Texas A & M University
YEAR ♦ ISSUE 49 • 18 PAGES • 2 SECTIONS
COLLEGE STATION • TX
TOMORROW
See extended forecast. Page 2.
THURSDAY • NOVEMBER 6 • 1997
ai
lad
\
I'ea
■ar
sa
]id(
Jatii
Irki
louj
ha
fcoi
dtu
Is]
l(Tb'
Is t
luit
ish family anticipates historic opening
tote dedication
iifthe George
Bush Library
begins at
,d 1a.m. with an
Iroduction by
ICER . . ^ .
)eb Bush.
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
F ormer President George Bush will be joined today by
more than 25,000 friends, family, dignitaries, students
and the public to celebrate the dedication of the George
Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
The pre-dedication program begins at 9:45 a.m. at the Bush
Complex with live entertainment.
The Master of Ceremonies for the pre-dedication program
will be Ray Childress, former Houston Oilers All-Pro defensive
tackle and Class of ’84.
The Texas Aggie Band will perform along with the
Singing Cadets. The Symphonic Band also will play at the
pre-dedication.
Fred McClure, the First black A&M student body president,
will conclude the pre-dedication ceremony leading into the
official dedication.
The dedication will begin at 11 a.m. Former President
Bush’s son Jeb Bush, president of the Bush Presidential Li
brary Foundation, will introduce the guests who will sit on
the platform stage.
First ladies will arrive, followed by former presidents and
President Bill Clinton.
Gov. George W. Bush will welcome guests, and the invoca
tion will be given by Rev. Billy Graham.
Following the invocation, the United States Armed Forces
Color Guard will perform the presentation of colors.
Please see Dedication on Page 5.
RVAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Top: Former President
George Bush addresses
the crowd after arriving
in College Station.
Center: Governor
George W. Bush greets
the public.
Bottom: Former
President George Bush
and wife Barbara Bush
wave at the crowd upon
their arrival by train.
RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Former president rides into CS by train
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
U nder a bright sun and clear
skies, former President George
Bush and his wife, Barbara, ar
rived in College Station by train at 1:15
p.m. yesterday.
Bush was joined on the train by family
and dignitaries who will attend the
George Bush Presidential Library and Mu
seum dedication.
Thousands of students and Bryan-Col-
lege Station residents attended the train
arrival to greet Bush and his family.
Bush said he and his wife were excit
ed to arrive in College Station and kick
off the events leading to today’s dedica
tion of the library.
“Barbara and I are thrilled to be at
Texas A&M,” he said. “We want to thank
Bryan, (A&M) Consolidated and the Ross
Volunteers for their warm welcome.”
Former Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom John Major and his family rode
on the train with the Bushes.
Gov. George W. Bush also traveled on
the train.
“When George Bush picked Texas
A&M for his library, he picked the ab
solute perfect place,” Gov. Bush said.
“This is a fabulous day for our family. It’s
a proud day because we love George Bush
more than life.”
The Bryan High School Viking Band
and the A&M Consolidated Band per
formed at the train arrival. The A&M Con
solidated Bengel Belles and cheerleaders
also greeted the Bushes at their arrival.
Some students said they were unable
to attend Bush’s train arrival because
they stood in line for tickets to the Bush
Library dedication.
But those who did make it to the train
arrival said it was worth the wait.
Laura Blakely, a sophomore political
science major, said she waited at the
McDonald’s for six hours so she could
get close enough to see former Presi
dent Bush.
“I would not have missed this for the
world,” Blakely said. “I brought extra film
and my sunglasses. Seeing President Bush
in person is so neat.”
Blakely said she had her roommate
stood in line at the Convention and Vis
itors Bureau in College Station for tick
ets yesterday. Her roommate got two
tickets, so they will be able to see the
dedication today.
BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion
lifestyles
'V
fXweatherman Bob
inch pulls double duty as
torthgate musician.
See Page 3
sports
[f^rell: Aggies remain in
-il2 South hunt after
me-from-behind victory.
See Page 9
opinion
‘fines: President Clinton,
<as A&M should join forces
create historic library.
See Page 13
online
W/battalion. tanm.edu
lou missed the first stories
Texas A&M Historical
>s, access them through
battalion’s archives.
Recent decades introduce women,
presidential library to A&M campus
“Grave responsibilities rest upon you.
The excellence of the college will be
determined by your progress.”
Gov. Richard Coke
October 4, 1876
ci h isiaficaJperspeative.
Last in a four-part series detailing significant
events in the growth of the University.
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
A nd progress it has been for Texas A&M.
The University has become a different
place than it was in 1876 — from the ad
mittance of women to the addition of the
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
on campus.
From 1966 to 1997, progress has included
the acceptance of women into A&M, an in
crease in enrollment and racial diversity and
growth of the campus.
In 1967, A&M won the Southwest Confer
ence Championship in football and won the
Cotton Bowl game on New Year’s Day in 1968.
Before the 1970s, most A&M students were
men and in the Corps of Cadets.
According to the book Texas A&M Universi
ty: A Pictorial History by A&M history professor
Henry C. Dethloff, in September 1971, women
were admitted on equal basis with men.
By 1974,25 percent of the A&M student body
were women.
In 1975, the first all-female ROTC unit, Compa
ny W-1, was added to the Corps of Cadets. In 1985,
the Aggie Band was the first Corps group to have
both men and women in the same company.
John Dickerson, Class of ’72, said he re
members radical changes during his senior
year. He said women’s and minority’s rights
were discussed on campus.
Please see History on Page 5.
The Road
to the
NCAAs
begins in
College
Station
See Big 12 Special Edition
inside for coverage of the
Texas A&M Soccer Team
championship.
1*1
if w/bulwA . h ~° J tfm
mwM.
Bryn Blalack
Big 12 Player of the Year