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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1993)
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Mukul Vhwjesln ate stiuh be views o! - ict the opinion , A&M shtw ns express lb md will prW® n. letters ft 't name, doi! n Formation o" ;st columns lo' The Battalion Vol. 92 No. 166 (6 pages) 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Wednesday, June 30,1993 A&M takes precautions against letter bombings FBI, Postal Service, ATF combine forces to catch university bomber By JENNIFER SMITH The Battalion Mail bombings directed at university employees around the country have not af fected Texas A&M University, and no sus picious packages have been found, said Bob Wiatt, director of University Police, He said he has received no calls from anyone with a package he or she was afraid to open. "But I've had several inquiries as to what should be done with packages," Wiatt said. "Most people calling don't want to be crying wolf." But Wiatt said people should not be afraid to call University Police if they re ceive mail they feel is suspicious. "If anyone has a concern, all they have to do is call us and we'll take care of it," he said. Wiatt said the two packages used in last week's mail bombings were sent in 8.5 by 11 inch heavy envelopes. They were heavily padded with plastic foam beads, specifically addressed to the per son who opened them, and marked with excess postage. FBI Director William Sessions instruct ed university personnel around the coun try^ Friday to be cautious of suspicious packages, and University Relations at A&M quickly disseminated the informa tion to A&M vice presidents and deans, as well as to the provosts. Two people were injured as a result of mail bombings last week at University of California-San Francisco and Yale Uni versity. On June 22, a geneticist at the Univer sity of California at San Francisco, Dr. Charles Epstein, 59, lost several fingers when a mailed package bomb exploded at his home. Two days later, 38-year-old computer scientist David Gelernter at Yale Univer sity was injured as he opened a letter or package in his office and it exploded. According to Associated Press reports, the FBI linked these university incidents with a series of similar bombings that have occurred since 1978 at universities and high-tech companies. One person has been killed and 21 injured since 1978. Wiatt said everyone at A&M now seems to be aware of this situation. "Everyone is sort of in an aware mode," Wiatt said. "We don't want a panic to occur." More than two dozen federal agents were assembled Tuesday in a federal task force to hunt the person responsible for sending the bombs. According to Associated Press reports, a previous federal task force unsuccess fully tried to catch the "university bomber" for eight years before giving up in 1990. The FBI, the Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Postal Inspector's office met Monday to come up with a plan to catch the bomber. A senior FBI official will lead the in vestigation. Les Stanford, a public information offi cer for the ATF, said task forces have been very effective in the past. "We have worked on a number of task forces with the FBI and postal service," Stanford said. "In 1989, a mail bomb killed a federal judge and a civil rights leader." Stanford said these three agencies in vestigate bombs. The FBI deals with ter rorist and federal property bombings, the Postal Service deals with mail bombings, and the ATF deals with private property bombings, he said. "There is a memorandum of under standing between the three agencies," Stanford said. See Bombing/Page 6 Survey course STACY RYAN/The Battalion Nikki Guerra, a senior civil engineering major to measure angles during a plane surveying class from Alice, Texas, learns how to use a theodolite Tuesday afternoon. History hinders recruitment Efforts made to enroll more minorities By JANET HOLDER Minority students at A&M and University of Texas The Battalion Texas A&M University officials say the number of minority gradu ates does not accurately reflect efforts by the University to recruit African-American and Hispanic students. Stephanie Dunlap, associate director of admissions, said A&M has increased diversity in the past five years and has had one of the high est minority retention rates at public institutions. But she said there is a problem recruiting admissible minority ap plicants at A&M. Dr. Dale Knoble, executive director of A&M's honors programs, said A&M has a difficult history to live down because until the 1960s, blacks were turned away from the University. The parents of students may remember those days and discourage them from attending A&M, he said. Dr. Emily Santiago, assistant director for multicultural services, said the lack of minority students at A&M may be because many peo ple don't have complete information about the University. "I've encountered that problem with conferences I attend," she said. "People have the idea that A&M is still a male-dominated See Minority/Page 6 ■ UT ’89-'90 ■ A&M'91-'92 Taken from May issue of: ''Black Issues in Higher Education". [3 A&M '89-'90 Taken from the associate Registrar's office, Don Gardner. ANGEL KAN/The Battalion Number of bicycle thefts decrease, but UPD recommends precautions By MICHELE BRINKMANN The Battalion The Texas A&M University Police Department (UPD) is cautioning cyclists on campus to lock their bikes because although bicycle theft is slightly decreas ing on campus, the value of bicycles is increasing. According to Texas A&M UPD statistics, the num ber of bicycles stolen in a fiscal year is down from 275 in 1988-89 to 207 in 1991-92. The number has gradually decreased every year. Lt. Bert V. Kretzschmar, UPD crime prevention spe cialist, said most bicycles are stolen simply because they are unsecured or do not have the right kinds of locks. He recommends U-Locks over chain or cable locks because the U-Locks are made of solid steel. "Cables and chains don't work," he said. "The better the lock, the more time is on your side, but a lock will not prevent your bike from being stolen. If it's a professional they'll find a way." The proper way to secure a bicycle is to use a bike rack, go through the frame of the bike and go through back wheel, Kretzschmar said. Dave Mosier of Aggieland Cycling and Fitness, said, "My advice to people is to lock your front tire too. Aggies aren't honest; they're supposed to be, but they're not." In past years, mountain bikes have been the most popular targets of bike thieves. No particular brand name is being stolen more than any other, Kret zschmar said. Mosier said the mountain bikes he sells range from $200 to $3000. "The most popular bikes we sell are Cannon- dales," he said. "When fall starts, we order an extra 100 front wheels because so many get stolen," Mosier said. "The front wheels are quick release wheels and a tool is not needed to steal it." Another common occurrence is to have a student "borrow" a bicycle if he or she is late to class or if the class is across campus, Kretzschmar said. "Bicycles reported stolen are sometimes found across campus, but if a lock is on your bike and you have no proof that it is yours, then there's nothing we can do," he said. Kretzschmar said it is necessary to have bicycles engraved. He said he believes education is the key to pre vent bike theft and recommends four things to do to keep bicycles from being stolen. -Use operation Identification (Record serial number and engrave drivers license number on your bike). -Register your bicycle with Parking Transit and Traffic free of charge. -Buy a U-Lock and lock it to a bike rack. -Immediately report anyone suspiciously loitering around bicycle racks. The National Crime Information Center has a list of serial numbers to locate the owners of stolen bicy cles. The service has been used by UPD and been successful in locating bicycles in other states. "The only way we are able to prosecute a person who stole a bicycle is if the bicycle has a serial number or driver's license number on it," Kretzschmar said. The penalty for bicycle theft is usually a Class A or B Misdemeanor, depending on the value of the bi cycle, he said. According to statistics from magazines, law en forcement journals, and Integrated Cycle Systems Re search, over 2.1 million bicycles have been reported stolen in the past three years, but the true figure is much higher because many thefts are never reported. A&M career center provides summer services Facilities remain available to alumni By JENNIFER SMITH The Battalion Some students at Texas A&M do not realize the Career Center is open in the summer, but many companies have conducted on- campus interviews since June and many more will visit A&M before the summer is over, said officials with A&M's Career Center. Dr. Leigh Turner, director of the Career Center, said 15 compa nies have scheduled interviews so far this summer. "We also get at least a call a day from companies asking us to send them resumes," she said. Jay Wheeler, assistant director of the Career Center, said students don't realize the Career Center has the same services available in the summer that they have in the fall and spring. "New companies are constant ly calling us to come to campus," he said. The Career Center has orienta tion meetings once a week in the summer, and students can watch a 30 minute video about its ser vices, Wheeler said. Although 13 of the 15 compa nies scheduled to conduct inter views have already been to cam pus, two companies still have in terviews scheduled for July. Summit Electric Supply will be on campus July 7, 8 and 9, and Thomas & Betts will be on campus July 19. There are still interview times available for both of these companies. Turner said students who came to the Career Center at the begin ning of summer and saw only one or two companies scheduled to in terview during the summer should come back and sign up for an interview as soon as possible. "And we will probably have more companies request inter views," she said. Most of the companies coming to A&M in the summer are re questing interviews with industri al distribution, business, liberal arts, computer science and engi neering majors and are looking for May or summer graduates. Turner said a company called recently asking for management information systems students, but the Career Center has only one student in this major with his re sume on file. Wheeler said there are many reasons fewer students visit the Career Center in the summer be sides the fact that A&M has fewer students. See Career/Page 6 Inside Sports •Boxing: Mercer pleads not guilty to bribery charge •Rush: No new playoff system for Major League Baseball Page 3 Opinion •Editorial: Consumers lose in Cable vs. broadcast battle •Column: Stanford urges readers to look at both sides Page 5 •Wednesday: partly cloudy, higns in the 90s, lows in the 70s •Forecast for Thursday: partly cloudy, widely scattered thunderstorms, highs in the 90s •Extended forecast: partly cloudy with isolated afternoon and early evening showers, highs in the 90s Tomorrow in Weekend celebration: A look at what Bryan- College Station and other cities in Texas plan to do for Independence Day, Reviews: The soundtrack to 'Last Action Hero,' the film 'Dennis the Menace'