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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1998)
‘bniaii Texas A & M University r 5 65 Eii 64 45 r®’ fj45 TODAY TOMORROW 14 th YEAR • ISSUE 82 • 10 PAGES COLLEGE STATION • TX TUESDAY • FEBRUARY 3 • 1998 died Vggies address debate over death penalty By Colleen Kavanagh Stajfwriter Although few people have a say in the fi- dfecision of Karla Tucker’s execution, m^ers of the Texas A&M community re voiced their opinions about the death tally in Texas. Thi Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles tsed Monday to recommend clemency Karla Faye Tucker. Tucker is scheduled teexecuted by lethal injection at 6 p.m. lay and will be the first woman executed Texas since 1863. Tuc ker and her boyfriend, Daniel Gar- ", were convicted of the 1983 slayings of rylynn Dean and Deborah Thornton o Were hacked to death with a hammer 1 a ihree-foot pickax. Both were high on igs and alcohol at the time of the mur- s. Garrett, also sentenced to death, died trison of liver disease. Th( Board’s rejection means Gov. George Bush only can issue a 30-day delay. Linda Edwards, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bush, said Texas law does not permit the gov ernor to grant clemency without first getting approval from Texas Pardons and Paroles. “He’s still reviewing the case,” she said. Dr. Tim Cavell, an A&M psychology pro fessor, said he is opposed to the death penalty as a psychologist because he is not sure how effective it is in reducing incidents of crime. “I feel strongly that we do what we need to do to protect others,” he said. “But, I don’t think we need to kill others to do it.” Cavell, who teaches a juvenile delinquen cy and substance abuse class, said it is difficult to tell whether a criminal is rehabilitated. “Predicting dangerousness is a tricky business,” he said. “People look more at the event for which she was charged than fac tors that make her able to be rehabilitated.” Cavell said the best way is to find out if someone has a history of violence or if it is an isolated incident. Nikki Van Hightower, an A&M political science professor of state government, said she does not see how the governor can grant Tucker clemency, and letting her off because she is a woman would be a dan- “In this country, if you can afford a good lawyer, you’re most likely not going to get the death penalty.” Nikki Van Hightower Professor of state government Texas A&M University gerous political move. “I don’t know what the rationale would be,” she said. “There is no question of guilt. She may be a born-again Christian, but so are others who have to die. I would be very surprised if he lets her off.” Kelly Smith, vice president of the A&M branch of NOW and a junior psychology major, said gender should not be a factor when determining punishment. “Acquiring equal rights for women means equal rights in every aspect, includ ing punishment,” she said. “I don’t think sex should be an issue.” Smith said she is uncertain on whether she supports the death penalty. “On the one hand, you really can’t teach people not to kill if you kill people,” she said, “but if someone took my mom’s life I don’t know if they should go on living.” Van Hightower said she has mixed feel ings about the death penalty because it is not administered fairly. “In this country, if you can afford a good lawyer, you’re most likely not going to get the death penalty,” she said. “As a result, those who are poor or minorities are more subject to it. It also depends on what coun ty you’re in. I know Harris county gives out more death penalty sentences than any other county in Texas.” Van Hightower said she thinks it is wrong not to give juries the choice of giving life sentences without parole. “Juries can give life sentences, but at some point, criminals become eligible for parole,” she said. “What that means for juries is that there is always the possibility that someone will be back on the street. I think they’d be less inclined to give the death penalty if they knew someone would be locked up for life.” In Texas, 144 people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated, and last year, a record of 37 convicted killers were put to death in the state. “My inclination is that she is probably re habilitated,” Van Hightower said. “I don’t know if she should be on the street, but I also don’t know if society is better off with her death. It seems so terribly cruel and fi nal. The death penalty doesn’t allow for mis takes or rehabilitation.” Please see Penalty on Page 6. (hat; (•(!' WO Crowds, long lines troblem areas for itudent Rec Center ByLyndsayNantz Stajfwriter For the past two weeks, stu- lutui n ^ s -wishing to keep their New 1 ir’s resolutions to improve their I alth at the Student Rec Center ve had the same luck as com- l0 ! iter students looking for a I a rking space on campus. | l P 01 Overcrowding at the Rec Center a peak Jan. 26 when a record |97 [students participated in the |imis exercise programs the Rec iter offers. pchael Waldron, the Assistant Director for the Rec Center, d The first few weeks of classes I the busiest. j“W(' have the greatest participa- i right at the beginning of the se- |stei, before students get bogged MS with reading assignments,” Idron said. /aldron said January is a busy |nth at the center because of a rbination of student’s New Ir’s resolutions, dieting after the |idays and bad weather. ^■ople eat too many sweets dur- |the holidays, put on seven pounds ^Jant to get it off,” he said. “Janu- |is ki lown for bad weather—chilly, jiy and cold, so people come inside Ipand exercise.” rami Gearhart, a junior general health major and a Rec Center pa tron, said she even waited in line for the water fountain. “Everything was full at 10:00 p.m. I waited in line for everything—the stairstepper, the treadmill, even to get a drink of water,” Gearhart said. “The place was packed.” DeAun Woosley, Fitness Pro grams Coordinator for the Rec Cen ter, said the best time to go is any time before 4 p.m. “Aerobic classes between 4 and 6 p.m. are really full, but we have 30 aerobic instructors teaching 88 dif ferent classes throughout the week,” she said. Woosley said the center is over crowded now because students feel overweight after the holidays. “Students are thinking about spring break and all the holiday eat ing they did,” Woosley said. “Then they think that they need to go swimsuit shopping and they feel guilty so they start working out.” Woosley said that A&M is very lucky to have the Rec Center be cause they are the most varied health club in the area. “Even if it is crowded at the prime times, there is a mecca of opportunities to participate in ex ercise programs,” she said. “The Rec Center has more equipment than any health club in the area.” proposed budget offers st surplus in 30 years WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- |nt: Clinton, declaring an end to fra of exploding deficits,” to- ly ^ent Congress a $1.73 trillion Jdget proposal that promises a Btdry-making achievement — ! first surplus in three decades. [But Republicans, who control iffigress, were not impressed by ^nton’s anticipated $9.5 billion Tlus, accusing the president of Tningto old-fashioned Demo- iti< tax-and-spend policies. K'his is a budget only a liber- -ould love,” said House Speak- INbwt Gingrich, R-Ga. “This is H cry from the leaner, more Jxil i.' government that the ijesident promised.” [An on the other side of the jipitol, Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, id, “This budget comes as close la tax-and-spend budget as any idget we’ve seen since 1979, tee Jimmy Carter was president.” Jinton unveiled his budget at a life House ceremony, saying, lis budget marks the end of an in end to decades of deficits at have shackled our economy, jlyzed our politics and held our sople back,” Clinton said in a Ket ceremony in the East torn of the White House. To underscore his achievement, iton drew a gigantic zero on a It labeled 1999 budget deficit, "awing applause from the crowd administration officials and congressional Democrats. However, Republicans ac cused Clinton of breaking faith with last summer’s balanced bud get agreement with Congress by putting forward dozens of new spending programs. “It looks like the president wants to eliminate state and local government. He wants to run everything out of Washington,” complained House Budget Com mittee Chair John Kasich, R-Ohio. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, an other House leadership member, said: “The American people don’t want bigger government, they want better government.” In addition to holding out the prospect of the first federal bud get surplus since 1969, Clinton’s ambitious plan calls for expand ing the federal government’s role in providing child care, increas ing medical research, lowering the age limits for Medicare and helping to hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes in the nation’s schools. Overall, Clinton’s 1999 budget for the fis cal year beginning Oct. 1 propos es a 3.9 percent increase from this year’s spending levels. Repub licans want to use the revenue windfall from the strong econo my to provide billions of dollars in tax relief, including eliminating the “marriage penalty” on two- earner couples. Got milk? TI,: Wm X: MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion Brian Spittler, foreman at the Dairy Science Center, milks a group of Holstein cows Monday morning. Today marks last opportunity for students to get book refunds INSIDE aggielife By Amanda Smith Stajfwriter Today is the deadline for students to receive a full re fund for returned textbooks at the MSG Bookstore and most bookstores in the Bryan-College Station area. Micah Hovda, a senior employ ee of Loupot’s Northgate and a se nior constmction science major, said students must remember to bring their receipt and to leave the stickers on the books for a full refund. “We can’t take the text books back without the stick ers (on the books) and the re ceipt,” Hovda said. “If students put books on cred it cards or use Aggie Bucks, then we have to put the books back on the card because we can’t give students cash back.” Austin Black, an em ployee in his third semes ter at the MSG Bookstore and a sophomore general studies major, said the number of returns is de creasing as the semester progresses. “Our big returns have passed," Black said. “We have had quite a few returns, but it is slowing down. Most cases of refunds are usually where professors change HD A sections, change books or cancel books.” After the return deadline, students may only receive the price of a returned used book, which usually means half of the amount paid for the book. David Holbert, textbook manager at Bother’s Bookstore on George Bush Dr., said the bookstores con sider the condition of the book and the de mand for the book next semester when determining prices. Holbert said the store considers whether the book will be used during the following semester and whether updated editions are available. Erik Lorimor, text book manager at the Texas Aggie Bookstore, said his store stopped giving full returns on text books purchased for the spring semester last Friday. “We decided that since last Monday was the last day to add or drop classes, most students already have an idea ofwhat books they need,” Lorimor said. "Generally, most of the re turns that we have are from courses where professors change their minds about the books or students do not need the books for classes.” Please see Refunds on Page 6. Students show their musical skills, creative sides with MSC Flag Room piano playing. See Page 3 sports A&M Men’s Basketball Team loses nailbiter to Texas on “Big Monday,” 81-80. See Page 7 opinion Saloma: Codes of chivalry, common courtesy disappear in the modern era. See Page 9 €rn line http://battalion.tamu.edu Hook up with state and national news through The Wire, AP’s 24-hour online news service.