Accielife: You are what you drive • Page 3
Opinion: Students misrepresented • Page 9
Volume 109 • Issue 9S • 10 pages Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Slocum pleads no contest to misdemeanors
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
Junior Texas A&M basketball player Andy
Slocum pleaded no contest Monday to two Class-
A misdemeanors — possession of a dangerous
drug and possession of a controlled substance,
according to the Brazos County District
Attorney’s Office.
Slocum was originally charged with felony
possession of steroids, which requires possession
ofa minimum of 28 grams. District Attorney Bill
Turner said the decision to reduce Slocum’s
charges was based on the specific circumstances
of the case. At present, Slocum is awaiting a pre
sentence investigation.
“It was close to the misdemeanor amount... and
we tried to find what would be a legitimate
response,” Turner said. “Sometimes when there
are close calls like that, you take all the circum
stances into consideration.”
Slocum was arrested in the early morning
hours of Jan. 19 and charged with felony posses
sion of a controlled substance when police reports
described syringes, brown glass bottles and a vial
labeled “Anabolic St.” found in his Chevrolet
Tahoe. Slocum spent the night in jail before post
ing a $30,000 bail.
A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins suspended
Slocum until more details could
be gathered.
Slocum could not be reached
for comment, but in Watkin’s
weekly press conference on
Monday, that he briefly addressed
questions regarding his 7-foot
center.
“Some of those things I’m not
in a position to answer,” Watkins said. “The
University is obviously involved, and we’ve just
got to sit back and let it work its course a little bit.”
Although he has been suspended from partici
pation in games, Slocum has practiced with the
A&M squad for the past two weeks.
Watkins did not say how long Slocum’s sus
pension would continue.
“It’s at a point now where some decisions can
be made whether he is going to play or not, but
that decision has not been made yet,”
Watkins said.
“I’ve seen him every day up close, and he is
chomping at the bit to get back out on the play
ing floor. He’s taking care of all his business,
and that’s what I expected of him.”
If Slocum is permitted to return, he would
rejoin an A&M team (12-9, 4-6 Big 12) in the
See Slocum on page 2
€
SLOCUM
U.N. leaders
give Saddam
‘last chance’
By Barry Renfrew
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS, Belgium — European leaders,
trying to end their bitter dispute over Iraq, warned
Saddam Hussein on Monday he faces a “last
chance” to disarm, but gave no deadline and said
U.N. weapons inspectors must have more time to
finish their work.
The statement came at the end of a European
Onion emergency summit on the crisis with
Baghdad. Diplomats insisted they had healed the rift
owU.S. calls for military action. But significant
mions remained, with some states saying the
&kl Nations could still disarm Iraq peacefully.
'’"War is not inevitable. Force should be used
only as a last resort. It is for the Iraqi regime to
end this crisis by complying fully with the
demands of the Security Council,” the 15 nations
said in the joint declaration.
That was seen as a setback for Germany, which
has opposed war under any circumstances.
“Baghdad should have no illusions. It must
disarm and cooperate immediately and fully. The
Iraqi regime alone will be responsible for the con
sequences if it continues to flout the will of the
international community and does not take this
last chance,” the leaders said.
While that position will cheer the United States
and Britain, which are urging military action, there
was still strong support for continued, possibly
increased U.N. weapons inspections. The statement
gave no indication of how much longer inspections
should continue, but said they could not'go on for
ever without Iraqi cooperation.
See Saddam on page 2
Dragon train
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Lee's Golden Dragon team of Houston performs the Dragon and beginning of prosperity, good luck, longevity and wealth. The
Lion dance in the Memorial Student Center Flagroom on Monday, celebration was sponsored by the University's Asian Cultures
The Lunar New Year, celebrated from Feb. 1 to 21, symbolizes a new Education Group.
Budget shortfall leaves
students short-changed
By Connie Mabin
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — An estimated 5,000 stu
dents would be denied free college
tuition promised to them by the state
because of cuts designed to ease a pro
jected $10 billion budget shortfall, law
makers were told Monday.
Texas Higher Education Commissioner
Don Brown told members of the House
Appropriations Committee that budget
cuts would mean the Texas Grant scholar
ship program would not be able to provide
aid to all of the estimated 80,000 students
who will be eligible in 2004-05.
“That is a bad idea,” said Gov. Rick
Perry, who’s championed the program
on the campaign trail. Brown “making
a recommendation and reality may be a
fairly wide gulf,” he said.
Texas is facing the shortfall because
of declining sales tax revenue and rising
expenses. State agencies were asked to
cut their budget requests by 12.5 percent
so lawmakers could balance the next
state spending plan without new taxes.
Public medical schools also would see
“catastrophic cuts,” with the Baylor
College of Medicine being the hardest
hit. Brown said.
The college would lose at least $55
million, more than 80 percent of its
state funding.
“How do we hold faith with the
See Budget on page 2
Panel: A&M needs
JOHN C. LIYAS • THE BATTALION
Faculty Senate Speaker Robert Strawser addresses an audience
with opening remarks while Black Graduate Student Association
President Damali Moore and Student Body President Zac
Coventry listen on. The African American Student Coalition spon
sored a panel discussion regarding affirmative action.
more diversity
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
An eight-person panel composed of Texas
A&M President Robert M. Gates, students and
faculty discussed the status of black students at
A&M Monday night.
Gates said corporate America and other schools
“will not look kindly upon a flagship university that
fails to change with the times.”
Damali Moore, president of the Black Graduate
Student Association at A&M, said that having
“something black students can call their own” would
help black students feel more welcome at A&M.
Money and environment both factor in to
minority students’ decisions about where to attend
college, Gates said.
“When people hear about racist cartoons and see
stories about ‘ghetto parties,’ parents don’t want
See Panel on page 2
White-tail deer cloning at A&M
- Started Fall 2002
Aims to discover how
genetics and feed affect
antler growth
- Texas hunting industry
provides 31,711 jobs,
$864 million in salaries
and wages
- One out of every 18
Texans is licensed
to hunt
Travis Swenson • THE BATTALION
Source: the College ol Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Wildlife
AND
Deer cloning aims to bring in bigger bucks
By Lecia Baker
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M began a white-
tail deer cloning project last
fall intended to increase scien
tists’ knowledge of white-tail
deer genetics, said Dr. Mark E.
Westhusin, associate professor
of the Veterinary Medicine
Department.
The project is focused on the
combination of feed and genet
ic background needed to pro
duce large bucks, he said.
The information gathered
from the cloning project could
be used to produce larger bucks
with bigger antlers that would
appeal to Texas hunters,
Westhusin said.
“We want to know how
much the antler growth is
dependent on genetics,”
Westhusin said.
The project addresses the
task of conserving the genetic
material from deer
“We need to collect cells or
semen from unusually large
deer to conserve the genetic
basis before they die,”
Westhusin said. “We have the
technologies to clone the ani
mal, and we don’t want to lose
the genetic pool out of the pop
ulation.”
Widespread interest in the
project stems from the huge
impact of the hunting industry
on Texas and the entire United
States, Westhusin said.
Nate Nichols, a senior indus
trial distribution major, said he
would prefer hunting to remain
more natural, rather than hunt
ing genetically-enhanced deer
that would allow him to mount a
bigger set of antlers in his home.
Cloning would take the fun
and the sport out of hunting,
. he said.
Fellow hunter and senior
finance major Landon Stone said
he felt cloning large deer would
attract more people to hunting.
Texas has more than 1.2
million licensed hunters, which
is one out of every 18 Texas
residents, said Dr. Billy
See Cloning on page 2