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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1990)
WEATHER Texas A&M The Battalion Vol.89 No.76 USPS 045360 12 Pages College Station, Texas TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Cooler with a high chance of rain HIGH: 59 LOW: 44 Friday, January 19,1990 A&M research results arrive with space shuttle Columbia By JILL BUTLER Of The Battalion Staff A medical experiment designed to help Texas A&M researchers find a treatment for emphy sema will return from space today after 10 days aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Dr. Edgar Meyer, professor of biochemistry, is in charge of the experiment at A&M. Emphysema, a fatal lung disease, is among the 10 most deadly diseases in the United States, according to population statistics. The disease is caused when the enzyme elastase destroys lung tissue. Researchers hope to grow elastase crystals in liquid drops aboard the space shuttle. “Once we have the crystals, we will study them to make models of the elastase enzyme,” Meyer said. “Then we will work on finding an inhibitor for the enzyme.” Illustration by Norzaini Mufti This is the first time A&M has conducted a crystal-growth experiment in space. Because of gravity’s adverse effects on the crystallization process, the experiment was con ducted in outer space, where crystals are able to form more perfectly, Meyer said. Astronauts on board the space shuttle turned on the experiment during the shuttle’s flight. There is a chance that the experiment will fail, but Meyer is optimistic because other groups suc cessfully performed the same experiment on an earlier space shuttle flight. Meyer said that regardless of the results, re searchers are not looking for a cure for emphy sema. “In the forseeable future there will be no cure for emphysema,” he said. “Our best hope right now is to create a drug that will arrest the dis ease.” However, creating and testing a new drug takes five to 10 years. Meyer will pick up the results of the experi ment Friday. Measuring the crystals and making the enzyme model will be completed in about a month and a half, he said. A&M is one of six groups with experiments aboard the shuttle. The experiments were organized at the Uni versity of Alabama at Birmingham, the center for macro-molecular crystallography. “If we get good results weTl conduct future ex periments in outer space to get other good re sults,” Meyer said. FBI arrests D.C. mayor on drug charge WASHINGTON (AP) — Mayor Marion Barry was arrested by the FBI on a drug charge Thursday night at a downtown hotel. Details were sketchy, but the manager of the Vista Interna tional Hotel, Rex Rice, confirmed word from two federal law en forcement sources that Barry had been taken into custody by FBI agents. First word of the arrest was broadcast shortly after 10 p.m. by television station WRC. A third federal source said the drug involved was cocaine, but gave no details. Two city police officers at the hotel sealed off the upper floors. The 53-year-old Barry, a for mer civil rights worker with grad uate training in chemistry, has been the subject of many allega tions of drug use in recent years. He has denied all allegations. A long-time friend of the may or’s, Charles Lewis, said in open court last fall that he had pro vided cocaine to the mayor. In November, WUSA-TV said a local physician had reported to police that Barry had been treated for a drug overdose in 1983. The then-police chief later reported that investigators were unable to confirm that report. Molestation trial finally ends Jury acquits mother, son of sex abuse LOS ANGELES (AP) — Preschool operators Ray mond Buckey and his mother were acquitted Thursday of 52 child molestation charges in the nation’s longest and costliest criminal trial, inciting outrage among par ents of youngsters in the case. Jurors deadlocked on 12 sex abuse counts against Buckey and a single conspiracy count against him and his 63-year-old mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey. Supe rior Court Judge William Pounders declared a mistrial on those charges. The investigation of alleged mass molestation at the suburban McMartin Pre-School ignited a nationwide wave of worry about child abuse when it came to light in 1983. It produced widespread fear among working parents that their children might be at risk at school. The trial lasted nearly three years and cost $15 mil lion, making it the longest and most expensive criminal proceeding in U.S. history. Buckey, 31, spent nearly five years in jail because of the charges, and his mother was jailed for almost two years. Announcement of the innocent verdicts brought gasps and sobs in the packed courtroom while the de fendants cried but were restrained in their reactions. About an hour after the verdicts were read, parent Jackie McCauley said: “I’m still in shock. ... When I first heard it, I didn’t believe it. I thought someone had made a mistake.” Parent Mary Mae Cioffi added: “I am really disap pointed. The anger is beginning to rise. We have pro grams all over the country that tell children to run and tell when somebody hurts them, and our children told. Some of them spent 35 days on the stand and they get a ‘not guilty.’ It shows that our justice system needs a re vamp for kids.” “I know my children were molested. I had my daugh ter sleep between my husband and I for a whole year because she was so af raid somebody would come and get her, that they would kill her, because she told,” she said. Mrs. Buckey said: “I’ve gone through hell and now we’ve lost everything. My concern was for my son and what they’ve done to him ... because my son would never harm a child.” “I feel wonderful,” said Charles Buckey, father of Raymond and husband of Mrs. Buckey. Prosecutor Lael Rubin said, “We ultimately must re spect the jury’s decision even though I personally dis- “I I’ve gone through hell and now we’ve lost everything. My concern was for my son and what they’ve done to him ... because my son would never harm a child.” — Peggy McMartin Buckey, defendant agree with it. ... I believe that the families involved in this case and the chilren involved in this case ... cannot be forgotten or overlooked in terms of what they have had to endure in the kind of system we presently have.” Pounders scheduled a Jan. 31 hearing to determine whether the district attorney will refile charges against Buckey on the 13 deadlocked counts. Rubin said she would consult with parents in the case before deciding. Raindrops keep falling on my legs .■ ' Photo by Jay Janner Sophomore Amy Turner steps over a water puddle near the MSC Thursday on her way to hang up posters for OPAS. ^ew provost makes ‘coordinated effort’ Professor: Treat racism as a disease By JULIE MYERS Of The Battalion Staff Regardless of race, everyone on Earth is at least a 50th cousin, said a nationally recognized author and lecturer on racism last night. Nathan Rutstein, Springfield Technical College professor of com munications and author of “To Be One - A Battle Against Racism”, lik ened racism to a disease of the heart “that is deteriorating and eroding the soul of America.” Because 1960s civil rights legis lation only dealt with two major symptoms of racism, segregation and discrimination, and did not ad dress the disease of racism itself, people have found ways to circum vent those laws, Rutstein said. As examples, he cited the white flight to the suburbs, which left ghet- toes in their place, and the establish ment of private education acade mies, which were set up to block racial integration. Consequently, Rutstein said rac ism is worse now than in the 1960s. “When a child is born in this coun try and takes its first breath, they breathe in the disease (of racism),” Rutstein said. The only way to conquer racism is to acknowledge its presence, he said. “Anyone who has any sense of ed ucation, especially higher education, knows racism is a patent evil,” Rutstein said. “Denial of the disease of racism is the biggest stumbling block to conquering it. If you deny you have pneumonia, you’ll perish.” Instead of denial, Rutstein recom mends finding the genesis of racism in oneself. “We will be a better people (as a result of acknowledging racism) be cause we won’t be living a lie,” Rutstein said. “The truth will make you free.” He recommends shifting the fo cus in textbooks to emphasize the oneness of the human family and the establishment of an Institute for the Healing of Racism on the Texas A&M campus. “I wanted to inspire you to take action so your cousins could come together,” Rutstein said. “When that happens, this will be a far greater country.” Student, faculty request granted; absentee voting box put on campus >y SUZANNE CALDERON if The Battalion Staff To keep up in a world with increasing interna- onal concerns, Texas A&M appointed Dr. Emily ishworth as the new assistant provost for interna- onal programs. Ashworth, who serves as associate director of the iniversity’s Institute for Pacific Asia, said interna- Dnal affairs are becoming more important to A&M. “The world is becoming more and more interna- onal,” she said. “We are coming into the decade of le ’90s — the tremendous change in the world pro- ides us opportunities and challenges.” The challenge that will be facing Ashworth, when er position becomes effective Feb. 1, will be to coor- inate all international activities at the University. Dr. E. Dean Gage, acting provost and vice presi- jint for Academic Affairs, who appointed Ash- orth, said the position was created to develop inter- Monal programming at A&M. “We are making a strong statement and commit- ient that we will be a world university and prepare ur faculty, staff and students to function effectively 1 a world community,” he said. JPA, along with International Student Services, 'IStudy Abroad Office and the Office of Interna- oial Coordination, will be under Ashworth’s super- r 50 - v ishworth will chair the International Program ancement and Coordination Council. The coun- i made up of faculty representatives from each “The purpose of the committee is to make sure there is a coordinated effort around the entire Uni- Dr. Emily Y. Ashworth versity community, so we can discuss (international) issues and share information throughout the colle ges,” she said. Helping international students become integrated into the University will be an issue at the top of Ash worth’s agenda, she said. “We have a tremendous growth of international students — 2,156 students in April 1989, as com pared to 1,596 in 1985,” she said. She said integration would improve relations be tween American students and international stu dents. In addition to student integration, Ashworth said she will focus on: • expanding the Study Abroad Office. • providing incentives for faculty members inter ested in international research. • giving an international perspective to academic programs. • developing a centralized information system for collecting and distributing international pro gram data. • resource development to fund international programs. Gage said that, previously, there was no central ized place for international programming. “This will bring together things in an organized manner,” he said. Ashworth said the existing programs have done well despite a lack of resources and staff support. “There are a lot of talented people on this cam pus. The international programs staff has done an outstanding job,” she said. “What we need now is to create a team — teamwork to pull the resources to gether and develop new ideas, new resources.” Ashworth earned her undergraduate degree from Fu Jen University in Taiwan. She received her master’s and Ph.D degrees in history from Kent State University. Before coming to A&M, Ashworth worked as a se nior staff assistant to the National Governors’ Asso ciation in Washington, D.C., where she helped de velop education-related policies. In 1987-88, Ashworth served on the State Relations Commission for the National Association of Independent Col leges and Universities. In 1986-87, she was a fellow with the Institute for Educational Leadership. In 1982, Ashworth was ap pointed a member of a U.S. delegation negotiating refugee resettlement issues with the Japanese and Philippine governments. “Dr. Ashworth brings a wealth of international ex perience and contacts,” Gage said. “She was recom mended by a search committee as the person that could best lead this effort and who demonstrated the creative leadership and organizational skills to launch this effort.” By SELINA GONZALEZ Of The Battalion Staff Rural, handicapped and elderly voters who aren’t students may have to contend with Texas A&M’s park ing problem and masses of people on campus if they want to vote absentee, said Ron Gay, former Brazos County Democratic Party chairman. An absentee voting box will not be located at the Col lege Station Community Center any longer. Texas A&M students, faculty and staff can vote absentee on campus starting Feb. 21 for the March 13 Democratic and Republican primaries. Gay said the location of additional boxes should be accessible to all voters. “An early voting box on campus is not convenient for the rural voters of Brazos County,” he said. Gay said the community center location, which is ap proximately one mile from some areas of campus, was more accessible to voters who are not connected with A&M, and it was within walking distance from the Uni versity. The Brazos County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 on Dec. 18 to install three additional absentee voting boxes around Brazos County — at the Memorial Stu dent Center, Ben Milam Elementary School on Ridgedale Street and the College Station school dis trict’s administration office on Welsh Avenue. Rodger Lewis, Brazos County Republican Party chairman, said several students and staff members had requested at the Dec. 18 commissioner’s meeting that a box be placed on campus. Gay said oppositon to the placement of an early vot ing box on campus was also expressed by a dozen vot ers. “No one is opposed to people voting,” Gay said. “We just want it to be fair and equitable.” Lewis said the Republican Party endorses the additio nal boxes. “It (absentee voting on campus) will do what it is sup posed to do, which is encourage more people to go out and vote,” said Lewis. County Commissioner Milton Turner, who voted against installing the additional boxes, plans to appeal to the U.S. Department of Justice about the boxes be cause it has final authority to approve or reject their placement.