The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 20, 1985, Image 1
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Texas A&M 0 «•
The Battalion
Vol. 80 No. 115 (JSPS 045360 14 pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, March 20, 1985
Tuition hike tentatively approved by House
The bill would raise tuition
students from the current .flU
to $8 for the }985-86 school year an
1986-87. Tuition would then be raised $2 eveiv rear
until k readied $20 per hour. ,
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Si 1,200 in 1985-86; $2,400 in 1986-
By JERRY OSLIN
Stuff Writer
The Texas House of Representa
tives tentatively approved a bill
Tuesday that would raise college tu
ition and generate an extra .$200
million in state revenues during the
next two years.
The House is expected to make a
final ruling Wednesday and if
passed it will be forwarded to the
state Senate for a vote.
State Rep. Wilhelmina Delco, D-
Austin, said the bill would enable the
Legislature to fund stale colleges
and universities at or near current
funding levels. The Legislative Bud
get Board earlier had recommended
the budgets be cut by about 25 per
cent.
If approved by the state Legis
lature, the bill would raise tuition for
U.S. Senate
frees funding
for MX missile
Bush stonds by os
bill passes 55-45
Associated Press
WASHINGTON —The Republi
can-controlled Senate gave Presi
dent Reagan his first big congressio
nal victory of 1985 on Tuesday by
voting 55-45 to free $1.5 billion for
the production of 21 highly-accu-
rate, long-range MX missiles.
The president and Senate leaders
overcame arguments that the MX
would be vulnerable to a first-strike
Soviet missile attack and persuaded
doubters that the American bargain
ing position at the Geneva arms talks
would be weakened if money for the
MX were denied.
The favorable MX vote “is just
what the negotiators need ... to give
them a shot in the arm,” said Senate
Majority Leader Robert Dole, R-
Kan., just before the roll call of 100
senators began.
There will be a second MX vote in
the Senate, possibly on Wednesday,
but the real fight now shifts to the
Democrat-led House, where a simi
lar set of dual votes is set for next
week.
Among the pro-MX votes were 45
Republicans and 10 Democrats. Vot
ing no were 37 Democrats and eight
Republicans.
Vice President George Bush pre
sided as the vote was taken and w-as
ready to cast a tie-breaking vote if
needed, but in the end the adminis
tration’s 10-vote margin was a com
fortable one and improved Reagan’s
chances in the House.
The vote followed a last-minute,
personal appeal for the MX from
Reagan, wno talked to Senate Re
publicans over lunch and said a de
feat for the 10-warhead missile
“would gravely weaken our national
defenses.”
Until the United States and the
Soviet Union agreed to resume arms
control talks, MX foes appeared cer
tain to win with arguments such as
one made by Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-
Ark.
“All we are doing is giving the So
viets a better target to shoot at,” he
said in speech on the Senate floor.
But Bumpers recalled a steady
drumbeat of administration argu
ment that the MX was needed to
demonstrate national will in Geneva.
“The argument that is the most
palpable nonsense of all is that you
need this missile as a bargaining
chip,” said a frustrated Bumpers.
“The power of the presidency is am
azing.”
Reagan ultimately wants to install
100 MXs in existing Minuteman silos
deep below the prairies of Nebraska
and Wyoming.
Some senators who voted for the
MX on Tuesday said it was likely the
last time, and pledged to oppose the
weapon when 48 additional missiles
are considered as part of the 1986
fiscal year military budget this sum
mer.
Critics of the MX say the weapons
would be destroyed in the first wave
of a Soviet nuclear attack.
undergraduate resident students
from the current $4 per semester
credit hour to $8 for the 1985-86
school year and then to $14 for
1986-87. Tuition would then be
raised $2 every year until it reached
$20 per hour.
Non-resident tuition would be
raised from the current $40 per
hour to $120 for the 1985-86 school
year and then to $180 for 1986-87.
Non-resident students would then
be required to pay 100 percent of
their educataion costs.
The state college and university
coordinating board would define the
cost of education. Non-resident tu
ition currently covers about 22 per
cent of the educaton costs.
Under the bill, tuition for resident
medical and dental students would
go from the current $400 per year to
87; $3,600 in 1987-88; $4,000 in
1988-89; $5,600 in 1989-90; and to
$6,400 in 1990-91.
Non-resident tuition would in
crease from the current $1,200 per
year to $2,400 for 1985-86; $4,800
for 1986-87; and $6,400 for 1987-
88. After that, non-residents would
have to pay 20 percent of their edu
cational costs.
Delco said $6,400 is about 10 per
cent of the current cost it takes to ed
ucate a medical or dental student.
The bill also would eliminate
three conditions under which non
resident students can pay resident
tuition. Non-residents who work as
teaching assistants or research assis
tants would be eligible to pay resi
dent tuition. Previously, a non-resi
dent student who worked at any
state college or university job would
be eligible for resident tuition.
The bill also would eliminate the
exemption that allows a non-resi
dent student to pay resident tuition
if that student marries a resident stu
dent.
The bill would eliminate the
exemption that allows all non-resi
dent students who receive schol
arships to pay resident tuition. Only
students who receive academic
scholarships would continue to be el
igible for resident tuition.
The bill also would raise tuition
for all graduate students in law, ar
chitecture and engineering. Starting
in the fail of 1985, graduate students
in those areas would pay double
Brazos County Sheriff Ronnie
Miller said Tuesday he doesn’t think
Howard Hill’s lawsuit contesting the
November county sherif f election is
valid.
“I think that if the students and
people of Brazos County made an
attempt to register, then they had a
right to vote,” Miller said.
Democrat Hill brought the lawsuit
against Republican Miller after los
ing the election to Miller by 162
votes and after having a recount of
the votes. Hill is questioning the val
idity of the election because more
than 470 county residents allegedly
voted illegally.
In addition to the 250 subpoenaes
issued before spring break, another
200 people who voted in the sheriff
elections will be subpoenaed soon,
Hill’s attorney, Mark Davidson of
Houston, said Monday.
State District Judge Arthur Les-
her adjourned the March 13 trial
until April 1. Miller’s attorney, Chris
Kling of Bryan, had asked for a
week-long adjournment, which Les-
her extended. Both parties agreed to
the break before the trial began.
Hill said Monday that, so far, he is
confident of winning the case.
Miller said Tuesday that he
thought it was too early in the trial to
make a prediction.
But, tie said, “I was definitely not
happy that, after the students stayed
in town, they didn’t get to testify and
they had to lose their spring break.”
Davidson had subpoenaed the
their undergraduate tuition.
The bill in its original form called
for all tuition to be retained by the
colleges and universities starting in
1987. Currently, colleges and uni
versities collect tuition and channel it
back to the state for redistribution.
An amendment to the bill by Rep.
Tom Uher, D-Bay City, would en
able all tuition to stay in the general
fund.
Along with a tuition raise, the bill
also allows for 25 percent of all tu
ition to be set aside for financial aid.
Of the 25 percent, no less than 5
percent would be used for emer
gency loans to students.
State Reo. Richard Smith, R-
Bi yan, votea against the bill but said
the 25 percent set aside for financial
aid would help moderate the prob
lem of the increase.
250 voters to appear in court March
11. Almost 90 percent of the subpoe
naed voters were Texas A&M stu
dents. Seventy-three appeared in
court and 67 testified by deposition.
Those who did not show are sub
ject to arrest, Davidson said. He said
that, if needed, he will ask for a writ
of attachment, an order to pick up a
person and hold him in jail if
needed.
Davidson could not say under
what condition he would ask for the
writ, as he is prohibited from dis
cussing tactics auring a trial.
During the first three days of the
trial, Brazos County Voter Register
Gerald “Buddy” Wmn testified that
his office has no records to verify
whether about 240 people ever reg
istered to vote even though they al
legedly voted after signing affidavits
saying they had registered.
Davidson claimed 125 people
voted after their names were re
moved from county poll lists. He
also claimed that about 65 people
voted in the wrong precinct or did
not return their voter application
cards in time to vote. The cards must
be postmarked at least 30 days be
fore the Nov. 6 election, according
to state law.
Winn later testified that volunteer
deputy registrars did not stamp the
applications as they were received,
so he had no way of knowing if the
applications were received by the
deadline.
The deputy registrars were sup
posed to keep a receipt book.
Sophomore unity proposal
Cadets discuss congress
By DAINAH BULLARD
Stuff Writer
About 100 sophomore cadets, members of the 1st
Brigade, met Tuesday night and discussed the devel
opment of a class congress to deal with problems faced
by the Corps of Cadets.
Sophomore Selwyn Miller, who proposed the idea,
said the congress would deal with issues such as lead
ership, women in the band, discipline, friction between
major and minor outfits, recruiting and tension be
tween cadets and non-cadets.
“The purpose of this is to try and get a working
foundation lor next year, when we will be running the
Corps,” Miller said.
Miller, from Squadron 17, and four other cadets,
Anita Wood from Company W-l, John Beury and
Mark Shankle from Company D-2, and Hermann Has-
ken from Company E-l, spoke to the cadets about the
goals of the congress.
“One thing we’d like to demonstrate is unity among
the sophomore class,” Hasken said. “We have to use
what few people we have left to build up (the Corps).
We started out with 2,200, and now we just have about
1,600.”
In addition to declining Corps membership, cadets
said they are concerned about some changes taking
place in the Corps. Cadets said they don’t want the
Corps at Texas A&M to become a done of ROTC units
at other universities.
While the majority of the cadets at the meeting ap
proved the idea of a class congress, others said they al
ready are adequately represented in Corps committees.
Miller, who joined the Corps last fall, said he came
up with the idea of a congress because he was worried
about some Corps practices.
“I haven’t been too pleased with what I’ve seen since
I got in last fall,” Miller said. “Some of my buddies feel
the same way. I talked with them and got them behind
me, and they’ve backed me all the way.”
Miller discussed the formation of a congress with
Corps Commandant Col. Donald L. Burton and several
junior cadets. Burton said the proposed congress
would have to go through the established chain of com
mand to present its ideas, Miller said.
The congress would be composed of 44 sophomore
cadets, one representative from each outfit. Sopho
more cadets would contact their representative about
issues that concern them or ideas to improve the Corps.
“We understand all the problems around us,” Miller
said. “We want solutions.”
Sophomore cadets from the three remaining major
outfits also will meet this week. Sophomores in the Ag
gie Band will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Adams
Band Hall. Sophomores in the 1st Regiment will meet
Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in 100 Heldenfels. 1st Wing
sophomores will meet Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in 105
Heldenfels.
A second series of meetings will be scheduled during
the week of April 15, Miller said. He encouraged the
units to choose their representatives during the next
two weeks.
Talks go on amid
Soviet allegations
Associated Press
GENEVA, Switzerland —
American and Soviet negotiators
met for two hours and 40 minutes
Tuesday, their longest session
since superpower arms control
talks resumed.
In Moscow, the Kremlin ac
cused the Reagan administration
of seeking a “trump card” by
pressing Congress to approve the
MX missile. President Reagan has
said the decision on the MX has a
direct bearing on the Geneva
talks.
The U.S. Senate in a show
down T uesday approved $1.5 bil
lion to build 21 of the 10-warhead
rockets. Critics say they would be
destroyed in the first wave of a
nuclear attack, but Reagan said a
“no” vote by Congress would
have been interpreted by Moscow
as a “collapse of American re
solve.”
The Tuesday session in Ge
neva was at the Soviet mission
and the next meeting was sched
uled for Thursday.
Before Tuesday’s session, the
Soviet media renewed charges
that the United States was trying
to block the talks. Secretary of
State George P. Shultz had said
remarks made by Victor P. Kar
pov, Soviet delegation chief, in a
weekend television interview
might not “bode well for the ne-
gotations.”
In Washington on Tuesday,
the Reagan administration said it
intends to present “concrete new
ideas” in Geneva for an
agreement curbing nuclear weap
ons. “If the Soviets approach the
negotiations in the same way
much progress can be made,” the
administration said.
The administration’s statement
appeared to be an attempt to
head off a dispute over Soviet ac
cusations that the United States
seeks to deadlock the Geneva
talks.
The Communist Party daily
Pravda accused the United States
of pursuing the MX missile pro
gram to pressure the Soviet
Union.
Brazos sheriff says
lawsuit contesting
election isn’t valid
By KIRSTEN D
Stuff W'riter