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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1986)
Page 20/The Battalion/Monday, January 20, 1986 Soviets push Kremlin disarmament plan Associated Press MOSCOW — The Soviet Parlia ment urged the U.S. Congress on Sunday to accept the new Kremlin disarmament plan as “the only rea sonable and feasible alternative to nuclear weapons” and renewed a plea that the United States halt nu clear tests. The appeal through the official news agency Tass kept up Moscow’s unrelenting publicity for the propo sal and appeared to be part of the Kremlin effort to win Americans and others over to the plan. The Soviet press Sunday said early U.S. reaction did not raise hopes for quick progress and stressed that a space weapons ban is essential to the plan. Most national dailies printed let ters from readers praising the disar mament proposal unveiled by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev Thurs day. They also ran positive commen tary from officials and news media abroad. Soviet commentaries portrayed Gorbachev’s proposal as the best way to achieve disarmament and sug gested that opposition could come only from “militarist circles” in the West who they said benefit from arms production. Gorbachev’s plan, billed as a way to rid mankind of nuclear weapons by the year 2000, would begin with a 50 percent cut in superpowers’ strat egic missiles and removal of all U.S. and Soviet medium-range rockets from Europe. Gorbachev also extended the So viet moratorium on nuclear testing for three months, to the end of March. President Reagan and others in his administration have said they welcomed the proposal. U.S. offi cials in Washington said they were encouraged by Gorbachev’s call for eliminating European missile forces. But they expressed reservations about how the 50 percent strategic arms cut would be achieved and the Kremlin’s continued insistence that the United States renounce space weapons research, popularly known as “Star Wars,” as a condition for dis armament. Peres’ experiment with Arab mayor working “I don’t socialize with them (Israeli officers of the West Bank’s military administration) or make jokes. We deal with my people’s business, and I can’t ignore them. ” — Zafer al Masri, Nablus mayor. Associated Press NABLUS, Occupied West Bank — A parade of Palestinians troops through Mayor Zafer al-Masri’s of fice: a robed man whose thumbprint signature must be validated, a whman with worry beads whose son has been arrested by Israeli soldiers, a tearful woman seeking welfare. Al-Masri, a moderate pro-Jorda nian Palestinian, was appointed re cently by Israeli authorities to re place the Israeli military officer who ran the West Bank’s largest city. The 44-year-old mayor is the most tangible manifestation of Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ pledge to improve the quality of life under Is rael’s 18-year-old military occupa tion. Military officers run 17 of the 25 cities and towns in the West Bank. If al-Masri succeeds, Peres has pledged to replace three other mili tary administrators with Arab poli ticians. But Peres has also said that while elections were “a good idea” they would not be held in the near future because of possible disruptions by the Palestine Liberation Organiza tion. “There is tremendous pressure on the PLO right now to increase terror inside the territories” occupied by Is rael, Peres said at a recent briefing. Peres also said Israel had acceded to a long list of Palestinian requests, including more industries, two new hospitals and less book censorship. But the pace of change has been slow and the peace process itself is stalled over who will represent the Palestinians, moderate West Bank leaders as Israel wants or of ficials of Yasser Arafat’s PLO. The mayor demurs at the sugges tion he plays a larger role: “I want to improve life for my people through normal municipal services. ... I don’t want to be mixed up with the overall political aspects.” Al-Masri said ifi an interview in his office that it was unfortunate that his appointment came while Israel and the Americans were considering peace talks with a Jordanian-Pales- tinian delegation. The mayor said he sees his role as transitional until the Israeli authori ties allow new elections. Balloting was last held in the West Bank in 1976. “I’m the closest thing to an elected official. But this (appointment) is not instead of elections,” said al-Masri, who walks a fine line even though he is believed to have assumed office with tacit approval from Jordan’s King Hussein and the PLO. For ex ample, he meets weekly with Israeli officers of the West Bank’s military administration to discuss municipal projects which they must approve. “I don’t socialize with them or make jokes,” al-Masri said. “We deal with my people’s business, and I can’t ignore them.” Some Palestinian intellectuals say they are not impressed by the Israeli gestures. And an Israeli journalist who cov ers the West Bank, Yehuda Litani of the independent daily Haaretz, wrote recently that in the absence of effective government policy. West Bankers “will continue to see mainly the big stick that beats so well, and will forget the carrot, which is small, stunted, and unfortunately, sym bolic at this stage.” Remember December? Loupot’s gave you cash for your used books and a certificate for cash off your spring semester books. Now, for the New Year and semester, Loupot’s resolves to give you: ► largest selection of used textbooks serving Texas A&M students less hassle because Loupot’s does your book hunting for you shorter lines two weeks to exchange textbooks a free MYSTERY GIFT for wearing your Loupot’s A&M t-shirt when you buy books 335 University Drive ▲ In Northgate Tutu participates in event remembering King’s birth (continued from page 1) NAACP national President Wil liam F. Gibson and other officials were to gather on the grounds of the Statehouse in Columbia for speeches and songs honoring King. Some people protested the idea .of a national holiday for King. Members of North Carolina's White Patriot Party and other white supremacist groups marched in front of the state Ca- f iitol in Raleigh on Saturday and leld a rally in front of a Confed erate monument. Ku KIux Klansmen held a pa rade and cross-burning Saturday at Pulaski, Tenn., where the orig inal Klan was formed in 1865. A&M has state’s best record for retaining its minorities (continued from page 1) 1984 —only 30 fewer than UT-Aus- tin. The total number of minority un dergraduate students at A&M was not as large as that for some institu tions, but it ranked in the upper echelons of both categories — and have increased significantly in recent years, Universtiy officials say. A&M had 406 black students en roll at the undergraduate level in the fall of 1983 and 331 returned to school the following year. The corre sponding figures for Hispanic stu dents were 1,302 and 1,081. The University of Houston- Universtiy Park had the largest number of black students with 2,205 enrolling in 1983 and 1,349 return ing. Pan American University had the largest number of Hispanic stu dents with 6,512 enrolling in 1983 and 3,880 returning for start of 1984-85 classes. A&M’s ability to attract and retain minority students has been en hanced significantly in recent yean, assistant to Vandiver Grace Chisoln says. Her responsibilities indudj coordination of programs to encoui- age more minority students, facub and staff to come to the College Sta tion campus. The University had its largestn- tention increases this year, shesajvl A total of 413 black students rt turned for the classes last falfcoi pared to 331 the previous yeard 273 in 1983. The retention ratef#i lift black students went up to 83.4 pa cent this year. Chisolm says 1,254 Hispanic stJ dents returned for the start oftfctl present school year. That comparol to 1,081 in 1984 and 971 the prJ vious year. The retention rate is noil 84.4 percent. "The retention rates for blackdi Hispanic students at Texas A&Maitl now essentially the same as fortkl student body as a whole, andthail the best in Texas in all respects fa public institutions,” she says. 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