UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday. November 3.1995
7A
Nuclear tests appall KU's French population
Arms testing in Pacific is opposed worldwide
By Tara Trenary
Kansan staff writer
Nuclear testing in French Polynesia continues, in spite of worldwide opposition from governments and environmental groups, and it affects a small population of French KU students and faculty.
Andy Robrback/KANSAN
"I was totally against it and horrified when I heard about the tests in the islands," said Caroline Fave, Paris graduate teaching assistant. "It's so bad for the environment."
She said the problem was that French leaders claimed the testing was not harmful, yet they were not doing the testing in France.
Many people in France are against the testing. Fave said, but they are passive.
France conducted its third nuclear test last Friday at its blast site in the South Pacific. The blast was equal to about 60,000 tons of TNT. It took place in French Polynesia beneath the Mururoa Atoll. An atoll is a ringlike coral island that encloses a lagoon.
The French ministry said that Friday's test was necessary to guarantee the security and reliability of French arms.
“It’s wrong,” said Nicolas Hostein, Dijon, France, graduate student. “We wouldn’t agree with foreign people testing bombs near France.”
Hostein said that when President Jacques Chirac had been elected, he had not said that he was planning to do the nuclear testing and that it was not the kind of decision one would expect from
a president.
"Most people in the European Community don't agree with it," he said. "But they don't say that too loud."
Paul D'Anieri, assistant professor of political science, said the situation was that France was doing something that it knew would upset others but that it put nuclear testing ahead of anything else.
"They're not surprised when the whole world gets unset about this," he said.
D'Anieri said that President Clinton's approach to nuclear weapons was non-proliferation, which is the idea of no
more countries building nuclear weapons.
"France testing nuclear weapons undermines that goal." D'Anieri said.
The testing makes it more likely for other countries, such as Iran and Iraq, to develop nuclear weapons, D'Anieri said. Why shouldn't they do it if France is, he asked.
The first French nuclear test beneath the Mururoa Atoll, about 750 miles southeast of Tahiti, took place Sept. 5 and measured less than 20,000 tons. This test was slightly larger than the
Hiroshima bomb in 1945, and the impact caused the atoll's lagoon to foam and churn.
The second test of about 110,000 tons was set off Oct. 2 beneath the Fangataufa Atoll.
France plans to conduct up to eight underground nuclear tests before May to check its nuclear arsenal. However, it plans to sign a global test-ban treaty after the tests.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
University rolls out the red carpet for Parents Day
Quick, get rid of the beer. Mom and Dad are coming. Parents Day and Family Weekend will give KU parents a reason to visit this weekend.
Kathryn Tuttle, director of new student orientation, said that between 150 and 200 parents usually attended the weekend. Activities for the families are designed to give parents an idea of what KU life is like.
"I think it helps them keep some links with their students," Tuttle said. "Things at KU are always changing, and this helps them keep perspective."
Kansan Staff Report
Information about the weekend's activities will be available from 8:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow at a table in the Kansas Union. Many of the activities will be geared toward parents who want to know more about academic life at the University of Kansas. Academic departments and professional schools will hold open houses from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. tomorrow in various campus buildings.
Discussion sessions on KU life and the new tuition payment plan will be held from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and 10 to 10:30 a.m. at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Parents also can get informed about e-mail and the
Internet at 10:30 a.m. in the auditorium in the Computer Center.
Katie Armitage, a local historian, will give a walking tour of the campus at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow starting on Level 4 of the Kansas Union.
Families also can attend the home football game against Missouri. The game begins at 12:40 p.m., and tickets are $19 for reserved seats and $9 for general admission.
Tuttle said that the weekend was not just for families or parents. Everyone can attend.
Cold curbs Budig Hall work plans
Concrete requires warm weather to set properly
By Brenden Sager Kansan staff writer
The cold snap that hit campus yesterday could slow down reconstruction of Budig Hall.
So far, construction is on schedule, said Mark Green, project manager for DiCarlo construction in Kansas City, Mo. He is in charge of the two-year, $18 million Budig Hall project scheduled for completion in July 1996.
But the cold weather is slowing the completion of the foundation because below-freezing temperatures can cause concrete to dry unevenly, he said.
And a project in which concrete was to be laid on the west side of the hall, where seating will be, had to be rescheduled for Monday, when the weather is expected to be warmer, he said.
Green said the weather could pose problems for the timely completion of Budig Hall and that projects requiring work on high scaffolding were of primary concern.
High winds and frozen water pose serious dangers for scaffold workers, so some projects would be rescheduled under such conditions, he said.
"We're keeping our eye on the weather," Green said. "We don't want to create unsafe conditions for the workers."
However, there is no shortage of other things to do.
The project has four basic stages: foundation, exterior masonry, roofing and interior. The first of these — laying the foundation — is nearly complete, he said.
Jeff Pevier, construction worker who is working on the foundation with Hayes Drilling Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., said all was well.
He said it was his job to drill holes in the bedrock for structural piers, which will support the building.
Pevier said that he was glad he would be done before the cold really moved in, but he still had to prepare for one more day.
"I guess I'll just be putting on a lot of long johns," he said.
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