A&M STATUES
WHO SHOULD DECIDE?
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE J|1
School history is shown through var
The Texas Legislature should allow citizens to de
Michael Jordan begins his quest
ious campus statues.
cide the fate of the concealed hangun bill.
to regain old form. J|§|j|K ||||»
Aggielife, Page 3
Opinion, Page 11
Sports, Page 9 Ijllt
THE
Vol. 101, No. 114 (12 pages)
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“Serving Texas AdrM since 1893
Tuesday • March 21, 1995
Gov. Bush appoints new members to Board of Regents
□ The appointees are
graduates of the Texas
A&M System and will
serve a six-year term.
By Lisa Messer
The Battalion
Gov. George W. Bush appointed three
graduates of the Texas A&M University
System to the Board of Regents Monday.
Bush named Robert H. Allen, a Hous
ton investor; Frederick D. McClure, an
independent public affairs consultant
from Dallas; and Donald E. Powell, an
Amarillo banker, to the Board.
The men will serve six-year terms
that expire Feb. 1, 2001.
They will replace regents Raul Fer
nandez, Class of ‘59 and vice chairman
of the Board; Billy Clayton, Class of ‘50;
and Gerald J. Ford.
Bush said the new regents will lend
strategic vision and a wealth of experi
ence to the A&M System.
“They share a commitment to excel
lence in higher education,” Bush said,
“and the practical knowledge to
achieve that goal.
“Working with other regents and the
outstanding educational professionals
in the A&M System, they will insist
that A&M graduates are prepared to
lead Texas and the world into the next
century,” Bush said.
Allen graduated from Texas A&M
University in 1951 with a bachelor’s de
gree in business administration. He did
graduate work at the University of Hous
ton and South Texas College of Law.
He is the managing partner of Chal
lenge Investment Partners in Houston
and the former chief executive officer of
Gulf Resources & Chemical Corporation.
Allen serves on the boards of Feder
al Express Corporation, First City
Bancorporation and other business
and civic organizations. •
McClure graduated summa cum
laude with a bachelor’s degree in agri
cultural economics in 1976 from Texas
A&M University, where he served as
the University’s first black student
body president. McClure earned a law
degree from Baylor University in 1981.
He served as an assistant to the
president for legislative affairs in the
Reagan and Bush administrations and
is a former associate deputy U.S. at
torney general.
This year. Time magazine named
McClure one of America’s 50 most
promising leaders under the age of 40.
Powell graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in economics in 1963 from West
Texas State University, which is now
West Texas A&M University. He grad
uated from the Southwestern Graduate
School of Banking at Southern
Methodist University.
He is chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Boatmen’s First Na
tional Bank of Amarillo, and has served
on the boards of the United Way and
Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.
The Board’s next meeting will be
March 23 and 24.
[AT&T distributes funds to residence halls
through ACUS long-distance program
■ □ The funds are used
for hall improvements
iUp and activities.
—I By Wes Swift
■The Battalion
^ Residence halls can now use
) funds supplied from the AT&T
||ACUS long-distance funding
of tk#!program to improve residence
onne hall life.
The program, which began
this year, gives a portion of the
money made from the ACUS
long distance program to resi
dence halls, the Residence Hall
Association and the Staff Coun
cil. The funds are used for hall
improvements and activities.
Owen Ross, president of the
RHA and head of the ACUS re
view board, said the funds are
distributed through a three-
step process.
First, a seven-question appli-
Ication is submitted to the board,
[which meets every two weeks.
The board sifts through the pro
posals to decide which ones mer
it a further look.
737
524
525
555
511
326
Ross said the sifting is vital
to making the process more
efficient.
“Some proposals are so ridicu
lous that they’re a waste of our
time and a waste of their time,”
Ross said. “Sometimes, a pro
posal can be killed altogether
right there.”
He also explained that some
proposals are turned away be
cause of incomplete applications.
Some are turned down because
they lack a hall staff member’s
signature; others are turned
down because all the questions
are not completed.
Barry McKinney, resident di
rector of Mclnnis Hall, said one
of his hall’s proposals was de
nied because it was incomplete.
“It was denied because we
had an incorrect cover sheet and
lacked a signature by a staff
member,” he said.
McKinney said that because of
time constraints, he did not re
submit his proposal to the board.
Ross said the second stage of
fund distributions allows board
members to clear any gray areas
in the proposal by meeting with
applicants. At this stage, the
board decides if the proposal will
advance to the final stage.
“The second stage is a chance
for us to ask questions and clari
fy the proposal,” Ross said.
“This is where we make a deci
sion about if we send it on and
make recommendations on how
much money to give.”
Ross said the board approves
about 70 percent of all proposals.
Those approved are sent to Dr.
J. Malon Southerland, vice presi
dent for student affairs. The
funds are distributed according to
Southerland’s decision.
Ross said Southerland ap
proves about 95 percent of all
the proposals he receives.
Ross said that originally, there
was $50,000 in ACUS funds and
now, about $15,000 remain.
Southerland said that any
leftover ACUS funds would be
placed in reserves.
“Each year’s funds are zero-
based, so everything zeros out,”
Southerland said. “Any excess
funds are put back into ACUS
reserves. They may be used for
emergencies later.”
Student groups prepare for Earth Day
by gathering signatures on petitions
's.
■
y*
2S.
□ Environmental groups are
counting the days until the
25th anniversary of Earth Day.
By Lynn Cook
The Battalion
Texas A&M’s Texas Environmental
Action Coalition and the student gov
ernment’s Environmental Issues Com
mittee are counting the days until the
25th anniversary of Earth Day.
The two groups are working togeth
er to gather 3,000 student signatures
on a petition sponsored by the Free
the Planet Coalition for Earth Day.
Rachel Barry, TEAC president, said
TEAC and EIC will have a booth in the
MSC for the countdown to Earth Day.
For the next 25 school days, infor
mation on one of the 25 points in the
action agenda will be available from 9
am. until 3 p.m.
Carrie Thompson, TEAC vice presi
dent, said the countdown is intended
to educate students and meet the sig
nature goal.
“Each day we’re highlighting one of
the 25 actions,” Thompson said. “We’re
going to have people there to answer
questions and discuss the actions.”
Barry said the TEAC needs many
more signatures to meet its goal.
“We want to gather at least 3,000
signatures from students by Earth
Day,” she said. “So far we have
about 200.”
Free the Planet is a national coali
tion of major environmental groups
such as the Sierra Club and Green
peace, Thompson said.
“The groups realized at the last
elections how endangered the environ
ment was,” Thompson said.
Thompson attended the Emergency
Free the Planet Campus Conference in
. Philadelphia on Feb. 24th. Representa
tives from more than 1,000 schools at
tended the conference, which dealt with
environmental education and incorpo
rating the Free the Planet Petition into
campus Earth Day celebrations.
The petition includes an Environ
mental Bill of Rights holding
See Earth Day, Page 1 2
Petition Outline
The 25 points on the petition sponsored by the Free the
Planet Coalition are:
• Protect the Safe Water Act. Strengthen it to get cancer-causing
pollutants out of drinking water.
• Protect the Clean Water Act. Strengthen it to stop toxic discharges
and runoff into water and to better protect American’s wetlands.
• Protect the Superfund law. Improve it to make polluters pay
promptly for toxic waste cleanup and to make toxic waste cleanups
quicker and more effective.
• Protect the Delaney Clause. Strengthen it to get cancer-causing
pesticides out of food.
• Protect the Clean Air Act.
• Curtail releases of dioxin into the environment by passing a
Chlorine Discharge Ban.
• Place a moratorium on new solid and hazardous waste in
cinerators.
• Phase out nuclear power.
• Promote environmental justice.
• Promote sustainable, environmentally-sound agriculture and
strengthen Farm Bill protections for soil, water and wild-life.
• Protect wild regions like the Northern Rockies, Colorado Plateau
and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by designating roadless areas
as wilderness.
• Protect the Endangered Species Act.- Strengthen it to focus on
the protection of entire ecosystems, not just individual species.
• Ban all logging in remaining old-growth forests and roadless
areas.
• Ban offshore oil drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Stop overfishing and rebuild depleted fish populations.
• Prevent further destruction of public rangelands by setting envi
ronmental standards for grazing and increasing grazing fees to fair
market value.
• Reform the 1872 Mining Act to end taxpayer subsidies for
mining and set protective environmental standards for mining
operations.
• End taxpayer subsidies for the oil, coal, nuclear and timber in
dustries, and for unnecessary irrigation projects like the Auburn Dam
and the Animas-LaPlata Project.
• Oppose “takings” legislation which require taxpayers to pay for
polluters’ compliance with environmental laws.
• Increase fuel efficiency standards for cars to 45 miles per gallon
by the year 2004.
• Curb global warming by cutting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions
by 20 percent and increasing investments in clean and renewable en
ergy sources, such as solar power.
• Pass a national Bottle Bill.
• Require 50 percent recycled content in newspapers and increase
government purchasing of recycled products.
• Require mandatory minimum penalties for the worst polluters,
increase fines and expand citizens’ right to sue to enforce anti-pollu
tion laws.
• Pass the Community Right to Know More Act. Require that the
public be informed of toxic chemicals present in communities and
workplaces.
Bart Mitchell/THE Battalion
/ got it!
Ryan Sitton, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, and his partner Rod Sachs, a College
Station resident, set to return a volley during a daily game on the sand court between Law and
Puryear halls on Monday afternoon.
Improving economy boosts job market
□ The job market looks
promising for college
graduates if students
begin preparing early,
experts say.
By Eleanor Colvin
The Battalion
Texas A&M graduates may
face a more promising job mar
ket than in the past because of
the improving economy.
A recent College Placement
Council survey found that 50
percent of responding employers
planned to hire more new gradu
ates than they did last year.
Dr. Leigh Turner, director of
the Texas A&M Career Center,
said positive turns in the econ
omy are already benefiting
A&M students.
“I don’t think the economy is
hot yet, although it is definitely
warming up,” Turner said.
“We’ve already seen 10 percent
more recruitment at A&M
this fall.”
While more jobs are available,
Career Center officials still de
scribe the market as competitive
and offer a number of sugges
tions to help students make
themselves more marketable.
Turner said almost all em
ployers want to hire someone
with experience.
“Regardless of their major, stu
dents need some relevant work
experience,” she said. “One-third
of employers hire only from stu
dents who either have intern or
co-op experience.”
See Job Market, Page 12
University leaders to host caU-in show
□ The question-and-answer forum
will air today, and students can
call in their questions.
By Gretchen Pen enot
The Battalion
Students can ask A&M leaders questions to
day on “Ray Bowen and Friends,” a televised
question-and-answer show.
The program, started by Dr. Ray Bowen,
Texas A&M president, will air from 6 p.m. to 6
p.m. on TCA Cable Channel 15.
Students can call in their questions at 845-
5656 or ask them on camera at the remote ques
tion site at the Commons Lobby main desk.
There will also be a studio audience of student
leaders and others who wish to attend.
Bowen will be accompanied by Brooke Leslie,
student body president.
In addition. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice
president for student affairs; Dr. Jerry Gaston,
interim vice president for finance and adminis
tration; Dr. Charles Lee, interim executive vice
president and provost; and Dr. Robert L. Walker,
vice president for development, may attend to
answer questions in their specialized fields.
“The show will give people in the community a
chance to get to know us and ask us questions,"
Bowen said.
Leslie said she wants an opportunity to reach
students and the best way to do so is through the
media. She said she tried to have an open house
before, but there was not much student interest.
Though he is not sure what Students will ask,
Bowen said he is going in with an open mind.
Bowen said there was a turnout of about 110
students at his Open House earlier this month.
Mary Helen Bowers, the show’s organizer and
deputy director of University Relations, said
there were 15 to 20 people in Bowen’s office at
one time.
“Some just wanted to meet him,” she said,
“and some had more specific questions.”
Students asked Bowen questions about park
ing, the legislative session, the budget and fee in
creases. Bowen said he expects similar questions
on the show.
Bowers said Bowen is willing to field questions
on almost anything.
“He wants students to know he is accessible
and will give them a straight answer," she said.
“1 don’t know anyone who gives a more direct an
swer than Dr. Bowen.”
Bowers said at least one question-and-an
swer show will be scheduled each semester if
this one goes well.
H