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
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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