ber 17,199:
e day. I knowtherj
mes when I was ha
/and the sound ofj
ng out like sweet
nllomecmetook 1)4™ YEAR ISSUE 14
ieir busy schedule
; my presence in
id n’t take much eflBTISI *
n’t even havetosto s
las gotten away6c
:nmunity andfon.’ )eaker tO dlSCUSS
elf-absorption. r
etend that 1 say IfV-positive life
everyone I mete ;teve s a christian
campus becau* !akerwho |s H |V-positive. will
,e impossible tot |ak abou , his |ife and his strug .
In notice those I itb the d j sease tonight at 7
wn or upset and luc | d e r Theater.
^ 31 Sawyer, a hemophiliac, contract-
the virus from a blood transfu-
. iwhen he was eight years old.
simple smilewilld ^ am p US Crusade for Christ is
know that someoi insor j n gthe speech,
hem and cares
l il h y e ouwan:Nf‘ lvl Professor
always ready (OB )nOred bV SPE
arted Howdy to
[Cet )r. Michael J. Economides, an
it as a response professor of petroleum engi-
Te x a s A & M U n i v e r s i t y
•wt
TODAY
TOMORROW
•14 PAGES
COLLEGE STATION • TX
See extended forecast. Page 2.
THURSDAY • SEPTEMBER 18 • 1997
ing I have todo,!:
/ilege. So to ALLv
i —HOWDY and
iop!
Jodie Holl
Class oj
1
sneourages letters tottei
be 300 words or less an:
's name, class, and
ttalion - Mall Call
Teed McDonald
A&M University
!ge Station, TX
7843-1111
pus Mail: 1111
409) 845-2647
t@tamvml_tamu.adu
n letter policy, pleased
ect your question to die
ring, has been chosen by the
iety of Petroleum Engineering
E) to receive its Production Engi-
ring Award at the annual meet-
Oct. 5-8 in San Antonio,
he award is given annually in
ignition of achievements in and
tributions to the field of forma-
evaluation technology.
* hiting awarded
liter reserves the righttti _ «
style, and accuracy.te anf1lial meeting
I in person at 013 Reei ^
I student ID. Lettersma^} obert L (Bob ) Whiting, A&M
essor emeritus and former
d of the Department of Petrole-
Engineering, will be awarded two
ors at the annual meeting of the
iety of Petroleum Engineering
Oct. 5-8 in San Antonio.
Vhiting will receive the DeGoly-
listinguished Service Medal for
contributions both to the SPE
the petroleum engineering
i. Also, he will be named to the
Legion of Honor in recognition
s 50 consecutive years of
nbership to the SPE.
997 Farm Aid
ncert canceled
ALLAS (AP) — The Oct. 4 Farm
’97 fund-raising concert has
n canceled because of lagging
let sales and a lack of corpo-
support.
What we do is just look at our
Its vs. the sales of tickets. It
wasn't there in Dallas,” Harry
|th, program director for
^^iton-based Farm Aid, said
om ten tofive.TtitLj nesc | a y “We don’t have an ex-
are interviewed nation. We just know we didn’t
aestion related to »t the support that we needed."
Their platformisiLastyear, about 40,000 attended
^ue stand on a fFarm Aid concert at Williams-
e in shape tohSn ]
;al rigors that
nning the crown |
id ing on a float
ir two hours is
landing as watch ]
>n.)
telecast the field j
supported with
3 at the appropri
organization,
impletely fiction
an interview
answer —
vliss Vermont,
nown for its
se, how do you
ne?
ill Bob, I think ii
pie just need to
:e Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Two
ks ago, Willie Nelson and Dallas
/boys owner Jerry Jones an-
nced that this year's concert to
efit family farmers would be at
ss Stadium in Irving. Headliners
e to include John Mellencarmp,
[Young, John Fogerty, the Dave
hews Band and Nelson. Tickets
|es ranged from $17.50 to $50.
ince Nelson, Mellencamp and
ng founded Farm Aid in 1985,
ir as Americans, i 116 k enefits have been staged,
ider God 'eluding two others in Texas,
adearingly naive | sda y’ s cancellation was a first,
condescending?)
s talk about the
mt to make in
ea, as if our public
are watching.
/s that Washingtoi
ive a 15 percent
tniday nights,
s that the Miss
ant is a beauty
though most of
m to have fright
6ith said.
V
m
eeth and despite j
. j ■: ” -i,-
n any given day
mpus you will
men more at-
he big-haired
ys win (and the
the blatant at-
up to the female volleyball player Kristie
ledsrud closes in on the
Schaub:
Rockin’ coun
try music is not
what it used to
be — true to
its roots.
See Page 3
\)HH IS
auty pageant it is
/arance, not sub-
l ones (pageants,
mow) are tele
sex does sell,
ss America
to retain what
ill have, they
hat it is, like
ord books in her final year.
See Page 9
I »!#«##
See Page 13
A&M to release enrollment figures
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
Texas A&M’s final enrollment
figures for the 1997-98 academic
year will be in today, and with
them the effect the Hopwood deci
sion on minority enrollment.
Other universities across Texas
have announced enrollment fig
ures, and have not seen a major
decrease in minority enrollment
this fall.
Some universities predicted a
decline as a result of the Hopwood
decision, which outlawed race-
based admissions and scholar
ships at Texas universities.
The University of Texas report
ed a final enrollment of 48,866 for
the fall, 858 more students than
last fall. Of those, 6,645 are fresh
men, an increase of 1,116 from last
year’s numbers.
Of the 6,645 freshmen, 807 are
Hispanic and 163 are African-
American, an increase from last
year’s 772 Hispanic and 162
African-American freshmen.
Stephen Monti, interim provost
of admissions for UT, said the uni
versity is unsure of the cause of the
increase in minority freshmen.
He said the university sent 400
more acceptance letters to stu
dents of all ethnicities than it has
in previous years.
However, the UT Law School
had a drop in minority enrollment.
The school enrolled four blacks
and 26 Hispanics as first-time law
students this year. Last year, the
law school saw 31 blacks and 42
Hispanics enrolled.
The University of Houston saw a
rise in its minority freshman enroll
ment also. Last year UH had 456
black and 494 Hispanic freshmen
enrolled. This year, there are 524
black and 646 Hispanic freshmen.
In contrast, minority enroll
ment figures for Texas private uni
versities dropped in some cases.
Rice University reported 28
black freshmen enrolled, com
pared to 52 last year. Hispanic en
rollment declined also, with 59
enrolled this year compared to 76
last year.
Rice officials said the drop may
be because other private univer
sities, such as Stanford and Har
vard, acquired more minority stu
dents because the schools
consider race in admissions and
scholarship decisions.
The A&M Admissions and
Records Office said earlier in Au
gust they expect a 23-percent drop
in black freshmen enrolled and a
15-percent drop in Hispanic fresh
men enrolled this fall as a result of
Hopwood.
Please see Enrollment on Page 2.
Tickets please
AMY DUNLAP/The Battalion
Daniel Lee, a biomedical science major, picks up football tickets for this weekend’s game
against Southwest Louisiana.
Suspended professor
denies accusations
Staff and wire report
A Texas A&M professor ac
cused of depositing more than
$ 100,000 in school money into
a private bank account has
been suspended with pay,
Texas Journal ofTheWall Street
Journal reported Wednesday.
Dr. Dhiraj Pradhan, who
holds the College of Engineer
ing Endowed Chair in Com
puter Science, has until Friday
to respond to the allegations.
“I have done nothing
wrong,” he told the journal,
adding he hopes “cool heads
will prevail, so I can simply be
a faculty member here again.”
Pradhan, who joined the
A&M faculty in 1992, knew
since last October that he was
the subject of a University in
vestigation.
He contends the Univer
sity is retaliating against
him because of his criticism
of the University’s manage
ment and tenure policies
and his ethnicity.
He said racism is the under
lying cause of his suspension.
“I am a proud Aggie,”
Pradhan said, “and I am sad
they [University officials]
feel that way. I still wish to
teach at A&M, but I don’t
want to be subjected to that
kind of treatment.”
Pradhan, a native of India,
filed last month a race-bias
complaint against A&M with
the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC, which does not
comment on such filings, has
not asked the the University
for a response.
According to a report by
University auditors, Pradhan
abused his position as a facul
ty member, filing false travel
vouchers and requiring his
students to perform work that
“I am a proud Aggie
... I still wish to
teach at A&.M, but I
don’t want to be
subjected to that
kind of treatment.”
DR. DHIRAJ PRADHAN
COMPUTER SCIENCE PROFESSOR
would benefit two private
businesses he controls in Col
lege Station. Pradhan owns
Digital Computing Systems,
Inc. and Technology Transfer
Institute, both in Bryan.
The report also said Prad
han improperly withheld
from the University more
than $100,000 in revenue
generated from a course he
and others taught on com
puter-assisted design. The
course was developed ac
cording to the guidelines of a
$318,000 grant to A&M from
the National Science Foun
dation, which also is investi
gating the use of the money.
Pradhan denies the accusa
tions, claiming his position as
endowed chair should not be
under review. The no-review
clause for endowed chairs was
reviewed anyway, he said.
In addition, the report says
Pradhan wrongly used
$20,000 in University money
for course expenses. Pradhan,
who says he spent the
$100,000 in revenue on com
puter course expenses, in
cluding teacher pay, main
tains A&M was not entitled to
that money because it did not
own the rights to the course.
Although the course was
taught on campus, the pro
fessor said, it was adminis
tered through a private
group of professors and did
not use the NSF dollars.
Pradhan said he was al
lowed to spend the $20,000
on course expenses because
it was part of a $32,000 gift
from Mentor Graphics Corp.
of Wilsonville, Ore., which
gave the money to Texas
A&M with the stipulation
that it be used by Pradhan for
the design course.
Pradhan learned in De
cember the Brazos County
district attorney was consid
ering charging him.
District Attorney Bill Turner
said in a letter to the Universi
ty late last year that his office
was “proceeding to indict
ment,” though no indictment
has been handed up.
It was not until his sus
pension in August that Prad
han was informed of the
school’s specific allegations
against him.
University officials de
clined to discuss the case with
Texas Journal. Mary Jo Powell,
associate director of Universi
ty Relations, told The Associ
ated Press Wednesday it is
against University policy to
discuss a pending matter.
A call to the district attor
ney’s office Wednesday was not
immediately returned to the AP
► Task Force for Alcohol Abuse
University addresses alcohol use
rguson: Baseball caps
campus reflect lack of
ectsofoursod fudent sanitation cares,
superficial,
mt to watch the
r News Hour
>s Jim Leher de
good in a bikini http://bat-web.tamu.edu
adcson is»«»| eck out The Battalion on-
marketing major ^ for additional Mail Call
^Kters. access to The Wire
nd past articles.
By Daniel Thevis
Staffwriter
Following the August death of a
Louisiana State University student
from alcohol poisoning, Texas A&M
and campus groups are educating
students about alcohol abuse.
Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice
president of student affairs, said
members of a Task Force for Alcohol
Abuse will be appointed within the
next two weeks.
Southerland said the Task Force
will focus on alcohol use at Universi
ty events and the effect of alcohol
abuse on the A&M campus. The Task
Force also will make recommenda
tions to school officials for changes in
University policies and programs.
Dr. Dennis Reardon, coordinator
of the Department of Alcohol and
Drug Education Programs, said after
the death at LSU, letters were sent to
resident advisers and directors asking
them to watch for warning signs of al
cohol abuse in on-campus students.
Reardon said the department
offers alcohol education work
shops and Alcohol 101 classes for
students who violate the Universi
ty’s alcohol policy.
Eric Vroonland, Intrafraternity
Council president and a senior fi
nance major, said despite the LSU
”1 hope we can use the
[LSU] incident and
increase awareness and
responsibility.”
ERIC VROONLAND
IFC PRESIDENT
death, fraternity membership did
not decline this year.
“It [the LSU incident] didn’t affect
Rush or membership,” he said. “But
the more incidents like this, the
greater the suspicion about fraterni
ty and Corps [of Cadets] activities.”
Danny Feather, Corps comman
der and a senior economics major,
said improper alcohol use is serious
problem.
“Alcohol abuse has become an ac
cepted part of culture,” he said. “Also,
the majority of serious violations —
hazing, sexual abuse—are a result of
alcohol abuse. One of the reasons a
Corps unit was disbanded last year
was for allowance of underage drink
ing.”
Lanita Hanson, assistant director
of Student Activities and coordinator
of Greek Activities, said campus-
group activities have been under
more scrutiny since the death at LSU.
Hanson said she has received tele
phone calls from parents wanting to
know what events their sons will par
ticipate in during fraternity Rush.
Both Feather and Vroonland said
their respective organizations re
quire members to attend some type
of seminar on alcohol education.
“I hope we can use the [LSU] inci
dent and increase awareness and re
sponsibility,” Vroonland said.
After the death at LSU, Sigma Nu
and Phi Delta Theta, two national fra
ternities, have set goals to become
“dry” by the year 2000.
Hanson said the A&M chapters of
the two fraternities have not begun
the process of becoming “dry,” but
that the University will support their
efforts.
Please see Task Force on Page 2.
Tobacco deal left in limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ap
plauded by public health leaders,
President Clinton called on ciga
rette makers Wednesday to dig
deeper to salvage the landmark
tobacco deal — including raising
cigarette prices by as much as
$1.50 a pack. The industry and
congressional Republicans
found much to fault.
Clinton ignored the deal’s focus
on settling the lawsuits that
plague tobacco companies, in
stead asking that Congress pass
sweeping laws with one goal:
stopping tobacco companies
from hooking teen-agers.
His decision leaves the sum
mertime tobacco deal an orphan,
with no action this year and ques
tions about how Congress could
address the issue in 1998. By Janu
ary, cigarette makers probably will
be deep into lawsuits in Texas and
Minnesota that could remove their
desire to compromise.
“To me, this is not primarily
about money,” Clinton said. “This is
about changing... both the behavior
of the tobacco companies, the be
havior of the American people, the
future behavior of our children.”
Clinton
Clinton was repositioning the de
bate so that "if you care about re
ducing the number of kids who
smoke, you have to be in favor of the
president’s pro
posal,” said for
mer Food and
Drug Commis
sioner David
Kessler. He said
that stance had
united feuding
public health
groups.
But Republi
can leaders at
tacked Clinton’s recommendations
as too vague, and Senate Majority
Whip Don Nickles warned that he
hadn’t decided whether lawmakers
should offer legislation necessary
for the deal even next year.
"I don’t feel compelled that we
have to pass this in two months. I
don’t feel compelled that we have to
pass this in 12 months,” Nickles said.
Clinton’s failure to provide spe
cific recommendations “makes it
far more difficult for us to do at all,
regardless of the terms,” said Rep.
Thomas Bliley, R-Va. He plans in
formational hearings this winter.