Miami Hurricane, April 09, 1991

              VOLUME 68, NUMBER 45
UNIVERSITY OF MiAM!. CORAL GAßLES. FLA.
TUESDAY, APRIL 9. 199!
NEWSBRIEFS
Czech diplomat to spoak today
Czechoslovakian Deputy Minuter of Foreign Affairs Martin Pal-out will speak on new trends in Czechoslovak foreign policies, specifically regarding Israel, Cuba, South Africa ana Taiwan. The lecture, sponsored by the Institute for So-net and East European Studies, will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. tonight at Albert Pick Hall. 1531 Brew» Ave.
During the first six months of 1990, Pkluus was a member of the Chamber of the People and a member of its Committee for Foreign Relations. He has been the adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia since July of last year and deputy minister since October. Paioqs also is currently a lecturer at the Charles University in Prague where he specialises in the classical and contemporary problems of political philosophy.
Palous who is responsible for his country’s Third world policies, was among the first to sign Charter 77 and was the organization’s spokesperson in 1986. He was also actively involved in formulating its foreign policy positions. Since 1989, Palous has been in charge of Csechoslova-kia’s Civic Forum's foreign rela-
284-5411 to make a reservation.
UM debate team wine championship
The University of Miami debate team, for the second year in a row, won the championship for the Southeast region of the Cross Examination Debate Association. Thirty-five universities ! in the Southeast region
of CEDA, including Emoiy, Vanderbilt, Duke, Clemson, Alabama, Florida State, University of Florida, and University of Smith Carolina.
Two UM varsity teams were entered in the CEDA national tournament, which was held March 28 to April 1 at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.
The team of Dale Reed and Peter Lee mated wins over San Francisco State, FSU, California State-Long Beach, and San Diego State. They entered elimination rounds seeded 25th of 220 teams entered in the competition. Reed and Lee defeated another San Diego State team on a 3-0 decision in the first elimination round, but fell to UCLA in the second on a 2-1 vote.
Rory Segal and Ernie Querido defeated Whitman College, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Emory and Emporia State universities to advance to elimination rounds seeded 60th. They lost their first out-round to Gonzaga University, last year’s national championship team, on a 3-0 decision.
This year’s UM team was ranked 19th in the nation and also included Mindy Hervey, Michael Morris, Mark Rosenblatt, Damon
Petticord, Pamela Knoop, Darren Stance and Ricardo Bascuas.
FACE THE FACTS
UM alumni live In all 50 states and over 100 foreign countrles.There have been more than 100,928 In UM’s
history. For 1990-91:
UM involved in biological weapons research
By JOANNA N. STAVROPOULOS Staff Wrttw
The U.S. Army is providing funding for the University of Miami to produce toxins which are used in a biological weapons research program. Although the program is controversial, members of the UM administration emphasize the scientific merit of the research and say there are no ethical dilemmas attached to it.
The Biological Defense Research Program (BDRP), under the U.S. Department of Defense, is funding research at 20 universities nationwide, including the University of Illinois, Colorado State and the University of Washington.
According to Army records, Dr. Daniel Baden, associate professor of marine biology and fisheries at the Roeenstiel School of Marine and Atmomheric Science (RSMAS), has been funded by the Department of Defense since December 1986 to develop and produce the marine neurotoxin Brevetoxin.
Brevetoxin affects the nervous system, causing death by respiratory failure. As with many marine tox-
ins, the cause of death would be hard to detect. Brevetoxin is produced by minute marine photosynthetic protozoans called dinoflagellates. Scientists are not sure why these organisms produce the toxins.
The toxins are shipped to the U.S. Army base, Fort Detrick, in Maryland. Baden’s latest contract, according to an official copy supplied by the Department of Defense, runs until 1992 and is for $950,340.
In accordance with Army policy, Baden’s contract will be reevaluated at the end of its term in order to determine if it will be renewed.
Baden received his Ph.D. from RSMAS in 1977 and was employed by the University in 1978. Baden has a laboratory at RSMAS, located on Virginia Key, where he processes and concentrates Brevetoxin. At RSMAS he also has a facility where he cultures the organisms which produce the toxins.
Baden refused to comment when asked about the toxins.
In an earlier and unrelated interview, Baden said the personnel in his lab take specific safety precautions i dealing with toxins. They use such devices as a
when i
Please set page 21RESEARCH
Program’s ethics questioned
By JOANNA N. STRAVRO-
POULOS
Stall Wrttw
The U.S. Army's Biological Defense Research Program (BDRP) has come under attack from many scientists and politicians who say the program is ambiguous, unsafe and damaging to foreign relations.
One of the scientific groups that does not believe research conducted by the BDRP is “ethically nuetral” is Physicians for Social Responsibility, an interest group based in Washington, D.C., with 130 local chapters and over
3,000 members.
"Scientists and the universities in which research is done have a major responsibility for the consequences of their work,” Dr. Victor Sidel, past president of Physicians for Sodai Responsibility, said.
Many scientists claim BDRP research gives the appearance that the United States is develop-ing biological warfare capabilities.
This appearance in itself is contributing to an atmosphere of distrust leading other countries to step up their development of bio-
Ptease see page 2/TOXIN
RIGHT ON TRACK
Office of Admissions reports drop in number of applicants
DAVE BERGMAN/Photo Editor.
RUN WITH THE WIND: Darryl Williams, UM sophomore track runner and football player, won the final leg of the 4 X 100 relay at the Gatorade Track and Field Invitational on Friday afternoon. See story Sports, page 8.
By CONNIE PILOTO
Stall Writer
Fewer high achool seniors are applying to private colleges, while state universities are enjoying increased popularity, early reports from various campuses indicate.
Miami, according to Director of Admissions Mary Conway.
As of April 2, 7,327 applications had been received and 5,275 of these accepted for admission to the University.
Despite this decrease in applicants, the number of students admitted to the University has increased by 5 percent.
However, Conway said she was pleased with the quality of students being accepted.
Conway speculated that the number of applicants is declining because there is a 12 percent decrease in high school graduates nationwide.
This decline in the number of 18-year-olds in the United States is affecting campuses nationwide.
“We simply cannot underestimate the impact of tne continuing shift in student demographics,” Frank Burtnett, of the National Association of College Admission Counselors in Virginia, said, adding that the number of high school seniors will continue to decline through the mid-1990s.
The poor economic outlook is an additional factor contributing to the decline.
"I am sure that the economic decline has impacted those applying,” Conway said. “It’s not easy to measure because we don’t have an opportunity to talk about financial assistance opportunities to students who self select out of the process at the front end.”
“We know that people have lost jobs, and
* The cost of going to a private college is so ungodly that people are looking at public schools’
we know public schools cost less, so we have tried twice as hard to give our applicant pool a positive message regarding the value of a private education at UM and how it is affordable,” Conway added.
Meanwhile, state universities are reporting increases in the number of applicants. The universities of Connecticut, Kentucky and Wyoming have reported increases of up to 16 percent this year.
“The cost of going to a private college ia so ungodly that people are looking at public schools,” Kathy Fields, associate director of admissions at the University of Wyoming, said.
"The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are affecting more kids and with greater intensity,” Burtnett said.
Tuition at four-year private universities averaged $9,393 this year, the College Board reported last October.
By contrast, tuition averaged $1,809 at four-year public campuses and $884 at two-year public campuses this year.
Of those students applying for admission
”” “A--------snt reside out of state, 15
Dade County, 6 percent are
to UM, 64 percent reside out of state, 15 percent are from international students, 5 percent come from Broward County and 10 percent are from Florida counties outside of Dade and Broward.
Information from College Press Services was used in this report.
Norplant birth control available at Jackson
By DANIELLE PARKS
Contributing Editor
Norplant, the five-year contraceptive for women newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration, is now available at the University of Miami School of Medicine for a reduced cost.
Physicians from around South Florida are attending training sessions at UM's Jackson Memorial Hospital to learn how to administer the new system.
Norplant has been used by more than 500,000 women in 46 countries. Six flexible capsules, each 1.3 inches long, implanted under the skin of the upper arm, continuously release a low dose of progestin over a five-year period, it is effective within 24 hours when implanted during the first seven days of the menstrual cycle.
Madeline Rivero, patient account coordinator, said that eight patients received the Norplant contraceptive during the training period,
____ y the Department of
itetrics and Gynecology. The program began four weeks ago. and there have been "no problems so far.”
Patients volunteering for implantation during the training session«
will receive Norplant at a discount. For volunteers, the School of Medicine is charging $350 for the contraceptive, according to Rivero; the usual fee for implantation averages $700.
Madelyn Rodriguez, a councel-lor/patient care assistant at the UM Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, explains the risks and benefits of Norplant to prospective volunteers. "I tell them it is being implanted by a physician, but he is being trained,” said Rodniguez.
The most important side effect that Rodriguez warns about is irregular bleeding patterns in the menstrual cycle. "So far, the patients have had no irregular bleeding and no other problem»,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez predicts the training sessions will continue for a few months, depending upon the number of doctors who seek training. After the training sessions end, Norplant will continue to be offered, but no longer at a reduced cost. Sessions are held every Friday to implant the contraceptive under local anethesis.
To volunteer, or learn more about Norplant, call the University of Miami Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at 548-4774.
UM board recruits minorities
One Hispanic and three blacks named trustees
From Staff Reports
The University of Miami Board of Trustees is becoming more racially diverse with the recent addition of five new members.
The appointment of one Hispanic member and three black members to the 79-member board the total number of Hispanics to five and to six.
Board members claim they have begun to actively recruit minorities.
"I think the thrust this year, among other criteria, was to give emphasis to both young and up-and-coming business people in the community,” board chairperson Ray Goode told The Miami Herald. “And to make sure in the process the board composition is more and more reflective of the demographic profile of Florida.
“While in many ways we are a national institution, we're in this community,” Goode added. “Our base of support is here.”
According to Dorothy Ball, Board of Trustees secretary, new board members are selected by current board members.
“It’s totally the board’s responsibility,’’ Ball said.
The new members who have been appointed to one-year terms include the following:
• Dean Colson, 39, senior partner of Colson, Hicks A Edison, served as a law clerk to U.S.
Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist from 1981-82.
Colson graduated magna cum laude from the UM School of Law in 1977, where he waa a member of the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the Society of Wig and Robe and the UM Law Review.
•	Arthur James Hill, 43, is the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and federal housing commissioner. Hill is the former chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of People National Bank of Commerce in Miami.
•	Lee Everett Monroe, 48, a resident of Miami Lakes, is the president of Florida Memorial College. Monroe has served as senior education adviser to North Carolina Governor Jim Martin and as special assistant to the assistant secretary for management within the U.S. Department of Education.
•	Frank Scruggs II, 44, is the secretin' of labor and employment security for the State of Florida. He is a former partner at Steel, Hector A Davis and he served as assistant general counsel to former Governor Bob Graham.
•	Gonsalo Vsldes-Fiub, 45, is responsible for the Barclays Group business in Latin America in his position as the executive vice president and director of Barclays Bank. He is a former member of the UM Citisens Board and director and executive advisory board member of the UM International Business and Banking Institute.
BID FOR THE TOP
Conny Falk proved he's No. 1 by defeating AI Parker, the top-ranked player In the country, Friday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
e SPORTS — pag#8
TAZMANIAN WEASEL
Pauly Shore, host of MTVs ‘‘Totally Pauly,“ will bring his stoney cool self to campus Friday night as part of Program Council’s Street Dance, which will feature food booths, mimes and music on the shores of Lake Osceola.
e ACCENT —peg«6
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