, but he just waited
too long."
Texas billionaire Ross Perot, presented an
unusual challenge this election year compared
to past presidential races, collecting 19 per
cent of the popular vote - more than any other
independent candidate in history.
Many students said they were pleased with
Perot's presence and thought he kept Clinton
and Bush on track.
"I think it made the other two candidates
work harder," Pollard said. "They couldn't
take for granted that they had the undivided
attention of the American people."
Cutshall agreed and said that Perot's ideal
ism added something to the campaign that
Americans wanted to see.
"I didn't object to him being in there — he
put the election on a pathway where the candi
dates started sticking to the issues more," she
said. "He represented a par* of American soci
ety that I think will become a growing force
now. I think he grabbed a lot of people who
are going to stay with it (Perot's idealism) — I
think it may become a growing force."
Neitzey, who thought votes cast for Perot
took away from Bush, also said that Perot
served as a positive influence in the campaign.
"I think he might have hurt Bush, but he
brought a lot of issues out," he said. "It was
almost like he wasn't going to win, but he was
just doing it for his country so everyone would
be more aware."
But some people, such as Castro, objected to
the competition Perot offered because he offset
the results.
"I don't like the fact that there were three in
the race," Castro said. "I think had Perot
stayed out of the race, I don't think Clinton
would have been elected president. I don't
think people really wanted Clinton in there,
they mainly wanted change."
Perot aides study possible third party
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Some of Ross
Perot's campaign aides said
Wednesday that the 19 million
Americans
who voted
for him could
form a third
political party
if President
elect Clinton
fails to revive
the economy
and cut the
deficit.
"The basis
for a third
party is there
if the group wishes to pursue
that as an ultimate end. I think
it's worth a lot of considera
tion," said Orson Swindle, exec
utive director of Perot's volun
teer organization. United We
Stand, America.
But experts on third parties
and even some Perot associates
said that the success of Clin
ton's presidency would deter
mine whether United We Stand
will be a potent political force.
And Perot's own future role
remained unclear.
The organization will remain
active to promote the Texas bil
lionaire's proposals for deficit
reduction and economic revival.
Swindle said.
The group might even form a
political action committee to
contribute to congressional can
didates, aides said, even though
Perot constantly denounced
these committees during the
campaign as the tool of special
interests.
But neither Swindle nor oth
er aides could specify how Per
ot would work to keep his is
sues before the American public
or whether he would consider
running again in 1996.
"We've got so many bridges
to cross before we get there,"
Swindle told the campaign's fi
nal briefing for reporters. Still,
"Ross Perot has got a great fol
lowing. Somebody believes in
him enough to invest in a few
bumper stickers."
Perot held up one of the
stickers, which read: "Perot in
'96," during his election night
party at a North Dallas hotel.
But Perot, who made no pub
lic appearance Wednesday, was
typically ambiguous about his
political future:
"If by 1996, every place I go,
the only thing I can find is
America-made cars to put on
that bumper, well they've
cleaned out the barn, right?"
Nevertheless, comparing his
candidacy to a grain of sand
around which an oyster forms a
pearl, he told supporters, "We
will continue to work together
to make pearls if necessary in
the future, fair enough?"
Swindle said he expected
Perot, who spent more than $60
million of his own money on
the campaign, to finance United
We Stand until it became self-
supporting.
But experts were less confi
dent of the organization's fu
ture.
"Basically third parties tend
to evaporate to the extent their
issues are appropriated by the
major parties," said Walter
Dean Burnham, a government
professor at the University of
Texas. "Third parties are a sign
that . . . there is a real problem.
If that problem can be removed,
. . . then the forces that hold . . .
(the party) together tend to
evaporate."
Alan Brinkley, a Columbia
University historian who has
studied third parties, said, "I
don't think you can build a po
litical movement around deficit
reduction" because "that's what
everybody wants to do."
But Swindle and Clay Mul-
ford, Perot's son-in-law and
campaign general counsel, were
skeptical that Clinton would
succeed.
"I am a little bit pessimistic
that the deficit will be im
proved," Mulford said, predict
ing Clinton would increase gov
ernment spending to stimulate
the economy — a traditional
strategy of Democratic presi
dents.
"We are fearful that when he
does that he will not build up
an economic base, and the coun
try will just increase consump
tion and that will simply in
crease the debt," Mulford said.
Swindle added, "One of my
greatest fears is that the philoso
phy of the Democratic Party
will overburden Gov. Clinton so
that he cannot do some of the
things that he is talking about.
I hope he is sincere in saying
he wants to spur on entrepre
neurship and the private sec
tor."
But Hays Kirby, a close asso
ciate of Perot, acknowledged
that the movement would dissi
pate if Clinton cut the deficit.
"I don't see a basis where
United We Stand lives if Ameri
can politics become credible,"
Kirby said. "What does it ap
peal do?"
"We never intended to estab
lish a third party. There was
never a plan to establish a third
party."
Perot
Polls draw record number of Texans
Percentage turnout for presidential election largest in state since 1968
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sour economy and a third-party candidate
sent Texans to the polls in record numbers
Tuesday, making the percentage turnout for
this year's presidential election the highest in
the state since 1968, preliminary records show.
"Texas has been hurt by this triple-dip reces
sion, and a lot of jobs, particularly in the de
fense industry, have been threatened or lost,"
said University of North Texas political scien
tist Frank Feigert, who specializes in voting be
havior.
"There were a number of salient issues,
specifically the economy. (Voters) wanted to
send a message."
On Tuesday, 71.9 percent of registered voters
— 6,069,986 of 8,440,143 registered voters —
cast ballots, according to preliminary numbers
from the secretary of state's office in Austin.
In 1968, some 75.6 percent of Texas regis
tered voters cast ballots in the battle between
Republican Richard Nixon, Democrat Hubert
Humphrey and third-party candidate George
Wallace.
That compares with 66.2 percent of regis
tered Texans casting ballots in 1988 and 68.3
percent in 1984.
Political analysts aren't rejoicing yet over the
new numbers.
"We have to put those numbers in perspec
tive. The percentage of unregistered voters is
still appallingly high," Feigert said.
Texas billionaire Ross Perot generally has
been credited with drawing into the political
process large numbers of people who had ei
ther "dropped out" of politics or had never
"Texas has been hurt by this
triple dip recession, and a lot
of jobs, particularly in the
defense industry, have been
threatened or lost."
-University of North Texas
political scientist Frank Feigert
registered to vote at all.
"He definitely made an impact here in Tar
rant County," said county election administra
tor Robert Parton. "A lot of people got excited
who would have otherwise ignored the entire
election."
Harris County Clerk Anita Rodeheaver of
fered a different explanation.
"Two of the presidential candidates were
from Texas, and the other was a neighbor," she
said. "People like to vote for one of their own."
Texas' "no excuses" early voting process
also allowed more than 2 million Texans to
avoid long lines on election day.
Preliminary reports from the secretary of
state's office show four of Texas' five largest
counties topped the 70 percent margin, while
only two, Travis and Tarrant had accomplished
that in 1984 and 1988.
Economically hard-hit Tarrant led the pack
with a turnout of 78.94 percent, followed by
Travis, home of the University of Texas, at
78.25 percent, Dallas at 75.02 and Bexar at
71.01.
Harris County trailed the large counties
with a turnout of about 68.56 percent, early fig
ures show.
It's still too early to determine minority vot
er turnout.
However, the Southwest Voter Research In
stitute in San Antonio, which tracks Hispanic
voting, is projecting 60 percent turnout among
registered Hispanic voters in Texas.
That compares with 53 percent participation
in 1988, said Andrew Hernandez of the insti
tute.
About 56 percent of registered black voters
in Dallas County cast ballots Tuesday, accord
ing to projections by the staff of newly elected
U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson.
That compares with 50-52 percent participa
tion in 1988, the staff said.
Both groups credited aggressive voter regis
tration efforts to the increased participation.
United Way gets
society donation
By CHERYL HELLER
Reporter of THE BATTALTON
Texas A&M University's Order of Omega, a national honor soci
ety representing the University's various Greek organizations, pre
sented $5,000 to the Brazos County United Way Plus campaign in a
ceremony last Friday.
. Representatives of the various sororities and fraternities and Stu
dent Body President Steve Beller presented the check jointly to Texas
A&M University President Dr. William H. Mobley, and Brazos Coun
ty campaign chairman, and Dr. J. Malon Southerland, associate vice
president for student affairs and campus United Way campaign
chairman.
The money for the campaign contribution was collected during
Greek Week, when all of the University's Greek-letter organizations
raised money through donations and fundraisers, said Order of
Omega Presiaent Ken Monk.
Monk said that the donation was made possible through the joint
efforts of all Greeks on campus, and that Order of Omega hopes to
contribute more to the campaign in the future.
To date, Texas A&M's Greek groups have raised more than half of
the student body's $10,000 goal in the 1992 United Way Plus cam
paign. Sixty-six percent of the University's $110,000 goal has been
raised, bringing the University's total contributions to $75,606.22.
The University's United Way Plus campaign includes donations
for United Way as well as the American Cancer Society, the Brazos
Valley Children's Foundation, the American Heart Association, the
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the American Diabetes
Association, Junction Five-0-Five, Elder Aid and the Health for All
Clinic.