Fee hike raises questions
By BILL SHEEN
Either the recent rise in the
Building Use Fee is the biggest rip-
off since they started charging for
school, or it is the most valuable
addition to Texas A&M since the
football team. Your view likely de
pends on whether you’re paying it
or administering it.
The rise of $4 in the BUF will
pay for the $25 million bond sold
last fall by the university. Counting
the principle and the interest to be
paid, it will cost the university $65
million over the next thirty years.
Now the ques-
( Editorial )
Back Tack
Move the track
The Battalion was assured on Dec. 4 that the university
and the three local governments (Biyan, College Station and
Brazos County) would ask for a feasibility study on relocating
the railroad tracks west of campus.
Monday night. College Station Councilman Don Dale
fudged on his promise to raise the question at the CS Council
meeting.
He said he was waiting for a reply to a report which
College Station prepared for the governor’s office. The city
report said, “The existing railroad bisects the community and
is a serious physical barrier to other transportation modes.
Financial help must be forthcoming for the solution of the
railroad problem.”
We suspect Dale didn’t do his homework. The governor’s
office can’t help pay for the relocation until a feasibility study is
completed. Glen Cook, executive director for the Brazos Val
ley Development Council, said the BVDC would do the study
upon request from the university, Bryan, College Station and
Brazos County.
Four letters asking for a feasibility study — it seems like a
simple start toward solving a complex problem. An entire
agricultural campus will be built across Wellborn Road along
with a coliseum and intramural complex and parking. These
additions will cause quite a bit of traffic between the existing
campus and the other side of the tracks. If that track stays
where it is, Cowtown College will have trains rumbling and
whistling through campus. The Northgate wall may be an
inconvenience, but it doesn’t block roads and it is harmless.
Besides, it would be nice to watch movies at the outdoor
Grove Theater without trains passing on the other side of
Wellborn Road.
Four letters — that’s all we wanted a month ago. That’s all
we were promised.
President Jack K. Williams told the B-CS Chamber of
Commerce this summer that he would like to see the track
moved. We support Dr. Williams on this issue and we urge
citizens of College Station (which includes 16,000 off-campus
students, like it or not) to contact the following people and ask
them to do something now.
O. M. Holt, mayor of College Station, City Hall, 846-8868.
Julius A. Skrivanek, mayor of Bryan, City Hall, 823-0071.
William R. Vance, county judge. County Courthouse,
822-7373.
tion arises, does
a 200 per cent
rise in he BUF
necessarily re
flect poor plan
ning as most stu
dents seem to
think? Was the
bond necessary
to finance pro
posed new build-!
ings? Is there
something (such
of the MSG or the wall) which might
have been done away with to reduce
the size of the bond necessary for
improvements? Was there suffi
cient warning to the student body
that their BUF would triple so that
they might make plans (Heaven for-
certain aspects
bid!) to attend a less expensive uni
versity?
Here is what I have been able to
find out. In order to create better
repayment rates the bond was sold
to competitive bidders who sub
mitted sealed bids. So the bond
probably couldn’t have been gotten
much cheaper. (The law requires
that this system be followed any
way.) But were there inappropriate
spendings by the university? Most
students point to the interior of the
MSC and the wall and say yes.
Why? Well, $3.3 million is being
spent on the interior of the MSC,
$27 million on the total project, and
$300,000 is going to Mr. William
Pahhnann who is decorating the
place.
The point that many make is that
were paying Mr. Pahhnann
$300,000 to make us look like a
bunch of extravagant hicks. Now, I
doubt if many students would argue
that the MSC should not have been
built altogether, but serious argu
ment can be made that it coidd easi
ly have been built more efficiently.
In the final analysis, it comes down
to the fact that most people don’t
seem to believe that they got their
money’s worth. The same goes for
the wall. Elimination of the wall
would have been easy. The aesthe
tic loss to the campus would have
been minimal. And we would have
been $485,000 to the good.
But why even belabor the point?
Well, money saved on the M SC and
the wall could easily have been
spent on the three new needed
buildings which the bond finances.
(The Soil and Crop Science and En-
tymology Building will cost $9
million to $10 million, the Animal
Science and Food Science Center
$10 million to $11 million, and $5
million of the $7.5 million addition
to the Architecture Building will
come from the bond).
ves the- matter of warning. H*|
was first reported in the Balti I
just before the Thanksgiving]
days. The decision was maJel
September. Why the delay?
Each meeting of the Bod F
Directors sends out a sumnsj] ■
important decisions and discusS
The resulting saving to the stu
dent can only be based on value
judgments. But some money could
have been saved. 1 asked several
top administrators in business
affairs where the university could
save money. They said no money is
being wasted at Texas A&M. But
then their lack of vision may be one
reason why we are saddled with an
unwanted $4 rise in the Building
Use Fee.
Another important point invol
ved in this whole controversy invol-
The September summary cm
niently failed to report the
ing rise. The Battalion stafll
pened upon the news, died®
out, and reported it, the point
that had the Board of Directors
a little harder they could have
ten the news out three monthsi
lier.
So, it seems that the BoarJ
Directors does make mistak
think it is important that soma
keep an eye on them. A vetyli
administrator who resideson
cond floor of the Adminisra
Building told me it wasn tanyoli
business what the Board did.]
here to get an education, he
Well 1 in getting one. MeamvM I
intend to keep an eyeouthelim |
of Directors.
Me
Me
ll§38l
White elephants
Coasters and Co. By Rodney Hammack 111 e\ Fe tHIv 111 ^ OVGF
Editor:
To better express the theme of
the new MSC furnishings, these
benches should be upholstered in
white elephant hide (Just joking,
Mr. Pahhnann. Please don’t). Many
think.the MSC is not the only exam
ple of such a trend in expenditures.
to repeat old mistakes, thereisajl
thing which I would liketosefjl
leave behind for good. Thatistll
practice, engaged in by some.of*|
tempting to Counter an adveran I
argument by referring him to 4 I
topological properties of Route6 I
Ree
The students are now feeling the
burden of such spending, but where
are the benefits? A&M has offered
to Texas the highest quality of edu
cation at the lowest student cost,
one of the finest educational offers
in the world. Why do we now de
viate from such an ideal?
Never has a practice done 41
University more disservice. A
son who thinks that the purpose
Koute 6 is to provide an exitn
for anyone who might disagreewi
him has no understanding of il
source of the strength of a M
University — the people whomJ
comprises.
All policies and projects must be
more carefully examined for then-
true value to students, the Univer
sity and the people of Texas. Let’s
iot buy any more white elephants.
James Gill
“President Williams? I have a long distance call from a Mr.
Irwin Allen of Disaster Flicks, Inc. in Hollywood. He wishes
to speak to you about filming his next epic on campus ..
Dear Editor:
As we enter the new term at a
time when we traditionally vow not
Each person at this Univerall
has brought here, via Route6.!il
own experiences and his own b|
que store of knowledge. TointiiJ
date him into leaving again isl
deny to the rest of us the privilcsol
benefiting from what he niightkJ
had to say.
Johnnie B. Linn 11
FROM HERBERT BARRETT
fl Time For BflCH
THE ONLY ORGANIZATION OF ITS KIND IN THE UNITED STATES
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor MEMBER
or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of The Associated PresS/ Texas Press Association
the university administration or the Board oj Directors. I he
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THE CLASS OF 1978
OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
PRESENTS
The Freshman Ball
SAMUEL BARON, flute
ROBERT BLOOM, oboe
NORMAN HARROW, bass-baritone
BERNARD GREENHOUSE, cello
LOIS MARSHALL, soprano
SETH McGOY, tenor
CHARLES TREGER, violin
HELEN WATTS,contralto
YEHUDI WYNER,p/ano
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RUDDER CENTER AUDITORIUM
FEBRUARY 5, 1975 - 8:00 P.M.
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