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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1989)
asses,” Lawrtj Texas A&M The Battalion WEATHER FORECAST for WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy and warmer. HIGH:62 LOW:38 re cehadJ Vol. 88 No. 110 USPS 045360 12 pages a year, Corm ntemplatingv nand asked fj /e practice bii Lawrence’s 6 e of writing, rote very well , he was .. A month las you are goin| Ige classes in the students) and this is win as literally te do it.” itches will cos Intramural (k i9ReadBii checked outf aef/hfif.'Thira All events w os S Fish Pm ;ionals: Wed nen's Reside lent will noil nals due to /.March 27, 2. 200 MMe ly 4. 50MEi asters Freot 200 M Co edley 11J >!d on All-Un g held oute I29arema<i cancelleda villswimwid 1 Was* mm mum I ■ ■ ■ Jason Parker, a sophomore physical educa tion major from Rogers, practices field goals at Kyle Field Monday. Parker will be trying to “walk on” as a place kicker this spring. Photo by Jay Janner College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 7,1989! U.S.S.R. proposes reduction of troops, weapons in Europe VIENNA, Austria (AP) — The Soviet Union proposed huge reduc tions in troops and armor and rec ommended Monday that the War saw Pact and NATO negotiate to eliminate all battlefield nuclear weapons from Europe. Foreign Minister Eduard A. She- varndadze’s proposals went far be yond the reductions NATO plans to suggest at conventional arms talks that begin Thursday. In a later speech. Secretary of State James A. Baker III told 35 for eign ministers gathered in a baroque palace that the West’s goal, at least initially, is to reduce the Warsaw Pact’s current advantage in conven tional forces. Estimates vary but give the Soviet- led alliance at least a 2-1 advantage in tanks. “The Warsaw Pact’s conventional military preponderance, especially in the spearheads of attack, is what makes an invasion possible,” Baker said. He urged Soviet President Mik hail S. Gorbachev to implement the new thinking” that guides economic .md political reform in the Soviet Union by renouncing the Brezhnev Doctrine “beyond any shadow of a doubt.” That doctrine permits military in tervention in a Soviet bloc country in the event of a liberal insurrection. The late President Leonid 1. Brezh nev enunciated it after the Red army crushed the liberal “Prague Spring” of 1968 in Czechoslovakia. “Those in the East should be free of the fear that armed Soviet inter vention, justified by the Brezhnev Doctrine, would be used again to deny them choice,” Baker said. He also said Australia would orga nize a conference to prevent the spread of chemical weapons and the Bush administration was exploring ways to speed the removal of U.S. chemical weapons from West Ger many. “Unilateral action is nor enou^li " Baker added. “The Soviet Union has enormous stocks of chemical weap ons threatening Europe. We there fore call on the Soviets to join us, to accelerate the destruction of their enormous stockpile of these fright ening weapons.” In Bonn, Chancellor Helmut Kohl said, “I welcome this intention to explore ways for the early re moval of chemical weapons from the Federal Republic.” Kohl’s chief spokesman, Fried- helm Ost, said earlier Baker had telephoned the chancellor Sunday night and told him the aging U.S. chemical weapons would be with drawn by 1992. Shevardnadze countered a NATO proposal to retire at least 25,000 Warsaw' Pact tanks, then re duce armor, artillery and personnel carriers on both sides by 5 percent to 10 percent, with a three-phase plan for radical cuts. The foreign minister’s arms re duction program that went far be yond NATO’s by adding missiles, combat aircraft and soldiers. “Let me ask what kind of reduc tions are these if they do not affect the main component of armed forces — their personnel?” he said. “And surely airplanes and helicopt ers can be used for a surprise at tack.” In the Soviet second phase, 500,000 men on each side would be demobilized. According to the Union of Con cerned Scientists, a private U.S. re search group, the Warsaw Pact has 3.09 million soldiers and NATO more than 2.13 million. NATO spends about $300 billion a year to defend Western Europe, where 326,000 Americans are stationed. As Shevardnadze explained it, the Soviet plan's progression would be: • First phase, two to three years — Eliminate the imbalance in troops and arms, cutting 10 percent to 15 percent from the current lowest jiumbers. . ..... ; . • Second, also two to three years — Reduce forces by another 25 percent and withdraw battlefield nuclear weapons to a safe distance from “the line of contact” between the military alliances. That would make much of West Germany, along with East Ger many and Czechoslovakia a nuclear- free zone. • Third: Convert remaining forces to “a strictly defensive character.” While the reductions are made, Shevardnadze said, negotiations AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Sen ate on Monday approved a bill that would make improper recruiting a criminal offense after a heated de bate erupted on proposals to weaken the penalty for those convicted of trying to bribe a student-athlete to attend a certain school. Sen. Chet Brooks, D-Pasadena, pushed for an amendment to de crease the penalty from a third-de gree felony to a class A misdemea nor for improper payments of less than $750. The bill carries misdemeanor charges for a student who solicits or accepts money or gifts in exchange for attending a college and partici pating in intercollegiate athletics there. Brooks said a third-degree felony charge, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, was too stiff for some one who committed a minor infrac tion. should be conducted on eliminating tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. His proposal conflicts with the 40- year-old U.S. policy of deterring the Soviets with with a mix of weaponry incuding battlefield nuclear arms, which have a maximum range of 300 miles. Kohl wants to delay modernizing U.S. Lance missiles in West Ger many for up to three years, with the support of Norway and officials of other West European governments. Sen. Bob Glasgow, the bill’s spon sor, said the amendment “guts the bill.” X class A misdemeanor is pun ishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The tougher penalty is needed to send a message to college recruiters and alumni nationwide, Glasgow said. “It’s a notice that we’re giving to every other school: ‘We’re trying to clean up our business in Texas, don’t you come in and mess up our business,”’ he said. Prosecutors would not pursue as rigorously a misdemeanor violation, Glasgow said. “You reduce that to a misdemeanor, and I don’t think there is a county attorney in Texas that’s going to spend the time and trouble ... to convict someone of this offense.” Brooks’ amendment failed, 18-12, but he tried another amendment that would have called for disclosure See Recruit/Page 8 Senate approves bill to make violations in recruiting illegal CH 21 Dly. 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The W n ext mate' SO.OOpefS r £5l0NS: I ss TAMUVi cotter Winn i pete in CIs intramuss i & Recreaf l Wf CAPb -t64ReacS Some insurance rates will decline,Mattox says Battalion file photo By Holly Beeson REPORTER Texans can expect a decrease in property and casualty insurance rates, Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox said Monday in the College Station City Council chambers. “We want to see a total change in how the property and casualty insur ance industry sets its rates,” Mattox said, ’’and an elimination in allowing them (firms in the industry) to come before the board and present all the rates at the same time.” The property and casualty insur ance industry is exempt from anti trust laws, which enables firms in the industry to establish their desired profit levels. They then present their recommendation as a group to the Texas State Board of Insurance. They are presenting it in a way that makes the least efficient com pany able to stay in business, Mattox Dates set for spring graduation May graduates will put on their caps and gowns to cross the stage on the following dates: FRIDAY, MAY 12 at 2 p.m. • College of Liberal Arts • College of Geosciences • Graduate students FRIDAY, MAY 12 at 7:30 p.m. • College of Agriculture • College of Business • College of Science • College of Veterinary Medi cine SATURDAY, MAY 13 at 9 a.m. • College of Architecture and Environmental Design • College of Education • College of Engineering SATURDAY, TUNE 3 at 2:30 p.m. • College of Medicine AH local hotels are booked for May 12 and 13, but some still have vacancies for June 3. said, which means the companies that are more efficient and more profitable get rich. “I call for the total repeal of all the antitrust protections this industry has because it needs to get back on a more competitive basis,” Mattox said. It is a myth that state insurance is competitive and regulated, he said. “It’s not,” Mattox said. “The Texas State Board of Insurance has left this industry largely unregu lated, and we’re trying to change that.” The board is under a major siege, and Mattox is a leading the attack. “It has been a badly mismanaged agency,” he said. “As of last week, nearly all the members have re signed or their terms have expired.” Mattox said he is hopeful the gov ernor will appoint a new board made up of consumer-oriented members. “We need individuals who will try to get a handle on these spiraling in surance policies,” he said. The office of the attorney general has made recommendations to the Legislature asking it to consider changing the policy by which rates are determined. “We asked for a total restructur ing of how rates are written in Tex as,” Mattox said. “We asked them to take the first steps toward regula tion.” Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox The attorney general urged the public to let the Legislature know they’re fed up with the insurance in dustry’s actions and demand total re form in the process. “If we do that, I think we’ll see changes within the industry,” he said. Mattox also discussed im provements in overall child-support collections, but said several problems still exist. The Bryan child-support office has increased collections this year by 46 percent, he said. The: statewide average is 37 percent. “We are still woefully unstaffed and have far too many cases to hand le,” he said. Nearly 3,600 cases are being han dled at the Bryan office, and about 30 percent of these cases are on wage garnishment. “We think that in the long run, taking the money out of paychecks will become the normal way to pay child support,” he said. Faculty Senate tries to improve academics of student-athletes By Kelly S. Brown STAFF WRITER The Faculty Senate approve 1 . i .relation Monday committing themselves to strengthening the academic standards and progress of scholarship student-athletes. The resolution came after the Academics Affairs Committee released a report on the assessment of ath letes and their academic performance. Statistics from the registrar show that student-athletes’ academic per formance in terms of graduation rate is below that of the overall student population. Dr. Samuel Gillespie, a senator and chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, said the NCAA has no grade-point ratio requirements. The NCAA requires that each institution set eligibility requirements for an athlete, rather than setting a standard itself. “Along the line, someone has to start setting the stan dards,” Gillespie said. “The Athletic Department does not admit or grad uate students nor do they give an athlete an undeserved grade to keep him in school,” Gillespie said. “The re sponsibility of these athletes belongs to professors, deans, faculty members and staff of A&M.” The Academic Affairs Committee is claiming part of that responsibility by setting University guidelines to help strengthen the academic standards of athletes. The five-part resolution states that because the Uni versity actively recruits, admits or supports through scholarships some students who are deficient in the skills necessary to be academically competitive at A&M, it must provide a program to assist these students in making a bridge between submarginal and successful academic performance. Under the resolution the University administration will initiate a remediation program to accommodate all admitted students deficient in academic skills, while col lege deans are to closely monitor scholarship athletes performing below acceptable academic guidelines and uniformly enforce college standards. According to the resolution, the Unmersitv Athletic See Senate/Page 8 Attorney General stresses importance of water to Texas By Sherri Roberts STAFF WRITER Texas Attorney General Jim Mat tox said water, along with transpor tation, energy and an educated pop ulation, is the key to the long-term development of Texas. Mattox, who has announced a possible bid for the governor’s office in 1990, praised the Texas Water Utilities Association for its research and development efforts within the water industry and urged it to con tinue seeking answers to Texas’ wa ter problems in a speech at Texas A&M on Monday. “You need to do the best that you can to educate the uneducated,” he said. “When we’re in the legislative process, most of those people (legis lators) are asked to be experts on ev erything in the world — and most of us know very little about those issues that you (the water industry) are about.” Noting that Monday was the anni versary of the Alamo’s fall in 1836, Mattox compared the history of the water industry with that of the siege, saying victory is sometimes found in defeat. “You all have a history of ups and downs,” he said. “You are asked to do things with very little resources, and are always struggling to get more resources to try to solve the problems you’ve got.” Mattox said he considers himself a strong environmentalist who, as the attorney general since 1973, has played a role in drafting legislation to protect the environment. The state has filed more than 1,500 law suits against polluters, he said. “We (the office of the attorney general) have helped draft legis lation that will control that kind of irrational adult that takes away our rural areas,” he said. “We want to continue to work for you.” Mattox said he defends the state of Texas in the lawsuits it files and those filed against it. “The attorney general’s office is the trial law firm for the state of Texas,” he said. “It’s our (Mattox and the 400 lawyers who work for him) responsibility to watch over court actions. Mattox also operates the nine- member Opinions Committee, which helps various public officials interpret laws. In addition to handling consumer protection actions regarding such is sues as deceptive advertising and business practices, Mattox’s office is responsible for enforcing the collec tion of child support in Texas. Child support collections have increased by 430 percent since the office began managing that function in 1983. Silver Taps ceremony to honor 1 The solemn sound of buglers playing “Taps” and the sharp ring of gunfire will be heard on campus tonight as one Texas A&M student who died during ^^the past month is honored a Silver Taps cere- mony at front of the Academic Build- !^ip|BS The deceased student being honored ;Jp§r • Valerie Kay Hurta, MW 26, a junior in marketing "ff from Houston , who Dating back almost a century, the stately tra dition of Silver Taps is practiced on the first Tuesday of each month from September through April, when necessary. The names of the deceased students are posted at the base of the flag pole in front of the Academic Building, and the flag is flown at half-staff the day of the cere mony. Lights will be extinguished and the campus hushed as Aggies pay final tribute to fellow Aggies. The Ross Volunteer Firing Squad begins the ceremony, marching in slow cadence toward the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Shortly after, three volleys are fired in a 21-gun salute and six buglers play a special arrange ment of “Taps” three times — to the north, south and west.