The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 09, 1998, Image 1

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    c'sday •Aptii! ,
Texas A Si M University
Mkit
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YEAR • ISSUE 124 • 10 PAGES
COLLEGE STATION • TX
S3 W083
46 1 j54
TODAY TOMORROW
THURSDAY • APRIL 9 • 1998
Briefs
ubent leaders to
chosen tonight
student body president and
itudent leader positions will
tiounced tonight at 10 p.m. in
M§t the Sul Ross statue.
Students may cast their ballots
ayln the second and final day
ifjrlff elections.
^Jdents can vote from 9:00
.to 5:00 p.m. in the Commons,
SC, Sterling C. Evans Library,
tudent Recreation Center,
[r, Kleberg, Zachry, Blocker,
joining Hall and Duncan Din-
lll.
f
: Goodrich seeking
yaward inventors
•ntiies currently are being
■ for the 1998 BF Goodrich
ate Inventors Program,
program recognizes and re
ds ull-time college students (un-
graduate, graduate and post-
nHal) and faculty members
H innovations, discoveries and
eatch are deemed the year’s
, st( utstanding.
Up o six student/advisor teams
‘awarded cash prizes totaling up
■p,000. Students may enter as
3 shark'sbrar ividuals or teams.
ft invention, idea or process
Btted must be an original idea
fte work of a student or team
■■■■■■Min advisor.
/
AKE SCHRICKUNG
fice is here to
ou. Please feel
) come by 10th
Rudder Toweroi
15-4728
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WED
Apr 15
CH
11, 12
PW
TES'
INSIDE
WED
Apr 15
THU
Apr^
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STAT0.
We've been
LINE Ajj
A&M makes tracks to relocate rails
By Colleen Kavanagh
StaffWriter
Tom Williams, director of Parking, Traffic
and Transportation Services (PTTS), waited
45 minutes for a train that was stopped on
Wellborn Road. While he was waiting, he saw
students crossing between cars.
“I took pictures of the students crossing
through cars,” he said. “We can use them as
graphic illustrations of the danger of the rail
road on campus.”
Williams said the real solution is to move
the railroad off campus.
“I sympathize with the students trying to
get to class,” he said, “but having trains cross
through campus is so dangerous.”
Williams said another safety concern is the
possibility of a derailment.
“A couple of weeks ago, the lights were
flashing on George Bush (Drive) early in the
morning,” he said. “There was no train, so
maintenance went there to see what was
wrong. A rail was cracked and had shorted out
the system. If a train had come by, there
would have been a derailment."
The Bryan-College Station Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) voted unani
mously last week to continue a railroad reloca
tion study. A&M initiated the study, approved
by both the Bryan and College Station City
Councils, in an attempt to find a way to reduce
the number of rail crossings through campus.
MPO is an organization of federal trans
portation groups set up around the United
States designed to coordinate transporta
tion planning.
Mike Parks, MPO director, said Union Pa
cific Railroad (UP) has indicated that there
will be an increase locally from 24 trains to 45
per day.
“The feeling now is to solve the problem
before that happens,” he said. “The more we
wait, the harder the solution is. MPO is pro
viding a forum open for discussion of what
each jurisdiction needs and what the com
munity wants.”
Parks said that because of a six-year
transportation bill Congress is reviewing
right now and because of recent railroad
mergers, now is the perfect time to start
working on the relocation.
“The only railroad we have to discuss
things with is Union Pacific,” he said. “The bill
in Congress could help the funding of a relo
cation project. Union Pacific and A&M have
both pledged money for the project, but no
one can pay for it all. Both things have made
a window of opportunity.”
The estimated cost of the railroad reloca
tion is $75 million.
Steve Roop, director of rail research for the
Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), said the
bill addresses railroad and highway safety
funding as well as money for trial projects.
“This is potential money for a railroad re
location,” he said.
TTI was hired by A&M to look at the histo
ry of efforts to move the railroad, provide in
formation on possible options and establish
what seems to be feasible.
Parks said the main reason A&M initiated
the study was concern for the safety of peo
ple crossing the tracks.
“Many times, when you mix flesh and met
al, the metal ends up winning,” he said.
Parks said two options are being consid
ered right now — moving the railroad to an
SPECIAL TO THE BATTALION
Not even a parked train can stop students in
a hurry to get to west campus for class.
undetermined area along the Brazos River or
moving the railroad underground, but other
options may be considered.
Please see Tracks on Page 6.
ipUdging is based on originality,
ftlness and significance of the
\ f I\ lention/discovery.
|An issued patent is not required
■’ticipate and this is not con-
ered a public disclosure,
ice President la Vlrticipants are strongly encour-
nt Affairs Office Mi however, to begin the process
you to be aware ■ )tectin £ their discovery. Dead-
open door Entries is June 2.
jral arts: Alumnus
lored for 1998
■rrence A. Larsen of Philadel-
af Pa., chairman, president and
ef executive officer of CoreStates
/psa.tamu.edu CTcial Corp., was honored re-
iy as the 1998 outstanding
— iius in the Texas A&M Universi-
c|llege of Liberal Arts.
Jarsen, who earned a bachelor
Jts degree from the University
^Dallas and a doctorate in eco-
3ntics from Texas A&M, was rec-
^jtstanding alumnus award given
Be college.
Poetry reading,
writers’ clubs
keep spirit of
creativity alive
at A&M.
See Page 3
A&M Men’s Tennis
m begins weekend road
at Nebraska.
See Page 7
i: Finding one’s inner
Id offers valuable tips for
It life.
See Page 9
tp: //battalion, tamu.edu
up with state and na-
nal news through The
re.AP’s 24-hour online
ws service.
All in a day’s work
GREG MCREYNOLDS/The Battalion
Carrie Lowe, a senior animal science major, palpates a cow in Reproduction in Farm Animals.
iyags.com jiized March 27 during the Liber-
--Arts Development.
Council’s spring banquet held at
Apfjfeush Presidential Conference
ler.
iarsen’s selection was the first
Senator fumes over med school
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — The way Texas
Tech funds its medical school in El Paso is
inequitable, especially considering the re
sources allocated to the system’s home base
in Lubbock, an El Paso state senator said.
State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh said that it’s
not fair that the Tech Health Sciences Cen
ter in El Paso has a $55.7 million budget
and the Lubbock HSC receives $133.9 mil
lion, even though they both have about
175 medical residents.
“If you scrutinize the budget, the re
sources necessary to support the campus
are not nearly what they should be,” said
Shapleigh, a Democrat.
The Lubbock school, where the four- cam
pus Tech medical school system is based, has
1,301 employees, compared to 465 for El
Paso. Even so, Shapleigh said the El Paso
school needs a bigger piece of the pie.
“We are a substantial economic factor
in El Paso,” said Tech Chancellor John T.
Montford. “This is simply a turf war, and
this group (Shapleigh’s faction) resents the
things that are going on. They feel (the
school) should be autonomous. I’m sur
prised they haven’t sought statehood.”
Shapleigh said autonomy is exactly
what he’s looking for.
Shapleigh criticized Tech regents for
not supporting El Paso when funding is al
located in Austin. While he said the entire
Tech system, which also includes Odessa
and Amarillo, is underfunded, El Paso
seems to really be getting the short shrift.
Montford countered that the answer
ultimately is up to Shapleigh and his leg
islative counterparts.
“The Legislature’s in a position to do
something about this problem,” Montford
said. “We’re already in (El Paso). Why beat up
on us?”
Others in El Paso have suggested switch
ing affiliations to the University of Texas,
though Shapleigh wouldn’t go that far.
Lawmaker urges
execution option
AUSTIN (AP) —A state lawmaker who proposes allowing 11-
year-olds to be sentenced to death for capital murder said
Wednesday those bound for execution should be held in juvenile
facilities until the sentence would be carried out — at age 17.
“In no way do I want an 11-, 12-, 13-year-old kid in aTDC (Texas
Department of Corrections) facility, even if they’re waiting for death
row,” said Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. TDC is the former name for
the adult prison system.
Pitts said he was concerned about children being placed in a fa
cility with adult “hardened criminals.”
“I don’t want them to be taken advantage of,” he said, and sug
gested, “Maybe we ought to have some type of facility like death
row” for such juveniles.
Pitts, who made the proposal concerning capital murder in
the wake of the Jonesboro, Ark. schoolyard shootings, stressed
that he would expect an execution to be sought only rarely for
young defendants.
He emphasized the idea simply would be an option for lo
cal prosecutors and judges.
Under his proposal, someone as young as 11 who is con
victed of capital murder could face either life without parole
or the death penalty.
Clinton falls under
Gingrich's scrutiny
WASHINGTON (AP) —Anticipating a report from Independent
Counsel Kenneth Starr, House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently
tapped a freshman Republican to review the multiple congression
al hearings on alleged Clinton administration wrongdoing.
Rep. James Rogan of California, a former judge, will research
what has gone well for Republicans who ran those hearings and
what pitfalls to avoid in the future. He learned of his new task
in calls from Gingrich’s office and the office of House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill.
But Gingrich himself informed the public about Rogan’s as
signment, disclosing it in a newspaper interview that appeared
the next morning.
This episode underscores Gingrich’s personal involvement
in preparations for what many Republicans believe is heading
their way as soon as next month: a politically explosive report
by Starr detailing evidence of possible impeachable offenses by
President Clinton.
Thus far, the Georgia Republican says, the issue takes per
haps an hour of his time a week — a small fraction of what he
estimates is a 90-hour workweek.
Even some Republicans see a potential political negative to
Gingrich’s involvement. He’s been a handy target for Democrats
in the past and would be a logical one again, if the White House
and its allies accuse the GOP of mounting a political attack on
a popular president.
Memories
Chemistry department
to honor late professor
By Rachel Dawley
StaffWriter
The Texas A&M Department of Chemistry will
host a memorial service for Nobel Prize winner
and distinguished professor Sir Derek H.R. Barton
on Monday, April 13, at 10 a.m. in Rudder Theater.
Barton, a professor of chemistry at A&M, died
on March 16 of heart failure.
Barton received the Nobel Prize in 1969 and
held the Dow Chair of Chemical Inventions for his
contributions to the field of chemistry.
Dr. Emile A. Schweikert, head of the chemistry
department, said Barton will be remembered for
his contributions to the field of chemistry and his
devotion to the university.
“Dr. Barton was a very good friend of Texas
A&M,” Schweikert said. “He helped the depart
ment spread the word about the University and
the quality of our programs.”
Schweikert said Barton appreciated the “qual
ity of the chemistry program, services, students
and colleagues at A&M.”
“Barton liked being a part of the A&M campus,”
Schweikert said. “He was a friend to many, and his ex
perience and outlook made him a valued individual.”
Karen Farnsworth, Barton’s staff assistant for
the past seven years, said Barton was a “perfect
gentlemen” and was well-liked and respected at
the University.
“Dr. Barton’s door was always open to students
and anyone who had questions,” Farnsworth said.
“He spoke to everyone and was always very down-
to-earth.”
Barton was born in the United Kingdom in 1918
and graduated from London’s Imperial College.
Hi was ;i il ieild t:o many,
and Ills experience and out
look made- Itiui a valued
mdividitak
Df. I mil<‘ A \< hwelMa t
Ht&id, Department of C hemhiry
Dr. Barton worked in military intelligence dur
ing World War II and after a brief period in indus
try, joined the faculty of Imperial College.
During a sabbatical leave at Harvard in 1950, he
wrote a paper of conformational analysis which
won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Barton
shared the Nobel Prize with Norwegian chemist,
Odd Hassel.
The paper, only four pages long, changed the
two-dimensional view of structure by adding a
third-dimension to chemistry, altering the way
chemists thought about the shape and reactivity
of molecules.
Barton returned to the United Kingdom and held
Chairs of Chemistry at Birkbeck College and Glasgow
University before returning to Imperial College in
1957. During his time at Imperial College, he devel
oped a synthesis of steroid hormones.
Barton became Director of the Natural Prod
ucts Institute in France in 1978, where he studied
the invention of new chemical reactions.
Barton came to the A&M chemistry depart
ment in 1986 and continued his work on novel re
actions involving the oxidations of hydrocarbons.
Barton authored over 1,000 papers in chemical
journals, and held many successful patents.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Barton received
numerous honors and awards including they
Davy, Copley, and Royal medals of the Royal Soci
ety of London, the Roger Adams and Priestley
Medals of the American Chemical Society.
Barton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1972
and received the Legion of Honor from France.