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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1995)
^ I n I I I J running. BORN TO RUN Aggie track team ready to hit the ground Sports, Page 7 CONTROLLING TEXAS EMISSIONS New emissions test may cause inconvenience for Texas drivers. Opinion, Page 11 HIGHER LEARNING Reviews of film and soundtrack. Aggielife, Page 3 THE ""■"I fol. 101, No. 80 (12 pages) “Serving Texas AdrM since 1893 Wednesday • January 25, 1995 ov. Bush assigns : ST***:*:! positions in February rst A new Board of legents chairman ind three regents ill be chosen in * [February. By Lisa Messer |The Battalion The Texas A&M Board of Re Igents chairman position and |three members’ seats will open in IFebruary, requiring Gov. George |W. Bush to name new appointees |to govern the A&M System. Mary Nan West’s term as [Board chairman expires in Feb ruary, along with the terms of members Raul Fernandez, vice chairman of the Board, Bill Clayton and Gerald J. Ford. The Board voted West chair man in May 1994 when Ross Margraves, former Board chair man, resigned while under inves tigation by the Texas Rangers. Margraves’ term as chairman would have ended in February. West said she is not seeking another term as Board chair man but would accept the posi tion if elected. West was appointed to the Board of Regents in 1991 by former Gov. Ann Richards. West’s term as a regent will ex pire in 1997. Fernandez, Class of ‘59, and Clayton, Class of ‘50, were ap pointed to the Board in 1989 by former Gov. Bill Clements. Fernandez said he has not considered the opening of his position. “I haven’t even thought about it,” Fernandez said. “I haven’t lobbied for the position again. I serve at the pleasure of the governor. “I feel like I’ve been at A&M all my life. I’ve never said no to Texas A&M, but when it’s over, it’s over.” Clayton said he would like Bush to reappoint him to the Board of Regents. “I would love to serve again,” Clayton said, “but since it’s up to the governor to appoint the members, I don’t know if that will be.” Ford, who was not available for comment, was appointed to the Board in April 1994 by Richards to complete Mar graves’ term as a regent. Fernandez said he ex pects Bush to choose only the best peo- management. As long as good people are appointed, that’s what’s important.” West said Bush’s decisions HH! IllllHilll "He [Gov. Bush] will make good ap pointments. He'll choose people who want the best for the University." — Mary Nan West, Board of Regents chairman pie" to govern the A&M System. “The governor will search long and hard for the right peo ple,” Fernandez said. “He’ll choose good, reasonable people who understand policy versus will be the best for A&M. “From what I know of him, he’s a very sensible man,” West said. “He will make good appoint ments. He’ll choose people who want the best for this University.” It takes a new regent at least a year to become familiar with the workings of the Board, West said. “The first year I barely opened my mouth,” West said. “I just listened and tried to learn about what they were working on. “With the new regents that have come on since I was appoint ed, I’ve tried to help them with things already in the oven. I tried to let them know what was going on. It’s a complex job.” West said the governor usually appoints the regents in February so that the full Board can be as sembled at the March meeting. The next meeting of the Board of Regents will be Jan. 26 and 27. Rj A&M spirit still shines □ Aggies pulled together to give another Aggie his Aggie Ring. By Kaste Byers The Battalion When Ran Jan Natarajan, a Texas A&M graduate student, walked into the Clayton Williams Alumni Center, he ex pected a normal meeting. Instead, he was taken to the Ring Of fice and given a note. /CONGRATUBATIONS!!!!! Your friends and the Project Aggie Ring Com mittee are very appreciative of your hard work and all the time you put into Texas A&M University,” the note stated. “We want you to wear this Aggie ring with pride, and always remember what a difference YOU made in so many Ag gies’lives. P.S. See you at the Chicken at 6:00 p.m. sharp to watch you dunk it. WHOOP!!!!” Natarajan found himself speechless. When he was called to meet with Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for stu dent affairs, and Dr. Jim Jeter, vice presi dent of the Association of Former Students, three weeks before he took his final exams last semester, Natarajan said he had no idea he would be receiving his Aggie ring that day. Now he simply recalls the event as a “humbling experience.” “I always knew I would eventually get my Aggie ring, but it wouldn’t probably be until after I started working,” Natarajan said. “When I think back to that day, I remember being in a daze. My heart began to beat really fast and I kept asking myself ‘Why me?’ I don’t know how I am going to repay all my friends for their niceness.” The operation of getting Natarajan his Aggie ring began last April when some members of the Muster Committee brought up the fact that he did not yet have one. They said they could not believe that someone who had achieved and participat ed so much at A&M would not he getting his ring before receiving his doctorate. Natarajan has been active in numerous student organizations and was awarded the Buck Weirus Spirit Award in 1993. Also in 1993, he was chosen as the In ternational Student of the Year from all international students in the United States. In October a group of Natarajan’s friends, who wish to remain anonymous, organized the Project Aggie Ring Commit tee. Those who wished to contribute to the project sent money anonymously to a central location, they said. There, the money was collected and saved until enough funds were raised to purchase the ring, they said. By December more than 100 contribu tions had been made and money was still See Ring, Page 12 Amy Browning/ The Battalion The student government bought Ran Jan Natarajan, an international student his senior ring. h j w 1 » » $ > Conference encourages African-Americans to be leaders □ More than 1,200 students attended the Southwestern Black Leadership Conference last week. By Lynn Cook The Battalion The Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference [SBSLC] hosted its seventh annual conference Jan. 19- 22, focusing on networking, building leadership skills and promoting a posi tive image of African-Americans in American society. Stephanie Williams, chairwoman of the SBSLC, said past conferences fo cused on learning from the past and looking toward the future. “We chose the theme “When Will To morrow Be Today?” because in the past, the themes have looked at the past and to the future,” Williams said. “The com mittee members and I decided that this year we needed to look at the present.” Kevin Carreathers, director of the Department of Multicultural Services, said the conference is beneficial to A&M and all the students who attend. “The conference addresses issues fac ing the African-American college stu dents today through workshop presen tations and key note speakers,” Car reathers said. “It allows students to network with one another and share things that work on their campuses that get students involved.” Dr. Jan Winniford, assistant vice president for student affairs, said that A&M students are leading the way in teaching students how to be the leaders of to morrow in a multicul- tural workplace. “The conference helps us heighten awareness and promote leadership among our African-American students,” Winniford said. “It lets the community know we are working on making a posi tive impact. Our students have taken "We have made such strides in the past, it is our obligation to continue in a positive light." — Dominique Bourda, assistant director of registration the lead to provide a conference where issues facing African-American stu dents are presented. It is a testament to our students’ foresight.” More than 1,200 students from across the country attended the conference. Dr. Marilyn Kern-Foxworth, associ ate professor of journalism, was the opening speaker for the conference. The conference featured three key note speakers: Dr. Julia Hare, co-direc tor of the Black Man Think Tank, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, president of African- American Images and Bev Smith, host of Black Entertainment Television’s “Our Voices.” Felicia James, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, helped See Conference, Page 9 I ] University planning child care facility Clinton works to earn America’s trust State of the Union address promises change for nation □ Daycare is , becoming more j of a possibility for A&M students and facu Ity. By Tracy Smith The Battalion Texas A&M University is moving closer to getting on-site child care as more University of ficials and students support the faculty senate resolution. Dr. Mark Weichold, speaker f of the Faculty Senate, said the senate decided to move ahead with the on—site child cane reso lution in December and so far is receiving favorable support from the University. “While we are still in the planning stages, we are moving forward with the resolution,” Weichold said. “A number of colleges have been strong advo cates of on—campus child care for Texas A&M.” Colleges, such as the College of Veterinary Medicine, have played a vital role in making the idea a reality, he said. “A good number of the stu dents have families and would See Daycare, Page 2 WASHINGTON (AP) — In a political drama unseen for 40 years, President Clinton went be fore a distrusting Republican Congress Tuesday night and asked his political opponents to join him in bringing about “dra matic change in our economy, in our government and in ourselves” Looking back on the GOP election landslide last Novem ber as well as the 1992 vote that put him in the White House, Clinton said in a nationally broadcast State of the Union ad dress: “We didn’t hear America singing. We heard America shouting. Now we must say: We hear you. We will work together to earn your trust. Clinton was the first Democ rat since Har ry Truman to face a Repub lican Con gress, and the White House viewed his speech as a crucial step in rebuilding his troubled presi dency. ‘Mr. Presi dent, welcome to the House,” Speaker Newt Gingrich said. Despite the GOP majority, Clinton was greeted with cheers and applause. Clinton used his speech to launch a national campaign to combat teen pregnancy. Clinton To cut down on illegal immi gration, Clinton proposed cre ation of a national data bank to help employers verify the identi fication of prospective workers. He also pledged to seek a raise in the minimum wage from the current S4.25 an hour, but shied from mentioning a specific pay scale; GOP leaders oppose it. Clinton favors a boost to $5 over two years, aides said. Though politically weak ened, Clinton was quick to lay down challenges to the Repub licans who control both the House and Senate for the first time in four decades. “Let’s give the folks at home something to cheer about,” Clin ton said, urging lawmakers to stop accepting gifts from lobby ists even before passing a bill that would outlaw them. “When Congress killed political reform last year,” he said,” the lobbyists actually stood in the halls of this sacred building and cheered.” Over and over, Clinton stressed conciliation and part nership but he sketched out sharp differences with Republi cans on how to cut taxes, shrink government and help the middle class. “Let us put aside partisanship, pettiness and pride,” he said. “As we embark on a new course, let us put our country first, remembering that regard less of our party label, we are all Americans.”