The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 25, 2000, Image 6

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    To plao
Phone 84?
Office:
Room 015
Sleeper couch-
Pick-up Decemtx
Sofas, Bedroor
Aggieland Disco
Hours: Friday 2
777-6207 for app
Stained wooden
1989 Volvo 74i
leather, 105,000-
1992 Mazda Prt
mission, all pov\
140,000-mi., $26
.1993 Geo Storm
door hatchback,
1995 Camara 2
Must sell. $10,5
1995 Saturn SL
mi., $3995. 690
1997 Jeep Wrar
miles. Call 680-
ATH
Volun
needed
a medii
of atl
must
symp
Eligil
compf
For rr
ARI
We are <
with nas
ticipate i
This
ACRi
1 Ass is
felon
6 Ass is
10 Thro\
(get i
14 Poet
Vince
15 Sand
cooki
16 Burrc
beas
17 Like
19 Singt
Guth
20 Com
ieade
22 _ W
23 Shoe
24 Israe
26 Very:
28 Pune
32 Wore
for"«
33 Bat v
36 Quit
38 High
41 Surfi
fine 1
42 Rag<
doll
43 Not i
44 Snai
poisi
46 Pinb
no-i
50 Lern
partt
52 Atmi
55 Teac
grp-
56 Cole
Rive
61 Wor
"farr
62 Refr
like
63 Boa
64 Sho
Medi
ord
409T
B!
Page 6
STATE
Wednesday, October 2ij
THE BATTALION
L'ednesday. Oclo
School district denies religious discrimination Texas
SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — Officials with
the Santa Fe Independent School District say
they have no knowledge of threats and hate
ful speech a student claims to have experi
enced at the hands of other students because
he is Jewish.
In documents filed in a Houston federal
court, attorneys for the school district an
swered claims by Eric and Donna Nevelow
on behalf of their 14-year-old son, Phillip.
The family filed suit against the district in Au
gust demanding $5 million in damages for
emotional and financial suffering, claiming
Phillip suffered hateful speech and actions for
two years and officials did nothing to stop it.
School officials denied the allegations,
saying they did not have sufficient knowledge
to respond to the claims.
Galveston civil rights attorney Anthony
Griffin, who also sued the district over its pre
game prayer ceremonies, is representing the
family. In June, the Supreme Court outlawed
amplified, student-led prayer that had the as
sent of school officials. The district, which
was the defendant in the case, got rid of the
traditional pre-game prayer in July.
Throughout their 10-page defense in the
Nevelow case, district officials deny any
wrongdoing, calling the allegations vague
and mischaracterized.
The district says the family’s allegations that
another student drew a swastika on Phillip’s
book cover was misleading. The family
claimed Phillip was showing another student
how to write a Hebrew letter when the other
student said, “I’ll show you another language,”
and drew the Nazi symbol on Phillip’s book.
School officials said there “allegedly was
an incident in which Phillip Nevelow and an
other student drew swastikas on a sheet of pa
per,” but that Phillip was also to blame.
“The first student allegedly drew the
swastika incorrectly, and Phillip showed the
first student how to draw one correctly,” their
answer says.
The family said the district’s failure to act
on their complaints supported “intentional
acts of discriminatory conduct” and “en
couraged students, parents and supporters of
the district’s prayer in school crusade to dis
respect and dishonor any religion or beliefs
not their own.”
MUIONS OF CREDIT CARD USERS
Will GET DUCHY WHIT IHtY DESERVE.
PLUS, CYBERIZE! YOUR 0% INTEREST CARD FOR MANY GREAT ONLINE FEATURES:
• ONLINE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT lets you keep track of your account anywhere, anytime.
$0 FRAUD LIABILITY so you won’t pay a penny for unauthorized e-charges.
PURCHASE REPLACEMENT PROTECTIOr ensures we’ll reimburse you for any damaged e-purchases.
REFUND GUARANTEE* means you won’t get stuck with unsatisfactory e-purchases.
cyberize
GET YOUR CARD WITH 0°/o INTEREST TODAY AT www.GAPITAL0NE.COM
What’s In Your Wallet?"
'Certain limHations and restrictions apply. Please visit website for details.
Capital One is a federally registered service mark of Capital One Financial Corporation. All rights reserved. ©2000 Capital One
Platinum offer: Introductory 0% APR on purchases until May 2001,9.9% thereafter. Special transfer APR 9.9%. Cash advance APR 19.8%. No Annual Fee. Min. finance charge $.50. Cash
advance fee is greater of $2.50 or 2.5% of cash amount. Offer intended for new accounts only. For Non-Platinum offers: See terms and conditions contained in the offer you may receive in mail.
justice
HOUSTON (AP)—Ajuvd
justice system that emphasizes'
trading guilty pleas fromyotn
more than providing thematjit
ity defense is giving Texas a
standard rating in such legal
ters, a new report shows.
Many poor teen-agers accusl
of a crime do not see a lawyeruilexas A&M s<
til just before a court appearance: per win in At
Texas, which ranks last among is
states in funding for legal aid,
cording to the study to be release:
Tuesday by an Austin-based
partisan group studying crimiin j
justice systems.
"The report found that justice r j
many Texas juvenile courts nir::,
like an assembly line,” the gronj
Texas Appleseed, stated. “Ci
dren often meet their appointe;]
counsel minutes before their fi
hearing, counsel recommendsftrl
the child plead guilty, thejudgeat
cepts the plea and the defendant
Imotic
lY Bree Holz
be Battalion
The No. 21
all team will
y of Kansas t
^an., at the
).m. The mate
ox Sports Ne
sentenced at his first court hearing
and it’s on to the next case.”
Texas ranks second to Califot
nia in incarcerating youths bej
cause too much emphasis is place: At 11 a. in.
on getting guilty pleas, accorditl The Aggie:
to the report. Iheir last six i
Alternative sentences suchri ()r secon A pl ai
treatment for drug or mentall^' ssour ' an d
health problems that could kee: holding 8-3 coi
youths out of state schools are rot 1 Nebraska sit
finely overlooked by judge's, sai ^hh an 11-0 ■
Bill Beardall, legal director e l ea 8 uc mar l < -
Texas Appleseed. ^^
“The juvenile courts are the mo 1 , : aui ! e
important gateway in the entii Tot belli said
criminal-justice system.” tkardj anUls
said in the Houston Chnwclelues-
day. “They are positioned at thal jWijPP! nt in
very early stage, when juveniles can ; he seasoj T '
either be diverted into being pro-f nd t ie ^ ail j -
ductive, stable members ofsodet; t ( ‘ lllnol al ' )K
or carelessly passed into juvenile in- 0 °.^'
66 i
[Juvenile
courts] are po
sitioned at that
very early stage,
when juveniles
can either he
diverted into
being produc
tive, stable
members of so
ciety or care
lessly passed
into juvenile in
carceration ...
f your matche:
ou think are gi
ave to really g
n opportunity t
Saturday, A.
anked Missou
hite Coliseun
ecord to 13-5.
“It was a rea
specially to sir
onfidence to b<
lave already bet
litter Erin Gibst
Kansas sits ir
Big 12 with a 3-
U2-8 overall m
The Jayhawl
1-3 Saturday r
The loss was I
matches.
A&M and Kt
— Bill Beardall
Texas Appleseed legal director
carceration, which frequently lead-'
down to a path of crime. In Texas
the latter is happening.”
The report, “Selling Justice j
Short: Juvenile Indigent Defense
in Texas,” is the first in a series of
reports the group is preparing o«
how poor people are treated intlie
criminal-justice system.
The American Bar Associa
tion, the University of Houston
Law Center, the National Juve
nile Defender Center, Northwest
ern University Legal Clinic and
the Southern Poverty Law Centet
all participated in the study.
Vincent Schiraldi, director of
the Justice Policy Institute in
Washington, D.C., and the Centet
on Juvenile and Criminal Justice,
said Texas ranks last in funding.
“But the state is at the bottom in
funding because there is no state
funding,” Schiraldi said. "That is
left to the counties, which are al
ready tax-strapped.”
Officials with the Texas Youtd
Commission, the Texas Associa
tion of Counties and the Texas Dis
trict and County Attorneys Asso
ciation withheld comment before
the report’s release.
Po<