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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1990)
) Tl£ xa ^? M 'D S-M- m 1« t-i-. The Dattalion No problem here Ag cornerback Kevin Smith clears the air See Page 8 Vol. 90 No. 28 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas Wednesday, October 10,1990 $ Ap). ^ hisde- otyerfii ^ondat le go' : n 1,1 ee S(» tM "d thf Pacified dthcir era." ■ of thf n g spy- rod op eroded armed a ndno 'ffortto Officer posts filled after run-off contest By BRIDGET HARROW Of The Battalion Staff One Student Senate seat and five officer positions of the Class of ’94 were filled in Tuesday’s freshman run-off elections. Jennifer Newberry was elected to the one remaining Student Senate seat. Seven of the eight freshman Student Senate seats were filled last Thursday in the initial elec tions. Mark Rollins was elected presi dent of the Class of ’94, receiving 86 percent of the votes. The races for the other officer positions were much closer. The positions of vice-presi dent, secretary, treasurer and so cial secretary were decided by a margin of 10 votes or less. The other positions filled were: •Vice President — Shannon Allen •Secretary—Julie Hodges •T reasurer — David Carey •Social Secretary — Richard Barrus •Historian — Ross McGlothlin Of the 7,715 freshman en rolled at A&M, 127 turned out to vote in the run-off elections, while 562 voted in the prelimi nary election. Resolution criticizes recent violence in Jerusalem Israel condemned in U.N. decision WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush adminis tration, after daylong negotiations at the United Nations, has decided to cast its vote against Israel in criticism of the slaying of at least 19 Palestinian Arabs in a Jerusalem melee, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The resolution, drafted by American diplo mats, was adopted by the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and is thus veto-proof, the officials told the Associated Press. It condemns the violence that broke out Mon day “and particularly the excessive Israeli re sponse,” the officials said. The resolution also welcomes the decision by U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de : Cuellar to send a delegation to Jerusalem to investigate the incident. The officials said the resolution calls on all parties to refrain from violence. In a gesture to Israel, it expresses regret that worshipers also were attacked. The U.N. resolution condemns the violence that broke out Monday ‘‘and particularly the excessive Israeli response.” It also welcomes the decision by U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to send a delegation to Jerusalem to investigate the incident. The United States rarely votes against Israel in the Security Council. Far more frequently, it uses its veto power to shield Israel against what is judged to be unfair criticism. But, in this instance, the officials said, the Bush administration concluded Israeli policemen used excessive force against Palestinian Arabs who hurled rocks and bottles at Jews praying at the Western Wall. President Bush said Israeli security forces should have acted “with more restraint” in bat tling Palestinian demonstrators outside the holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem. “I am very, very saddened by this needless loss of life,” he said at a news conference. At least 19 Arabs were killed and more than 100 wounded Sunday during an hour-long battle outside A1 Aksa mosque as thousands of Arabs threw rocks and bottles at Jews praying at the Western Wall below. Eleven Jews observing the festival of Succot were hurt in the barrage. Meanwhile, in a parallel move, the State De partment in a travel advisory suggested Ameri cans avoid the West Bank and Gaza because of recurrent disturbances in the territories. At the United Nations, a representative from occupied Kuwait joined his rival from Iraq and more than 30 speakers in condemning Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and demanding that Is raeli withdraw from territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war. govern Minister by Let chief of mg nas Defend Gen led tht I undei t Chun die. A b- it\ out- s Oati® ed that iat ik id that prevent ie Part id Mon- tr strilt was dis- in pot- demo confer- the vote e oppo- xtus on h ties to Nazi lit- fice las' Caught in a blue funk Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack Senior Lisa Mumford, freshman Dawn Bradley and senior Sheri veille Bus. A cold front passed through the area on Tuesday and Jalufka (left to right) try to keep warm while waiting for the Re- temperatures dropped to the upper 50s. nexpec- y’s vote t lodged renched umben: von the •cent, terday’s Ben Ba- ndidao ved b' Iropped > stront ginnini in GOf of thf messagf aid, it hare thf o entht'- ance hi ror, ti® ;y has it structi" brough :rt. :nt Bush Richards asserts need to debate conflicts for voters ’ sake during appearance at A&M By JULIE MYERS Of The Battalion Staff Democratic Gubernatorial Candi date Ann Richards said she accepted an invitation by the Bryan-College Station Eagle to debate Republican Clayton Williams, on his home turf oftexas A&M, but Williams refused to participate. Richards told about 400 people Tuesday nigh' that the people of Texas and A&M students deserve the right to hear tl ,em discuss the is sues because they are on opposite poles on most of them. The appearance was sponsored by the non-partisan MSC Political Fo rum. The League of Women Voters on Monday formally canceled plans for in Oct. 30 debate between Williams and Richards because Williams wouldn’t commit to it. Williams has said he won’t debate Richards unless she signs a pledge to stop all negative television advertising. Richards said Texas needs a gov ernor who will make education the number one priority. There are areas of Texas where half of the stu dents drop out before they grad uate, she said. “It is no coincidence that these are the areas with the highest unemploy ment and the highest crime rate,” Richards said. “We are building pris ons for kids who are in the second and third grade. We have public schools where the kids have never seen a microscope or a computer, and my opponent wants to divert $500 million to private schools from public school funds using vouchers.” Bill Kenyon, deputy chairman of the Williams campaign in Austin, said a statement made by Williams was twisted by the Richards cam paign. “Vouchers or parental choice of schools will empower parents and spur schools to improve,” Kenyon said. “They would benefit the poor because parents would not be forced to send their children to a poor school that has a monopoly on the children it educates. They can take their children to another school.” Richards said education would also improve if students had a rep resentative on the Boards of Regents of every public institution. Kenyon said Williams also vowed in January to support legislation al- See Richards/Page 5 Ann Richards Tie caff- poor I' the raff nal polf enou? i to rci State representative hopefuls stress education in debate ord fedefl percff- of stai 5.8 p ment ntence' of l,f$ ie stufl' BySEANFRERKING OfThe Battalion Staff Republican Steve Ogden and Democrat Jim James, candidates for District 14 state representative, itionsi* Maced education at the top of their iriority lists for improving Texas, vhile differing on several other is- iues during a televised debate Tues- sofd 11 lay night. Channel 15, KAMU-TV, broad est the political discussion as part of ts "Candidates ’90” political forum neafi'Bneant to inform the public about the ipcoming Nov. 6 elections. James and Ogden are running for andtf District 14, which is Brazos County, stfd The debate was moderated by Dr. Don Tomlinson, an associate profes- grotftl or of journalism and a practicing - ' "“awyer. Tomlinson asked questions he League of Women Voters se lected for the debate. Ogden, a 1973 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who earned his M.B.A. at Texas A&M, said the state needs to improve the educational system first and not have taxpayers shoulder the burden of costly pro jects like the proposed Texas Trian gle, a high-speed rail line. “We need to set our priorities,” Ogden said. “We shouldn’t have people pay for tilings that right now are luxuries.” James, Class of ’76, agreed with his opponent, saying the situation in Texas will not allow the government to waste funds. “We can’t educate our children properly,” James said. “We need to take care of the basics and provide a good education for our kids before we should try for pie-in-the-sky pro jects.” Both candidates said they believed more money should be spent on ed ucation. The manner each would solve the problem, however, dif fered slightly. Ogden said almost one billion dol lars is being squandered by a grow ing state bureaucracy. He said the money could be used to correct the See Candidates/Page 5 Survey results show trust in night security By JOE FERGUSON Of The Battalion Staff More than half of the Texas A&M students responding to the Batt Poll expressed confidence in the safety of the campus at night while more than two-thirds still indicated a need for better lighting. When asked if they feel safe walk ing alone at night on campus, 63 percent said yes, 34 percent said no and 3 percent had nq opinion. When asked if they thought light ing on campus is adequate, 26 per cent said yes, 68 percent said no and 6 percent had no opinion. “Determining if any areas are poorly lit is in the eyes of the behold er,” says Bob Wiatt, director of secu rity for University Police. Wiatt says on-campus lighting is a top priority of the Security Aware ness Committee. He says the com mittee, which is composed of stu dents, faculty, staff and police is the only University authorized commit tee to work on such problems and that anyone wanting to report prob lem areas should call committee rep resentative, Dana Graerser, at 845- 3051. The committee then reports to Robert Smith, vice-president of fi nance and administration, for fur ther action. He says the committee periodi cally conducts “walk-throughs” of the campus to determine any possi bly dangerous areas due to poor lighting, high shrubs or other rea sons. Wiatt says officers on patrol are instructed to report any poorly lit areas or burned-out lights as soon as possible. In the past year, Wiatt says, thou sands of dollars have been spent on new light standards. “But you can’t illuminate the whole world,” Wiatt says. The Batt Poll is a survey of Texas A&M students intended to measure opinions about campus-related is sues. YES NO 34 Do you feel safe walking alone at night on the Texas A&M campus? Do you think the lighting on cam' pus at night is adequate? The poll, which will be conducted periodically, is taken from a random sample of students. A sample of 400 students was obtained from tele phone interviews. A random sample of 400 respond ers yields a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The poll was conducted exclu sively for The Battalion by Research Associates, a firm operated by A&M graduate students Alister Miller and Mitch Peck, both of the sociology de partment. Cindy McMillian, editor of The Battalion and senior economics ma jor, asks students to call the news room at 845-2647 if students who participate in the poll encounter any problems. More moon experience needed before Mars trip By MIKE LUMAN Of The Battalion Staff The United States should go back to the moon “in a big way” before attempting a Mars mis sion, a visiting NASA scientist said Tuesday. Dr. Wendell W. Mendell, chief scientist for lunar base studies at the Johnson Space Center, spoke to the Texas A&M chapter of Stu dents for the Exploration and De velopment of Space. “The moon is a stepping stone into space, and we ought to use it,” he said. “A lot of people want to bypass the moon and go straight to Mars.” He said a permanent lunar base would provide an opportu nity to test the technology needed for the nearly year-long trip to Mars. Equipment must be reliable be cause no immediate help can be expected if something goes wrong, he said. The moon is only three days from the planned space station, which is the probable launch site for a manned mission to Mars. Mendell proposed designing reusable orbit-to-moon craft that would make moon landings rou tine. He said the space station should be a “spaceport” for such things as refueling and mainte nance. The moon colony, in time, also could produce tuel. A base on the moon could be come self-sufficient, a move that would dramatically cut transport costs, he said. He said oxygen production should be the first goal, then min ing and chemical engineering. The goals of a permanent moonbase are scientific research, resource utilization and coloniza tion, he said. He compared colonization of the moon to the taming of the American west, and said the ben efits of people on the moon outw eigh the costs. He said a telescope could be built on the moon capable of studying a paramecium from a distance of New York to Califor nia. There are hurdles to be cleared, one of which is designing underground living quarters to shield from solar radiation. People can tolerate radiation on the lunar surface for only a few years, he said. He said private companies would be involved in shelter de velopment. Experience on the moon will solve problems sure to be encoun tered on Mars, he said. Mendell said technology for a trip to Mars is not ready. The Mars ship must be large enough to hold 30 to 40 space shuttle pay- loads. Fuel will take up most of the space.