*
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.