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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.
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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
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