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VOLUME 64 Number 67
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 12, 1969
Telephone 845-2226
General Telephone Notes
Problems, Seeks Solutions
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By DAVID MIDDLEBROOKE
Battalion Staff Writer
“We have problems, there's no
question about that. We’re work
ing on them, however, and I think
our service is very good.”
That was the opinion of Bill
84W!i|| Erwin, division manager of Gen
eral Telephone and Electronics
Corp. in Bryan, yesterday as he
talked with The Battalion about
complaints received during “Gripe
Night” last Wednesday.
The Battalion Intelligent Tele
phone Criticism Happening, as
the project was called, was con-
H ducted to give area residents a
tf lMIl chance to voice their complaints
* a ^° u ^ ^ le telephone service. The
■ lines at the Student Publications
■■■■ ■ office were opened to receive the
V calls, which totaled about 30.
YESTERDAY, these complaints
■ were presented to Erwin to see
■ if he felt they were valid and
I what, if anything, could be done
about them. None of the com
plaints dealt specifically with the
Centrex system on the A&M cam
pus, but with phone service in
general.
One of the callers was Mrs.
Jane Scott, a former employe of
General here in Bryan who had
previously worked for Bell Tele
phone in California.
Mrs. Scott explained what she
believed, on the basis of her ex
perience, were some of the basic
problems that the Bryan office
was facing.
“I noticed there was very low
morale on the part of the em
ployes,” she commented. “They
I
really don't care whether or not
the job gets done or done right.
This includes repairmen, install
ers, and repair office workers.
They just don’t care.”
MRS. SCOTT went on to say
that there were not enough em
ployes to handle the volume of
work.
“There is only one repairman
for the entire Centrex system,”
she remarked. “He has to take
care of all the phones, both stu
dent and office, on the campus.”
“That’s the basic problem
throughout the General system
in this area,” she continued.
“There simply aren’t enough peo
ple to handle the work load.
In addition, supervisors bicker
among themselves.”
“I don’t know of any morale
problem,” Erwin remarked yes
terday. “In fact, I think that
morale is high among our em
ployes.
“OUR PEOPLE work as a
team. They have to,” he con
tinued, “or they wouldn’t be able
to get anything done. We woudn’t
be able to operate as a company.
“Our staff is adequate for the
area,” he said. “We have some
peak periods, such as the first
part of September, when it takes
us longer to handle a specific
complaint due to the large volume
of work to be done. Right now we
have our repair and installation
men working 10 hours a day, six
days a week, to handle the work,
and I think they are doing satis
factorily.”
Director Making Winter Plans
For YMCA’s Summer Fish Camp
By DAVE BERRY
Battalion Staff Writer
A&M’s summer Fish Camp is
active even in the winter months.
At least it is for Gary Ander
son, director of next summer’s
16th annual Fish Camp, who is
in the midst of preparations for
next summer’s camp.
“Fish Camp was initiated at
Bastrop 16 years ago by J. Gor
don Gay, YMCA secretary and
religious coordinator until his re
tirement last year, Anderson
said.
“Since then, the camp has
grown from 16 participants to
next summer’s four groups of
100 each, with 25 camp coun
selors per group. The camp has
also since moved from Bastrop
to Lakeview Methodist Assembly
near Palestine.
“The purpose of the camp,” lo
cated next to a lake in Texas hill
country, “has been to prepare the
incoming freshman students for
the responsibilities and leader
ship required of college stu
dents,” continued Anderson.
“In the past this has been ac
complished through various activ
ities and seminars involving the
freshmen, some campus student
leaders and faculty members.
The presence of both faculty and
student leaders at Fish Camp
gives the freshmen a more bal-
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.
•—Adv.
anced view of what is in store
for them.”
Anderson said that Fish Camp,
which next summer will be held
Sept. 6-9, comprises students who
were excellent students in high
school.
“Fish Camp leaders refer to
the Registrar’s list of incoming
freshmen and choose only those
who are from the highest quar
ter of their classes,” Anderson
said. “It is hoped that these
freshmen, who are from all over
the country and who may or may
not be going into the Corps, will
be encouraged to assume leader
ship roles at A&M.
“So far,” Anderson pointed
out, “Fish Camp has produced
such leaders as Corps Command
er Hector Gutierrez and Bill
Carter, president of the Student
Senate.
“Perhaps it is because these
students and others like them
have entered A&M with a better
perspective of both college life
in general and A&M in particu
lar, due to, among other things,
Fish Camp.
The success of Fish Camp de
pends partially on the Fish
Camp leaders, concluded Ander
son. They are chosen by careful
screening and interviewing dur
ing the winter preceding Fish
Camp. Then, during the ensuing
spring and summer, they work in
cooperation with the YMCA sec
retary, Logan E. Weston, in
planning camp activities.
Erwin said that the phone
company has to know about a
problem before it can do any
thing about it.
“When people have a problem,
if they will report it in the proper
manner, by dialing 18, we can
get on the trouble.”
MRS. SCOTT also said that,
from what she knew, General
was unwilling to spend money in
this area to modernize the equip
ment and maintain it properly.
“Some of it is old and out
dated,” she said. “Besides that,
the employees don’t have the
time or the inclination to get
after the trouble.”
“I have to disagree concerning
the modernizing of our equip
ment,” Erwin said. “The Cen
trex system on the A&M campus
is the most modern and up-to-
date equipment available.
“In addition, we’ve added 12
new switchboard positions in the
Bryan office, and 1,200 lines to
the College Station exchange. We
are also installing Expanded Di
rect Distance Dialing (EDDD)
which will become operational in
August of this year.
“ADDITIONAL long distance
channels have been set up,” Er
win added, “between Bryan and
Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.
We have also added more lines
to the outlying areas that we
serve.”
“The EDDD equipment alone
is costing General $3.5 million,”
he continued, “and it will pro
vide greatly improved service to
this area. An additional $250,-
000 has been spent to add more
men and equipment. There are
definitely plans for expansion in
this area.
Students also had many com
plaints to voice concerning the
phone service here. Nelson L.
Jacob inquired as io why the
university was requiring phones
in the university apartments to
be desk models located in the
bedroom. “The university has
said nothing concerning this,”
emphasized Howard Vestal, man-
(See Telephone, Page 2)
NBC-TV Newsmen
To Film Corps For
Huntley-Brinkley
An NBC-TV news crew will
photograph today and Thursday
the operation of the Corps of
Cadets for Huntley-Brinkley
news.
A future national television
broadcast of the news team will
highlight academic credit prob
lems the ROTC program is hav
ing in Eastern U. S. colleges.
Bob Goralski, who will be in
charge of the five-man crew,
said the Pentagon suggested
NBC cameras be turned on Texas
A&M to show “the other side of
the coin,” or where the ROTC
program works the way it was
designed.
The television newsmen will
interview university officials,
take sound cameras into a mili
tary science class and focus on a
Cadet Corps pass-by for the
Wednesday evening meal forma
tion.
Ags Top TU, 70-69,
Take Lead In SWC
ALPERT’S TJB IN DISGUISE?
The Baja Marimba Band, bom out of a tune Herb Alpert felt needed a different sound,
will be ‘coming in the front door’ of G. Rollie White Coliseum at Texas A&M Saturday.
Julius Wechter and his “Speedy Gonzales” group will perform as a Town Hall special
attraction.
THE SIDE WITH THE 3-POINT LEAD
Aggie forward Chuck Smith (42) watches the last three seconds tick off the scoreboard
in Tuesday’s game as teammates (from left) Ronnie Peret, Sonny Benefield, Bill Cooksey
and Mike Heitmann watch Texas bring in the ball for a last-second field goal to cut the
winning margin to one point, 70-69. The Aggies remained in back court to avoid any
possibility of a foul and subsequent 3-point play. (Photo by Mike Wright)
CATE’s 7-Subject Network
Benefits 20 High Schools
High school students in 20 East
Central Texa® schools have op
portunity to receive instruction in
seven subjects taught over “black
board-by-wire” from Texas A&M.
Structured through the Crea
tive Application of Technology to
Education (CATE) Center, in
structional opportunities include
physics, related math, English
composition, basic Russian, slide
rule, logarithms and computer
programming.
Dr. Thomas J. Moffett, CATE
director, noted the seven classes
are available to all students of
high school level at Allen Military
Academy, A&M Consolidated in
College Station, Brenham, Cald
well, Cameron, Crockett, Hearne,
Huntsville, Kemp and S.F. Austin
in Bryan, Madisonville, Navasota,
Rockdale, Snook and Somerville.
IN ADDITION, Latin Ameri-
RV’s To Lead
Rex Parade
In Mardi Gras
King Rex’s official honor
guard for the Rex parade of New
Orleans’ annual Mardi Gras cele
bration will be the 129-cadet
strong Ross Volunteers.
RV Commander Robert J. Fo
ley of Premont said the entire
company will march in the Tues
day parade and be at the Rex
Ball in New Orleans’ Municipal
Auditorium Tuesday evening.
Three platoons, staff and color
guard will precede King Rex’s
float.
The Rex honor guard appear
ance of the Ross Volunteers will
be the second of the year for the
oldest military organization at
A&M. The RV’s formed the tra
ditional honor guard for Gov.
Preston Smith’s inauguration in
Austin last month.
At New Orleans, the company
will be housed on the “U.S.S.
Guadalcanal,” a Navy helicopter
assault craft to be berthed on
the Mississippi River at the foot
of Canal Street. The A&M cadets
will stay Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday nights.
“The location is just a few
blocks from the French Quarter,”
Foley noted.
The company will be enter
tained Monday evening by the
New Orleans A&M Club at the
Lamplighter upon invitation of
Judson Smith, 1959 A&M gradu
ate and New Orleans club mem
ber.
Foley said the company will
return to the campus Wednesday.
can cultures is transmitted to
A&M Consolidated Junior High,
College Hills, South Knolls, Hen
derson and Ben Milam Elemen
tary Schools in Bryan and College
Station.
“A student interested in taking
any of the subjects should con
tact his principal,” Moffett said.
Curriculum materials are de
veloped by CATE Center person
nel. Text distributed to schools,
slides, transparencies and manu
als are prepared and produced in
the center’s art and printing de
partments.
Each course is structured to
supply material, knowledge and
teaching capabilities the individ
ual school might not be able to
separately provide. English com
position is organized to help col
lege-bound students acquire skill
in composition and rhetoric.
BASIC RUSSIAN is instructed
by a retired Army officer who
has 23 years of linguistics exper
ience.
Latin American culture is
structured on materials collected
by teachers who toured Central
and South American countries
with the Programa de Educacion
Interamericana headquartered at
A&M.
The computer programming
course takes advantage of A&M’s
third-generation IBM 360/65 com
puter. Students learn to write
programs which are computer-
solved through computer-con
nected hardware at the center.
Ticketing Begins
In Parking Lots
Campus Security officers
started writing tickets in the day
student lots Tuesday, said Mor
ris A. Maddox, assistant security
chief.
Maddox pointed out students
were allowed last week and
Monday to register their vehicles
prior to the start of ticketing.
“We will continue working stu
dent parking lots on campus for
violations,” Maddox said.
He estimated more than 75
percent of the students have
already registered their vehicles.
Maddox said all vehicles dis
playing an “F” decal on their
window are required to re-regis
ter, as well as new students on
the campus for the first time.
Registration fee for the spring
semester is $5 and can be paid
in the security office n the
YMCA Building.
Bryan Building & Loan
Association, Your Sav
ings Center, since 1919.
BB&L. —Adv.
Blackboard-by-\yire enables one
teacher to reach >a large number
of students at the various schools.
Classes may originate at the
center, Bryan, Consolidated, Rock
dale or other schools.
AS THE BBW teacher writes
on the transmitter, motions of
his electrified pen are trans
formed into sound waves, sent
over common telephone lines to
the receiving school and convert
ed back into a visual image dis
played on a regular TV receiving
set in the classroom.
The lesson may be recorded
while it is being presented, either
at the transmitting or receiving
station. The stereo tape record
ing of both audio and graphics
can then be played back to an
other class.
Graduate courses for teachers
and administrators also are of
fered or planned. Adult educa
tion courses also take advantage
of the blackboard-by-wire means
of distribution.
Baylor Drops
To Second With
Loss To Rice
By JOHN PLATZER
Another chapter in the un
believable story of A&M’s un-
shakeable cagers unfolded be
fore a capacity crowd in G.
Rollie White Tuesday night, as
the Aggies regained undisputed
first place in the SWC with a
70-69 overtime victory over
Texas.
Coach Shelby Metcalf’s crew
igot help from an unexpected
source last night as the Rice
Owls knocked off Baylor 75-73
in Waco. The Aggies are now
7-1 in league play while the
Bears and SMU are a step back
at 6-2.
The Aggies connected on free
shots in crucial situations twice
r
against Texas to nail down the
win. Mike Heitmann calmly
dropped in both ends of a one-
and-one situation to tie the game
at 61-61 at the end of regulation
play and send the contest into
overtime.
RONNIE PERET then per
formed the honors at the end of
overtime when he nursed in a
pair of foul shots with only seven
seconds remaining, to put the
finishing touches on the victory.
The Longhorns had one final
shot but with a three point lead
the Aggies became spectators
from the other end of the court
to cancel out any chance of a
foul and three point play.
With 1:28 left in overtime, the
Aggies went to a passing game
attempting to protect a 66-65
lead. Bill Cooksey, a sopho
more from Houston Sam Hous
ton, got loose under the Texas
basket with :33 remaining for a
layup that increased the margin
to 68-65 and set the stage for
Peret’s clutch free throws.
The win was in keeping with
the Aggies’ pattern of close, ac
tion-packed finishes. It was the
second overtime SWC game
A&M has won this year and was
the fourth one point decision they
have registered in conference.
Their only SWC defeat thus far
(to Baylor) was also by one
point, 66-65.
A&M BEGAN strong in the
game with Billy Bob Barnett
leading the way to a quick 9-2
lead. Coach Leon Black’s Steers
(See Ags Top TU, Page 4)
BALL HAWK
Sonny Benefield moves in to steal the ball from Texas Uni
versity Larry Smith while Mike Heitmann watches in the
background. A&M won the Tuesday’s thriller in overtime
70-69 before a jam-packed crowd in G. Rollie White Coli
seum. (Photo by Mike Wright)