\ggielife
exasA&M Career and Placement
enter helps graduating seniors prepare
irthe real world. PagG 3
Opinion
DUELING EDITORIALS: The Battalion and The Daily Texan
wage war of words before the big game.
Page 11
Sports
No. 8 Lady Aggie Soccer
defeats No.5 SMU 5-2
Page 7
THURSDAY
November 3, 1994
Vol. 101, No. 49 (28 pages)
“Serving Texas A&M since 1893”
hinese leader dis-
ppears, believed ill
if: mmmmmmmm
BEIJING (AP) — If the leader of any
er major nation dropped off the face-
the Earth, it would be highly
ipicious. Except in China.
Detailed health reports on China’s
Headers are not news. So the virtual
appearance of senior leader Deng
aoping, not seen in public since
nuary, is just another challenge in
i art of China-watching.
The official press offered this clue
ednesday: a report on the second
inting of two volumes of Deng’s
lected works that said Deng himself
d approved various revisions of his
rlier writings.
Deng, 90, has been variously
mored-this fall to be suffering from
mcer, Parkinson’s disease, in a
ma. In other words, in no condition to
approving lengthy manuscripts.
The unusual presence of police
luipped with riot gear, bulletproof
istsand tear grenade launchers at
jveral points throughout the city
cently suggests that whatever Deng’s
ealth, the Chinese leadership has
sgun bracing for the end.
Vork in Haiti far from
iver for democracy
VERRETTES, Haiti (AP) —
tdelia Dulcinet found a handwritten
rote on the ground outside her door
ifewdays ago warning her to
lehave or else.
The note told Dulcinet, a pro-
lemocracy activist, not to seek too
eany changes in the government,
irmy and other institutions ruling
i/errettes, a town of 5,000 people
about a three-hour drive north of the
capital, Port-au-Prince.
The message, scrawled in pen on
a scrap of paper, was similar to
' o/ter to/s received by backers of
)ean-Bertrand Aristide, the exiled
Resident who returned to Haiti on
Jet, 15 with the help of thousands of
J.S. soldiers.
A climate of fear persists in many
oral parts of Haiti, despite the
iresence of the U.S. forces whose
fiission it was to restore democracy,
iaitians afraid of reprisals by
ilary-backed thugs are still in
iding.
Jury selection goes
on for Simpson trial
m -- SB®
| LOS ANGELES (AP) — O.J.
1 limpson is no “Jekyll and Hyde”
Personality, his attorneys told
Mential jurors Wednesday, while a
frosecutor implored panelists to
'esist Simpson’s famous image and
ijcore the "odd-ball theories” about
fcr killers.
The comments set the stage for
feremptory challenges, which allow
either side to excuse "up to 20
Prospective jurors without stating a
eause.
There’s been a question here of
•hether ... he’s far different off
tamera than on camera,” defense
%ney Johnnie Cochran Jr. said.
You understand there is no
evidence that O.J. Simpson is a
tekylland Hyde personality.”
Deputy District Attorney Marcia
Clark also discussed the image of
factor and former football star.
This is not a popular case for the
P'osecution to bring,” she said.
No tax increase, state
budget leaders say
AUSTIN (AP) — State budget
Baders said Wednesday they face a
Mtibillion-dollar budget shortfall in
he upcoming legislative session, but
hey can get by without a tax
increase.
"There’s going to be a lot of
"ailing and gnashing of the teeth.
There always is. But I think this
discipline is important. We simply
must contain our growth and live
Whin our means,” said state Senate
finance Committee Chairman John
Wontford, D-Lubbock.
Montford estimated that the gap
between projected spending growth
needed in major budget areas and
new money available will be about
S2.7 billion for the 1996-97 budget
period.
Today's I
>
Classified
8
Campus
2
Opinion
11
Sports
7
Toons
1/L 1 1 ~
5
zr
What's Up 5
Trial of former VP continues
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
Despite repeated delays
Wednesday, the trial of former
Texas A&M vice president Robert
Smith will continue today in a
Brazos County court.
Prosecution and defense attor
neys argued for four hours
whether evidence regarding inci
dents that occurred prior to the
time Smith is accused of soliciting
gifts should be admitted.
Despite objections from
Smith’s attorney, senior judge
Oliver Kitzman decided to al
low the evidence.
Smith is accused of using his
public office for personal gain
while negotiating a contract
with Barnes and Noble Book
stores, Inc. Smith took his wife
Pat with him on several trips to
New York during negotiations
with Barnes and Noble.
Smith made the trips between
1990 and 1993. The indictment,
however, charges Smith with so
liciting gifts in 1993.
Smith’s attorney Dick
DeGuerin, who has represented
Kay Bailey Hutchison and
David Koresh, argued the trips
before 1993 should not be dis
cussed in the trial.
If Kitzman would have ruled
against the prosecution, Brazos
County District Attorney Bill
Turner said his case would have
been severely restricted.
“The judge decided if com
ments made prior to 1993 should
be allowed,” Turner said. “The
judge needed to decide if these
comments would help the jury
make a decision or if it would be
unfair evidence to the defense.
“He decided it was more impor
tant to hear it.”
Turner would not speculate
about how long the trial will
last or any specifics about the
case but did acknowledge the
case is confusing.
“It’s a complex case,” Turner
said, “so are the rules of the law.”
In his opening statement,
Turner told the jury he will
prove that Smith invited his
wife to New York at the ex
pense of Barnes and Noble
Bookstores, Inc.
“Mrs. Smith was not in
volved in the business,” Turner
said. “Barnes and Noble didn’t
invite his wife, Robert Smith
invited her.”
DeGuerin told the jury that
Smith was given permission by
the Board of Regents to negotiate
the contract with Barnes and No
ble because the company was
“better across the board for Texas
A&M University.”
He said Barnes and Noble paid
for Smith and his wife while they
were in New York because the
company was repaying Texas
A&M for the time Barnes and No
ble officials visited Texas A&M.
“When Barnes and Noble
came down here we rolled old
the maroon carpet for them,”
DeGuerin said. “We showed
our Texas hospitality.”
“It was a return of hospitali
ty,” he said. “Yes, Smith and
his wife went to New York and
there was nothing wrong with
it. Robert Smith believed law
fully because the law provides
food, transportation and enter
tainment can be accepted.”
“That is what this is .about,”
he said. “Robert Smith is no
more guilty of soliciting gifts
from Barnes and Noble than
you or I are.”
The jury heard a 30-minute
testimony by Patrick Maloney,
vice president for store opera
tions for Barnes and Noble
stores in the western portion of
the United States.
If convicted. Smith could
face up to one year in jail and a
$3,000 fine.
A&M flags
shanghaied
from MSC
By Amanda Fowle
The Battalion
What was supposed to be
a prank could turn out to be
costly mistake for four Uni
versity of Texas students
who stole 13 flags from the
Memorial Student Center
late Saturday.
A group of students calling
themselves “The Rustlers”
who claimed to have stolen
Reveille VI four days before
the Cotton Bowl last year are
facing sanctions from the
University of Texas and pos
sible criminal theft charges.
Bob Wiatt, director of the
University Police Depart
ment, said that because of the
value of the flags and bronze
poles that were stolen, the
See Flags/Page 2
Bonfire seen
all over earth
via Internet
By Amy Lee
The Battalion
Aggies around the world
have been watching Bonfire ’94
go up, down and up again; not
on television, but on Internet
through the World Wide Web.
The Texas A&M Computing
Services Center and the Energy
Systems Lab set up a video
camera in a building adjacent to
Bonfire. Every ten minutes the
image of Bonfire is sent over to
the World Wide Net server.
Tonight, when Bonfire starts
to bum, the snapshots will speed
up to one shot every minute.
The technology that is being
used is not new to A&M.
“The College of Architecture
has been using a similar system
for some time,” Robert Sparks,
assistant research scientist for
the energy systems lab, said.
“No one has used it as an infor
mation service. I think that giv
ing information to the public is
what is new.”
The images have been
broadcast in cyberspace since
Oct. 17. Since then, over
100,000 accesses have been
made to the server, said Bill
Ambrose, systems analyst for
the computing services center.
“It’s unbelievable how many
people have expressed interest,”
Ambrose said. “Aggies all
across America have been send
ing E-mail messages saying
how grateful they are.”
So many accesses were
made to the page where Bon
fire is that it had to be moved,
Ambrose said. HTTP://termi-
nator.TAMU.edu/bonfire/ is
the new address to see the
See Internet/Page 5
Nick Rodnicki/THE Battalion
Finishing touches for Bonfire
Sophomore Aggie Band members Greg Holland, Cleve Ford, Pat Williford, Chris Sartor
and John Engler constructed the outhouse for this year’s Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire.
Rushing one
hundred miles
for Texas A&M
By Tracy Smith
The Battalion
Squadron 17 is used to run
ning, but this time they’ll be run
ning all the way to Austin.
The Texas A&M Corps of
Cadets squadron is getting ready
to take the football for the A&M-
University of Texas game to
Austin after Bonfire tonight.
Commanding Officer Stephen
Phillips, a senior computer engi
neering major, said the tradition
of running the Aggie’s game foot
ball to Austin is designed to raise
money for the Brazos Valley
Boys and Girls Club.
“We are trying to do our part
for the community by raising
money and showing our spirit for
the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bon
fire,” Phillips said.
Each of the 50 members in
Squadron 17, also known as
Challenger 17, will run two
miles at half-mile intervals, be
ginning at Texas A&M’s Fish
Lot and ending at the Memorial
Stadium in Austin.
Phillips said “Run the Ball to
t.u.” started in 1986 when Corp of
Cadets Challenger 7 first ran the
Aggie football to Austin. When
Challenger 7 and Aggressor 17
merged and became Challenger
17, the new outfit’s members de
cided to continue the tradition.
“The Squadron participates in
their ‘Run the Ball to t.u.’ for all
the away football games in
Austin,” Phillips said. “It always
brings the outfit closer together
before we beat the hell outta t.u.”
Mark Jones, Squadron 17
public relations sergeant, said
that when Bonfire is lit, R.C.
Slocum, A&M’s head football
See Squadron/Page 4
Plan ahead, roads scheduled to close early for Bonfire
Map courtesy of the city of College Station
This map shows the areas to be closed this evening for Bonfire.
By Tracy Smith
The Battalion
While Texas A&M students
are excited about going to Bon
fire Thursday night, getting
there should be something stu
dents also consider.
Tom Williams, director of
Parking, Transit and Traffic
Systems, said parking may be
difficult because of classes.
“With classes running on
schedule, many of the parking
lots will stay full,” Williams
said. “We hope more people will
ride A&M shuttle buses to Bon
fire instead of trying to park.”
Williams said shuttle buses
will operate from West campus
to the Fish Pond, starting at 6
p.m. and running until around
midnight.
“The shuttle buses will be out
as long as we’re needed,”
Williams said. “We want to
keep everyone safe and as away
from the traffic as possible.
“Bonfire is a time for students
to celebrate being Aggies, so we
want to make getting there and
back as convenient as we can.”
For those students walking to
Bonfire, the College Station Po
lice Department will be at the
major intersections to help peo
ple get across.
Lt. C.R. Smith, of the College
Station Police Department, said
Bonfire goers would be smart to
ride the shuttle buses.
“The traffic is going to be ter
rible, so if people want to get
there on time, they should ride
one of the buses,” Smith said.
“The convenience of being
dropped off right in front of Bon
fire should also be an incentive.”
The Brazos Transit also will
provide shuttle services for peo
ple who want to go to Bonfire.
Loise Gossby, lead driver for
the Brazos Transit, said that at
6 p.m. buses will provide trans
portation from Manor East
Mall, Sam’s Wholesale and K-
Mart parking lots. The buses
will unload in front of the
Wisenbaker Engineering Re
search Center.
She said it will cost $1 for a
round trip, and the buses will
run until everyone is safely to
their cars.
Several streets around the
site will be closed during all or
part of the day to make Bonfire
safer and more assessable to
students, spectators and emer
gency vehicles, Williams said.
Scheduled closings include:
the intersection of University
Drive and Bizzell Street, closed
starting at 6 p.m.; University
Drive entrance to Parking Areas
50 and 51, closed when the lots
fill; and the intersection of Ross
Street and Spence Street, closed
at 6 p.m.
Polo Road will remain open un
til 3 p.m.; after that time it will be
reserved for special purposes.
Parking Areas 50 and 51 will
be open for public parking at
5:30 p.m., but specific areas
within the lots will be reserved
for special purposes. Handicap
parking spaces and platforms
for disabled persons will be
available in these lots.
Parking will be allowed along
the outside curbs of New Main
after 8 a.m., which will be the
preferred area for recreational
vehicle parking.
From 5:30 p.m. until 10:30
p.m., streets will be blocked off
to through traffic to the residen
tial areas bounded by Texas Av
enue, Kyle Avenue, Munson Dri
ve and Cooner Street and Do-
minik Drive. These areas will
be blocked off by manned barri
cades, and only those with proof
of residency, such as a driver’s
license or some other identifica
tion, will be allowed to proceed.