9,1993
n
federal
enance
ing the
here
:al that
meet a
percent
>93 be-
?d this
rrutiny
rry the
t takes
e it off
ed the
began
ear.
ie unit.
of un-
of the
■s, in a
Unit 1
.000 to
before
The Battalion
'""K tflO
Vol. 93 No. 10 (10 pages)
1893 — A Century r of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Friday, September 10,1993
Israel, PLO agree on mutual recognition
-
The Associated Press
I
lommit-
amend-
ts meet-
a open
p.m. at
in the
uilding.
invited
nate en-
■ss their
•mic Af
final re-
,ts Octo-
y Senate
proposal
TUNIS, Tunisia — PLO leaders
and Israel swept away one of the
major obstacles to Mideast peace
Thursday when they agreed to
recognize each other and take the
risky path to peace.
The mutual recognition agree
ment clears the way for a separate
pact giving Palestinians a measure
of self-rule in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel
since the 1967 Middle East war.
President Clinton called the
agreement "a very brave and
courageous thing,” and a congres
sional aide said Clinton told con
gressional leaders that Washing
ton would renew dialogue with
the PLO, suspended in 1990.
Yitzhak Rabin's office said in
Jerusalem that Israel and the PLO
will sign the recognition agree
ment in simultaneous ceremonies
in Jerusalem and Tunis on Friday.
It said Rabin would sign in his of
fice at 9a.m. Friday (3 a.m. EST).
On Monday in Washington, the
two sides will sign an accord on
Palestinian self-rule in the occu
pied Gaza Strip and West Bank
town of Jericho.
Under the recognition agree
ment, the Palestine Liberation Or
ganization would renounce terror
ism and recognize Israel's right to
She said the agreement "recog
nizes Palestinian national rights
and allows for genuine reconcilia
tion based on the rights of both
peoples to live in the region."
Texts of the unsigned recogni
tion letters were released by Ra
bin's office on Thursday.
"There are very few moments in history that
are comparable to this moment."
- Hanan Ashrawi, spokeswoman for the Palestinian
delegation at the Mideast peace talks in Washington
exist. The agreement on self-rule
could eventually lead to a more
comprehensive autonomy for
Palestinians in lands captured by
Israel.
In Washington, Hanan
Ashrawi, spokeswoman for the
Palestinian delegation at the
Mideast peace talks, said, "There
are very few moments in history
that are comparable to this mo
ment."
PLO chief Yasser Arafat, in a
letter to Rabin, pledges the PLO
will renounce terrorism and de
clares that sections of the PLO
convenant that call for Israel's de
struction are "no longer valid."
Rabin, in a letter to his longtime
enemy, says Israel will recognize
the PLO "as the representative of
the Palestinian people" and will
start negotiations with the organi
zation.
PLO officials said the last stick
ing point in the agreement con
cerned the nearly six-year Pales
tinian uprising in the Israeli-occu
pied lands.
A senior PLO official said that
under a compromise Arafat will
announce that "the PLO will en
courage the Palestinians in the oc
cupied territories to work for re
construction and will urge them to
avoid violence."
The PLO had hesitated at
wording proposed by Israel that
could have been interpreted as a
call to end the uprising against
more than a quarter-century of Is
raeli domination.
"At last there is peace," said
Shulamit Aloni, Israel's minister of
science and culture. "For me, after
fighting so many years for this
moment, I have to go and cele
brate."
Norway's foreign minister, Jo
han Jorgen Holst, who has been
helping mediate the talks, called
See Mideast/Page 4
Cotton candy causes a stir
ny area
vement,
, and he
se since
[ would
and all
i you go
'6 got tO
i've got
etimes,
lique -
Marti Alvarado, a food service employee, serves up some cotton
candy at the Food Services barbecue held near the Academic
Kyle Burnett/The Battalion
Building Thursday. About 400 students attended the event. Sbisa
and the Commons dining centers were closed for the event.
B-CS will benefit from NAFTA, economist says
By Stephanie Pattillo
t to get
ie said,
and my
t even
I figure
i, that's
aft any-
>cus on
The Battalion
i Bryan-College Station will not lose jobs but
will benefit from the passage of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a
J local economist said Thursday, despite nation
al concerns from environmental and labor
j groups.
"We don't have the low skill, small manu-
] facturing jobs here that are moving to Mexico
so industries that go to Mexico won't be
drawn from B-CS," Sam Harwell, director of
the Small Business Development Center said.
"A lot of small to medium size import/ex
port companies based here will grow, and a lot
of agricultural industries will export to Mexi
co," he said.
Rafael Gely, assistant professor of manage
ment, said there will be an increase in jobs in
the United States in the long run.
"There will be some job loss due to NAFTA,
but those will be mainly low-skill jobs," he
said. "The jobs that will be gained will be the
high skilled, high paid jobs."
NAFTA, if passed by Congress this Decem
ber, will phaseout most of the trade barriers
between the United States, Mexico and Canada
over a 15-year period. The treaty is under in
tensive attack by U.S. labor unions.
Gely said the immediate concerns of labor are
that the jobs that are moving to Mexico are
those in the textile and low-skills manufactur
ing industry.
"Unions have not been faring well in the
last 15 years, and they are concerned with los
ing more jobs in a short span of time," he said.
Julian Caspar, director of the Center for In
ternational Business Study, said unions will be
hit hard because people don't like to see a loss
of jobs.
"Labor is trying to protect industries that
will die sooner or later because of advanced
companies," he said. "Labor needs to realize
that they've got to keep moving on. Skilled
workers need to increase.
"From an economic standpoint there is no
reason why if the Mexican worker produces at
half the price of what American workers pro
duce Mexican workers shouldn't benefit," Gas-
par said.
Harwell said labor concerns have been
overblown.
"Jobs that are going to Mexico just as easily
could go to Taiwan or Guatemala," he said.
Caspar predicted that during the next 10 to
See NAFTA/Page 4
Medical school to include leadership program
By Carrie Miura
ed a lot
tes and
d times/
m came
Dther.
rer," h e
The Battalion
Texas A&M University medical
students are learning that there is
more to being a doctor than just
medicine.
Deborah Seidel, director of
public affairs for the Texas A&M
College of Medicine, said the col
lege has incorporated a 'leader
ship in medicine' program into
their curriculum, which will "give
students the opportunity to
broaden their perspectives."
A&M is the only College of
Medicine in Texas that has such a
program in its curriculum.
"We want them to be active
Within their communities and to
take on responsibilities around
us," she said.
"The leadership in medicine
program is designed to instill in
our students the desire to be a
part of solutions," Seidel said
Dr. Richard DeVaul, director of
the leadership in medicine pro
gram and dean of the College of
Medicine, said he initiated the
program in hopes that it would
enhance the medical education
curriculum.
The medical students begin the
leadership program within their
first year in medical school.
Dr. James Knight, co-director
of the leadership program, said
the students first work in groups
made up of eight students and
two leaders who are either physi
cians or basic scientists.
Students discuss professional
development, leadership princi
ples, community organization and
issues like health care reform, said
Knight.
In the second year of the lead
ership program, students have the
opportunity to choose a mentor.
Knight said, "This gives the
student a broaden perspective on
how that leader conducts them
selves within the community."
Stuart Shalat, associate profes
sor of epidemiology for the Col
lege of Veterinary Medicine and
mentor to the leadership program,
said, "This program tries to give
students broader horizons and a
chance at realizing their full po
tential."
The student and the mentor in
teract on a different level, she
said.
"I found it to be a very invigo
rating experience to get a student
early in their career and be able to
broaden their horizons," Knight
said.
In third year of medical school,
students must decide their spe
cialty, during this process, the
leadership program "opens up all
the different areas of medicine to
the students," Knight said.
Erik Nisimblat, a second year
medical student at the A&M Col
lege of Medicine, said, "The first
year program exposed you to the
different services that the commu
nity offers and showed you how
as a physician, you can get in
volved within the community."
Aggies react to Middle East
By Lisa Elliott
The Battalion
After decades of fighting in
the Middle East, a chance for
peace is on the horizon, yet stu
dents and faculty at Texas A&M
University have mixed reac
tions about the future.
The agreement between the
Palestine Liberation Organiza
tion and the Jewish state of Is
rael could be the start of a new
era, said Rabbi Peter Tarlow of
the B'nai B'rith Hillel Founda
tion, the Jewish student organi
zation at A&M.
"I hope that this will be the
beginning of a new age of
peace," he said.
Tarlow said he has seen
many friends and relatives die
in the fighting and is hopeful
for the future of the Middle
East
"I have seen friends lose
sons, brothers, husbands and
whole families to this fighting,"
he said.
Mahmoud Alyahya, a 1990
agricultural education graduate
of A&M and a former resident
of Palestine, isn't as hopeful of
the future. He said he is skepti
cal of the Jewish people and
fears the Palestinians are being
misled.
"This is a preplanned result
of the Zionist project to take the
whole of Palestine and to ex
pand further in fulfillment of
Zionist aims and ideals," he
said.
Alyahya said he was driven
out of his home by Zionist ter
rorists in the late 1940s and lost
the land that had belonged to
See Reaction/Page 4
KBTX to remain
on TCA's line-up
By Geneen Pipher
The Battalion
After almost a month of con
flict and a week and a half of "se
rious negotiations," local CBS af
filiate KBTX-TV and TCA Cable
reached an agreement Wednes
day night that allows KBTX to re
main on TCA's channel line-up.
The details of the settlement,
which was reached early Wednes
day evening, are being kept
tightly under wraps because of a
confidentiality clause in the
agreement.
Although the exact details of
the agreement are unknown to
the public, Randy Rogers, gener
al manager of TCA Cable, said no
cash will exchange hands.
"The only thing I can tell you
about it is that it (the agreement)
does not involve any cash com
pensation," Rogers said.
"Since it does not involve any
cash compensation it will not re
sult in any increase in rates now
or in the future."
KBTX had wanted TCA to pay
30 cents per customer per month,
amounting to $10,000 per month
and $122,400 per year.
But, Rogers said earlier this
month, TCA would not pay the
money KBTX was demanding,
even though it could result in no
CBS programming on the cable
system.
Although KBTX could not be
reached for comment, Rogers said
both TCA and KBTX are satisfied
with the outcome of the negotia
tions.
"I am pleased with the settle
ment," he said. "We were able to
reach an agreement 1 think we
can all be happy with. The cable
subscribers will continue receiv
ing the KBTX - CBS programming
on our cable system."
Rogers said it was important
that KBTX and its programming
remain on the cable system.
"Quite frankly, the CBS pro
gramming is valuable to cable
customers and so is the local pro
gramming, the news and so
forth," he said.
"The people want it, that is
why it's so important to TCA. It
is important to KBTX to remain
on the cable system because they
have a lot of extra coverage they
would not have otherwise."
Rodger Lewis, KAMU educa
tional program director and lec
turer in broadcast journalism,
said KBTX gets more advertisers
because they are on the cable sys
tem. ,
"I know of three different local
advertisers tjaat said if KBTX was
not on cable they would pull their
ads," Lewis said.
"If I were guessing. I'd say
that's what prompted Jim
(KBTX's general manager) to
change his position."
The conflict began as a result
of a new federal law, the Cable
Consumer Protection Act of 1992,
which states that cable companies
must now have permission to car
ry all stations before Oct. 6.
Lewis said the controversy be
tween KBTX and TCA is some
thing that is currently happening
all over the United States.
"Anytime you have new regu
lations, businesses are going to
devise strategies to get more
money or keep from losing mon
ey," Lewis said.
"If a station thinks they can get
money they are going to try, but
cable companies are not so fat
that they can pay the money and
not have to pass it on to sub
scribers.
"I think channel 3 had an error
in their strategy because there is
no way TCA could pay that
amount of money."
Lewis said many people in the
community were confused by the
messages the two organizations
were producing.
"There were two different
sides, two (different points of view
and no one knew exactly who to
believe," he said.
Rogers agreed and said, "It
was a negotiation between busi
nesses, and it got out in the public
a couple of weeks ago.
"I think people in the commu
nity were pulled back and forth
as to who to support and who to
believe. I wish it could have been
completely behind closed doors,
but it wasn't."
Inside
Sports
•A&M plays Oklahoma for
first time since 1951
•Oklahoma is A&M's next
obstacle to championship
Page 7
Opinion
•Pro-Con: Was KBTX
justified in asking TCA
to pay rebroadcast fees?
Page 9
Weather
♦Friday: partly cloudy,
isolated showers
•Weekend: partly cloudy,
highs in 90s
• Next week: partly
cloudy, isolated showers