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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1988)
The Battalion Vol. 88 No. 16 GSPS 045360 16 Pages College Station, Texas Monday, September 19, 1988 J/Vorkers search for victims of hurricane IfIjVlONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — weakened into a tropical storm late T " JL " ^ T Tl IXI I 'ERREY, Mexico (AP) — Workers searched on Sunday for the bodies of up to 200 people swept away when a tiver poured over its and overturned four buses. Six; v people were confirmed dead, ^fhe buses were caught in the path ollthe Santa Catarina River when a flash flood spawned by Hurricane Ai.'Glbert ripped a 40-mile-long path of destruction Saturday through noi hern Mexico’s most populated regam. Ht was the epilogue to a week of d«th anti havoc caused by Gilbert, which ravaged the Yucatan Penin sula resort areas of Cancun, Cozu- qJih|] and Isla Mujeres before crossing C the Gulf of Mexico and hitting Mex- I again in the northeast near Te is. ^■The storm killetl at least 98 people wtyle coursing the Caribbean, in- clu ling 29 in the Yucatan when it hit I^Hd last Wednesday with winds of up to 200 mph, 26 in Jamaica, 30 in I ^Hiti, five in the Dominican Repub lic and eight in Honduras. Two peo- IH were killed Saturday in Texas by tornados spawned by the storm, ^feut it was in this capital of the I^Hte of Nuevo Leon where Gilbert f^Bcted its highest death toll after it weakened into a tropical storm late Friday. Gilbert’s rains created a 10-foot- deep, 150-foot-wide torrent of muddy water by Saturday when the river roared through Monterrey. By Sunday, it was almost back to its nor mal size of 20 feet, allowing soldiers to use cranes to pull the crushed body of one intercity passenger bus from the mud. “They hope to find bodies be cause they don’t know exactly how many people were in the bus or how many were able to save themselves,” rescue coordinator Lt. Col. Vicente Gamez of the 7th Military Zone said. The first bus yanked by its chassis from a murky grave in the Monter rey riverbed revealed only empty seats, twisted metal and piles of shoes and clothing. Soldiers used picks to dig through the rubble of mud, stones and tree branches inside the bus’s crushed re mains. Another bus, also upside down and crushed, lay in the gravel on the other side of the stream. The re mains of two other buses were fur ther downstream. Gamez said only two survivors w'ere located by Sunday. Texas cities prepare for flash floods SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Texans braced for flash flooding Sunday as rivers swelled from rains spawned by Hurricane Gilbert, while hun dreds of residents continued to dig out of the rubble from more than three dozen tornadoes spun off by the storm. Numerous tornadoes touched down in San Antonio Saturday, overturning a mobile home and killing a woman and uprooting trees and roofs at Kelly Air Force Base, homes, an apart ment complex, businesses and damaging an air- conditioning system at Audie Murphy Veterans Admnistration Hospital. Other tornadoes were reported in Del Rio, in southwest Texas on the United States-Mexico border late Saturday, but damage there was min imal, officials said. In northeastern Mexico, U.S. Coast Guard air craft from New Orleans were picking up people threatened by swollen rivers. Flash flood watches were in effect Sunday over much of north, west and central Texas, the Na tional Weather Service reported. State officials reported that the Rio Grande in Terrell County in southwest Texas rose 30 feet overnight and was expected to rise even more. Christine Holleymah, spokesman for the Ter rell County Sheriff’s department, said two farm- to-market roads in the area were closed because of rising creeks and rock slides. “This happens all the time when it rains,” Hol- leyman said. “We have lots of low crossings and dry creeks. It’s a very common occurrence. We haven’t had any problems.” Authorities in the Texas Hill Country were keeping a watchful eye on the Guadalupe River, which easily overflows its banks during rain storms. But as of late morning, no flooding had been reported. Laureen Chernow, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Man agement Council, said, “The division of emer gency management is still monitoring the situa tion in West Texas for possible flooding and the possibilities of tornadoes. “At this time we have not received any reports from local jurisdictions on flooding situations, but we’ll continue to monitor until the threat has passed.” In San Antonio, residents of apartment build ings and homes continued their cleanup effort while city and telephone crews worked Sunday to restore service. Eduardo Pichardo, an employee of the Transportes de la Frontera bus line, said he believed about 64 people were aboard the two buses from his company stroyed in the flood. that de- It was not known how many other passengers were aboard the other two buses, one identified as belong ing to the Transportes. Noreste line and another, possibly an urban bus. But state officials said the total aboard the four buses was about 200 and that 60 people were confirmed dead. Four state judicial policemen and two civilian volunteers also drowned when they attempted to rescue vic tims, state authorities said. About 12 inches of rain fell over the 24-hour period before the flood, but the destruction was caused by runoff from the towering peaks of the Sierra Madre Oriental chain that surrounds this semi-arid metropol itan area. Meanwhile, in northeastern Mex ico, U.S. Coast Guard aircraft from New Orleans were picking up scores of people near Vallecillo that were threatened by swollen rivers as scat tered rains continued in northeast ern Mexico and parts of Texas. Mex ican state authorities requested the Coast Guard assistance. Military official Jpeclares himself 'llaiti’s president [PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Brig. Gen. Prosper Avril, a for- mt r military adviser for the Duvalier dii atorship, declared himself presi dent on Sunday after ousting Lt. ^Bn. Henri Namphy. ■Avril, adjutant general of the ^Hny, said in an early morning ad- di ss on national television that the ^Hesidential Guard toppled Namphy « Saturday because it was “sick- etled” by the way Namphy gov erned. Namphy was sent to the nlighboring Dominican Republic. ■ Residents reported hearing heavy ^■nfire Saturday night near the presidential palace in what appeared t(| be fighting between military fac tions. ■ Frantz Lubin, Haiti’s director of iijformation, said soldiers were killed, but Avril mentioned no cas ualties. ■ Avril took over a week after about 2l men armed with machetes, hand- :^Hns and steel pikes attacked a H|urc:h during a Mass being said by ^■e Rev. Jean Bertrand Aristide, a vo ,tl critic of the military govern- SBan. Thirteen people were killed ^Hd 77 wounded. Opposition lead ers blamed Namphy’s government for the attack and another church barning two days later. ■ On Sunday morning, slum dwell ers killed and burned the body of one man and cheered when a soldier slot and killed another man sus- ^^^^■cted of participating in the mas- ^^Bcre. By midday, the city was quiet, but the airport was closed. ■ Avril, who was adviser to ousted President Jean-Claude Duvalier, said Haiti will respect all interna tional treaties, liberties and human r|ghts and said that “dialogue will be honored for the sake of national rec onciliation.” ■ Lubin said Jean-Claude Paul, commander of me 700-man Dessa- lines Barracks, was named com mander-in-chief of the army, but Avril did not mention Paul. Dessa- lines is the most feared unit in the 7,000-man army. Paul, who has been indicted on federal drug trafficking charges in Miami, had been considered the most powerful figure in Haiti after Namphy. It was not known if Paul played a role in the coup, but sources said Namphy and Paul were at odds. In Washington, State Department spokesman Anita Stockman said noncommissioned officers of the Presidential Guard captured Nam phy in an apparently bloodless coup and persuaded Avril to take over. She said they were believed to be dissatisfied w ith recent human rights violations and the general deteriora tion in the security situation punc tuated by attacks against the churches over the past two weeks. Stockman said Avril phoned the U.S. ambassador and said he was as suming the presidency. She said the U.S. government still wants Paul to answer the drug trafficking charges in court. Namphy arrived in a private plane at a private airport in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, early Sunday morning, said Fabio Herrera Cabral, deputy foreign minister of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispa niola with Haiti. The Dominican Republic said Namphy and Port-au-Prince Mayor Franck Romain were granted politi cal asylum in its embassy in Port-au- Prince. Details on the departure of Romain and 12 others still were be ing discussed, Herrera Cabral said. Romain was a colonel in the Presi dential Guard and chief of police under Duvalier. ^ Photo by Jay Janner Where’s Gilbert??? Blue skies mock the empty stands at Kyle Field Saturday afternoon when A&M was supposed to be playing Alabama. Alabama postponed the game because of weather conditions, Alabama officials reported Friday. Fraternity faultless in student’s death By Fiona Soltes Reporter The Texas A&M chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon has been proven not responsible for the Sept. 10 drowning of an A&M student. After a week of investigations by the University and the Somerville Police Department, Charles Good man, interfraternity counsil advisor, told members of the IFC Sunday that the fraternity was not to blame for David Stauts death. “I am completely and totally con vinced that the drowning was acci dental,” Goodman said. “The chap ter did nothing to cause and was not negligent in the death of David Stauts.” Stauts, 19, a business major from Longview, had been swimming with members of the fraternity at Lake Somerville. He apparently was swim ming to a small island just off the shore of Welch Park when he drowned at 2:30 p.m. Billy Towsley, Burleson County Sheriffs deputy, said, “Members of the fraternity tried to help him but could not reach him in time.” Stauts body was found about 6:30 p.m. after an extensive search by members of the Somerville police and sheriffs deptartments, the Som erville Rescue Unit and the Corps of Engineers, Tausley said. He was buried at Memory Park in Longview Sept. 12. Stauts was not a member of the fraternity. John Koldus, vice president of student services at A&M, could not be reached for comment. The frat plans to issue a formal statement at a later date. Commander ousts Burma’s president RANGOON, Burma (AP) — Armed forces commander Saw Maung ousted the civilian president on Sunday, and thousands of people surged into the streets to demand democracy and protest the fourth change in the government in two months. Gen. Saw Maung said in a statement broadcast by state Radio Rangoon he overthrew President Maung Maung to halt economic and social chaos and to hold democratic elections after 26 years of authorita rian rule. The fate of Maung Maung was not known, and there were no re ports of casualties or arrests. Saw Maung, 59, immediately abo lished key government institutions and slapped an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. cur few on the capital, the country’s larg est city with 2.5 million residents. Public gatherings were banned, but it was not known whether the mea sures were only for Rangoon or for all of Burma. Shortly after the 4 p.m. broadcast, thousands poured out of their homes, some bearing spears, knives and homemade crossbows, to protest the new regime. Protesters chopped down trees and threw them along with stones and bricks across roads to block military vehicles. “I believe the people will rise up again and this time they are going to be angrier,” Burma expert Josef Sil- verstein of Rutgers University said. A&M team will write new drug education curriculum By Melinda Eddleman schools without drugs,” he said. “Drug edu- Pruitt said he hired Steven Thomas, di- a vehicle to involve all teachers in drug edu- grand experimentation. He said more ei By Melinda Eddleman Reporter pass-v ' H The Texas Education Agency has con- tracted a nine-member team from Texas ^■&M University to write a new drug educa- tTAfe|tion curriculum for Texas public schools, inda^l Project director Dr. B.E. “Buzz” Pruitt, r gC associate professor of health and physical gj education, said the state is at a point where ' it is willing to take a major step toward changing drug education now taught in schools. I The six-month $200,000 project is funded by federal money allocated to exas by the Department of Education’s rug-Free Schools program, Pruitt said, he curriculum guide, “Education for Self Responsibility II: Prevention of Drug Use,” ■ill be aimed at grades pre-kindergarten through 12. I Pruitt said A&M received the contract af ter submitting a curriculum proposal in re sponse to a publicly advertised REP (Re quest for Proposal) by the TEA. A&M was ^hosen over other in-state as well as out-of- *Mate agencies competing for the project, he J aid ' IB The philosophy ol the new comprehen sive curriculum, Pruitt said, is to change the whole environment of Texas schools. I “Our intent is to actually move toward : er m schools without drugs,” he said. “Drug edu cation in Texas can’t be conducted by a tea cher standing in front of a class saying ‘Don’t do drugs’ with a cup of coffee in his or her hand. Kids see the contradiction, he said. What they’re seeing is a teacher who can’t make it through first period without an upper — without a stimulant — caffine.” Pruitt said the schools are spending tax payers’ dollars on drug paraphernalia every time they buy ashtrays for the teachers’ lounge. If policies aren’t passed to make schools tobacco free, then there is no com mitment to drug-free schools, he said. The project consists of three phases, Pru itt said, with the research phase currently underway. He said they are trying to obtain every piece of literature on drug education and purchase any available curricula they can get their hands on. “From existing knowledge, literature and data we want to create the most sound cur riculum that we can — given the restraints (time factor) we have to operate under,” he said. Pruitt hand picked a panel of drug edu cation experts for consultation on the pro ject. He said for every angle the project cov ers, he wants people available who know' the specific areas like they know the back of their hand. Pruitt said he hired Steven Thomas, di rector of a minority project at the Univer sity of Maryland and drug education spe cialist, because he is black and is able to add a true minority point of view to the project. “We don’t want this to be a product that is designed for middle class white Texans that can be modified for black Texans or brown Texans,” he said. “We want it to be a curriculum for Texans — whatever their color or background.” Pruitt said he has also hired other spe cialists who can help determine what will and will not work within the curriculum structure. He said Barbara Carter, a drug education specialist from Mississippi, just finished a curriculum for that state and can give insight about what should and should not be included in the Texas curriculum. Pruitt said the second phase of the pro ject consists of writing workshops, includ ing four that utilize 28 practice teachers from around the state. Pruitt said they will make a few mistakes delivering this project to the public schools in such a short period of time. But, he said, the cry for help is so loud that it demands an immediate response. He said they will try to respond to teachers’ needs for train ing with later projects. Pruitt said the curriculum will be used as a vehicle to involve all teachers in drug edu cation. “Every employee of the school needs to feel (they are) part of the solution to the drug problem and not part of the prob lem,” he said. He wants everyone to care about the skills it takes to prevent drug abuse. Because the curriculum extends from pre-kindergarteners to 12th graders, it will be developed mentally sensitive, he said. Certain elements will be introduced de pending on the grade level. Pruitt said the kindergarten through el ementary school levels will involve curricula to build self-esteem and assertiveness. He called this “social innoculation,” which is equipping the children with arguments that appear spontaneous but are, in fact, pre pared arguments for certain types of situa tions. He said some curricula call these re fusal skills. Also, Pruitt said, information about what a drug is will be presented. Pruitt said scare tactics will not be used in the curriculum be cause they have been proven ineffective. Research suggests that social innoculation has hope, he said. A more aggressive approach will be used around the 7th grade, he said. Pruitt said the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are a period of grand experimentation. He said more em phasis will be placed on dealing with “gate way” drugs, which include tobacco, alcohol, and presently marijuana. Pruitt said the use of one of these drugs can open the door to use or abuse of some other illicit substance. “People generally don’t start out using heroine,” he said. “They may start out on a cigarette in the 4th grade.” Pruitt said more complex questions of the impact of drug problems on society will be addressed in the high school levels of the curriculum. He said the realization of the dollar expense of illicit drugs to the United States will also be addressed. The new drug education curriculum package will be sent free to every school sys tem in Texas, Pruitt said. Of the 1,100 school districts in Texas, he said, about 1000 of them could not afford any com mercially packaged curricula. Pruitt said the state wants to make drug education available. “The real important message here is that this is not the answer to the drug problems of the schools,” he said. “This is a very re sponsible move on the part of the state of Texas to address the drug problems. I hon estly believe we will make a difference in the environment of the schools. It’s a major step toward drug-free schools.”