The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 02, 1994, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    ION W
Thursday • June 2,1994 Thursda
Medical center to be built on A&M campus in Temple
Scott and White to share
$11 million construction
By Christine Johnson
The Battalion
Texas A&M and Scott &
White Memorial Hospital are
building an $11 million medical
education and research center at
Texas A&M’s Temple campus.
At its Friday meeting, the
A&M System Board of Regents
approved $10,000 to begin plan
ning the construction of the fa
cility at the College of Medi
cine’s clinical campus. The
Texas A&M University Educa
tion and Research Building will
be located adjacent to the Scott
& White health care facilities at
the clinical campus in Temple.
Texas A&M and Scott &
White will share the cost of con
struction.
Dr. William Mobley, A&M
system chancellor, said the cen
ter will improve A&M’s presence
in Temple.
“This further solidifies the
bond between A&M, Scott &
White, and the other health
care facilities in Temple,” he
said. “It is a very positive de
velopment and an example of
good partnership.”
Mobley said the facility
could also lead to some employ
ment and internship opportuni
ties for A&M students.
Students of the College of
Medicine will complete their
first two years at A&M and
their last two years at the Tem
ple campus.
Dr. Robert Myers, president
and CEO of Scott & White
Memorial Hospital, said the
hospital has been planning this
facility for years.
The building will allow more
space for students, research
and physicians, he said.
“It is a positive step for both of
us,” he said. “We can gain more
working together than singly.”
Dr. Elvin Smith, associate
vice president for health affairs,
said A&M is currently leasing
space from the clinics and hospi
tals on the clinical campus.
“This building will bring
A&M much needed visibility in
Temple,” he said. “Right now
there is no University building
on that campus and we are only
existing in borrowed space.”
Smith said two-thirds of the
building will be used as research
labs for faculty. There will also
be a computerized student
learning center and an auditori
um with a capacity of 300.
The auditorium will be sepa
rated into four smaller confer
ence rooms for faculty meetings
and equipped with “state of the
art” telecommunication systems,
he said.
The building would not in
crease enrollment, he said, be-
Please see Center/Page 7
JD Jacoby /The Battalion
Last but not least
After a long night on campus James Talmage, a senior wildlife fishery sciences major, sheds
light on the Zachry parking lot when he opens his car door.
King loses bid for punitive damages
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rodney King
lost his bid for punitive damages from any
of the police officers involved in his beat
ing. The jury’s verdict Wednesday ended an
ordeal that wracked the city for three
years.
The panel found that former policemen
Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell, who
were convicted in the beating, acted with
malice, but shouldn’t have to pay King.
Punitive damages are intended to deter
behavior, not compensate an injured per
son. The jury earlier ordered the city to pay
King $3.8 million in compensatory dam
ages for the beating.
In a countersuit filed by acquitted offi
cers Theodore Briseno, the panel found
that King battered Briseno, but refused to
hold King liable for punitive damages.
The verdict came in the jury’s 11th day
of deliberations in the trial’s second phase.
The jury said four other defendants, for
mer Officer Timothy Wind and officers
Briseno, Rolando Solano and Louis Turria-
ga, did not violate King’s rights and did not
act with malice.
Those defendants had not been convicted
in any other court, while Koon and Powell
were found guilty of violating King’s feder
al civil rights last year and are serving 30-
month prison sentences.
The courtroom was hushed as the ver
dicts were announced by U.S. District
Judge John Davies. Only Wind was pre
sent.
The jury’s action was likely the last act
in a searing drama that consumed Los An
geles since the March 3, 1991 beating,
which was captured on videotape and
broadcast around the world.
The outcries against police brutality and
the riots that followed the acquittals of
LA.crew in
Discriminatory auto insurance
practice under state official scrutiny
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A third wave of “blue flu” swept
through the ranks of the Police Department today despite the
mayor’s plea that officers accept mediation to break a contract
impasse, > , , v','\
Of the 317 officers and sergeants scheduled for today’s early
shift, 212 called in sick, said Police Department spokesman Don
Cox.
Officers from the Tuesday evening shift were held over for
16-hour double shifts to cover for those out. The department has
been on a modified tactical alert because of the sickouts that be
gan Monday.
The Police Protective League, the officers’ union, endorsed
Mayor Richard Riordan during his election campaign but has
criticized him for failing to support a larger pay raise for the
nearly 7,700 officers. r v y/;. •-
Contract talks have been on and off since 1992, and the city
has been reluctant to offer officers more money because of bud
get constraints.
Last week, police rejected a 6 percent raise over two years.
Among other things, the union wants retroactive pay raises for
the two years that officers have worked without a contract.
Starting pay for a rookie officer is $33,157, 12 percent less
than the amount earned by new deputies with the Los Angeles
County Sheriffs Department. The city’s police pay ranks 78th
among law enforcement agencies statewide, the union said.
On Tuesday, 602 of 1,414 lieutenants, sergeants, detectives
and patrol officers called in sick for the day shift, Officer Rigo
Romero said. On Monday, 226 of 494 officers called in sick for
the evening shift.
AUSTIN (AP) — State offi
cials Wednesday accused por
tions of the insurance industry
of illegal discrimination in the
sale of auto insurance policies.
An analysis of underwriting
guidelines used by insurance
companies shows that many
companies price auto coverage
based on factors other than dri
ving record, the Office of Public
Insurance Counsel said.
“In too many cases, these
guidelines create barriers to af
fordable insurance for whole
groups of people for reasons
that have nothing to do with
their ability to drive,” said Amy
Johnson, who is leaving the
counsel’s post.
“These guidelines have the
effect of excluding people for the
best coverage just because they
don’t fit the ideal profile,
whether or not they have a good
driving record,” she said.
Jerry Johns, an insurance in
dustry spokesman, denied the
allegation.
“Current law in Texas ade-
CONTACT LENSES
ONLY QUALITY NAME BRANDS
(Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hind-Hydrocurve)
$
118
00
TOTAL COST.. .INCLUDES
EYE EXAM, FREE CARE KIT, AND TWO PAIR OF STANDARD
FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT LENSES.
SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES.
Cali 846-0377 for Appointment
CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., PC.
DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
505 University Dr. East,
Suite 101
College Station, TX 77840
4 Blocks East of Texas Ave. &
University Dr. Intersection
MSC Summer Dinner
Theatre
Season Tickets
in association with Aggie Players
"Rumors" comedy
by Neil Simon
June 23-25 & 30-July 2
Reception Following
"The Pinchpenny Phantom of the
Opera"
murder mystery musical
by Jack Sharkey & Dave Reiser
July 28-30 & August 4-6
Dinner Proceeding
Season Tickets On Sale
Rudder Box Office, 845-1234
$20 students $30 Non-students
Adult Language and Situations
Persona with disabilities please call us at 845-1515 to Inform us of
your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days
prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our ability.
four officers on beating charges in state
court toppled a mayor, a police chief and
restructured the face of city government.
Asked after the verdict if he thought it
was the end of his ordeal, Wind said, “It’s
the King case. It’s never over with. It’s
made a wreck of our lives, a wreck of the
city and of our profession.”
King’s attorney, John Burris, said the
verdict was surprising.
“It sends the wrong message to police of
ficers, that they may not be held account
able for acts of misconduct if they blame it
on the city,” he said.
“It appears the jurors concluded enough
is enough and the officers had suffered
enough,” he said.
Deputy City Attorney Don Vincent, who
represented two of the officers, said he
thought the verdicts were “just for every
body.”
Man accused of
shooting spokesman
has criminal record
quately protects the public from
the repugnant, illegal and rep
rehensible practice of unfair dis
crimination,” he said.
The report on auto under
writing guidelines is the first of
its kind since the Legislature
gave OPIC access to the infor
mation.
The report showed that 58
percent of the market considers
the nationality of an applicant.
“Canadians are generally ex
empted from scrutiny, but for
eign nationals from Mexico may
be denied coverage in the stan
dard market because many un
derwriting guidelines specifical
ly instruct an agent not to offer
this coverage to Mexican nation
als,” Ms. Johnson said.
“This kind of blatant discrim
ination is illegal, but it’s right
there in the underwriting guide
lines of 58 percent of the Texas
auto insurance market,” she
said.
Johns responded, “To suggest
that insurers discriminate on
the basis of national origin is lu
dicrous.”
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) —
The man accused of shooting
former Nation of Islam
spokesman Khallid Abdul
Muhammad shot and killed
his own brother in 1975 and
was acquitted by a jury that
found he acted in self-de
fense.
James Edward Bess, a de
frocked minister from the
Nation of Islam, faces six
counts of attempted murder
in Sunday’s attempted assas
sination of Muhammad.
Four of Muhammad’s
bodyguards and a bystander
also were wounded in the at
tack in a parking lot after
Muhammad’s speech at the
University of California,
Riverside.
A crowd of up to 70 people
beat the gunman before po
lice rescued him.
According to decades-old
newspaper articles uncovered
Tuesday, Bess has an exten
sive criminal record.
A jury in Fresno acquitted
Bess in 1975 in the fatal
shooting of his brother, Elvin
O. Bess Jr., the Fresno Bee
reported at the time. Bess
admitted to the shooting, but
said he acted in self-defense
because he believed his
brother was about to shoot
him. No gun was found.
In 1965, an all-white jury
convicted Bess and another
brother, Henry, of felony as
sault on a man who refused
to buy a Muslim newspaper.
It wasn’t clear from the Bee’s
article what sentence James
Bess received. Henry Bess
was sentenced to nine
months in jail.
During that trial, accord
ing to Bee’s article, evidence
was submitted that showed
James and Henry Bess were
convicted in 1964 of
manslaughter and sentenced
to 10 years in prison in
Caruthersville, Mo., then
paroled the same day. The
article didn’t provide addi
tional details.
Police said Tuesday they
were wrapping up their in
vestigation of Muhammad’s
shooting and are certain the
gunman acted alone.
“With this crime, we’re not
dealing with a whodunit. Wet
know whodunit, and there is
no mystery about that,” said
Hank Rosenfeld, chief of
campus police.
“We have a suspect, we
have eyewitnesses and we
have the guns which can be
compellingly tied to the sus
pect,” university spokesman
Jack Chappell said.
Three 9mm semiautomatic
pistols and a rifle with a
Ghost sto
elude the 1
Ml
Sumn
By
F
scope found near the shoot- the 1994 T<
ing scene have been linked to
Bess, Chappell said.
Muhammad, 46, who was
shot in the legs, was in stable
condition, spokesman for
Riverside Community Hospi
tal said. He had two body
guards at his bedside and
two bodyguards and two po
lice officers posted outside
his room.
Bess, 49, was in fair condi
tion at an undisclosed hospi
tal, police said.
All others wounded in the
shooting were released from
hospitals except bodyguard
Vernado Puckett, 34, who
was in good condition with
gunshot wounds to his left
shoulder and abdomen.
For five
al performe
residents t<
Rudder Thi
In its se’
presents cb
in June, as
tral perforr
Headlim
ist Ruggier
Bianconi, t
Western Ai
Shostakovi
For Wer
the event a
the shows i
Bryan/Coll
mer month
And he:
shows as a
Irts trio.
“It’s won
I I I i Battauion
MARK EVANS, Editor in chief
WILLIAM HARRISON, Managing editor
ANAS BEN-MUSA, Night News editor
SUSAN OWEN, Night News editor
MICHELE BRINKMANN, City editor
)AY ROBBINS, Opinion editor
STEWART MILNE, Photo editor
MARK SMITH, Sports editor
WILLIAM HARRISON, Aggie!ifeeditor
Staff Members
City desk— james Bernsen, Amanda Fowle, )an Higginbotham, Sara Israwi, Shellie (enkins, Christine
Johnson, Monique Lunsford, Geneen Pipher and Nancy Treacy
News desk— Andreana Coleman, Sterling Hayman, Kari Rose and Stacy S.anton
Photographers— Darrin Hill, J.D. laroby, lennie Mayer and |ohn Williams
Aggielift Tra^ Travis, Margaret Claughton, Christi Erwin, (ennifer G-'-ssett, Jeremy Keddie, Warren
Mayberry, Paul Neale and Larry Whitfill
Sports writers— Josh Arterbury, Brian Coats and Constance Parten
Opinion desk— Chris Cobb, Josef Elchanan, George Nasr, Jim Pawlir jwski, Frank Stanford and Julia
Stavenhag< t
Graphic artist— Wiil Brooks
Cartoonists— Boomer Cardinale, David Deen and Jos£ Luis de Juan
Clerks— Jennifer Lambert and Elizabeth Preston
Writing Coach— Timm Doolen
The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, M- iday through Friday during the fall and spring
semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University holidays and
exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77840.
POSTMASTER: Send aadress changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M
University, College Station, TX 77843.
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Division
of Student Publication, a unit of the Department of Journalism. Editorial offices are in 013 Reed
McDonald Bin img. Newsroom phone number is 845-331 3. rax: 845-2647.
Advi tising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion Fix
campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified advertising, call 84 5-0569
Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday. Fax: 845-2678.
Subscriptions: Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year. To
charge by VISA or MasterCard, call 845-261 I.
or th(
prom
Class
“I’ve 1
it A&M in -
)avid Tom;
Texas A&N
ivolved int<
Tomatz,
The Univer
in the
lelp bridge
irofessiona
ians.
“It repre
’ typ<