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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1994)
#Tp|-W Texas A&M 'W~% . _ *V • 1 ne Battalion Vol. 93 No. 133 (10 pages) Serving Texas A&M since 1893 Wednesday, April 20, 1994 tate governor race stirs debate among Aggies B Nicole Cloutier IH' ; As the race for Texas governor I htats up, Texas A&M students exam- hed each candidate’s platform at a derate Tuesday night to help them in their voting decision, i] I The debate, which was between I Members of Aggies for Ann ■chards and Aggies for George W. I lush, focused on various issues of ' ftneern to Texas citizens. I Suzanne Chase, executive chair i bid member of Aggies for Richards, li lid the debate was undeniably a Success because attendees left more E formed and aware of the issues. “I think that the people who me knew what issues were impor- nt to them and they left knowing |oore about them,” Chase said, “and diversity of not only the issues, but the candidate’s beliefs on things such as education and welfare, things that effect us direedy.” Chase, a junior political science major, praised the accomphshments of Richards as governor, saying she could lead the state through another four-year term. Caleb Rackley, a member of Ag gies for Bush and a freshman politi cal science major, said the attendees should look at the changes Richards has not made and the promises she has not kept as governor. “Are you happy with the way things are?” he asked. Eric Gruetzner, a member of Ag gies for Richards and a senior politi cal science major, praised Richards for the expansion of the Texas cor rections facilities and her attempts to keep convicted felons from return ing to the streets. Bradley Schumaker, a member of Aggies for Bush who is working on his master’s, said making more prison beds available was not the so lution to the problem that has led Texas to be identified as the third most dangerous state in the nation. “People do not feel safe any more,” Schumaker said. “And building more prisons is not the real solution. What does building more prisons do? What about the crimi nals who are never caught?” Schumaker said there are 6,000 empty prison beds in Texas at this time, and Bush plans to tackle the crime problem at its roots by pre venting criminals from ever reach ing prisons. But Gruetzner said Richards’ goal was to keep convicted felons behind bars and out of trouble. “Ninety-six percent of the con victs will go free in the next three years because we can’t keep them in.” Gruetzner said. Another issue that arose during the debate was gun control. Jason Herrick, a member of Ag gies for Bush and an industrial dis tribution major, said he did not want officials in Austin to rape Tex ans of their constitutional right to bear arms. “They continue to fight the conceal and carry laws that allow us to protect ourselves,... for fear that they might lead to shoot- outs over fender benders or some sort of wild west lawlessness,” Herrick said. Patrick Gendron, a member of Aggies for Richards and a senior po litical science major, said people do not need high-powered rifles on the streets for protection. Alex Olsen/Specia/ to The Battalion During a debate between George W. Bush supporters and supporters of Gov. Ann Richards Tuesday night, Bradley Schumaker addresses how Bush plans to deal with the problem of crime. The unsung heroes escuers in Holocaust isked lives to safeguard ews, professor says [ ByJames Bemsen the Battalion 'alathm uo-nan anufat Rescuers who saved Jews from the Holo- tust are a reminder that goodness can even be aund in mankind’s darkest hour, Arnold rammer, a professor of history at Texas A&M, lid in a lecture Tuesday night. The rescuers are people who risked jverything to conceal and safeguard Jews luring the Holocaust. ^ee Related Story/Page 8 t&W' 1 II , i — 'When faced with an awesome choice, hey chose to do the right thing,” he said. They risked a lot. They could have been shot m the spot.” Krammer said thousands of Christians were hot or deported to the gas chambers for at tracting to help the Jews. 'The Nazis even killed entire families of hose people who were rescuers,” he said. Krammer said there were rescuers in every :ountry the Germans occupied. “Rampant anti-Semitism in Europe at the ime would have made any effort on the part ifjews suicide,” he said. ‘ Yet against all odds, iome people did.” Krammer said researchers in Israel have dentified 9,295 rescuers. "That’s really a small number,” he said. 'That’s less than the number of Hungarian ews killed in Auschwitz on a single day dur ing the height of the Holocaust. Many more may never be identified or may have died at the hands of the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, he said. Krammer said research to determine what motivated rescuers to risk their lives has deter mined several reasons, including religious conviction, hatred for the Nazis and personal gain. Krammer said Oscar Schindler, the rescuer portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s recent movie, “Schindler’s List,” was only a war profiteer at first. “His widow says even today that his right eousness developed much later, if at all,’ he said. - ■ Krammer said most rescuers had a sense of independence, a strong model in their minds of the difference between good and evil and the ability to disregard the negative attributes of the victims. He said almost all the rescuers decided to help on impulse and most saw nothing extra ordinary in their actions. “The rescuers, almost entirely, generally be lieved that they did anything that should or could be done,” he said. “Good people do good things.” Some rescuers took in Jews to convert them, many were motivated by the face of a child and some, who hated Jews, took them in anyway out of belief in Christian principles. See Holocaust/Page 8 Young artists at work David Birch/TTie Battalion Heather Meredith (left), a freshman environmental de sign major, sketches a picture of Fish Pond in front of Sbisa Dining Hall Tuesday afternoon. Cindy Schiffer (right), a freshman biochemistry and genetics major, helps her friend Heather finish a journal for an ENDS 11 0 class. Closed-circuit telecast available for Muster ty au“ 0 Gufl' ss not< nt ^ ectioB' ,T1 0 ul ' oesi0> a ne"[ jtion^ ik be com- me*' t of 1 lg de' 1, tb e i' tha 1 noth' e Saf ircuh By Traci Travis The Battalion Organizers of the Texas A&M Muster have made some changes in this year’s ceremony af ter several thousand spectators were turned away from G. Rollie White Cohseum last year. A closed-circuit telecast of Muster will be available in Rudder Auditorium for up to ,000 people during the ceremony. G Rollie White Coliseum, which can only seat 8,000 people, was not able to accommodate everyone wanting to attend last year’s Muster. Greg Johnson, Muster committee member, said the live telecast will eliminate a repeat of last year’s overflow of people into the MSC fla- groom. “People will get the same big auditorium effect without actually being at the ceremony,” he said. Johnson said last year’s turn away of several thousand spectators was primarily for safety reasons. “By fire marshal standards, we had no choice but to turn people away,” he said. In addition to the goal of accommodating more people, this year’s Muster committee is trying to reach out to a more diverse crowd, Johnson said. An international student reception will be held for the first time immediately after the ceremony in the MSC. Members of the Tradi tions Council and the MSC Hospitality Com mittee will be available for international stu dents who have questions about Muster. The actual Muster ceremony consists of songs, poems and a keynote speaker. The close of every Muster includes a roll call for the ab sent in which names of the deceased Aggies are read and friends answer “here” in their place. A candle is hi as the name is read, and this is followed by a 21 - gun salute. “Even though thejv are not here in body, they are here in spirit/’ Johnson said. Johnson said every student should attend Muster. “Even if you never go to a Muster, you are still going to go to one,” he said. “It's going to be the one right after you die.” This year’s Muster will honor the Class of ‘44 who will be celebrating their 5 0-year graduation anniversary. Muster begins Thursday with a “Muster Ca maraderie” barbecue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the Academic Building. Entertain ment will include the Aggie Wranglers, the Logan Brothers and Robert Earl Keen Jr. The keynote speaker at the ceremony will be Dr. Andres Tijerina, Class of ‘67 and assistant professor of U.S. and Texas history at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Tijerina flew 150 combat missions with the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam and his war memoirs were published as the final volume of the Time-Life Books se ries concerning the war. Tijerina was selected from 200 nominees because of a speech he gave at a Muster last year, Johnson said. More than 300 apply for Aggie Mastercards By Stephanie Dube The Battalion Blake Griggs/TTie Battalion im Jeter, associate executive director of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students, holds an enlarged replica of the Aggie Mastercard. The Texas A&M Association of Former Students recently signed a five-year contract with MBNA to is sue Aggie Mastercards to supporters of the University, and more than 300 people have applied for the card since the program began last week. Jim Jeter, associate executive di rector of the Association, said orga nizers of the program hope to have 30,000 to 40,000 cards issued within the next five years. “The Aggie Mastercard is primar ily aimed at graduates, but it is avail able to anyone who considers them selves a part of the Aggie family,” Jeter said. Tod Weaver, senior vice president for MBNA, said the Aggie Master card offers many benefits to the user and to the University. Weaver said card holders receive travel accident insurance, lost lug gage insurance, collision damage waiver insurance and twenty-four hour customer service if they use their card to charge their plane tick et. Jeter said the Aggie Mastercard also benefits the University. “The Association will receive a small royalty whenever the card is used, which could mean money for academic projects,” Jeter said. Jeter said these academic projects would include scholarships, student loans, faculty programs and awards. Weaver said this type of program has been tried successfully at other universities. See Card/Page 4 Earth Day International Pg- 2 Pg- 7 Opinion What's Up B—GS faces recent increase in car thefts, officials say By Nicole Cloutier The Battalion Many police department offi cials and car alarm dealers in the Bryan-College Station area are re porting an increase in automo bile theft this year. Lt. A.W Onstott of the College Station Police Department, said there has been a 25 percent in crease in automobile thefts in the past three months. Onstott said many people are not aware that burglaries exist in this area. “It’s hard to believe, but a lot of people just 'do not lock their doors,’ he said. But University Police Depart ment officials and Byran Police Department officials are report ing little or no increase in car burglaries. UPD Lt. Burt Kretzschmar said UPD records do not indicate a significant increase in vehicle burglaries on campus. Sgt. Dale Cuthbertson, of the Bryan Police Department, said the automobile burglary rate in Bryan is down slightly from last year. Local businesses specializing in the sale and installation of car alarm systems have also noticed the increase in car burglaries. Many dealers are reporting an in crease in sales. Bruce Lamphier of Sound waves, a home and car electron ics dealer, said more people are “It’s hard to believe, but a lot of people just do not lock their doors.” - Lt. A. W. Onstott, College Station Police Department coming in for insurance esti mates and quotes on car alarms. “We have had about a 25 per cent increase in the last few months,” Lamphier said. Although many people are concerned about the success of installed alarm systems, Lamphi er said a professional installer can help keep burglars away. Wayne Griggs of Aggieland Audio said they also have noticed a particularly good year because of the increase in car vandalism. “It is rampant in this town.” Griggs said. Bryan and College Station po lice officers encourage car own ers to hide their valuables and lock their cars to combat the in crease in auto burglaries in the area. Cuthbertson said many people leave their car windows open and their valuables in plain view, and he urged motorists to put their valuables in the trunk. “Women go to clubs and they See Thefts/Page 10