The Battalion
Vol. 93 No. 30 (12 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993
Friday, October 8,1993
Clinton to send 1,700 more troops to Somalia
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Clinton
I told the American people Thursday he
was sending 1,700 more troops, heavy ar-
|mor and naval firepower to Somalia to
'finish the work we set out to do." He
I pledged to end the deployment within six
months.
See Column Page 11
"We started this mission for the right
I reasons and we are going to finish it in
the right way," Clinton said in a national
ly televised address. "If we stay a short
while longer and do the right thing, we
have a reasonable chance of cooling the
embers."
Clinton said the U.S. force needed to
be expanded to protect troops already
there and to make sure humanitarian mis
sions continued. Counting troops off
shore, the reinforcements would double
the American deployment to more than
10,000.
If America turned and ran because of
the rising death toll, around the world
"aggressive thugs and terrorists would
conclude the best way to.change our poli
cy is to kill our people," Clinton declared.
He said that he wanted to call the
troops home as soon as possible and was
sending diplomat Robert Oakley to Africa
to try to find a diplomatic settlement. He
"We started this mission
for the right reasons and
we are going to finish it in
the right way."
- President Clinton
said it might take "up to six months" to
complete the mission but he hoped to
wrap it up before then.
Clinton, sitting at his Oval Office desk,
said the 4,700 U.S. troops already in So
malia would be reinforced with 1,700
Army ground troops, 104 tanks and other
armored vehicles and, offshore, an air
craft carrier and other naval forces carry
ing 3,600 Marines.
Clinton also issued a stern warning to
Somalis holding at least one American
serviceman captive. He declared the Unit
ed States would hold them "strictly re
sponsible for our soldiers' well-being. We
expect them to be well treated and we ex
pect them to be released."
He said he did not want to personalize
the conflict, and never mentioned by
name Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the fugi
tive Somali warlord whose forces are
blamed for the deaths of American and
other troops in Somalia.
The speech was critical to gaining sup
port from a public horrified by pho
tographs of a dead American soldier be
ing dragged through the streets of Mo
gadishu and a videotaped interrogation
of a downed helicopter pilot.
Clinton acknowledged the "anger and
horror" provoked by those images but
said the United States must nonetheless
see the mission to its end. He asked: "Do
we leave when the job gets tough — or
when the job is done?"
He said more than 1 million Somalis
still were dependent on the relief opera
tions for food and said those efforts
would crumble if the United States with
drew its military forces.
Aggie Band celebrates centennial anniversary
By Jennifer Smith
The Battalion
T he "Pulse of Aggieland" is quick
ening as one of Texas A&M's old
est traditions, the Texas Aggie
Band, prepares to celebrate its centennial
anniversary next year.
In addition to performing at the foot
ball games and practicing 10 hours a
week, the Texas Aggie Band is preparing
new performances, releasing an album
and conducting a tour in anticipation of a
100-year celebration scheduled for next
fall.
Jason Hearnsberger, a senior finance
major and commanding officer of the Ag
gie Band, said being commander during
the band's centennial has been a unique
experience.
"It's made this year more busy and ex
citing" Hearnsberger said. "But the extra
work has been worth it."
Three new marches have been created
for the centennial celebration. One has al
ready been performed, and another will
be introduced at this weekend's football
game against the University of Houston.
The third march will be performed later
this season.
The Aggie Band- will release a centen
nial album before the A&M-University of
Texas football game in November with 25
pieces of music.
Lt. Col. Ray E. Toler, director of the
Aggie Band, said the album is a first-rate
tribute to the band's 100-year anniversary.
"Its design is to cover the history of the
band," Toler said. "It starts with a single
bugler playing two bugle calls. Then we
go with a single drummer playing ca
dence, followed by a march played by a
13-piece group representative of what the
first Aggie Band sounded like.
"We then progress from there to give
the feel of the band's growth throughout
the years. We tried to do what we have
done historically."
The Aggie Band, along with A&M's
symphonic band, will embark on a cen
tennial tour in the spring to Houston, Dal
las and San Antonio.
The concerts will feature selections
similar to those the band plays at football
games, but, Toler said, they will be softer
and more refined.
The actual centennial celebration is a
#
three-day event scheduled for fall 1994,
and all former band members will be in
vited to this celebration.
"We hope to put 500 former band
members on Kyle Field," he said.
Toler said the alumni band will per
form wearing dark trousers, white shirts
and a band hat to project a military look.
Although details about the event are
sketchy, he said, it will probably be held
during the A&M-University of Southern
Mississippi football game weekend.
■ Tomwy Huynh/THL Battalion
Toler said the band is not much differ
ent now than it was 100 years ago.
"We've been marching in the same
style for 75 years," he said. "We try to be
innovative with our drills, but we're also
marching with a precision military stan
dard."
Last April the Texas House of Repre
sentatives congratulated the Aggie Band
on its centennial, passing a resolution pro
claiming it "the nation's premier military
marching band."
See Somalia/Page 10
U.N. scorns
Croatian army
for war tactics
The Associated Press
ZAGREB, Croatia - The U.N.
commander in former Yugoslavia
issued a damning report Thurs
day charging Croatian troops had
practiced a "scorched-earth poli
cy" in Serb-held villages and
killed civilians in cold blood.
The report detailed evidence
of atrocities committed during an
offensive a month ago against
Serb-held villages in the Medak
pocket near Gospic in southwest
ern Croatia.
"The scale of physical destruc
tion and killing of residents in the
area . . . indicates that the Croat
ian Army practiced a comprehen
sive scorched-earth policy," said
a statement summarizing the re
port.
In the ethnic warfare that has
wracked former Yugoslavia since
June 1991, Serbs have been most
blamed for atrocities and "ethnic
cleansing," — the use of terror,
destruction and murder to force
out a rival group — although all
sides have been accused of such
practices.
Serbia is suffering severe eco
nomic sanctions for backing Serb
rebels in Croatia and neighboring
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But the European Community
also has warned Croatia it could
face sanctions for attacking Serbs
who hold about one-third of the
state after a six-month war in 1991,
and for backing Croat forces in
neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina.
See Croatia/Page 10
Food fight turns into high school brawl
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Ten students were arrested
and several others were injured slightly
Wednesday when a cafeteria food fight at a
Houston-area high school spawned a large
brawl.
One Cypress Creek High School student
was taken to a local hospital with a bump on
the head, officials said.
Four of the 10 students arrested were "asso
ciates" of gang members, but officers, students
and school personnel said the fight was not
gang-related.
Karen Moore, a chief deputy constable, said
the fight started when a group of students
threw food at another group in the cafeteria.
That sparked a verbal exchange that led to a
brawl involving 20 to 30 students in the com
mons outside the cafeteria.
"I kind of think what happened was, it was
a food fight and it got out of hand," Moore
said.
"It appears that it could be the whites and
Hispanics against the blacks."
Principal Jan Aragon denied that race was a
factor, saying the fight involved two groups of
students who simply didn't like each other.
After teachers and principals broke up the
first fight, several students were escorted to
the school office. But moments later, the stu
dents "just got up and left," Moore said.
They returned to the commons and started
a second fight, this one involving 30 to 40 stu
dents.
Five teachers and principals were injured
slightly trying to break up the second brawl.
Authorities confiscated a set of brass knuck
les. If the owner of the brass knuckles is found,
Moore said, he could be charged with a felony.
Five students arrested were juveniles; the
other five were adults.
All could face misdemeanor riot charges,
Moore said.
KANM recalls 20 years of accomplishments
By James Bernsen
Stephanie hiewman/Tnc Battalion
Jeff Hughes, a junior forestry major, breaks back from a commercial
into his Australian contemporary music show "Surfboards, 'Roos and
Nude Beaches" at KANM Wednesday night.
The Battalion
From humble origins in a con
verted broom closet to modern
production facilities, workers at
KANM-Cable 99.9 reflect on the
years' many changes as they pre
pare to celebrate the station's 20th
anniversary Friday.
Station Manager Beth
Weissinger said the station's
biggest accomplishment has been
surviving this long.
"We might be the oldest cable
radio station in Texas, and maybe
even the U.S.," she said.
Weissinger said she has seen
many changes in the station since
late 1987 when she first began
working there.
"We used to work out of a con
verted broom closet in the Pavil
ion," she said.
Weissinger said the disc jock
eys would nave to go around the
outside of the building to find the
nearest bathroom and would oc
casionally lock themselves out by
accident.
The station has now moved into
the Koldus Student Services Build
ing and has a studio, production
room, office, and most important
ly, she said, a bathroom.
Faculty Adviser Tim Sweeney
said the "laboratory environ
ment" of the station helps stu
dents get hands-on experience not
available in journalism or elec
tronics classes.
Such experience has helped at
least two KANM alumni move on
to large stations in Dallas and
Houston, said John Walvoord,
production director.
Sweeney said the station has
applied for an over-the-air broad
cast license from the Federal
Communications Commission,
but it may be difficult to obtain.
The station has suffered from
not being able to broadcast, and a
license would help the station
greatly, Weissinger said.
"If we were able to broadcast,
people would be able to pick us
up in their cars," she said. "Real
istically speaking, that's where
most people listen to the radio."
See KAN M/Page 2
Freshmen elections result
in runoff for six offices
By Kim McGuire
The Battalion
Freshmen class elections re
sulted in runoffs for six of the
seven offices.
Runoffs will be Tuesday and
the results will be announced at
10:30 p.m. in front of the Sul
Ross statue.
Only the six positions of sen
ator were determined in the pre
liminary vote Thursday
evening.
The Class of '97 senators will
be: Jim McFaddin, Matt May-
field, James Atkinson, Bin Islam,
K.C. Allan and Rob Holland.
Runoff candidates for the re
maining offices are: Gary Kipe
and James Atkinson, president;
and Chris Foster and Jenny
Martin, vice president.
Also, Nicole Pfrommer and
Jimbo Cross, treasurer.
Running for social secretary
are: Jennifer Doktor and Tracy
Mapes; and Courtney Lyons
and Daniel Chaput, historian.
Also, Jennifer Cross and Na
talie Reinhardt, secretary.
The runoffs are a result of no
one candidate gamering 50 per
cent of the vote.
The voting site for Tuesday's
running election will be the
Memorial Student Center.
Voting times are 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. for all freshmen.
For more information, con
tact the election commission in
the SC A office at 845-3051.
Inside
.
. ■ • 1
Campus
Weather
• Rush Room comes to
•Friday: partly cloudy,
College Station
highs near 90, lows
Page 2
near 70
Sports
•Saturday: mostly cloudy,
•Special Pullout: A&M pre-
widely scattered
pares to battle Houston
showers, highs near 90
PageS
Opinion
•Extended forecast: partly
cloudy, cooler, highs in
•Extra Mail Call
80s, lows in 60s
Page 12