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THE BATTALION Page 7
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1975
SCON A XX. . . the third hundred years
SCONA looks at past, future
Chairman bids delegates ‘hello’
In 1975, the Student Conference
on National Affairs celebrates the
20th year of its inception as the na
tion prepares for its bicentennial
anniversary. This, then, is a time
when reflection on past events is
very much in order, and SCONA
XX recognizes this fact with a dis
play of materials horn past confer
ences. However, retrospection
serves little purpose unless we learn
from the past and do not repeat er
rors previously made. In an histori
cal period marked by crises whose
effects could have been averted or at
least mitigated by foresight, it has
become increasingly apparent that
one of our nation’s greatest mistakes
has been its failure to consider fu
ture consequences in its attempts to
solve present problems.
The SCONA XX committee thus
feels that the theme “America: The
Third Hundred Years is particu
larly timely. The aim of the confer
ence is to examine some forecasting
and long-range planning
mechanisms by use of which the na
tion can foresee and circumvent
major problems, as well as selected
Roundtable discussions will let SCONA delegates air their views.
Art by Scott Morgan
topics in areas which appear to be of
major importance in determining
the future of our society. The con
ference title is intentionally broad
and covers a wide range of sub-
topics. It represents an attempt to
approach problem-solving in a
wholistic manner, rather than at
tempting to isolate problem areas,
thus denying their essentially in
terdependent natures.
It has been the goal of the com
mittee throughout this last year to
make the program both as educa
tional and as enjoyable as possible.
A tremendous quantity of work and
a considerable amount of money
have been invested in planning
SCONA XX. But the success of the
conference will be determined by
the benefit which you receive by
having attended, and this will be
largely determined by the mag
nitude of your efforts during the
conference.
The SCONA committee mem
bers are always available to facilitate
the functioning of the conference,
so please do not hesitate to ask for
CORRECTION
Two of the delegates to SCONA
listed in The Battalion on February
11 have dropped. They are Sid N.
Pandey and Klaus D. Bauch.
Added to the list are Mark Ran
kin, Gary Brown, Marty Clayton,
Ruwaid Akkard, Shirley Schroeder,
Don Hegi, John Hampton, Warren
Russell, Gwen Flynt and Mary
Russo.
any assistance you might need.
Welcome to Texas A&M University
and best wishes for a successful con
ference.
John D. Nash, Jr.
Chairman, SCONA XX
Genetics’ future
topic of speech
Genetic engineering and the fu
ture will be the subject of a presen
tation by Dr. Roy Curtiss, Friday at
4:45 p.m., in the Rudder Center.
The SCONA speech is entitled
“Genetic Engineering: Salvation or
Curse.”
Curtiss will discuss the present
controversey between scientists
who favor further genetic ex
perimentation and those who fear a
biological and genetic catastrophe.
A number of geneticists have
suggested that the present ex
perimentation — with mutant
genes — will cause uncontrollable
diseases unless more stringent
methods of experimenting are de
vised.
Curtiss, a graduate of Cornell
University, is an internationally
known microbiologist presently
teaching at the University of
Alabama in Birmingham.
He is also involved in dental and
cancer research, as well as being the
chairman of the Graduate Commit
tee at U. of A.
In the past, Curtiss has been a
group leader in microbial genetics
and radiation microbiology at the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory in
Tennessee.
At present, he is the editor of the
“Journal of Bacteriology” and par
liamentarian of the American Soci
ety for Microbiology.
Curtiss has concentrated most of
his recent experimentation on Ex-
cherichia coli, a common intestinal
bacteria.
JOHN NASH
Regrets work
IRS economist to speak
Coates to discuss role of science
SCONA speaker technology assessment expert
The role science is to piny will he
projected Saturday by Joseph F.
Coates. He is with the Office of
Technology Assessment of the U.S.
Congress.
The talk, entitled, “Role of Tech-
nqjQgy Assessment in Future Plan
ning,” will be given in the Rudder
Center at 11 a. m. This topic is one of
his principal concerns.
Prior to his present position,
Coates was program manager for
technology assessment at the Na
tional Science Foundation. Earlier
he was a senior staff member of the
Institute of Defense Analyses.
He began his career as a chemist,
but has developed major profes-
Politicians’ panel
covers land-use
Congressman Alan W. Steelman
of Texas and U.S. Representative
Sam Steiger of Arizona will present
a panel discussion on “Long-Range
Land-Use and Planning” in con
junction with SCONA at the Uni
versity Center Feb. 13.
Steelman, Republican Fifth Dis
trict, resides in Mesquite.
In 1964, Steelman received his
B.A. in political science from Baylor
University followed by an M.L.A.
from Southern Methodist Univer
sity in 1971.
Steelman has been instrumental
in the enactment of the law to create
the Big Thicket National Park. He,
See Aggie Forum, p. 2
served on several committees that
reviewed the legislation for the
84,550 acre park.
He is also closely identified in the
fight to halt the proposed canaliza
tion of the Trinity River. In March
of 1973, he worked successfully to
defeat a bond issue which would
have provided for local funding in 17
counties which would have paid for
the canal.
Steelman is a strong advocate of
fiscal responsibility by the Federal
Government, the Israeli position in
the Mid-East conflict, the restora
tion of Congressional responsibility
as a co-equal branch in the federal
system, an extensive network of
AMTRAK rail passenger service,
and support for minority business.
In the July, 1974 issue of “Time”,
Steelman was named as one of the
“200 Faces of the Future”. He was
named the “Watchdog of the Treas
ury” for votes to control federal
sional and avocational interests in
planning for the future.
Coates holds degrees in chemis
try from the Brooklyn Polytechnic
Institute and Pennsylvania State
University. He has had graduate
training in philosophy and the his
tory of science at Pennsylvania State
University and the University of
Pennsylvania.
Coates has served as Secretary of
the General Section of the Ameri
can Association for the Advance
ment of Science. Other affiliations
or associates are the Scientific Ad
visory Committee of the Sierra
Club, the Ad Hoc Interagency Fu
tures Group and the Expert Com
mittee on Technology Assessment
of OECD.
Coates has had numerous papers
published in the areas of public af
fairs, technology assessment, fu
tures, military affairs and criminal
justice.
Joseph Coates
A champion of limited govern
ment, Milton Friedman, noted
economist, will speak at the 20th
Student Conference on National Af
fairs.
Friedman designed the present
withholding system for the Internal
Revenue Service, but some say he
would never do it again. If he were
asked to institute the system again,
he would not because he feels the
system is too painless and too easy.
Under the withholding system,
people don’t realize just how much
the government is taking.
At the Feb. 12-14 conference,
Friedman will speak from 2 p.m. to
3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The talk will
center on the future of capitalism
during America’s next hundred
years.
SCONA XX Chairman John Nash
said the Memorial Student Center
was fortunate to obtain Friedman as
a speaker, through the efforts of Dr.
Thomas Saving, Economics De
partment.
Friedman stirred a recent con
troversy by suggesting what The
Wall Street Journal calls a banana
republic sliding scale system. Such
a system would tie most wages and
government benefits to a cost of liv
ing index. As a result, when prices
would rise, so would benefits and
wages.
A former Fulbright lecturer at
Cambridge University, Friedman
also suggested that the federal re
serve system not try to save the
economy in times of problems, but
that it should increase the money
supply at a constant rate and let in
terest rates and unemployment be
determined by market action.
“Dr. Friedman is geared to look
at how government and economy
interact,” said Nash. “He has seen
trends toward more government
controls. Will it continue, and if so,
in what ways, are questions SCONA
XX delegates will ask. ”
The economist is a University of
Chicago professor. He serves on the
research staff of the N ational Bureau
for Economic Research.
“Capitalism and Freedom” is one
of his written works. He has re
ceived public exposure as a News
week columnist.
Since 1933, he has worked for the
U.S. Treasury Department, in war
research, on the National Resources
Committee and an earlier stint with
the National Bureau of Economics
Research. More recently, Fried
man served on President’s Commit
tees for an all-Volunteer Army and
White House Fellows.
He also taught at the University
of Wisconsin, Columbia and Min
nesota.
Friedman was named Chicago’s
Educator of the Year and Chicagoan
of the Year in 1962. He was reci
pient of the American Economics
Association’s John Bates Clark
Medal in 1951.
The SCONA speaker has been a
Newsweek writer since 1966 and a
contributing editor since 1971.
Teague to attend
SCONA sessions
U.S. Rep. Olin “Tiger” Teague will be on the cam
pus Thursday evening (Feb. 13) to attend SCONA XX.
Teague, who has a press conference scheduled for
2:30 p. m. Thursday in the Ramada Inn, will arrive about
noon.
He plans to attend the 8 p.m. Thursday panel dis
cussion with U. S. Reps. Allan Steelman of Mesquite and
Sam Steiger of Arizona in the Rudder Center Theater.
Teague returns to Washington Sunday after holding
appointments Friday and Saturday.
10 models
SCONA exhibit features floating cities of future
Sam Steiger
Alan Steelman
spending in 1974. He was also
named the “Guardian of Small Bus
iness” in 1974.
Steelman is also on the board of
the Dallas Civic Opera and on the
Board of Development of Bishop
College.
Steiger, Republican Arizona, re
sides in Prescott, Arizona. He at
tended Cornell University and Col
orado A&M, and holds a B.S. in
animal husbandry.
From 1960 to 1964, Steiger
served in the Arizona State Senate
representing Yavapai County. In
1966, he was elected to the 90th
Congress and has been reelected to
each subsequent Congress.
Steiger represents Arizona’s
Third Congressional District and is
a member of the Interior and Insu
lar Affairs Committee and the Gov
ernment Operations Committee.
He is the ranking Republican
member of the Public Lands Sub
committee. He also serves as a
member of the Executive Commit
tee of the Republican Congressional
Campaign Committee and the Task
Force on Man and Environment.
In private life. Rep. Steiger is a
rancher who farms in Warrenton,
Virginia and runs cows on leased
land in Arizona.
In addition to his Congressional
duties, he holds memberships in
the Thoroughbred Breeders Associ
ation, American Society of Range
Management, Quarter Horse
Breeders Association, American
Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars,
Kiwanis, Masons, Elks and Arizona
Wildlife Federation.
By ROXIE HEARN
Staff Writer
Cities that float, both in the air
and on water, are part of an exhibit
which officially opened today as part
of the 20th annual Student Council
on National Affairs.
The exhibit coordinates 10 mod
els of cities for the future, including
nuclear cities, mass transit cities
and underwater cities.
“This is the first collection to put
10 different proposals into one ex
hibit,” said Peter Zweig, director of
the project.
He and eight graduate students
were given a research grant spon
sored by SCONA and completed
the display in three weeks.
“This is the only exhibit of
SCONA XX,” said Zweig. “It’s the
focus of the conference, a blend of
the old with the new and a vision of
future.”
One hundred and fifty feet of
photography, contrasting Texas in
the past with its possibilities for the
future, surrounds the display.
The method by which the photo
graphy was created was developed
by Zweig.
“We actually printed the slides on
150 feet of architectural blueprint,”
he explained.
Large cardboard frames were also
part of the process, making the dis
play resemble a movie reel.
Each of the model cities is built to
scale, one inch equaling 500 feet.
“None of the city plans were de
signed by the group,” said Zweig.
“Each of them has been proposed
by other men and some are already
in the process of being built.”
A mass transit city shows clumps
of communities attached to huge
transit bridges, a plan designed for
mountainous regions.
A city floating on water is dis
played. It is a smaller version of a
community already in operation at
the University of Hawaii.
A completely enclosed airborne
city would give communities a float
ing, spherical existence, one mile in
diameter.
Tidal control, another aspect of
the exhibit, is currently under de
velopment in France. “Effective
use of tidal power could comprise 5
percent of the world’s consumption
of energy, ” said Zweig.
Henry Wong, William Peel,
James Petzrick, David Keeling,
Steve Novikoff, Bruce Basslar, Jud
Ouiksall andj. S. (Jocko) Taylor also
Model city of the future on display in Rudder Tower