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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1988)
* he Battalion Friday, Oct. 7. 1988 College Station. Texas Vol. 88 No. 30 USPS 045360 12 Pages Photo by Fredrick D. Joe ^ Aggieland photographer Phelan Ebenhack photographs Neeley Hall’s dorm council in the rotunda of the Academic Building Thursday. Bush, Dukakis vie for support of Texas voters lonstruction mishap near Pavilion auses gas leak, building evacuation By Richard Tijerina Staff Writer he Pavilion was evacuated Thursday feraoon after a gas leak caused by a nstruction accident. The building was Bed for half an hour while Grounds lintenance and Lone Star Gas crews Irked to repair the damage, pie leak began when a worker from Co Ad, an independent contractor |edby the University to replace several ns on campus, inadvertently drilled )the gas pipeline. he escaping natural gas accumulated Jseeped into the building, rising to the |ond floor. an Coffer, a construction worker, he stopped his tractor immediately br hitting the pipeline. Workers then tan evacuating the building, dowever, Jamie Sneed, a worker for he Star Gas, said no real danger |sted, because the natural gas flowing m not pure enough to be flammable. |‘It wouldn’t matter,” Sneed said. |ie gas mixture’s got to be just right. mixture in here is something like Ir percent gas and ninety-six percent Igen. The mixture would have to be Bt right for it to explode. It’s just like a t The gas has to be either too rich or {lean.” Building Proctor Willis Ritchey said he was concerned about the leak because the broken line led to the Pavilion’s kitchen and snack bar. He said, how ever, that the leak was not inherently dangerous and that it caused only a mi nor inconvenience. “The gas all just seeped in from the west end door,” he said. “Gas just rises. You could really smell it on the second floor, but on the first floor you could hardly smell it at all.” No one was available to explain why the construction workers were drilling over the pipe. Lone Star Gas Construc tion and Maintenance Supervisor Joe Merka said Lone Star Gas is responsible only for the line leading up to the meter and that the broken pipe leads from the meter to the building. Eugene Ray, Grounds Maintenance director, said that apparently no one knew the location of the gas line. “The line went from the meter back to the building and no one apparently knew it was there,” Ray said. “We go through a real rigorous process on sign building. We go through a checklist with Univer sity plumbers, the telephone company and so on. “Occasionally a miss is going to hap pen because on this campus we don’t know where things are. We should be able to very consistently tell what we have underground in the very near fu ture. This is just one of those unfortunate things that happened that no one is really responsible for.” Ray said that the sign being replaced is directly above the broken gas line. How ever, the hole being drilled for the foun dation of the new sign is deeper than the original hole. Coffer said evacuating the building did not take long, but keeping students from going inside was a problem. “They didn’t care,” he said. “I told one girl that the building was closed and she sat there and argued with me because she wanted to find out who was elected the Class of 1992 president.” Democrat Michael Dukakis criticized Dan Quayle in campaign rhetoric and commercials on Thursday, saying the Republican vice presidential candidate appeared “extremely insecure’’ in de bate. George Bush praised his running mate’s performance but quickly changed the subject to crime control. Quayle shook off a poll suggesting Democrat Lloyd Bentsen beat him hand ily in their debate Wednesday night and said the Republicans are still ahead in the race for the White House. Most pre-de- bate surveys gave Bush a slight advan tage over Dukakis with a little over a month remaining in the campaign. Bentsen preferred an instant ABC poll rating him the debate winner by 51 per cent to 27 percent. “I was just delighted,” the Texas sen ator said. The highlight of the debate came as the 41-year-old Quayle said his experi ence in Congress compared favorably with John F. Kennedy’s record at the time of the 1960 campaign. “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” Bentsen shot back. The Dukakis campaign rushed to air two television commercials questioning Quayle’s qualifications. One comercial showed pictures of Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford, all vice presidents who suc ceeded to the presidency without an elec tion, while an announcer said Bush’s pick of Quayle as running mate marked a ‘ ‘ lapse of judgment. ’ ’ Dukakis told reporters aboard his cam paign jet en route to Texas the debate was a real plus for his campaign and called Quayle’s performance “very dis turbing.” “I thought he was programmed be yond belief . . . extremely insecure, this fellow,” Dukakis said in Lone Star, Texas, where he campaigned together with Bentsen. “He didn’t have a sense of strength or control or anything. . . Thinking about Quayle being a heartbeat away from the presidency, to watch that, I think, is very, very troubling,” Dukakis said. Republicans from Ford to Ronald Rea gan rallied to Quayle’s cause as the Bush organization appeared to be practicing damage control. Bush aides conspiculously violated their rule about publicly discussing polls. Campaign manager Lee Atwater said the vice president was ahead in Michigan and New Jersey, two key swing states. He predicted the vice president would carry Bentsen’s home state of Texas by at least six points. “This race is going to quickly get back to the two candidates for presi dent,” Atwater said. “There are two gladiators in the arena that are going to count in the end.” In Midland campaign signs distributed to children attending a Bush campaign rally said, “Dan’s no JFK. Thank God.” Bush delivered his first speech of the day on crime without mention of his run ning mate or the debate. Instead, he ridi culed a Massachusetts prison furlough program by mimicking tough-guy actor Clint Eastwood’s popular refrain “make my day.” “My opponent’s answer is slightly different,” Bush said. “His motto is: ‘Go ahead, have a nice weekend. ’ ’ He praised Quayle’s performance as he warmed up for a morning jog, though, and later told a people at a rally in Mid land “I think Dan Quayle did an out standing job.” Reagan, coming to Quayle’s defense, said Bentsen resorted to a “cheap shot. . . unbecoming a senator of the United States” with his much-quoted debate put-down of the GOP vice presidential candidate. Bentsen disputed any suggestion of nastiness on his part. “What happened there was Quayle kept comparing himself to Kennedy, and he overreached himself and I got fed up with it,” the Texas senator told report ers. However, Bentsen threw his jab after Quayle’s one and only reference to Ken nedy in the 90-minute debate. One Democratic aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bentsen and his debate advisers had honed the re mark in practice sessions. See related stories, page 8 Freshman will have run-off election for five student government positions u.w t if? ; 5io? inochet rule Chile iintil 1990 | Santiago, Chile (apj — a stem ; in. Augusto Pinochet told the nation of tile Thursday he will remain as presi- fm until his term runs out in 1990, as pice fired water cannons .and tear gas to crowds celebrating his defeat in a ferendum on extending his rule to 997. rEvery man and woman of this coun- Ican be absolutely sure we will carry St completely the itinerary foreseen in le constitution,” Pinochet said in a leech broadcast nationwide. jit was his first public declaration since founding loss in Wednesday's refer- ndum. recognize and accept the majority : Bdict expressed yesterday by the citi- ; Pry.” he declared. fcnochet also warned opposition lead- ts not to misinterpret the vote as a man- |te for them, or a rejection of an 8-year- old constitution that called for the refer- ,Bum. The referendum also provides [■ Pinochet if defeated — as he was — I ■remain in office until March 1990. ghen the winner of an open election planned for late 1989 will assume power. i ■‘No one can feel they have the man- patc of the people to twist what the peo ple decided,” he said. The constitution, pited by his administration, was passed in; loosely organized 1980 referendum jllta : opposition leaders said was rife with we fraud. | ■Thousands of jubilant foes of Pinochet panted “He has fallen!” and marched 1 confetti-strewn streets to celebrate ! tfteir ballot-box victory over the military By Kelly S. Brown Staff Writer When results of Freshman Student Government elections were announced Thursday most candidates weren’t sur prised to hear that five positions would be decided in a mn-off election — 49 candidates were running for six offices. The class historian and ten senators were elected, but the positions of presi dent, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and social secretary will be decided in the Oct. 10 run-offs. Of the 8,136 registered freshmen, 1,491 voted in the election. Heather West was elected historian with 57 percent of the vote. Fifty-six students ran for senator. The ten elected are: Todd Fisk, Danny West, Dan Rooney, Greg Raab, Greg Couger, Torey Dangerfield, David Hawkins, Tony Resendez, Andrew Zeigler and Steven Weber. Sixteen students ran for freshman president, but only two candidates re main after the preliminary vote. Kim Nietenhoefer, a biomedical sci ence major, and Trenton Kelley, a ani mal science major, are vying for the of fice. Kelley said the initial competition was tough and that he is ready to campaign again. Nietenhoefer said she has high hopes for the Class of ’92, and that she will be able to devote a lot of time to the presi dency if elected. Kelley said time will not be a problem for him either, if he is elected. Running for vice-president are Shawn R. Roberts and Michael L. Bruno II. Michael Pilgrim and Echo Phipett will meet in the run-offs for the position of class secretary, and Melissa Connelley and C.R. Cook will compete for the title of treasurer. Rod Garrett and Lisa Mayer are vying for the position of social secretary. Perry Liston, a junior business major and co-chairman of the election commis sion, said, “The turnout was excellent and we are very happy, but I hope the freshmen realize how important the run offs will be next Monday.” Students will be required to show their identification cards when they vote on Oct. 10 at the MSC, Sbisa Dining Hall, Sterling C. Evans Library or on the Quad. To fill other positions in the Student Government, 12 students were sworn in as senators during the Student Govern ment meeting Wednesday. The newly appointed senators are: Da rin Cowart, agriculture senior seat; Da vid Luckenback, Aston-Dunn residence halls; Ellen Bullock, Briggs-Spence resi dence halls; Patrick Janis, Sheri Cald well, Melody Chan and Heather Mulvill, Ward II; Greg Duewall, Ward III; and Angie Arona, Sandra Burke, Kenny Gossett and Phyllis Janysek, Ward IV. The Battalion has adopted a rede sign in an effort to better serve our readers and to improve the quality of our newspaper. The redesign was originally a jour nalism project of former Battalion ed itor Sue Krenek, During Spring 1988, Krenek researched and compiled a design stylebook that, except for a few minor changes, set the format for The Fall 1988 Battalion editorial board decided to go ahead with the redesign after Krenek submitted her designs for its consideration during the summer. Studying past key to better future By Fiona Soltes Staff Writer The key word at the 4th Symposium of the Texas A&M University System, held Thursday at Prairie View A&M. was change — change in mi nority populations in Texas, changes and advances in technology and changes in international mar kets. The theme, “State and Global Challenges of the 1990s: How Should We Respond?,” presented sta tistics, attitudes and suggestions for dealing with these changes through four guest speakers. Dr. Amitai Etzioni, keynote speaker, stressed the importance of studying the past to look for so lutions to the problems of the future. "It’s necessary to look at where someone has been as well as where he’s projecting himself to discover his purpose and sense of identity. The same is true for society.” Etzioni, Thomas Henry Carroll Ford Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School, said Texas needs to go through a 10- to 15-year diet ol building up its resources for the future, beginning now by projecting itself toward improving pnmaiy and secondary education. "Our society needs to be much more productive and prepared character-wise when they get to the college gate,” Etzioni said. State Representative Eddie Cavazos, the second speaker, agreed. “Those in first grade today will be graduating from high school in the year 20.00,” Cavazos said. But the problem lies with the changing demogra phics of the state. “Thirty years from now, no ethnic group will claim a majority in the state of Texas,” Cavazos said. “The expected growth of Hispanics, in partic ular, will have a definite impact. In 1985. 63 per cent of Texans were Anglo. By 2000. the number will be decreased to 56 percent. Hispanics will have increased to 28 percent by that time." The rising number of minorities in Texas is cause for concern because of the lack of role mod els for minority youth, he said. “Only 35 percent of the Hispanic population have completed high school.” Cavazos said. "Even worse, only 6 percent have finished four years of college. Adequate training of Hispanics today is essential. Our growing Hispanic population is ill- equipped to take over the burdens of the future.” Dr. Norman Hackerman. chairman of the Scien tific Advisory Board of the Robert A. Welch Foun dation and the third speaker, re-emphasized Cava zos' point by saying just how important technology will be in the near future. ‘‘Advances in science come from demand." Hackerman said. "The system (which includes de velopment. demonstration, marketing, and distri bution,) requires talents and capabilities. “Science is an important part of culture. It is greatly involved in the advancement of civiliza tion; we simply cannot do without it.” Hackerman said change, such as the changes in demographics Cavazos mentioned, is the most constant thing in the universe. “Ignorance leads to research and research leads to change,” Hackerman said. “Customs, morals, ethics and even truth change.” The people of tomorrow must be prepared to face those changes. Hackerman suggests society measure ignorance against the stockpile of knowledge, he said. “The stockpile of knowledge is modest and gro wing,” Hackerman said. "But the stockpile of ig norance is infinite.” Lee Hogan, president of the Houston Economic Development Council, said today's universities must produce students who are literate in a global sense. “Texas is way, way behind the rest of the nation in internationalizing its education," Hogan said. “We need to find but how higher education can make better use of our resources and how we can better participate in international business. And we need to prepare a generation of people to handle this.” Hogan said tomorrow’s society is increasingly dependent on intellectual resources. “One-thiru ol the joos cieaieu oetween now and the year 2000 will require a college education. Jobs requiring advanced skills will increase from 24 to 40 percent of total jobs.” But society has to deal with a present drop-out rate of 50 percent for Hispanic students, 33 percent for black students and 25 percent for Anglo stu dents, he said. “If this trend continues, then we are guarantee ing that we will not be major participants in the global markets of the 1990s and beyond,” Hogan said. “It’s important to start getting behind the numbers and finding the individuals.” Following the speeches, delegates of the System broke into groups to discuss demographics, science and technology and global markets individually. Suggestions for future improvements included in creasing the accesibility of a college education to minorities by adding financial aid and fellowship programs; utilizing the System to improve commu nication between the sites; and developing a long term plan to support minority growth in the Sys tem. Also suggested were cooperative research within the System and improving working realtionships between parents and faculty and within departments. But most important was the idea that the growing minority population in Texas needs to be educated for the changes of tomorrow. This responsibility lies in the hands of educators, businesses, legislature and society at large.