lay, March 7,1994
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Vol. 93 No. 109(10 pages)
The Battalion
1893 - A Century of Service to Texas A&M - 1993 Tuesday, March 8,1994
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Low voter turnout expected for primaries
Political candidates struggle over unconcerned
public to win outright, avoid possible runoff
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Candidates for the Democratic U.S.
Senate nomination crisscrossed the state Monday in
a frantic final search for support before Tuesday's
voting begins.
The race to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison, who faced only minor opposition
in her party's primary, generated the most heat but
left the candidates in agreement on one thing: low
voter interest.
Both former attorney general Jim Mattox and U.S.
Rep. Mike Andrews said they were concerned about
the projected light turnout. Secretary of State John
Hannah has predicted only 16.5 percent of the 9 mil
lion registered voters would cast ballots.
"I don't believe that people haven't been voting
because they don't care about their government. I
believe voting has been so low because moving our
primary from May to March was a mistake/' Mat
tox said.
Andrews, who gave up the U.S. House seat he's
held for 12 years to run for Senate, said he was sur
prised by the widespread apathy.
"That's one of the things I misjudged early in this
campaign. I really thought because this was a Senate
race, there would be much more focus by the press
and by the public," Andrews said.
The third major candidate in the race is Dallas in
vestor Richard Fisher. As did Mattox and Andrews,
Fisher visited several cities looking for votes.
If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the
vote, the top two advance to an April 12 runoff.
Fisher, a former adviser to Ross Perot who's por
trayed himself as the political outsider in this race, said
he expected to win the nomination. He called Mattox
an old-style politician, adding, "I'm convinced if he
(Mattox) wins the nomination — and I don't think he
will -- he'll lose worse than (Bob) Krueger."
The Senate race will top the November ballot, but
it's not the only primary being held Tuesday.
All seven top statewide offices, 30 U.S. House
seats, all seats in the Legislature, two places on the
Railroad Commission and three seats each on the
Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals
also are being filled this year.
Democratic Gov. Ann Richards, riding a wave of
popularity, drew only one primary opponent: Gary
Espinosa, 49, of Palestine, who listed his occupation
as retired.
On the Republican side, George W. Bush, 47, el
dest son of the former president and managing part
ner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, expected lit
tle trouble against his lone GOP rival, Abilene demo
lition contractor Ray Hollis.
Texas A&M athletic standards
may change in 1996, officials say
By James Bernsen
The Battalion
Texas A&M's departure to the Big
Eight Conference will affect academic
standards as well as athletic standards.
University officials say.
Wally Groff, A&M athletic director,
said academics were considered in the
initial agreements, but were not looked
into in great detail.
"I know it was discussed, but nothing
was decided," he said. "I know there's
going to be a level playing field."
Many Big Eight schools accept stu
dents under Proposition 48, which
states that some students can be ad
mitted who do not meet one or more
eligibility requirements set forth by
the NCAA.
Karl Mooney, assistant athletic direc
tor, said A&M and other Southwest
Conference schools do not accept many
of the students accepted under Proposi
tion 48, and he expressed concern that
the schools who do could have a re
cruiting advantage.
"We're a little concerned about it,"
he said. "It is a competitive disadvan
tage if you do not take them."
But. Mooney said, it might not be to
A&M's advantage to recruit athletes who
may not be able to succeed in college.
Groff said A&M may accept students
that fall under Proposition 48.
"We don't accept them now, but that
may change," he said. "But, it's really
too early to speculate. That time is way
in the future."
A&M will not officially join the Big
Eight until 1996.
Tracy Peck, a compliance assistant
with the Big Eight Conference, said the
issue will have to be discussed in up
coming meetings.
But, Peck emphasized that not all
Big Eight schools accept Proposition 48
students.
"It could be (an advantage)," she
said. "That's something we will have
to discuss."
Peck said Big Eight schools meet all
other NCAA guidelines that the South
west Conference maintains.
Faculty Senate approves Q-drop
revisions for one-hour courses
By Jan Higginbotham
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University Faculty Senate approved a
I proposal Monday that will allow students to Q-drop one-
| hour courses without the change counting toward the Uni
versity limit of three Q-drops.
Previously, University regulations allowed students three
Q-drops during their undergraduate studies and did not
specify an exemption for one-hour courses.
Brent Paterson, chair of the Rules and Regulations Com
mittee, said the change was proposed with students in mind.
"This is a real advantage for students," he said.
The change does not apply to courses offered by the College
: of Geosciences and Maritime Studies or the College of Science.
Paterson said this exception was made because one-hour
jcourses in those colleges are typically taken in association
with a three-hour course and are difficult to get into.
The new regulation does allow students to Q-drop a lec
ture and companion lab at the same time and have it count as
one Q-drop rather than two.
The Faculty Senate also approved changes to the Univer
sity policy on courses taken on a satisfactory or unsatisfac
tory status.
Students enrolled in Kinesiology 199 courses will now be
permitted to change the grading status of those classes up un
til the Q-drop deadline.
"Sometimes when you register for those courses, you may
be penalized when you take it for a grade," Paterson said.
Senators also approved a proposal that will require gradu
ate students to receive a grade of 'A' or 'B' in graduate cours
es in order to receive a satisfactory grade. Undergraduate
and professional courses will now require a grade of 'C and
above for satisfactory grades.
In other regulation changes, the Senate approved a
change that will require University-recognized organiza
tions to receive approval from the director of student activ
ities when sponsoring programs or speakers for an all-Uni-
versity audience.
Paterson said this change was made to be certain proper
procedures are followed.
He also said the decision made by the director of student
activities will not be made based on content of the programs.
Dr. James Morgan, speaker of the Senate, said he was
pleased with the changes made to the University regulations.
"All of these are reasonable changes," he said.
Possibility of reviving peace talks
discussed as new violence erupts
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Soldiers shot dead
two Palestinians in the West Bank and
guerrillas killed nine people in Israeli-
held south Lebanon as violence erupted
anew Monday amid efforts to revive
stalled Mideast peace talks.
Muslim extremists warned they will
unleash suicide attacks on Jewish settle
ments in the occupied territories, saying
Israelis will "cry in blood" for the Feb.
25 mosque massacre in Hebron.
The turmoil and threat of further
bloodletting came after PLO chairman
Yasser Arafat and an Israeli envoy,
Jacques Neriah, met in Cairo on Mon
day to discuss resuming the talks.
Gad Ben-Ari, Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin's spokesman, said in
Jerusalem: "There are intensive efforts
being made and we hope the negotia
tions will resume in the shortest possi
ble time."
Any delay getting the talks back on
track heightens the risk that "crazies"
on both sides would strike again, Rabin
said hours before Monday's violence.
Rabin said later: "The terrible mas
sacre and the atmosphere of vengeance
in the Arab world have created a diffi
cult reality which obligates us to make
immediate and hard decisions."
The Palestinians were shot to death
in Hebron, where the Feb. 25 mosque
massacre took place, after an army
jeep was stoned near the town's Israeli
headquarters.
Four other Arabs were wounded in
See Peace/Page 10
He really digs his job
Raun NohavitzafThe Battalion
Raymond Ponzio, a University landscape employee, uproots tall shrubs across from
Sbisa Dining Hall to make way for new ground cover. The work is part of a cam-
pus-wide landscape update.
s
1952
56
aff
3nsion Service
3er Officer
7805
Inside
Aggielife
•The ever-growing Garden
District
Page 3
Sports
•No. 9 Aggies down Tampa
Page 7
Opinion
•Winder: Finding common
ground with a loved one
Page 9
Former Texas A&M regent dies after illness
Coleman, 'a great humanitarian/ was
first African-American board member
The Associated Press
HOUSTON - Dr. John B.
Coleman, who devoted much of
his time to education and was the
first black member of the Texas
A&M University Board of Re
gents, has died. He was 64.
Coleman, an obstetrician-gy
necologist, died Saturday at
Methodist Hospital after a
lengthy illness.
In 1977, then-Gov. Dolph
Briscoe appointed Coleman to the
board at Texas A&M, calling the
doctor "a great humanitarian and
a great Texan."
Coleman also served as a re
gent of Texas Southern Universi
ty in the 1970s and was a board
member of Huston-Tillotson Col
lege in Austin. He later worked
with the Houston Independent
School District.
He also was chairman of
Houston's United Negro College
Fund executive committee and
the Houston executive board of
the Texas Association of Develop
ing Colleges.
Anti-abortion activists chal
lenged Coleman's A&M appoint
ment. They objected because he
was the director and head of ob
stetrical services at the former
Mercy Hospital in southeast
Houston when it became the
city's first hospital-associated
abortion clinic in 1973.
In the 1980s, Coleman was a
member of the Metropolitan
Transit Authority citizens com
mittee.
Coleman was born in Hous
ton's Third Ward, attended Yates
High and earned a degree from
Fisk University in Nashville,
Tenn. He then graduated with
distinction from the Howard Uni
versity School of Medicine in
Washington, D.C.
He is survived by his wife,
Gloria Coleman; a daughter,
Kathleen Coleman; sons John B.
Coleman Jr. and state Rep. Gar
net Coleman; and brothers Hub
bard Coleman, Clarence Coleman
and Jarvis Whitfield, all of Hous
ton.