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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1994)
Page 2 • The Battalion ■ m - . "■ \w. : s- , ' ' STATE & LOCAL Tuesday • October25, esday Task force established to revive Aggie Code of Honoi By Melissa Jacobs The Battalion Texas A&M’s Student Gov ernment is working to improve the academic honor and integrity of Aggies. The Honor and Integrity Task Force was created to look at changes that have taken place over the years and to discover options for improvement. Brooke Leslie, student body president, said A&M’s honor code has lost a lot of its affect over the years. “I think that’s because the Uni versity has gotten so big,” she said. “We have 43,000 students.” The honor code states that Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do. Jeff Wilson, executive vice president of administration, said A&M has a strong honor code, but part of the problem is the toleration clause. “I’m sure people have seen someone cheat on an exam and not challenged that person,” he said. “There is no enforcement.” Dr. Bill Kibler, assistant vice president for student affairs, said less than 25 percent of uni versities have an honor code and a much smaller number have an honor system. “A&M has an honor code but not an honor system,” he said. “We had an honor system at one time, but it disappeared.” Wilson said the task force will have its first meeting Sunday, Oct. 30 and they will talk about where the University has been, where it is, and where it is going with the honor system. “A representative from the Memorial Student Center will give a brief history of A&M and the honor code,” he said. “There will be people to explain where it is now and I will pull out what problems we have.” He said they will talk about the options they have and will vote on those options. Leslie said Wilson will take ideas from the larger group of people and put together a steer ing group to lead the task force. Wilson said the task force is a cross section of the University’s leadership. “This is not something just within Student Government,” he said. “It is more university wide.” Kibler conducted an academic dishonesty study in 1991 of 200 universities and learned that there is little involvement of stu dents in the development and enforcement of academic dishon esty policies or programs at most institutions. By failing to in volve students in these process es, an atmosphere of “us against them” is fostered, which encour ages cheating, he said. Leslie said the task force is an idea that came about from her platform. “Part of my platform says that I will initiate a campaign that will hold students responsible for their actions,” she said. “The task force is a forum for student leaders around campus to voice their opinions.” Wilson said he attended a con ference at Rice University during the weekend of Oct. 15 and 16, which 15 or 20 schools from all over the country attended. “The Rice conference was a conference on integrity,” he "A&M has an honor code but not an honor sys tem. We had an honor system at one time, but it disappeared." —Dr. Bill Kibler, assistant vice president for student affairs said. “We are not asfara! as we think we are. S, ; schools have a lot tougher. tions than we do, and., don’t have an honorcodeai; Kibler found throng study that honor codesar;; very prevalent as a soiirt; guide how institutions off education address acade dishonesty. His study rep;: that only one-fourth of institutions studiedhajt honor code, and nonerejiir relying exclusively on anb: code without the guidattf disciplinary policies. Wilson said at the Univtt of Virginia, students car,!; committing an act of acafe dishonesty are kickedouto!; university. See Honor?;? State representative proposes Texas’ first legislation on playground safety FORT WORTH (AP) — A playground accident in which a 6-year-old boy was critically injured has prompted a lawmaker to draft legislation seeking Texas’ first mandatory playground safety standards. Jermy Browning suffered massive head injuries Sept. 19 in Euless, northeast of Fort Worth. The rotted supports of a wooden climbing wall broke at ground level, causing the 350-pound structure to fall on the child during lunch recess. Remarkably, the first-grader returned to school Oct. 12 after having undergone emergency brain surgery and remaining in critical condition at Cook- Fort Worth Children’s Medical Center for days. State Rep. Keith Oakley, D-Terrell, is drafting legislation that would require that public play grounds in Texas be built according to specific safety standards to be developed using guidelines estab lished by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If the legislation is passed, Texas would become the second state to mandate minimum standards for playground safety. California is the only state that mandates playground safety. Oakley, chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, said he plans to start filing the bill next month. “I don’t see anybody who would oppose this,” Oakley said. “We may not be able to stop play ground injuries, but we can minimize the number of children who are seriously hurt.” Under Oakley’s outline, the bill will only affect playgrounds and equipment built or installed after the proposed law goes into effect. Existing playgrounds that do not meet the stan dards would be grandfathered in, or given a period of time to be brought up to standards. Signs would be posted on all playgrounds to indicate those that meet the standards and those that do not. That will minimize the expense to cities and school districts, Oakley said. State Rep. Bill Carter, R-Fort Worth, a member of the Public Safety Committee, said to gain support for the legislation, it will be important to keep the cost to schools and cities low. The proposal will also include provisions for mandatory inspections and maintenance sched ules. Oakley said the proposed bill may also re quire that school districts and cities have someone trained in playground safety. The lawmaker’s effort comes six months after Tarrant County Safe Kids Campaign began lobby ing for mandatory safety standards. No federal laws mandate playground safety. And in Texas, school districts are immune to lia bility for playground accidents. In 1992, 226,500 children younger than 14 were admitted to U.S. emergency rooms with play ground injuries, according to reports based on the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Five children were killed. An estimated 70 percent of the accidents occurred on public play grounds. Comparable figures have not been com piled for Texas. Tim Moog/ThEBm* If only college books were this fun to read Sophomore education major, Alicia Braun, checks out books at the TSEA book fair between the Harrington buildings. The fair will continue until the 28th. Promises, promises, Texas gubernatorial race rolls on By M TheE IRVING (AP) — Locked in a dead heat with Gov. Ann Richards, Republi can gubernatorial nominee George W. Bush said Monday the biggest difference between them as the campaign moves into its final two weeks “is how we pro pose to keep the streets safe.” Bush said a provision of the new pe nal code that provides automatic proba tion for selling 1 gram or less of crack co caine “shatters” a 1990 campaign promise by Richards. He said that during that election year, Richards said in campaign litera ture that anyone dealing drugs should serve time in prison. “The penalty for anyone dealing drugs must be swift and certain,” Bush told about 50 supporters gathered at a rally in Las Colinas. “Drug dealers must serve time behind bars and not simply receive a slap on the wrist. We must hold each and every Texan ac countable for their behavior.” Bush said 92 percent of crack co caine cases in Texas involve 1 gram or less of the substance. Under the old law, drug dealers faced up to 99 years in prison, he said. John Hatch, the law enforcement co ordinator for Richards’ campaign, said Bush was “not telling the voters the whole truth about the new penal code.” He said the automatic probation still can include some jail time coupled with drug or alcohol treatment, education and community service. If those convicted don’t abide by the terms of their probation, they face two full years in a state jail. That’s more actual jail time than what drug convicts aver aged under the old system, Hatch said. Hatch also pointed out that 66 of the 71 Republicans in the 73rd Legislature voted for the new penal code. “And now George Bush says they’re all wrong,” he said. Several sheriffs and district attor neys stood with Bush during the rally. Bush said that if elected, he would push for more severe treatment of men who don’t pay or fall behind on child support. “Any deadbeat dad who doesn’t pay child support, we’ll take away every li cense the state issues. And to show you I mean business, that would even in clude hunting and fishing licenses,” Bush said. He said he would make education the No. 1 funding project in Texas and that proceeds from the state lot tery should go to education. Bush called welfare an area “that Ann Richards refuses to admit is not working” in Texas. He said it’s time that people on welfare stop having ba bies at public expense. Richards, meanwhile, contended that the price tag of Bush’s campaign proposals on crime, welfare and educa tion would be $17.9 billion. “Texas is only one of seven states without an income tax, and I want to keep it that way. George W. Bush would cost us dearly — his education promises alone would result in either a 5 percent income tax or a doubling on our current sales tax,” Richards said. Richards raised the issue in their debate Friday night, and Bush re sponded then that her cost estimate was “preposterous.” “That’s just old-style politics,” he said Monday. “I’m not going to allow this campaign to degenerate into is sues she’s trying to generate with two weeks to go.” Bush defends business ventures AUSTIN (AP) — Republican guber natorial candidate George W. Bush says he’s a successful businessman with broad experience that makes him ready to be governor. Democratic Gov. Ann Richards says Bush has lost big money and lacks the skills needed to run a $71- billion state government. From the opening gun of their only debate to almost daily speeches on the campaign trail, Richards ac cuses Bush of exaggerating business accomplishments. Bush accuses Richards of being a ca reer politician who has launched an un substantiated attack on his career in an effort to derail his campaign. “He laid himself out to be, for all of us to see on television, a success ful businessman,” Richards said. “And yet we know that, as a conse quence of those businesses, all five of them on which he sat on the board lost $371 million.” “My business career is open for pub lic scrutiny and I’m proud of it,” Bust responded.“I think an attempt to smear my business record is simply a diver sion away from trying to determine what’s best for Texas” Bush, a graduate of Yale witha master’s in business administration from Harvard, is managing general partner of the Texas Rangers base ball team. He entered the oil and gas busi ness in West Texas in 1975, foundin? a small exploration business, Arbus- to Energy Inc., which later changed its name to Bush Exploration and merged into Spectrum 7 Energ! Corp. That company merged inti Harken Energy Inc. Bush served on the Harken board, along with the boards of Tom Brow Inc., a Midland energy company,and Caterair International Corp a Maryland-based airlins food business. Superior criminal trial experience, 75% of this court’s docket. Jim Loclce for Judge County Court at Law #1 Pd. Ad For Locke - Betty White, Treasurer *8108 Bunker Hill, C.S., Tx Here, last month, 922 good people got a pin prick, and earned themselves $46,000 cash ....and helped people they never knew! They sat back on big leather lounge chairs and relaxed or studied for exams. They exchanged recipes, talked about love, children, life, happenings, boys, girls, politics, tomorrow, french class, car repair, baseball, fishing, and delivering kittens. In 60 minutes they were up and away, cash in hand, feeling good. You have never opened a door on a friendlier place and the regular extra money is very nice. Everybody needs you. It’s that easy Westgate Plasma Center 4223 Wellborn Rd. 846-8855 The Battalion BELINDA BLANCARTE, Editor in chief MARK EVANS, Managing editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor MARK SMITH, Night News editor KIM McGUIRE, City editor JAY ROBBINS, Opinion editor STEWART MILNE, Photo editor DAVID WINDER, Sports editor ROB CLARK, Aggielife editor Staff Members City desk—Jan Higginbotham, Katherine Arnold, Michele Brinkmann, Stephanie Dube,An'- 1 Fowle, Melissa Jacobs, Amy Lee, Lisa Messer, Susan Owen, Constance ParteO' 1 Powers and Tracy Smith News desk— Robin Greathouse, Sterling Hayman, Jody Holley, Shafi Islam, Jennifer Monfe- Tiffany Moore,Stacy Stanton, Zachary Toups and James Vineyard Photographers— Tim Moog, Amy Browning, Robyn Calloway,.Stacey Cameron, Blake®? Gina Painton, Nick Rodnicki and Carrie Thompson Aggielife— Margaret Claughton and Jeremy Keddie Sports writers— Nick Georgandis, Tom Day, Drew Diener and Stewart Doreen Opinion desk— Jenny Magee, Lynn Booher, Josef Elchanan, Laura Frnka, Aja Henderson,E' Hill, Jeremy Keddie, Michael Landauer, Melissa Megliola, George Nasr,fl |i,! Preston, Gerardo Quezada and Frank Stanford Cartoonists— Greg Argo, Brad Graeber, Alvaro Gutierrez and Quatro Oakley Office Assistants— Heather Fitch, Adam FHill, Karen Hoffman and Michelle Oleson The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall andspT semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University bolid J '' exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station, TXT j POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building,T eXJi I A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. 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TI plain “T “But greet Hi twee jump of on fore ] W most “C whei like ; ing i W comj “I said, toucl you < D club, dent “1 one i clou* P the i beer ‘A peac falll P invii “X he s kno' eart you. A quil