Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1997)
The Battalion Volume 1<B • Issue 130 • 12 Pages The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu Wednesday, April 16, 1997 f Take Back the Night tally focuses on sexual violence, abuse NOW led a march around campus after the discussion Ryan Rogers, The Battauon gt. Betty Lemay of the UPD crime prevention unit discuss- sexual assault on the A&M campus at last night's rally. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion Rape, sexual assault and relationship abuse were topics of discussion at last night’s “Take Back the Night” rally at the MSC. The rally was followed by a march around campus. The rally’s purpose was to teach prevention of sex ual violence and to inform women about the effects. The Women’s Programs in the Department of Student Life and the Texas A&M Chapter of the Na tional Organization forWomen sponsored the ral ly and march. Representatives from Phoebe’s Home,a free shelter for abused women and children that offers meals, clothing, education and counseling, the Uni versity Police Department, Student Counseling Services and the Brazos County Rape Crisis Cen ter addressed issues of sexual violence with about 100 people. Becky Elkins-Nesheim, coordinator for Women’s Programs, said the panel included a well-rounded group of experienced women. Ashley Peterson, law enforcement training specialist for Phoebe’s Home, stressed the im portance of educating the community and pre venting sexual abuse. “Sexual abuse is more than just physical and sexual,” she said. “There is an emotional aspect to it as well.” Sherry Hostetter, counselor for the Brazos County Rape Crisis Center, said only 10 percent of sexual assault victims report the crime — most never come forward. “They bare the guilt, they bare the shame, and they bare the embarrassment,” Hostetter said. “The legal system makes them a victim again, putting their word against the accused.” Dr. Mary Ann Moore of Student Counseling Ser vices at A&M was another panelist. She said some female students come in with emotional problems after being sexually assaulted. “They lose their motivation to go to class or work,” Moore said, “and they can’t do anything.” Sgt. Betty Lemay of the crime prevention unit for the University Police Department said there have been four cases of reported date rape on campus. Two other reported cases were stranger rape. “[For] every one case reported, there are 10 that are not,” Lemay said. “And the predator is usually a student.” See Rally, Page 5 House passes diversity bills Proponents say the measure would give all students a better chance at college admission. AUSTIN (AP) —TheTexas House |proved two bills Tuesday aiming diversify enrollment at public diversities in the wake of a court jiling eliminating race as a factor in [ollege admissions. Supporters said the measures Jiouldensure all students, regard- lessofrace or ethnicity, would be pra/?fed the opportunity to attend |ol(ege. But opponents called the legisla- lon a back-door approach to poring race-based preferences, kin to those struck down last year t'a federal appeals court. "We’re giving preferences, and fiat’s exactly what the Hopwood Jase was all about,” said Rep. Char- |eHoward, R-Sugar Land, referring )the lawsuit in which four white fudents argued the University of fexas law school’s admissions poli cy unfairly favored minorities. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and state Attor ney General Dan Morales since has directed all public universi ties to adopt race-neutral policies for admissions, financial aid and scholarships. A bill Morales said would fit that mold was tentatively approved by the House Tuesday. The measure establishes uni form admission procedures, under which universities would be re quired to admit applicants who graduated in either the top 10 or 25 percent of their classes. After filling those slots, universi ties would have to consider, in addi tion to academic performance, race- neutral factors such as economic status and family background. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Irma Rangel, D-Kingsville, said, “This bill has nothing to do with picking one student over another.” But Rep. Frank Corte, R-San An tonio, said the bill sends the mes sage social status takes priority over academics. See Bills, Page 5 Pat lames. The Battalion Class Act Yves Racelina, an assistant lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, teaches his French class on the steps of the Coke Building Tuesday. wards recognize diversity work By I aura Oliveira The Battalion It was fitting the sixth annual Di- lersity Awards fell on the 50th an- Jiversary of Jackie Robinson’s pakthrough in professional base- fall, Kevin Carreathers, director of he Multicultural Services Depart- nent, said. "Today we are not only honoring fiir champions, but the nation is plebrating how Jackie Robinson poke through the color line in paseball,” he said. Nine diversity awards were pre sented to Texas A&M students, ad- linistrators and staff who made fdvances for diversity on campus, Is Robinson did when he became Ihe first African-American to play jnthe modern Major Leagues. A committee of past award re cipients and other staff members from the Multicultural Services De partment selected the winners based on work they have complet ed during the year. Omega Delta Phi fraternity re ceived the Student Organization Diversity Award for community service including working with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club and tu toring students at Bryan-College Station schools. Jose Villalobos, president of Omega Delta Phi and a senior aero space engineering major, said recog nition for service is rewarding. “It means that we are on the right track and we are doing our j ob as a service organization,” he said. Nikki Guerra, a senior civil en gineering major, received the Un dergraduate Diversity Award. Guerra participates in MEDALS, Derek Demere, The Battalion Nine awards were presented to students, administrators and staff who made advances for diversity this year. Primetime Posse and U-ACT and serves as the executive adviser to Minority Student Affairs for Stu dent Government. Guerra said her incentive to promote diversity stemmed from her isolation when she first came to A&M. See Diversity, Page 6 ent fire kills 300 pilgrims in Saudi Arabia TURKEY SYRIA/ Mecca Sea j IRAN KUWAIT Persian Gulf HRA Riyadh>P q/VTAR U.A.El SAUDI ARABIA OMA JUPilbiii ERITREA YEMEN pa*' -' via 1400 miles >UV I - { 0: ■Vi. V 1 400 km Arabian Sea '•»" ■■■■ ill; Indian SOMALIA/ Ocean AP/Wm. J. Gastello MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Fires driven by high winds tore through a sprawling, over crowded tent city Tuesday, trapping and killing pilgrims gathered for a sacred Islamic ritual. The official death toll was 217, but witnesses said at least 300 died. Saudi Arabia said more than 1,290 pilgrims were injured in the fire, which witnesses blamed on exploding canisters of cooking gas. Most of the dead were Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, many of them elderly, wit nesses told The Associated Press. Some were trampled to death as pilgrims fled the fire on the plain outside the holy city of Mecca. “Men panicked and ran in every direction,” said an Indian pilgrim who spoke to The Asso ciated Press by telephone and identified him self only as Irfan. Helicopters dropped water from above while civil defense workers used firetruck hoses against the flames. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were stranded after the fire destroyed an estimated 70,000 tents, which the pilgrims use for shelter in the final days of the Hajj. Civil defense forces from Mecca and nearby Jiddah and Taif rushed to the scene, handing out tents and supplies. Prince Majid bin Abdul Aziz, the royal fam ily’s representative in Mecca, ordered new tents be provided to all pilgrims affected by the fire, Saudi television reported Tuesday. King Fahd, the Saudi monarch, expressed his sorrow for the victims and their relatives and friends. “I ask that God gives them pa tience to cope,” he was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying. In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed “great sadness” over the pilgrims’ deaths. The fire erupted shortly before noon as Muslims gathered for the hajj, or pilgrimage, were beginning to move to Mount Arafat, where the prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon in the seventh century. There, 2 million Muslims will stand togeth er in prayer Wednesday in the climax of the pil grimage to the Muslim holy sites. The hajj has been the scene of several recent tragedies, including the deaths of 1,426 people in a 1990 stampede. Less than an hour before the fire began Tues day, security forces had thrown up a cordon around the entire plain, closing it to new arrivals to stop further overcrowding, witnesses said. Democrats accuse Gingrich of trying to intimidate Reno WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle scorned House Speaker Newt Gin grich on Tuesday as the “guru of ethics” and accused him of trying to intimidate Attorney General Janet Reno into appointing a special counsel to probe alleged campaign wrongdoing. Unrepentant, Gingrich likened Reno’s behavior to that of John Mitchell, a former attorney general who was convicted as part of the Wa tergate cover-up two decades ago. The comments came one day af ter Reno announced she would continue to rely on a Justice De partment task force to continue the probe underscoring the partisan tensions surrounding the issue. Senior Republican congres sional leaders, including Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, have been sharply critical of Reno’s decision. Gingrich said at a news confer ence during the day Reno’s decision “is something you might have ex pected from John Mitchell in 1973.” Mitchell served as attorney general under Richard Nixon and later served 19 months in prison. Asked to comment, President Clinton said, “That cries out for an answer, I guess, but let me say I don’t have anything to add to what I already said. She (Reno) had to make a legal decision on a legal question. She consulted her career staff people there and made a deci sion and that’s all I know. It should not be a political matter. It should be a legal matter, and that’s where everybody ought to leave it.” Clinton was in New York for a cer emony at Shea Stadium honoring baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. Daschle rebutted the very law de signed to depoliticize controversy had become politicized. “The guru of ethics, Speaker Gin grich himself, has now said it’s imper ative that Janet Reno” appoint an in dependent counsel, Daschle told reporters. “For him to intim idate her, for him to put that kind of political pressure on her... borders in my view on un ethical behavior itself,” he added. Daschle’s comment about ethics was a reference to Gingrich’s admission last Decem ber he had violated House rules following a long-running ethics probe. The speaker also agreed to pay a sanction of $300,000. A de cision on how to make the pay ment is expected shortly. Gingrich The Battalion INSIDETODAY FORE: Four A&M golfers are helping their teams prepare for the Big 12 Championships. Sports, Page 7 Aggielife. Toons. . . Opinion . . Page 3 . Page 5 Page 11
