The Battalion
4102, No. 148 (6 pages) Serving Texas AdrM University Since 1893 Thursday • June 13, 1996
Emilies benefit
rom apartment’s
ax credit program
I Melissa Nunnery
: Battalion
in apartment complex in College Sta
ll provides affordable housing for low-
(ome families. Windsor Pointe may be
♦•income housing, but it is not a gov-
oment subsidy. The residents pay
sir full rent.
Rent at Windsor Pointe is $428 per
rath for a two-bedroom apartment,
JS493 a month for a three bedroom
iirtment.
The owners charge lower rates with
/benefit of a tax credit.
Jo Carroll, Administrator of Commu-
!)■ Development in College Station,
dtax credit is a federal tax program.
The federal government allocates
sdits to states,” Carroll said. “The
Ite of Texas administers the credits
augh the Department of Housing and
inmunity Affairs, which sets the poli-
jrhow credits are distributed.”
Carroll said a construction subsidy
lies in the form of a rebate to the
iperty owners. Once owners lease the
jiperty to low-income families, they re-
fecredit applied to their taxes.
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Windsor Pointe apartments in College
Station receive tax credits for providing
low-rent housing to families.
Dan Mueller, assistant manager of
Windsor Pointe, said the state approves
an application based on the need for
low-income housing in a particular area.
Carroll said applicants who want to
build in areas where development is ex
pensive and the population has a low in
come get extra points in the application
See Housing, Page 2
rogram increases
liversity awareness
IggieCuIture' will be presented
Inew student conferences
Pamela Benson
Battalion
Voughout the summer, future Ag-
and parents will gather in Rudder
‘Ctorfum to learn about a special in
dent in Aggieland.
SgieCulture, a program designed to
'iliten awareness of the many differ-
fs among stu-
! son campus,
gives students
*nnation on
K ing involved
various orga-
Itions.
leNew Student
station and
'station Confer- ______
ihas restruc-
i the program
viewed through the eyes of students,
the past, the program was read by
iff person from a script and lacked
perspective.
ie students presenting the program
rientation leaders, selected through
implication process.
layla Jeter, a sophomore elemen-
education major, said Texas A&M is
one of the most diverse gatherings of
people one could ever find.
“I think new students should realize
that there are cultural differences here,
and if they are exposed to those differ
ences now, then they’ll be one step
ahead,” Jeter said.
The program not only introduces eth
nic differences, but also touches on reli
gious beliefs, so
cioeconomic status,
sexual orientation
and physical dis
abilities.
The structure of
the program is inter
active, and audience
participation is
strongly encouraged.
The activities
are designed to
make the audience comfortable and help
them to become aware of the many di
verse groups represented in the room.
In addition to the activities, new stu
dents watch a video about campus diver
sity narrated by Brook Leslie, former
student body president.
See Diversity, Page 2
How
are
you?
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Robert Wright, a graduate genetics student, secures his bike on West Campus Tuesday night.
By Jeffrey Cranor and April Towery
The Battalion
I t is easy to feel safe in the
small community of Bryan-
College Station. A small com
munity, however, does not
make a safe community.
A University Police Department re
port indicates that not everyone sub
scribes to the Aggie Code of Honor.
There were 1,876 total offenses re
ported on campus in fiscal year
1995 compared to 1,741 in 1992.
UPD Lt. Bert Kretzschmar said
measures are being taken by ASM to
deter an increase in campus crime.
These measures include new light
ing, more blue phones and access to
crime prevention information.
"Aggies do not lie cheat or steal."
Kretzschmar said with so many students coming in for
orientation this summer, the biggest problem is theft.
“The most common type of theft is what we call opportu
nity theft,” Kretzschmar said. “You’re playing racquetball
and leave your wallets outside or leave your belongings in
the library while you walk around for an hour.”
Kretzschmar said theft can be prevented with a pro
gram called Operation ID.
Operation ID involves writing down the serial num
bers of cameras, bicycles and VCRs; the numbers are
then entered into a nationwide computer.
“People also need to take an electrical engraver or
marker and mark property with their driver license num
ber,” Kretzschmar said.
“If your bike is stolen and you see someone riding it on
campus, you can go to the police department and say, Tiey,
that’s my bike.’ The police department will say, ‘Prove it,’” he
said. “If you have your driver license number engraved, it
just takes a minute to prove that it belongs to you.”
Similar to other college campuses, textbook theft is a
problem at A&M toward the end of each semester.
Kretzschmar said students can write their initials on
the first page or on the side of a book.
Kretzschmar said these preventative measures should
be taken because only 20 percent of the property stolen
on campus was recovered.
See AGGIELIFE, Page 3
L
iEATIN' THE HEAT
Re Smith, 11, and her sister Katie Smith, 5, sell lemonade from their stand on Southwest Parkway
Nnesday afternoon. They are going to split the profits.
Alumni magazine shuns spotlight
By Heather R. Rosenfeld
The Battalion
Former students may not be getting their
full dosage of authenticity when the inocula-
tor is Texas Aggie, the alumni magazine of
Texas A&M.
Jerry Cooper, editor of Texas Aggie, said he
tries not to offend his readers.
“Issues have people on both sides and we are
very careful to try and not do things to antago
nize the constituents,” Cooper said.
This concept is the problem, according to Anne
Diffily, editor of the Brown Alumni Monthly.
“A magazine that contains nothing that dis
turbs or even offends anyone is printed Cream of
Wheat — bland mush,” Diffily told the magazine
Linguafranca, a review of academic life.
Deputy Director of University Relations Lane
Stephenson disagreed with the accusation.
“I don’t think the Aggie sees its role as writ
ing exposes or covering every controversy on this
campus,” Stephenson said. “We leave the contro
versy to publications like The Battalion.”
Marc Wortman, writer for Linguafranca, com
mented on the balancing act editors of alumni
magazines must understand between being a
journalist and being a public relations person.
“They (editors) know full well that the more
applause they get from their peers, the more
trouble they might have with their employers,”
Wortman said. “Indeed, a reputation for putting
out an independent, hard-hitting magazine can
cost an editor his job.”
Cooper said he agrees that the juxtaposition
of the two jobs is a difficult task to accomplish,
but he knows where his paycheck comes from.
“I’d like to consider myself a journalist, but
I’m really a public relations man,” Cooper said. “
... I’m not concerned about my job, because I
know who I work for.”
According to Wortman, both the Stanford
Magazine and the Pennsylvania Gazette’s edi
tors lost their jobs last year as a result of produc
ing, “independent, hard-hitting” magazines.
However, both editors received the Robert Sibley
Magazine of the Year Award. The award, the top
honor for an alumni magazine, has never been
given to the Texas Aggie.
Cooper attributed the oversight to the Aggie’s
conservative style.
“Our stories are stories that don’t get
those outside the Aggie family really excit
ed,” he said. “Why would 300 different
meetings around the world in April catch the
attention of anyone outside (the University)
... we try and preserve traditions.”
Stephenson defended A&M’s style in ap
proaching the magazine.
“Rice’s magazine ... has a reputation just
like its marching band, irreverent and
sassy,” he said. “That is just not the forte of
the Texas Aggie.”
Cooper said the strength of Texas Aggie
is not controversy, but instead, lies in the
hands of what former students and donors
to the University want.
“We are trying to work for the promotion of
A&M ... we are in the fund raising business,”
Cooper said. “The magazine shouldn’t take
stands on controversial issues.”
Alec Horn, Texas Aggie subscriber and class
of ’83 agent, realizes he does not receive all cur
rent issues through the Aggie, but said he is
very pleased with the publication.
“I have found the Texas Aggie to be an in
valuable resource to keep in touch with what’s
going on in the University,” Horn said.