Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1983)
mmm |Texas A&M The Serving the University community 1.76 No. 98 USPS 045360 16 Pages mendment proposed United Press International AUSTIN — A Texas House com- ittee has approved a proposed con- btitutional amendment to earmark $125 million annually in construction [funds for schools not included in the Permanent University Fund. The Committee on Higher Educa tion reported the bill to the full House [On a 6-0 vote Monday. A Senate com mittee is scheduled to take up the legislation today. Texas A&M and the University of Texas are the only two state universi- lies that share in the PUF, which is Financed from earnings on oil-rich state-owned lands. An amendment to this bill would allow predominantly black Prairie View A&M University to receive at least $600 million from the PUF dur ing the next decade. The measure, if approved by the Legislature, would require approval in a statewide referendum later this year. House Speaker Gib Lewis said the bill would probably be debated this week by the full House. College Station, Texas Wednesday, February 16, 1983 Plane hijacked to Mexico; passage to Cuba demanded United Press International NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Three men hijacked an airliner with 22 people aboard over central Texas Tuesday and ordered it flown to the Mexico border where the hijackers negotiated with Mexican authorities to be taken to Havana, Cuba, Mex ican police said. The Federal Aviation Adminis tration in Washington D.C. said there was only one hijacker, but Romulo Certuche, commandant of police in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo who negotiated with the men, insisted there were three. He said the men were armed with a machine gun and a bomb. Airline officials said the plane carried 17 passengers, two company employees and a crew of three. Af ter landing in Nuevo Laredo, the hijackers released six passengers — five women and a man — leaving them with 13 hostages. “We have had a hijacking,” said Mark Connell, vice chairman and chief executive officer of the Texas commuter airline headquartered in Killeen, Texas. “This is the real thing.” Connell said the aircraft, a De- havilland 7 — a four-engine, 48- passenger turboprop — was seized at 10:27 a.m, between Killeen and Dallas in north Texas, and ordered flown to Nuevo Laredo. It landed at the border city about at 11:45 a.m. A rescue worker at the airport said, “They want to go to Cuba. They want to go to Cuba and they requested a plane, possibly a Lear Jet.” Certuche identified two suspects as Joey Gonzalez and Jose Sheycho- lys. The third was not identified. Police said they did not know where any of the three were from. The aircraft, flight 252 from Kil leen to Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport, was seized south of Dallas. The pilot broadcast a hijack code to ground stations, turned south and: flew to Nuevo Laredo. Rio Airways was formed in 1967 and serves Texas and Arkansas. It owns 21 planes and flies 124 flights daily. “We haven’t been able to talk to the crew yet, so we don’t know how this came down,” Connell said. Two dead after Mardi Gras United Press International NEW ORLEANS — More than a million revelers packed the streets for Mardi Gras but the celebration was marred by the deaths of a woman shot in a robbery and a sailor crushed by a float while leaping for a souvenir. Tuesday afternoon’s procession of brightly colored floats was inter rupted for more than half an hour when a rig in the Crescent City parade ran over the seaman. Witnesses said Wilson Montague, 21, of Philadelphia lost his footing while jumping for a cheap rubber- and-wood spear thrown from the float. His neck and head were bleed ing profusely as he was rushed to Charity Hospital. “He saw t he spear and didn’t real ize he was so close,” said witness Paula Thompson. “He just went under it.” Montague, assigned to the USS Au stin, died after two hours of surgery, a hospital spokesman said. Less than two hours earlier, a Flor ida woman was shot to death at a fried chicken stand near the parade route by a man who confronted her and three friends demanding money. Police said the man got away with about $300 but shot Bernice Hollman of Panama City in the face when she told him she had only pocket change. The woman and her friends were heading home and had stopped for something to eat, officers said. A sus pect was being sought in the slaying. Fat Tuesday festivities ended at midnight — the official commence ment of Lent. Revelers decked out in glittering costumes and faces painted in the official Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold and green began to jam city streets shortly after sunrise, reserving choice spots along parade routes. “Throw me something, mister!” yelled Laura Tyson, 81, of Missouri, as she shoved a child out of the path of a flying plastic cigar thrown from a float in the Zulu parade. “I’m AWOL from a nursing home,” she said. “My kids sent me, $200 for Valentine’s Day. They told me I needed a new coat but I decided I needed a new frame of mind in stead.”- Police said more than 1 million people — enjoying the sunshine crowded into a few square blocks of the city for Mardi Gras festivities,, lauded as the world’s largest free party. SCON A delegates, speakers meet to discuss Latin American affairs by Connie Edelmon Battalion Staff The 28th annual Student Confer ence on National Affairs, which be gins today, deals with “The Latin Americas: Challenges and Alterna tives.” The conference will continue through Saturday. This year, 150 delegates from around the world are expected at the conference. Delegates from the Un ited States are attending as well as 28 delegates from Scotland, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala and Chile. The 20 delegates who represent Texas A&M were chosen by a com mittee at the beginning of this semester. SCONA committee members do not always act as delegates to the con ference, but must go through the same interview process as other stu dents. A knowledge of the conference topic is essential to being chosen as a delegate. Val T. McComie, assistant secret ary general of the Organization of American States, will make the open ing address at 2:30 p.m. today in Rud der Theater. Other conference speakers in clude: — Alfonso Quinonez Meza, presi dent of Compania Hotelera Salva- dorena. — Harry W. Shlaudeman, U.S. ambassador to Argentina. — Dr. Robert Z. Danino, secretary general of the Ministry of Economics, Finance and Trade in Nicaragua. — Ambassador Viron P. Vaky, associ ate dean and research professor in diplomacy and north-south relations at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.G. — Professor Heitor Gurgulino de Souza, vice president of the Federal Council of Education of Brazil. All speeches except Vaky’s are open to the public, and further informa tion on times and locations is available in the Memorial Student Center. Between speeches, delegates attend round-table sessions. Each table is moderated by co-chairmen from business, political or academic backgrounds who oversee the discus sions, Christy Flanby, vice chairman of publicity for the committee, said. Round-table sessions are open to the public. Delegates will attend a perform ance of “Evita,” dinner with the Corps of Cadets, a night of dancing at the Texas Hall of Fame, lunch with the Singing Cadets, and a barbeque and square dance. The SCONA committee began planning the conference in April. Af ter choosing the topic, the committee conducted fund drives and raised $76,000. Hanby said funds were contributed by former students, businesses and foundations. I i i :ii •i •kf ! i ( inside Around Town 4 Classified 10 Local 3 National 8 Opinions 2 Police Beat 4 Sports State 13 3 What’s up 46 forecast ^lear to partly cloudy today with a ligh of 62. Variable winds at 5'to 10 ttph. Partly cloudy for tonight and i low near 40. Clear to partly cloudy on Thursday with a high near 66. almanac United Press International Today is Wednesday, Feb. 16, the 47th day of 1983 with 318 to follow. The moon is moving toward its first quarter. The morning stars are Mer cury, Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Venus and Mars. Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. Henry Wilson, 18th vice pres ident of the United States, was born on this date in 1812 and American historian Henry Brooks Adams, in 183$. On this date in history: In 1923, the treasure-laden tomb of Tutankhamen — “King Tut” — was opened by archeologists in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Local clinic directors say law won’t decrease sexual activity by Jane G. Brust Battalion Reporter On the first visit, young women en ter the building anxiously, cautiously. They anticipate meeting scornful, cu rious eyes behind the counter. But instead, cheerful welcoming faces greet them and seat them. Such young women say it isn’t easy to walk into a family planning center for the first time. But after that initial visit, having gynecological checkups and asking for birth control supplies is natural and necessary, they say. A New York federal judge agrees. U.S. District Judge Henry F. Werker this week blocked implementation of the parental notification rule that was scheduled to take effect Feb. 25. But federal authorities say they aren’t sure ahether the temporary block ap plies to the entire country. Meanwhile, additional hearings are underway in other federal cour trooms, and those decisions could launch an appeal from the Justice De partment. The parental notification rule, also known as the “squeal law,” was prop osed by the Reagan administration. It focuses on more than two million females under 18. The rule would require 5,000 fed erally funded family planning clinics to notify parents within 10 days of their minors’ receiving perscription birth control — specifically, pills, diaphragms and intrauterine devices. This applies to clinics receiving feder al funds under the Title X family planning program. The proposal also states that only one parent needs to be informed by certified mail. The only exception would be if clinicians suspect that physical harm to the minor would re sult from parental notification. The rule has been the subject of lawsuits charging that the regulations are unconstitutional and that they represent an abuse of authority by Health and Human Services Secret ary Richard Schweiker. Schweiker re portedly has called the proposal “a reasonable balance” between the necessity of birth control supplies and the need to preserve parental roles. Proponents of the rule say it would promote communication between pa rents and teen-agers by encouraging teens to consult their parents. Ultimately, the rule would de crease sexual activity among the na tion’s young people, proponents say. Opponents were quick to call that idea nonsense. Private physicians and professional organizations — including the Plan ned Parenthood Federation of Amer ica — have filed lawsuits to block the rule. Those suits still are pending, but opponents say they are pleased with Werker’s stay. Such organizations as the Amer ican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Girls Clubs of America have voiced their disapprov al of the parental notification rule. Their forecast calls for national cri sis if the rule were implemented. Eve Paul, Planned Parenthood’s vice pres ident for legal affairs, reportedly has called the proposed regulation an “outrage,” saying it “threatens the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of teen-agers and their families.” Locally, the College Station Plan ned Parenthood clinic would not have to comply with such a rule because its funding is classified under Title XX, not Title X, and government inter vention is not an issue. But Sally Miller, the coordinator of that clinic, echoed Paul and other professionals who say parental notifi cation would result in increased num bers of unwanted pregnancies and abortions nationwide, as well as more cases of venereal disease. Miller said young people are acting maturely and responsibly in seeking assistance from family planning agen cies. “Sex education and birth control information should be in the home or church — that’s my personal opin ion,” Miller said. “But if that doesn’t work, it’s reasonable to seek informa tion and supplies elsewhere, to pre vent the disastrous alternatives.” Young people who cannot leave the community to travel elsewhere for birth control supplies, and who do not have family communication would suffer most, she said. A number of Miller’s clients agreed. Interviews with clients at the local Planned Parenthood clinic verbalized both fear and anger. A 21-year-old said: “The older generation is trying to inflict morality and stop the sexual revolution. But if a 17-year-old is old enough to have sex, and old enough to plan ahead, it’s not the parent’s business.” Several clients said the minors who are taking precautions in their sexual activity now would risk pregnancy rather than confide in their parents. “I know for sure I would have taken chances if it (the rule) applied to me,” the 21-year-old said. “Kids are naive. Girls will put the responsibility in the hands of the fellows because they’re not smart enough to get any other method.” Miller said “putting it in the hands of the fellows” most likely would mean a couple would rely on condoms and foam, or condoms only, for birth con trol, rather than on the pill, diaphragm or IUD — methods that usually are more effective. “About 90 percent of our clients have already been sexually active be fore coming in here for a good method of birth control,” Miller said. One client said she waited until her 18th birthday before coming to the Planned Parenthood clinic, for fear her parents would be contacted. “If this rule takes effect,” she said, “people like me who can’t tell their mothers and fathers won’t come in. “I think my parents are smart see Clinic page 10 staff photo by Irene Mees The same old thing? Associated General Contractors President Steve Moreno, standing, and AGC public relations man Joel Morris pose for an old-timey photograph. The photographs, taken in Langford Architecture Building, are being sponsored by the AGC for its fund raiser. Moreno is a senior building construction major from San Antonio, and Morris is a junior building construction major from Dallas.