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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 1974)
A Today in the Batt \ MSC Council p. 3 Traffic Panel p. 4 No. 4 Punter .. . .p. 8 Cbe Battalion Vol. 68 No. 27 College Station, Texas Thursday, October 17, 1974 Weather Fair to partly cloudy Thursday, becoming in creasingly warmer. High today 76°; low tonite 52°; high Friday 81°. jVo guidelines set on play approvals By RICK HENDERSON Staff Writer No guidelines have been set for iiture plays and they will not have o be approved by anyone, said Dr. )avid Maxwell, dean of Liberal \rts, Wednesday. * Maxwell was questioned in re- iponse to his recent decision to can cel a theater arts department pro duction of Marat/Sade. “I will leave it up to Dr. Joy (John |oy, instructor in Theatre Arts and director of ‘Marat/Sade’ before its cancellation) and Wenck (Robert Wenck, Theater Arts instructor) to decide what’s acceptable, ” he said. Joy said, “Our judgment was overlooked about something that concerned parties admit they know othing about. How can we believe our judgment will be respected when it has not been? I hope the environment improves so I won’t have to think twice about my natural judgment. But my experience tells me I must think about what I do in terms of this community.” Brian McPherson, a TAMU stu dent connected with the Aggie Players, said that he had a meeting with Maxwell last week to protest the cancellation and to “let Maxwell know how the students felt and to get answers to some questions.” McPherson did not relate specific details but said he gained nothing "concrete or constructive.” Student complaints led to the cancellation of the play “Marat/Sade Maxwell said. Maxwell said that a relatively small number of students involved in the play complained to him about certain scenes involving nudity and simulated copulation. Joy said he had no idea that any of the students involved with the play had objections to it. Three students with the Aggie Players said they also had no indication of discontent be fore reading it in the paper. Maxwell said he did not consult higher university officials before making the decision or consulting Dr. Joy. “The upper administration did not tell me to have the play can celled.” T did not act on the basis of stu dent complaints alone,” he said. “I got in touch with Dr. Joy to find out if what the students said was correct about simulated copulation and nudity. The entire decision was based on verification by Dr. Joy that the play contained these elements. ” Joy said he hadn’t planned to use nudity in the production and the simulated copulation scene was to be done tastefully, in a more humorous than salacious way. Maxwell said he was aware of this but that copulation and nudity pre sented in a tasteful way is a con tradiction of terms. “I do not see that theater must reflect every as pect of human activities to be of value.” He said, “It was my judgement that a play with these characteristics would be found objectionable to the community of which we are a part. I did not think that university facilities and resources should be devoted to that presentation.” Watergate lawyers ask for triple doctor examination of Nixon ’ ¥ # If ■r 1 \ ROBERT MANCIL, manager of the Adult Library Club, poses! by a film projector as the club prepares for an official re-opening I Friday. The club has been closed since Aug. 3, 1973 when local police confiscated books, magazines and films. A federal district court issued a restraining order in September preventing police from further raids until the federal court can determine the! constitutionality of the states law on obscenity. (Photo by TERRY MYRICK WASHINGTON (AP) — Water gate prosecutors said Wednesday that “clear and convincing evi dence” is lacking that former Presi dent Richard M. Nixon is too sick to testify at the Watergate cover-up trial. They urged U. S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica to send three doctors to examine Nixon. But while asking that Sirica turn down Nixon’s request to be ex cused, the prosecutors said they will not insist on the former president s appearance as a prosecution wit ness. Nixon has been subpoenaed by both the government and John D. Ehrlichman, one of the five defen dants charged with conspiring to obstruct justice in the Watergate case. Ehrlichman’s lawyers said that if Nixon cannot testify, they want him to give a deposition that can be in troduced as evidence in the trial. Sirica indicated he is thinking of appointing a panel of doctors to ex amine Nixon and said he would hear arguments Thursday on Nixon’s ef forts to have the subpoenas quashed. The government’s memorandum was filed as the government’s first witness, John W. Dean III, was tes tifying. Dean discussed the first weeks after the June 17, 1972, break-in at Democratic headquarters at the Watergate when, according to his testimony, the first efforts were made to help the Watergate burg lars financially. With Dean there to authenticate them, prosecutors plan Thursday to play the first of the White House tapes for the jury of nine women and three men. Dean testified after the lawyer for Kenneth W. Parkinson finished his opening statement. Lawyers for Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian addressed the jury Tuesday. H. R. Haldeman’s and John N. Mitchell’s lawyers reserved their opening until after the government’s case is in. The prosecutors said Nixon’s con tention that his physical condition is such that appearance at the trial “would pose a serious risk to his life” is not backed up by a “compelling showing. ” Nixon’s doctor in an affidavit had said the former president must wear an elastic stocking, take oral medi cation, avoid prolonged periods of sitting, standing or walking, avoid extended trips and should remain in a controlled environment. “It is clear Mr. Nixon can con tinue to wear an elastic stocking and take oral medication while in transit and in Washington,” the pro secutors said. They added that he can avoid long periods of sitting or walking and that there are enough medical facilities in Washington to keep an eye on his condition. The prosecutors said, “Mr. Nixon is not a neutral or detached witness. He has been formally accused of or participating in the conspiracy for which defendants are standing trial, and it would be only natural for him to seek to avoid an obligation to tes tify.” Dean testified that in the hectic days following the Watergate break-in he told Ehrlichman a great deal about the involvement of N ixon campaign officials in the incident. Ehrlichman, one of the five de fendants in the Watergate cover-up trial, is charged with lying when he said that all he knew about the June 17, 1972, break-in at Democratic national headquarters was what he had read in the newspapers. Bail bonds investigated Grand jury hears late testimony Rocky plea denied hearings delayed By STEVE GRAY who did not comply with an earlier Staff Writer subpoena, testified before the grand County Judge William R. Vance, jury Wednesday morning. The 85th District Court Grand Jury is currently investigating area bail bond practices and has received a 30-day extension of its term to complete the study. The county commissioners joined Vance in giving testimony Wednes day. Vance was subpoenaed by the grand jury Oct. 3 to testify Oct. 9. However, that day Vance was in Sinton conferring with two auditors on installation of a new com puterized bookkeeping system in the county auditor’s office. Instead of appearing before the grand jury, he furnished a letter. The grand jury, however, re turned the letter to Vance’s office rejecting his explanation, complain ing that the letter was unsigned. “I told my secretary she had my authority to sign my name to the letter,” Vance said, “but she simply forgot to do it.” Vance stated in the letter, dic tated the night of Oct. 8, that he would be available to testify before the jurors anytime during the ex tension period of the study. “My secretary typed the letter the next morning and delivered it to the grand jury at 11 a.m.,” Vance said. Vance would not elaborate on Wednesday morning’s testimony but said he probably would not tes tify again. “We had a discussion and we ar rived at some understandings,” Vance said, “but that’s all I can say. “I don’t think there’s a possibility that I’ll be called again to testify,” he said. Vance said if he had not sent the letter of explanation to the jurors, “they could cite me for failure to appear. ” He said he could not reveal de tails of testimony on the grand jury’s study until the session is completed. The present grand jury’s term will expire Oct. 30 as a result of the extension. Its original term expired Oct. 1. A new grand jury will be selected Oct. 23 by a Grand Jury Commission in the district cour troom. WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Rules Committee Democrats rejected Wednes day Nelson A. Rockefeller’s plea for a chance to testify im mediately about issues raised over his nomination to be vice president. Rockefeller issued a terse statement afterward saying: “I regret that I won’t have a proper forum for at least another month.” Chairman Howard A. Can non, D-Nev., announced the committee would not reopen its hearings until Nov. 13 at the earliest and possibly not until Nov. 18, the date Congress re turns from an election recess. Rockefeller has asked for an opportunity to present all the facts about nearly $2 million in gifts he has made to political associates and friends and about a 1970 campaign book about former Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg. But Cannon said the committee’s investigation of these matters has not been completed and that a report on the audit of Rockefeller’s in come and gift tax returns will not be available before Oct. 22. “I do not believe it would be advisable to convene the com mittee for further testimony at this time until all of the aforementioned information is available,” he said. “Additionally, he said, “several members of the Rules Committee would be unable to attend such a meeting at this time.” He said the decision to defer reopening the hearings until after the November elections represented “the consensus of a majority of the committee. Asked if any of the committee’s Republican mem bers were included in that con sensus, he replied: “No.” However, Cannon said he would have “no opposition to Rockefeller making a complete statement to the press on the matters involved” before hear ings reopen. Past and present combine Chaucer goes modern TRAFFIC LIGHTS for Texas Avenue, originally scheduled for completion last December, may b e ready i n four weeks. The contractor said the delay was caused by the need for state approval of all parts of the system. The approval has been obtained and controllers for the lights have been produced and will be stopped shortly, he said. Dn ce t h e contro ]] ers are obtained, installation and testing will be complete in two to three weeks, enig nus said. (Photo by Steve Krauss) Two candidates meet press; Briscoe ignores invitation LLAS, (AP)—Two candidates l ?f to be Texas’ next governor r U agree Wednesday on hnfk i°i Ce P°htical combat but n r., tomed Washington for some e state’s problems. Se ,? V ' E)olph Briscoe was an ab- p,. . u * n °t forgotten subject of dis- fer 0n ^ eat news con- PresTci S ^° nsore d by the Dallas thaJ^ XanS are so nationally oriented 1 is tough to get them to think about state issues, said republican candidate Jim Cranberry. Texans are concerned more about the five per cent surcharge proposed by President Ford than their local school tax increases. That s because they get more news about what happens in Washington than they do from state government or Bris coe.” Cranberry called Briscoe the “governor under glass because he hides himself from the news media. effectively cuts himself off from pub lic opinion and the public.” Briscoe, Cranberry and Sam McDonnell, American party candi date, were invited by the Press Club to take part in the “Hot Seat” joint news conference. Club officials said Briscoe never replied to the in vitation. Then, Cranberry balked at ap pearing with McDonnell and ap peared at a separate news confer ence following McDonnell’s. By JIM CRAWLEY Staff Writer Rob Inglis is a man of the past and the present. A fact that is demon strated by his lifestyle and his act ing. His one-man act of “Canterbury Tales” illustrates this combination. Inglis presented the “Tales” in Modern English Wednesday night. He says it aids the audience in un derstanding Chaucer’s master piece. In doing so he left the audi ence in complete hysteria. “My show is in line with Chaucer, the Greeks and other classical playwrights, in that, the theater in those days was educational, as well as entertaining,” said Inglis. In presenting the “Tales” to stu dents, Inglis went out of his way to explain the actions that occur during his show. His antics are carried to the students by talking with the au dience. Inglis gives insight into the characters of Chaucer’s “Tales” by relating them to events of the day. He continually makes jokes and puns about the characters and their actions. This humor created an ats- mophere of understanding and amusement. As an actor, Inglis has spent the last 20 years in the theater. The last ten years have been spent doing his rendition of “Tales” on college cam puses throughout the world. Before acting, journalism entered his life. He was a reporter in Australia for five years. His experience in acting includes playing the ghost in ‘Hamlet’ for the Royal Shakespearean Experimental Theater Group, performing with the musical ‘Oliver’ and being a member of the Royal Court Thea ter. Acting isn’t all of his dramatist’s activities; he is also an accomplished playwright. After writing for radio and television in England and Au stralia he wrote a musical, “A Rum Do. ” Adapted from a play, “A Rum Do” is the story of the civil rights fight between former convicts and the ‘free’ people of early Australia. This musical received a Royal Command Performance in Bris bane. Presently, he is working on an “Eco-Theater.” The ‘Theater’ will present an integrated cast in a play dealing with science and its effect in today’s world. Modern theater has problems because they have to compete with TV and films. The theater needs subsidizing to survive as do all the arts,” said Inglis, in reference to the problems of today’s theater. ROB INGLIS performs Douglas Winship) ‘The Canterbury Tales.” (Photo by