Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1994)
Page 2 • The Battalion State locai . Friday • December I Lawmakers attempt to relax state telephone regulations Legislative plan to also try to increase local competition AUSTIN (AP) — Talks on revising Texas telecommunications law have failed to generate a legislative plan, and two key state lawmakers have moved to take over the job. The question is how to introduce competition into local phone service in exchange for relaxed state regulation of the rates and services of local phone companies, primarily Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. Would-be competitors do not want Southwest ern Bell unleashed too quickly because, they say, it could use its market domination to put them out of business. The phone company had rev enues of $8 billion in 1993. The Texas Telephone Association, whose domi nant members are Southwestern Bell and GTE Southwest Inc., on Wednesday blamed those who sat across the table from them, especially AT&T, for the impasse. “Companies like AT&T have put their own greed ahead of an agreement to negotiate in good faith,” said Glenn Smith, spokesman for the association. “In at least 18 states, AT&T has opposed any move to reform telecommunications regulation.” Vaughn Aldredge, spokesman for AT&T, re jected the charges. He said the association’s nego tiators “were giving ground a tiny millimeter at a time” and trying to delay consumer safeguards “to way in the future.” They even disagreed on whether their legisla tively appointed work group had made progress on a proposal the Legislature could adopt next year. Smith told the Atistin American-Statesman that “substantial progress” had been made on many points, while Aldredge said progress “was so incremental as to be almost nonexistent.” Rep. Curtis Seidlits, D-Sherman, and Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco, co-chair the Joint Interim Committee on Telecommunications, which was studying overhauling the state’s regulations. The Legislature, which convenes in January, will con sider the committee’s recommendations. The lawmakers had hoped negotiators repre senting business and consumer interests could draft a plan that would avert a legislative battle. Seidlits and others said a major stumbling block is determining whether would-be competi tors or those who want to offer electronic services that require use of local phone networks must use their own equipment. They also battled over how large a market those would-be competitors must serve. Although some negotiations continue, the two lawmakers ended formal talks this week by hear ing what Seidlits termed “final arguments” from the main parties. ate a{ ident at a 1 Shelly Hall/Special to ThiBj- Music soothes the savage beast Listening to some familiar tunes, Selena Garza, a senior English major from Harlingen, relaxes Thursday afternoon while roomate, Tiffany Bradford, a agronomy major from Fort W strums her new guitar. le agre ffs wor 'he Se isional Agre< de on ise had ird Tue ’he Se: minut budge proced ■eside lughou (vering deal, .etirin rge M was t he 10 isl he W' erate. F iat his la: I a matt fice for | |0n the ot , the y 31 Re] Icrats a Clinton administration helps Texas Border Patrol combat immigration SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Clinton administra tion is adding 700 Border Patrol agents to the Southwest border and making permanent the in tensive immigration crackdowns in El Paso and San Diego, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith said Thursday. “The fact that the administration is willing to put more personnel in that strategic sort of frontline position I think is a good step and I am encouraged by that,” said Smith, R-San Antonio. Smith likely will become chairman next year of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judi ciary Committee. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner visited him Tuesday and told him of the stepped up attention the agency is giving the U.S.-Mexico border, he said. Border Patrol crackdowns in El Paso and San Diego, where two-thirds of illegal entries to the United States occur, have featured the assignment of more agents and the use of special equipment to detect illegal migrants. Smith said Ms. Meissner told him those opera tions would become permanent. She also informed him that 700 agents will be added to the approximately 4,500 assigned at or near the Southwest border. There are an estimated 2.5 million illegal entries into this country each year. “The United States is the only civilized nation in the world that does not have adequate control of its borders,” Smith said. The Clinton administration still must address the root causes of illegal immigration. Smith said, referring to the “twin magnets” of easy ac cess to jobs and federal benefits that attract ille gal migrants. Smith stopped short of endorsing a national ver sion of Proposition 187, the California measure vot- ers approved Nov. 8 that curtails health, education and welfare benefits to illegal residents. But he said the Immigration Subcommittee likely will hold hearings on similar proposals to cut off federal ben efits to illegal migrants. Student Regent Continued from Page 1 Fernandez disagreed about the past year being a miserable time and said he has enjoyed his time on the Board, even during the tough times. “It has not been a miserable time,” he said. “It’s not easy but it’s not miserable.” Regent Billy Clayton said he thought that if a student sat with the Board it would help them to understand the prob lems they face. O’Connor said students would need total commitment and they should not take time away from their education. O’ Connor said he supported stu dent representation but didn’t know if he would support a stu dent member of the Board. Clayton said he would like to have a faculty liaison on the Board. Dr. Mark Weichold, speaker of the Faculty Senate, said he liked the idea of having a fac ulty liaison. “This would resolve the communication problem” Wei chold said. “It would be a di rect path.” The student ex-officio member would be elected from within the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board, which was formed in 1984. Funding for travel and correspondence of the student would come from the elected stu dent’s university. No institution could have a student member on the Board for two consecutive years. The stu dent, who cannot be the CSAB chairperson, would be removed from office if he or she failed to attend two meetings. In the event that happened, an alter nate would take over. Elections for the student ex- officio member shall be held in conjunction with CSAB elections in late spring. The mam reasons mey for wanting student repre tion were: aublica Senate 3ert D( • Student viewpoint is rB* T,! !, tant because the Regents .P 3 students directly or indirl and students are direct] sumers of the System; • A student ex-officio t can represent the interests :: diversified student body I inclusive of the System; • To provide a direct communication betweei!!ru jr-pc; dents and the Board; r • The CSAB has shout I WASH other capacities confidentiil forecast j professionalism, time andos jf 0S t pol tion and the ability to deal’| r j ces f or complex agendas. [ Driver: After the students pres: | e s ^ a ^j ( their proposal, the regents;^ ore _ exf) all university presidents if: R rg p^, supported the idea and: Qr more a unanimously voted yes, n ‘ The Board is expected .j,, ' on the student ex-officio id e to the Board of Regents# ^ 1 n January meeting. Holiday Crime Continued from Page 1 their car unlocked, even if only for a few minutes, he said. “If you’re on the road and you pull into a convenience store, roll up the windows and lock the doors,” Kretzschmar said. “Some get out of the car and leave it run ning. That makes it too easy for someone to jump in and drive off.” People should also remember safety precautions during the hol idays themselves, Walling said. They need to mark their gifts with their driver license number for identification and record the serial numbers in case the gifts are stolen in the future. Also, people should not leave their empty boxes on the curb because this advertises to thieves what is inside their house, he said. To discourage house burglar ies, residents should never leave the Christmas decorations or pre sents in front of their windows. “This shows off everything a person has,” LeMay said. “This helps thieves window shop.” People should be careful with their credit cards during the holi day season, she said. They should check their bills to make sure no one else has used their card number, tear up the carbon copies of card uses and never leave their cards lying around. In addition, a person should be careful when using a long dis tance card, she said. “When dialing your number, someone could be standing be hind you and watching you dial and taking the number to sell it,” she said. In addition to burglary and theft, domestic crimes also often escalate during the holidays, LeMay said. “People may get under pres sure, get depressed and drink more,” LeMay said. “You add these together and you’re looking at an explosive situation.” LeMay said one important way to decrease the stress of the holi day season and thus possibly re duce domestic violence is to use moderation. “The main thing is to do every thing in moderation,” LeMay said. “Do not push yourself too hard. The little things done at home mean more than what you could shop for.” Regents Continued from Page 1 is hopeful about what A&M will receive in the legislative session, in particular the faculty and staff salary increases. “Per-student funding in general is bad,” Weichold said. “We are about 48th, 49th or 50th in the United States, and to get up high er will take a lot of cash. That is hard in these times.” Besides the need for faculty salary increas es, the Regents discussed some of the items A&M is considering asking the legislature to fund. Some of the following special items and ini tiatives included for Texas A&M University to ask money for were: • Race and Ethnic Studies Institute, •Minority Faculty Recruitment and Reten tion and • Digital Library. Although the specific items are still in the rough stages, Texas A&M University is ask ing the legislature to increase the cap in the group hospital and medical service fee from $25 to $75. It is also asking for a clarification about the possibility of building a cogenera tion power plant in the future. The University wants to remove language in the education code that currently restricts Texas A&M’s construction of an additional plant. Thompson would not comment on the pos sibility of a future cogeneration project but did say, “We’re in the process of putting the old behind us.” In other business, the Regents voted to al- gvernmt Int less I “This i low Texas A&M University to designatelifetir to build a student leadership center. The vote allows A&M officials to ta opportunity to seek donors to fund the to be built on 180 acres of land just Easterwood Airport. Regent Chairman Mary Nan West, T. Michael O’Connor and Regent Guai Rangel opposed the passage of the vote. Rangel said she liked the idea of the center but did not think enough has been done about whether students pay for the project. Fiegents have the option to later nate the land. Thursday’s meeting also marked thf that System student body presidents ani: ulty Senate speakers were invited to rep; regents a brief overview of what is their campuses. ai obile 3-6 Kwanzaa Continued from Page 1 revenue. In order for revenue the commu nity needs support.” The fifth principal is Nia, or purpose. “We need to build the community to re store our people to their original great ness,” Rochon said. The sixth principal of Kwanzaa is Ku- umba, or creativity. “We need to do whatever we can in our community to leave it more beautiful than it was before,” Rochon said. The seventh principal is Imanni, or faith. This is where all seven principals come together as Kwanzaa, Rochon said. Kwanzaa is celebrated with family and friends gathered together, Rochon said. There are seven candles and each day a new candle is lit. Each day a principal is read and everyone there discusses what 6-9 that principal means to them. On day the seven candles are lit and the Fin rp exchanges gifts which they created. H Rochon told people to take the K principals and apply them to everyday ; whether it be in the black communit' 19-12 other communities. “We need to give knowledge andr: force our beliefs to our community an other communities,” he said. “Wet rely on the media. Snoop Doggy' Dog; CDs.” The Battalion is accepting applications for the following staff positions for the spring semester: Asst. City Editor Asst. Aggielife Editor Asst. Opinion Editor Asst. Sports Editor Cartoonist Graphic Artist Reporter Science Reporter Photographer Copy Editor/Page Designer Feature writer Sports writer Opinion columnist Clerk Editorial cartoonist Applications are available at the front desk of Room 013 Reed McDonald Building. All majors are encouraged to apply. Deadline: Monday Dec. 5 by 5 p.m. Applicants must be Texas A&M students in good standing at the time of employment and remain in good standing while employed. For more information, call Mark Smith at 845-3313. DUE TO CURRENT & IS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS GREAT X-MAS GIFTSf^ SHOOTERS VISE $37.50 Reg. 49.95 r .62 X 39 20 Rounds *5. 50 .223 FMJ \50Rounds 4Q RAD-CO Guns & Ammo Sale Continues thru December or until our stock is out! Chinese SKS Rifles $130 Russian SKS Rifles $150 Register for a FREE SKS to be given away every 2 weeks ALL SALES FINAL High Capacity *45 & 9 mm Handguns^ Mossberg 590 Shotgun *325. 00 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9am - 9pm . Sunday lorn - 7pm Downtown Bryan Between Los Nortenos & Acme Class 409-779-8103 Mastercard, Visa, Discover Accepted (Prices reflect 5% discount for cash. The Haiiai ion BELINDA BLANCARTE, Editor in chief MARK EVANS, Managing editor JENNY MAGEE, Opinion editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor MARK SMITH, Night News editor KIM McGUIRE, City editor STEWART MILNE, Photo editor DAVE WINDER, Sports editor ROB CLARK, Aggie/ife editor Staff Members City desk—Jan Higginbotham, Katherine Arnold, Michele Brinkmann, Stephanie Dube, Fowle, Melissa Jacobs, Amy Lee, Lisa Messer, Tracy Smith and Kari Whitley News desk— Robin Greathouse, Sterling Hayman, Jody Holley, Shafi Islam, Tiffany Moore.•- Stanton, Zachary Toups and James Vineyard Photographers— Tim Moog, Amy Browning, Robyn Calloway,.Stacey Cameron, Blake Grig Gina Painton, Nick Rodnicki and Carrie Thompson Aggielife— Margaret Claughton, Jeremy Keddie, Constance Parten and Haley Stavinoha Sports writers— Nick Ceorgandis, Kristina Baffin, Tom Day, Drew Diener, Stewart Doreen^ Jason Holstead Opinion desk— Lynn Booher, Josef Elchanan, Laura Frnka, Aja Henderson, Erin Hill, Jeremy Keddie, Michael Landauer, Melissa Megliola, George Nasr, Elizabeth Prestor Gerardo Quezada and Frank Stanford Cartoonists— Greg Argo, Brad Graeber, Alvaro Gutierrez and Quatro Oakley Office Assistants— Heather Fitch, Adam Hill, Karen Hoffman and Michelle Oleson The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall andspW semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University holiday exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station, IX 7784® POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University inil* Division of Student Publication, a unit of the Department of Journalism. Editorial officesare 013 Reed McDonald Building. E-mail: BATT@TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU. Newsroom phonemic is 845-3313. Fax:845-2647. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Batw For campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified advertising,ca® 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678. Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pickup 1 single copy of The Battalion. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year^ $50 per full year. To charge by VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express, call 845-2® pm 1 A /