The Battalion
sno
eg«
officials, wh:
sured of | r : f
t of propose,
rty’s policy.^
ce, publiski:
' a limit of tw}j
party offia
-v, the partyit;
s . as well asfc-
for “pertsir;*
1 social restrJ
' power and:
ty officials.
Vol. 87 No. 158 LISPS 045360 8 Pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, June 14, 1988
or election
cence has btt ti
i lloting in me
oly aired inoij
drive on belt
didate in M«:
oid a streets
reportedly
isexuals
fie 9th U.$.c|
appeals reftnJ
1 -member pr:-
' a new her,
1 decision mJ
of a discharpi
:riticisn
tion
influential a
condemj
being so i
cannot I
afe. Consum
ended a retail |
more Sannii
i and a refut
Tiptoe through the tulips
Mary Powell, an A&M employee, sprays flowers
Monday. The plants have needed extra care lately
Photo by Brad Apostolo
because of the lack of rain
weather.
and the hot Texas
Court to let patients
sue for vaccinations
that cause disease
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Su
preme Court said Monday the gov
ernment may be forced to pay vic
tims when a federally approved
vaccine causes the disease it was in
tended to prevent.
The unanimous ruling is a victory
for a Pennsylvania boy crippled by
polio, but the Reagan administration
says exposing the government to
costly damages in such cases could
threaten availability of life-saving
vaccines for countless others.
In the vaccine case, the Food and
Drug Administration, which licenses
more than 40 vaccines, had no im
mediate comment on the ruling’s
possible impact.
The court reinstated a suit in be
half of Kevan Berkovitz, who was
two months old in May 1979 when
his pediatrician in Charleroi, Pa.,
gave him a dose of Orimune, a polio
vaccine made by Lederle Laborato
ries.
Orimune, a form of Sabin oral
vaccine, was licensed by the govern
ment in 1963.
Kevan was stricken with polio
within a month after taking the vac
cine and the U.S. Communicable
Disease Center determined he con
tracted the disease from the vaccine.
The boy, now 9, is paralyzed from
the neck down and uses a respirator
to help him breathe. Monday’s rul
ing provides an opportunity in court
to seek compensation for him from
the government.
His lawyer, Ellen Viakely of Pitts
burgh, said of the ruling, “It’s a case
where the government knew that
this particular polio vaccine violated
its own regulatory safety standards.
By the government’s own regulatory
standards, this vaccine was unsafe.
But it licensed it anyway.”
Viakely said the ruling will not ef
fect cases in which those who re
ceived a vaccine had an allergic reac
tion.
Ronald Greene, a lawyer rep
resenting Lederle Laboratories, said
the impact of the ruling was unclear.
He said the decision appeared to
cover all government-licensed vac
cines and possibly other drugs as
well.
But he said the standards enunci
ated by the court may affect a lim
ited number of cases.
“The facts alleged here are un
usual and I don’t know whether they
(the Berkovitz family) can prove
them,” he said. “These are circum
stances that
very often.
are unlikely. to arise’
The polio vaccine is the only com
mon vaccine clearly shown to cause
the disease it was supposed to pre
vent, said Samuel Katz, chairman of
the pediatrics department at the
Duke University Medical Center.
Polio paralysis occurs in about one
out of every 3.2 million doses of oral
polio vaccine, said G. Scott Giebink,
professor of pediatrics at the Uni
versity of Minnesota Medical School.
Cigarette company
held liable in death
sidering legahj
msumers Uni
jesting thet
accusations i
ated campaigt
government
Hover standatc
a rumor
Erie County!
rlier this weel |
jsday’s
alaureate sen:-
graduation
>rs because t
iot guarantee c
s and guests.
tor who spoke
v'spapers on
e identified
lieved the thtt
ring gradual
hey advised
1 all events
roubled studet;
out their threal
A&M Faculty Senate approves
resolution for ombudsperson
By Janet Goode
Senior Staff Writer
The Texas A&M Faculty Senate Monday ap-
roved a resolution by the personnel and welfare
ommittee which calls for the establishment of an
mbudsperson to serve the University and corn-
unity.
Although the position of ombudsperson has
et to be clearly defined, the committee recom-
ended the ombudsperson be an official of high
[status who is impartial and independent.
According to the commmittee report, the offi-
ial would receive and investigate grievances and
uggestions from faculty members, administra-
ors, personnel and possibly students.
J. Benton Storey, former chairman of the com
mittee and spokesman for the resolution, said he
nvisions the ombudsperson to be a common fac-
member, “someone like us,” who could pri-
jvately speak to a person with a problem.
Storey said he hopes the ombudsperson will be
T it [IHavailable to students also, but said students are
not mentioned specifically in the resolution be
cause the Senate hasn’t had the chance to discuss
the proposal with student representatives.
Storey said he realizes that existing programs
and faculty members deal with grievences, but
said there are often procedural problems that
keep a person from airing a complaint.
“In some cases, in order for (an individual) to
make a complaint about the department head, he
must go through the dean,” Storey said. “And to
get to the dean, he must go through the depart
ment head. He ends up either waiting for the de
partment head to retire or he goes somewhere el
se.”
Storey said the result of formal procedure is
administrative ignorance to problems that exist.
The committee recommended that the
ombudsperson be appointed by the president,
chosen by students, faculty and staff, and be con
firmed by the Board of Regents. The report also
outlines possible procedures which Storey said
will allow for “free and easy” access of the
ombudsperson.
“This (resolution) would make the ship of state
here at the University move much smoother,”
Storey said.
Sam Gillespie, assistant dean of business, ex-
E ressed concern that the resolution would over-
ip with duties of the dean of faculties and that
the costs of the program would outweigh the
benefits.
Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost Dr.
Clinton Phillips said that although this office
would, in some ways, overlap with his job, he un
derstands that some people may not want to
come to a dean with their problems.
The resolution was approved with dissent.
In other business, the Senate approved a rec
ommendation by the graduate council that will
allow an undergraduate student to apply up to
nine hours of advanced courses toward a mas
ter’s degree.
Also approved was the recommendation that a
maximum of nine hours of credit be given for
coursework taken while a student is in “non-de
gree” status.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal
court jury for the first time held a
cigarette company partially respon
sible for the death of smoker, find
ing Monday that Liggett Group Inc.
failed to warn the public about the
dangers of cigarettes and violated its
promise to produce a safe product.
The jury awarded $400,000 to
Antonio Cipollone, whose wife Rose
died of lung cancer in 1984, but re
jected his claim of a conspiracy
among the three tobacco companies
that produced the products his wife
used.
The damage award was based on
the jury’s finding that Liggett vio
lated its expressed promise to con
sumers to make a safe product, thus
contributing to Mrs. Cippollone’s
death.
It also found that Liggett failed to
warn the public about the dangers of
cigarettes, .but awarded no damages
because it found Mrs. Cipollone 80
percent responsible for her death.
Liggett, Lorillard Inc. and Philip
Morris Inc. were exonerated of con
spiring to mislead the public about
the dangers of smoking. The jury
awarded no punitive damages.
Mrs. Cipollone, who was 58 when
she died, smoked Chesterfield and
L&M cigarettes, both made by Lig
gett, before Congress required the
U.S. surgeon general’s health warn
ings on cigarette packs in 1966. She
smoked for 40 years, later using
brands made by Lorillard and Philip
Morris.
“The tobacco companies have
claimed for the last 20 years that
they are invincible,” Alan Darnell,
an attorney for Cipollone, said.
“This shows they are not. . . they are
just like any other company.”
Liggett Attorney James Kearney
said he was pleased by the verdict.
“The jury specifically rejected any
claims of (punitive) damages,” he
said. “The floodgates have been
closed even firmer than they were
before.”
As the jury forewoman answered
each question from the court clerk, a
gasp rose from the courtroom
packed with industry lawyers, ana
lysts and reporters.
Antonio Cipollone, who contin-
General strike Regents vote to fire STSU president
near Moscow ^
inds 1 dead
> welcome:
822-1
FM 2818 Kofi
of Villa Marl:
pot!
night
A&M ID
ks$r
MOSCOW (AP) — A general
strike was said to have virtually shut
down Armenia on Monday, and a
shotgun blast killed a policeman
during weekend ethnic protests in
the neighboring southern republic
of Azerbaijan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Gen-
Inady I. Gerasimov said an Azerbai-
Ijani officer was killed by shotgun fire
■ during protests in Baku, the Azer-
Ibaijani capital. Gerasimov identified
■ the gunman only as an Armenian
I named Aganbegyan.
Azerbaijanis and Armenians are
■ arguing over control of Nagorno-
jKarabakh, a region with a predomi-
jnantly Armenian population that
■ was assigned to Azerbaijan in 1923.
I The conflict is aggravated by the fact
I that most Azerbaijanis are Moslems
1 and most Armenians are Christians.
On Sunday, rumors that two Ar-
I menians had been killed in Azerbai-
jjan led to protests by Armenians in
I Moscow. They gathered in a ceme-
| tery and marched to the offices of
I the official Tass news agency.
AUSTIN (AP) — Regents of the
Texas State University System voted
5-4 Monday to fire Robert Hardesty
as president of Southwest Texas
State University despite a united
front of faculty, students, parents
and townspeople supporting him.
It was the second time in less than
a month that regents voted 5-4 to
fire Hardesty. His May 19 ouster at a
Huntsville meeting was overturned
by State District Judge Jon Wisser of
Austin, who ruled that regents had
violated the Texas Open Meetings
Act because the action was not on
the agenda.
The dismissal is immediate. Hard
esty, who attended the board meet
ing with his wife, Mary, was given
five days to vacate the president’s
house at San Marcos.
After Monday’s vote, which drew
boos from some of the crowd of
more than 300, Hardesty walked
around the table, shaking hands
with each regent. He lingered to talk
briefly with Norman Elder of Del
Rio, who had presented the case
against Hardesty.
Elder, interrupted by hissing and
laughter, said none of the regents
bore any animosity toward Hard
esty, a former speechwriter for Pres
ident Lyndon B. Johnson.However,
Elder said Hardesty had failed to
follow board rules by arranging con
tracts without board approval; used
gift money to Southwest Texas State
to fly first class, stay in hotel rooms
costing over $250 a night and pay
dues to five private clubs.
“If airline coach and Holiday Inn
are good enough for the regents,
faculty and our staff when they
travel, they ought to be good enough
for our president or they ought to be
paying it out of their own pocket,”
Elder said.
He said Hardesty had obtained
reimbursement for personal contri
butions to certain charities.
Also, Elder said, Hardesty in 1987
had spent one of three working days
out of the office and had made 11
out-of-state trips. In 1988, Elder
said, Hardesty had made eight out-
of-state trips by May and had been
away from the office with even
greater frequency.
Last November, Elder said, Hard
esty was told by some regents to stay
home to take care of business.
“The amount of time away doesn’t
make any difference, it’s what you
do when away,” Hardesty said.
Regent Katherine Lowry of Aus
tin, reading a statement for the four-
member minority, said: “I’m con
cerned about after-the-fact scurry
ing around to assemble evidence
against President Hardesty. His loss
is a disservice to the university ...”
Hardesty said he would leave
Southwest Texas with his head held
high — proud of his 6-year steward
ship at that institution and proud of
the progress they have made. No
other university has made so much
progress in such a short period of
time.
Asked if he would sue as a result
of his firing, Hardesty said, “I have
no idea — no time to think about it.”
He said he would prepare a re
sponse, probably Tuesday, to Elder’s
comments.
At the meeting, former U.S. am
bassador to Australia William Crook,
a Hardesty supporter, said regent
Ruben Escobedo of San Antonio
should abstain from voting.
Regent Ed Longcope of San Mar
cos read a statement saying Esco
bedo had approached him in the
men’s room at a San Angelo regents’
meeting, saying Republican Gov. Bill
Clements’ office had contacted Esco
bedo, and stated, “The governor
wants Bob Hardesty fired.”
Longcope said Escobedo told him
if Hardesty, a longtime supporter of
Democratic politicians, were not
fired immediately, the governor
would have the votes after three new
regents come on the board in Jan
uary.
Longcope said he did not know
who the contact was or if it, indeed,
was with someone in the governor’s
office. Longcope asked that the mat
ter be referred to a board committee
or to proper state authority.
Clements and his staff have den
ied any involvement in Hardesty’s
firing. Clements said he would not
know Hardesty if he saw him.
Longcope agreed to take a lie de
tector test to back up his statement
about the meeting with Escobedo,
who was appointed by former Dem
ocratic Gov. Mark White.
Hardesty was a supporter of
White, who was unseated in 1986 by
Clements. Hardesty’s wife, Mary,
was a White aide.
During public testimony Monday,
no opposition to Hardesty was
voiced from 23 witnesses, who cited
as favorable qualities Hardesty’s
relationship with students and fac
ulty and the increase from $400,000
to $7 million in the school’s endow
ment.
ued the case after his wife died fol
lowing 40 years of smoking, re
mained impassive.
The panel of three men and three
women resumed deliberations Mon
day morning after the weekend off.
The jurors asked few questions
during deliberations, which began at
noon Tuesday.
Cipollone charged that Lorillard
Inc., Liggett Group Inc. and Philip
Morris Inc. misled the public about
the dangers of cigarette smoking
and contributed to Mrs. Cipollone’s
death.
Funds to help
teacher bring
child home
By Stephen Masters
Staff Writer
After only two working days,
$2,700 of the $6,000 required to air
lift the hospitalized daughter of a
Texas A&M professor from Munich,
Germany to College Station has been
donated through a local bank, said
Frank Shannon, assistant director of
the Development Foundation and
friend of the Burnett family.
Laura Burnett, daughter of Dr.
John Burnett, a marketing profes
sor, has been in a coma since the
May 30 accident in which she suf
fered a broken leg requiring special
surgery, a broken wrist, broken rib
and injuries to the forehead, side of
the head and brain stem.
Complete details of the accident
are unavailable, but it is known that
Burnett’s body rolled onto the hood
and shattered the windshield of a
Mercedes-Benz that struck her.
A friend of the family, Diane
Blackburn of the A&M pathology
and laboratory medicine depart
ment, said Burnett has been in a
coma since the accident and her con
dition had not changed late Monday
afternoon.
Insurance will not cover the costs
to bring Burnett home, so a fund
was decided on as the best solution,
Blackburn said. Arrangements have
already been started with the State
Department for the air transporta
tion, she said.
Shannon said the account for
Burnett was opened at First Repub-
licBank Thursday.
“We have been real encouraged
by the response of contributions,”
Shannon said. “As of 2 p.m. Mon
day, we have received $2,500,
$ 1,000 of which has been donated by
individuals in the community. This
also includes several large contribu
tions from churches and Christian
student organizations.”
Blackburn said the amount was
up to $2,700 by 4 p.m. Monday.
Dr. Burnett and Laura were in
Germany touring businesses as part
of a Study Abroad program, Black
burn said.
Laura, 19, is a junior at Texas
Tech University.
Shannon said because Dr. Burnett
is a member of the American Armed
Forces Education Service, it was
hoped that a discount could be at
tained on the military airlift, but it
does not look likely at this point.
The family plans to try to return
Laura by next week, he said, if the
money can be raised by that time.
All donations are welcome and
should be sent to the Laura Burnett
Fund, in care of First Republic-
Bank, P.O. Box 2860, College Sta
tion, Texas 77841.
Donations should be designated
to the attention of Lee Cargill.