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THE BATTALION
College Station, Texas
CADET SLOUCH
Wednesday, November 7, 1973 Up
byjim Earte Bonfire Aids in Ecology Destruction
Editor:
In response to Griff Lasley’s
comments in the Battalion (Oct.
31) about the bonfire: The size
of the bonfire is proportional to
the number of ti'ees you have
pointlessly cremated, the amount
of land you have raped, the num
ber of organisms you have dis
placed or destroyed, and inversely
proportional to your wisdom.
This is the third year that I
Lease Line—
have listened and objected to this
bonfire B.S. and still the ridicu
lously destructive practice goes
on. I can recall past letters in
support of and against the bon
fire and remember how little peo
ple realize the significance of this
atrocity against our environment.
Here at a land grant college where
wildlife management techniques,
animal and plant ecology, and oth
er biosciences are taught one would
think that people would look upon
this with a somewhat more en
lightened view. How can we con
done destroying these trees for
such a trivial activity when al
ready our supply of naturally
functioning ecosystems is being
severely depleted by housing de
velopments, farms, and Millican
Dam(n)s.
Please understand that the
“useless scrub oaks” (Batt- Nov.
1971) which you cut down are
anything but useless from both an
ecological and an economic stand
point. Ecologically the hardwood
trees provide some of the most
important wildlife habitat. Eco
nomically — how can one simply
waste all the energy one burns up
in the bonfire; the wood would
be better put to use as crating
material, furniture, baseball bats,
or simply fuel in the home (as it
Oral Agreements Bad Security Risk i
appears we are in for
lean year from a fuel
Please consider this and tty
find a more creative way of sic
ing your spirit.
Oryln Gaddis
★ ★ ★
Editor:
A picture is worth a thoussj,
words on the food at Sbisa:
sw* >IESS" M
“I started this ‘letter to the editor’ and the more I
wrote, the more I realized that I could make my point
better in person!”
By BARB SEARS
Question: My roommate and I
have been living in a duplex for
about a year. We don’t have a
written lease, just an oral agree
ment. Recently, the owner decided
that he wanted a $100 deposit,
even though he has never required
one before. How can we be sure
that we will get our deposit re
funded ?
Answer: First, you should de
mand a written lease. If the land
lord needs security concerning
your renting, then you do, too.
Without a written lease, he can
make you move out of the apart
ment with only a month’s notice.
It is unfair for him to require you
to pay a security deposit without
giving you in return some secur
ity in the form of a lease that
guarantees you can rent the du
plex for a certain amount of time.
However, there is no way to
force your landlord to give you a
Batt Commentary
Committee Problems
The most overworked and ill-established system of
communications at TAMU is the committee structuring
for the various deans, vice presidents and president. It
is clearly chaotic and needs swift overhauling, some of
which has already begun.
To understand the system, one must first comprehend
how committees are appointed. The group members are
nominated to President Jack Williams by those directly
concerned with the committees, such as Randy Ross, Stu
dent Government president; T. Getterman, Residence Hall
Association president; and by college deans, University
vice presidents and other department heads.
Williams then reviews all nominations and replaces
student and faculty members he deems unnecessary. Al
though most committees do not report to him (only six
do), the vice presidents, etc., responsible for committee
actions never have the final okay. This is wrong because
these top officials may and frequently do have to work
with individuals they don’t want on the committees.
The most evident problem in this setup is the delay
involved with final committee membership approval. The
delay (a lengthy one this year) means that committee ef
fectiveness is impaired since most are unable to get going
until the beginning of October.
Membership should be determined solely by the indi
viduals the committees are responsible to for several rea
sons, the foremost being that the task of running the
TAMU System and the campus at College Station is too
much for one man to handle. This is borne out by the
fact that the Board of Directors appoints a separate indi
vidual to manage each other part of the system, such as
Prairie View University and Tarleton State.
It is impossible for Williams to accurately review com
mittee appointments himself and he usually farms out the
task to his assistants, Dr. Tom Adair and Roger Miller.
Since his approval of appointments is usually a rubber
stamp (except for those people responsible directly to
him), it seems even more logical to have those responsible
approve their own committees.
Another aspect of this committee system foulup is,
of course, who committees report to. There is frequently
a criss-crossing of committee duties, which causes undue
friction between members involved. By having commit
tees report to a single individual, much of this can be
alleviated.
The final problem is the apportionment of committees
reporting to the various vice presidents and deans. Vice
President for Academic Affairs John C. Calhoun heads the
list with the most committees under him, 36, while other
vice presidents may have as few as four groups. The dis
tribution discrepancies are obvious, but unfortunately hard
to solve. True, each may have assistants to deal with the
committees, but then the committees aren’t supposed to
report to assistants, but the vice presidents.
We urge that something be done to alleviate much of
the red tape and action should be initiated from the presi
dent’s office.
The problem can’t be solved by another committee,
but the decision to make a change must be made by one
man—Jack Williams.
Cbt Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is
,h' editor or o, the writer of the article aad are ao, iS!'" f
necessarily those of the University administration or May, and once a week during summer school.
the Board of Directors. The Battalion is a non-profit,
self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a . MEMBER
University and Community newspaper. The Associated Press, Texas Press Association
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Lettert to the editor should rto, exceed 300 otords
and are subject to being cut to that length or less if The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station,
longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit Texas 77843.
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Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
77843. EDITOR , MIKE RICE
——r ^77—r—;—7 7 ,—7 7 : 7T~ Assistant to the Editor Rod Speer
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim pi
Lindsey, chairman ; Dr. Tom Adair, Dr. R. A. Albanese, Dr. Managing Editor Greg Moses
H. E. Hierth, W. C. Harrison, J. W. Griffith, L. E. Kruse and News Editor T. C. GallUCCl
B. B. Sears. Photo Editor Rodger Mallison
Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Coffey
Services. Inc, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Ass t. Sports Editor Ted Bonskie
lease. You should be warned that
if you do give him a security de
posit without having a written
lease, you may very likely never
get your deposit back.
There are a few safeguards
that might be able to help you
in that situation. First, be sure
to obtain a receipt for your de
posit, properly dated and signed.
Second, make a checklist for your
apartment that lists the condition
of everything, from the floor to
the furniture. Insist the landlord
initial it to validate it. This may
mean that he has to look over
your apartment, but it is very im
portant that you insist upon this
before you give him the deposit.
An oral agreement is binding
to the landlord, but it is harder
to enforce. So if you have his veri
fication on the condition of the
apartment, then his claims
against your security deposit if
you ever move out will have to
be accurate. If he has initialed
the checklist and it says that
your apartment has a hole in the
wall or the carpet already has
cigarette burns in it, there is no
way he can charge you for those
things.
A checklist is a security meas
ure for each tenant. It is valuable
evidence if you must ever go to
the Small Claims Court.
It should be emphasized that
oral leases are rarely helpful to
the tenant. Unless the tenant is
uncertain about how long he
wants the apartment, he should
try to get a written lease. If the
landlord gives the excuse of not
having the proper forms, there is
a model lease in the back of the
Fair Housing Commission’s Legal
Guide for tenants which can be
used. You just need to fill in the
blanks about rates, rental dates,
etc. A copy can be obtained at the
Student Government Office, the
Housing Office, or the offices of
the Dean of Men and Dean of
Women.
Question: We have an oral
lease and our landlord recently
told us that he was going to raise
our rent. How much advance no
tice does he have to give us? Can
he raise the rent in the middle of
the semester?
Answer: In an oral lease, the
contract is considered to be re
newed on a month to month basis.
Therefore, you generally pay rent
monthly, and the landlord must
give one month’s notice before he
changes any portion of your
agreement, like raising the rent.
It is legal for him to raise the
rent in the middle of the semester,
and there are some apartment
owners who use that trick of ob
taining tenants at a low rental
rate, but raising the rent repeat
edly so that the rate is no longer
such a bargain.
ASJOXE gUTWEVE
'YES, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW
Robin Coppedge
★ ★ ★
Editor:
There is a rumor going arouni
campus that the restaurant intli
Rudder Conference Center is
ing to be open only to faculty
and staff in the near future,
not allowing students tousetlii<
facility.
I would like to find out if then
is any truth to this and if so,
who made this decision.
If it is true, I would like tit
deciding party to reconsider. Af
ter all, we, the students, are re
quired to pay $10.00 each seines
ter for the Student Center Con
plex. I, like many other students
don’t mind this providing we ars
allowed to use it, including tks
restaurant. This is the only nke
restaurant on campus and it
seems unfair to turn the
dents away.
LaDonna Oldham 'll
The restaurant, originally de
signed to be a soup and sandwich
bar with mixed drinks, will no!
be closed to students as there
no faculty demand for this. Me
go home after work. Anothei
larger cafeteria is being built
the new MSC building, more
suited for student needs. The
snack bar by the bowling alley
is only temporary until the new
facility is completed.—Ed.
new car financing
for graduating seniors
And defer
the first payment
for six months.
Pick out the car you want, drive it this semester, then begin
your payments after you go to work. The Bank of A&M
can put you in a new set of wheels today. Terms include
100 per cent financing (including insurance); deferment
of the first payment up to six months; loan repayment
extended up to 42 months (including the deferred
payment period); and credit life insurance.
Bring your job commitment letter or your application
for active duty month. We can work out a repayment
program that fits your circumstances. See Stanley
Sommers, Lt. Col. (USAF-Ret.) Glynn Jones. Steve
Johnson or Don Mahnke. Any one of them will help
you get the car you need to go a long way.
The BANK of A&M
No bank is closer to Texas A&M or its students.
member/fdic