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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1989)
Animal rights group accused of robbing vandalizing Texas Tech researcher’s lal adVAHCE ROP R ACT i CLINIC- 3743 S. Texas Avenue Bryan, Texas 77802 409-846-0525 Dr. Richard Vance CHIROPRACTO ■EATERIES CANTINA FREE NACHO BAR Every Night of the Week With $2.95 Purchase! 9:30-Midnight $1 50 Margaritas $4 50 Margarita Pitchers $1 25 Well Drinks 764-2975 On Harvey Road behind Safeway If UNIVERSITY TOWER 410 South Texas Avenue ((409)846-4242 (800)537-9158 University Tower AEROBICS Register NOW! University PLUS Craft Center Basement Of MSC Low - impact Aerobic Exercise B M/W, 5-6pm, July 12 - Aug 9 Intermediate Aerobic Exercise D M/W, 6-7pm, July 12 - Aug 9 F T/Th, 6-7pm, July 13 - Aug 10 Beginning Aerobic Exercise H M/W, 7-8pm, July 12 - Aug 9 J T/Th, 5-6pm, July 13 - Aug lO L T/Th, 7-8pm, July 13 - Aug lO A ySZO/Studenf $22/Nonstudent 845-1631 LUBBOCK (AP) — A Texas Tech researcher Wednesday called the ac tions of an animal rights group that vandalized and destroyed equipment at his lab “senseless and ridiculous.” Five cats used in sleep research were taken from the lab of Dr. John Orem, a physiology professor, dur ing a break-in Monday night. Docu ments were stolen and equipment was vandalized. University officials Wednesday placed a cost estimate of the damage at $70,000, not includ ing the value of the cats. The break-in was the first in Texas by the “underground liber- ationist” Animal Liberation Front, according to a group called People for the Ethical Treatment of Ani mals. Ingrid Newkirk, national director of Washington-based PETA, said ALF developed in the early 1980s and believes it now has at least 100 members in the United States. “They go into places where they suspect abuse and take the pictures and get the records and the informa tion that researchers and those working on these projects try to hide, ” Newkirk said. Orem has spent 12 years studying breathing in sleep, which helps him understand sleep apnea and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In both dis orders, breathing fails in sleep. Texas Tech University Health Sci ence Center researchers discovered the break-in Tuesday morning and found spray-painted messages on the walls that indicated ALF was re sponsible, according to a statement released Wednesday by university president Robert Lawless. “We most sincerely urge conscien tious behavior on the part of those responsible for this incident and we warn that the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center will not tol erate such incidents on our campus,” Lawless said. The animal statement issued by t that Orem uses innu rights groups, in mrr m i PETA, charged mane research methods, such as bolting the, heads into steel clamps. “This is all sensational nonsej Orem said. “The technkjuesk; are standard neurological dures that are done under ane sia. There is nothing gruesome spicable, wasteful or barbaric/ it.” “They’ve acted and it's i senseless and ridiculous." Dwindling number of police officers causes delayed arrival at crime scenes HOUSTON (AP) — The number of police officers patrolling city streets has dwindled to the point where officers sometimes get to the scene of a crime long after it is committed, some policemen said. Less than 489 police officers patrol 600 square miles of Houston streets, neighborhoods and business dis tricts 16 hours per day. Days off, sick time and vacation causes that number to shrink, leaving some substations with fewer than 20 patrol officers on some shifts. According to a June 1 report, the Houston Police De partment had 1,468 patrol officers to answer initial calls for service, patrol the streets and respond to emergen cies. That number is split among three shifts at more than 10 substations and other locations. In addition, the number of officers in FiddOjl tions Command — which includes patrol, traffic a: cident and other functions — had dropped fronrlM in November 1986 to 2,333 on May 1, 1989, the J said. Mark Clark, president of the Houston PoliceOM Association, said rising crime statistics and theinJ in response time indicate the criminal element aware of the manpower shortage. “They (the criminals) watch television and rcadB papers,” Clark said. In addition, criminals arerB prone to use violence because they realize officers:!! inadequate backup, he said. Friday, july 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. OPEN HOUSE Join us at College Station's only privately owned co-ed dormitory. When you are in town for Orientation, please join us for our Open House. Food and bever ages will be served. Tours of the property will be conducted, you are unable to attend the open house, please come by at your convenience. Jamie Sandel, our leasing manager will be happy to answer any questions. Leadership (Continued from page 3) Texas community colleges and tech nical institutes that want to hire mi norities. The data bank was com piled by the A&M Public Policy Resource Laboratory. Dr. Gonzalo Garcia, coordinator of the development of the data bank, said the project’s goals were divided into two parts — Year One and Year Two. Year One was the research and development phase of the project, Garcia said. A number of surveys were conducted with the chief exec utive officers of the community col leges and technical institutes in Texas, trying to find out what the barriers were to minority leadership and what minorities need in order to become more effective leaders. Year Two is the program itself, which begins at A&M with the three- week institute and endsnext summer with a similar institute. “There is no Year Three planned under the current funding,” Garcia said. “It’s only a two-year grant. so far from the participants, my gut feeling is that it has been successful,” he said. “We certainly have stimu lated a lot of interest and activity. The participants are interested and motivated.” “I It’s an effort to recruit and get more minorities in key leadership positions.” — Dr. Laverne Young, project manager We’re hoping we can get some con tinued funding somewhere. There’s a potential for three years, but we’d have to reapply. That depends on the outcome of the program.” Garcia said the participants in the program so far have been enthusias tic about it. “From the feedback we’ve gotten The shortage of minorities, spe cifically blacks and Hispanics, in leadership positions in educational institutions is a large one, Garcia said. And though that shortage may be reversed in the future, he said it will be a slow change. “There are too many barriers out there that need to be moved before we can see a major turnaround 3 said. “I’m referring to sexualbfl sexual stereotypes, institutional’|| riers and attitude barriers on i| part of employers.” He said until there is a massinl titude change, the shortage ofa nority leaders will continue. “We can teach these peoplea terms of leadership and dffl opment skills, make them mort|| fective in terms of communicaB skills and make them develop J assertiveness, but where the nag change needs to take place isong part of the institutions and (hew pie who are hiring,” Garcia said ; “There are little things well doing to make the presidents! chief executive officers of theseiuB tutions more aware, but were | Ihe ones who are going to behiiil these people,” he said. “We can'll ate positions.” Bees (Continued from page 3) the few people who have severe allergic reactions to any type of bee stings, he said. Texas Africanized Honey Bee committee was organized in April 1987. Comprised of represen tatives from various health and agriculture de partments from around the state, the committee was formed to determine what the AHB means to the state of Texas, what needs to be done to eliminate or minimize the negative impacts of its arrival and if it is actually a threat, Thomas said. The committee developed the Texas African ized Honey Bee Management Plan, proposing I specific recommendations for research, colony management suggestions for beekeepers, public education and public health. “Information and education is where nearly all of our effort has gone so far,” Thomas said. “We want to advise beekeepers, the general public and elected officials as to what to expect and what to do.” One of the committee’s primary goals is to aquire a reseach laboratory. “We need to have an ID lab,” Thomas said. “We don’t have any way in this state of separating between the Africanized honey bee and the do- “I Information and education is where nearly all of our effort has gone so far. We want to advise beekeepers, the general public and elected officials as to what to expect and what to do.” — Dr. John G. Thomas, extension entomologist to evolve through natural selection as it traveled north throughout Latin America, Thomas said, mestic honey bee. Right now, when we get a sus pected (Africanized honey bee) sample, there is one person in the U.S. that will identify it. There is only one lab that will provide that service.” The bee resulted from a honey bee breeding program in the 1950s. Dr. W.F. Kerr, a German geneticist, was trying to breed a bee capable of surviving the tropical climate of Brazil. The new vtrain of bees was released in 1957 to commercial beekeepers in Brazil. “Kerr was sucessful,” Thomas said. “He did develop some honey bees that did out-perform anything they had in Brazil. These were pro vided to the commercial beekeepers of Brazil and they simply overlooked the defensiveness and ag- ressiveness of the bees because they were better honey producers.” After its original release, the AHB continued The aggressive characteristics it developed in clude excessive swarming and absconding (aban donment of the hive when threatened), lack of selectivity in choosing a nesting site and highly defensive behavior. As a wild bee, the character istic traits it exhibits are those which best ensured its chances of survival, he said. “Once in the wild, only the meanest bees survi ved,” Thomas said. “The AHB of today is a much meaner bee than Kerr’s bee.” It is these character traits which make the bee such a threat to the United States and the agricul ture and honey industries. “The Africanized honey bee is not a honey producer,” Thomas said. “The European bee is a much better honey producer than the African bee, so there is no reason to replace the Euro pean bees, even if the African bee didn’t have these agressive traits.” A larger threat to the economy is the competi tion for resources the AHB will present to the domestic honey bee, and the resulting reduction in honey production and domestic honey bee population. “If in fact the African bees get into an area, be cause of their tendency to swarm extensively and heavily populate an area, the resources we’ve de pended upon for European bees to make surplus honey will most likely be overgrazed,” Thoifj said, “because the African bee populates an at: until the resources are totally used.” Unmanaged, the AHB can reduce honeyplj duction by 60 to 70 percent, the 1 exas Advixsj We need to have an ID lab. We don’t have any way in this state of separating between the Africanized honey bee and the domestic hone) k ee ‘ — Dr. John G. Thomas extension entomologisl Committee on Africanized Honey Beessaidit written report. The value of honey has rang from $100 to $150 million annually in the l and from $5.3 to $7.6 million in the state, the port said. Texas could experience losses of$2 $4 million annually if the AHB colonizes' state, the report said. The loss in honey production also could to a reduction in crop pollination by the dome: honey bee, Thomas said. The estimated value;' crops (vegetables, fruits and nuts) pollinated j domestic bees is $800 million annually, he said ’ “One-third of the food we eat is the direct;! suit of pollination by honey bees,” he said. "f| every dollar’s worth of honey that beekeepf sell, those crops requiring or benefitting as a| rect result of honey bee pollination total $143. The threats to crop pollination are far great than any threat to the honey producers, he saic The money requested from the state would used for education and public relations, regi tory and quarantine, and a research and idem cation lab. An emergency research fund of $100,000* granted in May to get a “head start” on testim the Rio Grande Valley, Thomas said, but committee has not heard if their budget reqm has been approved. $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 PAINFUL MUSCULAR INJURIES Individual with recent lower back or neck pain, sprain, strains, muscle spasms, or painful muscular sport injury to participate in a one week research study. $50 incentive for those chosen to participate. > $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 I18S ASTHMA STUDY $§“ $200 Wanted: Individuals ages 12-70 with asthma to partic- $200 5200 ^ ^ ^5900 $200 'P ate in a research study to evaluate asthma medica- ^qq $200 tions. $200 incentive for those chosen to participate. $ 2 00 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 CALL PAULL RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 776-0400 ■f" AM/PM Clinics CLINIC Minor Emergencies Weight Reduction Program 10% Discount With Student ID Minimal Waiting Time College Station 845-4756 693-0202 779-4756 It out in The Battalion Classified