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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1975)
Weather I Partly cloudy and mild today, tonight and Wed nesday. High Tuesday 73; low tonight 52; high tomor row 76. Che Battalion Inside Flood levels p.3 Butter sculpture p.5 Houston sweep p.6 Vol. 68 No. 100 College Station, Texas Tuesday, April 8, 1975 Committee proposes TAMU budget cut The Higher Education Commit tee (HEC) of the Texas House of Representatives recommended Monday night to earmark $4.75 million ofTAMU’s available fund for utility expenses. It also recom mended a 10 percent cut from the Legislative Budget Board’s (LBB) recommendations for three budget line items: special items, other ad ministrative costs and organized re search in all state colleges and uni versities. TAMU President Jack K. Wil liams said earmarking funds for utilities doesn’t make much sense. A study of estimated utility ex penses by the Bovay Engineering Firm, Houston, said A&M would need $6.33 million in ’76 and $8.1 million in ’77 for utilities. Brad Duggan, staff director for the House Higher Education Committee, said A&M does not have to use all the earmarked money for utilities if it can find a way to spend less than $4.75 million on utilities. But with the engineering firm’s estimates, this seems unlikely. HEC Chairman Fred Head, Athens, could not be reached by press time. Williams also said the 10 percent cut in organized research would “reduce to mediocrity’’ the two in stitutions which provide the bulk of the state’s graduate training — Texas A&M and Texas. Of the 22 formula funded state colleges and universities, A&M and UT systems will receive 55 percent of organized research monies ac cording to LBB recommendations. Rep Bill Presnal, Bryan, said the HEC has made the LBB budget re commendations almost illegible. “This is the first committee to make drastic changes,” said Presnal. “They have gone completely ape.” Presnal said he had not seen the report which will be debated in his Appropriations Committee some time next week. Under new rules, the Appropriations Committee met jointly with the HEC to hear the budget requests. The Appropria tions Committee can raise the HEC recommendations with a two-thirds vote of committee and can lower the recommendations by a majority. Presnal said when the rules were devised, it was expected that the Appropriations Committee would be lowering recommendations rather than raising them. Judicial Board upholds appeals Blasts violations, ‘unenforceable’ election rules Photo by the Balzak Raider Signs Pulled Up The campus election signs not the regulation day. These signs were located near the four feet from the curb were pulled up Sun- Krueger-Dunn Commons. SG exec election today, Senate vote comes later After the confusion created by last week’s Student Senate reappor tioning of the reapportionment plan, many students may want to know when election filing ends and elections take place. Student Government executive members are being elected today while student senator elections and executive runoffs will be April 15. All filing for senate positions are closed except for the living areas of Hart-Law-Puryear, Walton-Leg- ett-Milner-Hotard, Schumacher- Mclnnis-Crocker-Cain, Davis-i Gary-Moore-Moses and University Married Housing. Filing for these posts closes Wednesday, April 9 at 5 p.m. Offices open for filing that are un opposed include Davis-Gary- Moore-Moses and Dunn-Utay. With two positions open, no one from University' Married Housing has filed for office. In the senate contests that are closed, many posts are vacant or un contested. The write-in vote is the only hope left to those who had wanted to run. Those races unopposed or vacant are as follows: College of Agriculture — One graduate student has filed. Two pos itions are available. College of Education — Grad uate and junior candidates are un opposed while the sophomore and senior races are vacant. College of Engineering — One graduate post has been filed for with two available. College of Liberal Arts — the graduate race is uncontested. College of Science — One senior is unopposed and no graduate has filed. College of Veterinary Medicine — One candidate has filed with three positions available. In the Corps, one sophomore pos ition is uncontested. Only three people have filed with six posts available in the off campus graduate race. Those senate posi tions left vacant will be filled by nomination of the newly elected student body president and ap proved by the senate. By JIM CRAWLEY Staff Writer The Student Government Judi cial Board ruled the “selective en forcement policy” of the Election Commission to be “unjust and une quitable. ” The panel added that the members of the commission were not at fault but rather it “is the result of a rather slipshod system of pro ducing Rules and Regulations.” The board released the statement Monday night as the verdict in an election appeal of Mary Ellen Mar tin, sophomore candidate for SG vice president of rules and regula tions. The panel, lacking the required quorum of seven, because of family illness and recent resignations asked the parties assembled for Monday’s hearings if they would abide by their decisions. All agreed to comply. Chairman Sam Walser said he regretted the situation but that it was necessary to finish the business before the elections. The panel also reviewed the ap peals of two others disqualified by the Election Commission, in six hours of hearings Friday and Mon day. Both candidate’s appeals were upheld. The panel of students also de cided that the Commission has the power to disqualify a candidate. On Friday the board threw out the disqualification of Jim Bob Mickler, senior Yell Leader candi date. Mickler allegedly failed to properly file his application. In the five hour Monday session the board decided in favor of Austin Sterling, senior yell leader candi date. Sterling was accused of having more than the maximum of 32 square feet of sign area within a cer tain posting area. Martin’s case stemmed from ac cusations that she had placed post ers in violation of the election regu lations. Susan Warren, Election Com mission chairman, had disqualified Martin because she had placed dis plays on dorm doors without the oc cupants approval. Additionally, she had placed posters on water foun tains and trash cans in the Academic Building. Martin, running against Karla Mouritson and Duane Thompson, told the board that Warren had warned her of the violation (placing of posters on water fountains) and that they were removed before she went to remove them herself. Martin and her attorney, senior John Nash, pleaded that the glass covered bulletin boards in the Academic Bldg, are three separate boards and not one as Warren had contended. The Election Commission, rep resented by Gwen Flynt and War ren Russell, contended that Martin had been sufficiently warned and that the other violations were grounds for disqualification. The board questioned whether the commission had equally en forced the regulations. Barry Brooks, student vice presi dent for student services and member of the commission which holds all campus-wide elections, said that he and Warren looked into violations if someone complained. He added that this policy was taken because the only commission mem bers are he and Warren. Nash argued that the commission had failed to give his client warning of two of the violations and that no hearing was held. Flynt countered that the regula tions »o not require warnings or hearings concerning election viola tions. Nash told the panel that Martin was not the only candidate in viola tion of election rules concerning the number and manner in which post ers may be placed. Shannon Walker, board member, asked Brooks how many complaints they usually receive about a candi date before he would be disqual ified. Brooks answered, “Two or three, definitely more than one.’’ “At present, all the other candi dates have received no more than one complaint,” said Brooks. Nash asked Brooks, “Did you know that Jeff Dunn has violated the rules three times?” Brooks ans wered, no. At this point, Mike Perrin, judi cial board member, quizzed Brooks if he would disqualify a candidate if numerous complaints were re- Mary Ellen Martin ceived the night before the election. Brooks slowly replied, “It’s con ceivable. ” After this line of questioning and summations the board deliberated and decided in favor of Martin. The issue in the Sterling case cen tered around the use of two eight feet by four foot signs placed near Sbisa Dining Hall. The revised reg ulations state that the maximum sur face area of signs within a certain area is 32 square feet. Sterling had two eight by four signs across from Sbisa. The board decided that Warren had not given Sterling enough warn ing before disqualifying him. War ren contended that her notification of the violation to Sterling’s room mate was sufficient. The roommate, Tom Wilson, tes tified that he had explained to War ren early Friday evening that Sterl ing would be out of town until Sun day afternoon on a field trip. On his return, he tried to contact Warren but her phone was not connected, testified Sterling. The board, in a split 4-2 decision, favored Sterling and reinstated him in today’s election. Friday, the entire board of seven decided that Mickler should not be disqualified because his forms were not properly filled out. The case was punctuated by the involvement of former student Dale Foster. Earlier this year, Foster res igned from his Senate place after it was revealed that he was no longer an A&M student. Testimony indicated that Foster had told Mickler that “everything has been taken care of’ after Foster notified Mickler of his failure to sign and fill-out an information form. In reality, the forms were forged by someone. School race 14 per cent vote gives okay to Natowitz, Robeck Photo by David McCJarroIl International Student Dance Dilip Desai keeps Vickie Mendosa company while she collects money at the door to the International Students’ Dance. The dance was attended by foreign students, as well as more local people. A 14 per cent voter turnout Saturday elected Joe Natowitz and Bruce Robeck to positions on the A&M Consolidated School Board. Natowitz, an A&M chemistry professor, said Monday he had ex pected to win but was surprised by the size of his winning margin. In the four-way race for Position 7, Natowitz took 889 votes of the 1,666 cast in the election, for a 56.5 percentage. Aileen Wenck, a lecturer in A&M’s English Department, filed for the same position, and Natowitz said he was convinced she would hurt his campaign, since she sup ported many of the same issues as Natowitz. However, she managed to get only 98 votes, 6.18 per cent of the vote. Also competing for Position 7 were John Sandstedt, a local attor ney, and a TAMU professor of in dustrial engineering, James Hen- nigan. Hennigan received 243 votes, 15.32 per cent of the vote, while Sandstedt received 356 votes for 22.45 per cent. Thirty-five-year-old Bruce Robeck attributed his victory in the race for Position 6 to a broad base of support from the community. With 51.95 per cent of the vote, the A&M political science professor won a narrow victory over Cubby Manning, 53, a researcher with the Texas Transportation Institute, who took the remaining 48.05 per cent. Robeck had 853 votes to Manning’s 789. Robeck said he was not confident of victory but anticipated a close race. The false rumors of his atheism, he said, was no doubt a factor in the race. He couldn’t say whether the rumor hurt his cam paign or a backlash helped it. Robeck said one of his first efforts as a board member will be to re order some priorities in the district’s budget, emphasizing some of the creative arts such as music, drama, art and literature. The most immediate problem in the district, Natowitz said, is over crowding. He said the board will have to move quickly to find out what space is needed. A bond issue will have to be considered, he added. Photo by David McCarroll Nancy Donaldson, new president of the A&M Consolidated school board. Vote in campus elections. Polls close at 6.