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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1994)
bruaryl"; :erated in( ■nter Parli, cated pedes id incarceii! ity Jail. Vuuy cftOO l * y Threat VoL 93 No ' 97 P a 8 es ) The Battalion 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Friday, February 18,1994 nter- A n two indr. : i’i i one of 1! ened the o}|', cmained:; 'ect's clot ifficersdid). The Associated Press npt Agsra,: I TULSA, Okla. — A woman, who was lult of six people wounded when a dis- Huntled employee opened fire in a fast- tnter Parl#opd restaurant, had repeatedly rejected n reported; the man's advances, but never thought he lefirstlev would react violently, her mother said a subject Wednesday. GMCtrudgH Marcus Muriel Thompson, 26, was be- . r i ier . inj held on six complaints of shooting ' Kth intent to kill after a shooting spree at Conduct a Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers ■1 passions erupt into Tulsa shooting spree restaurant. Three co-workers and three high school students were injured Tues day. Thompson allegedly began shooting after arguing with his manager about having to clock in early. Police say he first shot Ericka Osborn, 19, who had rebuffed him a day earlier just minutes before she received a dozen red roses from her boyfriend for Valentine's Day. "We had a talk about him a week ago," her mother, Susan Davis, said at St. Francis Hospital, where Osborn was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the back. "She said he had asked her out, and she repeatedly told him no. But she didn't expect something like this. There's no way you could." Thompson was scheduled to made his first court appearance at 2 p.m. in Tulsa County District Court. Police said it could be days before their report could be com piled, but Chief Prosecutor Tom Gillert said charges likely would be filed Thurs day. "This is not exactly a whodunit," Gillert said. "We should be able to have enough evidence to file charges pretty quick." Hospital officials said Wendy's em ployee Doug Bowen, 37, was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the head, and employee Richard Goldbrick, 47, was in serious condition; student Sta cy Burgess, 15, was in good, stable condi tion with five wounds to the abdomen and student Heather Rowe, 16, was in good condition with a wound to the leg. Christina Ferris, 16, was treated and re leased. About two dozen counselors were available at East Central High, where stu dents were banned from leaving campus for lunch under a new district-wide poli cy that Superintendent John Thompson put into effect just hours after the shoot ing. Counselors stopped by every class room during the first hour. Principal Tim Cameron said about 20 students who saw the shooting spree were spending more time with the counselors. "We have a couple who were there See Shooting/Page 3 \ ParkingSk rved four; t g * Gage cites reputation aey walkedB dy rifor high retention rate Interim president praises campus groups eportofa; an in a site loor oftb thearres By Melissa Jacobs rg 12-eai tolenfror j Texas A&M University has a high- ponandl er intention rate than any other uni- nition t versity in the state, Interim President lencelock E. Dean Gage said. ject wasiJBGage said A&M's reputation con- 35County tributes to the high retention rate, and the University is recognized for the overall pres tige of its academ ic programs. Gage also praised A&M's 700 student orga nizations. "A&M is not in a major metropoli tan area, and the campus becomes a kind of Aggie fam ily," he said. James P. Mor- isodeclimiMn. speaker of the Faculty Senate, om Portlar a g rees . woman,org "We try to make sure that people iternationa, are given the chance to fulfill their ?/ picking academic abilities, and we have a into her ro" fairly good advising system for stu- rstigatior dents who get into academic trou- (erriganr ble," he said, d dazed h If Don Carter, registrar for the Office of Admissions and Records, said prospective students visiting the A&M campus see that students are courteous and polite. "We have a good support system," Carter said. "Many student organizations and the students have the perception that we care about them." The University's high retention rate also affects the number of slots available for incoming freshmen. Since more students stay here to complete their degree instead of dropping out or transferring to an other university, fewer freshmen can be admitted to Texas A&M. "It creates enormous pressure be cause of the high number of appli cants," he said. But Morgan said A&M's high re tention rate does not affect a stu dent's decision to attend A&M. Although many students complete their studies at A&M, many take longer than the traditional four years. Only 25 percent of A&M students graduate in four years, according to the Office of Admissions and Records. Amy Browning/Tat Battalion ' v Kathy Perez, a sophomore education major from San Anto- some friends on the Quad. Thursday's high was in the mid- nio, enjoys the sun Thursday afternoon by playing catch with 70s, and warm temperatures are expected to continue today. e emerge! ir Olympic! ist- )hei ast-fooiii^ ustomers :eptive -hand sine 1 itter. when duf Morales S' 11 - make up planned bad-weather day off I Texas A&M University students will probably not have to make up last week's bad weather day, said Interim President E. Dean Gage Th ursday. I "The day will most likely not be made up," Gage said. "It would ■e difficult to do, and I don't think we'll make up the day. " i Due to freezing rain and sleet, A&M classes were canceled last Wednesday night, all day Thursday, and until 10 a.m. Friday. Thurs day morning. I There was speculation that the days might be made up either on reading day or at the end of this semester. n-smokiif an in the Office of Academic Affairs said there is no poli cy about making up days in the Texas A&M rules and regulations. Although high school students in Texas are sometimes forced to , make up days missed because of bad weather or other reasons, the mot - ®offieja] said colleges and universities do not necessarily have to make Ip missed days. by'sIncT "IS Aggie accountants to offer free tax filing J rs foil Sockets By Angela Neaves The Battalion I The Accounting Society and the Texas A&M chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting honors fraternity, will offer free tax assis tance and electronic tax filing through April 15. |§ Kline Driver, coordinator for 1 the event and member of Beta Al pha Psi, said the service will be offered in 501 Blocker Building Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and until 6 p.m. on Thursday. I "There are other sites in Bryan- College Station offering the free service," Driver said. "But we are the only ones offering electronic filing. We are also offering elec tronic depositing into checking and savings accounts." I An income tax return check may be expected within three Weeks if filed electronically and within eight weeks if filed by mail. 1 Driver said the service is avail- al le to anyone in the community. James Benjamin, head of the lelRa ilro3 ' accounting department, said the rs ’Boat 5 Plane service offers two major benefits. Primarily the students who ,.8095 use the service will benefit from the training and knowledge of members of Beta Alpha Psi," Ben jamin said. "They are good stu dents and well-trained in the area. Secondly, refunds will be received quickly because of electronic fil ing and at no cost." Clair Nixon, a professor of ac counting, said the service is valu able because it is offered at no cost and because it is educational. "Beta Alpha Psi will not only file taxes, they will also take time to review the taxes with people and explain how income is taxed," Nixon said. "When stu dents get out and begin to earn money, they will have an idea about how the tax system works." Cheryl Rodriguez, district manager of H&R Block, which charges $74 to electronically file 1040 EZ tax forms, said there is no danger in having students file the forms as long as they make sure their parents are not claiming them as dependents. "As long as parents are not claiming the students, there is no danger in the free electronic ser vice," Rodriguez said. "If the form being used is more compli cated than the 1040 EZ, I would suggest finding someone else to help you." Faculty debates Japanese trade policy Threat of sanctions causes Japan to trim record surplus The Associated Press TOKYO — Under the threat of U.S. sanctions, the govern ment decided Thursday to develop a wide-ranging package of measures to trim Japan's record trade surplus and possibly head off a trade war. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and top trade negotia tors agreed to focus on four areas — promotion of imports and foreign investment, deregulation, tougher anti-monopoly en forcement, and fairer government purchasing. The decision reflects growing anxiety in Japan over U.S. threats of trade retaliation following a breakdown in talks in Washington last week on reducing the two countries' trade im balance. "The ball is in Japan's court," said the chief government spokesman, Masayoshi Takemura. He said the government needs to plan the package carefully because it will "lead to a change in style and structure of the See Japan/Page 4 By Eloise Flint The Battalion T exas A&M University facul ty members have mixed views on the Clinton Ad ministration's threat to impose sanctions on Japanese imports into the U.S. Japan currently has a $60 bil lion trade surplus with the Unit ed States. Kerry Cooper, executive di rector for International Business in the College of Business, said Japan has a production capacity geared toward exporting. "It is difficult for them to re spond to our desire," he said. The Japanese prime minister is presently trying to restructure the economy and Cooper said this may not be the right time to push the trade issue. "This does require strong pressure, but at the present time with the political uncertainty in Japan, we wouldn't want the United States to jeopardize the Japanese prime minister," he said. Now that the Cold War is over, the issue of opening do mestic trade markets is surfac ing because there isn't as much concern for foreign policy. Cooper said. "The problem the Clinton Administration.sees is how long there has been a trade surplus and the magnitude of it," Coop er said. "The U.S. has been let ting nature take it's course, waiting for the surplus to come down, and it hasn't happened." • Dr. Thomas R. Saving, direc tor of the Private Enterprise Re search Center at Texas A&M, does not agree with Clinton's plan. "This hard line position we are taking with the Japanese is not the right approach," Saving said. "We benefit from the Japanese sending us products and, even if they are 'dumping' their products, it is still to our benefit." Saving said Japan is selling products in the United States at different prices than in Japan, which constitutes "dumping." But Larry Wolken, a finance lecturer, said the trade deficit is a result of population differ ences. "We have two times the amount of people, and if you look at it on a per-person basis we enjoy a surplus," he said. Wolken said this causes an unfair balance. "Clinton said we need to be fair," Wolken said. " But should a country with half the popula tion buy the same amount from us?" Wolken said the U.S. is being rather contradictory because the it has a trade surplus with other countries. "We have barriers that limit a trade balance with each and every country," Wolken said. Silent artillery brings about negotiations in Sarajevo The Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Whole convoys of Bosnian Serb artillery withdrew from the hills around Sarajevo on Thursday in com pliance with a NATO ulimatum to pull back or be bombed. The pullout reported by U.N. monitors followed a pledge by Bosn ian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to meet NATO's Sunday deadline. Karadzic made the concession under pressure from Russia. "We do think the war in Sarajevo is finally over," Karadzic told re porters after meeting with Vitaly Churkin, Russia's special envoy, in Pale, the Bosnian Serb stronghold southeast of Sarajevo. Lt. Col Bill Aikman, a U.N. spokesman in the shell-shattered Bosnian capital, wouldn't specify what sort of equipment was being withdrawn, but said "we're talking heavy weapons." "Literally they're moving out in convoys, not in individual vehi cles," he said. "Clearly there's a major withdrawal going on." See Sarajevo/Page 8 Inside Sports •A&M plays host to Rice Sunday at 4 p.m. Page 6 Opinion •Pro/Con: Should capital punishment be an option for juvenile offenders? •Booher: Penalty for drug possession in other countries too great to risk Page 7