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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1995)
AGGIME Organization gives A&M students exposure to Japanese animation. Aggielife, Page 1 B THE PRESIDENTIAL PICK The Battalion editorial board endorses a candi date for Texas A&M student body president. Opinion, Page 7A ROAD TO RECOVERY Justin Atchley returns to the mound after an arm injury. Sports, Page Vol. 101, No. 119 (20 pages, ■HW ' - * - — “Serving Texas AdrM since 1893 ■BHnHBBHBBBBHSBBBSi Tuesday • March 28, 1995 Student body presidential candidates debate issues □ The candidates dis cussed their platforms and answered ques tions during Monday night's forum. By Kasie Byers The Bati'Ai.ion Candidates for student body presi dent spoke about their platforms and answered panelists’ questions Monday night during a debate in the MSC Flagroom. Panelists representing different stu dent groups asked the candidates how, if elected, they would handle certain problems facing their groups. From breaking down barriers for stu dents with disabilities to putting an end to racism, unity was a main concern of the panelists. Candidate Jeff Livingston said the best way to unify students would be to hold campus meetings and get direct stu dent input for the Student Government. Candidate Jeff Wilson said a lack of unity on this campus is a major problem. “We need to specifically address this problem by bringing together the lead ers from across the campus,” Wilson said. “We need to set them down and find out the problems each group faces. “Diversity isn’t just a white, black, brown, red issue. Bringing these groups together will allow for strong re lationships between these various orga nizations to be built.” Candidate David Washington said that a lack of communication among student leaders results in a breakdown in unity at A&M. “If leaders don’t communicate with other groups, then, as a result, follow ers don’t,” Washington said. “We need to utilize the other education and bring this leadership together.” Candidate Toby Boenig said he does not view campus unity as a major problem. “I believe that first we are all Ag gies,” Boenig said. “The infrastruc ture is already set up to deal with these issues. We just need to make better use of them.” Candidate Carl Baggett said he is aware that certain groups just do not work well together. “Lack of unity is definitely a problem that needs to be dealt with, but it is not an impossible problem, “ Baggett said. “The best example of how we can work with this thing is when Bonfire fell this year. All the Aggies bonded their Aggie spirit to rebuild Bonfire and I want to bring this same Aggie spirit to the executive branch of student government. ” The panelists also answered questions about their leadership experiences. See Debate, Page 8 Tim Moog/THE Baitalion Monday night, candidates for student body president talked about their views and an swered questions about platforms in the MSC Flagroom in a forum discussion. Bart Mitchell/THE Battalion Bathing beauty Mike Miertchin, a senior Geophysics major, passes the ball in a game of inner tube water polo at the indoor pool in the Downs Nata- torium as a part of an intramural event Monday evening. U PD, Physical Plant work to improve campus lighting □ The two departments formed the Security Awareness Committee in response to growing safety concerns. By Eleanor Colvin The Battalion The Security Awareness Committee of the University Po lice Department and the Physi cal Plant will increase lighting on campus in response to grow ing concerns about safety. Elmer Sneider, associate direc tor of the UPD, said the commit tee actively seeks student input to help determine areas needing improvement on campus. “The Security Awareness Committee is a student, faculty and staff advisory board,” he said. “We are addressing issues raised by many students con cerning lighting on west campus and in parking lots.” The first project involves im proving the number of lights in about 15 campus parking lots. “Priority has been given to lighting parking lots, especially those with no lights at all,” Snei der said. “We’ve taken some campus lighting tours to find ar eas that need additional light.” Eugene Ray, interim director of the Physical Plant, agreed that parking lots should be one of the first areas targeted. “We are doing a lighting study to address issues brought up by the Security Awareness Committee,” he said. “These is sues have top priority and we hope to have some additional and supplemental lights in sev eral lots by the start of the fall semester.” Some of the lots scheduled for improvements are: •Lots 9 and 42 near Puryear and Law residence halls. •Lot 63 near Olsen Field. •Lot 25 between the Corps dorms and the Southside Park ing Garage. * Lots 2 and 3 behind the Northside dorms off of Univer sity Drive. •Lot 5 near Blocker and the Cyclotron off of University Drive. Ray said as many as 55 light poles may be added to these areas. Sneider said upcoming Uni versity projects will require ex panding safety measures. “We’re trying to plan ahead,”he said. “Upcoming con struction on campus, like the Special Events Center, will call for additional lighting and emer gency telephones in that area.” Sneider said replacing lights that are out of order is as much of a problem as having no lights. “We are researching a way for security officers to be able to ac curately notify the Physical Plant of where the lights need ing attention are, the type of light and how tall the pole is,” he said. “These little things of ten create a big problem.” Sneider said that in the fu ture the University will have to reduce the amount of trees and bushes on campus. “The vegetative cover, or canopy, that trees create is a problem,” he said. “We may need to clear back some of the bushes, consider how trees are affecting the current lighting system and perhaps ^change to a new type of lighting. Board of Regents appointees await Senate confirmation □ The Senate is expect ed to confirm Gov. Bush's appointees some time this week. By Lisa Messer The Battalion Senate confirmation hearings be gan Monday for the three Texas A&M University System graduates that Gov. George W. Bush appoint ed to the A&M Board of Regents. Bush named Robert Allen, an in vestor from Houston; Fred McClure, a public affairs consultant from Dallas; and Donald Powell a banker from Amarillo, to the Board last week. Senate confirma tion is expected for the appointments sometime this week. The men replace regents Raul Fernan dez, vice chairman of the Board, Billy Clay ton and Gerald J. Ford, all appointed by Gov. Bill Clements. If the new appointments are confirmed, the men will serve six- year terms that will expire on Feb. 1, 2001. Allen, who graduated from Texas A&M University in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in business ad ministration, said discussion about the appointments started a few months ago. “Initially I was hesitant or ap prehensive because obviously an appointment requires a great deal of time, attention and dedication,” he said. “However, because I’m a graduate of the University, I have an attitude of dedication and devo tion that I might not have toward some other appointment.” McClure, who graduated from Texas A&M University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in agricul tural economics, said he is look ing forward to the challenge of being an A&M regent. “We need to make sure a very high quali ty of education is of fered to each of the seven institutions in the A&M System,” McClure said. “We need to continue to have an impact on the lives of our students. “We also need to meet the needs of the service agencies associated with the System and, in the process, be good stewards of the state.” Allen said the Board should See Regents, Page 8 Senate searches for student financial aid fraud culprits □ Interviews and government docu ments show that members of Congress often make it hard to enforce the rules. WASHINGTON (AP) — At 1993 hearings on stu dent financial aid fraud, senators wondered why the Education Department had failed to crack down on inel igible schools that contin ued to receive millions of federal dollars. Part of the answer was right under their noses. Interviews and govern ment documents show that members of Congress them selves often make it hard for the department to enforce the rules on home-state schools. Losses to defaulted loans and wasted grants run into the billions of dol lars each year. A stark example had come just a few months before the hearings when Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., called de partment officials to a meet ing on Capitol Hill. The purpose was to lobby the department to uncondi tionally approve Mercy Col lege’s proposed takeover of the bankrupt Center for Me dia Arts in New York. The college wanted to use CMA as a satellite cam pus, but wished to avoid having to repay $900,000 in federal tuition refunds due QMA’s students. The department was in sisting the students — and the taxpayers — be protect ed as a condition of the takeover. In the wood-paneled Ray- bum Room, just a few steps from the House floor, Nadler, Rep. Ben Gilman, R- N.Y., and six aides to other New York lawmakers lec tured the bureaucrats for nearly four hours, not letting them go until 8:15 p.m., ac cording to a written summa ry of the meeting. “The amount of political pressure exerted against the department was truly extra ordinary in this case,” de partment official Diane Sedicum wrote in a memo a few days after the April 28, 1993, meeting. She called the session “politically charged,” “volatile” and “po tentially intimidating.” Inside — Voters' Guide Voters' ( u.i£E A&M students set to pick 1995-96 leaders president and a studfnt ,J.-\ V./ Six proposals to go before voters A special pullout section outlines the upcoming student body elections, with campaign profiles and a sample ballot list.