ACE OF THE PEN
Aggie pitcher Brian Parker has found
success in relief.
Sports Page 7
THE
PRESIDENTIAL PERFORMANCE
Taylor: President Clinton, despite recent
improvements, still lacks real credibility.
Opinion, Page 9
LUCKY AND LONDON-BOUND
Graduate student earns chance to see
Letterman's "Late Show" in London.
Aggielife, Page 3
. 101, No. 145 (10 pages)
“Serving Texas AdrMsince 1893
Thursday • May 4, 1995
■ ■
•tudents can swap books through A&M computer system
The Bookswap program al
lows students to buy and sell
Textbooks on the Internet.
ty Kasie Byers
'he Battalion
Just in time for textbook buy-back,
iookswap, a system on the Internet
Jiich allows students to buy and sell
textbooks among themselves, is avail-
able for use by students.
Student government created the Book-
swap system and will provide its funding.
Students can access Bookswap
fbrought computer labs on campus sup-
>orted by the Computing and Information
Services, including the Remote Computer
Center, Academic Computer Center,
Teague building computer lab and the
computer lab on West campus.
Sam Fleitman, programmer of the
Bookswap system, said that access to
Bookswap is not restricted to these labs.
“These are just common places to ac
cess the system,” Fleitman said. “But it
can be accessed any place where the In
ternet is available.”
Mosaic and Gopher will host
Bookswap.
Once accessed, Bookswap will allow
students to browse through a listing of
books being sold and bought by title
and course number.
Within the Bookswap system, stu
dents can also advertise books by enter
ing information about the textbook and
how students can contact the advertiser.
Students are also required to enter
an alias and password before they can
advertise a book.
Fleitman said the alias is the stu
dent’s name as it is listed within the
University’s electronic phone book.
The password is the student’s social
security number.
“If students are not sure what their
alias is, they can look it up within the
system,” he said. “The password is al
ways the student’s I.D. number unless
they have changed it with the Universi
ty in the past.”
Fleitman said the purpose of the
alias and password is to monitor who
uses the system.
“We want to keep people from adver
tising bikes, houses and personal items
on the system,” he said. “We also want
to keep people who don’t attend Texas
A&M from using it.”
Fleitman said that advertising text
books is just as easy as browsing
through books already advertised on
the system.
“The system is very user friendly,”
he said. “There is help and documen
tation on the system that will help
students work through the process of
advertising books.
There is also a delete feature on the
system so students can remove adver
tised textbooks after they are sold.
If this feature is not used, the system
automatically deletes the book one
month to six weeks after its entrance.
“This prevents books from being in
there so long that they are outdated,”
Fleitman said. “It is also for those
students who forget they even adver
tised books.”
James Colquitt, a sophomore busi
ness administration major, said he is
looking forward to utilizing Bookswap.
“The amount of money we get in re
turn for used textbooks is ridiculous,”
Colquitt said. “I can’t help but feel
cheated at the end of every semester.
“It’s about time the students finally
have a means to beat the system.”
i
Amy Browning/THE Battalion
Just a little off the top, please
Reed Cutshall Sr. gets his head shaven by Ria Jacobus as
part of a challenge held by the Baptist Student Union. A
group of guys made the promise that they would shave their
heads if $15,000 was raised to send missionaries on a trip
for the summer. The money was raised, and Thursday after
noon the men had their heads shaven.
Standing Out Above The Rest
RHA selects Puryear
as Hall of the Year
□ The RHA gave awards
to Crocker, Davis-Gary,
Lechner, and Dunn halls.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
Ihiryear Hall emerged as the win
ner when the Residence Hall Associ
ation announced its Hall of the Year
awards, given to the five residence
halls that have distinguished them
selves in the past year.
Puryear received the overall
Hall of the Year, while Crocker and
Davis-Gary Halls won best Male
and Female Hall of the Year,
respectively.
Lechner Hall was given the Co-ed
Hall of the Year and Dunn Hall was
given the award for the Most Im
proved Hall.
Suzanne Lyons, RHA president,
said the hall awards were based on
the number and quality of activities
in each hall.
“We looked at whether they had
good social, educational and diverse
programs,” Lyons said. “We also
looked to see if a hall interacted with
other halls and their involvement
with RHA.”
Lyons said F*uryear’s bid for Hall
of the Year was too impressive to
pass up.
“They were just a step above all
the other halls,” she said.
“They have a long history of in
volvement in the RHA. They had
two members on last year’s execu
tive board and they’ll have two more
next year.”
Lyons also pointed to Puryear’s
involvement in activities like RHA
Casino, which originally began in
the hall, and their volunteer efforts.
Jesse Sanchez, Puryear hall coun
cil president, said his hall’s activities
varied from a trip to San Antonio to
visit the Alamo and Riverwalk to a
“Potty Mouth” contest where every
resident donated a quarter for pizza
every time he cursed.
“Whatever someone thought of,
we pretty much did,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said the award came as
no surprise to the Puryear residents.
“We expected this all along,” he
said. “But it feels good because we
did a lot of work this year.”
Puryear and Law Halls will not
be used by residents next year while
administrators decide whether to de
molish or renovate the buildings.
Sanchez said the residents were
extra-motivated because it was the
last year Fharyear may be used as a
men’s residence hall.
“We wanted to go out on top,”
Sanchez said.
Lyons agreed.
“It’s nice that we can send them
out with a bang,” Lyons said.
Congress considers replacing dollar bills with coin
□ Republicans claim
jthat millions could be
saved by replacing $1
bills with coins which
can last up to 30 years.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dol
lars would jangle in Americans’
pockets rather than pad their
wallets if Republican budget-cut
ters get their way.
They’re eyeing millions in sav
ings that could result from re
placing Si bills that wear out in
17 months with $1 dollar coins
lasting 30 years.
A diverse coalition of special
interests, ranging from blind op
erators of concession stands to
public transit companies to cop
per-mining corporations, is back
ing the effort.
The opposition — paper and
ink companies and the unions in
volved in printing the bills — has
over the years succeeded in block
ing the coin forces. But the coin
proponents’ cause has been given
new life this year by the Republi
can Congress’ struggle to balance
the budget.
“Significant government sav
ings are no further away than our
wallets or purses,” Rep. Jim
Kolbe, R-Ariz., told the House
Banking subcommittee on mone
tary policy Wednesday.
Although it costs twice as
much to mint a coin as print a
bill — 8 cents vs. 4 cents — the
coins last 21 times longer, said
Kolbe, who has introduced legis
lation to replace the dollar bill
with a coin.
The Congressional Budget Of
fice estimates the savings at $120
million to $180 million a year.
And switching to coins will
save millions for private industry
while offering added convenience
for the public, proponents argue.
No longer would commuters
riding express buses from Staten
Island to Manhattan have to pay
with 16 quarters — twice a day
— because New York City buses
don’t accept dollar bills. No
longer would shoppers in down
town Washington have to feed
meters with 16 quarters to park
for two hours. No longer would
the Chicago Transit Authority
have to pay 20 full-time employ
ees to straighten out and stack
the dollar bills its receives.
Nearly every other major in
dustrial nation already has
switched to high-denomination
coins. Canada, for instance, has a
one-dollar coin, nicknamed the
“Loonie” after the picture of a
loon that it carries, and plans to
introduce a $2 coin next year.
Clinton challenges GOP’s on Medicare funding
□ Democrats press Republicans to
explain how they will cut taxes and
balance the budget without also cut
ting health care services.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maneuvering for politi
cal high ground. President Clinton went before
thousands of senior citizens Wednesday and chal
lenged Republicans to explain how they hope to
wring upwards of $250 billion out of Medicare.
Republicans, eager to draw out Clinton’s own
id'eas on the sensitive matter of Medicare cuts, ac
cused the president of shirking leadership by refus
ing to go first.
‘You shouldn’t run for re-election if you are not
prepared to do the job,” said House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, R-Ga.
Neither side seemed inclined to budge in the in
creasingly testy political impasse.
“I think the hope is diminishing that we can qui
etly lower the rhetoric,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-
N.M., chairman of the Budget Committee.
It is a sign of older Americans’ political power that
each side wants the other to make the first move to
rein in spiraling Medicare costs. The popular health-
insurance system for the elderly is
expected to go broke by 2002 with
out corrective action.
Senate Majority Leader Bob
Dole, R-Kan., joined Gingrich in
renewing an invitation for Clin
ton to come to Capitol Hill to
work toward a solution.
Instead, Clinton chose a
friendly audience at the White
House Conference on Aging to
Yard sale to benefit rape victim
Clinton
See Clinton, Page 6
Q The money raised
will help pay med
ical bills, and stu
dents are asked to
donate items that
they might otherwise
throw away.
By Lisa Messer
The Battalion
A College Station family is
asking students to donate
items they were planning on
throwing away at the end of
the semester for a yard sale to
raise funds to help pay for
psychiatric treatment of a vic
tim of sexual abuse.
The yard sale will be held
May 19-20 on Lee Street with
all proceeds going toward the
girl’s medical bills.
Carol Haddock, who is
helping arrange the yard sale,
said the benefit will help pay
some of the family’s $12,000
in doctors’ bills.
“Students can donate
things they particularly don’t
like or that they’d throw away
anyway,” Haddock said. “I
can do any mending. If it’s
missing a button or a zipper.
I’ll fix it. We’re also willing to
fix up furniture.”
Haddock said many apart
ment complexes and sorority
houses have set aside areas
for students to put their
donations.
“I can come and pick up the
items from students off cam
pus or on campus,” Haddock
said. “Anyone can just call me
and say, T’m setting it on my
doorstep.’ I’m still not sure
what to expect, but anything
will do some good.”
The girl’s mother said her
daughter was sexually abused
10 years ago while she and
her family were overseas.
The mother said that while
her husband was flying fight-
er planes for the Marine
Corps in Okinawa, Japan, she
was hospitalized in a coma.
She said her husband was
spending a lot of time with
her at the hospital so the
mother of one of her daugh
ter’s friends was watching the
children.
The friend’s mother, she
said, left the girls with the
friend’s father while she went
shopping, and the father
raped the two girls.
“The man told her that he
and his German shepherd
would kill her and her family
if she ever told anyone,” the
mother said. “She was scared
so badly. Right now, she’s
afraid her doctors are going to
get killed.
“She can’t separate fact
from fiction. We try to tell
her there’s no way that dog is
still alive, but then she gets
defensive and says we don’t
believe her.”
She said that since her
daughter told her nine
months ago about the rape,
the girl has tried to commit
suicide six times, been in and
out of hospitals and regressed
to behaving like a six-year-
old, which is the age she was
when she was raped.
“We’re hoping long-term
therapy will help, but we’re
just financially behind right
now,” she said. “It’s just been
one thing after the other. I
was in the hospital. Then my
husband had to go the Gulf
War and we lost our business.
Now it’s this.
“We’ve never asked for as
sistance before. We’re not
necessarily asking for dona
tions now, but just for stuff
kids would throw out anyway
and we can fix up.”
Karen Kalergis, the public
information officer for the
Office of the Attorney Gener
al, said many compensation
programs, including the
Texas Crime Victims Com
pensation program, exist to
help the victims.
“Our program has eligibili
ty requirements that a per
son must meet to receive
payment, but the people who
administer the program are
very sensitive toward the vic
tims,” Kalergis said. “Our
program works.”
Haddock said she wants to
continue this event to help
other sexual abuse victims.
“The real big problem we’re
working with is continuing to
do this on the basis of helping
other victims also,” Haddock
said. “There’s a real need for
it. Abuse is something that
needs to come out in order for
the person to heal.”
Haddock said any student
wanting to donate belongings
to the yard sale can call her at
764-7714.