The Battalion
i /olume 103 • Issue 128 • 8 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Monday, April 14, 1997
Under the Sun
Whoopstock celebrates unity with music, games
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By Rebecca Torrellas
The Battalion
"hoopstock, one of the newer Texas A&M traditions, took over
Simpson Drill Field Saturday as participants spent time out
doors listening to bands, playing games and sampling foods
from different cultures.
Gary Kipe, master of ceremonies for Saturday’s activities and a se
nior agricultural development major, said Whoopstock is moving from
a student event to a family day.
“We all share the same culture of family and that’s the one thing
that unifies everybody,” Kipe said.
Whoopstock is not an event comparable to Big Event or Parents
Weekend, he said.
“It’s like a family reunion,” Kipe said. “It’s good to have the college
students and kids here.”
Racheal Grafton, part of the entertainment staff for the event and
a junior biomedical science major, said Whoopstock attracted as many
people as event organizers expected.
“It’s a pretty good turnout considering it is cold,” Grafton said.
Entertainment included bands Fysher, Bobby Hall’s Ice Cold Blues
Band and Rock-A-Fellas.
Comedians, dancing groups and games for children and college
students alike also were part of the entertainment.
International associations provided food from their respective
countries for Whoopstock participants to enjoy.
Padma Neela, a member of the Hindu Student Council and a junior
biomedical science major, said the association’s goal is to introduce
people to the Hindu culture.
See Whoopstock, Page 2
i’ ■
■
tiet
Top: Sonny Spearman, a
member of the American In
dian Association and a
sophomore general studies
major, performs "the eagle"
during his hoop dance at
Whoopstock Saturday.
Amy Dunlap, The Battalion
Left: Jason English, a senior
industrial engineering major,
dances with Pam Coralski,
a senior accounting major,
and other Aggie Wranglers.
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
Right: Padma Neela, a
junior biomedical science
major, paints the hands of
Shilpa Triparhi, a sopho
more microbiology major.
Mendhi, a type of Indian
hand painting, was spon
sored by the Hindu Stu
dent Council.
Rogge Heflin, The Battalion
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week
Events focus on
AIDS education
with free testing
By Graham Harvey
The Battalion
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week
began last night at Rudder
Fountain, starting a week of
AIDS education and free HIV
testing for the students and
faculty of Texas A&M.
Aggie Representatives Educat
ing about College Health and the
Division of Student Affairs
HIV/AIDS Committee organized
the week’s events with the Execu
tive Council on Health Organiza
tion and the Biomedical Society.
Marc Wade, public relations
director for Aggie R.EA.C.H. and
a sophomore bioengineering
major, said all people employed
by A&M or enrolled in classes
should participate.
“HIV and AIDS are real dan
gers that the students and facul
ty need to be educated about,”
Wade said. “Sexual transmission
of HIV, as well as transmission
through IV drug use, do occur
here at Texas A&M. Itcouldhap-
pen to anyone.”
Last night participants held a
candlelight vigil and read names
from the national AIDS Memor
ial Quilt.
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week
continues this evening at 8:30
in 308 Rudder Tower, with a
panel discussion led by four
men and four women students
entitled “Sexual Abstinence —
The Whys and Hows.”
Wednesday night, “HIV/AIDS
Update” will be held at 8:30 in 308
Rudder. Led by Margaret Griffith
of the Department of Student
Health Services, Heather Clark of
Planned Parenthood and Charles
Triplett of AIDS Services, the
seminar Will address new discov
eries, treatments and testingpro-
cedures concerning the AIDS
vims, Wade said.
The week will wrap up
Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in 301
Rudder. A panel discussion,
called “Living with HIV/AIDS,”
will include testimonials from
carriers of the disease.
Brazos County is a high-risk
area for AIDS transmission, Wade
said. Reportable sexually trans
mitted diseases in Brazos County
are above the state average be
cause of the influx of so many peo
ple from large cities, he said.
In addition to the nightly
events, AIDS Services and
Planned Parenthood will pro
vide free HIV testing in the low
er level of the MSC throughout
the week. Testing hours will be
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednes
day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and
Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A&M President Ray Bowen,
has issued a formal proclama
tion of HIV/AIDS Awareness
Week. Bowen included survey
information in the proclamation
to support the need for a week of
education and testing.
“AIDS is a sexually transmitted
disease, and ... according to the
1995 College Youth Risk Behavior
Survey conducted by the AIDS
Consortium of Texas Colleges
and Universities, 82 percent of
students surveyed reported hav
ing had sexual intercourse,”
Bowen said, “Forty percent of
adolescent/adult AIDS cases cite
heterosexual contact as the
means of transmission.”
Margaret M. Griffith, faculty
adviser for Aggie R.E.A.C.H and
assistant health education coor
dinator for the Department of
Student Health Services, is in
charge of events for the week.
She invited students to call her if
they need information relating
to HIV or the AIDS vims.
“We want people to really
think about AIDS,” Griffith said.
“It is every person’s responsibili
ty to protect himself. No one can
do it for you.”
Proposal would
fund scholarship
with lottery plan
By Graham Harvey
The Battai ion
Pending in the State Senate Finance Committee is
Senate Bill 180, or the Texas HOPE Scholarship Pro
gram. If passed, the bill would provide college tuition
to selected high school graduates who hold a B aver
age and who agree to perform community service.
Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston, author of the bill, pro-
Ltof Posed an instant ticket lottery game on April 2 to hand
[tin* the free tuition grants. The proposal is scheduled for a
jyilitf hearing tomorrow before the Senate Finance Sub
committee on Dedication of the Lottery Fund.
Rafe Bemporad, legislative aide and press direc-
torfor Ellis, said Ellis believes if the lottery plan was
properly organized, marketed and advertised, there
'vould be sufficient funding for the HOPE plan with
no negative effects on the state budget.
1(1 “According to the Texas Lottery Commission, in
fiscal year 1996, instant ticket games generated
niore than $2.1 billion in sales,” Bemporad said,
pie two most popular instant ticket games, Cac-
|us Cash and Scratchman, have generated more
|han $500 million in sales.”
The fund would provide annually full or part-
lime college education for about 30,000 drug-free,
low to middle-income students, Bemporad said.
I “The HOPE bill has received enormous positive
ieedback,” he said. “The legislators are very excited
[about the program. There is bipartisan support for
[the bill’s general idea.”
A press release from Ellis’ Austin office included
figures from a report by the University of Texas and
he Texas A&M University systems, a lobbying effort
[io support funding for higher education in Texas.
According to the report, Texas ranks 22.5 percent
below the national average in producing college
[taduates and 14 percent below the national aver
age in attendance rates at four-year universities.
“Texas students receive only 60 percent of aid for
iich they qualify,” the report said, “and the state’s in-
stment in higher education for each student has de
clined by 24 percent in constant dollars since 1985.”
Ellis said thesefacts, along with his observations
a similar, successful lottery game in Georgia,
aake such a system in Texas necessary.
See Proposal, Page 2
Bush stresses public service at A&M visit
By Brandon Hausenfluck
The Battalion
Former President George Bush and
his wife Barbara visited the Texas A&M
University campus Friday to inaugurate
the William Waldo Cameron Forum on
Public Affairs and participate in the
grand opening ofThe Presidential Corri
dor Highway.
The highway will fink the Lyndon
Johnson Presidential Library at the Uni
versity of Texas at Austin to the Bush Li
brary Center on the A&M campus byway
of Highways 21 and 290. The library will
open in Fall ’97.
Bush emphasized the importance of
service and leadership during his ad
dress at a luncheon in the Memorial Stu
dent Center.
“I believe public service is a noble
calling,” Bush said. “There is no defini
tion of a successful life that doesn’t in
clude service to others.”
Bush said young people are turned off
by today’s mudslinging partisan politics,
and they need to be
come more involved.
“We need to en
courage [young] peo
ple to turn things
around,” Bush said.
During his welcom
ing comments at the
luncheon, A&M Presi
dent Ray Bowen joked
about how he wished
Bush would have wait
ed to skydive until after
the funding for the library had been raised.
“But after I saw him give the ‘Gig ’em
Aggies’ sign on the way down, I thought
it was OK,” he said.
Bowen said the president and Mrs.
“There is no definition
of a successful life that
doesn’t include service
to others.”
George Bush
Former President
Bush can call A&M their second home.
“ [President Bush] is very much a part of
the A&M family—Mrs. Bush too,” he said.
Established through an endowment
from Flora Cameron
Crichton in memory
of her father, the fo
rum was designed
to bring distin
guished leaders and
recognized experts
on domestic and
foreign policy mat
ters to the Bush Li
brary Center and
the Texas A&M com
munity twice a year.
Visiting speakers were on campus
throughout the day making themselves
available to students in select classes, in
formal seminars and workshops. Speak
ers also addressed an audience of invit
ed guests at a luncheon.
Before the luncheon, the Bushs were
given a private tour of the library by Gen.
Wesley Peel, vice chancellor for facilities
construction and planning. After the lun
cheon, Bush visited with a group of stu
dents comprised of International Studies
majors and students representing the
Eisenhower Program, an inter-college un
dergraduate course in public leadership
development.
Dr. Charles Hermann, director of
the Bush School of Government and a
professor of political science, said
Bush answered questions on topics
ranging from the U.S. involvement in
the Gulf War to the idea of creating a
Eurodollar.
Hermann said Bush enjoys visiting
with students.
See Bush, Page 2
New editors plan to take Batt to new heights
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
The summer and fall editors in chief
ofThe Battalion plan to take the news
paper in a direction that will modernize
the visual aspect of the paper while in
creasing the depth and coverage of Texas
A&M University news.
Stew Milne, the current visual arts ed
itor and a graduate student in visualiza
tion sciences, will be the summer editor-
in-chief. Milne has worked at the
newspaper since the spring of 1994.
Helen Clancy, a night news editor
and a junior English major, will take
over the position in the fall, having
been at The Battalion since the fall of
1995. Clancy will also serve as manag
ing editor during the summer.
Clancy said the direction The Battal
ion will take in the coming semesters
will be marked by an increased use of
visual arts. Neither Milne nor Clancy
are journalism majors and each comes
from sections focusing on the appear
ance of the newspaper.
Clancy said she and Milne are ap
proaching their positions with enthusi
asm and want to improve the newspaper
with creativity and innovations.
“We’re going to take a new approach to
visual design,” she said. “We’re going to be
a lot more open-minded and we’re going
to consider new techniques and layout.”
Milne said the new design will have a-
more modern and free look and will make
better use of graphics and photographs.
The current designs are conservative
and static, Milne said.
“Right now it seems very cookie-cut
ter [in design],” he said.
Clancy said the visual part of the
newspaper can draw a reader to a story.
“Design is the first thing people see
about a page,” Clancy said.
Milne also said design is the part of
the newspaper that will catch a reader’s
attention before the content of a story.
“When people see The Battalion and are
deciding whether they want to pick one up,
they see the visual aspect of the paper first,”
he said. “If a photo is good, they look at that
first as opposed to some catchy headline.”
Milne said he wants to expand the cov
erage of campus and community events.
“There will be better news coverage
of A&M, and [better] localizing of na-
Dave House, The Battalion
New Battalion Editors In Chief Helen Clancy, a junior English major, and Stew Milne,
a graduate student in visualization sciences, sit atop the O&M building overlooking
the A&M campus.
tional events and how they apply to
A&M,” he said.
Clancy said a well-rounded staff is the
key to complete news coverage.
“I think we need to provide more
comprehensive coverage,” Clancy said,
“and the only way we can do that is to
have a diverse staff.”
See Editors, Page 2