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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1996)
i STAMPEDE THE BEST LAID PLANS THE FRIENDS CRAZE ' number ' 1 basket.” the defer somethiri; ?ives coir! n going t ; iirt failit; near-u] one has m oky chart ng,” Barori, doll? Brinj Both Aggie basketball teams suffer losses to Texas. Sports, Page 7 Landauer: Phil Gramm's quest for the presidency failed because of his insincerity. Opinion, Page 11 Some A&M students have become obsessed with Friends. Aggielife, Page 3 The Battalion )l. 102, No. 93 (12 pages) Serving Texas AdrM University Since 1893 Thursday* February 13, 1996 Lrramm props from GOP race JThe Texas senator said he will now focus in his seat in the Senate. WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas Sen. Phil Gramm owed out of the Republican presidential campaign Wednesday, but not without taking a parting shot at the ival who more than any other pushed him out of the ace: Pat Buchanan. See related COLUMN, Page 11 Even as he set his sights homeward on a Senate re jection campaign that has been in mothballs, Gramm iromised to continue fighting against protectionism “un- 111 am lowered into the grave.” In a clear jab at Buchanan, who is fiercely critical of rade agreements, the Texan said: “Our party can never bllow the path of protectionism.” “We have always been wise enough to reject it, and I •eject it now and I always will reject it,” Gramm said at a packed Capitol Hill news conference with his wife, Wendy Lee Gramm, at his side. Buchanan had gotten under Gramm’s skin, handing him a humiliating loss in the Louisiana caucuses last week and laying claim to the Christian conserva tives Gramm had wooed in Iowa. After an embarrassing fifth-place showing in the Iowa caucuses Monday — and facing the prospects of a drub bing in New Hampshire, where his TV ads were still airing Wednesday night — Gramm left the campaign trail Tuesday and returned to Washington to huddle with his advisers. Having spent at least $20 million in the race, Gramm said he was not quitting for lack of mon ey. Figuring into the deliberations was his other race: re- election to the Senate seat he has held since 1985. Some advisers had urged him to pull the plug on his moribund presidential campaign and focus on the Senate race, worried that his weak national performance could hurt him at home, but Gramm rejected arguments that be is vulnerable in Texas. Smiling and upbeat, Gramm said, “It is my goal now to become a great senator.” While Gramm said he has no plans to endorse another candidate, he did say he would be “the strongest sup porter” of the party’s nominee. Gramm Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion REALITY BYTES Kathy Pollok, a senior geology major, plays Virtual Reality at Rudder Plaza. The Cutting Edge Tour came to A&M Wednesday. SCONA to rehash national concerns Recycle Northgate bars clean up their act □ A recycling project has been launched to decrease waste establishments that serve beer in bottles. By Pamela Benson The Battalion Two Texas A&M students are putting a lid on the number of brown beer bottles thrown away on Northgate. Five months ago, Kristi Shaw, a senior bioenvironmental science major, and Kimberley Collins, a ju nior agricultural economics major, noticed that mass quantities of Northgate beer bottles were not being recycled. “We realized the volume of bot tles being thrown away and took the initiative to try to control the prob lem,” Shaw said. With the help of Kevin McAllis ter, an employee of Junction 505 re cycling service they launched a recy cling project. After long hours of coordinating, networking and making numerous phone calls, 10 recycling bins with lids were donated by Brazos Bever ages Inc. The trio decided to place the bins inside Duddley’s, Fitz Willie’s, King of the Road House and North- gate Cafe. “Brown glass” labels that are placed on the bin lids were paid for by the National Association of Envi ronmental Professionals and the Texas Action Coalition. See Recycle, Page 12 □ The conference this weekend will center around political issues, because 1996 is an election year. By Johanna Henry The Battalion The Student Conference on Na tional Affairs, an MSG organiza tion, will host its annual conference Thursday through Saturday. This year’s theme is “Governance in the 21st Century.” Tricia Wisenbaker, a senior psy chology major and SCONA dele gate, said this year’s conference theme is especially interesting be cause it is an election year. “I think it is always good to hear the opinions of people from other areas in the country,” she said. “Here at A&M we only get one cer tain perspective.” The SCONA conference, first held in 1956, was modeled after a program at West Point that brought military and civilian minds together to discuss topics of national importance. A&M developed its own confer ence when it was still an all-male military institution, but kept its ties with West Point. Each year, A&M sends two dele gates to the West Point conference, and West Point sends two dele gates to the A&M conference. The SCONA committee selects 50 delegates from A&M and 50 del egates from other schools to attend each year’s conference at A&M. Delegates attend three open pre sentations and four roundtable dis cussion sessions. Amanda Ylitalo, a sophomore international studies major, said the roundtable discussions help See SCONA, Page 12 Fraternity to testify on hazing charges □ A hearing will be held today to determine Pi Kappa Alpha's role in an alleged hazing incident; individual fraternity members will be dealt with some time next week. By Lily Aguilar The Battalion The Texas A&M chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity will have a closed hearing today at 7 p.m. with the Interfraternity Council Judicial Board to determine if the fraternity is guilty of Jan. 16 hazing charges. Lanita Hanson, coordinator of Greek affairs and assistant director of student activities, said the fraternity requested that the hearing be closed. Only witnesses called to testify and members of the nine-person IFC Judicial Board will be allowed to attend. "The way it has been handled be tween the IFC and the University shows we refuse to cover up any thing with the investigation and the hearing." — Jon Price student activities and IFC adviser Hanson said that if the fraternity is found guilty they will face sanctions determined by the judicial board, which could include the chapter’s removal from the A&M campus or required com munity service. “(The Department of Student Affairs) tries to get the judicial board to look at educational sanctions, but suspending the fraternity from campus is a possibility,” Hanson said. “The J-board could also put the fraternity on probation, so if another violation occurs, they would be suspended from campus.” The IFC Judicial Board, comprised of men from nine different fraternities, hears all cases of University policy violations, including alcohol and hazing incidents. The fraternity can appeal any decision made by the IFC to the Student Organization Appeal Board, which is made up of University staff members. The fraternity would be able to appeal a sec ond time to Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice pres ident for student affairs. Hanson said the board is concerned only with determining if Phi Kappa Alpha as a group has violated the University’s hazing policy. Gene Zdziarski, assistant director of student life, said cases involving individuals are handled by the Conflict Resolution Center and have no relation to the organizational hearing. Zdziarski said three A&M students are in volved in the hazing charges against Pi Kappa Alpha and that their cases will be heard some time next week. Individual fraternity members found guilty of hazing could receive a letter of reprimand or be expelled from the University. “Hazing is a major violation,” Zdziarski said, “and it could result in suspension from Texas A&M.” The outcome of today’s hearing will have no effect on the individual cases, he said. Jon Price, student activities and IFC adviser, said that though the hazing investigation could have serious repercussions for the Greek system, the IFC has been cooperative with the University. “The way it has been handled between the IFC and the University shows we refuse to cover up anything with the investigation and the hearing,” he said. Puryear, Law Halls site for future dormitory memorial 3 RHA members support a proposal to place a park like monument where the un-used dorms now stand. By Tauma Wiggins The Battalion The Texas A&M Residence Hall As sociation decided Wednesday night to support construction of a monument for Puryear and Law Halls. The monument proposal was devel oped by the Cornerstone Committee, a group of RHA members and residents of FNaryear and Law Halls. Suzanne Lyons, RHA president and senior geophysics major, said she sup ports the committee’s plan to create a park-like space to memorialize the resi dence halls that will be torn down this semester after Spring Break. Committee members said the monu ment will be completed within two years and will include a sidewalk lined with benches and arches. The proposed monument is designed in the shape of an “L” to simulate the present alignment of the two halls. Jake Carr, RHA facilities and opera tions chairman and a senior English major, said the proposed design is aesthetically pleasing and will cost about 850,000 to build. “It will look kind of like an en tryway to a park or something,” Carr said. Money for the project will come from fund raising done by the Depart ment of Residence Life and Housing, Carr said, not from increases in resi dence hall rent. will be placed on the monument site and selling the original bricks from Fkiryear and Law Halls. “Benches are bought by families for X amount of dollars, Si,500 to $2,000, for example,” Carr said. “You can get a lot of money from fund raising.” Lyons said RHA’s support of the pro posal will help ensure its success. “This will help to expedite the process of putting up the memorial now,” Lyons said. “(Not voting for the monument) wouldn’t have stopped the project, but the Cornerstone Committee needed our support.” ^ ./V 1 "(Support of the proposal) will help l A 9 iv I fWl | ■■ X : : expedite the process of putting up ^ IP! 11 IT! 1 the memorial now." 1 w m § § 1 — Suzanne Lyons RHA president Possible fund-raisers include selling nameplates for benches and trees that