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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1997)
Texas A&M University 3 Today Tomorrow See extended forecast, Page 2. Ri olume 103 • Issue 163 • 6 Pages College Station, TX Monday, July 14, 1997 tews Briefs Tto host national opwood Summit Hie Student Government of the Uni- fsity of Texas will host "The National t-Hopwood Summit” this fall to dis- ssways to combat falling minority ollmentat state universities. Student organizers are lining up lionally-known speakers to anchor October 23-25 event. Represen- s from universities across the ion, including Texas A&M, will be ited to discuss the legal impact of Hopwood decision, how to liieve campus diversity in a post-af- native action environment and di- fsity planning for the future. &M announces fall linority enrollment Texas A&M announced last week its [raebtl'estimate of the number of minority Txlents expected to enroll in the fall. Piesident Ray M. Bowen said that as Inesday, 624 of 1,276 Hispanics admission for the fall had ac- ,and 163 of 392 Africa n-Ameri- offered admission had accepted. on these numbers, A&M ex- a30 percent drop in the number n-American freshmen and a 15 rtdrop in the number of Hispan- .students from 1996. Bowen attrib- tliedrop to the Hopwood decision, outlawed race-based scholar- in Texas. 'After months of speculation about impacts of Hopwood on admis- and premature and frequently in- :t publication of enrollment num- !rs,thebad news now appears to be Bowen said in a press release. Regrettably, the restrictions Hop- 'Odhas placed on scholarships put atacompetitive disadvantage with Estate universities.” Bowensaid A&M will strive to mairv Pn racial diversity despite the drop. 'Butw?remain fearful that, even with fire recruiting, we will continue to see ‘lining number of minority students 1 Ply here in favor of colleges out of that can offer more attractive irships,” he said. Rnalenrollment figures will be tallied the 12th day of classes in the fall. iirmer Drill Team ember files lawsuit Iravis Alton, a former Texas A&M stu- from Tyler, filed a $25 million law- against three University officials nine former Fish Drill Team advis- infederal district court in Galveston Tuesday. The civil suit states that Alton was aten as a freshman on the Drill 3m and that school officials were are of the hazing incidents. The A&M officials named in the suit e:Dr.J. Malon Southerland, the vice ssident of student affairs; Maj. Gen. las Darling, the executive director Istudent affairs development and for- sr Corps of Cadets Commandant; dCapt. Robert Dalton, a tactical liningofficer and the faculty Fish Drill arm adviser. SPORTS Rugby overcame the heat advance to the semifinals of ie Hottest Rugby in Texas.’ See Page 3. OPINION •ano, Lemons: University Parks debate over need £ fr music major degree. See Page 5. ONLINE ^p;//bat-web.tamu.edu is ten to le Battalion % show. Wolf Pen Creek first choice for hotel site By Robert Smith The Battalion The College Station City Council voted Wolf Pen Creek the top site for a hotel and conference center in College Station Thursday night. Citizens will vote in November to decide if a hotel and conference center will be built. The vote was 3-3 when Mayor Lynn Mcllhaney made the deciding vote to rank Wolf Pen Creek the number one choice and the Leddy group’s Northgate “mud lot” loca tion the second choice. If die city cannot reach an agreement with Wolf Pen Creek, it will negotiate with Leddy for the Northgate location. The city’s consulting group, PKF, decided Thursday afternoon at a workshop meeting that Teddy’s North- gate proposal and the Wolf Pen Creek proposal are equally attractive. John Culpepper Jr., father of “mud lot” landowner John Culpepper III, said he was upset with the consultants’ de cision to choose both sites, because they did not consider the proximity of Texas A&M to the different locations. “We are disappointed that their (the city’s) consultants did not consider Texas A&M University,” he said. Culpepper said he believes the Northgate site would give more opportunities to the city. Photograph: Rony Angkriwan College Station City Council voted Wolf Pen Creek the top site for a hotel and conference center. “We felt like Northgate offered much better expanded use,” he said. “It could be used in conjunction with Reed Arena and the George Bush Library. Due to proximity, they could work with each other.” Please see Hotel on Page 6. MSC approves multicultural events for fall By John LeBas The Battalion The MSC Council approved on-campus hip-hop, jazz and comedy multicultural programs for early fall Saturday. Alphapalooza, a multi-artist rap concert; jazz musician Kirk Whalum; and stand-up comedian Paul Rodriguez are scheduled at Rudder Auditorium on different dates in September. The shows were part of a 27-program package the Council voted to let MSC committees produce next school year. Alphapalooza is scheduled for September 6 at 8:30 p.m. The show will be co-sponsored by the MSC Town Hall and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Duane Thomas, Alpha Phi Alpha special events chair and a se nior industrial engineering major from Ville Platte, La., said the concert will feature nationally-known hip-hop artists. “The goal is to provide a social outlet for traditionally under programmed audiences,” he said. “We’re targeting African-Amer ican and other minority students, but we feel the program will have crossover appeal to non-minority students.” Please see Programs on Page 6. Former SBP still making progress Tody Boenig was injured in a rafting accident last year By Jenara Kocks The Battalion A May 1996 accident on the Guadalupe River left former Texas A&M Student Body President Toby Boenig partially par alyzed, and doctors told him that he may never walk again. They told him he might be able to touch his nose, eventually. After 13 months of rehabilitation at Warm Springs Rehabil itation Center in Gonzalez, Texas, Boenig said he is still not in dependent, but he is walking with the help of a walker and a brace on his right leg. Boenig said he and his father travel 35-40 miles every day from their home in Marion, Texas, to the Center. Boenig said he starts his exercises at 8 a.m. and finishes at 2 p.m. Jeb Jones, Class of ’95, who is one of Boenig’s close friends and a future roommate, said Boenig’s progress is encouraging. “To see him move around more like normal and to see him getting up and walking in his walker is good therapy for all of us,” Jones said. Jones said he thinks Boenig’s determination and hard work has a lot to do with his recovery. “He’s not throwing his progress to the wind,” Jones said. “He really pushes himself.” Boenig said he sets goals for his progress. "I’ve made a lot of my goals, but not all,” Boenig said. “It’s hard to get used to not being able to make all the goals when I want to. But after we miss them (goals), we just keep going.” He said some of his goals include sitting down and stand ing up by himself. One of Boenig’s major goals is pursuing a career. He said IBM in Dallas has been holding a job in sales and marketing for him since before the accident, and he hopes to work soon. “My unrealistic goal is to be able to work in September,” Boenig said. “But I definite ly want to work in January.” Boenig said he can type a little and grab with his left hand, but his right side is not as strong. George Boenig, Toby’s father, said his son is working on using his right arm. He said that before the accident, Toby was right-handed. He said his son has learned to shave, comb his hair and brush his teeth with his left hand. “He tries to write with his left hand also, but I can’t read it,” George Boenig said. Boenig said they have to take his son’s progress one day at at time. Some days are good, and some days are bad, he said. He said that in the beginning of the rehabilitation process, his son’s right side was better than his left side. Now it is the other way around. But George Boenig said they try to focus on the results of the rehabilitation. “A lot of kids his age would have quit if something like this happened to them, but there is no quit in Toby,” Boenig said. Toby Boenig and his parents agree that the support of friends and family has been a great help throughout the re habilitation process. The Boenigs said friends and family have helped them both emotionally and financially. Joyce Boenig, Toby’s mother, said her son could not have made as much progress without so many people’s prayers. George Boenig said many of Toby’s friends from A&M still call and visit. Amanda Cochran, a junior marketing major, came over and played “42” with the family last Friday. George Boenig said the Singing Cadets benefit concert held for Toby last September was “unbelievable.” “I really hadn’t imagined that many kids would show up,” Boenig said. Toby Boenig said the $9,500 raised at the concert was a big help because the family’s insurance company stopped paying for his rehabilitation after four months. Boenig said his family and friends from A&M have been a blessing. “God has put so many people in my life to help me get through this,” he said. “It really hasn’t been easy, but it’s been easier than if I had to go through this whole ordeal without them.” Photograph: Tim Moog p|\/ A 1/ijhp, Dustin Lovell, a fourth grader at Fannon Elementary,-,brings in his kite at the Polo Fields riy n Sunday afternoon. Ags honored for work with WWII Tank Destroyer Force Boenig By Erica Roy The Battalion Almost 50 years after the Tank De stroyer Force was disbanded and inte grated into the U.S. Army, the men of this unit are being honored at monu ments across the country. Two Aggies who fought in World War II with the Tank Destroyer Force, an anti-tank armored vehicle division, were honored at a monument in Fort Sill, Okla., on July 3. Lt. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce, Class of ’16, developed the Force and its tank-train ing methods at Camp Hood, Texas (now known as Fort Hood) from 1941-1943. First Lt. Turney W. Leonard, Class of '42, was one of the eight members of the Force awarded the Medal of Honor. Col. Bob French, national coordinator of the World War II Tank Destroyer Soci ety, said 5,000 members of the Force were killed in the war. It is credited with de stroying 2,500 German tanks. French said the Tank Destroyer Force “just sort of disappeared in histo ry,” but Americans need to remember the Force because of their dominance in fighting German tanks. “It’s important [to remember] be cause we were considered more or less a suicide force,” French said. “It was very daring.” Calvin C. Boykin, Class of’46 and in coming president of the Tank Destroy er Society, said the Force was small compared to the rest of the Army. “It was a lively group,” Boykin said. “They were ready to fight, and they did well.” Bruce, who is known as the “Father of Fort Hood,” is featured on the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor in the Corps Center. Boykin said that when he arrived at Camp Hood as a new recruit in 1943, he noticed that Bruce made the troops feel at home. “He was the kindest officer I’d ever seen,” he said. “He gave us a very uplift ing speech.” Please see Force on Page 2. Vvv-'OWO Photograph: Tim Moog First Lt. Itirney W. Leonard, Class of ’42, was one of the eight members of the Tank Destroyer Force awarded the Medal of Honor. Ratings agreement threatens television reform plans WASHINGTON (AP) — New detailed TV ratings are in the headlines, but four members of Congress contend that such on-screen warnings do nothing to fix what’s really wrong with television: the shows are offensive. The lawmakers — Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sam Brown- back, R-Kan., and Reps. Lamar Smith, R- Texas, and Joe Kennedy, D-Mass. — are pushing legislation to require that early- evening television programs be free of sexual innuendo, deletable expletives or sly euphemisms for crude language. But a deal that other lawmakers made with the TV industry may prevent the bills from going anywhere. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R- Miss., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Commerce Committee chairman, and seven other senators promised indus try leaders they would oppose, among other things, legislation aimed at creat ing a “family viewing hour.” The assur ance, similar to ones made by key House members, was in exchange for the industry’s agreement to adopt stronger voluntary program ratings. That agreement bodes ill for the new “family viewing” proposals, which would grant television networks a limited ex emption from antitrust laws and allow them together to reinstate and develop voluntary programming standards. Please see Ratings on Page 6.