The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 29, 1995, Image 1

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    Aggie baseball team stands two wins away from
the College World Series.
See story on Sports, Page 3
u
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:Vbl. 101, No. 147 (8 pages)
Established in 1893
Monday • May 29, 1995
"exas Senate suspends expansion bill
□ The Baylor College of Den
tistry and East Texas State Uni
versity will become part of the
A&M System in September
1996. The University of Central
Texas will not become part of
the System.
By Katherine Arnold
Tut Battalion
I The Texas Senate suspended a bill Satur
day that would have made the University of
Central Texas the newest addition to the
Texas A&M University System.
■ This action came after the Texas Legisla
te • approved bills earlier this month to make
th< Baylor College of Dentistry and East
Texas State University a part of the System.
■ Terri Parker, director of communications
for the System, said they wanted to make
the University of Central Texas, a private
school in Killeen, a part of the A&M System.
“There is a high demand for higher educa
tion in that community,” Parker said. “Cen
tral Texas would be a great small
school to have in the System.”
The University of Central
Texas is a junior- senior-
and graduate-level school.
If the Senate had ap
proved the bill, the
school would have been
renamed Texas A&M
Uni versity-Central
Texas. The bill was
proposed by State Rep.
Layton Black in March.
Parker said the main
opposition to the bill
came from Mary Hardin
Baylor University, located
near Killeen, and from
David Sibley, a Republican sena
tor from Waco.
The 74th Legislature ends tonight at mid
night, so no further action can be taken to
reintroduce the bill. The Legislature recon
venes in 1997.
Mary Nan West, Texas A&M Board of Re
gents chairman, said the University of Cen
tral Texas was looking to join the System.
“It just made sense to have a central
Texas school in the System,”
West said.
West said the acquisition of
the Baylor College of Den
tistry and ETSU will go into
effect on Sept. 1, 1996.
“We are delighted to
have these schools in the
System,” West said. “They
really fit with the goals
and opportunities in the
rest of the System.”
“We will begin to
adapt and adopt policies
to be consistent with those
* of the System,” Morris said.
We will start participating in
every possible board meeting and
system meeting so we can to prepare
for the merger.”
Morris said joining the System will facil
See Senate, Page 8
Construction on Bush library
to begin within one month
□ Manhattan Con
struction Co. will be
gin initial building of
the Bush Presidential
Library this summer.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Board of Re
gents awarded a multimillion
dollar contract to build the
George Bush Presidential Li
brary Center to a Houston-based
construction company during a
May 25 special meeting.
Manhattan Construction
Co. beat out seven other firms
for* the $47.3 million contract
for construction of the 316,663
square-foot building that will
house the presidential library
and several Texas A&M acade
mic departments.
Gen. Wesley Peel, vice chan
cellor for facilities planning
and construction, said con
struction should begin within
one month, depending on the
speed of the contractors.
“The contractors have 15
days to sign the contract, then
return it to us,” Peel said. “Af
ter that, weTl sign the con
tract, and after that, they
have 10 days to proceed. I
would say that construction
should be started in no less
than 30 days.”
Peel said the center would
probably be completed by Fall
See Library, Page 8
Nick Rodnicki, The Battalion
GO, SPEED RACER, GOl
Sophomore business major Matthew Acock takes a short break before racing his formula racer at the Lone
Star GP4 Regional/National and IT Sprint Races held at Texas World Speedway Saturday and Sunday.
Tudents adjust to A&M’s summer changes
Students with meal plans can use
the Commons dining facility. Li
braries and computer labs will keep
lormal hours.
|By Michael Simmons
he Battalion
Although students may have to make minor
fschedule changes this summer to accommodate for
lew campus programs and expansions, many ac
tivities and programs will continue regularly.
Ron Beard, interim food services director, said
Ithe expansion of the Vet Snack Bar and the addi-
|tion of a snack bar in the new recreational sports
luilding are slated for this summer.
Beard said the Vet Snack Bar, located in the
[Veterinary Medicine complex on West Campus,
{will be expanded to accommodate 150 people.
‘We’ve been dragging our feet a little bit,”
[Beard said, “ but I expect the [Vet] snack bar to
[open in seven to 10 days.”
The Commons dining facility will be open to ac-
| commodate both new student conferences and stu-
| dents with meal plans. The Underground market
also will be open to students this summer, but
Sbisa will be closed in order to perform general up-
|keep of the facility.
Jennifer Evans, summer housing coordinator,
I said approximately 1,300 students will be living in
Northside residence halls this summer, slightly
[more than in previous years.
Although fewer activities take place in the
[summer than other semesters. Heather Huntley,
i executive vice president for programs, said the
i MSC anticipates several noon programs at Rud
der Fountain.
The MSC will also host a domino tournament
and a dinner theater performance of “Marne.”
Huntley said the MSC Dinner Theater, Stage
Center and the Aggie Players will put on a show
together in Rudder Theater for the first time.
The musical production “Marne,” the story of a
wealthy New York woman during the Roaring
’20s, will have several showings starting June 15.
Other summer activities include recreational
sports. The recreational sports department will of
fer a variety of summer intramural activities, in
cluding basketball, volleyball, softball, racquetball
and tennis. The Read building will be open 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The off-campus bus routes will run their nor
mal schedules, every 15 to 20 minutes, but only
Rudder, Old Army and Fish Camp routes will
run on campus.
Sterling C. Evans Library will keep normal
hours of operation during the summer.
All computer labs will reopen today and will op
erate under normal hours all summer.
Police continue investigation of May 4
sexual assault at A&M Research Park
□ The University Police
believe the attack earli
er this month and an at
tack in January were
made by the same man.
By Scott McMahan
The Battalion
The University Police Depart
ment is searching for the suspect
in the second reported sexual as
sault at A&M this year.
A 21-year-old student told po
lice she was sexually assaulted
while jogging alone from Re
search Park on Horticulture
Road May 4.
The student said that shortly
before 9 p.m. her attacker
knocked her down and dragged
her down an embankment and
across a creek at knifepoint. She
was taken to an area where
UPD believes the assailant had
previously prepared an area and
raped her. The assailant held
her for about an hour before she
was released.
Bob Wiatt, director of the
UPD, said the victim’s descrip
tion of her attacker closely re
sembles one given by the victim
of a similar sexual assault near
Olsen Field Jan. 30. Because of
the similar descriptions and
similar methods of operations,
UPD believes the same man
committed the two rapes.
During the attack, the victim
cried out when she thought she
heard people in the distance.
The police still have not found
anyone who may have heard
her that night. Wiatt said that
police are looking for anyone
with information.
“It’s been in the news,” he
said. “All we can do is get some
assistance from the person who
may have heard her.”
Wiatt said the University po
lice are still looking for suspects
who fit the victims’ descriptions
by networking with other police
departments and other agencies.
“We are tracking down people
who may have done similar
things and were in the area,”
Wiatt said.
Wiatt said if they find a sus
pect, having the victim identify
the attacker is a difficult task be
cause of the trauma that victims
face when seeing their assailants.
The attacker is described as a
white man, age 20 to 22, 5 feet 7
inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall,
weighing 160 to 170 pounds. He
has a medium to toned build and
medium-brown hair that is short
on the sides, full on top and flops
over the forehead.
The suspect was wearing a
white T-shirt with a print on
the front, shorts a few inches
above the knees and white run
ning shoes.
Dr. J. Malon Southerland,
vice president for student af
fairs, said the Texas A&M Asso
ciation of Former Students is of
fering a reward of up to $10,000
for individuals who provide in
formation leading to the arrest
and conviction of the assailants.
“Texas A&M is obviously
concerned about the continued
safety of our students, faculty
and staff, as well as other visi
tors,” Southerland said. “I
strongly urge everyone to exer
cise normal to extraordinary
caution by being aware of their
surroundings and what is hap
pening around them and by not
placing themselves in what
could be dangerous situations.”
Anyone with information
should call UPD at 845-2345.
Callers can remain anonymous.
| The University
Police Depart
ment and the
Brazos County
Rape Crisis Cen
ter offer several
methods of rape
prevention:
• Stay alert; be aware of your sur
roundings.
• Remain calm.
• Walk quickly and against the traffic,
and never hitchhike.
• Walk in open areas away from
walls, shrubs, doorways, alleys or
unlighted walkways.
• If you suspect you are being fol
lowed, go to a safe place quickly
and call for help.
• If a car pulls up next to you, run in
the direction that the car came
from. The driver will have to turn
around to follow.
• Travel in pairs.
• Take a self-defense class from
UPD or the A&M kinesiology
department.
If attacked:
• Talk - say anything that may allow
you to escape.
• Scream for help.
• Fight - aim for sensitive parts of the
body: groin, eyes, windpipe,
kneecap. The first blow is very
important and must be accurate,
because you may not have a sec
ond chance.
• Submit — submitting is not the same
as consenting, and it may be the
only way to save your life. Do not
allow an attacker to tie you up. At
that point, you will lose all op
tions to escape.
• Run - your main objective is to get
away. Look for crowds, lighted
houses or a busy street.
• Remember - If persuasion and
resistance do not work, concen
trate on identity: age, height,
hair color, eye color, scars or
birthmarks, clothes, car and li
cense plate number.
• Mace and pepper spray are other
options during an attack.
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Sbisa Dining Hall will be closed during the sum
mer. The Commons will be available to those resi
dents living on Northside.
The police sketch on the left matches the descrip
tion of the Jan. 30 attacker whose crime is reported
to have been committed near Olsen Field. The po
lice sketch on the right matches the description of
the May 4 attacker whose crime is reported to have
been committed on Horticulture Road. Both are
described as being white males in their early 20's
with brown hair and a medium build. Due to case
similarities, police are exploring the possibility that
the two sketches are of one single actor.