Ninety-One Years
of
Editorial Freedom
i
cl be
LIE 4
IaiI
COMFORTABLE
Partly cloudy today with highs'
in the 60s to mid-?Us and lows
in the 40s to low 50s.
S/l. XCI. No. 15
Copyright 1980, The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Saturday, September 20, 1980
Ten Cents
Eight Pages
Im
U.S.
claims nmissile
blast
site safe
Dropped tool triggers explosion
From AP and UPI
DAMASCUS, Ark.-An underground
Titan II missile silo housing a nuclear
warhead exploded in rural Arkansas
yesterday after a workman dropped a
wrench socket that punctured the
missile's fuel tank.
One worker died and at least 21
others were injured, but Pentagon
sources said no damage occurred to the
warhead and Air Force officials said no
radiation escaped.
"There is absolutely no evidence of
any radioactive material in the area,"
said Hans Mark, secretary of the Air
Force. "I can tell you that with absolute
assurance."
But NBC and ABC news later said
they had learned the warhead was
blown out of the silo by the explosion,
but both the Pentagon and the Strategic
Air Command in Omaha, Neb., refused
to confirm or deny the report.
At a Pentagon briefing, Mark con-
firmed heavy damage was done to the
first and second stages of the missile,
but he refused to discuss the warhead.
Mark said some of the "harder" com-
ponents of the missile had survived
relatively intact-the rocket enginer
and certain support struts-but the
shell of the rocket had been charred by
explosions in both stages.
Mark confirmed heavy damage was
done to the first and second stages of
the missile, but he refused to discuss
the warhead. Mark said some of the
"harder" components of the missile
had survived relatively intact-the
rocket engine and certain support
struts-but the shell of the rocket had
been charred by explosions in both
stages.
MARK SAID the force of the blast
shattered a heavy concrete door atop
the silo, leaving a crater approximately
250 feet wide. The mouth of the silo
normally is about 10 feet wide.
A spokesman for the Strategic Air
Command in Omaha, Neb., said of the
22 Air Force personnel who were in-
jured, 18 remained hospitalized. The
other injured airmen were apparently
at the Little Rock Air Force base
hospital which would not release any in-
formation.
MOST OF the injured airmen had
been called to repair a leak in a fuel
tank of the Titan II missile.'
President Carter ordered the Defense
Department to investigate the cause of
the explosiontand to inspect the 53 other
Titan installations in the nation.
"We deeply regret the casualties
from the explosion," Carter said. "The
situation is under control and there is
no indication of any radioactivity at
all."
TOXIC FUMES from the explosion
forced officials to clear an area around
this small central Arkansas town of 225
people stretching as far north as 10
miles.
The explosion pushed a fiery orange
cloud into the early morning and forced
about 1,400 people from their homes.
AN AERIAL VIEW of the area surrounding a Titan II missile silo in Damascus, Ark, shows a huge crater and scattered
debris (including the roof of the silo at right). Air Force officials said ten people were injured, all of them maintenance
workers performing routine work on the site.
.For oreign students it s
not ome, sweet ome
AP Photo
THE TITAN II missile .and its silo rocked by an explosion yesterday in
Arkansas were similar to the missile and its underground launching pad
shown aboveina1965 file photo.
Aging miss1es pose
special sa-fety theat
By DAVID MEYER
Of the 354 foreign students who came to the University
for the first time this term, only 70 were provided wit the
low-cost temporary University housing they thought they
were assured.
Those 70 were housed for varying lengths of time in a
large converted study lounge lined with 20 bunk beds in South
Quadrangle dormitory, for which they paid $5 a night. The
rest had to provide for their own accommodations, which, for
the vast majority, meant renting hotel rooms.
ALL THE STUDENTS are now settled into permanent
housing. But questions about the housing problem remain.
Most of the international students, who range from fresh-
persons to post-doctoral academicans, have said they
believed their accommodations had been arranged for them
because of an information flyer mailed to students before
they arrived at the University. The flyer stated that "Tem-
porary low-cost, on-campus housing will be available during
arrival period." University housing officials, however,
allocated only the spaces in the South Quad room.
A Housing adviser in the International Student Center-the
University's liasion organization between foreign students
and the University administration, and the agency that wrote
the flyer-said that the annual temporary housing crunch is
rooted in the University's refusal to provide adequate
housing for its students.
OFFICIALS AT THE International Student Center em-
phasized thatthe critical shortage of temporary housing is a
problem that surfaces every August when the new foreign
students first start to arrive in Ann Arbor.
But John Finn, associate director of the University
Housing Office, said the University has no obligation to
provide for the foreign students' temporary accommodations
and had attempted to do so in the past only at the request of
the International Student Center. "We have nothing else we
can offer," Finn said.
The University's inability to provide sufficient temporary
housing for the foreign students, many of whom arrive in the
U.S. for the first time when they come to the University,
spawned a mounting student drive to change the University's
housing policy.
AMY HARTMANN, chairwoman of the Michigan Student
Assembly's International Student Affairs Committee, said
she is helping to organize a mass meeting of students com-
mitted to increasing the University's temporary housing
See DORM, Page 2
- WASHINGTON (AP)-The explosion
at a missile site near Damascus, Ark.,
underscores the hazards of liquid-
fueled missiles armed with nuclear
warheads, particularly the 54 aging
Titan II missiles.
Administration spokesmen are likely
to stress the explosion underscores the
need to phase in a new-and
safer-long-range missile like the MX.
THE 165-TON Titan, developed by the
Martin Co. in the late 1950s and early
1960s, are powered by rocket engines
using liquid fuel.
The fuel consists of a propellant
liquid and an oxidizer stored under.
pressure within the missile body. The
propellant, a mixture of hydrazine and
unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, is
highly volatile.
When mixed - with the
oxidizer -nitrogen tetroxide-it ignites
instanteously, sending the missle on its
way at a top speed of about 15,000 miles
an hour.
THE FUEL is also corrosive, tending
over time to cause leaks in seals. The
Air Force has been periodically inspec-
ting and replacing worn seals'.
The MX missiles, like the 1,000
Minuteman II and Minuteman III
missiles, would use solid rather than
liquid fuels.
A major advantage of solid fuels is
that they are more stable and safer to
store over long periods, yet they can be
ignited with similar speed, making the
Minuteman and MX as fast-reacting as
................
........ n ............. t M E M O .. ..... ........... ....M i ll i
... ,..,.. r.h .....
.. ... .....;
..vv. t .....t. .. ...... {...v. ... ................n..v....................... ..:; }:..:.:".v ."r....t .}.... .. .... . ..... ...........................:::w:.:..,..,...::::::: :w:.v: n". vvn, nv:v::.v:::: :}v:{{"iA:}.v::.:".,:" vi }r + i?$:":+"i'ti.::: :>ii ::i{::"$:"iQ i:i:ti <:{}
v .v. ..:...... .. ., ...... ..t...... ... n.... h....... ......... t..t.. ................ ...... ... ................................. :{"}:":"?}:?i; ?ir:::":: i'r'i::2r::"}: : i:<%>?i:{i "}:i{?:?ri{' :
."5 "a".". .¢.".".fi";::ar:,": n. r:.,"::.:" :.::::::::. ;{},.:: n"::~.:t:kh.: k:.:"::. :..,.. ~....... r , ..........................,..,:,..,...,........,,.:,..:,......,.:: "::,.:::::::::::Mi l l i ..0 1 0 0 0 0 1 .....
* Tiseb a
no-show
as Dems
" blast his
tax plan
By JULIE ENGEBRECHT
Perhaps the author of the Tisch tax
cut proposal knew he would be atten-
ding his own wake if he came to Ann
Arbor Thursday night. For had he been
there-as he promised city
Democrats-he would have been told
his tax plan amounts to "shooting our-
selves ... in both feet;"
The critics had more to say.
ONE MAN in a group of almost 150 at
the Ann Arbor Public Library stood up
and said: "I know one thing. I'm voting
'no' on Tisch." Most other audience
members nodded in agreement.
State Rep. Perry Bullard (D-Ann Ar-
bor) had barely started explaining his
ideas on tax reform before he lashed
out at Proposal D-the legal designation
for the Tisch proposal. "Tisch is a tax-
ripping proposal which will undoub-
tedly destroy the University of
Michigan..."
BULLARD KNOWS Ann Arborites'
sensitive spots.
Any tax plan would be better than
Tisch's, said local Democrat Neil
Staebler. "Mr. Tisch's ... God knows
what would happen," Staebler sighed.
Bullard and Staebler, proponents of
their own tax reform measures spent
most of their alloted time during Thur-
sday night's tax forum hurling barbs at
the drastic tax-slashing plan of
Shiawassee Drain Commissioner
Robert Tisch.
BUT NEITHER Tisch nor any of his
representatives were at the city
Democratic meeting to plead the case
for his tax plan, much to the surprise of
organizers who received a commitment
to attend from Tisch two days earlier.
Left with the task of explaining the
plan to cut state property taxes almost
in half was moderator and University
Economics Prof. Daniel Fusfeld.
His explanation was concise.
"IF YOU REALLY want a reduction
in taxes, if you want to get rid of gover-
nment services, Tisch is for you,"
Fusfeld explained.
Bullard spoke in favor of Proposal A,
the Smith/Bullard tax shift plan. The
measure attempts to spread funds
evenly among school districts in the
state through cutting property taxes
and-probably-raising income taxes.
There would be little, if any, decrease
See TAX, Page 5
Study claims marijuana
tops alcohol among youth
By STEVE HOOK
Marijuana has replaced alcohol as
the preferred intoxicant of
American youth, claims University
researcher Dr. Lloyd Johnston.
In an elaborate report submitted
Thursday for the National Alcohol
and Drug Coalition, Johnston
described the shifting drug habits of
more than 16,000 teen-aged survey
respondents. The survey, sponsored
by the Institute for Social Research,
was part of the ongoing "Monitoring
the Future" research program.
APPROXIMATELY 10 per cent of
the high school seniors reported
using marijuana or hashish every
day. Seven per cent reported daily
use of alcohol.
Johnston called the new balance
"one of the most potentially impor-
tant phenomena to come onto the
American drug use scene in the last
decade."
Much of the report involves the
See STUDY, Page 2
.. t..... ... .t ...... .........,t. .....t...t .........................x..............................................,.. r'<.>:"}: }::.}}}::.:: r-};}:"}}};:.}:::::::::::.:::. :.:.::;::::.r..::::a{:::::;:.::.:;{:r:;: :"}:;.};:::>:::<: :::::>::: :>:r.>r ?> :: ::::>::::::>><>::>::<:';:>:>;>:
..v.. T t .., ..{. t...... ... . ..: .v.......v... .r. . ........... ....... .v.............. ...... .............. ....... ...... ....... .. ....... v :.:{.........
h...n v . ............
.. ht .. ... v { . v......v... " " 'vv'-rr::: v: vv: ".:
.... .. .... .v ......h.... ....... r.. ...................... ,..........,v:.v:.:{-}:::::::::::::. t..... v}:::.t : '".:"v:: ?:v}::: r:.. }::"}:"}:;}i":C}4i"- 'ti"}'" :;::.v: v:... n.
.v.. . v. .. .............. ................................................ r....... v.:w.v:::::.:w:: ": r::::::.v :".v: i::{{ } i.;:;:.};: {..; ..: ":: }:: 4::.+.":::::: ::".v:::: ": fi::: }::: }:4: ?;" :: ::{v: }is5{Ci :"}:;}:<y;::;r-_:;isi{¢;.y:.,.,:.y:"}}ii}:?'{'<t ' :"iti ii.i}: i: i
v. .{}..v., ..J.. ... ,.. .:. .r ...v. ... .. ..v ..:...................z..........v,............................:...:::: ":::::::: :"n:v:: ; . .........,....:.:.:.:.v ..... ... ...... r..: -^.".-.;" t::::::.v :v: }:: }:: ".vtv::::::.:v::.:.: ......v.....::..:......... v. v:: :<:.:i';i"'i;':":
a. .. .. ..... ...,.. x. .. ?.."r... }..,....t...t ...... .. ...... h:. ::. :::::::::."."::. :::::. ::................t:".::.:::"}:::.":::::.;.; ..,.. ....... t-:._:: :":: :.......... .. ..::"..::t"...t".:.; "::::::::.: {.:::. :.>:"}:< -:
. .t .... .. ... v...... ...... .... 4 ..., v..".... .. ......v......,v .. ... n .v r.. .. ... . -, .. ...t .. .. n ... ..........:..........v...................,...........n ... t...v .... ...t ........v.. v..t ... v.: ... v.........,.....:
.. ...+.. ,...h . v..... v..v ............... {. .n .t...v..,...v..........r...v.........................,........ .:.-..: ::.:,.....: ^. .v .. ...... ....... ............ .::}:: }::.t...,............ .... :: v:
-TODAY
Jailbreak material?
Touch up job?
N AMERICAN scientist recently asserted
that the Shroud of Turin, the cloth claimed by
many Christians-including some popes-to be
the burial shroud of Jesus, "is a fake" painted
by a fourteenth century artist. Some believe that
a burst of radiant heat linked with the resurrection of Jesus
caused the brownish marks on the shroud, which form a;
A clean getaway
No one knows if they brushed their teeth twice a day, but
escapees at West Virginia's maximum security prison ap-
parently knew enough about dental cleaning materials to
put them to good use. The inmates made their recent.
escape by cutting the bars on their cell doors with dental
floss and tooth powder. "It was almost like they used a little
torch," said Donald Bordenkircher, the warden of the West
Virginia Penitentiary. "I don't know what makes it work,
but. . . you can do it." Bordenkircher said the dental floss
million addresses, and the post office will begin distributing
new code assignments-adding four digits to the present
code-to enable post offices to process the mail more
easily, quickly, and accurately. "We hope," said a skep
tical Rep. David Evans (D-Ind.), who chaired the Senate
hearing on the Zip Code change. Ray Geiger, editor of the
Farmer's Almanac, spearheaded the unsuccessful cam-
paign against the zip code change. Geiger fears the plan
will cause an epidemic of "digit dizziness." And the corm
plicated computers needed to read the longer code may
break down, causing mail to fly pell-mell across the coun-