I0 « enters its
century,
ember 30,15)j
The Battalion
The Battalion
ices with Tews
n Denton,
Vol. 93 No. 25 (8 pages)
Report
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Treasury
Secretary Lloyd Bentsen replaced
the head of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms on Thurs
day and suspended five other top
officials after a scathing report
faulted the agency for the raid on
a Texas religious cult in which
four agents died.
Field commanders "obviously
,.. should not have" proceeded
with the Feb. 18 raid on the
Branch Davidian compound near
Waco upon learning that cult
leader David Koresh knew they
were coming, Bentsen said.
He announced that he was im-
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Friday, October 1,1993
blasts ATF for handling of Waco raid
mediately replacing the agency's
director, Stephen Higgins, with
John Magaw the head of the Se
cret Service who will serve as act
ing head of ATF. Higgins had an
nounced plans Monday to retire
on Oct. 30.
"Corrective steps are neces
sary," Bentsen said.
He released the report of an in
vestigation, ordered by President
Clinton, that said the agency's
plan for the operation was "based
on seriously flawed assumptions"
about Koresh and his followers.
The report found "disturbing
evidence of flawed decision mak
ing, inadequate intelligence gath
ering, miscommunication, super
visory failures and deliberately
misleading post-raid statements
about the raid."
Three of Higgins' top deputies
were placed on paid administra
tive leave along with two Hous
ton-based agents who command
ed the operation at the scene.
The two field commanders
made false statements to their su
periors and Treasury Department
investigators and altered their orig
inal planning document "in a con
certed effort to conceal their errors
in judgment," the report asserted.
"And top ATF management,
perhaps out of a misplaced desire
to protect the agency from criti
cism, offered accounts based on
those raid commanders' state
ments, disregarding evidence that
those statements were false," the
report said.
Higgins, who the report con
cluded was misled by his top
deputies, had joined other agency
officials in describing the raid's
failure as an unexpected ambush.
In those public statements,
agency officials blamed a loss of
secrecy for the raid's failure. But
they had ample evidence that
when the raid began those in com
mand already knew Koresh was
expecting it, the report said.
"The story ATF top manage
ment told the American people
bore little resemblance to what had
been told to the shooting review
team" that conducted an internal
investigation after the raid, it said.
Higgins, who said Monday he
would retire after 11 years as di
rector, had assured Treasury De
partment officials that the raid
would be aborted if the element of
surprise were lost, Bentsen said.
But Charles D. Sarabyn, the
lead agent at the scene, ignored a
report from an undercover agent
who told him 40 minutes before
the raid that Koresh had been
warned, the report said.
Some 60 agents at the staging
area heard Sarabyn say that "Ko
resh knows we are coming," it
said.
Sarabyn and Phillip J. Chojanc-
ki, his second in command, both
denied in initial statements to
their superiors that the undercov
er agent, Robert Rodriguez, had
provided definitive information
that Koresh had been warned.
Sarabyn also denied telling agents
that the cult knew of the plans
and stuck to this story during re
peated questioning.
"It took months, or certainly
weeks, before he admitted know
ing" that Koresh has been
warned, said Ronald K. Noble, the
assistant treasury secretary for en
forcement who oversaw the five-
month investigation.
Asked about Sarabyn's deci
sion to proceed, Bentsen said: "I
don't know what went on in the
man's mind when he made the
decision" that was "in absolute
violation of the instructions.”
n the military,
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Conference aims at
race relation issues
By Kim McGuire
The Battalion
changed in my
mans were trau-
vould not tali
he battlefield.
dedicated as;
•r came back.
. to those mo
ives in defenst
cription reads
: and in bronti
r valor and tt
■ their memon
— their sacn-
Administrators, faculty and students participated yesterday in a
video conference and panel discussion focusing on race relations on
university campuses.
The prerecorded video conference featured six panelists represent
ing faculty, staff and students discussing their roles in enhancing
race relations on campus and creating innovative programs stressing
multiculturalism.
Karan Chavis, employment relations manager of the human re
sources department, said the program was in response to campus-wide
interest about the topic of cultural diversity.
"The program deals with issues that are especially of interest on this
campus," Chavis said. "We wanted to have total representation of the
University, so we tried to target all facets."
The program was structured so that audience members watched a
section of the video conference highlighted by the panelists and then
listened to a panel of A&M representatives discussing campus issues.
During the introduction of the program. Interim President Dr. E.
Dean Gage said A&M must make a commitment to having good race
relations.
"Each of us must resolve to create
an environment where students are
not judged by their race, but rather
scholarship, team effort, achieve
ments and contributions to A&M."
-E. Dean Gage,
Texas A&M interim president
"Each of us must embrace a can-do attitude to enhance racial rela
tions," Gage said. "Each of us must resolve to create an environment
where students are not judged by their race, but rather scholarship,
team effort, achievements and contributions to A&M."
The University must meet four basic expectations to ensure good
race relations, he said. A&M must practice fairness in hiring and pro
moting, practice a basic human respect, recruit minorities to reflect a
changing environment, and provide students service and leadership
opportunities.
Hugh McElroy, panelist and associate director of the human resources
department, said good racial relations begin with the administration.
"I think its unrealistic to expect a unicultural administration to under
stand multicultural issues," he said.
McElroy commented on State Rep. Ron Wilson's visit to A&M last year.
"Wilson said if the administration and faculty were not ethnically rep
resented, the legislature has the option of taking funding away from the
University," McElroy said. "I didn't perceive it as a threat, but it is a fact
the Legislature has that legal option."
Dr. William Perry, dean of faculties and associate provost, said good
racial relations depends on establishing and rewarding a diverse faculty.
"I know we can't equate commitment to dollars, but last year, at the
assistant professor level, we hired 30 women and 15 people who were
African-Americans or Hispanics," Perry said. "To me, that says the fac
ulty search committee has made a commitment to diversity."
Perry also said money is now being given to departments who have
demonstrated a commitment to diversify undergraduate and graduate
students and faculty in the college.
Ron Kaiser, a Faculty Senate representative, introduced the Senate's
proposal that would require multiculturalism courses under the Uni
versity core curriculum.
Other panelists included: Rose Red Elk Hardman, intertribal council
for the Native-American Students Association; Dr. Victor Arizpe, direc
tor of international programs; Tanya Williams, president of the MSC
Black Awareness Committee; and Dr. Sallie Shepherd, associate provost
of undergraduate programs and academic services.
Inside
Sports
•Texas A&M/ Texas Tech
football preview
•Women's volleyball
preview: Aggies play UTA
Page 5
Opinion
•Stanford: Mechanically
declined learn from
maintenance mistakes.
Page 7
Weather
•Friday: mostly cloudy in
the morning, partly
cloudy by afternoon
•Forecast for Saturday:
mostly cloudy, and not
as warm, some showers
•Your Battalion extended
forecast: clear and dry,
lows near 50
'Hello down there!'
Amy Broivning/THL Battalion
Two residents of Puryear Hall hang out of their windows to holler at wanted to wish people well and ask "how's it going."
passer-bys on Thursday afternoon. The two anonymous Playboys
NAFTA Debate
Zaeske, Kolari at odds over trade
By Stephanie Pattillo
The Battalion
What one expert considered a
global trend occurring around
the world, another called a
greedy move by multinational
bankers and industrialists,
Thursday night during a debate
over the proposed North Ameri
can Free Trade Agreement(NAF-
TA) sponsored by the Hispanic
Business Student Association.
NAFTA, if passed by Congress,
will phase out most of the trade
barriers between the United
States, Mexico and Canada over a
15-year period.
Dr. James Kolari, associate
professor of finance, presented
arguments in favor of NAFTA,
to a group of about 50 students
in Rudder
Tower, citing
that countries
competing
with one other
around the
world is better
than putting
up protection
ist barriers.
In opposi-
Zaeske tion to the free
trade agree
ment, Lou Zaeske, chairman of
the American Ethnic Association,
said, "This is a global movement
where multinational bankers and
industrialists with no patriotic
loyalty are willing to do what
they need to to achieve the cor
porate bottom line."
He argued that the U.S. is
"limping" now and can't afford to
help the Mexican economy be
cause that will mean losing Amer
ican jobs.
Zaeske predicted that as many
as 25 million jobs will be "sucked
south of the border if NAFTA
passes."
"I'm not saying that Mexico
shouldn't be industrialized, but
the U.S. can't do it by shipping
jobs and industries down there
and making the taxpayers pay for
it," he said.
Kolari said, if the U.S. doesn't
sign the free trade agreement,
Mexico's "debt bomb" will go off.
"The issue isn't going to go
away even if NAFTA doesn't
pass," he said.
See NAFTA/Page 2
A&M officials
not worried
about effect of
UH problems
By Mark Smith
The Battalion
Recent events at the Univer
sity of Houston have called the
future of its athletic program
into question, however, A&M
officials say Texas A&M's pro
gram remains on solid ground.
Faculty members at UH
have started a debate over the
viability of intercollegiate ath
letics. A recent vote by the UH
faculty called for the removal
of the athletic program.
University and athletic offi
cials at A&M, however, said no
such problem exists here.
"The University of Hous
ton's situation is different
than anyone else's," said Dr.
Bill Smith, chairman of the
athletic council. "For a num
ber of years, they have been
losing money and taking stu
dent fees to underwrite the
athletic program. I've never
heard anyone on the council
express opinion against the
athletic department."
Ronald Kaisor, deputy
speaker for the Faculty Senate
and Senate liaison with the
athletic department, said "It is
certainly within the realm of
possibility (to remove the de
partment) as we evaluate the
needs for athletics, but the
Faculty Senate has not dis
cussed the possibility of re
moving athletics."
See Athletics/Page 3
TEAC to help clean Matagorda Bay beach
By Kim McGuire
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University chapter of the Texas
Environmental Action Coalition (TEAC) will clean a
section of Matagorda Bay Beach this weekend as
part of the Texas General Land Office's
Adopt-A-Beach program.
Vanessa Traylor, TEAC president,
said the chapter has participated in the
program for the past two years, and
feels it is vital to maintain clean Texas
coastlines.
"People have the misconception the
program is solely picking up trash,"
Traylor said. "Wg do that but we're
also collecting information about where
the trash is coming from so we can target
the sources."
Traylor said program coordinators pass out data
cards to the volunteers so they can tabulate what
kind of trash is being deposited and where it's origi
nating from.
Roxanne Rouse, Texas Adopt-A-Beach program
director, said the data collected from the cards is
sent to the Center for Marine Conservation Office in
Washington D.C.
She said the center has been able to direct
ly target the source of litter and make
some productive changes from the data
cards.
"From the data collected, we discov
ered hundreds of salt bags being deposited
from shrimpers who were throwing them
from their boats," Rouse said. "We con
tacted the salt company and they com
pletely changed their packaging to include a
direct message on the salt package to the
shrimpers saying 'Don't Throw This On The Beach!"'
See TEAC/Page 3