er 16,1953
linale
The Battalion
Brown
Vol. 93 No. 58 (10 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Wednesday, November 17,1993
Task force investigates alcohol law violations
By Mark Smith
The Battalion
Because of an increase in cases of mi
nors in possession of alcoholic beverages,
the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commis
sion (TABC) and law enforcement offi
cials are conducting a joint investigation
of local businesses.
"We saw the numbers increasing,"
said Lt. Ron Stone of the TABC. "We did
it to identify problem areas where minors
were getting alcohol."
The investigation has found that of 117
businesses examined, 41 sold alcohol to a
minor at some point.
The TABC, Bryan Police Department,
College Station Police Department, Bra
zos County Sheriff's Department, and the
Brazos County Attorney's Office helped
conduct the investigation.
Investigators sent minors into busi
nesses to try to buy alcohol, while police
maintained visual, audio and video sur
veillance during the procedure. A valid
Texas driver's.license, which indicated his
age was under 21, was the only piece of
identification the undercover official had.
The task force targeted businesses that
carry a permit or license authorizing the
sale of alcohol for off-premises consump
tion.
Officials said they hoped the investiga
tion would increase awareness among re
tailers and employees about the problem
of selling alcohol to minors.
"We would like to think that the retail-
Angel Kan/THE Battalion
er would make sure the employees are
more aware about the sale of alcohol to
minors," Stone said.
Stone said the employees should check
the age and physical description on the
person's identification to make sure there
are no discrepancies.
One retailer said he takes precautions
with his employees to prevent the sale of
alcohol to minors.
"We've sent employees to TABC's Al
cohol Certification Class to learn the regu
lations," said Mitchell Leavell, a manager
for one of the area Kroger's stores.
"We also have in-house training for
our checkers and teaching them the rules
is all done at orientation."
TABC officials said they hope they can
educate the employees who sell to mi
nors.
"There should be a lot of follow-up
w r ork," Stone said.
"I hope we get the opportunity to talk
to each of the employees.
"Education is not merely the fact that
we caught you. We need to tell them
what they did wrong so it won't happen
again."
Because of new laws governing alcohol
sale, employees who sell alcohol to mi
nors could face a fine of up to $500 and a
jail term of up to one year.
And, Stone said, it is much easier to
get a conviction with the new laws.
"Before you had to prove that the em
ployee had prior knowledge of the per
son's age," he said, "now all you have to
do is prove the employee committed
criminal negligence. That means they
could or should have known that the per
son was a minor."
All for a good cause
Amy Brozvmng/rhe Battalion
Russell Jennings (right), a sophomore business administration major watches Edward Alsobrooke (left) stick a needle in his arm. The
from Pflugerville, has second thoughts about giving blood as he Wadley Blood Drive will continue through Friday around campus.
NAFTA will benefit
Texas, economist says
By Lisa Elliott
The Battalion
With the North American Free
Trade Agreement going to a vote
in Congress today, one Texas
A&M University economist is
saying if it passes, Texas could
gain 29,000 energy-related jobs
and the output of goods in the
state could increase by $2 billion a
year.
Dr. Jared Hazleton, head of
Texas A&M's Center for Business
and Economic Analysis, recently
released the results of a study he
conducted to examine the effects
of NAFTA on Texas.
Although the focus of Hazle-
See Related Story, Page 3
ton's research was the energy in
dustry, he said it would benefit
most other industries in Texas.
"It's hard to find a sector of
Texas economy that won't bene
fit," he said.
Hazleton used the energy in
dustry as an example of a typical
Texas indus
try, but, he
said, the elec
tronics indus
try and the
agricultural in
dustry will
also benefit.
NAFTA
will have a
major impact
on the Texas
Hazleton
energy indus
try by increas
ing opportunities for exporting
energy-related equipment, Hazle
ton said.
"By giving U.S. natural gas
companies direct access to Mexi
can gas consumers, NAFTA could
expand Texas exports of natural
gas by an estimated 200 billion
cubic feet a year over the next sev
en years," he said.
The study showed that this
would generate $1 billion armual-
] y-
Hazleton said the export op
portunities produced by NAFTA
See NAFTA/Page 3
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Houston twister
wreaks havoc,
injures 4 people
The Associated Press
HOUSTON - A tornado
struck the west side of down
town Houston on Tuesday,
injuring four people, damag
ing several buildings and
scaring thousands of workers
in their office towers.
The morning twister
struck as heavy rains pound
ed much of the Houston-
Galveston area.
The storms ripped off sec
tions of roofs, shattered win
dows, damaged cars and
downed power lines and
trees in parts of downtown
and an adjoining neighbor
hood.
National Weather Service
officials said the tornado hit
around 10 a.m.
There were no other re
ports of other twisters touch
ing down, but a tornado
watch remained in effect until
Tuesday evening.
In other parts of Texas,
heavy thunderstorms moved
through East Texas, dropping
nearly three inches of rain at
Longview and Kamack. Ear
lier, snow and rain fell across
parts of the Texas Panhandle.
Four people were injured
at the Enron Corp. building
in downtown Houston and
taken to nearby St. Joseph's
Hospital.
Three were treated and re
leased, but the fourth person
was still undergoing treat
ment for a deep hand cut
Tuesday afternoon, said hos
pital spokeswoman Ellen
Durckel.
Of the four injured, two
were inside the Enron build
ing and the other two were
outside it, Ms. Durckel said.
The 36-story building sus
tained some of the worst
storm damage with more
than 30 windows shattered or
blown out. Houston Fire De
partment officials evacuated
the skyscraper because of the
damage.
: ^
Officials continue investigation in Margraves case
"We have found nothing in the letter that is true."
- Janies Bond, interim general counsel for the A&M System
By Jennifer Smith
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University System and
the Texas Rangers are still investigating an
anonymous letter sent to the Chairman of
the A&M Board of Regents Ross Margraves
that said he benefited from some of the Sys
tem's business deals.
James Bond, interim general counsel for
the A&M System, said Tuesday that A&M's
internal investigation into the allegations is
still being conducted.
Although the investigation has been go
ing on for more than a month. Bond said
this does not indicate that any of the allega
tions are correct.
"We have found nothing in the letter
that is true," Bond said. "We have found
nothing that would substantiate the allega
tions made in that anonymous letter."
Bond said he believes the letter was dri
ven by malice, and therefore, it is important
that the investigation be completed.
"I'm anxious for the investigation to be
concluded," he said.
A&M System regent Mary Nan West
said Margraves is a man of integrity who
has been a good leader.
"He keeps us up to date on everything
he does on this board, down to the minuti
ae," she said. "He reports in full."
Regent Billy Clayton, a former Texas
House speaker, said the letter has no merit
because the person who wrote it has not
come forward.
"Anyone who doesn't have the guts to
come forward shouldn't be given the time
of day," he said.
Bond said he could not comment on the
investigation or when it might be complet
ed.
An official with the Texas Rangers said
their investigation is still being conducted,
but she refused to comment on when it
might be complete.
When Margraves received the anony
mous letter last month, he forwarded it to
the Governor's office who then passed it on
to the Texas Rangers.
The A&M System also began an internal
investigation into the allegations made in
the letter.
Margraves admitted that Barnes and
Noble, the company managing the A&M
bookstore, paid for him and Robert Smith,
vice president for finance and administra
tion, to travel to New York in July 1990 to
finalize the deal for the operation of the
bookstore.
These trips included stays in expensive
hotels, meals, limousine service and tickets
to Broadway shows.
Although this type of trip is illegal now
under the Texas Government Code, it was
legal in 1990 when Margraves said the trips
were made.
Bloodshed threatens to torpedo Israeli-PLO peace accord
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — A handover of authority
in occupied lands appears increasingly un
likely by the Dec. 13 deadline set down in
the Israel-PLO peace accord, Israeli and
Palestinian officials said Tuesday.
A holdup in the Palestinian autonomy
plan would delay the start of Israeli troop
withdrawals from the territories, seriously
undercutting the accord at a time when
public support seems to be eroding because
of mounting bloodshed.
Two Palestinians died and two Israelis
were wounded in the occupied lands Tues
day.
And Jewish settlers in the West Bank
town of Hebron overturned market stalls,
smashed cars and broke windshields to re
taliate for a hatchet attack on an Israeli man
on Monday.
In Israeli-controlled territory in southern
Lebanon, Shiite Muslim guerrillas wound
ed two Israeli soldiers and two allied
Lebanese militiamen in a ground assault.
Israeli warplanes struck Hezbollah guerrilla
bases in retaliation.
The Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian
radicals have vowed to escalate attacks
agaixist Israeli troops in Lebanon in an ef
fort to torpedo the Sept. 13 peace accord be
tween Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization.
An Israeli official said PLO leader Yasser
Arafat should be doing more to curb the vi
olence in the territories, and one of Arafat's
own allies said he should be doing more to
push the autonomy plan through.
A Palestinian source at the Israel-PLO
talks in Cairo said the sides were so far
apart that negotiations may go on longer
than expected.
The major points of contention, the
source said, are the scope of Israel's pullout
from the Gaza Strip and Jericho on the West
Bank and the fate of thousands of Palestini
ans held in Israeli jails.
12th Man fascinates VP candidate
Texas A&M just
as he expected,
Harmon says
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
The latest candidate for the po
sition of vice president for student
services said he thinks students
should learn how to create a life
in college, and he wants to get the
input of not just the student lead
ers, but also of those who are less
involved.
"A university environment is
practice for
what they will
do for the rest
of their lives,"
said Dr.
William H.
Harmon, cur
rent vice chan
cellor for stu
dent affairs at
the University
of Pittsburgh.
Harmon
Harmon
was on the Texas A&M Universi
ty campus this week to interview
for the position vacated in August
by Dr. John Koldus.
Harmon said Texas A&M is
just as he expected to find it.
"There were no surprises, but I
w r as amazed at the partnership
that has developed between the
student and the University," he
said.
He said when he found out the
position was available, he called a
couple of colleagues to get their
opinion of A&M.
"There is a perception out
there that an A&M position is the
best in the country," Harmon
said. "I have aways had a fasci
nation with the 12th Man, and
John Koldus is a legend."
He said he believes the most
important part of the job is to gain
See Harmon/Page 4
Inside
'• is s ^ sfe
1SIII181
Campus
•Great American Smokeout
begins Thursday
Page 3
Sports
•Feature profile: Defensive
lineman Eric England
Page 5
Opinion
•Megliola: Midnight Yell
becomes Midnight Jail
Page 9