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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1991)
A 4 17, M1P >gonye ’SlightlyV Cloudy; l Chance of A afternoon A/TTfr/ff?' showers 7/ ////// ^ WS 1 ^ Takes pot shots at Top Gun Reviews by Julia Spencer Seven Keys to Baldoate - Stage Center's new play “ page 5 Fish Camp 1991 page 2 The Battalion Vol. 90 No. 183 USPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" Thursday, August 8, 1991 Madlso m [Federal Reserve emphasizes instability of economic recovery WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is going through a “slow, un even" period of growth, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in a bleak re port analysts said underscored the danger of the nation slipping back into recession. The Fed's downbeat assessment came in a survey of business condi tions that found lackluster factory de mand, a commercial real estate market still in the doldrums and rising layoffs in such industries as banking and air lines and among state and government workers. The “beige book," compiled from re ports received from the Fed's 12 re gional banks, will guide Fed policy makers when they meet Aug. 20. Analysts said the new report showed that Fed officials were becom ing more worried about the possibility that weak growth in the spring could falter and topple the country back into a recession. Analysts said the pessimistic view from the regional banks was obviously a factor in the Fed's decision Tuesday to nudge a key interest rate, the federal funds rate, down by 0.25 percentage point to 5.5 percent. Many forecast the rate cut would be followed either later this month or in early September by further rate reductions. The Bush administration had been stepping up pressure on the Fed in re cent weeks to do more to cut rates to stimulate demand and boost growth in the nation's money supply, which ac tually declined in July. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitz- water praised the Fed's decision to cut interest rates, the first Fed rate cut since April 30. He said it “should be helpful to the recovery." A number of weak economic statis tics in recent days have begun to raise fears among private economists that the feeble 0.4 percent positive eco nomic growth in the April-June quarter could falter and turn negative in subse quent quarters, plunging the country into a double-dip recession. “We believe the recovery is on track and we would like to see a steady growth path out of the recession," Fitz- water told reporters in Kennebunk- port, Maine, where Bush was vacation ing. "The president's always said lower interest rates are helpful in that regard." The Fed's latest economic survey painted a rather gloomy picture of the recovery so far, saying any upturn in activity had been spotty at best, with some segments actually doing worse in recent weeks. The Fed survey found that retail sales were declining in the New York, Cleveland and Richmond federal re serve districts. Other regions reported either no gain in sales activity or only slight increases. j) benefitio) ontact Ctionj lived and te- 15 East 29th Embassies keep watch for release U.S. officials prepare for possible freeing of Western hostage in light of rumors . # BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Au thorities in the Middle East, Eu rope and the United States as sembled specialists and kept watch into the night Wednesday in hopes a West ern hostage would be freed. Major West ern embassies in the Leb anese capital were on alert, staying in their offices and close to telephones late into the eve ning. Marlin Fitzwater with diplomats Speculation grew as the United States said it was assem bling medical experts to be sent to meet a American freed hos tage if needed. A U.S. State De partment reception team also was organized. Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the White House had no new evidence a release was im minent. He did say that Ameri can officials have heard rumors from several sources, including diplomatic channels, of an im pending release. "We mainly just wait and see. In preparation, we've notified the families of six American hos tages that we have these rumors and so there's always a possibil ity," Fitzwater said. U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said he was re ady to meet anywhere, any time with any envoy sent by those holding Western hostages. He dispatched Giandomenico Picco, a trusted aide versed in the hos tage issue, to Geneva but denied the mission was related to the captives. Park, College II coach R.C' jnd-raisertof Lib. For more $375 $369 $405 $445 $559 $229 IS TON 1ER ([RES! 3ES burs Centers •avcl 1931^ A&M receives national prize for cost efficiency By Tammy Bryson The Battalion Texas A&M continues to dis cover new and more efficient ways to operate, and its efforts have been nationally recognized for the eighth time in the last 10 years. A&M received a $1,000 prize from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) for its entry in the organization's 1991 Cost Reduction Incentive Awards Program. NACUBO recognized A&M for its implementation of bar code parking permits that saved the University several thousand dollars last year and will con tinue to do so in the future. Tom Williams, director of the Department of Parking, Transit and Traffic Services (PTTS), said the bar-code system provides better service to students, who previously had to stand in line up to four hours to receive park ing permits and bus passes. "Parking (registration) was a real circus a few years ago," he said. "The whole process took quite a while, and students have better ways to use that time." Williams said the bar-coded permits have saved the Univer sity a considerable amount money in labor costs. "With the old system you filled out a form and the infor mation was entered by a data- entry worker," he said. "The new system saves us from hav ing to enter the data manually." During Summer 1990, PTTS purchased three hand-held scan ners that read bar codes on park ing permits and bus passes. The scanners automatically register the numbers on each pass or permit to a student's ac count, adding the charge to the fee statement. Students who choose fee options during regis tration receive a permit or pass in the mail with their fee statement before arriving on campus. This system has eliminated the long lines for students and the several months it used to take PTTS to process parking permit registration, Williams said. "The system has worked well because it decreases the amount of time spent (on parking and bus pass registration) without adding costs," he said. Williams said in the future PTTS will refine the system as technology allows. "Right now we're on the lead ing edge of bar-code technolo gy," he said. "But we will con tinue to improve the system as technolgy changes." A&M also received an honora ble mention for reducing the costs of cleaning stove burners, grates and vent hood filters by switching from household de greasing products to cresylic acid. The change, instituted at the University-Owned Apartments, is saving several thousand dol lars annually. Fat Burger's daiquiri orders broke state law, TABC says By Greg Mt.Joy The Battalion Frozen daiquiri deliveries by area Fat Burger restaurants are illegal, a Texas Alcoholic Bev erage Commission official said. Clyde Collins, TABC district supervisor, said the delivery of daiquiris made with wine vio lates state laws pertaining to the sale of liquor away from a licensed location. Moe Moati, owner and man ager of Fat Burger, said the restaurants ceased delivery of the beverages three weeks ago. The Battalion, however, has learned that Fat Burger deliv ered a peach daiquiri to a Col lege Station resident Wednes day. Collins said TABC agents talked with Fat Burger man agement Thursday, and the situation was taken care of im mediately. Fat Burger management told TABC they had not known the deliveries were illegal, Collins said. He said there is no provision for the delivery of liquor within the law. "Only beer can be deliv ered," Collins said. "But you can't do it if it has liquor in it. You can't deliver a daiquiri or See Permit/Page 4 Thomas faces uphill battle, expert says By Karen Praslicka The Battalion U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas faces an uphill battle to get to the tion's highest reaches it at all, a Texas A&M asso ciate professor said Wednes day. Dr. Judith Baer, an asso ciate professor of political sci ence and Su preme Court scholar, said President much court. Clarence Thomas Bush consideration gave too to Court nominees' ideology. "Both Reagan and Bush put too much importance on political views," she said. "The Senate has no choice but to do the same thing." The conflict between the Dem- ocratic-controlled Senate and the Republican presidency is an other problem, Baer said. "If I had to make a prediction, I would say the situation is very unstable," she said. Baer said essentially there are three criteria the president con siders before deciding on a Court nominee. A candidate's merit, political views and representativeness of the population are all factors in volved, but the president de cides which is most important, she said. The Senate Judiciary Commit tee will meet Sept. 10 to discuss Thomas' nomination. If the com mittee refuses to act on the nom ination, it will die. Baer said if it appears this will happen, the “Every day the opposition has to get stronger, the harder it will be to get the (Thomas) nomination passed.” Dr. Judith Baer Supreme Court expert nominee will usually withdraw himself from the candidacy, but this is not a requirement. If the Committee votes on the nomination, even negatively, the issue will go before the full Senate. Baer said many people doubt Thomas' qualifications for the Court. She said, however, it is hard to base an argument on those terms because there are no specific qualifications. Baer said she doubts citizens know what they want in a Court nominee because most citizens do not keep up with what goes on in the Supreme Court. "People spend little time thinking about it," she said. "Most people can't remember Court decisions." Thomas' nomination has been challenged by black groups, civil rights leaders and the elderly, and the nomination could lose even more support, Baer said. "Every day the opposition has to get stronger, the harder it will be to get the nomination pas sed," she said.