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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1993)
Vol. 93 No. 16 (10 pages) The Battalion 1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Monday, September 20,1993 W eekend rap-up J Hijackers sought | shield from Iran OSLO, Norway (AP) — Three men charged with hijacking a Russian airliner said they picked Norway as their destination be cause they hoped it would shield them from torture in Iran, their at torney said Friday. The men have asked for politi cal asylum, but face up to 21 years I in prison if they are tried and con victed of hijacking in Norway. In a closed session, a prelimi nary court ordered the men held for eight weeks pending an inves tigation. The men were charged with using grenades to hijack an Aeroflot Tu-134 with 58 people aboard after it took off on Wednesday from Baku, Azerbai jan. The jet was forced to fly to Kiev, Ukraine for refueling and then to Norway, where the men surrendered on Thursday. Exchange student killed in Florida TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A 17- vear-old exchange student from Turkey was found dead Saturday in bushes near the home where he was staying. His belongings were scattered nearby. Homicide detectives were in vestigating the death of Mahmet Bahar, who was discovered by his roommate and an early-morning jogger in an affluent, residential neighborhood, police said. Police believe Bahar, of An talya, Turkey, died late Friday or early Saturday and that a struggle was involved. Neighbors who saw the body told The St. Peters burg Times that the teen-ager ap peared to have been beaten. "There was some minor trau ma to the victim, I don't know what," police Cpl. D. Simonson said. "Tne victim's vehicle was at the scene and there were other personal items scattered nearby." East Texas waste facility may close DALLAS (AP) — In what was termed an extraordinary move, the Texas Natural Resource Conserva tion Commission will consider shutting down an industrial waste processing facility in East Texas. "It is very unusual and as far as I know, it has not happened be fore. It's actually more than un usual. It's extraordinary," Deputy Executive Director Ken Ramirez said Saturday. The TNRCC charges that Gibraltar Chemical Resources Inc. in Winona has a history of mixing incompatible wastes, causing re actions that contaminate the soil, groundwater and air. The new commission is a merg er of the Texas Water Commission, Texas Air Control Board, and th -ee Health Department divisions. | Barney bashers given fine, curfew GALVESTON (AP) - Three boys who attacked a Barney the Dinosaur impersonator at a Kmart grand opening have been fined $200 each and given a 6 p.m. curfew. I The three boys — ages 10, 11 and 12 — are well known to the Galveston Police Department. "They harass their neighbor hood and terrorize the whole city," said Harold A. Beasley, a juvenile officer. "They run together. Every time you see one, look behind him and you'll see three more." A fourth boy, whose age was not released, was being held in ju venile detention on another of fense and did not appear at Wednesday's municipal court hearing. He has four robbery charges pending against him, ju venile authorities said. -The Associated Press Regents authorize two research centers By Lisa Elliott The Battalion The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents established Friday afternoon a Texas Center for Climate Studies and a Center for Texas Beaches and Shores. Both Centers will be created within the College of Geosciences and Maritime studies. See Related Stories, Page 10 The Center for Climate Studies will initiate, encourage and support climate-related programs in research and ed ucation. It will work in connection with other similar pro grams already in existence in Texas and the nation. The Center for Texas Beaches and Shores will re search problems related to the loss of shoreline and eco logical damage to coastal conservation areas. The center will be located on the Texas A&M-Galveston campus. In other business, the Board of Regents approved au thorization for a master of science degree in life-cycle en gineering operations management. This program will be operated by the College of Engi neering, College of Business Administration and Gradu ate School of Business. Interim University President E. Dean Gage said the new program bridges two highly important fields of studv. "This is one of the most exciting degree programs that will be presented to the Board for a long period of time," he said. The University will receive help from the government in setting up the degree program for the first three years. The Board also took action on the following items during its Friday meeting: • The Board gave sole responsibility of the Aggie Se nior Ring to the Association of Former Students. The Association will have all rights to the markings associated with the senior ring, although the University will retain the right to use the designs for marketing purposes. • Regents gave the University president the right to name buildings and other entities in the George Bush Presidential Library without getting approval from the Board. Previously, any naming of items would have to be put on the Board agenda and await a vote from the Board. • The Board approved the appointment of Fred M. Heath as dean and director of the Sterling C. Evans Li brary and Dr. C. Roland Haden as Vice Chancellor for Engineering, Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor or Electrical Engineering. 73-0: Enough said Darrin HUI/The Battalion Junior yell leader Scott Torn is carried to the Fish Pond for a Saturday. The Aggies will take on the Texas Tech Red yell practice after the 73-0 victory over the Missouri Tigers Raiders in Lubbock Oct. 2. Convicted felon awaits clemency recommendation The Associated Press HOUSTON — A Tomball woman is hoping to benefit from a new state law that awards clemency to certain family abuse victims who killed their abusers. If Becky Wardlow is granted clemen cy, she would be the first to benefit from the law signed by Gov. Ann Richards in 1991. Several domestic violence experts in Texas are appalled that no one has been granted clemency even though the law has been on the book since that time. Other states with similar programs, such as Ohio and Maryland, have processed numerous cases in the past few years. "I'm not only surprised. I'm shocked," said Toby Myers, a psy chotherapist and director of the Pivot Project, a Houston treatment group for batterers. "The fact is many of these women had never (before killing their abusers) even been to the principal's of fice." Joseph Ober-Hauser with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said about 175 women, out of 500 screened, have met the standards of domestic See Clemency/Page 2 Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor recognizes eight former cadets Room named for deceased Aggie By Kevin Lindstrom The Battalion Texas A&M University officials, fami ly and friends celebrated the accomplish ments of the late Lt. Gen. Andrew David Bruce with the dedication Friday of a room in the Military Sciences building. Bruce, Class of '16, served for 37 years in the U.S. Army. Assigned the task of finding a way to stop German tanks during World War TI, Bruce created the Tank Destroyer Center and founded Fort Flood in April 1942. After Bruce retired from military ser vice in 1954, he served at the University of Houston as its president from 1954-56 and as chancellor from 1956-61, earning state financial support and academic ac creditation for the university. The room dedicated in his honor will feature a display of his life and career. Included in the display are articles from the Temple Daily Telegram that cover his military and civilian career, a display of Bruce's medals and his Ross Volun teer cap from his days as a cadet at A&M. "Gen. Bruce was clearly an outstand ing Aggie, not only during his military career, but in the civilian sector as well," said Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Darling, com mandant of the Corps of Cadets. In a ceremony Saturday morning, the Corps of Cadets inducted Bruce and sev en other former students into the Corps Hall of Flonor, located on the north wall in the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center. "The display here represents the life and contributions of one of the most fa mous and prominent Aggies of all time," said Dr. J. Malon Southerland, interim vice president for student services. "Gen. Bruce was extraordinary, hav ing distinguished himself in the two world wars and throughout his military career, then all of his great work for the University of Houston during a time of dynamic growth for that university." Born in St. Louis, Mo., Bruce received a bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M in 1916. In 1917, he began his career in mili tary service as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was the first A&M infantry officer to attain the rank of lieutenant general, and he introduced several methods of military instruction that were later adopted by the U.S. Army. Bruce was designated an A&M Dis tinguished Alumnus by Texas A&M University and the Association of For mer Students in 1968. Ceremony held for inductees By Jennifer Smith The Battalion The Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets honored eight former cadets Sat urday during the inaugural ceremony of the Corps Hall of Honor. Lt. Col. Donald R. Henderson, direc tor of the Corps Center, said the in ductees exemplify the Aggie spirit. "This is a long overdue way of pay ing tribute to the Corps," Henderson said. Mary Helen Bowers, deputy director of University Relations, said the former cadets who are being honored have dis tinguished themselves in many different ways. "Four of the inductees had very dis tinguished careers in the military, and the other four men served with distinc tion in the military, but they built their careers in civilian life," Bowers said. Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Darling served as master of ceremonies and presented the former cadets with honorary plaques. "It is our hope that this Hall of Honor will provide inspiration to all Aggies — past, present and future," Darling said. The inaugural honorees include Lt. Gen. A.D. Bruce, Class of '16; Dr. Sam Houston Sanders, Class of '22; Gen. Bernard Schriever, Class of '31; Maj. Gen. James Earl Rudder, Class of '32; Olin E. Teague, Class of '32; Lt. Gen. Ormond R. Simpson, Class of '36; Lt. Gen. Jay T, Robbins, Class of '40; and Oscar S. Wy att, Class of '45. Four of the recipients, including Bruce, Sanders, Rudder and Teague, were honored posthumously. Members of their families accepted their awards. "We are pleased that our inaugural class is such a prestigious group, repre senting excellence in areas that all Ag gies hold dear," Darling said. Darling said in future ceremonies the number of inductees will be limited to four cadets instead of eight. Henderson said the idea to create the Hall of Honor came when planning the Corps Center. Nominations were opened last spring for the first inductees into the Flail of Honor, and nomination forms were available to former students, A&M clubs and readers of the Texas Aggie Maga zine. A committee consisting of cadets, former students and faculty members chose the inductees. Qualifications for the Hall of Honor include being a member of the Corps of Cadets, living a life that exemplifies the Aggie spirit and possessing the values upon which the Corps was founded. D-FW airport faces safety issue The Associated Press FORT WORTH — A $6 million radar system designed to go on line at Dallas-Fort Worth In ternational Airport in November has been rid dled with safety problems at other airports and has some controllers fearing it could lead to acci dents, according to a published report. When the system — called Airport Surveil lance Radar-9, or ASR-9 — goes into effect, D- FW controllers will use it to guide flights into and out of the airport in all kinds of weather. No accidents have been linked to use of the radar system at any airport. But the Federal Avi ation Administration acknowledges the system has had problems at about half of the 62 airports where it is in use, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sunday. The computerized, high-tech system has occa sionally failed to discern between two aircraft flying close to each other, instead showing them as one target on the controller's screen. And it is so sensitive that it picks up objects on the ground. When controllers adjust it to remove the clutter, it misses small airplanes. Because some D-FW controllers say they're concerned about the new radar, the present sys tem will stay on line for at least 90 days to make sure the new system works properly, said Lee Wong, the FAA's assistant director for facilities and equipment in the Southwest Region. D-FW controller Mark Pall one said controllers will be able to switch instantly to the old system if problems occur with the new one. "There's no way we'll compromise safety for any reason at all," he said. "The new radar won't be accepted until everyone's satisfied with it." The new system is intended as a major im provement over prior systems, including the ASR-8 radar in use at D-FW, said FAA spokesman Ronnie L. Uhlenhaker in Fort Worth. tt ♦ ~g Inside Campus IFC sees largest fraternity rush in A&M history Page 2 Sports ►A&M devastates Missouri, 73-0 Opinion Page 5 •Government takeover in Vidor good sign Page 9 Weather ►Monday: partly cloudy, 20 percent chance rain ►Tuesday: partly cloudy, highs in mid-90s Texas Lotto ►Saturday's winning Texas Lotto numbers: 2, 22, 32, 35,45, 47