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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1995)
HEAVY HITTERS The Aggie baseball team bash es the Bearkats, 1 2-4. Sports, Page 8 EVALUATING ELDERS Hayman: The former U.S. Surgeon General pre scribed the true remedies for our "ailing society." Opinion, Page 9 GOSPEL Texas A&M Century Singers and Voices of Praise unite for their spring concert. AggieUfe, Page 3 THE Vol. 101, No. 127 (10 pages) . “Serving Texas AdrMsince 1893” Friday • April 7, 1995 Boenig elected student body president in runoff □ Boenig won with 52 percent of the vote and the largest runoff election turnout ever at A&M. By Kasie Byers The Battalion Students elected Toby Boenig as the upcoming student body president in the largest run-off election turnout at Texas A&M. The race was close, with Boenig winning 52 percent of the vote. Four thousand students, ten percent of the student body, voted in Thursday’s election, an increase of eight percent from last year. A teary-eyed and over whelmed Boenig said after the results were announced that his shock and surprise were greater than from last week’s announcement. “It fedls so good that the stu dent body trusts me enough to take over such an important po sition,” he said. Boenig said that his main fo cal point for the upcoming year will be to make sure students were heard. “I want to ensure that the constituency has a voice in their student government,” he said. “That was a major problem we faced in Student Senate this past year.” “It is important that this campus is comfortable to all that attend and come to visit our university.” The Student Senate also vot ed on the speaker, speaker pro tempore, and rules and regula tions chair Thursday. Becky Silloway won the speaker position and is the first woman in A&M history to be elected to the highest chair of the senate. Silloway said that she was glad to set a precedent, but that wasn’t her main reason for run ning for the position. “I’m very proud to be the first woman speaker,’’she said. “But right now I’m mainly focusing on leading the Senate to their best year ever.” Silloway said that in the up coming year the Senate has many issues they must face head on. “We are going to be busy, busy, busy,” she said. “We really need to concentrate on working on internals, but we can’t lose sight of our main focus, and that’s improving the quality of student life.” Chris Reed was elected speaker pro tempore and Matt Mayfield was elected rules and regulations chair. Class officer and Resi dence Hall Association run offs were also voted on by the student body Thursday. Class of ’96 treasurer went to Kristen Smith. Class of ’97 president was won by Matt Chilek, and vice president by Court ney Lyons. The Class of ’98 voted in Mike Pontiff as their new historian. RHA president went to Suzanne Lyons, and RHA vice president for opera tions to Jesse Sanchez. An elated Toby Boenig is congratulated by friends after he was elected student body president in Thursday’s runoff election. Nick Rodnicki/THE Battalion Freestylin' Joshua Bembenek, a sophomore molecular biology student, practices his freestyling on Thursday afternoon and hops his mountain bike up onto the edge of Rudder fountain. Rep. Ogden swears in new Regents □ The three new Regents, Allen, Mc Clure, and Powell, were sworn in on Thursday. By Lisa Messer The Battalion Rep. Steve Ogden swore in Regents Robert H. Allen, Frederick D. McClure and Donald E. Powell before a regular Board meeting Thursday. “Congratulations and on behalf of the Texas Legis lature, we’ll do our best to do our part and we’re counting on you,” Ogden said. The three Texas A&M University System gradu ates replace Regents Raul Fernandez, vice chairman of the Board, Bill Clayton and Gerald J. Ford, all who were appointed by Republican Gov. Bill Clements. Allen, McClure and Powell will serve six-year terms that expire Feb. 1, 2001. Board committees considered agenda items Thurs day that may be presented to the full Board today. Committees will recommend that the Board: • grant easements, or land rights, to the Texas Department of Transportation for the widening of Texas Avenue. •increase application, late registration and parking fees. • approve architecture equipment and geo sciences access fees. Robert Appleton, advanced planning engineer for the Bryan division of TxDoT, said the Board’s granti ng a five-foot permanent easement and temporary construction easement will allow TxDoT to widen Texas Avenue to six lanes and add raised medians and a pedestrian walkway. “This project affects the entire east side of the Uni versity along the front of A&M,” Appleton said. “The project has been in the planning stage for about 10 years now and this move would allow the work to commence this fall. “It would take approximately two years to con struct, but our construction schedule will take into account special weekend events that occur with the University, especially football games.” The Finance and Audit Committee considered increasing three fees and approving two new fees, but postponed consideration of a student library fee. Barry Thompson, chancellor of the System, said the library fee was deferred because of legalities but will come back before the Board at a later meeting. Thompson said the University has to increase fees when the budget does not cover costs. “Budget shortfalls cause students to pay more, but the budget has to balance,” Thompson said. Regent T. Michael O’Connor said the Board needs to consider by how much and how often it raises fees. “Eventually, we could price ourselves out of the business,” he said. The Board is considering raising the application fee from $25 to $35 beginning in Fall 1995 because of the increased cost of processing, printing and postage. The Board is considering raising the penalty for late registration from $10 to $100 for students who register on or after the first day of class; $200 for stu dents who register after the official reporting day; and $50 for students who add a course after the offi cial reporting day. The increases would take effect in Spring 1996. The Board is considering raising parking fees from $55 to $75 for day permits; $135 to $200 for faculty permits; $15 to $35 for night permits; $20 to $55 for summer permits; $150 to $180 for rooftop garage per mits; $225 to $270 for priority garage permits; $225 to $270 for Zachry basement permits; $200 to $240 for inside garage permits; and 50 cents to 60 cents for visitor spaces. The Board is considering adding a $60 fee in Fall 1995 for students taking any of 92 architecture-relat ed courses. A maximum of three course access fees would be allowed. The Board is considering adding a $50 geosciences access fee for students taking any of 80 geosciences- related courses. A maximum of three course access fees would be allowed. Tim Moog/THE Battalion State Rep. Steve Ogden swears in the new Regents Frederick McClure, with his wife Harriet, Robert Allen, with his wife Judy, and Donald Powell, with his wife Twanna, on Thursday. Elders, Sullivan to address issues affecting todays American families □ MSC Great Issues and MSC Po litical Forum sponsor "Prescrip tions for an Ailing Society." By Tracy Smith The Battalion The former U.S. Surgeon General and for mer U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Ser vices will discuss their views on the value crises within the American family Friday. The program will cover a broad range of is sues including the structure of the American family, teenage pregnancy, violence and its impact on society, the welfare system and ed ucation. Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. Sur geon General, and Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, who has served as the Secretary of Health and Hu man Services, will speak on “Prescriptions for an Ailing Society.” Elders, a pediatric endocrinologist, was sworn in as the first African-American Sur geon General on Sept. 8, 1993. Elders, who is also a three-star admiral, di rected 6,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and scientists, all of whom are responsible for the nation’s health. Currently, she divides her time between the classroom and the clinic at the University of Arkansas Medical School. Dr. Louis Sullivan served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services for four years, beginning Jan. 20, 1989. Sullivan, the longest serving head of the HHS, was responsible for major programs in health, welfare, food and drug safety, medical research and income security. He has returned to the position of President of the Morehouse School of Medicine in At lanta, Georgia. The school is the nation’s first African-American medical school established this century. Jason Brown, chair of MSC Great Issues, said students should attend this program be cause not only will it cover a number of social issues important to the American public, but will also give the point-of-view of two people who have worked face-to-face with the respec tive topics. “We’ve seen a heightened interest with the problems associated with the family and also the increased anxiety dealing with this issue,” Brown said. “Tomorrow night, Texas A&M students and faculty will get the chance to hear two extremely qualified speakers discuss what the future holds for the American family and many social policy issues.” The program will begin at 7 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. Free tickets may be picked up at the Rudder Box Office. Third annual Whoopstock festival celebrates unity □ The festival will be held Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. By Lynn Cook The Battalion Bands, dance troops and food top the list of attractions for the third annual Whoopstock Unity Fest, Saturday, April 8 from noon to 6 p.m. The theme for this year’s Whoopstock is “Unity: Today Our Campus, Tomorrow Our World.” Sheri Schmidt, adviser to Whoopstock, said Whoopstock be gan three years ago in response to a Ku Klux Klan rally held in town. “We held the first Whoopstock on the same day and at the same time as the rally as an alterna tive,” Schmidt said. That year, approximately 13 stu dent leaders organized the event. For the past two years, the fes tival has had a turnout of about 500 people. Schmidt said that since more activities have been added, she hopes more people will take part in the festivities. Twelve bands and dance groups will perform throughout the afternoon. The musical acts include Lewis, The Boxcar Poets, Voices of F*raise, Three-Amigos Guitar Club, Bobby Hall’s Ice Cold Blues Band, Chris Well’s and the Texas Edge and the International Music Club. The dance groups include the Aggie Wranglers, Fade to Black, Prime Time Posse, Ballet Folklori- co Celestial and Kappa Alpha Psi. Heather Mahoney, a member of the Whoopstock entertainment committee, said there was a large response to the invitations the committee sent out to local and student entertainment acts. “We tried to get as many diverse acts as we could,” Mahoney said. “There has been a lot more interest this year. A lot of people came last year and decided to get in volved this year.” In addition to the entertain ment, student groups will sell food and drinks ranging from fajitas and pizza to Chinese food and non alcoholic cocktails. Texas A&M Recreational Sports and Evian will host Spike Fest, a volleyball tournament. One court will feature preselected teams and the other two will open for pick-up games in which students may par ticipate. Toshiba, Mademoiselle, Evian and other large companies will be giving away prizes. Local busi nesses and restaurants have also donated items for the door prizes. The Center for Drug Prevention and Education will hold drawings throughout the day for a hot-air bal loon ride. To enter the drawing, students must submit a possible theme for next year’s CDPE poster. Schmidt said about 75 students will be selected for the balloon ride. Abby Cook, chair of the Whoop stock Council, said a children’s sec tion with face paintings, sand box es and kid’s games will be hosted by the F*rime Time Posse. “This isn’t just a campus thing,” Cook said. “Parents can bring their kids too.” Whoopstock is about having fun, Schmidt said, but it can also be used as a tool to bring people together. “We hope this is a way for peo ple to get together and have a good time, but also to learn something about one another,” she said. “We hope they see something, hear something or meet someone they didn’t know about before.”