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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1971)
be Battalion Cloudy, light ram Thursday — Cloudy. North westerly winds 5-10 mph. High 77°, low 61°. Friday — Cloudy, light and variable intermittent rain. High 74°, low 58°. Saturday night Fort Worth — Clear. Northerly winds 10-15 mph. 66°. 40% relative humidity. J ttlVol. 67 No. 26 College Station, Texas Wednesday, October 13, 1971 845-2226 ixon makes plans o visit the Kremlin ^WASHINGTON <^P) — Nixon ai nounced Tuesday he is ling to Moscow in late May to jieet with top Soviet leaders be- Jmse there exists now “a possi- ■lity of making significant prog- Iss” toward settling major dif- fe'ences between the super- bwers. I The President surprised news men by appearing at the usual White House briefing and fading a statement that was re- ased at the same time in Mos- That statement said “President Ixon and the Soviet leaders will view all major issues, with a lew toward further improving leir bilateral relations and en- ancing the prospects of world bace.” In answering questions, Nixon explained that “I do not believe in having summit meetings sim ply for the purpose of having a meeting. I think that tends to create euphoria. It raises high hopes that are then dashed . . . We are not making that mistake.” Nixon took pains to explain that there is no connection be tween the projected Moscow trip and the journey to Communist China which he announced last summer he would make some time by or before next May. And the White House said the two trips will be separated “by a bridge of time.” In what appeared to be an ef fort to forefend criticism, Nixon said a few hours after his an nouncement of the Moscow visit that it should not be interpreted as meaning that the United States intends to be less con cerned about its national strength. “We want peace in the world, we want a reduction of tensions in the world,” Nixon said as he participated in Capitol Hill cere monies unveiling a portrait of Rep. H. Edward Hebert, D-La., House Armed Services Commit tee chairman. But, the President continued, “Unless and until we have mutual agreements . . . among the great powers . . . the United States must maintain its defense at ade quate levels.” Initial response in Congress to the President’s announcement was favorable on both sides of the party aisle. What makes the current situa tion favorable for a meeting, Political Forum presents Nixon explained, can be seen as “we look back over the record of the last two and a half years, significant progress has been made” in Soviet-U.S. negotia tions. “We have had a treaty with regard to the seabeds. We have had one with regard to biological weapons. We have had an agree ment coming out of the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) with regard to the hotline and accidental war and, of course, most important of all—and I think this is the item that, for both us and for them, led us to conclude that now was the time for a summit meeting—we have had an agreement on Berlin.” Nixon indicated arms control, the Mideast, mutual troop with drawals from Central Europe and a European security conference are likely to be discussed. State Senator Mike McKool knocks the insurance system of Texas Tuesday at a Politi cal Forum presentation. (Photo by Joe Matthews) At Political Forum ulmn Bond on Thursday J\J c |^ 00 l hits insurance system ilian Bond, state representa- him to take his seat in the House known worker in civil rights J Julian Bond, state representa- Ive of Georgia and first black faver nominated for the vice presi- bncy of the United States by a Biajor political party, will speak Ki the upcoming strategy of ■lack America at Political For- im's Noon Series Thursday in lie Memorial Student Center Ballroom. ■ Bond, leader of American lib- lals in the bloody Chicago con- ■ention of 19G8, was nominated jor the vice presidency by Chi- pgo Democrats after he won the |ight for redistricting Georgia I'hich resulted in the election of Seven black representatives, in cluding himself. Bond became the focus of po litical activities in January of 1965 when the Georgia House of Representatives would not allow him to take his seat in the House because of a statement he made concerning Viet Nam. Not allowed to serve his term in 1965, he was re-elected in Feb ruary, 1966, but again a special House Committee barred him from taking office. He won a third election in No vember of 1966 and was sworn in a month later after a unani mous Supreme Court ruling over turned the previous Georgia leg islative actions. Bond was supported by many outstanding political personalities including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who said, “One of the most precious freedoms we have is the right to be different.” As a state representative. Bond now serves on the Education, In surance, and State Institutions and Properties Committees. A known worker in civil rights drives and voter registration drives, he is also a member of numerous civic organizations. Bond is the founder of the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights, member of the advisory board of the proposed Martin Luther King Memorial Library, member of Southern Correspond ents Reporting Racial Equality Wars, an executive member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Na tional Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People and part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. “Politically, kids aren’t rele vant,” Bond said in 1969 in an interview for Newsweek maga zine. “Since McCarthy was de feated they haven’t involved themselves in politics in any out standing, meaningful way.” “The insurance system in Tex as, which is set up to discourage competition and initiative, is in itself basically wrong,” said State Senator Mike McKool yesterday in presenting his alternatives to the Noon Series of the Poiltical Forum. “The state board regulates the insurance costs which cannot be undercut, thereby, rewarding non profit, inefficiency by granting excessive rate increases” com mented the senator, recalling the raise in premium costs over the past two and a half years. has based on conjecture, conceiv ed that this group is accident prone despite statistics to the contrary. Their insurance rates, therefore, run between $200 and $300 a year. Those over 55 are considered total “undesirables” in spite of their past record and are forced to become part of the ‘assigned risk’ category,” noted McKool. Tex’ Watson is found guilty on seven counts of murder “Eighteen months ago the state board allowed the insurance com panies a 9.9% increase, which was followed in January 1, 1971 by a 21% raise. In June, 1971 they were again allotted another 13.4% bringing the cost of insurance up 44% in two years,” said the sen ator,” in lieu of the meager 2.2% cost of living increase.” “In 1967, in Washington, Sen ator Hart addressed himself to the argument that medical costs, auto repairs and salary payment increases were responsible for the ceaseless rise in permiums. He proved that the profits ex ceeded the expenses by more than one third.” While the price freeze has been in effect McKool has taken the opportunity to question state board member Ned Price as to the board’s future intentions. In a recent letter he said “consider this an application to roll back insurance rates 10 per cent so that the insurance companies will carry their share of the present national burden and give Texas citizens the rebate that they so desperately need.” have been very encouraging. If this trend continues, Texas will inaugurate the system,” McKool said. The senator was questioned on whether he favored the no fault insurance now in effect in Massa chusetts. “The first statistical reports When asked the intentions of the nine “insurance senators,” McKool replied, “The regulated are too close to the regulators. The insurance companies have powerful lobbies and large cam paign contributions have been allotted, with the realization that no legislation must pass through the legislature. However, the vot ers can decide the fate of these legislators. They need only be educated on the issues and posi tions held by their appointed representatives.” The senator cited the precari ous book-keeping system as par tially responsible for the ineffi ciency. LOS ANGELES <A») — Charles Tex” Watson, who coolly testi- ied that on Charles Manson’s or- lers he shot or stabbed six of the fate-LaBianea slaying victims, vas convicted Tuesday of seven •ounts of first-degree murder and me count of conspiracy to com- hiit murder. He was the last of four defend- mts to be convicted in the slay- n gs of actress Sharon Tate and dx others in August 1969. Man- i0 n, 36, and three female co- lefendants already have been •onvicted and sentenced to death. Watson, a lanky 25-year-old former Texas honor student, was described at his trial as the chief lieutenant in Manson’s hippie style clan and leader of groups that on two nights in August 1969 savagely killed the beautiful ac tress and the others. by the same jury that convicted him. He pleaded innocent and inno cent by reason of insanity. He thus faces a sanity trial and, if ruled sane, a trial to determine whether the penalty should be life imprisonment or death. The trials would be conducted Watson fought extradition from his native Texas for so long the others were tried in June 1970 without him. After being re turned here he was ruled insane, then later pronounced fit for trial. The state argued that he feigned insanity. The defense said he became mentally deranged from overuse of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD and became a “robot” controlled by a domi nating Manson. “Never have the insurance com panies in the past five years fail ed to secure their desired in creases, until the current price freeze. Presently, they have pe titioned a 12% hike pending the conclusion of the wage and price controls,” he said. “The New York Stock Ex change will not even accept the Texas insurance companies book keeping as credible, being a dubi ous combination of the accrual and cash and carry policy,” Mc Kool said. Student flack causes laundry to return to earlier schedule “The company stockholders are the recipients of the unbounding success, while the consumer is bled to accommodate record- breaking profits and high divi dends,” commented McKool. The insurance lobby was also blamed by the senator as a con tributing factor. “Exceptions are the key to the insurance philosophy of ‘group ing.’ Male drivers under 25 are a prime target. Some mastermind “In Austin the Insurance Com mittee of the State Senate is composed of thirteen members, nine of who have continually voted for insurance rate in creases,” he related. “These same nine objected when a minority report was filed to pull the issue out of committee.” “The two things that killed the laundry operation this year were the great turnover of trainee em ployes, plus the fact that our laundry, poundage-wise, is much heavier this fall,” explained George Hartsock, A&M laundry manager. Uncontrollably, these two oc currences caused the laundry sys tem to slip behind schedule as of Sept. 1. During this slowdown, many students were required to make two trips to receive their clean laundry. Inevitably, he said, stu dents began to object. Committee recommended that the laundry announce a two-day schedule. We did, and it back fired.” Because the new system back fired, the laundry will renew the old schedule (leaving the laundry one morning and picking it up the next afternoon) on Monday, Nov. 8. By this date, all employes will be properly trained and the op eration will be normal. In light of the numerous com plaints, on Oct. 6, the Laundry “We are not off of our schedule every day,” Hartsock emphasized. “As of now, students should ask for their laundry the same way they have in past years. Ninety- nine per cent of the time, their laundry will be completed.” A&M television becoming a big operation erned, was killed by lightning. (Photo by Mike Rice) By LARRY MARSHALL Staff Writer KAMU, A&M’s television sta tion, is finally coming into the big time after a slow, rather shaky start, according to Mel Chastain, station manager. “We started six years ago with one man and a secretary, and now we have a staff of 29 peo ple,” said Chastain. The station has been on the air for about 18 months now, oper ating out of Bagley Hall. At first the station had only two rooms in the building, but have since taken over most of the building. “Most of the things we do, be cause they are produced ahead of time, tend to be done at night,” commented Chastain, “and this makes it unsuitable for any study or reading in the building then.” The present studio was made from two rooms and is not very large. This is a large handicap in the operation of the station, as is the fact that the station is located on two floors in Bagley. “Television just does not work University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M.” —Adv. this way,” Chastain said. The transmitter that KAMU uses is one of the older models to be found. In fact, it is older than most of the students on this campus. This caused many problems in the early going, Chas tain said. “In the first six weeks, we had 76 transmitter failures,” he recalled. The unit manufacturer was called in and the transmitter has worked well since. It will prob ably make the move to the new site, but whether it will operate when it gets there is another story, he said. “The decision on where we were going to move, once the demoli tion date of Bagley Hall for May of 1972 was finalized, was not an easy one,” commented Chastain. “The planners looked high and low for somewhere to put us. First the plan was to put KAMU on th esecond floor of the Cush ing Library. This failed because the realization hit everyone that the operation of the station and its productions was far too noisy to permit any other serious study ing to go on in the rest of the building.” Next the plan was to put the station in the basement, but the air-conditioning machinery was too noisy for the studio sound proofing to keep out. So the plan changed again to locate the station in the new classroom- office building near the Academic Building. But this would not work because the station was to be put in the basement, but there was not room to permit use of the mobile unit, which is neces sary. “So, after examining every available structure on campus, looking for adequate space and twenty-foot ceilings, they decided we should get our own building” said Chastain. The new facilities will include two new television production studios, one 1,600 square feet and the other 3,600 square feet, both larger than the present studio. Each will have a control console so both can be operated at the same time. The facility will also contain an FM radio studio and control room. A&M does not have a radio station now, but the prospect seems good. “We hope that the approval of the plans by the administration means that they will look with encouragement upon the develop ment of an FM station in the not too distant future,” said Chas tain. “An FM station is not very expensive at all to operate, and we could get a low power station that will cover the campus and community and do a good job.” The front half of the new build ing will consist of classrooms for broadcast journalism classes. Currently there are only three classes offered, but increased space and facilities will change this, commented Chastain. “The station productions now tie everything up so we can only have one afternoon a week open for labs,” he stated. The new classrooms will have provisions for rear projection of films and be equipped with mon itor television sets. “We are very pleased with the building, and are extremely ap preciative of the efforts made to help us get it,” said Chastain. The situation has been given a two-to-one grant by the De partment of Health, Education, and Welfare for operation. The station’s share was raised from outside sources. “KAMU is financially separate from the state. Not one penny of state funds goes for the oper ation of the station. There is a rider in the Texas Constitution that precludes any state funds from being used for any new edu cational stations in the State of Texas,” Chastain said. The state does supply some money for operation of the closed- circuit television and for the journalism courses taught. The Public Broadcast System is a nation-wide organization with 212 member stations. Each station has the right to accept or reject any program ming it wants to, Chastain said. ^‘Mlost of the programs come from members, like us,” he said. “We are considering some ideas to submit for a production grant.” The network came about as a result of the Camegie Commis sion report that recommended a non-government educational sys tem. Banking is a pleasure at First Bank & Trust. “The point is, if you are rely ing on the legislature to bring you money each year, it is going to have an effect on what you feel you can or cannot say,” Chas tain said.