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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1989)
,4 5-3j|: The Battalion 3 STATE & LOCAL Thursday, October 26,1989 3 nsiSpeakers: drug education key to solving problems of abuse king i Right, inoyinj >•” Even] how i ought I he Beau lay cast I res wri pone; idoroal -Gan Afte: i inat t eat: By Steven Patrick Of The Battalion Staff The solution to alcohol and inha lant abuse, two of the least talked about yet most dangerous forms of drug abuse to day, can be found in education and awareness, said speakers in a dis cussion on drugs Wednesday night. Dennis Rear don, coordinator of the Texas I a 1 A&M Center for Drug Prevention and Education, said the public must look to educa tion, not incarceration, as the key to fighting today’s epidemic drug prob lem. Reardon, along with Gloria Noah, program director of Greenleaf Hos pital’s Adolescent Treatment Cen ter, were the key speakers of “A War of Words on Drugs,” sponsored by the Committee for the Awareness of Mexican-American Culture. Reardon and Noah focused the discussion on the use of inhalants and alcohol, two drugs largely ig nored in today’s “War on Drugs.” “If there’s one drug you don’t want to try once, it’s an inhalant,” said Noah. Noah said people don’t realize how dangerous inhalants are. Inha lants are some of the most danger ous drugs becouse they are inhaled and immediately attack the central nervous system. The worst effect of inhalants is the irreversible destruc tion of brain cells, Noah said. Noah defined an inhalant as any chemical whose vapors, when in haled, can cause excitement, confu sion, or even hallucinations. Inha lants commonly abused include I here is a comedic or benign acceptance, worse than that we have it (alcohol) shown as a positive experience. Not one word in the Bush policy is addressed to the alcohol problem.” — Dennis Reardon, C.D.P.E. gasoline, glue, paint thinner, and spray paint, she said. One of the big problems today, Noah said, is the lack of attention given to inhalent abuse. Noah said increased awareness and education are the best way to fight drug abuse. Reardon followed Noah’s discussion on inhalants with a look at another widespread, but largely ignored drug, alcohol. Reardon criticized the way alcohol abuse is accepted by society and de picted in the media. “There is a comedic or benign ac ceptance, worse than that we have it shown as a positive experience,” Reardon said. Reardon said that of the $240 bil lion spent annually to fight drugs, $170 billion is spent to fight alcohol abuse. Despite these large expendi tures, Reardon said President Bush’s “War on Drugs” fails to address the issue of alcohol abuse. “Not one word in the Bush policy is addressed to the alcohol problem,” Reardon said. Reardon called upon increased funding for education as the best means to deter drug abuse. “The dollar we spend in educa tion goes a lot further than in en forcement,” Reardon said. “We do what we believe, and if we teach the truth, then that is what we will believe,” he said. Competing in a global economy Officials discuss role of higher education in international market hinkdfl university news service AUSTIN — Higher education must be the cat alyst for change if Texas is to adapt and compete effectively in the increasingly crucial interna tional marketplace, concluded university officials and business leaders meeting here Wednesday. “We’ve got to find a new future,” Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Commis sioner Kenneth Ashworth told a statewide gath ering of university presidents and other officials. The group came together to help formulate an action plan for dealing with the role that Texas and U.S. institutions of higher education should play in the global economy that is now a reality. “The United States is a nation at a competitive disadvantage, and we’re not going to get out of this critical situation in an easy manner,” Ash worth said. He said the only good aspect evolving from the bleak situation “is that it is bringing us together.” A key element of the Austin meeting was the opportunity for top university officials to get their first look at a preliminary report of the Coordinating Board Commissioner’s Advisory Committee on International Issues in Higher Ed ucation. The committee, chaired by Texas A&M Uni versity President William H. Mobley, began its study last year and plans to submit its final report early in 1990. Mobley called the report the basis for “an ac tion agenda that is educationally sound and fi nancially feasible.” He said the report represents an opportunity for input from both higher education and pri vate sector leaders. “There is a clear recognition of the importance of the international dimension of higher educa tion in the global economy,” Mobley said. A recommendation was made that the Legis lature be asked to appropriate $10 million dur (Continued from page 3) Brazos Valley kids visit A&M fair to see ‘chemistry in action’ By Julie Myers Of The Battalion Staff Brazos Valley children will get the chance to see “Chemistry in Action” at the Texas A&M Chem istry Fair Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the new wing of the Chemistry Building. “Chemistry in Action” is de signed to entertain elementary and secondary students, teachers and parents, and to introduce them to the world of chemistry. Students attending the fair will have a chance to observe and par ticipate in chemistry experiments and presentations under the lead ership of A&M scientists, under graduates and graduates. Presentations aimed at younger students will focus on the chemistry of life, living light (chemiluminescence), photosyn thesis, macromolecules, genetic engineering and the chemistry of violin making. Programs for older students will cover superconductivity, ca reer opportunities in chemistry, preparing for college, cold fusion and chemical structure determin ation. In addition to the various pre sentations, which will be repeated throughout the fair, a one-hour “Chemical Demonstration Show” for all age groups will be staged at 10:10 a.m. and again at 12:50 p.m. Supervised “hands-on” experi ments for elementary school stu dents will be conducted from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tours of the new Biochemistry and Biophysics Building, chemis try laboratories, and chemical en gineering labs will be conducted throughout the fair, as well as a teachers’ room providing supple mental classroom materials. Associate Chemistry professor and fair co-coordinator Larry Peck said besides “showing off,” the fair’s purpose is to show stu dents the involvement of chemis try applications in everyday situa tions. Rules for a student essay con test also will be available at the fair. T-shirts will be awarded in grade levels 3-12 for the best es say answering, “Chemistry in Ac tion: How Does it Help Me?” Students attending the fair will have a chance to observe and participate in chemistry experiments and presentations under the leadership of A&M scientists, undergraduates and graduates. Contest rules will be available at the fair and the Chemistry Week display Nov. 4 in Post Oak Mall in College Station. The fair is sponsored by the departments of Chemistry, Bio chemistry and Biophysics and Chemical Engineering, as well as the American Chemical Society and various industrial groups. A schedule of presentation times and locations is available at the fair or by calling Peck at 845- 2356 or Dr. John Hogg at 845- 0520. AJIJL. 4 * * 4 , r ■ ti died SUPERCUTS The Nation’s #1 Hair Styling Salon Now open in Culpepper Plaza! Supercut - $8 • Students & Professors with I.D.-$7 • Children 13 and under-$6 gan’s Introductory Offer for Texas A&M Students & Faculty Texas Ave. Supercuts | Sateway Harvey Rd. $2.00 A Regular $8.00 Supercut with this coupon Expires Nov. 16,1989 Mon.-Fri. 9-9 Sat. 9-8 Sun. 10-6 CALL 696-1155 1519 S. Texas (Between Bennigans and Cowhop Junction) - Culpepper Plaza Ine- G. Rollie White Coliseum Sunday , October 29th at 8 p.m Plenty Of Seats Still Available for $15 at the MSC Box Office for more information call the MSC Box Office (409)845-1234 or for phone orders call 1-800-284-5780 ^^H^HH7alT845^0569 Talh ^Sdhoi >v:s*v *•= .5® geatit V- • :y.- Charlotte Bertrand Becky Brown Julie Broyles Tammy Bullard LaDonna DePriest Kristina Hammer Rhonda Jo Horn Carrie Jett Sharron Melton anls,^ ; - O -v- 3 1 Danielle Moore Paris North Molly O'Connell Echo Philpott Emily Smith Jannine Smith Melissa White Wendy Woody filisa Zak 4 $0* ' 44 V-r-- • • V. - Committee would like tdVvish the best of liick to all? ® the contestants ttithe The Advantage is yours with a Battalion Classified. 24. 1990