ed.
business <(,.
of'56,h
‘broughfe
'S.
-°don Bot
’lots outfe
V (JJOC
Vol. 93 No. 23 (10 pages)
The Battalion
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Wednesday, September 29,1993
ason must.
Ju Pat"K,
v Year's Cij
? 8 u lar occ#
en the Agju
/ reads:';
’eat t.u.; a
at SMUjasi
,ea t UH;air
and Bayle
nsas and ti
/one butRc
ryone beat
e rest of ot
o the Unive
Sept. 11 ptf
er chanced
with hisToj
at the gam
’red again
Yeltsin blocks roads to parliament
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — President Boris Yeltsin tried
to break the nerve of defiant hard-line law
makers on Tuesday, surrounding the Russian
parliament with thousands of riot police and
troops in his biggest show of force yet.
Trucks and barbed wire blocked roads lead
ing to the parliament building. Senior Interior
Ministry officials barked through loudspeak
ers, ordering the lawmakers and their support
ers to surrender their weapons and leave the
building by Wednesday.
Police commanders told The Associated
Press they might storm the building if the de
fenders did not surrender their weapons. First
Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Shumeiko
said the government wanted the building
cleared. "No one needs this hotbed of ten
sion," he said.
Yeltsin's press spokesman, Vyacheslav
Kostikov, said the government had no plans to
attack the parliament building.
Yeltsin has ruled out compromise with his
opponents. The deployment of more troops
Tuesday stepped up the war of nerves with
the increasingly demoralized and isolated law
makers who have been holed up since parlia
ment was dissolved last week.
More than 200 lawmakers already have de
fected from the hard-line cause and are negoti
ating job offers with Yeltsin's government, ac
cording to a former parliament member.
Yeltsin abolished parliament Sept. 21 and
called for new elections in December. He has
called for presidential elections in June.
Inside the sprawling parliament complex,
known as the White House, dozens of guards
and volunteers piled rocks and manned barri
cades as their leaders shouted orders. Russian
Orthodox priests in flowing black robes
blessed the defenders with crosses.
See Yeltsin/Page 3
Suicide victim's family
files lawsuit against Army
The Associated Press
FORT WORTH — The Army is targeted in a lawsuit by the family
of a Texas soldier who committed suicide after complaining of sexual
harassment.
The family of Spc. Alexis Martinez Colon is seeking $320 million
in the lawsuit filed Sept. 8 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
"We are claiming compensation for the way she died and for the
harassment that led to her death," Denver attorney Doris Besikof told
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
See Suicide/Page 8
id.’.."
’f the Aggit
of the strip,
e Powell is i
'er and las!
-sident of tit
ociation.
ery football
/ay, and all
ws. Forfar
when time is
i posed dead-
s, he will cl
ad vance thai
come,
liter wasal
nes draw tl*
faces and gel
essions after
L
s an under
aj or he ran
Fish Blotto"
ired to draw.
Powell said
re artwork."
i pi led to Hie
onist at the
but he was
aid his goal
idet Slouch'
g cartoon in
me year be-
he said. 1
got to go to
1
I
>
I
Hutchison
wants trial
over quickly
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Lawyers for indict
ed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
said Tuesday they will attempt to
get a trial on criminal charges be
hind her as quickly as possible.
"Justice delayed is justice de
nied," said John Dowd, Hutchi
son's Washington, D.C.-based at
torney.
Dowd said a speedy trial will
help keep the indictments re
turned against the senator on
Monday from being dragged out
before voters as she seeks re-
election next year to a full, six-
year term.
See Editorial Page 9
Hutchison, the first woman
senator elected from Texas, is
scheduled to make an initial court
appearance Oct, 11, when a trial
date could be set.
The senator, who would top
the GOP ticket next year, faces a
january filing deadline for her re-
election bid and a March primary.
"I don't think (a delay in the tri
al) helps, but on the other hand, I
have an enormous abiding faith in
the citizens of Texas," Dowd said.
"I think they have shown their
faith once and will do it again."
Hutchison was indicted on
charges that she used state em
ployees and equipment for per
sonal and political gain during
her 2 1/2-year term as state trea
surer, and allegations that she
helped destroy documents as part
of a cover-up.
If convicted, she faces a maxi
mum of 61 years in prison and
$43,000 in fines.
She denies any wrongdoing
and calls the charges "sleazy poli
tics” by vindictive Democrats,
namely Travis County District At
torney Ronnie Earle, who led the
Treasury probe.
Michael Barron, former deputy
See Hutchison/Page 8
'They were determined to get rid of me and my staff
Editor fired over dispute with administration
By Mary Kujawa
The Battalion
F rom The Battalion news
room to the Washington Bu
reau of Newsweek maga
zine, former Battalion editor
Thomas DeFrank has lived a life
most of us only read about in the
newspapers and newsmagazines
or watch on the evening news.
DeFrank currently is the se
nior White House correspondent
and the deputy bureau chief for
the Washington Bureau of
Newsweek.
"I have seen a lot of historic
things, and it all started in the
basement of the Batt Cave when 1
saw an ad in a magazine that
doesn't exist anymore," he said.
The magazine was the Modera
tor, w'hich is no longer published.
DeFrank came to Texas A&M
University in the fall of 1963
knowing two things: he wanted
to be an Aggie and he wanted to
pursue a degree in journalism.
"I just wanted to go to A&M,"
DeFrank said. "I loved the spirit
of A&M."
Just as strong as DeFrank's de
sire to come to A&M was his de
sire to be a reporter. DeFrank's
roots in journalism can be traced
back to his junior high and high
school days. He worked on the
newspaper in junior high school
and was the editor of his high
school newspaper. He then
worked three years at The Battal
ion.
"1 wanted to be a reporter for
as long as I can remember," he
said.
In his junior year at A&M, De-
Frank became the managing edi
tor of The Battalion. The editor
that year was Glenn Dromgoole,
who is now the editor of the Abi
lene Reporter-News.
"The two best years in journal
ism were the year I covered Vice
President Ford before he became
president and the year I served as
Glenn's managing editor," De-
Frank said. "Glenn was and is
still the best editor I ever worked
for. Glenn was a terrific editor, a
steady presence and a great
teacher."
Controversy abounded on the
A&M campus in 1965-66 when
DeFrank and Dromgoole worked
on the newspaper. DeFrank said
A&M was in a transition period
from a small military school that
wanted to be more.
"The administration was
caught between the traditional
ists and the forces of change that
wanted A&M to be a progressive
university," he said.
At The Battalion, the forces of
old and new often created ten
sion.
"There was conflict all year
long over what should and
should not be allowed in the pa
per," DeFrank said. "Stories
were often pulled at the press be
cause the publications adviser,
who was taking orders from the
administration, didn't like them."
J. Earl Rudder, president of
A&M, and the editors often
found themselves at opposite
ends of the struggle.
"Gen. Rudder was not very
enlightened on issues of the col
lege press," DeFrank said. "He
was very old-fashioned and
wanted nothing critical of the
University, period. However, I
always believed that more than
any individual he is responsible
for making A&M the great uni
versity it is today."
One incident that stands out in
DeFrank's mind from that year
was an incident concerning John
ny Cash and Bonfire.
In the fall of 1965, Cash was
scheduled to perform at Bonfire.
However, Cash was arrested in
El Paso and charged with smug
gling and concealing drugs be
fore his appearance at A&M.
Consequently, the administration
canceled his concert.
DeFrank said The Battalion
editorialized Cash was innocent
until proven guilty. "The admin
istration went crazy," he said.
Dromgoole said The Battalion
wrote editorials about the situa
tion and DeFrank interviewed
Cash's manager.
"That issue really got to the
administration and put us at
odds for the rest of the year,"
Dromgoole said.
The situation between the ad
ministration and The Battalion
didn't improve when DeFrank
became editor the next year.
On Sept. 21, 1966, The Battal
ion printed an unsigned letter in
"Sound Off," The Battalion's let-
ters-to-the-editors column. The
letter was from a veteran's wife
who complained about receiving
several letters pleading for a do
nation to the Aggie Ex Develop
ment Fund, even though her hus
band still was a student and not
an Aggie Ex.
See DeFrank/Page 6
Former Battalion editor Thomas DeFrank, currently the senior White House correspondent and the
deputy bureau chief for the Washington Bureau of Newsweek, once was fired from The Battalion staff.
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
Large freshman Corps class causes overcrowding in dorms
By Jennifer Smith
The Battalion
Some members of the Texas A&M Uni
versity Corps of Cadets are learning how
to fit three people into a room built for
two.
This year, five cadets are over-assigned
and must live temporarily with room
mates who have already secured their
room assignment.
Mando Avila, deputy Corps comman
der and a senior political science major,
said these over-assigned cadets are wait
ing for someone to quit the Corps or for
some adjusting to occur so they can live
in a room within their outfit.
Out of the 12 dorms on the Quad, three
are currently filled with non-reg females.
Avila said it will probably be used as a
Corps dorm again next year.
"I guess they didn't anticipate the
freshmen class would be so big," he said.
"There is no clause that all of the dorms
on the Quadrangle are ours."
Lt. Col. Donald Johnson, deputy com
mandant, said the Corps is using all of
the space it has available.
"We could shift and un-triple some of
the students, but that would mean some
would have to be satellited to another
outfit," Johnson said.
Johnson said most cadets would rather
share a room with two other cadets in
stead of switching outfits.
Although there are 54 non-reg fresh
men and new students who are over-as
signed, Johnson said most of the Corps
members who are tripled up are upper
classmen.
"Most outfits chose not to triple the
freshmen," Johnson said.
"Upperclassmen will accept the incon
venience of having three in a room in lieu
of having the freshmen trippled."
Johnson said it is easier for upperclass
men to handle sharing a room with two
other cadets than it is for freshmen.
"For freshmen, there is a big period of
adjustment," Johnson said.
Avila agreed that freshmen in the
Corps do not need any added pressure.
"Upperclassmen have been here a
while and can deal with it better," Avila
said.
Avila said the large number of cadets
this year also forced the Corps to place
"satellited" junior and senior cadets on
the second floor of Dorm 2. "Satellited"
cadets live separate from their outfits un
til a space opens up.
But Avila said most of the displaced
cadets will probably end up staying on
the second floor of Dorm 2.
"It's not a big problem for the satellit
ed cadets," Avila said.
Avila said it has been a while since the
Corps has had to deal with the problem
of over-assigned cadets.
"It's a good problem to have, but it's
still a problem," he said.
Domino tournament to benefit injured Aggie
"Having one of your friends injured in an acci
dent motivates you to want to help him."
- Bart Mitchell, tournament director
By Jan Higginbotham
The Battalion
What started as a small
fundraising activity to help out a
friend has turned into a major pro
gram for Walton Hall and the Resi
dence Hall Association at Texas
A&M University.
The Fall '93 Forty-Two Chal
lenge Bones Domino Tournament
has been scheduled for mid-Octo
ber and will benefit the Kyle Kep-
ple Accident Relief Fund.
Bart Mitchell, director of the
tournament, said the program
started in Walton Hall in the Fall of
1992 to help raise money for Kyle
Kepple, a former president of Wal
ton who was seriously injured in a
car accident.
"Having one of your friends in
jured in an accident motivates you
to want to help him," said Mitchell.
This fall the RHA and Walton
Hall are working with Off-Campus
Aggies, the Pan-Hellenic Council,
the Corp of Cadets and all dorms
on campus in an effort to make the
event a University-wide tourna
ment.
Ross said all of the money made
in this tournament will go to Kyle
Kepple, but future profits will go to
other Aggies who have been in
jured in accidents.
Mitchell said he and the other
organizers are working to make the
tournament an event that will be
held every semester.
"We want to make it a fund for
any Aggie who is in an accident so
that person can get assistance for
all of the costs/' said Mitchell.
"Most of the people helping out
now don't even know Kyle, they
just want to help a fellow Ag."
Chris Thompson, president of
the RHA, said the tournament is an
excellent opportunity to raise mon
ey for the new fund and to let
everybody have a good time doing
it.
"We're not interested in making
a profit for ourselves," said
Thompson, "we're interested in
contributing to the fund."
Thompson said other programs
are being considered by RHA that
will benefit the relief fund.
Kepple, who lives in Joshua,
Texas, is planning to come back to
A&M in the spring and plans to
graduate in the spring of 1995.
Although he still has orthopedic
problems and will be undergoing
See Tournament/Page 3
Inside
Sports
• Glenn looking forward to
Lubbock trip
•Winder: Sports movies
you've just got to see
Page 7
Opinion
•Scroggs: No one
discriminates because of
genetic traits, do they?
Page 9
Weather
•Wednesday: sunny and
warm, high in low 90s,
lows in 50s
•Thursday: sunny and
warm, high in low 90s,
lows in 50s
•Weekend forecast: fair
sky, highs in 80s to near
90, lows in 50s