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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1997)
Texas A & M University I4 1H YEAR • ISSUE 71 • 16 PAGES *11 COLLEGE STATION • TX TODAY TOMORROW See extended forecast. Page 2. FRIDAY • DECEMBER 12 • 1997 losses on a ipus already ing change. DAVE HOUSE/The Battalion iormer President George Bush responds to the thousands of Aggies ith President Bill Clinton at the opening ceremony for the George ush Presidential Library and Museum November 6. ]jarry Mauro: Glad I’m not estiing with killer’s fate A ; JSTIN (AP) — Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Garry Mauro said mrsday there’s one reason he’s glad he’s not governor right now— the tproaching execution of the first woman in Texas since the Civil War. 1 iWatching Gov. Bush wrestle with that decision, that’s the only thing Mi think of right now, the only reason I can think of right now that gplad I’m not governor,” Mauro said. B have not wrestled with that. I do not know what I would do. It’s a fugh issue. I wish him well on coming to a resolution on it,” the De- ocrat said. ■arlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected what could be le final appeal of Karla Faye Tucker, one of seven condemned |ten in Texas. tucker, 38, has been on death row since her conviction in the pick- f slaying of Jerry Lynn Dean, 27, at Dean’s Houston apartment during ■rglary. Dean’s companion, Deborah Thornton, 32, also was killed Ith the 3-foot-long ax, which was left embedded in her chest. ■he case has received nationwide attention, and there is a chance at Republican Gov. George W. Bush would have to decide whether to I are Tucker or let the execution proceed. PBush will decide this case exactly as he has all the others during his l w trn, gubernatorial spokeswoman Karen Hughes said. WpHe will wait until the Board of Pardons and Paroles makes a rec- bmendation. He will review that and ask two questions: Is there any icstion about the guilt of the individual? Have the courts had ample •portunity to review all the legal issues?” The Battalion will resume publication on Tuesday, January 20, 1998. looking back on By Colleen Kavanagh Staff writer A year of events at Texas A&M was highlighted by the dedication of the George Bush Presidential Library and the George Bush School of Government and Public Services, which brought the national spotlight to College Station in 1997. George Bush Presidential Library Former President George Bush was joined by more than 25,000 friends, family, dignitaries, students and the public to celebrate the ded ication of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Nov. 6. President Bill Clinton, former presidents Jimmy Carter and Ger ald Ford, and former first lady Nancy Reagan spoke at the dedication honoring the 41st president of the United States. The 69,000-square-foot facility is the 10th presidential library and contains official records, personal papers and memorabilia of George Bush and the Bush administration. The library and museum complex holds 38 million pages of doc uments, one million photographs, audio and video tapes and mul tiple volumes of information documenting Bush’s life and career. Exhibits include aTBM Avenger Aircraft, a 1947 Studebaker Coupe, a history of Operation Desert Storm and a piece of the Berlin Wall. The library and museum was estimated to cost $82 million pro vided by private funding. The ceremony ended with the presentation of the key of the li brary to John W. Carlin, the archivist of the United States. George Bush School The dedication of the George Bush School of Government and Public Services was celebrated Sept. 9. After the dedication, former President Bush met privately with the charter class of graduate students in the Bush School. The Bush School of Government, which opened for fall classes Sept. 1, is designed to provide a professional degree for students in terested in public service and government. Fish Drill Team The Texas A&M Fish Drill team was disbanded Aug. 5 after 16 A&M students faced hazing charges from the University. The Brazos County grand jury returned 60 indictments of hazing and assault charges against nine advisers of the team. The nine stu dents also faced University charges this summer. Maj. Gen. M.T. “Ted” Hopgood said that although it is difficult to separate the impact of one event on the Corps of Cadets, the Corps’ performance has been exemplary after the disbandment. “Next semester we are going to do a wide-ranging evaluation with regards to the pros and cons of having a drill team,” he said. “The an nouncement was made Aug. 5, so we have a year to make a decision about a drill team.” Fires An early morning apartment fire killed one A&M student and in jured two other residents of Kensington Place apartments in College Station in January. Paul Meleony, a sophomore electrical engineering major, was found dead on his bedroom floor. The preliminary autopsy showed the cause of death was smoke inhalation and hot fire gases. Please see Reflections on Page 9. •'V. .v'7Ay •' ’ • - iSISSli ■. . ■ ■ . . . ; l : -\;VrVrW U~ 'r: FILE PHOTO/The Battalion Construction on the Reed Arena special events center will be completed in Spring 1998 in time for the Muster Ceremony. The arena will be used for graduation commencements, concerts, basketball games, and other spe cial events. llllllliai si DAVE HOUSE/The Battalion Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady Barbara Bush and first lady Hillary Clinton wave to the crowd of over 25,000 students, dignitaries, friends and family at the opening of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum November 6. World mourns death of Princess Diana; U.S. avoids conflict with Middle East *>, By Rachel Dawley Staff writer T he deaths of Princess Diana and Moth er Teresa, the turmoil in the Middle East and the largest mass suicide in history are a few of the events that made 1997 a year to remember. Princess Diana “Goodbye, England’s rose” and the voice of Elton John poured through Westminster Abbey at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Millions wept as they witnessed the fu neral, most via television, for the princess who was killed in a car accident in September. “Diana profoundly influenced this nation and the world,” said Rev. Dr. Wesley Carr, the dean of Westminster. Mother Teresa A few days after Diana’s death, Mother Teresa, a woman who devoted herself to the poor and sick of the world, died of a massive heart attack in Calcutta. Lauren Donohue, Class of’97 and an em ployee of St. Mary’s Catholic Student Center, said the life of Mother Teresa provided the world with an image of service and love for one another. “Everyone understands how Mother Teresa’s life and service towards the poor and the sick help the world,” Donohue said. “She showed us that anyone can serve and can help in small ways. She encouraged people and gave them hope. She was a simple woman who changed the world.” Hussein Backs Down The world turned its attention to the Middle East this year. When Saddam Hus sein refused to let inspectors into the coun try, the United States replied with sanctions and military threats. Russian Foreign Minis ter Yevgeny Primakov wanted sanctions against Hussein lifted so Iraq could repay the $7 billion it owes Russia. President Bill Clin ton said he wanted to maintain economic sanctions and stand up to the threat of Hus sein’s germ warfare. Saddam has agreed to let inspectors back in but he is limiting ac cess to possible chemical and biological weapons sites. Heaven’s Gate Mass Suicide A mass suicide occured in March in Ran cho Santa Fe, a California suburb. The 39 members of Heaven’s Gate swallowed pheno- barbital-laced pudding chased with vodka in order “to shed their coverings” and follow the comet Hale-Bopp. The group ranged in age from 26 years old to 72 years old. Closing the Books on TWA Flight 800 After a 16-month investigation, the U.S. government concluded that TWA Flight 800 was not downed by a missile or a terrorist bomb. Having found no evidence of criminal activity, the FBI formally suspended its inquiry into the cause of the July 1996 crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is set to present its conclusion that the accident resulted from mechanical failures. El Nino The World Climate Research Pro gramme of the United Nations termed this year’s El Nino the “climatic event of the century.” The chain of events leading to El Nino began when trade winds that usually blow across the Pacific from east to west diminished. As a result, a bulge of warm weather that the winds keep “bottled up” near Indonesia slosh back towards South America. Please see Events on Page 9. Henry Cisneros indicted on 18 felony counts WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros was indicted Thursday on 18 felony counts of conspiracy, obstructing justice and making false statements to the FBI about payments to a for mer mistress. Three other people, including the former mistress, were also charged in the 21-count indictment brought by Independent Counsel David M. Barrett in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Barrett alleged that Cisneros made the false statements to FBI agents conducting a background in vestigation when he was nominated to President Clinton’s Cabinet in 1993. Cisneros allegedly lied about the size and nature of his payments to former mistress Linda Jones. The 66-page indictment issued Thursday also referred to an un specified number of other extra marital relationships Cisneros al legedly lied about. “Cisneros continued to pay (Jones) in order to ensure her pub lic silence regarding, among other things, their relationship and the nature, purpose, and extent of his payments to her and to another woman, so that he could be nomi nated, confirmed and serve as sec retary of HUD,” it said. Cisneros served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development during Clinton’s first term, resign ing in November 1996. He is now president of the Univision, a Los Angeles-based Spanish television network. “While Mr. Cisneros and his family do not relish the prospect of further public airing of private events beginning a decade ago, he will defend himself vigorously and expects complete exoneration after a trial,” said Cisneros’ attorney, Cono Namorato. The indictment made Cisneros the second Clinton Cabinet secre tary to be indicted. Former Agricul ture Secretary Mike Espy was charged in August in a 39-count in dictment with accepting illegal gifts and lying to investigators. Ron Brown, the late commerce secre tary, also had been the subject of an independent counsel probe. Clinton, on a fund-raising trip in Miami, issued a statement praising Cisneros’ “distinguished career of truly dedicated public service.”