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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