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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1986)
«£xasA & MTQ M - l* lie tsattalion il. 83 No. 32 GSPS 045360 10 pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, October 14, 1986 tuuj cnsiiJ Soul lailtt efem Mcll(| lafi eagan optimistic bout future of talks n arms reductions fASHINGTON (AP) — Presi lt Reagan said Monday night that s Iceland summit with Soviet lei Mikhail Gorbachev left the fcrpowers “closer than ever” to an Irecedented cut in nuclear arse- i|, but also said he would not trade ftv his futuristic anti-missile plan n accord. ise Mhe summit almost produced an Hrecedented agreement to elimi- [ iate all long-range nuclear missiles ini |om the face of the Earth by (it p ,” Reagan said in a broadcast tt |jiess from the Oval Office. He talks ended when the Soviets in- perts hope arms talks continue WASHINGTON (AP) — A vari- 4of Soviet affairs experts said Jday they hope the failure of the nnd summit will not lead to a sus- fcion of arms control efforts or an winded period of superpower hos- iit) Ixperts normally symphathetic to idem Reagan’s strategic arms ip ons raised questions about the risdnm of his decision to meet with ■et leader Mikhail Gorbachev ithi'iit prior assurances of a con- ptive outcome. inceton University Professor hen F. Cohen said he was con- td about whether Gorbachev persist with his policy of “com- lise and conciliation” with the ted States, given the setback at davik. “I think historians may look back Hesterday, Sunday, Oct. 12, as a ind of turning point and a very sad me; Cohen said on NBC’s “Today” m. Former Secretary of State Alexan- trM. faigjr. said he saw “a veiled Nat” by the Soviets “to stretch leir muscles” in West Berlin, Eu- ope or some othej trouble spot round the world. However, Haig told the Cable tws Network he is not too con- rled that such a scenario will hap- Srfbecause it was the Russians that ledwl this summit, the Russians latnanted it and the Russians that Id have achieved the most bene- from it.” Helmut Sonnenfeldt, who served a top aide to then-Secretary of late Henry A. Kissinger in the is, and now an associate fellow at ie Brookings Institution here, said :does not believe the Soviets “are repared to let the entire pnship sour.” don’t see them taking any huge Sonnenfeldt said in a tele- pe interview. puis G. Fields, a former U.S. psentative to the Conference on rmament, said he believes the isides will be able to build on the reductions proposals they :at Reykjavik. lit, he said, progress will not be pie if the Soviets continue to in- that any agreement include U.S. liiantling of “Star Wars” or the htegic Defense Initiative. Zbigniew Brzezinski, national se- irrjty adviser under President y Carter, praised Reagan for ling firm on SDI but said Reagan -advised to go to Iceland in the [place. sisted on confining Star Wars re search to the laboratory. Reagan, in putting an optimistic face on the Iceland impasse, said, See related story, page 6 “We are ready to pick up where we left off.” The next step is up to the Soviets, he said. “There was no indication from Mr. Gorbachev as to when or whether he plans to travel to the United States” for a follow-up sum mit, the president said, adding: “Our invitation stands. We con tinue to believe additional meetings would be useful. But that’s a decision the Soviets must make.” Near the conclusion of his 20- minute address, Reagan said, “if there is one impression that I carry away with me from these October talks, it is that, unlike the past, we are dealing now from a position of strength.” Reagan painted a more optimistic picture than Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who announced the collapse of the summit talks in Iceland 28 hours earlier, saying there were no plans for resumption of bargaining. Gennadi Gerasimov, a spokesman for the Soviet foreign ministry inter viewed in Moscow by ABC News af ter Reagan’s speech, said the Soviets still hoped for compromise on SDI. “We want some kind of insurance, which you also want,” he said. “What worries us is, if you have the possibil ity of this research in space, then maybe you can come out with some kind of technological breakthrough which will disbalance the whole situ ation.” Reagan’s spokesmen hurried to announce the initial telephoned re sponse to Reagan’s speech, report ing that a half hour after the address some 1,214 calls had been received by the White House switchboard. White House deputy press secretary Peter Roussel said that of those calls, 1,022 were positive and 192 were negative. Reagan’s national security adviser, Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, told reporters Monday that U.S. arms ne gotiators in Geneva will try to sal vage elements of the accord that won tentative approval at the summit. Meanwhile, an official traveling with Secretary of State George P. Shultz en route home from Brussels, Belgium said that Shultz will attend an international human rights con ference in Vienna in early Novem ber, and may at that time meet with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard She vardnadze. In his speech, Reagan said, “Our ideas are out there on the table.” He was referring to the two super powers’ unfinished agreements to phase out medium and long-range nuclear missiles by 1996. “They won’t go away,” he said. “We are ready to pick up where we left off... So there is reason — good reason — for hope.” Reagan said, “We made progress in Iceland, and we will continue to make progress if we pursue a prudent, deliberate and, above all, realistic approach with the Soviets.” Vice President George Bush said Monday he feels the Soviets must be convinced that “ . . . SDI is not a threat to Soviet missiles on the ground. SDI is not a threat to the Russian population. It is simply a de fense against weapons that have been launched. It is more important to put weapons at risk, not people.” T tions of these talks are enormous and only just beginning to be under stood. We proposed the most sweep ing and generous arms control pro posal in history . . . While we parted company with this American offer still on the table, we are closer than ever before to agreements that could lead to a safer world without nuclear weapons.” / ■ .. . . T litp ■ v "' ^ —-i 1— i Spinning Wheel Karen Glenn shows students in her University Plus class how to throw clay on the potter’s wheel at the Photo by Tom Ownbey MSC Craft Center. Glenn has been teaching pot tery for six years. Congressional reaction to summit mixed WASHINGTON (AP) — Con gressional reaction to the failure of the U.S.-Soviet summit to agree on nuclear arms cuts generally fell along partisan lines Monday, with Democrats saying President Reagan missed a historic chance and Repub licans applauding him for refusing to compromise on “Star Wars” re search. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said, “I am puzzled by the decision to pass up the real opportunity to destroy a large portion of the Soviet nuclear arsenal through arms control.” “Instead,” said Biden, “the admin istration insists on spending vast sums of money on the development of untested, unproven defensive sys tems that are alleged to address the same objective — the destruction of offensive nuclear weapons.” But a different view was ex pressed by Rep. James Courier, R- N.J., one of the staunchest House supporters of Star Wars, known for- 'No place for political wrangling' WASHINGTON (AP) — Political wrangling has no place in the aftermath of President Reagan’s unsuccess ful attempt to reach an accord on arms control with Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland, both U.S. senators from Texas said Monday. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, said the president knew his trip could be politically damaging if an agreement failed to materialize, but decided to go ahead with the talks because the issue of arms control is all-important. “We have always had a tradition of politics ending at the water’s edge,” Gramm said. “I hope this fine tradi tion continues here.” Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas said failure of the lead ers to reach an accord at the Iceland summit should not become an election issue. “This is an issue that is above partisan politics,” Bent- sen said. “We want what is best for this country and what is best for this country is to be free of the threat of nuclear war.” But Bentsen and Gramm openly disagreed over President Reagan’s refusal to offer any concessions on the “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative. “I have always supported using SDI as a bargaining chip to bring the Soviets to the table,” Bentsen said. “It seems we got very close to verifiable reductions . . . The president decided he wasn’t ready to trade SDI away yet. I hope we haven’t missed an opportunity.” mally as the Strategic Defense Initia tive. “From what I know, Ronald Rea gan did precisely the right thing,” Gourter said. “ . . . Obviously, I’m saddened by the fact that no agreements will be reached in the near term. But Reagan did the right thing. He should not give up SDI.” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D- Mass., said a “grand and historic op portunity was there in Iceland, but it has been sacrificed — at least for the moment — on the uncertain altar of SDI.” Kennedy asked, “Must we sacri fice the certainty of significant and sweeping reductions in nuclear arse nals today for the uncertainty of an unproven and unprovable defense in the distant future?” Strong support for Reagan came from Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chair man of the Foreign Relations Com mittee. Kemp said he was pleased that the president “walked away from an agreement that violated one of his highest goals, the development of a strategic defense for ourselves and our allies.” Lugar said the Soviet offer “at tempted to trap the president and put the United States into perpetual jeopardy.” He added, “Their propo sal would have prohibited the United States from developing any defensive deterrent while the Soviets would be able to maintain their of fensive superior capability.” Rep. Thomas Downey, D-N.Y., campaigning in his district Monday on Long Island, said constituents were disappointed with the results of the summit. “My sense was from the people that I spoke to, there was a much greater desire to see something,” he said. gielands ailable at English Annex Students who paid for a copy of Heland ’86 may pick it up at the Hsh Annex from 8:30 a.m. to Pp.m. Monday through Friday. Students must show their I.D. trds to get their yearbooks. Students are encouraged to pick i their yearbooks as soon as possi- Yearbooks not picked up during distribution time will be sold at a me to be announced later. Class of ’90 chooses Gattis as president By Rodney Rather Staff Writer Dan Gattis was elected Class of ’90 president in Monday’s fresh- mart class run-off elections, according to election results re ported by election co-commis sioner D.B. Thomas. Run-off elections were held to fill all five freshman offices be cause last Tuesday’s elections closed with no candidate for any office receiving the majority vote necessary to secure a victory. According to Monday’s elec tion results, Gattis, a business ma jor from Dallas, pulled in 67.1 percent of the votes to defeat Mike Lister, who netted 32.9 per cent. In the run-off race for vice president, Michael Aspinall emerged victorious over Rachel Powitzky. Aspinall accumulated 58.6 per cent of the votes while Powitzky received 41.4 percent. The contest for treasurer ended with David Gribble as the winner. Gribble tallied 65.3 per cent of the votes while his oppo nent, Jennifer Sauter, got 34.7 percent. The run-off election for secre tary resulted in Jeff Brennan de feating Sharon Brunner. Bren nan drew 61.4 percent of the vote while Brunner received 38.6 per cent. In the runoff for social secre tary, Kathleen Broderick de feated Clay Harris. Broderick pulled in 52.9 percent of the votes while Harris finished with 47.1 percent. CS Council delays action on electricity rate increase By Craig Renfro Staff Writer The College Station City Council Monday voted to get additional con firmation on certain clauses of Gulf States Utility’s acceptance of a 7 per cent rate increase for its wholesale electric customers. Mayor Larry Ringer said the council and city staff talked about GSU’s latest proposal and decided to “firm up some ideas” before taking action. One obstacle to approval of the proposal is a clause which allows GSU to back out of the contract within 30 days notice, Ringer said. The current proposal doesn’t allow the city the same option, and Ringer said that is not acceptable. “Once we get things to our satis faction well sign the contract,” Ringer said. North Bardell, Lone Star Munici pal Power Agency executive direc tor, said GSU approved the increase Sept. 29. The pending confirmation fol lows more than eight weeks of nego tiations with GSU. Negotiations on the contract began Aug. 25 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis sion granted GSU an interim 40 per cent rate increase. If the increase had taken effect, College Station would have had the highest electricity bills in the state, Bardell said. College Station and three other cities — Caldwell, Newton and Kir- byville — buy electricity wholesale from GSU, then resell it to their resi dents. After GSU’s wholesale customers complained, GSU proposed a 24 percent rate increase Sept. 8, Bardell said. Following a special session Sept. 11, the council proposed the 7 per cent increase, Bardell said. If the proposal is approved, the new rates will be retroactive to Aug. 25, but consumers’ bills will not re flect the change until October, he said. The contract will run through July 1991, Bardell said. Under the proposal the city will buy bulk amounts of electricity at re duced rates and pass the savings on to the consumer in the form of a 4 percent increase. Bardell said the contract still must be approved by the FERC, which regulates wholesale rates.