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I Vol. 89 No. 173 USPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas
Predicting the future
Officials discuss possible
Southwest Conference
expansion.
See Sports, Page 5
Tuesday, July 17,1990
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Michele Dohner, senior business analysis major while Christi Clinger, senior food science major
from Houston, gets tackled by Sally Hall, senior from Dallas, looks on. They were playing mud
biomedical science major from League City, football Monday on Simpson Drill field.
Manila earthquake traps
hundreds beneath rubble
Professor visiting Manila
sees reactions to quake
By JULIE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
The deadly earthquake that
struck the Philippines about 3:30
a.m. CDT Monday didn’t keep
Dr. Richard Shafer from teaching
a graduate class at the University
ofthe Philippines.
Shafer, a journalism professor
at Texas A&M, is visiting the Phil
ippines this summer alter a five
year absence.
“The buildings were shaking
hard —> really hard, but univer
sity students here are very sophis
ticated and reacted pretty calm
ly,” Shafer said Monday
afternoon in a phone call to The
Battalion office.
Because the earthquake struck
during the commute to his 5 p.m.
class, Shafer said he wondered
whether he should go at all. He
said he wasn’t able to find out if
he was supposed to teach that
day.
When he arrived at the College
of Mass Communication, two stu
dents were waiting for class to be
gin.
Shafer attributed the calm at
mosphere to the absence of rub
ble or collapsed buildings in their
area.
Although his students re
mained calm, Shafer said, many
others did not.
“For the most part, if someone
panicked, everyone panicked,” he
said.
Shafer’s wife, Jill, was the last
See Shafer/Page 6
MANILA, Philippines (AP) —
The strongest earthquake to hit the
Philippines in 14 years jolted Manila
and surrounding Luzon Island
Monday, killing at least 108 people.
Hundreds were reported injured in
collapsed buildings.
Nearly 1,000 people were be
lieved trapped in four luxury hotels,
factories and government offices in
the mountain resort of Baguio,
where scores of structures were
heavily damaged.
In Baguio, radio station DZWT
said 23 more people were killed
when the commerce building at the
University of Baguio collapsed. Offi
cials in Manila could not confirm the
report because telephone lines were
down.
U.S. officials said those injured in
Baguio, 110 miles north of Manila,
were being transported to American
military hospitals at nearby Camp
John Hay and Clark Air Base.
Rescue efforts were hampered by
poor communications and lack of
equipment.
Roads to Baguio were blocked by
landslides and the airport was closed
due to poor visibility and damage to
the runway, officials said.
The U.S. Geological Survey in
Golden, Colo., registered the quake
at 7.7 oh the Richter scale. There
were numerous tremors after the
quake hit about 4:30 p.m.
The June 21 earthquake in Iran
registered 7.3 to 7.7 and killed at
least 40,000 people.
At least 150 people were believed
trapped in the Hyatt Hotel in Ba
guio, a favorite with foreign tourists.
The military said 800 more were be
lieved trapped in a government
building in the Baguio Export Proc
essing Zone.
U.S. officials said there were un
confirmed reports that an American
was killed in Baguio.
In Washington, the State Depart
ment said it was investigating several
reports of deaths or injuries to
American government officials.
In Manila, which together with
surrounding areas has a population
of about 8 million, numerous build
ings were slightly damaged and one
fire broke out in the city’s Santa
Cruz district. Two people were
killed.
Thousands were sent fleeing into
the streets.
President Corazon Aquino, who
was meeting senators in her office at
the time, took cover under a table,
said her spokesman, Adolf Azcuna.
She ordered the military to launch
an islandwide rescuer operation and
closed schools throughout the area
Tuesday.
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Professor warns of diseases from pests
By ISSELLE MCALLISTER
Of The Battalion Staff
Mosquito bites in the summer have become
something of a Texas tradition, but these pesky
little creatures are more than just irritating.
Large numbers of mosquitoes this season can
spread dangerous diseases in the areas where
they live and breed, Dr. Jim Olson, a professor in
Texas A&M’s Department of Entomology, said.
Every year, mosquitoes threaten Houston and
surrounding areas with encephalitis.
Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain
caused by a virus carried by birds, he explained.
The disease attacks the central nervous system
and can result in paralysis or even death.
Although household pets are safe from the vi
rus, it can attack horses and have devastating ef
fects, Olson said.
But horses have an advantage, he added. They
can be vaccinated — humans cannot.
Tourists and illegal immigrants also carry dis
eases like malaria and yellow fever which spread
via mosquito, he said. The more mosquitoes there
are, the more danger there is.
The mosquito population is so high in this area
because of flooding in rice production areas, he
said.
Texas is a major rice producer, and it is the
third most important export grain in the state, he
said.
Texas rice is farmed in the area from around
Victoria up to the Louisiana border, and the
Houston area is right in the center of it.
There are two types of mosquitoes — floodwa-
ter and standing water mosquitoes. Both kinds
multiply in flooded rice fields.
Floodwater mosquitoes lay their eggs in nor
mally dry areas subject to periodic flooding, he
said. These areas can be rice fields, depressions
in the soil such as hoofprints and artificial con
tainers such as flowerpots.
Olson said the eggs can survive for more than
a year waiting for the right flooding conditions to
occur.
Once it floods, “instant mosquitoes,” he said,
^s can hatch within 10 to 15 minutes.
)n the other hand, standing water mosquitoes
lay their eggs on the surface of standing water.
Tney hatch 24 to 48 hours after the eggs are laid.
Rice farmers flood the fields and let the water
stand, even in times of drought, he said, so there
is mosquito activity all year.
Olson’s past research indicates rice fields and
depressions in the soil can harbor up to 5 million
mosquito eggs per.acre. He said about 5 to 6 mil
lion acres are devoted to rice and other crops ro
tated with rice.
Even though 60 to 80 pefcent of the mosquito
eggs and larvae are destroyed before reaching
adulthood, the amount left is still staggering.
This is where Olson focuses his research.
He directs a national program with scientists
from the University of California at Davis, Uni
versity of California at Berkley, University of Ar
kansas, Louisiana State University, Mississippi
State University and the U.S. Department of Ag
riculture.
These scientists seek to determine what is al
ready naturally controlling the mosquito popula
tion, so they can add to it, he said.
The scientists want to destroy the mosquitoes
without disrupting the agriculture and hurting
the economy.
They have made a few advances, but mosqui
toes still pose a health threat.
Mosquitoes are night feeders, so Olson offers
this advice:
“Fix your window screens, make sure your air
conditioner works, get a copy of TV Guide and
don’t go outside in the evening.”
Services held
for student
last Saturday
Texas A&M student and Corps
of Cadets member Justin D.
Spencer died Wednesday in San
Antonio.
Spencer, 20, was a sophomore
business administration major
from San Antonio. He was a
member of Army Company E-1.
Funeral services were Satur
day.
Storms, floods harass Texans
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Down
town shopkeepers mopped mud and
smelly water out of their businesses
Monday after showers dumped up
to 14 inches of rain here, stranding
people in their cars and forcing
evacuations elsewhere in South Cen
tral Texas.
In Kerrville and Leming, resi
dents cleaned up from tornadoes
that touched down Sunday as storms
swept South Central Texas. Six peo
ple were taken to hospitals from a
tornado that touched down in a resi
dential section of Kerrville. No one
was seriously injured, officials said.
Rain continued to fall in San An
tonio Monday and the National
Weather Service issued flash flood
warnings for Dimmit, Zavala and At
ascosa counties.
“All over town in the low-lying
areas they are evacuating people,”
Jenny Garcia, a Dimmit County
Sheriffs Department dispatcher in
Carrizo Springs, said. “All morning
long it’s been somebody stuck here,
somebody stuck there.”
Evacuation shelters were set up in
Zavala and Dimmit counties, where
flood waters closed several roads,
authorities said.
The National Weather Service
said up to 14 inches of rain hit
Alamo Plaza in San Antonio and
11.8 inches fell in the Harlandale
section.
Downtown shopkeepers arrived
Monday to find merchandise swept
away and water soaking what was
left.
Further south in Atascosa County,
people in a mobile home park were
cleaning up Monday from a twister
or twisters that demolished five mo
bile homes. No injuries were re
ported, sheriff’s department
spokeswoman Ann Gates, said.
German unification clears Soviet hurdle
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MOSCOW (AP) — The Soviet Union on Mon
day dropped its objection to a united Germany’s
membership in NATO, clearing one of the most
difficult remaining hurdles to German unifica
tion.
President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and West Ger
man Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced the
agreement in a televised news conference from
Gorbachev’s home region, Stavropol in southern
Russia. The area was one of the deepest points of
German penetration during World War II.
The announcement capped several months of
intense diplomatic maneuvering, during which
Germany backed a $3 billion bank loan to Mos
cow and pushed its allies for a comprehensive
plan to bail out the crumbling Soviet economy.
The agreement, reached in just two days of
talks in Moscow and at a country home in Arkhyz
in the Caucasus Mountains, made it likely the two
German states could complete unification by De
cember.
“A unified Germany, in exercising its unre
stricted sovereignty freely and by itself, decides if
and which alliances to which it wants to belong,”
Kohl said, reading a joint statement.
He said he had told Gorbachev that a united
Germany wants to be part of NATO, and that he
was sure East Germany agreed.
“Unified Germany receives complete sover
eignty,” Gorbachev told the news conference. “It
has the right to use this sovereignty to make its
choice ... meaning its variant of social devel
opment, and meaning what it would like to be a
part of, what blocs to support.”
In Washington, President Bush praised Gor
bachev’s remarks.
“This comment demonstrates statesmanship
and strengthens efforts to build enduring
relationships based on cooperation,” Bush said in
a written statement.
The British Foreign Office called the Soviet
change “an extremely positive development in
Soviet thinking.”
Kohl and Gorbachev also reached agreement
on other contentious issues:
• They agreed to begin negotiations on the
complete withdrawal of Soviet soldiers from what
is now East German territory. The approxi
mately 380,000 soldiers should be withdrawn in
three to four years, they said.
• The army of a united Germany, during the
same period, will be reduced to 370,000 soldiers.
Currently, the two Germanys have about 600,000
men under arms, 480,000 in the West.
• No NATO forces will be stationed on the
territory of what is now East Germany while So
viet forces are still there. But German soldiers
not integrated into the NATO command may be
stationed there as soon as unification is com
pleted.
• The rights of the four victorious World War
II powers — France, the United States, Britain
and the Soviet Union — will cease immediately
upon unification. But Western forces may re
main in Berlin as long as Soviet soldiers stay in
any part of the country.
Although there are no such guarantees in the
agreement, Gorbachev said the Soviet Union
hopes that after it withdraws from East German
territory “nuclear weapons will not appear, for
eign soldiers will not appear, so that the budding
trust, the responsibility we have toward each
other and toward Europeans, can be preserved.”
Officials investigate spill
By SEAN FRERKING
Of the Battalion Staff
Texas A&M officials suspect crim
inal mischief led to an oil spill discov
ered during the weekend on the
south side of campus.
Robert Stiteler, director of A&M’s
Safety and Health Office, said one
E atch of oil was found in the ditch
:ading from the southside parking
garage construction site. He also said
nine patches of oil were discovered
in Bee Creek Park.
Stiteler said the spill was small and
relatively easy to clean up.
“We finished the cleanup on Sa
turday,” Stiteler said. “The spill
shouldn’t cause any problems in the
ditch or the park.”
Stiteler said the preliminary re
port about the incident stated the
spill was about 20 gallons of hy
draulic oil.
He said a sample of the spill was
sent to an A&M lab for further anal
ysis.
In the meantime, officials from
the safety and health office will con
tinue to question construction work
ers and other people who may have
been in the area to try to determine
the source of the spill, Stiteler said.
“Right now, all we can do is ask
around (about the spill),” Stiteler
said. “We probably won’t be able to
find the source, but we’ll keep
looking.”
Stiteler said the oil apparently was
dumped into a drain near the park
ing garage. He said the spill then
leaked into the ditch south of the
construction site and was carried
into Bee Creek Park.
Stiteler said he does not know if
the spill was dumped to damage
University grounds or if it was due
to the negligence of a construction
worker.
“We don’t know if it was a crimi
nal act or just an accident,” Stiteler
said. “Until we complete our investi
gation, we can’t rule anything out.”
He said the final analysis of the oil
should be completed in a few days,
but he did not know when the final
investigation would be finished.
Republican candidate
backs rapid turnover
ByJAMES LOVE
Of The Battalion Staff
Republican candidate for state
representative Steve Ogden will sup-
ort a rapid turnover rate among
ouse and senate officials if elected
to office.
Ogden spoke during a noon press
conference Monday at the Brazos
County Republican Party Headquar
ters.
Ogden said the maximum term
for a Texas representative should be
six years, while state senators’ terms
should not exceed three years.
He said the state needs new ideas
of new officials to maintain the ef
fectiveness of the Senate.
“An official in the Senate for
more than three years is part of the
problem more than the solution,” he
said.
“If a House or Senate member
can come up with no new ideas after
12 years in office, then it’s because
they have become too comfortable
with the way things are,” Ogden
said.
He said it is good to constantly
bring in new people who have fresh
ideas and values. He compared his
views with that of a naval vessel.
“The Navy is able to keep an old
ship in great condition because they
are constantly changing every staff
member on board within three
years,” he said.
With the present system, Ogden
said challengers don’t have a chance
against those who have been in of
fice for 13 years. Therefore, no new
ideas can get in, he said.
Battalion file photo
Steve Ogden
“We need to make politics more
competitive,” he said. “Competition
has always produced quality goods in
business, and we also learn impor
tant lessons from competition.”
Ogden said he wants to represent
the people of Brazos County, but the
people must say enough is enough
and decide they want constraints in
the Legislature.
Ogden also announced that his
campaign budget is balanced and
said he is not accepting more than
$500 dollar donations from individ
uals.
Ogden said he is doing this for
three reasons — he believes his cam
paign should be run like govern
ment ought to be, each individual’s
donation should not be treated as
meager next to someone’s larger do
nation, and he is comfortable with
the limit.
“I believe business gets more effi
cient when revenues are tight,” he
said. “My campaign should be run
that way too.”