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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 10, 1984)
Hotline offers help to Texas women See page 3 Baseball's All-Stars ready to play tonight See page 7 Southern governors split on VP choice See page 4 Texas A&M ^ — v A The Battalion Serving the University community Vol 79 Mo. 167 CJSPS 045360 8 pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, July 10, 1984 Beirut airport reopens United Press International BEIRUT, Lebanon — Beirut air- Drt reopened Monday for the first ne in five months, but scores of oslems angry over the fate of some ,000 kidnapped victims burned Itires to block access to the facility nd roads linking the divided capi- ital. Units of a Moslem army brigade Imanaged to reopen the airport road land escorted passengers past shout- ling and club-waving Moslem protes- Iters.some of them women with pis- Itols tucked into their dresses. There were no reported injuries. “For two years or more, men, Iwomen and children have not slept Inights,” said Abdel Amir Majdi, a [spokesman for Moslem leaders back ing the protest. “They want to be re- jassured about the fate of their rela tives.” The International Committee of [the Red Cross said rival militiamen Shave kidnapped some 4,000 people, [mostly Moslems, during nine years [of civil war. But the militias are tknown to be holding no more than 1300 hostages — meaning thousands [of victims have likely been killed. I The Moslem protesters also Jburned tires and other debris on the jfour main crossings linking Chris- Itian east Beirut with the Moslem Iwest. Thousands of businessmen, jbowing to calls for a general strike, [dosed shops in the western sector. | Lebanese President Amin Gem- [ayef promised the hostage issue [would be a “top priority” at the [weekly Cabinet meeting Wednesday [in response to a plea from Dar el |lfta, a coalition of Moslem religious [and political leaders. I Unidentified gunmen, mean- | while, kidnapped Libyan charge d’affaires Mohammed Faitouri from a busy street in west Beirut in the [second abduction of a Libyan diplo- jmat in two weeks. There was no im- | mediate word on his fate. Despite the crisis, operations re- jsumed at Beirut’s port and interna tional airport for the first time since I Feb. 6, when Moslem militiamen 1 took over west Beirut in heavy street | fighting with the Christian-led army. The army reopened the airport, | Beirut’s port and the crossings on the Green Line as part of a Syrian- | backed security plan for the capital ! aimed at reunifying the divided city. The plan went into effect last Wednesday. It’s final — exemptions for seniors end in 1988 :: ■ ; . v \ ' ii ■. ■. - By KARI FLUEGEL Staff Writer The last step has been taken to ward changing the policy of final exam exemptions for graduating se niors. Jon R. Bond, chairman of the Fac ulty Senate Academic Affairs com mittee, reported to the Faculty Sen ate Monday that Texas A&M President Frank E. Vandiver has ac cepted the senate’s recommendation requiring degree candidates to take final exams. Beginning in May 1988, degree candidates, including graduate stu dents, will be required to take final exams. Vandiver did make one editorial change in the senate’s proposal by deleting the phrase that required de gree candidates to take final exams at the prescribed times. “In my opinion, the editorial change does not alter the recom mendation substantially,” Bond said. The phrase appeared in the propo sal to clarify that a special examina tion schedule was not suggested. In a letter from Vandiver to Fac ulty Senate Speaker Murray H. Mil ford, Vandiver wrote that the Regis trar’s office will be investigating details and options of the scheduling commencement ceremonies. Bond said. One such proposed option was beginning the semester two days early, so final exams would begin two days early. In other business, the Faculty Sen ate approved curriculum changes in bioengineering, chemistry, the Col lege of Business and mining engi neering. Discussion centered around the changes in the bioengineering and mining engineering curricula. Controversy surrounding the changes challenged Texas A&M’s function as an institution of higher education verses vocational training. Some senators said the proposed curriculum narrowed an engi neering student’s education to that of vocational training. Despite the discussion, the curric ulum for both programs was ap proved. Several resolutions also were passed by the senate. The senate passed a resolution commending John J. McDermott, the first and im mediate-past speaker of the Faculty Senate, for his work in organizing the Senate. Senate members also voted to sub mit a report prepared by the Senate International Programs Committee to Vandiver for his implementation. The report recommended support ing international activities of Texas A&M faculty members. The final resolution dealt with early retirement. With the proposed Texas A&M System program, Uni versity employees could be eligible for early retirement at age 55 if they meet eligibility requirements in the Teacher Retirement System or the Optional Retirement Program. The faculty member who chooses early retirement would continue to work for the University, but would work less than 50 percent of the time The resolution by the faculty sen ate objected to the termination of the tenure status of faculty members retiring early. ysttt 6* ' ' ' ■ 2 Mondale prepares iRiiPP Bird Bath? Photo by Peter Rocha This sprinkler near Kleberg seemed like a good place to cool off to a grackle Monday. The bird may get to frolic in the rain today, since the forecast calls for a 20 percent chance of it, in addition to a high in the low 90s. United Press International Walter Mondale put his vice presi dential talent search on hold Mon day and began work on a speech ac cepting the Democratic presidential nomination he won’t win until next week. Mondale, the party’s nominee-ap parent, worked at his secluded sub urban St. Paul, Minn., home with several top aides on the address that will be the climax of the Democratic National Convention next week in San Francisco and set the tone for his run for the White House. But after several weeks of well- publicized auditions of potential vice presidential candidates, Mondale still was mulling over the key choice of A running mate. “He is working on his convention speech ... and obviously thinking about who his vice president will be,” a campaign spokesman said. The spokesman said, however, that more interviews with potential running mates are “not in the plans right now.” Rep. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., named national co-chairwoman of the Mondale presidential campaign, predicted Monday the former vice president would name either Sen. Gary Hart or a woman for the sec ond spot. “I would say it’s 50-50,” said Mikulski, who withdrew her own name from the sweepstakes to sup port Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y. Mondale got some unsolicited ad vice from Southern Democratic gov ernors meeting in Williamsburg, Va. Gov. Mark White of Texas recom mended all of his favorite sons — sen. Lloyd Bentsen, House Demo cratic leader Jim Wright and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros. But Govs. Robert Graham of Florida, Charles Robb of Virginia and Mar tha Layne Collins of Kentucky, who is in the running for the job, called for selection of a woman. Although Mondale has enough pledged delegates to win the nomi nation, neither of his closest rivals have formally capitulated. Hart was still on the road talking to Democrats and Jesse Jackson was on television talking about sending a signal to black voters. Jackson, appearing on NBC “To day” program Monday, denied that he was going to call for a black boy cott of the election. “I simply said that those who fol low my leadership, they must watch fully for a signal” at the convention, Jackson said of an interview he gave The Washington Post during the weekend. “We’re not proceeding un der any threat of a boycott.” Biology text source of disagreement In Today’s Battalion United Press International AUSTIN — Fundamentalist Christians and anti-censorship forces clashed Monday over the is- ! sue of creationism versus evolution land which theory of human origin should be included in Texas public ; school textbooks. The State Textbook Committee opened three days of hearings to re- I ceive testimony on elementary sci- ! ence and math books and high school biology texts that will be used in Texas schools for the next eight years. The biology texts prompted the bulk of debate, particularly in re gard to their treatment of man’s ori gins and abortion. Noted textbook critics Mel and Norma Gabler of Longview, opera tors of one of the nation’s most in fluential networks of textbook crit icism, argued that creationism should be taught on an equal footing with evolution. Gabler said an attorney general’s opinion issued earlier this year sup ported his argument that Biblical creationism should be taught as one theory of man’s origins. The ruling by Attorney General Jim Mattox struck down a 10-year- old rule that ordered textbook pub lishers to identify evolution as only one of several explanations for man’s origin. Mattox’s ruling was widely viewed as a setback to creationists, but Gabler referred to it frequently in his argument for greater emphasis on the controversial theory. “We are asking for a compro mise,” Gabler said. “I’ll guaranteed you that teaching only evolution hin ders the religous freedom of mil lions of Americans.” Mike Hudson, Texas coordinator for the anti-censorship group People for the American Way, said the Gablers were trying to use Mattox’s ruling to further their own “narrow religious viewpoint.” The biology texts also were re peatedly criticized for treating abor tion as a form of birth control, using explicit male and female anatomical models and for giving too much in formation about sex. “These books have no concern for the risks (of birth control), said Clova Wood of Dallas. “It’s almost like the only goal is to tell students how to avoid having children.” Wood also objected to explicit male and female anatomical models used in one proposed text, calling the pictures “totally unnecessary ” Local • The pastels of a Texas A&M enviromental design pro fessor are being shown at a Houston gallery. See story page '3. • P.R.I.D.E. program gives Bryan employees recognition for outstanding work. See story page 4. Employers offer cash bonuses State • Sen. John Tower accepts teaching position at SMU. See story page 3. • Madison County law authorities say they have no leads in a former prison official’s disappearance. See story page 8. By LINDA SANTINOCETO Reporter Cash bonuses are being offered at Texas A&M to industrial distribu tion students at a time when most graduates are just hoping for a job. The bonuses, which range from $1,000 to $2,000, are offered by both large corporations and small in dependent firms, says Mike Work man, assistant professor of engi neering technology. “The bonuses are an incentive to get students to accept a position while at an interview,” he said. The companies realize that most students don’t have any money when they graduate, so a cash bonus is offered as an incentive for the student to take the job, he said. The first company Workman re calls offering such bonuses is an elec- trial supply company on the West Coast. For prospective employers, the bonuses are an effort to get ahead in hiring by getting commit tments early in a highly competitive industry, he said. Some students turn down the cash because they find more benefits at other firms, he added. “Most said the cash was nice, but that they based their decision on where they’d be in five to 10 years,” he said. The industrial distribution pro gram at Texas A&M is one of the oldest and largest in the country, graduating about 140 students a year, including both regular semes ters and summer sessions. Workman says since most of the graduates go to work for distributors across the nation selling everything from oil field equipment to com puter components they need a tech nical background because the prod ucts they sell are highly technical. “Several years ago our graduates were getting seven to eight job offers each,” Workman said. “Now they get two to five offers each.” But, he added, not all of the com panies are offering cash bonuses. Workman said the students are receiving several offers because there are more positions than there are graduates. National • Reagan says Jackson didn’t break the law in getting American prisoners released from Syria and Cuba. See story page 4. World • The Archbishop of Managua leads march protesting government confinement of clergymen accused of rebel ties. See story page 8.