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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 1991)
13,1* mes 40. Street. ifor- ^vtimes •13. 05 and iia Checkmate! 'Chess' opens in Ft. Worth page 3 The Battalion Vol. 90 No. 155 GSPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" Tuesday, June 18, 1991 l ,7:20 esare for- 3. 7:05 md PG. 7:05 jrove ill "Ah l/S m zn >del,: rymi nitya: to hi tsfee:’ he do. imert: a po: reten p/e k lo fe ) spifi'- Kajat omr W isea ; ivesi cont: irojed ex^’.' •graf vork icNf 'ty a: exhi': also ana: it, a: mel- nec: it," st C 0‘ ing* ?arri rid a' )ses: •era: i ido quo ■a a: tot' t id i er g f;: uj: ner' n,h m. AC Q; ■ea nt' all: o la: k Democracy will guide Soviets' future, military expert predicts By Greg Mt.Joy The Battalion The future of the Soviet Union, if it is put in the hands of its people, lies along a more democratic path, a Texas A&M international affairs expert said. Dr. Ronald Hatchett, deputy director of A&M's Mosher Institute for Defense Studies, said the election of Boris Yelt sin as president of the Russian Repub lic showed the majority of the Russian people favors a move toward democ racy and a free enterprise economy. Hatchett said this election was the first time more than half the Soviet people were allowed to vote in free elections, and Yeltsin received an over whelming 60 percent of votes cast. "Hardliners in the past have claimed pro-democracy demonstrations were anomolies," Hatchett said. "Dissent was labeled 'pollution from the West' found only in cosmopolitan areas and was summarily dismissed." The Russian people as a whole, how ever, displayed their desire for a move toward democracy, he said. The results were even more impressive when com pared to the last American presidential election. "Eighty percent of the eligible voters in the Russian Republic voted, com pared to only 35 percent in the U.S. in 1988," he said. "Yeltsin captured 60 S ercent of the vote and Bush just a ttle over 50 percent." Hatchett said such a staggering vic tory makes Yeltsin a man on par with Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in terms of dealing with the West. "Westerners realize that votes are where the power is," Hatchett said. "Now there can be no more doubt that Yeltsin has power." Yeltsin's new position of promi nence will become even more evident when he meets Thursday with Presi dent Bush. "The focus for dealing with the Sovi ets will no longer be 'Gorbachev, Gor bachev, Gorbachev/" he said. "Start ing this week Yeltsin will be courted by the West. This election made that ap parent." Hatchett attributes Yeltsin's victory in part to the confidence and organiza tion his followers demonstrated at a roundtable discussion he attended in the Soviet Union in April. "Yeltsin's people exude confidence in him, and in his program," Hatchett said. "They know the hardliners will eventually be forced to give way. They seem to know the future belongs to them." Hatchett said fears of military oppo sition to Yeltsin and his democrats are pushed aside. See U.S./Page 6 Apartheid law ended Parliament abolishes race classification; de Klerk now faces fight over constitution JOHANNESBURG, South Af- an agreement can be reached ; rica (AP) — Parliament abolished within a few years. South Africa’s last major apart- All but 38 of the 308 members heid law Monday, ending more of the three-chamber Parliament than four decades in which all in Cape Town voted to scrap the citizens were classified by race. racial registration law, under "Now (apartheid legislation) which all South Africans were la- belongs to history," President beled as white, black, Asian or F. W. de Klerk told Parliament af- mixed-race. ter the repeal of the Population Until de Klerk began undoing Registration Act. "Now every- apartheid restrictions, the racial body is free of it." classifications determined where But the opposition African Na- a person could live, go to school, tional Congress said the repeal get medical treatment, play ball was iargeiy a symbolic move that or be buried. would do nothing to improve "It was an act of racial bigotry the lot of most blacks. and caused untold suffering and De Klerk still must deal with humiliation," said Barney Desai, South Africa's most difficult ra- spokesman for the Pan African- cial issue — winning agreement ist Congress, a militant anti- on a new constitution that will apartheid group. "I'm not going f ive the vote to the 30 million to say, 'Hooray.' But in essence, lacks who make up 68 percent one is saying goodbye to a bad of the population. dream." He promised to produce a con- Since assuming power in 1989, stitution that "will guarantee de Klerk has moved swiftly to participation and representation end statutory discrimination, to all South Africans within a true democracy" and predicted See Living/Page 6 S0NDRA ROBBINS/The Battalion To build a fireplace Coach Bob Wenck instructs Matt Haswell, a junior from Houston, in duction of “Deathtrap.” Haswell is in a theater workshop that builds sets painting a fireplace that will be used in the upcoming Aggie Players pro- for Aggie Players productions. Professor defends minorities Hickman takes active role in policy reform at A&M By Chris Vaughn ^ >eo P^ e - The Battalion , Dewey was a careful ____________________________ thinker, but he didn t avoid major social problems either," Surrounded by Thomas De- Hickman explained. "He be- wey books in a fifth-floor cor- lieved philosophers ought to ner of the Blocker Building, Dr. be engaged in the practical Larry Hickman sits comfort- arena. He thought it important ably, chewing on a cigar and that people who think should speaking about making a dif- be involved in changing as well ference. as contemplating." "I think it's important to Hickman has been doing just help when people, or a group that since his arrival at the Uni- of people, don't have a voice," versity in 1974. His biggest he saia. "You need to stick up such role, however, began in for them and provide ways for 1981 when he assumed the job them to voice their concerns. as faculty adviser for A&M's Even though you may not be a gay and lesbian student orga- member of that minority, you nization. stick up for them. My great After 10 years, one lawsuit, mentor John Dewey always many headaches, and not to did that. mention hundreds of counsels "I don't mind standing in for with frightened homosexuals, people and deflecting a few of he has passed the baton to an- the punches when they're tak- other faculty member, ing it on the chin," he said. "Now there's a gay professor It is fitting the 48-year-old to do it," Hickman said. "I al- Hickman, a professor of phi- ways said I would do it (be fac- losophy at Texas A&M, be sur- ulty adviser) as long as they rounded in his office by De- needed me to until a gay or les- wey's works. bian faculty member would." Dewey, an American philo- When Hickman took the job sopher of the late 1800s to mid- as adviser to Gay and Lesbian 1900s, also stood up for causes. Student Services, times were He was a founding member of grim for homosexuals at A&M. the American Civil Liberties The group was not recog- Union and National Associa- nized by the University and tion for the Advancement of met off campus under constant Ql> Larry Hickman SONDRA ROBBINS/The Battalion I think it’s important to help when people, or a group of people, don’t have a voice. You need to Stick up for them ... - Dr. Larry Hickman intimidation. The organization he said. "Because at some did not always have strong stu- point, I thought they would dent leadership because of the say 'I'm sorry' because they fear of coming out of the closet. screwed up some kids. But I But A&M's gays won a vie- don't think they ever did." tory in 1984 when a court ruled Hickman said what drew the University no longer could him to A&M 17 years ago was discriminate against GLSS and the hope he could make a dif- must officially recognize the ference. student organization. Hickman bitterly remembers "I thought A&M would be the lawsuit. good because it has a lot more "I don't think the vice presi- nature than past, which sounds dent for student affairs, the re- odd because of the traditions gents and the old Ags who here," he said. "It was a place I paid for the lawsuit ever real- knew would undergo enor- ized what that obscene battle mous change and I wanted to cost those young men and be a part of that change. That's women in terms of personal es- still true here. You can make a teem and personal problems," See Hickman/Page 6 Some STDs spread despite condom use Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on sexually transmitted diseases. Names of STD victims in this article have been changed to maintain confi dentiality. STDs «two-part series E! Today: The dangers of STD s □ Tomorrow: AIDS By Shannon Britt The Battalion Eric, a Texas A&M student, went to a nightclub, partied one Friday night and picked up not only a one-night stand, but also a case of the crabs (pubic lice), a sexually transmitted disease (STD). From the time he contracted crabs until he discovered he had the STD, Eric had multiple sex partners. Consequently, he did not know whom he contracted the disease from. Eric said he practices "safe sex" by wearing a condom dur ing sexual contact. But some STDs, such as crabs, can be con tracted even with the use of a condom. Crabs is one of 30 or more STDs. STDs, formerly called ve nereal disease or VD, are spread ing more rapidly than all other communicable diseases com bined. The most common STDs in the United States are chlamydia, genital warts, genital herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea and AIDS. Erika Gonzalez-Lima, health educator coordinator of A.P. Beutel Health Center, said at least 25 STDs afflict millions of people each year, primarily teen agers and young adults. "Chlamydia has the highest frequency at Texas A&M," she said. Signs of chlamydia are pain while urinating, discharge from the vagina or penis and abdomi nal pain. If chlamydia is left un treated, it might lead to pelvic in flammatory disease (PID), and eventually to infertility. About 100,000 women become infertile each year as a result of PID. "If it goes untreated, it can have very serious long-term ef fects on the woman," Gonzalez- Lima said. "She will be affected her entire lifespan by this dis ease." A mother with genital warts might even pass them on to her baby during childbirth. Some genital warts recently have been associated with cer tain types of cancer. The warts are caused by a group of sexually transmitted viruses and can grow into large masses that are difficult to treat successfully. See Early/Page 6