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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1994)
/eel 1893 =1 The Batealion f 4 1993 S F' rather |[, k hol 93 No. 92 (14 pages) tlie l$! The Battalion 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Friday, February 11,1994 inter storm freezes Texas roads, commerce % reatt I dm; The Associated Press ■ Winter's wrath made sheets of ice out of North and East Texas roads Thursday, virtually paralyzing the Dallas-Fort Worth area and tangling commuter traffic as far south as San Antonio and Houston. I Two people were killed and a third critically injured when an air ambulance crashed on takeoff in freezing rain near the San Antonio International Airport, al though authorities said it was unclear if the weather caused the crash. In south Dallas, a newborn baby was found dead in an icy alley Thursday morning. Police said the girl appeared to have been there overnight but it was not immediately known if she died of expo sure. Ice accumulations of 11/2 inches were reported in North Texas, while two inches blanketed parts of South Texas from Junc tion north to the Hill Country. Thousands of electric customers en dured outages in the Houston area and in Lufkin, where ice-laden trees broke and fell across power lines. Much of the ice began to thaw under clearing skies Thursday afternoon. During morning rush hour, however, commuters crept along glassy streets in Dallas and Fort Worth. Not everyone, though, heeded warn ings to slow down. "They're the ones who'll be calling their insurance agent tomorrow," said James Black, spokesman for the Texas De partment of Transportation's Dallas of fice. Sanding crews dumped thousands of cubic yards of grit along bridges, over passes and other troublespots. Still, hun dreds of accidents were reported. A mas sive pileup involving dozens of vehicles along Interstate 35W in Fort Worth shut down the freeway for several hours. Virtually every school in the Dallas- Fort Worth area and surrounding coun ties canceled classes. Numerous business es in North Texas also closed or delayed opening. Dallas Area Rapid Transit, known as DART, offered free bus rides and report ed increased ridership. "We may not be so rapid today, but we're moving people as quickly as we can," said DART spokesman Tony Salters. Courier Glyn Reed of Tricor in Irving, started work before dawn and spent about two hours traveling two miles. Driving a Toyota pickup weighted down in the back for traction, Reed said he saw a 30-car pileup, an ambulance crash and a police car spinning in circles. "I can't even believe we're out here," he said during a stop delivering time-sen- See Weather/Page 6 not Its;. Senate ignores protests, cuts SC funding By Kim McGuire The Battalion After five hours of debate and a twenty- etocr Sp nu te closed session, the Student Senate recom- f( fieK mended slashing the Memorial Student Center's Ifomp budget by $400,000 despite protests from MSC student leaders. I The cut will drop the MSC's student services fee allocation from $1,804,400 to $1,395,342 pend ing final approval next week by Dr. Malon Southerland, vice president of student affairs. During the closed session, the Senate dis- cm, vs pro:. proce j, Vw ky toil roi# ■ uunng Hissed information regarding the MSC's budget given by a student who wished to remain anony mous. But according to the Texas Open Meetings Act, the meeting did not meet requirements of be ing closed, nor did it follow guidelines governing ,r F v losed meetings. liiioli' Because a closed session was called, some of He MSC representatives said they weren't given raibiii: ah adequate chance to address the senators' con- and either refute or confirm the new infor- justcal ma lion that was discussed. | Ryan Melton, MSC Hospitality chairman, said e Senate had "shamed itself." I think this is the worst, most unethical, Itculous thing the Senate, as an entity, could do the vote was swayed and we weren't even there ) tell our side," Melton said. "Like one of the nators said, it's like holding a trial and deliver- g a verdict without hearing the evidence." I The Senate also voted to refuse a request that th minutes of the closed session be read. I However, Monique Sanchez, chairwoman of ,the Senate finance committee responsible for re- .. J/Mewing the budgets and making recommenda- ,mt tilpns, said she thought what was discussed in dosed session did not influence the Senate's deci sion and did not regret closing the meeting in or der to protect the informant's identity. I "I felt a personal responsibility to protect the people who gave us information during the bud get recommendation process," she said. E Student Body President Brian Walker agreed. I "Aggie word was given," Walker said. "These Senators will be blasted for a long time for what they did tonight, but in their consciences they know what they did was stay true to their word." I The recommended cuts call for reducing the fbmber of student workers within the MSC and |essibly implementing a volunteer-type program, and raising the ticket price to some events spon- gpred by MSC committees such as Aggie Cinema, ^'*7 T(|)wn Hall, OP AS and Cepheid Variable. mH H Finance committee members contend the rev enue generated by the ticket price increases will 'set the initial decrease in addition to $220,000 Hotted by the student services fee reserve and MSC fund reserve. ■ However, Chris Cowan, vice president of the MSC finance committee, said the ticket hike is not feasible. I "It's a simple matter of supply and demand," Cpwan said. "If you raise the prices, students Won't come. And if they do pay the higher price, they're the ones who ultimately lose." H Similarly, Hartman said the cuts would cause the MSC to not be able to authorize any new com- njjttees and would ultimately lose the ability to off er what might be considered "risky" programs. ■ "Without adequate funding, the MSC won't be able to take chances on what might be considered alrisky' show, like bringing in an alternative band like Smashing Pumpkins, Belly, or a come dian like Chris Rock as opposed to a country per- See Senate/Page 11 Frozen solid . - ■ X ^ - Stew Milne/THE Battalion The Sul Ross statue stares out at the A&M campus from an unusually icy counte nance Thursday afternoon amid freezing temperatures that closed school for the day. Replant grows in magnitude, support By Joseph Greenslade The Battalion More than 1,000 people will take part in Re plant this Saturday in an effort to compensate for the trees cut down for the 1993 Texas A&M Bonfire. Replant, which was started in 1991 by red- pots planting a few hundred trees, will be held in the Lake Somerville State Park this year. More than 25,000 trees will be planted. Katie Arnold, a member of the Replant committee, said all the trees used for Replant Were donated. The largest donation came from the Nation al Tree Trust, which donated 20,000 seedlings. The seedlings will be planted in pots this year and replanted next year, Arnold said. The Caldwell Rotary club donated 4,000 young trees and the Arbor Ridge Nursery do nated 50 7-foot tall trees. "We've gotten a lot of support from the community and the student body," Arnold said. Scott Barr, head stack redpot for next year's Bonfire, said all of the redpots will be at Re plant to help out and to lend their support. "All of the yellowpots and crew chiefs will be there, Barr said. "Those people that have leadership positions in Bonfire will all be there." xmmtm ggga - -- ; • Fi; Blacks deal with limited social life By Rob Clark m :. ; ' ;■ • x v The Battalion ome black students at Texas A&M find their college ex perience incomplete because their social lives are limit ed by the University's environment and traditions. Because black students make up only 2.8 percent of A&M student population, many students feel area night clubs and bars are targeted toward white students. Alvin James, a senior industrial engineering major and member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, said joining black Greek organi zations is the best way to combat this problem. "Black fraternities and sororities are the backbone of the social life," James said. Greek organizations like Kappa Alpha Psi frequently '-V FT" "THE TRADITIONS ARE WHAT A&M WAS FOUNDED ON, AND IT'S THE MAIN THING THAT DRIVES AFRICAN- AMERICANS AWAY BECAUSE IT'S NOT REALLY INCLUSIVE OF AFRICAN-AMERI CAN PEOPLE." — BRIAN A. BATTLE, FRESHMAN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR X: throw parties on the weekends, which provide non-Greek black students with social activities. Pam Reese, adviser for the Pan-Hellenic Council, said black fraternities and sororities make things easier for other black students. "It's kind of like a safe haven," she said. "You've got a ready-made concentration of people who are like you: peo- See Social/Page 10 X Exl II iv/x;: ■ H : : .-X: : x. : - A&M closed after sleet Freezing rain and sleet closed the Texas A&M campus Thursday, and University officials plan to decide soon whether classes will have to be made up later in the semester. Dr. Jerry Gaston, executive associate provost, said the Office of the President and the Office of Academic Affairs will determine whether the canceled classes will have to be made up. "The decision will be made soon," Gaston said. Mary Jo Powell, associate director of University Relations, said the University has had to deal with this problem in the past, and those missed days were made up at the end of the year. A&M classes were canceled Wednesday night, all day Thursday, and until 10 a.m. Friday morning. Powell said the University bases its decision on weather reports, police reports and reports from the Department of Public Safety. The decision to cancel Thursday's classes was made at 6 a.m. that day when Interim President E. Dean Gage called Powell and made the announcement. "I then called KBTX and the radio stations," she said. Powell said the main concern is the safety of students, faculty and staff when these decisions are made and moving that many people around campus would be problematic. sir- jSoutherland given thumbs-up by Regents By Kim McGuire The Battalion ■ The Texas A&M Board of Re gents confirmed the appointment of J. Malon Southerland as vice president of student affairs at a spe- dal telephone meeting Thursday. ■ The final approval follows the recommendation made last week by Interim President E. Dean Gage to appoint Southerland to replace John Koldus, who retired in Au gust after serving 20 years in this position. ■ Southerland, Class of '65, has served as associate vice president of student services since 1988 and was assistant vice president the previous six years. "I am appreciative and humbled by the confidence shown in me by tine regents. Dr. Gage and all those who participated in the search process," Southerland said. "There is no better job in the student affairs business in America than at Texas A&M. I look forward to some great opportunities with students, former students, faculty and staff." The decision follows a semester- long search process during which candidates from all over the nation were interviewed for the position. Gage said the University is lucky to have someone of Souther land's caliber. "We are fortunate to be able to name someone of Dr. Souther land's experi ence, vision, dedication, stature and working knowledge of the University and its student programs and traditions in this position," Gage said. "Dr. Southerland has great vision and exciting ideas for many new pro grams." In a previous interview with the Battalion, Southerland mentioned Southerland his goals as vice president of stu dent affairs. "We need to work on strength ening cooperation and collabora tion of the faculty, staff, and acade mic programs, and maybe need to give it a new look," he said. Southerland said he would like to place information centers in buildings around campus so stu dents will know where to turn if they have questions. ^'We at least need to have the in formation more accessible," he said. "Although students are pretty well informed, for our size, we need students to want to ask ques tions. Basically we need communi cation." Inside 1 Aggielife ►Pet names, all in the name of love Page 3 Sports ►Aggie hoopsters claim 1000th victory Page 7 Opinion ►Pro/Con -Should Beutel Health Center offer the Morning-after pill Page 13
