)ecember 1, 1994 iports
IJS ■ A&M men's basketball team prepares to play in
ie Hank IV Classic.
Opinion
MELISSA MEGLIOLA: I remembered to smile, big and mouthy, as I
tried to hide that I was scared to death. I was a first-time,
inexperienced and utterly clueless bridesmaid.
Page 9
.
. - ■ ■ .
The A&M women's basketball
team hosts the Lady Aggie/
Holiday Inn/ Domino's Pizza
Invitational at G. Rollie.
Page 7
FRIDAY
December 2, 1994
Vol. 101, No. 68 (10 pages)
“Serving Texas A&M since 1893”
Briefs A&M student leaders want voice on Board
MAFTA has cost U.S.
obs, report says
)f NCAA member
.he sportswriters!
groups have and
igreeing that the
1 be punished for
ollege athletics,
these groups re-
ranks” are lacking
imic and political
mge this unfair,
, and unjust sys-
tore accurate to
they lack the bl
ight an obvious
Billy McClellan
Waco
encourages letters lo
Aril) print as many as
lers must be 300 words
de the author's name,
number.
■ right to edit letters for
accuracy.
to:
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aid
rrsity
X 77843-1111
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nvml .tamu.edu
l/VASHINGTON (AP) — Instead of
vifig up to its promise as a jobs
reator, the North American Free
hade Agreement has resulted in a net
iss of 10,000 U.S. jobs, Sen. Byron
dgan said in releasing a
aijgressional study Thursday.
s'A Joint Economic Committee study
iquested by the North Dakota
Inocrat estimates that while NAFTA
leted roughly 127,000 jobs in its first
ne months, increased imports from
exico have cost 137,000 U.S. jobs.
[‘While we have only nine months
rience with NAFTA, it’s important
ote that what little experience we
ave confirms the worst fears that
ime of us had that this was, if not a
it sucking sound, still a steady drain
merican jobs to Mexico,” he said,
ommerce Department officials
festioned the findings, saying their
p analyses show job gains as a
pit of increased trade with Mexico,
y were reluctant to assign specific
gain numbers from NAFTA, saying
s|very difficult to separate the trade
emenfs affect on jobs from overall
e patterns with Mexico.
iinton to use $25 bil.
Kr military training
2113'
ou.
ASHINGTON (AP) — President
iton, aiming to counter Republican
lharges he’s weakened the military,
said Thursday he’ll pump $25 billion
nto future Pentagon budgets to give
Poops higher pay and enough training
^stay combat-ready.
B"0ur number one commitment is to
he readiness and well-being of our
nen and women in uniform,” Clinton
said at a Rose Garden ceremony/
■"Our military will remain the best
iained, best equipped, the best fighting
orce on earth,” Clinton pledged as
Defense Secretary William Perry and
■ generals and admirals of the Joint
iChiefs of Staff stood by.
EThe president also said he will ask
feongress to replenish funds taken out
of this year’s defense budget to pay for
Unanticipated military deployments in
Haiti, Kuwait and the Caribbean.
Pentagon officials said that would
ountto more than $2 billion..
dentists discover
metic link to gender
WASHINGTON (AP) —
searchers have isolated a genetic
itch that separates the boys from the
gills. It turns off the female in the
human embryo and starts biological
nges that eventually put hair on the
jest.
I Dr. Michael Weiss of the University
of Chicago said the new study
advances the understanding of the
complex cascade that determines
Ifhether people are male or female and
jSheds new light on how this process
can sometimes go awry.
1 In research to be published Friday
njthe journal Science, Weiss and his
earn use sophisticated imaging
techniques to explore on an atomic
evel the biological pathway to
fcanhood. Their research report traces
jlhe development of maleness, from the
jluming on of the SRY gene, which is
on the Y chromosome, to the work of
pother gene, called MIS, that removes
ftije female parts of the original embryo.
Three refute police
chief’s prosecution
I McALLEN (AP) — Three people
allegedly tortured in Mexican police
Istody say the Mexican government
has framed the former police
jjpmmander.
I Maria Sanchez denied Thursday
that she had been beaten,
lintradicting detailed statements
fiftributed to her by Mexican
Irosecutors.
I “In Mexico, you sign what’s put in
Ibntof you, or else,” added Jose Filipe
de Jesus Victoria Cepeda, claiming
J)at the Mexican attorney general’s
?ffice falsified his complaint to implicate
suillermo Gonzalez Calderoni.
[ U.S. Magistrate Peter E. Ormsby is
Iding a hearing to determine whether
Ideroni, a former top commander in
e federal judicial police, should be
radited to Mexico to face charges of
rture and abuse of authority.
[Today s B.
Classified
8
International
6
ppinion
9
bo ns
5
Veather
5
/Vhat's Up
10
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
Texas A&M System student leaders
want student representation on the Board
of Regents and asked the Board on Thurs
day to allow an ex-officio member to sit
with the Board at future meetings.
In front of a roomful of students,
three students who serve on the Chan
cellor’s Student Advisory Board present
ed their proposal to the Board at its
monthly meeting.
Toby Boenig, speaker of the Student
Senate, Amanda Spenrath, chairwoman
of the CSAB, and Kenna Young, a CSAB
member from Prairie View A&M Uni
versity all spoke to the Board about
their proposal.
Boenig said he thought the presentation
went well.
“What you saw was a unison effort,” he
said. “I wasn’t expecting it to go that well.
We realized doing what is best for students
is fine.”
A student ex-officio member would
serve as a liaison between the Board of
Regents and the System. The position
would provide a unique opportunity for
discussion and interaction between stu
dents and regents.
to vote or meet in executive session.
Most regents said they were also sup
portive of a student ex-officio, but Regent
T. Michael O’Connor and Vice Chairman
Raul Fernandez said while they supported
student interest in what the regents do.
"I have been here almost two years and I have only
seen a handful of students show up to meetings. It
bothers me that students don't show up to our meet
ings. We make an effort and it is not shown."
— 77 Michael O’Connor, Regent
If the Board approves the item at its
January meeting, a student ex-officio mem
ber report would be placed on the agenda
at each Board meeting, the student would
sit on select Board committees and would
conduct business in the manner of a mem
ber except he or she would not be allowed
they were concerned about the problems
that could arise.
Fernandez said he was concerned with
all of the other constituents wanting repre
sentation but liked the CSAB’s proposal.
“I don’t want to have Pandora’s Box,”
Fernandez said. “We’d have more people
Arranging the Christmas train
(Left to right) Jennifer Johnson, Joey Ganem and Roy Johnson put the finishing touches on the decorations for Christmas in the
Park. It will be officially lit today.
on the Board than we would have in the
audience.”
'We have to draw the line somewhere.”
Chancellor Barry Thompson, who said
he was in full support of the proposal, sug
gested that the regents put a student on
the Board for a two-year trial basis.
“I think it is complimentary to the
Board that there is so much concern of stu
dents,” Thompson said.
O’Connor said he wanted to make sure
students understood the time and effort re
gents put into Texas A&M before he votes
on the proposal.
“Tve had some miserable times in the
time I have been here,” he said. “I came in
here to troubleshoot some things. It’s not
been pleasant.
“I have been here almost two' years and
I have only seen a handful of students
show up to meetings. It bothers me that
students don’t show up to our meetings.
We make an effort and it is not shown.”
See Student Regent/Page 2
Regents fine
tune issues
for legislature
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Board of Re
gents worked Thursday on tight
ening and clarifying the issues
A&M officials will present to the
state legislature.
James Bond, vice chancellor
for state and public affairs, gave a
30-minute presentation to the
Board at its all-day meeting on
Thursday about the need to re
ceive more funding at the 74th
Legislative session in January
than in the past.
“We need to ask ourselves.
Will we keep doing what we did
and keep getting what we got?’”
Bond said. “We’re (Texas) drop
ping so far behind, we are now
setting goals that aren’t even ap-
plaudable.”
Chancellor Barry Thompson
agreed.
“For 10 years we have had
mediocre success,” he said.
Thompson said he is optimistic
about the upcoming session and
is confident he is well-prepared.
“I have done my homework
very carefully for the legislature,”
Thompson said, “but there are no
guarantees.”
Regent Billy Clayton said he
wants to see more emphasis on
education at the January session.
“I have a feeling we put more
money on the back end of society
(prisons) and not on the front end
(education),” Clayton said. “I
think we will present a good
package tins time.”
Dr. Mark Weichold, speaker of
the A&M Faculty Senate, said he
See Regents/Page 2
Black Awareness Committee.
AASA celebrate Kwanzaa
By Amy Lee
The Battalion
The MSC Black Awareness
Committee and the African
American Student Association
celebrated Kwanzaa early with
dance, song and speakers at
their Pre- Kwanzaa Celebration
Kwanzaa is an African-
American holiday celebrating
family, community and culture.
“Kwanzaa is celebrated in all
African nations,” Shae Harvey,
a junior political science major,
said. “It is an African agricul
ture celebration. It is where
people come together to cele
brate the first fruits of the har
vest.”
The Kwanzaa celebration
was started at Texas A&M in
1966, Ron Rochon, a professor
in the education department
and guest speaker, said.
“It was created for the sole
purpose of recognizing and ap
preciating the history, culture
and heritage of the community,”
he said. “It is where people pay
homage to the different facets of
African-American culture
through ceremonies, family, po
etry and music*
Kwanzaa is celebrated be
tween Dec. 26 and Jan. 1. It is
celebrated then as to not com
pete with Christmas and other
holidays.
There are seven different
principals celebrated during
Kwanzaa which are called Ngu-
zo Saba.
The first is Umoja, or unify.
The second is Kujichagulia, or
self-determination.
“African Americans need to
be determined to define, create
and speak for themselves,” Ro
chon said. “African is not syn
onymous with poor or jungle
bunny or a third world country.
African is synonymous with
beauty, richness, glorious past,
glorious present and glorious
hiture.”
The third principal is Ujima,
or collective work and responsi
bility. The fourth is Ujamaa, or
cooperative education.
“We need to support black
businesses,” Rochon said. “We
need to educate our community
that no one will help sustain
the African American business
es till African Americans sup
port African Americans. We
need institutions. In order to
have institutions we need
See Kwanzaa/Page 2
That’s not Santa downstairs
Holidays present opportune time for crime
By Stephanie Dube
The Battalion
As students begin to get caught up in the festive
holiday spirit, they need to remember that the need
for safety does not stop during the holiday season,
police officials said.
Sgt. petty LeMay, crime prevention specialist for
the University Police Department, said the crime
rate always increases around the holiday season.
“People need to take extra special care for person
al safety at this time,” LeMay said. “Don’t get lost in
the spirit of the season.”
Sgt. Choya Walling, community relations and
crime prevention specialist for the Bryan Police De
partment, said burglary and theft are the main
crimes for the holiday season. This includes theft of
Christmas decorations, packages from cars, money
and purses.
When students leave for the holidays, they need
to take their valuable items home with them, she
said.
If living off campus, students leaving on vacation
should let someone know where they can be contact
ed in case something happens, LeMay said.
People leaving their houses for a vacation can
also contact the local police and request a vacation
house check, Walling said. The police will send a
patrol to periodically check the house and will con
tact the residents if something is out of the ordinary.
In addition, students leaving for the Christmas
vacation should find out what they can do with their
houses’ pipes in case of a freeze, LeMay said.
One year, students returned after the vacation to
find that their pipes had frozen and broken during
the break and flooded the apartment once the pipes
thawed out, LeMay said.
“It’s easier to take a little precaution now than to
come back and have to fix a lot later,” LeMay said.
The campus is also not immune to holiday crime,
Lt. Bert Kretzschmar, crime prevention specialist
for UPD, said.
“The campus will be relatively quiet, but that’s a
prime opportunity for thieves because no one is
around,” Kretzschmar said.
Students living in residence halls should take
their valuables home and lock their doors before
they leave in case someone is able to get into the
dorm, she said. These students, especially those
who live on the ground floor, should also make sure
their windows are locked to discourage thieves.
LeMay said campus buildings are frequently bur
glarized during the Christmas break.
“We check on the buildings, but invariably some
one leaves a door unlocked,” she said. “There should
be one person responsible for locking the door. If a
person has any questions about if a building is
locked, the person should check before leaving for
the holidays.”
When buildings Eire burglarized, people may steal
mail, computers, any money left behind and small
items eeisily disguised such as radios and recorders,
she said.
“If you see something suspicious on campus, give
the UPD a call,” LeMay SEiid. “We’re here 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, holidays included.”
People should also use precaution if traveling,
Kretzschmar said. If driving somewhere, they
should make sure someone knows when they are
leaving, when they expect to arrive and what route
they will take. Travelers should also never leave
See Holiday Crime/Page 2
I