The Battalion
flMPUS
mm - *
MATTHEW CRAWLEY/The Battalion
Rescue workers drag Lake Bryan Sunday for the body of a Hispanic male. Art Molina, a Bryan Parks and
Recreation Officer, said the victim became tired when he swam out too far. Several witnesses attempted
to save him as he clung to a buoy but were unable to reach him, Molina said.
LULAC delegates meet in Dallas this week
DALLAS (AP) — Delegates from
one of the nation's oldest dvil rights or
ganizations will converge upon Dallas
this week to talk about issues facing the
national Hispanic community.
Belen Robles, president of the League
of United Latin American Citizens, said
the group's purpose is to set an agenda
for next year that focuses on bilingual ed
ucation, immigration legislation and the
Hispanic image in the media.
"Unfortunately, due to the immi
gration backlash and due to the fact that
in the media we are not portrayed in a
very good light, the perception is that a
lot of us are on welfare, a lot of us don't
want to work and a lot of us take ad
vantage of the system," Robles said.
The convention, which holds ses
sion Monday through Saturday, in
cludes discussion groups, legislative
updates and guest speakers Gov.
George W. Bush, House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, House Minority Leader
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and
Bill Richardson, tire United States' U.N.
Ambassador. About 6,000 LULAC
members and business leaders from all
50 states and Puerto Rico are expected
to attend.
The delegates' main challenge will
be improving Hispanics' image on a na
tional level, Robles said.
When LULAC thinks about image,
it is not thinking about Taco Bell com
mercials. Robles said LULAC has more
important issues to focus on.
Bilingual education, access to high
er education, affirmative action, the
2000 census and immigration legisla
tion are much higher on the list.
City overhaul
San Antonio revitalizes historic ‘crown jewels’
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Along the historic
Mission Trail, the city is spending millions of dol
lars to spruce up the area around the Spanish set
tlements that date from the 1700s.
Ground was broken over the weekend for part
of the $17.7 million Mission Trail Project — a 12-
mile trail linking one of the five missions to the
San Antonio River area.
Called the city's "crown jewels," the five mis
sions are part of a chain established during
Spanish colonial times to aid settlement on the
Texas frontier.
"Today we break new ground for the south
side, one that is filled with promise," U.S. Rep.
Giro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, said Saturday.
"The missions have been called the 'crown
jewels' of San Antonio, and they really are."
Developers said the project will provide a bet
ter link between the downtown Alamo and Mis
sions Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano
and Espada.
The project is expected to allow some residents
around Mission Espada, which was established
in 1731, for the first time to replace septic tanks
and dirt paths with sewer lines and sidewalks.
"This means many things," Mayor Howard
Peak said during the ceremony at Espada. "First
of all, in the immediate area it means revitaliza
tion and rejuvenation. For the whole city, it
means connecting some assets that have not been
fully realized by residents of San Antonio and
our millions of visitors."
The project, divided into five phases with the
first to start this month, should be completed by
mid-2001.
Hike-and-bike trail improvements as well as
water, sewer and gas line extensions are in the
first phase. A network of walking and cycling
paths, comprehensive signs and directions, a
scenic "wet" route close to the San Antonio Riv
er and an all-weather "dry" route allowing year-
round access is part of the phase.
The new trail could lead to an additional $76
million annually in tourism and related revenue,
officials said.
'"We're emphasizing cultural and historical
tourism," Marco A. Barros, executive director of
the San Antonio Area Tourism Council, said.
The Greys
Monday • June 21
By Gala
W£i I SHUT TUAT LIGHT
IT'S NOT
IT'S COlAiNGr
outside.
T HATe. I(P
/
(it
n t\
gcjiela
"A very, very important issue is im
migration," Robles said. "There is liti
gation in California right now to re
move immigrants. That divides
families."
LULAC's platform opposes legisla
tion that toughens ritizenship require
ments, sends U.S. troops to police the
U.S.-Mexico border and limits immi
grants' dvil rights.
Robles said she hopes the con
vention will unite the Hispanic com
munity in both Dallas and the rest of
the country.
Robles also invited members from
the Asian-Amen can, African-American
and Jewish communities to partidpate.
"The greatest challenge is to un
derstand the different cultures in our
country," she said. "We need a more
cohesive community."
'WVlCi
let
1 stail
M
mt I
Industry has known about tk
risks of vinyl chloride since 1!
HOUSTON (AP) — Chemical in
dustry documents dating back four
decades noted the cancer danger to
workers caused by an ingredient
used to make one of the world's
common plastics, according to the
Houston Chronicle.
However, the copyright report in
Sunday's editions said little action was
taken to address the perils of vinyl chlo
ride for 15 years.
The report, based on hundreds of in
terviews and thousands of documents
gathered by the newspaper and a
Louisiana attorney litigating a case
against the chemical industry, reveals
that companies have known the risks of
vinyl chloride since at least 1959.
A chemical company memoran
dum from that year showed that six
months of exposure to the chemical
compound caused physiological
changes, leading to a conclusion that
"Vinyl chloride monomer is more tox
ic than has been believed."
However, the Chronicle reported that
it wasn't until 1974 that the industry
publicly tied vinyl chloride processing
to a form of cancer.
"There was a concerted effort to
hide this material," Dr. David Rosner,
a professor of public health and histo
ry at Columbia University who has re
viewed many of the documents as
part of a research project, said. "It's
clear there was chicanery."
In a prepared statement, the Chem
ical Manufacturers Association called
such charges made by Rosner and oth
ers "irresponsible."
"We took the problem seriously,"
said Dr. Theodore Torkelson, a retired
Dow Chemical toxicologist who chai red
the CMA's vinyl chloride panel for 11
years in the 1970s and '80s. "We did
what we thought was ethical, scientifi
cally sound and morally responsible."
However, the newspaper's docu
ments show that chemical companies
subjected at least two generations of
workers to excessive levels of a potent
carcinogen that attacks the liver, brain,
lungs and blood-forming organs.
The plastic is better known as PVC,
a common material used in pipe.
Dow researchers recommended
sharply reduced employee exposures in a
published 1961 report, but a Yale Univer
sity study sponsored by Allied Chemical
twoyearslater found no significant effects
at much higher exposure levels.
"The industry goofed up," said
Torkelson, referring to reliance on the
Yale research. "Probably if they had lis
tened to our (recommendation), we
wouldn't have had a problem."
Three months before his death, Hen
ry Tousaint told the Chronicle he was a
victim of that "problem." The 20-year
veteran of the PPG Industries Inc. plant
in Lake Charles, La., died of cancer at age
54. Gallon jugs of cough syru p were kept
on hand for workers who com pi ai ned of
dizziness or respiratory problems.
"We didn't know no better," Tou
saint said. "But they did."
Officials at Pittsburgh-based PPG
declined comment.
Attorney William Baggett Jr. has
won large settlements on behalf of the
|A|
[urn-
survivors of iousaints ningj
w hose tamily sued forr. gami'l
( onovoend Vista. Neith lex,w|
co nor \ ista admitted
the deaths.
Baeeett is trying tolv and
acy case against 29 otheri anddl
panics, the CMA andtheWicl
Plastics Industry, allegirigll»al
up the vinyl chloride threi^fcnl
I ] ie chemical's dange* lei
headlines on Jan.:'' K- lowed]
ter the initial warningag 5ter s l
B.F. Goodrich announced walkni
three fatal eases of ^IWn
among workers at a n jj8 a ' n .
Louisville, Ky. Angiosare 2-0 w 1
cer associated with vinyldw® W 1
Goodrich's announce park,
ed a w ave of governmentre fit,
worker exposures and W>HGij
chemical's use in propeto-Ras I
sprays and other products. I Bii
I )espite pleas from Vc ?houk
regulations requiring WRm
worker exposures to TyRishL
would wipe out more tWMTexI
jobs, the plants were able 11 Rs inr
dor safer conditions. Howe® IL
sands of workers had beenRee
for decades by the mi
Chronicle reported. RSnc
The newspaper documes â– ms
outbreaks among vvorker^:|rnia,
across the country, espeo^thel
Texas-Louisiana area, con®«e (11
heart of the industry. Ho^ow'l
dustry has consistently fen »)th d
ers' compensation claims J Af|
related to alleged occupabo»*t s
ii
er Jo|
Pick-Up
Applications Now!
Applications and information
available in 211A YAACA or
222 Beutel.
Deadline Friday, July 10 at 5 pm
Peer"
Opportunities
for M.B.A.s are
better than ever...
^ «rad., a ,ing^J'g M ^'ed by soo
HSsPsss:"
i 0pm ' n ' am/
I fs one of the best times since the mid-'80s to be getting a graduate degree in
business. Sard Kathryn Vat. Ness, associate dean at the Anderson Scltooi; University
I of California Los Angeles. 'It’s really a seller's market |now|.' *
—Bloomberg News & Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 24, 1997
For more information call Becki Elkins at 845-1107.
http://stulife.tamu.edu/adep/p1edu.htm
expert teachers
superior materials
smart technology
And Kaplan, the world leader in test prep
can help you succeed.
1 -800-KAP-TEST
www.kaplan.com
•QMAT Is a reglslerad Irademaih ol la. Giaduata Manogamant Admission Council.
The Battalion
Mandy Cater, Managing Editor
Quatro Oakley, Visual Arts Director
Chris Martin, Aggielife Editor
Rod Machen, City Editor
Jeff Webb, Sports Editor
April Towery, Opinion Editor
James Francis, Editor in Chief
J.P. Beato, Graphics Editor
Ryan Rogers, Photo Editor
Brandon Bollom, Photo E |C
Laura Stuart, Radio Prodo cef
Anita Tong, Web Editor
Kasie Byers, Night News 1
: SelcT
|me tl
l r h|
JveuJ
striking
Brts,'
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M tlniwi
Division of Student Publications, a unit of the Department of Journalism. News offices
Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2640
batt@unix.tamu.edu; Website: http://battaiion.tamu.edu .
Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or en d° ,sel,1 l 6|
attalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For da _
tising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office iiouis
to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678. Tl ili
Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pi^J|
copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies 25$. Mail subscriptions are
$30 for the fall or spring semester and $17.50 for the summer. To charge by Visa, I
or American Express, call 845-2611. |
The Battalion (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during
spnng s em es t ersan d Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except ^
n e ^ am P eri °ds) at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at 0 (
77840, Postmaster: Send address changes to The Battalion, 015 Reed McDon
lexasA&M University, College Station,TX 77843-1111.
Wi\