Lions meet Pirates, Page 13
Earthquake devastates Central Mexico
By ELOY AGUILAR
Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY A devastating
earthquake struck central Mexico
yesterday morning, toppling build
ings, triggering fires and trapping
hundreds in rubble in the world’s
most populous capital. Police said at
least 170 were dead and thousands
injured, but a far higher toll was
expected.
Hours later the army and police
patrolled ruined streets against loot
ers as fires still smoldered in Mexico
City, 250 miles northeast of the quak
e’s center on the Pacific Coast. Presi
dent Miguel de la Madrid, declaring a
national disaster emergency, toured
stricken neighborhoods and appealed
for people to remain calm and stay
indoors.
“Unfortunately there appear to be
many dead,” de la Madrid said on
Mexican television. “All of the hospi
tals are on a state of alert to take care
of the injured. The army is in a state
of alert.”
Dozens of aftershocks rattled the
area through the day. Reports on the
Mexico City TV station Televisa said
buildings continued to collapse and
debris’ from others was falling into
streets hours after the quake.
By nightfall half the city lacked
electrical. power. Local telephone
service had been restored but inter
national telephone lines were _ still •
down. _
' Mexico’s Channel 2 monitored .in
the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa
reported 770 people, including 140
children, had died. The report was
not attributed and did not say how
many of the victims were in Mexico
City.
USEC to close meeting with Jordan
By W.T. HOLLAND
Collegian Staff Writer
University Student Executive
Council Chairwoman Laurie Maser
announced last night that Thursday’s
monthly meeting with University
President. Bryce Jordan will be
closed to the public.
When asked if the meeting was
closed at his request, Jordan said he
was not aware of the closing.
“I have said in the past that there
are some items I would prefer not to
be discussed in public. .. I have no
further comment at this time.”
Jordan would not say if a discussion
of the University’s general education
requirements scheduled for next
week’s meeting is the reason for
closing the meeting.
Maser tried to close a portion of last
The Centre Area Transportation
Authority will implement several
detours on all Saturday home
football games. Route H-Tof
trees and Route W-Park Forest
will travel through West College
Heights via Hillcrest Avenue
and North Allen Street all day.
No service will be provided on
Park Avenue or at the corner of
Arbor Way and Route 322.
On Route B-Boalsburg, buses
will not stop on University Drive
or at the stops at East College
Avenue and High Street, and
East Beaver Avenue and Garner
Street. Instead, passengers
should board at Schlow Library,
100 E. Beaver Ave.
Route X buses will not pro
vide service on campus or at
Garner Street and Calder Way
before 6:30 p.m. Instead, pas
sengers should board the X bus
at East Beaver Avenue and Gar
ner Street, or East College and
High Street.
weather
Today a return to summer with
sunny skies and a high of 85.
This evening, clear and comfort
able. The low will be a mild 55.
Heidi Sonen
At least 60 were dead in Mexico
City, a city of 17 million people, where
schools, hotels, hospitals and high
rises were flattened and snapped gas
and power lines touched off dozens of
fires.
In the state of Jalisco, 100 miles to
the northwest, 110 to 150 people were
killed and about 1,500 injured, Lt.
Juan Manuel Sanchez said from the
fire department’s headquarters in the
state capital of Guadalajara.
‘ln Atentique a part of
a mountain slid away,
falling on several
peasants who were
just getting up to go
to work’
Lt. Juan Manual Sanchez
The Mexican Embassy in Washing
ton, D.C. reported damage in the
states of Guerrero and Michoacan,
which lie to the south of Jalisco along
the coast.
Only minor damage was reported
in the cities of Acapulco and Guadala
jara.
In Jalisco, most of the dead were in
the towns of Guzman and Atentique,
Sanchez said in a telephone interview
broadcast live by the Bogota radio
station Caracol. ~ ; 7 .
“In Atentique a part of a mountain
slid away, falling on several peasants
who were just getting up to go to
work,” Sanchez said.
In other Jalisco towns “the streets
split open as people ran in pan-
week’s USEC meeting to discuss “a
personnel issue.” She maintained
that it was not in reference to a
proposed membership review proc
ess, which would periodically re-eval
uate USEC’s composition and voting
rights.
Maser added that she would invite
Faculty Senate President Donald C.
Rung, or some other representative
of the senate, to address USEC with a.
faculty perspective on general educa
tion.
Maser said she will consult with
Faculty Senate representatives to
discuss general education and would
close a future meeting to allow fac
ulty representatives to speak.
She added that USEC plans to sub
mit a written statement to Jordan
conveying its opinion on general edu
cation.
Survey: 1 in 3 women
report sexual advances
By JEANETTE KREBS
Collegian Staff Writer
One out of every three female Uni
versity clerical workers faces some
type of sexual harassment, a Univer
sity sociology professor told Nittany 9
to 5 members yesterday.
Michael Johnson surveyed 237 fe
male clerical workers and clerical
typists at University Park in Spring
1983 to find out how much sexual
harassment takes place.
The lecture was given at a meeting
of Nittany 9 to 5, the local chapter of
the National Association of Working
Women.
Johnson said 31 percent of the wom
en surveyed said they had been sex
ually harassed, some by more than
one person. More than 500 incidents of
sexual harassment were reported
during the survey interviews.
The women were asked face-to-face
about four different types of sexual
harassment, Johnson said: 18 percent
reported being physically touched by
an employer; 20 percent reported
being asked for sex; 22 percent were
asked for dates; and 31 percent re
ported dealing with suggestive be
havior, including suggestive jokes or
statements and staring at body parts.
“We’re talking nearly one out of
five women working here at Penn
State have had some type of hand
ling,” Johnson said.
ic...And many people died, crushed
inside churches,” he said.
Televisa said that in Guzman 25
people celebrating Mass in the cathe
dral were killed when the church
collapsed.
In Ixtapa, a resort just north of
Acapulco, two tourists reported their
10-story hotel was shaken and “the
damage was just massive.”
“Huge chunks of cement and glass
started crashing down and people rah
out into open lobby,” said Dale Zol
nai, 45, a Defense Department staff
specialist, who returned to Dallas
yesterday with his wife P.J.
“We just ran for our lives. We
managed to get a taxi and get to the
airport. Trees, boulders and cars
littered the highway.
“Waves were hitting the hotel; the
water is usually at least 80 feet
away,” Zolnai said.
State Department spokesman Ber
nard Kalb said the U.S. Embassy in
Mexico City was undamaged and that
communications with the embassy
had been restored.
In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Sen
ate gave voice-vote approval to a
nonbinding resolution calling upon
the administration to provide emer
gency “humanitarian assistance and
relief required to help deal with this
tragedy.”
U.S. Ambassador John Gavin, who
was vacationing in Europe when the
quake hit, headed back to Mexico
City. . ...... •
De la Madrid met.with his cabinet.'
this afternoon and and said that his
government is concentrating its in
mediate effort on the restoration of
services such as water, electricity
and communications, according to
Televisa.
In other business, USG President
Dave Rosenblatt inititiated dis
cussion on a proposal to review and
evaluate USEC’s membership and
objectives.
“We have the opportunity in front
of us to look at ourselves honestly and
to see whether this body is affecting
student life the way it should and to
make changes,” Rosenblatt said.
Commonwealth Campus Student
Governments Coordinator Lynn
Duffner said she was concerned that
a self-evaluation would be difficult
and recommended that as an advi
sory board, USEC should ask for
outside help from the administration.
USEC co-chairwoman Mary Weav
er was elected to draw up alternative
procedures for reviewing current
membership and objectives for possi
ble change.
Johnson compared the survey to a
survey of federal workers in 1981 that
showed that 42 percent of male and
female workers have been sexually
harassed within a two-year period.
University clerical workers were
asked about the entire time they
worked at University Park, he said.
“The good news is that two out of
three of you won’t be harassed,” he
said.
Reasons that more sexual ha
rassment does not take place at the
University may be that most of the
work areas are open and that, besides
female clerical workers, there is a
large number of young female stu
dents.
The survey also revealed the perpe
trators of most of the incidents: 40
percent were faculty members, in
cluding instructors; 28 percent were
administrators, including depart
ment heads; and 7 percent were
technical service employees.
About 40 percent of the offenders
were supervisors, or someone who
controlled a worker’s daily work load
or payroll.
The University has a policy against
sexual harassment that was included
in the clerical workers’ handbook in
January.
Johnson said the survey results will
be given to the women who partici
pated, to University personnel and to
University President Bryce Jordan.
The army has cordoned off the
most severely damaged area in the
city to prevent looting and prevent
people from getting close to buildings
that might collapse at any time, Tele
visa said. The network said the army
has 10,000 men taking care of this
task.
First reports of the quake, which
occurred during rush hour at 7:18
a.m. or 9:18 a.m. EST, came from the
U.S. Geological Survey, which said it
measured 7.8- on the Richter scale of
ground motion. The survey put the
epicenter on the Pacific Coast, 150
miles northwest of Acapulco and
about 250 miles southwest of Mexico
City.
The center of the city appeared to
be hardest hit. Dust clouds sur
rounded collapsed buildings; broken
glass and concrete chunks littered the
streets everywhere, and people gath
ered in crowds on the streets, many
weeping and some fainting. Rescue
workers were digging through rubble
as panicked citizens searched for
friends and family on the streets.
Interviews seen on government
owned Channel 13, were sometimes
drowned as people screamed out the
names of loved ones. Men, women
and children could be heard crying
and wailing as they wandered
through rubble-strewn streets.
A mobile radio helicopter flying over
the Gustavo A. Madero neighborhood
downtown said 30 collapsed buildings
wsre sighted there alone.-
'"■"'•'Natural'•" gas “from broken lines
mixed with smoke from buildings still
burning nine hours after the earth
quake, Channel 13 said. The tele
vision coverage showed firemen with
handkerchiefs tied across their noses
and mouths.
Coal:
State losing dominance
, By ANTHONY NEWMAN
Collegian Science Writer
Almost 30 years ago, Pennsylvania lost its position as
the nation’s number one coal-producing state, and the
state is expected to lose its fourth place position to
Illinois this year.
Why have other states succeeded in squeezing Penn
sylvania out of the coal market?
William Spackman, University professor of paleon
tology, said the decline can be traced to the size and
distribution of Pennsylvania mining operations and the
quality of the region’s coal.
“We have hundreds of small coal mining operations
distributed throughout the state, while Idaho with
only about 30 mines is a leading producer,” Spack
man said.
“The question arises: Are hundreds of mines desira
ble?” he said.
Tony Ercole, executive vice president of the Penn
sylvania Coal Mining Association, said 80 percent of
the 610 surface mining operations in Pennsylvania are
considered small by the state Department of Environ
mental Resources because they produce less than 100,-
000 tons of coal a year,
Many smaller companies cannot afford to install and
maintain cleaning plants needed to remove polluting
sulfur from Pennsylvania coal before selling it to coal
burning utilities, Ercole said.
When the coal producer cannot afford these “coal
washing” facilities, the company must pass the re
sponsibility onto its buyers. This forces miners to sell
their coal at lower prices, Ercole said.
Utilities, however, may choose to buy a higher
quality, low-sulfur coal from out-of-state or foreign
miners rather than clean the coal themselves, he said.
“Smaller (coal producers) have a hard time. There’s
no reason why a utility should invest in scrubbers when
they can get (low-sulfur coal) cheaper from some
where else,” Ercole said. Scrubbers are machines that
removes sulfur from utility smokestacks.
Charlie Van Ness, staff geologist with Pennsylvania
Power and Light Co., said shipping low-sulfur coal
from distant mines may not be more economical.
However, Van Ness said washing would probably
double the utility’s cost for using Pennsylvania coal
while the cost of shipping imported coal would not
result in such a large increase.
“ (Utility’s washing coal) would not be in the consum
er’s best interest,’.’ Van Ness said.
Electrical utilities purchase about 70 percent of
Pennsylvania’s coal, Van Ness said. Pennsylvania
Power and Light, which purchases nine million tons of
coal each year, buys only from Pennsylvania mines
that clean the coal before selling it, he added.
Another issue promoting the decline of the Pennsyl
vania mining industry is proposed acid rain legislation,
Ercole said.
“More acid rain legislation will knock out more
Pennsylvania (coal mining jobs),” he said. Pennsylva-
Rescue workers evacuate one of those injured In the damaged area of
downtown Mexico City after yesterday morning’s earthquake.
nia coal companies employ 22,500 workers the lowest
number since 1877, Ercole said.
“Pennsylvania’s coal is considered to have a high to
medium sulfur content. Acid rain legislation at its
toughest could really wipe out the coal industry here,”
he said.
However, William Sharpe, University assistant pro
fessor of forest hydrology, said most legislation spon
sors consider the coal industry when calling for a
decrease in sulfur emissions.
“Good acid rain legislation is written to prevent
utilities from switching their coal suppliers if their coal
has a high-sulfur content,” Sharpe said. “(The idea)
that acid rain legislation will result in massive layoffs
for the coal industry is just not correct.”
For example, the proposed Waxman-Sikorski bill
would prevent utilities from switching coal suppliers
by forcing them to install scrubbers, taking the burden
for removing sulfur out of the miners’ hands, Sharpe
said. The proposed bill also allows utilities to charge
customers to recover expenses.
Careful legislation will prevent consumers in the
Northeast where acid rain is most concentrated
from paying higher costs than consumers in other
parts of the country, Sharpe said.
“The utilities and mining industries have to realize
that unless we do something, the acid rain problem is
going to get larger and larger,” he said.
“Legislative attempts will try to minimize the im
pact to everyone. There will be an impact, but every
one can be accommodated if (legislation) is carefully
done,” he added.
Besides the high sulfur content, Pennsylvania’s coal
is characterized by thin seams, or layers, and a thick
overlaying rock, or overburden, that is costly to
remove, Ercole said. Wyoming has developed its
industry quickly because its coals’ seams are thicker
and are covered by less overburden, he said.
“What it comes down to is price,” Ercole said. “A lot
of medium coal costs more to mine and more to clean.
Anything that adds costs to a product makes it less
competitive.”
Many coal mining operations are forming cooper
atives to offset cleaning costs and employ careful land
management, Spackman said. The Bradford Coal Co.
of Clearfield is an example of such a centralized coal
organization made up of several small mining sites.
The company has an advantage over most compet
itors because it can afford coal-washing systems and
can staff its company with engineers and geologists to
improve site management, Bradford President Alan
Walker said.
“It’s a big investment, but most Pennsylvania min
ers will find that they are going to have to affiliate with
someone or go out of business,” Walker said.
Ercole said although he does not predict a sudden
turnaround in the industry, coal has a place in the
nation’s energy future
“I don’t believe the oil glut can last, and the future of
nuclear facilities is questionable,” he said. “Future
electrical growth must come from coal.”
industry