The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 15, 1987, Image 1

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The Battalion
Vol. 87 No. 33 CiSPS 045360 10 pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, October 15, 1987
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Fold Glory
Members of the Corps of Cadets lower the flag in front of the Academic Building at the end of the day.
Photo by Robert TV. Rizzo
Labor adviser
quits Cabinet
to help Dole
WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor
Secretary William E. Brock will an
nounce today he is resigning from
President Reagan’s Cabinet to head
Sen. Robert Dole’s Republican presi
dential campaign, Dole’s campaign
staff said Wednesday.
“We do not know the effective
date,” said Tim Archer, a spokes
man for Dole’s campaign. “But we
are looking forward to have him
start in time for the senator’s an
nouncement on Nov. 9.”
Archer said Brock would specify
the timetable at news conferences at
the Labor Department at 10:30 a.m.
and in Dole’s office in the Capitol at
noon formally announcing his resig
nation and his appointment to chair
Dole’s campaign.
Dole, of Kansas, the Senate mi
nority leader, has been actively cam
paign for the presidency and is ex
pected to formally declare his
candidacy Nov. 9.
Brock would be the second Rea
gan Cabinet member to resign and
work on behalf of Dole. Former
Transportation Secretary Elizabeth
Dole, the senator’s wife, recently quit
to work full time on his campaign.
Brock, a former congressman and
senator from Tennessee, was chair
man of the Republican National
Committee in 1977-81. He would
bring a reputation as an organizer to
Dole’s campaign. Dole has been run
ning behind Vice President George
Bush in most polls thus far.
Dole, Bush and Rep. Jack Kemp,
R-N.Y., approached Brock in recent
weeks about working for them,
according to close associates of
Brock.
Officials in Dole’s campaign said
Robert Ellsworth, a longtime friend
of Dole who has been running the
campaign, would remain as a senior
adviser.
A Labor Department source said
Brock’s resignation will not be effec
tive immediately, but will probably
take place in a couple of weeks.
As Reagan’s U.S. trade represen
tative from 1981 to 1985, Brock
headed off protectionist measures
wanted by labor unions to restrict
imports. But he also yielded to pres
sures from some industries to slow
the flow of some products into the
United States.
Iranian gunners hit tanker; Iraqi jets attack ship
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — An Iranian
I gunboat fired on a tanker Wednesday,
shipping sources reported, and Iraq said its
warplanes raided a ship near Iran’s main
[oil-export terminal in the northern Persian
[Gulf.
It was the second Iranian attack on a
[tanker in two days. Iraq’s report, if con-
Jfinned, would mark the 10th Iraqi raid on
[ships carrying Iranian oil in a little more
|than a week.
An Iraqi communique said warplanes
[raided a “large naval target,” the customary
[term for a tanker, after dark east of the
[Kharg Island oil terminal and scored “an
effective and accurate hit.”
In Baghdad, hundreds of thousands of
Iraqis marched in a 10-mile-long funeral
procession for victims of an Iranian missile
attack Tuesday. The long-range rocket ex
ploded at a school, killing at least 32 people,
according to official reports.
The United States reaffirmed that its
warships will protect only American-regis
tered ships in the gulf, where Iran and Iraq
have been at war since September 1980.
Neutral Oman said it would serve as in
termediary for the repatriation of four
wounded Iranians rescued after an Ameri
can helicopter attack on Iranian boats last
week. It played the same role last month af
ter U.S. forces sank an Iranian vessel
caught laying mines.
The 84,631-ton Liberian-flag tanker At
lantic Peace was reported attacked off the
southern gulf port of Dubai about 1,000
yards from where the Saudi Arabian prod
ucts carrier Petroship B was hit Tuesday.
Salvage executives, speaking on condi
tion of anonymity, said the attacker in both
cases appeared to have been an Iranian
“warship” seen in the area.
They said the Iranian vessel used only
machine guns against the tankers, but
Lloyd’s Shipping Intelligence Unit in Lon
don said 4.5-inch and 35mm shells hit the
Atlantic Peace.
Shipping officials quoted the Atlantic
Peace’s captain as saying damage was mi
nor. The owner, Island Navigation Corp. of
Hong Kong, reported no casualties among
the crew of about 24 South Koreans.
Iran does not acknowledge attacking
commercial ships, but its armed speedboats
and larger craft regularly retaliate for Iraqi
air raids on tankers carrying Iranian oil.
Most Iranian attacks are on tankers
owned by or serving Kuwait and Saudi Ara
bia, which Iran accuses of supporting Iraq
in the war. The United States has given 11
Kuwaiti tankers American flags and regis
tration so U.S. Navy ships can protect them.
Hospital officials in Baghdad said many
of the 218 people reported wounded in the
missile explosion had died, but gave no fig
ures.
Nearly all the dead and wounded were
said to be children.
Crowds lining the funeral route chanted
“Revenge! Revenge!” and officials prom
ised retaliation.
“The blood of our martyred children will
not be wasted,” Saadi Mahdi Saleh, a leader
of the ruling Baath Socialist Party, said in a
graveside eulogy.
ouse holds bill to tell workers of job health risks
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
House on Wednesday moved toward
| setting up a new program requiring
the government to individually no
tify between 100,000 and 300,000
workers annually that they face a
high risk of cancer and other dis-
j eases from job exposure to hazard-
I ous substances.
Final action on the bill was post
poned until Thursday after Demo-
Icrats beat back an effort by Republi
cans to replace it with a weaker
substitute.
The substitute bill would have re
quired a two-year study first while
giving the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration more money
to enforce new hazard-labeling re
quirements placed on employers in
the past 15 months.
Despite the threat of a presi
dential veto, labor unions and health
groups said legislation is necessary to
address the nearly 100,000 deaths
and some 350,000 disabling illnesses
blamed on occupational hazards
each year.
While the notices themselves can
not be used as evidence in civil suits,
opponents led by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and the National As
sociation of Manufacturers claim the
process will trigger billions of dollars
in liability suits against employers by
their workers and former workers.
The substitute measure offered
by Reps. James Jeffords, R-Vt., and
Paul Henry, R-Mich., was defeated
234-191, with Democrats voting 217-
33 against and Republicans voting
158-17 in favor of it.
Having lost the key test vote, Re
publicans began offering amend
ments in an effort to weaken some of
the provisions of the bill by Demo
cratic Rep. Joseph Gaydos of Penn
sylvania, chairman of the House Ed
ucation and Labor Committee’s
health and safety subcommittee.
Gaydos’ bill would create a new
board in the Department of Health
and Human Services to determine
what workers are most at risk. Once
identified, the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health
would then be required to notify
them of the risks.
Employers would then be re
quired to provide periodic medical
examinations of the workers, paying
the costs for those currently on their
payrolls but free to pass them along
to former employees.
NIOSH officials estimate nearly
one-fourth of Americans have been
exposed to carcinogens and other
hazardous substances on the job and
most of them are unaware of it.
Reagan promises to continue fighting
for Bork’s Supreme Court nomination
President calls battle 'ugly spectacle' of pressure politics
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi-
ent Reagan on Wednesday decried
the battle over Robert H. Bork’s Su
preme Court nomination as an “ugly
spectacle” of high-pressure politics
fend promised to keep fighting in the
face of all but certain defeat for
sBork.
I am determined to fight right
own to the last ballot on the Senate
floor,” Reagan said in a brief Oval
ffice address.
The speech was made available to
jjie television networks, but only the
I'Cable News Network carried it live,
followed by a response in which
Democratic Sen. Terry Sanford of
North Carolina lashed back.
I Senators opposing Bork “are tired
of having our integrity impugned,”
Sanford said, adding that “it is time
for that corrosive dialogue to stop.”
I In the Senate, meanwhile, Demo
cratic and Republican leaders con
tinued arguing over the timing for a
vote, with Democrats insisting on
|)uick action and the GOP demand
ing enough time to make a case for
the conservative judge.
I Fifty-four senators are on record
against Bork, all but ensuring he will
lose when the vote is taken in the
1100-member body.
|| Reagan, however, said that al
though the public may have heard
that the battle over Bork is over, he
also had another cause in mind.
|| “I’m doing this because what’s
now at stake in this battle must never
in our land of freedom become a lost
cause, and whether lost or not, we
Americans must never give up this
particular battle: the independence
of our judiciary,” Reagan said.
Holding to the tough tone he has
used in most recent comments on
the issue, Reagan said that when he
announced Bork’s nomination on
July 1, he thought the confirmation
process would go forward “with a
calm and sensible exchange of
like Judge Bork, who don’t confuse
the criminals with the victims.”
He said he sought “judges who
don’t invent new or fanciful consti
tutional rights for those criminals,
judges who believe the courts should
interpret the law, not make it,
judges, in short, who understand the
principle of judicial restraint.
“That is the standard to judge
those who seek to serve on the
courts: qualifications not distortions.
“I’m doing this because what’s now at stake in this bat
tle must never in our land of freedom become a lost
cause, and whether lost or not, we Americans must
never give up this particular battle: the independence
of ourjudiciary. ”
— President Ronald Reagan
“Unfortunately, the confirmation
process became an ugly spectacle
marred by distortions and innuen
does and casting aside the normal
rules of decency and honesty,” Rea
gan said.
Appealing for public support,
Reagan listed past issues of contro
versy and said, “When the chips
were down, you and I worked to
gether.
“My agenda is your agenda, and
it’s quite simple: to appoint judges
judicial temperament, not campaign
disinformation. ”
Reagan said the upcoming Senate
debate “is to allow’ sides to be heard.”
“Honorable men and women
should not be afraid to change their
minds based on that debate,” Rea
gan said.
The president charged that the
“tactics and techniques of national
political campaigns” had been used
against Bork, calling this a.“disturb
ing . . . dangerous” development.
Sanford, in his response on behalf
of Senate Democrats, took strong ex
ception, saying Reagan’s confronta
tional approach “is not becoming to
the constitutional process in which
we are engaged.”
He said one mark of a great
leader is not only being gracious in
victory but gracious in defeat.
Sanford said now that “Judge
Bork’s nomination appears doomed,
we hear cries of ‘lynch mobs’ and
‘distortions.’ ”
“But it was not for political rea
sons that the nomination of Judge
Bork was rejected,” Sanford said.
“It’s time for that corrosive dialogue
to stop and time for profound re
spect for the constitutional process
to begin.”
He said senators, including some
Republicans, have decided to oppose
Bork after making careful evalua
tions of his qualifications.
“To suggest that they have been
swayed by anything but conscien
tious intellect is slanderous,” San
ford said.
The decisions of officials at ABC,
CBS and NBC against interrupting
afternoon programs to carry Rea
gan’s remarks were criticized by
White House spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater.
“Having devoted hours of broad
cast time to the Senate hearing, they
have suddenly gone blind to the
president’s address,” Fitzwater said.
“That view of their public responsi
bility is sadly inadequate.”
A&M legal advisers
offer affordable help
to troubled students
By Lisa Rosner
Reporter
Students with legal questions
can find affordable answers from
Texas A&M University’s Stu
dents’ Legal Department.
The student legal advisers help
students with legal problems con
cerning contracts, consumer pro
tection, domestic relations, traffic
tickets, landlord-tenant conflicts,
auto accidents and insurance pol
icies, Alex Walter, one of two li
censed staff attorneys, said.
“We will advise on virtually any
topic,” Walter said.
However, there are some re
strictions on what the office han
dles, he said. The attorneys can
not advise or represent one
student against another, nor can
they advise or represent a student
versus a part of the University, he
said.
Walter said the most frequent
matter the office deals with is
landlord-tenant conflicts. He esti
mated that about 25 percent of
complaints are this type.
The second most frequent
complaints are consumer protec
tion problems, he added. He said
these generally involve rip-offs by
businesses.
The procedure the office uses
varies according to individual sit
uations, Walter said. In many
cases a question can be answered
over the phone, he said.
In addition to legal advice, the
office also has documents such as
appearance bonds, bankruptcy
claim forms, defensive driving af
fidavits, income tax forms, resi
dent complaint forms and repair
notices that students can pick up
without seeing one of the attor
neys, Walter said.
The office is funded by student
service fees, and as long as a stu
dent has paid his fees, he said, the
service is free.
However, if the attorneys liti
gate a case in court, the student is
responsible for court fees, he
said.
In a small-claims court case in
which a student faces a Brazos
County defendant, the cost to the
student would be about $52, he
said.
But if the student wins the
case, he will get the money back,
the attorney said.
Students who need legal advice
can call for an appointment, or if
the matter is an emergency, they
can stop by the office in 359 Biz-
zell West.
The office books appointments
for the next week on Thursdays.
Mariann Siegert, one of the of
fice’s secretaries, said the office is
usually booked full within 2‘/a
hours, so it is best to call early.