Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1994)
Monday, April 18, 1994 The Battalion Page 3 Branch Davidians gather to remember dead members, siege The Associated Press irning, wi! land offkt vation wii i trash col- turday an: or Sept. II h Roger I lsieh/77ie Battalion )itn Woodfin, Class of '88, slices steak for the Houston A&M Club as part of the 6th annual Parent's Weekend Bevo Burn held Satur day at The Grove. WACO — Several Branch Davidians who survived the siege and fire that destroyed their rural compound nearly a year ago gathered with supporters and strangers Sunday to remember those who died and sell their side of the standoff. About a hundred yards from the site that was once a sprawling rural compound, people hawked videos, T-shirts, hats, books and other items as speakers blamed the federal government for the deaths of religious leader David Koresh and dozens of his followers. “They murdered those people. The government came in here and burned them to death,” said a crying John Borgman, a Denton County resident who came to the Davidians’ HDay of Information.” Borgman — who didn’t know about the group until the siege began on Feb. 28, 1993 — and about 200 other people attended the one-day outdoor event near Waco. Booths, tables, refreshment stands and a stage were erected near the remains of Mount Carmel, which was once the Davidians’ home. After a 51-day standoff between the Davidians and FBI agents, the compound was devoured by an inferno last April 19. Koresh and 78 fol lowers died that day. The government has said the Davidians set the fire and that those who died chose to remain inside the burning compound. But the survivors have repeatedly and adamantly denied such claims. Several members of the group, including at least two who escaped the burning complex, were on hand Sunday to tell their story to an over whelmingly pro-Davidian crowd. “This is the first time I’ve been back out at this place since I left on the 19th,” said survivor Clive Doyle. “I’m kind of numb. ... I miss it.” “Basically, we’re trying to keep this alive in the minds of America,” he said, explaining why the survivors and their supporters held the event. “I don’t believe the facts got out.” Survivors have maintained that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms unlawfully attacked the compound last Feb. 28 and that those inside were only trying to protect themselves when they fired back, killing four agents and wounding several others. ATF officials have said they were attacked when they tried to serve search warrants that day at the compound and arrest Koresh, who preached of the Apocalypse. “I don’t want people to forget what happened here,” Doyle said. “The See Davidians/Page 8 ns hina’s environment wearing down lie Associated Press er said, apparent :opters fe :hs. All ill \inerican: dally dos vho spa ind ch ‘ ilementat intonio. in Fairfax Ichool Dis- on ;d, quiellf nap of ll* it 26 bod- the outti ace in tit idies well T , [link tbe| nder i ig me t was and I CHONGQING, China — When the skies above this hilly metropolis opened that night a lew weeks back, down poured a wicked rbin, inky black with grime and nearly as acidic as vinegar. J The cloudburst of “black rain” seemed a warning that the heavens could hold no more of the prodigious filth belched forth from the smokestacks scarring the Chongqing region. 1 It|turner^ once-white buildings dark gray Ivem^ht'and left the-City’s 4 million people to lonMhat othefTfidlkitioil horrors might yet Ivaitthem. rr “ 1 ' "It can only get worse, not better,” groans ang Zejia, the former president of Chongqing iiiversity, built on a bluff overlooking the dial ing River. "There are a lot of factories along the river, his one’s the most poisonous,” he adds, point- ig to a pharmaceutical plant just below. “You ee, it’s lower than our windows. If the wind is lowing this way . . .” He left the obvious unsaid. The fouled environment is exacting a heavy 1 on Jiang, who for several years underwent nnual penicillin treatment for bronchitis he believes was brought on by the dirty air. But the pollution is also threatening the en tire nation, where a fragile environment that must sustain more than one-frfth of the Earth’s population is falling victim to a pell-mell rush for economic development. Much of the Chinese landscape has taken on a decidedly Dickensian look as the country goes through its own double-step Industrial Revolu tion to catch up with the developed world. Fac tories crowd cities and surrounding country side, ruining the air, the water and the land. • The government is drafting action plans, fin ing polluters and scrounging for funds to clean up the environment. “But the quality of our country’s environ ment still hasn’t improved much,” the state-run Legal Daily said recently. "The environmental quality is worsening in a lot of places.” Among the problems are toothless anti-pol lution laws, inadequate enforcement and a widespread belief that environmental concerns stand in the way of economic development. That has got to change fast if China is to avoid ecological disaster. The state media, once silent on the topic, in the past year has been filled with frank accounts of the nation’s envi ronmental mess. First, look at the air. Two of the world’s seven cities with the worst air pollution are in China: Beijing and Shenyang. Benxi, an industrial center in the north, actually disappeared from satellite view for a period because its skies were so dirty. Air pollution has become the leading cause of respiratory disease in the nation, according to official media. In Chongqing, a longtime center of heavy industry where climate and geography work to gether to keep the grime hanging low over the city, one of every three city residents has breathing difficulties. Data from the Public Health Ministry indi cates chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, linked to exposure to fine suspended particles and sulfur dioxide, was responsible for one of every four Chinese deaths in 1988, according to a confidential World Bank report. The death rate from such disease was 162.6 per 100,000 that year, or more than five times the rate in the United States, thq report said. Much of China’s air pollution is from coal, which accounts for nearly three-fourths of the non-renewable energy used in China. Suspect J.S. Al trict li about bntinued from Page 1 ^250,0 0 0 bond. Moore hasn’t been charged yfith writing the letters, but Dis- rict Attorney Sandy Gately told he Waco Tribune-Herald that he has information leading her obelieve that he did write them. Copperas Cove police say five [ambling, sometime rhyming hreatening letters written to ugh school cheerleaders were eported Nov. 15 through 18. 'olice say they believe other un reported letters also were writ ten. “It (the letter) said that he knew my father and that he loved me, and he wanted to rape me, and that I was beautiful,” Cop peras Cove cheerleader Chalei Thiim told the Tribune-Herald. “I was really afraid and scared, and when I went out at night, I felt like someone was watching me,” said Thiim, 1 7. She says the letter warned that she would be watched. Thiim says she and the other cheerleaders feel safer with Moore behind bars, but that her hometown of 25,000 has been shaken by the recent events. Despite Moore’s confession, the fact that he doesn’t have a vi olent background should mean he won’t get the death penalty, Hunt said. For Gately, the case promises to be a big one. The last time a capital murder sentence was carried out in the county was in the 1800s, she said. Copperas Cove is about 130 miles southwest of Dallas. “When the ultimate penalty is death — that’s as big as it gets,” she said. “At this point we can prove what he did and that’s suf ficient.” tor ns editor valeta ;tine Going Abroad? Order Your EURAIL PASSES Today Special Student Vacations Ages 18-35 Europe • Hawaii Australia • Club Med Cruises! Cruises! Cruises! EXECUTIVE TRAVEL 123 Walton at Texas Ave. S. At main entrance to TAMU 696-1748 COUPON ■ SAVE $32 On Routine Cleaning, X-Rays and Exam (Regularly $76, with Coupon $44) Payment must be made at time of service. BRYAN Jim A rents, DDS Karen Arents, DDS 1103 Villa Maria 268-1407 COLLEGE STATION Dan Lawson, DDS Paul Haines, DDS Rbxane Mlcak, DDS Texas Ave. at SW Pkwy 696-9578 [ CarePIus \>jit Dental Centers L. EXP. 05-15-94 — — -J THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TRAVEL Company For 18-35 Year Olds THE FUN WAY FOR YOUNG ADULTS TO TOUR EUROPE FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL: ITS TOURS & TRAVEL ■y ¥ 409-764-9400 from perday Includes: accommodations, most meals, sightseeing, luxury air-conditioned coach and all the fun you can handle. ,J,tJ IKJ<2 mm mi ©0223110, mWHAT'S COOKIN'? <f Sigma Alpha Epsilon presents Chilifest '94 s . ■* * Featuring: Waylon Jennings April 23rd 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Starlight Ballroom • Snook, Texas Ticket Locations: Student Government Office, Cavender's Boot City, Courts Western Wear, Carney’s Pub, The Cowboy & Dudley’s Draw “...Glorious” Los Angeles Times From the intensity of a brass movement to the ethereal quality of a woodwind solo, orchestras have the power to move the soul. For almost a century, the Pittsburgh Symphony has captivated audiences across the world with its musical brilliance and unmatched artistry. Now you can hear why the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been called one of the greatest orchestras in the world, as it takes the stage under the baton of the legendary Lorin Maazel. PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA April 23,1994 • 8:00 p.m. • Rudder Auditorium pvf Tickets are on sale at the MSC Box Office - TAMU, iL7)T>\ C 0rc ^ ar » e ph° neat 845-1234 V_^AL-C\0 Lome of age with MSC 0PAS... and see the world in a new light L Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our ability.