The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, November 08, 1985, Image 1

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Friday, Nov. 8, 1985
Vol. 86, No. 86 24 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
©1985 Collegian Inc.
Kidnappers claim six
American hostages dead
By MONA ZIADE
Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon An anonymous caller said Islam
ic Jihad extremists planned to kill their half-dozen Ameri
can hostages yesterday, and a second caller claimed they
were dead. But no bodies were found in the designated
spot.
The captives were to be "executed" by firing squad
because indirect negotiations with the United States had
reached "a dead end," the first man said in a call to a
Western news agency.
In Washington, however, a White House official said
"contacts" in the Lebanon hostage case had not broken
down. And President Reagan said of the death threat,
"Evidently there is no substantiation of that at all."
Since the calls could not be authenticated, it was
impossible to determine whether they were a macabre
hoax or simply part of a war of nerves being waged by the
shadowy Shiite Moslem faction to pressure Washington
into making a deal.
Six Americans are missing in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad
claimed Oct. 4 it killed one of them, diplomat William
Buckley, 57. But no body has turned up.
The other American captives are Peter Kilburn, 60, an
American University of Beirut librarian; the Rev. Law
rence Jenco, 50, a Roman Catholic priest; Terry Ander
son, 38, chief Middle East correspondent for The
Associated Press; David Jacobsen, director of the Ameri-
About 50
By TOM WELLS
Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia Soldiers
blew down walls of the Palace of
Justice with dynamite yesterday
and rescued up to 48 hostages held
by leftist rebels. Officers said they
found 50 bodies in the burned-out
building after "annihilating" the
guerrillas.
Survivors said the guerrillas shot
to death six Supreme Court judges,
including the chief justice.
Jorge Antonio Reina, a driver for
the court, told radio station Caracol
that he saw April 19 Movement
guerrillas kill four magistrates.
"They shot magistrate Manuel
Gaona Cruz here," he said, touch
ing a finger to his forehead. "They
made him lie down on the floor and
that's where they shot him even
though he was insisting that they
should try to negotiate" with the
government.
Reina said the guerrillas earlier
had killed three other judges, in
cluding two from the Supreme
Court.
Another former hostage told ra
dio station RCN that guerrilla lead
er Andres Alamarales had killed
the court's chief justice, Alfonso
Reyes Echandia, and auxiliary
magistrate Maria Ines Ramos.
Reina said the rebels decided
yesterday morning to kill the jus
tices when it appeared the guerril
las' situation was hopeless.
The reports could not be indepen
dently verified, and there was no
confirmation that the bodies of the
justices had been identified.
Most of the bodies were badly
burned by a fire that swept the five
story building beginning late
inside
• The Dairy Science Club and
the Pennsylvania Holstein Asso
ciation are holding their second
Holstein auction, the Nittany
Lion Fall Classic, at 11 this
morning in the Ag Arena 24
index
sports 13
state/nation/world 8
weather
Today, a few morning clouds
will give way to lots of sunshine.
It will be a bit cooler. Low 46.
This evening, it will be mostly
clear and quite cool as the low
drops to near 30 Heidi Sonen
can University Hospital, and Thomas Sutherland, the
university's dean of agriculture.
Islamic Jihad, or Islamic Holy War, believed made up
of fundamentalist followers of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, had said it would release the . Americans when
Kuwait frees 17 Shiite comrades serving prison terms for
the bombings of the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait
in December 1983. Kuwait refuses.
Several threats were made earlier to try the hostages
as spies and "execute" them if the demand was not met.
But no deadlines were set. In some other Lebanon
abduction cases, calls reporting supposed "executions"
have turned out to be false.
A representative of the news agency, which declined to
be identified, said yesterday's first call came at 7:15 a.m.
(12:15 a.m. EST) from a man who, speaking in classical
Arabic, declared the American hostages would be shot by
firing squad.
"We wish to tell America that the sad end of the
American hostages will not be the last. We shall shake the
earth at America's feet and the feet of its agents," said
the caller.
He promised to call again at 1 p.m. local time to say
where the bodies had been dumped. That call was never
made. But another man, speaking colloquial Lebanese
Arabic, called the agency at 10 a.m.
He said that "all the bodies of the Americans, including
Buckley's," had been dumped in the basement of the
derelict, shell-pocked Coca-Cola factory •
hoptage...recue,O...in. Columbia
The Colombian Palace of Justice burns Wednesday after guerrillas who held about 50 hostages inside apparently set
the blaze to destroy court records. Columbian soldiers blew in the palace walls yesterday rescuing most of the
captives and killing many of the guerrillas.
Wednesday night. It was not clear
how and when the hostages had
died.
Commanders of both the army
and national police toured the build
ing's charred and smoking re
mains. Reporters were allowed to
accompany them, which indicated
no rebels were alive inside.
A commander of the assault, Col.
Alfonso Plazas, said the leftist guer
rillas "were annihilated."
Military sources said 50 bodies
were found inside and 18 were those
of guerrillas, including six mem
bers of the high command of the
Collegian business manager named
By COLBY STONG
Collegian Staff Writer
William G. Landis Jr. was selected
as business manager of The Daily
Collegian last night by the Board of
Directors of Collegian Inc.
Landis' one-year term will begin in
January when the current business
manager, Karen Jaret, will step
down.
Jack Sulzer, president of the board,
said the decision was as close as
Wednesday night's decision in choos
ing the editor of the news division.
The business manager presides
over the business division of the
Collegian.
Landis (senior-marketing) said he
wants to foster the spirit of cooper
ation within the Board of Managers
and with the editorial staff.
"It's a matter of getting the depart
ments working together," Landis
April 19 Movement, the group the
rebels belonged to.
The sources said Andres Alma
rales, who led the band that seized
the palace Wednesday, was one of
the six rebel leaders killed. They
identified the others as Vera Grave,
Afranio Parra, Antonio Jacquim,
Francisco Otero and Guillermo El
vencio Ruiz.
There were conflicting reports
about whether some guerrillas had
surrendered and the number of
hostages freed in the final assault at
about 3 p.m.
He added that he intends to stress a
positive attitude among staff mem
bers.
"That's always something we can
improve upon," he said.
Landis has been a member of Colle
gian Inc. since October 1984 and is
now the major accounts sales rep
resentative. He is also a member of
the Penn State Marketing Association
and Career Night Liaison Committee.
In addition, Landis is a member of
Delta Tau Delta fraternity, serving
as public relations chairman and
assistant treasurer, and a member of
the Interfraternity Council.
Landis has worked for Toftree's
Resort and Country Club, in State
College; Eagle Concrete Products,
Inc., Somerset; Maryland Minerals,
Inc., Accident, Md.; and King's Rook
Coffee House, Marblehead, Mass.
Radio stations RCN, Caracol and
Todelar, all of which had reporters
on the tour, reported between 38
and 48 hostages freed.
There were survivors with much
of their clothing burned away, oth
ers barefoot or wearing only one
shoe. Some wept silently, others
aloud and uncontrollably.
In reports from outside the jus
tice building, RCN and Caracol said
the army used dynamite to blast
thraugh walls at the building. The
government spurned a rebel offer to
negotiate earlier in the day.
Other candidates for business man
ager were Roland Deal Jr., Kathleen
J. Heilman and Susan A. Shamlian.
Collegian Photo I Mary Celantana
William G. Landis Jr.
Mandia
following
By NAN CRYSTAL ARENS
Collegian Science Writer
Anthony Mandia, the heart trans
plant patient sustained for 11 days by
the University's pneumatic artificial
heart, is responding to antibiotics
given to combat an infection, a
Hershey Medical Center spokesman
said yesterday.
Scott Lux said, "Anthony Mandia is
in critical and unstable condition, but
his fever is responding to treatment
with three antibiotics."
Mandia underwent a four-hour sur
gical procedure Wednesday to drain
and irrigate an abscess near his
heart, perform a bronchoscopy to
clear lung secretions and install a
catheter to facilitate administering
medication and • nutritional supple
ments, Lux said.
However, Mandia's vital signs are
still good, Lux added.
"His heart, although working under
the strain in the face of an infection,
is working well," Lux said.
Task force to present
final recommendations
By ALAN J. CRAVER
Collegian Staff Writer
The University President's Task
Force on Alcohol will publicly
present its finalized report once
the recommendations are pre
sented to President Bryce Jordan
in about two weeks, a co-chairman
of the task force said.
M. Lee Uperaft, division direc
tor of counseling and health serv
ices, said no definite date for the
meeting with Jordan or for the
release of the recommendations
under consideration has been set,
but it should be during the week of
Nov. 18.
The task force was established
to form recommendations on ways
the University can improve prob
lems created by alcohol abuse
among students.
Undergraduate Student Govern
ment President David Rosenblatt,
co-chairman of the task force, said
it is important for Jordan and
students to learn of the recommen
dations at the same time.
"It's crucial that students know
what Jordan has under consider
ation," Rosenblatt said. "We don't
want to paint Jordan into a corner
and we don't want to leave stu
dents in the dark."
Jordan said he is not sure when
he will make a final decision on the
task force's recommendations.
improving
surgery
Mandia is still being treated with
hemodialysis to purify his blood and
he is still on a respirator, Lux said.
"Mr. Mandia is fatigued but contin
ues to respond," Lux said.
Infection is a complication of the
drugs Mandia is receiving to prevent
his body from rejecting the trans
planted heart, said Carl Andrews,
director of public relations at the
medical center.
Without the drug cyclosporin-A
Mandia's body would attack the
foreign tissue and destroy his new
heart. However, supressing his nor
mal immune system also makes
Mandia more susceptible to other
infections, Andrews said.
Mandia, who received a donor
heart Oct. 28, was the first human to
be sustained with the University's
artificial heart.
When Mandia's diseased heart be
gan to fail on Oct. 18, doctors at the
medical center implanted the artifi
cial heart to sustain him until a donor
organ could be found.
"I just can't predict how long it
could take," Jordan said.
He said it may take about one
month for him to make his deci
sion because he will want to read
about alcohol abuse among college
students and meet with people
concerned with the subject.
Uperaft said once he writes the
final report, the task force mem
bers will edit and approve it before
the recommendations are given to
Jordan.
At the meeting with Jordan,
Uperaft said, he and Rosenblatt
will answer Jordan's questions
about the recommendations and
explain some of the major ones.
Rosenblatt said he and Uperaft
will also explain the concerns of
task force members, students and
others involved with the recom
mendations.
The task force approved por
tions of its recommendations on
awareness and treatment pro
grams Oct. 24. Some of those rec
ommendations included
increasing the visibility of aware
ness and treatment programs and
developing programs for various
State College groups such as pub
lic school students, University em
ployees and off-campus students.
Rosenblatt said the final report
will include recommendations on
alcohol education courses at the
University .