Thursday • June 8, 1995
City
Page 5 • The Battalion
JL X OC
Gov. Bush signs three crime bills into law
□ The legislation in
cludes measures to lim
it death row appeals
and create gun-free
school zones.
AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. George
W. Bush on Wednesday signed
into law a package of criminal jus
tice legislation, including mea
sures to limit appeals of death
row inmates and create weapon-
free zones around schools.
“These new laws will help
get career criminals and drug
dealers off our streets and away
from our schools,” BusH said.
“They will make Texas safer for
all our citizens.”
At a new state jail facility in
San Antonio, Bush also signed
bills fine-tuning the penal code
and changing Texas Department
of Criminal Justice rules regard
ing inmate privileges.
The law limiting death row
appeals aims to shave about two
years off inmates’ stays on death
row and save taxpayers about
$50,000 per inmate, according to
the governor’s office.
Texas’ 401 death row inmates
have waited an average of eight
years between conviction and exe
cution. Some inmates have been
on death row nearly 20 years.
The new law alters the
timetables and deadlines for
inmate appeals.
It also requires habeas corpus
appeals and direct appeals to be
filed at the same time to allow the
appeals court to consider them
concurrently.
Bush’s office estimated the law
would save the
state about $1
million a year.
“Murderers
who are sen
tenced to death
will no longer
be able to end
lessly delay
justice by re
peatedly filing
court appeals,”
Bush said.
Bush also
signed a law
establishing weapon-free zones
around schools.
Anyone carrying a weapon
within 300 feet of a school or offi
cial school function will be prose
cuted for a state jail felony, in
stead of a class A misdemeanor,
under the law.
The penal code revision elim
inates automatic probation for
repeat offenders in the state
jail system, which was created
in 1993.
Under previous law, anyone
repeatedly caught for a state
jail offense received probation
as punishment.
The law also toughens penal
ties for repeat felony offenders
who enter the state jail system.
A state jail felon who had two
prior felony convictions can
now be sentenced as a habitual
offender and serve up to 20
years in prison.
Bush
Diversity: Program to Utilize new educational technologies
| Continued from Page 1
i Both officials encouraged minority
! participation.
Mauro said minority students should
i have access to opportunities like the
i Pipeline program, for the sake of the stu-
I dents, as well as businesses nationwide.
“How can America compete in the inter-
; national economy if a woman, a black or a
; Hispanic who has all the tools to be a top-
I flight Ph.D. engineer ends up digging ditch-
I es or washing dishes?” Mauro said. "We
! can’t be competitive and waste our best
brains because they come from the wrong
part of the state.”
Thompson said the program is diverse
: because of the varying ethnic compositions
i of the four campuses. A&M-Kingsville and
: A&M-Corpus Christ! graduate a large num
r her of Hispanic students, while Prairie View
; A&M graduates a large number of African-
: Americans, he said.
“We feel like it’s very important because,
; according to research, these students who
i stay in the educational process without
: dropping out to pursue vocations or avoca-
; tions are more likely to complete a doctoral
! program,” Thompson said.
Mauro said the General Land Office will
l give the program $1.5 million each year for
l the next five years.
The program will utilize new educational
technologies such as technology transfer
; and long-distance learning, which will use
interactive and video technology to teach a
class at several different campuses. Texas
A&M already has 43 teleconferencing sites
and soon will add more, Thompson said.
Thompson offered a scenario for the class.
"It will be possible to offer an engineer
ing course or program in environmental en
gineering at A&M and then beam it to
Texas A&M-Corpus and Texas A&M-
Kingsville,” Thompson said. "And some of
our courses will originate in Kingsville and
Corpus Christi.”
Jim Bonner, associate professor of civil
engineering at Texas A&M and project di
rector, said the program also will benefit
the state, because the technology used in
the program is vital to cleaning the oil spills
that often strike the Texas coast.
“To date, there is no proven technology to
remediate spilled oil and [contaminated]
wetlands,” Bonner said. “These are ex
tremely sensitive environments vital to
aquatic inhabitants. They cannot be cleaned
by traditional oil-remediation technologies.”
Mauro said that since a large percentage
of all imported oil comes through Texas,
Texans should have the technology to han
dle any emergency.
"America imports about half of its oil,”
Mauro said. “Sixty percent of that oil comes
through Texas ports. That means we we are
at risk of having the biggest, most cata
strophic oil spills in the world, right here on
our Texas coastline. So we have to be ready
to handle oil spills.”
Mauro added that there are 1,600 oil
spills in the marine and coastal areas of
Texas every year. Most are small and are
handled by small businesses licensed by the
General Land Office, he said.
Much of the research will focus on biorc-
mediation, which uses microorganisms to
“digest” spilled oil. Bonner, who recently re
turned from Russia where he lectured sci
entists about his research, said he is in
volved currently in a three-phase project on
the San Jacinto River, which was ravaged
"This program has provided a
field-scale testing facility that
is a living environment and
laboratory."
-Jim Bonner
associate professor of civil engineering at Texas A&M
when pipelines burst after flooding in the
area in October 1994.
Bonner said that the river project, which
is part of the Pipeline program, has given
researchers opportunities that were never
before possible.
“This program has provided a field-scale
testing facility that is a living environment
and laboratory,” Bonner said. "The results
of our studies have national arid interna
tional significance which can improve how
oil spills are handled worldwide.”
BUSINESS IS BACK!
Italy Spring Semester 1996
Students will select a minimum of 12 hours:
ECON 489/:
IBUS 489
LEAR 332/:
MGMT 489
PSYC 405:
PSYC 306:
Economics of the Eur. Union
Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
Culture of Mgmt. in the Eur. Union
Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
Arts and Civilization
Prof. Paolo' Barrucchieri
Introduction to Anthropology
Dr. Sylvia Grider
Peoples and Cultures of the World
Dr. Sylvia Grider
Psychology of Religion
Dr. David Rosen
Abnormal Psychology
Dr. David Rosen
Study Abroad Programs • 161 Bizzell Hall West • 845-0544
CRAWFISH
NBA PLAYOFFS
HOUSTON
ROCKETS
-vs-
ORLANDO
MAGIC
8PM
*Drink Specials tii 10pm
Peeping Tom
Live on stage after the game
The Musical Comedy
music by : Jerry Herman
booh by: Jerome Lawerence
Robert E. Lee
June 15-18, 22, 24 set 8 pm
June 25 at 2 pm & 8 pm
Rudder Theater
Texas A&M University
Mtdi iriii'/ttMc*/f345-7515 ts ifnvr mf tfftmr
Ct 0U ***«e tt mt (4 ft* tt i*et tm/* tA'/lCrtt.
Tickets Available at Rudder Box Office — 845-1234
Regular *Dinner/Musical $25.00
Students *Dinner/Musical $20.00
Regular Musical Only $10.00
Students Musical Only $ 7.00
* All Dinners Must He Purchased 48 Hours In Advance
June 15-18, 22, 24 Dinners served at 6:30 p.m.
June 25 Brunch only served at 12:30 p.m.
v.
j
A First Time Collaboration
Presented by:
Aggie
Players
T earning
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enter
Student Counseling Service
...a Department in the Division of Student Affairs
Summer1995 Services
Individual Academic and Career Counseling
Students may schedule an appointment with an academic or career counselor to discuss concerns related to choice
of major, career, or academic difficulties they are experiencing.
Workshops
Choosing a Major
Learn how your interests, skills, values, and personality
fit various majors and career options. Requires
completion of testing prior to workshop. Offered
Wednesdays from 2:15 - 4:00 p.m.
June 17 July 5 August 2
June 21 July 19
Conquering Your Finals
Planning ahead is essential for performing well on final
exams. Learn how to manage time, stress, and test
preparation during the hectic final days of each
semester. Offered Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
June 29 August 3
Study Survival/Learning Tactics
Did you breeze through high school without ever
learning how to study? This workshop will cover the
basics of taking notes, reading textbooks, time
management and test preparation. Offered Thursdays
from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
June 8 July 13
Test Anxiety/Test Preparation
Is your GPA lower than you’d like? Learn test
preparation and test taking techniques that reduce
anxiety and improve performance. Offered Thursdays
from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
June 15 July 20
Time Management/Procrastination
Balancing school AND a social life can be tough. Learn
how to manage your time with a schedule that makes
room for both. Offered Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
June 22 July 27
Using Your Interests in Career Decision Making
Provides interpretation of interest inventory scores and
applies this information to choosing a major and/or
career planning. Requires completion of testing prior
to workshop. Offered Mondays from 3:45 - 5:00 p.m.
June 12 July 10
June 26 July 24
Academic and Career Self-Help Resource Areas
The Career Counseling & Testing Center and Learning Skills Center contain numerous handouts, cassettes, videos,
books, and computer programs that address a variety of concerns from career choice to study habits. All self-paced
material can be accessed from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. No appointment is required to use
these materials.
Career Counseling & Testing Center
Learning Skills Center
The mission of the Career Counseling & Testing
Center is to promote student development and self-
knowledge which results in fulfilling career choices.
Career exploration and planning, counseling, and
testing help students make decisions tailored to their
own unique combination of interests, abilities, values,
and personality characteristics.
The Learning Skills Center has a mission of assisting
students in developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes
which will enhance their study and test-taking abilities,
while decreasing anxieties related to academic
performance.
Pre-registration for workshops, computerized career guidance program,
and counseling is requested.
For further information, contact the Student Counseling service at
845-4427, ext. 108 or come by 114 Henderson Hall.