105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
WEDNESDAY
January 20, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 74 • 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
opinion
• Al Gore’s hidden secret
is revealed as a close
analysis determines him
a droid.
PAGE 11
today’s issue
Toons 2
Aggielife 3
Thursday’s issue
Aggielife’s Best of 1998 series
continues with a recap of last
year’s most entertaining films.
sports
• After opening the season with a hot
streak, the Aggies drop seven straight
during the winter break, leaving
them 11th in conference action.
PAGE?
&M students, staff react
to State of Union Address
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
^amidst the first im
peachment trial in 130
^■•s, President Clinton
pugged off speculation of
Impossible delay and deliv-
Hl his seventh State of
■ Union address last
tight.
JThe state of our union
st ong,” Clinton said,
^ftlinton announced
tlaps to improve the coun-
fy’s schools and commu-
lities in the 21st century.
H.ynsey Alford, a junior
ilernentary education ma-
or, aid she supports Clin-
on's plan to increase the
lumber of teachers in un-
areas by of
ertig bonuses and schol-
irspips.
Hit is an injustice that
itudents do not get the
ndst qualified teachers
just because of their back
grounds,” Alford said.
Clinton discussed
health care and plans to
cans is unrealistic if he
plans to offer adequate
medical coverage.
“Social medicine has
"Social medicine has failed in
Russia and just about every
other country which has tried it.”
— Dr. Charles Lessard
Associate professor of biomedical engineering
m
improve social security. He
said he plans to use 62 per
cent of the national budget
surplus to increase the na
tion’s social security sup
ply for the 21st century.
Dr. Charles Lessard, an
associate professor of bio
medical engineering, said
Clinton’s design to provide
health care to all Ameri-
failed in Russia and just
about every other country
which has tried it,”
Lessard said. “The plan
Clinton outlined in his
speech would really have
to be planned well, in or
der to be successful.”
Clinton expressed a de
sire to have the Brady Bill,
which imposes a five day
waiting period upon any
one purchasing a hand
gun, to be permanently
adopted as a law.
Dave Burdett, owner of
Burdett and Son Outdoor
Adventure Shop in College
Station, said the Brady Bill
has done very little to re
duce crime.
“It’s nothing more than
an inconvenience to hon
est people,” Burdett said.
“A criminal buying a gun
on the street doesn’t have
a waiting period.”
John Burton, vice presi
dent of Aggie Democrats
and a senior political science
major, said the programs
Clinton proposed would not
only benefit Texans.
“In light of the trial go
ing on for so long, it is re
freshing to hear what peo
ple want the government
to do, rather than the tri
al,” Burton said.
Highlights of President Clinton’s
State of the Union Address
Labor
• Minimum wage i ncrease
• Ensuring Equal Pay
Child Care
• lax Relief for stay at home parents
Economy
•Y2K troubleshooting
Crime/Drugs
•Zero tolerance drug supervision
• A permanent Brady bill waiting period
• Child safety locks for handguns
Service
• AmeriCorps
One America
•EmploymentDiscrimination Act
• T late Crimes Prevention Act
Impeachment
makes history,
causes debate
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
History is being made as President Clinton un
dergoes an impeachment trial in the Senate. The
trial, which began Jan. 14 with opening argu
ments, will determine what action will be taken
to discipline Clinton. He was impeached by the
House of Representatives on Dec. 19, becoming
the second president in history to face impeach
ment.
Missy Hataway, a first-year law student at the
Texas A&M Law Center, said the trial has made
people more aware of current events, united the
democratic party in the Brazos Valley and served
as an educational tool to teach students about the
inner workings of the U.S. government.
“The trial is completely making evident the
partisan lines that lie in the Bryan-College Station
area,” Hataway said.
Robyn Knocke, vice president of programs for
College Republicans and a senior marketing ma
jor, believes the president should be held ac-
see Impeachment on Page 2.
udent Research Week
eadline extended
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
he entry deadline for the
tend Annual Student Re-
earch Week has been ex-
Hded to Friday, Jan. 22, due
o increased student interest.
The event is going to be held
darch 22-2, at Texas A&M.
■Anneliese Reinemeyer,
^^■sident of the Graduate
■dent Council , said since
I? he original date was during
|he winter break, the dead-
'ijje was extended to make
ure all students were aware
flthe opportunity to partici-
ate.
JClifton Griffin, assistant to
| vice president of research,
Jd Student Research Week
Tipvides an opportunity for
ith students and organiza-
ons, including Graduate Stu-
ent Council, Honors Program,
" Sigma Xi, to come together
la larger group to promote the
d|a of student research at Texas
M.
I'Activities will include
pakers and a competition or-
nized primarily by the Grad-
late Student Council,” Griffin
Id.
Bill Allen, editor of Nation
al Geographic, will speak Tues
day, March 23, at the George
Bush School of Government
and Public Service.
Sigma Xi, a scientific re
search society, will host a sym
posium along with banquet
events held by Gamma Sigma
Delta.
Most events will be held at
Rudder Tower or the Memori
al Student Center.
Griffin said both under
graduate and graduate stu
dents could compete in one of
more than 50 categories.
He said last year, awards
and scholarships ranging from
$300 for first place, to $100 for
third place, were presented to
winners.
Students interested in enter
ing the competition can register
online at: < http://www.tam
u. edu/researchandgradstud
ies/GraduateStudies/RESWEE
K/resweek.html >.
The Student Research Week
Committee also organizes the
Research Roadshow hosted by
Texas A&M’s president. Dr.
Ray M. Bowen, which was
see Research on Page 2.
Reed Restoration
CARINO CASAS/The Battalion
Mid-Continental Restoration worker Richard Plafcan spreads a coat of
plaster over the old paint on the Reed McDonald building. Workers began
the make-over earlier this month and expect it to be complete in April.
Professor looks toward
celebrations of unity
BY APRIL YOUNG
The Battalion
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., civil rights leader and
Nobel Peace Prize winner, was re
membered yesterday at “Through
the Eyes of a King: A Celebration
of Unity and Diversity” at Rudder
Theater.
The speaker of the evening.
Dr. Gwen Webb-Johnson, an as
sistant professor of special educa
tion at the University of Texas
spoke about change, the celebra
tion of unity and diversity and of
reflection.
“Standards of excellence can
be mirrored through the eyes of a
new king,” Webb-Johnson said.
“Change is in order, but it won’t
come if we rely on one person.”
Dr. Webb-Johnson said King
was more than a dreamer. John
son encouraged listeners to move
beyond perceived beliefs and re
define the norm.
“Celebrate your freedom of
choice, but take time to listen,”
Webb-Johnson said. “Challenge
yourself to celebrate and marvel
sameness while celebrating and
marveling difference. ”
“[The speech] had to affect
the way you do business as an in
dividual. We are all still learning,
Eric Newnam/The Battalion
Dr. Gwen Webb-Johnson, a Uni
versity of Texas assistant profes
sor, speaks Tuesday night at Rud
der Auditorium in honor of the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
whether we are class of ’65 or
’02,” Dr. J. Malon Southerland,
vice president for student affairs
said.
Dr. Webb-Johnson encouraged
the audience to reflect on the past
and present and prepare for the
future.
“Know the history of this in
stitution, know your own history
and prepare to construct new his
tory,” she said.
traming prepares
f PD mounted
>atrol for
:rowd control
Training classes offer insight for interns
Volunteers learn to resolve complaints in ombudsman program
Photo courtesy of UPD
Gteen srnoke, one elemerit in the stress test obstacle course, is used
to evaluate a horse’s focus and ability totlinction in large crowds.
BY BETH MILLER
The Battalion
: University Police De-
Jrtment officers in the
Counted patrol force are
Investigating opportunities
Ip use training acquired
J)m participation in a
jounted patrol training
conference, sponsored by
par County Sheriff De-
Irtment and Texas Agri-
Jtltural Extension Service.
I The conference, which
Mas held at the Dick Free-
|an Arena in College Sta
tion Jan. 4-8, taught 41
Texas police officers caval
ry formations, crowd-con
trol techniques, arrest and
handcuffing techniques,
escort techniques and
methods of extracting ve
hicles from crowds using
officers on horseback,
Lynn Sechelski, patrol lieu
tenant for UPD, said.
Sechelski said Texas
A&M employs three types
of police officers, vehicle
patrol, bike patrol and
mounted patrol officers.
Vehicle patrol officers sur
vey the streets surrounding
the campus, bike patrol of
ficers circulate throughout
the interior of the campus
and mounted patrol offi
cers serve in situations in
volving crowds.
Sechelski said the
mounted patrol force per
forms better in situations
involving crowds.
“Crowds move when
horses come through,” he
said. “That’s one of the
see UPD on Page 10.
BY JASON SCHNEIDER
The Battalion
Training classes for students and volun
teers who wish to participate in The Bra
zos Valley Council of Governments Om
budsmen Program, sponsored by the Area
Agency on Aging in the Brazos Valley, will
be offered today and tomorrow from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
Bobbie Gail Jeffries, regional ombuds
man, said the program allows volunteers to
address issues, resolve problems and act as
liaisons between nursing home residents
and their care facility and families. She said
the program volunteers handle complaints
ranging from room temperature to privacy
issues.
“We’re there for their complaints, food,
clothes and cleanliness,” Hazel Crutchfield,;
ombudsman volunteer at University Hills
Nursing Center, said. “If they need some
thing from the store, I will go get it. It is
very rewarding. All we want is for them to
be happy. ”
Jeffries said topics covered at the train
ing session will include awareness, com
plaint handling and process, regulations,
communication. Social Security and
Medicare. There is no requirement to par
ticipate.
Jeffries said the program was estab
lished in 1978, when Congress amended
the Older Americans Act of 1965, to ad
dress the concerns of nursing home atten
dants.
She said after they complete the training
sessions, the volunteers will be offered an
opportunity to serve a three-month intern
ship to receive state certification.
The Elderly
in The Brazos Valley
• 19 Brazos Valley nursing homes
provide care for more than 2,325
occupants.
• 50% of those residents have no
family members