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1110 Battalion
Vol. 87 No. 72 CISPS 045360 14 Pages College Station, Texas Friday, December 11,1987
Leaders report progress at summit’s close
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Reagan and Soviet leader Mik
hail S. Gorbachev concluded three
days of summit talks Thursday re
porting progress but no agreement
S*e related story, Page 10
to curb long-range strategic weapons
and no deal on the withdrawal of So
viet troops from Afghanistan.
Reagan said there was “dramatic
progress” on arms control. Gorba
chev said there was “some headway”
toward an agreement and pledged
to work hard to have it ready for
signing in Moscow next spring.
Both leaders put a positive spin on
a summit that produced no break
throughs but Gorbachev also at
tacked the president’s stand on nu
clear testing and chemical weapons
and took a hard line on would-be
Jewish emigrants.
But the two sides committed
themselves to another summit,
sometime in the first half of next
year, in Moscow.
Reagan said, “this summit has lit
the sky with hope for all people of
good will,” and Gorbachev said, “I
think we trust each other more.”
In an apparent concession, a U.S.
official said Gorbachev had dropped
his insistence for restrictions on star
wars testing as a condition for cuts in
strategic arsenals. Gorbachev, at a
marathon news conference, skirted
the question that snagged the Ice
land summit last year.
Asked if the summit had done
anything to slow the arms race in
space, he said, “I don’t think so.”
But he held out the hope they
could sign a treaty in Moscow next
year to reduce long-range nuclear
weapons by half.
“Differences still exist,” the Soviet
leader said, “and on some points
those differences are very serious in
deed.” However, “We do not regard
them as insurmountable,” he said.
Seventy-six hours after his arrival
on American soil, Gorbachev was
given an elaborate sendoff at rain-
drenched Andrews Air Force Base
near Washington. He got a trumpet
fanfare and a 21-gun salute.
Ending his first-ever visit to the
United States, Gorbachev was bound
for East Berlin for talks with Warsaw
Pact allies.
However, in an apparent conces
sion, Gorbachev dropped his insis
tence for restrictions on star wars
testing as a condition for cuts in
strategic arsenals, a senior U.S. offi
cial said.
The United States also preserved
the right for broad testing of the star
wars program, the official said, even
though Congress has imposed some
restrictions.
In exchange, the United States
agreed to adhere to the 1972 Anti-
Ballistic Missile Treaty for a period
of time yet to be negotiated, the offi
cial said. However, the official said it
would not constrain the program.
Although a huge crowd of reporters
attended the official’s briefing, he
insisted that his identity remain a se
cret.
Scaling the walls
Physical plant workers Virgil Hartfeld, Terry
Perry and Jake McGough apply waterproof mor
tar to the Pavilion as part of repairs the building
Photo by Lucinda Orr
will undergo to correct leakage problems. This
type of repair to buildings is just one of the few
jobs that the plant workers encounter daily.
Faculty Senate
to consider ban
against smoking
By Karen Kroesche
Staff Writer
A resolution to be considered by
the Faculty Senate Monday calling
for a smoke-free environment on
the Texas A&M campus undoubt
edly will spark lengthy debate.
If passed, the resolution will be
sent as a recommendation for action
to President Frank E. Vandiver.
The resolution proposes “that
smoking be banned in all buildings
on the Texas A&M University cam
pus, including classrooms, dormito
ries, eating places, student and fac
ulty lounges, lavatories, hallways and
athletic facilities (including seating
areas in Kyle Field and Olsen
Field).”
It also calls for the removal of all
cigarette vending machines from
campus, the establishment of a Uni
versity committee to implement and
enforce the ban, the placement of
no-smoking signs at building en
trances and the creation of a
“smoke-stopping program” to be
made available to A&M students and
staff at minimal or no costs.
The resolution, proposed by the
Personnel and Welfare Committee
of the Faculty Senate, cites evidence
from the American Cancer Society
linking “passive smoking” — expo
sure to others’ cigarette smoke —
with lung cancer and heart disease.
“The risks posed by involuntary
smoking may be smaller than those
of active smoking, but the potential
number of affected individuals is
much, much greater,” the report
said.
Dr. Benton Storey, professor of
horticultural sciences and chairman
of the Personnel and Welfare Com
mittee, also emphasized this hazard.
“We know that sidestream smoke
can kill people,” he said.
The committee also relied on in
formation from a random poll of
198 A&M faculty and staff members
this summer, in which 68 percent
strongly favored a ban on smoking
in all buildings on campus.
The survey was prompted by que
ries made to the Faculty Senate by
faculty members concerned about
second-hand smoke, said Dr. Jerome
T. Rapes, professor of industrial, vo
cational and technical education/e
ducational psychology.
“There were several faculty who
said, ‘We need to address this prob
lem at A&M. It’s a serious prob
lem,’ ” said Rapes, a co-author of
the resolution. “They had heard
complaints from people who are
subjected to smoke in their working
places, and so we were asked to
study it.”
Rapes designed the questionnaire,
and said he was surprised at the re
sults of the survey. Only 10 percent
of the faculty and staff who re
sponded to the survey said they are
smokers, while the national average
is 27 percent.
Predictably, there is some strong
See Smoke, page 7
4
2 Bryan council members unaware of Jenkin’s past
By Richard Williams
Staff Writer
Some Bryan City Council mem
bers said Thursday they were un
aware Fire Chief Claude Jenkins III
had been involved in litigation when
they approved his hiring, but Dep
uty City Manager Marvin Norwood
said he knew of the litigation.
Council members John Mobley
and Helen Chavarria said they
didn’t know until informed fcy a Bat
talion staff writer that Jenkins had
been named in a $1.1 million lawsuit
filed by a former firefighter in Al
bion, Mich. Jenkins formerly was
fire chief in Albion.
Both Mobley and Chavarria were
on the council when Jenkins was
hired in January 1985. Jenkins cur
rently is on six-month probation re
sulting from grievances filed by
Bryan firefighters.
Albion City Manager George Kolb
said Thursday that Jenkins was
named along with the city in a $1.1
million lawsuit filed in 1981 by Fen
ton M. Prewitt, a former Albion fire
fighter. Prewitt claimed his civil
rights had been violated when he
was denied a promotion.
Kolb said the city settled the suit
out of court, and the settlement pre
vented him from divulging the
amount awarded. However, Blair
Bedient, publisher of the Albion Re
corder, said Prewitt received about
$100,000.
Jenkins could not be reached for
comment either at his home or at the
Central Fire Station. But in an inter
view with The Battalion last week,
Jenkins was asked if he had ever
been involved in litigation resulting
from his performance as fire chief in
other cities.
Jenkins responded, “I can’t get
into that stuff, babe. You have to
bear with me.”
Chavarria was asked if the suit,
which was filed and settled before
Jenkins was hired in Bryan, both
ered her. “To be told some of these
things,” she said, “a person’s first re
action would be to be bothered.”
Chavarria also said she wasn’t sure
why the information didn’t turn up
before Jenkins was hired.
A&M fails to meet recruitment goals
of minority students despite efforts
“We believe that if you increase the pool of minority
students who are prepared and are intending to go to
college, some will come to A&M and some will go to
the University of Texas. ”
—Jerry Gaston, associate provost of academic affairs.
By Tracy Staton
Staff Writer
Since Texas A&M began to dust
off its welcome mat for minorities, a
higher percentage of minority stu
dents are remaining enrolled in the
University, recent figures show.
But in spite of increased minority
recruitment efforts, minority stu
dents still make up less than 10 per
cent of total enrollment.
Texas Higher Education Coordi
nating Board figures released Dec. 2
show that A&M’s minority retention
rate has been the state’s highest for
three consecutive years. Of the 544
undergraduate black students who
enrolled at A&M in Fall 1985, 473 —
or 86.9 percent — returned for Fall
1986. The retention rate for under
graduate Hispanic students was 88
percent — of the 1,573 who en
rolled, 1,385 returned.
Though the percentages are the
highest in the state, the numbers
don’t show that A&M is falling be
hind in the total number of minority
students enrolled. Although mi
nority enrollment increased from
3,042 students in 1986 to 3,678 in
1987, The Battalion reported in Jan
uary that the University was not
meeting its minority recruitment
goals. And the 3,042 undergraduate
minority students in 1986 still rep
resented only 8.3 percent of total en
rollment. In 1987, that percentage
increased to 9.4 percent.
A&M’s most recent effort to in
crease minority recruitment is an
outreach program co-sponsored by
the University of Texas. Outreach
offices — located in San Antonio,
Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and the
Rio Grande Valley — will be used to
help minority high school students
prepare for college enrollment.
Dr. Jerry Gaston, associate pro
vost for academic affairs, said the
program was designed to increase
the pool of minority students going
to college. Students helped by the
program will not be required to at
tend either A&M or UT, he said.
“We believe that if you increase
the pool of minority students who
are prepared and are intending to
go to college, some will come to
A&M and some will go to the Uni
versity of Texas,” he said.“We’ll both
be better off, and so will the state of
Texas.”
To keep the program institution-
neutral, the offices will not work di
rectly with high school students.
“The offices will act as resources
to the public schools in these areas,”
Gaston said. “We won’t be doing in
dividual counseling.”
The stations will be used to assist
and reinforce the processes used by
high schools to prepare students for
college admission. The program will
help sponsor workshops, distribute
scholarship information and offer
curriculum counseling.
Gaston said A&M officials came
up with the outreach idea, and UT
asked to join. The A&M Board of
Regents created a committee on mi
nority recruitment this summer, and
the outreach program was outlined
and approved after the fiscal year
began Sept. 1.
Of the four offices, A&M will be
called the “lead institution” in Hous
ton and San Antonio; UT will have
junior status in these cities. In Dal
las-Ft. Worth and the Rio Grande
Valley, UT will be the lead institu
tion. The San Antonio office is al
ready open; the other offices are in
the process of organizing.
Another minority program will be
implemented next summer with the
help of a $50,000 grant ARCO gave
to A&M’s Minority Engineering Pro
gram.
A Summer Bridge Program will
prepare incoming minority fresh
men for enrollment in A&M’s Col
lege of Engineering. It is designed to
increase the minority retention rate
for the college, Jeanne Rierson, pro
gram coordinator, said.
“We want to let the students know
what A&M offers,” Rierson said.
A&M is second nationally in bach
elor’s engineering degrees granted
to Hispanics, according to figures re
leased by the American Society of
Engineering Education.
“I would suspect those things
were not known,” she said.
But Norwood said he knew about
the suit before Jenkins was hired.
Norwood said he didn’t know if
council members were told about the
suit or why they wouldn’t have been
told.
Bryan City Manager Ernest Clark
could not be reached for comment
because of a death in the family.
As city manager, Clark is respon
sible for hiring the fire chief. His de
cision must be approved by the city
council.
Clark announced Dec. 1 that the
city would hire a consultant to re
view fire department operations at a
cost of about $15,000. Chavarria
said the expense was justified.
“I think it is a considerable
amount (of money),” she said, “but
in light of what the problem is, I
think it will be well worth it.”
Mobley said he is unhappy with
the situation but wishes the prob
lems had not been fought out in the
media.
“I wish it had not happened; I’m
sorry that it happened,” Mobley
said. “I hope it’s settled and every
body’s happy. We’ve got to move on
and create a better image.”
The decision to hire a consultant
came after a group of Bryan fire
fighters told city officials they had
“lost total and complete confidence
in Chief Jenkins’ ability to be an ef
fective administrator and Fire
Chief.” A grievance committee, how
ever, found two of the firefighters’
complaints were nonactionable. For
three of the four that were actiona
ble, the committee said, insufficient
testimony was given to support the
allegations. One grievance was sus
tained.
The firefighters, saying they were
dissatisfied with the committee’s
findings and feared for public
safety, formed the Bryan Firefigh-
teres for Public Safety. Nick Pappas,
a spokesman for the firefighters, on
Wednesday released a list of more
See Fire chief, page 7
AIDS hospital shuts
after losing millions
HOUSTON (AP) — An empty
white building beside a busy free
way is all that remains of the na
tion’s first private hospital for
AIDS patients, which is closing
after losing $8 million in its 14
months of operation.
Hailed at its opening in Sep-
tembei^l986 as a marketplace so
lution to a growing health prob-
lem, the Institute for
Immunological Disorders
buckled under the load of caring
for indigent patients needing ex
pensive treatment.
There will be little or no cere
mony when the hospital closes,
said Anne Wheeler, spokesman
for American Medical Interna
tional Inc., the institute’s parent.
All patients have been trans
ferred to other facilities, and em
ployees spent most of last week
closing out the institute’s affairs.
In its first few months, the in
stitute handled about 1,000 pa
tient visits a month, medical di
rector Dr. Peter Mansell said.
The hospital had 150 beds, but
most people were treated as out
patients, and federal funds were
used to test experimental thera
pies, he said.
By March, the amount of care
the institute gave to the indigent
far outstripped the $250,000 set
aside for that purpose in its first
year.