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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
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w
1 »
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>
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.”