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HcODYWAGESAni e Battauon
I Bi. Norman Schwarzkopf and Former President George Bush speak to
r O a # n di n g- room -° n . y crowd at Rudder Auditorium Friday.
Bush has no regrets on war
By Brady Creel
The Battalion
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf,
commander of the coalition of forces
that fought Iraq during the Gulf War
in 1991, said Friday that, with the
condition of the U.S. armed forces
today, the United States would be in
capable of launching the same mili
tary attack it did just 10 years ago.
His response to a question about
the present-day U.S. ability to fight
the Gulf War again was simple.
“No,” he said.
Schwarzkopf-was one of five
panel members who spoke to a
standing-room-only crowd of ap
proximately 2,400 at Rudder Audi
torium on the 10-year anniversary of
the U.S. strike against Iraq.
Former President George Bush
led the panel discussion. He was
joined by Schwarzkopf and John
Major, former prime minister of
Great Britain. Also in attendance
were Robert Gates, former CIA di
rector and deputy national security
adviser, and Marlin Fitzwater, press
secretary for presidents Reagan and
George H.W. Bush. Gates current
ly serves as interim dean of the
George Bush School of Govern
ment and Public Service.
Bush said he underestimated
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in
1991 by assuming the Iraqi govern
ment would not survive the military
pounding and economic sanctions
the coalition inflicted on Iraq.
But, Bush said, “He did.”
“He did it through brutality,”
Bush said. “We underestimated the
tyranny.”
Bush and Major agreed that they
have no regrets about taking action
in 1991.
“It was a series of reasons — I
think moral reasons — why we had
to take action,” Major said.
Bush was asked by an audience
member if he foresaw a day when
the economic sanctions against Iraq
could be lifted.
Bush laughe4 and said he could
not offer an opinion.
“I don’t want to get number 43
mad at me,” he said, referring to his
son, President George W. Bush.
Major pointed out that the war was
against Hussein and his government,
not the people of Iraq.
Bush and Major said, although
they have drawn sharp criticism in
the past 10 years for their decision
not to go into Baghdad and kill Hus
sein, they contend that they made the
right decision.
“A turkey shoot is not what pro
fessional armies much like,” Major
said. “Suppose the coalition had
gone in and gotten Hussein. What
would they do then? How long
would they stay there?”
Major said British forces entered
Cypress “temporarily” with a simi
lar motive 30 years ago. They are
still there, he said.
1 “I personally believe the right de
cision was made to stop the war at
See Bush on Page 5.
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Railroad relocation
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lemains undecided
ertoRico.f iMmanda Smith
esday. I he "he Battalion
s per day foi;-;,|'he fate of the railroad tracks
at the par d ividing the Texas A&M campus
Aggies will emains uncertain after the
drill try to rejBan-College Station Metro-
nent wherehoSian Planning Organization’s
shot victors VfrO) Policy Committee, in the
h will also trdce of public pressure, tabled
tournament, ossible alternatives and voted
IHlay to do more research.
|®Tie MPO Policy Committee
/as expected to recommend
itec alternatives from a pro-
nships in Lo'-osed 23 routes.
However, the committee re-
prned the issue to the Technical
isory Committee (TAC) to
into concerns voiced by res-
.ehts, including the effects of
■oroposed routes on landown-
sfand businesses, safety im-
rokement costs, and vehicle
■Tie counts.
Tdichael Parks, MPO direc-
arjsaid the outcry from the res-
dejits and the problems cited by
fly events, he policy committee are an in-
pionships!qj c htj on of a need for further re-
earch.
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24.
“We know which routes are
unacceptable to the public,”
Parks said. “The question is
which routes we need more study
on to determine the best route.”
The MPO Policy Commit
tee, which consists of College
Station Mayor Lynn Mcll-
haney, Bryan Mayor Lonnie-
Stabler, Brazos County Judge
A1 Jones, A&M Vice President
for Administration Charles Sip-
pial and a state transportation
department representative, be
gan researching the railroad is
sue in 1998.
The committee hired Carter
and Burgess consultingTirnrand
HDR Engineering to consider
the feasibility of the current
Union Pacific route and 22 alter
native routes.
From their recommenda
tions, TAC and the Rail Adviso
ry Committee (RAC) submitted
three routes and the existing
route to the policy committee.
However, the routes originally
recommended by TAC and
RAC ran into Burleson County,
where county residents heavily
protested.
However, the policy commit
tee’s vote allowed for continued
research on the following: main
taining the current track and
adding a grade separation at Vil
la Maria Road and a pedestrian
underpass at A&M, a proposed
route leaving the existing track in
Wellborn and following the west
side of the Brazos River to north
of FM 60, adding another track
from University Drive to Well
born Road and placing grade
separations where the tracks
overlap six major streets, and a
currently unspecified route de
cided by the policy committee.
Mcllhaney said the policy
committee needs more informa
tion for a fair assessment of the rail
situation, including proposed al
ternatives outside Brazos County.
“If we are truly going to get
some comparative data in order
to have a fair assessment, we
need to look at some other
See MPO on Page 2.
How sweet it is
"Sweet" Lou Dunbar, center for the Harlem Glo
betrotters signs autographs after the game against
the New York Nationals. Dunbar has played with
BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion
the Globetrotters for 22 seasons and is famous for
his comedy routines on the court. The game was
Saturday at Reed Arena.
'itch |
ei
elp given
to students
[o improve
eir grades
k Emily Hendrickson
be Battalion
Students aiming to improve their
grades and get study tips now have
Bie option to join Academics Anony-
tr.ous, a new group started by the
S udent Counseling Service (SCS).
Ihrough Academics Anonymous,
indents can increase self-awareness
ind get honest feedback from other
ludents, said Patti Collins, a pro-
l-'ssional counselor for SCS acade-
lic and career services.
“The main focus of the group is
j to provide support for students who
|re motivated to do better and learn
Sow to balance their social and aca-
iemic lives,” Collins said.
The first meeting, Thursday, Feb.
2, was a great success, said Betty
dilburn, associate director of coun-
eling at SCS.
“We are off and running with this
roup, and I think it will be really
eneficial to everyone who is par-
lidpating,” Milburn said.
SCS offers Academics Anony
mous meetings every Thursday
tight for 90 minutes. In order to par-
icipate in Academics Anonymous,
students first must be screened by a
Professional counselor at SCS.
“The group is closed, but, if we
3nd a demand for a similar group, we
an start up another one,” Collins said.
The group provides a social ben-
Tit as well. Academics Anonymous
Provides an atmosphere to talk about
Problems, and share experiences
See Academics on Page 2.
Pastor fighting to have portrait displayed
By Maureen Kane :■.
The Battalion
A portrait of Gibb Gilchrist con
taining an image of Gen. Robert E.
Lee and a Confederate battle flag was
removed last summer from the lobby
of the Gibb Gilchrist building, which
houses the Texas Transportation In
stitute (TTI). Since then, Rev. Dan
Bates, pastor of Heard’s Prairie Bap
tist Church in Robertson County, has
been fighting to have the painting re
stored to its original location.
“The administration lied to The
Battalion," Bates said. “The admin
istration said a minority student
went to West Campus and was as
tounded by the awful portrait and
told TTI Director Dr. Herb Richard
son to take the portrait down. That’s
not what happened.”
Bates said he was told by a friend
who works at Texas A&M that a fe-
Picture removed because of Confederate flag, Lee
male professor in the political sci
ence department was offended by the
portrait. He said he also was told the
professor told students in one of her
classes to view the portrait and let her
know if the picture offended them.
Bates said the professor found a
majority of the students were of
fended, and “she dispatched a fe
male student who told Dr. Richard
son that the majority of students
who viewed the portrait were of
fended — to take the portrait down,
and it was removed.”
Dr. John Robertson, a political
science professor, said the admin
istration’s story is the truth and that
one of his students voiced her own
opinion about the portrait to Uni
versity officials. Robertson said
when he first saw the portrait he
noticed the prominent image of
Lee and the Confederate battle
((
The Confederate
battle flag is the
wrong symbol for
the University."
— Dr. John Robertson
political science professor
flag. After thinking about what he
had seen, he said he decided to give
two extra-credit points to students
in one of his classes for going to
the Gilchrist building and looking
for symbols that are inconsistent
with A&M policies of and Black
History Month.
Robertson said he did not re
member the exact number of stu
dents who thought the portrait and
images contained in it were incon
sistent with the values of the Uni
versity, but there were a few. One fe
male student sent an email to A&M
President Dr. Ray M. Bowen, ex
pressing her opinion about the por
trait, Robertson said.
“It was my initiative that got this
started. Students took the initiative
to move this thing along,” Robert
son said.
Robertson said the Confederate
battle flag pictured in the portrait is
an insensitive symbol at odds with
the University’s values.
“The Confederate battle flag is the
wrong symbol for the University,”
Robertson said. “We are insensitive
on this campus to symbols which
might be seen as moderately racist.”
Richardson said Lee was one of
Gilchrist’s heroes, which is why he
chose to have Lee represented in his
portrait.
Gilchrist was A&M president
and the first chancellor of the Texas
A&M University System.
“This whole thing happened at a
bad time,” Richardson said. “It was
right when Bush ordered the Con
federate battle flag to be taken off of
the courthouse in Austin. There is a
lot of sensitivity to this issue. This
issue created lots of controversy.”
Bates said regardless of the Lee
image, taking down the portrait is a
See Portrait on Page 5.
Committee aims to combat dishonesty
Study shows 88 percent of students have broken Aggie Code of Honor
By Amanda Smith .
The Battalion
There is evidence that Aggies
do lie, cheat, steal and tolerate
those who do, as the administra
tion continues to look at viola
tions of the long-standing Aggie
Code of Honor.
Dr. Bill Kibler, associate
vice president for Student Af
fairs, said the findings of a 1997
study have captured the admin-
Utration’s attention. The study
...dicated that 88 percent of
Texas A&M students have en
gaged in some form of academ
ic dishonesty.
Last week, a newly formed
Academic Integrity Assessment
Committee met to propose
plans to combat some of the dis
honesty on campus.
“We really have a problem,”
Kibler said. “Currently, there
are not a lot of things to make
the Aggie Code of Honor seem
real to students. It must become
a high priority for the school, if
things are going to improve.”
The Academic Integrity As
sessment Committee, chaired
by Kibler, consists of four stu
dents, four faculty members and
four administrators or staff
members.
The committee will admin
ister a survey shortly before or
after spring break, and it will be
similar to the survey adminis
tered in 1997. In addition, a fac
ulty survey will be administered
to gain additional information
related to academic dishonesty
among A&M students.
By Fall 2002, Kibler said he
hopes the committee will be able
to make recommendations to the
administration, based on the sur
vey’s results and the current re
search on what has been suc
cessful at other universities
addressing issues of academic
dishonesty.
“Schools across the country
are doing a lot of things to com
bat academic dishonesty,” Kibler
said. ‘These schools are success
ful because they are talking about
it before students come to their
university. It becomes part of the
introduction to and immersion
into a university.”
Kibler said events like new
student conferences and Fish
Camp are prime opportunities for
educating students on the Aggie
Code of Honor and the conse
quences of violating the rules.
Rob Ferguson, student gov
ernment executive vice presi
dent and a senior political sci
ence major, said the Aggie Code
of Honor needs to be addressed
in a more meaningful way to re
duce the number of academic vi
olations on campus.
“I think it is pretty clear we
are in need of making improve- - : file photo/the battal.on.
ments, Ferguson said. This a upo officer was hired to monitor the MSG Book-!
See Code on Page 2. store at the beginning of the semester.