Texas A & M University
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t TH YEAR» ISSUE 113 *12 PAGES
COLLEGE STATION • TEXAS
WEDNESDAY • MARCH 25 • 1998
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Women leaders promote positive thinking
By Sarah Goldston
Radio Producer
Irveral notable women in-
id in state government gave
;e to female students in a
:1 sponsored by the MSC Ex-
^ve Lecture Series (ELS) and
ISC Political Forum last night
Forsyth Gallery,
ly DeLeon, MSC program ad-
for ELS, said the Executive Lec
heries sponsors these events to
professionals to speak to stu-
; about keys to success.
"his particular panel, ‘Women
uvernment’ will allow women
EWS
Briefs
iC OPAS sponsors
lek of Elvis Presley
Iweel, long program about Elvis
ley, sponsored by the MSC Opera
3 erforming Arts Society, will lead
the Southwest premiere of
Suede Shoes.”
luring the week, students, facul-
fd staff members will have an op-
jnity to win T-shirts and tickets
5lue Suede Shoes.” Today from
I '.m. to 1 p.m., a trivia contest will
eld in Rumours.
~"iis evening, MSC OPAS and the
}(.' Film Society will present a free
vingof “Blue Hawaii” at 7 p.m. in
Biochemistry- Biophysics. From
J.m. to 1 p.m. Friday an Elvis
oke and dance contest will be
in the Rudder Fountain area,
d Rosen, professor of psycholo-
ctIII speak on the life and times of
at 7 p.m. Monday in 308 Rud-
‘Don’t Be Cruel to a Heart That’s
: The Myth of Elvis Lives On" is
title of the lecture, which is free
for
open to the public.
=ial effectively with
ose pesky fire ants
Spring is here, drawing thousands
(.jxans outdoors.
i order to enjoy the great out
's even more, it may be neces-
to apply the Two-Step Method to
age red imported fire ants,
i fully-infested areas (five or more
mds for each quarter-acre of
) or where there is little or no con
fer preserving native ant
®::ies, the Two-Step Method — pro-
ed by the Texas Agricultural Ex-
;ion Service — may be the best
of defense, Drees said.
k he first step is the broadcast ap-
tion of one of several effective
products.The second step uses
idual mound treatments to treat
nuisance mounds.
N S I D E
MSC Cepheid
Variable hosts
its 29th annual
AggieCon.
See Page 3
's
sports
M Softball Team gets
dy for last game before
\ 12 play starts.
See Page 7
opinion
“lumacher: New blood al-
lol limit will not affect
nking and driving.
See Page 11
:tp / /battalion.tamu.edu
J ok up with state and na-
^nal news through The
re, AP’s 24-hour online
/s service.
who are active in politics to speak
about being a woman in the field
and adversity that they have had
to overcome,” she said.
Sally Shipman, director for the
Coalition for the Homeless and
former city council member of
Austin, offered advice to women
planning to pursue a political or
public service career.
“As leaders, remember public
services offers opportunities for
you to make a difference,” she
said. “Set priorities, settle disputes
and make goals for the future, and
you will be successful.”
Arlene Wohlgemuth, State rep
resentative of the 58th District,
said she wants to restore the atti
tude that elected officials are pub
lic servants.
“I want to continue to work for
the state and work for better gov
ernment, restoring integrity to
public offices,” she said.
Susan Weddington, state chair
man of the Republican Party of
Texas, entered politics later in her
life and said her experiences as a
mother taught her valuable skills
that she incorporated into her po
litical career.
“Before I entered politics, as a
mother, I learned to balance bud
gets and manage people,” she said.
Weddinton suggested people
should look for opportunity in
obstacles.
“Where most people would see
a dead end, look for a path that is
just beginning,” she said. “A good
leader has two qualities: a positive
attitude and preparation.”
Mary Denny, State Representa
tive of the 63rd District, agreed
with Weddinton’s philosophies.
“Life prepares us for so many
things; don’t sell yourself short.”
Sherry Boyles, grassroots director
for the Texas Democratic Party, said
her experiences as the student body
president at the University of Texas
and the time she spent working as a
legislative aide in Austin helped her
understand the role government has
in the lives of citizens.
“Every decision that is made af
fects many people,” she said. “Finan
cial aide has become a concern that
I am working on. After graduate
school I realized that in the span of
25 years I will have to payback loans
that I had taken out for college and
law school. Education issues moti
vate me to do more.”
DeLeon said the Executive Lec
ture Series is planning more
discussions.
“We try to bring professionals
from politics, business and law to
talk to students about how to suc
ceed in life,” she said.
RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Susan Weddinton, the state chair
man of the Republican Party of
Texas, speaks at the “Women in
Government” program.
Old times revisited
By Kelly Hackworth
Staff writer
The Association of Former Students will
host Aggie Hostel from June 21 to 27 and are
looking for student hosts.
The program is designed to provide 40 for
mer students, ages 65 and older, and their
spouses the opportunity to return to the
Texas A&M campus. They will participate in
specialized courses taught by A&M faculty
and attend special events planned for them
by the Aggie Hostel committee including a
senior Ring Dance.
Christa Fenoglio, a junior biomedical science
major and coordinator of student hosts, said
campus leaders are chosen as student hosts be
cause they are the connection to campus.
“We’re the hosts and hostesses of the cam
pus,” she said. “We show them the A&M of to
day and how it is different yet also the same.”
Students do not have to be enrolled in sum
mer school to participate and May 1998 gradu
ates are welcome to apply. Participants must be
available for all pre-Hostel meetings and for the
entire week of Aggie Hostel.
The Aggie Hostel Committee pays for ad
mission to events, two T-shirts and all meals.
Students are asked to pay a $20 membership
fee to subsidize costs.
Student hosts are required to attend four
meetings prior to Aggie Hostel, participate in
committees to prepare for Aggie Hostel and
attend activities during Aggie Hostel week.
The week is filled with classes, field trips and
special events where current students inter
act with former students.
A.P. Gandy, Class of’42 and an Aggie Hos
tel participant for nine years, said the class
es are the best part of Aggie Hostel.
“The classes are the most informative be
cause I can learn more about A&M than I
would be able to do otherwise,” he said.
Angela Winkler, graduate student and co
ordinator of campus programs for the Asso
ciation of Former Students, said that Aggie
Hostel is a good opportunity to build rela
tionships.
“I think that the best part is the relation
ship that gets built between the participants
and the hosts,” she said.
Student host applications are available at
the Clayton Williams Alumni Center, MSC
Student Programs office and Student Activi
ties office in Koldus. The deadline is 5 p.m.
Friday, April 3. An interview list will be post
ed April 7. Interviews will be held April 8 to
9,13 tol4 and 15 to 16. A list of 20 student
hosts will be posted April 20.
For further information about Aggie Hos
tel visit the Web site at
http://aggienet.tamu.edu/aggiehostel.
Professor says old I.Q.
test should be tossed
By Marium Mohiuddin
Staffwriter
A State University of New York professor
Tuesday night dismissed a theory that relates in
telligence to race and said the long-standing I.
Q. test should be eliminated.
Mark Cohen, professor of anthropology at
SUNY-Plattsburg, spoke at Rudder Auditorium
about his recently published book, “Culture of
Intolerance: Chauvinism, Class, and Racism in
the United States.”
Cohen wrote his book in response to “The
Bell Curve” and other works which try to show
genetic inferiority of certain groups compared
to others in the United States.
“When the Bell Curve came out Newsweek
and Time drooled all over it because the statis
tics looked impressive,” Cohen said, “but there
is not any difference in intelligence when it
comes to race. There are 22,000 genes that dif
ferentiate people. Only six are related to color of
a person’s skin. This can not be considered a fac
tor to explain a difference in I.Q.”
Cohen said the I. Q. test is not an adequate
test of the intelligence of people.
“We should get rid of it because it is only a
representative of affirmative action for white
males,” Cohen said. “There is a 15-point average
difference between white males and black
males. If genes for color have nothing to do with
intelligence than there has to be something that
is causing the difference.”
Cohen said the I. Q. test cannot be applied to
everyone.
“Some say the I.Q. test is the single fair test to
measure intelligence, but even some questions
have been refuted because they only cater to
white middle class males and do not take into
consideration people coming from different
communities,” he said.
Dr. Katherine Dettwyler, assistant professor
of anthropology at Texas A&M, said Cohen was
invited to the University because he has a mes
sage that many people agree with but few have
spoken about.
Please see Professor on Page 2.
Ambush leads to four deaths
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) —Two boys in camouflage lay in
wait in the woods behind their school, then opened fire with
rifles on classmates and teachers when they came out during
a false fire alarm Tuesday. Four girls were killed and 11 other
people were wounded, including two teachers.
An 11-year-old and a 13-year-old boy were caught trying to
run away shortly after the midday ambush at the Westside
Middle School, police said. A third boy who allegedly pulled
the fire alarm was being sought.
Authorities said as many as 27 shots were fired. Youngsters
ran screaming back inside the school as their classmates fell
bleeding, then cried as they waited for emergency workers.
“Someone pulled the fire alarm inside and they went out
side, and two people in camouflage clothing started shooting,”
said Connie Tolbert, a secretary.
Said paramedic Charles Jones: “We had children lying
everywhere. They had all been shot.”
Sheriff Dale Haas cried as he recounted the shootings.
Authorities identified the dead girls as Natalie Brooks,
Paige Ann Herring, Stephanie Johnson, all 12, and Brit-
theny R. Varner, who was 11.
The school has about 250 students in sixth and seventh
grades. Jonesboro is a city of 46,000 about 130 miles north
east of Little Rock.
The boys, both students at the school, were being held
at the county jail.
Investigators said the boys were running in the direction of
a white van found about a half-mile away from the school.
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RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Jeff Archer, a forestry science graduate student, takes advantage of the weather by
sinking a putt on hole 3 at the A&M golf course.
Russia faces year2000
With Yeltsin’s term up in 2000, Russia
awaits new president, uncertain future
MOSCOW (AP) —While Russia awaits a
new government, the larger question looms
of who will replace President Boris Yeltsin
when his term ends in 2000.
The political turmoil created this week
by Yeltsin’s surprise government shakeup
has spurred the speculation. At least five
men appear likely contenders, but all have
major weaknesses. Yeltsin, wary of becom
ing a lame duck, coyly declines to say whom
he favors.
“As of today, nobody can play the role of
official heir to the throne,” said Boris
Makarenko, a political analyst with the Cen
ter for Political Technologies.
It is widely expected that the “party of
power” — a term encompassing Yeltsin, his
allies, and the country’s business elite —
will settle on a single candidate and lavish
him with campaign resources.
But if an election were held now, opin
ion polls indicate it would be a wide-
open affair and the “party of power” can
didate might not be the favorite.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov,
ex-general Alexander Lebed and Moscow
Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, a Yeltsin ally, all
could be in the race.
Yeltsin, 67, has made contradictory com
ments about his plans in 2000, but his age,
his questionable health and the Russian
constitution all appear to rule out a third
term. There has been speculation he might
run again if the Constitutional Court rules
that his first term, which began under the
old Soviet constitution, does not count to
ward Russia’s two-term limit.
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin’s
presidential hopes may have been dashed
Monday when Yeltsin fired him along with
the rest of the Cabinet.
“We can pronounce the once super
powerful premier politically dead,” said
Kommersant, the country’s leading busi
ness daily, which is usually sympathetic
to Chernomyrdin.
In a vague statement, Yeltsin told
Chernomyrdin to begin making prepa
rations for the 2000 election. But that
didn’t mean Chernomyrdin would be a
candidate, and many analysts saw it as a
gentle way for the president to say good
bye to the loyal premier.
Short on charisma, Chernomyrdin lags
far behind the other potential candidates
in opinion polls, and without the ma
chinery of the government behind him,
he’ll have a tough time mounting a credi
ble campaign.
Yeltsin is inclined to postpone naming
a successor until the “last possible mo
ment,” said Makarenko, the analyst. “As
soon as he appoints someone, his own
sources of power will begin to wither.”