The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 07, 1987, Image 1

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    The Battalion
/our
Vol. 87 Mo. 68 USPS 045360 10 Pages
Officials report
deal possible
on SDI testing
College Station, Texas
Monday, December 7,1987
WASHINGTON (AP) — Soviet
and American officials, on the eve of
Mikhail Gorbachev’s arrival in
Washington, hinted Sunday that a
compromise is possible on “Star
See reloted story, Page 7
Wars” testing, while a massive dem
onstration in the U.S. capital and a
violence-marred protest in Moscow
underscored differences on human
rights.
Gorbachev heads to Washington
on Monday for three days of talks
with President Reagan and the sign
ing of a treaty to enminate interme
diate-range nuclear missiles (INF)
over three years.
Both leaders say they are opti
mistic about making progress to
ward an agreement to cut long-
range strategic nuclear weapons by
half.
Acknowledging a shift in the
once-rigid Soviet opposition to Rea
gan’s “Star Wars” missile defense
plan, known formally as the Stategic
Defense Initiative, White House
chief of staff Howard Baker said the
Kremlin’s position “now is a little dif
ferent than it appears to have been a
few weeks or a few months ago.”
Interviewed on “Meet the Press,”
Baker predicted that Gorbachev
would move forward on strategic-
weapon cuts “perhaps without re
quiring as a precondition that the
president abandon SDI or reduce
SDI or postpone SDI, which he’s not
going to do.”
Meanwhile, a crowd estimated by
police in the range of 200,000 took
part in a demonstration march and
rally in Washington to press for free
emigration of Soviet Jews.
“I have high hopes for new, for
ward steps by the Soviets,” Reagan
said. “I shall press for them in my
talks with General Secretary Gorba
chev in the coming days — for the
release of all refuseniks, for full
freedom of emigration, and for
complete freedom of religion and
cultural expression.”
In Moscow, more than 200 plain
clothes security agents roughed up
Jewish activists and journalists dur
ing rival demonstrations for and
against Kremlin policy.
Human rights is one of four items
on the summit agenda, along with
regional conflicts such as Afghani
stan, Nicaragua and the Persian
Gulf, bilateral relations and arms
control.
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Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Members of K-1 play a mud football game Sunday afternoon on the per and underclassman of the company. This type of game is com-
Quad following the intermittent rain. The game was between the up- mon in the Corp’s free time.
Stone receives liver transplant with A&M students’ help
3one
yVe
3 have |
con
iine
irsgift
orrec- !
By Karen Kroesche
Staff Writer
Christmas came early for former
I Texas A&M student John Stone last
week when he received a much-
needed liver transplant, and so far
| his gift seems to be a perfect fit.
Stone left the Intensive Care Unit
| at Baylor University Medical Center
in Dallas on Saturday, moving onto a
special floor for transplant patients.
His condition was upgraded from
| serious to fair.
His mother, Marion Stone, said
I Sunday he was lucid for the first
time since he underwent the nine-
hour surgery Tuesday.
“Today was the first day he
| looked like himself,” Stone’s mother
said. “He’s in a lot of pain, but other
wise he’s doing just what the doctors
want him to do. His spirits are very,
very good.”
She said her son is still at high
I risk, however, and will remain in the
hospital for another 25-35 days.
“It’s like falling off of a mountain
e’s starting to walk through the
s; (that) is what one doctor
and he’;
woods;
said,” Mrs. Stone said.
The next three weeks are critical
for Stone because he could develop a
blood clot or reject his new liver, his
mother said.
Scott Donahue, a friend of Stone’s
who has been coordinating local
fundraising efforts to cover the
transplant’s cost, said there always
will be some degree of danger pre
sent.
“From what I understand, he’ll be
on medication every day for the rest
of his life to fight the rejection pro
cess,” Donahue said.
He said the anti-rejection drugs
are expensive, but, like the trans
plant operation, they are a necessity
of life for Stone.
Stone, 25, a second-year medical
student at the University of Texas,
Medical Branch in Galveston, took a
one-year leave of absence from med
ical school and began raising money
for the transplant after it was discov
ered that he suffered from Alpha-1-
Anti-Trypsin Deficiency, whicn kept
his body from controlling his diges
tive enzymes and resulted in cirrho
sis of the liver.
Donahue estimated that about
$36,000 has been donated to cover
the cost of Stone’s operation. Al
though the need is not as urgent
anymore, he said, an additional
$84,000-$214,000 will be needed to
pay for Stone’s surgery.
“Since the emergency’s over,
we’re not in the life-or-death situa
tion right now,” Donahue said.
“Now what we’re trying to do is help
him get the medical expenses paid.”
Mrs. Stone said her son, who
graduated in 1984, appreciates the
support of his fellow Aggies.
“He told me once, ‘You know
Mom, it makes it a lot easier knowing
so many people are behind me,’ ”
she said.
The family is grateful that so
much attention has been paid to
Stone’s cause, she said, because it
peopl
the importance of organ donors.
“I want people to realize that if
they give of their organs what a won
derful gift it is,” Mrs. Stone said. “I
don’t think people realize.”
Stone realizes what he’s been
given, and he is especially apprecia
tive of the family that made his
transplant operation possible, his
mother said.
“This is the greatest Christmas
gift he’s ever been given, that’s what
he said today,” Mrs. Stone said. “He
said, ‘You know, I wish I could thank
the family. I just don’t know how to
thank them.’
“I hope they know that John is
going to make everybody’s
Christmas here. It’s a good
Christmas gift.”
Donahue said that with the
Christmas holidays approaching, no
immediate plans are being made for
a fund-raiser on Stone’s behalf. But
those wishing to contribute money
can write the American Transplant
Association, Box 822123, Dallas,
75382-2123, or the American Trans
plant Association, care of the John
Stone Fund, Post Oak Branch of
First State Bank in Caldwell, P.O.
Box 10130, College Station, 77840.
A&M students suffer from eating disorder
By Jill Radenbaugh
Reporter
Imagine not knowing what it’s like
to be hungry. Imagine binging, vom
iting and knowing you can’t stop.
Imagine trying to nide the problem
from everyone, even your own
roommates.
This is how a 20-year-old Texas
A&M student felt before recovering
from bulimia. She recently com
pleted a six-week recovery program
at Baylor Hospital in Dallas.
The student asked to remain
anonymous.
“I hid food in my room,” she said.
“I ate before meals, during meals
and after meals. AH I thought about
was food. It did not even matter
what I ate, as long as it was food.”
Bulimia is defined medically as
eating until one feels discomfort.”
Julie Cocklin, an A&M counseling
psychology intern, said people with
bulmia are typically not excessively
fat or thin.
“A bulimic is usually within 10
percent (up or down) of her ideal
body weight,” Cocklin said. “Bulim-
See Bulimia, page 5
n York
trists
rm
Tents spring up as students wait to purchase tickets for Cotton Bow!
By Tracy Staton
Staff Writer
It started Thursday at 8 a.m. with
one tent, a couple of people and
eight empty ticket windows. For a
couple of hours, all was quiet. Then
it grew. Tents sprang up like earth
worms after a rain, and soon an Ag
gie version of shantytown sprawled
in front of G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Dome-shaped tents and pup tents,
large tents and small tents, fancy
tents and pseudo-tents — almost 50
tents in all — were crammed into the
area in. front of the ticket windows.
Barbecue grills, television sets,
VCRs, couches and ice chests pro
vided some of the comforts of home.
A few people were napping; more
were amusing themselves. A few
men lounged on a couch in front of
a large green tent labeled “Cotton
Condo” and “Cotton Bowl H.Q.” A
few feet to their right, some people
played dominoes and drank beer.
Above the scene; the voice of a
sports commentator buzzed through
the air. Almost every television set in
the area was tuned to the Dallas
Cowboys game.
Suddenly a little red truck
screeched to a halt. A man carrying a
package jumped out of the vehicle
and trotted toward the building.
“I’ve got a pizza for someone
named Steven,” the delivery man
yelled.
“He’s over there,” someone said
and pointed to the front of a line.
While Steven was paying for his
pizza, Scott Clendenin, a junior po
litical science major, parked his mo
torcycle next to the first tent at ticket
window No. 1.
Lured by the prospect of getting
some of the 6,000 tickets to go on
sale Monday at 7 a.m., Clendenin
and his friends were the first people
to pitch a tent in front of the col
iseum.
“We’ve been here since 8 a.m.
Thursday,” he said. “I think I’ve
Sondra Kolb waits in line for tickets.
been gone six hours at the most since
then.”
Many students had only briefly
left the ticket lines since they first ar
rived, like Scott Welch, a senior engi
neering technology major.
“Just for your information, he
hasn’t taken a shower since Thurs
day,” Carol Batte, a junior aerospace
engineering major said of Welch.
“Yeah, but I did go home and
change my underwear,” Welch said.
“We thought that was a nice ges
ture on his part,” Kevin Walters, a
senior aerospace engineering major,
said.
Welch took a drink from a rum
botde, then chased it with a drink
from a Coke.
“All our cups are dirty,” he ex
plained.
Clendenin’s group enjoyed its sol
itary status for about three hours,
then someone pitched the second
tent. Five more tents appeared about
1:30 p.m.; at 8:30 p.m. Stuart Bur
ton and Joey Kupper took their
place as first in line at the last empty
ticket window.
“We’ve been first in line for the
last three years,” Burton, a senior
geology major, said. “It’s like a tradi
tion now.”
Burton, Kupper and George Coll,
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
a Texas A&M graduate, were watch
ing the Cowboys game Sunday af
ternoon.
“Dallas is losing,” Kupper said.
“Dallas always loses when we’re in
line for tickets,” Burton said.
Despite their disappointment ii
ie football game, the group sai<
m
the football game, the group said
they have had no problem entertain
ing themselves while camping out.
“We’ve been playing football and
basketball and dominoes,” Burton
said.
“And Pictionary and Trivial Purs
uit,” Kupper said.
“And drinking beer,” Coll said.
Pictionary seems to be a favorite
among the ticket waiters.
“We’ve been playing Pictionary a
lot,” Clendenin said. “Craig keeps
winning, though. If you write one
line down, he knows the answer.”
Clendenin said waiting in line has
helped him meet people.
“We know everyone here almost.
We’ve been playing games with ev
eryone around us.”
“Yeah, silly games like not letting
each other sleep,” Patrick Bridges, a
freshman biomedical science major,
said. “I went to a formal last night
and these guys made me come back
out here. I even brought food for ev
eryone, and they wouldn’t let me go
home to go to sleep.”
The students said they order food
or buy snacks at convenience stores.
“I just brought my lunch from
Shell so I could put it on my credit
card,” Clendenin said.
“Yeah, I’m going to Texaco pretty
soon,” Johnson said.
“Lots of people order pizza,”
Bridges said. “There’s a delivery
man here every thirty minutes or
“It’s a party around here,” Clen
denin said. “We’re having a barbe
cue with a bunch of people tonight.
It’s going to be fun.”
Clendenin said the changing
weather hasn’t really affected the
number of people camping out.
“We’ve had some chilly weather,
then it got hot and humid, then last
night it rained,” he said. “We’ve had
every kind of weather except snow
here.
“We had nice neat lines until it
rained. We had to move a bunch of
people up under the roof here, but
everyone still knows where they are.
In the morning we’ll get back in li
ne.”
Clendenin said one problem was
finding a restroom. His friends went
into the Memorial Student Center,
but since he is a cadet, he can’t go
into the MSC without a uniform.
“I just wait as long as possible,
then walk to my dorm room,” he
said.
Clendenin said they were afraid
they’d be prevented from setting up
camp in front of the coliseum.
“When we first got here they were
really blunt about not wanting us
here, but they were still nice,” he
said. “They said they were ‘discour
aging us’ from camping out. We’ve
been trying to keep everything really
clean so they don’t make us leave.”
The freshmen in Clendenin’s out
fit, L-2, sang Christmas carols in
front of the coliseum Saturday
night.
“We need some Christmas cheer
around here,” Clendenin said. “I
brought this Christmas tree out
here. My freshmen dug it out from
some trees they were going to throw
away.”
The tree was wired to a palm tree
to keep it standing and was covered
with Christmas lights. Clendenin
said they were getting electricity
through extension cords from the
MSC, but he brought his generator
in case officials told them not to use
the MSC’s power. The group had
been watching rented videocassettes
much of the weekend.
“We watched ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off and ‘Caddyshack,’ ” Clendenin
said. “And last night we watched ‘Big
Trouble in Little China.’ ”
Johnson said he’d enjoyed watch
ing the antics of other students.
“Some pretty funny things have
happened around here,” he said.
“Like yesterday, this guy was walk
ing along in front of someone’s TV
and tripped on the cord and pulled
their VCR off onto the ground.
“Of course, I’ve been Mr. Grace
here, too, and I’ve tripped and fallen
flat on my face when I w r as running
through the tents.”