Texas A&M
Battalion
Recording the year
Reviewer cleans out
his album shelves.
See Page 4
ol. 90 No. 49 USPS 045560 1 2 Pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, Novembers, 1990
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By KATHERINE COFFEY
Df The Battalion Staff
One explanation for negative
:ampaigning is technological im
provements and changes in tele
vision commercial production, a
political science professor said
Wednesday during an MSC Polit
ical Forum-sponsored program.
Dr. Patricia Hurley, an asso
ciate professor of political sci
ence, says TV commercial pro
duction took much more time 10
years ago than it does now.
“It is now so much easier to
produce ads on television where
the opposing candidate has
enough time to produce another
ad to defend themselves,” Hurley
said.
“The Media and the 1990
Campaigns: A Retrospective,”
was the title of an Insight dis
cussion led by two Texas A&M
political analysts.
The round-table discussion fo
cused on the aftermath of the
Texas political elections and how
the media and negative cam
paigning affected voters’ choices
of candidates.
Hurley and Dr. Jan Leighley,
assistant professor of political sci
ence. were guest speakers and
moderators of discussion among
ajournalism class and other A&M
students.
Hurley said that before techno
logical advances in TV produc
tion, candidates could not re
spond quickly to negative ads
against them.
When people see a negative ad
and do not respond to it, then the
negative ad seems correct, she
said.
Another change prevalent now
in campaigns is called “soft sup
port,” which is when fewer peo
ple actually identify with certain
political parties, candidates and
issues, Hurley said-
“It is more difficult to make a
decision leading to soft support
of the candidates and the par
ties,” Hurley said.
However, if soft support was
absent, campaign ads wouldn’t
work as well, she said. Hurley ex
plained voters would not be in
fluenced by negative cam
paigning if they knew which
candidate they wanted to choose.
“Ads are more effective when
people don’t have certain views
on parties, which is called ‘effec
tive-negative advertising,”’ she
See Forum/Page 8
Students relieved with end of campaigns
By KATHERINE COFFEY
Of The Battalion Staff
After being bombarded by over-extensive
campaigning and mudslinging in preparation for
Tuesday’s elections, many Texas A&M students
seemed relieved Tuesday’s elections are over.
Richards did not win, but Williams lost his
race, says Jesus Pinto, a graduate student of busi
ness from Venezuela.
“But Williams didn’t have the experience to
lead Texas into the 20th Century, whereas Rich
ards knew the ins and outs of Austin,” Pinto says.
“I guess it (Richards’ win) was the lesser of two
evils.”
Andy Keetch, a senior economics major from
Fort Worth, says Richards worked hard and won
fair but thinks Williams should have won.
“I’m disappointed the strong principles Wil
liams was running on were overshadowed by his
ineptitude as a candidate,” Keetch says.
Keetch, who worked with the Republican Par
ty’s campaigns, says he thinks education is the
single most important thing Texans need to
worry about.
He says he thinks Richards will raise taxes, and
this will not help the education system in the
long-run.
“The ideals of big government spending are
past their time, and in order for Texas to move
forward we need new ideas such as governmental
vouchers,” Keetch says.
Chris Britton, a junior agricultural education
major from Cleburne, says he is glad elections
are over and hopes Richards can go about work-
See Reactions/Page 12
Independent candidate ‘disappointed’ with election
By MIKE LUMAN
Of The Battalion Staff
Texas A&M graduate student Mi
chael Worsham, former write-in
candidate for U.S. Representative,
received about 500 votes in Brazos
County during Tuesday’s elections.
Republican incumbent Joe Barton
received 67 percent of the total vote,
while Democrat John Welch drew 33
percent.
Worsham does not know the total
number of votes he received.
An Independent who ran on a
platform of environmental issues,
Worsham said Wednesday he is “di
sappointed” because he campaigned
more in Brazos County than any of
the 13 other counties in the 6th Con
gressional District of Texas.
He said he might have lost votes
because he claims Barton distributed
misleading and incorrect informa
tion before the election.
The information in question is
from a Barton campaign newsletter.
The newsletter said Barton’s
amendment to the Clean Air Act
meets needs of industry and is
“strong enough” to meet the terms
of environmentalists.
Worsham said environmental
? ;roups are not and never were satis-
ied with the act.
“If people hear something that’s
not true coming from an incumbent
congressman, they tend to believe it
unless repeatedly told otherwise,” he
said.
He added that his campaign
lacked money for competitive adver
tising.
Craig Murphey, Barton’s spokes
man, said the congressman’s amend
ment to the act was passed unani
mously in the U.S. Senate and
House. President Bush recently
signed the act.
“Industry would have preferred
not to have the increased regulations
on hazardous waste,” Murphey said.
“You can’t take such an extreme po
sition that you’re never satisfied.”
Murphey added that the act never
would have happened without Bar
ton’s initiative.
Worsham said he plans to con
tinue working with the Texas Envi
ronmental Action Coalition.
The superconducting super col
lider is something the public should
know more about, he said.
He said the SSC could contami
nate groundwater with radiation,
and the U.S. Department of Energy
has a “deplorable” record in regulat
ing such problems.
The Comanche Peak nuclear
power plant might provide power to
the SSC, Worsham said.
He said the SSC creates a reason
to keep the plant open, but he ob
jects to nuclear power because of nu
clear waste.
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Grievance, issue forum
receives few inquiries
By BRIDGET HARROW
Of The Battalion Staff
Panelists of the 1990 Forum on Is
sues and Grievances sat in front of
the Uawrence Sullivan Ross statue
Tuesday eagerly waiting to answer
questions, hear suggestions or field
complaints from students.
However, few' students stopped by
at all.
Only about 20 students asked
questions during the one-hour event
sponsored by Texas A&M’s Student
Government.
The annual forum was designed
so students could voice opinions and
make a difference at A&M, John
Ansbach, chairman of Student Gov
ernment’s external affairs, said
Tuesday.
Panelists included Ty Clevenger,
student body president; Kenny Gos
sett, Student Senate speaker; Kathie
Mathis, administrator of the Depart
ment of Parking, Transit and Traf
fic; Matt Wood, MSC president;
Doug Williams, manager of Bus Op
erations; and Lt. Col. Don Johnson,
assistant commandant of the Corps
of Cadets.
Ansbach said he thinks turnout
was low because students are unin
formed about issues on campus.
He said he does not think public
ity was a problem because fliers were
posted everywhere, and a banner
was hung in the MSC.
“They (students) are uninformed
about major issues,” Ansbach said.
“They do not realize many pertinent
issues develop behind the scenes and
are acted upon before they ever
reach the headlines.”
The external affairs committee
has conducted the issues and griev
ances forums during the past two
years.
While last year’s forum was dur
ing the evening in a meeting room in
Rudder, Wednesday’s forum was
during the day in front of the Aca-
See Grievances/Page 12
Eric Obergfell (left) and Matt Nelson (right) ride their bikes at Re
search Park Wednesday. Eric, a sophomore, is training for spring
D. JOErrhe Battalion
road races and Matt, a senior, is training for a race this weekend
and plans to compete in triathlons.
Funeral held for accident victim
Funeral services for Gilbert Garcia, 32, a junior Texas A&M man
agement major, were Tuesday night in Houston.
Garcia, from Houston, died Saturday after being involved in an
accident in the 3900 block of Old College Road in Bryan.
Services were at Brookside Funeral Chapel. He was buried in
Houston’s Brookside Memorial Park.
cDonald’s Corp. committed to phase out use of Styrofoam
y TROY D. HALL
f The Battalion Staff
I
McDonald’s prides itself on food,
oiks and fun, but what commercials
brget to mention is the company’s
commitment to the environment.
In a recent announcement, the
fast food giant says the Styrofoam
packaging for its sandwich products
no longer will be part of the 35-year-
old American eating tradition.
The McDonald’s Corp. has begun
a program which will end Styrofoam
packaging for all sandwich products
at the end of two months, says Katey
Jones, community relations rep
resentative for the five locally owned
and operated McDonald’s restau
rants.
McDonald’s sandwiches will be
served in paper and paper-based
packaging.
“Phase one accounts for nearly 75
percent of our total foam use,” she
says. The other 25 percent of foam
packaging use consists of larger
breakfast plates such as McDonald’s
Big Breakfast.
“One major issue that has come to
McDonald’s attention from environ
mentalists regards source reduction
of solid waste,” Jones says.
“With McDonald’s making the
change and phasing out foam pack
aging, there will be up to a 90 per
cent reduction in the amount of
sandwich packaging by volume that
enters the waste stream,” she says.
Jones says she is glad to see
changes by the McDonald’s Corp.
and believes environmentalists will
agree with the new packaging.
Mary Albert, public relations
chairwoman for the Texas Environ
mental Action Coalition, says she is
glad to see the change in packaging.
“I think it is a wonderful step for
McDonald’s and I commend them
for doing this,” Albert says. “They
have proven they are committed to
trying to pursue some environmen
tal goals, as much as you can in a fast
food restaurant.
“There are obvious conflicts, be
cause the fast food industry is set up
to be a disposable industry,” she
says. “I think it is next to impossible
to do what they do and be environ
mental, but they are trying.”
But action by the McDonald’s
Corp. to save the environment is
even more far reaching than many
think, Jones says.
“Our overall goal is to reduce the
amount of waste we generate by re
cycling and using recyclable materi
als as much as possible,” she says.
“We want to recycle everything in
the restaurant we can.”
Jones says McDonald’s is the na
tion’s largest user of recycled paper.
Happy Meal boxes, napkins, tray
liners and other non-food packaging
all are made from recycled paper.
McDonald’s currently is testing
carry-out bags made from 100 per
cent recycled paper.
Additionally, the McDonald’s
Corp. announced its commitment to
purchase $100 million worth of re
cycled products each year to use in
its restaurants.
“We are looking for suppliers who
can supply us with materials made
from recycled material, such as re
modeling, furniture and roofing
materials,” Jones says. “This is an an
nual commitment by McDonald’s,
while possibly opening another in
dustry door to become a supplier to
McDonald’s.”
Jones says McDonald’s has been
conducting tests on various pack
aging materials during the last seve
ral years. The conclusions of these
tests now are being put to use.
“It is important McDonald's
See McDonalds/Page 12
Food Services battles use of Styrofoam
By ELIZABETH TISCH
Of The Battalion Staff
Texas A&M’s Department of Food Services has
joined in the national effort to stop environmental
damage by using alternatives to Styrofoam products.
Polystyrene is the formal name for Styrofoam
products.
“We have made an effort to stop using products
made of polystyrene,” A&M Food Services Director
Lloyd Smith says. “In the business world they say,
‘Don’t use it if you don’t have to’ but unfortunately,
there are some cases where polystyrene products are
better for service.”
A&M’s food services has found other replace
ments that are working successfully.
For example, the MSC now uses china plates
rather than paper and Styrofoam. Reusable mugs in
both soft drink and coffee sizes have been designed
with the inscription, “The right choice for our envi
ronment, keeping the cup saves our landfills.”
Students at Giennei College in Iowa fought for
the return of polystyrene cups after they were re
placed with paper.
Smith says these students preferred Styrofoam’s
durability over the environmentally safe paper cups.
Styrofoam cups uavv u ,v..;e among envi
ronmentalists. Their main concern stems from the
foaming agent chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) used to
create the polystyrene. These CFCs are not only
the ozone layer but are non-biodegrada-
Smith says many people do not realize today’s Sty
rofoam cups are different from those used several
years ago.
The majority of polystrene products today are not
made with the foaming agent CFC, Smith says. He
admits, however, some of the products are still made
with the ozone-damaging material.
Student members of the Texas Environmental
Action Coalition say they are pleased with food serv
ice’s decision to cut back on use of Styrofoam prod
ucts.
TEAC Recycling Chairwoman Christy Schuep-
bach says the committee has been discussing food
packaging options with food services.
She says, however, TEAC wishes food service’s
progress was faster.
Smith said they are working as efficiently as possi
ble. “We’re moving as fast as we are finding alterna
tives,” Smith said
Many snackshop cafeterias on campus must use
polystyrene and paper products because the service
areas are not equipped with large and efficient wash
ing machines to maintain reusable plates and cups,
Smith said.
Look for the A&M basketball preview in Friday’s Battalion