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.