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Texas A&MW*^ m m •
The Battalion
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Vol.89 No.105 USPS 045360 14 Pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, March 1, 1990
Legislators approve
Soviet land reforms
MOSCOW (AP) — Legislators
overwhelmingly approved 'a bill
Wednesday that allows Soviets to ac
quire land and bequeath it to their
children, a major modification ol de
cades of state control of land.
The law, however, stops short of
legalizing full private ownership of
property by strictly forbidding the
sale of land. Under the new law,
plots only can be leased, and the
lease prices will be set by the state.
The measure was part of a com
prehensive package designed to give
the force of law to the economic and
social reforms championed by Presi
dent Mikhail S. Gorbachev. The offi
cial news agency Tass called it “a ma
jor legal document of Soviet
economic reform.”
The law is to serve as the basis for
further legislation by each republic
to regulate land distribution.
State ownership of land, inscribed
in the Soviet Constitution, has been a
cornerstone of communism since the
1917 revolution. But reformers and
economists repeatedly have called
for allowing private ownership as a
way of spurring growth in the trou
bled economy.
In a commentary in Wednesday’s
edition of the newspaper
Komsomolskaya Pravda, economist
Pavel Voshchanov welcomed the re
form as a first step to reversing a sit
uation in which the Soviet Union,
with some of the richest farmland on
Earth, has become a net importer of
food.
The Soviet Constitution says “the
land, its minerals, waters and forests
are the exclusive property of the
state.” The Congress of People’s
Deputies, the Supreme Soviet’s par
ent body, will be asked to change the
Constitution when it meets March
12.
By altering the Constitution and
allowing the roughly 23 million peo
ple employed on the 26,000 collec
tive and 23,000 state farms to ac
quire plots, the Kremlin leadership
hopes to raise farm productivity,
which is notoriously low op those
farms.
Rural families already produce
one-fourth of the country’s gross ag
ricultural production, including
nearly 30 percent of the meat, milk
and eggs on individual plots they are
allowed to exploit.
In a poll published Wednesday in
Phone call
helps unite
world leaders
NEW YORK (AP) — President
Bush telephoned Soviet leader
Mikhail S. Gorbachev Wednesday
for a “very constructive” and
frank discussion on the political
shakeup in Nicaragua, where the
Kremlin is credited with helping
promote an honest election.
In what was believed to be only
their third telephone conversa
tion, the two leaders also dis
cussed issues of European secu-
r i t y , including German
reunification, and preparations
for a superpower summit this
summer, according to U.S. ac
counts and the Soviet news
agency Tass.
Bush called the Soviet presi
dent before setting out on a cross
country campaign trip, with stops
at New York’s Staten Island and
San Francisco, and a weekend
meeting in Palm Springs, Calif.,
with Japanese Prime Minister To-
shiki Kaifu.
“From Moscow to Managua,
change is in the air,” Bush said in
remarks prepared for a speech in
San Francisco at a fund-raiser for
Republican Sen. Pete Wilson,
running for governor.
Bush said, “The world has un
dergone another upheaval, but
this time there is no war and
there are fewer tyrants in the
world than before.”
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In spite of the rain, Advertising Graphics Inc. workers replace light
bulbs on the new Olsen Field sign. The Aggies are scheduled to
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
play a three-game series here against the Louisiana State Uni
versity Tigers this weekend, starting Friday at 3 p.m.
Study: Alcohol use ordinary
Student drug use at A&M below U.S. average
By KEVIN M. HAMM
Of The Battalion Staff
the newspaper Iz.vestia, 40 percent
of those queried said they were eager
to become individual farmers.
The Supreme Soviet legislature
first voted separately on each chap
ter of the 52-article measure, then
approved the entire law' 349-7 with
12 abstentions. The full Congress of
People’s Deputies must now approve
it.
Wednesday’s four-hour session
was the third time the Supreme So
viet considered the proposed so-
called Law on Land.
If you’ve stopped by Duddley’s
Draw or the Dixie Chicken lately for
a beer, you’re in good company at
Texas A&M. According to an April
1989 survey conducted by the Cen
ter for Drug Prevention and Educa
tion, nine out of 10 A&M students
have had an alcoholic beverage at
some time, while 68 percent have
been intoxicated at one point in their
lives.
The survey was distributed to
1,000 students, and any reference to
Texas A&M’s total population is a
statistical inference.
While the thought of 90 percent
of students, more than 32,000, try
ing a drink at one time or another is
a staggering statistic, it is by no
means out of the ordinary, said Dr.
Dennis J. Reardon, CDPE coordina
tor. He said the average at other
schools around the country is be
tween 85 and 95 percent.
Also, 87 percent of students sur
veyed said their first use of alcohol
was before age 18, up from 65 per
cent in the 1988 study, with the ma-
- —<B»SaaSiS5Ba*w—_ __
Graphic by Tim Austin
jority of students reporting their
first use between ages 15 and 17.
According to the study, 19 per
cent of students surveyed had
abstained from alcohol in the past
year, down from 25 percent in the
previous year’s study.
Reardon said the April 1989 sur
vey was the second annual study the
CDPE conducted as part of a
$120,000 grant from the U.S. De
partment of Education. The Univer
sity also contributes funds for the
center.
The study did report one statistic
that is out of the national mains
tream, Reardon said. According to
the study, 14 percent of students
surveyed, or more than 5,000 at
A&M, have used marijuana in the
past year, down from 16 percent in
the previous year’s study. A 1988
study by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse reported 37 percent of
the general population has used
marijuana, he said.
Reardon said A&M’s low usage
rate may be a result of its tradition of
conservatism, drawing students
from strong family and community
backgrounds. People come to Texas
A&M to work, he said, it doesn’t
See Study/Page 8
Quake hits Southern California, causes minor damage
UPLAND, Calif. (AP) — A strong earth-
i quake rocked a 200-mile stretch of Southern
j California on Wednesday, triggering rock
j slides onto highways, breaking windows, top
pling books from shelves and causing minor
structural damage.
There were no immediate reports of se
rious injuries from the quake, which was felt
from San Diego to Santa Barbara and swayed
high-rise buildings in Las Vegas, 230 miles
northeast of Los Angeles.
It measured 5.5 on the Richter scale, and
was centered three miles northwest of
Upland, a city about 40 miles east of Los An
geles, said Hall Daily of the California Insti
tute of Technology in Pasadena.
The U.S. Geological Survey gave the same
magnitude, but a preliminary reading by Uni
versity of California Seismographic Stations
at Berkeley put the magnitude at 6.0. Such
measuring differences are common. A quake
of magnitude 5.5 is capable of causing consid
erable damage.
Scattered damage was reported in the re
gion east of Los Angeles.
A small rock slide on Interstate 10 in Po
mona, not far from the epicenter, triggered
minor accidents, the Highway Patrol said.
Another small rockslide closed the road
through Soledad Canyon, 35 miles northwest
of Los Angeles.
The main shock was followed by at least six
aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 or greater
within 45 minutes, said Riley Geary, seismic
analyst at Caltech.
Operators of the San Onofre Nuclear Gen
erating Station just south of San Clemente re
ported an “unusual event” to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
Both reactors at the plant continued to run
and power supply was uninterrupted, said
Edison spokesman Bob Coodlow. An “un
usual event” is the lowest of four emergency
designations for nuclear plants.
Phone service to thousands of customers
was disrupted, but a Pacific Bell representa
tive said it was likely caused by callers jam
ming lines.
“It felt like somebody picked up the build
ing and dropped it a couple of times,” said
police Lt. Don Manning at the station in
nearby Ontario, where false ceilings fell.
Broken windows and minor structural
damage were reported in Ontario, Manning
said, the worst to an old three-story brick the
ater and office building.
Alcohol intake
claims life of
5-year-old
FORT WORTH (AP) — A 5-
year-old boy who drank 10
ounces of bourbon, allegedly at
the urging of an adult, died
Wednesday morning less than 12
hours after doctors removed him
from a respirator.
Raymond Thomas Griffin II,
known as “Tinky,” died at Cook-
Fort Worth Children’s Medical
Center at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday,
almost 11 hours after his family
agreed (o disconnect the life sup
port system that had kept him al
ive. Doctors said he had suffered
irreversible brain damage.
Police and prosecutors were
discussing upgrading the charges
Wednesday against Anthony Dar-
ron Jimerson, 21, of Forest Hills,
who told the boy to drink the al
cohol at a gathering Friday night,
Everman Police Det. J.D. Brown
said. He said he did not anticipate
new charges immediately.
Jimerson was being held in the
Tarrant County Jail Wednesday
on $100,000 bail on a felony
charge of injury to a child. The
charge carries a maximum 99-
year prison term.
It was not clear whether the
boy’s mother, Patricia Griffin, 31,
knew that the boy was being given
liquor, or whether she found out
later, after Raymond became ill.
Brown said doctors couldn’t
say for certain, but indicated they
might have been able to help the
boy if he had been brought in
sooner.
Sorority donates painting of King
By KEVIN M. HAMM
Of The Battalion Staff
I have a dream that one day
this nation will rise up and live
out the true meaning of its creed:
Tfe hold these truths to be self-
evident; that all men are created
equal"
With Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s words still echoing in peo
ple’s minds after a showing of his
“I Have a Dream” speech, Dr.
John J. Koldus accepted a por
trait of the civil rights leader pre
sented to the University by Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
The portrait was given to the
University Wednesday during a
presentation entitled “Dream
On” to commemorate the end of
Black History Month. The pre
sentation was sponsored by the Xi
Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Al
pha Sorority Inc.
Demetra Andrews, president
of the sorority, urged those in at
tendance to keep King's dream of
peaceful coexistence and equality
alive.
“Black History Month is a spe
cial time set aside for us to recog
nize and remember our African-
American heritage,” she said.
“It’s a very vital and vibrant part
of our history and we should em
brace it very tightly.
“Let us strive to keep Black
History Month alive, not only
during the month of February,
but also throughout the year. Let
us strive to become keepers of Dr.
King’s dream,, and let us strive to
Photo by Fredrick D.Joe
Patrice Simmons, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. member, presents a
portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Dr. John J. Koldus.
create and to maintain equality
and justice for all.
"Let us embrace tightly Dr.
King’s dream while we dream for
ourselves. And I charge you to
night to dream the dream of Dr.
King. To dream the dream of
love, the dream of peace. To
dream the dream of equality and
justice.
“In essence, to dream on.”
After the portrait was unveiled
to a standing ovation, Koldus,
vice president of the Department
of Student Services, thanked the
sorority on behalf of Texas A&M
President William Mobley and
the University.’
“It’s a wonderful gift, and one
which will serve as a remem
brance to all who pass through
these halls that the message Dr.
King gave with, and through, his
life was that each and every one
of us has a responsibility to be
compassionate, understanding
and to be helpful to his fellow
man,” Koldus said.
“His statement was not that I,
nor you, but that we shall over
come,” he said. “It’s a collective
thing that should ring through
the heart and mind of each hu
man being.”
Koldus said everyone should
live with King’s spirit, helping all
people around them.
“As with his life, each human
being can make a difference,” he
said. “One can have an impact on
the lives of those with whom he or
she comes in contact with. And
like a ripple upon the water, that
small ripple can spread itself
upon the much larger body of
water.
“Dr. King touched the fives of
many people. And like Dr. King,
if we are committed, each of us
can make a contribution touching
the lives of others in a very posi
tive, loving and understanding
manner.
“It is through such efforts (as
Black History Month programs)
that we can all become more
knowledgeable and understand
ing about the diversity of the cul
tures and all the peoples of the
world.”
The portrait will hang in the
Sterling C. Evans library until
Memorial Student Center reno
vations are completed, Koldus
said. At that time, it probably will
be moved into the MSC.
Advisory committee
hears student ideas
By STACY ALLEN
Of The Battalion Staff
It’s not often you see Texas A&M
President William Mobley and
Board of Regents members having
lunch in Sbisa. But students eating
between noon and 1 p.m. Wednes
day had the opportunity to speak
with the big guys on a one-on-one
basis.
Members of the Committee on
Academic Campuses Advisory Panel
on Undergraduate Education at
A&M had lunch in Sbisa in an effort
to talk with and get input from stu
dents about the concerns they have,
said Regent Doug DeCluitt, chair
man of the committee.
. The advisory committee consists
of Board of Regents members, stu
dent leaders, former students, fac
ulty members and parents.
“We believe the best way to ad
dress concerns people have is to get
them out in the open and talk about
them,” DeCluitt said. “This is a
broadly based advisory committee,
so hopefully we can get a range of
views discussed.”
DeCluitt said the committee con
cerns itself with the affairs of all the
academic campuses in the A&M sys
tem. He said the Board of Regents
decided last year to spend time this
academic year looking at the general
question of undergraduate educa
tion at A&M.
In the fall, DeCluitt said the
Board of Regents gave students at
each institution in the A&M system a
chance to voice their concerns at
hearings which helped Regents by
giving them insight into student
problems.
“We heard several things at A&M
that led us to believe some topics
needed to be discussed,” DeCluitt
said.
Some of the topics DeCluitt men
tioned were a perceived conflict
among professors concerning teach
ing and research, whether profes
sors are rewarded for teaching and
the adequacy and effectiveness of
student advising.
Mobley said the lunch with stu
dents was a good idea because it gave
students an opportunity to talk with
members of the committee on an in
formal basis.
He said the committee will con
tinue to try and make itself accessible
to students in the future by doing a
number of more systematic things,
including surveys. Currently, Mob
ley said a survey of employers is be
ing conducted so the committee can
get a better understanding of what
employers think about the A&M un
dergraduate program compared
with other undergraduate programs
in the nation.
Bill Clayton, Board of Regents
member, said he couldn’t think of a
better way to get input from stu
dents than to have lunch with them.
“Our main concern is to make
sure that students are getting the ed
ucation they expected they would
See Lunch/Page 8