leii
Texas A&M University
S
Today
Tomorrow
See extended forecast, Page 2.
hyj olume 103 • Issue 154 • 6 Pages
Ilk-
College Station, TX
mm
lay, June 2S, 1997
tews
Briefs
on a®
SPORTS
[thletic Director Wally Groff
|as remained loyal to Texas
for over 30 years.
Loans help battle tuition woes
l nl9 eronautical society
Ihertu y
wards A&M prof
Dr. L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, the
ry Jmas A. Dietz Professor of Me-
di anical Engineering at Texas A&M
iversity, has been elected a Fellow
Itie Royal Aeronautical Society of
[Jellnited Kingdom.
Fletcher, the first member of the
rasA&M faculty to be given this
e tlfl nor, was cited for his research in
»j nce “(modynamics and his contribu-
( y a ljjl os and leadership in the field of
|j ona j raspace engineering.
Fellow is the highest grade award-
Itythe Royal Aeronautical Society,
18,000-member professional or-
ition dedicated to the worldwide
pace community,
other engineering news,
stA. Baetz Jr., Class of '48, en-
d a $20,000 scholarship to
Lindsay Scholars Program for
imical engineering students and
a $5,000 gift to the engineer-
Faculty Fellows Program.
Baetz also has established a Pres-
it’s Endowed Scholarship in hon-
Jolhis parents.
feport: No abuse in
like s Asian factories
ATLANTA (AP) — Former U.N. Am-
issador Andrew Young, hired by
ieto evaluate its labor practices,
in a report Tuesday that he saw
widespread abuse of workers at
company's shoe factories in Asia.
Young, who made a 15-day visit to
niesinthe Far East, said they were
.well-lighted and didn’t resemble
tiatAmericans would call sweatshops.
the world’s No. 1 athletic
[toe manufacturer, has been ac-
iused by human rights groups of bru-
wrk conditions and meager pay.
tie report said supervisors groped
ngwomen as they worked.
He said the concept of workers’
its is poorly understood in the
itoriesand Nike’s code of conduct
isnot prominently displayed. He
factory workers need a better
INemfor filing complaints and get-
'gt/iem investigated.
tudy finds involved
«ople get fewer colds
CHICAGO (AP) — Not only is vari-
Hte spice of life, it could protect
nfrom the common cold.
People involved in a variety of ac
ts such as work, church, family,
ccerand barber shop quartets get
Scolds than those who are ex-
W to the same number of people
Aliave only a few things to occupy
6in, according to a study.
The findings, published in today’s is-
eofThe Journal of the American Med-
ilAssociation, bolster the notion that
sntal well-being affects physical health.
One of the researchers, Dr. David
loner at the University of Pitts-
ugh,speculated that being happy
id involved keeps a person’s im-
system strong.
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
The Battalion
Students at Texas A&M University who worry they will not have
the money to pay their tuition by the deadline have other options
to help prevent them from being dropped from classes.
Donald L. Gardner, associate registrar for Admissions and
Records, said that at the beginning of this summer session, 1,000
students were dropped from enrollment because they did not
make the necessary payments on time.
Students can prevent this by taking an emergency tuition and
fees loan from the Texas A&M Department of Financial Aid.
Bob Piwonka, manager of student financial services, said 673
emergency tuition and fee loans totaling over $450,000 were giv
en out at the beginning of the first summer session. Students have
three months to repay fees for the fall and spring semesters and
have until the end of Session II for summer fees.
“Sometimes due dates fall before payday for students,” Pi
wonka said. “This (a loan) offers them a quick fix so they will
not get dropped.”
Gardner said students need to realize that if they do not pay
their tuition on time, they will be dropped.
“We just want students to stay enrolled and not have to go
through a difficult process of being dropped and then rein
stated,” he said.
The enrollment for Summer Session I is 16,332. In the second
summer session, Gardner said, fewer students are enrolled; there
fore, the number of students dropped also will be lower.
Summer Session II enrollment statistics will be available after
the fourth day of the session.
Students who receive financial aid for the summer will not
be dropped.
Mark Cangelose, senior staff accountant for the Fiscal De
partment, said this is the first year the department has been
involved with the New Student Conferences. He said the de
partment is able to inform freshmen about deadlines and the
importance of paying fees on time.
Cangelose said most students pay for their tuition by check.
There is not a serious problem with checks bouncing, he said, but
every semester some students wait until the last minute to pay.
“There are always unpredictable things that happen,” Can
gelose said. “Students just need to be aware of deadlines.”
Please see Tuition on Page 2.
V
m
if
Graphic: Brad Graeber
Making a difference
Student honored for
MDA contributions
* Mk; -
Trail Rider
Photograph: Robert McKay
Paul Bickerton, a senior construction science major, hones his rid
ing skills at Lake Bryan Tuesday afternoon.
By Robert Smith
The Battalion
Angela Wrigglesworth, a junior elementary
education major at Texas A&M, has been
making a positive difference in peoples’ lives
for years. She recently was awarded for her
contributions and volunteer achievements by
the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The MDA announced last month that
Wrigglesworth has received its 1997 Per
sonal Achievement Award for Texas.
The national award series recognizes
the accomplishments and community
service of people with disabilities result
ing from neuromuscular diseases. Wrig
glesworth was recognized for her contri
butions to the MDA, her work for
physically disabled students at A&M and
her community service.
Wrigglesworth, 19, has been affected
since infancy by spinal muscular atrophy,
a neuromuscular disorder that severely
weakens muscles. She uses an electric
wheelchair for mobility.
Robert Ross, senior vice president and
executive director of the MDA, said he is
happy to honor Wrigglesworth.
“We’re honored to count such an ac
complished individual as Angela Wrig
glesworth among MDA’s friends and lead
ers in Texas,” Ross said. “She’s using her
outstanding abilities to make important
contributions to her community.”
Wrigglesworth, a 1995 graduate of Klein
Forest High School in Houston, has taken
many leadership roles in the MDA. She has
appeared on the local broadcast of the Jer
ry Lewis MDA Telethon since 1983.
“I’ve been involved with the MDA
since I was 6,” Wrigglesworth said. “I was
very nervous the first time I went on TV
because I was shy when I was younger.
But as I got older, I got comfortable with
it. It’s really fun.”
Wrigglesworth has demonstrated lead
ership qualities throughout her life.
At Klein Forest, she was senior class
treasurer and junior class president.
Wrigglesworth has attended MDA sum
mer camp each year and* personally has
raised more than $40,000 for the MDA.
^ ^ We’re honored to count
such an accomplished
individual... among MDA’s
friends and leaders in Texas.”
Robert Ross
Senior vice president and
executive director of the MDA
“The camp is indescribable,” Wrig
glesworth said. “Every year, I come back
and tell my mom, ‘This was the best year
ever.’ We hang out together and we swim,
play sports and do arts and crafts.”
Wrigglesworth also was chosen as the
Texas MDA Poster Child in 1985 and
1986, the first person to receive the hon
or in consecutive years. As the MDA
Poster Child, Wrigglesworth traveled
with the MDA making speeches.
Please see Wrigglesworth on Page 6.
Canyon Lake tourism suffers because of flooding
CANYON LAKE (AP) — Flooding has raised
the level of Canyon Lake nearly to its spillway
and will shut down tubing on the nearby
Guadalupe River for a month, potentially caus
ing millions of dollars in losses.
“The recreation business for Canyon Lake is
over for most of the summer,” reservoir manag
er Jerry Brite was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s
San Antonio Express-News.
Most public picnic shelters, campgrounds
and restrooms are under water and boat ramps
are closed. The Canyon Lake Marina and Papa
Docks Restaurant are now on an island, cut off
from shore by 12 feet of water.
Downstream, on a popular stretch of the
Guadalupe River near New Braunfels, business
will be difficult for river outfitters until the lake
stops releasing floodwater, Brite said.
Teased by an exceptional Memorial Day
weekend, outfitters who rent inner tubes and
other water equipment were looking forward to
this summer, particularly after last year’s
drought kept the river level low.
It is unclear how badly the flooding will hurt
river outfitters, but many say they do half of their
annual business from the last week of June
through the first week of August, especially
around the July Fourth weekend.
Tourism in Comal County creates 7,000 summer
jobs and has a $220 million economic impact, in
cluding $140 million from water-oriented tourism,
according to the Chamber of Commerce.
The near-record Canyon Lake level means
water will have to be discharged from the reser
voir for weeks at 5,500 cubic feet per second —
a rate too high for tubing on the Guadalupe Riv
er downstream.
“We’ll be blowing out 5,500 cubic feet of water
per second, and that will be too much for everyone
but the very experienced raft guides,” Brite said.
The good news is white-water rafting can be
done on the Guadalupe River at a level not usu
ally experienced in Texas, said Paul Rich owner
of Mountain Breeze Camp. And the calmer Co
mal River remains open for tubing.
OKLA.
ARK.
AP
See Page 3.
OPINION
ater: Infant deaths in
^erica reveal parental
'Sglect, murderous intentions.
See Page 5.
ONLINE
Teen charged with murder
Woman is accused of strangling baby after giving birth at prom
^tp://bat"Web.tamii.edu
•ook for
^chived
'lories
niine.
m
FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — A teen-ager who
gave birth at her prom and then returned to the
dance floor was charged with murder Tuesday
after an autopsy concluded the baby was stran
gled and left in a plastic bag taken from the san
itary-napkin receptacle in the bathroom.
See Related Column, Page 5
Prosecutors said 18-year-old Melissa Drexler
may have even used the sharp edge of the recep
tacle to cut the umbilical cord before dumping the
body of the newborn boy in a trash can June 6.
“Go tell the boys we’ll be right out,” Drexler
yelled to a friend in the bathroom before coming
out of the stall, accordingto prosecutor John Kaye.
He said she put her loose-fitting black gown back
on and went back to the prom dance floor, leav
ing the bathroom splattered with blood.
A grim-looking Drexler, wearing a flowered
skirt and a blue denim top with matching nail
polish, surrendered with her parents and stood
before a judge Tuesday to face the charges of
murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
If convicted, Drexler could get life in prison. Prose
cutors said they do not plan to seek the death penalty.
Her attorney entered a plea of innocent on her
behalf. She spoke only to answer “yes” to questions
from Superior Court Judge John A. Ricciardi.
About an hour later, after posting $50,000
bail, Drexler emerged from the courthouse and
walked into a sea of reporters, photographers
and cameramen. She got into a black Chevy
Blazer and appeared on the verge of tears.
“She’s not very happy,” attorney Steven Secare
said after Drexler had left. “She’s very nervous.”
Drexler’s 19-year-old prom date has said
that he believes he was the father but that he
was unaware she was pregnant.
Air Force denies UFO rumors
Government claims ‘aliens’ were life-size dummies
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force is
sticking to its story. Those weren’t alien bod
ies secretly recovered from a UFO crash site
in New Mexico half a century ago. They were
dummies.
“Case closed,” the Air Force insists in a
231 -page report released Tuesday on the so-
called Roswell “incident.”
Not so fast, say believers.
“If you’ve seen an alien, you would know
the difference between that and a stupid
crash dummy,” said Barb Sauerman, the
switchboard operator at the mayor’s office.
And Deon Crosby, director of the In
ternational UFO Museum and Research
Center in Roswell, said the report raised
more questions than it answered — and
certainly was not sufficient to let the Air
Force wash its hands of the controversy.
“It’s not going to do that at all,” she said.
The most likely explanation for the un
verified alien reports made in July 1947, the
Air Force said, relates to life-size dummies
dropped from the skies during a series of ex
periments in the 1950s. What is not fully ex
plained is how people could have confused
events that happened a decade apart.
“If you find that people talk about things
over a period of time, they begin to lose ex
actly when the date was,” said Col. John
Haynes, an Air Force declassification officer
who presented the report at a Pentagon
news conference.
“I have no other explanation.”
Please see UFO on Page 6.