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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2000)
Monday, February' : Cabinet, said the0 as “unrepresentath ans” and should tely.” st underscored di ice’s major Protes nionists, for an i: armament, it allow any pan ■publican or (pro-1 ain in existence w plosives," said KenD ah's Ulster Unionist ’arliament. “Evenifi r own cease-fires, rwill inevitably end ssidents." uity IRA began IRA called a ywy group’s sporadi ed only minor inj t has never called a y last month, police sh Republic arrested* lily IR A activist mp, oaded with weapor: TUESDAY February 8, 2000 Volume 106 ~ Issue 86 12 pages oura m t i«iei ea =cmi* - 70s important time in A&M history H Clockwise from J top left: Mario Brown, Fred L Mclure, and Mike Frazier. i n BY JULIE ZUCKER The Battalion By the late ’70s, there were 66 African-American students — out of 21,000 — at Texas A&M, but one in particular was making his mark. Fred McClure, Class of 1976, was the first African-American stu dent body president at A&M. After McClure graduated, he interned with President Gerald Ford’s administration and later became an assistant to President George Bush. In 1994, McClure was named -—g t j one of Time magazine’s “50 Mfw tnveiUg*tei asm | ! Most Aspiring Leaders Age 40 for pooi dHtnbutfon j or Under,’’ along with Bill n9 , 979 j Gates, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Curtis Hftu inducted Oprah Winfrey, into a&m Athletic The '70s opened other fam * doors for African-American mmimmmmmmmmmmmmm j groups at A&M. ■■■■■■ —— In 1970, the Black Student GABRIEL RUENES/ I mi B vl IAl.lON Affairs (BSA) committee was formed with only seven African-Amer ican students. The BSA fought for more African-American literature, more African-American athletes, an equal ratio of African-American and in ternational students and more African-American professors for a more “well-rounded University environment.” According to University documents, there were a few racial demonstrations before BSA arrived on campus, and administrators at A&M wanted to work with the students of BSA to avoid further complications and improve student-administration communications. “As long as A&M tries to solve the black problem, 1 can foresee no violent action,” one BSA member said. “But if [the University] chooses to ignore the problem as other colleges have, I don’t know what w ill happen.” The Black Affairs Committee (BAG) became a University-ap proved student organization on campus. In 1971, BAG hosted Sen. Barbara Jordan, and in 1972, Wayne De- Vaughn, the BAG chairperson, worked w ith Sbisa Dining Services to create a “Soul Food” day. BAG hosts a week-long examination of African-American culture and history in the Memorial Student Center called “Black Experience,” which has been a tradition at A&M since 1973. By the spring of 1974, the MSG Council approved more fund ing for BAG programming. However, funding for African-American students became a prob lem for A&M by the end of the ’70s. In 1978, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) reviewed 18 colleges and universities in Texas for discrimination through distribution of available funds. A&M and Prairie View-A&M were two of 18 schools under in vestigation for racism and segregation through funding and, accord ing to University documents, “were in serious jeopardy of losing fed eral funds.” A&M received more funding than Prairie View — a predominately African-American school. By 1979,1IEW increased funding by $500,000 for the lacking programs. After the HEW investigation, A&M Chancellor Frank W.R. Ilubert used a formula from North Carolina and Florida to raise minority enroll ment and increase recruitment. See History on Page2. Gross anatomy Group to address issues ruary 10 ^DP) ithwestern Bell Inc. (UCS) STUART VILLANUEVA/Tmi- Batiai.ion Junior heath major Katie Graves and junior sports management major Jason Adam explore a cat’s anatomy in their zoology lab on Monday. A&M finally under compliance BY BRADY CREEL The Battalion I After three years of scrutiny and examination, the U.S. Depart- fient of Labor’s pffice of Federal Contract Compliance Program (0FCCP) has declared Texas A&M Uni versity to be pursuing affirmative action “in compliance with their obligations under Ex- ‘cutive Order 11246.” The order took effect in 1965, stating hat federal contractors “will not discrimi- late against any employee because of race, :olor, religion, sex, or national origin.” It also ordered contractors to take “affir- native action to ensure that applicants are inployed and employees are treated during mployment without regard to their race, olor, religion, sex, or national origin.” Larry Garza, district director of the Oi CCP’s San Antonio office, said the audit Ipertnined whether A&M was operating in Hccordance with affirmative action laws by Examining University documents such as Tie University’s affirmative action plan and ■records, sorted by race and gender, of ter- Bninatiohs, promotions, hirings and trans fers. Garza’s office then conducted on-site interviews with faculty and staff at A&M. I “At the on-site reviews, we reviewed personnel files [and] inter viewed administrative staff as well as faculty members,” Garza said. E “We tried to approach this as a learning exercise,” said Larry Eotts, A&M’s Affirmative Aption Officer and associate director of Human Resources. “We wanted them to support us in a consulting role to make our affirmative action program stronger.” A&M’s Affirmative Action Plan states that “the compliance posture of Texas A&M is not measured by whether all goals are met, but rather to what degree a good faith effort is made to do so.” “We continue to work on those goals, but we are not going to reach them in one year,” Potts said. “It is a long term proposition to reach those goals.” Dr. Mitchell Rice, president of the African-American Professional Organiza tion and director of the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute, said the University needs to continue seeking out qualified minority faculty and professionals to make the Uni versity a better learning environment for both faculty and students. “I am pleased to hear that the Univer sity was within compliance,” Mitchell said. “But at the same time, the Universi ty does realize that it does need to take ad ditional steps and initiatives to improve the number of minority faculty and pro fessionals on campus.” Mitchell said members of the Universi ty’s faculty should not be satisfied by only meeting compliance. “The University should not be satisfied with strictly meeting compliance,” Mitchell said. “The Univer sity must use this compliance as a means for improving faculty diversity at the University. If the University is satisfied with com pliance, then where do we go from here?” "The University should not be satis fied with strictly meet ing compliance. The University must use this compliance as a means for improving faculty diversity at the University." — Dr. Mitchell Rice President of the African-American Professional Organization BY DANA JAMUS The Battalion A new activist group. Queer Aggies, wants to fight al leged discrimination against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) population at Texas A&M. “The need for an organization like the Queer Aggies has existed for a long time,” said Jason Patton, president of Queer Aggies and a sophomore biomedical science major. Queer Aggies was formed to protect and promote the visibility and rights of GLBTs at A&M through educa tional and political means, Patton said. Queer Aggies, which currently has 20 members, be gan when a group of students met at the Memorial Stu dent Center to watch “The Times of Harvey Milk,” a doc umentary' of the nation’s first gay elected official. “We decided then and there that nothing would change for us here (at A&M] unless we did something about it,” Patton said. “Currently GLBTs are discriminated against, in that they could be fired from their jobs, not hired at other jobs, evicted from their apartments or expelled from A&M due to their sexual orientation,” said Amy Hinze, vice presi dent of publicity for Queer Aggies and a junior political science major. “There is a hostile environment at A&M for people who aren’t straight,” I lin/e said. “We can't go to a bar on Northgate without the fear of being beaten up.” “When two men or two women are seen together on campus it is very usual for them to receive nasty looks and remarks.” Hinze, a bisexual, realized her sexual orientation at the age of 16 when she when she fell in love with a woman. She accompanied her girlfriend to her high school’s prom, and said “all hell broke loose.” She said many gay people are harassed and forced to leave homes, and there is a very high suicidal rate among gays. “That’s why all this (Queer Aggies] means so much to me.” The group expects to gain recognition as a University- approved student organization by Wednesday or Thursday. “Even if the University denies the group recognition, they will still exist as an unrecognized organization,” said Megan Wright, a member of Queer Aggies and vice pres ident of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Ag gies (GLBTA). Because GLBTA gained its recognition in 1985 alter a court decision that refused to hear the University’s ap peal to keep GLBTA off-campus, Queer Aggies are not anticipating any resistance from the University. A&M president Dr. Ray M. Bowen denied the inclu sion of sexual orientation as a basis for discrimination, citing a Texas state law that also does not allow for the in clusion of sexual orientation as a basis for discrimination. Bowen said A&M is an "all-inclusive institution,” and that it welcomes and provides support for all its-students. See Activist on Page 2. Retreat center considered BY KENNETH MACDONALD The Battalion Next week, Texas A&M officials will meet with ar chitects to design a student leadership retreat center to be built just west of Easterwood Field. A memorandum circulated in 1998 outlining the in tention for the retreat center, but the idea has only recent ly been re-energized, said Kevin Jackson, director of Stu dent Activities. "It has been my experience that it is difficult for stu dents to find retreat sites that are affordable. MSC Hos pitality and [the Residence Hall Association] must plan months in advance,” Jackson said. “Larger student groups are finding it more and more difficult to utilize retreat sites.” The retreat center should hold about 500 retreaters. The price for groups to go on retreats at other locations de pends on many factors, such as the quality and quantity of the food provided and the number of rooms needed. The new A&M facility will “provide [an] efficient al ternative to the costly and distant travel that now exists,” Jackson said. The administration will eventually be seeking student input on the retreat center through focus groups. Every April, the RHA takes the new hall leadership on a retreat to help them get acquainted and prepare them for the new year. Julie Cast, president of RHA and a junior marketing major, said a retreat center closer to campus would have financial benefits. “If a new retreat center was built, it would definitely help with the housing and transportation costs,” she said. It costs about $50 per person to go on RHA’s annual retreat. Most of'that cost is covered by the hall councils. But, Cast said, if costs were cut, the hall councils will have more money to spend on other programs. “I lowever, with the center being so close to campus, members of groups may be tempted to arrive late and leave early from retreats,” Cast said. “Organizations can definitely benefit from the new center; groups can use it for just individual programs and day retreats. Even trying to reserve a room in the Memo rial Student Center can be difficult if you don’t plan in ad vance,” said Collin Poage, MSC Hospitality executive and junior business administration major. Girl found slain; two teens arrested MAGNOLIA, Ark. (AP) —A 15-year-old girl was found beaten to death near a freshly dug grave, and two of her high school classmates were arrested and charged with murder. Sheriff Wayne Tompkins said the boys had planned the slaying for days or even weeks and had dug the 3-foot-deep grave hours beforehand. The sheriff gave no motive. The body of Brittni .lone Pater was found early Saturday near a log ging road. Prosecutor Jamie Pratt said an autopsy showed that the girl was pregnant. Matthew Ryan Elliott, 16, and William E. Davis, 17, were charged Monday as adults with capital murder. Columbia County Circuit Judge Larry Chandler denied bond and entered innocent pleas on their behalf. Robert Depper, Davis’ attorney, said he would file a motion to have his client’s case moved to juvenile court and said Elliott’s lawyer would file a similar motion. Depper would not discuss details of the case. “We don’t know what all the evidence is,” he said. “It’s really too soon to be having any comments.” The sheriff said authorities believe Elliott picked up the girl outside her home Friday night. When her body was found, a shovel was stuck upright in the dirt, he said. Both boys are juniors at Magnolia High School and Pater was a sophomore. The victim and Elliott were members of the band. INSIDE ns ■ •Ags host UTS A in home opener|F . ifti ,5' ™' •Tunnel vision The mystery of A&M's steam tunnels. Page 3 A kilo of revention Should women addict- d to drugs get aid to receive birth control? £igeU •Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details about the Kaplan group settlement •Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tainu.edu