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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1996)
our T-Th and Wed. it special F sning j r More I ted with in { in per day., i i other offers. | 996 Longmire je Station ing ), m.). cash. RIP CITY Hard-hitting Aggie hitters crush SHSU. SPORTS, PAGE 7 Stidvent: Resurrection Week confuses Christian values. OPINION, PAGE 11 Despite their unknown l origins, traditions remain a part of A&M. AGG1ELIFE, PAGE 3 Battalion 1. 102, No. 122 (12 pages) Serving Texas AdrM University Since 1893 Wednesday • April 3, 1996 Bush visits Aggieland By Danielle Pontiff The Battalion Texas Gov. George Bush, son of former President George Bush, said ia a speech at Texas A&M Tuesday night that he has learned a lot about the needs of Texans through out the past two years. In the speech, which was hosted byMSC Political Forum, Bush told 500 students and community mem bers that he has enjoyed the work and continuous learning involved with being governor. “I’m getting more educated in the capitol,” Bush said. “You never stop learning in life. This is interesting work, and I have learned a lot.” Bush said governors of other states are impressed with how limited gov ernment works in Texas. The state Mnstitution allows the legislature to meet for 140 days every two years. “Other state governors can’t be lieve it,” Bush said. “Their legisla tures meet almost every day. I’ve seen first hand that you can get a lot done in a limited time.” Bush told the audience that the best policies are those made by individuals at the local level who base their deci sions on common principles. The government should trust local people to make decisions for schools and communities,” Bush said. “It is im portant in Texas to put partisanship aside to make Texas a better place, listen to other people’s views.” The governor said he intends to increase the literacy rate for chil dren in Texas public schools during ? his term in office. “There are 310,000 students in Texas that failed the basic reading test,'Bush said. “If you can’t read, you ran t learn. There is no more simple or profound goal other than every child in : Texas must be able to read.” Bush said foreign policy with Mexico is another issue he has been concerned with as governor. He said be considers Mexico a nation with promising economic and social growth, and he supports cooperation between the United States and the Mexican government. “Problems are best solved with a spirit of friendship as opposed to a hostile environment,” Bush said. “We want Mexico to succeed. I reject any isolationist rhetoric that would (separate) Texas (from) our neigh bors in the south.” Bush also discussed the Hopwood vs. Texas decision with the audi ence. He said he agrees with the de cision in the district court case, which makes it illegal for state uni versities to use ethnicity as a crite ria for admissions and scholarships. He said that students who work the hardest are the ones who should be rewarded and that race should not be an issue. “I don’t think the university should include people based upon race or exclude people based upon race,” Bush said. “I really believe there’s a decent way to not discrimi nate by race. Recruit the best stu dents that work the hardest.” Bush urged students to get in volved with the state government to make Texas a better place. He told audience members that they must work to improve the state and na tion. and that they must take re sponsibility for their actions. “This great University under stands the importance of the individ ual and the community,” Bush said. “We must take control of our own des tiny. I want a new day where each and every one of us becomes account able for what we do or say.” Ryan Tucker, an MSC Political See Bush, Page 5 Sterling Hayman, The Battalion Don Wilson,(right) Texas A&M executive director of the George Bush Presiden tial Library, looks at plans for the library with Gov. George Bush (center). Amy Browning, The Batcalion RUBBER DUCKY, YOU'RE THE ONE Laurie Alexis, a freshman accounting major, collects rubber ducks at the end of a rubber duck race in Rudder Fountain. The races were held by OPAS as a fund raiser. Board includes A&M student College Station City Council forms Northgate Revitalization board By Kendra S. Rasmussen The Battalion The College Station City Council voted Thursday to ap prove the formation of a North- gate Revitalization Board to oversee Northgate projects and serve as a link between the City Council and Northgate mer chants and property owners. Todd McDaniel, Northgate project coordinator, said the board will consist of 12 mem bers representing different par ties interested in the revitaliza tion efforts. Two Texas A&M administra tors, Dr. Jerry Gaston, vice president for administration, and Tom Williams, director of Parking and Transit Services, have been selected to serve on the board. Other members will include an architect, Julius Girbou of Texas A&M, two property owners, two merchants, two church represen tatives, and one real estate pro fessional. One additional position has been filled, as well. McDaniel said the board is seeking an A&M student to fill a vacancy on the board. He said the student represen tative, who will be a voting mem ber, will be included so that stu dents’ concerns are addressed. “I welcome the opportunity of having someone from the stu dent population represented,” he said. Applications will be avail able for the student position, which will be appointed by council and board members. McDaniel said the board will serve four basic purposes — of fering advice to city staff about Northgate revitalization efforts, communicating ongoing activi ties to others in the Northgate district, soliciting participation from Northgate merchants and property owners, and perform ing design reviews. Richard Benning, board vice chairman and owner and man ager of Dudley’s Draw and Fitzwilly’s, said the revitaliza tion board will work to carry out Northgate projects that will benefit the community. “(The Board will serve as) a clearinghouse of ideas to help fa cilitate the revitalization propo sitions of Northgate,” he said. Gaston, board member and A&M vice president for admin istration, said the board will consider all viewpoints when making its decisions. “Certainly the committee will want advice from all inter ested parties about the future of Northgate, but I don’t believe each member is what I would call a single constituent repre sentative,” he said. “We are to look at the whole rather than one single part of it. “I would like to see that the See Board, Page 6 Child care site not supported by GSC By Heather Pace The Battalion The Graduate Student Coun cil approved a motion last night to support a child-care facility at Texas A&M; however, mem bers did not support the center’s proposed site. The Granada Building, locat ed in Research Park, needs ma jor structural overhaul, includ ing a new foundation slab. The council cited the Radiological Safety Office, a department in the Granada Building, as anoth er concern because members fear the office could expose chil dren to radiation. So far, $680,000 has been al located to the Granada Building through coin-operated laundry machines and telephones. The money collected is insufficient to complete the renovation. Because the Granada Build ing would accommodate 80 chil dren, only about 25 graduate students would be able to take advantage of the center. Council members said one possibility would be to purchase a $300,000 building, which would allow for 100 children, and move it to a new site at the University-owned apartments. See Site, Page 5 lay {aity- FILING I L. LEGE RN GOME Speaker addresses rape prevention By Erica Roy The Battalion Katie Koestner, a former student at the Col lege of William and Mary, told Texas A&M stu dents Tuesday night at the MSC about her rape as a college freshman. Koestner, whose program was the result of Cory Willis, The Battalion Katie Koestner, a rape survivor, tells students ways to prevent rapes. the efforts of several University organizations, spoke about the ordeals she faced after the rape and the problems she had with adminis trators when she sought disciplinary action. Koestner’s “No/Yes” program on date rape addressed the apathy of the administration at William and Mary, which convinced her to share her story with other students. She said remaining silent would have been easy, but she feared that no one else would speak up if she did not. Koestner outlined for the audience three ways to try to prevent rapes, citing communica tion, responsibility and respect as the key com ponents to stopping date rape. She said clear, verbal communication is nec essary, and she advised men to ask women for consent because, “verbal consent is the safest consent.” Koestner said responsibility is important when alcohol is being consumed because 90 percent of all date rapes involve alcohol. However, she said that an intoxicated person “deserves a hangover, not being raped.” Respect for rape survivors, Koestner said, is another way to prevent date rapes. “As long as rape is a joke, it will not stop,” Koestner said. “It takes a very brave man to say T didn’t find it funny,’ especially here at Texas A&M.” See Rape, Page 6 Corps offers new library escorts By Michelle Lyons The Battalion The Corps of Cadets and Ster ling C. Evans Library are offer ing a special escort program for students who spend late nights at the library. Students will now have access to the Guard Room from a special phone located at the entrance of the library to request an escort to accompany them from the library to their cars or residence halls. The library escort program is part of the Guard Room Escort program, which the Corps has been providing for several years. Colleen Cook, library associate dean, said that because the li brary has been undergoing some major transformations, parking near the library has become in creasingly difficult and safety has become an issue. Cook said the phone at the front desk will allow an almost •immediate response from the Guard Room escorts. In addition, the Corps escorts will carry hand-held radios so they can easily get in touch with the desk and will be able to help person after person, instead of having to check in with the Guard FLoom between assignments. Col. Lee McCleskey, Comman dant’s Office Operations and Training chief, said the Corps was approached by library personnel who recognized that students might be exposed to dangerous situations late at night. The construction area is not well-lit, Lee said, and chain-link fencing makes passage difficult. “Although the Guard Room Es cort policy is not new, this rela tionship with the Library is new,” Lee said. “Working together to help the students is what this is all about.” Fred Heath, library dean, said in a press release that the pro gram will benefit students who frequent the library during late- night hours. “The safety of students coming and going from the library during the evening hours has long con cerned us, and we are very pleased that Maj. Gen. Thomas Darling has offered to extend the Guard Room Escorts’ duties to in clude assistance from the library,” Heath said. “The stability, credi bility and trust placed in the Corps Guard Room Escorts makes them ideal partners.” The Corps Guard Room oper ates 24 hours a day, and a senior cadet is in command at all times. This new service will not be available on holidays or in the summer when the Guard Room is not operating. The library’s new evening shut tle service will also provide stu dents with assistance when trav eling to parking lots 50 and 51.