The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 29, 1994, Image 1
jrw^fjr Texas A&M _ _ *« • Tnie Battalion -if Vol. 93 No. 119 (16 pages) Serving Texas A&M since 1893 Tuesday, March 29, 1994 Zulu nationalists’ protest ends in bloodshed The Associated Press \ Kali — JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Black factional fighting spread to the heart of South Africa’s main city for the first tine Monday when a march by Zulu na tionalists set off gunbattles, stabbings and beatings that killed at least 3 1 people. A rBG un fi re echoed off skyscrapers and i shattered windows around a park near r y\0? cly hall where thousands of Zulus carry- spears rallied to protest the all-race election next month. Several blocks away, guards fired on more Zulus outside of fices of the rival African National Con gress. Leaders of the ANC and the Zulu-dom inated Inkatha Freedom Party accused each other of starting the violence. People sprawled in the dirt and under cars, cowered behind pillars and trampled each other trying to escape the shooting. There were blood stained streets and side walks in at least three areas. Hospitals re ported more than 200 wounded. Late Monday, leaders of the main polit ical parties were trying to arrange a sum mit between President F.W. de Klerk, ANC leader Nelson Mandela, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini and Inkatha leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. They were ex pected to meet later this week to con front the worsening crisis over Zulu de mands for autonomy after the April 26- 28 election. The ANC rejects Zulu demands for a separate homeland, saying the country’s racial and ethnic groups must learn to live together after generations of segre gation under apartheid. ANC leaders are demanding that troops of the white-minority govern ment take over KwaZulu to ensure the election can proceed. Soldiers recently seized control in two other black homelands. Monday’s march was intended as a show of force by Zulu nationalists, whose ethnic group is the largest in South Africa, and many stores did not open for fear of violence. Reports of clashes linked to the march and to a Zulu strike call began filtering in at dawn from nearby black townships where factional fighting has gone unchecked for years. Zulus trying to stop people from go ing to work fired along the streets of the Soweto and Kagiso townships, police said. h Wjfortune 500 companies make comeback with $63 billion 1993 profits Get well soon TIk Associated Press NEW YORK — After losing money in 1992, America’s biggest industrial companies earned $(>2.6 billion in 1993 while slashing thousands of workers, Fortune magazine reports. I The profit figure in the magazine’s annual .ranking of the top 500 corporations would be enough to wipe out the 1993 U.S. trade deficit ?vjith Japan. y fl The magazine called the results a business- t Bpmeback version of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s ■ iMirld War II return to the Philippines, Richard AHixon’s 1968 resurrection and “the reheating of .wing rock star Meat Loaf in time to win a 1994 Cirammy Award.” /TB Extolling what it called the ingenuity of U.S. ’-- business, Fortune attributed the improvement pirgely to “American industry’s steady, relentless drive to raise productivity, improve quality and lost competitiveness.” Also helping were a decline in long-term in terest rates that lowered the cost of borrowing, a iroad pickup in the U.S. economy and the ex pensive Japanese yen, which made U.S.-built Iproducts ranging from cars to computers more ile farmer affordable than comparable Japanese goods, miners i: The improvement didn’t benefit the US. job fflicture, however. Total employment among the nbly most: S00 fell for the ninth straight year, from 11.8 row it, bit: million to 11.5 million. The trend confirms a its all over* pattern of dwindling employment opportunities who orgii as businesses get more efficient with fewer workers. anically: || Fortune’s annual corporate ranking, which uly loan: f appears in April 18 editions on newsstands next ■ Monday, is one of the twice-monthly business undthei: glossy’s best-selling issues and has been widely ” SternM ; » mu l ate d by competitors. The list helped spawn 'ofanefffiphe term “Fortune 500” to describe corporate all fan®® d gab. Nortli ' he say ratal wot irsity on* eur size and stature. Fortune said the earnings improvement was Nortfel | s P ecia lly significant because it was achieved de spite stagnant growth in sales. In 1992, by com parison, the 500 lost $196.2 million, the first Jime the roster as a whole has ever lost money. I Much of the 1992 loss was due to a required accounting adjustment that changed the way companies report retiree health benefits, and hat same adjustment also detracted from earn- ngs in 1993. When the effects of the accounting adjust- ” jw. nent aren’t included for both years, the Fortune that's^0 earned $81.7 billion in 1993 — 15 percent r nore than the comparably adjusted $71 billion n 1992. The rankings of the 500, based on annual ales, contained no significant surprises this year. of doves 5 s report, to 0 a f J s lucrative i She keeps ill to use ly getting lintain so lulb has id that dot Amy Browning/Tfae Battalion See Fortune 500/Page 7 Brandy Schellhase, a sophomore biomedical science major from New Braunfels, spray paints a basket Monday afternoon to make a get-well gift for her Fish Camp DC partner. Her friend is about to undergo a root canal. Rally supporters march for ‘strength’ Group hopes to make campus safer By Angela Neaves The Battalion Texas A&M students and faculty members marched through the campus Monday during the “Take Back the Night” rally in an effort to create a safer environment for women and children. Tiffany Farha, president of the Texas A&M chapter of the National Organization for Women which sponsored the event, said participat ing in the rally was the first step for women to demonstrate their strength. “We live in a country which prides itself on freedom,” Farha said. “We need to create a voice that will be heard throughout this cam pus and show that we have the in ner strength to walk without fear.” The group marched through campus and to Northgate. Al though most comments received by the group were favorable, some negative comments were also ex pressed, Farha said. "When walking by Walton Hall, someone said, ‘Come up here and let me show you what rape is’,” Farha said. “Whoever made that comment must not have a mother, definitely doesn’t have a sister, and hopefully not a girlfriend. I pray he doesn’t have a wife. When he’s “There is no differ ence between being raped and being pushed down a flight of cement stairs.” - Tiffany Johnson, rape survivor holding his newborn daughter in his arms, I pray that he changes his mind.” Speakers also addressed the group before the march. Tiffany Johnson, a sophomore biomedical science major, is a sur vivor of rape. “There is no difference between being raped and being pushed down a flight of cement stairs,” Johnson said. “There is no differ ence except that when you are raped, the wounds bleed inside. “There is no difference between being raped and flying through a windshield, except that instead of only being afraid of cars, you’re afraid of half the human race.” Johnson was stalked and eventu ally raped in 1991. See Rally/Page 5 Student body presidential candidates debate issues By Kirn McGuire The Battalion he be cut Violence causes some gang members to quit The Associated Press late sum ed, so: <94 FORT WORTH — Marcus Davenport used to irte di run with a neighborhood gang where he sold guns and crack, had shootouts with rival fac tions and sometimes robbed people. Now that he’s out of gangs, Davenport’s ad vice to gang members is to examine the lures that may have attracted them, like the opportu nity for quick cash. !! jom “The fast money, it’s a circle,” he said. “You make fast money and it goes fast, because we were involved in the drug trade, too, and we made a lot of money, but right to this day, I don’t have anything to show for it.” Davenport said he was literally scared from the gang by the fear of God. “I don t want to be fighting against the almighty creator,” he said. Police say the fear of death or injury has many others looking to sever their ties to gangs, which are becoming increasingly vio lent. Yet, getting out is tougher than it seems. The threat of retaliation from hard-core gang mem bers is a significant deterrent to those hoping to escape. “More and more of them are becoming See Gang/Page 7 Student body presidential candi dates Jeb Jones and Brooke Leslie squared off Monday night to debate issues facing Texas A&M. Candidates were given four min utes to introduce themselves and explain their platforms. Introduc tions were followed by a question and answer session moderated by Election Commissioner Michael Crain. Seven representatives from vari ous campus organizations asked 3 uestions that concerned them and leir organization. Don Belknap, a member of the Corps of Cadets, asked the candi dates how the student body presi dent could assist in recruiting to strengthen the Corps. Jones said he thought high school students could benefit from spending the night with Corps members when visiting A&M, and he said he would also embark on a campaign to increase good publicity about the Corps. t Leshe responded to the question by citing one of her platform issues, the strengthening of student gov ernment’s Public Information Of fice. See Related Story, Page 12 She proposed having PIO mem bers establish contacts with major newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle and television stations to publicize and improve the percep tion of A&M. “I’d have PIO contacts publicize the positive event the Corps takes part in such as March to the Brazos and Military Weekend,” she said. Mark Evans, summer editor of The Battalion, asked the candidates which issue in higher education they will address when the Texas Legislature convenes next January. See Debate/Page 12 Officials may shut down facility involved in Brenham explosion The Associated Press AUSTIN — State hearings’ ex aminers Monday recommended revoking Seminole Pipeline Co.’s Dermit to operate an underground lydrocarbon storage cavern near Brenham that was rocked by a fatal explosion in 1992. “Seminole failed to prove that the Brenham storage facility is a safe facility that will be operated in a safe and prudent manner to protect fresh water, the public welfare, and physical property,” the examiners report to the Texas Railroad Commission said. Seminole, a Tulsa, Okla.-based company, did not have an imme diate comment. “We have not had a chance to really read it,” said Rick Neal, a Seminole spokesman said. “We are not in a position to give a substan tive response.” The company will have 15 days to file a response to the hearings’ examiners’ recommendation. The three-member commission will make the final decision on the permit. Seminole is seeking permission See Brenham/Page 8 ;peCl5 , assif; Aggielife Health Tips Pg- 3 pg. 12 Opinion Sports Pg- Pg- 8 Students search for off-campus bargains Apartment prices expected to rise despite growth in construction By Margaret Claughton The Battalion May is coming — the month when school is over and housing leases come to an end. Now is the time students must strike forth and stake claim on their fu ture dwellings. In both Bryan and College Sta tion, 95 percent of rental units are occupied during the spring and 99 percent during the fall, according to local experts. With so few apartments to go around, any veteran B-CS renter knows it’s first come first served and every Aggie for himself. The peak leasing months of May and August find most stu dents searching the city for fairly inexpensive housing. “Students are looking for a place as cheap as they can get, but in an area they like,” said Carol Thomas, a graduate student with Off Campus Housing. But in the past few years, the high demand for rental housing has caused rent prices to soar. Dr. Ted Jones, chief economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, said rent prices saw a sig nificant increase in 1989 and have continued to rise. According to Jones, one factor increasing demand is the lack of new building activity in Bryan- See Apartments/Page 4 Number of New Dwelling Units Dwelling Units 4,000 3,000 - 2,000 1,000 TIK z. 1 T/ 7T| 1 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 Year 0 Single Family H Apartments, Duplexes, Condos, Townhomes Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University