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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1994)
Campus The Hispanic Presidents Council is working to promote unity in Texas A&M's Hispanic community. Page 2 THE Opinion Sports EDITORIAL: Aggie traditions should stand above issues like politics, race, religion and anything else that divides the student body. ■ W}- i| ews II all ;e in general, i here? ■e for many •ecause our !. We're here and get a aderie and because Dad i our family DALLAS (AP) — Discussing the fees of television violence after a TV ht wanttoji gram is one way parents can help its effects on young people. That is a technique the cable television industry and national irent and Teacher Association are Jvocating as part of a nationwide Initiative announced Thursday to ch parents, teachers and children to evaluate and analyze what y see on TV. We think TV viewers should look at |etelevision ... as carefully as they ikatthe labels on the food they eat,” Id Decker Anstrom, president of the itional Cable Television Association, do, we’ll have healthier kids in ering, agn- 1 Is are world ;tliiscountry." Described as the first national rtiership of its kind, the Family and Nmunity Critical Viewing Project [amsthe PTA with the NCTA and blein the Classroom, the cable lustry’s education initiative. icademicor winning re- L a job even- -ions and the ■ like it. d the many ame to College Sta- is Differen- n. cial and ng exposed tips in a col-l to learn fartisanship killing nore bills in Congress si universi- universi it to a st like I >eople. a school ” is not orance, but toss the all white, Christians, tic, South- we were al le around is that pro- iy know, cperience osophiesas WASHINGTON (AP) — With Republicans swinging the axe, ngress is piling one casualty upon other in a sharply partisan run-up |0this fall’s elections. A bill to rein in bbyists became the latest victim on lursday, joining others on health ire, campaign spending and the ivironment. "We’re the ones trying to do things,” tiring Senate Majority Leader George itchell said this week as he aneuvered against a series of year- id Republican filibusters. "And they’re leones trying to prevent it.” But Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, iticipating strong Republican gains on ov. 8 replied, “The answer is if it’s a bad bill, America wants it killed. And me’ve got a lot of bad bills by people about to lose power.” Democrats concede they’re likely to bse seats this fall. Republicans stand a hance to win the seven seats lecessary to gain control of the Senate and a slimmer opportunity to end 40 (ears of Democratic rule in the House. Police arrest woman or covering face rg new or phi ite student RS ber6 ite in E!!! MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — To the lolice who stopped and questioned ler, the woman dressed from head to loe looked "bizarre.” She was wearing 8veil, a heavy dark robe and gloves. At first she wouldn’t speak to the lour or five male officers. Then she got mgry when they told her to uncover er face or leave the St. Paul skyway, 8 maze of public corridors bridging lowntown streets and stores. Police then escorted her to a small oom, where they gave the Muslim 'Oman a ticket for violating a 1963 tate law against concealing one’s dentity in public. The offense carries p to 90 days in jail and a $700 fine. Local Muslims complained that ayyibah Amatullah, a 21-year-old American convert to Islam, has a eligious right to wear modest dress. "Where is freedom of religion? ... I Jnean, I lived here for 25 years. Where is that?” asked Magda Saikali, a Muslim activist. “For God sakes, was ihe caught in a criminal act? No.” oday s Batx Campus Classified 2 6 Opinion Sports Weather What's Up 7 S' 7 8 The Texas A&M 'Wreckin' Crew' is back in full force. Page 5 FRIDAY October 7, 1994 Vol. 101, No. 30 (8 pages) “Serving Texas A&M since 1893” "SM n NEWS WK RfEFS illas, A&M team up proposed center ALLAS (AP) — The city and ■as A&M University are teaming ■on a proposed $9.6 million plan itolransform about 50 acres into an blernational waste management nology and training center, he project calls for an industrial a small-business incubator and srooms where Texas A&M and be Dallas County Community iijllege District would offer waste |nagement classes, he proposed site is next to the owned McCommas Bluff Landfill fsoutheast Oak Cliff. Dallas ady owns 70 percent of the land ded for the project, which city Jcials predict will be funded in ge part by federal grants. [School and city officials hope to er classes by fall 1997, with the Ik completed by 2005. ilk about TV violence ay curb its effects Prairie View alumni upset at Regents Board's selection of new president cause for disappointment, alumni say By Amanda Fowle The Battalion Prairie View A&M alumni are disap pointed with the selection process used to choose the University’s president because they say the Board of Regents ignored the input of the Afro-American community. Dr. William Batts, president of the Prairie View A&M University National Alumni Association, said that a group of alumni and students, the Faculty Senate and people from the Prairie View commu nity met with four applicants and chose two as finalists. They expected the regents’ choice for president to be one of those two finalists, he said, but instead, a late applicant. Dr. Charles Hines was added to the finalist list and then named president on Sept. 28. Batts said that if the regents were not pleased with the two candidates the alum ni had chosen, they should have accepted applications from more candidates. Batts does not think the regents gave enough consideration to the recommenda tions of the Afro-American community. “We are dealing with a plantation-type mentality here,” he said. “We don’t need a few people making decisions for a group, especially when those people were not chosen by the group.” The Board of Regents is appointed by the governor, and one of its duties is choosing the A&M University System’s presidents. Regent Alison Brisco said that the re gents take presidential searches very seriously. “I think it is one of the most impor tant functions we have,” she said. “We appreciated the input of the search com mittee but knew that the final decision was ours.” Batts sent letters to Prairie View alum ni expressing the alumni association’s dis appointment with the selection process. He urged the alumni and friends of Prairie View to take action. “We must begin to put our money, our manpower and our energy where our mouths are if we intend to win this bat tle,” he said in the letter. Batts said that the violation of the se lection process could inhibit future quali fied applicants from applying. “The Board of Regents has not only insulted the black community,” he said, “but also increased the risk of creating a chilling effect on the entire selection process and, thereby, inhibited applica tions by best qualified applicants for any future vacancy.” Batts said Hines had applied early in the search, was eliminated, then reap plied and was chosen to be president. Dr. David Sanchez, vice chancellor for academic affairs and chair of the search advisory committee, said Hines went through the same selection process as the other candidates. “I don’t know where he is getting this from,” he said. “Every candidate went through the same selection process. It just so happens that one application came in late. There was no difference in this procedure.” Sanchez said there is no deadline for candidates to apply during presidential searches. “We don’t put a deadline on it,” he said. “Suppose the Board did not like any of the candidates. If there is no deadline, they can just keep taking applications.” Batts wants the presidential search to continue, but Regents said this will not happen since Hines has been selected. Regent Raul Fernandez said he asked A&M Chancellor Barry Thompson to de velop a more defined process for presiden tial searches. “I’m sorry this happened,” he said. “I want us to try to keep it from happening again.” Fernandez said he has great respect for the Prairie View community and that their complaints have some merit. “There are three sides to everything,” he said, “and there is some truth to every side of this.” The regents appointed Hines on Sept. 28 to replace retiring president Gen. Julius Becton, who announced his resig nation in January. Hines, 59, is the director of protection and health services for the Smithsonian Institute. Blake Griggs/THE Battalion You can't have Bonfire without Centerpole One of the Brown Pots is congratulated as Centerpole is erected Thursday. A&M opens state s largest job training center By Lisa Messer The Battalion The Texas A&M University System unveiled the state’s largest regional job training center for industrial workers Sept. 29 with assistance from state and Houston officials. Phil Parker, director of the training center, said the center provides craft training in indus try skills, such as welding, plumbing, iron works, ventilation, electrical work and masonry. The center is operated by the Texas Engineer ing Extension Service, which is one of eight state agencies under the umbrella of the A&M System. “Last fall we got a recommendation from the Board of Regents to open a training center in Houston,” Parker said. “There are already cen ters in Arlington, Abilene and San Antonio, but we just had not attempted the Houston market.” The center, which is located in east Houston near the ship channel, is providing craft training to 200 workers. “Currently, everyone in the program is al ready employed,” Parker said. “They are in a four-year program to become journeymen crafts men. They’re increasing their skills in building and maintenance. When they leave here, theyll have an increase in pay, responsibilities and knowledge.” Parker said the center plans to add training for unemployed people in the next two to three months, or as soon as the center can get the pro gram funded. Brenda Simms, TEEX director of marketing and communication, said providing training to See Center/Page 2 Casinos in Texas may not be Caesar s Palace HOUSTON (AP) — Texas cities willing to gamble on casinos to bolster their economies should steer clear of Caesar’s Palace sized dreams and look at smaller, highly structured gaming facili ties with specific revenue goals in mind if they are to succeed. That’s the sobering advice to about 100 municipal leaders who huddled Thursday at a workshop on the “Impact of Gaming on Texas.’ ’ “If someone gets into casino gambling they should know why and what the public goal is in having casino gambling,” said William Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada-Las Ve gas. “(If) You embrace gambling, you better love gambling. So many states (are) embracing it, they don’t want it. New Jersey embraced it, they don’t want it.” The 1995 Texas Legislature is expected to face a strong push from casino interests to legalize gambling. But state lawmakers alone can’t decide the issue. In stead, a constitutional amend ment is needed, requiring a two- thirds vote of the House and Sen ate, plus voter approval in a statewide referendum. Thursday’s workshop was spurred in part by growing in terest and a three-month study by the University of Houston- Clear Lake’s Center for Eco nomic Development. “One of the things we heard and read over and over again is that Texas has got to capture all this money,” said Robert Hodgin, director of the center. “There are some serious fallacies.” Cities should realized that they need to attract new money and not just drain the established restaurants and businesses to support a casino. The number of people at tracted by a casino also brings a whole host of questions in volving infrastructure, law en forcement and employment. “A limited casino can work with money here,” Thompson said. “ “And Texas has a gam bling population and I don’t think you 11 rescue the money that’s be ing gambled in Las Vegas.” But Texas could bring back about 75 percent of the revenue going out of Texas to Louisiana tracks and casinos, he said. Thompson and Hodgin drew an audience of some merely cu rious civic leaders as well as those from towns like Houston poised to pursue gaming rooms if legalized. Former students criticize lab Visualization lab movini art aspect, they say By Katherine Arnold The Battalion The Walt Disney Company ; will not be recruiting computer j animators from Texas A&M’s vi- ! sualization laboratory program this year, former students em ployed at Disney said. Michelle Robinson, a former A&M visualization lab student currently employed by the com puter generated imagery depart ment at Disney , said she and her former classmates at Disney have several complaints against the department. “1 could not honestly recom mend that the CGI department spend money recruiting in a de partment that is ailing,” Robin son said. Donald House, coordinator oU A&M’s visualization sciences, said that Disney never spoke to ; him about why it would not be recruiting at A&M. “If Disney is intentionally not recruiting here, then they have made that decision based on the Amy Brownrog/THE Battalion Texas A&M’s visualization laboratory is under criticism from some former students. opinions of a few former stu dents,” House said. One of the complaints the former students have against the department is that it no longer requires a visual port folio for all applicants. How ever, House said all applicants do turn in. portfolios. “We have many students coming from a computer science background,” House said. “These students submit a technical portfolio outlining their comput er experience. We take visual portfolios from art students. We have not taken away the portfo lio requirement.” Robinson said that the de partment is taking away the fo cus on art from the department with classes and requirements. “The lab is solely trying to produce computer animators and take away the art and cre ativity aspect of a visualiza tion lab,” Robinson said. “Art is the whole point of a visual ization lab.” House' said he' Has rib inten-"' tion of taking the focus on art out of the visualization program. “We have four faculty mem bers in the department, three of which are artists," House said. See Viz-lab/Page 2