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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1989)
1 Texas A&M - - m 0 tie Battalion WEATHER TOMORROW’S FORECAST: Partly sunny, warm HIGH: 84 LOW: 58 Vol. 89 No.29 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas Wednesday, October 11,1989 Anticipated talks may signal hope for E. Germans BERLIN (AP) — Communist offi cials met opposition leaders in Dres den and talks were expected soon in Leipzig in the first sign of a shift in the East German government’s hard-line stance, pews reports said Tuesday. Meanwhile, in East Berlin, Promi nent Lutheran official Hans Otto Furian said the Communist Party “must give up its grip on total power.” Also in East Berlin, pro-democ racy activists said at least 500 protes ters arrested in Dresden were freed the past two days. The activists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said those freed were among about 1,000 people arrested in Dresden during demonstrations last week and over the weekend. The activists did not say if any of the demonstrators faced charges. Officials in Dresden have said all demonstrators not involved in vio lence will be released. Some Compmnist Party officials showed increasing signs of will ingness Tuesday to talk with pro-de mocracy activists. But East German leader Erich Honecker reiterated his hard-line position. Conflicting reports also emerged on Tuesday as to whether the Lu theran Church had taken up a dia logue with the central government or whether the contacts remained on the local level. West Germany’s ZDF television network, quoting high-level church sources, said that “talks had begun with central offices” in the East Ger man government about the unrest. It did not elaborate or identify the participants. ZDF said talks between local Com munist leaders in Leipzig and pro democracy activists also are set to be gin. It gave no timetable. Talks between Communist offi cials and opposition activists already have been held in Dresden. West German radio reported Dresden’s mayor, Wolfgang Berg- hofer, told activists that all demon strators who are still jailed “who were not accused of violence would be freed.” Several hundred people, and pos sibly thousands, were arrested in weekend demonstrations. Communist officials in Dresden first met with opposition leaders on Monday. Berghofer said another meeting was scheduled for next week. In a meeting Monday with Chinese Vice Prime Minister Yao Yi- lin, Honecker repeated allegations that Western “imperialists” are poised to threaten his country. Gotcha! Photo by Mike C. Mulvey A cell biology teaching assisstant spends Tuesday afternoon collecting grasshoppers at the Research Park. The insects will be used in a chromosome study. Ross Volunteers elect 72 new cadets By Holly Becka Of The Battalion Staff Seventy-two junior cadets will don the charac teristic crisp, white uniforms and join the presti gious ranks of the Ross Volunteer Company af ter a formal induction banquet at 6 p.m. today in List of Cadets elected / page 10 Executive director: Hb''' : ' i Strategic planning nothing new at A&M By Pam Mooman the Clayton Williams Alumni Center. The inductees were notified of their selection as Ross Volunteers, the official honor guard for the governor of Texas, on Monday. The company is comprised of 144 junior and senior cadets. A new RV is elected by returning senior RVs. Each interested junior submitted an applica tion with his name, grade-point ratio, activities and awards earned. A picture is included with the application to link a face with a name. Appli cants alsq answer two “thought questions” about upholdirte the standards of the RVs. Of The Battalion Staff - I’m definitely not here to do any body’s planning,” he said. “I will be more involved in attempting to help Strategic planning has come to organizations think through a pro- Texas A&M. Anthony G. Dempster was hired by A&M Oct. 1 to fill the recently ap proved position of executive direc tor of strategic planning. Dempster said that although the position is new, A&M was solving planning problems before he came. A&M President William Mobley wanted to increase strategic plan ning, Dempster said. “He wanted some staff expertise on hand to help him do that,” Dempster said. “It’s a matter of me trying to be helpful.” Dempster said he will be involved in helping deans from all A&M col leges decide what improvements are needed. He said that he will help A&M officials form a process for making decisions that will lead to a better future for the University. However, Dempster stressed that he will be merely guiding A&M’s planning; he is not going to take over the process. ipholdirtg i t Bryan Lilley, an agricultural economics and journalism major from Hurst, and a member of Company F-2, said he was proud to be a part of an organization that is honored throughout- Texas. “I wanted to be a part of it because it’s the longest-standing student group in the state and because of the prestige and honor that goes with it,” Lilley said. “I’m the first member of my fam ily to make it. My dad didn’t make it — he grad uated in ’55 — and I have four uncles who grad uated from here and none of them made it. So I’m very proud.” Lilley said he had wanted to be an RV since he was a freshman. “The guys who have been RVs ahead of me are a bunch of guys I’ve really respected and looked up to, and what they represent has always meant a lot to me,” he said. “I hope I can set the kind of example to the freshmen this year that they can look up to also.” Malcolm Delovio Jr., an industrial distribution major from Houston and a member of Squadron 17, said tfe was ecstatic when he fohnd out he had been chosen. “I was so happy,” Delovio said. “I was calling my parents and everybody I knew.” Kevin Fitzgerald, an industrial distribution major from San Antonio and a member of Com pany E-l, said he applied to be an RV because of the nonor. “(RVs) represent Lawrence Sullivan Ross be ing a soldier, statesman and knightly gentleman, and when you accept the title, you’re accepting the traditions of A&M that go with it,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald said he accepted the position with mixed emotions. “My first reaction was that I was really excited when I found out I had been picked,” he said. “After dinner we went back to our dorms and there were letters on our desks telling us if we made it.” “The first thing I saw on my letter was ‘con gratulations,’ ” he said. “I went out into the hall and out of the four people in my outfit who ap plied, two of us made it. So along with being happy I made it, I was upset for my friends who didn’t get it. I didn’t know what to say.” “I was real happy, but “at the same time I felt like ‘why me’ when all these other guys could have done just as good a job,” he said. “There were mixed emotions. I can’t say I’m not happy but I do feel for my other buddies who didn’t make it. They (the returning RVs) told us, ‘You’re not better than any of the others who ap plied, you’re just luckier.’ It was all in the hands of fate.” For the past 23 years, Dempster worked for Shell Oil Company. He was Shell’s director of strategic plan ning for 12 years. Dempster is chairman of the board for the Planning Forum, an organization with 50 chapters in America and Canada. He is also president of the International Affil iation of Planning Societies. Dempster was hired from among more than 300 applicants. The new position was advertised in the Wall Street Journal and several other publications, he said. Dempster said he is learning his way around campus, and he hopes his experience will be useful to A&M. “I have successfully found my parking space,” he said. “(But) there is much, much more I need to learn about how things work here.” Fewer people injured at first cut this year However, improved record may be due to less time in woods By Kelly S. Brown Of The Battalion Staff Aside from a few minor injuries, the first bonfire cut came and left fairly quietly compared to last year, when twice as many accidents oc- cured. Three of the four students w-ho wert treated and released from the A.P. Beutel Health Center Sunday had varying degrees of lacerations to their feet from the. ax cutting through their shoes to the skin. An other student suffered from heat ex- huastion. Tony Godinez, the senior red pot and building construction major, said “things are running smoothly so far,” as nearly 1,800 students partici pated in the cut at Texas Municipal Power Agency owned land. “Considering the large number of people out there,” he said, “the number of injuries is about expec ted.” Something that wasn’t expected was a jeep accident that happened while six students were driving out to the bonfire site. Four freshman in A-l, an Army company, were injured when the jeep they were in flipped over. The accident occurred a few miles from the bonfire site. David Riggs, a senior political sci ence major in A-1 who arrived min utes after the accident, said the jeep was doing a U-turn when the driver might have overcompensated to the right, accelerated and then flipped over. “Three of the students were pinned under the jeep, while the other three managed to get out,” Riggs said. “The roll bar probably saved the lives of the three pinned in.” Riggs said all but one have been released from the hopital. Gary Bur nett, who received a fractured right arm, is expected to return to his resi dence hall from the health center to day. James Wil Imarth suffered a fractured clavicle, Gary Morris re ceived 13 stitches after his chin was cut and Edward Vogelpohl chipped a bone in his wrist. Although there were only half as many accidents this year compared to last year at this time, it may have had to do with the time period. The first cut lasted two days last year, but due to rain, Saturday’s cut was called off, making the weekend cut a one- day event. Photo by Scott D. Weaver Wounded in action Michael Shane Arnaud, a freshman electrical from the pain of a severely injured ankle he re engineering major from Nederland, winces ceived Tuesday afternoon playing volleyball. Center looks beyond the stars to encourage space research By Bob Krenek Of The Battalion Staff Promoting space research at Texas A&M is the main purpose of the Space Research Center, SRC As sistant Director Dr. Frank Little told the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Tuesday. The center, along with its asso ciates, the Center for Space Power and the Regenerative Concepts Lab oratory, also seeks to develop and appply knowledge that will enhance benefits gained from space explora tion, Little said. “We provide a focal point for space-related activities and we try to coordinate interdisciplinary re search,” Little said. “We are part of the Texas A&M system, but not of the university itself so we don’t have to worry about parochial interests. This enables us to cut across depart mental lines and better coordinate research.” The center received a formal charter in 1985 with an agreement with the Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide research pro jects. The JSC still provides projects. Little said, but now the center re ceives ideas from other sources as well. Little said the center’s areas of re search include space power systems, microgravity experiments, space materials and structures, robotics technology, life support systems, space transportation and space sta tions, lunar bases and missions to Mars. The life support research, Little said, is a particularly good example of how the SRC coordinates differ ent disciplines to aid research. The SRC assembled a team of agricultu ralists, scientists and engineers from 10 different departments to work on a closed life support system that is capable of regenerating waste prod ucts, Little said. Little said the Space Grant pro gram will have an impact on the space research activities of the uni versity. A&M is a member ot the Texas consortium that will coordi nate space research at universities across the state. NASA provides $225,000 per year to the consortium and that fig ure is matched with funds from members. An additional $100,000 is provided for a felllowship program. “The Space Grant program is not a research thing,” Little said. “It is primarily for education. The idea is to build interest in space from the ground up by putting space into the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.” Students for the Exploration and Development of Space was formed to get students involved in space ac tivities and is open to students of all ages, said President Steven Deter- ling. Japanese officials arrive for meetings Representatives from Ko- riyama, Japan, where Texas A&M will open a branch univer sity next year, will arrive at A&M today to discuss the final plans for the overseas campus. Project leader Kosaku Ohba, city treasurer Nobuo Takagi and city attorney Yoshiko Koizumi will visit with Yusuke Katakoa and Kouichi Muramoto, exec- utive officer for international re lations and executive director for international relations, respec tively, from the U.S.-Japan Com mittee on Promoting Trade Ex pansion. In addition to meeting with A&M officials, the Japanese offi cials will attend the football game this weekend and visit the Texas Hall of Fame.