The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 22, 2000, Image 2

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Page 2
EWS
THE BATTALION
Thursday, June 22,1
Thursday. June 22, 20(
Gone with the wind
Khurram Rehmatullah and Carlos Yapura, research associates at the Texas A&M low-speed wind
tunnel, prepare a model of NASA's new X-38 space shuttle for aerodynamics testing.
Pressure rises on Bush, board
Urges to stop execution of Gary Graham increase
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP)
The Texas parole board and Gov.
George W. Bush came under in
creasing pressure to stop Thurs
day's execution of Gary Graham,
convicted of murder on the word of
a single eyewitness to a holdup
outside a supermarket.
In the nation's most active death
penalty state, the case has drawn ex
ceptionally close attention — large
ly because of Bush's status as the Re
publican presidential candidate and
the recent national re-examination
of capital punishment.
Graham, 17 at the time, pleaded
guilty to 10 aggravated robberies
during a weeklong spree in 1981 but
has steadfastly denied the rampage
began with a fatal nighttime shoot
ing in a Houston parking lot.
No physical evidence tied Gra
ham to the crime, and ballistics tests
showed that the gun he had when he
was arrested was not the murder
weapon. Graham's backers have also
argued that his lawyer did a poor job
at the trial and that at least two other
witnesses never were allowed to tes
tify that he was not the killer.
Prosecutors say that his case has
been reviewed repeatedly, as many
as three dozen times, and that it is
time to bring the case to an end.
The parole board, made up of 18
people appointed by Bush, is con
sidering Graham's request for a 120-
day reprieve or a commutation to a
life sentence. The board was expect
ed to announce its decision by noon
Thursday, six hours before the
scheduled execution.
"We do give these cases a thor
ough evaluation. We do not take our
responsibility lightly," board chair
Gerald Garrett said.
Bush is empowered to grant a
one-time 30-day reprieve in death
penalty cases, but Graham already
got one in 1993 from Bush's prede
cessor, Democrat Ann Richards. That
means Bush cannot act in Graham's
case on his own without a recom
mendation from the parole board.
Two years ago. Bush told the pa
role board to review the case of ser
ial killer Henry Lee Lucas because
of questions about the slaying for
which Lucas was about to die. Lu
cas' death sentence eventually was
commuted to life.
"That's
my job,
to up
hold the
laws of
the land
of the state of
Texas. I will con
tinue to do so as
long as Tm the
governor. I believe
the system is fair
and just."
Bush has sent no similar message
about Graham's case to the board,
whose members include a former
Secret Service agent, former parole
workers, a teacher, a psychologist
and a rancher.
Graham, who is African-Ameri
can, has said the lack of prompting
from Bush is racial. Lucas is white.
The attention on Graham's case
increased this week when demon
strators interrupted him at an ap
pearance in California.
Bush on Wednesday repeated his
contention that no innocent person
has been executed in Texas during
his 5 1/2 years in office. Graham
would be the 222nd person execut
ed in Texas since the state resumed
carrying out capital punishment in
1982; he would be the 135th of
Bush's 51/2-year tenure.
"1 analyze each case that comes
across my desk and look at the inno
cence and guilt of each person," Bush
said in Los Angeles. "That's my job,
to uphold the laws of the land of the
state of Texas. I will continue to do so
as long as Tm the governor. I believe
the system is fair and just."
Graham has said he would not
go quietly and would "fight like
hell" when led to the death cham
ber. At one point he urged support
ers to come to Huntsville armed to
protest what he called his legal
lynching and assassination.
The entire block around the
prison system office building across
the street from the Huntsville Unit
prison, which houses the death
chamber, was ringed with yellow
police tape Wednesday. The build
ing, normally open during business
hours, was locked, and visitors
needed an escort to enter.
"We're aware of threats and we'll
react accordingly," prison spokesper
son Larry Fitzgerald said. Most of
fices in the building will be closed
Thursday and prison employees
who live on the grounds close to the
unit's front door were advised to
leave for the day.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has
been speaking in support of Gra
ham and planned to attend the exe
cution, said "those of us who protest
on the outside should be nonvio
lent and disciplined."
Graham was convicted of the
killing of Bobby Lambert, 53, on
May 13, 1981. The key testimony
came from a Houston woman,
Bernadine Skillern, who watched
from inside her car as Lambert was
confronted by the gunman, strug
gled with him and was shot.
Petroleum
Continued from Pan
for Exxon Mobil production comp;
and Class of '95, said the opportuij
for engineers are growing because!
porations are heavily competing
graduates.
"The job market is so very comp
five because petroleum engineers
very scarce," Omar said.
Omar also said the uncertainty
oil industry tends to discouragepo;
tial students. She said the oil industn
cycles, with years of prosperity
years of depression.
Sreenivas Muthukrishnan, apefc
urn engineering graduate student,
he is concerned about finding a
graduation because the industry char
often. He also said working in petrol
engineering means accepting there
of the business.
"The industry is fickle withrespe
stability," Muthukrishnan said.
Omar said that because of the hi
petroleum engineers, companies
having to assign more responsibili
new engineers than in past years.
'New (petroleum) engineers has said » This peric
prioritize more now than 20 years
because they have to supervise
projects," Omar said.
To combat the shortage of petrol
engineers, employers are lookingtoi
er avenues.
Omar said companies like ExxoJ putuson the ma
bil train other engineers, espedallydi
ical engineers, to work in petroleum
"We (Exxon Mobil) havebeente
ing engineers from other fields for
because the shortage of petroleume j
neers has been an increasing corct | ' case ^ l1n ^ some
Omar said.
hen Ja<
died ir
univer
nized as the mar
American moden
seum of Fine Arl
has brought a col
lock's art to Texas
innovative works
Barry Walker,
New American \
which houses Pc
ings, said Pollock
most creative ere
art. "Pollock v\
American artist t
riously everywl
World War II, wa:
any American ar
seriously in Euro]
lock, art was don
great Europeans
like Dali and Ch
Walker said
houses some of
work, including
| of studies for wo
Digital
video usd
er painted.
"That is proba
our biggest draw,
"That book look;
in dorms
CH ICAGO (A P) 5— Collgfi
potatoes, take heart: SchooisssT
the country are considering«
quality online video nehvorfci
dormitories, meaning lecturescw
be only a mouse click away.
North western U n i versity is ini
middle of a $2 million network*;
grade that will deliver digital vi#
to all of its dorms, allowingstude*
to watch lectures or other instil
t ion a l videos without ever leav#
their homes away from home.Of
er colleges are following suit. E
University computing chii
said Tuesday that the technolog)T
one step toward linking hundrf;
of institutions through a newlfl|
of Internet.
"What the Internet did with
present capability, it made it pci
ble for anyone to become a public
er," said Mort Rahimi, Norths
ern's vice president of informal*|
technology. "The environment'
are creating at Northwesterniscj
ing to allow each one of our stude;)
at Northwestern and our facif
members ... to become producers;
Digital video conveys crisp*)
ages into a computer through 1 1
tremely high-speed connectin' j
eliminating jumpy images and In I
download times associated withtj
ical Internet video.
Northwestern plans to finish;
upgrade within a month, allow®
all 6,000 students in its dornisj
send and receive digital vidf
Rahimi said.
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THE
I a rwww% a i|r
i I.i%J j J. 1 ) I i
Beverly Mireles, Editor in Chief
Jeff Kempf, Managing Editor
Jason Bennyhoff, Aggielife/Radio Editor
Beth Ahlquist, Copy Chief
Jennifer Bales, Night News Editor
April Young, City Editor
Jeanette Simpson, Asst. City Editor
Eric Dickens, Opinion Editor
Reece Flood, Sports Editor
Stuart Hutson, Sci/Tech Editor
JP Beato, Photo Editor
Ruben Deluna, Graphics Editor
Brandon Payton, Web Master
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University 'j
Division of Student Media, a unit of the Department of Journalism. News offices are in OBjJ
McDonald Building. Newsroom phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2647; E-mail: ThebattaW 5 '
mail.com; Web site: http://battalion.tamu.edu
Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by'
Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classifieds 1 )
Using, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office hours are8 J
to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678.
Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pic* 1 ;
single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies 254. Mail subscriptions are $**)
school year, $30 for the fall or spring semester, $17.50 for the summer or $10 a month. To^
by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 845-2611.
The Battalion (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fa 1 ))
spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except Univew
idays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College StaP
77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, llU lf
College Station,TX 77843-1111.
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