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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1993)
V The Battalion Vol. 92 No. 107 (10 pages) 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Thursday, March 4,1993 Bill gives A&M name to 4 schools Students, alumni have differing opinions regarding proposed identity change By JENNIFER SMITH The Battalion A rider attached to a state Senate appropri-’ ations bill that would change the names of four Texas A&M University System schools is causing mixed reaction throughout the state. Richard Haas, who serves on the board of directors of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students, said giving A&M's name to these universities does not benefit Texas A&M. "I don't think A&M is getting anything from this," Haas said. "These schools are not part of A&M, and they have built reputations of their own." If the name changes go into affect Texas A&I would become Texas A&M University at Kingville, Corpus Christi State University would become Texas A&M University at Cor ns Christi and Laredo State University would ecome Texas A&M International University. Some former students from these universi ties oppose the name change. Doug Vannoy, who served as the executive director of the Texas A&I Alumni Association from 1980 to 1991, said it is absolutely op posed to the idea of adding A&M to its name. "Texas A&I has a tradition of its own," Vannoy said. "Putting A&M in the name makes us start off from scratch." West Texas State University, which is scheduled to become West Texas A&M Uni versity on June 1 after 15 months of debate on its name, would become Texas A&M Universi ty at Canyon, according to the senate propos al. Dr. Barry Thompson, president of West Texas State University, said after 15 months of considering a name change, he would like to see the system keep the name West Texas A&M. "Our name is now West Texas A&M Uni versity," Thompson said. "We're proud of be ing West Texas A&M University just like A&M is proud of being Texas A&M at College Station. "That's the name that was chosen, and that's the name we want to keep," he said. "Since 1910 we've had West Texas in the name, and that's what we support." See Name change/Page 4 Religious cult leader waiting on Instruction from God' THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WACO, — Authorities ap peared to settle in Wednesday for a long wait to the end of a stalemate with a heavily armed cult whose leader, the FBI said, was awaiting "further instruc tion from God." Court documents used to charge two elderly cult mem bers with murder describe the Branch Davidian cult as a well trained, committed fighting force with a "massive weapons cache" at its disposal. The charges against the women were later dropped, although they remained in jail as material witnesses. Negotiations continued a day after cult leader David Koresh had promised an immediate, peaceful end to the deadlock if a 58-minute taped statement were played on radio stations. Court documents said Koresh "has told federal law officers words to the effect that they would fight to the end." FBI Agent Jeffrey Jamar said Wednesday, "Koresh stated he had received a message from God instructing him to wait." Jamar told reporters officers are not contemplating storming the compound. Mobley memo limits graduation guests to 6 during May ceremony By ROBIN ROACH The Battalion Texas A&M students graduating this May will be limited to inviting six guests to their commencement exercise. University President Dr. William Mobley said in a memo to vice presidents, deans and depart ment heads. Each graduate will receive six tickets to distribute to their guests for the graduation ceremonies, according to the Feb. 25 memo. The tickets will guarantee guests entry into the ceremony at G. Rol- lie White Coliseum but will not designate specific seat assignments. Because of the large number of graduates, Mobley said in the memo that distributing admission tickets is the best alternative to better ac commodate guests . "It's often the case that people arrive late and can't get a seat," said Dr. Daniel Fallon, dean or the college of liberal arts. "The rationing scheme is first come, first serve and some people just can't get there early." Fallon said he has not perceived the change as a difficult issue, but he does not know exactly how the college of liberal arts is going to in form students of the change. "It seems to be a better solution," Fallon said. "It strikes me as be ing very reasonable." j The decision to limit the number of guests admitted into the colise um was made because of past concerns with overcrowding and violat ing safety precautions. "Seating capacity is limited, and some safety concerns were raised," Donald Carter, Texas A&M registrar, said. "If an emergency occurred, it could be very much a problem." A ticket exchange will be implemented to allow students access to additional tickets from graduates who do not use all six of their allot ted tickets. Dr. John Koldus, vice president of student services, said the ticket exchange is an important aspect to the ticket system because not every degree candidate will have six people attend the ceremony. Michelle DuChamp, class of '93 social secretary and a graduating se nior, said she thinks the graduates should have been given earlier no tice of the change because many students have already made plans for family and friends. See Graduation/Page 5 r Singing cowboy entertains international kids DARRIN HILL/Tlw Battalion David White, a College Station resident, plays guitar and harmonica Discovery program, a church-sponsored program for international while singing cowboy songs to an international group of children wives and their children. The program lasts from September to May. and wives or students that attend A&M. The group is part of the About 200 women and 100 children attend the weekly meetings. Student Senate passes vendor bill Resolutions introduce off-campus caterers, minority loans Bosnians lose U.S. air-drop to Serbian attack THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Cold and hungry Bosnian civil ians, unable to withstand a vicious Serb onslaught despite air dropped U.S. aid, braved deep snow and fighting Wednesday on a desperate trek to safety. At least 18 people were report ed killed in the eastern enclave of Konjevic Polje when they tried to collect food and medicine dropped by U.S. planes. An un confirmed Bosnian news report said 1,400 people were missing and feared dead in nearby Cerska. Thousands of other residents reportedly were under fire in the Cerska-Konjevic Polje area after Serb fighters drove them from their homes and burned their vil lages. A U.N. official said some refugees were headed toward Tu- zla, 25 to 30 miles away across rugged terrain. The local military in the region said of the U.S. aid: "We feel like animals to whom bait is being thrown to kill us with grenades." United We Stand establishes Brazos chapter BY MATARI JONES The Battalion A resolution that would allow off-campus ven dors to cater on-campus events as well as a resolu tion to establish a fund for minority scholars domi nated Wednesday's Student Senate meeting. One of twelve resolutions that passed supported a policy allowing off-campus vendors, such as Red Lobster or Tom's Barbecue, to cater on-campus events held in the Memorial Student Center and the Rudder Complex. "The university will be the middle-man from now on," said Senator Jimmy Stathatos, who introduced the bill. Although the bill will not take effect until Fall 1993 and then only on a trial basis, Stathatos said MSC Food Services will purchase the food from out side vendors and prepare and serve it as well. Senator Chad King said the days of $30 bowls of punch are over. Two bills that dealt with minority issues dominat ed the meeting. Student Resolution 93-9 introduced legislation that would establish a minority scholars loan fund for graduate students in the fields of science, engi neering and mathematics. Senator Russell Langley, who introduced the bill, said the fund would be supplied through grants and private donations. It differs from other loans in that the government would pay the interest, and the re cipient of the loan would have to teach at the Uni versity from which they received the loan — or at least teach in the state of Texas, Langley said. During a heated debate the bill was finally ap proved on the fourth attempt after three defeats. When it seemed like the bill was not going to be passed, one senator emphatically stated his point. "'Minority' has become a four letter word," said Senator David Butler. "Just remember, this is a loan and not a scholarship." The Minority Doctoral Incentive Program passed much easier. With this bill, the student senate agreed to positively influence legislation at the state level re garding this issue. The bill is designed to provide loans to minority students pursuing doctoral degrees. See Senate/Page 10 By STEPHANIE PATTILLO The Battalion United We Stand, America, a grass roots political party started by former presidential candidate Ross Perot, now has a chapter in the Brazos Valley. Paul S. Van Dyke II, the organization's local chair man, said the group's main concern is government reform. "We hope for the benefit of future generations that we will have success at putting pressure on con gress and the rest of the government to behave re sponsibly," he said. United We Stand, America/Brazos Valley (UWSA/BV) will seek a line-item veto that takes a two-thirds vote in both the house and senate to over turn, Van Dyke said. UWSA/BV will also pursue electoral reform. Van Dyke said. "We think the politics has got to be eliminated," he said. "We think candidates should be given ac cess to TV time at reasonable rates in order to offset See United/Page 4 DARRIN HILL/The Battalion Brett Lemoine argues with David Swanson and Scott Sonju during a standing-room only debate Wednesday about the existence of God. Religion debate attracts 600+ crowd By BELINDA BLANCARTE The Battalion More than 600 people attended a standing-room only debate Wednesday night between the Texas A&M University Agnostic and Atheist Student Group and the Campus Crusade for Christ about the existence of God. Each group had a panel of four members who asked and an swered questions from the other group during the debate at Heldenfels Hall. "I'm pretty much impressed with both sides," said Brad Putty, a freshman biomedical engineer ing major who attended the de bate. "It was more objective than I thought it would be." The Campus Crusade for Christ explained the Christian view of Jesus as God. "Jesus made the claim that he was God and backed it up with the resurrection and other mira cles that people witnessed," said David Swanson, graduate student and leader of Campus Crusade for Christ. "The New Testament documents are the most reliable." Gary McBride, a junior com puter science major and a panelist for the Agnostic and Atheist Group, said other historical sto ries similar to the story of Jesus also exist. "Krishna is the closest exam ple," McBride said. "There are more than 30 historical stories like Jesus'. What we're looking at is non-unique." The groups also disputed the story of creation from the Bible's book of Genesis. McBride said the world could not have been created in six days as the Bible suggests. "The story of creation goes against the laws of nature," he said. "Atheists assert that univer sal laws exist." Swanson said the six days it took to create the earth should not See Religion/Page 5 Inside l Sports •Lady, men's basketball face tough times on the road, lose to Tech Page 7 Opinion •U.S. aid drops add fun to Bosnian lifestyle •Problems follow Bush Library director Don Wilson Page 9