The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 53 (8 pages)
‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893’
Wednesday, November 11,1992
Bonfire ’92
Police finish
preparation
for bonfire
By GINA HOWARD
Reporter of THE BATTALION
With Texas Aggie Bonfire less
than two weeks away, officials
from the College Station Police
Department are putting the final
touches on plans to keep specta
tors and traffic under control
during the event.
Officers mulled over several
options before deciding on the
final game plan for Nov. 24, said
Maj. Mason Newton, College
Station police coordinator for
bonfire night.
"We anticipate that the event
will be a problem, so we just had
to decide exactly which of our
options we would go with,"
Newton said.
Newton said the department
had several options in dealing
with this year's bonfire: to "do
absolutely nothing," to set up
monitored pedestrian crossings
on Texas Avenue and University
Drive, to block off the major
roadways or to rely heavily on
motorcycle officers and try to
keep the traffic moving.
"The first was not really a
good choice," he said. "We de
cided to go with using motorcy
cle officers and helping pedestri
ans cross legally with the lights."
In addition to the increased
officers on the road, a command
post will be set up west of South
College Avenue as a remote
booking site for bonfire night of
fenders.
"We are going to be taking a
pro-P.I. (public intoxication)
stance," Newton said. "Instead
of just trying to find people
rides, we will be making arrests
and issuing citations."
Police will be too busy that
night to try to find rides for all of
the drunks, he said.
Newton said he anticipates
that car accidents could be a real
problem due to the heavily con
gested roads that are expected.
In order to keep cars moving
on bonfire night, officers will be
RICHARD S. JAMES/lhe Battalion
Bonfire’s new site on the polo fields will create first-time
problems for Eastgate businesses and traffic.
handing out Department of Safe
ty accident report forms to dri
vers involved in minor acci
dents.
"We will not be working the
minor accidents, but simply
handing out 'blue forms' and
telling them to get in touch with
their insurance companies,"
Newton said. "Major accidents
we will work as usual."
One specific area the depart
ment will target is the Northgate
area, where six officers will pa
trol, issuing citations and mak
ing arrests.
The overflow of revelers from
the Dixie Chicken and Dud-
dley's Draw in Northgate has in
the past created a serious traffic
problem on University Drive,
Newton said.
"Hopefully the crowd will not
overflow, but if it does we will
be issuing Class B misde
meanors," ne said. "It's a dan
gerous situation, and someone is
going to get killed."
Businesses located in the East-
gate area will have, for the first
time, the problem of dealing
with bonfire spectators in and
around the area.
To help businesses, the police
department has sent out letters
and copies of the law concerning
the towing of cars parked illegal
ly in the businesses' lots, New
ton said.
"We invited any interested
businesses in the area to attend a
meeting detailing parking laws
and what rights they have so
they will be better able to deal
with the situation."
Bosnian factions sign
unconditional cease-fire
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnia's war
ring factions signed an unconditional cease-fire cov
ering the entire republic Tuesday, but it was uncer
tain whether all had the will or means to end months
of bloodletting.
Also Tuesday, the Red Cross evacuated about a
third of the estimated 6,000 people — Muslims,
Croats and Serbs — who have been trying to aban
don Sarajevo.
The agreement on a Bosnian cease-fire, which was
to go into effect at midnight Wednesday, was reached
during negotiations among military commanders
who have been meeting for two weeks at the Saraje
vo airport on a plan to demilitarize the capital.
Several longterm trends argue for an end to the
fighting in Bosnia. These include the approach of
winter, increasing economic problems and diplomat
ic isolation in Serbia, and the military losses and lack
of supplies and food on the Muslim side.
However, dozens of truces have failed in Bosnia in
the past — many within hours — because top com
manders lack control over fighters in the field.
At least 14,000 people have been killed in the
fighting, which started when Serbs rebelled after
Muslims and Croats voted for independence on Feb.
29. Serbs, who made up about a third of the repub
lic's prewar population, have captured about 70 per
cent of Bosnia.
Monday's agreement "has been signed by the
Serbs, Muslims and U.N. representatives, together
with the Croatian Defense Council," said Serb Gen.
Ratko Mladic, reached by telephone in the Serb
stronghold of Pale, east of Sarajevo.
"Only the regular Croatian army has not signed
yet, but we expect them to sign in a few days," he
said. Croatia has denied persistent claims that sol
diers of its regular army are involved in the fighting.
Baptist convention
stresses abstinence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CORPUS CHRISTI - Texas
Baptists adopted resolutions Tues
day targeting homosexuality as a
"distortion" and emphasizing ab
stinence in sex education.
Sex values dominated debate
among more than 6,000 delegates
at the 107th annual Baptist Gener
al Convention of Texas.
Leaders also voted to ask their
executive board to siphon
$800,000 from the State Missions
Commission budget to build
Christian schools in inner-city
neighborhoods. Its 1993 budget is
just more than $8 million.
"The inner city schools are the
ones where you have a lot of gang
violence and many other prob
lems," said Harvey Starling, pas
tor at the Second Chapel Baptist
church in Garland. "You put a
Christian influence in there, and it
will always help."
Earlier Tuesday, delegates
adopted a resolution that said ho
mosexuality violated the biblical
ethic of abstinence outside of mar
riage. The same document con
demned adultery, incest and
pornography.
Another resolution on teen-
pregnancy called for parental in
volvement in teaching sex in
schools.
It urges lawmakers "to support
programs which have a major
goal of keeping children from be
coming parents through the teach
ing of abstinence and the provi
sion of appropriate sex educa
tion."
"We have got to teach these
children what sex is and convince
them of what they need to do,"
said Kim Snyder of First Baptist
Church of College Station. "We
don't need to give ultimatums, we
need to give them alternatives so
they will be guided in making the
correct choices."
In other action Tuesday, the
Baptists announced a plan to pro
vide disaster relief to starving citi
zens of the East African nation of
Somalia.
On Monday, delegates voted to
continue funding Baylor Universi
ty despite an ongoing clash be
tween fundamentalists and the
moderate institution.
Student victim reflects on stabbing attack
By WILL HEALY
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Mike Marketos, a sophomore business
administration major from Plano, was
stabbed Monday night around 9:30 when
two black males attempted to rob him
across from the Briarwood Apartments in
College Station.
Marketos said an unidentified black
male spun him around as he was closing
his car door, and an accomplice hit him and
asked for his money. Marketos said he told
them he did not have any money.
"1 said T don't have any' - and I really
didn't," Marketos said. "Even if I had it in
my back pocket they didn't give me a
chance to pull it out.
"I thought he punched me but right after
he punched me, he ran off," Marketos said.
"I wondered, 'Why did he run off?' and 1
Police have no suspects in attempted robbery
looked down and I was bleeding."
Marketos did not immediately realize he
had been cut, and said it wasn't as serious
as it could have been.
"It was just a cut," Marketos said. "I
was lucky in the fact that I saw the guy's
punch coming so I tried to avoid it and
that's how he got me in the side. If I hadn't
moved, he would have got me in the stom
ach."
Marketos then walked across the street
to his girlfriend Gina Huff's apartment.
"He was leaning over like he was throw
ing up," Huff said.
Huff's roommate called 911 and Marke
tos was taken to the Humana Hospital in
College Station, treated and released short
ly after midnight after receiving 10 stitches.
Marketos took an exam and went to
class Tuesday, and said he was not serious
ly harmed.
"Gina took my notes for me because it is
hard for me to raise my right arm," Marke
tos said.
Marketos said there was no emotional
damage from the incident.
"It hasn't really hit me that I could have
died," Marketos said. "If I hadn't moved it
could have hit me in the stomach and who
knows what would have happened?"
Marketos said he is looking at the inci
dent as a lesson and is happy that the inci
dent will force his girlfriend and her room
mates to be more conscious of their own
personal safety.
"I'm glad it was me rather than Gina or
her roommates," said Marketos. "I was
lucky enough to be able to move out of the
way."
Marketos said Briarwood Apartments
could have done more to prevent incidents
like this from occurring.
"They could have had more lights be
cause it is dark around there," Marketos
said.
An investigation is ongoing and police
have descriptions of the assailants, but all
Marketos saw was their hairstyles, what
they were wearing, and the fact that one of
the men had a moustache.
"I don't even know if I could recognize
them," Marketos said. "It was dark and
there was nothing out there."
The police questioned one man but he
turned out not to be one of the suspects.
"It's a little upsetting knowing the fact
that they're out there," Marketos said.
Bushs hunt
for house
in Houston
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON - Once they
leave the White House, George
and Barbara Bush may trade
their Houston hotel room for a
house.
The soon-to-be-unemployed
president, long criticized for
having the hotel suite as his le
gal voting residence, has asked
a friend to do some house
hunting for him in his adopted
city.
Jack Steel said the Bushs are
looking for something modest
ly priced with no more than
four bedrooms. The home has
to be in the general area of
Tanglewood, an upscale west
Houston neighborhood where
the Bushs once owned a
house.
"The thing that pleases me
about this ... is that so many
people and the media always
said, 'They're not really Tex
ans, and they won't go back to
Texas,"' Steel told the Houston
Chronicle. "I guess this shows
em.
An independent political
group aired ads in September
claiming Bush was trying to
avoid taxes in Maine by claim
ing the Houston hotel room as
his legal residence. Bush
spokeswoman Torie Clarke re
sponded that the Bushs have
been legal residents of Texas
since 1948, and planned to re
tire there.
Steel said the Bushs are in
terested in having something
ready to move into when
Bush's presidency ends Jan.
20. He plans to have three or
four houses ready for Mrs.
Bush to look at next week.
Steel said when he talked
with the president Sunday,
Bush was in "great spirits."
"But I think the president
and Barbara are looking for
ward to getting down here
and back to as normal a life as
possible," Steel said.
Faculty, staff consider multicultural class
This is the second in a four-part series that
examines the possibilities of a required multi
cultural curriculum and opinions of people
on the University campus. The series will fo
cus on faculty and students opinions regard
ing multiculturalism at Texas A&M as well
as multiculturalism on other university cam
puses.
By TANYA WILLIAMS
Reporter of THE BATTALION
Students at Texas A&M University
have not been the only people voicing
their ideas and feelings about the possi
bility of a required multicultural curricu
lum or class.
University officials, faculty and staff
have their own opinions and proposals
about the need for sensitivity training at
Texas A&M University.
Some faculty members that support
the idea of sensitivity training have pro
posed different ideas for the infusion of
multiculturalism into A&M's curricu
lum.
Dr. Larry Oliver, associate professor in
the Department of English, and Sheri
Schmidt, student development specialist
in the Department of Multicultural Ser
vices both have different ideas regarding
multicultural sensitivity.
Oliver believes that a multicultural
curriculum could be applied to colleges
and universities nationwide.
"As was obvious by the fraternity inci
dent ... on this campus (and) at cam
puses all across the country, there is an
insensitivity toward racial and ethnic di
versity," Oliver said.
"The insensitivity often times mani
fests itself as it did at the fraternity party,
then it offends (minority) students who
see themselves as stereotyped or treated
insensibly."
Oliver says the insensitivity, caused
primarily by ignorance and misunder
standing, could grow into something
much larger.
"Insensitivity leads to incidents like
we had at the fraternity party, which
leads to further incidents," Oliver said.
"The model that we chose
would say to students that
yes you have to take a re
quirement in multicultur
alism just like taking a hu
manities requirement —
but we'll give you a
choice."
- Dr. Larry Oliver, associate
professor of English
"Whites and blacks then start to exist in
a state of perpetual tension — then you
know you have a racially charged cli
mate."
Oliver feels that a lot of this could be
eliminated if students took courses such
as African-American Literature.
His suggestion is not to make one
course like 'Multiculturalism 101' or
'Cultural Diversity 101', but rather pro
vide a number of multicultural classes
that would accomplish the goals of mak
ing students more informed about, and
sensitive to, cultural differences, while
giving them a choice of what course to
take.
"In that situation (one course curricu
lum), students have no freedom of
choice, I think a lot of students, maybe
thousands, would enter those class
rooms in a hostile frame of mind," Oliv
er said. "The model that we chose would
say to students that yes you have to take
a requirement in multiculturalism just
like taking a humanities requirement —
but we'll give you a choice."
Oliver feels that having a one course
requirement would also bring about oth
er problems.
"Logistical problems of having one
course is finding one course that would
serve 40,000 plus students without hir
ing a cadre of new professors — plus the
problems of space requirements, sched
uling requirements, and adding a course
"In order to prepare our
students to be successful
once they leave here, it is
the University's obliga
tion to provide them with
what they need."
-Sheri Schmidt, student
development specialist,
Department of Multicultural
Services
to a curriculum that is already packed,"
Oliver said. "If we're going to have a re
quirement, let's make it a feasible one
that doesn't disrupt the whole system."
Oliver said that the Department of
Liberal Arts is developing a proposal for
a two-course requirement that could be
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