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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1990)
Texas A&M m m V • The Battalion The wait is over Lady Ag spiker returns to court See Page 8 I Vol. 90 No. 5 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas Friday, September 7,1990 Bush prepares video message, extols chance to address Iraq FOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — President Bush will ac- :ept Saddam Hussein’s offer to broadcast a mes- iage to Iraq, but only on his own terms, Bush’s spokesman said Thursday. The president will nake a tape in lieu of an interview with an Iraqi TV crew. “It’s a real opportunity,” Bush said of Sad- iam’s offer to televise the U.S. leader’s com- nents. Bush’s spokesman said the president had ‘a very distinct message” to give the Iraqi people ibout American reasons for the massive military buildup in the Persian Gulf. Iraqi Ambassador Mohamed al-Mashat said in Washington that “of course” Iraqi TV would air Bush’s message “in its entirety without editing. Here you edit, in Iraq we do not edit.” On another topic, looking ahead to this week end’s superpower summit, Bush said he will use the meeting not only to discuss the Persian Gulf with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev but to press for a quick resolution to strategic arms talks. Before embarking on a one-day political trip to Kansas and Florida on Thursday, Bush spoke by telephone with a number of world leaders on the gulf situation and his upcoming meeting with Gorbachev. They included Syrian President Ha fez al-Assad, Turkish President Turgut Ozal, French President Francois Mitterrand and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the White House said. He also called United Nations Secretary-Gen eral Javier Perez de Cuellar to thank him for his unsuccessful try at resolving the Gulf crisis in talks last week in Iraq. Bush also met Thursday with Israel’s visiting foreign minister, David Levy in Washington. The president did not comment further on the offer to address the Iraqi people, but his press secretary. Marlin Fitzwater, said the White House would be happy to tape a message of 10 or 15 minutes. Naji al-Hadithi, director general of Iraq’s In formation Ministry, said in Baghdad that an Iraqi television crew was ready to go to Washington to interview Bush for a broadcast on state-run tele vision. Fitzwater said that wouldn’t be necessary — “we’ll produce it ourselves.” “Although we have not heard from Iraq di rectly, we accept their offer of a broadcast to the Iraqi people,” Fitzwater told reporters accompa nying Bush on Air Force One. “The president will tape a message to the Iraqi people in the next few days which will be provided to the Iraqi in formation minister.” Bush has said he wished he could have the me dia access in Iraq that Saddam has had on U.S. television. The Iraqi president’s statements and appearances have been broadcast widely, many of them on live and unedited CNN reports. “The president has a very distinct message that he wants to give to the people of Iraq about our purpose for being in the Gulf. He thinks this is a good opportunity,” Fitzwater said. On a separate matter, Fitzwater said that there is no new economic package for the Soviet Union in the offing, although the Sunday summit meet ing in Helsinki will offer a chance to talk about “technical assistance.” He had said on Wednesday that because of So viet cooperation in the United Nations-led sanc tions against Iraq, Bush was willing to look anew at potential financial aid for the ailing Soviet economy. Fitzwater noted Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher was leading a team of American busi ness executives to Moscow to discuss investment opportunities. Cain addition bids exceed estimate By TROY HALL Of The Battalion Staff Construction bids for the Cain Hall addition were higher than expected, said Maj. Gen. Wesley Peel, vice chancellor for facilities and planning of the Texas A&M University System. The low bid of $771,000, pre sented by Chappell Hill Con struction Co. of Brenham, was approximately $63,500 higher than an estimate provided by Em mett Trant and Associates, an ar chitecture and engineering firm. The 4,031 -square-foot addition will provide a computer lab, study cubicles and tutorial areas for male and female athletes, who presently have no area for aca demic support. The expansion plans also in clude renovation of the kitchen and dining facilities to accomo date 80 to 100 female athletes who will be assigned to dine in Cain Hall, Moffatt Adams, chief architect for the facilities and planning division of the System, said. “The kitchen facilities were de signed 20 years ago and have been in operation fi>r 17 years,” Adams said. “Since then, we haven’t done a thing to upgrade the kitchen or the dining facili ties. “We have been working with Lloyd Smith, director of food services, to bring Cain Hall up to date with Sbisa, Duncan Hall and the Commons.” He said the plans also provide for more serving space to ensure better service. The Board of Regents must approve the bid by Chappell Hill Construction Co. at its meeting in October before construction will begin. The estimated cost of the en tire project is $1 million and should be completed in Fall 1991. Survival is awareness Students more cautious ■after gruesome slayings . BySUZANNE CALDERON DfThe Battalion Staff The recent murders of five stu dents at the University of Florida in Gainesville have heightened stu dents' awareness of personal safety 3n college campuses nationwide. Although some students at UF are sacking handguns for protection, Texas A&M students with safety concerns have some protection op tions when on campus, but hand guns are not one of them. It is illegal to carry handguns in Texas, but self-defense items such as dace, stun guns and tear gas canis- ers are legal, Bob Wiatt, director of he University Police Department aid. Even though these items are legal, itizens using Mace, stun guns or ear gas canisters are accountable for heir actions, Wiatt said. Wiatt stressed the importance of >eing familiar with any type of self- lefense item before using it. This prevents misuse and enables effec tive use in times of danger. “If a person has any kind of weap onry, like martial arts ability, tear gas, a hat pin or a fingernail file they are familiar with and feel they could use in a moment of being attacked, then it’s naturally going to be of ben efit to them,” Wiatt said. “Anything a person is familiar with and stands ready to use, I would think that’s very prudent,” he said. One self-defense item is tear gas, available in a liquid as chemical Mace or as a gas in a small canister. Karen Fletcher is president of Houston’s RKJ Enterprises, distribu tors of a personal-sized tear gas can ister called Curb. She said this is one of the First times tear gas canisters have been available to the public. Senior Officer Walter Sayers, with College Station Police’s Crime Pre vention Unit, said liquid tear gas is known as the chemical brand Mace and has been available to the public for as long as he can remember. He said other repellents include concoc tions with red pepper. A sergeant with the Brazos County Sheriffs Department said Mace can be shot in a directed stream but tear gas cannot be con tained to one direction and will en gulf an area. While Fletcher said tear gas is more effective than other defense sprays on the market because the gas does not have to hit the attacker in the face to work, Sayers warned it can affect the user. “You might have a reaction vio lent enough to render yourself dis abled and what good will that do you?” Sayers said. “If you’re in a panic and not thinking about the way the-wind is blowing, you’re going to be com pletely defenseless,” he continued. “It’s the same way with a stun gun. If you accidently put it against your skin, you’re going to be in a predi cament.” Sayers said if people are going to use these types of defenses, they should be trained and certified to use them to their advantage. He said users are liable if attackers are in jured because of a weapon’s use against them. Wiatt said all the weapons in the world won’t help in an emergency situation if they are not available at that moment. This makes awareness the best defense, he said. He said rather than taking courses in martial arts or weaponry, people need to follow common sense aware ness. This includes not walking alone at night, staying away from dark areas and not opening the door to strang ers. “The exercise of ccfmmon sense and awareness that there could be problems anywhere in this world — that is the best defense from any kind of attacker,” he said. Panel plans to issue fraud allegations report By STACY ALLEN Of The Battalion Staff A report by a scientific admin istrative panel appointed to re view Texas A&M’s cold fusion ex perimentation will be issued in three to four weeks, an A&M offi cial said. A controversy erupted Wednesday after a Dallas Morn ing News article referred to the review as an investigation of fraud in cold fusion experiments. The newspaper article quoted a June 15 Science magazine article that suggested A&M’s cold fusion experimentation might have been tainted ty fraud. Science charged A&M officials with doing little to investigate the allegations. The Morning News article stated A&M officials would sub mit results of a report this week after the University decided to conduct an inquiry when media members became concerned. A&M Provost E. Dean Gage said the Dallas Morning News ar ticle was not true and denied an investigation was being con ducted. “It is not a formal investigation into cold fusion fraud,” he said. “It's a review into what we are doing in cold fusion throughout the University.” Gage said he did not know what the results of the report would be and believed it was int er to speculate, have no idea at this point, and I have had no preliminary in formation given to me by the panel,” he said. Gage would not specify who composed the panel, but the Morning News article said rep resentatives included a nuclear chemist, a physicist and a nuclear engineer. Bus incident Photo by Fredrick D.Joe Charlie Falco, dispatcher for bus operations, examines an A&M Ireland streets across from the Bus Stop Snack Bar. The driver of shuttle bus trapped against a tree at the intersection of Ross and the bus took a right turn too sharply. APO helps reroof elderly Bryan woman’s house By BILL HETHCOCK Of The Battalion Staff Spending a Saturday reroofing a house isn’t most people’s idea of fun, but that’s what mem bers of Alpha Phi Omega will be doing this week end. About 20 APO members will join Elder Aid, a non-profit organization that assists elderly peo ple in the community, and reroof a Bryan wom an’s house, Sara Loeppart of Elder Aid said. Several professors also will help out on the project, she said. Mike Bradley, president of APO, said the woman approached several government and community organizations before she went to Elder Aid, but none of them would help with the expense and labor of reroofing her house. Then she asked Elder Aid for assistance, and APO, a service-oriented fraternity, was con tacted, Bradley said. “Her roof has been leaking into her house for some time now, and we’re going to go fix it for her,” Bradley said. He said the materials for the project will cost $400. About half is being donated by the A&M Methodist Church, and trie rest is being funded by a local builder. Bradley said the project will take about five or six hours. Some of the students who signed up to help have roofing experience, and the professors who volunteered also have construction experi ence, Bradley said. The reroofing project is one of the community service activities APO will participate in this year, Bradley said. He said the fraternity plans to put in 10,000 to 12,000 hours of community service this semester. Another project the group has planned in cludes a “super dance” to raise money for muscu lar dystrophy. It also will supply the labor for campus blood drives. The fraternity also provides a babysitting pro gram for faculty and staff, helps with Special Olympics in the spring, and participates in clean up projects in parks and graveyards. “The purpose is to go out and have fun while we do these projects and get a good feeling from what we do,” Bradley said. “It’s a great opportu nity to practice leadership skills by helping to or ganize projects.” The A&M chapter of APO has 130 active members. Anyone interested in joining APO should at tend Sunday’s meeting at 8 p.m. in 701 Rudder. Official dispels traditional A&M myths By KATHERINE COFFEY Of The Battalion Staff No one knows how rumors start, but Texas A&M students sometimes fabricate and circulate myths that are not true. Questions stemming from rumors often are raised in students’ minds. These include: “If a professor is 15 minutes or more late for a class, can students leave?” or “Do you really get a 4.0 grade point ratio if your roommate dies?” Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. John Koldus said unless stated in the University’s Rules and Regula tions Handbook, something is not a policy or a general rule. If an instructor is late, it is up to individual faculty members to notify classes about a walk or even if there is another lecturer for the day, Kol dus said. Junior journalism major Lisa Sau- ceda said she heard the myth about leaving after 15 minutes if a profes sor is late, but never has left a class. “I believed it at first but don’t ever remember walking out of a class early because I always wanted to wait around wondering if he would show up and not wanting to miss any thing,” she said. The myth about students receiv ing a 4.0 GPR if their roommate dies also is not true, Koldus said. “When there is a death, faculty members are notified,” he said. “They are asked to work with stu dents as well as possible. It is the fac ulty members’ responsibility, and they all work with these situations differently,” Koldus said. Another situation students believe true is pedestrians always have the right of way when crossing streets. Koldus said the law states this is true when pedestrians use cross walks. Otherwise, drivers are show ing courtesy when they allow pedes trians to walk across the street. The foreword of the 1989-90 Regulations Handbook, presented by President William Mobley and former Student Body President Ke vin Buchman, states the handbook is to present rules and regulations gov erning student conduct and activ ities. The rules decribe faculty and staff obligations in their work with students. It also states rules and regulations result from years of experience and are products of student, staff and faculty thought. The handbook is revised every school year and is distributed in dor mitories. It also is avaliable in the ad> missions office in Heaton Hall.