The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 09, 1990, Image 1

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The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 50 USPS 045360 1 2 Pages College Station, Texas Friday, November 9, 1 990
Jt'iAaM
Basketball special
section looks at team
See Page 5
Bush sends more troops to gulf,
hopes forces dissuade Hussein
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on
Thursday ordered massive additions to the U.S.
military force in the Persian Gulf, transferring
troops and tanks from Europe, sending in new
warships and calling up combat-ready National
Guard units to give “an adequate offensive op
tion” if needed to drive Iraq from Kuwait.
Bush, asked directly whether he was going to
war, said: “I would like to see a peaceful solution
to this question. I think Saddam Hussein should
fully” withdraw his troops from Kuwait.
“If this movement of force is what convinces
him, so much the better,” Bush said. He added
later, “When he surveys the force that’s there ...
he will recognize that he is up against just a foe
that he can’t possibly manage militarily.”
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, giving details
of the new buildup, said three armored divisions
from Germany and one from the United States,
the famous “Big Red One” First Infantry Divi
sion based in Fort Reilly, Kans., would be sent to
the gulf region.
Neither he nor Bush would say how many
troops would be joining the 230,000 U.S. forces
already in the gulf area.
However, full deployment of the units listed
by Cheney would add about 120,000 troops to
the U.S. forces there. Even without sending all of
their support units, the additional combat and es
sential support forces total about 100,000.
Iraq has more than 400,000 troops in the re-
gion.
Cheney said the Navy would send three addi
tional aircraft carrier battle groups and their es
corts, one additional battleship and amphibious
craft.
And, the defense secretary said, combat-ready
National Guard units — the 48th in Georgia, the
155th in Mississippi and the 256th in Louisiana
— would be called up for the First time, for possi-
“When (Hussein) surveys the
force thaVs there... he will
recognize that he is up against
just a foe that he can't
possibly manage militarily,.”
— President Bush
ble reassignment to the Middle East.
They total about 10,000 people.
Cheney said fresh Army, Navy and Marine
forces would be sent to the gulf, along with hun
dreds of battle tanks.
Bush spoke as Secretary of State James A.
Baker III was in Moscow consulting senior Soviet
officials over Persian Gulf strategy.
Soviet officials said they could not rule out the
use of force. Bush called this statement “very
helpful,” and said, “We’re on the same
wavelength” with President Mikhail S. Gorba
chev on goals in the Middle East.
Bush said he hopes international economic
sanctions force Saddam to withdraw, but his dec
laration concerning offensive forces dramatically
altered his three-month policy in the Persian
Gulf, which has been to be able to withstand fur
ther aggression by Iraq.
The president said he also had consulted with
Saudi King Fahd, whose nation has provided the
main staging area for the U.S. and multinational
deployment.
The new buildup involves “a considerable ad
ditional increment to U.S. forces,” said Cheney.
He said naval, air and heavy ground forces from
the United States and Europe would be de
ployed.
Bush said current forces were adequate as a
defense against “any further provocation” by
Iraq.
To the troops half a world away, he pledged:
“We won’t leave you there any longer than nec
essary.”
Asked what had changed that led him to de
cide to beef up the forces, Cheney replied that it
was a “guarantee of the safety of all and I think it
sends a very strong signal” to Saddam.
A&M to acquire
gulf field station
By TROY D. HALL
Of The Battalion Staff
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is moving its Gulf Coast
research field station to the Texas
A&M campus in early 1991.
Although A&M is not the only
university with a field station
sponsored by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, it will be the only
one of its kind serving the Gulf
Coast, says David J. Schmidly,
head of the Department of Wild
life and Fisheries.
The field station will study the
impact of toxicants in the envi
ronment on fish and wildlife as
well as basic ecological work on
the Gulf Coast.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
was anxious to move the field sta
tion to A&M from Victoria so it
could do these more dynamic
things, he says.
The field station is expected to
offer long-term benefits and will
provide many opportunities to
A&M.
“We are most excited about
A&M students and graduate stu
dents being able to get involved
with these government scientists
on their various projects,” Sch
midly says.
He says these students will
have a better opportunity for em
ployment after they graduate.
“The program should bring in
opportunities for the entire toxi
cology program for a long time,”
Schmidly says.
“Government scientists will be
linked with our academic scien
tists in ways that will allow us to
expand our ability to address en
vironmental issues along the
Texas coast,” he says.
Schmidly credits acquisition of
the field station to several A&M
administrators including Charles
Arntzen, dean and deputy chan
cellor of agriculture and life sci
ences, and Neville Clarke, an as
sociate deputy chancellor at
A&M.
Schmidly also acknowledged
political support of U.S. Rep. Joe
Barton, R-Ennis, and U.S. Sen.
Lloyd Bentsen. D-Texas, and
their efforts in helping secure the
relocation of the field station.
Recent AIDS policy
pleases homosexuals
Lost in a fog
Jake Desai, an electrical engineering major, bikes in the rain cooling tower. An inch of rain fell Thursday as the temperature hit
down Asbury Street through steam caused by the power plant’s 50 degrees, but the weather is expected to clear by the weekend.
Just dial LIGHT
University creates outdoor campus light repair call-in program
“There is a direct correlation between lighting
and personal safety.”
— Lt. Bert Kretzschmar,
crime prevention supervisor
By JULIE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
Gay and lesbian faculty, staff and
students at Texas A&M are breath
ing a little sigh of relief two months
after implementation of a non-dis
crimination policy.
The anti-discrimination clause in
the AIDS policy means sexual pref
erence cannot be used as a factor
when considering tenure and pro
motion, says Larry Hickman, Gay
and Lesbian Student Services faculty
adviser.
Gay and lesbian professors at
A&M are not as fearful about their
jobs now that a specific clause offers
more protection, Hickman, a philos
ophy professor, says.
Hickman was a member of the
AIDS committee that pushed for
adding the sexual-orientation clause
to the general policy.
Previously, gay and lesbian staff
and faculty could be discriminated
against at promotion or tenure time
either overtly or under the table.
“Someone could make sexual in
nuendos or say that so-and-so was
not a ‘family man’ and everyone
would know what was going on,”
Hickman says. “There were lots of
ways to hide the intent.”
Combined with the rigorous ten
ure and promotion system, the anti-
discrimination policy is very specific
and a big step in the right direction,
hq says.
“If you were being discriminated
against, you would know it,” Hick
man says.
Hickman says one of his friends,
an A&M professor, could not take
his living partner to any department
socials for fear of being ridiculed.
“Imagine not being able to take
your wife, husband, boyfriend or
girlfriend to functions that are a part
of your job,” Hickman says. “Ima
gine the friction that would cause to
a relationship.”
Students also continue to have
problems being open about activ
ities, Hickman says, because notices
posted around campus publicizing
GLSS meetings are torn down within
minutes of being posted.
“There is a lot of intolerance,”
Hickman says.
About 200 schools have adopted
policies in the past five years prohib
iting discrimination against homo
sexuals, according to the National
Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
John Scroggs, GLSS secretary,
says many gay and lesbian students
still are fearful, but GLSS is becom
ing more visual on campus to help
students overcome their tears.
GLSS membership has increased
dramatically since implementation
of the AIDS policy, Scroggs, a junior
English major, says. About 70 peo
ple attended the last meeting as com
pared to around 40 before the pol
icy.
A gay professor, who now feels
safer since the policy was imple
mented, has expressed an interest in
joining the GLSS Speakers’ Bureau.
The bureau provides speakers for
classes like Human Sexuality to pro
mote understanding of alternative
lifestyles.
Texas A&M President William
Mobley’s approval of the policy is a
significant departure from attitudes
expressed by some A&M officials,
Hickman says. GLSS’s predecessor,
Gay Student Services, was awarded
official University recognition in
1985 after a lengthy court battle
which ended in the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The Supreme Court refused to
hear the case, which forced the Uni
versity to accept the decision made
by the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th
Circuit. The court said GSS de
served the same treatment as other
student organizations.
“If this administration had been
in place then, the University could
have saved itself $750,000 in legal
fees because there would not have
been the same opposition from the
top,” Hickman says.
The A&M policy prohibits dis
crimination based on sexual prefer
ence and characteristics including
age, ethnic background, family sta
tus, gender, handicap, national ori
gin, race, religion and veteran status.
University Regulations for stu
dents and the Policy and Procedures
Manual for faculty and staff now in
clude a six-page section devoted to
AIDS and related problems, such as
discrimination.
Scroggs says he does not know of
any student or faculty challenges to
the policy, but he says he believes a
challenge would give the lesbian and
gay community a chance to see if the
policy works.
The battle to end discrimination is
far from over, Hickman says.
“But we now have the tools to
fight discrimination that may occur,
and that’s progress,” Hickman says.
By ISSELLE MCALLISTER
Of The Battalion Staff
Because criminals hide under the
cover of darkness, Texas A&M’s
University Police Department is
breaking new ground in taking
thieves’ safety blankets away.
UPD has established Light Line to
directly involve the A&M commu
nity in the process of repairing
faulty outdoor lighting, Lt. Bert
Kretzschmar, crime prevention su
pervisor, says.
Anyone on campus can dial the
24-hour number L-I-G-H-T (5-
4448) to report any exterior light
that is in need of repair. Those off
campus can call 845-4448.
Effective lighting is one of the best
crime deterrents available, he says.
UPD is trying to eliminate as many-
dark areas as possible with this new
program.
People calling Light Line will con
tact a dispatcher who will submit a
repair order to the communications
supervisor, Kretzschmar explains.
The communications supervisor will
then forward the repair order to the
physical plant or the proper depart
ment, and the light will be repaired
as soon as possible.
If the person reporting the
burned out light is not sure of its ex
act location, the security division will
help find the lights.
Kretzschmar stresses citizens
should call the phone line only to re
port existing lights that need repairs,
not to suggest new locations for
lamps.
“There is a direct correlation be
tween lighting and personal safety,”
he says.
But because the program was es
tablished only a few weeks ago,
Kretzschmar says it is too soon to tell
if crime has decreased.
“We are trying to maintain a safe
atmosphere at the University,” he
says.
Documents show EPA tobacco panel members’ ties to industry
NEW YORK (AP) — Six of the 16 members of a
newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency
panel considering the health risks of second-hand ciga
rette smoke have ties to a tobacco industry research or
ganization, documents show.
A seventh member of the panel was appointed upon
the recommendation of the Philip Morris tobacco com
pany, EPA officials said.
“They’ve stacked the deck with people who have
close ties to the tobacco industry,” said Dr. Alan Blum, a
founder of the anti-smoking group Doctors Ought to
Care. “It’s pathetic.”
“We were concerned about the appearance of con
flict of interest,” said Donald Barnes, staff director of
the EPA’s scientific advisory board. But he said the link
between the panel members and the tobacco organiza
tion “does not cause any question to be raised about
their technical capabilities.”
The panel’s task is to review the scientific accuracy
and objectivity of two forthcoming EPA reports on the
health effects of passive smoking.
Six members are connected with the Center for In
door Air Research of Linthicum, Md., according to the
center’s publications.
The center is financed by Philip Morris, R.J. Rey
nolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Corp., three of the na
tion’s largest tobacco companies. Its board of directors
is made up of employees of those companies, Pamela
Phillips, an administrator at the center, said.
The chairman of the EPA passive-smoking panel,
Morton Lippmann of New York University, is on the
science advisory board of the tobacco industry center.
Lippmann and another member of the EPA panel,
Dr. JonatharT'Samet of the University of New Mexico,
helped devise the center’s research agenda.
Samet and three other members of the EPA panel
are listed as “peer reviewers” for the center. They help
determine which research projects the center supports.
Yet another member of the EPA panel, Delbert Eat-
ough of Brigham Young University, receives research
funds from the center.
A seventh member of the panel, Geoffrey Kabat of
the American Health Foundation, had been recom
mended by Philip Morris, EPA officials said. Kabat said,
“I have no direct contact with the tobacco industry at
all, and I certainly don’t see myself as being an agent of
theirs in any respect.”
The makeup of the EPA panel aroused controversy
when it was reported last month that the agency had
dismissed Dr. David Burns from the panel after the to
bacco industry lobbied to get rid of him.
Burns, of the University of California, San Diego,
was the author of the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on
passive smoking and is regarded by his colleagues as a
leading authority on passive smoking. He was re
instated to the EPA panel after his dismissal was dis
closed.
Lippmann said he didn’t see any problem working
with the EPA and with the tobacco research center.
“It can always raise questions,” he said. “I don’t view
it as any conflict.”
Lippmann said three of his colleagues at New York
University’s Institute of Environmental Medicine,
where Lippmann works, have received grants from the
tobacco industry group. The largest grant was for
$250,000, he said.
Samef s office said he was on vacation and couldn’t be
reached.
1