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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1987)
Tuesday, February 17, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local Tanning salons offer variation on ‘catching a few rays’ theme By Stacey Babin Reporter | With Spring Break, just a test or o away, many tanning salons in ollege Station are finding their nning beds full, but there is dis- igreement as to whether or not e beds are safe. A suntan is a sign of strength and youth,” says Linda Rosas, jwner of The Other Eclips. However, since it’s February and the sun can’t quite satisfy the eed for a good tan, tanning sa lons try to meet that need. I Most salons have special rates on their sessions now, but for sin gle visits the price usually is be tween $6 and I?. i Membership prices are about |35 a month, or $140 a semester with unlimited use of the beds. James Barrett, owner of TAN U, says tanning salons start new customers at about 10 to 20 min utes in the beds. The customers then can build their duration up to 30 minutes — the maximum time the Food and Drug Admin istration allows people to lie in a tanning bed per visit, Barrett says. “Thirty minutes is equal to about three to five hours in the sun,” he says. Barrett says the Solaire tanning beds he owns can be safer than the sun. They emit only 2 percent of the Beta ray, which triggers the tanning process, and 70 percent of the Alpha ray, which actually tans the skin, he says. The Beta ray is the ray that causes skin cancer, he says. But Dr. Terry Jones, a College Station dermatologist, opposes the use of the tanning beds. The beds use a different, more intense wavelength than the sun, Jones says. The long-range effects, such as early aging or skin cancer, are too great a risk to get a tan, he says. “You don’t sit six inches away from the sun,” he says. Although the FDA regulates the time spent on the beds, Jones says it doesn’t regulate how many sessions people can attend. Barrett says before he allows his customers to lie in the beds, he asks if they are taking any sun- sensitive medication that can trig ger a reaction. Skin tone also is a factor when deciding how long a customer should be in the bed, he says. Barrett says his customers also are asked to wear goggles to pro tect their eyes when they are in the beds. Tava Johnson, an employee at Perfect Tan, says if a customer does burn, it is not like a sunburn. “The skin becomes red and itchy, more like a rash,” Johnson says. Rosas says although the tan ning beds are good for people who desire some skin tone, it’s best to consult a physician before tanning and to use the bed in the right manner. 'rosecution unlikely for drug-dealing guards HUNTSVILLE (AP) — Texas Bn guards who deal drugs to in- nates are being fired, but lack of evi- Be means the officers rarely face Binal charges, authorities say. Ben prison employees have been ired in the past year for trying to ring drugs into prisons, but only ;0 P!ne li as been indicted, the Houston 13Ct Bp McALLEN (AP) — Law officers Bd more than a ton of marijuana ) ni || the Rio Grande Valley, including ,100 pounds hidden beneath a load I Bvatermelons, authorities said lone lay. r Acting on a tip, U.S. Customs offi- ers found marijuana in a tractor- railei rig Saturday night on a high- 1 iy outside Edinburg. The driver of truck was arrested pending a nl earing before a magistrate Tues- etilly.authorities said. r , The drug was found underneath Chronicle reported Monday. “They had enough evidence to administratively fire someone but not enough to prosecute them,” said David Weeks, special prosecutor for prison crimes. Department disciplinary records since 1984 show drug smuggling is widespread and helps the growth of a load of watermelons, officials said. In 11 separate cases, Border Pa trol agents across South Texas seized 1,462 pounds of marijuana between Friday and Sunday, said Juan Gar cia, assistant chief of the McAllen sector. “It was a normal weekend,” Gar cia said. “We do this daily, really. It used to be 800 pounds or 200 pounds would really be something big. Now we have five, six, eight cases a day. That’s nothing abnormal for us.” prison gangs and inmate violence. “Drugs are an insidious problem in the institutions,” Weeks said. “We’ve come to realize that drugs in the institutions are tied to a lot of bad things, including the gangs.” In one 1985 incident, corrections department internal investigations showed 17 guards at the Ellis II Unit Agents arrested three people and confiscated 846 pounds of marijuana Sunday night as seve ral people were carrying it across the Rio Grande upriver from McAllen, Garcia said. “That’s a small load for us now,” he said. Agents also seized 288 pounds of marijuana being carried across the Rio Grande near McAllen early Sat urday morning, Garcia said. Six peo ple carrying the drug fled back into Mexico, he said. participating in a yearlong drug and alcohol ring. But most of the em ployees were allowed to quit and no criminal charges were filed, the newspaper said. In another incident, charges were dropped against a guard who alleg edly tried to set up a marijuana and gambling ring with ties to Las Vegas. A Wynne Unit guard was fired but not prosecuted for allegedly sell ing an ounce of marijuana to an in mate for $150, the newspaper said. Officers usually are not caught with the drugs, thus leaving authori ties without enough evidence to prosecute, Weeks said. Joe S. Fernald, interim chief of in ternal affairs for the corrections de partment, said prosecution takes a back seat to stopping smuggling. “We’re not seeing an organized conspiracy of officers involved in drugs,” he said. “If anything, the in mates are organizing and manipulat ing the guards.” jgents seize drugs hidden under melons Longer warranties offer improvement in U.S. car quality By Tami Tate Reporter The “war of warranties” offers consumers the security of believing he quality of American-made cars is mproving, a Texas A&M marketing professor says. Longer warranties are a technique to convince consumers that U.S. cars are built better than they previously have been, Dr. James McNeal says. McNeal and Dr. Richard Hise, also a marketing professor at A&M, examined the absence of warranties on inexpensive supermarket goods. They concluded that although consumers may rely on warranties for assurance of quality when they purchase expensive items, they do not when purchasing inexpensive items. McNeal cites car purchases as an example of this. “Longer warranties symbolize quality in a car to consumers,” he says. “A warranty is an assurance made by a seller with respect to the quality of the goods he offers.” In 1981, the Chrysler Corn, estab lished longer warranties witn a five- year, 50,000-mile warranty on its new cars. Two weeks ago, General Motors Corp. countered Chrysler’s warranty with a six-year, 60,000-mile war ranty on its new cars. Mike Knight, auto dealer for Bos sier Chrysler Dodge and Isuzu of Bryan, says, “General Motors tried to revolutionize the market by top^ ping Chrysler’s warranty. Chrysler, in turn, answered GM’s warranty with a seven-year, 70,000-mile war ranty.” Tnis warranty is valid for all 1987 Chrysler automobiles bought on or after Jan. 31. “The warranties are competitive,” Knight says. “The whole point to having longer warranties is being in competition.” Steve Isgitt, general manager of Bluebonnet Motor Co., of Navasota, says competition with Chrysler is one reason GM upgraded its car war ranty. “The main reason for increasing our warranty is to instill a sense of confidence in the buying public,” he says. “Warranties give the impres sion that the manufacturer believes it has a good product. GM is trying to say it has confidence in its cars.” A GM dealer with Quality Pon- tiac-Buick-GMC Trucks Inc. agrees with Isgitt. “General Motors has bet ter built autos than they used to,” he says. “That’s the reason we are back ing our cars with the new warranty. “Chrysler will probably have to in crease the price of its cars to com- ensate for its new seven-year 0,000 mile warranty.” McNeal says the longer six- and seven-year warranties hurt the liabil ity of a car company. “There are two reasons to guar antee a product: to encourage con sumer purchase of the product and to limit the seller’s legal liability to his consumers,” he says. Chrysler took the risk of offering longer warranties, thus increasing their liability obligations, to encour age consumer purchase, McNeal says. Now, GM is competing with Chrysler. “GM’s longer warranty is a com petitive marketing effort to deal with imported cars and Chrysler,” he says. “The new warranties are publicly bragging about the manufacturer’s E roduct,” McNeal says. “This will enefit the consuming public be cause quality of the automobiles will increase.” Consumers will appreciate the longer warranties because they help protect the buying public, he says. “Most consumers are willing to pay extra for a product with a war ranty,” McNeal says. Pepperoni Rolls 1 Dozen Half Dozen STROMBOLI $10.°° Large Stromboli 16 inches $7.75 so Small Stromboli 12 inches $5.00 rpsof ,eral Thin Crust Napoletana Pizza Plain Extras Extra Large 12 cuts 18 in. $8.°° $1.°° Large 10 Cuts 16 in. $7. 25 $1.°° Medium 8 cuts 14 in. $6. 25 .80<t Small 6 Cuts 12 in. $5. 25 .80<t Thick Crust Siciliana Pizza Plain Extras Large 12 Cuts 16 in. $9.°° $1. 25 Small $5. 40 .90$ HOAGIES Large Italian Meat Ball Cheese Meat Ball Sauce Hot Sausage Cheese Hot Sausage Sauce Salami Cheese Ham & Cheese Capicollo 8e Cheese Provolone Tuna Pepperoni Cheese Steak Cheese Roast Beef 11" Small Entrees Chicken Cacciatore Chicken Arrosto Veal Pepper Veal Mushroom Veal Cotolet Parmigiana Veal Cotolet Marinara Egg Plant Parmigiana Pasta Dinners Spaghetti $4. 00 (Meat Ball, Hot Sausage PESTO) Meat Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Car- bonaca, Fettucine Alfredo Maria Pasta Special Lasagna $4. 00 Antipasta $4. 00 Manicotti $4. 00 Connellani $4. 00 Tortellbni $4. 00 Ravioli $4. 00 ^Soh WE WANT YOU TO TRY OUR PIZZA LARGE 16" ONE TOPPING PIZZA $5.99 + tax Tues, Wed. # Thur. I tier/f r-The Advantage is yours with a Battalion Classified. Call 845-2611 Baseball, "Lincoln Portrait" and the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. Imagine (if you can) a baseball hero as comfortable with a symphony as with a baseball bat. Atlanta Braves hero, Willie Stargell will perform in concert with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, Thursday, February 19 in Rudder Auditorium at 8 p.m. The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society presents Willie Stargell narrating Lincoln Portrait with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, Franz Anton Krager, Music Director and Conductor. Stargell will narrate Aaron Copland s "Lincoln Portrait , a collection of Abraham Lincoln s papers and speeches designed to show a mote personal side of man who changed American history, fie will also perform "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev, a delightful piece which even your children will enjoy. Stargell has performed with such noted orchestras as the national Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra with Andre Previn. Fill your nights with the music of our own BVSO and Willie Stargell. Order your tickets for the February 19 performance at the MSC Box Office. 4r Memorial Student Center • Texas AfifM University • Box J-l • College Station TX 77844-9081 VISA and MasterCard call 845-1234.