The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 21, 1989, Image 9
The Battalion WORLD & NATION icl ation •s of : vitie s ‘ 'MfJ 3t ents, seny :ent 0 fj tof er f the J 'ompiJ i.TeJ frass, ie plavj entofj dents J andr, itablijf and;j Thursday, September 21,1989 Page 9 New South African president promises to stop oppression leniutl ire' [ leoto :30J JWtlfflc . ShoJ nviimej Streetl fo s” Dwtimtl ;d Pel 15, st Cnl ime PG-llI !5, Sb dsFnl ShoiJ dsFnl Rate! 9:€| isteinl irniei 1 Jfei PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) —F.W. de Klerk was sworn in as president Wednesday and promised a new I constitution that would bring blacks into South Africa’s government by the end of his five-year term. He appealed to South Africans of all races to help build a nation “free of domination and oppression. “We accept that time is of the essence and we are committed to visible, evolutionary progress,” de Klerk said in his inaugural speech. He has vowed to eliminate discrimination and allow blacks, who currently cannot vote, participation ip gov ernment under a five-year plan. But he did not specify any apartheid laws he would repeal. Nor did he say how he would implement his goal of providing limited political rights to the 28-mil- lion black majority while maintaining the political domi nation of the country’s 5 million whites. De Klerk, 53, took the oath of office as reports spread that his government will free jailed black nation alist leader Nelson Mandela early next year. Newspa pers quoted official sources as saying the release will be part of a package of reforms to draw blacks into consti tutional talks. “The negotiation process will, from the start, receive incisive attention,” de Klerk said in the speech following his swearing-in ceremony. His conciliatory words, affable style, and new policy of allowing peaceful protests against the government have generated optimism among foreign observers and many South Africans. But de Klerk rejects the basic de mand of most black leaders: majority rule. The Rev. Allan Boesak, a leading anti-apartheid ac tivist and president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, said he will give de Klerk six months to prove that blacks’ skepticism is unfounded. A tear rolled down de Klerk’s cheek at a Dutch Re formed Church when the Rev. P.W. Bingle, a family friend preaching at the swearing-in, urged the new president to press forward without fear. Chief Justice Michael Corbett handed de Klerk a pa per from which he read the oath of office in Afrikaans and English before about 1,500 people. No foreign heads of state were present, an indication of South Afri ca’s international isolation. “W< e accept that time is of the essence and we are committed to visible, evolutionary progress.” — F.W. deKlerk, South African president In his 20-minute inaugural speech, de Klerk said his goal is “a South Africa free of domination or oppres sion in whatever form.” “We hope that he will . . . demonstrate that he is se rious about his vision for a new South Africa, because that is the vision we want,” Anglican Archbishop Des mond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said in Windhoek, Namibia. De Klerk said his government will move to eliminate discriminatory laws, give “urgent attention” to adopting a bill of rights, “gradually move away” from the 3-year- old state of emergency, and release security prisoners. Contact lenses worn overnight (damage eyes BOSTON (AP) — About 12,000 contact lens users in the United States suffer painful and potentially blinding eye ulcers each year, largely because they wear their lenses while they sleep, research concludes. The studies also showed, how ever, that even ordinary daytime use of contacts — while far safer than overnight wear — seems to slightly raise the odds of these ul cers, which are the most serious complication of contacts. The research is most critical of extended-wear lenses, which were approved in 1980 for con tinuous use up to 30 days at a time. It found that people who wore these lenses day and night were 10 to 15 times more likely than strictly daytime users to have eye ulcers. Sometimes people fitted with ordinary soft lenses also sleep with them. The study found that doing this just twice a month re sulted in nine times the usual risk of the disease. “Our paper shows that over night wear is the major risk fac tor,” Dr. Oliver D. Schein said. “It begins with even the first night of overnight wear. Gorbachev engineers overhaul in Politburo; three members ‘retire’ MOSCOW (AP) — Mikhail Gor bachev pulled off a major shake-up of the ruling Communist Party on Wednesday, dropping three Polit buro members in a dramatic consol idation of power. Tass news agency announced that former KGB chief Viktor M. Chebri- kov, 66, and Viktor P. Nikonov, 60, were retired from the pinnacle of Soviet power, and 71-year-old Ukrainian party chief Vladimir V. Shcherbitsky said he, too, was re tiring. The personnel moves continued Gorbachev’s molding of the top party apparatus, carried out in a se ries of bold strokes. Gorbachev is general secretary of the Communist Party as well as Soviet president. The shake-up came after the party Central Committee on Wednesday approved a program di recting restive Soviet republics to stifle calls to leave the union but ac ceding to demands for more local control of the economy. The Central Committee also gave Gorbachev an early chance to reach deep down in the party for new faces by moving up the next party con gress to October 1990. Gorbachev forced the retirement of a quarter of the Central Commit tee at the last meeting of that policy making body in April. Almost a year ago, two long-time members, includ ing then-President Andrei A. Gro myko, were removed from the Polit buro. Shcherbitsky, regarded as a con servative force both in Moscow and his native Ukraine, was the last Polit buro member serving from the time of President Leonid I. Brezhnev. His retirement leaves Vitaly I. Vorotni kov of the Russian republic the only pre-Gorbachev appointee on the 11- man Politburo. Shcherbitsky long has been ru mored to be in trouble with Gorba chev. He presumably will remain party chief in the Ukraine until a meeting there can be called to name a replacement. Gorbachev continued to fill the ruling body with his own men, el evating the new KGB chief, Vladi mir Kryuchkov, and the head of eco nomic planning, Yuri Maslyukov, to full membership. Nursing aide convicted in murder trial despite state’s lack of physical evidence GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) —A former nursing home aide was con victed Wednesday of smothering five patients in a pact with her les bian lover. A Kent County Circuit Court jury deliberated five hours before find ing Gwendolyn Graham guilty on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to com mit murder in the 1987 deaths of pa tients at Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker. Graham, 26, of Tyler, faces man datory life imprisonment without parole. With a lack of hard evidence, the case rested largely on the testimony of Catherine Wood, Graham’s ac complice and former lover. Wood, who has already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, testified that Graham killed patients because she said it “relieved tension.” Wood said the two had formed a love pact, each agreeing to suffocate patients so they would be bound to one another. The victims were Belle Burkhard, 74, Marguerite Chambers, 60, Edith Cook, 97, Myrtle Luce, 95, and Mae Mason, 79. They were killed be tween January and April 1987. At least two of the victims’ families sat through the entire trial. “My mother can finally rest in peace,” Jan Hunderman, daughter of victim Marguerite Chambers, said. “The scars will always be there, but it helps knowing the truth.” Linda Engman, daughter of vic tim Mae Mason, said she was “thrilled” with the verdict. “I wish we had the death penalty,” she said. Graham, testifying Tuesday, den ied that any murders had occurred at the home and said the murder plot was nothing more than a joke made up by Wood that had gotten 3ut of hand. “Cathy would start it and I’d just go along” Graham said. But when Graham left for her hometown of Tyler with another woman, she said a jealous Wood threatened to go to police with the story. When police began investigating the deaths, Graham said she realized Wood “was going to get even, just like she said she was.” Fran Shadden, a close friend of Graham’s, said she was shocked by thejury’s decision. “I just don’t believe they can con vict someone with no physical evi dence,” she said. Graham also testified she had been sexually abused by her father as a child and that she had a strained relationship with her mother. Graham’s testimony contradicted not only Wood’s testimony, but that of several former co-workers. They testified that Graham, on separate occasions, had admitted smothering patients at the home with either a washcloth or pillow. Graham’s former lover, Heather Baragar, also testified that Graham often mentioned that she had suffo cated patients and would “joke around about it.” Texans (Continued from page 1) was on board listed Houston as his home. The Peace Corps identified the returning volunteer as Margaret Schutzius, 23, of Dallas. The oilmen included Pat Huff, 38, of Franklin, an employee of Tulsa, Okla.-based Parker Drilling Co.; Mark E. Corder, 35, a petro leum geologist with Exxon Corp.; James Turlington Sr., 48, of Bel- Iville, a senior operation supervisor for Exxon; and Russell O. Jordan Sr., 29, an Esso Resources Canada senior projects engineer who listed his hometown as Houston. Peace Corps spokesman Jim Fla nigan said Schutzius had just com pleted her service after 27 months in Chad — the first three were spent in initial training, followed oy 24 months teaching English as a foreign language. She arrived in Chad in June 1987. Schutzius, a graduate of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, studied romance languages and lit erature at the University of Chicago, but did not obtain a degree before leaving for the Peace Corps. “Even though it was a terrible tra gedy, and her life was short, she stood for a lot while she was with us,” said Schutzius’ mother Mary K. Has- sett. “She loved.her work and was dedicated to the betterment of edu cation in Africa.” Huff, a 14-month employee of Parker Drilling, was working on an Exxon-owned oil rig in southern Chad and was returning home for a month, Colwell said. He was ex pected to arrive in College Station Wednesday afternoon, said Parker spokesman Tim Colwell. Colwell said officials with UTA Airlines notified the company about the accident. Three other Parker Drilling employees also were on the plane, he said. Huff w T as married and the step father of two children, said his mother, Janice Huff, of Franklin. She said he had worked for years in overseas oilfields. “He had no fears,” Janice Huff said. “I said something to him a few months ago after so many planes had been going down and he said, ‘No, not really.’ You always think it’s going to happen to someone else.” C A A llalional Vollogiate lucohol Hw TUG-A WAReness Friday, Sept. 29th 3:00 p.m. (First Tug) Duncan Fi&ld $20 Entry Fee Sign Ups: Blocker & The MSC 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sept. 20th-26th Need to have a team Captain at sign up • 8 members/team 4 Divisions: Corp, Greek, Residence Halls, Student Organizations/Independents Sponsured by: Sigma Chi, Dept of Recreational Sports and Hullabaloo Proceeds go to National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week * fLA6 FOOTBALL SET ^ You’ll never play touch football again. • Long Lasting Velcro • Durable 12” Vinyl Flags 8 Player Set only $7.95 16 Player Set only $12.95 Send check or money order to: I.S.A., P.O. Box 359, Garwood, NJ 07027 Leagues, schools, organizations, write for group discounts. (Ball not included) DERMACARE (ELECTROLYSIS CLINIC! Permanent Hair l *79 SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE v<o^ e ' Contact Lenses Z8 ^ Only Quality Name Brands (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve) 00 pr.*-STD. CLEAR DAILY WEAR SOFT LENSES $£1000 pr*-STD. EXTENDED WEAR SOFT LENSES (Can Be Worn as Daily or Ext. Wear) pr. *99 ‘’-STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES DAILY WEAR OR EXTENDED WEAR SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES Call 696-3754 For Appointment 3 CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C. DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY *Eye exam not included. Free care kit with exam and pair of lenses. 707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D College Station, Texas 77840 1 block South of Texas & University SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE Removal European Facials Pedicures Waxing Complimentary Consultation Nationally Board Certified Electro legists 764-9205 Cynthia K. Fontenot, C.C.E. W. Jill Bruegglng, C.C.E. (Behind Kroger Shopping Center) 1701 SW Pkwy • Suite 204 College Station The LSAT Is In 11 Weeks. STANLEY H. KAPLAN I Take Kaplan Or Take Your Chances Classes Start Oct. 3 Call 696-Prep The Battalion MSC JORDAN FELLOWS PROGRAM FELLOWS: attend seminars on international topics visit consulates and museums in Texas are awarded grants for international travel in support of independent research, study, or internship APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE in room 223-G of the Browsing Library and are due by September 27,1989 at 5:00 pm MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness Room 223-F Browsing Library in the MSC 845-8770 1219 Texas Ave. Bryan 822-1042 1600 Texas Ave. S. College Station 693-2627 RON BOCOY RUM liter ^29 CROWN ROYAL 2Q 750 ml SAUZA TEQUILA CO-PACK ^ i rk39 COORS-COORS LIGHT 99 24 pack KEYSTONE-KEYSTONE LIGHT 12 pack <£099 Cash and checks only on sale items. Thurs.-Sat. Sept. 21-23