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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1982)
mmu m Texas A&M ■ ■ ■ ■ The Battalion Serving the University community /ol. 76 No. 8 USPS 045360 30 Pages In 2 Sections College Station, Texas Friday, September 10, 1982 nti-nuke weapons group stages election United Press International 1 AUSTIN — Organizers say they hope 40,000 people will cast bal lots Saturday in a citywide nuclear weapons freeze referendum touted as the largest non-governmental elec tion in the nation’s history. A i inti-nuclear activists who planned the election also hope voters in Texas’ capital city of 400,000 will set a na tional trend to support a ban on nuc lear arms. ■ “If Austin, as capital of the Sun Belt, comes out for the freeze, it will be a signal to the whole country in November that the freeze is some thing we should get behind,” said George Humphrey, a member of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign steering committee. About 20,000 people signed peti tions in the group's unsuccessful effort to get the nuclear weapons freeze question on a city bond election ballot. Texas law prevented the re ferendum from appearing on the same ballot, however. “We were kind of depressed and someone suggested, ‘hell we’ll just have our own election,”’ said cam paign coordinator Tony Switzer. “We just laughed because we thought it was funny, but then we said, ‘Wait a minute.’ “As far as we know, it will be the largest referendum ever held by a non-governmental entity,” he said. “We’ve got a computer printout of registered voters and it’ll be just like a normal election.” Switzer said he is hopeful about two-thirds of the 60,000 people ex pected to turn out for the bond elec tion will cast ballots on the nuclear referendum. “At this point it’s really iffy,” he said. “We really have no idea.” Cardboard tables will be set up for the nuclear vote, but Texas law man dates they be at least 100 feet from the official voting centers. “Where we set up our tables will depend a lot on the lay of the land,” said Switzer. “Some of our tables may be in the middle of a parking lot.” The turnout in Austin will be fol lowed closely by 25 cities, counties and states nationwide that will vote on the nuclear weapons freeze question between now and November, Switzer said. Referendums are scheduled in Ari zona, California, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Michigan, Montana, Illinois, Nebraska, Pen- nysylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, Nevada, Arkansas, New York, Alaska and the District of Columbia. In Austin, the county clerk, a city constable, a district judge and a Uni versity of Texas law professor will serve on an oversight committee formed to supervise the vote under the guidelines of an official election. Balloting will be limited to regis tered voters who will mark paper bal lots in secret before the ballots are placed in locked boxes and counted by members of the committee. Administration relaxes bans n firm; policy still stands United Press International WASHINGTON — The adminis tration quietly reduced penalites against the Firm that First deFied Presi dent Reagan’s ban on shipments of equipment for the Soviet Siberian gas pipeline, but officials said U.S. policy iliinains firm. K The Commerce Department con firmed Wednesday that an export jban against Dresser Industries of Dal las will apply only to oil and gas equip ment, and no longer entirely blankets export links with the Firm’s French affiliate. i| Ed Luter, a senior vice president of fijresser, said the company faces irre parable financial damage because of delayed orders despite the narrowed terms of the sanctions. I B. Jay Cooper, a spokesman for ^Commerce Secretary Malcolm Bal- drige, emphasized that “there is no change” in the administration’s deter mination to slow progress on the 3,600 mile project, which will pipe oil from Siberia and Western Europe. The administration simultaneous ly proposed broader sanctions against another French company and sent a top State Department official to Brus sels to discuss the issue with officials of the Common Market. President Reagan banned the sale of U.S. equipment and technology for the project, which is expected to earn millions of U.S. dollars in hard cur rency for the Soviets, to penalize them for sanctioning the military crack down in Poland. In Glasgow, Scotland, a defective crane halted the transfer of com pressors built by John Brown En gineering of Britain to a Soviet freigh ter, forestalling a fourth set of export restrictions by the United States. The modification in the case of Dresser Industries actually was of lit tle help to the firm, which deals most ly in oil and gas related equipment. The changes would mean sanc tions against the British firm would be far less damaging, since many of its products would be exempted. Canada also is considering whether to permit Canadian firms to supply the Soviet Union with equip ment made under U.S. license in de fiance of the ban, which Italy also has chosen to disregard. In Toronto, Canadian external affairs minister Mark MacGuigan told reporters, “I think the U.S. gov ernment is somewhat uncomfortable with the strong stand it has taken” on the pipeline. “I think at this point they would welcome a compromise,” he said after a meeting with American officials. Cooper said, “There has been no change in the Polish situation” and reiterated that Reagan “feels very strongly about his position” on the sanctions. Cooper said another French firm, Creusot-Loire, has until Friday to submit its objections to a Commerce Department order widening the sanc tions that already have been imposed on the firm and all of its subsidiaries. A sanction order covering sub sidiaries but limited to oil and gas equipment was imposed Saturday on the Italian firm, Nuovo Pignone, when it shipped U.S.-licensed com pressors to the Soviets. In Brussels, European Commun ity sources said U.S. Assistant Secret ary of State Richard Burt has arrived for talks with European officials on the pipeline and a steel trade dispute. pwiss police rescue five hostages held by gunmen in Polish Embassy United Press International i BERN, Switzerland — Police stormed the Polish Embassy early Thursday and freed all five hostages held by gunmen since Monday. ■There were no immediate reports of ^casualties, but explosions were heard inside the building. H The Swiss government said all four gunmen were captured, j The liberation of the five hostages |came at 10:43 a.m. (4:43 a.m. EDT), less than 24 hours before the gunmen threatened to blow up themselves and their hostages if their demands were |not met, Justice Ministry spokesman : Ulrich Hubacher said. I The condition of the gunmen was [ not known, but witnesses heard ex plosions inside the building moments before the hostages were released. M Earlier, anti-terrorist police had [ cordoned off the rear of the building with rolls of barbed wire. The storming of the occupied embassy came after the Justice Minis try announced the gunmen persisted in their demands for an end to milit ary rule in Poland and the release of all martial-law detainees. He said the gunmen also requested a car and safe passage out of the country. “But the Swiss government told them (a safe passage) was unthinkable in a country where the rules of law are just,” Justice Ministry spokesman Ulrich Hubacher said. The surprise attack on the building came as authorities drove in food sup plies. Simultaneously, a detachment of 35 anti-terrorist police armed with machine guns and tear-gas grenades stormed the occupied building. Within 15 minutes, eight grenade explosions were heard. Hubacher said the gunmen repe ated their threat to use 50 pounds of dynamite to blow themselves up with their hostages if their demands were not met by 4 a.m. EDT Friday. The group, which calls itself the “Patriotic Revolutionary Army,” had originally demanded the military au thorities in Warsaw end martial law imposed last December. As tense telephone negotiations continued with “Col. Wysocki,” the gunmen’s leader Wednesday after noon, police commandos scaled the back wall of the building, Hubacher said. They then set a ladder against the building and helped embassy attache Josef Matusiak down from the third- floor room where he had been hiding without food since the gunmen seized the embassy Monday. Observers saw only a yellow car speeding away from the building with Matusiak inside. Earlier Matusiak was known as the “mystery man,” drawing attention to himself by standing at the window holding a large piece of paper. The gunmen earlier released eight hostages — six women, a man suffer ing from high blood pressure and a student who had been in the embassy picking up a visa when the drama began. In Poland, the army newspaper blamed the Reagan administration for the seizure of the embassy it said was part of a terror campaign by sup porters of the suspended Solidarity union. Exiled Solidarity members in Europe, however, have strenuously denied any links with the gunmen. staff photo by David Fisher Cross at your own risk Despite the fact that the crossing warnings tell the pedestrians when they can get across the street safely, some people decide to risk it anyway so they can get across the street faster. Sometimes they have to dodge cars and sometimes they don’t. [Republicans charged with violating postal rules United Press International WASHINGTON — The Demo crats have charged that the Republi- :ans purposely violated federal postal regulations and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by mailing fund raising appeals at artificially low rates. The Republicans responded to the charge Wednesday by denying that they have broken Postal Service or any other laws. Under current regulations, party organizations can mail under special bulk rates as long as the contents are not for the sole benefit of an indi vidual candidate. Appeals for indi vidual funds must be mailed at higher rates. The Democratic Senatorial Cam paign Committee charged Wednes day that its GOP counterpart “know ingly abused the special rate, in what may turn out to be a multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidy to Republican senatorial candidates.” A Republican Senatorial Cam paign Committee spokesman quoted the group’s lawyer, Jan Baran, as saying, “This committee is doing no thing that violates federal election law or postal law or any other law.” He refused to comment on the spe cific allegations until he saw a copy of the complaint. Democratic corrimittee chairman Wendell Ford, D-Ky., said low-cost mailings have been sent by the GOP group on behalf of Rep. Jim Collins, who is challenging Sen. Lloyd Bent- sen, D-Texas; Rep. Cleve Benedict, who is challenging Senate Democratic leader Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, who is run ning against California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., for an open Senate seat and Rep. Paul Trible, who is challeng ing Virginia Lt. Gov. Dick Davis for an open seat. “Very likely, the violations that we have discovered are only the tip of a very large iceberg,” Ford said. In a letter to the Postal Service Aug. 31, the Democrats protested: “Not only has the Postal Service consented to this practice in violation of judicial sanctions imposed by federal courts, but it has declined to enforce its own internal regulations prohibiting it.” The Democrats asked that the low- cost mailings be stopped and that the individual candidates make up the difference between their rate and the committee rate. inside Classified 6 National . . 7,8 Opinions 2 Sports 11 State 4 Whatsup 10 forecast Today’s Forecast: High in the low to mid 90s, low in the low 60s. Forty percent chance of afternoon showers. Counseling center helps rape victims overcome guilt, return to normal life by Jane North Battalion Reporter Although she says she’s a little an xious, Liz is remarkably open as she talks about a trauma suffered 20 years ago. When she was a senior in high school, Liz was raped by her boyf riend while at a beach near her home town. Liz says she couldn’t believe it was happening. “I was afraid of screaming for help because people would think I asked for it and because of the publicity,” she said. “And, most of all, I was afraid of what my father would do to him — I literally knew my father would kill him.” After her ordeal, Liz said she felt immense fear and guilt. “I had a distinct fear of getting pregnant,” she said. He said if she told anyone, he would spread rumors that she was a “bad girl” — a label she didn’t want to bear. In addition, Liz said she feared the rapist would harm her if she told anyone. She later learned the rapist had a history of physical violence and had been under psychiatric care. For 13 years she kept her ordeal a secret. “It would have been nice to have had somebody to talk to,” she said, “but given the days (early 1960s) and the culture, it would have been impos sible.” But today, that situation is impro ving as more victims fight the stigma and report rape. The number of reported rapes in Brazos County has increased steadily over the past several years. In 1979, there were 32 reported rapes, result ing in 16 arrests and only two convic tions. In 1980, 43 reports of rape re sulted in less than four convictions. In 1981, only one conviction resulted from the 54 rapes reported. Six were dismissed because of insufficient evi dence and four are pending. But these statistics may not reflect the actual number of rapes. “Two out of every three rapes are never reported,” said Dr. Ben Crouch, associate professor of sociol ogy at Texas A&M University. Former District Attorney Carolyn Ruffino attributed this to the victims’ fear of testifying. “If the victim does not have the reassur ance that she is not going to be harassed and be the one placed on trial, she will not testify,” Ruffino said. “And without the victim’s testi mony, there is no hope for a convic tion.” But Crouch, who specializes in cri minology, corrections and deviant be havior aspects of sociology, said rape trials hinge on more than whether the rapist had sexual intercourse with the victim without consent. “There are a great number of fac tors to sort out in rape offense situa tions,” he said. He named three vari ables— the degree to which the victim and the offender are acquainted, the degree of force used and the degree to which sex is the primary motive. “Many rapes occur here at A&M — or attemped rapes — where a young man will force himself on his date, or attempt to force himself on his date,” Crouch said. “Technically, that’s rape or attemped forcible rape — but the woman may not call it that.” Dr. Kerry Hope, a counselor at the Texas A&M University Personal Counseling Center, said date rapes account for about 50 percent of the rapes committed at Texas A&M. Crouch said the motivation in this type of rape is primarily sexual. Gang rapes account for the second largest percentage of rapes, Crouch said, estimating 10 to 15 percent of all rapes fall in this category. In a gang rape, the amount of force used increases, and it is not like ly that the victim and offender are acquainted. Crouch said. Peer press ure and the desire to demonstrate sexual prowess are the primary mo tives, he said. The other group of rapists are strangers who will “come through the window,” to rape a woman they prob ably do not know. Crouch said. see RAPE page 5