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Vol. 93 No. 94 (8 pages)
The Battalion
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Tuesday, February 15,1994
RArhite House attacks balanced budget amendment
The Associated Press
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WASHINGTON — A day before con
gressional hearings on the balanced bud
get amendment begin, the White House
launched a pre-emptive strike Monday
against a measure it claims would harm
The nation's economic recovery.
The White House contends a constitu
tional amendment to balance the budget
which President Clinton has called a
■'gimmick'' — would damage the econo
my because of sharp spending cuts or tax
hikes.
Administration analyses project that
balancing the budget by 1999 would re
sult the following year in 2.5 million lost
jobs and an economy shrunk by $85 bil
lion, the president's chief economic advis
er testified last week.
Texas alone would lose $11.5 billion to
$12.3 billion annually if the budget were
balanced by 2000, according to a Treasury
Department state-by-state analysis re
leased Monday by the White House.
"The American people have a right to
know what this amendment will mean in
terms of tax increases and cuts in areas
like Social Security, Medicare and de
fense," said Assistant Treasury Secretary
Alicia Munnell.
Texas backers of the amendment coun
tered that their measure wouldn't disrupt
the economy because it would be phased
in gradually. And Social Security, which
has its own trust fund, wouldn't be
touched, they added.
Congress doesn't have the discipline to
balance the budget without a constitu
tional amendment hanging over its head,
said Rep. Joe Barton, who noted that the
federal government hasn't had a balanced
budget since 1969.
"We don't shy away from the fact that
you're going to have to have some real
priorities and that some programs are go
ing to have to be killed," said the Ennis
Republican, who is author of one budget
amendment.
"The alternative is to sit on our hands
and do nothing," he said.
The Treasury analysis examined five
scenarios to balance the budget by 2000,
ranging from a combination of spending
cuts and tax increases to spending cuts
alone. One option would shield defense
spending from cuts, another Social Secu
rity, and a third both programs.
See Budget/Page 4
Shot with Cupid's arrow
Holly Hess (left), a sophomore marketing major, and Rob Gentry
(right), a sophomore business major, celebrate Valentine's Day
Kevin Ivy/The Battalion
Monday afternoon at Research Park, the couple has been dating
for eight months after meeting each other on a blind date.
acuity Senate approves changes to A&M rules
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By Jan Higginbotham
The Battalion
A series of changes to the 1994-
95 Texas A&M University Regula
tions were approved Monday by
the Faculty Senate, after recom
mendation by the Rules and Reg-
julations Committee.
Dr. Brent Paterson, chair of the
[Rules and Regulations Commit
tee, said the committee is trying to
get as many of its changes
through the February and March
meetings of the Faculty Senate so
they can go into the catalog for
next year.
"We set up the process to get
the changes into the catalog so it
will be more up-to-date," Pater
son said.
Several of the proposed
changes brought about discussion
and further changes by the sena
tors.
A proposal to change the re
quired grade point ratio for stu
dents serving as officers in recog
nized student organizations from
2.0 to 2.25 was sent back to the
committee for further considera
tion.
Senators were concerned that
students who are actively in
volved could not continue to par
ticipate if their grade point ratio is
below 2.25.
The Senate also voted down a
proposal that would require stu
dents seeking two degrees to com
plete at least 36 additional hours
to the number required for one
degree.
The rest of the recommenda
tions by the Rules and Regula-
See Senate/Page 4
A&M / UT game
moved to Nov. 5
From staff and wire reports
Texas A&M's traditional
Thanksgiving match-up against
the University of Texas has been
tentatively moved to Nov. 5.
Baylor and Texas will replace
the annual clash, meeting on Nov.
24 on a nationally televised ABC
broadcast.
A&M cannot appear on televi
sion during the Fall '94 season be
cause the University's football
program is serving a one-year TV
ban under the terms of its NCAA
probation.
The Aggies also cannot play in
any bowl games and are ineligi
ble for the Southwest Conference
championship.
A&M will begin its season at
LSU in Baton Rouge on Sept. 3.
That annual grudge match will
be followed by playing the Okla
homa Sooners the week later.
The Aggies first 1994 confer
ence game is scheduled for Oct. 1
against Texas Tech at Kyle Field.
The Aggies will finish their
season at home against TCU on
Nov. 19.
A&M athletic director Wally
Groff and head football coach
R.C. Slocum could not be reached
for comment.
Houston nuclear plant
receives OK to restart
Facility passes federal inspection
The Associated Press
BAY CITY — Houston Lighting & Power Co. officials Monday got a
conditional green light from federal regulators to restart its troubled
South Texas Project nuclear plant.
The plant near Bay City has been idle for a year because of mechani
cal and other problems that have landed the twin-unit project on a fed
eral list of troubled nuclear plants.
Joe Callan, regional administrator for the Nuclear Regulatory Com
mission, said he was authorizing the restart if the utility would com
plete testing of two water bypass valves.
He said regulators also wanted to verify the adequacy of employee
training in what's known as "configuration management," the ability
of workers to understand what a piece of equipment is doing at any
given time.
The tests and inspection could be complete within 24 hours, mean
ing the plant could begin nuclear operations by the end of the week.
"I'm confident enough to authorize a restart," Callan said. "That's a
See Nuclear/Page 4
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Students, faculty say senator's scandal won't taint campaign
Texans may forget
controversy before
November elections
By Juli Rhoden
The Battalion
The acquittal of Kay Bailey Hutchi
son may have political repercussions,
but many Texas A&M students and fac
ulty members say the judges decision
was for the best.
Brenna Hapes, secretary of the Col
lege Republicans, said Hutchison's ac
quittal was a nice surprise.
"We're all thrilled," Hapes said.
"Everyone thought the charges were
politically motivated."
Hutchison was acquitted Friday of
criminal ethics
charges after the trial
judge ruled the state
ments offered by the
prosecution inadmis
sible.
Gary Halter, facul
ty adviser to the Col
lege Democrats and a
political science pro
fessor at Texas A&M,
said the process and
the outcome seemed
strange.
"I find it hard to imagine Earle
would stop proceedings like that," Hal
ter said. "I think he was afraid the in
formation obtained by the grand jury
subpoena would be sealed."
With the primary in the near future,
questions of Hutchison's re-election are
already surfacing.
Hutchison
Hutchison has maintained that the
charges were political. She said she
was under scrutiny because she fought
the political insiders.
Halter said all of the publicity could
help Hutchison in her re-election cam
paign.
"Sure the charges and the new infor
mation could be used against her," he
said, "but negative campaigns can also
backfire."
Bryan Jones, a political science pro
fessor at Texas A&M, said that by No
vember, voters may forget there was
ever a scandal concerning Hutchison.
"Texans will probably say this is all
politics as usual," he said. "Voters will
write it off as a political smear and for
get about it."
Jones said it is too early to tell how
Hutchison's ordeal will affect her re-
election campaign.
Hutchison to visit Brazos Valley
By James Bernsen
Tub Battalion
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
will be in the Brazos Valley tonight for
a speech to the local Republican Party.
Hutchison is the keynote speaker at
the "Lincoln Dinner," the party's an
nua) fund-raiser.
The dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. at
the Brazos Center in Bryan and will
last until 8 p.m.
A Republican Party official said that
although the topic of the speech is not
final, Hutchison will probably speak
on the upcoming election and her re
cent acquittal from ethics charges.
Many state and local candidates
will also speak, including Tony Garza,
who is running for attorney general,
and Carol Rylander, candidate for rail
road commissioner.
The dinner will be open to the pub
lic and will cost $25 for adult non-stu
dents and $6 for students.
"Hutchison won't want to talk about
this in November because, by then, the
information Earle released won't be
new anymore," Jones said. "And the
Democrats won't want to talk about it
either, especially if Jim Mattox wins. He
See Hutchison/Page 4
Faulty pump to blame for chemistry lab fire
By James Bernsen
The Battalion
A faulty vacuum pump caused last Wednes
day's Chemistry Building lab fire, a College Sta
tion Fire Department official said.
Lt. Stephen Smith, investigator with the Col
lege Station Fire Marshal's office, said all evi
dence points to the pump motor that apparently
seized up.
"When a motor does that, it causes a lot of
heat," he said.
The pump was placed beneath a wooden
shelf where there was little air circulation, caus
ing heat to build up.
The result was a fire that smoldered for about
two hours before bursting into flames.
"It was obviously smoldering for a couple of
hours because the smoke on the glass could not
"It was obviously smoldering
for a couple of hours because
the smoke on the glass could
not be scraped off."
- Lt. Stephen Smith,
investigator with the College
Station Fire Marshal's office
be scraped off," he said.
The heat ignited a wooden cabinet, busted
water and steam pipes and broke a window.
Will Scott, a detective for the University Po
lice Department, said the fire continued for two
hours before smoke detectors were activated.
"The smoke detector was not in the lab but in
the hallway," he said, "so perhaps we need to
look into readjusting or repositioning them."
Arthur E. Martell, a chemistry professor, was
conducting experiments on metal complexes in
the laboratory, and said the pump was placed
there because it had to be near some equipment.
It is not uncommon for equipment to be left
on at night, he said, but there was no indication
the pump was not working properly.
Smith said the motor could have failed in a
number of ways, most likely bad bearings.
Martell said the average age for such pumps
is five to 10 years.
The fire damage was not extensive, and no
chemicals were involved, he said, but the smoke
and water damage have made the laboratory
unusable.
Martell said his research will be set back, but
not seriously, as most of the work will continue
in another lab.
Aggie life
►The secret of Snook Baking
Co.'s success
Page 3
Sports
•Profile on Paul Barber
Opinion
Page 5
►Editorial: Mandatory church
attendance no place in
court sentencing
Page 7