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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1996)
DRAFT DAY Six Aggies get the call from NFL teams. SPORTS, PAGE 7 Henderson: Schools are complying too readily with the Hopwood decision. OPINION, PAGE 9 A Dream Come True The Truth About Cats and Dogs tells an idealistic story. AGGIELIFE, PAGE 3 a If-dozen rece; he first round backs couldbf p eight — Phil 7i Biakabutuks , the Heismar, im Ohio State, nost sure to bt :e 1988 in J iaoo in wir ~^ r chosen inthe: 102 > No - (10 pages) The Battalion Chris I Serving Texas A&M University Since 1893 Monday • April 22, 1996 ;ar, . the NFL, wasu h the 76th pick ii top prospect is pt thnicity criteria temporarily reinstated lily Aguilar Battalion e 5th Circuit Court of Ap- i decided Friday to allow ic colleges and universities [einstate admissions and arship policies that use eth- 1 as a criteria. e decision allows state insti ls of higher education in |s, Louisiana and Mississippi ntinue following their admis- policies despite the March ivood vs. State of Texas ruling made special considerations Id illegal, he court’s stay, which was ghtendinJoy rested by Dan Morales, Wilson isa above. ? future. Texas attorney general, will be effective until May 13, when the State of Texas will request that the U.S. Supreme Court review the lower court’s ruling in the Hopwood case. From that point, the appeal will automatically extend the stay until the Supreme Court completes its review. Jim Ashlock, Texas A&M di rector of University Relations, said Texas A&M will begin fol lowing its policies again and that the Hopwood ruling has not af fected many students. More than 90 percent of ad missions for Summer and Fall 1996 had been decided before the ruling, he said. “We will revert to what we did before, but about 90 to 95 per cent of our enrollment for the summer and fall had been done,” Ashlock said. “Our only problem now is the students who were being held up because race was no longer a criterion.” The A&M administration is pleased with the court’s decision, Ashlock said, because the stay provides more time for it to re view its policies. The University has been us ing ethnicity as a criteria for 13 years. The Hopwood ruling forced it and other colleges and "Our only problem now is the students who were be ing held up because race was no longer a criterion." — JIM ASHLOCK Texas A&M director of University Relations universities in the three-state district to shut down their ad missions offices until new poli cies were formed. Ashlock said the University, which closed admissions for six days in March, had to review and revise quickly, leaving ad ministrators scrambling for a le gal way to promote diversity. “We need some time,” he said. “We’ve been giving special consideration to minority stu dents for 13 years. Out of the blue we are told ‘Don’t do it that way anymore.’” Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M president, said in a press release Friday that the additional time the court’s stay has allowed will give University officials an oppor tunity to develop feasible alterna tives, should the Supreme Court uphold the Hopwood ruling. “We will be provided time to review the overall situation,” Bowen said, “and develop alter natives available to us once the Supreme Court rules finally on the case.” Morales said in a press re lease Friday that the court was right to grant the stay. “The 5th Circuit has properly granted a stay in this case, thereby allowing the state the opportunity to prepare its appeal to the Supreme Court,” Morales said. “We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will accept the case and give guidance and ad vice to the state and nation in this important issue.” tel Irvin facing o anders could see raft pick. to punish opposv razos march sets ond-raising record young trainee te ... c „ ^ Kendra S. Rasmussen Battalion lyhead.Free fhe Texas A&M Corps of l they could nsec Wets marched 14 miles to the |zos River banks Saturday, jtting a fund-raising record marking the beginning of end for senior cadets, ore than 2,000 cadets par- ated in the annual March to Brazos, the nation’s largest [dent fund-raising event for March of Dimes. 'he money raised surpassed year’s record-setting ,000 and added to the 0,000 raised for the Brazos ley March of Dimes by the ps during the last 18 years, rin Dick, a senior English Jjor and March to the Brazos lairwoman, said the Corps ifped to raise $55,500 this year. “We have met and surpassed r goal),” she said. “Right now have over $61,000. We have |wn our goal out of the water.” ick said money is still com- tg in, and final totals have not n determined. [Every spring the Corps rches to the Brazos River, le event marks a symbolic [Math68911 Smsition of leadership in the sing will go of J re a no-man^ kuij LB, Texas! yvantagesi iclude: Corps, as seniors turn their du ties over to their successors. The Corps marches to the riv er under senior leadership and marches back with the juniors in the lead. Seniors do not march back with the Corps; they ride home in buses. Dick said many seniors get emotional at the march because it unofficially kicks off several senior activities, such as senior weekend, senior banquet and Ring Dance. “A lot of seniors are kind of starting to realize March to the Brazos marks the beginning of the end,” Dick said. Chris Jay, a junior genetics major, said the march allows the Corps to help others while dis playing their unity. “I think it is an opportunity for the Corps to ... show that we are unified and that we can col lectively work together,” he said. Cadets collect donations for participating in the march from businesses and individuals in Bryan, College Station and their home towns. Dick said this year’s collections were greater partly because of a See March, Page 5 j-1 Apache sophomores (from left) Robert Martinez, a mechanical mgineering major; Danny Musquiz, a biomedical science major; and iergio Mares, an electrical engineering major, "crap out" their fish in •reparation to "drop handles" — the privilege to use their sopho- nores' first names as they are gaining sophomore rank — with them learthe Brazos River during March to the Brazos Saturday. Muster remembers life, spirit of Aggies By Pamela Benson The Battalion As the flames of remembrance were lit and the word “Here” echoed through the hushed audience, thousands of Texas A&M students and former stu dents joined together Sunday night to pay tribute to those who have died dur ing the past year. The Muster ceremony, which was held in G. Rollie White Coliseum, at tracted a capacity crowd as current and former students gathered with family and friends to participate in one of A&M’s most time-honored traditions. The Class of ’46 and former students who participated in the 1946 Muster in Corregidor were also honored at the cer emony, some of them present. Muster originated in the late 1800s and is held at more than 400 locations across Texas and throughout the world. Kim Greebon, the Student Govern ment Muster Committee chair and se nior political science major, opened the ceremony by explaining the importance of Muster. “Muster is the epitome of Aggie spir it,” Greebon said. “It is something that cannot be explained in words, but it sim ply must be experienced.” Dr. Ray Bowen, A&M president, dis cussed the historical significance of the Class of ’46 and told how the closeness shared between those cadets should be sought by today’s students. “These Aggies have set a fine exam ple of integrity, pride and spirit,” Bowen said. “Class of 1996, you too will have the opportunity to return to Muster and set the example for the classes that will follow you.” Dr. E. Dean Gage, former A&M provost and a member of the Class of ’65, opened his speech with a lighthearted joke, but soon mesmerized the crowd by telling them the true meaning of Muster. “We celebrate lives at Muster because those who are being honored have lived their lives with dignity,” Gage said. “We must remember and learn from the con tributions of the past.” Gage also used the six letters in the word Muster to represent how the cere mony is significant to him. “M stands for the memory of those who are absent; U is for unselfishness; S is for the Spirit of Aggieland; T is for the tradition; E is for enthusiasm; R is for the responsibility we have to protect and respect Muster,” Gage said. Jan Higginbotham, a senior agricul tural journalism major, said she en joyed Gage’s message because he ex plained the ceremony in a way every one would understand. “I thought Gage’s words exemplified what Muster is all about,” Higginboth am said. “He put into words a concept that is so hard for people who are not Aggies to understand.” Following the keynote speech, roll See Muster, Page 5 Photos by Tim Moog, The Battalion Top: Karla Pruitt, Class of ‘92 holds a candle for her father, Dr. James R. Singer, Class of '64. Bottom: The Ross Volunteers fire a 21 -gun salute to mark the end of the Muster ceremony. Unity Fest echoes Woodstock Coaches face themes — peace, happiness prayer lawsuit By Marissa Alanis The Battalion In a spirit reminiscent of Woodstock, 700 to 800 people united on O.R. Simpson Drill Field Saturday, lounging in the grass, watching bands perform and eating fajitas at the fourth annual Texas A&M Whoop- stock Unity Festival. Despite overcast weather, several campus organizations provided food and entertain ment. The Aggie Democrats barbecued sausage-on-a stick, and Challenge, a program within the health and kinesiology depart ment, facilitated noncompetitive activities such as parachuting and Hula-Hooping. Karri Wilson, a Whoopstock concessions committee member and junior zoology ma jor, said the festival’s themes echoed those of the original 1969 Woodstock. “It’s bringing in the thoughts of Wood- stock, which were peace and happiness, with ah Aggie twist,” Wilson said. Ethnic dances were performed by mem bers of organizations such as the United South Asian American Committee, who mixed a traditional Indian dance with mod em dance. Partha Mukherji, the USAAC treasurer and a senior biology major, said the perfor mance united the dancers, who represent various religious backgrounds, promoting understanding among them. Festival attendees with a creative flair had the opportunity to draw on the side walks with chalk, an activity sponsored by the MSC Visual Arts Committee. Lalaine Little, MSC Visual Arts Commit tee adviser, said sidewalk art allowed people to express their own ideas of unity, creating a visual web of symbols. “The idea of unity has so many symbols connected with it,” Little said, “that if peo ple see the unity symbols, it will drive that See Whoopstock, Page 5 ELGIN, Texas (AP) — High school foot ball and baseball in this town of 4,874 bring the community together. Now, a lawsuit contends that Elgin High athletic director and football coach Eddie Baca violated the constitutional separation of church and state by forcing his players to pray before games. But that doesn’t upset many residents here. < “You’d think (from media reports) lines were drawn, but I don’t see it at all,” Mayor Eric Carlson said. “I don’t sense a great deal of trauma.” Baca, in his first year at Elgin, faces a school board hearing Monday night to de termine if his contract will be renewed. The contract was up for consideration before the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of some students and parents last month. The lawsuit accuses Baca, baseball coach Brad Osbom and two See Prayer, Page 2 J