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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1995)
Buggin’ out Fitzgerald: Students must live in fear because of A&M's ant infestation. Opinion, Page 15 In the spotlight Uptmor: Jonatha Brooke has thrown herself into the musical mix. Aggielife, Page 3 Bat Good company The Swimming and Diving Teams face some tough competition this weekend. Sports, Page 11 102, No. 67 (16 pages) Established in 1893 Thursday • November 30, 1995 HE adets react to Clinton’s decision Reconnaissance ED Jome cadets said the U.S. ould not be the world's police, lile others offered support for I ling the people of former goslavia. Heather Pace [E Battalion Amid controversy over U.S. involvement the former Yugoslavia, the Texas A&M irps of Cadets stands strong in its determi- iion to follow orders from President Clin- i, even though personal beliefs may differ. On Monday, Clinton urged Americans to pport the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops help enforcement of the Dayton Accords, a peace treaty recently agreed upon by divisions of the former Yugoslavia. Although the troops would be under American control, they would help NATO enforce a separation zone between the op posing sides. Maj. Robert King, a military science pro fessor involved with the Corps’ Army ROTC detachment, said the Army must do its duty, whether it supports Clinton’s decision or not. “The fact is that we are soldiers,” King said. “We don’t necessarily question where we are ordered to go. If we are ordered to go, we will go on the mission.” A debate is raging in Washington, D.C. that centers around whether America’s role is to further world peace. The debate is also a big issue within the Corps, since 40 percent of cadets will seek careers in the military. Kyle Robinson, A-l commanding officer and a senior psychology major, said the United States does not have a duty to the world. “As far as Bosnia goes, I don’t believe that we are the world’s police,” he said. “I’m tak ing a contract in the Army, and I personally wouldn’t want to be fighting over there in Bosnia for their disagreement.” King, however, offered support for Ameri ca’s role as a global watchdog. “We are the leaders of the free world and the head of the democratic new world order,” he said, “and as such, we have to take the lead in special circumstances.” Clint McReynolds, second battalion com mander and a senior business analysis ma jor, said he believes the responsibility of for mer Yugoslavia should be shifted to Europe. “I personally don’t think we belong over See Reaction, Page i o team visits Bosnia □ The group will survey the war-ravaged area. KALESIJA, Bosnia-Herzegov- ina (AP) — U.S. military experts arrived in northern Bosnia Wednesday to scout the battered countryside where thousands of GIs are to keep the peace. “We’ve got a lot to do and very little time to do it,” said Col. John Brown, splashing through the mud in a U.N. pickup truck. Within weeks, some 20,000 U.S. soldiers are to begin arriv ing, and then will fan out across northeastern Bosnia. French, British and other troops will pa trol the rest of the country. In the meantime, Brown’s teams will be bouncing, over hun dreds of miles of northeastern Bosnia, checking landing strips, pothole-riddled roads, scores of villages and many minefields. The GIs will face “the same dangers that have been here for several years and will continue. See BOSNIA, Page 10 Student Senate passes on-line transcript, Southside mail box bills Amy Browning, The Battalion Let out your frustrations Julie Schumaker, a senior anthropology major, takes a whack at the van painted to re semble Bevo Wednesday afternoon in front of Rudder Fountain. ELEPHANT WALK Seniors prepare to take final walk □ The Elephant Walk speaker said the fall's events are more than a preparation for graduation, but a transition to the next 20 years of their lives. By Lily Aguilar The Battalion Before seniors tour the Texas A&M campus for the last time as members of the Twelfth Man, Charles A. “Chuck” Hinton, Elephant Walk speaker and a Class of ’76 yell leader, will relive the journey he made 20 years ago. Hinton of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, is the vice president of Nicklos-Hinton Drilling Company and president of Faywood International. Hinton, who has also spoken at Ag gie Muster, said he wants to address the graduating class about the future as they prepare to leave college life. “I want to talk about why I came to A&M and what happened to me, person ally, as I became an Aggie,” he said. “I also want to talk about the changes they can expect during the next 20 years as I’ve seen from my own experience.” Seniors tend to feel pessimistic after Elephant Walk and their last Bonfire, Hinton said, but these events are do not end their senior year. It is impor tant for seniors to begin setting new goals for their futures, he said. “I know that Elephant Walk is sup posed to symbolize elephants wander ing aimlessly,” he said. “It should be a time when the seniors wander with a purpose. “At A&M we are taught to be a part of established goals — Bonfire, Muster, Silver Taps. We were led into these things by those before us. Now we need to set individual goals.” Elephant Walk is a bittersweet memory, Hinton said, because he was fatigued and stressed from his last night helping on Bonfire with his Corps unit. Being the Elephant Walk speaker will give Hinton an opportunity to re create his walk. “It is an honor to be asked back to share my experience with this class,” he said. “It is a challenge to tell them not to be sad, but proud of what they’ve done. See Walk, Page 1 0 SCHEDULE Who: Class of ’96 When: 96 minutes after noon Where: The walk begins at Kyle Field ends at Bonfire site for pictures and yells. Who: Class of ’97 When: 96 minutes after noon Where: The juniors’ walk be gins at Bonfire and ends at Kyle Field. The Athletic Department re minds juniors and seniors to keep off the field during the event. The transcript proposal would allow students to obtain free unofficial ranscripts. ly Tara Wilkinson The Battalion The Texas A&M Student Sen ate Wednesday night called for ampus additions that would Provide an option to receive free transcripts through the A&M computer system, a Southside mail drop box and more bicycle racks on West Campus. Jesse Czelusta, a Northside senator and a senior agricultur al economics major, said in stead of paying for transcripts, students should be able to re ceive them free of charge through the “Bonfire” command on the A&M computer system. “Students seem to like the idea,” Czelusta said. “It’s just an other convenience. It’s no big, con troversial deal.” Senators were concerned that if transcripts are added to the computer system, any stu dents’ grades could be viewed simply by entering their social security number and birth date into the computer. But Czelusta said if students do not feel secure with identifi cation numbers consisting of their social security num bers and birth dates, they can go to 113 Heaton Hall and change their identification number. Czelusta said this method would be as se cure as the A&M tele phone registration system already in operation, through which students can access their grades. The Senate also called for the installation of a mail drop box on Coke Street between Corps dorms 4 and 6. The only mail box currently locat ed on Southside is in the Commons.. “Essentially, this bill was first brought up on behalf of the Corps of Cadets to provide a mail box that is driving ac cessible,” Czelusta said. The mail drop box lo cation was a compro mise between the Sen ate and the College Sta tion postmaster, who wanted the mail box lo cated on an already estab lished mail route. Eliot Kerlin Jr., a College of Business senator and a junior fi nance major, authored the bill for additional bike racks to be placed on West Campus between the Wehner Building and the West Campus Library. The bill states that because traffic to West Campus in creased after these two facili ties were built last year, nu merous bicyclists are forced to “lock their bicycles to shrubs, light posts or nothing at all.” West Campus will be safer and more attractive, Kerlin said, if bi cycle racks are added. In other business, the Senate introduced a bill that would change the funding source of two Corps of Cadets programs: the Corps Leadership Training and Unit Advisor Program and the Corps Room Scholarship. These programs, which to gether cost $337, 972 annually, are funded by on-campus resi dent fees. As it reads now, the bill re quests a fairer method of raising these funds, suggesting alumni funding or a flat fee for the entire student body. But Hilary Ekblad, North- side senator and a junior politi cal science major, said senators will revise the options present ed in the bill after receiving student feedback. The Senate bill supports a sim ilar bill passed this month by the Residence Hall Association. Correspondent discusses negative depictions SWC spectacular in tomorrow’s Batt slewman, a CNN Latin n correspondent said Jia coverage focuses on tive events in Mexico. Keerins Lengthy U.S. media coverage of recent Mexican crises has held American atten tion, but does not provide a complete pic ture of Mexico, a CNN Latin American cor respondent visiting Texas A&M said Wednesday afternoon. Lucia Newman, who is based in Santiago, Chile, discussed media depictions of the Mexican criris at the Kyle R. Younts Inter national Forum, an event begun in 1994 to educate students about international issues. Newman said U.S. news coverage of Mexico does not vary from the usual media trend of focusing on negative events and neglecting to report positive events. “The way we cover Mexico is by emphasiz ing what we think is important,” Newman said. “It is usually the dramatic and chaotic.” Dr. Henry Schmidt, an A&M Latin American history professor, gave an overview of the Mexican crisis. “Throughout the 1980s,” Schmidt said, “two extraordinary things began to happen — the global break-up of socialism and the Mex ican desire to change its economic and politi cal system of at least 60 years standing.” These two forces, which converged to shape Mexico into what it is today, he said, are referred to as the neoliberal change. In 1982, the Mexican government faced a foreign debt crisis that consumed Mexi- can-U.S. relations and media coverage of Mexico for much of the decade. “We try to cover human interest stories,” Newman said. “But stories about good news invariably take a back seat to hard breaking news, which is almost always bad news.” Peso devaluation, the assassination of presidential candidate Colosio and natural disasters are examples Newman gave of Mexican issues dramatized in the U.S. press. Newman said U.S. coverage of NAFTA, another hot topic, is usually slanted. See Correspondent, Page 2 Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion Lucia Newman, a CNN Latin American cor respondent, spoke about the impact of the media's negative depictions of Mexico Wednesday afternoon. In tomorrow's issue. The Battalion will feature a special section commemorating the end of the Southwest Conference. The issue will include profiles of all SWC teams and focus on the battles between Texas A&M and the University of Texas. Also in tomorrow's Batt, look for a special section chronicling the history of A&M's Bonfire.