University of Arizona - The Desert Yearbook

“Hi News - Production by Nathan Handelsman and Iman Atiyeh Page A3 Storm^ & Fire By IMAN ATIYEH & NATHAN HANDELSMAN August 1994 Friday, 5 Eight Lebanese killed in errant Israeli air strike. Friday, 12 Baseball Union goes on strike. Sunday, 14 Monsoons hit displaying lightning shows over Tucson. Hai- tian military leaders stage a show of force at a cathe- dral during a religious holiday services. Monday, 17 Israel & Jor- dan reach a trade accord that would permit Jordan to export $30 million worth of goods to West Bank. Jordan & Israel for years have banned each others ' goods. Tuesday, 18 Refugees in Rwanda experience the start of violence. Saturday, 20 No more preferential treatment for Cuban immigrants brings balance to Clinton ' s new immigrant policy. Friday, 26 Senate ap- proves crime bill for $30 billion dollars. UA foot- bal 1 team ranked # 1 by S I . " Brothers to the Rescue " signals Cuban rafters as they flee their homeland, Sunday, August 14, 1994 in the Florida Straits. The volunteer flight group scours these waters for refugees, throws them juice and candy bars and marks their position so they can be picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard. Photo by Associated Press. UofA Desert Yeartxxik August 1994 was a month plagued with dilem- mas stretching from Cuba to campus. While Cuban refugees filled the seas in an attempt to reach Florida in a mass exodus, the mon- soons hit Tucson with a fe- rocious blow. Then things heated up when a fire in the dorms started off the Uni- versity of Arizona school year. Fidel Castro opened his doors in August to any Cu- bans who attempted to migrate to the United States. In 1980, during the cold war, Castro opened his pris- ons and over 125,000 Cu- bans came to Florida and were accepted into the United States. Castro ' s rea- soning behind letting Cu- bans flee was to open talks about lifting the U.S. eco- nomic embargo. In the meantime, Cuban families fled to the United States in wooden rafts. The amount of Cuban refugees has risen from 248 in January ' 94 to 2,223 as of August 17. Since, the 19th of August at least 9,000 refugees were picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard on route into Florida. In the meantime, Tuc- son was hit by winds blow- ing over 75 miles per hour. It tore the roofs off 12 homes, destroyed three mobile homes, uprooted trees, and flooded the streets. It also hit campus hard, tearing the roof off Old Main, knocking down steel fences, and broke win- dows in the dorms flooding them. Uprooted trees on campus alone caused $40,000 in damage. There were also severe lightning storms causing two firefighters to be injured. The monsoons hit during the week of August 23, two days before campus was to open for fall session. On the first day of classes sev- eral building were still flooded. The storm came as a surprise after a long hot summer, that encompassed twenty days with tempera- tures over 100 degrees. However, the storm did not cool things off enough. On August 23 a fire broke out in Coronado dormitory. This blaze was caused by a hot lamp falling onto the bed of a student while she was sleeping. It was extin- guished by a maintenance mechanic. The fire caused heavy damages to the room. The student had to be hos- pitalized and treated for smoke inhalation and mi- nor bums to her hands and face. Despite all the devasta- tion that this month brought on, students still managed to swarm to classes on time. ”