Opinion
ia Stavenhagen says, "To subject a child to this
world is more than I could bear." Page 5
State & Nation
Video games will soon carry ratings for
age and content.
Page 2
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Sports
Recent statistics reveal rise in daily excercise
of college students.
Page 3
TUESDAY
August 2, 1994
Vol. 93, No. 183 (6 pages)
“Serving Texas A&M since 1893“
Briefs Crime bill showdown looms
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is to keep from
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) —
Supporters of Haiti’s military rulers
declared their intention Monday to
back — even if it means death —
in the face of a U.N. resolution that
paves the way for a U.S.-led invasion.
“To those who are preparing to
invade, the Haitian people declare
that they will fight them in the cities
and in the countryside, they will fight
them in the shacks and in the palaces,
they will fight them day and night,”
said presidential aide Carl Denis.
"The blood will flow,” said Frantz
Robert Monde, president of the lower
house of Parliament. “I know I am
going to die.”
A resolution approved Sunday by
the U.N. Security Council lays the
legal groundwork for a U.S.-led
invasion to oust the military and
restore deposed President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide.
Marshals begin to
guard abortion clinics
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal
marshals were stationed Monday
outside dozens of abortion clinics
around the nation and guarded some
abortion doctors in an effort to head
off further violence by anti-abortion
protesters.
"We’re trying to take all prudent
steps, using all the federal tools,
including the clinic access legislation,
to appropriately address an issue of
deep concern to this nation,” Attorney
General Janet Reno said.
Violence at clinics ‘‘has now
occurred twice in one city,” Reno told
reporters before meeting law
enforcement executives. "It is a
problem throughout the nation."
By Amanda Fowle
The Battalion
The U.S. House and
Senate will vote this week
on an anti-crime bill that
was agreed on by a House-
Senate conference commit
tee Thursday.
The anti-crime bill bans
19 types of semi-automatic
assault weapons and limits
the size of ammunition
magazines.
Jay Merkley, a firearms
instructor with Texas
A&M’s Department of Kine
siology, said the ban on
semi-automatic assault
weapons is a bad idea.
“My basic objection with it
is that it is an infringement
on the Second Amendment of
the Constitution,” he said.
“The framers of the Constitu
tion put that there so people
could protect themselves.
“Crime is the major rea
son the Clinton administra
tion is giving for wanting to
ban these weapons, but the
weapons they are trying to
ban are used in less than
one percent of crimes.”
If passed, the crime bill
would authorize $11.1 bil
lion for state and,local law
enforcement, $2.8 billion for
federal law enforcement
and courts, $10.5 billion for
prisons, $7.6 billion for
crime prevention and $1.8
billion for drug courts.
The bill proposes $8.8
billion to hire 100,000
more police officers in local
communities.
Bryan Police Chief Lee
Freeman said the Bryan Po
lice Department applied in
November for new officers
under this bill, but did not
get any.
He said the department
had to submit 30 to 40
pages of paperwork outlin
ing why it needed more of
ficers and what it would
use them for.
Various crime prevention
programs would receive
$7.4 billion in funding from,
the bill, while $10.5 billion ,
would be used to build more
prisons and boot camps.
“I would have liked to
have seen more money put
into prevention, instead of
new prisons,” Freeman sai|d.
“We can keep building pris
ons, but if something isn’t
done to prevent crimes, we
won’t get much done.”
He said Bryan will apply
for the funding of preven
tion programs when the ap
plication time comes.
Charles Schumer, chair
of the House Judiciary
Committee’s crime panel,
supports the anti-crime bill.
“It combines tough pun
ishment with smart preven
tion and a gun bill that will
get deadly assault weapons
off our streets,” he told the
Associated Press.
Clinton urges Congress
to pass $33.2 billion [aill
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Clinton
urged Congress Monday to pass the $33.2
billion crime ball for the sake of law enforce
ment, and police and prosecutors were eager
to urge lawmakers along.
“Every major law enforcement organiza
tion in America supports this crime bill,”
Clinton said in a statement. “It’s time for the
lawmakers to do what the law enforcers have
asked — pass the crime bill now.”
The Hfhise is expected to vote on final
passage Wednesday. The Senate is to vote
after that.
The chief obstacle, Deschamps said, is a
ban on assault-style firearms supported by
almost all major law enforcement groups.
The National Rifle Association has lobbied
heavily against that provision, and it barely
passed the House in May on a 216-214 vote.
Unlike most authorization bills, this one ad
dresses how to pay for most of it: A trust fund
created with money saved from cuts in the fed
eral bureaucracy would cover $30.2 billion.
Crime bill
The proposal: A $33.2 billion
compromise bill drafted by House and
Senate negotiators.
New funds
$11.1 billion for state P ^ 1 ^ 1
and local law enforcement |
• $10.5 billion for state
and local prison construction
• $7.6 billion for crime-prevention
programs for youth
• $2.8 billion for federal law
enforcement and courts
• $1.3 billion for drug courts
New policies
• A ban on assault-style "
firearms. The House and
Senate passed similar
measures earlier this year; 19 basic
models and many similar weapons
are affected.
• Life sentences for third-time felons
• Broader application of the death
penalty
What’s next
The bill will go before the full House
and Senate for a final vote. President
Clinton is virtually certain to approve
the bill. Totals rounded
AP/Eileen Glanton, Wm. J. Gastello
ther outside clir
rtions, protester!
; pickled fetuses?
eking an infant!
i have died duri
mts that they as
inning themselvfj
ion rights groups,
are there for st
Ling of Pop did wed
lock ’n’ Roll princess
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael
ackson and Lisa Marie Presley
onfirmed Monday that they were
arried 11 weeks ago, ending months
if rumors about a romance between
he reclusive pair.
The union of Jackson, 35, and the
6-year-old daughter of Elvis Presley
as announced in a statement issued
y Jackson’s MJJ Productions.
The statement from Miss Presley
i we were huma: read, “I am very much in love with
lan buffer. We t®4ichael, I dedicate my life to being his
s. We are theref
safely inside,” M;
1 pain,”
wife. I understand and support him, we
both look forward to raising a family
and living happy, health life together.
We hope friends and fans will
understand and respect our privacy.”
a chance to
m.
nts can t make: Texas OKs settlement
then we knowtt
with Energy Dept.
jless crowd0cl ti*.
,ut it can pose pi: alt DAL t LAS ( AP ) ~ Faced w t ith ^
^ v alternative of expensive, protracted
litigation, members of a commission
use it moves sot that oversees Texas’ investment in
nber.” the super collider approved on
it of last summEM° n day a settlement with the
nade their requf ^nnent of Energy^
i r + v. f u Shelton Smith, chairman of the
x tor tne tan. Texas Natural Research Laboratory
lentation progi Commission, called the settlement a
! fall or next year “good deal” for the state of Texas and
ig that might beco: the federal government,
ho knows?” “As a result of Congress' decision
to terminate the collider, it appeared
ttlmost inevitable that the state of
Texas and the United States
•• rardinali e P artment ^ ner 9y were about to
I Cl I vl II g et j nt0 a legal war 0 f massive
^proportions. As this commission ...
^ knows, that would have been a war
"'with no winners, only survivors,”
Smith said.
Man put to death
for killing teenager
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A
man whose death warrant was signed
with a "happy face” was executed
early today, 11 years after killing
teen-ager who gave him a ride.
Robert Drew coughed and gasped,
and tears streamed down his face as
a needle carrying lethal chemicals was
‘ serted in his left arm, just where a
tatoo of a green cobra was inscribed
With the name "Big Bad Bob.”
■ Eight minutes later, at 12:22 a.m.
CDT, Drew was pronounced dead.
' Drew, 35, insisted to the end that
he did not stab and beat.
Residents turn on
lights to fight crime
By Angela St. John Parker
The Battalion
Bryan-College Station resi
dents are encouraged to meet
their neighbors tonight as part
of the 11th annual National
Night Out.
Local police
departments are
urging residents
to turn on their
porch lights,
walk outside and
meet their neigh
bors in efforts to
deter crime.
Joe Bostick, a
Bryan crime pre
vention officer,
said National
Night Out was
designed to get
the community
involved and to
make residents
aware of their
immediate sur
roundings in case
of any suspicious
activities.
“Solidarity pre
vents criminal ac
tivity,” he said.
“When criminals
or burglars see
houses with lights
the practice of National
Night Out on a daily basis,
not just for one night,” he
said. “We want people to con
tinue meeting with their
neighbors to prevent crime.”
Kretzschmar said students
living on campus
should meet
their neighbors
in the dorms.
“Some crimes
that have oc-
cured on campus
could have been
avoided if dorm
residents had
known their
neighbors,” he
said. “The more
residents get to
know their
neighbors, the
more likely that
neighbor will no
tice when some
one suspicious is
around their
dorm area.”
The police de
partments host
ed a Kick-Off
Party in Central
Park last night
to get the entire
„ .. , community in-
Deeann Mason, age 4, volved and
looks on as her friend, make it aware
Danielle Cooks, age 6, of National
Stew Milne/THE Battalion
on and neighbors
outside socializing,
it chases them off.
They stand out tries to win a prize by mak- Night Out.
like a sore thumb.” ing three shots in a row. “Even though
The slogan for
Stew Milne/THE Battalion
Sarah and Shahbaz Khan checkout McGruff the Crime Dog during the kick-off of National
Night Out at Central Park Monday. National Night Out will occur tonight.
tonight’s event is
“Lights on means lights out for
crime.”
Lt. Bert Kretzschmar, su
pervisor of UPD’s crime pre
vention unit, said the only way
people can get to know who be
longs in their neighborhoods is
to frequently talk to people
who live around them.
“The local law enforcement
agencies want to encourage
the police de-
partments
planned the party, it’s really
the people in the community
that makes National Night
Out work,” Bostick said.
“They call us whenever they
see anything or anyone that
doesn’t belong.”
The National Association
for Town Watch organizes Na
tional Night Out on the first
Tuesday in August each year.
Baseball players, owners stall in strike negotiations
qomiE,..
Classified
4
Comics
6
State & Nation
2
Opinion
5
Sports
3
"What's Up
6
By James Bernsen
The Battalion
Major League Baseball faces strike
eight — with the players acting as umpire
— but the season probably won’t be called
out, a researcher at Texas A&M says.
As players and owners remain far
from solving their disputes, the Players
Association has set an Aug. 12 deadline
for successful negotiations before a
strike would begin.
Dr. Morgan Reynolds, who works for
the Private Enterprise Research Center
at A&M and is the co-author of a recent
study on the economics of baseball, said
a strike will happen and will be similar
to the seven previous strikes the sport
Major issues facing Major League Baseball
Arbitration
Players want rights to arbitrate
extended to players with less
than three years' experience.
Owners want arbitration
eliminated.
Salary Cap
Players are opposed to it
Owners want to phase in a cap
that would limit a team’s salaries
to 110 percent of the average
payroll. The current average
salary is over $1 million, and the
minimum salary is $109,000.
Revenue Sharing
With revenue sharing, all teams
would share a percentage of the
profits for the season.
Players have opposed it in the
past, but are willing to discuss
it now.
Owners have already approved a
plan to increase revenue sharing.
Free Agency
Players want some restrictions
on nee agency removed.
Owners want to lower number of
years before players can become
free agents from six to four.
has seen.
“There will be a short strike, and the
players’ union will be declared a winner
for the eighth time,” he said. “But it will
only look like the players won.”
Reynolds said the key issue for the
owners is salary arbitration, which they
are against.
“If the owners don’t get salary arbitra
tion, then I’ll say they won it,” he said.
Reynolds said the strike will have a
negligible impact on the season.
“That’s if the strike is short,” he said.
“What’s a less likely outcome is if the sea
son is ended Aug. 12. But there is not
much chance of something in between.”
Mark Johnson, A&M head baseball
coach, said the biggest stumbling block in
negotiations is the salary cap, because
both sides have strong stances.
The players are against a cap, but the
owners see it as a way to control their
budgets, he said. »
John Blake, vice president of public re
lations for the Texas Rangers, said team
owners see the issue as one of survival.
“Major League Baseball ownership is
Please see Baseball, page 6