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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1989)
* MICROFILMCrNTER P.O. BOX 12188 ■ •xas A&M>ALLAS, TX 75225-0188 The Battalion Vot. 88 No. 80 USPS 045360 14 pages College Station. Texas Friday, January 20,1989 Soviets announce arms reduction VIENNA, Austria <AP) — The 50.000 Soviet troops being pulled out of Eastern Europe will take the nuclear missiles and other arms under their control with them, the Soviet for cign minister said Thursday. A NATO spokesman welcomed the an nouncement by Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze as encouraging. U.S. arms negotiator Stephen Leoogar said the speech was “very upbeat, very positive,” but uemed against reading more into the statement man the Kremlin intended. Shevardnadze's speech came on the final day of a gathering that produced a 35-na- tion human rights accord. Shevardnadze said the agreement was the product of a changing relationship between East and West. “The Vienna meeting has shaken up the Iron Curtain, weakened its rusty supports, made new breaches in it and hastened its corrosion.” he said, relernng to the Last- West division as Winston Churchill de scribed it 40 years ago. “Truth must be visible,” Shevardnadze said in promising that the Kremlin would publish before the end of the month a timetable for troop removal. Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, in a unilateral move, announced in December that Soviet forces would be cut by 500.000 soldiers, including 50,000 stationed in East ern Europe. Shevardnadze skid the troops departing Eastern Europe will take with them “an their organic armaments, including tactical nuclear systems.” He also said the Soviet Union has stopped modernizing its short-ranae nu clear weapons and called on the I'nited States to follow suit. Those arms are tactical missiles with a range of less than 312 miles. The Soviet Union and the United States signed an accord more than a year ago to eliminate all intermediate-range nuclear forces and are negotiating for deep cuts in strategic arms. Ledogar, the U.S. ambassador to arms talks that are to start in March, said mod ernization is an option the United States would like to keep until NATO and the So viet-led Warsaw Pact have an equal number of troops, tanks and other non-nuclear forces. . “We don't want to abandon the nuclear leg of the deterrent until we have a much better situation on conventional forces," he told the Associated Press. During a brief exchange with reporters after his speech. Shevanlnadze made it dear that only short-range weapons that are part of the military units to be with drawn will be dismantled without condi tions. He said he could not say what percentage of the Kremlin's shon-range stockpile “The \ ienna meeting has shaken up the Iron Cur tain, weakened its rusty supports, made new breaches in it and has tened its corrosion. ” — Eduard Shevardnadze, Soviet foreign minister would remain deployed but that these Fig ures and others will be released in detail be fore the March 9 start of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe negotiations. Those talks are mandated in the human rights accord approved Sunday by the United States. Soviet Union, Canada and 32 European nations. The agreement also rails for freer travel, emigration, speech and re ligious practices. Shevardnadze held a brief. impromptu news conference later in the day. and was asked to describe the difference between the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain he dis paraged in his speech. He said the wall, which has divided Ber lin since it was erected 27 years ago. is a matter for East Germanv. East German Foreign Ministei Oskar Fischer alluded to the wall in a speech Thursday and suggested that calls for it to be tom down infringe on his nation's sover eign rights. Catch the wave!' Pete Rubio, a grounds maintenance worker on campus, takes advan tage of a brief let-up in the showers Thursdav afternoon to clear the Photo byr Kathy Hawnan area around Beutel Health Center of some run-off water. Rain has been the rule the first week of the semester. Students can cash in on feeling bad Expert: Growth hormones used in cattle not dangerous to health By Ashley A. Bailey Staff Writer Contrary to popular belief, growth-promoting hormones used in beef production are not danger ous to consumers, a leader of Texas A&M s Meats and Muscle Biology Section said Dr. H. Russell Cross, holder of the E. M. Rose nthal Chair and a professor of animal science, said decades of research in the United States and abroad have provided no evidence that growth- promoting hormones pose any danger of cancer, birth defects, reproductive damage or any other known disorder to humans “These same and similar hormones occur natu rally in me human body and at levels thousands of times higher than the residues in meat from treated cattle.* Cross said. The issue is not de batable There is no evidence * The beef cattle industry began using growth- promoting hormones, which promote feed con version efficiency and increase the ratio of lean meat to fat. in hopes of accommodating the con sumers' demands for a leaner product at a low price, he said The beef industry has responded so quickly to this consumer signal that they showed a 27 per cent reduction in fat in the retail meat case in less than two years,* Cross said. So. if growth-promoting hormones are safe and economical, then why have the common market countries, also known as the European Economic Community (EEC), banned the import of meat from animals treated with growth-promoting hor mones? Cross said the ban was started by well-orga nized farmer unions in the EEC and has accele rated into what the EEC is calling a consumer ac tivist movement against hormones because of safety. In reality, Cross said, the U.S. government does not believe it's a safety issue, but rather a trade restriction. Cross said EEC beef producers are much more heavily subsidized than U.S. beef producers, which has resulted in great excesses The excess is so large that they are storing beef on ships offshore.’ he said “So. the last thing a European farmer wants is our beef coming into their countries.* As a result of this trade restriction, the U.S. government has slapped 100 percent tariffs on $150 million of EEC products exported to the United States. Cross said A significant danger, however, is that the United States’ retaliation could touch off a more widespread trade war be tween the United States and the Common Market countries, he said. Adding an ironic twist to the situation is the fact that the only potential health hazard from hor mones is from meat imported from Europe, he said. “Since the EEC has made the use of hormones illegal, a tremendous black market for illegal drugs has developed in Europe.” Cross said. “USDA officials suspect that the use of these cocktail mixtures' of drugs is widespread in some countries and the residue levels are quite high. These illegal drugs are not implanted into the ear in a slow release implant (as required in the United States) but are injected directly into the muscle of the animal * Cross said the residue levels round in Euro pean livestock are 10-to 15-times higher than those found in U.S livestock. The EEC has no residue-monitoring program and the EEC fre quently disobeys residue laws, he said. These infractions are grounds for the United States to take the EEC off the list of countries we import from. This is a much more harsh step than tariffs. Cross said, because it would mean nothing could be exported to the United States from Eu rope. Cross said. The dangers here are political and economic rather than health-related because only a small fraction of the fresh meat exported each year by American producers goes to Euro pean markets. See Hormones Page 8 By Sherri Roberts StafT Writer Although the thought of being a human guinea pig for the sake of sci ence is less than appealing to many students, some are cashing in on the experience. Receiving $40 for having a cold or flu virus may seem too good to be true. However, independent re search companies such as Pauli Re search Institute and G&S Sttidies. Inc. offer just that to students willing to participate in clinical studies. The studies are funded and de signed by pharmaceutical companies who contract with the independent research companies to conduct clini cal studies, which test various drugs and their effects on individuals suf fering wi{h certain ailments. Jennifer Jessing, director of mar keting and development at Pauli Re search International, said the com pany receives an average of 200 calls a week from prospective volunteers. This number varies, however, upon the time of the year and the number of studies taking place, she said. In the spring, at the height of al lergy season. Pauli receives an influx of calls from individuals interested in participating in an allergy study, she said, whereas an increase of calls from individuals interested in cold studies is received in the winter. Bryan-College Station has a higher pollen count than many re gions in Texas because of its geo graphic location. This contributes to aggravated allergies for many indi viduals. Jessing said. She said that although a majority of volunteers are initially attracted to the studies because of the money in centive, they often become genui nely interested in the project as they learn more about its potential bene fits toward themselves and others. “The study offers them the op portunity to learn about their dis ease process." she said. The purpose of the money incen tive is to compensate individuals for the time they spend in participating in the study, she said. Studies such as the four-week mountain cedar al lergy study offer a $300 monetary incentive, as opposed to the $40 of fered to individuals who participate in a four-hour headache study, she said. Before participating in a study, volunteers are reouired to sign a consent form which states the pur pose. procedures, and potential risks and benefits of the study. Jessing said. The consent form also lists the drugs the volunteer may receive. Before being tested on humans, drugs used in the study must un dergo extensive laboratory testing, including tests on animals, Jessing said. After reviewing this data, the Food and Drug Administration will grant approval for the testing of the drug on humans if it feels the drug's benefits outweigh its costs, she said. “We will not put any patient at ex treme risk," Jessing said. “Our medi cal doctor assesses risk." In addition to a medical director who oversees patient care. f*aull has nurses, a nutritionist, and various other health educators on staff, she said. Tom Brown, a senior economics major, said he received $200 for his participation in a five-week ragweed study conducted by Pauli in .Septem ber. “I did it mainly because I have real bad ragweed allergies and I wanted to see if 1 would have any success with this medication,” he said. Brown said employees at Pauli gave him a physical, performed scratch tests, and took blood samples to evaluate his health condition and to determine if he suffered from the allergy Once accepted for the study, he was instructed to take a nasal sprav twice a day and to return to the clink every Friclay for the next five weeks so that his progress could be mon itored. “I spent a total of 10-12 hours at the institute," Brown said. Although the medication he was given didn't control all aspects of his allergies, Brown said it did a better job of relieving his svmptoms than other medications he had taken. ^ Brown is now participating in a mountain cedar allergy study at Pauli. Although he joined the first study for medical purposes, he said, his primarv motive for joining the second stuuy was for the monev. Jessing said many of Pauli's re search volunteers, a majority ol whom are Texas A&M students, have previously participated in stud ies at Pauli. “A majority of people come hack, and we know them oy name,” she said. “They know what to expect and that we corfduct our research in a very professional manner.” Wnile students who take part in Pauli’s studies do so on a voluntary basis, some students participate in various research studies to meet class requirements. Diane Jones, assistant professor oi psychology, said students in PSYC 107: Introduction to Psychology, are required to participate in four hours of research or to demonstrate an equivalent method of learning about research methods. “Because psychology u’a research- based discipline, it is important that students understand the different approaches and methods used to conduct research,” she said. Studenu participate in studies dealing with subjects such as dating relationships, stress, and the effects of family on one’s friendship net work, she said. FBI investigates exchange fraud Reagan says last goodbyes, Bush salutes parting mentor CHICAGO (AP) — The FBI is in vestigating allegations of widespread fraud at the nation's two biggest fu tures exchanges, officials said Thursday. FBI agents posed as traders in the investigation, which focuses on 50 to 100 brokers, traders and executives at the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Tribune reported Thurs day, a ting unidentified sources. FBI spokesman Diane Rivers and Assistant US. Attorney Daniel Gil- logty in Chicago would neither con firm nor deny such an investigation was under way. But law enforcement officials in Washington, who spoke on condi tion of anonymity, confirmed the justice Department was investigat ing allegations of fraud at the two exchanges. “We are now aware of an investi gation and we intend to cooperate with it," Chicago Mercantile spokes man Andrew Yemma said. Chicago Merc attorney Jerrold Salzman said he was contacted late Wednesday by several traders who had been subpoenaed by the FBI. However, the Board of Trade “has no knowledge of surveillance activities of any nature being con ducted on the trading floors or am other Board of Trade location." Chairman Karsten Mahlmann said in a statement Thursday. Over a two-year period, investiga tors secretly upe-recorded hun dreds of conversations on the ex changes' trading floors, the Tribune said. Investigators believe traders cheated customers out of millions of dollars in the execution of buy-and- sefl orders at the exchanges. WASHINGTON (AP) — George Bush spent his last day as vice presi dent Thursday rehearsing the presi dential inaugural address he will de liver at noon Friday and saluting the mentor whose shoes, he said, would be “pretty darn hard to fill.” On the eve of his installation into the heavy responsibilities of office. Bush was upbeat. “I really feel this,” he said. “Our best days are yet to come." >* Bush spent much of the dav out of the public eye, preparing for one sentimental last visit to the Oval Of fice as a loyal subordinate, giving in terviews and rehearsing the 15-min- ute address which will set the tone of his administration. For this state occasion, Washing ton's weather was glorious. Visitors and Washingtonians alike strolled with topcoats unbuttoned in the balmy-for-january sunshine. A mixture of sunshine and clouds, with an afternoon chill, was pre dicted for Friday, when Bush takes the oath. hour years ago, the weather was so harsh President Reagan had to be sworn in indoors and his inaugura tion parade was cancelled. Reagan spent his last full day office saying goodbyes. Notice The Battalion will begin pub lishing a bi-weekly entertainment section Monday. The four-page entertainment section, which replaces At Ease, will run on Mondays and Thurs days. It will include movie and muac reviews, feature stories and other regular features.