Campus briefs
$27,000 gift continues fellowship
Texas A&M has received a
$27,000 endowment to continue
the P. T. Montfort Fellowship
from 11 electric utility compa
nies serving Texas.
A&M President Jack K. Wil
liams accepted the endowment at
a luncheon Monday in the Me
morial Student Center. Honored
were three members of the com
mittee designated by the partici
pants to coordinate with the Uni
versity the memorial fellowship
to assist worthy students in the
field of electrical engineering and
its application to agriculture in
the state.
The fellowship was established
in 1957 as a memorial to the late
P. T. Montfort, Texas A&M fac
ulty member who for more than
a quarter of a century w a s a
leader in the farm electrification
program in the state. Recipients
of the fellowship funds, either
graduate or undergraduate, are
selected by a committee from the
Agricultural Engineering De
partment faculty at A&M. Prof.
Price Hobgood heads the depart
ment.
★ ★ ★
Aggie toll in Vietnam
85 dead, 12 missing
Eighty-five graduates of Tex
as A&M University have been
killed in the Vietnam war, 12 are
listed as missing in action and
four are confirmed prisoners of
war, the Association of Former
Students office reports.
The association said the fig
ures represent correspondence re
ceived from families and friends
of the servicemen.
All the POWs and MIAs are
aviators.
Association officials currently
are assisting in the coordination
of petition and letter campaigns
to North Vietnam for the release
of a complete prisoner list and
humane treatment for the POWs.
★ ★ ★
TMA cadet killed
in auto mishap
James G. Thornton, Texas
Maritime Academy cadet, was
killed Christmas evening in an
automobile accident at Jefferson.
The sophomore marine trans
portation major was the son of
Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Thornton of
Route 3, Jefferson.-
Funeral services were conduct
ed in Jefferson Dec. 26.
★ ★ ★
Fire damages lockers
at Wofford Cain pool
Fire from an overheated boiler
caused an undetermined amount
of damage Dec. 17 in a locker
room to Wofford Cain Olympic
Pool.
Fire Chief Douglas W. Landua
said a water boiler appeared to
be a complete loss.
The equipment in a large base
ment under the one-story brick
and tile dressing room just south
of P. L. Downs Jr. Natatorium
furnished hot water to fixtures
in the building and to warm the
large outdoor pool.
Electrical equipment and pool
chemicals in the basement were
undamaged.
The outdoor pool was open but
not in use at the time of the fire.
A faculty-staff physical fitness
swimming program was under
way at the Downs indoor pool.
★ ★ ★
381 enrolled for spring
vet school trimester
The College of Veterinary
Medicine registered 381 students
Monday, the first day of the
spring trimester.
The enrollment total was iden
tical to last spring and the fall
registration.
Included are 128 in the first
year class, 127 in the second year
and 126 third year students.
Graduation for the third year
class is scheduled Aug. 6.
The College of Veterinary
Medicine is the only college oper
ating under the trimester system
at A&M. Spring semester class
es for the remainder of the uni
versity begin Jan. 18.
★ ★ ★
Aggie gets Bronze Star
for Vietnam action
Army Capt. Ronald F. Beyer
of Burleson has been decorated
with the Bronze Star Medal in
Vietnam for service as a 1st
Cavalry Division helicopter pilot.
A 1967 Texas A&M graduate,
Beyer received the award at
Phuoc Vinh, where he is with
Troop C, 1st Squadron, 9th Cav
alry, of the airmobile 1st division.
Captain Beyer studied agricul
tural economics here and was
commissioned through Officer
Candidate School. He was last
stationed at Fort Hood.
Hijack prevention method
proposed by aero student
Aircraft hijacking prevention
procedures that would fully util
ize metal sensing devices for
“searching” passengers have been
suggested by a Texas A&M aero
space engineering student.
Melvin E. Durley of Pittsburg
described the process in a report
for a senior aero engineering
course.
“It’s an interesting idea,” com
mented Dr. Charles A. Roden-
berger, course instructor who
gives students opportunity to
read, dismiss and develop engi
neering-oriented ideas in the
seminar.
The problem with the ferrous
metal-sensing magnetometer is
that as persons pass in front of
it, objects such as keys and
cameras set it off, Durley pointed
out. In such use, the device would
indicate that virtually all passen
gers require a personal search.
The A&M senior’s idea requires
passengers to remove all such
items, place them in “airline con
tainers” to be locked and stored
in separate plane compartments,
before they pass the magneto
meter at the entrance gate.
“Since he is supposed to be
‘clean,’ several people may pass
through at once which aids in
fast boarding,” the student ex
plained. “If a metallic object is
detected the person is removed
from the gate area and searched.”
Durley admits the process
would require passenger coopera
tion, but believes it would deter
skyjacking.
Other methods researched in
his report are much more complex
and costly.
He said locking the pilots’ com
partment, personal search of all
passengers and handling a sky
jacker by shooting, gassing or
isolating him all have drawbacks.
“Experts agree that the best
place to deter skyjacking is on
the ground, before the airplane
takes off,” Durley said.
Extreme prevention methods
taken by Israel’s El A1 Airlines
were described. The Israelis put
up to four muscular, plainclothes
security agents armed wtih low
velocity pistols on each flight.
The weapons are powerful enough
to kill but are unlikely to punc
ture an aircraft fuselage.
The airline also uses closed-
cricuit TV for crew members to
observe passengers, equips planes
to pump tear gas through the
ventilation system (for which the
crew is equipped with gas masks)
and wash room inspection each
time they are used.
Durley suggested that in addi
tion to the “container” system,
two or more security men could
be placed on each flight to pre
vent a hijacker from using phys
ical tactics on stewardesses or
passengers.
“This method may at first seem
inconvenient,” he said, “but with
methods as they are today and
hijacking becoming as political as
it is, this process is suitable. It
gets the job done safely and with
out much delay.”
FAA help needed,
A&M senior says
Product liability laws are be
coming widely accepted, making
a manufacturer of an airplane
or a component part liable to the
passenger.
A Texas A&M aerospace engi
neering major believes the Fed
eral Aviation Administration
should take steps to make the
flying public aware of its rights
under the law of strict liability.
“Strict liability means that a
plaintiff need only prove that a
product had a defect when it left
the manufacturer’s control and
that this defect was the cause of
damages suffered,” explained
Jordan C. Gary, senior aero ma
jor of Dallas.
With wider acceptance of the
doctrine of strict liability, it
seems the public is well pro
tected, Gary added.
Many victims of air crashes do
not seek damages however, he
said. He believes it is because
of lack of knowledge about
rights and cost of legal suits.
Gary proposed that in an air
accident in which persons other
than airlines company are in
jured or incur damages, the FAA
supply certain information to
injured parties.
“This should include a list of
all other injured persons and
their addresses, an explanation
of the laws of product liability,
a copy of the FAA accident re
port and suggestions as to who
might be liable for damages,”
Gary listed in a senior aerospace
engineering research report.
The injury list will enable
persons to file joint suits, shar
ing legal fees and requiring only
one court action instead of sev
eral, Gary pointed out.
“This would save the courts
and all parties, including the de
fendant, money,” he said.
“A report explaining product
liability laws would inform peo
ple of their legal rights,” he went
on. “It should be written so the
average person could understand
it and would not contain all legal
details.”
The FAA accident report and
liability suggestions “would only
suggest possible action and re
sults, and who might be liable
for the accident,” Gary indicated.
He believes the cost to the FAA
to instigate his proposal would
be manageable.
Gary, who was a pre-law stu
dent and plans to enter the min
istry, said liability laws protect
the public from dangers which
the manufacturer can minimize.
“Because of the threat of large
liability claims, manufacturers
have often developed safer prod-
ucts and also recalled large num
bers of their product when a de
fect is found after a sale, espe
cially in the automobile indus
try,” the 1967 Richardson High
School graduate said.
Cbe Battalion
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Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building,
College Station, Texas 77843.
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paper
Rights
of rep
use for
or not
il news of spontaneous
ublication of all other
of the Student Publications Board are: Jim
an; H. F. Filers, College of Liberal Arts;
Members of
Lindsey, chairma
F. S. White, College of Enginee
College of Veterinary Medicin
lers, college
ering ; Dr. Asa B. Childers, Jr.,
liege of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Z. L.
of Agriculture; and Roger Miller, student.
ng ; Dr. Asa B. Childers, Jr.,
Dr. Z. L. Carpenter, College
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EDITOR DAVID MIDDLEBROOKE
Managing Editor Fran Haugen
News Editor Hayden Whitsett
Women’s Editor Diane Griffin
Sports Editor Clifford Broyles
Geophysics professor
has papers presented
Dr. R. R. Unterberger of the
Geophysics Department was co
author of two papers presented
at the 40th International Meet
ing of the Society of Explora
tion Geophysicists held in New
Orleans.
salt
The papers represent the first
public disclosure of research in
electromagnetic wave propaga
tion in salt, Dr. Unterberger
said.
He has been working in this
field for 10 years and is cur
rently continuing the research at
Texas A&M under a three year
program funded by nine
companies.
★ ★ ★
Police school set
for seminar series
Texas A&M’s Police Training
Division will conduct a three-day
justice of the peace and con
stable conference in Longview
Jan. 20-22.
A&M’s Engineering Extension
Service received a $31,568 Texas
Criminal Justice Council grant to
provide the seminars in Long
view, Odessa, Arlington, San
Antonio and College Station.
Cooperating with the program
is the Justice of the Peace and
Constables Association of Texas.
THE BATTALION
Page 2 College Station, Texas Wednesday, January 6,1S7I
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EASTER ,
VACATION. 1
WHAT ABOUT
EASTER
VACATION?
DIP WE MISS IT?!
WHAT HAPPENED?
CALL THE OPERATOR!
CHECK YOUR PASOT!
CALL THE AIRLINES'!
IF I'M REAL LUCKY, BY
EASTER VACATION I'LL
HAVE STOPPED 5HAKIN6..
I HATE IT WHEN I DON'T
6ET ANY LOVE LETTERS!