104™ YEAR • ISSUE 27 • 14 PACES COLLEGE STATION • TX TUESDAY • OCTOBER 7 • 1997
Bush Library route
widened to 4 lanes
George Bush Drive, from Well
born Road to FM 2818, has been
widened to a four lanes with raised
medians.
Texas Department of Transporta
tion officials said motorists should
be able to travel on two lanes in
£ach direction today.
* Construction will continue on the
outside of the road and on the medi
ans and also on Marion Pugh Drive.
The Bush Drive widening project is
expected to be completed this fall.
Work began October 1995 under
.a $4.5 million contract with Young
Contractors, Inc.
Red tide leaves
scientists baffled
CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — Scien
tists seeking to unlock the mystery
of red tide now say the deadly algae
'may sit dormant beneath the Gulf
floor, waiting for the right conditions
to reproduce.
But the greatest part of the
mystery remains unsolved: What
triggers the microscopic popula
tion explosion?
Thousands of manhours and mil
lions of research dollars have been
spent to answer that question and
to define what constitutes the right
conditions for growth.
Scientists chase the blooms, fly
over the blooms and measure their
concentration, but say they know little
more than they knew a decade ago.
Charges to be filed
against Gonzalez
DALLAS (AP) — Suspended super
intendent Yvonne Gonzalez has been
informed by federal prosecutors crimi
nal charges will be filed against her
as early as this week, according to
documents and a source familiar with
the investigation.
The preliminary charge is embez
zlement, but Gonzalez also could
face charges of witness tampering
and obstruction of justice, the
source, who requested to remain
unidentified, told The Dallas Morn
ing News in a copyright story pub
lished Monday.
The embezzlement allegation
involves a $16,000 purchase of
home and office furniture in Janu
ary, three weeks after Gonzalez
assumed her duties as superin
tendent.
Silver Taps
The Silver Taps ceremony
will be tonight at 10:30 in
fron t of the Academ ic
Building in honor of Juan
David Zapata, a senior en
vironmental design major.
Zapata also will be remem
bered at the Muster Cere
mony April 21,1998.
college students.
See Page 3
Defensive Coordinator Mike
Hankwitz’s football helmet
collection traces game’s past.
See Page 9
Johnston: Campus organiza
tions have duty to produce
strong leaders.
See Page 13
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NOW stresses equal roles in family
By Robert Smith
Senior stajf writer
Karen Dorris of the National Orga
nization for Women (NOW) said Mon
day night the Promise Keepers, a male
religious group, teaches women to be
submissive to men.
“We would like them to promise re
spect for women’s equality,” Dorris said.
Dorris, editor of the newsletter
The Texas NOW Times, said the
Promise Keepers do not believe
men and women have equal roles in
the family.
“The Promise Keepers have por
trayed women’s equality as a source of
society’s ills,” she said.
John Barring, Class of ’93 and a
member of the Promise Keepers, said
the purpose of the group is to improve
men and their roles in families.
“The whole deal is about men be
ing responsible, sexually and morally
pure, paying attention to responsibil
ities to their family, being faithful to
their church and striving to overcome
racial bar riers,” he said.
Dorris spoke to about 20 people,
mostly women, at the MSC and
showed a video containing clips from
Promise Keepers assemblies.
The video also showed part of an
interview with Promise Keepers
founder Bill McCartney.
Dorris said the Promise Keepers are
building a “political army.”
John Barring, the college minister
at First Baptist Church in Bryan, said
the group is not politically motivated.
“It has nothing to do with politics
and has everything to do with man
and God and his wife and family,” he
said. “I would defy you to find a politi
cal agenda.”
Barring attended the Promise
Keepers “sacred assembly” in Wash
ington, D.C. last weekend.
“It was an unbelievable experi
ence,” he said. “There were men
there from every country and every
racial background.”
Dorris said a television forum
she participated in last week was an
example of the Promise Keepers us
ing the media to distort minority
representation.
She appeared on a Bouston television
fomm with an African-American Baptist
preacher who is a Promise Keeper.
Dorris said the group’s multi-mil
lion dollar public relations budget al
lows the Promise Keepers to promote
itself in a positive way.
ROBERT McKAY/The Battalion
Karen Dorris, a member of
NOW, speaks at the MSC Mon
day night.
Be our guest
RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion
Clarisse Ngono, a Blinn student, dresses tables for a buffet banquet Monday afternoon.
UT presidential search focuses on 9 candidates
AUSTIN (AP) —A committee seeking
a president for the University of Texas
has narrowed the field of candidates to
nine, committee chair Lowell Leber-
mann says. But their identities aren’t be
ing disclosed.
In an interview published Monday by
the Austin American-Statesman, Leber-
mann, who also is a UT regent, said the
committee hopes a new Austin campus
chief can be named by late November.
“I’m extremely excited about the cal
iber of the candidates,” he said.
Lebermann, an Austin businessman,
said the 17-member search committee
will interview the nine candidates this
month. They include nationally known
educators and nominees who already
work in the UT System, he said.
Be declined to be more specific.
“We have probably looked at 70 to 80
people, and we got serious with about 30
or 35,” Lebermann said. “Then we win
nowed it down to the nine.”
After the interviews, the panel hopes
to recommend three to five candidates
to the board of regents.
A recent change in the regents’ rules
allows fewer than five to be recom
mended, which could permit the panel
to suggest just one.
Please see UT on Page 8.
Conference
reaches A&M
via satellite
Campus, industry leaders
discuss global warming
By Rachel Dawley
Staff writer
Texas A&M was one of 30 sites across the nation to re
ceive a live-satellite broadcast of a White Bouse confer
ence on global warming yesterday.
The conference at Georgetown University presented
problems and possible solu
tions of global warming. Sci
entists and industry leaders
addressed different aspects of
the global warming issue.
Judy Canales, moderator
and representative from the
□ See related
story, Page 6.
rural development sector of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, said the conference is part of the Clinton ad
ministration’s effort to educate American people about
Climate change. The conference was designed td help
form U.S. policy on this issue.
“We are not trying to force issues on the American pub
lic, just to provide information so that universities, busi
nesses, and industrial groups can come together for solu
tions,” Canales said. “People must become aware of what
climate changes mean and the human effect on our nation
and the world. More research and development will allow
for industry to become more environmentally focused.” 1
Participants included scientists, economists, corpo
rate executives, environmental, civic and labor leaders,
small-business owners, members of Congress and rep
resentatives of state and local governments.
The agenda included remarks from President Bill Clin
ton, Vice President A1 Gore and First Lady Biliary Clinton.
Panel discussions led by Clinton featured Secretary of En
ergy Federico Pena, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
and Deputy Secretary of Treasury Lawrence Summers.
Please see Conference on Page 8.
Work study program educates
children with low reading scores
ByKarie Fehler
Staff writer
A federal work study program with reading tu
tor and bilingual tutor positions is available to
students who quality.
The America Reads Challenge: The Initiative
is a work study program that places tutors in lo
cal elementary schools, where they work with
children with low reading scores. The program is
endorsed by President Bill Clinton.
Nora Cargo, a graduate assistant in the finan
cial aid depart
ment, said the
program is a
unique opportu
nity for students
who qualify to re
duce loan debt
and participate in
community ser
vice.
“The Initiative
allows some stu
dents to take out
less loan money
and actually earn
real money —
this is money that doesn’t have to be repaid,” she
said. “This program is also different than regular
campus work study in that it is a community ef
fort to help children learn to read.”
Cargo, a student affairs and administration in
higher education graduate student, said students
must qualify for federal work study before they
can apply for The Initiative.
“The first step to applying for this job is to
complete the Federal Application for Free Stu
dent Aid — the FAFSA,” Cargo said. “Once a per
son is awarded federal work study, they can fill
out an actual application for the job.”
The applications are sent to the educational
psychology department, where Patricia Lynch,
the campus coordinator ofThe Initiative, reviews
. applications and coordinates interviews.
Cargo said steps are taken to ensure a good
student-to-school match is made.
“Patricia Lynch, the director of the program,
works very hard to match a candidate with a
school, and then the student interviews there,”
she said.
The student is hired after a match is agreed
upon by Lynch, the student and the school. Lynch
said students give back to the community by par
ticipating in the America Reads Challenge.
“This program really helps the work study stu
dent give back to the Bryan-College Station area,”
she said. “These students are receiving federal as
sistance to go to school and in turn, they are get
ting a chance to pay it back by helping others to
get a good education.”
Joanna Bounds, an educational psychology
graduate student, coordinates the America Reads
Challenge at Jones Elementary in Bryan. Bounds
said the tutors at Jones Elementary work with
small groups of children to help them improve
reading skills.
“It has been a really good experience to work
with kids at all levels,” she said. “Some kids don’t
get help at home or are behind their grade level
—different kids need different help, and this gives
me a broad experience in improving their edu
cation.”
Tanja Bamman, the coordinator ofThe Initia
tive at Rock Prairie Elementary and a profession
al student in educational psychology, said the
program helps fix children’s reading problems
early in their education.
“The Initiative program really does make a dif
ference,” she said.
Bamman said she would recommend the
program to students who want to work with chil
dren and who qualify for federal work study.
“The kids are all so great you just fall in love
with them,” she said. “I haven’t had any com
plaints, and the pay is really good.”
“This program
really helps the work
study student give
back to the Bryan-
College Station area.”
NORA CARGO
GRADUATE STUDENT,
FINANCIAL AID DEPT.
Hispanic groups aim
for fraternity status
By Colleen Kavanagh
Staff writer
Two Bispanic men’s organizations,
Lambda Theta Phi and the United Gen
tlemen’s Council, and a Bispanic
women’s organization, Sisters For Cul
tural Awareness, are working to become
chapters of national fraternities.
The Texas A&M colony of Lambda
Theta Phi became a registered colony
July 27 and hopes to become a chapter
in December. Gilbert Saldivar Jr., a ju
nior sociology major, is one of five
founding brothers of the colony.
“We brought Lambda Theta Phi into
Texas,” he said. “It is primarily a North
east fraternity, so crossing into Texas is
a big step.”
Saldivar said Lambda Theta Phi
members speak to high-school students
about ways to afford college. Members
also volunteer at Elder-Aid to help el
derly residents in the Bryan-College Sta
tion area.
Mito Espinosa, a founding brother of
Lambda Theta Phi and a senior history
major, said only one Bispanic fraternity
was at A&M before Lambda Theta Phi.
“Lambda Theta Phi provides a new av
enue for people to pursue,” he said. “I feel
like I am adding something to A&M.”
United Gentlemen’s Council wants to
become a colony of Sigma Lambda Beta,
a social Latino fraternity.
Rene Sorola, a member of United
Gentlemen’s Council and a junior busi
ness administration major, said the pur
pose of the fraternity is to promote cul
tural awareness through education and
community service.
“We target unfortunate teenagers
and try to get them off the streets,” Soro
la said.
“We encourage teens to become ed
ucated and get involved in their com
munity, like the Boy’s Clubs of America.”
Mark Ramos, a founder of the organi
zation, said there is a bond among the
students working to make the organiza
tion a registered colony.
“It is neat to think that in 10 years,
pledges and actives will remember our
names as the founding fathers of Sigma
Lambda Beta,” he said.
A Bispanic women’s service organi
zation, Sisters For Cultural Awareness, is
a registered colony of Sigma Lambda
Gamma, a national Latina sorority.
Jessica Bickey, a founder of the
colony, said the women of Sisters For
Cultural Awareness began looking for a
sorority last April.
“Sigma Lambda Gamma was the
sorority we really liked,” she said. “We
want to keep Sigma Lambda Gamma a
service organization, and Sisters For
Cultural Awareness will remain a cam
pus organization.”
Bickey said Sigma Lambda Gamma is
a Bispanic sorority, but the group hopes
to branch out to other A&M students.
“I think an international organization
like this will be good for Texas A&M,” she
said. “Starting Sigma Lambda Gamma
will always be a part of us.”
Please see Status on Page 8.