The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 18, 1985, Image 1
Texas A&MV^ m m «• The Battalion Vol.80 Mo. 113 GSPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Monday, March 18, 1985* > Children using stress control before exams I Some parents say ifs I'mental child abuse' Associated Press JCLEARWATER, Fla. — Before a w exam, thousands of fifth-graders B Florida’s Gulf Coast breathe Bep, close their eyes, picture the teitand tell themselves: “1 am ready. Shave studied.” ■ In return, they get better grades, Isays Harry Danielson, guidance su pervisor for the Pinellas County ! school system. The exercises, he lavs, have a calming effect that helps Bntrol anxiety and build conti- Mence. ■ Hut some parents call the pro- ^Batn “mind control" and “mental B^iild abuse” and refuse to let their Bildren take part. I Opponents fault tape-recorded [ itistructions telling youngsters to Breathe deep and imagine a safe || place or a "wise person" to whom Bey can turn in times of trouble. i That, they say, is hypnotic and phys- ! kally threatening. ; The controversy recently forced I 1 the school board to lake another ijooJc at the 4-year-old program Known as “quieting reflex.” or Q R., |||»hich is used for about 4,000 chil- llrtlren in at least 28 middle schools. ■H By a 6-1 vote Wednesday, the |||K>ard reiterated its support for |B).R,. but required schools to inform parents about the program and re stricted its use to the weeks before iStandardized tests. The concessions didn’t mollify itics. “It’s a form of tampering with our Children’s mind,” said Hugh Riche- pon Jr., a lawyer representing par ents opposed to the technique. “You night want to call it mental child hbuse.” The objective, Danielson says, is to teach children to modify physiolog ical reaction to tension by reversing tendencies to tighten muscles or take shallow breaths. They are taught to recognize that they’re upset, tell themselves they can handle it, breathe deeply and consciously try to relax. Superintendent Scott Rose recom mended the program be continued, based on the findings of a review committee of ministers, Parent Tea chers Assocation representatives, physicians, clinical psychologists and two professional counselors. Photo by WA YNE L. GRABEIN Irish Invasion Many people claim Irish roots when St. Patrick’s day arrives. Lisa and Tracey Connor, two sisters who are journalism ma jors, were part of the Irish crowd at Bennigan’s Sunday night. Bennigan’s hosted its annual party complete with Irish music and green beer. Acid rain a priority for Shamrock Summit Associated Press QUEBEC — President Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney launched their St. Pat rick’s Day “Shamrock Summit” Sun day with an announcement designed to smooth over the issue of acid rain, the single greatest irritant in U.S.- Canadian relations. The two leaders said they would exchange special envoys to examine the sensitive environmental issue and report back within a year. “Together, we will find an answer to this problem,” Reagan said after a half-hour meeting with Mulroney. Mulroney, who stated that the pollution problem was going to be the top issue for him at the summit, called the move “a significant step forward .... The president and I are confident that this approach will produce real results.” However, there was no commit ment in the two men’s statements to a full-scale cleanup program similar to what Mulroney had been seeking in advance of Reagan’s goodwill visit. Reagan named former Transpor tation Secretary Drew Lewis as his special envoy, while Mulroney named former Ontario Premier Wil liam G. Davis. Reagan and Mulroney, fellow sons of Ireland and kindred conser vative spirits, are holding two days of talks and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Quebec, the heart of French Canada. Although U.S. worked to stress the positive aspects of Reagan’s over night visit, the president alluded to an ongoing environmental dispute over acid rain when he said, “Be tween two such independent and sovereign countries there will always be some differences, as there will al- ways he opportunities for agreement.” But he, too, helped set the Irish tone of the meeting which officials from both sides dubbed the Sham rock Summit, calling it a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. “For two fellows named Reagan and Mulroney, this would seem to be appropriate,” said the president, who wore a Kelly green tie. Mulroney picked up the cue, and said that the “luck of the Irish brings us together. He said Canada’s ties with its southern neighbor were marked by “fairness and common values.” A U.S. official, briefing reporters before the trip on condition he not be identified, sought to minimize the importance of the acid rain pollution issue, pointing instead to areas of agreement, including the signing of a new Pacific salmon fishing treaty, and a plan to modernize the obsolete Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. The string of giant radar dishes was built more than two decades ago to warn of a surprise Soviet attack over the North Pole. The Reagan administration has for years insisted more research is necessary before the government presses a costly cleanup effort. Caller claims Islamic Jihad responsible for abduction Associated Press BEIRUT, Lebanon — An anony mous telephone caller claimed Sun day that the shadowy Islamic Holy War group had kidnapped Asso ciated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, as well as two Britons who were abducted in Beirut last week. The caller said he represented the group, known in Arabic as Jihad Is- lami, and read a statement which said the “the detention” of Anderson and the two British men “comes within the framework of our contin uing operations against America and its agents.” Anderson, 37, the chief Middle East correspondent for the AP, was last seen Saturday morning, when he was shoved into a green Mercedes by three men, two of them armed w*ith pistols. AP photographer Donald Mell witnessed the abduction. The missing Britons are Brian Le- vick, 59, managing director of the Coral Oil Co. in Lebanon for the past 18 months, kidnapped Friday; and Geoffrey Nash, 60, a metallurg ist who works for the Lebanese gov ernment, abducted Thursday. All were seized in west Beirut, the Moslem sector of the capital which, for the past 13 months, has been un der the control of Shiite Moslem and Druse militias. See KIDNAP, page 12 Jury foreman: Cuadra shouldn’t get new trial By MICHAEL CRAWFORD Staff Writer Former Texas A&M Cadet Ga briel Cuadra should not receive a new trial, the jury foreman in Cua- dra’s trial said Sunday. Cuadra requested a new trial Fri day after accusing the prosecutor and the jury of misconduct during his Jan. 31 trial. Cuadra based his request on the dosing arguments in his case when Brazos County Attorney Jim Kubo- viak twice referred to punishment while the jury was only supposed to determine guilt or innocence. But according to Jury Foreman Alyn Hays, the mentioning of pun ishment did not influence her deci sion. “I certaintly wasn’t (influenced),” Hays said, “but, I don’t know how anybody else felt. I felt it was obvious the boy was guilty and I feel very bad about it.” Cuadra was found guilty of tam pering with evidence during an in vestigation of the death of Cadet Bruce Goodrich. The charge is pun ishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Cuadra was given a pro bated $500 fine and a probated one- year jail sentence by County Court- at-Law Judge Carolyn Ruffino. Cuadra admitted to destroying a schedule which outlined the exer cises Goodrich undertook on an early-morning run before collapsing from heat stroke last August. Th^ roster was sought by police during the investigation into the death of the 20-year-old transfer student from Webster, New York. Goodrich was one of two transfer cadets who made the run which was supervised by three junior cadets. The three pleaded guilty to hazing charges and a hazing charge against Cuadra was dismissed in Ruffino’s court on Feb. 25. Ruffino ruled that the three de fendants each must pay a $250 fine for hazing and $70 in court costs. The three former students were plaped on probation for 90 days and required to work 100 hours of com munity service. Colonization A&M researchers helping NASA's martian dreams come true This is the first article in a two- pan series focusing on what sonic scientists see for the future of Mars. By WAYNE L. GRABEIN Reporter The men of Earth came to Mars. They came because they were afraid or unafraid, because they were happy or unhappy, because they felt like Pilgrims or did not feel like Pilgrims. There was a reason for each man. ‘The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury Through the years, many of the ideas and inventions of sci ence fiction have crossed the line into reality from futuristic dreams. Robots, computers and space travel, once fantasy, are common place today. Now researchers at Texas A&M, supported by NASA, are beginning their own Martian ven tures by investigating the possibil ity of manned bases on Mars in the early 21st century. “How much do we know and how far are we from a real, live space station on Mars or even an orbiting space station?” said Dr. Duwayne M. Anderson, associate provost for research at Texas A&M. “We’re very close in terms of the know-how.” Anderson’s outlook is echoed by Oran Nicks, director of the new Space Research Center at A&M. “The exciting thing is that now we’ve gotten to the point where it’s beyond the dream; it’s a possi bility," Nicks said. “We’re here fi nally.” Anderson, as a researcher, and Nicks, as the deputy director of the Langley Research Center, were members of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis tration during the Viking space missions to Mars. Anderson also helped inter pret portions of the missions’ data. His interpretations were in cluded in the published results of the mission. The Viking missions proved the United States could land a spacecraft on Mars safely, Ander son said. With the success of these missions, the route to Mars has been paved, he said. But Nicks said the colonization of Mars will take at least two ox- three decades to become a reality. Dr. Michael Duke, chief of the solar system exploration division at the Johnson Space Centex-, said one reason for the time lapse is because NASA programs go through an evolutionary process that often takes decades to com plete. The lunar and Mars bases, he said, will most likely be developed out of the current space station program. From past experience with NASA projects, Anderson said each program usually takes about 10 years to evolve from the initial planning stages to the end. “The space shuttle is the key to the next step,” he said. “It’s the bridge.” Nicks said the shuttle will allow the development of orbiting space stations, and, later, will fa cilitate the construction of moon bases. These lunar bases would be the essential providers of materi als for the Martian expeditipn, Nicks said. The lunar bases also would be a possible starting point for the operation. But why Mars? “Seeing the similarities (be tween Earth and Mars) suggests the tremendous amount of real estate,” Nicks said. “Who’s to say that it isn’t a valuable property.” Nicks compared the Martain landscape to the reddish, rocky surface of the California and New Mexico deserts. Besides the visual similarities, Nicks said the scientific prop erties which parallel Earth’s own characteristics would make the colonization of Mars more favor able. For example, a day on Mars lasts 23 hours and 37 minutes compared to the 24-hour Earth day. Also, the martian year goes through four seasons like Earth, but a year on Mars is 687 days. The main attraction of Mars, though, is the presence of water, said Doth Niclts and Anderson. This water supply, in the form of ice and snow, could provide an energy source and an atmo sphere, Anderson said. Nicks said differences between the two planets also would bring settlers to Mars. “There’s the same spirit in the human psyche,” Nicks said, “which will make people want to go to Mars and do some of these things, in spite of the challenges, for the same reason people left Europe and came to the United States.” Anderson said the Apollo mis sions to the moon and other past space programs should not be forgotten. Those programs still influence the present programs. “Aa to why (we should go to Mars), it’s because we can, and we will because we want to, not be cause vve have to,” Anderson said. “That’s kind of a nice situation to be in.” Photo by WA YNE L. GRABEIN Scientists have been able to simulate the martian soil here on Earth. The flask contains samples of the simulated soil.