I
104 th YEAR • ISSUE 10 • 8 PAGES
COLLEGE STATION • TX
■jlm'i-a • w mam mfmmiimL ■ 3
TODAY TOMORROW
See extended forecast. Page 2.
FRIDAY • SEPTEMBER 12 • 1997
JPD investigates
IValton incident
The University Police Department
aid five individuals were found carry-
ig another individual out of Walton
all Tuesday night.
The UPD received a telephone call
16:50 p.m. Tuesday that reported
iree individuals were duct-taped to
•htposts in front of the residence hall.
UPD officers found no activity at the
all, but the one individual being car
ed out.
Bob Wiatt, UPD director, said the in-
ividuals said they were "horsing
■ound.”
The UPD said the victim said he
as a willing participant and not in-
red. He did not file charges, and no
rests were made.
Wiatt said the report was filed and
under consideration by the Student
onflict Resolution Center as a hazing
icident.
arrell relief
unds questioned
DALLAS (AP) — The attorney gen-
IraTs office is reviewing complaints
bout the allocation of relief funds for
rsidents of tornado-ravaged Jarrell at
ie request of some families whose
omes were devastated by the storm.
Officials with the Jarrell Recovery
oard say that six families have com-
lained about how the board is award-
g money from its $1.7 million fund.
Many residents are asking “how
)me so-and-so got more than me?”
3id board president Dianne Johns,
le of eight local residents on the
)ard who have been overseeing and
jministering the donated funds to 83
Dplicants.
iports authority
bpens meetings
I HOUSTON (AP) — In the wake of
ticism for holding closed-door
etings, the Harris County-Hous-
|n Sports Authority says it now will
Id open committee meetings.
The authority’s finance and con-
ruction committees were holding
ivate meetings under an exemp-
bn in the Texas Open Meetings
6w which makes deliberation a
ferequisite fora “meeting” and
ps “verbal exchange” as part of
e definition of “deliberation.”
The authority’s committees say
ley only received information
Dm third parties like architects,
Detractors and bankers at the
meetings, so there was no verbal
■(change or meeting.
►
octors promote
organ donation
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas doctors
fe launching a campaign they
jape will increase the number of
oi ^an donors, an act the Texas
Medical Association’s president
understands better than most.
Dr. Phil H. Berry’s life was
ived by a liver transplant in
1986.
I “This is a program that has the
Issibility of making a huge differ-
iice in the lives of some patients
l(ho are struggling, who don’t
rnow their fate, who are scared to
peath,” Berry, 60, said Thursday,
was one of those patients.”
lifestyles
Word of mouth
is the key to
restaurant’s
success with
A&M students.
See Page 3
Pynn Hickey continues to
help A&M strive toward a
piore complete program.
See Page
mm
http://bat-web.tamxi.edu
■look up with state and na-
ional news through The
Wire, AP’s 24-hour online
news service.
Multicultural Services
Department celebrates 10th anniversary
By Jenara Kocks
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Department of Multicul
tural Services is commemorating its 10-year
anniversary with a celebration this weekend.
Kevin Carreathers, director of Multicultur
al Services, said the event’s purpose is to
thank the people who have supported the de
partment over the past ten years.
He said it is also a time to reflect on the de
partment’s accomplishments and future
goals. '
“We’ve helped the institution [A&M| and
its commitment to diversity for faculty,
staff and students,” Carreathers said.
“We’ve helped with the retention of minor
ity students.”
The celebration starts at 3 p.m. today with
registration on the second floor of Rudder
Tower. A jazz concert by Karen Chavis and
The Big Apple Trio will follow at 8 p.m. in
rooms 221-224 of the MSC.
Saturday’s events will include workshops,
student organization lunches, campus tours,
a silent auction, a banquet and a party.
A brunch and worship service will be held
from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday in 205 and
206 MSC.
Carreathers said the department has es
tablished programs for minority students, in
cluding the ExCEL Freshman Student Success
Program, MEDALS (Minority Enrichment &
Development through Academic and Lead
ership Skills), TAMU Enhancing Diversity
Awards Program, Southwestern Black Stu
dent Leadership Conference and the Whoop-
stock Unity Festival.
Carreathers said he has three goals for
Multicultural Services for the next 10 years.
“First, we hope for federally funded pro
grams that will help in recruitment and re
tention of minority students,” he said. “Sec
ond, we would like grants to assist in
diversity-education efforts, especially in the
faculty. Third, we would like to be a larger fa
cility. We would like to expand our facilities,
programs and staff to extend to all we serve.”
Ron Sasse, director of Residence Life and a
member of the celebration planning com
mittee, said he is looking forward to the event.
He said he has worked for the University for
20 years and he has seen the Multicultural
Services department grow.
“I think everyone gets so busy and takes
things for granted,” Sasse said. “Students
know it’s [the department] there. It [the cele
bration] is a chance to pause and celebrate all
the accomplishments of the department.”
Senators
informed of
rank system
By Brandye Brown
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Senate in
formed senators of the election
“ranking system” for freshman
elections and honored the De
partment of Multicultural Services
Wednesday night.
This summer, Speaker of the
Senate Alice Gonzalez, a junior
agricultural development major,
approved the ranking system on a
conditional basis after meeting
with A&M student leaders.
After the system is used, the
Senate will vote whether to use the
ranking system for student body
elections in the spring.
Gonzalez said she agreed to test
die system under two conditions.
“First, that it is only for the
freshman elections,” she said.
“Second, any use beyond that
would be referred to the Senate
body with statistical data and re
search about [its] effectiveness
and ease of implementation.”
Also, the Senate passed the
Multicultural Services Depart
ment Appreciation Resolution
honoring the 10-year anniversary
of the department.
Golden occasion
%* - i*--
■iimflffwi”
RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion
Ashley Baxter, a senior marketing major, picks up her senior ring at the Clayton Williams Alumni Center Thursday afternoon. Over 1,500 rings are
being handed out.
Corps halls provide housing for civilian women
By Karie F EULER
Staff writer
Although the Quadrangle is best known for
housing the Corps of Cadets, two residence
halls on the Quad provide rooms for about 400
civilian women enrolled at Texas A&M.
This year, Spence and Kiest halls are the only
two residence halls on the Quad that house non-
Corps students. Kiest residents also share the hall
with the Corps staff, who live on the first floor.
Darby Roberts, area coordinator for the De
partment of Residence life, said the number of
civilian women living on the Quad depends on
the number of cadets.
“The Corps decides how many spaces they
need for the upcoming year,” Roberts said. “If
they don’t need the entire space, they allow
civilians to fill those spaces.”
Roberts said Kiest and Spence share a hall
council because some year s Kiest is a Corps res
idence hall.
“Because Kiest is a temporary situation, we
decided to combine it with Spence,” Roberts
said. “It provides a little more unity.”
Jessica Geeslin, a resident advisor for Kiest
and a junior political science major, lived in
Spence Hall last year. She said the two halls dif
fer from each other.
“A lot more work needs to be done as far as
facilities in Kiest,” Geeslin said, “and the envi
ronment is totally different, but not really be
cause of the Corps. It’s kind of a security thing
[having the Corps live in Kiest].”
Geeslin said living on the Quad has many
benefits.
“You have a natural alarm clock at six
every morning, and you get to know a lot of
people,” she said. “There are a bunch of
people in a small space. And even though I
“It was neat for the fish to be
recognized by the guys, but we just
had to have some girl bonding.”
NINA DE ROUEN
JUNIOR ENGLISH MAJOR
used to live in the Commons, I’ve met a lot
more people on the Quad.”
Danny Feather, Corps commander and a se
nior economics major, said he likes living on
. the first floor of Kiest Hall. Feather said the non-
Corps residents bring a different atmosphere
to the hall.
“The Corps staff is always overworked, and
normally the first floor of a dorm is loud and
crazy,” he said. “We really enjoy the quietness
and cleanliness in Kiest, and the ladies are al
ways friendly. They always say ‘Howdy’ and we
like that.”
Feather said the decision to make Kiest a
civilian hall was not due to a decrease in
Corps enrollment.
“Last year was just an overestimatiop,” he
said. “This really was a needed adjustment.”
Nina DeRouen, a junior English major who
lives in Kiest Hall, said the women in Kiest
played a game of mud football after a thunder
storm last week. She said some of the freshmen
were apprehensive about playing on the Quad.
“But once we started playing, they had fun,”
she said. “Then the Corps guys started walking
by. They would stop and watch — one outfit
even saluted us as they went by.”
DeRouen, who lived in Spence last year,
said the residents got to know each other
during the game.
“It was neat for the fish to be recognized by
the guys, but we just had to have some girl
bonding,” she said.
Kenny Jones, a junior political science ma
jor, saw the game.
“We stopped and watched for a while,” he
said. “It was really cool.”
Jones said he approves of women living on
the Quad.
“Of course we like it,” he said. “It brings girls
closer to the Quad, and we always like that.”
Ernesto Garcia, a freshman business ad
ministration major, said the situation is en
couraging to him.
“I believe it to be motivational,” Garcia said.
“We don’t see many girls on the Quad, and
when we do, it’s something to see.”
Garcia also said women help make the
Quad a better place for freshman cadets.
“We must always be watching for upper
classmen, but if we can see girls, it doesn’t make
the Quad seem that bad,” he said.
Jonathan Dancy, a freshman biomedical sci
ence major, said having women live on the
Quad has both good and bad aspects.
“It’s nice to see girls,” he said, “but some
of them have signs in their windows saying
‘Want a date?’ They put their names and
phone numbers on these signs. It seems
kind of desperate to me.”
Kyle Betty, a junior agricultural develop
ment major, said he has mixed feelings about
integrating the Quad with civilians.
“I don’t hate it,” Betty said. “I kind of like it,
but 1 really think the Quad should be the Corps’.
The whole Corps should live together.”
DeRouen said the living arrangements seem
to be working well.
“The fish had no idea what to expect,” DeR
ouen said. “We’ve taken them under our wing
— our attitude is ‘This is cool.’ I think if we had
a negative attitude about living on the Quad,
people would not be having such a good time.”
Army releases harassment study
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sex
ual harassment exists
“throughout the Ar my, cross
ing gender, rank and racial
lines,” the service said today,
faulting leaders who ignored
problems and allowed such
behavior to become com
monplace.
In a searing indictment of it
self, the Army has released its
largest-ever study of sexual ha
rassment. The 10-month re
view was sparked by the last
November’s allegations of
widespr ead sexual misconduct
at the U.S. Army Ordnance
Center in Aberdeen, Md.
It was made public by
Army Secretary Togo West and
Gen. Dennis Refiner, the Army
chief of staff.
At a Pentagon news confer
ence, West sought to draw a
distinction between sexual
harassment, which he said
“continues to be a problem”
throughout the service, and
the sexual abuses that were
found at Aberdeen.
“What happened at Ab
erdeen was an aberration,” in
sisted West.
White House Press Secre
tary Mike Curry said that Pres
ident Clinton believes the ac
tions being taken by the Army
will help prevent future sexual
misconduct. He said the pres
ident “views with concern all
allegations of sexual abuse
and sexual misconduct.”
The two-volume study was
accompanied by an Army in
spector general’s report on the
Army’s training program, and
a separate “action plan” aimed
at fixing many of the problems
turned up by a senior review
panel. It calls among other
things to require a week of
training for recruits on ethics
and moral values.
“Sexual harassment exists
throughout the Army, crossing
gender, rank and racial lines,”
the report declared.
Prof’s comments draw heated reaction
AUSTIN (AP) — A group of Hispanic
lawmakers demanded the resignation
Thursday of a University of Texas law pro
fessor who said blacks and Mexican
Americans come from cultures in which
“failure is not looked upon with disgrace.”
But UT officials defended the profes
sor’s constitutional right to say “even
these offensive and painful words.”
Rep. Hugo Berlanga, D-Corpus
Christi, is chairman of the Mexican
American Legislative Caucus. He said fu
ture UT funding could be jeopardized if
constitutional law professor Lino Graglia
does not leave the school.
“It seems we’re in an era where the Ku
Klux Klan does not come in white robes
but in the robes of academe,” added Sen.
Gregory Luna, head of the Senate Hispan
ic Caucus.
Graglia spoke Wednesday during the
announcement of a new UT student or
ganization that supports a federal court
ruling outlawing race-based admissions
policies in Texas. Graglia is a faculty advi
sor for the group.
“Blacks and Mexican-Americans are
not academically competitive with whites
in selective institutions,” he said. “It is the
result primarily of cultural affects. They
have a culture that seems not to encour
age achievement. Failure is not looked
upon with disgrace.”
UT Interim President Peter Flawn, said
inflammatory comments alone aren’t
enough to fire Graglia.