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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1993)
iber 2,1993 iepartment of food ser- rimental to 'ill be very; od services ’ they have | office said s to reach h were un- The Battalion Vol. 93 No. 48 (10 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Wednesday, November 3,1993 ftlm MSC Council enforces rules All campus groups must obtain University approval for speakers in ARY’ T-Th. 12-6 Vkends Booth 43 Tx. Renaissance Festival MAnainos THAILAhlD rions WELRY St GIFTS ’LANETj* By Jacqueline Mason The Battalion The Texas A&M University MSC Council officers are ques tioning the authority of student organizations who invite contro versial speakers to Texas A&M without approval by the Univer sity. "If they're going to do a pro gram that affects the whole cam pus, they have to get approved by Student Services," said MSC President Heather Hartman. Associate Director of Pro grams Kevin Jackson said the reason for the rule is to ensure that organizations are providing a balanced perspective of the is sues. I "The concept is | we are an educa- | tional institu- | tion," he said. | “There is a certain i]environment the s coupon | Universit y ex ' C get v 00 | P ects t0 b e main- LeeAnn. | tained ;" : Shop alon it Bill's. 5-93 Dr. ave's) ■ Maintaining an 1 educational envi- jlronment means |jbringing in JL nr speakers repre- { J|seating all sides - — — — ■J of an issue, he said. t Currently, no rules restrict groups from inviting figures to — speak only to their members, but »hen a student organization Hants the speaker to address ■ ilon-members also, it must ob- tain approval from the director | a of student services and possibly the MSC director, according to H Oniversity Regulations. Many groups do not seek this approval because they do not bow of the restrictions placed on them. Richard Stadelmann, adviser to the College Republicans, said while these rules might apply to MSC organizations like Political Forum, they do not apply to all student groups. "We have never had any re strictions placed on us," he said. The distinction between Polit ical Forum and College Republi cans is that Political Forum re ceives money from the Universi ty, he said. However, Jackson said, all recognized organizations must adhere to the rules set forth in the University Regulations hand book, even if they do not receive funds from A&M. When the College Republi cans invited Oliver North to A&M this fall, the MSC was flooded with letters and phone calls from the community and students wondering if someone representing the democrats or an independent party would ap pear, he said. "That wa5 a very pro-republi can stance," Hartman said. "In the MSC, we would never allow that to happen without a coun terspeaker." Political Forum Chair Jodi Adcock said if a potentially biased source is invited to speak at the University, her or ganization brings in another speaker to provide a bal ance. "It's an MSC policy that we have to provide speakers to all sides of an issue," she said. But, Stadelmann pointed out the problems with such restric tions. Many times, he said, major political speakers do not like to appear in a program with other less-known candidates. And, the University would lose out on the opportunity to have the major speakers come to campus if someone representing an oppos ing viewpoint always had to ap pear. Adcock said if speakers do not want to come to A&M be cause of such reasons, it is their loss. "The rule is not going to change, though," she said. MSC administrators have es tablished a system to assure that organizations are not violating the regulation. If an organization is claiming to have a speaker ad dress only its members, yet re serves a large room or auditori um, the MSC will look into the nature of the program. Pump it up ! Holly Organ/THE Battalion Wolfgang Volcker, a senior kinesiology major, struction science major, during their afternoon lifts 800 pounds and Cully Stoilis, a senior con- workout Tuesday at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Voters approve income tax veto power The Associated Press AUSTIN — A ballot proposal to give voters the final say on whether Texas ever has a state per sonal income tax was overwhelm ingly approved Tuesday. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting. Proposition No. 4 had 750,708 votes, or 69 percent for and 332,805 votes, or 31 percent against. The proposed constitutional amendment also would require at least two-thirds of a personal in come tax's net revenues to be used to reduce school maintenance-and- operations property taxes. The rest would go to support education. Supporters said the measure was meant to give Texans a voice in a crucial tax policy issue. With out it, lawmakers could pass an in come tax without a statewide vote. But the proposal drew a wide range of opposition. Some pointed out that the prospect of approving an income tax has been widely viewed as po litical suicide for lawmakers. They said giving the voters the final say over the tax could make it politically palatable for lawmakers — and that voters then could be enticed into approving the levy if they believe their school property taxes would go down or education would be helped. "I believe it's just a slick way of the Legislature getting around a very controversial issue," said Rep. Warren Chisum, D-Pampa, head of the Legislature's Conservative Coalition. Others were suspicious because the idea was pushed by Democrat ic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, who earli er supported a state income tax and is up for re-election next year. Karen Hughes, state GOP exec utive director, called it a "very crafty political move" by Bullock to escape political heat on the is sue. Bullock's office has denied po litical motivation. Still other opponents — includ ing the League of Women Voters, Common Cause Texas and the Texas Alliance for Human Needs — called the measure misleading and bad public policy. They said lawmakers' hands shouldn't be tied on an important tax issue, and questioned whether the measure would increase edu cation funding. They also said the chief benefi ciaries of lower school property taxes would be businesses, while individuals would pay a personal income tax. Haiti's prospects for democracy bleak, researcher says I , : By Mark Smith va These factions include Aristide's fol- tioned by the Cable News Network, which Miami, USA Port-Au-Prince, Haiti Angel Kan/THE Battalion By Mark Smith The Battalion The forming of a democratic government in Haiti may be an unrealistic expectation, said an expert at the Mosher Institute for Internationa] Policy Studies. Cory Ortigova, research associate for the Mosher Institute, said Tuesday that the coun try's prospects for democracy in the near future are bleak, even if exiled President Jean-Betrand Aristide is returned to power. Aristide was supposed to return to power on Saturday Oct. 30, but the military leaders who ousted him two years ago refused to step down until they received amnesty. "Haiti has not been a democracy for two cen turies, and there's no prospect that it will be a democracy any time soon," Ortigova said. A government comprised of members of all of the factions is the best hope for Haiti, Ortigo va said. These factions include Aristide's fol lowers and the more moderate supporters of Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras and police chief Michel Fran cois, who currently holds power in Haiti. "I think that a government of that type probably is the best prospect, even though that does offend the sensibilities of a lot of Aris tide's supporters," he said. "That probably is the best prospect for assuring an end to the bloodshed and anarchy." Concerns have also been raised as to Aris tide's ability to be an effective leader and his true intentions for the country. "He won't be an effective leader," Ortigova said. "These reports like the CIA assessment, his personality profile, that's been rumored in the past. It's been verified by other people that he is probably is not as democratic as he might appear." The report labeled Aristide as mentally un stable, but the report's accuracy has been ques tioned by the Cable News Network, which tried to corroborate some of the information. The United States became involved in Haiti because of the flood of illegal Haitian immi grants coming into the country. "The reason we're concerned about the situ ation at all is the potential for renewed migra tion or immigration of Haitian refugees to the United States," he said. "The administration is in such disarray with regards to foreign policy, that I don't think they were too interested in taking oh this situation unless they had to, and they do have to, because of the threat of re newed immigration." Ortigova said that although Haiti is the poor est country in the Western Hemisphere, the United States would be unlikely to grant any aid even if the United Nation's demands are met. "There may be some token aid, but we're so overstretched right now with our foreign aid budget that Haiti is really a low priority," he said. Candidate for Student Services VP 1 awed by A&M traditions, values e i J ' ite 6 By Michele Brinkmann The Battalion The second of six candidates eing considered for the vice I president of student services po- jsition ended his visit to Texas j A&M University Tuesday. Dr. David Markee is currently I the vice president of student ser vices at Northern Arizona Uni- i Versify. "This is a very special place," I* 1 ®said. "Before I came here, I read all of the materi- j a l about Texas A&M, and when I got here, I found a I Steat consistency in what I read and what I saw. "I find the students here very upbeat and have a Markee real commitment to this University," he said. "Com pared to Northern Arizona University, the students here have more traditions and values from the past that they maintain. Their past and tradition give them pride and a sense of self." Markee said he wanted to apply for this job be cause he has heard many good things about A&M. "After all of the things I had heard, I wondered 'Can it be real?"' he said. Markee said he feels he is qualified for the job be cause he has been the vice president of student ser vices for 20 years at two institutions. He said he believes a student services division is as good as the staff it has. See Markee/Page 2 InsiM State & Local »Habitat for Humanity to hold benefit concert Page 3 Sports ►A&M volleyball plays Texas in SWC showdown Page 5 Opinion ►Megliola: False accusation of indecent exposure Page 9 Weather ►Wednesday: cloudy, scattered showers, highs in 60s ►Thursday: continued cloudy, scattered showers, highs in 70s ►Weekend forecast: turning colder, highs in 50s, lows in 30s IO I CP • Former basketball player accuses Baylor of NCAA violations -See Sports Page 6