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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1993)
1 8 tanks ana 3 quieted, ayingwithj nent when! in my stont awing wherf ; nae into his ■ ^ is just; er then," the ’ carried me hey took me fine." in Sarajevo according to than 200,OOP vith people arettes and inter of war which also ;ely without ithered near Ibro Mask his body to of working The Battalion a .*uuy cpOOl 93 No. 71 (8 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Wednesday, December 8,1993 jSecret radiation testing exposed The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The government has concealed more than 200 nuclear weapon tests since the 1940s and conducted about 800 radia tion tests on humans, some of whom were un aware of the risks, the Energy Department ac- cnowledged Tuesday. "It left me appalled, shocked and deeply saddened," said Energy Secretary Hazel TLeary about information she learned only recently that 18 civilians had been injected nth highly radioactive plutonium in the 1940s determine what doses workers might be ex posed to safely. "It is apparent that informed consent could lot have taken place," she said. All the indi- /iduals are dead, although many of them lived |for years after the experiment. Learning of the plutonium tests "just gave le an ache in my heart," she said. Launching a new era of openness about the weapons programs, her department released summaries of previously secret information about nuclear tests in Nevada, the amount of plutonium produced and currently located at weapons factories, and limited information ftbout government tests during the 1940s and |50s on humans to determine the health effects of radiation doses. The dejaartment did not release plutonium stockpiles at the Pantex weapons plant near Amarillo, where thousands of warheads are being dismantled, because the number might provide clues as to the number of weapons in the nuclear arsenal. O'Leary said she was personally stunned by information she has received about the human testing, although she said she was prevented by privacy laws — and an ongoing internal re view — from disclosing details at this time. The Albuquerque Tribune reported the test ing last month and identified five of the 18 in dividuals, including Elmer Allen, a former railroad porter from Italy, Texas. Those five people were injected with plutonium as part of work being done by the Manhattan Project in the 1940s in the development of the first atom ic bomb. O'Leary directed that as much information as possible be released, perhaps as early as next June, on the tests involving the 18 people as well about 800 other radiation tests involv ing some 600 individuals. The fact that some tests were done on hu mans in connection with the government's nu clear program has been known for years, but few details have been available and officials have said the participants always were aware of the potential danger. O'Leary said in the case of the 18 individu als whose cases are being investigated she would not rule out a possible lawsuit against the government by survivors. The last of the 18 died two years ago. Tara O'Toole, the DOE's assistant secre tary for environment, safety and health, said some of the 800 tests on which documents are being assembled were "perfectly legiti mate, perfectly valid" but that others — es pecially those involving plutonium doses — were clearly questionable. O'Leary said of the plutonium-related tests "the majority of the experiments were clearly below ... the standards of correctness." Meanwhile, the department said it conduct ed 204 more underground nuclear tests be tween 1963 and 1990 at its Nevada test range than previously had been announced, or about one-fifth more than officially acknowledged over the years. Thirty-four of the tests resulted in some re lease of radiation into the environment, but of ficials said in each case the contamination was confined to the vast Nevada test area and did See Radiation/Page 4 Final exam schedule 7:30-9:30 a.m. 10 a.m.-l2 noon 12:30-2:30 p.m. 3-5 p.m. Friday, December 10 Classes meeting MW 5:45-7 or later Classes meeting MWF 8 Classes meeting TR 9:35-10:50 Classes meeting TR 11:10-12:25 8-10 a.m. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1-3 p.m. 3:30-5:30 p.m. Monday, December 13 Classes meeting MWF 9:10-10 Classes meeting MWF 12:40-1:30 Classes meeting TR 8-9:15 Classes meeting MW 4:10-5:25 8-10 a.m. 10:30 a.m.-l2:30 p.m. 1-3 p.m. 3:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 14 Classes meeting MWF 10:20-11:10 Classes meeting MWF 3-3:50 Classes meeting TR 3:55-5:10 Classes meeting MWF 1:50-2:40 8-10 a.m. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1-3 p.m. 3:30-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 15 Classes meeting TR 12:45-2 Classes meeting MWF 11:30-12:20 Classes meeting TR 2:20-3:35 Classes meeting TR 5:30-6:45 or later How much do we get paid for this? 99 iO-1349 -1 ‘1.99 Fruit argaritas ■ - m : : I •JlH-f , ■ . -'.v : ;; ill?* 51 ^ - If 2 ' s Mil Kevin Ivy/The Battalion Heather and Tyson Hann of College Station help at the Lady Aggie basketball game Tuesday night, keep the court clean during a break in the action Heather is seven years old and Tyson is nine. University prepares to renovate Sbisa Food Court over holidays Plan awaits expected approval by Board of Regents By Kim McGuire The Battalion The construction of the Sbisa Underground Food Court is set to begin during the holiday break fol lowing the plan's expected approval by the Board of Regents Thursday or Friday. Andy Cronk, Food Services facility manager, said the Physical Plant has already assessed the facility and has begun making renovations. "Since Sbisa was built in 1912, we obviously have some repairs to do before the construction of the Food Court begins," Cronk said. "We've already started repairing a few groundwater leaks, leaks from the ceiling and air conditioning." The construction will consist of three phases: re pairing the facility, relocating the present retail mar ket and constructing the Food Court. Cronk said the Underground Market will relocate to the North Dining Hall, a dining facility currently not used except for meetings. The dining hall is be hind the west wall and is accessible through the main entrance. "We're hoping to keep the retail market open as long as we can while it's being moved," Cronk said. "It should be open by the time we start construction on the Food Court." Wes Gideon, assistant facilities manager, said the department will receive input about the design of the Food Court from the vendors and Food Services management. "Everyone is so excited about this, especially the vendors," Gideon said. "They have been extremely cooperative. They've offered to help with the design, telling us what's worked best for them in the past and offering to help us train the employees that will be working in their locations." In a previous interview with The Battalion, Dr. Richard Floyd, interim Food Services director, said Chick-Fil-a, Whataburger, Pizza Hut, Taco Bueno and Columbo Frozen Yogurt have given final com mitments to operate in the Food Court. The construction of the Food Court includes widening the foyer area and enhancing the seat ing area. "We definitely expect a huge flow of people when the Food Court opens next fall semester," Cronk said. "We'll widen the foyer area when you first walk into the facility to accommodate the immediate masses and are thinking about adding an exit near the dining area." Gideon said the kitchen used by the current Food Court will also be used by the new vendors. "Most of their food preparation will take place there," Gideon said. "The vendors have all said the kitchen will be a great help to them because they won't have to bring in their outside equipment." Gideon said he expects the prices to be the same as in any other of the vendors' locations, and each 3 Retail Market CD >- O J_ CD CJ C cO C LU | Yogurt k aimitiiMitmt Chick-Fil-A Beverages czU Taco Bueno m:;i: i r.;i:i;x:i:j.i^ Dining Area 1 Angel Kan/TiiE Battalion The proposed floor plan of the Sbisa Food Court. vendor will determine their menu items. "They know what works best for them," Gideon said. "I expect they'll be trimmed down somewhat to what sells best for them." Gideon said Little Bernie's menu will also be al tered to best accommodate the students. "With Pizza Hut coming in we'll have to make a few changes," Gideon said. "Pizza Hut will special ize in their personal pan pizzas which they have told us is one of their best sellers and Little Bernie's will still offer the larger pizzas." Gideon said the Columbo Yogurt stand will prob ably be like an ice cream bar. "It won't be a help-yourself format," he said. "Most likely, it will be a small kiosk, and possibly in the fu ture, it may offer gourmet coffees and pastries.' Gideon said the vendors will establish their own hours. "I would imagine the hours would be later than normal for some and earlier than usual for some of the ones that will serve breakfast," he said. "But, it is really up to them and what the students want." Cronk said the University hopes to make the Food Court pleasing to everyone. "We don't want this facility to be haphazard," Cronk said. "Our ideal goal is for the finished prod uct to be something all the students are proud of." ” I New editor hopes to make The Batt more reader-friendly By Jan Higginbotham The Battalion The Battalion will have a new face next semester, or at least a new face in the editor's chair. Juli Phillips, editor in chief for the Spring 1994 semester, said she already has many plans for the Texas A&M University stu dent newspaper next semester. Phillips will move up from the position of managing editor to fill the spot of editor. Phillips said she has made many contacts throughout her year-and-a-half of work at The Battalion and through her activi ties in several on-campus student organizations. She hopes these contacts can be used to help in crease the paper's news coverage. Phillips said her knowledge of Texas A&M will help her make the paper more reader-oriented. She has already decided to publish the Aggielife section twice a week, instead of once a week, and to include more special sec tions covering items such as Black History Month and health issues. "I want to hit features a lot harder," Phillips said. "It will be more than doom and gloom." The new editor said these ef forts should help the paper seem more "friendly" to readers, fulfill ing one of the newspaper's roles. Phillips said she sees the role of The Battalion at Texas A&M as an important one: informing students about the events that affect them and giving them a forum, through the Opinion Page, to comment on these events. "We have to keep the students informed about what's directly going to affect them," she said. Dr. Benton Cocanougher, se nior vice president and provost, approved Phillips for the position of editor last week. Texas A&M's Student Publications Board, a group made up of students, teach ers and administrators, nominated Phillips to the position. Phillips started work at The Battalion in the summer of 1992 See Editor/Page 4 Inside 5358 State & Local • 1 994 Cotton Bowl Update: Tickets, Midnight Yell Page 2 Sports •Lady Aggies beat Lamar, roll to 6-0 on season Page 5 Opinion •Editorial: A&M should leave Southwest Conference Page 7