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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1967)
"tr,- New Mandatory Food Fee Prompts Civilian March Gate 8228 OgH neat ; nee- alary Ixcel- e re' enr Student numbers swell during Houston street march Polls Remain Open In Student Election President Rudder Speaks .. . mm wbhhv Students pose questions about new board ruling. Polls remain open until 7:30 p.m. this evening- in balloting for Student Senate officers and Civil ian Student Council officers. The campus social fraternity issue is also on the ballot. Running for president of the Student Senate are Francis John Bourgeois, Gerald Wayne Camp bell and Ernest J. Pena. Candidates for vice president are Charles A. Brown, Bill E. Carter and David T. Maddox. Joseph Paul Webber is the only candidate in the running for par liamentarian. Recording secretary will go to either Larry A. Bowless, Mark Anthony Fairchild or Robert Ed ward Moreau. Also to be decided in today’s elections are the chairmen for the four standing committees. Running for Issues Committee are Jack Ronald Coleman, Clarence Travis Daughtery and Edward Charles Kindel. Don McLeroy, John Darby Parr or Donald Anthony Swofford will take over the chairmanship of the Student Life Committee. In the running for the Public Relations Committee chairman are Reese W. Brown and Dewey E. “Trey” Helmcamp III. John H. Daly and James A. Mobley are opposing each other in the race for Welfare Committee Chairman. Civilian candidates are Lewis Griffin Venator for president, and George Nathan Walne for vice president. No one filed for the office of secretary-treasurer. Che Battalion Volume 61 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1967 Number 438 500 Assemble In Streets To Protest Board Ruling Search Fails To Locate Men Missing In Atlantic Air Crash An air and sea hunt of the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket Is land Wednesday failed to find any trace of the 13 Air Force men missing since Tuesday when their plane crashed two miles off the island. The pilot of the plane was Col. James P. Lyle, whose son James L. Llye, 21, is a senior chemistry major at A&M and in Squadron 11. COL. LYLE is listed among the missing victims, but he is credit ed by witnesses for having fought the plane away from the resi dential area of the island before it crashed. He was commander of the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing at Otis Air Base in Falmouth, Mass. He and his wife also have a daughter Jana, 14. Lyle, a 26-year veteran of the Air Force, had 283 combat hours as a pilot during World War II Weather FRIDAY — Cloudy, occasional light rain, winds southeasterly 10 to 15 m.p.h. High 82. Low 66. SATURDAY — Cloudy, south erly winds 10 to 20 m.p.h. High 86. Low 71. University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M” —Adv. and in Korea. A native of Spring- town, Tex., he assumed control of the wing last July 22. OTIS OFFICIALS said that he was putting in his normal flight time to remain accredited as a pilot at the time of the crash. The only known survivor of the 16-man crew was Lt. Joseph L. H. Guenet, 20, a navigator from Island Pond, Vt. Two bodies were taken from the water shortly after the crash and not immediately identified. Albert L. Manning, chairman of the Nantucket Island’s Airport Commission, and two pilots air borne near the airport, said that Col. Lyle apparently made a last- minute decision to ditch at sea instead of risking a fiery landing at the airport. THE CRAFT, a four-engined propeller-driven radar plane, was less than 10 minutes out of Otis and carried about 7,330 gallons of fuel. Eight minutes after takeoff, Col. Lyle had reported fire in his number 3 engine and said that he would try to land at the island airport, Air Force officials said. “I spotted this fire in the air,” Rene A. Orleans, a private pilot airborne near the crash said. “The craft was in a steep descent posi tion toward the airport when it suddenly swung into an almost 180-degree turn and headed south toward the water. MOLLY KRISTALL Hillel Sweetheart for 1967-68 Hillel Foundation Names Sweetheart The Hillel Foundation of Texas A&M has named their sweetheart for the coming year. She is Molly Kristall of Houston. The Jewish student organiza tion also installed officers at their latest meeting. Mike Blum was installed as president, Barry Mosesman as vice president, John Small as secretary, Jim Farqu- harson as treasurer, Leonard Mosesman as parliamentarian and Ross Epstein as reporter. Blum was also awarded the Phil Golman Outstanding Service Award by Arthur Bahme for the past year. 5% per year paid on all savings at Bryan Build- B n & l ing & Loan Assn. Adv. By WINSTON GREEN Battalion Editor With chants of “We won’t pay” and “We want a choice,” more than 500 civilian A&M students marched from the Sbisa area, down Houston St. to the home of University President Earl Rud der Wednesday night. Marchers were protesting a recent board of directors decision to make boarding fees manda tory for all dormitory students, beginning with the fall semester. UPON REACHING the Rudder home students were greeted by President Rudder who stated that he was willing to talk with the “students all night” if that’s what they wanted. Immediately students shouted questions to the president. “Why are we (civilian students) going to be forced to pay the board fees next year?” asked one student. “Why is the food at Sbisa so lousy?” shouted another. “Why can’t we be given a choice as to where we want to buy our meals?” yelled still an other. At this point President Rudder attempted to quiet the crowd and asked for the group’s spokesman to come forward to present their issues. CLIFF PURCELL, a pre-vet major from Philips, came to the front of the students and told the president that the group wanted to show university officials that civilian students “want to choose where they want to buy their meals. We feel that our rights have been violated when we are forced to pay for food that we will not eat.” Again shouts rang out from the crowd. “That food is not fit to eat,” they said. “Why don’t you (Rud der) eat at Sbisa?” President Rudder repeated his offer of “talking with students all night if necessary,” but added that he didn’t see that anything would be accomplished by the “heckling.” RUDDER EXPLAINED that the regulation requiring dorm students to pay board fees “was not new — it is stated clearly in the university’s Bulletin.” The president explained that A&M is one of the few univer sities left in the United States that offer a food service at such a low price. “Every nickel collected from students for board goes directly back into the food service,” he said. One student asked, “What will happen to the North Gate res taurant owners if this proposal is enforced ? They depend on Aggie trade for survival.” “What would happen to Sbisa if there weren’t enough students eating there to keep the service operational ? ” Rudder answered. “BUT WHY shouldn’t a stu dent be allowed to eat at North Gate if he can get his meals cheaper there?” the student con tinued. President Rudder answered that students couldn’t “buy three meals a day for the price they pay at the university.” AT THIS point the question arose about students who leave campus on weekends and are charged for meals they don’t eat. “Why can’t we have meal cards where we pay for so many meals and have our cards punched when we use them ? ” a student inquired. RUDDER REPLIED that under this type of system “It would be impossible for the dining hall to determine how many persons would attend each meal in ad vance.” He added that “this type of system had been tried before, but had failed.” He said that “board is planned by the month— not the meal.” Purcell then announced that nothing more could be “accom plished” by a continuation of the “yelling back and forth.” He ex pressed concern for the “rudeness and rowdiness displayed by the crowd” and suggested that they attempt to set a time and place at which representatives from the student group meet with univer sity officials to “further discuss the issues.” PRESIDENT RUDDER com mented that his office is always “open to any student who has a problem to discuss.” He also reminded students that there is a committee of civilian and Corps students that regularly meets with dining hall officials to “dis cus and gripes the students might have about the food service. Through this group and the Civilian Student Council we ought to be able to settle this problem soon.” The students and Rudder agreed to send representatives of each dormitory to tonight’s Civilian Student Council to present the is sue before it. “I will attend the meeting if at all possible,” Rudder added. Fees Below Other Schools Texas A&M’s new combined room, board and laundry rates are still well below those of most other leading institutions, univer sity officials stressed Wednes day. The officials also noted that the policy of combining room and board fees has been adopted by most other colleges and univer sities. IN EXPLAINING the $20 per semester increase approved by the board of directors earlier this week, the officials cited additional operating expenses resulting from new minimum wage requirements. They pointed out, however, that all information available at this time indicates A&M’s food service rates will continue to be lower than those of other major schools in this area. On a daily basis, the rate at A&M will be $1.80 per student — for an increase of five cents per meal — whereas a local survey indicates the University of Texas is planning a rate of $1.90, be ginning this fall, and the Uni versity of Arkansas, $1.86. The only other area school responding Collegian Comments ‘Let Us Decide Where We Eat\ Says Student J CM M 1 Claude Glover - Sophomore “It’s another move to eliminate our freedom of choice. We’re not given the opportunity to make any decisions of our own around here.” .WT-'V m m; Mike Hughes - Sophomore “Let the administration worry about academic excellence, and let us worry about where we want to eat.” Larry Tracy - Freshman “First they tell us how to dress. Now they tell us where to eat. I guess dorm mothers are the next step.” Thomas Erwin - Freshman “The president and the board of. directors have been listening to too many Aggie jokes.” David Williamson - Sophomore “If the board plan is going to mandatory for corps students, it’s only fair that it be manda tory for civilian students.” Don Prycer - Sophomore “It’s not fair to those students who leave the campus on week ends. It’s despotic.” to the query so far is SMU, which reports a rate of $2.30. ALL SCHOOLS replying to the survey show higher rates for the fall. Currently, A&M’s rate is $1.65 per day. Other known rates in this area are: University of Tex as, $1.75; University of Arkansas, $1.69; SMU, $2.14; University of Houston, $1.71, and Rice, $2.25. Regionally and nationally, A&M again ranks well below the average in combined room and board fees, with a rate of $540 for the full year. THE 22 PUBLIC and senior colleges included in the Texas College and University Coordinat ing Board System have a median room and board average of $.675 and the 99 institutions making up the National Association of State Universities & Land Grant Col leges average $718. A Missouri Commission on Higher Educa tion survey, which includes Texas universities, reports an average of $746. All these 1966-67 fig ures are still well above A&M’s comparable rates of $558 for the next school year. University officials pointed out that new national minimum wage requirements are increasing A&M food service and laundry expenses by approximately $75,000 for the current fiscal year ending Aug. 31. THESE additional expenses are now being absorbed by the Uni versity but must be reflected in student fees for the next school year, the officials said. Specifically, the food service rates are being raised $18 and laundry $2. This will increase the combined fees to $328 per semes ter. if t