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Vol. 88 No. 27 QSPS 045360 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, October 4, 1988
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Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
Eric Givilancz, a junior physical education major, turns around cones
in a physical motor fitness class at Kyle Field Monday afternoon.
Soviets name new president
MOSCOW (AP) — Politburo
member Vitaly I. Vorotnikov was
moved to the ceremonial job of pres
ident of the Russian republic Mon
day as the Kremlin capped the big
gest leadership shake-up in Mikhail
S. Gorbachev’s 3.5 years in power.
The major beneficiary of the re
alignment of power was Gorbachev
himself. The Communist Party’s
general secretary was elected Soviet
president by the Supreme Soviet
parliament Saturday to replace An
drei A. Gromyko, 79, who retired.
At a Monday meeting, the legis
lature of the Russian republic, the
largest of the 15 Soviet republics,
elected Interior Minister Alexander
V. Vlasov, who was named a candi
date member of the ruling Politburo
during a Central Committee meet
ing Friday, the republic’s new pre
mier to replace Vorotnikov.
Vladimir P. Orlov, the 67-year-old
president of the republic, retired,
and Vorotnikov was elected his suc
cessor.
Gorbachev, who attended the
meeting of the Russian republic’s
parliament in the Kremlin, recom
mended the changes, and lauded
Orlov and Vorotnikov in remarks
later shown on state-run television.
Last week, Gorbachev pushed a
major shake-up through the Com
munist Party’s policy-making Cen
tral Committee. He retired two full
and two candidate Politburo mem
bers, promoted four other people
and streamlined the Central Com
mittee’s apparatus.
Vlasov, 56, who worked in Gorba
chev’s home area of southern Russia
before becoming interior minister,
in charge of the uniformed police, in
1986. It appeared unlikely that he
would continue to keep his job as the
nation’s top policeman. But a re
placement would have to be named
by national authorities, and not by
the republican parliament that met
Monday.
Vorotnikov’s replacement as the
Russian premier had been rumored
in Moscow, and there have been per
sistent reports that the 62-year-old
leader was ill. The official Tass news
agency gave no reason for the
changes.
Vorotnikov and Ukrainian Com
munist Party leader Vladimir V. Sh-
cherbitsky are the only two members
of the ruling 12-man party Politburo
who were there before Gorbachev
took power..
The decision to kick Vorotnikov
upstairs could be an indication that
he will be removed from the Polit
buro at a later date.
One Western diplomat in Mos
cow, who spoke on condition of ano
nymity, said Vorotnikov was consid
ered a “swing” vote on the Politburo.
He generally supported Gorbachev’s
reforms, but was “not real outspo
ken, cautious, not zealous.”
Supreme Court begins new term
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Su
preme Court, beginning a new term
Monday, set the stage for an impor
tant church-state ruling in a Pitts
burgh dispute over religious displays
and expanded its study of drug test
ing in the workplace.
The justices issued orders in some
1,000 cases as they returned to the
bench after a three-month summer
recess.
They agreed to grant full review
in 20 of them.
Most significantly, the court said it
will decide whether displays of a
Christmas nativity scene and a me-
norah, symbolizing the Jewish holi
day of Chanukah, should be allowed
at two government buildings in Pitts
burgh.
Although such disputes are not
new to the court, the case offers Jus
tice Anthony M. Kennedy his first
opportunity to consider how high a
wall the Constitution requires be
tween government and religion.
Many experts believe the court
may be poised to make dramatic
changes in the constitutional tests
applied in certain freedom-of-reli-
gion cases.
The court Monday also agreed to
consider, for the second time in two
years, the authority of states to deny
unemployment benefits to people
who refuse to work on their Sabbath.
Illinois officials refused to pay
benefits to a man whose refusal to
work was not based on the doctrine
of any established religious body but
on his personal Christian belief.
Despite his 12 years as a federal
appeals court judge before becom
ing a justice last February, Kenne
dy’s views on the politically volatile
issue of religious freedom largely
are unknown.
In a separate action, the justices
said they will decide whether a rail
road routinely may require its em
ployees to take drug tests.
At issue is whether the imposition
of such tests must be negotiated as
part of the collective bargaining
process with the unions that rep
resent railroad workers.
The justices also will decide
whether people applying for U.S.
Customs drug-enforcement jobs
may be subjected to drug tests.
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Kidnappers free Indian hostage in Beirut
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State De
partment, confirming the release Monday of
an Indian hostage by kidnappers in Lebanon,
said, “We are anxious to talk to him and learn
if he has any information to share with us”
about the nine Americans held in Lebanon.
Spokesman Phyllis Oakley said Mithilesh-
war Singh, who is a permanent resident of the
Linked States, was in Syrian hands in Beirut
#id would be taken to Damascus early Tues-
day morning.
“We join with Mr. Singh’s relatives in re
joicing in his release and call for the urgent,
unconditional release of all hostages in Leb
anon,” Oakley said.
The spokesman said she did not know how
he was freed or his condition.
Oakley said Syria notified the U.S. embassy
in Beirut and Secretary of State George P.
Shultz, who is at the United Nations in New
York, of Singh’s release.
“He’ll be transported tomorrow to Damas
cus, and at that point we will consult with him
whether he wants to take advantage of the fa
cilities at Wiesbaden,” she said.
The United States maintains a hospital at
the military base in West Germany.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater
said there would be no comment from the
White House until Singh had been turned
over to American authorities by Syria on
Tuesday.
The release had been expected at 2 p.m.
EDT, and then at 3 p.m. After two more
hours of anxious waiting, Oakley made the
announcement in the State Department
newsroom at 5 p.m.
Singh was released at 10:05 p.m. local time,
3:05 p.m. EDT, across the street from the
Beirut headquarters of the U.N. Relief and
Works Agency, which aids Palestinian refu
gees, a police spokesman in Beirut said.
He then identified the freed hostage as
Singh, a visiting professor at Beirut Univer
sity College. “We understood the Syrians in
tend to transport Mr. Singh to Damascus on
Tuesday morning,” Oakley said.
Asked if there were indications other hos
tages would be released, the spokesman said:
“No. This is all we have.”
Singh’s wife, Lalmoney, is in Beirut and
Singh, 60, will be turned over to the U.S. am
bassador to Syria, Edward Djerejian, Oakley
said.
Although Singh is an Indian citizen, he was
considered one" of the nine Americans held
hostage in Lebanon, she said, adding that he
“was associated” with the Americans who
taught at the college.
5,000 people welcome astronauts in Houston
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HOUSTON (AP) — Nearly 5,000
waving Texas and
American flags turned out at a
Houston airport Monday night to
welcome home the five Discovery as
tronauts after their successful mis
sion that carried Americans back
into space.
“We were privileged to go around
the earth about 64 times since we left
you,” Commander Rick Hauck said
at ceremonies at Houston’s Ellington
Field.
“We saw some beautiful sites and
we’ve lived in a wonderful machine
and it was wonderful to come back to
Edwards Air Force Base (Calif), but
it’s even more wonderful to come
back home.”
The astronauts had strolled from
their NASA jets, which carried them
and their wives on a three-hour
flight from Edwards, where they
landed Discovery safely earlier in the
day.
They walked along a red carpet
and through a tunnel of American
flags, some of them pausing to hug
their children. Then they climbed a
stairway to a blue drape-clad stage
backed by a large red, white and
blue sign which proclaimed: “NASA
& Houston, Back On Top To Stay.”
“We just got back from the great
est adventure of our lives, and it was
a whole lot of fun,” Mission Special
ist Dave Hilmers said. “But you
shared this adventure as much as we
did, and you’re just as much the
heroes as we are.
“Back in the dark days after the
Challenger accident, folks in Hous
ton never lost faith in NASA and
folks at NASA never lost faith in
Houston. Let’s go back to work to
morrow and make this adventure
happen again and again and again.”
The welcome home was a far cry
from the return to Houston shuttle
astronauts had become accustomed
to. In flights before the Challenger
accident, the return had become so
routine that only a handful of family
members and friends were on hand
to greet them.
Monday’s event, however, was in
tended to show the support of the
Houston-area communities for the
space program, organizers said.
“We want to welcome you back as
neighbors,” Houston Mayor Kathy
Whitmire said.
“We had a special ceremony out at
Edwards and that was kind of a wel
come home for the country and it
was very special,” Mission Specialist
Pinky Nelson said. “But this is more
special because we’re coming home
to our friends and coworkers and
the people who made it happen.”
A high school band and flag-wav
ing troupe entertained the crowd in
the hours before the astronauts ar
rived at the same field where a week
ago they left for Florida and the
launch of Discovery.
“I think the space program is
going to keep on going and we
wanted to break him in right,” Doro
thy Trout said as she looked at her 3-
month-old grandson, Jacob, who sat
in a baby stroller on the airport tar
mac. “We wanted to get a close-up
view of the astronauts.”
Photo fee
for yearbook
unnecessary
The $5 fee charged for year
book photo proofs by Yearbook
Associates is a mistake and it isn’t
necessary for students to pay the
fee, the president of the company
says.
The fee is on the photo proof
order form mailed to students,
which reads: “If you wish the
POSE OF YOUR CHOICE to ap
pear in the yearbook, please place
an ‘X’ on the back of your choice.
Place your choice and $5 in the
plastic pocket.”
Students do not need to pay
the $5 fee to have their pictures
in the yearbook. The fee for a
yearbook picture is $1, which is
included on the University fee
statement as a regular fee option.
Don Johnson, Student Publica
tions coordinator, says that under
the contract between Texas A&M
and Yearbook Associates, there is
no charge for selecting the photo
graph a student wants to have
used in the yearbook.
Jim Williams, president of
Yearbook Associates, says the
charge was an error.
“(The charge) is not an uncom
mon thing,” Williams says. “We
deal with a number of schools all
across the nation, with different
contracts and terms.”
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Silver Taps
The solemn sound of buglers
playing “Taps” and the sharp
ring of gunfire will be heard on
campus tonight as two Texas
A&M students who died during
the past month are hon
ored in a Silver Taps
ceremony
at 10:3 0
p.m. in front
the Aca
demic Building.
The deceased
students being hon
ored are:
• Monique Irene Car-
llson, 26, a gradviate stu-
'dent in psychology from
Sioux Falls, S.D., who
died Sept. 15.
• David Joel Status, 19,
a sophomore business ad
ministration major from
Longview, who died Sept.
10.
Dating back almost a
century, the stately tradition of
Silver Taps is practiced on the
first Tuesday of each month from
September through April, when
necessary. The names of the de
ceased students are posted at the
base of the flag pole in front of
the Academic Building, and the
flag is flown at half-mast the day
of the ceremony.
Lights will be extinguished and
the campus hushed as Aggies pav
final tribute to fellow Aggies.
A&M celebrates 25 years of admitting women
Females have numerous effects
By Kelly S. Brown
Staff Writer
For 87 years, starting with the day
A&M opened its doors in 1876 until
1963, most women on the Texas
A&M campus were visitors — moth
ers, sisters, wives, daughters, girlf
riends, friends and entertainers.
But A&M has come a long way
from the days when Reveille was the
only female resident. This year is the
25th anniversary of A&M’s decision
to admit women to the University.
Fall enrollment has hit a high with
39,163 students, 16,329 of whom are
women. Female enrollment now ac
counts for 41.7 percent of the stu
dent body — a distinct change from
1963, when 183 of A&M’s 8,122 stu
dents were women.
In 1963, there were five women
professors, and female students
were admitted only if they washed to
enroll in graduate school or in a
course of study that was not available
at any other state-supported school.
Gen. James Earl Rudder, A&M
president in 1963, was the force be
hind the decision to admit women to
the University. He wanted to open
the school to every one who met the
school’s qualifications. He also inte
grated the school and led the cam
paign to change A&M’s title from
College to University in 1963.
Some saw admitting women as a
necessary step to allow the A&M to
develop.
“The alumni thought that
as things changed and
women were admitted,
the traditions would die,
and all the other good
things that are a part of
A&M would vanish, too,
but that didn’t happen —
the good stayed. ”
— Dr. Sallie Sheppard,
A&M student in 1963 and
associate provost of A&M
“The school must grow,” L.F. Pe
terson said.
Peterson, A&M System Board of
Directors member and 1963 presi
dent of the Association of Former
Students, was quoted in an issue of
The Battalion that year as saying,
“The Board does not think that co
eds will necessarily raise the stan
dards of the school, but the Board
feels it is handicapped in hiring pro
fessors, because many professors
want a place for their wives and
daughters to go to school.”
The change would take some get
ting used to, but before accepting it,
those who disapproved had to have
their say.
One who objected to the change
was T.L. Smith Jr., Class of 1898.
Smith was quoted in a March 1963
issue of The Battalion as saying,
“The harm that will come with co
education exceeds the good by 1,000
percent. Girls divert the attention of
boys. Thousands of parents do not
want their boys to go to school with
girls. I visualize numerous panty
raids and other foolishness like that,
which frequently occurs at the va
rious colleges and universities which
are co-ed.”
Some were worried that the Corps
of Cadets never would be the same.
Sterling Evans, 1963 Board of Re
gents president, said in a May 1963
issue of The Battalion, “I think it is
unfortunate that the opinion has
gotten around that co-eds will affect
the Corps — it will not.”
But Evans’ promise was not
enough for some.
A petition was circulated by those
wanting to ban women from the
University — 1,875 cadets signed it,
while 587 cadets declined.
Rep. E.M. Edwards, Class of ‘49,
took the petition to the Texas Sen
ate, where he introduced a bill to
ban women from A&M.
The Senate rejected his bill, fully
endorsing the Board’s decision.
Dr. Sallie Sheppard, who came to
A&M as a student in 1963, said the
alumni seemed more upset than the
students about the issue.
Male to Female Student
Ratio At Texas A&M
1963
2.25%
1988
41 .69%
58.31%
97.75%
0 Female
H Male
“The alumni thought that as
things changed and women were ad
mitted, the traditions would die, and
all the other good things that are a
part of A&M would vanish, too, but
that didn’t happen — the good sta
yed.”
Sheppard, who is now an associate
provost — the highest university-
level post held by a woman at A&M
— said she did not feel any discrimi
nation as a student.
“Everyone was courteous inside
and outside of the classroom,” she
said. “I had heard about night meet
ings and rallies against women at
A&M, but I never attended them,
nor was I affected by them.”
According to a Battalion survey
conducted after the Board an
nounced their decision, the majority
Graphic by Elva Nolan
of students at A&M disapproved of
admitting women to A&M.
Sixty percent disagreed with the
decision allowing women to enroll in
the University, 30 percent agreed,
and 10 percent said it made no dif
ference.
Whether or not the change was
liked, the Board’s decision was Final
— despite protests and petitions —
and women were at A&M to stay.
What many male students didn’t
realize in 1963 is that women already
had attended A&M earlier in the
century, and the school and its tradi
tions still had remained strong.
Along with 15 or 20 other fe
males, L.B. Locke/Class of ’25, at-
See Women, page 7