The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 16, 1996, Image 1

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    The Battalion
olume 103 • Issue 33 • 12 Pages
Wednesday, October 16, 1996
The Batt Online: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
HA plans campus hotline Council debates
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. 11/29/96
By Wesley Poston and
JoAnne Whittemore
I The Battalion
Irazos Valley Crimestoppers
leeking a joint venture with
ffexas A&M Residence Hall
ociation (RHA) and Texas
ies Making Changes (TAMC)
increase campus safety
ugh an on-campus hotline,
azos Valley Crimestoppers
(its first school-based hot-
[at a College Station junior
bin 1991.
|hris Kirk, Crimestoppers
[rdinator, said the program
tso successful that the orga-
ation wanted to target all
ipuses within the area.
ITexas A&M is like a commu-
jwithin the community, so
(figured it was about time
we set up a hotline there,”
haid.
Kirk said the non-profit part of the students involved,”
civilian organization assists
law enforcement officials in
fighting crime.
“It’s strictly anonymous,” he
said. “If informa
tion is used, they
(informant) can
receive a reward
up to $1,000.”
Gene Zdziars-
ki, assistant direc
tor of student life
and a member of
the board of di
rectors for Brazos
Valley Crimestop
pers, said an at
tempt to start a
hotline on cam
pus was made be-
fore, but failed
because of a lack of manpower.
“It really comes down to an
THRIU
Zdziarski said. “It seems RHA is
ready and able to carry the ball.”
Jesse Czelusta, RHA presi
dent and a senior agricultural
economics ma
jor, said the pro
gram can work if
there is enough
student interest.
“I believe we
can be successful,
because we’re not
taking on too big
of a job,” he said.
“We’re starting
out small, and we
are also getting
great support.”
Carl Baggett,
Student body
president and a
senior accounting major, said
RHA will receive help from
if it materializes.
Czelusta said RHA would set
up a board of directors to pro
mote the hotline and raise
money for operation costs and
reward money. Crimestoppers
has pledged $1,000 to help
start the program, but the
committee would need to seek
donations from the communi
ty to continue service.
Zdziarski said the on-campus
program is still in the planning
stage, but he hopes it will be in
service by December.
The community service al
ready available to students at
A&M focuses on felony offenses,
he said. The campus hotline
would look into lesser crimes.
“The biggest problems on
campus are bicycle and back
pack theft,” Zdziarski said.
safety resolution
interest and dedication on the TAMC to promote the program
See Hotline, Page 6
By Carla Renea Marsh
The Battalion
The Graduate Student Council re
ferred a resolution on Wellborn Road
safety to its Graduate Life Commit
tee Tuesday night.
The resolution would ask that
Texas A&M take immediate action to
prevent potential injuries and deaths
presented by Wellborn Road and the
adjacent railroad tracks.
Amy Kardell, a GSC member and
sociology graduate student, said
the Wellborn Road safety issue is
premature.
“We don’t have facts to support
our claims,” Kardell said. “We have
no reason to say it’s a public safety
issue if we have no proof.”
The proposal would call for a
drastic reduction of the speed limit
on Wellborn Road, the installation
of speed bumps and the placement
of well-marked and well-lit pedes
trian crosswalks.
The council debated the issue
and later agreed that it should be
addressed by the Graduate Life
Committee.
The committee, which consists of
four GSC members, objected to the
motion being passed to them.
Markus Wawzyniak, Academic Af
fairs officer and a mechanical engi
neering graduate student, opposed
the motion to pass the resolution to
the Graduate Life Committee.
See Resolution, Page 6
Ifater analysis seeks solution
licials re-examine lead levels in campus water supply
»0
DS
vtion
: TO:
15% OFF
Complete (
TintJobf
By Marika Cook
The Baitalion
non-going water contamina-
study has been taking place at
isA&M since February,
he Texas Natural Resources
servation Committee notified
University of large amounts of
in the campus water supply,
committee required A&M to
students and faculty of the
ir’s contaminants,
hades A. Sippial Sr., assistant
Ve are now analyzing
te chemical form of
plead. It's hard to
, at this point,
lere the problem is
iginating.”
Chris Meyer
terim director, Environmental
Health and Safety
(president for the Physical
It, said the levels were not high
ligh to be a health risk,
jlhe levels were only cited to
rant a study, not to be of any
per," Sippial said. “But, of course,
e taking this study seriously.”
he triggering point of lead is
i milligrams per liter, which
the campus water exceeded in the
initial test. A re-test showed the
water’s lead content was below
the action level established by
TNRCC and the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Chris Meyer, interim director of
Environmental Health and Safety,
said another follow-up test was re
cently conducted. The earlier test
indicated lead levels were sporadi
cally high. An additional examina
tion was needed, he said, to deter
mine why the selected samples
contained lead.
“The follow-up testing is a rigor
ous process in order to receive repre
sentative lead levels,” Meyer said.
“We are now analyzing the
chemical form of the lead,” Meyer
said. “It’s hard to tell, at this point,
where the problem is originating.”
Bryan, College Station and A&M
have similar water supplies. All three
systems get water from the Carrizo-
Wilcox Simsboro Sands. The water in
this area is naturally soft, which is
more corrosive.
Greg Wall, College Station se
nior laboratory technician, said
the lead is not from contamina
tion of the water supply, but from
corroded plumbing, especially in
older pipes.
A&M’s Physical Plant is conduct
ing a co-sampling analysis with the
Texas State Chemists. The split water
samples should be able to identify
the culprit of the lead infiltration.
“This desktop corrosion control
study, which the Physical Plant is
currently working on, should give
us some good information,” Sippi
al said.
TNRCC has required the Uni
versity to initiate a public aware
ness program to educate students
and faculty on the effects of lead.
The Physical Plant has issued a
pamphlet and paid advertise
ments to satisfy these require
ments. The possible effects of lead
are mostly a concern to pregnant
women and young children.
“Right now, our main focus is on
the married student housing where
children are living,” Meyer said.
Dr. Donald E. Clark, a chemical
and biological safety officer, said
the Physical Plant will hopefully
find a way to decrease the lead ab
sorbency of the water.
In addition to high lead-ab
sorbancy levels, the soft water also
causes some students to doubt the
water quality. Soft water can make
it more difficult to rinse off soap,
leaving a residue. Because many
students are not accustomed to
this, they complain of being left
with “greasy feeling” skin.
Despite complaints about the
area’s water, Charlie O’Riley of the
College Station Wastewater Treat
ment Plant said College Station re
cently won an award for the quali
ty of its water.
“The award is equivalent to
winning the Super Bowl of water
quality,” O’Riley said.
:udent injured in fall from balcony
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
feryar Zabihi, a freshman com-
(r engineering major from Cy-
|s, fell from the seventh floor
Jtmy of the University Tower at
(a.m. Saturday.
I Scott McCollum of the Col-
(Slation Police Department said
hi fell off the balcony through
Plexiglas roof into the inside
(area.
When the police arrived at Uni
versity Tower at the intersection of
Texas Avenue and University Drive,
they found the A&M student lying
against a concrete support pillar.
Cheryl Kappel, a registered
nurse at Columbia Medical Center,
said the patient is in stable condi
tion, but would not comment on
his injuries.
McCollum said Zabihi had been
playing next to the bannister and
jumped onto the balcony. He lost
his balance and fell off.
McCollum said there was no foul
play involved in the accident.
Police said Zabihi was drinking
before the accident but they did not
know if he was intoxicated.
Fred Bayliss, a University Tower
employee, said the Plexiglas roof and
a banana tree broke Zabihi’s fall.
Bayliss also said Zabihi is not a
resident of the University Tower
and the cement wall of the balcony
he fell from is chest high.
Ride On
Dave House, The Battalion
John Fisher, an eight-year veteran of the University Police Department,
is one of four full-time bicycle officers. He responds to calls and cites
minor offenses, such as bicycle violations.
ie Battalion
TODAY
stract Love
xas A&M professor
ents self-directed
written Fragments
Pirate Trilogy.
Aggielife, Page 3
3*
(skin Tuneup
lowing a mediocre
ing at Iowa State,
A&M offense is
ang for an outburst.
Sports, Page 7
Jessie ul Play
custom^
npercusto
0,# iter: In the field of
thing, foul lan-
can spice up
ss lectures.
Opinion, Page 11
► Debate anticipation
Citizens question election issues
WASHINGTON (AP) — Give
Americans the chance and
they’d ask Bill Clinton about
his ethics. They’d ask Bob Dole
about how the country can af
ford his proposed tax cut.
They’d ask where the jobs are going to
come from for people taken off welfare.
And how about a tax break for parents
whose adult kids come home to roost?
And will the candidates ever stop bickering
and start working together for the common good?
Riley Rahodes, leaning over an old pickup
truck at his Oklahoma City service station,
said he knew exactly what
he’d ask: “What has gone
wrong with America?”
Across America on Tues
day, people were asked by
Associated Press reporters
what questions they would
pose if they had seats at
Wednesday’s town hall-style
presidential debate in San
Diego. The actual questions
will come from 120 Califor
nians, picked by the Gallup Organization.
Welfare, tax relief and the president’s
ethics were recurring themes in the street
corner interviews.
Dole
Sandi Otoshi, a tourist visit
ing Boston, would ask about
foreign policy: “How far does
the United States have to go to
protect other nations? I know
we’re the world leader, but how
responsible are we?”
Out-of-work truck driver Reggie Harrell
said he’d ask Clinton: “Why are taxes the
highest they’ve been in the whole history of
the world?” He said he’d vote for Ross Perot.
“Why do so many people think you’re a
sleaze ball and accuse your administration
of being unethical?,” Davis Morin, a Con
cord, N.H., psychologist
said he’d ask Clinton. He
was one of a number of
people expressing discom
fort with Clinton’s personal
standards.
From Rando Karvo, a
trash collector in Bismarck,
N.D.: “Why can’t Clinton
tell the truth? He’s always
backtracking.”
“I’d like to know if we’re
ever going to know the full story behind
Whitewater,” said Todd Corey, 32, a loan offi
cer from Higganum, Conn., who still said he
plans to vote for Clinton.
Clinton
CRs recruit new voters
By Meredith Stewart
The Battalion
More than 1,500 new voters registered
at the two-week-long registration drive
sponsored by the College Republicans.
Jeff Livingston, president of College
Republicans and a senior electrical en
gineering major, said the drive was held
to get more students involved in the
election process.
“We wanted to encourage students to
get registered,” he said.
Livingston said they are trying to in
crease the number of students that are
registered to vote so students will have an
opportunity to make themselves heard.
“The politicians won’t listen to us if
we’re not registered,” Livingston said.
Janina Besa, a sophomore physics
major, said voting gives students a say
in their future.
“If you’re in college, you obviously
care about your future,” Besa said.
“Therefore, it’s important to vote, be
cause the people who are elected make
decisions affecting our future.”
James Powell, a freshman business fi
nance major, said students have no
right to complain about the government
if they do not vote.
“Students should vote to be able to
say they participated,” Powell said. “If
they didn’t, it’s pointless to argue about
anything (done by elected officials).”
The drive lasted two weeks and invit
ed all campus organizations to partic
ipate by encouraging its members to
vote. An anonymous donor offered a
prize to the organization turning in the
highest number of new registered voters.
“(The donor) wanted to see students
participate in the electoral process,” Liv
ingston said.
About 10 organizations participated,
with Residence Hall Association win
ning the $1,000 prize.
In addition to the grand prize, all orga
nizations turning in more than 50 new
voters will be entered in a drawing for
$200. The drawing helped encourage
smaller organizations, unable to reach a
large number of people, to participate.
College Republicans attempted to reg
ister students in other ways besides the
drive. The members went door-to-door in
residence halls and apartments, setting
up information tables and visiting classes.
“We’ve been working on that (regis
tering voters) since school started,” Liv
ingston said.
The College Republicans registered
between 6,000 and 7,000 new voters
this semester.