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Texas A & M University
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'YEAR* ISSUE 52* 10 PAGES
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See extended forecast. Page 2.
TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 11 • 1997
linton seeks input on crime legislation
esident’s message on hate crimes, violence reached Texas A&M campus via satellite
tati
I.
By Sarah Goldston
Staff writer
.jident Bill Clinton said yesterday the
State's needs to strictly enforce laws
I, hate crimes, and he asked U.S. citi-
ihelp C
enact legislation
i, m-.u, ^w,.gres!
^hate crimes.
»n said to Texas A&M via satellite
ieorgeWashington University that hate
| I)U t too often in America, and legis-
I^jeeds to be passed to stop the crimes.
. U S. Department of Justice defines
nU
line as the violence of intolerance
and bigotry, intended to hurt and intimi
date someone because of their race, eth
nicity, national origin, religion, sexual ori
entation or disability.
Clinton said yesterday’s conference was
intended to obtain suggestions from U.S.
citizens on hate-crime legislation.
“Our families and our country can only
thrive if they are free from fear and violence,
and we have to do everything we can to give
them that security,” he said. “That’s the
main reason we’ve decided to hold this
White House conference on hate crimes.”
Clinton signed the Hate Crime Sentenc
ing Enhancement Act this year to get tougher
penalties for those who commit hate crimes.
The Clinton administration will give in
formation to public schools in the United
States about how to educate children on re
spect for diversity.
Vice President A1 Gore said the prob
lem of hate crimes would explode if not
handled soon.
“We have seen in our own century many
awful examples of hatred — hatred born of
prejudice, ignorance and arrogance, de
stroying lives and fracturing nations,” Gore
said. “We are here today, under the Presi
dent’s leadership, to open and advance a
discussion of this perilous threat as it affects
our nation today through the appalling
confusion and persistence of hate crimes.”
Gore said hate crimes are executed
through arson, assault and murder, and ex
empt no race, region or religion.
Gore also said hate crimes can target peo
ple’s homes, churches or cemeteries.
According to a report on FBI statistics
found at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hate-
crm.htm., three out of five hate crimes are
motivated by race. Out of all hate crimes,
racially- motivated hate crimes are the No.
1 type; 62 percent of racial crimes are tar
geted towards African-Americans.
Religious bias is the second most fre
quent motivation for crime, with Jewish
people being the most frequent target at 83
percent. Several temples in the United
States have been vandalized with the
swastika symbol, and several black church
es in the South have been burned.
Sexual orientation, followed by ethnici
ty and national origin, was the next cause of
hate crimes.
Please see Clinton on Page 6.
d in
Hi
DEREK DEMERE/The Battalion
s «rforward Shanne Jones passes the ball to sophomore guard Brian Barone at the Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Team’s practice Monday.
Reason kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday at G. Rollie White Coliseum with an exhibition game versus North Melbourne of Australia.
•eterans recall days in ‘Forgotten War’
By Amanda Smith
Staff writer
the United States Marine Corps celebrat-
'22nd birthday yesterday, nine Marines
iTexas A&M history class about their ex-
itces in the Korean War.
tttman Beal, a combat veteran of the 1st
'bn Marine Corps, said that during the
MtheChosin Reservoir, one of the most
‘patties of the Korean War, U.S. troops
had to fight cold temperatures as well as for
eign troops.
“The temperature dropped to around 13 de
grees below zero at night,” Beal said. “A film of
ice covered the Reservoir in a few days. We had
120,000 Chinese surrounding us. They were
told to wipe out the first U.S. Marine Corps: Not
only were we fighting an enemy but we were
fighting the cold. Some people froze to death.”
Beal outlined the impact the Korean War
had on the United States military, beginning in
Bush Library to
charge admission
for A&M students
Revenue will fund educational programs
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
Staff writer
The George Bush Presidential Li
brary and Museum is charging visi-
summer 1950.
“The Marine Corps was so broke [for money]
that we returned to the States,” he said. “This was
peace time and a time when they were trying to
do away with the Marine Corps. Three months
later, the North Korean's People Army began
moving quickly, in the summer of 1950. The U.S.
started pulling Marines from all over the world
to form the First Marine Brigade.”
Please see Forgotten on Page 6.
George Bush
Comply
See related column,
Page 9.
tors, including Texas A&M students,
for admission to tour the facility.
A&M students, A&M/Blinn faculty
and staff and seniors 62 and older are
required to pay $2.50 to tour the li
brary. Adults must pay $3. Children (16
and under) and school groups are free.
The Lyndon B. Johnson Library
and Museum on the University of
Texas at Austin campus does not
charge a fee to tour the library.
Nancy Newman from the Bush Li
brary Foundation said money col
lected from tours goes into the Na
tional Archives Trust Fund to help aid
education programs and other relat
ed expenses.
She said students were considered
in the admission fee requirements.
“We offer students a reduced ad
mission to the library,” she said.
“They get a discount of fifty cents
with a student ID.”
The Texas A&M Board of Regents
approved in January 1994 the appro
priation of a 90-acre land tract for the
library to be built on.
The Bush Library Foundation re
ported Texas A&M donated $43 mil
lion to the foundation. The Universi
ty’s contribution paid for the
construction of the academic por
tion of the complex, but federal law
requires private donations fund the
library and museum.
The foundation raised $42 million
in private gifts and donations for the
construction of the library.
Part of the University Authorized
Tuition Fee goes to pay for mainte
nance of campus grounds, including
the Bush complex. Students are
billed every semester for the “Uni
versity Authorized Tuition Fee.” The
fee is $34 per semester hour, the
same as tuition. The fee is used to fi
nance capital projects, operating
costs and faculty and staff salaries.
The A&M Spring class schedule
book states the fee is required of all
students “to cover bonded indebt-
“We offer students a reduced
admission to the library. They
get a discount of fifty cents
with a student ID.”
NANCY NEWMAN
BUSH LIBRARY FOUNDATION
edness incurred for the expansion,
air conditioning, rehabilitation of
facilities and administration ex
penses.”
Greg Allenson, a freshman busi
ness administration major, has class
es at the Academic Building-West on
the Bush complex. He said he was
surprised that students must pay to
enter the library.
“I was hoping to tour the library
part by part extensively,” he said.
“But I cannot keep paying two and a
half bucks every time.”
Allenson said he understands
maintenance for the complex is
needed, but students should not
have to pay almost the same amount
as other visitors.
Linking Trrditions
By Karie Fehler
Staff writer
he Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire Web
site helps Aggies across the world
stay informed about Bonfire and its
Sties.
he Web site was created 4 years ago
students and faculty at University
?Uons were working with campus
sites.
poyDeHaven, the graphics coordinator
l he Office of University Relations, said
bonfire web site began when a few stu-
Jts experimented with Web site ideas.
We were working on various Web site
e cts, and this Bonfire idea just hap-
ie d," DeHaven said.
evolved because we actually sat
hand created it from scratch.”
|he Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire Web site
hosts many interesting and interactive fea
tures, including a slide show and scrapbook
of Bonfire history, live video of Bonfire site,
a video of Centerpole being raised and the
first-known photos of Bonfire.
Mary Jo Powell, associate director of Uni
versity Relations, said she has volunteered her
time to the Aggie Bonfire Web site for four
years because the site gives Aggies a chance
to see the event in progress.
“The site came about when the Internet
began to gain popularity because we want
ed a way for Aggies across Texas and the
globe to find out what is going on with Bon
fire,” she said.
“Anyone who has Internet access can
watch stack go up, and last year you could
even watch it burn on the site—we’re work
ing on that for this year.”
John Brown, aWeb site developer for Uni
versity Relations and a senior business ad
ministration major, said the site features a
guest book that allows visitors to leave mes
sages about Bonfire.
Please see Bonfire on Page 6.
Aggie War Hymn’ ranks #1
in USA Today college poll
By Karie Fehler
Staff writer
T exas A&M’s ‘Aggie War Hymn”
ranks first in a USA Today poll to
find the best school fight song in
college football.
The poll, whiqh began last Wednesday, is
part of an USA Today series to find the best
and worst aspects of college football.
John Nunnally, a sports content devel
oper at USA Today, said the newspaper be
gan the series to generate interest in the
USATodayWeb site and its sports coverage.
“We began this ‘best of’ series to get peo
ple onto the USA Today sports [Web] site
and to let them see just how great our cov
erage is,” he said.
“I believe that our sports coverage is
the best on the Web, and this way, people
can vote for their favorite ‘best’ or ‘worst’
and come back to the site later for hot
sports news.”
Nunnally said all of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’
contests have generated a tremendous re
sponse from college campuses across the
United States.
“We’ve had categories like best coach,
worst coach, best uniforms, worst uni
forms, and it really gets people excited,”
he said.
“Students and fans are really passionate
about these things, and this way they can
express their opinions.”
Mary Jo Powell, associate director for
University Relations, said this contest is a
way for Aggies to show support for Texas
A&M and the Aggie Band.
“We as Aggies have long believed that
anything Aggie is far superior to anything
that isn’t Aggie,” Powell said.
“This fight-song contest is the perfect
way for students and Of Ags to show
their Aggie pride and support for the Uni
versity.”
Please see Hymn on Page 6.
lifestyles
"Jenny Says"
New Orleans rock band
Cowboy Mouth brings
mouthy sound to B-CS with
tonight’s performance.
See Page 3
sports
Cindy Lothspeich has found
a way to balance volleyball
and marriage for the Aggies.
See Page 7
opinion
Lemons: Campus support of
George Bush earns little
recognition with library fee.
See Page 9
online
http*.//imttaM0n.tamu,gdu
Check out a special collec
tion of George Bush Library
coverage including a photo
album and story archive.