The Battalion
.92 No. 179 (6 pages)
1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993
Monday, July 26,1993
w,
eekend
rap-up
Nicaraguan gov't
quells insurrection
ESTELI, Nicaragua — The
government of Violeta Chamorro
put down this week's insurrec
tion but appears far from solving
the economic and political prob
lems at its roots.
The estimated 150 rebels who
fought in vain for control of Es-
teli last week say theirs is a bat
tle over broken vows. About 50
people were dead when the
fighting ended Thursday night.
The rebels raided the city's
three banks and reportedly got
away with about $4 million,
enough to finance a movement
for some time.
El Salvador's guerrillas start
ed essentially the same way in
the 1970s, building a war chest
from ransoms for kidnapped
diplomats and businessmen and
launching a revolution that last
ed 12 years.
Somalis attack U.S.
troops in ambush
MOGADISHU, Somalia -
Gunmen ambushed American
military vehicles Saturday,
wounding two U.S. servicemen
in the latest attack on U.N. per
sonnel. Two Somalis were killed
in the return fire.
The gunmen fired on two
Humvee all-purpose vehicles as
the peacekeepers were returning
from the airport to U.N. head
quarters, said Capt. Jonathan
Dahms, a U.N. spokesman.
Other soldiers in the attacked
vehicles shot back, killing the
two Somalis. Three or four other
gunmen apparently escaped,
Dahms said.
Sgt. Maj. Patrick R. Ballogg,
42, was shot in the right shoulder
and hand, and Sgt. Michael D.
Bower, 28, was shot in the right
knee. Dahms said both were in
stable condition at a U.S. army
field hospital.
Iraq concedes to
U.N. surveillance
MANAMA, Bahrain — A team
of three U.N. inspectors arrived in
Bahrain on Saturday en route to
Iraq to install surveillance cam
eras at two missile-testing sites.
Iraq had been blocking instal
lation of the cameras, but relented
last week after negotiations with
Rolf Ekeus, head of the U.N. Spe
cial Commission overseeing the
destruction of Iraq's weaponry.
The cameras are intended to
ensure Iraq does not try to devel
op long-range missiles, which are
prohibited under the terms of the
1991 Gulf War ceasefire.
Linder a compromise worked
out by Ekeus, the cameras will be
installed but not immediately ac
tivated. In turn, Iraq has agreed to
notify the United Nations if it
plans to test short-range missiles.
Texas Capitol now
closed to public
AUSTIN — The Texas Capi
tol, which opened for state busi
ness in 1888 and has survived
fires, storms and raucous meet
ings of the Legislature, is being
closed to the public for awhile.
The State Preservation Board
that oversees the Capitol's
restoration announced Friday
that the pink granite building —
one of the state's most popular
tourist attractions — has been
shut down for repairs.
It's the first time in 105 years
that the historic building has
been closed, said Dealey
Decherd Herndon, the board's
executive director.
Herndon said plans call for
reopening parts of the building
next summer and having it
ready for the next regular Legis
lature, in January 1995.
-The Associated Press
Regents to review A&I name change issue
By LISA ELLIOTT
The Battalion
After an hour of emotional
arguments concerning the
scheduled name change of Texas
A&I University to Texas A&M
University-Kingsville, the Texas
A&M University System Board
of Regents Friday vowed to
review the issue and possibly set
a date in the near future to vote
again on the A&I name change.
A crowd of about 40 Texas
A&I alumni and students
attended the regent's meeting to
express their anger at the Board
for voting to change the name of
A&I without consulting the
community of Kingsville or the
alumni and students of A&I.
The meeting was held in
response to a lawsuit filed by
five Texas A&I alumni and one
current student alleging the
Board of Regents violated the
Open Meetings Act. when they
failed to post notice of their
March 5 meeting at least 72
hours in advance.
Dick Watson, A&I class of '61,
said Thursday he was very
angry at the way the Board was
treating the issue.
"They said they'll give us just
10 minutes to speak," he said.
"But we have a surprise for
them, we're going to take a lot
more than 10 minutes; we're
bringing in the troops."
Watson presented a T-shirt to
the Board Friday to express the
way he and other members of
the alumni felt. The T-shirt was
burnt orange and said "The
University of Texas at College
Station" and depicted the
longhorn emblem.
In addition to his
participation in the lawsuit
alleging the Board violated the
Open Records Act, Watson filed
a lawsuit against the A&M
System claiming they violated
his constitutional rights. He said
Article I, section 13 states every
person for injury done him, in
his reputation shall have remedy
by due course of law. Watson
said he is being forced to be an
Aggie without his consent.
See Name Change/Page 4
Center to develop public leadership GrGCnWOOCl 26tS
and eraduate urograms. Universitv President
By LISA ELLIOTT
The Battalion
Aspiring politicians at Texas A&M will have
an opportunity to improve their leadership
skills thanks to the new Center for Public Lead
ership Studies approved by the Texas A&M
Board of Regents Friday.
The center, which will be administratively lo
cated in the College of Liberal Arts, will be a
part of the George Bush Presidential Library
Center and will work with both undergraduate
and graduate programs. University President
William H. Mobley told the regents.
"This is a unique program, and it's one of
the actions that attracted the attention of the
President when we decided to build the li
brary," he said.
The new center will serve as a consultant to
public agencies, as well as conduct research on
public leadership using perspectives from social
science, education, business management and
other fields.
See Center/Page 4
This is probably going to cost you
BII.LY MOKAN/Ihe Battalion
Jim Faulkner of Special Equipment Services, Inc. works on the dead alternator of the Cypress
Creek Fire Department's 75-foot ladder truck Sunday evening. The truck was part of a static
display of fire trucks located next to the Read Building. The exhibition was timed to coincide
with the annual fire training school at Brayton Fireman's Training Field.
Tuition increases, but still low
By JAMES BERNSEN
The Battalion
Although the cost of attending Texas A&M is
increasing, the cost of attending Texas schools
remains among the lowest in the country, ac
cording to a recent study conducted by the
Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB).
Dr. Jerry Gaston, executive associate provost,
said it is not surprising that Texas schools are
still among the most inexpensive in the country
to attend.
"Texas has a long tradition of providing high
er education at the lowest cost possible to the
largest number of students," he said.
Tom Taylor, A&M assistant vice president
and controller for finance and administration,
said the the tuition rates of public universities in
Texas are set by the state legislature, and are of
ten not very responsive to change.
10 years probation
By JENNIFER SMITH
The Battalion
Sherron Dante Greenwood walked away from Judge John Delaney's
272nd courtroom Friday a free man.
Greenwood was sentenced to 10 years probation for the March 26
murder of classmate Billy C. Williams Jr. in a Bryan school cafeteria.
Greenwood, 16, who was convicted of the murder Thursday, faced a
possible sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison.
He was released to his family on a $5,000 personal bond pending a
sentencing hearing July 30.
It took the jury, which was composed of nine women and three men,
a little over two hours to decide Greenwood deserved probation.
District Attorney Bill Turner had argued that Greenwood deserved a
harsh sentence and urged jurors not to let sympathy overwhelm them.
Defense attorneys argued Greenwood could indeed be rehabilitated,
and had a better chance of success, without going to prison.
Greenwood was certified to stand trial as an adult in May because of
what prosecutors said was the adult nature of the crime.
The defense in the case argued Greenwood had acted in self defense
when he stabbed Williams in the upper chest with a kitchen paring
knife. But the prosecution proved that because Greenwood brought the
two knives to school, his actions were premeditated.
To convict Greenwood of voluntary manslaughter, the jury would
have had to believe Greenwood acted under the immediate influence of
a sudden passion arising from an adequate cause that rendered him in
capable of cool reflection.
Jurors deliberated for over 11 hours Wednesday and Thursday before
they returned a verdict of guilty of murder.
Testimony throughout the week-long trial indicated that Greenwood
and Williams had both been associated with members of two rival gangs.
The night before the stabbing, a fight at a track meet between mem
bers from the two gangs occurred.
Witnesses testified Greenwood was present at the track meet, but
Williams was not.
Greenwood said in the trial that his life was threatened during the fight
at the track meet, and he brought a knife to school to protect himself.
Greenwood testified during the trial that he did not mean to kill
Williams and was trying to protect himself.
"I just meant to defend myself," Greenwood said. "If I hadn't used a
knife, maybe they would have killed me."
Fields vs. NSI:
Representative opposes aid program
By J. FRANK HERNANDEZ
The Battalion
U.S. Rep. Jack Fields, R-Hum-
ble, told 30 people Saturday at a
town meeting in Bryan that he is
against the $7.5 billion student fi
nancial aid program proposed by
President Bill Clinton.
Fields said he does not support
Clinton's National Service Initia
tive (NSI) because it is a new cost
that cannot be justified. t
The NSI consists of two pieces
of legislation. The first bill, the
National Service Trust Act, will al
low students to pay back loans
with one or two years of commu
nity service. The second bill, the
Student Loan Reform Act, will al
low students to borrow money di
rectly from their college.
Fields said the plan would
spend $5,000 per student per year,
with the government paying 85
percent of the student's costs plus
a stipend.
"I don't think the government
can provide everything to every
one," he said.
Fields said he supports the cur
rent student financial aid programs
and noted that he worked his way
through college and law school.
"Since 1986, higher education funding has re
ceived a smaller percentage of the state budget,"
Taylor said. "About that time, the legislature
began setting higher tuition rates."
Taylor also said there is little built into the
system of funding to account for inflation.
"The state is giving, for the next biennium,
about the same amount as for the present one,"
he said.
This forces the legislature to make up the
funds with higher tuition, Taylor said.
Gaston said the legislature has decided that
students should have to pay for some of the in
creasing costs.
"There's not much we can do about infla
tion," Gaston said. "The most the administration
can do is to try to find the most efficient way to
deliver services."
See Tuition/Page 4
Inside
Sports
►A&M swimmers prepare for
Long Course Championships
►Weekend Wrap-up and
Golf Update
Page 3
Opinion
•Column: Anorexia, Bulimia
threaten young women
•Column: Texas businesses fail
to comply with disabilities act
Page 5
•Monday: mostly sunny,
early morning cloudiness,
mostly sunny and hot
•Forecast for Tuesday:
mostly sunny and hot,
mid 90s to near 104
Texas Lotto
•Saturday's lotto numbers:
21, 11,5, 27, 24,50
•Estimated Lotto Texas
jackpot: $1 1 million
Fields said he voted against
Clinton's economic package be
cause it is the largest tax increase
in U.S. history.
The increase in taxes will come
now, but any deficit reduction will
come in the future, he said.
"I think this is a fundamentally
flawed plan," Fields said.
Fields expects the final econom
ic package to have a gasoline tax, a
corporate tax and some form of
energy tax.
Previous plans have resulted in
tax increases but not deficit reduc
tions, he said.
A plan Fields presented in re
sponse to President Clinton's State
of the Union address to Congress
would result in a $383.8 billion re
duction in federal spending over
the next five years.
The proposal includes a 2 per
cent cut in all federal entitlement
programs except Social Security
and veteran's programs. The cut
would save $107 billion, he said.
Fields said this cut could be
achieved by eliminating all federal
arts and humanities programs,
eliminating the Department of La
bor's Jobs Corps program and re
quiring all food stamp recipients to
work in exchange for their benefits.