BEST IN THE WEST
Spurs ready to make
playoff run.
Sports, Page 7
THE
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
FALLEN HERO
Tragic accident causes examination of the effects of
Death of Tejano star Selena has sent
drugs on families and society.
shockwaves throughout B-CS
Opinion, Page 11
Aggielife, Page 3
; Vol. 101, No. 126 (12 pages)
“Serving Texas A drM since 1893'
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. V . K .• :<v
Thursday • April 6, 1995
■■ ••
egislature to vote soon on Aggie Bucks expansion
» Aggie Bucks may be
expanded to off-cam-
pus businesses.
Wes Swift
The Battalion
The Texas Legislature will vote
soon on a bill that could expand
the Aggie Bucks system to off-
unpus use.
See Editorial, Page 11
House Bill 3122, proposed by
Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan,
the Texas A&M Board of
Regents the ability to create a
debit card system provided that
“such cards shall not be limited
exclusively to on-campus use
for essentially the same mer
chandise or services.”
The bill was passed Tuesday
by the Higher Education Com
mittee of the Texas House of
Representatives.
The bill was referred to the Lo
cal Calendars and Consent Com
mittee for scheduling on the
House floor and should be voted
on in the next couple of weeks.
If passed, the Aggie Bucks sys
tem would be ready for off-cam
pus use by Aug. 15, 1996.
John Raney, owner of the
Texas Aggie Bookstores, said the
bill will give students an advan
tage when looking for bargains.
“This is great for students,”
Raney said. “There’s no way
students can lose. The last few
years, Aggie Bucks were only
accepted at the on-campus
bookstores. You had to get your
books at Barnes and Noble.”
Raney said that using Aggie
Bucks off campus would give stu
dents a chance to buy used text
books, which the on-campus store
did not always have.
“There’s always a chance that
you could get a textbook used,”
Raney said. “That’s 25 percent
less that you spend. There’s no
way the students can lose.”
If the bill is passed, Raney
said he hopes the system can be
ready for off-campus use by fall
semester.
Dr. Jerry Gaston, interim vice
president for finance and admin
istration, said he wants to add the
off-campus vendors quickly.
However, he noted that the
present contract with Barnes and
Noble Inc., who own and operate
the bookstore in the MSC, would
have to be renegotiated because
they have an exclusive privilege
to use Aggie Bucks.
“We have to renegotiate
first,” Gaston said. “Obviously
they paid for the option. But I
think the renegotiations will go
smoothly.”
Gaston said he expects stu
dents will able to purchase any
thing off campus that can be
bought on campus. He said this
could include books, souvenirs,
food and soft drinks.
But Gaston also said the ex
pansion will not include all ven
dors or products.
“We can’t include every mer
chant or service off campus,”
Gaston said. “For instance, we
don’t sell alcohol on campus, so
students couldn’t buy alcohol
off-campus.”
The Aggie Bucks System came
under question after concerns
arose that universities could prof
it from interest earned from the
money in debit card accounts.
Texas Banking Commissioner
Catherine Ghiglieri sent a letter
to Attorney General Dan Morales
in April 1994 asking for a decision
on whether debit card systems at
universities should be regulated.
Earlier this year, local busi
nessmen and the University
agreed to have House Bill 3122
filed and voted on by the state
Legislature.
Hours limited for student workers
Amy Brown'mg/THE Battalion
Serious research
Mindy Turner, a sophomore elementary education major, looks over the selection of books of
fered at the book fair outside of Harrington Wednesday afternoon.
□ Departments are
taking special care
with payroll because
of pending lawsuit
against the University.
By Tracy Smith
The Battalion
Some Texas A&M depart
ments are taking measures to
limit the number of hours a stu
dent works on campus, partially
due to a pending lawsuit dealing
with a 1992 architecture project,
the Colonias project.
The Colonias project in
volved designing buildings for
community centers in the Rio
Grande River Valley.
Matthew Carroll, an architec
ture graduate student, filed the
lawsuit Aug. 29, 1994 against the
University for conspiracy to falsi
fy time sheets and for wrongful
termination after Carroll refused
to falsify these sheets.
According to the trial petition,
Carroll said his refusal to change
the time-sheets of the students
working on the Colonias project in
"We consider limiting the hours
an asset to the students as well,
giving them time to study."
1993. Carroll said the student
worker time sheets were changed
from eight hours a day to five
hours a day.
Holly Johnson, assistant to
the dean of architecture and en
vironmental design, said the de
partment informs the students
before they begin working in the
architecture depart
ment that they are
limited to working
20 hours a week.
She said the ar
chitecture depart
ment has cracked
down on the num
ber of hours stu
dents work, partial-
j88SSa&S3S8S88g
— Holly Johnson,
assistant to the dean of architecture
and environmental design ly as a result of the
lawsuit.
While Johnson
June 1992 led to the termination said the department has received
of his assistantship on June 1, ^ ^
See Hours, Page 6
University has second largest
business program in nation
□ Increasing enroll
ment due to strength of
programs and faculty,
dean says.
By Gretchen Perrenot
The Battalion
Texas A&M University has
the second largest business pro
gram in the United States, ac
cording to a survey.
The College of Business Ad
ministration undergraduate pro
gram and the Graduate School of
Business program have been the
second largest out of 479 schools
for two consecutive years.
The survey, conducted by the
American Assembly of Collegiate
Schools of Business, was based on
1994 fall enrollment in which
A&M’s undergraduate business
program had 5,785 students.
Enrollment of full-time stu
dents in A&M’s undergraduate
business program increased al
most five percent from fall 1993 to
fall 1994.
A&M’s enrollment places sec
ond after Baruch College at the
City University of New York,
which had an enrollment of 7,295
in Fall 1994.
The University of Texas at
Austin placed fifth. No other
Texas schools placed among the
top 10 largest programs.
Dr. Gary Trennepohl, execu
tive associate dean for the College
of Business Administration, said
Baruch College has a different
program from A&M.
“Baruch College is a much dif
ferent type of program, being lo
cated in New York,” he said.
“Since it’s located in a large met
ropolitan area, it’s going to have a
large enrollment.”
There are two things upon
which A&M’s large enrollment is
based, Trennepohl said.
“A&M is a large university and
people are interested in attending
here,” he said. “We’re turning
people away every year. Second,
business is a very popular major.”
The job market for business
majors has been strong, Tren
nepohl said, and this increase is
not a passing phenomenon.
“There is more activity on the
hiring side,” he said. “Businesses
are hiring business students more
than they have been in the last
three to five years.”
Trennepohl said enrollment is
up in the management and mar
keting fields of study and this in
crease is probably a reaction to
availability in the job market.
Dr. Benton Cocanougher,
dean of the College of Business,
said the increasing enrollment
is due to A&M’s strong pro
grams and faculty.
“The continuing success of
our undergraduate business
program,” Cocanougher said,
“reflects our strong commit
ment to undergraduate educa
tion and the dedication of a
very talented faculty to the
teaching mission of the college.
“These same factors have
clearly contributed to the high
See Program, Page 6
Funding changes for Normandy Scholars
□ Aggies voice concern
about making students
pay for their trip to
Normandy.
By Stephanie Dube
The Battalion
University faculty are re
searching ways to fund the J.
Earl Rudder Normandy Scholars
Program so A&M students can
continue traveling to France and
study World War II.
Dr. Nathan Bracher, an asso
ciate professor of French, and
Dr. Joe Golsan, a professor of
French, are the co-chairs of the
committee studying possible
changes to the program.
Golsan said the committee
should have a concrete proposal
ready by the end of May, and a
new version of the program
should be started by the spring
or fall of 1996.
“There is a problem with
funding,” Bracher said. “There
were sources available previous
ly that are no longer available.
Everybody agrees, though, that
academically, the program has
been a great success.”
Students in the Normandy
Scholars FYogram spend one se
mester taking four courses at
A&M about World War II. The
students conclude their semester
by traveling to Normandy to
learn more about the war.
The University of Texas and
the University of Tennessee also
have Normandy Scholars pro
grams, Golsan said.
Dr. Larry Hill, an associate
professor of history, was head of
the history department when the
program was founded. He was
also one of the program’s in
structors for two
years.
When the Battle
of Normandy Foun
dation proposed the
program to A&M,
Hill said, the foun
dation said it would
support the program
financially. Howev
er, he said, the foun
dation was unable to pay for the
program, forcing A&M and pri
vate donors to foot the bill.
See Funding, Page 5
Education
□ Self defense class of
fered for Sexual As
sault Awareness
Month.
By Eleanor Colvin
The Battalion
Increasing awareness about
personal safety and crime pre
vention is the focus of the Bra
zos County Rape Crisis Cen
ter’s semiannual Women’s Safe
ty Awareness and Self Defense
Class.
Linda Castoria, executive di
rector of the Brazos County Rape
Crisis Center, said the program
was started to recognize April as
Sexual Assault Awareness
Month.
“People need to be more con
scious of the fact that these
crimes happen,” Castoria said.
promotes
“We thought. What better way to
make awareness a part of our
communities than through this
type of program.’”
Representatives from the Uni
versity Police Department, Bryan
Police Department and the Bra
zos County Sheriffs Office will
take part. They will offer personal
safety tips, sex offender profiles,
the pros and cons of weapons and
self defense demonstrations.
The program is designed for
awareness
participants age 12 and older.
Castoria said women of all
ages and backgrounds can benefit
from this program.
“The self defense, stand up re
sistance maneuvers are low im
pact, so they’re good for older
women as well,” she said. “Every
one can learn from this. It’s not
just for victims or women
i !! who know someone that
has been victimized.”
Lt. Bert Kretzschmar,
UPD crime prevention
specialist, said the in
creased concern about
women’s safety is encour
aging.
‘Women’s safety has al
ways been an issue, but
increased media coverage
has made more people aware,” he
said. “I’m seeing constructive
See Education, Page 6
"There were sources available
previously that are no longer
available."
— Dr. Nathan Bracher,
associate professor of French
"People need to be more con
scious of the fact that these
crimes happen."
— Linda Castoria,
Brazos County Rape Crisis Center