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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2000)
mw ‘Hit www.theb3tt.com mm November 2, 2000 Volume 107 ~ Issue 50 2 Sections A 8 pages B 8 pages S MU afil m i i’/ Hi ^ I k’i ^: W1 i’ Baker fills house at Bush complex Former secretary of state speaks on ethics CODY WAGES/Tue Battalion Former Secretary of State James Baker spoke at the George Bush Presidential Conference Center about government ethics Wednesday. By Stephen Metcalf The Battalion In front of a packed house at the George Bush Presidential Conference Center, former Secretary of State James Baker sought to reaffirm Americans’ be lief that ethics are alive and in practice in government. Baker used a simple state ment to illustrate his feelings on the issue: “Ethics in government — I’m for it.” Wielding this mantra and his experi ences in public service as his battle-axe, he landed powerful blows on the notion that Americans should look at politics with an air of distrust. “Now, here in America, some people may think everybody does wrong,” Bak er said. “But by comparison to the rou tine and systematic governmental cor ruption in other places, the normative behavior for public officials in America from top to bottom is really remarkably high. Americans are still shocked and even angered when a government offi cial is caught taking bribes or stealing public property or selling a vote.” Baker said this is a clear indication that the American government is in bet ter shape than it appears. “It occurs to me that there are five rea sons that that is the case: our culture, our representative democracy, our divided government, the press and the rule of law,” Baker said. “Each one works sep arately, and in many cases, with the oth ers, to promote ethics in government.” Baker cited America’s strong histori cal bias against corruption to back his reasons. Later, he called representative democracy “the greatest friend of honest government” because people can im prove ethics in government in two ways: removing corrupt officials, apd installing ethical officials. Baker praised divided government for splitting power into small pieces that are difficult for one corrupt official to ma nipulate and the press for “telling the truth and telling it in a hurry.” In addressing the power of the rule of law. Baker emphasized that, unlike in many other countries, American law suc ceeds from time to time in catching and punishing lawbreakers. Interspersed in his dogged defense of the buttresses of ethics in American gov ernment, Baker entertained the audience with anecdotal humor that resulted in booming laughter. He revisited the painful ness of Watergate and some of the subsequent misguided efforts to expel corruption from government. The evening concluded with Baker fielding questions from the audience re garding the current budget standoff, eth ical campaigning and the United States’ relationship with Israel. See Baker on Page 2A. Councils may implement smoking ban tilled / X MSSMimY NoeuFreem l \hNiWhe Battalion jspitaijl B r y an and College Station city Itloo^lpvmcils wifi hold a joint meeting Frotn®» n ight to determine whether to in- 1.1 ran 10 crease restrictions on smoking in pub- ;vvarde"|j c p] aces _ g 0 th councils will hear testimony ,|om public health officials and repre- inicfafl&latatives of the Brazos Valley chapter escape of y exas Restaurant Association sawaI^Qut the effects heightened restric- just ns tions may have. ot it opeT jhe councils will review current or- •d it was! -dinances to evaluate how effectively they protect nonsmokers from smoke. The councils may elect to implement a ban similar to one in Fort Worth, where smoking is banned in public places like restaurants and bars, or to keep current ordinances as they are. Varying degrees in between will also be considered. Dr. Dallas E. Coate, of the Brazos County Health Authority and program director of Family Practice Residency of Brazos Valley, will testify on the public health concerns of secondhand smoke, also called passive smoking. “Passive smoking kills people, in creases the risk of allergies, asthma and other serious illnesses,” Coate said. “This issue is for people who don’t have a choice, like children who don’t choose where their parents take them to eat. “The carcinogens, whether you smell them or not, are almost the same on the nonsmoking side as they are on the smoking side,” Coate said, refuting the argument that separate smoking sections are adequate. Coate said smoke that comes from the lit end of cigarettes contains many more harmful substances than that which is inhaled by smokers. However, many restaurant and bar owners are concerned that a ban on smoking would lead to serious declines in business. “Every time there is a smoking ban, people do lose business,” Sally Ryan, owner of Red Lobster Restaurant in Col lege Station, told The Bryan-College Station Eagle. “People do lose jobs, and sometimes people close.” See Tobacco on Page 6A. ill alters e codej I • ^elections pment jgY Jeanette Simpson The Battalion ^ The Student Senate unanimously . Jamended the regulations for yell leader fctions. The bill was written to clearly de- froinCfine a majority vote for the student 'av/soi* Sections after the Texas A&M Judicial i fun^. Board mandated that election regula tions be made more definite following le confusion surrounding the Spring 000 yell leader elections. The yell leaders appealed the out- ome of the Spring 2000 elections be cause they were concerned about how the majority was calculated by the elec tion commission. This bill is an item that [the yell ort ;ems, excel T fill eiffeaders] have been working on since ;ons ii> ! last spring,” said Ricky Wood, head 3 curre®ell leader and a senior theater arts ma- , pluscjjor, “Now everybody knows what to dquart je X pect. g ver y candidate can tell people ;s! H jin their campaign how the election is ./.['going to work.” The bill states that a majority vote 0 vould be calculated by the total num- ^ er °f votes for the candidate divided i )y the total number of voters (those noting for at least one candidate for that Dosition). To have a clear majority, a andidate needs to receive more than 50 percent. If no candidate receives a majority )f the vote from those who vote for at {least one candidate for that position, se our"'' 1 Je '7845 Conservative George W. Bush calls for government responsibility, tax breaks This feature is part two in a three-part candidate profile series. By Sommer Bunce The Battalion Texas Gov. George W. Bush brings a conservative view of limited government to his campaign for the presidency. Standing Tuesday in Cityteam Ministries in San Jose, Calif., Bush appealed to voters opposed to an intrusive govern ment that “crowds compassion out of the marketplace.” “Too often in the past, people said: ‘Oh, don’t worry, somebody else will take care of the problem in my area. Don’t worry. The government is here,’ ” Bush said in Tuesday’s speech. “Government can hand out money, but what gov ernment cannot do is put hope in people’s hearts or a sense of purpose in people’s lives.” Bush called for the government to own up to its responsi bility in an era when “some folks can make a difference in somebody’s life, that soldiers in the armies of compassion are not just those who are on the front lines.” Governor of Texas since 1994, Bush won 68.6 percent of the vote for his re-election in 1998, becoming the first Texas governor elected to consecutive four-year terms. The oldest son of former President George Bush, Bush’s See Bush on Page 6A. AP Texas Governor George W. Bush calls on the govern ment to take responsibility for its actions. Nader supporters launch new Website to attract vote swappers By Mariano Castillo The Battalion The Internet has been credited with revolutionizing everything from com munication to shopping — now the in formation superhighway may affect how people vote. Nader Trader, a Website that argues that Vice President A1 Gore and Green Party candidate Ralph Nader can ben efit from strategic vote swapping, has gained considerable popularity since its Oct. 23 debut. The site has received more than 306,000 hits in slightly more than a week. More than a half-dozen sites with programs to pair up voters for swapping are currently operating. Nader Trader has two goals — to help Nader’s Green Party receive 5 percent of the vote in order to get fed eral funds four years from now and to help Gore win the election. According to Jeff Cardille, creator of the site and a gradu ate student at the University of Wiscon sin, a Nader Trader is someone who wants to vote for Nader in a swing state but has doubts because he or she does not want Gov. George W. Bush to win. To solve this dilemma, the site suggests that Nader supporters in swing states get in contact with Gore supporters in strong ly Bush-leaning states and pledge to swap votes. Such a swap would result in a vote cast for Gore in the swing state and a vote cast for Nader in the Bush- secure state. See Votes on Page 6A. SELSO GARCIA/The Battalion Assault suspect arrested Accused offender found, to be returned to Texas By Arati Bhattacharya & Marium Mohiuddin The Battalion Don Richard Davis Jr., who was arrested in Ohio Tues day on charges of aggravated sexual assault after running from police for four years, will be brought back to Bryan- College Station Monday to be tried in Bryan’s Brazos County Courthouse. Davis, a Texas A&M graduate, was charged and indicted by a grand jury in 1996 on two cases of sexual assault on A&M’s campus. He had been on the run since failing to show up for his trial in Bryan. “The victims were ecstatic about Davis’ arrest,” said Bob Wiatt, director of the University Police Department (UPD). “I’m sure this will bring relief and a sense of clo sure for them.” Brazos County Sheriff Chris Kirk said the next step is to extradite Davis. “There are two routes that can be taken,” Kirk said. “Ei ther he can waive extradition and be brought to Texas, or fight it. If he fights, the government will have to file the appropri ate paperwork.” Kirk said Davis has indicated he will waive extradition. A UPD detective and a Texas Ranger will travel to Cleve land aboard a Department of Public Safety airplane to bring Davis back to Bryan. “Whether he pleads guilty or not is not our concern — ei ther way, we’re going to push this case to the end,” Wiatt said. Wiatt added that it is possible that Davis would face up to 99 years in prison for the two incidents of aggravated sexual assault. The sexual assault statute in Texas allows males and females to be victims and must be based on a theory of consent. Wiatt said the evidence the police has against Davis makes the case rock-sol id. “We have a complete match of Davis’ DNA fitting with the two victims,” Wiatt said. “The girls have also identified him in a lineup.” Davis was working as a bouncer in Cleveland and was caught when he was stopped for running a red light on Oct. 24. The officer arrested him for not having a driver’s license. Davis posted bail and was released a day after his arrest. On Monday, the Ohio Bureau of Investigation did a rou tine check on the fingerprints of recent arrests which led to details about the charges against Davis at the Brazos County Courthouse. “I’ve been waiting for the call,” Texas Ranger David Hul- lum told The Bryan-College Station Eagle. “The University Police Department, FBI and the locals in Ohio all really came together on this over 50 phone calls in the last day and a half.” Davis failed to appear in court for a pretrial hearing in 1996, leaving his parents to pay a $150,000 bail. See Davis on Page 2A. See Senate on Page 6A. BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion