exas A&M
e Battalion
londay, November
1988
avazos seeks
dvice of peers
n loan default
ON, TX
Associated Press
ASHINGTON (AP) — Education
Hretary Lauro Cavazos is seeking the
mvice of thousands of lenders, colleges
■ universities, and public officials on
hov to hold down the escalating default
rate on student loans.
H'he Education Department says tax-
palers spent $1.5 billion to cover de
faults on the guaranteed student loan pro-
Hm in the fiscal year that ended Sept.
■ almost 43 percent of the program’s
enti e cost.
H'he figure represents a 200 percent in-
Hisc over the past five years in what is
now known as the Stafford loan pro-
Hm, the department said.
H'he program has loaned about $40 bil-
iioi since it began.
H)f the current $12 billion in outstand-
ing loans, about $5 billion is overdue,
thldepartment said.
H^harles Kolb, acting deputy underse-
»cw: lor planning, budget and evalua-
, said Cavazos has sent letters ap-
ling for advice to more than 7,000
pahicipating colleges and universities,
13, »0 lenders, 54 agencies that guar-
ahlee student loans, 50 governors, and
■nibers of Congress.
Hlavazos, who was president of Texas
Tech University until taking over as edu-
cafcon secretary in September, is also ac-
cepiing suggestions from students.
Hie is especially concerned about those
Whs defaulted on their loans because
they were unable to earn a living after at
tending unscrupulous trade or other
schools that award a certificate but do
not provide necessary job skills.
Kolb said some schools have 100 per
cent default rates, suggesting they may
not be providing the kind of education
necessary for students to hold a job and
earn enough money to repay their loans.
“There are a lot of scams going on
here,’’ Kolb said.
A school must be accredited to qualify
students for guaranteed student loans,
but Kolb said there are still fly by night
operations that don’t give students a
technical background —just a paper cer
tificate, no skills, and a debt.
Kolb said former Education Secretary
William Bennett had proposed that
schools that fail to get their default rate
below 20 percent could be cut from the
program.
Cavazos has extended the comment
period on that proposal until the end of
February.
Cavazos also wants to know to what
extent lenders, guarantee agencies and
schools should share in the risk and cost
of defaults; how communication can be
improved among those participating;
whether credit reports and co-signers
should be required for borrowers with
poor credit histories; and how consumer
and personal financial counseling can be
used most effectively.
Computer expert
iinds A&M virus
College Station, Texas Vol. 88 No. 51 USPS 045360 16 Pages
By Juliette Rizzo
Staff Writer
Hiagnosed as “virus-free” Friday
Hning, Texas A&M’s computer sys
tem later came down with the symptoms
la recent computer virus that spread
thn iigh a nationwide computer network
last week.
lohn Dinkel, associate provost for
MMnputing and information systems, said
■initial check of the system revealed
It the A&M system was healthy.
■A system’s analyst in the computer
science department discovered the virus
Ir a preliminary check of the system,”
is:
iavalry horses
Injure three
game
By Stephen Masters
Senior Staff Writer
Three San Antonio residents remained
■pitalized Sunday after four Parson’s
Imnted Cavalry horses were spooked
B ran wild before Saturday’s football
gam-.
■jeorge Rippy, 70, his wife, Margaret
Bpy, 69, and their daughter, Carol
■ton, 46, were struck with a street sign
|Joe Routt Boulevard, said Bob Wiatt,
—■—iphversity Director of Security. The Rip-
I were listed in serious but stable con-
ion and Linton was listed in stable
1 Idition Sunday afternoon,
lust prior to Corps march-in, one of
I horses was spooked, possibly by a
Bps outfit while performing their outfit
B, Wiatt said.
Bdl four horses bolted after the first
HarveV Ro2>- Wa > Startled, he said.
Bhe horses were attached to a small
ller, which accompanies a covered
Peach Cre^Ron and a larger trailer used to carry
I cannon for A&M home football
lies. The cannon was not attached to
left OH FoS'ittailer involved in the accident.
Iwo members of the cavalry, Travis
*e\nolds, a junior range science major
Bn Runge and Loyd C. Smith, a soph-
Bore general studies major from Beau-
Int, were on the trailer when the horses
Bed, Wiatt said.
Bhe horses ran north through the
Bdrangle and turned west toward Joe
X/\M(J Cani'Bitt Boulevard, Wiatt said. On Routt,
■ horses knocked over a light standard
B a one-way sign in the median, he
B. The team stumbled and fell when it
■he sign. Wiatt said. The trailer over-
’ .Bed, throwing the riders from the
|ck.
_he Rippys and Linton were part of a
iVOOd Valie)'pup gathered in the median to watch
ha march-in. Linton's son, Howard Lee
Bon, is a freshman general studies ma-
Jand a member of the Corps of Cadets.
)rew Gibson, commanding officer of
I cavalry, referred all questions about
I incident to cavalry adviser Lt. Col.
Tdnald Westervelt. Westervelt and
-orps Commandant Tom Darling were
nlvailable for comment Sunday.
Indian commandos save Maldives hostages
Dinkel said. “The virus was isolated and
taken care of very quickly. We discov
ered it before it had the opportunity to do
any damage on campus.”
Arpanet, the research data network in
fected, allows A&M to exchange re
search information with 300 universities,
research institutions, military experts,
corporations and the Pentagon. The sys
tem handles only unclassified informa
tion.
According to computer experts, the vi
ms, which was entered into the Arpanet
system by a Cornell University graduate,
was discovered last Wednesday and
found to be the largest and most wide
spread in the United States. Other uni
versities “infected” include MIT, Har
vard and Stanford.
Dinkel said the computer virus entered
the A&M campus computer system
through a user who logged on to the sys
tem in Michigan.
“Viruses are hidden within computer
programs,” Dinkel said. “When a person
tries to copy a program, the virus be
comes active and reproduces. Some are
destmetive and delete stored data and
some are just innocuous.”
The virus on campus was caught and
stopped from spreading before it had a
chance to become destructive. Dinkel
said that if the virus had not been caught,
the Arpanet system would have had to be
completely shut down before it was thor
oughly affected by the virus..
“What we need to do to prevent the
spread of viruses on campus is to prac
tice safe copying of software,” Dinkel
said.
MALE, Maldives (AP) — Indian
commandos rescued 20 hostages and re
covered bodies of four others aboard a
crippled getaway ship Sunday after gun
men who tried to overthrow the Maldives
government surrendered, Indian officials
said.
Officials reported three hostages were
missing.
Armed Sri Lankan mercenaries ended
a two-day high seas standoff early Sun
day after the Indian frigate Godavari
fired on the cargo vessel 60 miles from
the Sri Lankan coast, Indian officials
said.
They said the alleged mastermind of
Thursday’s bloody coup attempt, an aide
to former Maldivian President Ibrahim
Nasir, was among the 46 people who
surrendered.
Nasir has denied involvement in the
coup.
The Indian marine commandos recov
ered the bodies of four hostages from the
Maldivian-registered ship, Indian gov
ernment spokesman Ramamohan Rao
said in New Delhi.
Rao said he did not know how the hos
tages died.
Interviews with survivors indicated
three other hostages were missing, he
said.
Seven of the surviving hostages, in
cluding Transport Minister Ahmed Muji-
thaba, had bullet wounds and were flown
to the south Indian port city of Trivan
drum for treatment, Rao said.
A Maldivian spokesman said he had
not been informed of any hostage deaths.
Rao said the Indian navy was return
ing the alleged mastermind — Maldivian
businessman Abdullah Luthufi — and
the captured mercenaries to the 2,000-is
land nation.
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
said they would be put on trial.
Luthufi was a former aide to Nasir,
whose followers also tried to overthrow
Gayoom in 1980 and 1983.
The Maldives’ foreign minister, Fa-
thulla Jameel, said that Luthufi hired the
mercenaries and came ashore with them
Thursday.
By Kelly S. Brown
Staff Writer
Finals will begin on Friday Dec. 9 in
stead of Dec. 12 under a new schedule
passed by A&M president William Mob
ley.
Dr. Jerry Gaston, associate provost,
said an Ad Hoc Committee on Com
mencement ceremonies recommended
the revision in order for as many degree
candidates as possible to be certified to
receive diplomas at graduation.
The previous schedule, created by a
Vandiver Ad Hoc Committee this past
summer, proposed that finals start Mon
day Dec. 12 and end Friday Dec. 16 at 1
p.m. Commencement, which is sched
uled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, would not
have included diplomas in the tube.
Gayoom, 50, was elected president in
1978 after Nasir abruptly resigned and
fled to Singapore where he still lives.
The 62-year-old ex-president has been
accused by the Maldivian government of
’misappropriating $4.2 million in state
funds during his 10-year rule.
Two Indian frigates had trailed the
mercenaries for two days as their listing
ship limped across the Indian Ocean to
ward Sri Lanka, about 475 miles north
east of Maldives, also known as the Mal-
dive Islands. .
A disadvantage of this schedule in
cluded the problems involved in certify
ing graduation for commissioning.
An additional problem is that some
students would participate in graduation
without being academically clear to
graduate.
Under the revised schedule graduation
and commissioning times remain the
same. Diplomas will be in the tube at
commencement only if a student is
cleared by the degree audit on the first
check after final grades are recorded, but
there is not time for students to clear pos
sible problems before commencement.
All degree candidates having prob
lems, will have until the first week of the
spring semester to clear for December
graduation, can still participate in com
mencement.
The mercenaries fled Male early Fri
day, shortly after Indian paratroopers
landed in Maldives to help Gayoom and
his lightly armed, 1,200-member secu
rity forces.
Maldivian and Indian officials said
most of the estimated 150 mercenaries
escaped by sea.
According to Jameel, the foreign min
ister, the official casualty toll from
Thursday’s fighting was 14 dead and 40
wounded.
Final exams will be held over four
days, instead of four and half, but there
will be no finals after dusk and there is a
free weekend during finals.
Liz Harwell, a biomedical science ma
jor and graduating senior, said, “I am
pleased with the revised schedule be
cause I didn’t want to take a final on the
day of graduation. I don’t care about the
matter of diplomas.”
Derek Cossey, who will graduate in
December with a degree in aerospace en
gineering, said it’s ridiculous that the
policy was changed this late. “But it’s
also ridiculous to have a graduation if
people aren’t going to receive their di
plomas as they walk across the stage —
that’s what makes A&M unique.
New finals schedule starts Dec. 9
Mudslinging campaigns not new to Americans
By Sharon Maberry
Staff Writer
Negative campaigning is nothing new
to American politics. In fact, one of the
most blatant negative campaigns oc
curred in 1828 when Andrew Jackson
was running against the incumbent, John
Quincy Adams.
Adams’ elitist eastern supporters made
it known that Jackson’s wife had not di
vorced her first husband and was not le
gally married to Jackson. They also por
trayed Jackson as a ruthless general who
murdered helpless Indians and American
soldiers falsely accused of desertion.
Jackson’s supporters, in turn, accused
Adams of “bargain and corruption”
through such acts as misuse of public
funds while he was in office.
Adams and Jackson can be compared
with 1988 presidential candidates
George Bush and Michael Dukakis, who
also have engaged in extensive negative
campaigning.
Because mudslinging has not been
blatant in the last few campaigns, many
Americans are not used to the negative
emphasis, said Dr. Susan DeBonis, po
litical analyst and Texas A&M assistant
professor of journalism.
“What we are seeing here is nothing
new,” DeBonis said. “Both candidates
have engaged in negative campaigning.
Bush has done more and Dukakis has
joined in, perhaps too late.
“I think they’ve used ads to avoid the
issues to some degree. Bush has done a
remarkable job keeping the Iran-Contra
issue out of the forum. He’s put Dukakis
on defense and that’s the purpose of neg
ative campaigning.”
Bush’s negative campaining forced
Dukakis to respond by defending rather
than promoting himself, she said.
“I think Dukakis should have re
sponded sooner,” she said. “He came out
of the Democratic convention with a sub
stantial lead over Bush.”
Some negative campaigning against
Dukakis has been by groups other than
the Bush-Quayle campaign, including
the National Rifle Association and local
Republican parties, DeBonis said.
“Some of that is blatantly wrong and
should be stopped,” she said in reference
to an ad run in Maine, a conservative
state. The ad asked voters if they would
like to see Jesse Jackson as Secretary of
State if Dukakis won the election. DeBo
nis said she objected to that ad because it
was not based on fact and it was racist.
“Racism is not necessary. This is not
the 1930s.”
Another ad in poor taste focused on
family members of the person killed by a
convict out on a weekend furlough pass
in Masachusetts, she said.
Although the Bush-Quayle campaign
did not produce those ads, it in effect en
dorsed them by not asking them to stop,
she said.
Allison Westmoreland, a member of
Victory ‘88, a Republican campaign or
ganization on campus, said she thinks
Bush was forced into negative cam
paigning by the media and the Demo
cratic Party.
“In the beginning. Bush was classified
as a wimp,” Westmoreland said. “Before
the Republican convention, they crit
icized Bush for not taking a stand on the
issues. The Democratic convention
railed Bush for being a wimp. Their big
theme was, ‘Where’s George?’
“I felt like it positioned Bush between
a rock and a hard place. He either had to
take a very strong stand on everything or
continue what he was doing. He’s being
criticized for the hard stand he’s taken on
all these issues, but if he hadn’t, he still
would’ve been criticized.
“I think negative campaigning is sad,
but it happens. And it happens in every
presidential campaign that’s close. The
sad part is that it doesn’t give you an in
sight on issues. For instance, Texas had
a furlough program for quite a while.
“The very educated people know what
the issues are. But the majority of the
voters don’t and they are the ones who
will be impacted by the negative cam
paigning.”
Margie Boswell, an A&M senior his
tory major, said she does not approve of
the negative campaigning by Bush and
Dukakis.
“It turns me off of the candidate who
does it,” Boswell said. “It seems like a
childish way to campaign, by mudsling
ing.
“I think they do it to make themselves
look better, and that’s a natural reaction
to the closeness of the race. I think when
they do it, it makes them both look silly
because neither one is dealing with the
issues.”
Denise Smart, A&M visiting assistant
professor of marketing, said that the can
didates do not focus on issues like na
tional defense and the economy because
they are so complex.
“Most people look for an emotional is
sue and try to latch on to something,”
Smart said. “Bush’s furlough program
(advertising) was effective because no
one wants someone out raping and pil
laging their family.
“You can’t say a lot in 30 seconds.
You want to pick something that has an
emotional impact.”
A&M political science Professor
George Edwards said the main emphasis
of a campaign is to build the candidate’s
image and make him an appealing per
son.
“You can’t deal with the issues in de
tail because that would turn people off,”
he said. “Their eyes would glaze over.
You also don’t tell people what programs
you’ll cut because they (proponents of
those programs) will reject you. Some
times you don’t even have a plan.
“People like to take measure of the
man. They think that’s important. The
American people do not insist that candi
dates be more specific. We often get
what we deserve, which is democracy.”
Edwards said that in modern times,
the 1988 presidential campaign would
rank as one of the more negative cam
paigns, in which the emphasis has been
on criticizing the opponent.
Most of the negative campaigning has
been done by Bush, he said. Dukakis be
gan his negative campaign primarily in
response to Bush’s ads.
“The campaign strategy of George
Bush was to portray the Democratic
nominee as a liberal way out of the
mainstream,” Edwards said. “They’ve
been very open about it. The strategy
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