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Vol.89 No. 143 USPS 045360 12 Pages College Station, Texas
WEATHER
TOMORROW'S FORECAST:
Mostly cloudy with chance of
drizzle in morning
HIGH: 78 LOW: 68
Tuesday, May 1,1990
Kidnappers release second American hostage
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) —Amer
ican hostage Frank Reed was freed
Monday after being held for 43
"endless” months, much of the time
blindfolded, by Shiite Moslem kid
nappers in Lebanon. He was the sec
ond American freed in nine days.
“I’d like to tell my family, espe
cially my son Tarek, that his daddy is
well. He is a little skinny, but he will
be home very soon,” the 57-year-old
educator from Malden, Mass., told
state-run Syrian TV after his release.
In the Boston suburb of Malden,
Reed’s Syrian Moslem wife, Fahima
“Fifi” Reed, 39, saw her husband on
television and exclaimed, “He looks
great! He’s in a suit. ... I want to see
everybody happy as I am now.”
Reed, who lived in Beirut since
1977, converted to Islam to marry
Fahima. Tarek is their 9-year-old
son.
He was freed in Beirut at 8:30
p.m. (12:30 p.m. CST), Syrian offi
cials said, and was driven to the Syr
ian capital, where Foreign Minister
Farouk al-Sharaa turned him over to
U.S. ambassador Edward Djereiian.
He left Damascus at 2.22*a.m.
Tuesday (6:22 p.m. CST Monday)
on a U.S. military transport plane
headed for the U.S. Air Force Base
at Wiesbaden, West Germany, where
he will undergo medical checks and
a debriefing by a State Department
team.
President Bush hailed Reed’s re
lease as he welcomed former hostage
Robert Polhill to the White House,
another U.S. educator who was
freed in Lebanon on April 22 after
39 months in captivity. Bush
thanked Syria and Iran for their
help in securing the releases and
said “things seem to be moving,” but
that there could be no rest “until all
hostages are free.”
There are still 16 Westerners, in
cluding six Americans, held hostage
in Lebanon.
“I hope this is a forerunner to the
release of the other American hos
tages and the others from other
countries held against their will,”
Bush said.
The Iranian newspaper Tehran
Times said Tuesday that unless
Washington answers the latest re
leases with goodwill gestures, no
more Americans will go free.
Sharaa said at a ministry briefing
featuring Reed, “I hope this second
gesture of good will will be met with
a similar gesture of good will during
the process of releasing the rest of
the hostages.”
Djerejian thanked Syria for its
“active role” in Reed’s release and
made special note of the help from
Iran.
Reed’s kidnappers, who called
themselves the Organization of the
Islamic Dawn in a communique Sun
day that promised Reed’s release
within 48 hours, said he would carry
a message to the U.S. government.
Reed appeared pale and smoked a
cigarette following his release.
At a briefing at the ministry, he
said he could not answer some ques
tions out of concern for the other
hostages — “I do not want to say
anything that could harm them.”
The freed captive appeared in
reasonable health. He was clean-sha
ven, and wore a dark suit and a blue
tie. His voice was husky.
He said he hoped “the other hos
tages” will be freed soon, but would
not say if he saw any of them in cap
tivity. However, Reed referred to
“we” while describing the conditions
of his captivity.
“We had adequate fresh food, and
the opportrunity to bathe and
shower, and were given clean
clothes,” he said.
He told the briefing that although
he was fed well and had warm cloth
ing, “I was not very happy, of
course.”
Reed spoke haltingly at times, his
eyes downcast. “I haven’t talked
much” as a hostage, he explained. “I
feel I’m well in terms of the basic or
gans I have in my body.”
He said he did not hold the Leb
anese people responsible for his or
deal, and that “I want to thank the
Syrian government for all their ef
forts in helping me become a free
man.”
He had an opportunity to bathe,
Reed reported, and was offered the
chance to watch TV occasionally, ex
cept for newscasts — but he refused.
“I hope, Godspeed, that my col
leagues ... somehow will be released
soon,” he concluded.
“I’m very happy to be free ... and I
hope my fellow hostages will be
freed very soon. I want to say to my
family, especially to my son Tarek:
‘Daddy is well ... and will be home
very soon.’”
Photo by Steven M. Noreyko
Students help clear desks and partitions out of afternoon. Construction on the MSC forced stu-
the Student Programs Office in the MSC Monday dent organizations to clear the office.
Texas teachers demonstrate opposition
to Clements ’ promised veto of reform
1 AUSTIN (AP) — Angry teachers chanting “do the-
right thing” picketed the Governor’s Mansion on Mon
day, the eve of a hearing on the state’s apparent failure
tb enact a school finance reform plan as ordered by the
Texas Supreme Court.
I “I think teachers are very angry and very upset and
very frustrated,” said John Cole, president of the Texas
federation of Teachers, whose group organized the
liarch that drew about 300.
I The teachers protested Gov. Bill Clements’ promise
|o veto a proposed half-cent sales tax increase designed
io fund a $555 million school reform plan favored by
the Legislature.
Small school/Page 6
1 “One, two, three. Education is not free,” they chan-
led as they circled the mansion.
Clyde Hemminger, a sixth-grade social studies tea-
her from Fort Worth, shook the locked iron gates and
lid of Clements, “He’s obviously locked the doors to
»e mansion; we’d like to keep the doors to the school-
luseopen.”
Many of the signs brandished by the protesting tea-
ers attacked Clements’ veto promise.
“Hey Bill! Exercise your mind, not your pen,” said
e sign, a reference to the governor’s remark earlier in
day that by marching the teachers “will get a lot of
d exercise.”
'lements wasn’t at the mansion. He started the day
)allas, where he delivered a speech, then flew to
arkana for a Republican political fundraiser.
Dallas, Clements repeated his pledge to quickly
the sales tax increase when lawmakers send it to
The tax bill would boost the levy from 6 cents to
Final exam schedule announced
meeting MWF 1 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
• 8 to 10 a.m. — Classes meet
ing TR 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
• 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. —
Classes meeting MWF 11 a.m.
• 1 to 3 p.m. — Classes meet
ing TR 2 to3:15p:m.
• 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. — Classes
meeting TR 5 to 6:15 p.m.; TR
5:15 to 6:30 p.m. and TR 5:30 to
6:45 p.m.
For information about places
and how to study, staying awake
while studying and fun things to
do while procrastinating, plus
much more, watch for a finals
special section in Wednesday’s
edition of The Battalion.
The following is the final ex
amination schedule.
Final examinations for classes
meeting at times other than those
listed Mow will be scheduled
during the week of finals at a time
agreed upon by the faculty mem
ber and students.
FRIDAY
• 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. —- Classes
meeting MWF 4 p.m.; MW 4 to
5:15 p.m.; MW 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.;
MW 5 to 6:15 p.m.; MW 5:15
p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and MW 5:30 to
6:45 p.m.
• 10 a.m, to noon — Classes
meeting MWF 8 a.m.
• 12:30 to 2:30 p.m, ~~* Classes
meeting TR 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
• 3 to 5 p.m. •— Classes meet
ing TR 11 to 12:15 p.m.
Monday
• 8 to 10 a.m. —Classes meet
ing MWF 9 a.m.
• 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. —
Classes meeting MWF noon
• 1 to 3 p.m. — Classes meet-
ing TR 8 to 9:15 a.m,
• 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. — Classes
meeting MWF 3 p.m.
TUESDAY
• 8 to 10 a.m. Classes meet
ing MWF 10a.m.
• 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. —
Classes meeting MWF 2 p.m.
■ ♦ I to 3 p.m. — Classes meet
ing TR 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.
• 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. — Classes
6Vs cents on the dollar.
However, Clements said, failure to enact a school fi
nance plan by Tuesday’s Supreme Court deadline won’t
have any immediate impact on the state’s 1,100 school
districts. More than $400 million in the April state aid
payments went to schools last Wednesday.
“We don’t really have a problem,” the governor in
sisted. “We have ample funds, and the funds are in
hand to pay the teachers until, I believe, it’s the last two
days of the school year.”
Comptroller Bob Bullock, meanwhile, said he would
comply with the Supreme Court order and freeze edu
cation payments, including nearly $2.7 million in pay
roll checks due Tuesday for the 1,036 Texas Education
Agency employees.
“At the stroke of midnight... state funding for public
education stops unless the governor has signed the bills
passed by the Legislature,” Bullock said.
The Supreme Court last year ruled that the state’s fi
nance system was unfair to property-poor school dis
tricts and ordered the Legislature to overhaul it by
Tuesday. The current $13.5 billion a year method relies
on a combination of state and federal aid and local
property taxes.
The governor insists no additional taxes are needed,
saying other money in the state budget could be used to
fund a less-expensive reform plan.
With no school plan in place, state officials will ap
pear before District Judge Scott McCown, who is over
seeing the case, to explain why no reforms were enacted
by the Supreme Court’s deadline.
Lawmakers and the governor have had seven months
to deal with the problem. The Supreme Court ruled on
)
See Teachers/Page 6
Ribbon-cutting ceremony opens new joint site
Combined B-CS landfills
will lower sanitation fees
By MIKE LUMAN
Special to the Battalion
The cities of Bryan and College
Station begin joint landfill opera
tions today to reduce costs and com
ply with pending Environmental
Protection Agency regulations.
The joint landfill is under the
name of Brazos Valley Solid Waste
Management Agency.
Jim Smith, College Station sanita
tion superintendent, said the Bryan
landfill is full and the College Sta
tion site on Rock Prairie Road will be
used by both cities.
“We started talking with Bryan
about 18 months ago about joining
landfills because of the cost-effec
tiveness both cities could see,” Smith
said.
“We were looking at all costs from
every angle to see what would be
best for the community,” he said.
Smith said the decision means re
duced sanitation fees for Bryan-Col-
lege Station residents.
He said as the size of a landfill in
creases, it costs less to maintain while
still keeping with EPA requirements.
A large portion of a landfill’s ex
penses are based on compliance with
EPA regulations.
Upcoming EPA regulations re
quire a lining of impermeable
material under the waste, daily cov
ering of new waste, and increased
environmental monitoring.
“The College Station landfill was
opened in ’81 and we have contin
ually brought it up to standards with
the new regulations in anticipation,”
Smith said. “(The new EPA regula
tions) won’t affect us.”
Smith said cities, including Mad-
isonville and Navasota, will have to
upgrade or close their landfills.
“We were anticipating some laws
and legislation from the states saying
they want us to regionalize landfills,
so that one large landfill could serve
the population of several counties,”
he said.
Smith said the College Station site
will be good for 10 years. Tentative
plans are in the works to expand the
Bryan landfill and bring it up to
date, which would give the cities an
other 10 years of use.
Smith, however, downplayed its
importance.
“It’s 10 years down the road,” he
said. “Who knows what we’ll be
doing in 10 years. We may be burn
ing, to generate energy. We’re leav
ing ourselves open to all the options
that we have.”
A ribbon cutting ceremony is
scheduled for 1:30 p.m, today at the
College Station landfill.
Bryan Mayor Marvin Tate and
College Station Mayor Larry Ringer
will speak.
Peggy Calliham, College Station
public relations and marketing man
ager, said the event marks a new
level of cooperation between the two
cities.
“It is a big deal from the stand
point of the cities joining their ef
forts and figuring a way to have
landfill space for the next 20 years,”
Calliham said.
“A lot of communities are worried
about where they’re going to put
their trash.”
Court will decide election case
Judge says at-large vote dilutes minority votes
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Judges
shouldn’t represent small districts
because they must interpret the law
impartially, lawyers for Texas dis
trict judges told a federal appeals
court Monday.
“A judge should not be a rep
resentative, nor a representative a
judge,” J. Eugene Clements, rep
resenting Harris County Judge Sha-
rolyn Wood, told a three-judge
panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.
The court is considering whether
to let stand a federal judge’s ruling
that struck down countywide elec
tions of judges in the state’s most
populous counties.
U.S. District Judge Lucius Bunton
of Midland declared last year that
countywide judicial elections in the
Texas’ nine most populous counties
illegally dilute the strength of mi
nority voters.
The appeals court judges did not
indicate when they will rule on the
case, which involves 172 of 390 dis
trict judges — those in Dallas, Har
ris, Bexar, Tarrant, Travis, Lub
bock, Midland, Ector and Jefferson
counties.
At least a half-dozen Texas judges
were in the courtroom Monday.
They arrived early enough to get
seats, but about 20 spectators had to
stand.
“You can’t change the nature of
the office” to increase African-
American and Hispanic voting
strength, said Assistant Attorney
General Renea Hicks.
“It’s a policy issue of even having
single-member districts, since the
oretically a judge is not supposed to
represent people directly — only ...
to interpret law,” Judge Lupe Sali
nas, one of 59 Harris County judges,
said before arguments began.
A judge should not be a
representative, nor a
representative a judge,”
— J. Eugene Clements,
Attorney
Wood, who also is from Houston,
joined the plaintiffs in the lawsuit
filed by the League of United Latin
American Citizens and other mi
nority rights groups, bringing Har
ris County’sjudges into the case.
“Nowhere in the history of the
Voting Rights Act ... and nowhere in
it ... has it ever limited the Voting
Rights Act by the function of the
person being elected,” argued Wil
liam Garrett of Dallas, who rep
resented LULAC.
Under Texas law, district judges
are elected every four years. They
run at-large, with all voters in a
county allowed to vote in every race.
Bunton said the at-large elections
deny Hispanic and African-Ameri
can voters an equal chance to elect
the candidates they want.
Clements argued, however, that
African-Americans and Hispanics
make up more than 5 percent of all
state district judges but 3.8 percent
of all attorneys qualified for the posi
tion.
He and other attorneys also ar
gued that it’s party affiliation, rather
than race, which decides who will
win. Blacks have lost because they
nearly always run as Democrats, and
Republicans, including African-
American Republicans, have been
winning, they said.
Fifth Circuit Judge Patrick Hig
ginbotham of Dallas suggested that
African-Americans who elected a
judge to the court from a single
member district would be very un
likely to appear before that judge.
Under the current system, the judge
at least knows everyone is a constitu
ent, he said.
Gov. Bill Clements failed to add
the issue to the agenda of a mid
winter special session, missing the
original Jan. 3 deadline.