Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1988)
£ Battalion College Station, Texas Monday, October 3, 1988 'Ustm engtr fell U iy i suets l werej ng«: moon fate loftffl tiakei fry b :uka, ecialis \SAsJ hursdii ienien lave fiwDi he bra said lorik isneros rallies locally for Dukakis campaign By Alan Sembera Senior Staff Writer San Antonio Mayor Henry Cis neros made a brief stop in Col- Station Friday to boost the campaign of Gov. Michael Duka kis and Sen. Lloyd Bentsen. Cisneros stressed the impor tance of this year’s election, not ing that this is the first presi dential race in 28 years where no incumbent is running for re- election. The fact that a new president 11 take office next year makes it important for people to look to ward building the f uture and not base their vote on the perfor mance of the last president, he said. “What we’ve got to do is create a government that is involved and energetic — that tries to make things better,” Cisneros told about 150 Democratic support ers. The mayor focused on the na tion’s domestic policies when list ing specific programs that the next administration shotdd sup port. Cisneros supported the cre ation a national energy policy and called for increased support for education, low-income housing and small farms. Cisneros blamed the Reagan administration for a decline in education, saying the high-school dropout rate is increasing and SAT scores are declining. He gave Dukakis high marks for his educational policy, saying that San Antonio’s education pro gram is based almost exclusively on the Massachussets program. San Antonio’s program gives a four-year financial package to poor students after they graduate from high school, he said. The students must have a B average and 95 percent class attendance. Cisneros also criticized the cur rent administration for a “nonex- istant energy policy”, saying that the United States is so dependent on foreign oil that soldiers had to be sent to the Persian Gulf “to get shot at.” If Dukakis were elected presi dent,- he would appoint Bentsen to head a national energy summit to create a national energy policy, Cisneros said. T he mayor said this is just one of the benefits of having a Texan as vice president. He said Bentsen would remember his roots and bring influence to Texas. Republican presidential candi date George Bush claims Texas as a home for voting purposes, al though he lives in Maine. When asked about the influ ence of Hispanic voters in Texas, Cisneros said he thinks they will be an attribute for Dukakis and Bentsen. Cisneros, who is Hispanic, said Dukakis and Bentsen are re spected by the Hispanic commu nity, and have generated much excitement there. Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros shows his support for Dukakis at Jose’s Restaurant in College Station Friday. lad ik ;edto3 a la< ocal officials debate on policy )f allowing forest fires to burn del nger b IsoimI Bell tolls farewell to Olympic athletes teepis By Sharon Maberry Staff Writer Massive forest fires burning over airpoi be w 0,000 acres of Yellowstone Na- hewb mal Park since the summer have ised questions about a National I irk Service “let burn” policy allow- g natural forest fires to burn eely. Sam Logan, information officer Ir the Texas Forest Service, which ■ part of the U.S. Department of ■griculture, said fires have been a ■tural part of forest lands through- lit history, including natural fires ■used by lightning and forest fires It by Indians to make walking and liming game easier. tot | Also, some types of trees’ seed nes must be exposed to fire occa- mally to let the seeds out. The idea behind the “let burn” licy is to let nature take its course, owever, forest fires in the western ates are not burning themselves acentu “There’s nothing wrong with the ashiinl plicy as long as it’s flexible,” Logan said. “It’s my understanding that the “let burn” policy is inflexible and the severe drought this year got out of hand. “It’s awfully easy to armchair quarterback after it’s already hap pened, but the moisture content in some of those trees was 7 percent or lower, which is drier than lumber used to build houses. “Also, a lot of the timber was al ready dead because beetles had killed the trees and left them stand ing. This rotting wood creates a fire hazard.” It is more difficult to fight fires in mountainous regions than in areas like East Texas forest lands, which have a flatter terrain. Forest fires in East Texas usually can be controlled faster because more roads reach the areas, and bulldozers can be used on the flat terrain. However, in areas like Yellowstone where the land is too steep for bulldozers, fires must be fought by crews of men and women with hand tools. The citews scratch a line — usually a few feet wide —down to mineral soil. Then they set a back fire be tween the line and the head fire to try to take the fuel out of the big fire, Logan said. “There are three things that make a fire burn: fuel, flame and air,” he said. “Take any one of those three away and it won’t burn. We (fire fighters) try to take the fuel away.” But this method of fire control is not working in the western states be cause high winds blow embers as far as a mile past the scratch lines, he said. Also, many of the fires are crown fires, which burn through treetops and not on the ground. Although it is generally easier to fight fires in Texas than in mountain regions, Texas forests suffer dam age from fires each year. So far in 1988, more than 2,000 Texas forest fires have burned 35,500 of its 22 million acres of forest, Logan said. The U.S. Forest Service occasion ally uses the National Park Service “let burn” policy, but usually it at tempts to put natural fires out, he said. Prescribed burning, controlled by foresters, is often necessary to re move dead wood and brush that cre ate fire hazards, he said. Also, the fastest way to clear har vested land for replanting trees is to burn it. Texas forests are not at risk for massive burns like those in the West, Carl Gidlund, public affairs officer for National Forests in Texas, said. “Some areas in the West will not fight a lightning-caused fire unless human lives or structures are threat ened,” he said. “In the South, we don’t really have a ‘let burn’ policy. If .a fire starts, we fight it. We also have a different fuel type and it is far more moist here.” manitarianism helps Contras :oven i i heirl "sitol WASHINGTON (AP) — The agan administration, expects to e advantage of a minor change in new humanitarian aid package •Foi the Contra rebels to institute a ies of non-military training pro- ams designed to make the insur- nts more self-sufficient. The aid program that expired Fri- iy said the administration could Je the $17.7 million package only for food, clothing, medical services Ah d shelter. L/ll The new $27 million six-month ickage signed into law by President agan Saturday calls for assistance in the same four areas but the word has been deleted, permitting the ad ministration greater flexibility in how the money is spent. In signing the $14.3 billion for eign aid bill, Reagan criticized what he said was a minimal amount of hu manitarian aid for the Contras. U.S. officials, insisting on ano nymity, said they envision U.S.- sponsored “skills training” in areas ranging from radio maintenance to record keeping, human rights and health care. The officials said sucii programs should boost the morale of the thou sands of rebels who are camped along the Honduran-Nicaraguan border with little to keep them occu pied. Many of the rebels flocked to these camps from inside Nicaragua over the past six months to take ad vantage of the assistance programs being carried out in the border area by the Agency for International De velopment. No deliveries were made inside Nicaragua because agreement could not be reached with the Sandinista government on an acceptable deliv ery system. The officials said they expect op position to the proposed training programs from members of Con gress hostile to the Contras who don’t want them to survive as a vi able organization. The prospects for a renewal of military aid for the rebels are not good. The aid,package, initially ap proved by the Senate in August, au thorized the release of $16.5 million in stockpiled military equipment un der certain conditions. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The 1988 Summer Olympics, kept free of terrorism but tainted by drug scandals,. closed Sunday with the pealing of a medieval bell to symbol ize the sorrow of parting. The United States finished third in med als. The 1,000-year-old, 72-ton Emille Bell, which according to Korean leg end has the saddest tone of any in the world, tolled farewell to the more than 9,000 athletes from 160 nations who participated in the 24th Olympiad. The 16-day event, conducted un der extraordinary security, wrapped up with the Soviet Union winning the lion’s share of the 237 medals events. The Soviets took home 132 med als, including 55 gold, the most ever in a Summer Olympics without a major-power boycott. East Germany had 102 medals and 37 gold, and the United States 94 medals and 36 gold. Many felt that the United States was robbed of a second-place tie for golds when judges awarded a bout to a South Korean boxer over Ameri can Roy Jones in the 156-pound event on the final day of competi tion. Because of boycotts in 1980 and 1984, the Games were the first meet ing between the Soviet Union and the United States since 1976 in Mon treal, and matchups between the two nations provided some of the Games’ highlights. The U.S. men’s volleyball team beat the Soviets to defend its 1984 Olympic championship, providing consolation for America’s upset in the men’s basketball quarterfinals. America also defeated the Soviets in women’s basketball and men’s water polo. At least 1 billion people watched the Olympics via a 115-nation, worldwide TV hookup. The Seoul Games had the greatest number of athletes (9,633), the most countries, the most gold medals and the most venues (34). Communist North Korea, which demanded a role in the Games, boy cotted them, but the only sports power to follow suit was Cuba. Among the highlights: • Greg Louganis won the Olym pic Spirit Award as top American athlete Sunday for winning gold medals in platform and 3-meter springboard diving. He accom plished the same feat in 1980 and became the first man to sweep the events twice. The 28-year-old Louganis, who hit his head on the board in the pre liminaries and received five stitches, announced his retirement from div ing and said he wanted to pursue acting. • Sisters-in-law Florence Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee led an American assault in track and field. Griffith Joyner won golds in the 100, the 200 and the 400-meter re lay, and silver in the 1,600-meter re lay. Joyner-Kersee won two golds, taking the heptathlon and the long jump. • Kristin Otto of East Germany won six golds in swimming. Ameri can swimmer Matt Biondi won seven medals, five gold, while Janet Evans earned three golds in the pool for the United States. • Daniela Silivas of Romania dominated women’s gymnastics, winning three golds, two silvers and a bronze. • West German Steffi Graf com pleted tennis’ first Golden Slam, winning the gold medal as well as all four Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon and the U.S., French and Australian Opens — in a cal endar year. timer. : Regents increase chance of special admission to A&M ilica dI astrom acvVf j wislr t ; ‘ ion. ; see®' Iran as |( greei |,! .ave* By Juliette Rizzo Staff Writer [Students applying for admission I Texas A&:M may have better |ances of getting in because of if ms added to A&M’s special admis- ms review policy by the Texas uM&M Board of Regents Saturday, n, I Under A&M’s special admissions red son v m' 1 Jiall' oiild |! _ tone" 1 , itei" 10 ■view policy, students who are resi- :i |ents of Texas and are not admitted jA litomatically by merit of being in uii |e top 10 percent of their graduat- Ig class or for their scores on the X iholastic Aptitude Test can be ad- jjitted through a special evaluation gocess. Students considered under this lecial provisions category wall be 'aluated for admission by letters of commendation, extra-curricular tivities, planned field of study and adership experience. In revising the admission policy, regents asked Friday that intended enrollment in the Corps of Cadets be added as a preference item to the list of criteria to be considered for spe cial admissions, although none of the criteria guarantee admission. In-state students also may be ad mitted on the basis of relation to a former student. For out-of-state stu dents, the Regents added relation to a former student to the list of special considerations. In other action, the regents agreed to pay $125,000 in legal fees to lawyers of former student and member of the Corps of Cadets, Melanie Zentgraf, who filed suit against A&M in 1979 for discrimina tion. Zentgraf claimed that she was ha rassed by male cadets after she was admitted into the Corps. The payments were ordered by U.S District Judge Ross Sterling, who presided over the Zentgraf case. A&M already has paid $100,000 to the law firm that represented Zent graf. The Railroad Relocation Concept Plan also was discussed Friday by the Regents’ Building and Planning Committee, led by Chairman Royce E. Wisenbaker. The Regents se lected a proposed route for the tracks, but funding for the $58 mil lion project is scarce. Regent John Mobley was the only Regent not in favor of approving the relocation before funds are avail able, to avoid an implication that the rail lines definitely will be moved, he said. In the proposed route, the tracks would be relocated from south of Wellborn Road to west of Eas- terwood Airport toward the east side of Riverside Campus and connected with existing rail lines just north of the intersection of Highway 6 and FM 2818 north of Bryan. The Regents said they hope that the federal government will supply the remainder of the money needed for the project since the state can only come up with about $4 million. The Regents were asked Friday to endorse Proposition 3, a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitu tion that would create the “Texas Growth Fund,” a source of invest ment funds, including venture capi tal, and job opportunities. Small por tions of state funds and of the Permanent University Fund would be invested in the growth fund. The resolution passed unani mously. The proposition will be on the Nov. 8 ballot. Regents also approved the cre ation of a new company, Technology Commercialization Inc., or Tech- Com, which will be owned primarily by the Texas Engineering Experi ment Station. Chancellor Dr. Perry L. Adkisson said TechCom has been specifically formed to commercialize technology developed within TEES and in any part of the University System that is interested in using its services. President William H. Mobley said, “We are excited about TechCom and its potential for commercializing research results from Texas A&M and TEES. The complexities of forming companies and licensing technologies have required the emergence of a new breed of com pany based on aggressive technology transfer. “Such companies will aid not only Texas A&M but also the state by nurturing economic diversification.” The Board also acted on the fol lowing issues: • Approved $10,000 for the first phases of a “Hall of Honor” for the Corps of Cadets, which will include offices for Corps leaders and a visit ing area. • Approved an agreement with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Renew Development In ternational Inc. to grant RDI the ex clusive right to patent an enzyme that produces light by biolumines- • The Board also authorized al lotting funds for use by the veteri nary medical school.