The Battalion
Vol. 93 No. 13 (10 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Wednesday, September 15,1993
British tourist fatally shot during robbery in Florida
The Associated Press
MONTICELLO, Fla. — Margaret Ann
Jagger, bleeding from a bullet that grazed
her chest and right arm, cried into the
telephone, “He's dying! He's really dy
ing! ... Please help!"
The British tourist's boyfriend had just
been fatally wounded at an interstate
highway rest stop in northern Florida.
Jagger, 35, and boyfriend Gary Colley,
34, who arrived Thursday in Orlando,
pulled off Interstate 10 for a nap in their
unmarked rental car early Tuesday. The
rest area was well-lighted. There were
other people around.
Then two armed youths approached,
knocked on the windows and demanded
money. "They woke up and tried to back
out and that's when they were shot," said
Jefferson County Sheriff Ken Fortune.
Jagger called 911 from a phone booth.
"There's blood all coming out of his
mouth. And I think he's dying," she told
an emergency operator. A tape of the call
was played on CNN.
Colley, who lived with Jagger for
about 12 years, was the ninth foreign
tourist in Florida to be killed since Octo
ber. Early Thursday, a German honey-
mooner driving an unmarked rental car
from the Miami airport to his hotel was
shot to death in an apparent highway
robbery attempt.
Although police said it appeared that
Colley's killers were unaware he and Jag
ger were foreign tourists, Gov. Lawton
Chiles suspended all tourist advertising
for Florida. One ad campaign had used
the theme, "When You Need It Bad,
We've Got It Good."
The governor also ordered beefed-up
patrols at the state's 48 interstate highway
rest areas — deploying 540 auxiliary offi
cers from the Florida Highway Patrol,
"He's dying! He's really
dying! . .. Please help!"
- Margaret Ann Jagger,
victim's girlfriend
Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
and Marine Patrol. The officers have law
enforcement powers as long as they re
main in contact with police.
"We have to turn our outrage into de
termination," Chiles said. "Violence and
brutality have no welcome mat in Florida."
Authorities found a car abandoned
near a Tallahassee high school Tuesday
that fit the description of the suspects' ve
hicle. Investigators were checking to see if
it was the getaway car.
Chiles offered a $10,000 reward for in
formation leading to arrests and convic
tions. He said he would ask President
Clinton for a federal grant to expand
Florida's violent crime task force.
The state's $31 billion a year tourist in
dustry was still reeling from last week's
killing of Uwe-Wilhelm Rakebrand, 33, an
agricultural engineer from Adendorf,
Germany, who had just arrived in Miami
with his pregnant wife. Three people
were arrested in that killing.
Colley, who was from Wilsden in
northern England, was shot in the neck.
His girlfriend was grazed in the chest and
arm, and treated and released from a Tal
lahassee hospital.
Fortune said an attendant at the rest
area witnessed the shooting and saw the
attackers get back into a red compact car,
where there was possibly a third person.
The robbers were described as young
men, possibly juveniles.
"According to the attendant, the sus
pects were roaming around the rest area,"
the sheriff said. "They more or less cased
the parking lot and picked them."
The couple appeared to have been cho
sen at random. They rented the car in Or
lando, had visited New Orleans and were
driving to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area
when they pulled up at the rest stop
about 35 miles east of Tallahassee.
Aggies bleed maroon
Cus Morgan/lHE Battalion
Szalan Zanowiak, a junior biomedical sciences major from Mineral jor from Grand Prairie, at the American Red Cross Blood Drive
Wells and a member of the Texas A&M Care Team (left), adminis- Tuesday at Rudder Fountain. Blood pressure is tested before a per-
ters a blood pressure test to Valerie Hinton, a junior marketing ma- son donates blood.
Governor surveys storm damage
The Associated Press
Gov. Ann Richards traveled Tuesday to parts of
North Texas, including the town of Cleburne near
Dallas, to survey damages left by storms and torna
does that swept through the area, claiming one life.
Richards, Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco, and Cle
burne city officials toured the mostly ravaged busi
ness area to assess whether the town would be de
clared a disaster area, said Gabby Garcia, a
spokesman in the governor's office.
Initial reports indicated the storms flattened 10
businesses and three city-owned facilities. Also, 100
commercial businesses, 247 homes and 50 cars were
damaged. Several minor injuries also were reported.
"I think the miracle is that there was no one killed
in this event," Richards said. "It's so unbelievable
that you can have this kind of damage and no seri
ous injury or loss of life."
The governor, in a speech given earlier in the day
at Texas Christian University, said that the initial
damage assessment of about $6 million to $8 million
was tentative.
Richards also said that she would have to confer
with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
before a decision is made on a disaster declaration,
which would provide financial relief to businesses
and homeowners.
One person, a toddler, was reported dead in the
storms.
A 13-month-old girl died when she was swept
from her mother's arms after their car stalled in
floodwaters from heavy thunderstorms early Tues
day morning.
Divers and rescue personnel were called to am un
incorporated area of Parker County, where they
found Cassandra Maddux about 9:15 a.m., authori
ties said.
A&M celebrates Hispanic culture
ACT scores
rise slightly
among Texans
— — —— * —-
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Texas students'
scores on the ACT college en
trance exam rose slightly this
year but remain below the na
tional average, according to a
report released Tuesday by the
Texas Education Agency.
The average composite score
on the American College Test
ing program exam in Texas was
20.1 on a 36-point scale, up
from 19.9 in 1992.
Nationally, the average score
was 20.7, up from 20.6 the pre
vious year. Texas' larger in
crease narrows the gap between
the state and national scores.
The test includes English,
mathematics, reading and nat
ural science.
A record 54,115 Texas stu
dents took the ACT in 1993,
marking the third consecutive
year the number of test-takers
increased, the agency said. Last
year, 53,201 students took the
ACT in Texas.
"This shows that more and
more students are considering
college as a valid postsecondary
option," said Texas Education
Commissioner Lionel "Skip"
Meno.
More than 875,000 graduat
ing high school seniors took the
test nationwide this year.
The composite scores of all
ethnic groups in Texas went up
except for Asian American-Pa
cific Islander students.
By Jan Higginbotham
The Battalion
As National Hispanic Heritage
Month kicks off around the coun
try today, several A&M Hispanic
organizations will start a campus
wide Hispanic Heritage Celebra
tion.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a
national celebration that began
with the Bush administration, but
this is only the second year the
event has been celebrated at Texas
A&M.
Texas A&M's Hispanic Presi
dents Council is coordinating this
year's event.
Dr. Emily Santiago, HPC advis
er and assistant director of multi
cultural services, said the celebra
tion is expected to deliver a mes
sage about Hispanic culture.
"We want people to see the di
versity of the different groups in
volved but also the common cul
tural values that bring Hispanics
together," Santiago said.
In an attempt to give the event
a broader perspective this year,
Santiago said, each Hispanic orga
nization on campus was given the
opportunity to plan a program for
the celebration.
"The planning was a joint ef
fort between the organizations,
their advisers, HPC and myself,"
Santiago said.
As a result, the event will in
clude a wide variety of activities
that focus on a number of issues
affecting the Hispanic communi
ty, and, Santiago said, "the event
will be interesting to different
people for different reasons."
The festivities for Hispanic
Heritage Month will get under
way Wednesday night as Dr. Mar
co Portales will deliver a presenta
tion titled "Hispanics and Hispan
ics and Hispanics." Dr. Jesus Ne
grete will follow with "The Signif
icance of 16 de Septiembre & Chi
cane Music."
Tonight's program also will in
clude a presentation by the Ballet
Folklorico.
Events are scheduled through
out the upcoming month and will
culminate with the Hispanic Her
itage Month Dance on Oct. 15.
Other highlighted activities in
clude a visit from Fernando
Dovalina from the Houston
Chronicle, as well as a presenta
tion by the Honorable Marcos
Rigau, the Honorable Fernando
Martin and Mr. Benny Frankie
Cerezo, concerning the upcoming
referendum on the issue of Puerto
Rico becoming a state.
Israel, Jordan sign
peace framework
Congress gives Arafat warm welcome;
Clinton plans to further peace process
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The historic Israeli-PLO accord bore further
fruits of peace Tuesday as Jordan and Israel signed a framework for
negotiations and Morocco moved toward formal recognition of the
Jewish state. Yasser Arafat was warmly received in Congress.
"We will continue now rapidly to break down the barriers between
Israel and other nations," said President Clinton.
Jordan and Israel signed an "Agenda for Peace" at a State Depart
ment ceremony. The agreement lays out a framework for future negoti
ations.
Ambassador Fayez Tarawneh, who signed for Jordan, said he hoped
it would establish an agenda for discussions and lead to "a compre
hensive peace that will transform the lives of all our peoples."
The pact could lead to settlement of the border between the two
countries and launch joint efforts to harness water resources, protect
the environment and develop the Dead Sea region.
Negotiations would seek a "mutual commitment not to threaten
each other by any use of force" or terrorism.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was in Morocco for a surprise
meeting with King Hassan II. The meeting was expected to lead to
diplomatic relations.
Rabin said it would not happen instantly. "But the fact that from
Washington we are coming to Rabat and are meeting with the king
perhaps is another step forward in everything that is linked to estab
lishing relations," he said.
In Washington, a senior official said Secretary of State Warren
Christopher had sent letters to some 10 U.S. embassies in Europe, the
Middle East and Asia, suggesting the host governments "provide po
litical and financial support to the Palestinians.
The official said appeals had earlier been made to the European
Community, Japan, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.
Arafat said he was not ready to shuck his military uniform. He was
clearly relishing a new Washington role of good-natured statesman.
"I am not a chameleon," Arafat said, proudly asserting he still was
commander-in-chief of a Palestinian army. He said at a news confer
ence that when Palestinians get a state and control over East Jerusalem
Jews would be welcome to keep living there.
Arafat met with Senate leaders who promised to review U.S. laws
that bar financial assistance to the PLO because of its long history of
terrorism against Israelis and Americans.
Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, said Congress
and the Clinton administration would pursue "the best and most ap
propriate way" to further the peace process.
Arafat then went to the National Press Club where he said that
more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza faced starvation. "We are in
need, at least, of loan guarantees," he said.
Arafat reaffirmed he intends to see a Palestinian state established
and to take control of East Jerusalem, which he described as occupied
territory.
Board of Regents meeting
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will dis
cuss items relating to the Aggie Ring, the planning of a power plant
and a licensing agreement with Baylor College of Medicine at its
regular meetings Thursday and Friday.
The meetings will start at 2:45 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday
in the Board or Regents Annex across the street from Cain Hall.
Inside
Sports
•A&M players hoping to get
back on winning track
Page 5
• Kisling looking to spike
competition
Page 7
Opinion
•Editorial: On-campus
shuttle buses still haven't
been fixed
Page9
Weather
►Wednesday: sunny and
pleasant, highs in 80s
• Forecast for Thursday:
Also nice and sunny,
highs in 80s to near 90
• For the weekend: partly
cloudy with showers,
highs in 90s
Tomorrow in Aggielife
Texas' crop of musicians:
Interviews with funk band House of Usher;
Bryan native, country artist Doug Supernaw
and blues guitarist Ian Moore
Reviews:
John Mellencamp’s ‘Human
Wheels,’ James Taylor’s live
album and ‘True Romance’