The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 17, 1987, Image 1

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The Battalion
mfol 87 No. 56 GSPS 045360 8 Pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, November 17, 1987
eport: Reagan didn’t know of fund diversions
I WASHINGTON (AP) — Con-
■ress’ report on the Iran-Contra af-
lir concludes there was no evidence
■resident Reagan knew of the diver-
Slion of Iran arms sale money but
fttys he failed his duty to “see that
ne laws are faithfully executed,” a
■enate committee source said Mon-
|ay.
There was sharp debate among
committee members about whether
T) include that language in the final
report, due to be released on
Wednesday, a source said, speaking
only on condition of anonymity.
Ultimately it was left in the final
document, although other criticism
of Reagan was toned down substan
tially from earlier drafts, the source
said.
The language is a paraphrase of
the Constitution’s description of the
president’s duties. Article 2, Section
3 says “he shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed.”
The language reflects the belief of
many members of the investigating
panels that at best, the president cre
ated an atmosphere that permitted
the diversion of arms sale profits to
go forward, possibly a violation of
the law.
Meanwhile, a Republican member
of the House panel. Rep. William
Broomfield of Michigan, said the
possibility cannot be ruled out that
some former Reagan administration
officials may have violated the law in
the secret arms sales to Iran and the
shift of some of the proceeds to Ni
caragua’s Contra rebels.
Another member. Rep. Bill Mc
Collum, R-Fla., said he disagrees
with the committee’s majority, which
he said will conclude in the report
that errors were made by Reagan’s
political appointees but that nothing
significant occurred in the system
that contributed to the mistakes.
“People did make mistakes in
judgment,” McCollum said in a tele
phone interview from his home in
Florida. “But there were several sig
nificant failures in the system.”
Neither Broomfield nor any of his
GOP colleagues on the House panel
signed the report.
Broomfield, in a separate
statement to be attached to the re
port, said: “We should not under
state the range of potential improp
rieties and illegalities committed by”
the late CIA Director William Casey,
former national security adviser
John Poindexter and fired White
House aide Oliver L. North, “as well ,
as certain other governmental offi
cials.”
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Police find A&M cadet
tied to UT campus post
A member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets was
found handcuffed and tied to a post on the University
of Texas campus early Sunday morning, a spokesman
for the UT police said.
George Russell Pulliam, a senior journalism major
and cadet at A&M, was found near the West Mall area
of the UT campus by UT police at 5:30 a.m. Sunday,
Sgt. Harold Menefee of the UT Police Department
said. UT police reported that about 15 people were
seen running away from the area where Pulliam was
manacled. Three A&M students with Pulliam were
taken to the UT police station and released with no
charges, Menefee said.
Bob Wiatt, director of A&M police, said the incident
was referred to his office by UT officials and he will
refer any information to the Commandant of Cadet’s
office and to the Department of Student Affairs.
Wiatt said he doesn’t have all the information about
the case yet, but said no UT students appear to be in
volved. “Apparently, Aggies were treating their own to
the pleasures of Austin,” Wiatt said.
There will be more information available later in the
week, he said.
Regents approve proposal
for new modular dormitory
Get your goat
Rebecca Powers, a junior physical education major
from Sonora, practices her goat tying in prepara
tion for A&M’s showing in the National Intercolle
giate Rodeo Association. Goat tying is one of the
Photo by Luanne Waldrop
events that will take place during the rodeo that
begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the
Dick Freeman Arena. The annual event features
participants from the Southern region of NIRA.
By Lee Schexnaider
Staff Writer
If the Texas A&M Board of Re
gents has its way, a new modular
dormitory could appear on the
A&M campus in 18 months.
The board on Monday approved
a recommendation to commission a
preliminary design for new dorms.
The $25.2 million project will in
clude a $2.8 million renovation and
addition to the Commons Dining
Hall.
Moffatt Adams, chief architect for
A&M, said at the Planning and
Building Commission meeting on
Sunday that the dormitories will oc
cupy two sites, one on the northwest
side and one on the southeast side of
campus. The site for one of the
dorms is east of Haas and McFadden
halls. The proposed dorm would
house 238 students. The other site is
south of the Commons and east of
Underwood Hall and includes three
dorms. These units will hold 962
people.
The new building is planned to be
constructed in a modular style simi
lar to Underwood, Adams said. It
will consist of prefabricated concrete
cubicles.
The new dorms also will have
more laundry facilities than existing
modular dorms.
Regent Royce E. Wisenbaker,
chairman of the committee, said
these new dorms won’t alleviate the
problem of student housing on cam
pus.
John White, housing services su
pervisor, said there were about
5,000 more applications for dorm
space for the fall semester than is
available.
Wisenbaker said current modular
dorms are all female, but it hasn’t
been indicated whether the new
dorms will be for females.
“I’m going to insist we have some
dorms for the boys,” Wisenbaker
said.
The committee also discussed de
signs for the Institute of Biosciences
and Technology Building at the
Texas Medical Center in Houston.
The total cost for the project is esti
mated at $25 million.
Mark Thomas, the administrative
service officer for the institute, said
in a phone interview that the build
ing will hold researchers and equip
ment in the areas of biotechnology,
bioengineering, nutrition and com
parative medicine. He said the build
ing is planned to be ready for full oc
cupancy by 1990.
The board also approved a pre
liminary design for a building to
house the Accelerator Mass Spec
trometer that is being considered by
the National Science Foundation.
The facility will be paid for, includ
ing the building, by the NSF if the
project is awarded to^A&M. David
Shink, associate dean of the College
of Geosciences, said after the meet
ing that the device will separate rare
isotopes from more common ones.
Isotopes are elements with the same
chemical properties but different
atomic structures. He said it will aid
in carbon-14 dating by distinguish
ing carbon 14 from carbon 12.
In other action, the board ap
proved:
• The preparation of require
ments for a new Aerospace and Me
chanical Engineering Laboratory
and a related satellite utility plant.
• The design of a conversion of
the basement of the Royce E. Wisen
baker Engineering and Research
Building from a parking garage to
office and laboratory space.
• A delay in appropriating pre
liminary designs for the University
Center Expansion.
• The renaming of the Hydrogen
Research Center to the Center for
Electrochemical Systems and Hydro
gen Research.
• The appointment of Dr. Her
bert Richardson, deputy chancellor,
dean of engineering and director of
the Texas Engineering Experiment
Station, to the policy board of the
Hazardous Waste Research Center
at Lamar University.
• The appointment of Robert
Smith as vice president of finance
and operations.
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A&M students to participate
in Great American Smokeout
By Lisa Dieterle
Reporter
Millions of people smoke cigarette
after cigarette every day, and many
try every year to kick the habit. But
this month, Texas A&M will join the
national fight to give smoking a
“Kick in the Butt,” Thursday in the
11th Annual Great American Smo
keout.
The smokeout, a day set aside for
all smokers to quit for 24 hours, is
being sponsored at A&M by Legett
Hall and nationally by the American
Cancer Society, said Karen Perciful,
a resident of Leggett and chairman
of the program at A&M.
“For everyone who smokes, we’re
hoping they will quit,” Perciful said.
“We’re here mainly to provide
awareness, and hopefully the public
ity will help someone.”
Legget residents will be in the
MSC Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 4
p.m. handing out buttons and stick
ers, Perciful said. Pamphlets listing
tips on how to quit smoking and gen
eral information about the smokeout
also will be distributed. This is the
second year Legget has sponsored
the program. The first year, Perciful
was hall treasurer and wanted to
participate in the smokeout as a
community service.
Elise Luska, an A&M student who
has been smoking for seven years,
will participate in the smokeout. “It’s
(smoking) not a popular thing any
more like it used to be,” Luska said.
“It’s also not good for your health. I
think (the smokeout) is a great idea,
and I’ve heard that it does help
thousands of people each year stop
smoking.”
Luska plans to drive home Thurs
day, and going without cigarettes
during the drive will test her will
power, she said.
“I’m hoping to quit because I
know smoking is disruptive to other
people and they don’t enjoy being
around it,” Luska said. “It smells, my
friends don’t smoke, the guys I go
out with don’t smoke.”
Some believe it is good for smok
ers to have a goal. Tiffani Keeling,
another student who smokes, has
participated in the smokeout for the
past five years. She has been smok
ing for nine years.
“After last year’s smokeout, I
wanted to quit, and did for about
three weeks,” Keeling said. “That’s
the only time I ever really wanted to.
Everybody should participate. It’s a
goal for the day that makes me
aware of my smoking.”
Jim Bishop, the chairman of the
Brazos County Great American
Smokeout program, stopped smok
ing two years ago.
“I believe the Great American
Smokeout is a good thing to help
give people a goal of a day and to
know they have a bunch of other
smokers behind them,” Bishop said.
Bishop has headed the program
for two years. He got involved with
the program as a disc jockey for
KORA and now owns a T-shirt com
pany.
Bishop’s company will sponsor a
run for the smokeout along with the
College Station Parks and Recre
ation Association, Brazos Valley Fit
ness Association, the Texas Nurses
Association, District 30, KORA radio
station and the American Cancer So
ciety. The event is the third annual
“Run Your Butts Off’ race, a one-
mile walk and a 5K run.
It will be at 8 a.m. Saturday at the
South wood Valley Athletic Com
plex. The race is open to the public,
and the entry fee is $10. For more
information on the race, contact the
College Station Athletic Depart
ment.
NOW founder hopes to change
ideas with show on pornography
By Cindy Milton
Staff Writer
Monday night’s presentation
on pornography was not a place
for weak stomachs or narrow
minds, and several students left
even before anything explicit was
shown.
Dr. Wendy Stock, founder of
the National Organization for
Women at Texas A&M, showed
more than 400 slides, previously
warned to be “explicit and sex
ually violent material,” that she
said depicted females in a combi
nation of sexual and violent posi
tions.
“You’ve come to see dirty pic
tures,” she said at the program’s
introduction. She said the slide
show was educational, but she
warned the audience of about 40
students that it was a feminist
presentation.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard of
media manipulation, and the area
of sexuality is distorted in many
ways ... it is certainly not sex pos
itive,” she said. “Hopefully you’ll
become sensitized and pick up
messages that are insidious.”
Stock, an assistant professor of
psychology, said pornography is
an $8-billion-per-year industry
that has added elements such as
rape scenarios and sadomaso
chism in the last few decades.
One other thing pornography
teaches, she said, is the hatred of
women.
Photo by Robert W. Rizzo
Dr. Wendy Stock, founder of
NOW at Texas A&M.
Stock defined pornography as
“female sexual slaves in early
Greek and other societies, and
the writings or depictions there
of,” which includes material that
is degrading and dehumanizing,
with implied coercion.
She later defined “erotica” as
sexually explicit material that is
shown as egalitarian.
“In erotica there’s mutuality
and some deal of respect and af
fection,” she said. “My stance is
that we need more of this kind of
material.”
Stock said there has been a dis
turbing effect in attitudinal
changes that result from pornog
raphy, including the acceptance
of rape as OK in some situations.
She said results of a “rape-
myth acceptance scale” showed
over 30 percent of college-age
males indicated a 25 percent
chance they would commit rape if
they thought they could get away
with it.
Stock’s slides ranged from ad
vertisements in women’s mag
azines to pages in hard core por
nography publications. The
audience responded with both
laughter and signs of disgust.
“Have some fun. Beat your
wife tonight,” was an ad she
showed, which was aimed at the
promotion of bowling in an issue
of Playboy. However, she said this
kind of information in main
stream publications implies that
woman are masochistic.
The majority of Stock’s presen
tation showed what she called the
exploitation of women — women
shown in bondage, women por
trayed as enjoying forced vio
lence and women being referred
to as “meat.”
“I’m focusing on women be
cause women are portrayed as en
joying forced sex from men,” she
said. “This attributes to kind of a
cultural permission.”
She told the audience of mostly
men that her purpose for the
slide show was to raise money for
NOW and increase the awareness
of pornographic exploitation.
“I’m hoping to expose people
to things they haven’t seen,” she
said.