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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1987)
r.-v*' Page 4/The Battalion/Tuesday, November 3,1987 4^ One Month Unlimited tanning $29 95 1003 Gniversity Dr. East Limited Offer One Month Unlimited Aerobics $25°° 846-1013 The School of Allied Health Sciences Presents A HEALTH CAREERS SYMPOSIUM Thurs., Nov. 5. 5 : 15pm Blocker Building, room 158 Learn about : Health Info. Management Health Related Studies Medical Technology Occupational Therapy Physical Therapy Physicjan's Assistant ^, v- y HAS MOVED YOUR^/f^ haircut place sunshine CUTS & CURLS REOPENING SPECIAL li (TlatriX Penn $29 00 Post Oak Square 1300 E. Harvey Rd. Call 846-0084 Two More Reasons to come to L p<yy-aworksJ 1. Deep Dish It's good enough to make you fainG 2. Breadstyxz A light snack or great with the salad bar. % A&M actors show misunderstandings between cultures By Staci Finch Reviewer When different cultures come into contact for the first time, misun derstandings inevitably arise. Such was the case in “The Wind Dancers,” the latest Aggie Players production, which opened Friday in Rudder Fo rum. The play tells the story of Sir Frances Drake’s encounter with the Olamentko Indians of Calfornia in the summer of 1579. As the Review play opens, the Indian widow Kulupis (Emma Charlotte Reading), is mourning the death of her husband. The Indian death rituals are explained by the old Indian man, Petanyah (Casey Malarcher). The Indians believe their deceased go to the Island of the Dead, which lies across the water. So when Sir Frances Drake’s ship ar rives, the Indians believe all aboard are dead. Misunderstanding follows misun derstanding as the Indians try to convince the “dead” to leave by giv ing them gifts. Drake and his crew believe the Indians are paying hom age to them and claim themselves rulers of the land. Martell Stroup was convincing as Drake. He portrayed a man who had compassion for different cultures, but who also could execute a mem ber of his own crew. Stroup showed these extremes of behavior in a be lievable way, so the character didn’t seem like two different people. Reland Garrett, who played Drake’s captured Cimaroon mis tress, was not as believeable. Garrett tried too hard to be cynical, and con sequently, her character never seemed to develop. The romance between the two characters also lacked depth. Al though the characters may not have liked each other, Drake showed no evidence of the sexual attraction to justify his capture of Maria in the first place. Whenever the two actors made physical contact, it was awk ward and stilted, as if their charac ters had just met, not as if they shared the same bed. But the romance between the sailor Dennis Martyn (Billy Griffin) and the Indian girl Peleet (Lanell Pena) was delightful. Griffin was be lievable as his sexual attraction to Peleet evolved into love. Pena was an excellent flirt, and the audience em pathized with both of them as they tried to bridge their cultural gap. Many of the characters seemed to act on only one level. Consequently, the plot didn’t build in intensity, but only in volume. Many of the charac ters tried to show their feelings with grand gestures and overemphasized lines, and didn’t trust the audience to understand subtlety. There were exceptions, however. Kathy Drum was wonderful as Samki, the little Indian boy. Drum didn’t have much to say, but she didn’t need lines to develop her character. Drum never lost focus, and always reacted to the characters around her. Another exception was Casey Ma larcher, who played Petanyah. Por traying age is always hard for the young, but Malarcher had no prob lem. He wisely chose not to play a “typical” old man with a quaky voice and shaky walk, (which often de tracts from what the character has to say), but merely let his makeup speak for itself. His narration tied the action together, and never was boring. Overall, the play was entertaining and skillfully used humor to remind the audience that misunderstand ings between cultures occur when people really don’t try to understand each other, and that misunderstand ings can lead to exploitation of peo ple who are really the same as every one else. The play will continue its run through Saturday. Key. <1 — Lightning £■ -Fog It — Thundentonw • • — Rain — Snow n — Drizzle — Ice Pelleti ^ — Rain Shower — Freezing Rzin Sunset Today: 5:36 p.m. Sunrise Wednesday: 6:37 a.m. Map Discussion: Weak low pressure dominates the central plains will light showers associated with the cold and warm fronts. A vigorous upper-level low pressure area off the West Coast is producing showtn over California. High pressure and fair weather dominates tne East Coast. Morning fog is patchy along the Texas gulf coast. Showers associated with a tropical depression are widespread over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida. Forecast: Today. Hazy and warm with a high temperature near 81 degrees. Morning fog will burn off to mosdy sunny skies with variable douds Winds will be light and southerly. Tonight: Patchy late-night fog and clouds will appear, with a low temperature near 54 degrees and winds nearly calm. Wednesday. Little change with mostly sunny skies, a high temperaturt near 82 degrees and winds increasing out of the south and southwestai 10 to 15 mph. Weather Fact: Isopycnic — a line connecting areas of constant air density, it often also is used in oceanography to depict regions of constant water density. Staff Meteorologist A&M Department of Meteorology Political scientist says age, education of Texans play part in voting apathy By Dana Pipes Reporter State demographics, population mix and education levels of voters contribute to low turnout in Texas elections, a Texas A&M political sci entist says. Of the about 50,800 registered voters in Brazos County, Dr. James Dyer says only about 20 percent, or 10,060, are predicted to vote in to day’s election. The ballot includes the controversial measure that would legalize pari-mutuel betting in Texas. A major factor contributing to this voter apathy is the wide range of voter groups in Texas, he says. “Texas has high numbers of de mographic groups that tend not to vote,” Dyer says. Overall, Texas is a young state where many people don’t vote be cause of age factors, he says. As the state ages, more people who pre viously weren’t involved in the vot ing process most likely will become voters, which will increase voting percentages, Dyer says. Education levels also have an ef fect on voter turnout. “Generally, people with less edu cation vote less,” he says. Dyer says on the average, individ ual interests in issues determine the percentages of voters who will turn out. “Elections tend to be dominated by people who feel strongly about particular issues,” he says. People who are pleased with the political system or who are critical of it are apathetic about voting. Dyer says. Because there are no real incentives, voters tend to vote out of a sense of duty. Because of the high number of elections in Texas, voters tend to lose interest in the issues concerned. “A reduction of the number of elections might increase voter part ipation,” Dyer says. Another factor contributing t past voter apathy in Texas was t/ Democratic party’s domination ( the political system, he said. Ft many years, the state elections we:: decided in the Democratic primar which made the general electionaf pear less significant. The current trend of competitio between the Democratic and Repul lican parties in Texas gradually Fa added significance to state election! “The competition between tit two parties possibly may increase i» terest in the election system,” Ik says. Town recovers from leak of hydrofluoric acid TEXAS CITY (AP) — Residents returning to their homes Monday washed down porches and yards to remove the residue of the weekend’s hydrofluoric acid leak. Forty-two people remained hospi talized for treatment of respiratory problems stemming from the indus trial accident Friday that released a toxic cloud and forced the evacua tion of about 3,000 people. Sunday night, people living near the Marathon Petroleum Co. plant were allowed to go home, returning to neighborhoods that were turned an autumn brown by the toxic acid. Many residents hosed down their porches and yards to get rid of fluo ride residue from the leak. Residents also were warned to wash their cars, throw out exposed food and clean eating utensils. “Everything was green but now it’s autumn all in one day and that’s too fast,” David Olivo said Sunday after he returned to his home a few blocks from the plant. Maria Guttierrez said, “My leaves are all brown. This place looks de serted.” Despite assurances from city and Marathon officials, Guttierrez, a convenience store clerk, said she feared for the safety of herself and her 2-year-old son. “The smell is too strong,” she said. The toxic acid spilled after a crane accidentally dropped its load, rup turing pipes leading into a hydroflu oric acid storage tank. When the acid came into contact with air, it vapor ized, sending a toxic cloud skyward, Marathon spokesman Bill Ryder said. At AMI-Danforth Hospital, 40 _ patients remained hospitalized Mon day with respiratory problems, hos pital spokesman Beverly Boase said. Since Friday evening, the hospital has treated 600 people and admitted 133, she said. At Mainland Center Hospital, 171 people were treated and two remain hospitalized, hospital spokesman Pat Kirk said Monday. Marathon has agreed to pay hos pital costs for people who sought treatment by 12:01 a.m. Monday. Those treated after that time can file claims with the company, he said. Progress of the cleanup operation was slow because of the delicate na ture of the task and numerous safety precautions, Ryder said. He said pipes draining the chemical needed to remain chilled, posing a tricky problem. Emergency crews emptied tli| ruptured tank at 9:40 p.m. Sunday Mayor Emmett Lowry said, ■ think they should have brought in: bigger pump from the beginningK pump that darned stuff out of then quicker. We’re glad it’s over an( we’re ready to go on now.” Pumping began at 1:15 p.m. Sat urday but was complicated by tw daytime temperatures. Hydrofluoii acid — used to make a gasoline o( tane enhancer used to etch glass ant clean metals — vaporizes when tt* temperature hits 67 degrees, a com pany spokesman said. Texas City was the site of thena don’s worst industrial disaster whet the docked freighter SS Grandcamp filled with ammonium nitrate fert lizer, exploded in April 1947, killira 576 people and injuring 5,000. I N 817 South Texas Avenue across from Eastgate, next to Red Lobster in College Station $ 49Puts You On The Right Side Of The Tracks. It’s two minutes until your class starts in Kleberg and you’re stuck in Blocker—on the wrong side of the tracks. Scooter Brown's can get you there on a Honda Spree for only $49.00 per month. It's the scooter leasing plan Aggies have been waiting for! The Spree is easy to operate with an automatic transmission, electric start and incredible gas mileage—over 100 mpg. Eliminate your parking problems and get to class with time to burn. Call Scooter Brown’s today at 693-7360.