The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 01, 1970, Image 1
NTed West ■'ears Agency itl«« ^ Sa],ri 9 Che Battalion Vol. 65 No. 110 College Station, Texas Friday, May 1, 1970 Telephone 845-2226 Senators Uphold Election Results reign .ENfilH FMM 5 enter t , m. Student senators Thursday up held the results of last week’s general elections by disallowing a protest that voting was not done in secret. The protest, ruled valid Tues day and then reversed Wednes day by the Election Commission, was presented to the senate by three sociology graduate stu dents, Evelyn Dunsavage, Mike Miller and M. B. Flippen. Though prohibited by a tech nicality from appearing to the senate that night, the three were allowed to appear to obtain an "unofficial indication of the sen ate’s feeling on the issue. After almost two hours of de bate, senators agreed without a dissenting vote that the Election Commission’s second decision was the wiser. Mrs. Dunsavage charged that those who handled the election received “nebulous instructions” resulting in many inconsistances in the voting process. Officials were at some polls confiscating lists of candidates, she said, while others made a practice of looking over voters’ shoulders as they marked their ballots. once about unfair election pro cedures. “Any governing body that is not willing to live within their own regulations is not very rep resentative of its people,” she said. A number of senators and some members of the Election Com mission said they agreed that Mrs. Dunnsavage presented valid points, but they wondered wheth er the remedy would be to have another election. President-elect Kent Caperton said the way the elections were handled probably hurt his Fifth Wheel Committee members more than anyone else. But he urged that the election be allowed to stand. He said he doubted whether anyone voted differently in the election because the ballot was not secret. “Let’s change these election procedures so these mistakes don’t happen again, but let’s not punish student government,” he said. She urged the senate to take a stand and do something for David Moore, a candidate for the vice presidency who lost by little more than 100 votes, also urged that the senate validate the elections. “I want to see student govern- Graduation to Be On TV in MSC Closed-circuit television will be employed to accommodate the expected overflow crowd attend ing A&M’s commencement exer cises May 23. Dr. C. W. Landiss, chairman of the Convocation Committee, said the spring graduation cere monies will be transmitted into the Memorial Student Center Ballroom by the Educational Television Department for large- screen display. Guest tickets will not be re quired for admission to the ball room, Landiss said. Earlier this month the com mittee approved a plan to limit admission to G. Rollie White Coliseum, graduation site, to the graduate’s immediate families and require tickets for entry.- Each graduate is allocated four tickets and can request more. A record 1,535 students have applied for graduation. ment mean something, he said. In other business, the senate recommended that $29,000 be taken from the student service fee reserve fund and distributed to student programs in the Me morial Student Center, Town Hall and the senate. The proposal was introduced by Treasurer Rick Reese, who said that Dean of Students James P. Hannigan had asked the sen ate for a recommendation on how the student service fees should be allocated. Reese said that another secre- tai-y was needed in the MSC Stu dent Program office and that Town Hall should be able to af ford a higher quality of enter tainment. At first some senators wanted to take the money from the Hos pital account because, as Reese said, the university hospital was mismanaging the funds it had. But Tom Cherry, vice presi dent for business affairs, per suaded senators that it would be unwise to withdraw funds from an institution that he admitted needed a lot more money for staffing salaries and repair costs. Cherry said the senate proposal will be considered at the June meeting of the A&M Board of Directors. Senators also agreed to place before the student body a ques tion concerning the need for the annual Bonfire. Dr. Don Clark of the Depart ment of Wildlife Sciences, who was requested by President Gerry Geistweidt to appear at the sen ate session, asked the senate to consider some other form of ac tivity other than the bonfire that would show school spirit just as well. He said he was concerned with the negative effects in the en couraging of an attitude in the studeiit mind that the destroy ing of forest timber is the proper disposal of natural resources. The senate voted to place the question on opinion poll to be given to the students next week during pre-registration. In other action, the Senate vot ed to keep the purchase of the Aggieland, the university year book, a mandatory requirement of all students who pay activity fees. Lane Stephenson of University Information and adviser to the Aggieland told senators that the annual would be more expensive if purchase was put on a volun tary basis. He added that in some schools such a move has virtually “killed” the yearbook. The senate also passed unani mously its joint statement of stu dent rights and responsibilities as presented in its final reform by Jim Stephenson (sr-LA). Congressman To Speak on Environment PACKED MEETING—Dr. Donald Clark, wildlife science professor, speaks to senators and an overflow audience about abolishing- the Bonfire during Thursday night’s Student Senate meeting. (Photos by David Middlebrooke) U. S. Assaults Essential U. S. Representative O r v a 1 Hansen (R-Idaho) will speak on “The Ravaged Environment” at 12 noon Monday in the Assembly Room of the Memorial Student Center. The Political Forum speaker is the co-author of the Environ mental Quality Education Act and has been sitting on the Con gressional hearing on environ ment. A veteran of World War II and a current major in the Air Force Reserve, Hansen has been practicing law since 1954 and was a member of the Idaho Com mission on Constitutional Revi sion. — Before becoming a representa tive, he served four terms in the Idaho House of Representatives and traveled and lectured in Eur ope, Africa and the Middle East. T emporary, N ixon Says University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M.” —Adv. By John M. Hightower AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON — In a stun ning turn of policy. President Nixon has launched a surprise offensive by U.S. and South Viet namese troops against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong sanc tuaries in Cambodia. He declared the assaults were essential to save American lives, continue his Vietnam troop with drawal program, and help end the war. Nixon announced his contro versial decision to the nation Thursday in a dramatic televised speech in which he acknowledged it might make him a one-term president but argued the stakes were too high for political con siderations. “Whether I may be a one- term president,” he declared, “is insignificant compared to wheth er by our failure to act in this crisis the United States proves itself to be unworthy to lead the forces of freedom in this critical period.” His decision was immediately assailed by a number of leading senators, although some others praised it. In the immediate aft ermath of the speech there was no doubt Nixon faces a bitter and prolonged battle in the Sen ate. A White House official said the thrust into Cambodia should last six weeks to two months. Thousands of U.S. and South Vietnamese troops are engaged against an estimated enemy force of 40,000. Nixon charged the Commu nists in the last two weeks have been overrunning Cambodia and turning it into a vast spring board for attacks into South Vietnam. He promised that “once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and their mili tary supplies destroyed, we vHll withdraw.” In words which seemed to re cognize the risks of Russian and Red Chinese counter-actions, Nix on said: “These actions the strikes into Cambodia are in no way directed at the security inter ests of any nation. Any govern ment that chooses to use these actions as a pretext for harming (See U.S. Assaults, page 4) Yarborough Will Take On Conservatives Again Saturday Conservative Democrats try again Saturday to defeat Sen. Ralph Yarborough, who has held his seat for 13 years. This time Lloyd Bentsen, Houston millionaire and former Congressman, is challenging Yarborough. Both candidates are counting on the support of Mexican-Americans in the Rio Grande Valley. Chicanos have always supported Yarborough, but Bentsen, born in the valley, represented the area for three terms until his retirement from politics in 195 5. “The Rio Grande Valley has never had a U.S. Senator born and raised here,” Bentsen told a valley rally early in the campaign. “But you are going to have one. I have never lost a race and I am not going to lose this one.” “What has Lloyd Lloyd Bentsen ever done for the valley?” Yarborough has asked during the campaign. “The valley is not for sale. You can’t buy people.” “I never heard of him doing anything for migrant labor,” the senator said. “All I ever heard about is his father working these wetbacks. All I ever heard was them exploiting wetbacks.” Bentsen has made extensive use of radio, television and billboards, while Yarborough has conducted a low-key campaign. Expense reports filed in Austin Monday indicate that Bentsen has spent more than four times as much as Yarborough. Yarborough reported expenses of $212,734 and Bentsen said he spent $972,680, with $365,451 going for advertising and political rally expenses. Yarborough believes that his 13 years of seniority in the Senate is the most important issue in the race. During his years in the Senate, Yarborough has helped pass many bills on labor, education, conserva tion and veteran benefits. He has also sponsored a campaign to lower the voting age to 18 and to provide more money for national program aimed at better treatment for heart, stroke, cancer and kidney illnesses. Yarborough Yarborough has made an issue of Bentsen’s heavy expenditures in the campaign, claiming that he is trying to “buy” the election. “The major issue in the Senate race is the incumbent Senator, his record, his way of doing things and his record of not doing things,” Bentsen has stated. He has had 13 years to make a con tribution and his contribution is not big enough. I don’t think six more years in the Senate is going to produce much more.” Bentsen has strongly criticized Yarborough for his Vietnam peace stand. “I think Texans want a senator who is going to work for peace and not a peacenik,” he said. “I don’t think Yarborough had any business endorsing McCarthy for President and he didn’t have any business endorsing the Moratorium. We can’t do anything about the McCarthy-McGovern policy, but we can do something about the Yarborough policy.” Yarborough answered. “I support anyone who wants to pray and fast (for an end to the war), but if they throw fire bombs and break the law they should be sent to jail.” “I think that it is imeprative that we not extend the war into any nation adjoining South Vietnam,” Yarborough said. “I am hopeful that our government has realized the error of our involvement in South Vietnam and I support any policy which will result in a prompt settlement of that conflict.” Bentsen said that he supported the President’s program to end the war. “He should be given time to carry forward his policies to end the war,” Bentsen said. “He should not be undermined by partisan sniping by critics who will apparently never be satisfied until we have run out, or been driven out, of Vietnam. I stand for peace in Southeast Asia.” (See Yarborough, Page 4) BENTSEN ^ush, Morris Differ Over World Role of United States BUSH The role of the United States as a world power is the prime ideological division between the two candidates in the Republican primary Saturday. Dr. Robert Morris, president of the University of Plano, has stated that it is the responsibility of the United States to “save sovereign nations from totalitarian rule, extending liberty and freedom with out weakening this country.” Rep. George Bush, Houston Congressman since 1966, feels that the U.S. should not act as “policeman for the world.” He added that the nation must “live up to our existing commitments for our own security and the security of the free world, but that our main responsibility is to be so secure internally that by our example, there can be no question that democracy is freedom and justice, and it works.” Morris has appealed to members of the American Party to support him against Bush. He said that if two percent of the 600,000 who voted for George Wallace in 1968 will vote for him he can defeat Bush. “The American Party offers a tremendous potential for the Republican Party this year,” he said. “These people are former Goldwater Republicans and if we can get just two percent of them, it’s going to be tremendous.” Bush says that he doubts American Party voters will affect his race. “I think traditionally that Republicans will vote in the Republican primary and that they will support me,” he said. He said former Wallace supporters “will go back to where they came from and vote in the Democratic primary. I don’t view this will real concern.” “We need a complete reform of our welfare system,” Bush has said. “More and better work incentives, new training methods, day-care centers and computerized job-matching should be developed. Those who can’t work must be helped, of course, but we must also try harder to match job skills with job opportunities.” Morris has criticized what he said were Bush’s “liberal” votes for the Nixon administration’s welfare reform proposals, including an annual income to poverty families, and open housing. Bush readily admits that he supports President Nixon’s programs. He says that he has a “real name identification” with Nixon even in Houston. One of Morris’ national priorities is “moral pollution”. He believes that the nation is “inundated by cascades of drugs, pornography and crime.” Bush has also come out heavily against pornography. He supported the anti-smut bill passed Tuesday by the House. The bill cracks down on obscene mail sent to adults who don’t want it and to youngsters. Confident of an easy victory over Morris, Bush has slanted his campaign against the Democratic candidates, Lloyd Bentsen and Ralph Yarborough. “The hotly contested primary will be to my benefit,” he said. “There is going to be a division as a result of all this, and it will be to my benefit.” He said that he expected President Nixon to campaign for him in November. MORRIS ■ . . • AAV,V/!\. -