Texas A&M
he Battalion
Remember to set your clocks back
before going to bed Saturday night!
Daylight savings time officially ends
at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, at which
time Texas and most other states
will “fall back” one hour.
College Station, Texas
Vol. 88 NO.IHUSPS 04536010 Pages;
eagan wants embassy
leveled, rebuilt by U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President
|an recommended Thursday that the
J.S. Embassy in Moscow be razed
bbuilt from the ground up because it
(died with listening devices that can-
ttfe removed.
Kagan told reporters the United
lies has no choice in the matter be-
J there’s no way to rid it of the many
istejing devices that were built into it.
| ,, We’re going to start and have an
ijneii an-built one,” Reagan said of the
embassy.
Kanwhile, a State Department source
^Tised late Thursday that the United
K has filed claims against the Soviet
Union for $29 million in connection with
jtfects and delays in the construction of
llieanbassy.
In April 1987, administration officials
saidlhe United States had filed such a
daim but the preliminary total at that
imevas only about $10 million.
| Thr claims are to be negotiated by an
pfation panel in Stockholm, Sweden.
Thi source, who spoke on condition
Janymity, noted that the $29 million
(not include possible reparations by
p Soviets for the installation of eaves-
l>ing devices in the building or the
(yelual costs to replace the building.
At the State Department, spokesman
^es Redman said Reagan will urge
■ress to permit the virtually com-
!ted embassy to be demolished and re-
■ucted with American-made com-
|(its to be shipped from the United
B and stored in Moscow warehouses
Bthe tightest possible security,
j He said the building will be assembled
^.S. workers taken to Moscow for
Purpose.
: Soviets will not be permitted to
eve into their newly built embassy in
Jington until the United States can
■y its facilities in Moscow, Redman
J
He said that tearing down the existing
Inicturc and building a new one under
igh security conditions will involve a
mllaborate and costly process,
^bviously we're talking years,”
Ian said.
But he said the final cost cannot now
Kimated because entirely new engi
neering and architectural plans will have
to be drawn up.
He said Reagan’s proposed demolition
and reconstruction plan was recom
mended by Secretary of State George P.
Shultz following several reviews of the
project by U.S. experts.
“This option offers the best overall
solution to the problem,” Redman said.
He said the rebuilt eight-story em
bassy will occupy the same site but will
be different than the one recommended
for demolition.
The new structure will incorporate
features to take into account what we
have learned about Soviet eavesdropping
capabilities, he said.
“Every precaution will be taken to as
sure the security of the process,” Red
man said.
But he repeatedly declined to say ex
actly what devices the United States had
discovered in the new structure or how
they had been installed because “it’s
never in anyone’s interest to let the other
guy know what you know. ’ ’
Redman said that although the cost
will be high, it will be worth it to assure
a secure and safe working place for U.S.
diplomats in Moscow, one that will be
expected to serve for at least the next half
century.
Meanwhile, he said the United States
will continue to renovate the tum-of-the
century embassy building it has used
since the 1930’s to make it safer and
more secure until a new building can be
occupied.
The first eavesdropping bugs, in struc
tural elements built by Soviet workers
and transported to the site, were discov
ered by U.S. inspectors in the spring of
1987.
The United States and the Soviet
Union agreed in 1972 to build new,
larger embassies in each other’s capital.
One member of Congress who toured
the facility, Rep. Olympia Snowe, R-
Maine, said in September that $38 mil
lion remained in previously approved
embassy-construction appropriations to
dismantle the unoccupied embassy.
But Rep. Snowe said that BDM
Corp., which inspected the facility for
the State Department, said dismantling it
could cost $ 160 million.
Construction of the bug-riddled em
bassy and studies about its future have
cost nearly $60 million to date.
They’re H e-e-e-e-re!
Senior journalism major Melanie Heldt passes out copies
of the 1988 Aggieland. Students may pick up Aggie-
lands outside of the English Annex from 8:30 a.m.-4:30
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
p.m. through next week, after which they will be avail
able inside the Annex.
U.S. hostage celebrates birthday
during fourth year of captivity
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) —Thursday
was Terry Anderson’s 41st birthday, his
fourth in captivity, and his captors re
leased an old photograph of the Ameri
can journalist to support a statement de
nying links to a woman arrested in Italy.
A statement delivered with it to a
Western news agency said a photo of
Anderson found in the possession of
Aline Ibrahim Rizkallah, arrested in Mi
lan last week, was a reverse print of one
originally released Aug. 2, 1987.
Islamic Jihad, which means Islamic
AMU-FM to air
Delated version
alien invasion
Holy War, claims responsibility for kid
napping Anderson, the chief Middle East
correspondent of the Associated Press.
The Beirut staff observed the birthday
in his office, which they call “Terry’s
room.” No changes have been made in it
since his abduction in west Beirut on
March 16, 1985, other than displaying
the 13 photographs of him released by
the kidnappers.
Staff members sang “Happy Birth
day, Dear Terry” and blew out the can
dles on a chocolate cake.
Lebanese state television said it Would
show a tape later Thursday of Ander
son’s 3-year-old daughter, Sulome, who
was bom after he was kidnapped. His
other daughter, Gabrielle, was 10 at the
time.
He has been held longest of 14 for
eigners still missing in Lebanon. Most or
all the captives, who include nine Ameri
cans, are believed to be in the hands of
radical Shiite Moslems loyal to Iran.
Italian police have said the photo
graphs found in the woman’s luggage
were reproductions. They were of An
derson, American hostage Alann Steen
and a man who was not identified.
In Thursday’s 22-line statement, type
written in Arabic, Islamic Jihad said: “A
negative of the picture was taken. A pho
tograph was printed in a reverse man
ner. ’ ’
Accompanying the statement were a
copy of the Anderson photograph and a
reverse reproduction of it that appeared
identical to the otle found in Rizkallah’s
possession.
Also in the envelope were photocopies
of the original picture as printed in the
leftist Beirut daily As-Safir the day after
its first release last year, and of the re
production carried by Rizkallah, as pub
lished by Beirut newspapers.
In the original, Anderson was looking
directly into the camera with his head in
clined slightly to the right. In the repro
duction, his head tilts to the left.
The Islamic Jihad statement said:
“The Italian government is held respon
sible for publishing all the details about
this case. It is also accused of complicity
with the so-called Aline Rizkallah in
coordination with the Israeli and Ameri
can intelligence services until proven
otherwise.
“We renew our threat to all local and
foreign (news) agencies against manipu
lating and trading in the photographs and
documents which we attach to our
statements and which we hope they will
be published in full in line with journalis
tic honesty.”
The statement made no reference to
Anderson’s birthday.
The spiritual head of Lebanon’s Sunni
Moslem community. Grand Mufti Sheik
Hassan Khaled, expressed “regret over
Mr. Anderson’s continued captivity for
such a long period.”
By Denise Thompson
Staff Writer
le Oct. 31 is the night most
js, goblins and ghosts are known for
ing people, October 30 was the night
I struck the nation in 1938 . . . and it
ow strike again, 50 years later.
Fifty years after Orson Welles caused
l panic and sent people screaming into
te streets with his naxraration of “The
far of the Worlds,” the novel by H.G.
Wells. KAMU-FM will broadcast a
ewly updated version with an entirely
new cast Sunday at 7 p.m. While the
iroadcast is a nationwide production,
iAMU is broadcasting it for local listen
ers.
Hysteria over the radio broadcast in
938 clogged phone lines and roads be
cause people thought Martians were
See related stories/Page 5
iding throughout the country, wiping
flfnilitary forces with heat rays and
poisonous gases.
fnlhe original broadcast, Welles told
■passive' Martians with metal feet,
■ eyes gleaming like snakes and
H§ng, V-shaped mouths.
| People were told the aliens were
headed toward New York City. When
Kionsters finally reached Manhattan,
^Bose above the crowds. Fleeing citi-
^Bwere said to be diving into rivers,
clogging bridges and jamming over
bade! I boats.
Ruth Wedergren, program director at
[AMU, said she thinks the program was
ienterpole
nised today
ae bonfire centerpole will be
ed today at the end of the Corps
■ which begins at 5:30 p.m. A yell
^ptice will follow.
he bonfire site is on Jersey Street
veen Bizzell and Throckmorton
sts. The bonfire will be lighted on
No\ 22, two days before the Texas
A&M-University of Texas football
taken seriously because people at the
time were gullible.
“The state of the world is about as
chaotic today as it was then, but I believe
the awareness of UFOs and science fic
tion has increased, and I don’t see how
anyone today could believe Martians
were landing on this planet,” she said.
Although disclaimers were broadcast
before and after the program, people
who tunned in the program during the
middle, and those who were not paying
attention, were led to believe that broad
cast was genuine.
Despite the disclaimers, however, one
survey reported that up to a million peo
ple believed the broadcast was real.
While people involved with the new
version of the play believed that dis
claimers would not be necessary for the
rebroadcast, the CBS network requested
38 script changes inserting factual errors
to tip off the audience, the Associated
Press said. For example, one change was
to refer to the U.S. Weather Bureau as
the Meteorological Bureau.
Wedergren said she does not foresee
any problems with people believing the
broadcast this time around.
“Because it’s been 50 years since it
was broadcast, I think many people are
aware of what happened that time,” she
said. “We’ve been promoting it a lot on
the air, and most of our listeners will be
tuning in to compare it to the other one, I
would think.”
Several well-known people have been
chosen for parts in the broadcast. Jason
Robards, best known for his role in “All
the President’s Men,” will play astro
nomer Richard Pierson.
Steve Allen, the comedian and actor,
is portraying the character of the network
newsman who is broadcasting the horrid
events of the night.
Wedergren said she believes the qual
ity of the new production will be out
standing.
“I think it will be a wonderful produc
tion, mainly because of the person who
is producing it — David Ossman,” she
said. “From a quality standpoint, I think
it will be as sound as the one back then.
“Because it was a brand-new thing in
1938 and it was so unexpected, it may
not have the ability to really grab you be
cause everybody knows the story. How
ever, I think technically it is going to be
a fine production.”
Testing service unveils plan
to screen would-be teachers
NEW YORK (AP) — The Educatio
nal Testing Service unveiled plans
Thursday for a comprehensive new tea
cher licensing exam, including computer
simulations of classroom situations, to
help states weed out incompetents.
“There is a widespread and growing
concern about the preparedness and ef
fectiveness of beginning teachers, and
we believe that breakthroughs in re
search and technology make possible a
new kind of assessment that will provide
greater assistance, fairness and accu
racy,” ETS President Gregory R. Anrig
said.
He expressed hope that the new exam
would help put to rest recurring charges
by teacher unions and others that existing
teacher tests don’t accurately assess
classroom skills and are unfair to minori
ties.
Jane Usdan, a spokesman for the
American Federation of Teachers, called
the new test a step in the right direction.
“We have said we need to test teachers
differently, not only on what they know
but on what they can do,” she said.
The exam is designed as a licensing
tool for beginning teachers and is not in
tended to assess veteran teachers, Anrig
stressed.
Prototypes of the exam, as yet un
named, will be field tested in 1990, and a
final version is expected to be ready in
1992, according to the Lawrenceville,
N.J.-based testing service.
The test eventually is expected to re
place the National Teacher Exam, a pa-
per-and-pencil multiple choice test taken
by some 200,000 teaching candidates a
year and administered by ETS. That test,
which costs from $35 to $50 depending
on how many parts of it a state requires,
was first offered in 1939 and is part of
the teacher licensing program in 30
states.
Unlike current teacher exams, the new
test is designed to be taken at three stages
of a would-be teacher’s training.
The first part would use a computer to
test reading, math and writing skills dur
ing or after the second year of undergrad
uate study.
The second test would assess grasp of
subject matter and teaching principles
following completion of teacher training.
Beginning teachers would take a third
test to evaluate how well they perform in
actual classrooms once they have had
some supervised teaching experience. It
would include observation of teaching
performance and computer simulations
of classroom situations.
“The evaluation may extend over a
period of time for a prospective teacher,
giving states a much better sense of pro
fessional development,” said Carol
Dwyer, creator of the new test.
Foley’s chain
set to close
five stores
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston-based
Foley’s officials said Thursday they
would close five stores in Texas and
New Mexico in 1989 and plan to open
eight new stores at more profitable sites
over the next five years.
The company announced plans to
close the company’s 23-year-old down
town Dallas store and four others, and
said it would invest more than $200 mil
lion opening the new stores and remodel
ing 15 others.
The Foley’s store in College Station is
not Among those that will be closed.
“For quite some time now, these
stores have not been able to achieve the
productivity standards we have set for
ourselves,” Foley’s Chairman John B.
Utsey said.
“We want to concentrate our efforts
on those stores that are most productive
and effective ...”
Foley’s will close one store in Albu
querque, N.M., and shut down other
Dallas-area stores, including Big Town
and Highland Park.
The Plymouth Park store also will
close when the nearby Irving Mall store
opens in 1989, the company said.
The approximately 340 employees at
the five stores will be offered continuing
employment, spokesman Linda Knight
said.
“We believe that our being able to
make these kinds of changes — closing
three stores and not having to lay off
anybody — is a real positive move for
us,” she said. /
The changes are the latest in a series
for Foley’s, which merged with the Dal
las-based Sanger Harris in January 1987
when both were divisions of Federated
Department Stores Inc. of Cincinnati.
After the Canadian group Campeau
Corp. acquired Federated in 1987,
Campeau sold the Foley’s chain and
Boston-based Filene’s stores to the May
Department Stores Co. of St. Louis.
Foley’s operates 38 department stores
and in 1987 was Texas’ top department
store group, with sales of more than $1
billion.
The $200 million planned for growth
and remodeling over the next five years
indicates May Department Stores’ confi
dence in the Southwest market, Utsey
said.
Professor: Mistakes change history
By Alan Sembera
Senior Staff Writer
The single most important force driv
ing social and cultural change is man’s
tendency to make mistakes, according to
Dr. William H. McNeill, a professor
from the University of Chicago.
The most important example of the
impact of making mistakes is Christo
pher Columbus’s discovery of the Amer
icas, McNeill told about 175 people at
Texas A&M Thursday night.
“More than any other man, he
changed the face of the Earth,” McNeill
said. “An extraordinary accomplishment
for a man who was plumb wrong.”
McNeill said Columbus not only was
wrong for mistaking the Carribean Sea
for the Indian Ocean, but was wrong
when he set out to sail around the wortd
in the first place.
Navigators knew the size of the Earth
before Columbus started his voyage,
McNeill said, and they were quite aware
that it was much easier to sail to the West
Indies by going around Africa than to
sail the vast distance around the world.
The only reason Columbus got back
ing for his voyage in the first place, he
said, was that the Spanish Court didn’t
know very much about navigation.
“(It was by) acting on the basis of
quite erroneous beliefs that enabled Co
lumbus to make the voyage,” McNeill
said.
Columbus’ error, of course, started
Europe’s colonization of the New
World.
This colonization, in turn, led to the
decimation of the complex indian civili
zations that existed in America.
McNeill said there were approxi
mately 25 million inhabitants in Central
America and Mexico when the Spanish
explorer Cortez arrived.
Subsequent diseases and wars brought
by the Spanish eventually brought the
population down to about 1.6 million, he
said.
This depopulation caused a shortage
of labor at the colonies, he said, which
was responsible for the Spanish importa
tion of an enormous number of African
slaves to the Americas.
These events, which were set into mo
tion by Columbus’s discovery, greatly
sped up the process of human history,
McNeill said.
“It’s truly amazing how one man’s ini
tiative, one man’s bullheaded persistence
can change the face of the Earth,” he
said.
Man’s aptitude to be wrong and make
mistakes makes us the most changing
species on Earth, McNeill said.
And with our enormous capacity to
upset the ecological balance of the Earth,
he said, this tendency to make mistakes
will be the most important force in the
acceleration of history.
McNeill’s presentation was sponsored
by the University Lecture Series as part
of a multidisciplinary conference being
held at A&M. The conference is addres
sing Karl Marx’s famous question,
“What is the engine of history.”
The conference, which began
Wednesday, will continue through Satur
day.
It consists of sessions by professors
from universities around the United
States.
The next session, which is about so
cial and political change, begins at 2
p.m. today. There will be a session about
intellectual and cultural change Saturday
at 9 a.m.
The sessions are free to the public and
will be in 206 MSC.