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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1999)
hen Gingrj, c an congK h she was, iind couni; i was a fa •apitoldurj ears asspr; -tails weifi rent I 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Wednesday July 21,1999 Volume 105 • Issue 173 • 6 Pages College Station, Texas • Disney's animated movies ruin classic fairy tales with senseless plots and characters. PAGE 5 today’s issue News 6 Battalion Radio For details on an attempted forgery at the College Station Wal-Mart Sunday, tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM at 1:57 p.m. sports • Cardinals draft pick Chance Caple looks to the future with a stint in the minor leagues. PAGE 3 r Justice urges reform icial selection Private eyes $2 off Hot Oil Manicure 1999 Hand BY MEGAN E. WRIGHT The Battalion [The Texas Supreme Court chief justice focused on alternate methods of selecting judges to instill more tru i between the judiciary branch and Texans during hi? speech last night on judicial selection in the next Hlennium. ■Thomas R. Phillips discussed the methods and problems of judicial selection as part of the Millenni- ,um Lecture Series hosted by the Arts Council of the ''Brazos Valley at the College Station Hilton. ■ Phillips said Texans need to look at the different \methods being used around the country. “There is no perfect method,” he said. “And we know we A’t come up with a perfect system, but we can mpke improvements.” ■ Phillips said the current partisan system forces juclges into asking and accepting money for cam paigns. In other states, judges are selected on a merit iysiem in which the governor selects judges from a list of candidates.The merit system is currently employed in 21 states. In some states, like New York, judges are ■ected by one election and serve extended terms as long as 14 years. I “One election systems give the public control over judges,” Phillips said. “However, after elected, the judges develop a sort of independence knowing they an in office for so long.” see Justice on Page 2. 6UY ROGERS/I hh Battalion Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips discusses judicial selection Tuesday as part of the Millennium Lec ture Series. Secretary charged with forgery BY VERONICA SERRANO liiB The Battalion L^HAn employee of Texas A&M’s Bfice of Institutional Studies and ^ Pi nning has been charged with theft and forgery for altering her Jyroll reports. Melina Ann Cashaw, an admin- istative secretary for the Office of Institutional Studies and Planning, posted bail after her arrest Monday. Cashaw allegedly added 278 Meadow p urs 0 f overtime to her ^24 timesheets and tried to add an ad- iitional 74 hours before being mth ■ » ii p caught by her supervisor, accord ing to a statement given to police by Cashaw’s supervisor, Dr. Cindy Dutschke. According to Dutschke’s state ment, the theft began Feb. 1999, when Cashaw was first employed by the office, and continued until June 1999. The value of the over time was placed at $7,307, not in cluding the attempted 74 hours, which was valued at $1,312. In another statement Dutschke alleges that Cashaw forged Dutschke’s name and initials onto a memo and a payroll document requesting a cash advance for overtime hours worked. Bob Wiatt, director of the Uni versity Police Department, said Cashaw has given a statement con cerning the charges that will be used as evidence if Cashaw goes to trial. The theft charges are felonies, punishable by a jail sentence of six months to two years, and/or a $10,000 fine, Wiatt said. He said forgery is a Class A mis demeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $4,000 fine. TERRY ROBERSON/1 hi Battalion David Elizondo of Advanced Security Concepts replaces a security camera outside the Southside Parking Garage Tuesday. He said about 20 campus cameras will be replaced this summer. es; me Sou# 1 as 77845 S Wal-Ma rl ises Educators offer abstinence facts BY CARRIE BENNETT The Battalion Several sexual health educators will be available at the Student Rec Center tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to answer questions on topics ranging from women’s gy necological visits to testicular can cer at an information table focus ing on abstinence The event, sponsored by Texas A&M’s Health Education Depart ment, will have available several sexual health educators, including graduate assistant from the de partment and a member of Aggie R.E.A.C.H. (Representatives Edu cating About College Health), to answer questions. Margaret Griffith, health edu cation coordinator and HIV spe cialist, said people often think everyone is having sex when that is not the case. The only sure way to prevent sexual transmission of HIV infec tion and other STDs is total absti nence from sexual activity. “If somebody is abstinent, they’re safe,” Griffith said. “We want to \dent\fy and define absti nence when it comes to health and sex.” She said abstinence and vir ginity are not the same thing, and people often interchange the two. “Virgins can be virgins and not abstinent,” Griffith said. “They can engage in oral sex or anal sex. And so, I think we’ve gotten really confused on focus ing on virginity when, for health, we really need to focus on sexu al abstinence.” She said an important mes sage is that people can choose to return to abstinence at any point even after they have already had sexual relations. Griffith said ab stinence is “hassle- free and wor ry-free.” Rhonda Rahn, a graduate stu dent assistant in the health edu cation office, said the top two rea sons to abstain are it allows freedom from worrying about pregnancy and sexually transmit ted infections, and it has no side effects. Griffith said it becomes diffi cult to remain abstinent if some one is involved in a caring rela tionship. She said abstinence is a way to show each other how much you love one another. see Abstinence on Page 2. Party-time policies Taskforce recommends changes to tailgate party, game-day alcohol rules BY CARRIE BENNETT The Battalion The Alcohol, Tents and Tailgating Task Force at A&M, composed of faculty from various departments and student leaders, will present a list of recommendations concerning alcohol and the use of tents at NCAA intercollegiate athletic events and tailgate parties at A&M to Dr. J. Mal- on Southerland, vice president for stu dent affairs. The proposed revisions include per mitting alcoholic beverages at tailgate parties or picnic activities at NCAA in tercollegiate athletic events only and only on the day of the event and in the general proximity of the event. The lo cation of the gathering must also be in an outdoor location or outdoor parking area that has been deemed appropriate by the University. These activities will not be permitted in any University facility, the O.R. Simp son Drill Field, the grounds of the All- Faiths Chapel grounds or Cain Park. The task force suggests tents only be erected in designated areas on the day of intercollegiate and University-wide events. No sales, solicitations or com mercial advertising on or under the tent will be permitted. People will be respon sible for cleaning the area after removing the tent. Dr. Bill Kibler, chair of the task force and associate vice president for student affairs, said these restrictions reflect ac tivities already occurring on campus. He said the proposed changes are a proac tive effort to prevent problems that might happen in the future rather than a result from an incident in the past. "We want to promote how to drink properly and not in excess, and this is a more organized way... to consume alcohol on campus.” — Will Hurd Student Body President “Part of the concern that created this task force was the idea that the level of this kind of activity is increas ing and we need to look forward,” Ki bler said. “One of our goals would be for the University to try to prevent the campus from ever getting to a place where tailgating becomes the kind of campus-wide problem that it is on campuses of other universities around the country. ” Kibler said the issues of tents on cam pus came from a problem a few years ago dealing with corporate advertising on tents that were left up for months without permission from the University. He said, previously, there had not been any rules concerning tents so the task force felt the need to include parameters on this issue to prevent problems in the future. Student Body President Will Hurd said the proposed regulations are a good effort to make sure that we control consumption of alcohol on campus. “We want to promote how to drink properly and not in ex cess, and this is a more orga nized way and policy lo con sume alcohol on campus,” Hurd said. “This is still an aca demic environment, and we want to preserve that.” Kibler said the goal is to provide an environment where visitors and family of former students and current students feel welcome at A&M. “We want to always main tain a balance where people can come and responsibly do this [tailgate] in the context of these athletic events that bring thousands of people to campus and still feel that the integrity of this campus is pre served,” Kibler said. see Alcohol on Page 2. PROPOSED' REVISIONS McoYioWc beverages wVW be permitted: At tailgate parties or picnic] activities At NCAA intercollegiate athletic events only Only on the day of the event In the general proximity of the event In an outdoor location or parking area that has been deemed appropriate by A&M Will not be permitted in any University facility, the O.R. Simpson Drill Field,the of All Faiths Chapel grounds* or Cain Park