The Battalion
,92 No. 77 (12 pages)
‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893”
Thursday, January 21,1993
'We Shall
Overcome'
Kim Retting, left, president of
the Gay and Lesbian Students
Services, shouts her support
and links arms along with other
participants of a march in honor
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on
Wednesday. The march began
at the fish pond and continued
around campus for about half an
hour amid shouts of "Equality for
all" and "End prejudice, end
racism". The march ended at
Rudder Fountain with speeches
by Retting, Student Body
President Steve Belter,
president of the Student Chapter
of NAACP Joseph Gourrier,
right, and members of the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Student
Coordinating Committee, along
with members of the audience.
DARRIN HILL/The Battalion
CRAIG FOX/The Battalion
Campus crime decreases, UPD reports
By MELODY DUNNE
The number of burglaries in residence
halls and buildings, felony thefts and sim-
le assaults have declined from the 1991 to
)92 school year, according to Texas A&M
University Police records.
"Theft has dropped dramatically," said
Lt. Bert Kretzschmar, Crime Prevention
Supervisor. "One of the most notice-
declines has been in bicycle theft. We
! to get more people interested in secur
ing their property and increase awareness."
The number of burglaries dropped 25
percent while felonies and simple assaults
declined 31 percent and 32 percent respec
tively.
The number of incidents of most other
crimes has remained about the same.
Kretzschmar said misdemeanor thefts
are always a problem on college campuses,
and at A&M, these thefts are the biggest
crime problem.
Misdemeanor thefts include property
valued up to $750.
Thefts on campus can occur at any time
or place, Kretzschmar said. Thieves watch
students while they study at the library and
wait for an opportunity to take their wallet
or backpack, he said.
Kretzschmar said most students do not
realize that if their property is stolen, they
will need to have some proof of ownership
before the property can be returned. En
graving drivers license numbers into bicy
cles and electronic equipment and knowing
the serial numbers of these items is one of
the easiest ways to prove ownership, he
said.
Photographs of small items, like jewelry,
can help police locate the item and also
prove ownership, Kretzschmar said.
The percent of stolen property recovered
by University police increased 27 percent.
The reports of some offenses other than
theft, such as sexual assaults, rose from the
1990-91 to the 1991-92 school year.
Acquaintance or date rape, rose from
zero to two.
Kretzschmar said this figure is not accu
rate because in a date rape situation, many
victims will not come forward and report
this offense.
"The victims feel embarrassed, ashamed
— even guilty," he said. "Alcohol and
drugs play a part in some date rapes.
Some victims barely remember what went
on."
Kretzschmar said he wished there was a
magic formula that would make students
realize that A&M is not a "safety bubble."
"Students, especially freshmen, think
that once they step onto the University that
we live in a protective bubble," he said.
"We try to make people aware but not para
noid.
See related story Page 2
Conference
raises black
awareness,
official says
By JEFF GOSMANO
The fifth annual Southwestern
Black Student Leadership
Conference (SBSLC) begins today
through Sunday in the MSC and
Rudder Tower.
The purpose of this year's
conference is to enrich the lives of
African-Americans through
speakers, workshops, a career fair
and play, said Pam Sherman,
associate chair of programs and
hospitality for SBSLC '93. It will
focus on black empowerment in
the future.
"The SBSLC will raise
awareness, stimulate interest and
basically make people refocus on
history/' Sherman said. "In order
to refocus, we "have to have an
understanding of how the past
relates to the present and how the
present relates to the future."
Playwright Thomas
Meloncon's cast will perform his
play "Ain't Nothing Wrong with a
Gizzard Sandwich" in Rudder
Auditorium on Thursday at 8
p.m.
Speakers at the conference
include artist and poet Nikki
Giovanni, community activist
Charles Barron, motivational
speaker Dr. Patricia Russell-
McCloud and literary critic Dr.
Ivan Van Sertima.
The workshops will focus on a
variety of issues, from race
relations to community
involvement. Exxon, AT&T and
Nations Bank are some of the
corporations participating in the
career fair in Rudder Tower
Friday.
For further information contact
SBSLC '93 at 845-4565.
Hepburn
dies at 63
from cancer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Clinton to assume military disputes
Hepburn
UNITED NATIONS - Audrey
Hepburn, the Oscar-winning ac
tress known for
tier charm,
tiigh-fashion el-
gance and aris
tocratic bearing
in films such as
Wait Until
Dark," has died,
the U.N. Chil
dren's Fund an
no u n c e d
Wednesday. She
was 63. Hep-
hum, who had
undergone colon cancer surgery
last year, had been a longtime
goodwill ambassador for the U.N.
agency.
She died in Switzerland, U.N.
spokesman Joe Sills said.
"I never had this huge talent or
a great technique," she once said
of her acting ability. "But some
how I have had something that
contributed."
Miss Hepburn returned to her
Swiss home, called Tolochenaz, on
Lake Geneva after an operation
for colon cancer last November.
She was born Audrey Hep-
burn-Ruston on May 4, 1929, near
Brussels, Belgium. Her father was
a banker of English-Irish ancestry,
and her mother a Dutch baroness.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - As the na
tion watched a new commander
in chief take the oath of office, a
skeleton crew at the Pentagon
kept watch Wednesday on the
simmering military crises that
President Clinton has inherited in
Iraq and elsewhere.
The designated new secretary
of defense, Les Aspin, had not yet
been confirmed by the Senate
when Clinton assumed power,
but the nation's military structure
— from the Joint Chiefs of Staff
on down — remained intact.
"We have no break in continu
ity," said Col. Dave Burpee, head
of the Pentagon's directorate for
defense information, even though
Clinton had filled none of the De
fense Department's 44 political
positions other than secretary of
defense.
Iraqi guns and missiles, which
had challenged U.S. and allied
planes in the south and north of
the country for a solid week,
were silent Wednesday, and there
was a hopeful sign in the Balkan
crisis. But the Clinton administra
tion still faced an extremely
volatile world on its first day in
power.
Nearly 25,000 American sol
diers and Marines were carrying
out Operation Restore Hope in
lawless and famine-stricken So
malia; five Navy ships were join
ing a Coast Guard flotilla off the
coast of Haiti hoping to forestall a
flood of U.S.-bound refugees; and
1,300 Army soldiers were settling
in in Kuwait.
Air Force cargo planes contin
ued to fly humanitarian supplies
into war-torn Sarajevo, and a
Navy frigate was helping a
NATO maritime team enforce a
U.N. embargo against the former
Yugoslavia. The parliament of
Bosnia's Serbs approved a plan to
end the fighting with neighboring
Serbia, but it was not immediate
ly clear what effect the vote
would have on the civil war.
In his inauguration speech,
Clinton paid tribute to "the brave
Americans serving our nation to
day" in the Persian Gulf and else
where.
And he said the United States
must be ready to use power to
defend more than just its own vi
tal interests.
"When our vital interests are
challenged, or the will and con
science of the international com
munity is defied, we will act —
with peaceful diplomacy when
ever possible, with force when
necessary," he said.
In the morning hours before
George Bush formally relin
quished the White House, the
Pentagon office of the secretary of
defense, in the wood-paneled
Eisenhower Corridor, was quiet
except for the purring of a carpet
shampooer and the stirrings of a
single military aide. The custom
ary door guard was absent.
Hillary Clinton to change
traditional First Lady role
By STEPHANIE PATTILLO
The Battalion
Whether or not the public
agrees, Texas A&M political sci
entists say Hillary Clinton will
certainly change the role of
America's first lady.
"She will revolutionize the tra
ditional role of the first lady,"
said Dr. Nikki Van Hightower, a
political scientist. "Hillary Clin
ton is a breath of fresh air."
Dr. Judith Baer, associate pro
fessor of political science, said the
new first lady will be more in
volved in decision-making than
any other first lady has in the
past.
"I think Hillary will work both
independently and with her hus
band," she said. "There is no rea
son why a spouse of any public
official shouldn't do that."
Hightower believes that the
role of the first lady will never be
the same after the Clinton's are
through with it.
"They are very open about her
influence and input," she said.
"This is because the Clinton's are
close as a husband and wife in a
political, personal and profes
sional sense."
Although Clinton may rede
fine the first lady's place, Baer
said she hopes it won't create ex
pectations for all first ladies to be
as active as Clinton.
"Only the one who is elected
should be expected to fulfill pres
idential duties," Baer said. "The
public should not be demanding
of the spouse, but if she wants to
use her power, then that's good."
Still, an active, high profile
first lady is not what all Ameri
cans expect of a president's wife.
"Hillary Clinton is a mixed
bag; she has sharply divided the
public opinion," Hightower said.
Baer said Clinton has taken
more of a background role since
her husbc nd has been elected.
"If Hillary negatively affects
her husband then I think she will
tone down a bit," she said.
Hightower agreed, "She can't
be too far out politically; she
needs to mainstream and act and
look how the public expects her
to."
Although Hillary has made a
few r changes to accommodate her
new life in the White House,
Hightower said those changes are
superficial and were made to
make people feel comfortable
with her.
"She's carving out an area for
better treatment for children,"
Hightower said. "She will have a
strong role in promoting legisla
tion and in serving to help
abused children."
Hightower said education and
child care issues the first lady
supports will have a large impact
on women as well.
Baer agreed, "Hillary has al
ways pushed for the rights of
children."
"She will also help all women
in her role because she has a sep
arate status from Bill," she said.
"As far as feminism goes, she has
walked the walk rather than
talked the talk."
In today's society, many cou
ples struggle with having two ca
reers and a family, Hightower
said.
"The Clintons have blazed
new trails for the behavior of a
husband and wife team," she
said. "Men and women need to
relate to each other as equals."
Hightower said, "They have
given all families who are strug
gling with this the insight that
they need."
Spike Lee to discuss racial issues
By KEVIN LINDSTROM
The Battalion
Film director Spike Lee will speak on diver
sity, multiculturalism and racism at a student
leadership forum during the Texas Film Festi
val which is sponsored by MSC Aggie Cine-
ma-The Film Society of A&M from Feb. 24 to
the 28.
"Mr. Lee's visit will bring a valuable per
spective and insight to some very important
issues that are relevant to our campus," said
Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, chair of the committee
of the Film Society.
The talk show style forum will be moderat
ed by Dr. Marilyn Kem-Foxworth, APR.
Foxworth said, "I believe that Spike Lee is
the right person to address the issues of diver
sity, multiculturalism and racism. A lot of his
films have gotten to the core of race relations -
how races interact and the antagonisms be
tween the races."
Alvarado said, "I think the student response
to Mr. Lee's visit will be generally positive.
Hopefully, the extent of negative reactions will
end up on the Opinion Page."
Alvarado is confident there will be little, if
any, student protest.
"As a world class university, I feel confident
that the views of Spike Lee will be listened to
with open minds," Alvarado said. "Hopefully,
Mr. Lee's participation in the student forum
will send a message that A&M is inclusive of
minority students and respectful of minority
issues."
The forum is by invitation only and will last
about an hour on the afternoon of Feb. 24.
Groups invited include the leadership of many
of A&M's student organization and some im
portant administration member
"We want to provide as much student acces
sibility to Mr. Lee as possible," Alvarado said.
"Because of the limited space, we wanted to
invite as many student leaders as possible so
the leaders can share their experiences with
their organizations."
See related story Page 3
Lady Aggies
Defeat L.S.U.
See Sports, page 7
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