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The Battalion
Vol. 93 No. 12 (10 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Tuesday, September 14,1993
'Enough of blood and tears'
Rabin, Arafat exchange 'handshake of peace'
during ceremonial signing of Israel-PLO treaty
The Associated Press
Arafat given the royal treatment at White House
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Yasser
Arafat, for decades an outsider
who yearned for acceptance in
the Western world, stood on a
White House stage Monday
and promised to make peace.
He couldn't stop smiling.
From the moment he ar
rived at the White House
wearing his trademark black-
and-white checked headdress
and starched military uni
form, to his good-bye wave as
got into his limousine, the ag
ing guerrilla chieftain ap
peared to be having the time
of his life.
After 19 years of being re
fused entry into the United
States, here he was being es
corted into the White House
Blue Room; here he was being
introduced to Vice President
A1 Gore, Secretary of State
Warren Christopher and Pres
ident Clinton.
And here he was standing
next to Clinton in front of
3,000 VIPs and millions of TV
viewers around the world
who tuned in to watch the
signing of a peace agreement
between the Palestine Libera
tion Organization and Israel.
"My people are hoping
that this agreement which we
are signing today marks the
beginning of the end of a
chapter of pain and suffering
which has lasted throughout
this century," Arafat said,
speaking in Arabic.
"Our two peoples are
awaiting today this historic
hope, and they want to give
peace a real chance," he said.
Arafat also sought to as
sure his new partners in
peace. "Our people do not
consider that exercising the
right to self-determination
could violate the rights of
their neighbors or infringe on
their security."
WASHINGTON — In a breathtaking
moment of hope and history, Yasser
Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
exchanged a handshake of peace before a
cheering White House audience Monday
after the signing of a PLO-Israeli treaty
that once seemed unimaginable.
"Enough of blood and tears.
Enough," the gravelly voiced Rabin said
with emotion. "We wish to open a new
chapter in the sad book of our lives to
gether, a chapter of mutual recognition,
of good neighborliness, of mutual re
spect, of understanding."
Arafat said the agreement should mark
"the end of a chapter of pain and suffering
which has lasted throughout this century."
The two men watched from several feet
apart as aides signed historic agreements
that will bring Palestinian rule to the Is
raeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Then, drawn toward Rabin by Presi
dent Clinton, a grinning Arafat extended
his hand.
The prime minister reached out for a
businesslike handshake.
Cheers of delight roared from the
crowd of 3,000 people assembled on the
sun-soaked South Lawn.
The audience included former Presi
dents Carter and Bush. There were eight
former secretaries of state, the Cabinet,
the Supreme Court and most members of
Congress, as well as diplomats and Arab
and Jewish leaders in the United States.
Jihan Sadat, the widow of Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat, assassinated for
making peace with Israel, also was present.
After months of secret negotiations,
the PLO last week recognized the right of
Israel to live in peace and renounced vio
lence; Israel in turn recognized the PLO
as the representative of Palestinians.
The fast-moving chain of events is ex
pected to continue Tuesday with an
nouncement by Jordan and Israel at the
State Department of agreement on a ne
gotiating agenda that could lead to a
peace treaty and diplomatic relations.
The success of the Israeli-PLO agree
ment depends on the international com
munity providing billions of dollars to
develop the economy of the West Bank
and Gaza. Clinton made clear he expects
other nations to provide the lion's share.
"We know a difficult road lies ahead,"
Clinton said. "Every peace has its enemies,
those who still prefer the easy habits of ha
tred to the hard labors of reconciliation."
"It's not so easy," Rabin said, "nei
ther for myself as a soldier in Israel's
war, nor for the people of Israel, nor for
the Jewish people in the Diaspora who
are watching us now with great hope
mixed with apprehension."
Arafat sought to appease his critics af
ter the ceremony by predicting that the
Palestinian flag "will fly over Jerusalem's
walls, minarets and churches."
Kite-flying weather blows into A&M
Stephanie Newman/THE Battalion
Kristian Houghtling, a sophomore genetics major from San An- Duncan Field. He says it was the first day he has been able to
tonio, takes advantage of the wind on Monday for kite flying on get his kite out.
Faculty Senate
Senate urges changes
in bookstore policies
Ban on smokeless tobacco considered
By Lisa Elliott
The Battalion
Changes in the book ordering
policy or the University Bookstore
could be in the future if the Facul
ty Senate has its way.
Several faculty senators ex
pressed their anger with the book
store's ordering and pricing poli
cies at the Faculty Senate meeting
Monday afternoon.
Steven Oberhelman, associate
professor of modern and classical
languages, said he is disgusted
with having his students using
different editions because the
bookstore is out of the one they
need. He said it takes several
weeks to order new books, and by
the time they arrive, the students
are already behind.
Barbara Gastel, associate pro
fessor of journalism and of hu
manities in medicine, said the
bookstore is too hasty at sending
books back.
"Last semester we started us
ing a book halfway through the
semester, but by the time we
needed it, they had already sent it
back," she said.
The Senate also moved to in
vestigate the pricing policy of the
bookstore after several faculty
members complained their books
were being sold for more than
they were worth.
In other business, smokeless
tobacco users may join the smok
ers on the sidewalks outside cam
pus buildings if the Senate ap
proves a motion presented to ban
the use of all forms of tobacco in
campus buildings.
Murl Bailey, professor of vet
erinary physiology and pharma
cology, made the suggestion say
ing the appearance of the Univer
sity would improve if it was made
a "tobaccoless campus."
"It is very ugly and unsightly,
and it creates a health hazard," he
said.
The Senate also voted to send
the proposed 1994-1995 school
year calendar to be revised so fac
ulty members will not have to re
turn to work before Sept. 1
Three Americans wounded in
heavy sniper fire in Mogadishu
The Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia — American soldiers came under what
they described as heavy sniper fire Monday and responded by call
ing in helicopter gunships.
Three Americans were wounded. A spokesman for fugitive war
lord Mohamed Farrah Aidid said at least 25 Somalis were killed and
many more wounded.
Maj. David Stoekwell, the chief U.N. military spokesman, denied
a claim by Aidid's supporters that 12 Americans were killed. "Ab
solutely not, without a doubt," he said.
About 200 soldiers from the U.S. Quick Reaction Force came un
der fire after searching two walled compounds in southern Mo
gadishu and detaining 50 Somalis for questioning, said Stoekwell
and his assistant, Capt. Tim McDavitt.
"We suspected them to be gathering places for Aidid's militia,"
McDavitt said of the compounds.
A Blackhawk and a Cobra helicopter covering the operation re
turned the sniper fire with 60mm machine guns and 20mm cannons
and a second Cobra was called in to lend support, Stoekwell said.
Funding for Presidential Library on schedule
By Mark Smith
The Battalion
Fund raising for the George Bush Presiden
tial Library is on track and may be ahead of
fund-raising attempts for other presidential li
braries, said Dr. Don W. Wilson, executive di
rector of the Bush Library Center.
"We've had a good response," Wilson
said. "I'm very confident that the funds will
come in."
John Lindsey, regent and member of the
George Bush Presidential Foundation, said,
"We're organized now, and I think we're do
ing fine (with raising funds)."
Lindsey said the six-member foundation is
supported by a 40-member board of trustees
who come from all over the country.
Recently, the members of the foundation
and board of trustees met with the former
president at his home in Kennebunkport,
Maine. Lindsey said many of the trustees
were excited with the library.
"I think we'll get a lot of pledges from the
board," Lindsey said.
The fund raising started this spring, and
one-fifth of the funds for the library have al
ready come in. Wilson said he would have a
better estimate of the necessary funds in June
and then see what percentage of that goal they
have received.
"We won't really know how much funds
we'll need until we get the final design," he
said.
Wilson said the designs for the library will
include several options set around the main
design criteria before there is a final selection
of the layout.
"The library's interior is basically set," Wil
son said. "The options will be to see what fi
nal exterior materials will be used."
A new School of Government and Public
Services is being added with the library and
could bring the University added prestige in
the area of political science.
"The library has potential to bring more in
ternational studies to the school," Dr. E. Dean
Gage, interim-president of the University,
said. "With the priority of international agen
da, it (the library) could accelerate moves in
that area."
Lindsey said, "When we were first trying to
get the library here. Dean Fallon, former dean
of the College of Liberal Arts, brought in 10
books for our meeting with President Bush.
He put them down on the table and said each
of those books was on presidential studies and
had been written by a A&M faculty member."
Lindsey said, "We've been on the catting
edge of presidential studies. The library is just
going to make us that much better."
The contract for the design of the $42 mil
lion library and the School of Government and
Public Services was awarded to CRSS Archi
tects, Inc.
Construction on the library is scheduled to
begin in November 1994 and will be complet
ed in December 1996.
Public access channel controversy reaches B-CS
By Lisa Elliott
The Battalion
Cable viewers in Bryan and Col
lege Station are not immune to ex
plicit programming similar to that
which recently aired in Austin and
Houston, said Randy Rogers, TCA
Cable general manager.
Tempers rose in Austin after a
program depicting gay • sex
scenes was aired on a public ac
cess channel.
Access Houston has been un
der fire with its community re
cently because of nudity and oth
er objectionable material repeated
ly being aired on its three public
access channels. As a result of
that controversy, the director of
Access Houston lost his job, and
radical changes are in store for the
nonprofit company.
However, when it
comes to public ac
cess channels, the
hands of the cable
company are tied,
said Rogers.
"Nobody else has
a right to edit what
goes on an access
channel," he said. "It
has to be played as is
unless it is prohibited
by federal law."
Rogers said under
the law, nothing pro
hibits access channels from
airing explicit programs, but they
must give viewers the opportuni
ty to block it out. That, he said, is
why Austin's cable company is in
trouble.
"The FCC defines
obscene material,"
he said. "If you car
ry it, you have to
give people the abil
ity to block it out."
KBTX viewers in
Bryan-College Sta
tion were angered
by the anchorper-
son's description of
the explicit scenes
when reporting
about the Austin ac
cess channel last
week on the 6 o'clock news.
Viewers wrote in and called the
station forcing them to apologize
and promise to take better care in
selecting their words in the future,
said Jeff Braun, executive produc
er of KBTX channel 3.
Braun said they received about
five complaints as a result of their
coverage which is more than they
receive on most other stories.
"The community standards
here are much more conservative
than in other towns," Braun said.
Rogers said, although TCA
Cable does not carry a public ac
cess channel, except for three ed
ucational access channels used
by the school districts and A&M,
it probably would if it had the
opportunity.
Cable
o
Angel Kan/The Battalion
Inside
Sports
Weather
Slocum: A&M attempting to
rebound from OU loss
Harrison: scattershooting on
sport's great mysteries
Page 5
Opinion
•Tuesday: cloudy with
scattered showers, heavy
rain, flooding possible
• Forecast for Wednesday:
decreasing clouds, rain,
highs in the 80s
Expanded Mail Call returns!
Page 8
Column: Vasquez delves
into the other side of PTTS
Page 9
•Your Battalion extended
forecast: not too much
rain, not too much sun