iCADEMIC
NSTITUTION
Building stands as a
ofA&M’s past.
ilELIFE, PAGE 3
atil
PARTY POLITICS
• Public divided on long
term effects Clinton
scandal will have on
Democrats.
OPINION, PAGE 9
■■■■■■
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THE BATTALION
ONLINE
http://battalion.tamu.edu
TUESDAY
September 29, 1998
Volume 105 • Issue 23 • 10 Pages
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
reshman Sparks flying
TJENTES
i in fron:
lass size
[pacts
•ganization
terest
BY MELISSA JORDAN
The Battalion
te large Class of 2002 has be-
lo leave its mark on nearly all
jets of campus life this fall,
of the most visible impacts
een been on organizations
pmpus.
Anderson, executive vice
t dent of human resources in
epartment of Student Affairs
id a senior mechanical engi-
#ng major, said freshmen give
ieto organizations on campus.
fFreshmen, 1 think, are the
ndation of Texas A&M,” An-
j>n said.
Anderson said there has been
increase in interest as well as
number of applications turned
It the MSC programming com-
ees.
Jsing a referral system among
■arious committees, Anderson
Ithe programming department
jto provide students develop-
|t opportunities to as many
|ents as possible.
see Freshmen on Page 6.
... _ m
' U''' /
■ / , c
' ' /'
ERIC NEWNAM/Tm Battalion
Kelly Cutshall, a junior theater arts major, welds in preparation
for their upcoming production of “Skin of Our Teeth.”
A&M cancels Pradhan hearing
BY AMANDA SMITH
The Battalion
Texas A&M University is no longer
pursuing suspension of computer sci
ence professor Dhiraj Pradhan, his at
torney Gaines West said Monday.
“A&M is not going to seek his
further suspension,” West said.
A hearing between Pradhan and
six university administrators was
scheduled for Oct. 6. West said the
hearing was originally requested to
determine if the accusations made
against Pradhan were accurate.
West said the hearing is no
longer necessary because the com
mittee cannot compensate Prad
han for his year of suspension
from the University. Pradhan re
turned to A&M in September fol
lowing his suspension.
A university audit accused him
of misusing more than $100,000
“A&M is not going
to seek further
suspension.”
— Gaines West
Pradhan attorney
of University funds to benefit his
two personal businesses.
Scott Kelly, general counsel for
Texas A&M University, said he could
not comment on the hearing origi-
Changing a tradition?
• Walton Hall
residents meet
to discuss women,
air-conditioning
moving into halls.
BY AMANDA SMITH
The Battalion
Residents of Walton Hall will
meet tonight with the director of
Residence Life to consider adding
air conditioning and women to live
irmer provider sees effects
abortion ignored by clinics
BY BETH MILLER
The Battalion
Belling Abortion,” the lecture given
tarol Everett, attracted approximately
(people to Rudder Theater yesterday,
jverett, a former abortion provider, told
audience about her role as an abortion
Jc worker and how she exposed
|nen to what she believes are sales tac-
^designed to attract women to the op-
\bortion is a skillfully
)arketed product
iold to a woman in a
crisis situation/'
— Carol Everett
Former abortion provider
iof abortion.
Jl’m here tonight because I have been
moth sides,” Everett said.
|Everett said she believes abortion clin-
are motivated largely by profit. She said
| believes many clinics do not practice
bookkeeping and hygiene methods,
fwerett played roles in the operation of
' clinics in the Fort Worth area for six
years, and she said she worked at the clin
ics to justify the abortion she had at the
age of 28.
However, she has switched to the oth
er side of the debate, and she said she
feels women are misled about the nega
tive consequences of abortion.
“Abortion is a skillfully marketed prod
uct sold to a woman in a crisis situation,”
Everett said. “She buys that product, finds
it defective and can’t get a refund.”
Melaney Linton, senior vice president
of Planned Parenthood in Houston and
Southeast Texas, said she supports the
presentation as long as it was based on
facts rather than simply on opinion.
“We certainly support freedom of
speech that allows people to have discus
sions on these matters,” Linton said.
“People are free to give whatever opinion
they give. I just hope they separate fact
from opinion.”
Linton said she believes one person’s
beliefs should not be a barrier against
someone else’s rights.
Lauren Donahue, executive director of
the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life, which
sponsored the presentation, said she
thinks the presentation went well and had
an impact on the audience.
“I think the most powerful points that
Carol made were her personal testimony,”
Donahue said.
BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion
The construction on the new Planned Parenthood women’s clinic in Bryan is expected to con
clude within the next two months. The clinic will open by the end of the fall.
Women’s clinic set to open this fall
said the building is larger and
can accommodate growth.
“As the population increas
es, the number of our patients
will also increase,” Calfee
said. “Anytime you invest in a
building like that, you have to
plan for the future.”
Lauren Donahue, execu
tive director of Brazos Valley
Coalition for Life, said the
clinic will be a negative ad
dition to the community.
“Their increase in what
they call their services will
impact the community be
cause it affects the whole
mentality of the communi
ty,” Doanhue said.
BY BETH MILLER
The Battalion
Construction of a new
Planned Parenthood women’s
health clinic on 29th Street in
Bryan is expected to conclude
this fall, expanding the health
services offered to women in
the community.
Barbara Calfee, project di
rector for the clinic, said the
new facility is scheduled to
open within a few months, and
will offer a variety of services.
Some of these services in
clude contraception, testing
for sexually-transmitted dis
eases, counseling, women’s
health exams and first-
trimester abortion care.
Dyann Santos, director of
the new clinic, said it will not
provide services that have
not already been made avail
able by Planned Parenthood.
“We have been in Bryan-
College Station for 25 years
providing women’s health
care,” Santos said.
Santos said the clinic has
experienced a limited num
ber of protesters during its
construction.
Calfee said the increasing
population of the area was
taken into account when the
facility was designed. She
Battle of the home run heroes ends with McGwire on top
• Despite Cubs
win, Sosa fails to
move past Big
Mac’s mark.
CHICAGO (AP) — Now,
Steve Trachsel will be re
membered for more than
giving up a historic home
run. He has pitched those
lovable losers, the Chicago
Cubs, into the playoffs.
With a home run boost
from castoff Gary Gaetti and
two key singles by Sammy
Sosa, the Cubs beat the San
Francisco Giants 5-3 Monday
night to win the frenetic one-
game playoff for the NL wild
card spot.
They survived despite a
three-run rally in the ninth
by the Giants. Barry Bonds,
who grounded out with the
bases loaded to end the sev
enth, came up again with
the bases loaded but man
aged only a sacrifice fly.
The Cubs have not been to a
World Series since 1945 and have
not won one in 90 years, yet they
are going to the postseason for
the first time since 1989.
TYachsel (15-8), who sur
rendered Mark McGwire’s
62nd home run, didn’t give
up a hit until pinch-hitter
Brent Mayne singled with
one out in the seventh.
Trailing 4-0, the Giants
went on to load the bases
with two outs and brought
Bonds to the plate. But the
three-time MVP, who has
struggled in the postseason,
grounded out against reliever
Felix Heredia and slammed
his helmet to the ground.
In the ninth, reliever Kevin
Tapani gave up a pair of lead-
off singles. That brought on
Terry Mulholland, who went
eight innings and threw 121
pitches Sunday.
Trachsel and Giants starter
Mark Gardner kept it score
less until the fifth inning.
Singles by Lance Johnson
and Sosa drove out Gardner
(13-6) in the sixth.
Sosa went 2-for-4 with a
pair of singles, scoring in
the eighth on Jose Mesa’s
wild pitch.
Sosa finished the regular
season, because this game’s
numbers counted, with 66
home runs, trailing McG
wire’s 70. But Sosa gets some
thing McGwire does not — a
chance to play into October.
nally scheduled with the University.
Pradhan is pursuing a civil suit
against Texas A&M University.
West said he expects the trial to be
scheduled for some time next year.
Pradhan, a native of India, has
accused Texas A&M of violating
his First Amendment rights and
discrimination.
In a separate investigation,
Pradhan was indicted by a grand
jury Sept. 22 for abuse of official
capacity. The indictment charges
Pradhan with misusing property
valued at more than $25,000 but
less than $100,000.
Pradhan is scheduled to go to
trial Dec. 3 and could face two to
10 years in jail and up to a
$10,000 fine, if convicted.
in the residence hall.
The meeting will be held at 8
p.m. in the C-l Lounge between
Walton and Schumacher halls.
Ron Sasse, director of Resi
dence Life, said he wants to get
feedback from the residents before
the department makes changes.
“We want to ask students what
they think,” Sasse said. “We want to
make the buildings more attractive
(to students).”
Walton and Hart halls are the only
two non air-conditioned dorms on
the Texas A&M campus.
Currently, the two dorms are open
only to men.
In the spring. Residence Life
surveyed students living on cam
pus to determine whether fe
males would like to have a
cheaper, non air-conditioned
housing option.
Sasse said female residents ex
pressed interest in having the option.
“We had enough people express
interest, but we never did actually
pursue the option (last semester),”
Sasse said. “We want to explore
this option.”
Despite the overcrowding of oth
er dorms on campus, Walton and
Hart halls have openings.
see Residence Halls on Page 6
Students
voice campus
concerns
at forum
BY NONI SRIDHARA
The Battalion
The Texas A&M chapter of the
NAACP hosted the “Say What You
Want to Say” forum last night in Ru
mours Cafe to address student issues.
The forum was hosted by Clifton
Thomas, Class of ’98, in front of a
large audience.
LeVoir Lewis, programs chair for
the NAACP and a junior genetics
major, said the reason Thomas was
selected to be moderator was be
cause he moderated previous
events on campus and can provide
comic relief during lulls.
The topics discussed at the fo
rum ranged from traditions at Texas
A&M to environmental racism.
After the introductions, Thomas
opened the floor to the audience.
An African-American male was
the first to take the floor. He spoke
about the tradition of the removal
of hats in the MSC.
“A senior Corps [of Cadets] guy
started to harass me about not re
moving my cap and when I refused,
he started getting ugly, by saying all
you blacks are the same, et cetera,et
cetera. I responded by saying that I
realize that this to comemorate the
lives of Aggies that were lost during.
the battle, but you have to realize that
blacks weren’t even accepted into the
University until the ’60s. Until there
is something (comemoratingblacks),
like a statue of Matthew Gaines, I will
keep my cap on.”
Another participant replied that
it is not religious grounds.
The forum moved on to address
the issue of the PanHellenic frater
nities and sororities.
see NAACP on Page 6.