The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, July 26, 2001, Image 5

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

    -
'.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.
Th€ Best Seat In Town
HOLLYWOOD USA &
R Late Shows Friday & Satur
All shows after 11pm only s
STEREO SURROUND SOUND IN ALL AUDITORIUMS
PLANET OF THE APES (PG13)*
ON TWO SCREENS
11:15 2:00 4:55 7:50 10:35 1:00
12:50 3:45 6:50 9:45 12:35
11:15 1:404:20 7:00 9:40 12:15
12:00 2:30 5:00 7:40 10:20 12:45
JURASSIC PARK 3 (PG-13)*
ON TOO SCREENS
11:45 2:10 4:45 720 10:0012:30
12:20 2:45 5:20 8:00 10:30
LEGALLY BLONDE (PG13)
11:30 1:55 4:30 7:30‘ 9:5512:25
THE SCORE (R)
1:004:007:009:5012:40
FINAL FANTASY: SPIRITS WITHIN (PGI3)
1:454:257:3510:10 12:55
KISS OF THE DRAGON (R)
11:50 2:154:357:109:3512:10
SCARY MOVIE 2 (R)
12:45 3:00 5:25 7:5510:15 12:25
CATS & DOGS (PG)
11:351:50 4:107:15 9:25 11:30
DR. DOOLITTLE 2 (PG)
12:352:50 5:10 7:45 10:05 12:20
ATLANTIS (PG)
11:402:054:157:05
TOMB RAIDER (PG13)
11:552:254:507:50 10:25 12:50
SHREK (PG)
11:20
PEARL HARBOR (PG-13)
DOUBLE FEATURE SNEAK PREVIEW
SATURDAY NIGHT 7:30
The Princess Diaries (G)
Slay and see Legaly Bloxie after al 9:55
‘wl not be shown al this true Saturday
This schedule good for
Fri., 7/27 thru Sat., 7/28
ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHl'RCH < GIRLS CLUB OF BRAZOS COUNTY
BRAZOS
“BS®
1/2 PRICE
COttJOIN THERE 1
CURRENT SCHEDULE new
DOOISOmi WTSESSION msem lower PRICES
tabr wofm Ms pm nose rmirn
WtdwdrT S40PM Ms PM MO PM
IlmJij MO PM MS PM MOPM MAGIC 2000
Mil MOPM MS PM MOPM [l[rTDn . lir
Ml* MOPM Hi PM MOPM .ELECTRONIC
Wfc MOPM MOPM MOPM MACHINES
Non-SmokingArea. Door Pitas • Grtal food ■ Stonily. Pull Tabs and Much More!
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.