1251
The Battalion
ume 103 • Issue 138 • 14 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Tuesday, April 29, 1997
theli
fD:
Blame it on the rain
nclement weather prompts
eroute of March to the Brazos
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
Ihunderstorms prevented the Texas
A&M Corps of Cadets from heading to
the Brazos River for the March to the
■ra/.ns Saturday, so cadets marched to the
- f polo fields instead.
I Steve Foster, Corps commander and a se-
S^Bior political science major, said cadet lead-
tf^B-smade the decision not to go to the Brazos
Bver Saturday morning.
March to the Brazos is the Corps’ annual
' Iftind-raising campaign for the March of
Bimes. Cadets usually march 14 miles to and
Bom the Brazos River. This year the cadets
«HjBised over $50,000 from the Bryan-College
Station community and their hometowns.
I March to the Brazos is also an informal
■assing-down of leadership positions in the
■orps from the senior cadets to the junior,
jsophomore and freshman cadets.
I Foster said cold weather, the possibility of
ciatwhtning storms and hazardous road condi-
Jlions influenced the decision to keep the
te-piarch on campus.
Cindi Ericson, deputy Corps commander and
'io 3' fl a senior interna-
“We were all cold
enough and wet
enough to realize
we’d done the
right thing.”
Danny Feather
Corps commander-
designate
BM
mBamsmm
tional studies
and political sci
ence major, said
these factors
could have en
dangered the
cadets.
“The main
intent of chang
ing March to
the Brazos from
the Brazos River
to the polo
fields was to en
sure the safety
of the 2,200 cadets participating,” Ericson said.
Danny Feather, Corps commander-desig-
(ate and a junior economics major, said the
ladet leaders did not want any of the cadets
lib get sick from the rain before final exams.
\/TFe said he realized the wisest decision had
Been made after the march was over.
“We were all cold enough and wet enough to
ealize we’d done the right thing,” Feather said.
The cadets went on a traditional Corps
in around the A&M campus at 8 a.m. and
then ran around the polo fields.
The seniors passed their positions to the ju
nior cadets at the polo fields. The juniors then
|ed the Corps to Duncan Field where they
Tassed their positions down to the sophomores
(indfreshmen. The march ended at 11 a.m.
Ericson said the march was successful,
Idespite the changes.
“It (the march) was not as elaborate as it
las been in the past,” she said, “but the ba
le mission was accomplished.”
Feather said although he was disappoint-
;d the Corps could not march to the Brazos,
he spirit of the march remained the same.
“It was an emotional time because of the
lassing down of the positions,” Feather said.
Ericson said the spirit of the march was
tot affected because the spirit is not based
in where the march goes.
Tfs contained within the motivation and
U
Faculty Senate
■
WwKmmm.
Rogge Heflin, The Battalion
Armondo Banch, a sophomore business analysis major, performs physical training leg lifts at
the polo fields during March to the Brazos Saturday.
Rogge Heflin, The Battaijon
The Aggie Band runs from the Quad for March to the Brazos Saturday.
the desire for these classes to take on their
brass for the next year,” she said.
Foster said the cadets seemed to have the
same amount of enthusiasm about passing
down the positions as if they had marched to
the river.
“I didn’t see too many people holding
back the spirit,” Foster said.
Mark Maltsberger, March to the Brazos com
mittee chair and a senior speech communica
tions major, said the destination of the march
does not affect the amount of money raised.
“I think it (the march) was still success
ful,” Maltsberger said. “We still accom
plished everything we wanted to. We still
passed down positions.”
Ericson said it was an indescribable feeling
to watch the junior, sophomore and freshman
classes take over leadership in the Corps after
being in their position a year before.
“I felt very confident in stepping aside,”
she said.
Foster said the march was successful, de
spite the changes because of the amount of
money raised for the March of Dimes.
“We still raised a lot of money for the char
ity,” Foster said, “and that is one of the main
reasons for March to the Brazos.”
Meeting focuses on
minority recruitment
By Kathleen Strickland
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Faculty Senate
resumed discussion on the report
and recommendations of the Fac
ulty Senate Minority Conditions
Subcommittee at a special meet
ing Monday.
The Senate held the meeting to
continue business from its last
meeting, which was delayed be
cause too few senators were present
to vote.
Dan Robertson, director of grad
uate studies, commented on the
minority graduate student enroll
ment data in the report.
“In my opinion, we failed to ac
knowledge something that I believe
reflects achievement by several of
the people that are in this room —
faculty ... as well as staff members
and some of our current graduate
students,” Robertson said. “If you
look at the numbers of African-
American or Hispanic graduate stu
dents, the numbers that were en
rolled last fall have never in the
history of Texas A&M University
been larger.”
Diane Kaplan, chair of the mi
nority conditions subcommittee
and a visiting assistant professor
of curriculum and instruction,
clarified the purpose of the report
and recommendations to the Fac
ulty Senate.
“On the minority conditions
committee, we absolutely acknowl
edge that there have been a number
of individuals, a number of individ
ual departments, a number of indi
vidual faculty, staff [and] students
who have done an incredible job to
increase minority representation
on campus, and we applaud their
efforts,” she said.
“When we come together and
look at this report, we end up look
ing at the broad survey of every
thing that has gone on, and that is
what our recommendations are
based on.”
The Senate approved the sub
committee’s recommendations,
calling for the development of a
new three-year plan to recruit and
retain minority and women pro
fessors. The recommendations
suggest the University provide $3
million a year for minority recruit
ment and retention and $1 million
a year for recruitment and reten
tion of women.
In other business, the Faculty Sen
ate approved the proposed changes
to the University Statement on Aca
demic Freedom, Responsibility,
Tenure and Promotion.
Students take part in
rodeo despite delay
By Melissa Nunnery
The Battalion
Barrel racing, steer wrestling, calf
riding and bull roping all were part of
the Texas A&M University National
Intercollegiate Rodeo this weekend.
The rodeo was postponed Friday be
cause of rain and lightning, but com
petition began Saturday.
About 30 A&M students partic
ipated in the rodeo, where competi
tors tried to qualify for the National
Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s
College National Finals.
Saturday’s rodeo at the Brazos
County Arena on Tabor Road in
Bryan was the last of the season for
the Southern region.
Richie Harris, a steer wresder and
a senior agricultural economics ma
jor, competed for the last time on the
college level this weekend and
placed fourth in steer wresding.
“I made a pretty good run at it and
came up a little short,” he said.
“That’s the way it goes.”
The men’s events included
rough/stock saddle bronc, bareback,
bull riding, steer wresding, calf rop
ing and team roping. Women com
peted in events such as barrel racing,
break-away calf roping and goat ty
ing. The top two competitors and top
two teams in each event go on to the
College National Finals.
No individual competitors or
teams from A&M advanced to the
finals.
Keri Card, president of the A&M
Rodeo Club and a junior biochem
istry and genetics major, said the
teams managed to do well, despite
the rain delay.
“We ran one round on Thursday,
when it was dry, [so] those people
had an advantage,” Card said. “It (the
rain) was distracting, of course, [but]
I’d say it was about even.”
Card said most people who par
ticipated in the rodeo are probably
experienced enough to have com
peted successfully in the rain.
“Rodeo is something you’ve done
all your life,” she said. “It’s not some
thing you just decide to do your
freshman year in college.”
Harris said some schools offer
scholarships for rodeo, but A&M stu
dents must pay their own way.
“We pretty much do it on our
own,” Harris said. “We earn our own
money and that kind of stuff.”
He said most students who rodeo
at A&M put education first and par
ticipate in rodeos on the side.
“We’re athletes and we’re proud of
that fact,” he said, “but we’re here to
get a good education and that comes
first, second to none.”
Fina
Separatists trade hostages for jailed member
m
Friday,
MW 5:45 - 7 or later
MWF 8 - 8:50
TR 9:35 -10:50
TR 11:10 -12:25
7:30 - 9:30
10-12
12:30 - 2:30
3-5
Monday, May 5
MWF 9:10 -10:00
MWF 12:40 -1:30
TR 8:00 - 9:15
MW 4:10 - 5:25
8-10
10:30 -12:30
1-3
3:30 - 5:30
#
1
Tuesday, May 6
MWF 10:20 -11:10 8 -10
MWF 3 - 3:50 10:30 -12:30
TR 3:55
MWF 1:50
5:10
2:40
1-3
3:30 - 5:30
TR 12:45 - 2:00
MWF 11:30 -12:20
TR 2:20 - 3:35
TR 5:30 - 6:45 or later
ednesday, May 7
8-10
10:30 -12:30
1-3
3:30 - 5:30
£he Baiiaijon
'Nsidetoday
A 9gielife Page 3
“P°rts Page?
^ arn Pus Page 12
0 P ir >i°n Page 13
NO MERCY: Conspira
tors held without bond
after officials discover
bombing plot.
State, Page 5
FORT DAVIS (AP) — Armed
members of a group demanding a
referendum on Texas indepen
dence were locked in a standoff
with authorities Monday after free
ing two hostages in exchange for a
jailed comrade.
State and federal officers ringed
the mountainous Davis Mountains
Resort Community and more were
on the way.
Authorities were negotiating with
Richard McLaren, self- f
styled “ambassador”
of one faction of the
separatist group called
the Republic of Texas.
McLaren said in a
news release that dis
cussions were taking
place at his “embassy,”
a trailer in the devel
opment.
“He continues to
invoke the laws of
the Republic of
Texas. He wants the
United Nations,”
said Mike Cox, a spokesperson for
the state Department of Public
Safety. Republic members have
told negotiators that “they will de
fend their sovereign soil.”
It was not known exactly where
the group was holed up or how
many members were there, or what
type of weapons they have.
Authorities urged other resi-
“He (McLaren)
continues to
invoke the laws
of the Republic
ofTexas.”
Mike Cox
Spokesperson, Dept, of
Public Safety
dents of the sprawling, remote
community to leave the area. But
“No one else is considered in harm’s
way,” Cox said.
The confrontation started Sun
day when two men and a woman
wearing military-style fatigues
fired assault rifles at the front door
of community residents Joe and
Margaret Ann Rowe and took
them hostage.
They were held for 12 hours
while their captors
demanded the re
lease of two follow
ers who had been ar
rested. Early
Monday, they ex
changed the Rowes
for Robert Jonathan
Scheidt, identified
as “captain of the
embassy guard” of
the Republic of
Texas. It was unclear
who authorized the
■■■■■*■ release of Scheidt,
who was arrested
Sunday on weapons charges.
Rowe said she and her husband
believed the attackers were willing
to kill them.
“It wasn’t an empty threat. If
somebody will come shooting in
your door, they mean it,” Mrs. Rowe
said at a medical center in Alpine,
where her husband was in stable
condition with shrapnel wounds to
Separatist group
digs in after
hostage trade
Law enforcers are continuing to
treat the standoff with the
Republic of Texas as a hostage
situation because between 90
and 150 residents of the resort
area are unable to leave their
homes.
OF
The Republic ^
of Texas
q—g* 1
The group
contends that "
the annexation of Texas
as a state in 1845 was illegal, that
Texas should be an independent
nation and that the group’s leaders
constitute the legitimate government
of Texas. Texas was an independent
republic from 1836 to 1845.
Davis
Mountains
Resort
5 miles
l™ --1,l,,
' 5 km
McDonald
Observatory
>L Davis
Mountains
State Park
Fort Davis f
P 1
X
200 miles
MEXICO
200 km
Gulf
of
Mexico
his shoulder.
Scheidt joined the three people
who took the Rowes hostage.
After the exchange, the armed
group left the Rowes' home and au
thorities did not know where they
were within the forested, moun
tainous development of widely sep
arated homes. Reporters were being
kept several miles from the en
trance to the community, about 175
miles southeast of El Paso.
The attack followed months of
conflict between Rowe, head of the
remote community’s property own
ers’ association, and McLaren.
See Separatists, Page 5