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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1989)
m tie wouli ion Orgi ■r Arafi that wan guei souther hese me hze U.S stives at shotl ay tern: >y the Pi tys JW, whid sty forii n a nuni' tat it wti :ult fori itatus ur- nt auds cited INS ckgrounc s for at 000 vat :ates hat diamire- Texas A&M The Battalion WEATHER FORECAST for FRIDAY: Continued partly cloudy with no ticeably higher temperatures, es pecially at night. HIGH:73 LOW:52 Vol. 88 No. 112 USPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, March 9,1989 Dole proposes 6-month trial period for Tower WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Repub lican Leader Bob Dole, struggling to stave off rejection of John Tower’s nomination as defense secretary, proposed Wednesday night an extraordinary six-month trial con firmation period so senators could judge whether Tower lived up to his no-drinking pledge. Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell expressed “immediate serious con cerns” over the proposal, hut promised to consider it overnight. Dole made his dramatic hid to salvage the nomination at the end of the fifth day of a draining Senate debate, and after conced ing it would “take a miracle to win confir mation.” Under Dole’s proposal. Tower would be confirmed, hut would submit a letter of res ignation to President Bush dated Oct. 1, 1989. If Tower’s performance were satis factory, there “probably” would be no need to reconfirm him, Dole said. Otherwise, “he probably wouldn’t be the nominee.” Dole said he offered his proposal after discussing it with Tower. It came as the Senate neared a climax in its bitter struggle over the nomination. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas became the third Democrat to endorse Tower’s confirma tion, but his speech was bracketed by decla rations of opposition from Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, Bennett Johnston of Loui siana, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Charles Robb of Virginia — Democrats who had been lobbied hard by the Bush ad ministration as potential pro-Tower votes. An Associated Press survey found 51 Democrats and Republican Sen. Larry Pressler of South Dakota either solidly op posed or leaning against confirmation with 41 Republicans and three Democrats either supporting or leaning in favor of the nomi nation. Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Sen ate. Dole made his extraordinary proposal to deal with Senate concerns over Tower’s his tory of drinking. “I think we ought to give him a second chance that many of us have had,” said Dole, who was seriously wounded during World War II but has risen to a position of power and promi nence in the Senate. “It gives this Senate a second opportu nity,” Dole said. “It addresses the concerns raised by the chairman and the majority leader and by others at the same time it gives President Bush his choice for secre tary of defense.” Earlier, Dole suggested Tower be per mitted to come to the Senate and answer the allegations against him, but did not im mediately press the issue when Mitchell ob jected. There was little doubt that Dole’s maneu- verings were his final bid to save the nomi nation. Earlier, he conceded it would “take a miracle” to do so, and Johnston’s speech seemed to deflate Republican hopes. “In the nuclear age we can’t afford to take a chance on the man who holds the fu ture in his hands,” Johnston said on the Senate floor. The Louisiana Democrat said he was troubled by Tower’s drinking habits and that alcohol altered the former senator’s judgment. “There seems to be a personality change that occurs in Senator Tower,” Johnston said. Earlier, Bentsen became the third Demo crat to support the embattled nomination, saying, “I hope that when I get the next chance to talk with John Tower about the tough job of keeping this country strong, it will be while he’s in his new office at the Pentagon.” Tower said, “I’m both honored to have his prestigious support, and grateful for his humane understanding of what my family has endured.” Despite Bentsen’s decision, Mitchell re peated his claim the Senate will reject the nomination, and he led a chorus of Demo crats who called for a quick vote. Witness says North pleas aainpd mnnev for Gontras Spring Break 1989 • Volume 2 0 DRUGS HERE, THANKS — SOUND MIND, SOUND BODY — 22 THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER emeni lecret S r accou >U.S.P VS FEATU ng "fw produ ;onsunK 40-i ition Fs xual responsibility iana U.’s John Sparzo has founded p to promote sexual responsibility. — Page 2 )ecenw liseratfi ound ting NIONS ngin real lit s that in Svet *ll of I of I he beast within can turn even the most mannered student into an animal, to Penn State U.’s Rich — Page 7 blems >ofq it of h in him up athern Illinois U.’s Gary Heflin, an jiii ing comedian, recently agreed to a i-year contract with Columbia ires. — Page lO LARS AND SENSE iching on to hope li ofSouth Florida’s Kim Dutra ife? about Phone Friend, a volunteer H ce that helps latchkey children. — Page 17 JDENT BODY u isies great outdoors itt Fisher reports on some new being offered at Eastern [an U. that give new meaning to erm field trip.’ — Page 22 dents forfeit beaches, ski slopes aid communities over spring break ‘Mediocre’ faculty advisers force students to plan own education By Suzanne McBride ■ The Daily Iowan U. of Iowa Last names of the first two students interviewed in this story were withheld at their request Tricia, a U. of Iowa (UI) senior major ing in communication studies, hasn’t seen an academic adviser since her sophomore year when she received advice on classes from the Undergradu ate Academic Advising Center. She now stops by the communication studies main office each semester to pick up her signed registration card, and chooses her own courses. Tricia has dispensed with an adviser. Amy, a psychology major, has seen her academic adviser once every two or three weeks since her sophomore year when she began assisting him in the laboratory. Amy’s adviser has helped her choose classes for both general education and major requirements, plan a research project, and compile a list of graduate programs. These two different advising experi ences illustrate the disparity in the type and amount of help undergraduates re ceive at UI. And many students fall somewhere in between. U. of Iowa journalism professor Mary Arnold (right) helps freshman Rachel Boyle revise her schedule to allow more time for work. Nancy Anderson, senior, said that although her current adviser (her fourth since coming to UI) “is God among gods,” she rates the quality of advising at UI as “poor.” And she’s not alone. Nearly all of the 21 students in terviewed say undergraduate advising is mediocre at best. In fact, many — including senior Dave Loney have resorted to advising themselves. “(My adviser) is really interesting, and he seems interested in me. But he is responsible for many other students,” See ADVISE, Page 9 (athy Renda Vanderbilt Hustler iierbilt U., TN of basking under the sun or ping on skis during spring break rear, 120 Vanderbilt U. students an alternative. three years, Alternative Spring (ASB), a program unique to Van- t, has sent students to work in sites, from Nashville neighbor- to Juarez, Mexico, ior Margaret Horn, co-director of eject, said she was excited by stu- response, and stressed they can an impression on an impoverished tunity. at motivates students is a desire e and learn,” Horn said, e communities we visit are very live, and we can make a difference iir Margaret Horn is co-director of Alternative Spring Break SAM FEIST. VANDERBILT U„ TN, SPECIAL TO U. just by being there, even if we don’t al ways build schools and churches.” Students may choose between seven sites, including Rose’s Creek, Tenn., Washington, D.C., Sioux Falls, S.D. and Lexington, Miss. Projects range from assisting victims of Hurricane Gilbert in Monterey, Mex ico, tutoring Guatemalan refugees in Indiantown, Fla., to working with the See BREAK, Page 9 EconlOl: GNP or VCR? By Joel Guggenheim ■ The Northern Star Northern Illinois U. Young Americans are generally ignorant of even the most basic of economic principles, said David Dieterle, executive director of the Illinois Council on Economic Educa tion. Dieterle spoke at the 18th annual meeting of the Illinois Economic Association last semester. Operating on college campuses, the Illinois Council on Economic Education and its 10 regional cen ters reach thousands of students annually. “Nowhere is (this ignorance) more apparent and more serious in its im plications for the future well-being of the nation’s economy than among our youth — the generation whose influence will be felt, almost before we know it, in the union hall, in the board room, on the factory floor, in the office and, just as critically, in the voting booth,” he said. His statements referred to a national survey which showed only 56 percent of 8,200 students sur veyed understand basic economic principles, such as budget deficits, even though such issues appear in newspapers and news programs on a daily basis. “More than half of the students tested probably couldn’t tell the dif ference between the GNP and a VCR,” Dieterle said. “And many more could tell you practically every thing about Andre Dawson’s batting average but practically nothing ab out the Dow Jones industrial average.” srick D.Joe jr Works n Ameri- ^ay. The >n. State senator bids to take Gramm’s seat AUSTIN (AP) — Democratic state Sen. Hugh Parmer launched his bid for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, charging that incum bent Republican Phil Gramm talks one way in Texas while he votes a different way in Washington. Parmer, a two-term senator and former Fort Worth mayor, said Gramm is out of touch with Texas families and their values. “He talks like an East Texas farmer in Lufkin but votes like a Wall Street banker in Washington,” Parmer said of Gramm. “In Texas, he says he wants to be tough on crime. In Washington, he voted against the appropriations for drug enforcement and even the FBI ... In Texas, he says he wouldn’t hurt senior citizens. In Washington, he voted against funding for Meals on Wheels for shut-in elderly.” Parmer, 49, became the first Dem ocrat in the 1990 Senate face. Many party officials had expected Agricutlure Commissioner Jim Hightower to take on Gramm, but Hightower decided in January to seek re-election to a third term and concentrate on populist political or ganizing efforts. Gramm reportedly has said he can raise $20 million for a re-election bid. Parmer said he wasn’t worried about the size of the Republican’s war chest, although he admitted it would be a tough fight. “Sure, I expect it to be difficult,” he said. “One of the good things about American democracy is that we don’t auction off seats in the U.S. Senate ... If you could just buy a seat for $20 million, then I won’t have it. But I don’t believe that. “What I need is an adequate amount of money to get across a message. And the message is: Phil Gramm does not represent the va lues that Texans believe in, and I do. I’ll have enough money to get that message across. And when I get it across, I believe I’ll win.” Parmer, who never has run a statewide race, downplayed early public opinion polls that show Gramm running strongly. dee fee budget e only one of jat requested any. 10,000 and a there are dministrative -pie first ap- JGovernment it gets on the the following Tter said, ^eaker Pro- *nd member, Jure the band ttial funding. . of its money he band re student serv- Jeaker of the was the most ! seen on a fi- ^ to Dr. John (t of Student >ved by him, Mliam Mobley ents for their ■ during the Approval of a Ministration to <res pertaining to syllabi content and distribution. The bill, introduced by senators Beth Ammons and Mark Williams, came amidst concern over the fail ure of some professors to adequately explain course content or tell stu dents of books and supplies that would be needed for their course. Williams said the bill is not trying to restrict the professors at all, but require them to inform students up front how much they’re going to have to spend for the class. Also during the meeting, a resolu tion was passed encouraging the po sition of an Advisory Student Regent to enhance communication between students and the Board of Regents. The bill, which was introduced by Ty Clevenger, a sophomore genetics major, passed unanimously en dorsing the position, while support ing the Legislative Study Group’s ef fort to present this viewpoint to the Texas Legislature. One viewpoint the Senate hopes George Bush will hear, is' that A&M wants to be the site for the George Bush Presidential Library. Clevenger introduced the resolu tion from the Academic Affairs Committee. The University of Hous ton, Rice University and Yale Uni versity also are in the running to at tract the library. “We want to stir up enough sup port to give A&M an advantage in getting the site,” Clevenger said.