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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1993)
"fUuy q)00l The Battalio Vol. 93 No. 21 (8 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Monday, September 27,1993 w eekend rap-up Three U.S. soldiers killed in Somalia NAIROBI, Kenya — Three American soldiers were killed Saturday in Somalia when militia men fired a rocket-propelled grenade that brought down their helicopter. Jubilant crowds surrounded the downed craft, holding up pieces of the wreckage. Re porters who went to the scene several hours after the crash said some Somalis displayed what they said were pieces of flesh from the dead crew. It was the first time a heli copter was downed during the 10-month U.N. operation in Mo gadishu and the worst loss of U.S. life since four American sol diers were killed Aug. 8 by a land mine. The deaths Saturday bring to 11 the number of U.S. servicemen killed in action in Somalia. Evidence sparse on Amtrak wreck MOBILE, Ala. — Investigators retrieved a data recorder that could pinpoint the time of Amtrak's worst disaster, but they had no luck trying to interview the crew of a towboat whose runaway barge struck a railroad bridge. Another locomotive was re moved from the bayou below the wrecked bridge Saturday morning. Authorities expect to have three re maining cars cleared by Sunday, said CSX Transportation spokes woman Donna Rohrer in Jack sonville, Fla. CSX owns the track. One thing the National Trans- ortation Safety Board wants to ow is who was steering the tow boat that lost the barge, NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said Saturday. But investigators were referred to the crew members' at torneys when they tried to ask questions Friday. poi knc VMI to establish women's program RICHMOND, Va. - The all male Virginia Military Institute said Saturday it would create a program for women at a private college to comply with a federal court order. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state-sup ported college last October to ei ther admit women, go private or establish a program for women elsewhere. The program approved by the VMI Board of Visitors would be established by the VMI Founda tion at a cost of $6.9 million. The state would subsidize a portion of the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin College, but details have not been worked out. Sixth Street: open containers banned AUSTIN — Sixth Street, once compared to Bourbon Street in New Orleans for partying between the curbs, has been forced to move its revelry indoors. As recently as May, partyers on the capital's most famous night club strip could stroll up and down the neon-lit, music-filled side walks, grabbing a beer from a curbside vendor. Those days, however, are over. Open containers no longer are permitted on Sixth Street. A city ordinance prohibiting the outdoor consumption of alcohol in downtown Austin went into effect this summer after being ruled con stitutional by a federal judge. The ordinance was an effort by city officials to reduce violence, panhandling and loitering on Sixth Street. -The Associated Press Yeltsin enjoying mass public support The Associated Press MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians cheered Boris Yeltsin at a concert on Red Square on Sunday and at least 10,000 peo ple marched in the biggest demonstration of support for the president since he dis banded parliament five days ago. Across town, hard-liners who have de fied Yeltsin by refusing to leave the par liament building dug in their heels. "If need be, we will stay here for a year," said parliament speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, leader of about 100 law makers who remain holed up in the building, known as the White House. Yeltsin, accompanied by Defense Min ister Pavel Grachev and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, waded into surging crowds on Red Square for a free concert by the Washington-based National Sym phony Orchestra and its conductor, for mer dissident Mstislav Rostropovich. The president waved and smiled, then Boris Yeltsin has disbanded the Russian parliament and set new parlia mentary elections for December. took his place at the front of the crowd. He cracked a smile again when earblast ing cannons went off during Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." An announcer urged "faith in the pres ident and in Russia's future," and the crowd responded "Hurrah! Hurrah! ' A longtime backer of Yeltsin, Ros tropovich has said he wanted the concert to give Russians hope and confidence during the transition to a post-Soviet democracy. "Yeltsin is one of us and he must suc- Alexander Rutskoi, the Russian vice president, has condemned Yeltsin and declared himself president. ceed," said Nina Shtanina, a 69-year-old pensioner who arrived on Red Square at 8 a.m., four hours early, to get a good view of Rostropovich. Temperatures were near freezing. "I took part in the Second World War, and if we won that fight, we can win this one," she said. Later, pro-Yeltsin demonstrators chanting "Yeltsin! Yeltsin!" linked arms and marched down broad Tverskaya Street — Gorky Street in Soviet times. A small band headed the procession. Marchers carried Russian flags, pic tures of the president and placards with slogans such as "Shame on the White House," "Boris, You're Right Again" and "Elections are the Will of the People." Yeltsin has set new parliamentary elections for December and says presi dential elections could be held in June. The hard-line Congress wants simulta neous parliamentary and presidential elections in March. Khasbulatov's parliament, elected in So viet times, opposed the president's free- market reforms, saying they were causing undue hardship. Lawmakers also whittled away at Yeltsin's presidential powers. Outside the White House, Yeltsin's re bellious vice president, Alexander Rutskoi, urged 3,0Q0 to 4,000 anti-Yeltsin demon strators "to stand till the end." Rutskoi has condemned Yeltsin's actions as unconstitu tional and declared himself president. The demonstrators are a mix of Com munists and extreme nationalists, and are mostly older than Yeltsin's supporters. Circulat'd Dully r Jjf jjfTjl) __ 0 jt __ J* __ ruMMird By pc ousti co »<//■>- <v ii n: m kkksj ora CKcr/i.n <uv cou.ccc ' s,Z.T. v. ~ ('fit t » <;i srAttoN i TfvXAS.fci'^fAL rMiiit AiiT”rwV<' ~ »«m**ri*#<v«t Battalion Co-Editors Resign jobs In Pace of Publication Committee 1954 censorship controversy led to mass staff resignation First in a series of articles previewing The Battalion's 100th anniversary issue By Jennifer Smith The Bateauon B efore walking out on their jobs as co-editors of The Battalion in the spring of 1954, Jerry Bennett and Ed Holder wrote one last story. In the story. Holder and Bennett charged College ad ministrators with trying to censor the content of the news paper through the creation of a "publication committee." In the end, 12 members of the newspaper's staff ten dered their resignations in an incident that made news nationwide. At a meeting of the Stu dent Life Committee to dis cuss the issue. College ad ministrators insisted the com mittee would simply "ad vise" and "assist" the editors of The Battalion. Bennett and Holder, both Class of '54, said in the same issue of The Battalion that this was censorship because the editors could be removed for not following the advice of the committee. When Bennett asked someone at the Student Life Committee to explain the dif ference between advising and censorship, he was an swered by someone at the meeting who said, "If it means you could be kicked out for incompetence, you would have been kicked out long ago." After it was apparent the words "advise" and "assist" would not be removed from the plan to create a special committee, Bennett and Hold er announced their resigna tions and left the meeting. Also in the Feb. 23 issue of The Battalion, 10 other staff members gave their resignation letters in the "Letters to the Editors" sec tion of the newspaper. Chuck Neighbors, manag ing editor and Class of '54, said he could no longer work for a publication called a newspaper if it no longer was a newspaper. "A student newspaper, if it is to function effectively as a training ground, must be free and uncensored to pro vide the most realistic atmos phere for the novice journal ist," Neighbors said. Many administrators said students are too young to cope with the problems of operating a newspaper, but the purpose of a college newspaper is to be a training ground, he said. Harri Baker, campus edi tor and Class of '55, said a "newspaper was killed last night," and he hoped The Battalion would one day be free to tell the truth. Bob Boriskie, managing editor and Class of '55, said to continue working at The Battalion under the special committee would be "offen sive" to him. "The light has been turned out on the campus, and I certainly do not choose to remain with those who Holder prefer to grope about in the dark," he said. Gereld P. Estes, basic divi sion editor and Class of '55, said it is not a newspaper's job to print stories that are pleasing to the readers. "Its job is to print the news, whether pleasing or unpleas ant to certain institutions and individuals," Estes said. The Bryan Daily Eagle, criticized The Battalion in its Feb. 24, 1954 issue for seeking freedom of the press, saying it would be irresponsible to turn editorial control over to "a group as relatively imma ture as college students." The Eagle also called the special committee that would oversee The Battalion a "sta ble force." In this issue of The Eagle, Bennett and Holder said censorship is hidden within the words "advise" and "as sistance." "To us, it still means the same thing," Bennett and Bennett Holder told The Eagle. "This committee has been set up to stop The Battalion from printing the truth about things at A.&M. which are embarrassing to some individuals. "All we have done is try our best to print the truth. Maybe the truth hurts. It cer tainly looks that way." After about a month with out a full student staff. The Battalion editorial board, a committee made up of The Battalion's section editors, wrote an editorial on March 23, 1954 titled "No Change for Batt: Truth Still Policy." By this time, many of the staff members who quit a month earlier had returned to The Battalion, and Baker and Boriskie took over as co editors. In this editorial, these staff members explained the threat of censorship was not as severe as they had thought when they resigned, and "we felt we could return without sacrificing any of our principles concerning a free press." The editorial board also added that A.&M. adminis trators favored a free press, and they would not tolerate censorship in any form. "So The Battalion will re main the same — a newspa per, not an organ of any spe cial group." The Battalion 1893-1993 • Monday: The Battalion vs. The Administration • Tuesday: Cartoonists of The Battalion • Wednesday: Fired Editor Thomas DeFrank • Thursday: The Battalion Anniversary Issue ATF director faces threat of dismissal for Waco raid The Associated Press Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Stephen Higgins will likely be replaced following the re lease of federal reviews of the ATF's botched raid on the Branch Davidians' Waco home, according to a published re port Sunday. In The Dallas Morning News' copy right story, federal officials said Higgins, the ATF chief for a decade, will probably be eased out of his position. The News and the Houston Chronicle also reported Sunday that several other ATF officials will be removed or reas signed. Reviews by the Treasury and Jus tice Departments of the raid are expected to be released late this week. However, ATF spokesman Jack Kil- lorin declined to comment on reports that the investigation concludes ATF agents knew members of the armed cult had been told before they launched the raid in February. Other ATF officials in Washington and in Dallas didn't immediately return telephone calls Sunday to The Associat ed Press. Associate ATF Director Dan Hartnett, Deputy Assistant Director Dan Conroy and Intelligence Chief David Troy were expected to be transferred or placed on leave, officials said. Hartnett and Conroy are accused of lying or making disingenuous state ments about whether an undercover agent recommended the raid be called off because cult leader David Koresh had been informed, according to the Chronicle. Troy also has been criticized reported ly for making false or misleading state ments at news conferences. Sources told the Chronicle that Char lie Thomson, special agent in charge of the ATF office in New York City, and George Rodriguez, special agent in the Los Angeles office, have been tapped to replace Hartnett and Conroy. Three Texas ATF officials are report edly likely to be transferred or place on administrative leave: Philip Chojnacki, head of the Houston ATF office and com mander of the Waco raid; Ted Royster, his Dallas counterpart; and Charles Sarabyn, Chojnacki's assistant who was the tactical commander of the raid. Chojnacki and Sarabyn have said that they began the raid to serve war rants for possible weapons violations because they didn't think the secrecy had been violated. Haden looks forward to taking over as A&M System vice chancellor and dean By Cheryl Heller The Battalion Dr. C. Roland Haden, who will take over as Texas A&M University System vice chancellor for Engineering and dean of the College of Engi neering on Oct. 15, said he has big plans for his new positions. "I couldn't be more pleased that I was cho sen," said Haden, former Louisiana State Uni versity provost. "I think this may be the best en gineering job in the country, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity. "As far as dean of engineering, I think Texas A&M is already one of the best engi neering schools in the country. I think we'll strengthen the areas we need to strengthen. and then let everyone know how good the program is." As dean, Haden said he will emphasize good teaching and research in the College of Engineering. "We're going to make it a friendly place for students and faculty," he said. "It will be a great place to work and go to school." As vice chancellor, Haden plans to work with System Chancellor William H. Mobley to im prove interaction between A&M campuses. "I think there are some magnificent tools available," he said. "I'm looking forward to working with Dr. Mobley as he strives to strengthen ties with other schools in the A&M system. See Engineering/Page 2 Inside Sports ►Barone, A&M basketball throw 'House' party ► Martinez leads Aggie netters at home tourney Page 5 Opinion •Editorial: G. Rollie White renovation a mistake •Column: keep your feet on the floor, not in your mouth Page 7 Weather ►Monday: sunny & windy, highs in the 80s ►Forecast for Tuesday: sunny w/ highs in the 80s Texas Lotto •Saturday's winning Texas Lotto numbers: 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 32