The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 26, 1997, Image 1

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Texas A & M University
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Today
Tomorrow
See extended forecast, Page 2.
it’s, alume 103 • Issue 155 • 6 Pages
College Station, TX
Thursday, June 26, 1997
| Ants
jcky,
Ibecas
Jews
Briefs
IlOVf
Mir loses half its power after collision
ty to financially aid No astronauts were injured in the accident
urger Boy relocation
|ir th::
Pew
i
Burger Boy owner George
ipasakis canceled a federal injunc-
L Jihearing against College Station
tsday after the city said it would
|j-Q rC( tappeal a federal decision requir-
the city to financially aid
ipasakis in moving his restaurant.
Sopasakis said it was not neces-
lehas : ftoinr| P ose a preliminary injunc-
3 j av l ( fibecause the city agreed to com-
with the decision.
‘We’ve won this issue,”
pasakis said.
Ihe Department of Housing and Ur-
Development (HUD) ruled June 16
n( jJit$opasakis is entitled to receive re
gion assistance from the city.
s decision overturned the
($$10,000 relocation package.
1995, the city acquired the
Ming Sopasakis currently is rent-
City Council had been negotiat-
,with Sopasakis for 21 months.
t Ihe city will demolish building to
ike room for a Northgate parking
and promenade as part of the
rttigate revitalization plan.
Ihe exact amount of relocation ben-
tseligible to Sopasakis will be de
mined by the city's Community De-
bpment Department and will be
$edon a property value assessment.
Sopasakis’ benefits will not be
Mfrom local taxes. They will come
mfederal dollars allocated by HUD
city’s Community Develop-
UentBlock Program.
'sdecision will delay develop-
IJentofthe Northgate parking lot, but
ficity expects the lot to be com-
| eted by early fall.
agazine: Republic
r leader alive and well
' VMSQCW (AP) — Republic of
W^dsfugitive Richard Keyes III is
live, well and living in a foreign
ppountf that’s “armed to the
Ifh," according to an Internet
| Mne interview published
jpesday night.
11 though one authority expressed
ubtabout the report, Colorado free-
ce writer Joel Dyer wrote that
'^contacted him on June 17. His
^appeared Wednesday night on
Iter Jones magazine’s online edi-
; I,The MoJo Wire.
Tmpast the point of no return,”
(story quoted Keyes as saying,
'(are people with nothing to lose,
tte United States is comfortable
Ingoing to war with people who
venothing to lose, then so be it.”
Keyes, who has been sought by
lorities since he walked out of the
While of Texas separatist group’s
aipound on May 3, would not say
iereheis hiding except to say he is
'Jtof the country.”
Keyes bolted from the separatist
Hip's Davis Mountains hideout the
kRichard McLaren and five follow-
isurrendered to state troopers af-
| evef aweeklong siege.
enifiistian rock band brings
show to 3rd Floor Cantina
Sfen night.
See Page 3.
oktf
end 11
tfClf
afoK 1
Itlo?
a
ENTERTAINMENT
OPINION
es fanklin: New technologies
air bag construction leads
sensitive automation.
See Page 5.
ONLINE
%.//bat-wcb.tamu.edu
pi? is ten to
K sttalion
ls i' online.
ha- 1
(AP)—In the worst space collision ever,
an unmanned cargo ship crashed into Rus
sia’s Mir station Wednesday, knocking out
half the power, rupturing a pressurized lab
oratory and raising questions anew of how
long the decrepit spacecraft can function
before someone gets killed.
See Related Story, Page 6
The American and two Russians on
Mir were said to be in no immediate dan
ger, but it was unclear how much longer
they could remain on board. Mir has an
attached Soyuz capsule that can bring the
crewmen home in an emergency.
The men were forced to work in dark
ness with much of their equipment turned
off to save energy. Unless more power is re
stored soon — how soon, NASA couldn’t
say—they may not be able to operate their
life-support systems, such as the primary
oxygen generator and the carbon dioxide
removal system.
“It’s a serious situation,” said astronaut
Jerry Linenger, who returned from Mir in
May after battling a fire and other life-
threatening problems aboard the aging,
11-year-old outpost. “Fire aboard a
spacecraft and decompression are the
two most dangerous things that can hap
pen on an orbiting vehicle.”
While still trying to determine the ex
tent of the damage, NASA it will rethink
its program of sending astronauts to Mir.
We might at some
point want to terminate
the mission.”
Frank Culbertson
Director of NASA's
shuttle-Mir program
“Once we get the situation stabilized and
understand what the long-term potential
for operation on the Mir is and what it’s ca
pabilities remaining are, then we will eval
uate with the Russians where we go next,”
said Frank Culbertson, director of NASA’s
shuttle-Mir program. “We might at some
point want to terminate the mission.”
Even before Wednesday’s accident,
some experts and Washington officials
had argued that Mir was too old and
worn out to fly safely.
In February, a defective oxygen gener
ator sparked a 14-minute fire that sent
chunks of molten flying. In the weeks af
terward, the cooling system leaked, oxy
gen generators failed and the carbon
dioxide removal system broke down.
The collision happened as the Russian
cosmonauts practiced docking the
Progress supply ship by remote control.
Commander Vasily Tsibliyev could not
slow the ship and it slammed into Spektr, a
Mir laboratory module, Culbertson said.
Through their quick action, the cos
monauts saved the station from worse
damage and possible abandonment,
both countries’ space programs said.
The crash also punctured one of the
solar panels on Spektr and dented a ra
diator, Culbertson said. Spacewalks al
most certainly would be required to re
pair the hole if, indeed, it can be fixed,
he said.
Please see Mir on Page 6.
Mir collision
The Progress cargo ship collided with the Spektr module of the Mir
space station during practice manuvers. 'Hie crew of two Russians
and one American rushed to shut a hatch to the damaged section
and all on board were reported safe.
2
Z
The unmanned supply
ship is used to send food
and other supplies to die
astronauts and
cosmonauts aboard Mi'
It is launched
atop a Russian
Soyuz SL-4 rocket.
Mir space
station
1 The module carries
four solar arrays and
scientific equipment
(including more than
1,6(X) pounds of
U.S. equipment).
r O.
Manned spacecraft
ferries personnel from
Mir in the event of a
life threatening
condition.
Source: NASA
Hopwood hits home
Universities headed
for loss, Bowen says
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AUSTIN (AP) — Public colleges
and universities in Texas are gain
ing financially but may be back
sliding in recruiting top minority
students, says Texas A&M Universi
ty President Ray Bowen.
Legislators this year reversed a 10-
year trend by increasing the state
share of aid to public colleges and uni
versities, Bowen told members of the
Austin Rotary Club on Tuesday.
“Texas, as with virtually all states
in the union, is spending a smaller
percentage of its general revenue
budget on higher education,”
Bowen said. Despite that, higher
education “was treated very well”
in the legislative session that end
ed this month, he said.
But despite financial gains,
Bowen said A&M and other state
colleges and universities may be
headed for a loss if they cannot
overcome the effects of a court rul
ing that effectively outlawed affir
mative action.
“Given the reality of (the) Hopwood
(ruling), the result is the awkward sit
uation where the most qualified, mi
nority college-age population now
have every incentive to leave our state
to receive their education,” he said.
The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals a year ago
prompted Texas Attorney General
Dan Morales to ban affirmative ac
tion in admissions, financial aid,
scholarships and recruitment pro
grams at all public universities. Na
tionwide, only Texas and California
are under such restrictions, and
that could prove harmful to Texas'
future, Bowen said.
“Outstanding students, of all races,
are highly reemited,” Bowen said.
“They are, in fact, reemited like inter
collegiate athletes. It has always been
the case that financial aid packages
were used to entice the best students
to enroll.”
A&M archery coach
will lead U.S. team
Fv
■vi S
Photograph: Sarah Johnson
r* I i >rl Ben Pui *»’ a sen i° r civil engineering major, shoots to score in the outdoor
S131 cl S M Q * ■ pool at the Student Rec Center Wednesday afternoon.
Reveille spends summer on the road
By Jenara Kocks
The Battalion
F or many, summer is a time to relax, go on va
cation and take things at a slower pace. But
for Reveille, the First Lady of A&M, summer
means business as usual.
Jeff Bailey, mascot corporal of
Company E-2 and a sopho
more agriculture systems
management major, said al
though many people think
being a mascot is easy, i
Reveille has a busy life.
“Everyone says she is spoiled,
but she puts her hours in,” Bailey
said.
Bailey said Reveille makes
many appearances during the
summer for Aggie Mom’s Clubs
and other A&M clubs’ meetings^
Bailey, who keeps Reveille during the summer,
said he and Reveille are on the road two to three days
a week during most of the summer. At the end of July,
they will travel for two weeks to appear at Howdy Bar
becues for Aggie Mom’s Clubs.
David Wilkinson, director of club programs for
the Association of Former Students, said A&M
clubs across Texas often invite Reveille and the
mascot corporal to “Coach’s Nights.” Coach’s
Nights often include a dinner with A&M Football
Head Coach R.C. Slocum as guest
speaker, a golf tournament
and pictures with Reveille.
Sometimes the pictures
are used as a fund raiser;
other times they are
free.
Wilkinson said Reveille is
important to the clubs be
cause she is such a crowd
pleaser. “Reveille is a big
draw to a lot of Aggies,”
Wilkinson said.
Bailey said Reveille enjoys
traveling. He said she loves to ride
in his pickup truck with him. When Reveille flies
to football games in other states, she travels in
her own seat rather than inside a kennel in the
luggage compartment.
Please see Reveille on Page 6.
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
The Battalion
Texas A&M University Archery
Coach Frank Thomas was named as
sistant head coach of the U.S. Nation
al Archery Team this week and will help
lead the team in the World Champi
onships August 14-23 in Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Thomas and Assistant Coach
Kathleen Eissinger led the A&M
Archery Team to a national cham
pionship at the Collegiate Nation
al Championships in May. It was
the team’s third such victory in
four years.
Thomas said his being named
assistant head coach of the U.S.
team should be attributed to the
archery team members.
“I’m a product of the kids,”
Thomas said. “When they do great,
it makes me look great.”
The U.S. Archery Team is made
up of 16 members. The team is sep
arated into recurve and compound
teams depending on the type of
bow used. Four men and four
women comprise each team.
Thomas will travel with the U.S.
recurve team to Moscow, Russia,
this weekend for the Moscow
Grand Prix.
“This is a great opportunity for
us to shoot against the best shoot
ers in the world,” Thomas said.
The team members competed in
the 1996 Olympic Games in At
lanta, where the U.S. team won an
individual gold medal and the team
gold medal. Thomas said the world
championships, which are at a lev
el lower than the Olympics in in-
Photograph: Pat James
Texas A&M Archery Coach Frank
Thomas was named assistant head
coach of the U.S. National Archery
Team, which will compete in Vancou
ver, British Columbia in mid-August.
ternational competition, will be a
good showing for the U.S. team.
“We plan to medal several times
there,” Thomas said.
“We are also expecting for a bet
ter showing for the women’s team
as well.”
A&M hosted archery’s National
Collegiate Championships in May
at the Student Recreation Center.
A&M won two individual gold
medals and one individual silver
medal and brought home five team
gold medals. A&M also took 12 of
the 28 All-American positions and
took Rookie of the Year in three of
the four archery categories.
On Tuesday, Thomas was named
chair of the Physical Education and
Activities Program (PEAP), which
concerns Kinesiology 199 classes
offered at A&M. He said his duties
will include training, setting sched
ules, ordering equipment and gen
eral management.
Please see Thomas on Page 6.