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By LOUIE ARTHUR
Battalion Staff
she walked down the road, the attrac-
young woman heard an authoritative
Instinctively, she turned — and saw
barrel of a gun pointed at her.
Get in the car or I’ll kill you, ” the voice
lindthe gun said.
iscould have turned out to be a typical
case in any big city, but it wasn’t for
reasons. First, the girl escaped. Sec-
1, she was only a few blocks from the
sasA&M University campus.
Fhis girl, like many others, had no idea
was in danger. Although she was walk-
alone, the road is used frequently by
dents walking to and from campus. The
ident occurred in broad daylight and
>re were many people nearby.
Women are more aware than they were
:w years ago,’’ said Kerry Hope of Texas
M’s Personal Counseling Service. “But
woman can be aware enough. "
You can’t protect yourself 100 percent
from rape, ” Hope said. “Women shouldn’t
be paranoid, but they need to think things
through.” Hope added that women should
avoid “taking foolish chances” like jogging
alone at midnight.
University Police Chief Russ McDonald
said there have been no reported rapes on
campus this year, but there was one rape
and one attempted rape in 1978. College
Station Police Department statistics show
five reported cases so far this year.
FBI statistics from the Department of
Public Safety in Houston show 26 rapes or
attempted rapes in this area in 1978: Brazos
County (outside the city limits) — seven,
Bryan — 10, College Station — seven and
Texas A&M — two.
These statistics may not seem alarming,
but they may not give an accurate picture of
the rape problem in this area.
Dr. Marva Larabee of The Growing
Center said only “a tiny portion” of rapes
that actually occur are reported. She
quoted the FBI Uniform Crime Reports
which state: “Unreported rapes outweigh
reported rapes 20 to one. ”
“A great number of women are petrified
tp mention to anyone that the incident oc
curred,” Larabee said. She feels there are
four prevalent myths about rape and rape
victims.
Myth One: “If a woman resists, she can’t
be raped.”
Larabee said that if the victim shows no
physical trauma — no physical injuries to
See related editorial, page 2
show she resisted — people begin to ques
tion if the rape actually occurred.
A supplement to a rape prevention guide
for Texas A&M students. Rape: Ideas for
Self Protection, says: “Most rapists have a
higher tendency to show violence and rage
than normal men ...”
“The force of resistance can create more
physical harm,” Larabee said. It could re
sult in maiming or killing of the victim. In
addition, Larabee said, women are taught
by society not to be aggressive physically or
verbally.
Myth Two: “She got what she deserved. ”
If a woman is raped, it is suspected that
she was dressed inappropriately, was mov
ing suggestively or was in the wrong place
(i.e. alone at night or in a bar).
“Any woman can be raped just about
anywhere,” Larabee said. “Our society en
courages independence (for women) but
blames them if they run into trouble. ”
The rape prevention guide states that
how a woman acts or what she wears does
not determine whether she will be selected
as a rape victim. Every,woman, regardless
of age, race, socio-economic class, time, or
location, is a potential rape victim.
Larabee said although the most frequent
age for both victims and assailants is 15-24,
there have been reported rapes of women
as old as 85.
Myth Three: “Women really desire to be
physically forced into intercourse. ”
Ihe Battalion
)l. 73 No. 9
24 Pages in 2 Sections
Thursday, September 13, 1979
College Station, Texas
US PS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
“Rape is an act of violence, not sex,”
Larabee said. “It is degrading and humiliat
ing.”
Although a woman may fantasize about a
“Prince Charming” sweeping them off
their feet, no woman wants to be raped.
“Rape and sexual assault are crimes of
violence in which sex becomes the
weapon,” according to A&M’s rape protec
tion guide.
Myth Four: “Women cry rape when they
are not raped.”
Larabee said people frequently believe
women “accuse men out of anger or to em
barrass them.”
“Actually, women tend to not want to
admit it even happened,” Larabee said.
“Rape is the only crime where it is assumed
that the criminal justice system cannot pro
tect the defendant from the lying plaintiff. ”
If the victim of an assault or an attempted
assault is a Texas A&M student, the Uni
versity Health Center offers free help.
One of two female counselors from the
Personal Counseling Service, Kerry Hope
or Terry DiNuzzo, will be called as soon as
the rape victim comes in. These counselors
will help take care of the woman’s emo
tional needs and explain to her the options
available to her at that time.
It is recommended in the rape preven
tion guide for the woman to have an exami
nation for her own physical well-being,
whether or not she is going to press
charges. The examination is confidential
and the victim may bring a friend along.
A victim of an assault or attempted as
sault should call the appropriate police de
partment. All rapes occurring on campus
should be reported to the University
Police, and all outside the city limits of
Bryan or College Station should be re
ported to the Brazos County sheriff. She
may make an anonymous report, request a
female police officer and bring a friend with
her.
See rape, page 7
Weather
Partly cloudy through Friday. High today near
90, low early Friday low 60’s.
Library departments
to close Sunday
By RHONDA WATTERS
Battalion Staff
Two of the busiest departments in the
library, Current Periodicals and the Refer
ence Room, will be unavailable for use
Saturday while they are moved to their
permanent locations in the new library
complex.
“We hope to have them moved by Satur
day evening, Sunday at the latest,” said
Deborah Brown, special projects librarian.
The transfer of the two departments is
part of the overall move and rearranging
that has begun now that the new library is
near completion.
“All of the collection is going to move in
some degree,” Brown said. “The whole
thing is expected to be completed by
mkbGctober.-” • : ——
Brown said that although there will be
some inconvenience to people trying to use
the library, it will be less if students and
faculty are aware which days departments
are moving.
To find out what day an area is being
moved. Brown said people can either call
the library at 845-5741 or ask at the refer
ence desk on the first floor.
Since the library is using a professional
moving company, transferring an entire
floor of books can be done in a short period
of time. For example, with four to 10 work
ers using carts and the elevators. Brown
said that moving books from the fifth floor
to the sixth floor can be done in only a half
hour.
Brown also said that on Monday the fur
niture installers will begin Work.
Some new modular furniture that will be
assembled as it is installed and
reupholstered furniture from the old lib
rary will be put in one floor at a time.
“There will be some obstruction from
workers and boxes,” Brown said, “but it is
going to be worth it because the furniture is
much nicer than in the past. ”
Brown had these hints for library users,
to help lessen the inconvenience:
—Watch closely for boxes and and pieces
of furniture that might be in the way.
—Since only one floor will be worked on
at a time, try another floor if one is too
noisy.
—Try to avoid using the elevators as
much as possible. At times there may only
be one available for use, so it will probably
be slow.
—Plan work in a certain area-according
to its scheduled move.
Best interest now 13 percent
Lending rate hits high
United Press Internationa)
NEW YORK — The Chase Manhattan
Bank Wednesday increased the prime
lending rate to its most creditworthy cus
tomers a quarter point to 13 percent, the
highest level ever.
The increase becomes effective Thurs
day at Chase, the third biggest U.S. bank.
It sets the stage for other big banks to move
to 13 percent after less than a week at the
12.75 percent level.
The increases in the prime rate in recent
weeks are a reaction to credit tightening by
the Federal Reserve Board in its effort to
cool inflation through a slowdown in bor
rowing. Paul Volcker, the board’s new
chairman, sees this monetary policy as
necessary to quell inflation despite the risk
it will deepen the nation’s economic reces
sion.
Banks have been setting record highs for
the prime with regularity lending rates
since August. Chase boosted its key lend
ing rate to 12 percent on Aug. 15, tying the
previous record set in 1974 when the nation
was in the sharpest recession since the De
pression era of the 1930s.
The prevailing rate went to 12.25 per
cent late last month and last week it took a
highly unusual half-point leap to 12.75 per
cent at most major banks. At 13 percent,
the prime is 3.5 percentage points above
the level a year earlier.
The prime is an indicator of all interest
rates, including those charged consumers.
Charges on consumer borrowing, how
ever, are restrained by state usury laws.
Thousands inconvenienced
Reed Grabowski takes time to grab a bite to eat, and
lunching outdoors in front of the Academic Building
means he doesn’t have to take his skates off. Besides
letting him get around on campus faster, Grabowski
say s he has more control on skate s than on a bicycle.
Battalion photo by Sam Stroder
Frederic slams Gulf Coast,
wind 130 mph, tide 15 feet
United Press International
MIAMI— Hurricane Frederic, “one of
the most intense hurricanes ...this cen
tury,” barreled into the Gulf Coast Wed
nesday night with devastating winds of 130
, torrential rains and tides up to 15
feet.
Buildings were blown down, roofs rip-
d off and windows shattered between
Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula, Miss., in the
destructive frenzy of the second hurricane
to bit the mainland in a week. Trees and
power lines snapped and buildings crum
bled. Many people wore injured from fly
ing glass, but there were no immediate
reports of fatalities.
The eye of the hurricane was near
Mobile early this morning, moving 15 mph
on a course slightly west of due north.
“Frederic., .should begin losing strength as
the main circulation moves over land,” a
weather bureau spokesman said. The storm
is expected to turn toward the northeast
later today.
“We re swamped with calls for help,
said a Mobile police dispatcher. “There is
no way we can help them. We re com
pletely immobilized at this time. All we can
tell them to do is weather the storm and
we’ll try to get help to them as soon as
possible. ”
A National Guard Armory being used as
a shelter at Pascagoula was “blown down, ”
according to Civil Defense spokesman Ken
Phillips. “There are no injuries as far as we
can determine.”
A building also collapsed in downtown
Gulfport, Miss., injuring 17 people, appa
rently none seriously.
Editorial funnies:
meet the master
Want to know more about the man
behind this cartoon?
Doug Graham, a Battalion staffer, ob
tained a personal interview with nation
ally syndicated cartoonist Jeff MacNelly
at his office in Washington this summer.
Graham’s article is in the first issue of
Focus, the Battalion’s weekly magazine,
which is inserted in today’s paper.
by public transit strikes
United Press International
Hundreds of thousands of commuters in
three major U.S. cities had to juggle their
travel plans Wednesday because of transit
worker strikes that have closed down pub
lic transportation systems.
A total of more than 1 million commuters
in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston
were affected by continuing strikes and
shutdowns of service.
In Boston, an estimated 16,000 rail
commuters had to find other ways to get to
work because maintenance workers, who
walked off their Boston & Maine Railroad
jobs last Friday, defied federal court orders
to resume work and expanded their picket
ing Tuesday to the second of the city’s two
rail terminals.
In Los Angeles, mechanics agreed to re
sume talks with the Southern California
Rapid Transit District after Mayor Tom
Bradley pleaded with them to “settle the
strike” that has idled the nation’s largest
all-bus transit system since Aug. 26. About
1.2 million commuters in a four-county
area were affected by the strike.
In San Francisco, Bay Area Rapid Transit
service for 165,000 commuters has been
shut down for a week and a half. Spokes
men for two uniops involved in the BART
shutdown said negotiations were expected
to resume today.
The Boston strike had its biggest impact
on outer suburbs without direct bus and
rapid transit service to the city. Buses and
subway and rapid transit trains provide the
bulk of commuter service to te city.
The 5-day-old strike did not affect com
muters until Monday morning when train
crew members and conductors refused to
cross picket lines set up at Boston’s North
Station, which serves northern and west
ern suburbs.
Despite federal court orders directing
maintenance workers to halt their strike
and the crew members and conductors to
stop honoring picket lines, the strikers ex
panded picketing to the city’s South Sta
tion.
The shutdown of the northern rail termi
nal resulted in increased use of buses and
cars. But the Massachusetts Bay Transpor
tation Authority, already short of usable
buses, was unable to get additional vehicles
out to the suburbs.
United Way
Don Hellriegel, management department head and chairman of the
Campus United Way campaign, said Wednesday at a United Way meet
ing in Rudder Tower that he has set a goal of raising $75,000 this school
year. Battalion photo by Lynn Blanco