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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1993)
i w ' ' The Department of Philosophy and Humanities - Music Program Presents “Music of Lotus Realm - An Introduction to Chinese Buddhist Music” Li Wei Faculty Member, Rollins College (Orlando, FL), Ph.D. candidate (Ethnomusicology), Columbia University Monday, March 22 4:00 p.m. 402 Academic Monday, March 22,1993 The Battalion Page 4 Austin residents continue to fight 'environmental racism 7 CarePIusN^trt Presents Roc, The Good Doc *Roc, the good Doc, is in at CarePlus. Roc, the good Doc at CarePlus Medical Center is in. In fact, he's available seven days a week without an appointment to all you Aggies who want quick, convenient, quality medical attention. A&M students even get a 10% discount at CarePlus. So next time you're ill, chill out and come see Roc, the good Doc, at CarePlus Medical Center. CarePlusN>*tf 2411 Texas Ave. and Southwest Pkwy • College Station, TX 77840 696-0683 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN — East Austin resi dents who helped persuade six oil companies to move storage termi nals from their neighborhood have vowed to continue fighting what they call "environmental racism." The East Austin Strategy Team was instrumental in the successful campaign that resulted in the tank farm's relocation. Residents in the predominantly minority neighborhood began complaining that emissions from the 52-acre facility were causing health problems after Mobil Oil Corp. announced plans last year to expand its facilities. Exxon, Chevron, Coastal States Gathering Co., Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Star Enterprise also op erated terminals in the tank farm. Exxon last month was the last of six companies to agree to move after being picketed, boycotted, investigated and sued by the group. EAST chairman Ron Davis, at the group's victory party this weekend, said the fight was not yet over. "This is the beginning of many battles that we are going to face," Davis told about 275 people gath ered at a park. "We're trying to stop environmental racism from occurring." •Ken Oden, who filed lawsuits against and negotiated with the oil companies as Travis County attorney, said residents had over come incredible odds. "To me, what was most re warding was to see us successful ly come out of a situation in which everyone predicted fail ure," said Oden. Residents now are urging the city to move a solid waste dispos al facility and the Holly Power Plant from their neighborhood. Residents have complained the solid waste facility emits unpleas ant odors, pollutes water and at tracts rodents. The power plant, they say, is noisy and poses a fire hazard to nearby homes. They also opposed the city's ef forts to move the municipal air port to Bergstrom Air Force Base, where they say noise levels would disturb the neighborhood. Petrochemical group to investigate links between industry, cancer risks Peace Corps Recruiters on Campus... March 23 & 24 r Film Presentation March 23 7:00 pm 502 Rudder Tower^, Info Table March 23 & 24 9:00 am — 3:00 pm Memorial Student Center Interviews* March 24 8:30 am — 2:30 pm Career Center *By appointment only. J/ Currently in high demand are individuals qualifying for programs in agriculture, education, math, science, nutrition, or health. For information or an application call: (800) 527-9216, ext. 124. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN — A petrochemical industry research group, spurred by public concern linking the in dustry with cancer, has commis sioned a comprehensive survey of what is known about the disease in the state. The nine-month review, ex pected to begin April 1, will ana lyze all published and unpub lished scientific cancer and popu lation data. It will be publicly re leased about a year after its com pletion, officials said. The study will be flawed by a lack of sufficient detail, re searchers say, but it will be valu able to have the collected informa tion even if some puzzle pieces are missing. "It's good to examine every thing to identify the data gaps, maybe even draw some conclu sions if the studies are finding the same things," said Jean Bender, director of environmental epi demiology for the Texas Depart ment of Health. The survey/ funded by the non profit Texas Institute for Advance ment of <xhemical Technology at Texas A&M University, was spurred by concern that the indus try is posing cancer risks to people living near petrochemical facili ties. One newspaper report said nearly a quarter of cancer deaths in 1990 occurred along the Texas coast, home to more than 100 chemical plants, refineries and toxic waste sites. "We felt it was time to obtain the best possible understanding through a critical review and analysis." -Charles Holland, institute president and A&M professor emeritus "We feltvt was time to obtain the best possible understanding through a critical review and analysis," t s ( 4i4 Charles Holland, ? 'resident of’ me institute and pro- essor emeritus of chemical engi neering at Texas A&M. The institute chose Sharon Cooper, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, to lead a team of four re searchers. Their work will be reviewed by a committee of institute and state experts, but the researchers have been told they also may submit their work to independent scien tific journals. Cooper, who said she never has done research for industry be fore, insisted the institute will not control the study. "They could have done it themselves, but they wanted to go to academia to make it more rigor ous and they're going to great lengths to make it more indepen dent," Cooper said. She predicted that the study, which will focus on the whole state, would be hampered by sev eral factors, including the state cancer registry's lack of complete reporting from the about 400 pri vate and public hospitals in Texas. The study also would be flawed because of cancer's nature, she said. "Cancer is a multifactorial dis ease — many diseases actually," Cooper said. "And there are many other risk factors than occupation al and industrial ones." Courthouse to receive renovations THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN ANTONIO - A $7.3 million appropriation by Bexar County commissioners will! help pay for the first major courtnouse renovation since 1926. The multiple-phase facelift, scheduled to start this spring, will provide much-needed ren ovations for the 100-year-old building's heating and cooling systems, fire protection system and electrical system. In addition to physical mod ifications for appearance and to provide more office space, the building will be brought into compliance with the Ameri cans With Disabilities Act. Commissioner Walter Biel- stein said an engineering con sultant told officials the build ing's antiquated electrical sys tem is in dire need for an up date. "He told us, 'Don't add an other plug. If you don't do any thing else, replace this,'" Biel- stein said. The Commissioners Court agreed to renovate the court house in multiple phases in stead of trying to do it allaf one time because of the cost. The first phase, to be funded with certificates of obligation issued in June, will include the basement, first floor and por tions of the second and third floors. Heating, air-conditioning and electrical work required before anything else can be done are the most expensive items, estimated at $2.5 million. The rest of the courthouse will be renovated during phase two, which hasn't yet been scheduled. County Judge Cyn- di Krier said. During construction, com missioners and their staff will be moved from their first-floor offices to the fifth floor. Commissioners' offices and meeting rooms, now at 6,177 square feet, will be expanded to 9,091 square feet. Kriepjqqid attempts will be made to ensure that the interior of the building is returned to its original condition wherever possible. Contra funder, Oliver North witness dies at 89 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN — Ellen Clayton Garwood, who donated $2.5 million to conservative groups backing Nicaraguan Contras and later testified in behalf of former White House aide Oliver North, has died. She was 89. Garwood died Saturday, apparently of nat ural causes, while doing her daily swim in a pool at her apartment complex, authorities said. Her donations to the Nicaraguan Contras, which made up the bulk of $3 million raised by the National Endowment for the Preserva tion of Liberty, earned her personal thanks from President Reagan. "Mother would like to be remembered as someone who cared very much for her country and her family and she felt if things needed to be done she should do them," said her son, William Garwood of Austin. Garwood was the daughter of State Depart ment official Will Clayton, who in 1947 worked on the Marshall Plan that helped save Greece and Turkey from communism after World War II. During North's trial in 1989, Garwood testi fied that her father's work was an inspiration to her aiding the Contras. "I felt if Greece and Turkey were threat ened, how much more the people of Nicaragua," she said. Garwood testified that North described "desperate" Contra needs to her, but she as serted firmly that he never directly asked for or received money from her while he was a White House aide. She said she had met North a half dozen times and that he had briefed her on the Con tra fight on Aug. 23, 1985, before she signed a check. "Colonel North showed me a map of Cen tral America. ... He said, 'This is a desperate situation .for the freedom fighters. I'm not ask ing you for money. As a member of the gov ernment and the National Security CoundU cannot ask you for money/" she testified. Garwood said she later wrote a check for $75,000 to fund-raiser Carl Channell, who had been enlisted by North. She donated to the cause at other times, in cluding one instance in which she gave Retired Gen. John Singlaub $65,000 for a helicopter to evacuate Contra soldiers in need of medical at tention. In April 1986, Garwood met with Reagan on a trip to Washington that resulted in her giv ing $2 million to the Contras, largely through donations of stock certificates. I! An farce! New York Daily News A hilarious spoof on the world of opera! Complete with swooning females, slamming doors, and mistaken identities, this uproarious comedy unleashes the likes of II Stupendo, the star Italian tenor who may not be able to perform for the company's opening performance of "Otello." Don't miss this side-splitting peek backstage! MARCH 27, 1993 8:00 PM RUDDER AUDITORIUM Texas A&M University Health Science Center 1993 Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship This program is designed for students in the advanced stages of their undergraduate training who are considering careers in biomedical research. It provides an opportunity for students to obtain experience in the research lab and to interact with graduate students and faculty within the Medical Sciences Graduate Program. There are six disciplines within the biomedical sciences for the students to choose from. A $3000 stipend is provided to students accepted into the program. Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis, and the deadline is March 31, 1993. Interested students should contact: Dr. Gerald Meininger Texas A&M Health Science Center 113 Reynolds Building Telephone: 845-0370 Fax: 845-6509 Tickets may be purchased by calling the MSC Box Office located in Rudder Tower. 845-1234 Aggie Hostess Informational meeting: Wednesday March 24th Netum Steed-applications ' ' ' ’ , 1 • ' * . ; > . 1 ; • available. Applications due: March 30th For information call 764-7445