19,1995
ition
i the city
^red for a
on would
s already |
n t in the
i itself in
whole af-
the unre-
that drew
an. More
il session,
h its resi-
epresents
election
as chosen
th Bryan
residents
/e’ve lis-
tried to
ons
de. The
A'on’t be
one and
journal-
she was
en over,
“I did-
Chroni-
mother
re Post,”
der.”
I] Vol. 101, No. 135 (14 pages)
KING OF THE COURT
A&M tennis coach David Kent pre
pares for another SWC tournament.
Sports, Page 9
DONATION DUTY
Editorial: Yesterday's tragedy in Oklahoma
City has increased the need for Aggie blood.
Opinion, Pages 12
DEATH AND DANCING
New businesses at Northgate
attract a varied crowd.
Aggielife, Page 3
“Serving Texas A&M since 1893”
i ' $ s\ C ^ ^ ***-. ^ ^ x s s' -
Thursday • April 20, 1995
led
Bomb shatters Oklahoma City federal building
□ The search for sur
vivors lasted through
the night, aided by four
giant spotlights.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) —
Rescuers armed with tiny cam
eras and listening devices
searched for survivors in a
bombed-out federal building to
day, while police hunted for the
terrorists who caused the devas
tation.
“The hope tonight is that we’ll
find some more survivors,” Gov.
Frank Keating said at the scene
late Wednesday. “The hope to
morrow is we’ll find some more
survivors. After that, we hope to
find out who’s responsible.”
The death toll from Wednes
day morning’s explosion stood at
36 early today, the city fire de
partment said. Authorities said
the total was sure to rise. About
200 employees of Alfred P. Mur-
rah Federal Building were unac
counted for. A total of 432 were
treated for injuries, and 72 of
them were serious enough to re
quire hospitalization.
Early today, the Oklahoma
Highway Patrol said it found a
Chevrolet Cavalier that may
have been involved in the bomb
ing in Oklahoma City, and that
“follow-up interviews” were be
ing conducted.
In the streets surrounding the
building, police marked several
tiny metal fragments by spray
painting yellow circles around
them. Rescue workers were told
not to venture inside them.
A police source, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said FBI
agents had found an axle of the
van believed to have carried the
bomb about two blocks from the
scene.
President Clinton called the
bombers “evil cowards,” and At
torney General Janet Reno said
the government would seek the
death penalty against them.
The search for survivors last
ed through the night, aided by
four giant spotlights that illumi
nated the cables and other de
bris, dangling from the pan
caked floors of the building like
tangled streamers.
Three people were pulled
from the rubble Wednesday
night but two died a short time
later, said Assistant Fire Chief
Jon Hansen. He said a 15-year-
old girl was taken from the
building in critical condition. He
also said a woman trapped in
the basement said there were
two others with her. She didn’t
know if they were dead or alive.
“Our firefighters are having
to crawl over corpses in areas to
get to people that are still alive,”
Hansen said.
Mayor Ron Norick said the
blast, which left a crater 30 feet
long and 8 feet deep, was caused
by a car bomb. He said the car
had been outside, in front of the
See Bomb, Page 14
Federal building bombed
The Alfred Murrah Building was bombed Wednesday morning. The building
houses federal offices including local offices of the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms.
Downtown & Capitol complex
Importance of blood drive goes
beyond A&M-U.T. rivalry
□ BloodCare is in dire
need of blood, especial
ly Type O-Negative.
o ; Kansas ! Ma
; 100 miles
100 km
Oklahoma City V 1||
Okla. ® I§
pi
Texas
By Stephanie Dube
The Battalion
BloodCare officials are en
couraging A&M students and
faculty to donate blood this
week to help the survivors of
the Oklahoma explosion.
Alan Elias, director of donor
recruitment for BloodCare, the
second-largest blood center in
Texas, said BloodCare is on
emergency standby.
A car bomb exploded near
the Alfred Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City
Wednesday morning, killing
more than 20 people and injur
ing hundreds more.
If the Oklahoma Blood
Institute runs out of blood
See Drive, Page 14
AP Graphic
Tim Moog/THE Battalion
^ Chemical spill
f A chemical truck overturned Wednesday morning, spilling hydrochloric acid. See Briefs Page 2
Bill concerning Texas regents
passes House of Representatives
□ The legislation in
cludes term limits as
well as specifying
grounds for removal of
regents.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
A bill setting provisions for
regent conduct for Texas uni
versity systems was passed by
the Texas House of Representa
tives Wednesday and will go to
the Senate.
House Bill 420, sponsored by
Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, has
nine guidelines that govern rela
tions and contracts with the uni
versity after a regent has left
the board, special accounting for
alcohol purchases, term limits
and public hearings before tu
ition and fees are increased.
Although the bill addresses
several problems that a Jan. 6
state auditors report had with the
Texas A&M University system.
Ogden said the bill voices con
cerns he has had for many years.
“I’ve been watching these is
sues for several years,” Ogden
said. “I think this is just good
public philosophy. But the audit
does reinforce the need for these
provisions.”
The bill calls for term limits
on regents and the chairman of
the board. Regents will only be
eligible for one six-year term.
Each chairman will only be able
to serve one three-year term.
John Lindsay, member of the
Texas A&M Board of Regents,
said the Board did not support
term limits.
“I think that it should be left
up to the governor,” Lindsey
said.
Regent Alison Brisco echoed
Lindsey’s comments.
“I’m against the term limits,”
Brisco said. “I think it should be
the governor’s decision.”
Ogden said that although
regents would be limited to one
See Regents, Page 14
House Bill 420:
•requires the regent's budget for
each system to be incorporated as a
line-item in the appropriations bill.
• prohibits regents from naming
buildings after themselves until four
years after they leave the Board.
♦prohibits regents or their dose rel
atives from being hired in any adminis
trative position in the system they gov
ern until four years after the regent
leaves the Board.
• prohibits regents from contracting
with an institution they govern until
four years after leaving the Board.
•requires purchases of alcoholic
beverages to be made from an au
ditable account from monies specifical
ly donated for this purpose and in ac
cordance with the same rules govern
ing student consumption of alcoholic
beverages.
•limits the terms of regents to one
six-year term and the terms of Board
chairmen to one three-year term.
♦requires the regents to hold a
public hearing before increasing tu
ition or fees.
• specifies grounds fay •which a re
gent can be removed.
•encourages regents to set admis
sion standards so that 90 percent of the
students admitted are prepared to do
college level work and eliminates test
ing and remedial coursework for stu
dents admitted under those standards.
far
i
\ t
K
iji
11
Senior ^sX/eekend ? 95
Weekend begins with a Bash
□ The Class of '95 invit
ed the Class of '45 to
the Senior Bash at the
Lakeview Club.
By Stephanie Dube
The Battalion
would be a good idea to invite the
Class of ’45, which will already be
in town for Muster, to celebrate
with the Class of ’95.
“During Muster, the class of 50
years ago comes back,” Britton
said. “Senior Weekend symbol
izes the last time the Class of ’95
will be together as a group until
our Aggie Muster. I thought it
would be unique to tie the tradi
tions together and invite the
Class of ’45 to celebrate with us.”
Cody Burke, president of the
Class of ’95, said the Bash will be
bigger this year.
“Everyone is excited about the
Bash,” he said. “In the past, it
has been a small deal at the Hall
of Fame. But this year it will be
at the Lakeview(Club), which will
make it more memorable. We
will have the whole place rented
for ourselves.”
Rebecca Scholl, co-chair for
Ring Dance, said the Bash was
moved to the Lakeview Club to
make it more exclu
sive.
“Before, when the
Bash was at the Hall,
anyone could go,”
Scholl said. “This
year it is solely a se
nior event with the
Class of ’45.”
The Senior Ban
quet will be Saturday
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
at the Hilton. The
class gift will be announced dur
ing the banquet.
Dr. Ben Welch, who is in
charge of the College of Business
Administration’s honors and fel
lowship programs, will speak at
the banquet.
See Weekend, Page 14
Senior Weekend begins tonight
with a Senior Bash that will bring
together the Class of ’95 and the
Class of ’45 for the first time.
The Senior Bash will start at 8
p.m. at the Lakeview Club.
Brad Britton, chair for Senior
Weekend, said he thought it
"Senior Weekend symbolizes
the last time the Class of '95 will
be together as a group until our
Aggie Muster."
— Brad Britton,
chair for Senior Weekend
Committee asks for
University opinions
□ The search advisory
committee for the
vice president for fi
nance and administra
tion seeks input
through an open fo
rum to be held Friday.
By Lisa Messer
The Battalion
The search advisory com
mittee for the vice president
for finance and administration
will hold an open forum Fri
day to allow University input
into the search.
The forum will be from 8 a.m.
to 9:30 a.m. in 601 Rudder.
Ray Bowen, president of
Texas A&M, formed the search
advisory committee to review
applications for the position and
make recommendations to him.
The 11-member committee
consists of administrators, pro
fessors and graduate and under
graduate students.
Bowen will review the com
mittee’s recommendations and
choose the permanent vice
president for finance and ad
ministration.
Dr. Charles Lee, chairman of
the search committee and inter
im executive vice president and
provost, said the forum will give
people at A&M a chance to
share their views on the vice
president’s role.
“We want to give members of
the University community the
opportunity to make their in
put to the search advisory com
mittee to the University presi
dent,” Lee said. “We have no
agenda other than to give peo
ple the opportunity to look into
the position.”
Lee said the committee
wants to be sure everyone af
fected by the position has a
chance to give input.
“We want faculty members,
maintenance workers and stu
dents whose educational pro
grams or careers might be af
fected by this position to be able
to talk,” Lee said. “They can say
whatever they wish to say.”
Lee said the committee has
spoken with people working in
finance and administration.
“We have already invited
each department head in the
finance and administration
See Committee/Page 6
1996 Aggieland editor
has needed experience
□ Hodges returns as
editor for the second
consecutive year.
By Tracy Smith
The Battalion
Diana Hodges plans to put her
yearbook experience to good use
as the Aggieland editor for her
second consecutive year.
Hodges, a junior journalism
major from Arlington, said she
has the experience needed to suc
ceed as Aggieland editor since her
position in 1996 will be a continu
ation from this year.
After much deliberation, she
said she applied again because
the experience she received as
editor will be an important as
set for her goals.
“Ultimately, I want to be the
editor for a magazine,” she said
. “And since the experience I’m
receiving through the Ag
gieland is similar to that, an
other year as editor can’t hurt.”
Hodges has been part of the
Aggieland staff for the past
three years, she said, so it
seems fitting she stick it out at
least one more year.
“I was hired right out of high
school for the Aggieland staff,”
she said. “While being an edi
tor can be a hard job, so far I
have really enjoyed it.”
Hodges said she is excited
about the upcoming year and
the 1996 staff, which will con
sist of many people returning
from this year’s staff.
“We will have some people who
know the ins and outs of the Ag
gieland and some who will be new
to the game,” she said. “This is
what makes it so exciting.”
Jade Dumas, a junior man
agement major, said she has en
joyed the responsibility the Ag
gieland gives its staff members
See Aggieland, Page 6
Diana Hodges