Page 2 • The Battalion
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Friday* January 20, 199i
S'0(9 of
Eurasian Plate
Japan expected to sufFer more
severe earthquake in near future
Pacific
Ocean
Q An A&M
earthquake
specialist says the
Kobe earthquake is
not the "big one."
By Lynn Cook
The Battalion
Scientists are speculating that
the earthquake in Japan three
days ago may only be a prelude
to a stronger earthquake.
Dr. Sungat Altis, Texas A&M
specialist in deformation of the
earth's crust in and around the
Japanese islands, said he is leav
ing in a month to study the caus
es and effects of the earthquake
through satellite data at the
Earthquake Research Institute of
the University of Tokyo.
Altis said the recent earthquake,
measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale,
was not the "big one."
The earthquake in Kobe was
on one of the many small faults
that cover Japan, but a massive
earthquake is expected along the
fault formed by the Eurasian and
Phillipine Sea plates, which runs
adjacent to Japan, Altis said.
The Phillipine Sea plate is
moving six or seven centimeters
per year, pushing its way under
the Eurasian plate and creating a
large interplate fault.
The western half of this fault,
which runs to the outskirts of
Tokyo is expected to rupture and
measure at least 8.0 on the
Richter scale.
"An earthquake took place
south of the current earthquake in
1946, but that one did not rupture
the entire fault," Altis said. "So
with the Kobe earthquake, we are
hypothesizing that the portion of
the fault that did not move earlier
could move now."
Altis said the stress on the
other part of the fault was ex
pected to result in the "big earth
quake" almost thirty years ago.
The recent earthquake in Kobe
could be a precursor to the "big
earthquake," he said.
Records indicate that previous
seismic activity has ruptured the
entire fault, Altis said.
However, in the latest earth
quake, only half of the fault was
ruptured. Scientists expect the
other half to move, creating an
other great quake, he said.
The large interplate fault runs
directly to the western outskirti
of Tokyo. Downtown Tokyois
about 25 miles away from the
end of the fault, but Altis said
this is not enough distance ti
save the city from suffering mas
sive damages.
According to the Houston
Chronicle, Masakasu Ozaki,a
professor of architectural engi
neering at Chiba University, said
a revision of Japan's building
codes will be inevitable.
Although more than 20,
buildings in Kobe were damaged
in the recent earthquake, about
90 percent of those were old
buildings that did not meet the
new standards, Altis said.
Structures in Japan are either
built to allow buildings to sway or
are made strong so the structure
will not shake at all, Altis said.
More stringent standards
should be set to prepare Japan's
cities for large earthquakes, Altis
said. Although Japan's building
codes were last updated in the
1970s, Altis said he thinks they
need to go back to the drawing
board.
"The building codes were re
vised in the 1970s, but they do not
appear to be sufficient to with
stand a large earthquake such as
the one in Kobe," Altis said.
Philippine Sea Plate
Quake sparks concern for family, friends
Ly
i B/
The Battalion
Many Japanese A&M students
are concerned about the safety of
their friends and relatives still in
Japan after the devastating earth
quake that has left more than
4,000 dead.
Residents of Kobe, the port
city that was hardest hit, stand in
lines to receive small portions of
food and water and to identify
the dead.
Yuichi Kobayashi, president of
the Japanese Student Association,
said that no A&M students are
from Kobe, but some have friends
and family in and near the city.
"I called a friend living in
Kobe and she said they are living
like refugees," Kobayashi said.
"They have no electricity and no
water. The only information
source they have is the radio."
According the the Office of In
ternational Studies, A&M has 155
Japanese students studying here
this year, many of whom are ex
change students from the now
closed Koriyama A&M campus.
Exchange student Miyuki
Watanabe's family lives in a
small town outside of Kobe. After
hearing the news the morning af
ter the earthquake, Watanabewas
able to reach her family by tele
phone.
"My family is OK," Watanabe
said. "Japan has many earth
quakes, but I always worry about
my family."
Mark Smith/THE Battalion
New plans available for loan repayment
By Jason Zachary
Special to The Battalion
If you are like many students,
you have managed to accumu
late a sizable student loan debt.
A sizable portion of a studen
t’s loan is the interest that ac
crues while the student is in
school or in the process of paying
the loan. Often by setting up an
advantageous payment plan,
you can reduce your student
loan in the long run.
This month, the federal gov
ernment will unveil three new
repayment plans to help stu
dents. In addition to the stan
dard repayment plan, which
calls for borrowers to make
equal monthly payments for 10
years, both new borrowers and
those wishing to refinance exist
ing loans will be able to pick one
of these options:
* Extended repayment per
mits borrowers to select a term
of 12 to 30 years with fixed
monthly payments. Longer
terms will appeal to recent grad
uates who want to keep their
monthly payments low.
• Graduated repayment of
fers lower initial payments that
escalates every few years over
a 12- to 30-year period. It is
best for heavily indebted grad
uates in fields that offer low
starting salaries.
• Income-contingent repay
ment permits payments to rise
or fall annually in accordance
with the borrower’s income. It is
suited for those who want to en
ter public service or other low-
paying fields.
But remember, stretching
the term will significantly in
crease the total interest costs.
For instance, paying off an
$18,000 loan at eight percent
over 15 years rather than 10
would add $4,715 in interest to
the total bill.
Details on the above pro
grams will be available after
Jan. 31 at the Department of
Education (800-455-5889.)
Texas A&M student may begin
training guide dogs on campus
Economic Outlook
F*rime Rate
8.5%
Discount Rate
4.75%
Federal Funds Rate
5.72%
3-month T-Bill
5.62%
30-year T-Bond
7.76%
Car Loans
8.7%
Credit Cards
17.9%
F/E Ratio
16.9%
Dividend Yield
2.76%
Q Dogs may be moving
into the residence halls.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
On-campus residents may
have the opportunity to train see-
ing-eye dogs if a bill passed
Thursday by the Residence Hall
Association is approved.
The bill, sponsored by Jesse
Czeluta, Daniel Ceballos, and
Jenny Escamilla, proposed that
residence halls participate in
program sponsored by the
Southwest Guide Dog Founda
tion that lets a puppy live with
a resident while it is trained to
be a guide for the blind.
Jesse Czeluta, a resident of
Fowler hall, said he has been
training guide dogs since he was
12. He says that seeing eye dogs
help the blind live easier lives.
"Guide dogs provide blind per
sons with enhanced mobility and
greater independence,” Czeluta
said. “And that makes more pro
ductive citizens.”
Czeluta said that training one
guide dog takes hundreds of peo
ple, labor hours, and dollars.
He said one blind student at
A&M had to go to California to
get a dog because of the lack of
trained guide dogs in the area.
According to the bill, the pup
py would live with the resident.
The resident would take the pup
py to classes, and would be with
it 24 hours a day.
Czeluta said the dog would not
pose that much of a problem to
dorm life.
“I’ve talked to my roommate
and suitemates, and they had no
problems,” Czeluta said. “I’ve
talked to my professors, and some
say 'What?’, and others say 'Yeah,
I like that, but they all support
the program.”
The bill requires that the pro
gram be subject to the scrutiny
of the department of Residence
Life and Housing, who may dis
continue the program if they see
fit. The program also requires
that the dogs be held to strict
hygiene standards and regular
veterinary exams.
Ken Niederhofer, resident di
rector at Fowler hall, said the
proximity of a first-rate veteri
nary center adds to the attrac
tiveness of the program.
“If there is a problem, we can
haul the dog over to the vet cen
ter and take care of it,” Nieder
hofer said.
He also said that the veteri
nary center has volunteered to
waive medical fees for the dogs.
The bill was passed unexpect
edly through emergency legisla
tion by a unanimous vote.
Czeluta said he was surprised
by the vote.
“I didn’t expect it,” Czeluta
said. “There’s been some hesitan
cy from the administration, but
with support from RHA,and the
support is overwhelming, it
should pass easily.”
Wliile Czeluta was surprised,
Jenny Escamilla, vice president of
Hughes hall, was not.
“I’ve talked to people in the
Keathley-Hughes-Fowler com
plex, and I’ve had no people
refuse,” Escamilla said.
^ EXCITING NEWS
MAY
GRADUATES
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARE NOW ON SALE !!!
ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN
THROUGH
FRIDAY, FEB. 10, 1995
MSC STUDENT
ORGANIZATION FINANCE CENTER
ROOM 217 8 AM TO 4 PM
ORDERS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP
APPROXIMATELY THE SECOND WEEK IN APRIL
IteMCE
! STUDENT
0B\S Tickets
Now, you can get a world of entertainment, as presented by MSC OPAS, for HALF-PRICE.*
Just stop by the MSC Box Office (with your valid Texas A&M Student I.D. in hand) between
noon and 8 p.m. on the day of the performance you wish to attend. This will entitle you to
HALF-PRICE tickets. It's that simple. For information call
845-1234 ©pas
This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts
L Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs We request notification
v-A' three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our ability.
TTme
MARK SMITH, Editor in chief
JAY ROBBINS, Senior managing editor
HEATHER WINCH, Managing editor
JODY HOLLEY, Night News editor
TIFFANY MOORE, Night News editor
AMANDA FOWLE, City editor
STERLING HAYMAN, Opinion editor
ROB CLARK, Aggielife editor
NICK GEORGANDIS, Sports editor
DAVE WINDER, Sports editor
STEWART MILNE, Photo editor
Staff Members
City desk— Stephanie Dube, Kasie Byers, Lynn Cook, Brad Dressier, Dana Jones, Lisa Messer,
Cretchen Perrenot, Tracy Smith, and Wes Swift
News desk— Kristi Baldwin, Michele Chancellor, Kristin De Luca, Kristen De Rocha, Libe Goad,
Robin Greathouse, Zachary Toups and James Vineyard
Photographers—Tim Moog, Amy Browning, Robyn Calloway, Blake Griggs,
Nick Rodnicki and Eddie Wylie
Aggielife— Michael Landauer, Amber Clark, Margaret Claughton, Amy Collier and Jay Knioum
Sports writers—James Anderson, Kristina Buffin, Tom Day, Shelly Hall, Robert Hanson
and Robert Rodriguez,
Opinion — Erin Hill, Drew Diener, Laura Frnka, Zachary Hall, David Hill, Kyle Littlefield,
Jenny Magee, Jim Pawlikowski, Elizabeth Preston, Gerardo Quezada, David Taylor
and Amy Uptmor
Cartoonists— Greg Argo, Brad Graeber, Alvaro Gutierrez and Quatro Oakley
Office Assistants— Wendy Crockett, Heather Fitch, Adam Hill and Julie Thomas
Writing Coach— Mark Evans
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