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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1988)
The Battalion Vol. 88 No. 24 CISPS 045360 16 Pages College Station, Texas Friday, September 30, 1988 United Nations, peacekeepers win Nobel prize OSLO, Norway (AP) — Soldiers on the front lines of' the United Na tions’ 40-year quest for peace won the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday for steadfast duty in the cross fire of the world’s conflicts. The Nobel Committee said the U.N. peacekeeping troops built greater faith in the United Nations, which “has come to play a more cen tral part in world af f airs.” The award could bolster new U.N. peacemaking efforts to oversee shaky truce agreements in the Per sian Gulf and Afghanistan. In Jerusalem, peacekeepers broke open bottles of champagne to cele brate the prestigious award as the word was passed by radio from out post to outpost. Five of the seven peacekeeping forces are in the Mid dle East. “We are here to keep the peace, but winning the Nobel prize makes you feel good,” said Canadian trooper Tony Mayfield, 22, who guards a crossing point between Greek and Turkish sectors of Nic osia, the capital of Cyprus. Nearly 1 (),()()() peacekeepers from more than 30 countries serve under the U.N. flag. Peacekeepers most re cently were dispatched to Iran and Iraq under a cease-fire negotiated in the countries’ 8-year-long war. “There is great joy,” said Timor Goskel, spokesman for the U.N. In terim Force in Lebanon. He spoke from UNIFIL headquarters in Na- qoura, Lebanon. The citation from the Nobel Com mittee, made up of five Norwegians, said the troops showed the world’s determination to settle disputes peacefully. It said they “made a deci sive contribution towards the initia tion of actual peace negotiations.” Some peacekeepers carry light arms, but they can fire only in self- defense. The United Nations says 733 peacekeepers have lost their lives since 1948. Lt. Col. William R. Higgins, who headed the 76-member U.N. super vision group in south Lebanon, is among nine American hostages in Lebanon. Higgins, 43, was seized Feb. 17. The prize was an indirect tribute to Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, who was not eligible because he was nominated after the Feb. 1 deadline. Perez de Cuellar, speaking to ap plause at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, said the Nobel com mittee showed “that the quest for peace is a universal undertaking in volving all the nations and peoples of the world.” The U.N. chief said he would ac cept the prize in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of benefactor Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896. It carries a cash award of 2.5 million Swedish kronor, worth $390,000 dollars to day. U.N. officials did not say how the money would be used. The peace keeping operations cost about $230 million a year, and officials say that likely additional operations in south ern Africa, Western Sahara and Cambodia will raise the total to $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually. Committee chairman Egil Aarvik confirmed that President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorba chev were among the 97 candidates and were “seriously considered” for the prize. “No, I didn’t deserve it as much (as they did),” Reagan told reporters at the White House. “It was an admi rable decision.” ,i| ' llMRil z-sastw* | t mums | . || IpMMf f 3 1 mmm; ■■} iKisiiM v til Tally Ho Phulo by Mike C. Mulvey Sophomore Stacy Peterson rides across the polo field. Lawyer: Other suspects not interested in plea bargain after man’s conviction CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — Law yers for more than half the de fendants in the alleged gang rape of a San Diego woman said Thursday their clients are not interested in plea bargains, despite a conviction and maximum sentence recom mended for the first man to face trial in the case. “They were adamant that they do not wish us as their attorneys to seek plea bargains that would require Officer’s son guns down armed intruder in home them to plead guilty,” said attorney Albert A. Pena 111 of Corpus Christi, who with San Diego attorney Nago Alaniz represents five of the 10 men indicted. One of their clients, Orlando Garza, 24, of San Diego, was con victed of sexual assault Tuesday. A jury recommended the maxi mum 20-year prison sentence for Garza. Assistant District Attorney Ro dolfo Gutierrez, chief prosecutor in the Garza case, said after the convic tion that he expected a “long line” of defendants seeking plea bargains. “My response is that the line is not going to be as long as he thinks,” Pena said Thursday, adding that he and Alaniz since Tuesday have spo ken with Garza and the four other indicted men they represent, and none of them wants to plead out. Garza still faces an aggravated kidnapping charge in the case. Nor does the 14-year-old youth Pena and Alaniz represent on a sex ual assault charge in the case, Pena said. Gutierrez was unavailable for comment Thursday and did not re turn calls from the Associated Press. The prosecutor told the San An tonio Light on Wednesday that gang-rape defendants seeking plea bargains could expect at least 10- year sentences and more if kidnap ping charges are involved. “We’ll definitely be seeking hard time for all of them,” Gutierrez told the newspaper. All 10 men indicted and the 14- year-old cent. youth have pleaded inno- Kingsville attorney Sam Fugate, representing 22-year-old Ruben Vela Jr., said his client earlier this month turned down an offer of im munity from prosecution in ex change for testimony for the state. “He said it didn’t happen like the girl said it happened and he couldn’t testify that it did, that he couldn’t perjure himself,” Fugate said of Vela, who is charged only with sex ual assault and not kidnapping. “We’re going to trial,” said Fu gate, adding that he probably will advise his client to seek a venue change because of the publicity. HOUSTON (AP) — An 1 1-year-old son of a Hous ton police officer and the boy’s mother fatally wounded an armed intruder in their home in a neighborhood re cently plagued by a rash of burglaries, authorities said. The boy was home from school because he was ill when the incident occurred about 1:15 p.m. Wednes day, said Harris Gounty SherifFs Lt. W.T. Sparks. The boy fired a single shot from a 20-gauge shotgun at the burglar, who died at the scene despite the efforts of a Life-Flight helicopter crew, Sparks said. The youth told police he heard a knock on the front door and saw a woman, whom he did not know, there fore didn’t answer. “Then he heard the sound of the patio door break ing,” Sparks said. “He got a shotgun and called his mother to ask if any one was coming over. She said no, and she then dialed 911.” The boy then barricaded himself in a bathroom. When the burglar approached the bathroom door, he heard his mother drive up, Detective Max Cox said. “He flung open the door and fired at the suspect,” Cox said. Cox said the boy’s mother heard the shot as she got out of her car and pulled out a pistol that she carries. “She walked in there and saw the guy getting up, so she fired at him several times,” Cox said. After the unidentified burglar was declared dead, detectives searched his body and found a .25-caliber pistol underneath it. Sparks said the woman who knocked on the door ap parently was an accomplice of the burglar. She fled after the shooting and remained at large. Investigators found a television set, a videocassette recorder and two shotguns stacked in the kitchen. Sparks said the burglar, who broke in through a pa tio door, had put the items in the kitchen after search ing the home. Deputies and area residents said many burglaries and thefts have been reported in the east Harris County neighborhood. A&M to conduct nationwide search for new director of Health Center By Holly Becka Staff Writer Texas A&M will conduct a nation wide search later this fall to find a new director for the A.P. Beutel Health Center, Dr. John Koldus, vice president of student services, says. The new director will replace for mer director Dr. Claude Goswick, who retired from his position at the end of July after extended sick leave. Goswick underwent heart surgery in January, and upon his doctor’s ad vice decided not to return to his job, Koldus says. Koldus served as acting director of the Health Center during the spring in addition to retaining his duties as student services vice presi dent. Dr. John M. Moore has served as acting director of the Health Center since August. Moore, a staff physician who has worked at the Health Center since September 1974, was the acting asso ciate director for the center at the time he was chosen for the job. “I was the most senior member on staff after Dr. Goswick, so that’s why I was chosen,” Moore says. Koldus says the University’s busi ness affairs office will conduct an op erational audit before the process of finding a new director begins. “After the operational audit is fin ished and looked at, then we’ll de cide when to begin the search,” he says. “It will probably be later this fall.” Moore says he probably will apply for the position when the University begins its search for the new direc tor. Discovery returns American flag to space CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Space shuttle Discovery carried the American Hag back into space Thursday after a 32-month absence, its five astronauts riding a 700-foot tail of flame from rockets meticu lously redesigned after the Chal lenger disaster. “Everyone certainly stood tall to day,” Kennedy Space Center direc tor Forrest S. McCartney said as Dis covery settled into orbit, 184 miles above earth. Mission Control said the ship was “performing nomi nally.” It was the first launch since the Challenger explosion with its toll of seven lives on a cold wunter day shocked the nation and stopped the manned space program in its tracks. “We sure appreciate your all get ting us up in orbit the way we should be,” Discovery’s commander, Navy Capt. Frederick Hauck, told Mission Control. “We’re looking forward to the next four days — we have a lot to do and we’re going to have alot of fun doing it.” Liftof f was the first and most im portant milestone, but more was at stake than simply getting into space. The 2!/2-year grounding of the shut tle fleet set back the nation’s satellite delivery capability, and release of a communications satellite was the main order of business in orbit, seve ral hours after launch. The giant Tracking and Data Re lay Satellite is a $ 100-million twin of the craft that was destroyed aboard Challenger. In Washington, President Reagan praised the launch, saying the shut tle was “headed into orbit and Amer ica is back in space.” He saluted the bravery of the crew and said, “We ask God to bless this important voy age.” Launch, at 11:37 a.m. EDT, came only after NASA waived weather guidelines to allow for flight through some lighter-than-usual Florida winds. The 98-minute delay simply heightened the tension as NASA unveiled a spaceship that un derwent more than 400 modifica tions since the Challenger flight. Just how well the Discovery’s booster rockets performed in their new design awaited detailed analysis. But J.R. Thompson, who directed the work from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama said, “From everything I see, everything looks great.” Hauck’s veteran flight crew con sisted of Air Force Col. Richard Covey; Marine Lt. Col. David C. Hilmers; John M. Lounge; and George D. “Pinky” Nelson. Landing was scheduled for Monday at Ed wards Air Force Base in California. The astronauts had said all along they were treating the mission as a test mission — a “shakedown flight,” in the words of Covey — and they quickly ran into first-flight problems. A water evaporator that provides cooling to the ship during the climb to space and return to Earth was partly clogged with ice. And a device that provides electrial power to move an orbital steering engine was not working. Neither problem was critical. Flight director Gary Coen said engi neers were devising ways of thawing the evaporator before it is needed again and that backup power was available to turn the steering engine. To the delight of a quarter-million people gathered on river banks and highways and an ecstatic NASA team in Launch Control, Discovery lifted off its seaside pad and streaked into cloudy skies. It re mained in view less than a half min ute, but the tension was considerable and the sight was unforgettable. Anxiety was highest as the ship went through a 30-second period of severe aerodynamic stress. It was during this stage of the flight that one of Challenger’s booster rockets failed and triggered the Jan. 28, 1986 catastrophe, 73 seconds after liftoff. Spectators in Houston cheer on shuttle crew SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — About 300 white-knuckled spectators solemnly watched on a large screen TV at Johnson Space Center as Dis covery was launched Thursday. The crowd broke into robust cheers and applause when the spacecraft lifted off, became silent as the critical booster rocket burn continued and then erupted joyously as shuttle headed into orbit. “This is a very, very special mission to us all,” John Kaltenbach, an 18-year NASA employee who now is a senior advance system specialist for Lockheed, said. “There probably was more ap prehension and excitement in this one. This one had to fly. It’s extremely rewarding to have them up there. “Relief, absolute relief,” Kaltenbach said. “We really needed this one.” Kaltenbach said there were no outward tears. “But I can feel them inside,” he said. “That’s the longest 90 seconds,” Art Davis, a maintenance supervisor, said after the booster rockets separated. “It’s great, great.” As the shuttle rose into the sky and neared the 73-second mark —the time when the Challenger 2'A years ago exploded — the auditorium be came completely silent and people edged for ward in their chairs. Like the ill-fated Challenger flight, NASA cameras switched to a closeup of the shuttle hurtling toward space. This time, however, there was no picture of smoke and flame. “I’m so relieved,” Bill Blasdell, television man ager at the center, said. “It’s been a lot of hard work. I was af raid one of all these saf eguards was going to catch us.” “I thought it was fabulous,” Artis Galbreath, of Charlotte, N.C., said, at the center as part of his National Guard duties. “This shows the deter mination of people.” “It was a white-knuckle thing all the way,” Harry Erwin, who works in the Space Center New Initiative Office, where planning is done for future launches, said. “But I also got the feeling of growing confidence before (they took off.” “It was just thrilling, exciting. Itjust feels good to be in space again,” Marilyn Davis, who also works in the New Initiative Office, said. “I was nervous but confident, too.” “I’ve got a little boy and they weren’t going to show the launch on TV so I made him stay at home,” Erwin said.