e Battalion
WEATHER
FORECAST for THURSDAY:
Continued partly cloudy and
warm with a chance of afternoon
and evening thunderstorms
HIGH:81 LOW: 62
ol. 88 No. 146 USPS 045360 8 pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, May 3,1989
hinese students issue ultimatum
? or government approval of union
I BEIJING (AP) — Student leaders in Beijing
on Tuesday gave the government 24 hours to
•cognize their new student union or they would
■ke to the streets again. In Shanghai, thousands
■emonstrated for democracy and freedom.
■ The developments added new tension to a sit-
ffiation the government has been trying to calm
b\ holding talks with officially sanctioned student
unions.
■ Last week’s activism crested with a march of
130,000 students and their supporters in China’s
Ippital.
I The official student unions took no part in the
■larches, the biggest in communist China’s his-
nry, and student activists say the talks won’t sat-
Bfy their yearnings for a freer and more open
(hina.
The protest in Shanghai, China’s most impor-
|ant trading and industrial city, began in the
(arly afternoon wdteti about 6,000 students, car
rying banners reading “give us democracy and
freedom,” blocked traffic in front of city govern
ment offices.
Student leaders presented petitions demand
ing political reform and the Xinhua News
Agency said the protest ended about 10 p.m.
An American teacher said a' class boycott,
which started in Beijing and spread earlier this
week to Tianjin, has moved to Shanghai. About
half of the students at Fudan University, the
city’s leading school, are striking, Jason Hurtado,
of Portland, Ore. said.
He quoted student activists at Fudan as saying
that student leaders from Beijing helped orga
nize the strike and the march. Student leaders
have also been sent to Beijing for more coordina
tion, he said. Earlier, students from Tianjin came
to Beijing for guidance with their movement.
In Beijing, 65 student leaders from 33 univer
sities bicycled more than IV2 miles to deliver an
ultimatum to the National People’s Congress,
China’s legislature; the State Council, its cabinet;
and the Central Committee of the ruling Com
munist Party.
In a handwritten letter, the students de
manded the government recognize and hold
talks with the United Association of Beijing Uni
versities, an independent association set up dur
ing their 2-week-old campaign for democratic re
form. They want a free press, freedom of
assembly and publication and an end to official
corruption.
If they are turned down, they said, they will
march Thursday.
That day marks the 70th anniversary of
China’s first student demonstration, which
turned into a movement for democratic and sci
entific reforms.
Beijing students already have marched five
times to Tiananmen Square since April 17, defy
ing police warnings.
FINALS SCHEDULE
7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: .
10 a.m.-12 noon:
12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.:
Friday, May 5:
MWF 4 and after
MWF 8
...TTh 12:30-1:45
TTh 11-12:15
Monday, May 8:
8 a.m.-lO a.m.: MWF 9
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: MWF 12
1 p.m.-3 p.m.: TTh 8-9:15
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: MWF 3
8 a.m.-10 a.m.:
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
1 p.m.-3 p.m.:
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.:..
Tuesday, May 9:
MWF 10
MWF 2
TTh 3:30-4:45
MWF 1
Wednesday, May 10:
8 a.m.-10 a.m.: TTh 9:30-10:45
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: MWF 11
1 p.m.-3 p.m.: Th 2-3:15
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: TTh 5 and after
lall lot
ationi
sing 10
'he
it sinct
ied hoi
ach of
)nHai
than 1
at gw
:sirac. ;
is
3
?w
Concerned citizens nationwide
unite in protest against Exxon
Here’s lookin’ at you
Beverly Ellis, a senior accounting major from
Houston, walks up the stairs to her car in the
Photo by Jay Janner
North Side Parking Garage Tuesday. Her re
flection is seen in the convex safety mirror.
Consumers, environmentalists and politicians in scat
tered cities joined Tuesday in a one-day “Boycott Ex
xon” campaign over its huge oil spill in Alaska and over
rising gasoline prices in the industry in general.
State attorneys general in the Northwest and U.S.
senators from Nebraska called for a federal investiga
tion of why gasoline prices have risen sharply since the
March 24 Exxon Valdez spill.
“We are beginning the war of words and actions
against any oil company that doesn’t understand its re
sponsibility to protect the environment,” Massachusetts
state Sen. Carol Amick said at a boycott rally in Boston.
J. Edward Surette Jr., executive director of the Bay
State Gasoline Retailers Association in Billerica, Mass.,
said his group surveyed dealers Tuesday but found that
it was too early to assess the impact of the boycott.
Surette accused Exxon Corp. of “obvious negligence”
but said it was unfair for consumers to vent their anger
at dealers, most of whom are small, independent busi
nessmen.
Consumer activist Ralph Nader said in Washington
that Exxon “should not be allowed to forget” the Alas
kan spill and that a boycott was the way to send a mes
sage to the oil giant.
Nader joined representatives from several environ
mental and consumer groups in accusing Exxon of fail
ing to be prepared for the spill and not rapidly respon
ding to the accident that has fouled hundreds of miles
of Alaska’s coast.
Consumer groups in Alaska and New York state also
asked consumers to join the boycott.
Exxon issued a statement calling the boycott unjust,
and added, “Exxon believes in the basic fairness of the
American people and is confident that they will see Ex
xon’s employees, dealers and owners as victims of hu
man error, not as an institution that should be discrimi
nated against for an accident that occurred while we
were doing our job.”
Concern over tight gasoline supplies for the summer
driving season escalated following the Alaska oil spill
and an explosion at a North Sea oil rig. Crude oil prices
have risen more than $7 a barrel since January.
Since the Exxon Valdez accident, gas prices have in
creased an average 10 percent nationally, while the Pa
cific Northwest saw surges as high as 25 percent in less
than a month, said Marla Rae, executive assistant to Or
egon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer.
Exxon spokesman Sarah Johnson said 10,000 credit
cards out of 7 million have been cut up and returned to
the company since the spill.
Exxon said it had received no reports from dealers of
a loss in volume of gasoline sold as a result of the credit
card return or from boycotts.
About 5 percent, or 620, of the 12,400 Exxon brand
stations in the United States are owned and operated by
Exxon. The rest are independent.
The Exxon boycott was endorsed by 16 Democratic
California legislators. “We want to show Exxon that cor
porations who harm the environment will pay a price in
the marketplace,” Assemblyman Tom Bates said.
Twenty Oregon legislators also joined Tuesday in a
call to support the boycott.
Attorneys general of three Northwest states want the
nation’s chief law officer to investigate why oil prices
have risen sharply, especially since the Exxon Valdez
ripped its hull on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William
Sound. ,
Frohnmayer, Ken Eikenberry of Washington and
Jim Jones of Idaho announced Monday they will ask
U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburg and Daniel
Oliver, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, for
an investigation of gas prices.
U.S. Sens. James Exon and Bob Kerrey, both Ne
braska Democrats, called on Thornburgh to investigate
potential price gouging by the industry since the spill.
They noted that gas prices in Nebraska rose 20 percent
from the first of March until mid-April.
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Paul A. Yost today
faulted Exxon’s revised plan to clean up the oil spill, but
promised the effort will be completed this summer.
“The plan is very thin. There’s not a lot of backup or
substantiation,” said Yost, an admiral chosen by Bush to
track the cleanup effort for the federal government.
ilitary demolition experts clear highway
f spilled truckload of rocket explosives
SWEETWATER (AP) — Military explosives
experts on Tuesday used an all-terrain forklift to
Jear an interstate highway of a truckload of
locket. explosives, which the driver said over
turned when he swerved to avoid hitting a deer.
I A seven-mile section of Interstate 20 around
■weetwater was closed for more than 14 hours
■'uesday after the truck carrying eight rocket
Bods, each consisting of six rockets, ran off the
load and overturned.
I The driver and a passenger sustained minor
injuries.
I Explosives experts from Fort Hood in Killeen
and Fort Sill in Oklahoma worked for more than
three hours to remove the rockets, each of which
Carried 644 M-77 grenades, according to the
lexas Department of Public Safety.
I The military cargo was being taken to Dyess
Air Force Base in Abilene, about 40 miles east of
|te spill, where it is to be inspected by the Army
|nd LTV Corp., which manufactured the weap-
|ns, said Dyess public affairs officer Master Sgt.
1 Dostal.
Hours after the 12:05 a.m. accident, explosives
experts inspected the scene and told state offi
cials there was no danger, Public Safety Sgt. Don
Willingham said.
David Harris/public affairs officer for the U.S.
Army Missile Command near Huntsville, Ala.,
said the rockets were unarmed in the sense that
the only way they can be fired is electronically.-
Even a heavy impact could not have denoted
the missiles, Harris said, adding that the rockets
undergo tests to avert such dangerous situations.
“Part of the development program involved
taking fully loaded rockets and dropping them
20 to 30 feet onto concrete to see if they could
withstand that kind of impact,” Harris said.
The rockets were being transported from the
military contractor’s factory in Camden, Ark., to
Concord, Calif., and were ultimately bound for
South Korea, Col. Bob Richards, a combat sup
port group commander from Dyess, said.
The driver of the truck owned by Alabama-
based Deaton Inc., Byron Robertson of Fouke,
Ark., suffered slight injuries to his legs and arms.
He and his father, Jimmy Robertson, who was a
passenger, were treated at Rolling Plains Hospi
tal and released.
“All I know is I saw a deer and I swerved to
miss it,” the driver said.
DPS trooper Don Rannefeld said blood-alco
hol tests were not administered to Byron Rob
ertson, 27, but said, “There was no indication of
any problem physically with either the driver or
the truck.”
It would be very unusual to find a deer along
the stretch of interstate where the accident oc
curred, close to restaurants, gas stations and
othfer buildings, Rannefeld said.
Trooper reports said the vehicle ran off the
side of the highway, hit some gravel and over
turned.
Officials evacuated one resident of a mobile
home located about 200 yards from the accident
site about 1 a.m., but allowed her to return seven
hours later, Willingham said. No one else was
evacuated.
octor wins suit against anti-abortion picketers
■ CORPUS CHRIST! (AP) — Nine
anti-abortion demonstrators were
Ordered Tuesday to stay at least 400
{feet from the home of a doctor who
Jon a court battle after arguing that
he and his family were mentally ha-
:|tissed by protesters outside his
home.
Correction
j A headline on page one of
■ Tuesday’s Battalion incorrectly
■ indicated the significance of a re-
■ cent fusion experiment. The
Tstory under the headline was ac-
jcurate in saying researchers still
Icould not definitely say that fu-
Ision occurred. The Battalion re-
■grets the error.
A jury of seven women and five
men voted 10-2 Monday that picket
ers should pay Dr. Eduardo Aquino
$810,000 in damages.
“I feel my family will be left alone
now,” Aquino said, adding that he
was “not really interested in the
money.”
Abortion opponent Cliff Zarsky,
one of two attorneys who rep
resented the defendants without a
fee, said he will ask for a new trial
and if that fails, he will appeal the
verdict.
Jurors ruled Monday that the
peaceful protests caused mental an
guish to Aquino, his wife, Mercedes,
and their four children.
The damages included $140,000
in past and future suffering of the
couple, $170,000 in past and future
suffering of the children and
$500,000 in punitive damages for
gross negligence in picketing the
family home.
“These people were demonstrat
ing with the American flag and with
the Bible and you cannot wrap your
self around the American flag or
hide your face in the pages of the Bi
ble and in the process abuse the
rights of citizens, no matter how' rich
or poor, how strong or weak they
are,” Aquino’s attorney, Tony Bo
nilla, said Tuesday.
“The jury has set a standard for
people across this country and in the
process has sent a very clear message
that a right of privacy of families in
their homes should not be violated
and that it is an abuse of freedom of
speech to go to the privacy of the
home to try to impose your view’s on
the innocent w ife and children who
are inside those quarters,” Bonilla
said.
The trial ended at a time when the
U.S. Supreme Court is considering a
Missouri case that might cause the
court to reconsider its 1973 ruling.
Roe vs. Wade.
In that ruling, justices ruled that
women have a constitutional right to
end their pregnancies.
“I believe in the right to picket
and I am an advocate of the First
Amendment to the Constitution, but
anyone who abuses those rights
should be penalized,” Aquino said
after the ruling.
Aquino said he has been perform
ing abortions since 1978 and anti
abortionists had picketed his office
since 1982. They began picketing at
his home in March 1988, the same
month the suit was filed.
Campus service honors
victims of Holocaust
By Sherri Roberts
STAFF WRITER
The 15 million victims of the
Holocaust were honored Tues
day night in a Holocaust memo
rial service at All Faiths Chapel
sponsored by the Campus Min
isterial Association.
Organized in observance of In
ternational Holocaust Week, the
service reminded those present of
Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler’s at
tempts more than 40 years ago to
annihilate the Jewish race.
About 50 individuals rep
resenting organizations including
Hillel Jewish Students Center,
Catholic Student Center and the
Wesley Methodist Foundation lis
tened to recitations of biblical
passages and excerpts from
poems and book passages written
by Holocaust victims and survi
vors.
Throughout the service, which
began with a moment of silence,
readings were interspersed with
Hebrew singing. The service con
cluded with those attending join
ing hands in a circle as Rabbi
Peter Tarlow spoke.
The service is one of several
community events taking place to
commemorate International Ho
locaust Week.
About 8,000 names of Holo
caust victims deported from
France to Nazi concentration
camps will be read at Rudder
Fountain today from 9 a.m to 4
p.m. The reading is part of a 10-
year project that began 6 years
ago to read the names of all those
deported.
The play “I Never Saw An
other Butterfly” w ill be presented
by A&M Consolidated High
School Players at noon today at
Rudder Fountain: The play
chronicles the true story of a Jew
ish girl and her experiences from
the age of 14 to 18 at the Terezin
concentration camp in Czechoslo
vakia.
Play Director Brandys Zolnero-
wich said, “I chose this play be
cause its very powerful. It makes
a strong statement.”