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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1989)
xas A&M e Battalion WEATHER FORECAST for WEDNESDAY: Cloudy and cool with a chance of rain. HIGH:57 LOW: 42 . 88 No. 82 USPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas <tnd (lie forum have ti a l would will accei 'graphs, ti *n in He >f 'Jkt tntssions onaW. Tuesday, January 24,1989 nd Soviet quake in 2 months kills up to 1,000 fOSCOW (AF) — A predawn earth- ke in Soviet Central Asia unleashed a foot-high wall of dirt and mud that bur- edmountain village and swept through at ■st two others Monday, killing up to 1,000 pie as they slept, officials said. The devastating earthquake in the re lic of Tadzhikistan was the second to kethe Soviet Union in two months. ‘Almost everybody died,” Zainiddin Nas- Kpdinov, editor-in-chief of Tadzhikistan’s icial news agency, said by telephone after king the wrecked farming settlement of arora. He estimated the number of dead Sere alone at 600. Sharora “had more than 150 peasant households before that tragic moment,” the Soviet news agency Tass reported. “Now most of it is razed to the ground by the ruthless force of the natural calamity.” Tass said the number of dead in the di saster zone 1,800 miles southeast of Mos cow was estimated at 1,000, but cautioned that was a preliminary figure. “Rescue work is being continued and dis tant mountain villages have not been checked yet,” Tass said. Damaged roads were hampering those efforts. The quake struck the southwestern part of Tadzhikistan, a Soviet republic of more than 4.8 million people that borders Af ghanistan and China. The 40-second tremor, at 5:02 a.m. (5:02 p.m. CDT Sunday) was centered about 20 to 30 miles southwest of Tadzhikistan’s cap ital of Dushanbe, a city of more than 460,000 people in the fertile Gissar district, a center of grapegrowing and livestock-rais ing, Tass said. An official at Dushanbe’s seismic center said the quake was strong enough to knock things off shelves in tall apartment build ings in the city, but that it caused no known damage or injuries there. He declined to give his name. The U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va., estimated the quake at 5.4 on the Rich ter scale, which measures ground motion as recorded on a seismograph. The Dec. 7 earthquake in northwestern Armenia, 1,300 miles west of Dushanbe, registered a 6.9 on the Richter scale and killed about 25,000 people. The earthquake unhinged a wall of sod den dirt and mud at least five miles wide that buried the village of Okuli-Bolo and much of Sharora, Erkin Kasimov, an offi cial of Tadzhikistan’s Foreign Ministry said. “Almost all of the victims died asleep in their beds,” Maj. Alexander Loparev, duty officer at Tadzhikistan Interior Ministry headquarters in Dushanbe said by tele phone. Residents of another village, Okuli- Poyen, apparently roused in time, fled in panic before the mudslide, which traveled 1.25 to 1.5 miles, could reach their homes, Kasimov said from Dushanbe. Officials and Soviet media said the dev astation was vast, and total in places. In Sharora, “cries and wails can be heard everywhere,” Tass reported. “Some are be moaning and burying their near and dear ones, while others are trying to find the few survivors between the thick layer of sand and clay.” It said all of the village’s streets had been buried under the 50-foot-high layer of earth that the earthquake detached from a hill near the village. oard moves ahead n lowering tracks y Stephen Masters NI0R STAFF WRITER The Texas A&M Board of Re nts Monday approved a proposal RNAMEffl^ing the State Department of I .M'ghways and Public Transporta- January m,,, lo proceed in developing a plan V, JatlUffifto depress Wellborn Road and the rS: Postei a pj acent railroad tracks. Idinnaftwl Movin S the tracks ad Jacent to ° Wellborn Road has been called the >day, JaniMrqject that “would not die” — all it r R Y FEfBoes is change its format and cost. )am D™ Suggestions have ranged from A Mpn'el!B 10V ' n £ tkern west to raising them to ’ ' lowering them. But they’re still in C A, CoReBie same place. in’s Open Last summer the Board voted to aleeliminw^ into mov i n 8 d re tracks, but the t All lni«» ea ^ out favor when it was re- E AH IHWBgalcd that federal funding would Olicies anflnly pay about $45 million of the DG followed 60 million price tag. Now it looks like something could ssibly happen. If it does, they’ll ike Wellborn Road with it. The resolution passed Monday Iso requests that the department ase planning of “Alignment W,” a roposal to move the tracks west of asterwood Airport, so that it can [ontinue looking into other con- ruction projects. Byron Blaschke, assistant director f the highway department, said it )ehaviorw»ould be difficult to plan construc- all times, pon of State Highway 47 and the ex- nsion of FM 2818 without some ind of decision on where the tracks ill be. “It’s not a matter of it (Highway 7) won’t happen if the railroad is Jhere,” he said. “It’s a matter of ioing it differently if the railroad is There.” The depression proposal brought efore the Board Monday was simi- r to one offered at the November reeting, which called for depressing ellborn as much as 20 feet and the [racks as much as 24 feet. The jrench was to stretch between Jersey Btreet and University Drive with ac- ess roads on both sides. e played RESOB purpose t is to tn s. Team! id that of! a learnim perfect!: expectei 1 Eliminate team wit an, Texas ional Spot 16 teams all bucket for $1.5 >ut an ID ins Is maypt e a at of balls': • and at for rental is at able, informal ict the Sports 159 Read 45-7826. lasrs: id. They U' table for re d). A facet 45-7826. .ssociafic EEN i All-Uni# 2l.Alleri or “All-Uni' esign. EnH nal Sports' 50.00 Teachers’ discussed By Stephen Masters SENIOR STAFF WRITER A report on Texas House Bill 1012 read at the Texas A&M Board of Regents meeting Monday turned into a discussion of complaints about the quality of English spoken by some A&M instructors. Regent Lowry Mays of San Anto nio voiced concern about complaints students made to him about the qual ity of their teachers’ English. Mays said the most common com plaint was that classes are often taught by teacher’s assistants and students have trouble understand ing their instructors’ speech. Most of the complaints were made by stu dents in technical fields, he said. Other Regents said they have re ceived similar complaints. University President William Mobley said instructors whose En glish skills are not good “should not be in the classroom.” Who will teach which classes is the decision of the college’s dean each semester, Mobley said. This decision is to be based in part on the prospective teacher’s lan guage ability, he said. Mobley pointed out A&M’s Cen ter for Teaching Excellence as an ex ample of the University’s commit ment to improving the quality of teaching. Eddie J. Davis, deputy chancellor for finance and administration, and Mobley both cautioned that the com- The proposal called for a pedes trian mall about 200 feet wide over the trench at Old Main Road and a smaller crossing at Joe Routt. The estimated cost of the original propo sal was around $30 million. The revised proposal calls for a limited use of access roads and makes use of Option 1 from the original, adding vehicle crossings on either side of the mall for access be tween the east and west sides of cam pus, Blaschke said. The estimated cost of the revised plan is $29 mil lion, he said. Blaschke said about half of the cost could be paid by state funding, leaving $14 million to $15 million to be divided between College Station, A&M, and the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. There was some disagreement be tween out-going Board Chairman David Eller and Bryan Mayor Mar vin Tate over what role Bryan would play financially if the project were carried out. Tate said he didn’t think funding from Bryan would be nec essary unless the trench was contin ued from University Drive to Villa Maria Road. Eller disagreed with Tate on the basis of A&M’s contributions to the local economy. “This Board will look to Bryan and College Station for (financial) assistance in some way.” Blaschke said it has not been de cided whether a grade separation at Villa Maria would be eligible for fed eral funding. College Station Mayor Larry Ringer said his city is willing to work with the Regents. “It will be a bond issue,” he said. “Right now I can’t commit a dollar figure, but we have discussed this in council meetings. We’re waiting to see what happens here.” Blaschke said the project could be completed in as little as four years “if everything goes smoothly,” but ad mitted it was an optimistic projec tion. A minimum of two years would be required for environmental assis tance and clearance before federal assistance would be available. English by Board plaints could have come from stu dents making excuses after receiving poor grades. Mays agreed with the possibility, but noted the problem extended beyond excuses. “I had a student complain after he got an ‘A’ in one class,” he said, “and he told me he couldn’t understand the teacher half the time.” Davis said another bill in the state Legislature would create minimum requirements for teachers’ English skills. Mobley said 6.7 percent of under graduate lecture classes and 21 per cent of undergraduate labs are taught by teaching assistants. He agreed with Mays that these num bers are high, but said the experi ence is a necessary part of the stu dent-teacher’s education. In other action, the Board voted to amend the name of the David G. Eller Building to the David G. Eller Building for Oceanography and Me teorology. The Board voted at its November meeting to change the name from the Oceanography and Meteorology Building to honor El ler.” Barring any special meetings be fore Feb. 1, Monday’s meeting was the last for Eller, Vice Chairman Joe Reynolds and Dr. John Coleman, all of Houston. Texas House Speaker Clayton Williams was appointed by Gov. Bill Clements to replace the vice chair man after Reynolds resigned Dec. 12. w Jill * *ilR* . i,*'! Just-a swingin’ Chance Cartwright plays on a tire swing in Central Park Sunday. He, his mother Janie Photo by Jay Janner and his sister Courtney took advantage of the recent sunny weather by visiting the park. Official ready for criticism of state test AUSTIN (AP) — Higher Educa tion Commissioner Kenneth Ash worth said Monday a test of college (Veshmen will show minorities are less prepared to do college work than whites. Ashworth said lower scores for minorities would show that many are .. ing through inferior educational systems. “We know it’s going to be one of the major criticisms of the test,” Ash worth said, and a lawsuit is expected. He said the prediction is based on other states’ experiences and results of other tests administered in Texas. “My observation would be this, that if the test were given and all eth nic groups scored exactly the same on it, we would have to say there was something wrong with the test,” Ashworth said. “I think there are going to be ac countability questions raised by the Legislature, as there already are,” he said. “I think it may make a better case for equitable funding” for school districts. Ashworth added that testing cou pled with remedial courses will allow the state to improve the skills of stu dents with deficiencies. “The standards will not be low ered to meet the student, but the stu dent will be raised to meet the ex pected standard,” he said. The Higher Education Coordi nating Board, which is to set testing standards this week, doesn’t have es timates of the percentage of students expected to fail, Ashworth said. The committee that recom- rriended the test estimated a 30 per cent failure rate. Ashworth said that wouldn’t surprise him, and added, “It could be higher.” The Texas Academic Skills Pro gram test was mandated by the 1987 Legislature. It will be given for the first time in March, and it includes sections on reading, mathematics and writing. High court: SMU files stay secret WASHINGTON (AP) — Confidential investi gation files on Southern Methodist University’s recruiting scandal will remain privileged infor mation, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Mon day. Without comment, the Supreme Court let stand a ruling that files compiled by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the South west Athletic Conference do not have to be made public under the Texas Open Records Act. Last May, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the university by failing to find any re- versable errors in lower court rulings that athlet ics departments at the schools are not “govern mental bodies” subject to the Texas Open Records Act. The Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Times Herald, WFAA-TV and other news organiza tions sought the information on SMU and three other conference schools, including Texas A&M, under the Texas Open Records Act after a foot ball recuiting discovery was uncovered at the Dal las school. “Obviously, we are disappointed that the initial federal court ruling supporting the public’s right to know was not upheld by the higher court,” Roy Bode, editor of the Dallas Times Herald, said. Ralph Danger, vice president and executive editor of the Dallas Morning News, said, “We’re very disappointed that the court would not hear the appeal, because we believe the original ruling was correct.” Langer said apparently there will be no other ground on which to appeal the case, adding the action will make it more difficult for Texas re porters to cover private universities. • Officials from other news organizations did not immediately return telephone calls from the Associated Press. The news organizations also’ sought SWC files on SMU, as well as Texas Christian University, Baylor University and Rice University, which are private schools. The news organizations had based their case on the 1973 state law that requires “governmen tal bodies” receiving “public funds” to make pub lic their internal documents. But a federal trial judge ruled that the state law applies to the NCAA and the Southwest Con ference, and ordered that the sought-after docu ments be surrendered so it could be determined which should be made public. When the case advanced to the 5th U.S. Cir cuit Court of Appeals last July, the appellate court reversed that ruling. The appeals court agreed that the NCAA and the Southwest Conference receive Texas public funds. But it said they are not governmental bod ies, defined in the state law as those entities “sup ported in whole or in part by public funds.” The NCAA and the conference provide spe cific, measurable services in return for the Texas tax money they receive, and therefore are not supported by that money, the 5th Circuit Court concluded. The news organizations appealed to the Su preme Court, arguing the appeals court wrongly reversed the trial judge’s factual rulings, without finding that those rulings were “clearly erro neous.” But the high court let the ruling stand. Abortion protesters hold rally in Dallas DALLAS (AP) — Thousands of anti-abortion protesters rallied Mon day at Dallas City Hall and marched to the Federal Courthouse to place a black wreath where the precedent setting Roe vs. Wade lawsuit was filed nearly 19 years ago. “Because this is where it started, we in Dallas have the responsibility for stopping this,” said Bill Price, president of Dallas Right to Life, who led the rally of nearly 3,000 demonstrators. “The abortion issue will be won at the ballot box. Look around you. It is an issue we won and they lost.” Over the weekend, anti-abortion ist forces nationwide have been marking the 16th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe vs. Wade, which set the precedent for a woman’s right to legal abortion, with protest rallies. The case, filed March 3, 1970, on behalf of Norma McCorvey — known in the case as Jane Roe — challenged a 19th-cen tury Texas law banning abortion ex cept to save the life of the mother. The nation’s high court ruled 7-2 for McCorvey on Jan. 22, 1973, and said she and others have a right “to be free from unwarranted govern mental intrusion into matters so fun damentally affecting a person as the wertainly a lot still remains to be done, but we are carrying the light of freedom for the pre-bom children of this nation.” — Wayne House, theologian decision whether to bear or beget a child.” But Price said anti-abortion inter ests have helped turn the public tide on the issue and predicted that the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling within the next year. “We’re on the verge of a miracle,” Price said. “We are on the verge of making history . . . After 16 long years, the Supreme Court has finally agreed to reconsider the Roe vs. Wade decision. “Never before have we needed more prayer than we do right now on Roe vs. Wade,” he said. The Rev. Edward Robinson, pro life coordinator of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, said his prayers for the group, calling Roe vs. Wade “a cruel and unjust decision by our Supreme Court.” “I am optimistic,” said Wayne House, an instructor at the Dallas Theological Seminary. “Certainly a lot still remains to be done, but we are carrying the light of freedom for the pre-born children of this nation. “Today is our day to celebrate life,” House said. “It is also our day to mourn for the dead.” He noted more than 23 million babies have been aborted since the Roe vs. Wade ruling. But House and the others be lieve the anti-abortion movement has gained momentum. “The world’s greatest holocaust is now beginning to stop,” Price said. Eight-year-old Danny Saindon was dressed in his Cub Scout uni form as he walked with his dog, Bub bles, along the route. “I’m here so that babies won’t be killed,” he ex plained, saying he had been to other pro-life rallies. “Our dog’s pregnant, too.” Price told the crowd that even if the Supreme Court overturns its rul ing and the Texas Legislature agrees to strike down legalized abortions in the state, it will remain an uphill bat tle for the anti-abortionists. “The battle that we’ve been Fight ing the last 16 years, the future gen erations will have to continue Fight ing,” Price said. “New warriors will have to join the fight. I’m sure with God’s help, we shall overcome some day.”