A
The Battalion
Vol. 92 No. 140 (12 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Wednesday, April 28,1993
Yeltsin resumes policy pushing after national vote of confidence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — Bolstered by a
nationwide vote of confidence.
President Boris Yeltsin revived his
pro-Western foreign policy Tues
day and top aides began pushing
for a new constitution to strength
en the presidency.
The first official results of Sun
day's referendum showed that 58
percent of the voters expressed
confidence in Yeltsin and 52.9 per
cent endorsed his economic re
forms.
Hard-line lawmakers had ex
pected Yeltsin
to lose on the
economic
question. In-
tead, the re
sults appear to
have embold
ened the 62-
year-old presi
dent and his
team of re
formers.
Yeltsin on
Tuesday revived two foreign poli
cy initiatives that had angered
Russian nationalists and were put
on hold before the referendum.
First, he issued a sharp warn
ing to militant Serbs in the former
Yugoslavia, despite howls of
protest from lawmakers who con
sider the Serbs to be ethnic and re
ligious brethren.
Although he stopped short of
endorsing Western military inter
vention, Yeltsin warned that Rus
sia "will not protect those who
stand in the way of peaceful ac
cord. . . . The U.N. will stand
against Serbian nationalists and
any other warring parties who are
gambling on force."
Yeltsin also pushed ahead with
plans to visit Japan, ignoring
hard-liners who fear he may agree
to give back four islands that the
Soviet Union seized from Japan at
the end of World War II.
The Foreign Ministry said a
high-ranking envoy, Georgy Ku-
nadze, would soon fly to Tokyo to
prepare for a Russo-Japanese
summit. Yeltsin had planned to
visit Japan last fall, but the trip
was canceled because of the dis
pute over the Kuril Islands, which
Japan calls its Northern Territories.
Two of Yeltsin's legal advisers
also called Tuesday for the con
vening of a "constituent assem
bly" to adopt the proposed consti
tution that Yeltsin released on the
eve of the referendum.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei
Shakhrai said the draft version
would make Russia a presidential
republic, making the president
Russia's "supreme authority"
with power to dissolve parliament
under certain circumstances.
Shakhrai and the other adviser,
civil rights lawyer Sergei Alex-
eyev, told a news conference that
the new constitution also would
provide a strong legislature and
independent judiciary.
"I strongly reject the rumors
that it is meant to establish au
thoritarian rule, one-man rule, or
anything like that," Alexeyev
said.
Shakhrai and Alexeyev said the
constitution would clearly delin
eate the powers of each branch of
government, thereby ending
Yeltsin's long power struggle with
the Congress of People's Deputies.
Shakhrai and Alexeyev pro
posed that the Congress join with
the president, the smaller
Supreme Soviet legislature and
representatives of Russia's 88 ad
ministrative regions to create the
unprecedented constituent assem
bly.
Yeltsin
Five more
bodies found
in compound
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WACO — Investigators prob
ing the obliterated home of a reli
gious cult on Tuesday concentrat
ed on a fortified room where they
found at least five more charred
bodies and a vast stockpile of am
munition.
"As they remove boxes of am
munition, it's exposing more bod
ies and more body' parts. It looks
like there's quite a lot of work to
be done in there," said Mike Cox,
spokesman for the Department of
Public Safety, the lead agency in
the cleanup and investigation.
McLennan County Peace Jus
tice David Pareya has said four of
the 44 bodies already removed
were found inside the cinder-
block structure near the center of
the city-block-sized complex.
Nine more bodies were on top of
it.
Including the five additional
bodies found there, 18 of 86
Branch Davidians feared dead
were inside or near the room, au
thorities said.
1 Pareya, however, said he's not
ready to conclude that those peo
ple sought shelter in the room
during last Monday's inferno.
"They seem to be centered in
that area, but I don't know if
there's a pattern for any particu
lar reason," he said. "The biggest
contingent of bodies, in my opin
ion, was not near the bunker.
They were scattered."
FBI officials said they had tried
shooting tear gas into the room
with hopes of flushing cult leader
David Koresh out of the com
pound on the 51st and final day
of the cult's standoff with federal
agents.
Authorities said the congestion
of bodies, ammunition and other
debris is slowing their efforts.
Only three or four investigators
can be in the room at a time be
cause of the waste, Pareya said.
To help sort out the mess,
Doug Ubelaker, a forensic anthro
pologist from the Smithsonian In
stitution, joined the cleanup crew
Tuesday.
Stop and smell the flowers
BRIAN PEDDER/Special to The Battalion
Justin Hixon, son of Carrie Hixon, Class of '87, mother near Harrington Education Center Tues-
tastes some honeysuckle while on a walk with his day.
Book exchange to be postponed until next fall
Student Government project put off
due of time constraints, official says
By GENEEN PIPHER
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Student Gov
ernment Book Exchange program,
which was scheduled to begin to
day, has been postponed until
next fall.
The Book Exchange is a pro
gram designed to save students
money on used textbooks, by cre
ating a networking system linking
students who want to sell their
old books, with students who
want to buy them.
Warren Talbot, Student Gov
ernment chief of staff and senior
accounting major, said that due to
time constraints and difficulty co
ordinating schedules, the book ex
change needed to be put on hold
until the fall.
"We decided against having
the book exchange this semester
because we needed more time
and wanted to do a little more re
search in order to plan it proper
ly," Talbot said. "We wanted to
make sure that the students got
the best deal possible, and we felt
that the end of the fall 1993 se
mester, around Dead Day, would
be a better starting point."
Talbot said he believes the ex
tra preparation time will allow for
better marketing and promoting,
generating more participants.
"Because of the lag.time of
three months between the spring
and fall semesters, students
w‘ould probably be less inclined
to try the exchange program this
semester than they would in the
fall, with only one month between
semesters," he said.
David Hall, special assistant to
See Exchange/Page 3
Concealed weapons bill
Senate to take
shot at proposal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Legislation that
could allow Texans to carry con
cealed handguns if voters ap
proved in a statewide referendum
won House passage Tuesday.
Gov. Ann Richards promised a
veto if it reaches her desk.
"I am an avid hunter and be
lieve strongly in the rights of indi
viduals to own guns. That is not
the question here. This legislation
will only increase the level of vio
lence on our streets," Richards
said.
The measure received final
House approval on a voice vote
and was sent to the Senate for
consideration.
The House had given tentative
approval to the measure on Mon
day, voting 95-47 after a provision
was added to make carrying of
concealed weapons contingent on
approval by voters.
Rep. Curtis Seidlits, D-Sher-
man, sponsored the provision to
place the handgun question on
the Nov. 2 ballot. If ratified by
voters, it would take effect in Jan
uary.
"This is an issue that is so big
and so volatile that if it's going to
happen, it's going to affect every
one in this state," Seidlits said.
"Let's give the people of this state
the opportunity to debate this is
sue."
Richards said Secretary of State
John Hannah has advised her that
the referendum provision is un
constitutional.
Under the legislation, Texans
aged 21 and over would be al
lowed to apply for a license to
carry a gun.
To be eligible, applicants must
not have been convicted of a
Class A or B misdemeanor in the
five years before applying; never
have been found guilty of a
felony; not be under indictment,
and not be chemically dependent
or of "unsound mind."
The Texas Department of Pub
lic Safety would perform criminal
history records checks and inves
tigations of applicants. The fee for
a four-year license would be $140.
The bill also calls for appli
cants to be Texas residents for at
least a year and complete a train
ing course of at least 30 hours.
Overriding a gubernatorial
veto would take a two-thirds vote
of the House and Senate.
State income tax -
voters could decide
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A state personal
income tax would be prohibited
unless approved by voters under
a proposed constitutional amend
ment adopted Tuesday by the
Texas Senate.
If approved by a two-thirds
majority vote in the House, the
proposal would go before Texas
voters in November.
If voters back the measure,
there would be a constitutional
ban against any future state per
sonal income tax. That ban could
be lifted only if voters agreed.
And if voters do eventually
approve a state income tax, the
revenue would be dedicated to
education and local school prop
erty tax relief. Subsequent in
creases in the income tax also
would have to be submitted to
voters.
"The final decision on an in
come tax should lie with the peo
ple, not with the Legislature,"
said Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, who in
the past advocated an income tax.
The Senate sent the proposal
to the House on a 28-1 vote.
Sen. John Leedom, R-Dallas,
voted against it. Sen. Jane Nelson,
R-Flower Mound, was present
but did not vote. Nelson said she
opposed the measure but did not
want to vote against an income
tax prohibition.
She said the measure, backed
by Bullock, "potentially sets up a
scenario in which an income tax
can be sold, not on its merits, but
on the possibility of a better edu
cational system." Texas is one of
only seven states that does not
levy a state personal income tax.
Leedom said, "All we are do
ing is opening the door for a state
income tax." He said voters will
approve the levy in exchange for
relief from local school taxes,
which he predicted will skyrocket
because of the school funding cri
sis.
An amendment by Leedom,
which would have been an out
right income tax ban unless vot
ers approved, was defeated 24-6.
Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco,
said Republicans should be satis
fied with Bullock's proposal.
"Sometimes as Republicans we'd
rather hit home runs than have a
rally and score 10 runs with sin
gles," he said.
Fifty-two Aggies receive Buck Weirus Spirit Award
By CARRIE MIURA
The Battalion
Fifty-two Texas A&M students,
who have demonstrated outstand
ing leadership and involvement
on campus, received the Buck
Weirus Spirit Award on Parents'
Weekend, April 18.
Each year, this honor is award
ed to two graduate students, 20
seniors, 15 juniors, 10 sophomores
and five freshmen.
The Board of Directors of the
Association of Former Students
chooses a secret selection commit
tee composed of faculty and stu
dents who pick the 52 winners.
Ten students, both undergrad
uate and graduate, are selected to
serve on the Spirit Award Com
mittee, who help pick the official
Buck Weirus Spirit Aw'ard secret
committee.
The Spirit Award Committee
plays a major role in the selection
of the Buck Weirus Award recipi
ents.
David Dupree, Student Gov
ernment University Committee
co-chair, "The Buck Weirus
Award committee is secretive, be
cause students who were not se
lected would go to the committee
members and question why they
weren't selected."
Those students who are select
ed as winners of the award re
ceive a Buck Weirus Spirit Watch
and a certificate.
Ranjan Natarajan, an Interna
tional graduate student from
Madras, India studying Agricul
ture Engineering, said he felt hon
ored to receive the spirit award.
"The friendliness has made me
feel so comfortable and welcome
here in College Station," he said.
"Whenever I sing 'The Spirit of
Aggieland', it feels like a hurri
cane going down my spine. It's
the unique spirit which makes
you closely identify with your
school."
Natarajan was also the recipi
ent of the 'International Student of
the Year '92 in the United States'
Award, given by Phi Beta Delta -
the honor society for International
Scholars.
Natarajan who is the current
President of the International Stu
dents Association (ISA) created
the Spirits and Traditions Com
mittee within that organization.
Tracey McAllister, a freshman
Marketing and Business Manage
ment major, also received the
Weirus award.
"If someone would have asked
me six months ago what the Buck
Weirus Spirit Award meant to me,
I w’ould have said nothing, be
cause I didn't know' Buck Weirus
from Fred Flintstone," she said.
"Now if I'm asked, I would say
that I w’ear this watch with pride
because I worked hard and be
came involved to make a differ
ence at A&M."
McAllister encourages fresh
men to become involved in the
many student activities and orga
nizations that A&M offers.
"Explore all of your opportu
nities here at A&M, because there
are so many diverse organizations
to learn from," she said.
The Buck Weirus Spirit Award
is named after Richard "Buck"
Weirus, Class of '42, who was the
Executive Director of the Associa
tion of Former Students. The
award was created in 1981 by the
Board of Directors of the Associa
tion of Former Students with the
assistance of Jack G. Fritz, Class of
'53.
Sports
•Baseball: Aggies avoid
letdown, shot down UT-SA
•Lacrosse: Squad earns SWC
Championship over Rice
Page 8
Opinion
•Editorial: Tailhook debate -
Military must hold high
standards
•Column: High career
aspirations? Maybe not
Page 11