er 4,1997 Texas A & M University I'm: k 1 1 04™ YEAR* ISSUE 5 *12 PACES mmmm Iww COLLEGE STATION • TX TODAY TOMORROW FRIDAY • SEPTEMBER 5 • 1997 he Small olonel promoted to brigadier general ; Col. Donald J. Johnson, deputy i!»mmandant and chief of staff in 11 lie Office of the Commandant of adets, will be promoted to the | jnk of brigadier general in the j was State Guard. ; Johnson, Class of'55, will receive | tepromotion following the Corps of | adets' march into Kyle Field before ; aturday’s football game against | am Houston State University. The j eremony will be officiated by Brig, j fen. Leroy Cisco, commanding gen- | ra! of the Texas State Guard. Association hosts lailgate party I The Association of Former Stu- tents will be hosting a tailgate j arty before each home football I feme this fall. | The party, which will be held in a ||entoutside the Clayton Williams, i i.,Alumni Center, will cost $5 a | arson. It will begin three hours be- | ore game time and will end 30 min- te$ prior to kickoff. Reservations Ire not required. General to review Corps for march-in i I The reviewing officer for the ilferps of Cadets’ march-in before ■morrow’s football game will be wig. Gen. Jan C. Huly. I Huly, a veteran of the Persian I MWar, is the deputy command- I jsggeneral at the Marine Forces ! Reserve, headquartered in New | jCrleans, La. He has been a Ma- 'iieofficer for 27 years. The cadets will march from the Wrangle to Kyle Field at 2:25 p.m. [ j&lurday. March-in will begin, at 3 p.m. Special parking .Tiles go into effect II Special-event parking rules go into ! Iffect tomorrow morning because of | lie Texas A&M-Sam Houston State ; loiversity football game at Kyle Field. Special-event signs saying “no larking" will be put up in some Col- ke Station neighborhoods. : Vehicles parked in violation of the ipecial-event parking rules will be »ed and ticketed. Parking in yards Jso is prohibited. ludge upholds Gavidian sentence WACO, Texas (AP) — A federal iidge on Thursday upheld the sen tences of five Branch Davidian follow ers of David Koresh after reconsider- igtheir punishment on orders from , in appellate court. ’ At issue was whether the defen dants carried or had access to ma rine guns during a 1993 firefight federal agents who were at tempting to arrest Koresh and search fe religious compound near Waco. life styles Meier: Silverstone flick carries too much baggage. See Page 4 Corps inaugurates football season with group seating : i f I ? ;f # 1 MHMMft fli f W/% sports A&M’s Cross Country Team heads to Houston for first Tieet of the season. By Rachel Dawley Staff writer The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets will sit to gether next to the Aggie Band during the Sam Houston State University football game this weekend and at the University of Southwest Louisiana game Sept. 20. Danny Feather, Corps commander and a senior economics major, said block seating al lows the Corps to sit as one group to show their support of the University. “We by no means intended to upset or up stage the student body,” he said. “We just want “1 think it is great that the Corps 1 is going to sit together. What j better way can you show support 1 for the team?” CRAIG ROTTER AGRICULTURE EDUCATION ! GRADUATE STUDENT to show Corps support for the Band and foot ball team.” The Corps will sit beside the Band on the horseshoe side to keep more seats open for the other students. The shaded seats on the first deck also will be open for non-Corps students. ]im Kotch, atliletic ticket manager, met with Corps leaders last spring. Kotch said A&M has used the classification system of pulling tickets since 1975. No one had asked for group tickets before the Corps’ request, so the issue was nev er addressed. Kotch said the block seating is be ing done on a trial basis and will be reevaluated following the two games. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president of student affairs, said the Corps made the re quest as a pilot program. He said he presumed any student group could make such a request. “The tickets used for this purpose are gen erally not as good as second deck and even third deck,” Southerland said. Craig Rotter, a graduate student in agricul ture education, said he did not have any prob lems pulling tickets for Saturday’s game. “I think it is great that the Corps is going to sit together,” he said. “What better way to show support for the team than to have the entire Corps behind them? As a non-reg, it will help build my spirit.” However, some A&M students do not think the Corps should sit together. Jason Fuchs, a junior agriculture econom ics major, said the block seating could present a false image of A&M. “I like seeing the mixture of cadets and non- regs at football games because it shows the di versity and progression of A&M,” Fuchs said. "People outside of A&M will see the Corps as an elite group who are better than other Aggies. Also, upperclassmen who have waited to pull tickets for four years will resent the Corps.” Feather said the idea was discussed last year with the Athletic Department, the Stu dent Senate and other student leaders. Madison Mauze, a public relations sergeant for the Corps and a junior chemistry major, said although a group of block seats was allocated for the Corps, commanding officers must turn in the number of cadets and dates early. Cadets still had to pull tickets at scheduled times. “It is a great spirit booster and a chance to meet other Corps members,” Mauze said. “Be fore, everyone drew tickets and only four or so of your buddies sat together. Now entire out fits can sit together.” f' llpef. 4 ^ : \-.r v , /. Ajtyi za n • mm .£4* Jr I J H _ m Wfjms 0 !*V 'iF 1 > lr jtsi&L ROBERT MCKAY/The Battalion Professor Jay Novak leads his Horticulture 302 class through the Holistic Garden, a pro ject he has been refining for over ten years. Students recognize Hispanic Heritage month 5% Colombia ‘yv/’v -T m wmmki B raZ ,l EX1C°, • i Tu; i'J 1 '*, ' WhiiW wsih pMf RICO By Joey Jeanette Schlueter Staff writer Texas A&M Hispanic students are beginning to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a Latin party 9 p.m. tonight at the Ramada Inn Ball Room in College Station. Hispanic Heritage Month lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. During the month, appearances will be made by former Democratic senatorial candidate Victor Morales, comedian Paul Rodriguez and Texas A&M Board of Regents member Dr. Dionel Aviles. The A&M Puerto Rican Student Association and five other groups representing Hispanic countries are sponsoring the party to celebrate Hispanic heritage and cultures. Students from Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela will attend the party. Dances from the countries will be taught and performed and different types of music will be played. Dr. Emily Santiago, assistant director of Mul ticultural Services and adviser to the Puerto Ri can Student Association, said the party will give students the opportunity to enjoy music and the festive occasion. “I think it is important for students to cele brate their heritage,” she said. “Hispanic Her itage Month is a recognition of our background and history.” Santiago said the celebration also gives His panic students an opportunity to educate others about their cultures. “They should feel proud about their heritage and communicate that,” she said. “The celebra tion shows the University community ‘This is us’, and it shows a bit of our culture.” Santiago said all students are welcome to come to the celebration. The official kickoff of Hispanic Heritage Month will be at Unity Rally Sept. 16 in front of Rudder Fountain. Morales will speak at the Rally. In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, Omega Delta Phi fraternity will show the film “Se lena,” about the life of the lateTejano singer, Sept. 13 at Rudder Theater. The celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month will close with comedian Rodriguez performing at Rudder Theater Oct. 16. MSG Town Hall and the Committee for Awareness of Mexican American Culture (CAMAC) will host the event. The Hispanic President’s Council, which has 12 organizations, will promote Heritage Month at the MSC Open House this Sunday at 2 p.m. Jose Sanchez, secretary general of the Hispan ic President’s Council and a senior finance major, said he wants more organizations to join the council. Other international organizations have expressed interest in joining, he said. A Hispanic Open House on Sept. 8 will give new students the opportunity to see the variety of Hispanic organizations on campus. Also, Aviles will speak at the event. See Page 7 opinion franklin: Brutal police actions change face of moral, ethical aw enforcement policies. See Page 11 online http://bat-'web.tamu.edu browse the archives for past ciews stories, features, and columns. RHA supports new Sbisa renovations Changes create multi-purpose centers within dining hall By Matt Weber City editor The Texas A&M Residence Hall Association was informed by Food Services of the progression of the construction work at Sbisa Dining Hall Wednesday night. Cindy Zawieja, assistant director for Food Services, said Sbisa, which was built in 1912, has been in need of renovations for over 20 years. Zawieja said the renovation process began in May 1997 as a class project of a senior environmental de sign class. “The class made a presentation to remodel Sbisa,” she said. “We thought that their ideas were so good that we presented them to the architect.” This summer, the dishroom that stood behind the former main entrance was removed to make the din ing area more open. Future improvements include a metal roof, a metal ceiling with fans and two outside terraces with wheelchair access. The right side of Sbisa may be converted to a multi-purpose room with computer access. Zawieja said the construction work will make Sbisa more attractive to students. “We are working to accommodate the students’ needs,” she said. “We are committed to repair Sbisa for the students so they will be proud of the building.” Inconveniences connected with the renovations, such as poor air conditioning circulation and the lack of non-disposable eating utensils, should be solved within a month and a half, Food Services representa tives said. Chris Lavery, director of external affairs for RHA and a sophomore history major, said the remodel ing may cause some aggravation for students this semester. “It will be difficult for the students for the first cou ple of months,” Lavery said. “It will be a hassle, but hopefully it will be better in the end.” Peter Schulte, vice president of administration for RHA and a sophomore meteorology major, said stu dents need to cooperate with Food Services during construction work. “They’re working as efficiently as possible,” Schulte said. “Be patient.” Organizations host concert on campus By Amanda Smith Staff writer MSC Town Hall and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will present the first Alphapalooza at Texas A&M Sept. 6 at 8:36 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. Tela, a rap artist from Houston, will headline the show and four oth er musicians will perform. Jennifer Schmidt, MSC Town Hall chair and a senior political sci ence major, said she expects a big turnout Saturday night. “My goal is to sell the show out,” Schmidt said. “We are breaking into a whole new area of programming.” David Salmon, the adviser to Town Hall, said Alphapalooza is geared toward a diverse audience. “The whole idea of Alphapalooza is to have a bunch of different ar tists perform,” Salmon said. “We think that tickets will go really quickly.” Advance tickets are $12.50 at the MSC box office, Lurl’s Beauty Salon and Tip Top Records. Tickets will be sold at the door for $15. “It’s going to be a rap/hip-hop concert,” Salmon said. “We are try ing to provide an entertainment op portunity for students at Texas A&M.” Other entertainers include U- Turn, a Bryan-College Station band; Hurricane G., a female artist; Lif Keke, a male artist from Houston and Lady of Rage, who has worked with rap artist Snoop Doggy Dog and recently released a solo album. Salmon said that Town Hall and Alpha Phi Alpha have worked to gether on comedy performances for the past few years. “Last year, we wanted to change the focus from comedy to music,” Salmon said. me iineuaeRei saiu u was uun-