The Battalion
ibl. 93 No. 81 (8 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Wednesday, January 26,1994
warn
'TATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
94
,ocal community surprised
?y Clinton's moderate views
By Angela Neaves
The Battalion
70
■President Bill Clinton's conservative
■me in his first State of the Union ad-
Iress Tuesday night surprised many
® ifllwas A&M student leaders and faculty
■ ■■ -mmbers.
i mm ■ Jlcii n to n ur ged Congress to reform the
ftlth care and welfare systems. Clin-
Sjj on also voiced strong support for
Icter legislation against crime.
■Bryan Jones, a professor of political
:ience at A&M, said Clinton gave a
oilgh-minded, conservative speech that
.ppealed to the moderate wing of the
gi|HHnocratic Party.
JP" I" Cl in ton's stress on family values
yas reminiscent of the Reagan years,"
ones said. "This middle of the road
tance is bad for Republicans."
Bones did not agree with Clinton's
tat 'inent that the welfare system "de
les our values as a nation."
■'The welfare system involves two
■ins of values," Jones said. "On one
^lane land, we want to offer people the op-
i’Boats JtStunity for maximum individual ini-
QnQ , Sive. On the other hand, we want to
■OviyO nel] people out when they're in trou-
• — "lie.
m mmm\ Sometimes in helping people we take
■■■way that initiative, Jones said.
^^^■'Clmton look a conservative stance
^■the welfare issue because that's
^Bcrc he sees most Americans," Jones
■lit
s for:
tockets
I Railroac
ith the
on Going, a member of the College
ocrats and a sophomore philoso-
major, said the welfare system is a
litive system that has been abused.
The welfare system was designed td
p people who slipped through the
cks," Going said. "Instead of being
ed as a handout, it should be
^■ved as a way to give people a sec-
Kp chance. It should be there to assist
^^Be in need."
fc 0 j n g a ] so praised Clinton's empha-
““‘“"’sin family values.
g.jOpJBhil Meuret, president of the College
* r/6 iB u k^ cans anc * a sen ^ or geography
major, said Clinton's focus on family
values was hypocritical.
"Republicans have long stood for
family values," Meuret said. "After
making fun of Dan Quail, the Democ
rats are focusing on family values be
cause it sounds good. Clinton is pulling
a fast one on Americans."
Jones said Clinton's goal for reforma
tion of the health care system is a good
one. Insurance companies have long
been competing for profits, which led
them to cut costs by not insuring people
with health problems, Jones said.
"By leveling the playing field and
saying all companies must cover every
one with no regard for preexisting con
ditions and serious illnesses, everyon'e is
competing on the same level," Jones
said.
Jones and Going agreed that Clin
ton's "Three Strikes and You're Out"
program, which would make third time
felony offenders ineligible for parole,
would be approved by Congress.
"People are fed up with crime and
have expressed it to Congress," Going
said.
Jones said although the mandatory
sentencing policy will probably pass, it
needs to be carefully thought out.
"This is a simple idea about a com
plex problem," Jones said. "The policy
doesn't leave much discretion to the
judge and jury, and that is what this
country is based on. It works against
our system."
Meuret said the mandatory sentenc
ing policy reflects Republican values.
"The problem all goes back to family
values," Meuret said. "The only way to
fight crime is to keep criminals in jail
and teach children good family values
that will lead them away from crime."
President pushes Congress to pass
health-care reform plan, crime bill
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Proclaiming
progress on his promises to break grid
lock and revive the economy. President
Clinton challenged
Congress Tuesday
night to move togeth
er on health care and
welfare reform this
year. "Our work has
just begun," he de
clared in his first
State of the Union ad
dress.
Upping pressure
on Congress to pass
the health-care re
form plan that is the
centerpiece of his do
mestic agenda, Clinton
to veto a bill — threatened to veto any
measure that does not meet his standard
of universal coverage.
Clinton
who has yet
"It is inevitable and imperative" that
the health-care system be overhauled,
Clinton said, calling it an issue on which
"the people are way ahead of the politi
cians."
Clinton voiced strong support for leg
islation that would put 100,000 more po
lice officers on the beat, send three-time
felons to prison for life and ban assault
weapons.
"Violent crime and the fear it pro
vokes are crippling our society, limiting
personal freedom and fraying the ties
that bind us," Clinton said, sounding a
theme popular both among both Repub
licans and Democrats.
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton,
the president's chief adviser on health
care, was seated in the gallery between
AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland and
Jack Smith, the chief executive officer of
General Motors.
See Clinton/Page 8
Stick your neck out
Tim Moog/THF. Battalion
TAMU Wildlife and Exotic Animal Center's 7-foot tall ostrich recently celebrated
its first birthday. The bird is part of the center's developmental studies.
ON!
ourt's sodomy ruling
nfuriates gay students
By Angela Neaves
The Battalion
ponents of the Texas sodomy law enjoyed a short-lived victo-
| before the Texas Supreme Court last week dismissed an earlier
Hi court's ruling that the law was unconstitutional.
[Five individuals challenged the constitutionality of the sodomy
in 1989 saying it violated their rights to privacy and equal
hits. A lower court agreed in 1990, saying the sodomy law was
Iconstitutional because it violated the right to privacy.
[But the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision last week, said civil
irts do not have jurisdiction to rule this law unconstitutional.
|James Mazzullo, an adviser for the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual
$gies and associate professor of geology, said the Supreme
jiurt's decision was disappointing to the homosexual community,
|t it does not have much effect on Texas A&M students.
[But when the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Aggies were establish-
their organization, the University fought the group's creation
ig an endorsement of criminal behavior if the group was permit-
on campus.
"Now, fortunately, most universities aren't using that excuse
lymore," Mazzullo said.
[Jason Payne, who answers telephones for the Gay Line and is a
tior computer engineering major, disliked the Supreme Court's
Json for dismissing the ruling.
'The case was thrown out because the individuals involved were
charged with violating the statute," Payne said. "The statute
Is never been enforced, so how will anyone ever rule on constitu-
pality? How do we get our day in court?"
; Although the law does not only apply to homosexuals, Payne
id it is used as a reason for prejudice.
See Sodomy/Page 4
cas;
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your
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firs'
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Sports
‘-fggies overpower T.C.U.
80-64
Page 5
Opinion
•Editorial: Self-regulation of
pble industry is a joke
•Stanford: Jello fears
Page 7
AG supports Arby's ban on smoking
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Texas At
torney General Dan Morales on
Tuesday praised the announce
ment by Arby's Inc. that it will
ban cigarette smoking in the
restaurants it owns and suggested
that other major chains are likely
to follow suit.
"The growing evidence of the
dangers posed to non-smokers
shows that smoking in public
places is much more than an an
noyance; indeed, it can be a
killer," Morales said at a daylong
forum on passive smoke in fast-
food restaurants.
"It is a terrific thing to see re
sponsible corporate leaders step
ping forward doing what is clear
ly in the best interest of the pub-
"It is a terrific thing to see responsible corpo
rate leaders stepping forward doing what is
clearly in the best interest of the public."
- Dan Morales, attorney general
lie," said Morales, among the
leaders in the effort by 17 state at
torneys general to end smoking in
fast-food establishments.
The attorneys general formed a
task force after the Environmental
Protection Agency issued a report
last year saying secondhand
smoke kills 45,000 non-smokers
annually. They targeted fast-food
outlets, saying passive smoke
hurts young customers and work
ers.
Children account for one-
fourth of the fast-food market and
up to 40 percent of the industry's
staff is under the age of 18, ac
cording to a report issued last
year by the attorneys general.
The Arby's decision is one of
the broadest anti-smoking steps
taken as the fast-food industry
grapples to balance health and
economic concerns.
Smoking will be banned this
summer in the Florida-based
chain's 257 corporate restaurants.
The policy doesn't affect the 1,991
franchisee-owned outlets, but
Arby's is urging franchises to
adopt the smoke-free policy.
Arby's is the first major chain
to institute the corporate policy,
although thousands of fast-food
outlets nationwide already have
banned smoking, generally at the
franchisee's behest or because of
local laws.
Minnesota-based International
Dairy Queen Inc. also is urging its
6,000-plus Dairy Queen, Orange
Julius and Karmel Korn franchises
worldwide to go smoke-free.
Tobacco industry officials de
nounced the smoke-free policies,
saying they're worthless from
both health and business per
spectives.
See Arby's/Page 4
A&M replaces Academic Building windows
Amy Browning/THE Battalion
Old windows of the Academic Building (right) are being replaced by
new and modern ones (left).
Students, faculty
opinions differ
over appearance
By James Bernsen
The Battalion
The wooden windows of Texas
A&M's Academic Building are be
ing replaced with aluminum win
dows this week, and students and
faculty have mixed views on the
change.
Dan MacGilvray, associate pro
fessor of architecture, said replac
ing the wooden windows with
aluminum ones takes away from
the building's character.
"I think it's a shame they took
them out," he said. "It destroys
the historic integrity of the build
ing."
But officials in the Physical
Plant defended the changes.
David Godbey, associate direc
tor of the Physical Plant for Engi
neering and Design services, said
the new windows will fit in with
other buildings on campus.
But MacGilvray said replacing
the windows in the other build
ings was a mistake, arid the Physi
cal Plant is repeating that same
mistake.
"I don't know anybody (in the
college of Architecture) who has
come out in favor of them," he
said.
Amy Cochran, a senior German
major, said she likes the windows.
"I like them because I have a
lot of classes in this building, and
the old ones looked gross and
were starting to rot," she said.
The new windows, around 250
in all, have aluminum frames and
feature an in-swinging casement
so they can be opened from in
side. This will make cleaning the
windows easier, which Godbey
said is important in a building
that is such a focal point on the
A&M campus.
Some of the windows that have
been replaced still have exposed
nails and masonry on the inside,
but will be covered by wood trim
similar to the old trim, Godbey
said.
But MacGilvray said the Physi
cal Plant could have replaced the
windows with aluminum win
dows with the same color and pat
tern.
"The white ones were very dis
tinctive and could be seen from
afar," he said. "They look now
like they have black eyes."
The windows were selected by
Engineering and Design Services
using computer visualization
techniques, which allow different
windows to be inserted into a
photograph to view the new de
signs.
Cost and maintenance were ex-
See Windows/Page 4