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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 2001)
- '.Mday, July 26, 2001 STATE Page 5 THE BATTALION 70VBA asks TSU law school to hike entrance standards riri^J )ALLAS (AP) — The (11 k 111 Herican Bar Association is ask- illiam H..\l ng fexas Southern University’s 5sandro Nivot aw school to raise admission »eJohnston itBidards, effectively shutting ■ door to many black and His- "s attempt toe Jatuo students that would likely many viewers n lot have been accepted at other tonev, il not: state law schools, s (Neill) youneml he request comes as part of inl effects. i seven-year accreditation re- vicious than eve dev oi the Thurgood Marshall i nd special eftc School of Law by the ABA. timply is not belfMThe law school, created in charge througli 19A> to allow blacks to attend a tracks whentheBblicly funded law school, i door, andfeHins a majority of the state’s ct conditionaJte: hick and 1 lispanic law students, rstive tract leavtHpxperts say that many TSU cl by thefilmnMav. students and graduates ■v thatlandonIsB) U p| HU-lv not have been ac- t t heir lives, at : ce | ltec j . lt other state law schools • - Wcause their college grade point averages and entrance en by the hung' alone on thei i nosaursaregn communicated eir brain. Xeili. cenes whenhe: lan-madereson;: 1 ready salivatin'! icy apparentlvi Id off on theird y, as though thf: h is also unbefej 1 Studios film, hour and 30mid have been able the audienceaia linosaurs -orl ■ Lixtttktu exam scores were too low. “The attrition rate is uncon scionably high, and the bar pas sage rate remains the lowest among all law schools in the state of Texas,” the Chicago- based ABA said in a report ob tained by the Houston Chronicle. The report, citing statistics from the July 2000 Texas bar exam, said 52 percent of TSU law school graduates passed the test on their first attempt, and 33 percent passed on subse quent attempts. The state pass ing rate for those taking the exam for the first time on the same date was 82 percent, and 42 percent on second attempts. Of the 331 students who en tered the TSU law school in the fall of 1999, only 201 main tained the required 2.0 grade point average needed to stay at the school by the end of the 2000 academic year, the report said. That gave the school a first-year attrition rate of 40 per cent, more than four times the national average of 8.9 percent. Admissions standards have al ready been raised slightly to meet ABA concerns, said John Brittain, dean of the law school. He expects the school to retain its ABA accreditation, which is required by the state. The school must submit a plan to the ABA by November. Brittain said he believes it is possible to raise admission standards to weed out many students who would not grad uate or pass, but still provide an opportunity to attend law school to minorities who oth erwise might not qualify. “Raising admission standards presents a dilemma for the state of Texas because it has abolished affirmative action in higher ed ucation,” Brittain said. “The Thurgood Marshall School of Law is performing a special mis sion for the state by allowing many students to attend law school who would not have gained admission to other law schools. “We want to continue fulfill ing this historical mission of serving minorities. We have to do a little bit of both — raise admission standards and take educational risks.” In the 1999-2000 academic year, TSU officials said, the school enrolled 92 percent of all black first-year law students at tending the state’s four public law schools and 52 percent of the first-year Hispanic students. 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EVERY Awarded Weekly Over LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA •I DAY ADVANCE TICKET SALES* NO PASSES NO SUPERSAVERS Showtimes ond tickets available ot cinemark.com While there regisler to reteive FREE showtimes vio email. If You Have Something To Sell, Remember: Classifieds Can Do It Ca// 845-0569 The Battalion VARSITY FORD www.varsityflm.com Check out our specials on Focus, Mustangs, & our entire stock of Trucks (all rate, rebate, and inventory information is updated weekly) PRE-OWNED SPECIALS ARE CHANGED WEEKLY College Grad and 1st Time Buyer Program for Internet Users Questions? - e-mail us at ross@varsityflm.com News in Brief Man convicted of murder DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas County jury ieliberated for two hours Wednesday be fore convicting a Texas prison inmate of capital murder for fatally shooting a man as he walked along a jogging trail with his zife in 1 993. The punishment phase was underway Ifor Alvin Avon Braziel Jr. for the death of /Douglas White. Prosecutors said they [were seeking the death penalty. According to prosecutors, Braziel fa- Itally shot Douglas White, 27, in the chest as he and his wife walked on a jogging trail that circled Eastfield College on Sept. 21, 1993. Braziel then raped White's 24- year-old wife. The couple had married 11 days earlier. During the trial, Braziel testified he could not remember what he was doing the day of the murder but was sure he was not near the college. Braziel already was serving a five-year sentence at the Gib ‘fewis Unit in Woodville for an unrelated 1997 sexual assault of a child. Reliant suing California HOUSTON (AP) — Reliant Energy Cos. has sued California for money the com pany says it is owed for power contracts. The contracts covered in the lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court are those Reliant made through the California Power Exchange Corp., the Houston Chronicle reported Wednes day. The now now-defunct exchange was the state's middleman for the buy ing and selling of power. Reliant is owed $337 million for unpaid power bills in California, but the lawsuit does not cover all of that. A Reliant spokesperson did not have a dollar amount available and the company did not specify in the lawsuit how much it is seeking. The one book you won't sell bock. Order your 2002 Aggieland when you register for fall classes. Fee Option #16 AGGIELAND Texas A&M University Yearbook • 100 Years of Excellence Condemned iller first to =a, “ t iise DNA law I HUNTSVILLE (AP) — A newly enacted law that provides State-paid DNA testing for con- licts kept condemned killer Richard Kutzner from the Texas death chamber Wednesday. I In die first case to test the new Jw, the Texas Court of Criminal ppeals on Tuesday agreed to lonsider Kutzner’s appeal and stopped his scheduled lethal in- BECKM* jection. Kutzner’s trial court last Meek denied the request, ion north of- Kutzner, 58, has two death ers can tout sentences for separate but simi- rn, the bedroc j ar murders in the Houston area ams' toddler ^ omm j tt;ec j jy days the "Royal a book-lined si e, the couple is| nvited guests, nt to court td tion of picture Iks about ent, futui 1GELES (AP) 'Neal whippy : ausage omelet 'g apart in This is exactly what we needed, a process that works expeditiously and efficently.” — Sen. Robert Duncan R-Lubbock ijl996. Wednesday’s scheduled execution was for the strangling Rf a Montgomery County woman at the real estate office where she worked. I The DNA law was approved by the Legislature earlier this ■RBear and signed by Gov. Rick (VNEA 1 P err y April. It was intended is ' to boost the integrity of the ers center sai £ Texas criminal justice system, into law enfr w hich has come under attack lasketball.' from death penalty opponents, O'Neal sigr: p ar(: j cu l ar ]y after Gov. George Ttract extePij B us h’s presidential cam- lion. The bi<j: p a jg n l as t year, when a record It, $32.5 mi "p exas death row inmates e m the 2C were executed, uesday to The post-conviction DNA lot immedij' Jesting law applies to cases £ where biological evidence exists ped the app and can be subjected to genetic /veek on ' testing and where identity was Judy Bear' : an issue at trial, ihow that c< What is uncertain is if the law college-age Lfli provide unexpected re- ill be show p n eves for other convicted mur derers and at least temporarily slow capital punishment in the nation’s most active death penal ty state, while the statute is un der judicial review. “I don’t know, to be honest,” said Rick Wetzel, general coun sel to the Texas Court of Crim inal Appeals. “We’re dealing with such a new statute. It’s a dif ferent kind of appeal than any one is used to. Generally we see appeals from trials that have been concluded. Here, we sim ply have a motion, a post-con viction motion.” Jim Marcus, Kutzner’s lawyer, said he did not believe the law would mean a flood of appeals. “Not every case has biologi cal evidence. It’s not something everybody is going to use, and even then, it may be up to the court,” he said. Marcus wants fingernail scrapings from the victim and' a hair sample from the crime scene to undergo the testing. They were not tested for trial purposes and no DNA evidence was presented. “This is exactly what we needed, a process that works ex peditiously and efficiently,” said Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lub- bock, who sponsored the meas ure. “And we wanted to be able to give the trial court and appel late court some guidelines on post-conviction DNA testing. “This is a guy fixing to be put to death and he’s asking for a DNA test. That’s what the bill is designed to do ... to put a process in place to allow that to occur if it is warranted” The law requires the state to preserve biological evidence that can undergo genetic test ing. It also allows certain pris oners to seek state-paid DNA testing if it was not available at trial. A defendant must show there is a substantial question of innocence. APPLICA110N NOTICE Texas A&M University Department of Food Services HIRING STUDENT WORKERS AUGUST 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (other dates and times as available by appointment) Convenient Jobs on Campus for Fall 2001! B Competitive Pay: $6.36, $7.02, $8.03, $9.15, & up Advancement Opportunities and Referral Incentives Flexible Hours Work Around Classes! Free Meal Benefit on DayWorkedj Christmas and Spring Break Off; Positions Available ♦Wait Staff for football season and banquets at The Zone ►Wait Staff for banquets at Presidential Conference Center, Reed Arena and MSc Catering ♦Wait Staff, Cashiers, Cooks, Supervisors and Student Managers at Commons, Sbisa and Duncan Dining Centers ♦ Baristas, Cash Line Cooks, Cashiers and Supervisors at Rumours, Hullabaloo, CaFe; Azimuth, Poor Yorick's, Common Denominator/Chick-fil-A® Stone Willy's™ and the Underground Food Court ’Store Clerks and Supervisors at Commons and Underground C-Store s ►Veg/Prep, Laundry and Warehouse Workers, Mail Carriers and Delivery Drivers at the Commissary ♦Bakery Assistants at the Duncan feakery Pie Are Square, Apply On-line iCl Click on Employment on our Web Site for Job Announcements and On-Line Applications or Pick up an application from Cashiers! Ask Managers for details. An Equal Opportunity Employer Positions available to TAMU Work Study and Non-Work Study Students For other Job Opportunities or Information call 862-1390 NY s —Az r /v/szi/r~~7 V-~—I T EXAS a & M UNIVERSITY ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Out mission is to provide outstanding customer service by being committed to excellence and quality in food and services.