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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1993)
25,1993 ?redomi- and why " he said, md fami- members ;rs to the g director A.&M has ic impact ! said one :ustomers ents. io draws ryan-Col- ^ear, earn ed about m-College re football visitors to ate :ance. One ms could nology se- Cold War ist law/' jam man- :e Corp., a eral Russ- ice policy i said Rus- and-devel- loviet bud- lercut pri- wo-thirds. e past differ- Cold rsonal to ac- we've ing to ral co- . Pud- charge stud- r w w w g rantyl The Battalion Vol. 92 No. 80 (12 pages) ‘Serving Texas A&M Since 1893’ Tuesday, January 26,1993 1 ■■■■■■■ rstru- irobe, do it if 0 per- Soviet ?ft the Mobley stresses issues university must face By STEPHANIE PATTILLO The Battalion Enrollment, the budget and the status of Aggie athletics are three of the most pressing issues Texas A&M University faces, said Uni versity President Dr. William Mobley during his annual State of the University Address at the Clayton Williams Jr. Alumni Cen ter Monday night. Despite a 20 percent cut per student in state funding, enroll ment is on the rise, Mobley said. Approximately 15,000 students are expected to apply for the 6,000 available freshman spots for next semester. With this continued increased in applicants, Mobley posed the question of how big is too big. "It would be a shame if A&M lost it's sense of community and tradition by getting too big," Mobley said. No matter how large the Uni versity becomes, Mobley said that A&M will always have more ap plicants than it can accept. Be cause of this, the selection criteria for admissions will have to be re viewed. "There is no easy answer; we need to find a way to make it (ad missions) fair," Mobley said. Currently, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and individual assess ment are used to determine who gets into A&M. While Mobley wrestles with admissions, the state legislature struggles with budget cuts that will affect the University. "It's not realistic that we will see a budget increase," Mobley said. "A flat budget that tweaks in a couple of areas would be ide al." Mobley said he hates to see budget cuts in the area of educa See Mobley/Page 12 JOHN BARTRAM/The Battalion " We are now the third largest university in the nation," said Dr. Mobley in his State of the University Address. Barton defends position State official against homosexuals in armed forces By REAGON CLAMON John Hess, a graduate student from Houston, gets tackled by Chad Cox, a sophomore forestry DARRIN HILl/Thc Battalion major from Nacogdoches outside Clements Hall on Sunday. The Battalion Clinton promises to lift ban THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Despite intense opposition from the Pentagon and Congress, President Clinton promised Monday to fulfill his pledge to revoke the ban on homo sexuals in the military. "I intend to keep my commitment," he said. Clinton summoned the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the White House to hear their objections and explore grounds for compromise. "1 want their input on how we should do it," Clinton said. "I think they're entitled to really be listened to on a lot of the practical issues." Military officials have raised concerns about hous ing, spousal benefits, discipline and requests for same- sex marriages. They also have warned of the potential of violence against gay members of the military. Clinton's promise to end the 50-year-old ban has in flamed passions, presenting the new commander in chief with the delicate challenge of carrying out a major campaign pledge while preventing a backlash from Congress and the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Les Aspin spoke earlier of the po tential for a "revolt" in the military and said that mem bers of Congress are overwhelmingly against lifting the ban. See Promises/Page 12 Rep. Joe Barton, R-Enis, reaf firmed his support for a policy banning gays in the military at a press conference to gather sup port for his U.S. Senate cam paign, Monday. Barton told a small roomful of supporters in the McKenzie ter minal of Easterwood airport that he believes President Clinton's intention to relax the military's policy prohibiting gay's and les bians is a bad idea. He is plan ning to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives that will make the policy law. "I think that (Clinton's plan) Rep. Joe Barton DARRIN HILL/The Battalion is a bad public policy decision," Barton said. "The existing rules and regulations have served our nation well in war and peace for over 200 years." Before speaking to his sup porters, Barton met with a group of students protesting the pro posed bill in the lobby of the air port terminal —shaking hands and thanking them for being there. "...the young men and women outside are exercising their con stitutional right to protest and free speech," he said. "They've got a right to be here." Barton told his supporters it See Barton/Page 12 Corps investigates alleged sexual assault By GINA HOWARD The Battalion Officials with the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets are investigating allega tions by a female cadet that a senior male cadet sexually as saulted her last spring and sex ually harassed her this fall. The alleged victim, whose name has not been released, filed a complaint with the Uni versity Police Department on Dec. 14, 1992, stating she had been the victim of unwanted sexual advances by a male cadet. The cadet's name has not been released because no crimi nal charges have been filed. Lt. Col. James L. McCleskey, chief of operations and training for the Corps, said he could not offer specific details, but he did confirm there is an on-going in vestigation. "We are looking into a case where some allegations of sexu al misconduct have been made, but the whole thing is some what sketchy," McCleskey said. "I can't give any details for the protection of the cadets involved." McCleskey declined toVom- ment on how long the investi gation will last. According to the police inci dent report, the female cadet stated she did not want to press criminal charges at that time, but she wanted to make a re port in case the harassment con tinued. In the report, the alleged vic tim stat.ed she was raped by the suspect in April of 1992, but she did not report the incident at that time. The alleged victim stated she had gone to the suspect's room around Nov. 12 to pick up some papers for a class. She stated he then tried to kiss her, and she fled the room. The second incident was not reported at the time it allegedly occurred either. The female cadet stated be cause she had reason to believe the suspect was considering the same type of harassment to ward a female freshman cadet, she reported the incidents to her adviser and later filed a report with UPD. McCleskey said so far, noth ing has been confirmed. "It is just allegations at this point," he said. Energy tax proposed for deficit THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - The Clin ton administration gave fresh sig nals Monday it may propose tax increases that would hit most Americans as a way of fighting the federal deficit. A broad-based tax on energy consumption is among "a lot of options," Presi dent Clinton said. A day after Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen floated the possi bility of such a tax, Clinton and White House officials did their best to keep it aloft. "Absolutely, yes," responded White House communications di rector George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos also stressed that cuts in entitlement spending also are "on the table" as the plan takes shape. Clinton took a step further to ward that package by signing an executive order creating a Cabi net-level National Economic Council. The council, headed by former New York investment banker Robert Rubin, will coordinate eco DARRIN HILL/Thc Battalion Members of the Gay and Lesbian Student Services protest outside the room where Congressman Joe Barton held a press conference at Easterwood Airport on Monday. Members were there to protest Barton's bill to keep homosexuals from serving in the military. GLSS protests congressman's opposition to gays in military By KEVIN LINDSTROM The Battalion See Energy tax/Page 12 Members of a Texas A&M gay student group protested Rep. Joe Barton's opposition to lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military when Bar ton appeared at a press conference at Easterwood Airport Monday. The members of the Gay and Lesbian Student Services (GLSS) yelled "support our president" and "ban the ban" as Barton entered the airport conference room. GLSS member Clay Kilpatrick, an honorably discharged United States Marine and sophomore computer science and management major, said they came to protest homophobia. "These are the same exact stereotypes and fears that were fought by blacks in the 50s and women in the 70s," Kilpatrick said. 7,19 an oul of it ibot r eai 1 err iteg m it oul >yee q, n ijht. ssar ines >0s,' roni eall ? oi rest pe c aF r< wit ibs< th it o nt t ivei he an >ee eac th f th ?rs ir in Anne Woods, a senior journalism major, said sexual orientation has nothing to do with military service. "The issue in the military is sexual misconduct, not sexual preference," she said. Barton shook hands with each of the protesters and told each of them, "I respect your right to protest." Kim Rettig, GLSS president, said Barton's recognition helps bring the issue to light. "I think it helps his supporters to realize that we're here as well, and that his supporters need to think about both sides of the issue," she said. Dr. Jim Mazzullo, associate professor of Geolo gy and GLSS faculty adviser, said face-to-face con tact can help reduce stereotyping. "Most problems with discrimination are due to people's ignorance," Mazzullo said. "And you can overcome most of that ignorance by just being in the same room."