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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1989)
exas A&M he Battalion one, two, ve, which will., s not provide:|yol. 88 No. 92 USPS 045360 16 pages i Vilification,” 1 bi WEATHER XL FORECAST for FRIDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. HIGH:50 LOW:31 College Station, Texas Thursday, February 9,1989 Flil is close ports, and tlis ulties or proS n resolved." ident Bushinii iclintj bylottf; ev'er, that if at 'es turned out:] legation of tU would concetJ i se. Press Seat. HUT regent nominee withdraws name AUSTIN (AP) — A possible all-or-noth- ng showdown over three University of Fexas regent nominees was averted Wednesday when Chester Upham Jr. of Vlineral Wells, a UT graduate and former state Republican chairman, withdrew his name. Gov. Bill Clements quickly appointed Dr. Mario Ramirez of Rio Grande City, who was honored in 1975 as a distinguished alumnus of UT, to fill the new vacancy. Clements said Ramirez, 62 and a former member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, had been on his “short, short, short” list all along. Upham was caught in the crossfire of leg islative criticism over Clements’ appoint ments, which would have left the regents with nothing but white male members. “We cannot allow the educational debgte to focus on political issues,” Upham said. “Instead, we must put all our energy and efforts into improving the quality and ac countability of education.” Clements, who 24 hours earlier had pre dicted all three of his initial nominees would win Senate approval, accepted Upham’s request. “This is Chet's decision,” Clements said. “I explained to him this morning that I wanted him on that board and was pre pared to take it to the Senate floor.” He said he felt no pressure to make the regent change and was ready for all his original nominees to be presented to the Senate for confirmation. He said, however, Upham did not like “tone and tenor” of Senate opposition. “If Mr. Upham had wanted to take it to the (Senate) floor, he had my total sup port,” Clements said. “He knows that.” Clements adding that neither of his other nominees had offered to withdraw. The withdrawal of Upham, 63, leaves pending as UT regents former U.S. Rep. Tom Loeffler of Mason and Robert Cruik- shank of Houston. Several senators had said the original ap pointments sent a signal that minorities were not welcome for such important ap pointments. Sen. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, said, “I’m grateful to Mr. Upham for hav ing the sensitivity to withdraw. I think he is a very fine citizen for doing so.”” "It does give the governor the opportu nity to replace his nomination with a mi nority, and I’m grateful for that opportu nity, as well,” said Johnson, who is black. Another black senator, Craig Washing ton, D-Houston, said, “I’m saddened for Mr. Upham, because he got in the middle of something that obviously he didn’t have much to do with. I’m also relieved that we averted a showdown between the gover nor’s office and the Senate.” Washington had said 14 senators — or more than enough — were prepared to re ject all three regent nominees if they came to a vote. “Mr. Upham knew that I was behind him all the way,” the governor said. “The only thing that happened here was that one of my candidates decided that he would with draw . . . Therefore, I had an opening and Dr. Ramirez was my next choice.” UARY7 u rsday, Fell ollie White. B halftime oils ame. ELIGIBIL A STUDENT!! iSENTAREC LES: Each cor- s ineachrounc nds. Roundll: >res from rouni ound #2. Coir- eational Spoil! U ARY 11 I: Corps, Fisl n’s and Women! 'JLES: ASAr >le intheReciei jnd Robin leas; classes. Class! J; ClassC-nov GINS: SunOS ball, bases ad the Recreate team. AWARDS tss A Champion rsity Champion Seneral Moton:- Fhursday, Febr.- sr. Schedules^: -cussed. COBP. abruarytSatll I be available art ?£S: Any pew ipire should co- Sports Off ice,1i ! of Recreation or our new loo: Tuesday, Man lesare availaf 26. n-Thu.SPM- entlDorTA. 1 .'' for$1.50.Wif TOO.CIubrenf 1 lall 845-782^ 5 I >op-outrate, tuition drive down number of college applicants NEW YORK (AT) — A drop in the number oF high school graduates and mounting concer n over tuitions are driving down the volume of ap plications to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges for the first time in years. Harvard University spokesman Peter Costa estimates a 5 percent to 10 percent drop in applications com pared with a year ago, the first such decline in at least two decades. Nearly all other Ivy League schools are reporting declines in that range. The application deadline for next fall’s freshman class was Feb. 1 at many selective schools around the country. Stanford University’s fall applica tions have dropped about 6 percent, from 15,828 to 14,869, according to Lynne Madison, assistant dean of undergraduate admissions. At highly competitive University of California at Berkeley, applica tions are also down, from 21,944 to 20,835 for next fall’s entering class. “It’s really got to be the decline in the number of high school grad uates,” said Linda Davis Taylor, dean of admissions at Amherst Col lege, in Amherst, Mass., where fall applications have dropped about 4 percent. “I’ve been calling around myself, and most of the colleges I’ve talked to are experiencing declines at least as great as ours,” she said. “1 consider this a yellow light,” said Bradley Quin, admissions direc tor of Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where applications are down about 5 percent. “We all kind of an ticipated this. I don’t mean to imply that we’re not concerned. This is a competitive business, and it’s going to make it that much harder to in crease the quality of our classes.” School officials say it’s too soon to draw hard conclusions hut thev cite several factors in explaining the sud den reversal. In effect, they said, higher educa tion has been defying gravity for most of the 1980s. To the surprise of many, college enrollments have grown from 12.1 million to 12.5 mil lion since 1980, and are up at 54 per cent of the nation’s colleges and uni versities, according to an annual survey by the American Council on Education. An increase in the ranks of older students and higher percentages of high school students attending col lege helped offset a steady decline in the number of graduating high school seniors. But the current drop in applica tions may he the first sign that pop ulation changes may finally he tak ing their toll. Roughly 3 million 18- year-olds attendeu college in 1980; but the high school class of ’88 has shrunk to an estimated 2.76 million, and is expected to bottom out at 2.44 million by 1992. Students also may be cutting down on the number of schools they apply to after a decade in which mul tiple applications increased sharply. An annual survey of entering freshmen by the American Council on Education and the University of California at Los Angeles found that a record 37 percent applied to at least three colleges last fall, com pared with 26 percent in 1980. That increase has generally been attributed to students wanting to im prove their odds of getting into a top school, and also to shopping around for the best financial aid deals as tu itions have soared. But students are apparently start ing to think twice about submitting a dozen or more applications now that application fees have hit $50 and more. SCONA begins with glimpse of Japanese culture, outlook By Alan Sembera SENIOR STAFF WRITER Participants in a four-day in ternational conference were given an introduction to Japan’s culture, economy and psychology Wednesday night at Texas A&M. The opening speech at the MSC Student Conference on Na tional Affairs, titled “The Power of Japan’s Changing Economy,” was presented by William Piez, the U.S. State Department’s dep uty assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Piez, who has more than 30 years experience at the State De- E artment, said a major dif ference etween the cultures of Japan and the United States is that Ja pan is more people-oriented. This is apparent, he said, in the way retail outlets are geared to their customers. There are lots of small shops in Japan, he said, and the owners have intimate knowledge of their products. They promote the products to the customers, because they are aware of its qualities. The problem with this, he said, is that consumers pay greatly in flated retail prices. One of the main items Japa nese consumers pay inflated prices for is food, he said. Japan imports most of its food, because of its low food production. The government is restrictive on food imports so that local agri culture interests will be protected. Competition to get into college is another problem Japanese so ciety creates, Piez said. Because there is a greater de mand to go to college than there are openings, many Japanese youth commit suicide because they are unable to compete suc cessfully, he said. Another difference between U.S. and Japanese society, he said, is that Japan spends rela tively little on its military. “There is a strong aversion in Japan to anything that smacks of militarism,” he said. Japan’s disastrous defeat in World War II is one of the reason militarism is not strong in Japan, Piez said. Japan has been successful in the post-war era by relying on the United States for defense, he said. He said if Japan became a re gional military power, it would cause great instability in the re gion, because other countries would remember Japan’s World War II record. However, Japan will increase its aid to developing countries, Piez said, and it will outspend the United States in foreign aid this year. All speeches at the conference are free and open to the public, and will be in Rudder Theater at the following times: • Today, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. There will be a three-member panel discussion about increasing aid to developing countries both inside and outside of Asia. The panel will include: Hideo Kagimi, ambassador and perma nent representative of Japan to the United Nations; U. Alexis Johnson, vice chairman of the At lantic Council; and Dr. James Auer, director of the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooper ation at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Betty Unterberger, an A&M history professor, will mod erate the discussion. The panelists will compare the advantages and disadvantages of Japan increasing its military ex penditures. They also will look at the possi- William Piez bility of Japan taking over part of the United State’s role as an eco nomic benefactor to underdevel oped countries. Today, 7:30-9 p.m. Dr. Edward Lincoln, senior fel low at the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Studies Program, will talk about “A Convergence of American and Japanese Con sumer Societies.” Friday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. There will be a two-member panel discussion about “U.S. and Japanese Bilateral Businesses.” The panel will include: Steve Levy; senior advisor for the chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc.; and Dr. Kiichi Mochizuki, president of Nisshin USA, Inc. Photo by Ronnie Montgomery " Dr. Kerry S. Cooper, director of the Center for International Business Studies at A&M, will moderate the panel. The panel will look at the diffi culties that U.S. and Japanese companies have entering each others markets, and will compare the styles of operation of compa nies in both countries. Saturday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Dr. Robert C. Christopher, ad ministrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and adjunct professor of Colum bia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, will give the clos ing address on the future of Ja pan’s world economic power, world role, and domestic scene. Rule could put evolution in all textbooks AUSTIN (AP) — A proposed rule that would require pub lishers to explain the theory of evolution for the first time in all Texas high school biology books is being criticized by fundamen talists. Education Commissioner W.N. Kirby approved the rule, which will be considered this week by the State Board of Education. Texas is the second-largest bulk purchaser of textbooks in the nation. Because of that, books that pass inspection in Texas gen erally are marketed in other states. “What happens in Austin this week will dictate whether evolu tion has a central role in science in this country for the next de cade,” said Mike Hudson, a state director of People for the Ameri can Way, a civil liberties group. “This is truly a national battle ground.” Fundamentalists and conserva tive textbook critics charge that requiring publishers to explain the theory of evolution would un dermine the Christian beliefs of many children. “I think it is unfair to force that theory on a child who believes in creationism,” David Muralt, state director of Citizens for Excel lence in Education, said Tuesday. “The height of bigotry is to al low only one point of view,” Mu ralt told the Dallas Morning News. Wiatt settled in at A&M after FBI exploits By Alan Sembera SENIOR STAFF WRITER They called him “Mr. FBI.” • He fired the shot that killed the escaped convict portrayed in the movie “Sugarland Express” and was shot twice in 1974 while leading the assault on three prisoners during their bloody escape attempt from the Huntsville penitentiary. A former hostage, he has solved the murder of a federal judge and was responsible for thwarting the Ku Klux Klan’s attempts to organize in the Brazos Valley. And after 30 years with the Fed eral Bureau of Investigation, fetired FBI agent Bob Wiatt still finds him self in the media spotlight as director of security and campus police at Texas A&M. The 62-year-old ex-agent said he’s enjoyed his exciting career, most of which he spent based in Bryan, al though he’s unhappy with being portrayed as a trigger-happy sharp shooter in “Sugarland Express.” The movie, whicfi stars Goldie Hawn, is based on an actual incident in which an escaped convict and his wife kidnapped a highway patrol man and led a 125-car caravan of police and news vehicles on a 300- mile chase through Texas. Wiatt said he was able to discover the identity of the convict’s wife dur ing the chase and that her two chil dren were at her mother’s house in Robertson County, just north of Brazos County. “It was just a fluke that a sheriff from up there and I went into the Bob Wiatt house,” Wiatt said. “About two hours later, we heard helicopters fly ing overhead. “We looked out, and on this dirt road were hundreds and hundreds of cars with all the dirt and dust and everything. Coming right to the house was the patrol car that the Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack captors were in with the highway pa- trolfnan.” Wiatt said he was hiding by the kitchen doorway when the convict entered the house with the patrol man in front of him. When the pa trolman walked through the door way, he saw Wiatt and took a quick step to the side. The fugitive then walked through the doorway and saw Wiatt. “He sees me and starts swinging his shotgun right at me, so I just shot him with my pistol,” Wiatt said. “The sheriff was over in the living room behind the couch, and he shot at him with his shotgun. But it was my one shot that hit him in the neck —drove him out the back door.” Wiatt called the movie a “bastardi zation” of the facts. The only similarities between the movie and the true incident, Wiatt said, are the caravan and the hos tage-taking. “In the movie I was identified as a sharpshooter brought in from Aus tin,” Wiatt said. “We had about 300 rounds of ammunition, machine guns, hand grenades — we just shot and shot and shot and shot. . . . “This poor guy. All he was doing was wanting to see his kids. Awww . . .. It was pitiful.” Wiatt also played a minor role in a case on which another movie is based. The recently released movie, “Mississippi Burning,” is based on the FBI investigation into the disap pearance of three civil rights work ers in Mississippi in 1964. Wiatt said he played no significant role in the investigation but merely went to supplement the FBI’s man power. Hundreds of agents were in volved in the case, he said, and most of them helped in trying to locate the civil rights workers’ bodies. He said the agents would be rotated about every two weeks. Wiatt said he doesn’t know how accurately the movie portrayed real life because he hasn’t seen the movie. Although he played no major part in the Mississippi investigation, Wiatt was involved in several civil rights investigations near Brazos County. The Mississippi investigation was significant, Wiatt said, because it was one of the first cases that permitted the FBI to get involved legally in civil rights investigations. “Before this case they didn’t have the Civil Rights Act of 1964 giving the FBI jurisdiction to investigate these matters,” Wiatt said. “Prior to that time, we had no authority to in vestigate civil rights violations as a federal crime.” Wiatt said there were numerous instances of obvious civil rights vio lence, racial hatred, protests, and confrontations in the early 1960s, but until 1964 the FBI had no juris diction. It was 1964 when the First major civil rights protest in Texas occurred in Huntsville. Wiatt got directly in volved w'ith enforcing the civil rights laws there because Hunts-ville was in his jurisdiction. “A group of local blacks, sup ported by blacks from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, came to Huntsville to protest the segregation laws that existed in that city and throughout the state,” he said. “I lived in Huntsville off and on for over three months. I marched with the blacks every night in order to make sure that nobody would come from the crowd to do anything in violation of their civil rights.” See Wiatt/Page 7