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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1994)
N /our ge! first ) edit Union Police Beat Biscuit dough bludgeoning at Texas A&M's Research Park. Opinion Sports Page 10 EDITORIAL: It is not feasible to save every single bird, plant and weed in existence. In an economically based society, this absolute conservation cannot happen. p ^ Senior Jennifer Bronner provides the Lady Aggie volleyball team with leadership and strength. Page 7 DNESDAY September 7, 1994 Vol. 101, No. 8(12 pages) “Serving Texas A&M since 1893 ” A&M issues denial to Wakefield lawsuit By Katherine Arnold The Battalion Texas A&M University attorneys contend that Dr. Dawn Lee Wakefield, a former A&M employee, did not follow the proper administrative procedures when she filed a lawsuit against the University and the A&M Development Foundation in July. Wakefield, who was employed by the Development Foundation as director of development for the College of Science from April 1990 to July 1993, hied a law suit July 29 claiming wrongful termina tion, libel, slander and gender bias. Wakefield was responsible for fund raising for the College of Science and was fired July 31, 1993. The University and the Development Foundation issued a general denial to Wakefield's lawsuit Friday. The University’s attorneys said that because Wakefield was not employed by the University and did not follow the proper administrative processes when she filed the lawsuit, the University will take no further action at this point. University claims former employee improperly filed awsuit claiming wrongful termination, gender bias Genevieve Stubbs, associate general counsel for the A&M System, said that according to the administrative process for filing a discrimination case against the University, an individual must file with the University. If discrimination is determined not to be involved, a right to sue letter will be issued, and then an individual can sue a state agency. Stubbs said Wakefield was not em ployed by the University and therefore has no claim. She also said the lawsuit was unclear as to who Wakefield was suing and for what. “From a general standpoint, you can’t just march to the courthouse,” she said. “There is an administrative process that should be followed. “The burden is on the plaintiff to move the case along,” Stubbs said. “Whatever happens next will be deter mined by Ms. Wakefield.” Lawyers for the Development Foun dation would not comment on the charges; however, the response issued by the Foundation claimed that Wake field failed to follow proper channels and exercise reasonable diligence with her lawsuit. Wakefield’s lawsuit claims she was not given the same opportunities for educa tion and advancement that her male counterparts were given. Wakefield said she was fired on false pretenses and has been slandered by the University. “I have been characterized as a dis gruntled former employee with a vendetta,” Wakefield said. “I have put everything on the line to save my uni versity from national disgrace brought about by the actions of administrators who put the faculty and students last among their considerations.” Wakefield was employed by the De velopment Foundation when Dr. John Bockris, a distinguished professor of chemistry, was researching methods to turn mercury into gold. The research was funded by William Telander, a California businessman who arranged for $200,000 to be given to the Development Foundation to fund Bockris’ research. Since then, Telander has been indicted on charges of swin dling investors out of $11 million. Wakefield claims that Bockris, the De velopment Foundation and the Universi ty were involved in criminal activities. The University appointed a commit tee of inquiry to investigate the accusa tions of misconduct against Bockris last year, but the committee cleared him of all charges. A separate committee was created to revise the University’s policies regarding the difference between gifts and grants. Currently, an implementation task force is working on turning previous findings in those inquiries into Univer sity policy. The task force was sched uled to have completed its mission by the end of August. The group has asked for an extension until Dec. 1. Dr. Robert Kennedy, vice president for research and associate provost for graduate studies, is the chair for the task force and said the date was pushed back simply because the task force had not fulfilled all of its goals. “The task force is responsible for defining the language concerning gifts and grants, incorporating that into a training program, and getting that in formation into the policies manual,” Kennedy said. “We are hoping to tie up the loose ends.” $5.9 ; PAIR OF PANT: Men's or Ladies aundered R# r ; fl laundry. UYldA) jilding) f* Women f Tanning] j expiry s 12-31-HI aus Memorial service honors two slain students Carrie Thompson/THE Battalion Kevin Carreathers dedicates two benches in memory of Crystal Miller and Reginald Broadus Tuesday evening at the MSC. By Constance Parten The Battalion What began as an emotional evening for many of those in attendance ended in joy and hope as hundreds gathered in Rudder Auditorium Tuesday night to remember Reginald Glenn Broadus and Crystal Yvette Miller. The memorial Service for two A&M stu dents murdered in May began with a cere mony in front of Rudder Fountain where two benches were dedicated in the stu dents’ names. Kevin Carreathers, director of Multicul tural Services at Texas A&M, opened the cer emony by comparing Broadus and Miller to the two benches dedicated in their memory. “We are here tonight to dedicate what some people might call two simple objects, two benches,” Carreathers said. “But these are two objects that are solid, that are stur dy, that are simple, that are anchored. Just like Reginald and Crystal were.” Plaques were presented during the cere mony to the families of Broadus and Miller. Alpha Kappa Alpha President Tracy Mar tin accepted the plaque for Miller’s family. Alpha Phi Alpha member Kenneth Robin son accepted the plaque for Broadus’ fami ly. Neither family was present at the dedi cation ceremony. Memorial services began with a musical selection by the Voices of Praise Gospel Choir. A slide show of Broadus and Miller with many of their friends and fraternity and sorority brothers and sisters followed. Brooke Leslie, Texas A&M student body president and acquaintance of both Broadus and Miller, addressed the audience, chal lenging everyone in attendance to commit themselves to do what they can to be like Broadus and Miller, by dedicating every mo ment of their lives to making a difference. “I realized I had to take advantage of every single moment of every single day, of every single month, of every single year of the rest of my life,” Leslie said of when she found ■NHMMMi | "The manner in which they(Miller and Broadus) died needs to be a flag to the students on this campus. We need to solve the human problems in our society that lead to such things as this tragedy." -Dr. William Mobley, former A&M System chancellor out about Broadus’ and Miller’s deaths. The service turned from openly mourn ful to quietly joyful as Kenneth Robinson asked the crowd to stop crying. “You are feeling the sorrow of your own loss,” Ftobinson said. “Reginald and Crystal are in a better place. Reginald would have said ‘Brother, get up and do something! Why are you just sitting here crying?”’ Dr. Alvin Larke, Jr., associate professor of agricultural education, told the crowd not to become bitter as a result of the stu dents’ murders, but to become better. “This is just another test,” Larke said. “Whether you pass the test or fail is up to you.” Dr. William Mobley, former A&M System chancellor, attended the services for Broadus and Miller. Mobley knew the two students and referred to them as exceptional people. “The manner in which they died needs to be a flag to the students on this campus,” Mobley said. “We need to solve the human problems in our society that lead to such things as this tragedy.” Broadus and Miller were murdered on May 23 in De Soto. The two friends had been to a party of mostly A&M students on the evening before their bodies were found on a grassy roadside by a worker from a nearby warehouse. Two suspects, 20-year-old Broderick Lavon Hardy and his 15- year-old half brother Jimmy Ray Hardy, pleaded not guilty to murder charges and still await tri al. Jimmy Hardy will be tried as an adult. Broadus was a senior psychology major and 1993 president of Alpha Phi Alpha fra ternity. He was a founding member of the Prime Time Posse, and was a peer adviser in 1994 for the Minority Enrichment and Devel opment through Academic and Leadership Skills (MEDALS). He was also assistant di rector of housing for MEDALS in 1993. Broadus was the recipient of awards such as the Outstanding African-American Male Award, the Presidential Distin guished Service Award and the Buck Weirus Spirit Award. Miller was a senior accounting major and treasurer of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was also a member of TAMU Roadrun- ners Club, the orientation student assistant chair of Excellence uniting Culture, Educa tion and Leadership (ExCEL), and a member of Beta Alpha Psi-Business Honor Society. Miller was the recipient of the President’s Achievement Award Scholarship, Black Graduate Student Association Highest Grade Point Ratio Awards both her sophomore and junior years and was involved with the Eisen hower Leadership Program and Five-Year Professional Accounting FVogram. The two students are being awarded posthumous degrees. Broadus’ degree was awarded in August, and Miller’s degree will be awarded in May 1995. Leslie said it is important for everyone to remember the work Broadus and Miller did and the contributions they made. Police arrest ex-convict, teenager in chnitpp s | 1*11* 11 C f* ia j s cross-country killing, robbery or tour 123-8974 chn(ipp s el ate in. & Mon. }63 SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An ex-convict and a teen-ager who allegedly made their way across the country by killing people and stealing their cars were captured by police Tuesday as they slept under a bridge. Acting on a tip from a Santa Fe man who had given the suspects a ride Monday night, eight state police officers wielding 20-shot assault rifles arrested the pair in a concrete culvert in the high desert country just outside Santa Fe. Eric A. Elliot, 16, and Lewis E. Gilbert, 22, both of Newcomerstown, Ohio, are suspected of killing four people in Ohio, Missouri and Okla homa and using each victim’s car to get to their next crime. “The nightmare is over,” said Bob Hawk, spokesman for the FBI office in Cleveland. The men were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on federal charges of unlawful flight from prosecution. Both also face state charges of burglary and kidnapping in Ohio. The men were found about 9:30 a.m. sleeping on blankets near a dry gully. Two high-powered rifles, a shotgun and a handgun were found nearby. One of the weapons was between the two men. State police Lt. Garry Walsmith said police quietly approached the bridge and shouted for the pair to surrender and put their hands up. The two sat up immediately but didn’t raise their hands before officers rushed in with guns drawn. The pair said nothing during the arrest, Walsmith said. “Because of the element of surprise ... nothing bad happened,” said State Police Chief John Denko. “Luckily they were sleeping.” Authorities believe Gilbert and Elliot met on Aug. 15, the day Gilbert was released from prison after serving time for stealing a boat. Elliot is awaiting trial on charges of breaking into a bowl ing alley July 26. The men are suspected of breaking into the farmhouse of Ruth Lucille Loader in Port Wash ington, Ohio, about 80 miles south of Cleveland. The 79-year-old woman was missing Tuesday, and family members feared she was dead. Authorities in Ohio used dogs, helicopters and boats to look for the woman, who had undergone cancer surgery in April and weighed only about 82 pounds. Loader’s car was found Thursday night, 650 miles from Port Washington at Fulton, Mo., near the home of a slain couple. William Brewer, 86, and his wife, Flossie, 74, each had been shot three times in the head. The Brewers’ celt was found Sunday near the body of Roxie Ruddel, 37, a security guard at a marina near Oklahoma City. The FBI believes the pair drove off in Ms. Ruddel’s silver-gray pickup truck. A similar pickup was found three miles away from the sleeping men. The capture came a half hour after state police received two calls about people fitting the de scriptions of the man and teen-ager. One came from a man who said he had given them a ride. Police said the man took the pair into Santa Fe about 7 p.m. Monday, then gave them a ride back to the culvert near Interstate’ 25. Police would not identify the man. Regents to consider proposal seeking approval for A&M retreat center Proposed project to provide place for programs, reunions By Melissa Jacobs The Battalion At its December meeting, The Texas A&M Board of Re gents will hear a proposal seek ing the approval of construction of the Student Leadership Re treat Center. The proposed center will be used for conferences, retreats, leadership training programs, orientation programs, reunions and barbecues. Dr. Carolyn Adair, director of student activities, said the cen ter has been in a planning stage for several years. “We’ve been dreaming about this for several years and finally got the proposal,” Adair said. The center will be located on a 150-acre area beyond the McKenzie Terminal on White Creek Road, off of Highway 60. Adair said the location is very accessible. “We decided it would be bet ter to have it on University land,” she said. “Since it’s close to campus, we are close to a fire department, EMTs and Univer sity police. “If we have visitors who need something, they can dash to campus and get it.” Adair said the center will fa cilitate weekend retreats, train ing camps, and large gatherings by both student and non-student organizations at low or no cost. According to the proposal, the center will include two 100-per- son sleeping dorms, a 500-per- son general assembly hall with a stage, five 100-person meeting rooms, a catering kitchen and restroom facilities. The center would also include two Quonset hut-type buildings with concrete floors, sound and light booths, serving area and restrooms, two outdoor covered pavilions, basketball courts with restrooms, a serving room, a guard house with an administra tive office, an on-site manager apartment and a ground equip ment storage building. Jan Paterson, associate direc tor of student activities, said she wants to have an on-site manag er at the center who would live in an apartment and keep an eye on things. Phase One of the retreat pro ject also includes several park ing areas to accommodate a total of 500 cars, two campfire areas with stone pits, and benches for 100 people each. “We want to have multiple groups using the facilities si multaneously,” Paterson said. “We want it to be as flexible as possible.” Adair said funding for the the center is now a priority since the See Retreat/Page 12 Today sBa' Classified 6 Opinion 11 Police Beat 10 Sports 7 Toons 12 Weather 10 What's Up 10 t