The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 06, 1973, Image 1
Conference Delegates Make An Impression, Critique Affair By MIKE RICE WASHINGTON, D.C. — A&M delegates to the second annual National Student Lobby Confer ence here last week left with mix ed emotions and thoughts about the congressmen with whom they lobbied while visiting with them on Capitol Hill. They didn’t leave, though, without succeeding in efforts to get Barb Sears, A&M’s External Affairs Committee Chairman, elected to the NSL Board of Di rectors. Sears, a third-year student in botany from Columbia, Mo., will represent a 12-state area along with Keith LaQua a political sci ence major at the University of North Dakota. Sears criticized the conference for its lack of organization which she felt was due to a lack of ex perience on the part of those running the three-day affair. She also said she would like to see A&M’s region broken down into two regions. Sears represented A&M at the conference with Student Govern ment President Layne Kruse, Bat talion Editor Mike Rice, and Stu dent Senator Rochelle Lindsey. The delegates said they felt they grasped a better understand ing of bills and legislators while gaining definite impression of leg islators feelings and deciding which men would work more with students. “I think the lobby needs to do more than just present its views or lobby,” said Lindsey, “the NSL needs to present facts and figures to congressmen. Our Texas Stu dent Lobby does this for state legislators.” While lobbying Friday the Ag gie delegates were able to discuss NSL-backed issues with Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex) who is chairman of the Public Works Committee and subcommittee chairman of the Transportation Che Battalion Vol. 67 No. 226 College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 6, 1973 845*2226 Committee, which is currently studying the mass transit situa tion for the nation. A current proposal before the subcommittee would allow money in the nation’s Highway Trust Fund to be used for mass transit projects and bicycle paths. Bent- sen said that he wants to let the committee keep studying the issue but that he would like to see the funds be used only for mass tran sit bus projects in addition to highway uses. He said he wouldn’t want the funds to be used for rail and bike paths. Congs. W. R. Poage (D-Waco) and Bill Archer (D-Houston) told the four that they supported the air fare discount bill in Congress but differed on higher education proposals. Poage said he would support an increased college stu dent loan program but had his doubts about increasing Basic Op portunity Grant funding. Archer said he would like to see the burden taken off middle Americans as far as giving money through taxes to the poor is con cerned. He elaborated saying he would like to see more financial aid for eduucation of middle Americans. The current proposal to raise the minimum wage to $2 except for persons under 21 (called dis crimination of wage payment) was supported by Poage as it was by Archer. The bill being discuss ed would leave a lower wage ($1.60) for persons under 21 and the NSL would like to see equality for persons of all ages. Barron Schacklette, a legisla tive aide to the hospitalized Cong. Wright Patman of Texas, said he (See Conference, page 2) Election To Be April 3 Students File For City Council i wk v,i SAM MCGINTY, an A&M student, filed for a place on the College Station City Coun cil Friday. Here, he is giving City Secretary Mrs. Florence Neelley his application for the post as Ron Bento looks on. Another A&M student, Lynn Reed, also filed for the post against incumbent Don R. Dale. State Senators Filibuster {gainst Youths’ Rights Bill AUSTIN—Three state sena tors, including Bill Moore, D.- Bryan, are conducting a filibuster against a bill giving 18-year-olds full legal rights. After only a half hour of talk ing Monday by Sen. Tom Creigh ton, D.-Mineral Wells, against the bill, the Senate voted 15-13 to quit until Tuesday, when Creigh ton will have the floor again. “This is just one of our amend ments,” Creighton said of his protests, peeking from behind a tall stack of law books on his desk. “I believe at last count we have a total of 32 amendments against this thing . . . We’ve all got books to read and amend ments to offer.” Similar tali stacks of law books were on the desks of Moore and Don Adams, D.-Jasper. All three originally protested the bill when it was first offered last Thurs day. Three A&M students Curt Marsh, Steve Eberhard and Mike Ehrlich, went to Austin today to lobby in support of the bill. Meanwhile, the House advanced two bills changing urban renewal procedures. One would allow con struction of public housing on urban renewal tracts and the other would permit local voters to approve each urban renewal project individually, instead of giving blanket authority to local urban renewal agencies. An anti-hobo bill sought by railroad companies also advanced on voice vote in the House. The measure would prohibit persons from boarding non-passenger railroad cars without permission. The House also tentatively approved a bill allowing legisla tors to rent or lease their own hometown office space without Blood Needed For Operation On Teen With Rare Disease The first teenager to ever have Rabdymyosarcoma cancer will un dergo surgery Thursday at John Sealy’s Hospital in Galveston in hopes it will save her life. Doctors diagnosed the rare ab dominal cancer in Yvonne Casey, 16-year-old Bryan resident, early in November 1972, following symptoms such as abdominal pain and swelling. Rabdymyosarcoma usually af fects children three to four years old or women after menopause. According to Yvonne, she has the cancer because two cells did not develop, yet doctors cannot figure out why the cancer appeared so early in her life. The Casey family was told Nov. 19 there was no hope for Yvonne’s recovery. Treatment for the dis ease was started immediately up on diagnosis and, as a result, doc tors informed Yvonne in Jan uary that she had responded so well to treatment that they could do surgery. Yvonne has been living with her father in League City and receiv ing treatments as an out-patient. The treatments include applica tion of radiation and chemo-ther- apy, a type of blood treatment. Yvonne spends most of her time in bed, yet occasionally gets out for a movie, church services and the hospital visits. She has been unable to continue her studies. “Doctors let her come home to Bryan last Saturday for the first time since November,” said Rose mary Lyscomb, a friend of the family. “She looked pretty good even though she had lost 45 pounds during her illness. “I found out about Yvonne’s surgery when her mother called and asked if my husband and I could donate blood.” Thirty units of blood are need ed for the surgery which entails a complete hysterectomy and re moval of the bladder and rectum. Blood donations are being taken in Yvonne’s name at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bryan. When asked what she would most like to do when she gets well, Yvonne said she just wanted to start life where she left off. The Stephen F. Austin High School sophomore wants to at tend A&M when she graduates. “She said she hopes some of the Aggies will donate some of their ‘smart’ blood to her so she’ll be smart when she gets there,” said Lyscomb. Since the discovery of Yvonne’s cancer, two other teenage girls have been found to have Rabdy myosarcoma. Presently, both of these girls are being treated in Houston. going through the State Board of Control, as required now. Creighton told the Senate he opposed the bill giving full legal rights to 18-year-olds because “the people of this state don’t have adequate knowledge of what’s in this bill . . . These people don’t have the experience or good judgment to participate in our system as it exists today. A lot of parents will be called on to pick up the tab and when they do, they will say ‘My God, when did this bill become law?’ ” “I have not heard anyone who was for this bill except those who want to profit from it,” said Moore. “One man called from the university and said he wanted to open a bar for 18-year-olds.” “This would liberalize the sale of drugs to those under 21,” said Adams, “because it would not penalize sellers to those below 21.” The bill, as presented by Sen. Bob Gammage, D.-Houston, would “extend all the rights, privileges and obligations of majority to all persons who are at least 18 years of age . . . not withstanding any statutory or decisional law, or any rule, regulation, or ordinance of this state or of any political subdivision or incorporated city or town.” Gammage said passage of the bill would change at least 61 cur rent Texas laws. By KARL JACKSON Staff Writer A&M students Sam A. McGinty and Lynn Reed are seeking elec tion to the College Station City Council. The election will be held April 3. A polling place will be in the Cushing Library for student use with other polls at A&M Consoli dated School and the old City Hall. McGinty, 21-year-old economics major from San Antonio, filed Fri day and is now a candidate for place three on the Council against incumbent Don R. Dale. Reed is running against incum bent Fred R. Brison for place one and Dr. R. D. Radeleff is running unopposed for place five. “I’d like to see a government more responsive and sensitive to the relationship between the stu dents and the local merchants,” McGinty said. McGinty said he would like to see more representation for the students and a study of tax allo cations. “I feel that not having a stu dent on the council with the tax ation like it is, is like ‘taxation without representation.’ ” “Sales tax,” McGinty remark ed, “is a major source of revenue for College Station. Because the majority of the residents of this city are students or faculty and staff, the greater part of these taxes is collected through univer sity food services, the Exchange Store and locel businesses. Stu dents living off-campus pay prop erty taxes indirectly through rent.” McGinty added, “The council controls the allocation of these tax funds and should, therefore, include a student representative. This would also allow for the city to be more responsive in areas directly involving the university.” One of the programs that Mc Ginty wants to look into is the possibility of city aid for the shuttle-bus. “I want to investi gate the possibilities of the city dispersing some of the costs of the university transportation sys tem. “We need street improvements on the right streets,” McGinty said, “the streets that are used the most.” Studies, he said, would be the best way to determine this. “I would like to get the best value for every dollar that is in there.” Another issue is city “spot zon ing,” the random placement of businesses in residential areas. “They don’t follow the current over-all city zoning plan,” Mc Ginty said. “I want to make sure that I am participating in community af fairs instead of, as a student, in fringing upon community affairs.” McGinty added, “A majority of the people here either work at the university or go to school here and I think that we should have adequate representation.” Reed could not be reached for comment. CDO Abolished At Final Meeting Of MSC Council Filing Deadline Is Extended For Elections The two-year-old Community Development Organization, which was under the Memorial Student Council and Directorate, ended its tenure under the Council and Di rectorate Monday at the last meet ing of the 19th MSC Council for 1972-73. According to the resolution passed by the Council, the pro gramming interests of the CDO did not coincide within the con fines of the directorate policies and members of both groups felt that CDO’s interests would be better served if the group became a recognized university organiza tion. The Council nearly decided to dissolve the Association of Mexi can American Students due to in sufficient interest and leadership for the upcoming year and not having served the programming functions for which it was formed. Committee Chairman Estaban Salinas persuaded the Council to postpone action until May 1 to allow his group to put on two scheduled programs later in March. Phillip Steven Kosub, a junior political science major from San Antonio was selected chairman of next year’s SCONA 19. Kosub, a member of the Aggie Band and Ross Volunteers, was planning chairman for this spring's conference and special committee vice chairman of Town Hall. He has also worked with A&M’s newly-formed Opera and Performing Arts Society and SCONA 16 and 17. The filing deadline for student offices has been extended to 5 p.m. Wednesday. “Several positions in Student Government, Graduate Student Council and Class Officers have still not been filed for,” said Layne Kruse, Student Govern ment President. In other Student Government news, students are reminded that refrigerators can be rented for the remainder of the semester. The rental fee has been cut $5 to $15 dollars for the rest of the semester. Students interested in renting refrigerators may call the Refrig erator Office at 845-6342 on Tues days, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 3:30 and 5 p.m. or leave their name with the Student Gov ernment Office (845-1515). Customs Commissioner To Discuss Drug Traffic Cleburn Maier, U.S. regional commissioner of customs, will discuss “Drug Traffic Through Texas” in a Wednesday night Great Issues presentation at 8 in Room 102 of the Zachry Engineering Center. Maier will explain how the U.S. Customs Service made more than 18,000 drug seizures in 1972, a 69 per cent increase over the previous year. From his headquarters in Houston, Maier directs U.S. Customs operations in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and southwestern Louisiana. Maier was born in Sherman, Texas and educated at Midwestern University. He joined the Customs Service as a clerk in 1942. Since then he has advanced through the Customs Service ranks and is now Regional Comissioner of Customs for Region VI in 1966. During his government career he served on several national committees appointed to evaluate the U.S. Customs Service. He is well known in the South as a speaker on Customs affairs, international commerce and related affairs. Recently selected as a biographee by Who’s Who, Maier has received numerous awards, honors and letters of appreciation, including a commendation from the President. The council also allowed the Great Issues Committee to invite Cleburne Maier to speak Wednes day on “The Drug Traffic Crisis.” Maier is regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Customs in Hous ton. Prairie View A&M President A. I. Thomas will speak on March 27 on the “The Black Leader’s Special Responsibilities.” Anthony Burgess, author and visiting pro fessor from the City College of New York will speak on “Will Our Society Become A ‘Clock work Orange.’ ” Council President-elect Don Webb told the group that 48 cam pus organizations had applied for cubicle space in the new MSC facilities and 22 had asked for file drawers. The application deadline for office space and drawers is Friday. Webb said the Student Pro grams Committee will make rec ommendations for the spaces since more groups than spaces had been applied for already. He said the group would announce what groups will get space on March 26. The council also approved a budget request of $9,000 for the Town Hall Committee since it was losing money on program ming this spring, except for sev eral programs which did make a profit. The Student Programs Of fice has sold tickets for about 25 events. Webb said the Council runs a $180,000 program on about $35,- 000 in appropriations. “If people don’t attend the pro grams in the fall, we can’t afford the best groups in the spring,” he said, referring to complaints about groups like Freddie Hart and the Heartbeats and “Flash Cadillac.” POW Welcomed By Conroe Ceremony University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M.” Adv. Only three adult women have lived with this particular cancer and then only after surgery. CONROE — Life ambushes people with difficult times, but there is training that will carry them through, Capt. James E. Ray said here Sunday at a cere mony welcoming him home from North Vietnamese prisoner-of- war camp. About 7,000 flag-waving people including A&M representatives poured into Conroe High School stadium to give the 1963 Aggie-ex a vocal welcome. Capt. Ray, escorted onto the field by the Second Wing color guard, Squadron 9, a contingent of the Ross Volunteers and the Fish Drill Team, said the train ing of Christian leaders, Conroe school activities and athletics and at A&M helped him through difficult times. The Air Force officer whose F105 was shot down more than six years ago referred to the Fish Drill Team performance, in which one freshman’s rifle stock was broken early in the sequence. “The man wtih the broken rifle stayed in there and performed in an extraordinary manner,” Capt. Ray observed. “This is the kind of training that Aggies and Con roe students get, that helps them over situations not found in the book.” He said a sense of humor, Scripture verses from the Bible (“Available to us as prisoners on limited occasions”) and poetry such as “The Invictus” were “a source of sustenance to us.” He was presented a new Memorial Student Center leadership watch and Class of 1963 Aggie ring during the ceremony. A homecoming citation from the Texas House of Representa tives also was presented, by Rep. Jimmie Edwards III of Conroe. Edwards lost both legs to an enemy hand grenade explosion in Vietnam. Capt. Ray paid homage to “many American fighting men who gave their all” in Vietnam. He read a list of Conroe men who died in Southeast Asia and sug gested a re-emphasis in the U. S. “I and the other POWs who have returned home have become, by some psychological transition process, a symbol of unity that Americans so feverishly cherish,” he remarked. “I would like to see us turn the joy and enthusiasm of this occasion to comfort and support for the men who were injured and families of those who gave their all,” the 31-year-old officer said. Before Robert Haltom, a 1944 A&M graduate from Fort Worth, and Willard Clark, 1942 ex of Houston, presented Ray the watch and ring, he said the originals shouldn’t have been worn in com bat “but at the time I thought I was invincible and wouldn’t be shot down.” An uncle suggested the original ring may turn up and explained how in a phone call. “He said that one day I’ll be at an Aggie reunion and a North Vietnamese will show up,” Ray related. After a roar of laughter, he went on, “That’s the worst Aggie joke I’ve ever heard.” Ray and Father Examine A&M Rings :p