Page 6
THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1978
Japanese cannot ‘bear to wait
Lan Lan mum about being a mom
Specials Thru
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NAUDAY CONURE
42.00 Reg. 54.99
BOAS - 2 FOOT
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ZEBRA FINCHES
11.99 pr. Reg. 19.98 pr.
HERMIT CRABS
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AQUARIUMS
United Press International v
TOKYO — A lady has a right to
her secrets, and Lan Lan the giant
panda isn’t talking.
Her snoopy keepers at Tokyo’s
Ueno Zoo are on tenterhooks trying
to guess whether Lan Lan is about
to produce the first giant panda cub
ever born outside China.
But the trouble with a pregnant
panda is she looks just like a panda
who isn t: both are enormous
black-and-white cuddly bears, but
the panda mom bears no trace of a
bulge in her tummy.
All the panda s keepers know for
sure is 9-year-old Lan Lan mated
twice with her 7-year-old male
companion, Kan Kan, in the second
half of May.
If pregnancy ensued, the gesta
tion period will end sometime bet
ween Oct. 4 and Oct. 14. Until then
the keepers will have to sit and wait.
They already have set up a bat
tery of television cameras to record
the potential event. An 11-person
team of zoo employees has Lan Lan
under round-the-clock watch. But
all she does is sit there, pat her
tummy and smile.
She did that last year, too, and
zoo workers convinced themselves
their panda was pregnant. All of
Japan waited with bated breath for
the blessed event. But the gestation
period came and went, and the
keepers finally had to admit they
were wrong.
The giant pandas, whose natural
habitat is in western China, were a
gift from Peking when China and
Japan granted each other diplomatic
recognition in 1972.
No giant panda has ever been
born in a zoo outside of China, al
though zookeepers in Washington,
Moscow and Tokyo have been try
ing for years.
A panda cub at birth is about the
size of a mouse, so 224-pound Lan
Lan wouldn’t have much to hide.
According to books on panda lore
the Chinese sent over with the two
animals, pregnant pandas some
times display enlarged teats and eat
a lot in the late stages of the game.
Lan Lan did that last year, but it
was a false alarm.
This year her teats are enlarged
again, and Lan Lan is eating her
head off. But besides pregnancy the
Japanese think this might mean Lan
Lan is menstruating, or having an
off-schedule period of heat in the
autumn. Pandas’ usual mating sea
son is in May.
10 GALLON
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15 GALLON
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20 HIGH OR LONG
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29 GALLON
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30 LONG
28.99 Reg. 36.99
55 GALLON
69.99 Reg. 89.99
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Lunch Hours 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tea Time by Reservation only
Committee Interviews
Sept. 18-21 Rm. A, L & M
6:00-10:00 MSC 216
Sign up in Scona cubicle for
an interview time.
MSC ‘elitist’
theory dispute
By H arvey Laas
Battalion Reporter
Small size and their selection pro
cess have contributed to give three
Memorial Student Center commit
tees - SCONA, Town Hall and
OPAS - an “elitist image to some
students.
All three organizations conduct
personal interviews of applicants. In
addition. Town Hall and the Opera
and Performing Arts Society (OPAS)
require a written application.
Students interested in any of
the organizations may sign up in
the Student Programs Office,
room 216 of the MSC. The dead
line is 5 p.m. today. Interviews
will be conducted next week.
The nature of the interviews and
applications do not give credence to
this reputation, say the leaders of
the three committees. They also
need the selection process to serve
as a means to find those willing to
work for the organizations. OPAS
chairman Patrice Jones said OPAS
does not ask what kind of car stu
dents drive or for financial state
ments.
The written applications for
OPAS and Town Hall are not com
plicated. Both center around past
honors, the students’ reasons for
seeking membership and talents
students may have which would
help the organization. The chairmen
of ail three committees said the per
sonal interviews focus on the same
areas.
Student Conference on National
Affairs (SCONA) chairman, Daryl
Taraba, said a 10-minute interview
is not the most effective means of
selecting members, but believed it
is the best possible due to time limi
tations.
Taraba said the function of
SCONA is to bring student leaders
from different universities together
to discuss a topic of natiunali
tance, and provide speakers!^
cuss the issue.
Taraba said the size of t
committee will be about 1 Idi
hers. 1 le said about 70 of tk-J
be old ineiiilxTS. So far alxJ
new students have signed upfuj
terviews.
Taraba said SCONA is l
entirely by donations frominy
als, foundations and corpora
Tin's year's topic wil be Aiuti|
Economic Environment - Biuji
Bucks and Bureaucracy, j
Patrice Jones, chairing!
OPAS’ pi irpose is to promolij
performing arts at Texas-AM|
\ (Tsit\ In Ininging in entertaiij
such as ballet and symploii
OPAS has 36 returning rneij
and w ill accept 25 to 30 imi
hers. Thirty-four studenlsl
signed for OPAS interviews!
Thursday.
Town Hull chairman Brooklj
ring said Town Halls fimctkal
bring top entertainment toll
Ate M. Town Hall was respou
for the Dave Mason concertaiti
upcoming Jerry Reed concert/
The leaders of the thret
mittees said the selection pn
sen es as a means to find It
willing to work for the or^m
lions. OPAS chairman Pi
Jones said OPAS does nol
tchaf kind of car studentst
or for financial statements,
Town Hall limits its memlie
to 65. Herring said about IN)
dents interview in thefalb
Town Hall accepts freshman
transfer students. HesaidaboU
students apply in the spring!
Town Hall accepts fresli
through junior applicants
Students interested inanul
organizations may sign up in
Student Programs Office, room
of tin* MSC. The deadlineiso]
today. Interviews will becondw
next week.
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