Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1993)
1993 e vol- iusted Sec- 1 than 'him. it Lee erthe event gized nce it linted polite harge cella- yond entin ening to all n Yip of'94 s letter val." and why is to u g>y- e on - s no at he The Battalion Vol.92 No. 105 (8 pages) 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Tuesday, March 2,1993 Religious cult standoff continues Leader negotiates with authorities as convoy moves in; tells mother he's dying THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WACO — The leader of a heavily armed religious cult told his mother "I'm dying, all right?" after two lethal gun battles with an army of police and federal agents, who ringed ihe group's fortified compound Monday. The cult Branch Davidians allowed 10 children to leave, but more children remained in the bullet-scarred compound. A man who identified himself as a cult member said others would be released later. Shortly after 7 p.m., authorities moved the command post further from the compound and then about 8 p.m., reporters were ordered todear the road into the compound. Moments later a convoy of 25 trucks, cars and vans carrying Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents in riot gear headed toward the compound. The convoy stopped, although the vehicle lights could be seen snaking down the road. Authorities kept up negotiations a day after a rain of gunfire killed four federal agents and two members of the sect, one reportedly a daughter of cult leader David Koresh. The negotiations were continuing in the late afternoon Monday, said Franceska Perot, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. At least 75 people remained in the compound about 10 miles east of Waco, about a third of them children, authorities said. Koresh, who says he is Jesus Christ, said many of the children were his. One of the three people in the shootout was charged Monday with attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer and use of a firearm during commission of a violent crime, said Jim Deatley, a spokesman in the U.S. Attorney's office. The FBI sent its elite Hostage Rescue Team to the scene Monday, said a federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The standoff began Sunday after a 45- minute gun battle with about 100 ATT agents who were trying to serve arrest and search warrants on Koresh for federal firearms charges. Later Sunday, three people tried to shoot their way out of the one-square-block compound, ATF agents said. Sixteen agents were wounded, and all were out of intensive care and stable, hospital officials said. Questions arose about why the assault failed. ATF spokesman Jack Killorin in Washington said authorities believe the cult got a phone tip of the raid. He also said the agency had people working undercover within the cult. Koresh claimed agents shot first. "They were scared. You can't blame them," he said. But the ATF and media witnesses said cult members started the shooting. Koresh spent early Monday talking to KRLD radio in Dallas, discussing his interpretation of Revelation and its predictions for the end of the world. After radio stations broadcast his religious message, the cult allowed six children to leave the compound in groups of two, eyewitnesses and sheriff's deputies said. Four more, including an infant, were released Monday afternoon. Speculation about cult raid pointless, UPD director says By GINA HOWARD The Battalion Speculation about whether Sunday's deadly raid of a Waco area cult could have been handled better is irrelevant, said a former FBI special agent and director of the Texas A&M University police. "As a Monday morning quarterback it is easy to look back and see how things could have been done differently," said UPD Director Bob Wiatt. "But at the time, they felt the assault they had planned would be adequate." Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) tried to serve warrants to search for explosives and fire arms at the Branch Davidians sect compound and arrest the sect's religious leader, Vernon Howell. A 45-minute shootout followed which left four agents dead and fifteen wounded. Reflecting on Sunday's events, Wiatt said the assault did not work out as planned, but he doubts anything should have been altered at the time. "I would never Iry and sec ond guess their actions," he said. Cult members had the up per-hand in the shootout be cause firing restrictions are placed on federal officers, Wiatt said. See Cult raid/Page 8 dis- 3 pen soci- :inue r cre- who kott f'95 International Week kicks off BILLY MORAN/The Battalion Jun Lu plays an ar-huu, a two-stringed Chinese violin, at the People's Republic of China booth in the MSC Monday afternoon. The exhibit was part of the International Week celebration. Bill proposes tuition increase for students with 158+ hours By JULI PHILLIPS The Battalion A Texas House bill, which would raise tuition rates for un dergraduate students with 158 credit hours or more, will have minimal effects on Texas A&M students if it passes, A&M offi cials and student advisers said. "We don't have that many stu dents with an extraordinary amount of hours anymore," liber al arts student adviser Georgia Fox said. "It shouldn't affect too many students." Students with high numbers of credit hours are usually proba- tional students under provisional guidelines. Fox said. According to Texas A&M's Of fice of University Relations, if this bill became law today, almost 1,000 students out of 10,959 se niors would be affected. Associate Dean of Architecture Rodney Hill said he thinks the bill is an attempt to cut down on ca reer students. "What they are trying to do is cut down on the perpetual stu dents who are taking too much advantage of the bargain they get in Texas," he said. Texas has one of the lowest tu ition rates in the country. Hill said. In order to keep the rates low, legislators have to cut down on the number of students. Fox said advisers are trying to keep students in the college in which they started and help them graduate on time. "We don't want students floundering around," she said. "The University is trying to make sure that students are here for only as long as they need to be here.'.' According to the office of Mea surement and Research, 60 per cent of the student body will change majors at least once dur ing their college career. Twenty percent will change majors within their first year. If students change majors after their freshman year, they can amass between 152 and 158 hours if they graduate at the minimum university requirement of 128 hours in their new college - most colleges require between 132 and 135 hours. Double degree students and double major students take a min imum of 144 hours for double de grees and 162 hours for double majors. Executive Associate Provost Jerry Gaston said, "It is not diffi cult for some students to exceed the 158 margin, and exemptions will be made for students who are not career students." Gaston said the Legislature ‘ looking at the bill in committee with the purpose of devising these exemptions. "There are those of us that be lieve that you can never get enough education," Gaston said. "But the other viewpoint is: you can't have too much education, but at what point does the state stop paying for it." DEC seeks to diversify campus Unofficial organization proposes 10-point plan for equality By REAGON CLAMON The Battalion A newly-formed, unofficial student organization called Diversity & Equality Coalition (DEC) '92 seeks to centralize Texas A&M University efforts to in crease diversity on campus. The group, which was formed in December, is made up of students from other campus organiza tions who are concerned about the University's com mitment to diversity. Joseph Gourrier, senior psychology major and a member of DEC '92, said the group sees a problem in the separated nature of A&M's diversity programs. "Each of the different organizations is doing their own thing," he said. "They might be working to ward separate goals because people have different ideas of what diversity is. We just want them to come up with a central plan that will make the process more efficient." Kevin Carreathers, director of multicultural ser vices, said the enterprise is a noble one. "There is strength in numbers," he said. "Work ing collectively may give them a better chance of get ting what they want." Carreathers agreed the disjointed nature of some campus programs sometimes blunts their effective ness. "If there are six, seven, or 10 organizations with the same agenda, and they are not working together. that might be a problem," he said To meet their goals, DEC '92 members developed a list of 10 recommendations they want added to A&M's legislative agenda. DEC '92 members said they hope to get the rec ommendations on the University's legislative agenda before this week's filing deadline. "We feel if these recommendations were passed into law, it wouldn't just help Texas A&M, but all other schools in the state," Gourrier said. "Texas would take a step forward and A&M would be tak ing a leadership position." Some of DEC '92's recommendations have come from student concerns; however, others are the same recommendations made by the Faculty Senate Com mittee on Minority Conditions in its report that was completed last April. "The vast majority of those recommendations were not implemented," Gourrier said. DEC '92's 10 recommendations are: • Funding for the recommendations made in the Faculty Senate committee on minority conditions re port. • State funding for the center for race and ethnic studies. • Funding for minorities and women who are hired into faculty positions. • Expanding the office of school relations and See DEC plan/Page 4 Mo Silver Taps tonight Silver Taps will not be held tonight because no Texas A&M students have died within the past month. The ceremony is held on the first Tuesday of the month during the normal school year to honor those students who have died within the past tnonth. The Ross Volunteer Firing Squad fires a 21-gun salute and buglers play "Silver Taps" three times to honor the deceased. The bells of the Albritton Bell Tower also play as part of the ceremony. Bryan Council debates funding airport upgrades By JEFF GOSMANO The Battalion The Bryan City Council is de bating whether to give Texas A&M University $100,000 to reno vate the old Easterwood Airport Terminal and upgrade non-com mercial aviation facilities. Dr. Richard Floyd, Texas A&M University associate vice president for finance and admin istration, said because small air ports do not make big profits, the University is looking for ways to fund buildings and projects at Easterwood Airport. "We are asking Bryan to help us support the operations so we can continue with the level of ser vice everyone is used to having," he said. On Feb. 23, the council voted 3- 3 to consider a contribution to the old Easterwood Terminal, located in College Station. Bryan City Councilman Larry Catlin said he anticipates the item will be placed on the agenda at the next meeting when all seven council members are present. The City of College Station has already agreed to give $100,000 for airport improvements. How ever, Bryan City Councilman See Bryan Council/Page 4 JOHN BARTRAM/The Battalion Sports •Football: Steve Kenney on the road to recovery •Baseball: 14-0 Aggies are 4th in nation, as they prepare for SW Texas Page 5 Opinion •Precautions could have saved lives in the World Trade Center bombing Page 7