Page 2
mimsmm
STATE & TOCAL
•? <• I * A v> V V X ■.-> "v
Monday • July 11, 1994
Abortions not given in B-CS
Women wanting to
terminate pregnancy
must go elsewhere
By Amanda Fowle
The Battalion
“My religious views are that I think they
are wrong, so I don’t do them,” he said.
David said he refers patients seeking
abortions to physicians in Houston or Dallas.
“It would be wrong for me to push my
views on other people,” he said. “If a woman
comes here for an abortion, I make sure she
has thought it through. If she has, then I re
fer her to a competent doctor.”
David said physicians should have the
Texas A&M students seeking abortions
must travel to other Texas cities because
there are no abortion facilities in Bryan or
College Station.
Dyann Santos, clinic manager of Brazos
County Planned Parenthood, said that the
clinic refers patients who want abortions to
the Houston Planned Parenthood. The pa
tients receive follow-up care at the Brazos
County Planned Parenthood, she said.
“This is a conservative community,” she
said. “There are no physicians here willing
to do abortions.”
Dr. David R. David, a Bryan family physi
cian who specializes in obstetrics, said he
does not perform abortions because of his re
ligious beliefs.
"Just as a woman has a
choice, as a doctor, I also
should have a choice."
—Dr. David R. David,
family physician
right to chose if they want to do abortions,
just as women have the right to chose to
have an abortion.
“I’m not saying we should take the right
away from women,” he said. “Just as a
woman has a choice, as a doctor, I also
should have a choice. Doctors should not be
forced to perform abortions.”
The Bryan-College Station community is
not the only one without abortion facilities.
According to a survey by the National
Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL),
the number of physicians willing to perform
abortions is decreasing in nearly every state.
In Texas, 102 physicians performed abor
tions in 1985 and by 1988 that number had
decreased to 91.
NARAL research has shown that women
cannot obtain abortions in 83 percent of the
counties in the United States.
Sherry Paul, director of the Brazos Valley
Crisis Pregnancy Center said she is pleased
that there are no abortion facilities in Bryan
or College Station.
“We don’t see the lack of abortion facili
ties in the area as a negative, we see it as a
positive,” she said.
Pat Comelison, chief executive officer of
Brazos Valley Medical Center, said the pub
lic has not shown disapproval with the ab
sence of abortion facilities.
“No one has expressed problems to me
that we don’t do it,” she said.
Various birth controls
offered to students
By Amanda Fowle
The Battalion
College students have a va
riety of birth control options
available to them, but many
health care providers recom
mend abstinence.
Dr. Kenneth Dirks, director
of student health services, said
that abstinence is the best form
of birth control, because it is
100 percent effective.
“We recommend abstinence
to unmarried patients,” he said.
“The best option is abstinence
until they are ready to start a
family.”
Dyann Santos, clinic manag
er of the Planned Parenthood of
Brazos County, said although
abstinence is an excellent form
of birth control, it is not al
ways an option.
“It is a good method,” she
said, “but most of the clients we
see are already sexually active
and are looking for birth con
trol.”
Sherry Paul, director of the
Brazos Valley Crisis Pregnancy
Center said she encourages peo
ple to abstain from sex until
marriage to protect themselves
from sexually transmitted dis
eases.”
Planned Parenthood offers
many forms of birth control at
government subsidized rates.
Santos said that a complete
exam and four packs of birth
control pills cost between $20
and $25.
It also provides condoms and
Monday •
Please see Options, Page 6
Hate crime reports inaccurate, unbalanced
Hundreds of cases
go unreported by
officers each year
Studying 'cultures'
Jennie Mayer/ The Battalion
Catherine Devine, a senior Bio-Medical major from Nacog
doches, studies a culture she is growing in biology lab.
AUSTIN (AP) — Hundreds of
hate crimes have been reported
to the Texas Department of
Public Safety since 1992.
What no one knows is how
many went unreported by peace
officers.
Minority and gay rights ad
vocates point to the fact that
the San Antonio Police Depart
ment, for example, hasn’t clas
sified any offenses as hate
crimes in reports to the state.
The Bexar County sheriff’s
office also reported no hate
crimes in 1992 and 1993, the
Austin American-Statesman re
ported Tuesday.
“Obviously, that’s not true,”
said Gary Bledsoe, president of
the Texas chapter of the Na
tional Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People.
.“The rppiicting, to.me, ap
pears to. be a bit skewed,” said
Dianne Hardy-Garcia, executive
director of Lesbian/Gay Rights
Lobby of Texas.
Federal and state laws define
a hate crime as any crime moti
vated by bias or hatred,
whether it is a serious felony
such as murder or a common
misdemeanor like vandalism.
Any disregard of a hate
crime may mean the perpetra
tor does not receive the proper
punishment.
A Texas law passed in 1993
increases the penalties for
crimes if they are hate-motivat
ed.
Law enforcement agencies in
Texas have been required to re
port hate crimes to the DPS for
two years and four months.
In 1993, 421 were reported,
compared with 480 in 1992.
But DPS officials acknowl
edge that the reporting has
been lopsided and imprecise,
the American-Statesman re
ported.
“You’re going to find certain
parfs of the state have prob
lems,” said Charlene Cain, pro
gram administrator of the uni
form crime reporting unit at
DPS.
“I would say we need another
year or two on this (data collec
tion) until we start doing a lot
of comparisons,” she said.
She said DPS already has
worked with two law enforce
ment agencies to try to correct
reporting problems.
them. The other was the Tar
rant County sheriff’s depart
ment, which was reporting inci
dents in 1992 that did not meet
the hate crimes criteria, DPS
officials said.
Sgt. David Ramos, a
spokesman for the San Antonio
Police Department, said his
agency “had a problem with the
way we reported. I don’t really
know how much hate crime we
have. I don’t think it was exten-
FBI report on
hate crimes
The FBI recorded more than 7,600
incidents of hate-motivated
intimidation, vandalism and assaults
in the United States in 1993.
San Antonio was one of
sive.
He said 1994 San Antonio
crime statistics should show
some hate crimes in that city.
San Antonio officers have
been sent to DPS training on
hate crimes reporting, and DPS
officials visited San Antonio in
March.
The highest number of hate
crimes reported in Texas in
1993 was by the Fort Worth Po
lice Department, with 60.
Fort Worth police attribute
their high number to intensive
initial training followed by
weekly reminders during offi
cers’ roll call. - i
’ Suidh training is vital to
proper reporting, officials say.
The police, not the victim,
make the final determination of
whether to report an offense as
a hate crime.
Number of offenses
classified as hate
crimes in 1993:
Aggravated assault
1,296
Simple f |
assault
1,504
Destruction/
damage/
vandalism
2,007
Other*
238
Intimidation I ^ Robbery
2,776 1 148
*The category “other" includes murder,
forcible rape, arson, burglary, larceny/theft,
motor vehicle theft and other miscellaneous
crimes against persons or property.
Hate crimes by bias
motivation in 1993:
Race 62% Ethnicity 8%
Sexual
orientation
12%
Religion
18%
Houston expects more from NAFTA
Businesses fear they are getting short-changed by pact
HOUSTON (AP) — Six
months after the North Ameri
can Free Trade Agreement took
effect, some Houston promoters
are wondering if other Texas
cities are getting too many of
the pact’s benefits.
It first seemed as though
Houston would have no trouble
cashing in on NAFTA since the
city is home to the Port of
Houston and Intercontinental
Airport.
But some Houstonians now
are worried about where the
NAFTA proceeds are going.
The latest concern is the so-
called “NAFTA Superhighway,”
and whether it will pass
through Houston or Dallas.
Detractors say if the past is
any indication, Mexican truck
ers won’t be coming through
Houston on their way to Cana
da.
“I think Dallas is kicking our
rear end,” former City Council
man Vince Ryan, who is run
ning for Harris County judge,
was quoted in Sunday’s editions
of The Houston Post.
Apart from a lagging lobby
ing effort on the highway fight,
Ryan and others point to Dal
las’ snag of the crucial NAFTA
Labor Secretariat — a federal
office that will oversee the
treaty’s labor aspects.
And the North American De
velopment Bank and a new En
vironmental Protection Agency
border office went to San Anto
nio and El Paso, respectively.
Some critics believe Houston
lost the edge in those fights be
cause business leaders and
politicians were poorh’ orga
nized and outgunned by the
competition.
Others contend the NAFTA
prizes were given to those cities
for the support they gave to the
treaty.
Now, the new fight concerns
a complicated, multi-level
struggle for freeway dollars and
designations.
Several Houston leaders ac
knowledge they started a bit
late on lobbying efforts, but
they claim a new, aggressive
approach to what may be the
biggest NAFTA plum yet.
School seals lockers, bans backpacks
Junior high school attempts to
alleviate crowding and crime
DAYTON, Texas (AP) — The lockers are be
ing bolted shut and backpacks are being
banned next month at Wilson Junior High
School in an attempt to ease crowding and cam
pus crime.
Instead of having to haul around textbooks,
students will be given a set to keep at home
and classrooms will contain another set for use
at the Liberty County school about 40 miles
northeast of Houston.
Principal Larry Wadzeck hopes the plan will
lessen congestion during class changes; cut tar
diness; reduce hiding places for guns, drugs
and other contraband; eliminate locker thefts;
decrease the number of lost books; and help for
getful students.
Students will need to carry writing material,
library books and possibly jackets during the
school day, he said.
Dayton voters have twice rejected issuing
bonds to pay for projects to provide more space.
Though bolting the lockers won’t provide more
space, Wadzeck believes it will ease the hall
way crowding since students won’t be huddled
in hallways around lockers between classes.
“It’s not a panacea, but it’s a step in the
right direction,” he said.
As for the backpacks, he said he believes the
only useful purpose they served was to carry
books. But pupils, he said, carried everything
from contraband to video.
Wadzeck said he has heard no parent com
plaints about the plan, which takes effect Aug.
16 and is similar to locker-elimination policies
at some other area schools.
Horace Mann Middle School in Baytown and
Huntsville Junior High stopped using lockers
last year. Huntsville also banned backpacks;
Horace Mann is studying the idea.
The Dayton school board’s decision to plunk
down an additional $25,000 in local tax money
to pay for duplicate books also comes at a time
when the state has announced it is short $100
million to pay for updated textbooks.
On Routine Cleaning,
X-Rays and Exam
(Regularly $76, With Coupon $44)
Payment must be made at time of service. S
BRYAN COLLEGE STATION |
Jim Arcnts, DDS Dan Lawson, DDS
Karen Arents, DDS Neal Kruger, DDS '
1103 Villa Maria Texas Ave. at SW Pkwy.
268-1407 696-9578
CarePlus \>fit j
Dental Centers
I Exp. 08-15-94 I
YOUR AD SHOULD
BE HERE
THE BATTALION
845-2696
uonns i
ON THE BAYOU
CCaj u.xT-CCreole Dining «5*c all t Hat Jazz
Our Summer Lunch Menu Includes:
- Great Salads - Market St. Club, Fruit Platters w/ yogurt dip
- Seafood Poor Boys - Catfish, Shrimp, Ham, Oyster, and Shrimp & Oyster
- Also French Dip Sandwiches, Shrimp Louis Croissants, Blackened Catfish,
Crawfish Etoufee and much, much more!
New Lunch and Summer Open Hours:
Sun.-Thur. 11:30-2,5-10
Fri. 11:30-2,5-11
5-11
Sat.
Also, don’t miss our
“Early Bird Special”
Happy Hour: Daily 5-7 p.m.
$1.00 off dozen Oysters on Half Shell
and Boiled Crawfish
99<£ Draft Beer $3.00 Hurricanes
$ 1.00 off all drinks
4300 S Texas Ave., Bryan 846-5752
J
The Battalion
MARK EVANS, Editor in chief
WILLIAM HARRISON, Managing editor
ANAS BEN-MUSA, Night News editor
SUSAN OWEN, Night News editor
MICHELE BRINKMANN, City editor
JAY ROBBINS, Opinion editor
STEWART MILNE, Photo editor
MARK SMITH, Sports editor
WILLIAM HARRISON, Aggielife editor
The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday 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 address 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 01 3 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone number is 845-3313. Fax:
845-2647.
Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The
Battalion. For campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified
advertising, call 845-0569. 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 845-2611.
BaS'
the
‘gar
BRIAN
COATS
Sportsw
w
ball. Th<
that basel
is now a b
When
baseball
was only
companie:
tra-uppei
netic-phc
wearing <
ball.
I neve
that some
able or th
ball cards
I liked ba
many plaj
Card col
Now, il
one reasi
cards. To
collect ca
players ar
because E
cards the
money.
Millioi
ding ent
know a F:
worth m
rookie ca:
sing “Tak
they do s
might ge
graph all
tra-Modi
thereby ii
million pi
lecting is
Baseball
In the s
mg is
baseb
player
that I
“heroe
For
game
New
three
move
Davt
huge
alty
are \
days
othe
ists.
Pli
Sal
A&M
By Brian C
The Battali