TexasA&M m m V •
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 95 USPS 045360 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, February 15, 1991
Travel to Iraq blocked
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
State Department has begun block
ing travel by most Americans to Iraq
and Kuwait as a “precautionary mea
sure,” a spokeswoman said Thurs
day. At the Pentagon, anti-war dem
onstrators were arrested trying to
block entrances and dig graves on
the lawn.
U.S. passports are no longer valid
for travel to, in or through Iraq and
Kuwait “unless a special validation
has been obtained,” the State De
partment travel advisories issued
Wednesday night said.
The advisories said violators
would face prosecution and impris
onment.
Other than journalists and some
peace groups, few Americans are
known to have traveled to Iraq since
the war began last month. State De
partment advisories indicated re
porters would qualify for exemp
tions from the new restrictions but
did not make clear whether peace
activists would qualify.
Asked if the government in
tended to block visits to Iraq by
peace groups, spokeswoman Marga
ret Tutwiler said, “I have never
heard that mentioned. I am not
aware that that is what drove this
policy.
“This is a precautionary measure
and part of the State Department’s
general travel restrictions for Kuwait
and Iraq,” she said. Travelers seek
ing exemptions from the restrictions
must apply in writing to the depart
ment’s passport services office.
Americans who were living in Iraq
and Kuwait are eligible for exemp
tion, as are professional journalists,
Red Cross representatives, humani
tarian cases, such as someone with a
critical illness in the family, and peo
ple making trips judged “to be in the
national interest.”
At the Pentagon, a group of about
50 protesters from the Atlantic Life
Community, including some chil
dren, sat in a driveway to try to block
arriving Defense Department work
ers.
Others splashed a side entrance
with a liquid they said was blood and
oil, symbols of their opposition to
the war in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.
The demonstrators also spray-
painted the words “Bush-Terrorist”
in red and black on a wall.
Police cleared the driveway, ar
resting several people, and then de
tained two others trying to dig
graves in a lawn outside the build
ing. They reported a total of 13 ar
rests.
KEVIN IVY/The Battalion
Heart-y meal
(Left to right) Freshman Marsha Fleeter, sophomore Byron Pickett spend Valentine’s Day in research park at a picnic lunch.
Seyerance, sophomore Meridith Graham and sophomore Eric Several other couples also spent their day doing the same thing.
Texans support quality higher education, poll says
By John Lose
The Battalion
Texans are strongly in favor of quality higher
education and don’t support further cuts in uni
versity budgets, according to a recent Texas Fac
ulty Association poll.
Parents of present college students, however,
gave their children’s professors relatively low
grades regarding the quality of teaching.
“We made some guesses about the amount of
support for higher education,” Dr. Charles
Zucker, director of the TFA, said. “But we were
surprised about how high the numbers actually
turned out to be. People understand that it’s im
portant for good higher education in Texas.”
The poll indicated that 63 percent responded
that they had college degrees, and 89 percent
gave their professors grades of A or B.
However, 83 percent of parents of college stu
dents in Central Texas gave professors an A or B
grade, while statewide percentages of A or B rat
ings dropped to 70 percent.
Zucker says those numbers are extremely in
teresting.
“Unfortunately, there’s no way for us to follow
up on that,” he says. “The problem could lie with
problems that children may be facing their first
years in college, with poor grades, frustration
and so on.”
Dr. E. Dean Gage, Texas A&M’s provost and
vice president for academic affairs, says one rea
son for lower evaluations might be that institu
tions have grown in size and scope in recent
years, causing the student-teacher ratio to esca
late.
The growing disparity between teachers and
students also is limiting the individual attention
that each student receives, Gage says.
“There is no question that the recent decreases
in state funding for higher education is related to
the increasing student-teacher ratio,” Gage says.
The Legislature’s budget board recently has
proposed an additional 6 percent cut in funding
for higher education.
Gage says, however, he does not believe the
proposal is reflective of the public’s commitment
to quality higher education.
“I think it’s more of a statutory recommenda
tion,” Gage says. “But it would hurt deeply to re
duce funding further.”
See Poll/Page 12
Wiatt emphasizes
solicitation control
By Julie Hedderman
The Battalion
Unsuspecting Texas A&M stu
dents often are victimized by
illegitimate magazine solictors,
but students can protect them
selves by helping enforce campus
regulations.
Bob Wiatt, director of the Uni
versity Police Department, says so
liciting on campus without a Uni
versity concessions permit is
illegal.
Dennis Busch, University Cen
ter assistant manager, says only
student groups and campus of
fices can have concessions per
mits.
If people not affiliated with the
University want to solicit on cam
pus, they must work through a
student group, which will receive
a percentage of the sales.
Busch also says sales must occur
in a specific location, not door to
door, and members of the student
group must assist.
Wiatt says people who sell mag
azine subscriptions are the most
frequent offenders of the permit
regulation. He says though many
salespeople are from legitimate
companies, some of them are not.
The biggest complaint about
solictors is they use high-pressure
sales techniques that often intim
idate students into purchasing
magazine subscriptions.
Most of the salespeople are col
lege-aged men and women who
say they earn points for a trip or
money for college by selling sub
scriptions.
Solicitors, however, often do
not turn in money to the mag
azine company if a sale is made.
If a student buys a magazine
subscription and the magazines
are never delivered, it becomes a
civil matter called a breach of con
tract.
Wiatt says calls to magazine
companies indicate publishers
never received the orders and
money, or the company went out
of business.
He says on-campus students
can protect themselves best by
calling University police if solici
tors come to their dorm rooms.
The police officer will request a
name and other information from
the person and ask to see a conces
sions permit.
“We tell them to leave,” he says.
“If they don’t, or if they come
back, we arrest them on charges
of criminal trespass.”
Off-campus students also are
plagued by magazine salespeople.
College Station Police Lt. Mike
See Magazine/Page 12
Special dogs
search river
for professor
By Jayme Blaschke
The Battalion
The Brazos County SherifFs De
partment will use specially trained
dogs Saturday in an attempt to find
a missing Texas A&M professor be
lieved to be in the Brazos River.
Dr. Peter John H. Sharpe, 50, a
bioengineering professor, has been
missing since Jan. 24. His van was
found on Hwy. 21 near the Brazos
River.
The dogs are from the Children’s
Educational Search and Rescue, a
non-profit organization of Dallas,
Brazos County Sheriff Ron Miller
says.
“These dogs are specially trained
to search around for bodies in wa
ter,” Miller says. “They’re a lot like
bloodhounds, only they are sup
posed to be able to smell scents on
the surface and under the water.”
Miller says the dogs have been in
volved in searches before and have
had numerous successes.
“We will have divers on hand, in
case the dogs react to something,” he
says. “They’ll be able to go into the
river and search immediately.”
He says the dogs will continue
their search through Sunday if nec
essary.
The extra day could be necessary
See Dogs/Page 7
Inside
Editorial ^
'the itch’
Restaurant
Report
Support
I group for
gulf wives
^ SWC
Track
& Field
ope.
Sat
Partly
Cloudy
Sun
Partly
Cloudy
v'l
/, w
Mon
Rain
Focus
Food Crisis
Soviets
reduce
producer
subsidies,
causing
prices to rise ^
drastically p^g0
Speedway gears up for renovation, reopening
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Charles Harris, a senior engineering technology Oh Wow Racing team, looks forward to racing at
major, and driver and crewman for Bill LaBarge’s the Texas World Speedway when it is rebuilt
By Mack Harrison
. The Battalion
Renovation of Texas World
Speedway will give the race track
potential to become another Day
tona Speedway, says the sponsor of
Texas A&M’s Sports Car Club.
Bill LaBarge, owner of the Bug
Clinic in Bryan, says the track south
of College Station could have a
great economic impact on the local
area, possibly drawing crowds of up
to 100,000 on weekends.
“It will definitely be the biggest
facility within 1,000 or 1,500 miles,”
says LaBarge, who races profession
ally.
Ishin Corp., which bought the
track three weeks ago, plans to re
surface the track, rebuild the retain
ing walls and generally “rejuvenate
the track,” says Harry Wharton of
Texas World Speedway.
“It will be a full racing facility
when entirely complete,” says
Wharton, who has worked for the
speedway for the past 15 years.
The complex will be host to con
certs and motorcycle races in addi
tion to all types of auto races, he
says.
The National Association for
Stock Car Racing (NASCAR), Inter
national Motor Sports Association
and Championship Auto Racing
Teams (CART) are some of the cir
cuits that could use the racing facili
ties, Wharton says.
However, he says nothing has
been finalized. He says most auto
racing organizations will not commit
until the f acility is completely ready.
Wharton says the complex —
which can hold 27,500 people in the
f randstands and another 50,000 to
5,000 in the infield — could gener
ate up to $500 million a year for
Bryan-College Station.
The reopened speedway also will
benefit him directly, Wharton says.
“From a racer’s point of view, this
is the greatest thing that could hap
pen,” he says. “It will be my home
track.”
The speedway, once reopened,
will be as good or better than any in
the country, LaBarge says.
The speedway was once the
world’s fastest, and when it reopens
it will set more records, he says.
In 1973, Mario Andretti set a
world speed record of more than
214 miles per hour, when the fastest
speed at Indianapolis was about 165
mph, Wharton says.
The new owners are rebanking
the turns to slow the track down. In
its present condition, the course is
too fast for Indy cars, Wharton says.
Charlie Harris, a member of the
Sports Car club, says the track is
more fun than other courses.
“It’s bigger, more open, and you
can turn in both directions,” Harris
says. “It’s not just turn left and go
straight.”
Harris, a senior engineering tech
nology major from Midland, says he
hopes the track will reopen.
“The track holds a lot of good
memories for me,” he says.
Harris began his racing career
driving autocross for the Sports Car
Club his freshman year. He says
anyone interested in racing should
start out this way.
In autocross, drivers race their
own cars alone on a marked course.
Participants compete against the
clock for the best time.
From there, prospective racers
should look for smaller racing teams
who need volunteers, Harris says.
These groups are looking for peo
ple willing to put in some time, he
says.
Harris drove his first race at
Texas World Speedway for La
Barge in 1987. He started out as a
member of LaBarge’s racing crew,
and began driving for him when La
Barge accquired a second car.
Harris raced until last year, when
LaBarge moved to a more expen
sive class of race car and could only
afford one vehicle. Harris still is a
crew member for LaBarge.
Dr. Thomas Pollock, an A&M
aerospace engineering professor,
says he feels “positive” about the im
provements on the track.
Pollock raced from 1974 until he
sold his car in 1987, including twice
on the Texas World Speedway. He
says racing on the track then was an
unpleasant experience.
“The track has been extremely
bumpy for several years,” Pollock
says.
Racing on the speedway was a
matter of avoiding the bumps as
well as avoiding the other cars
avoiding the bumps, he says.
He never drove on the track
again after his second race because
the course was so hard on his vehi
cle, Pollock says. Improvements
made by the track’s new owners,
however, will correct this and other
problems.
“It would be nice to race on it
again,” Pollock says.
Wharton says no decision has
been reached on whether the Sports
Car Club will be able to use the ren-
novated track for its autocross.