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€bt Battalion
Inside
Listen Up P-2
Astros Split P-7
Ags meet T.U p.8
Vol. 68 No. 110
College Station, Texas
Thursday, April 24, 1975
Athletic user fee proposal
SG, Athletic Dept, to renegotiate
By JIM CRAWLEY
Staff Writer
Student Government and the
Athletic Department locked horns
last night over a suddenly proposed
increase in the planned football tic
ket user fee.
The result; The whole issue was
placed “in limbo after a two hour
conference between SG leaders and
Athletic Department adminis
trators.
Dr. John Koldus, vice-president
for Student Services, told The Bat
talion that the proposed increase
had not gone through the usual
budget channels. Koldus added that
he was not informed of the proposed
implementation until Wednesday
morning.
The increase was set up as fol
lows:
Student Service fees would no
longer be used to finance the foot
ball and basketball programs. In
stead, students wanting to attend
the five home games would buy a
season ticket for $17.50. This is half
the regular price. Season ticket
buyers would receive priority in the
distribution of the tickets on a
seniority basis.
an individual wanted to go to
just one or two Yiome games Vie
would pay $7 per ticket. This figure
was revised downward to five dol
lars after further discussion with SG
\eaders.
Football season pass holders
would also be admitted free of
charge to basketball games. Others
would purchase the tickets at half-
price.
The plan also called for a spouse
or date package. The package cost
ing $25 would entitle wives and
dates to attend games at discount.
Mavvvw Tate
Students were to receive the not
ice outlining the planned increase
while they preregistered this week.
The user fee would then be col
lected with tuition and other fees.
Because of a misunderstanding be
tween Dr. Jack Williams, SG and
the Athletic Dept., season tickets
for football were to be offered stu
dents at the higher price. This was
$7 50 above the SG approved user
fee of $10. The plan was approved
by Williams Tuesday after he was
informed that the SG Executive
Committee had endorsed the in
crease.
“We were led to believe that cer
tain student leaders had had an op
portunity to look at this,” said Mar
vin Tate, assistant athletic director.
“We were not trying to pull the wool
over anyone’s eyes,’ said Tate while
explaining what he termed as a
“misunderstanding” between SG
and the Athletic Department.
Bob Shokes, student member of
the Athletic Council, said that he
had talked to Jeff Dunn, Raj Kent
and Steve Eberhard. Dunn is SG
president, Kent is vice president of
academic affairs and Eberhard is
past SG president.
Kent said he had not endorsed
the plan and had only thought it was
a proposal. “We just said the pro
posal was too high. The proposal by
the department was originally $25. ”
Earlier in the day, Williams told
SG Radio, “We have to meet the
Athletic Department budget some
how.” Williams explained the
necessity for the sudden an
nouncement and implementation as
“They had to make it early enough
for students to buy them.”
Williams further blamed the in
creases in the budget on the inclu
sion of women athletics and the
Health, Education and Welfare De
partment’s Title 9 regulations con
cerning sex discrimination.
One of the main complaints cited
by the senate was the individual tic
ket price of $7 for students. Joe
Marcello, Graduate Student Coun
cil president said that visiting stu
dent fans would pay less than A&M
students. He added that he could go
to an away game for only $3.50 but
that a local game could cost $7.
Aggie Players Present “Godspell”
“Godspell” is the Aggie Players current production, opening tonight. The play is a modern interpretation of
the Bible, centered on the ideas of love and life.
Mid-east debate
Photo by Jack Holm
Conflict history discussed
By JERRY GEARY
Campus Editor
At last night’s Political Forum, Is
raeli Ambassador Benjamin Varon
and Joseph Hayeck, president of the
International Arab Federation, cen
tered their debate over the past his
tory of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Varon said that Palestinians had
only recently become a people
while Israel has been inhabited by
Jews throughout the ages.
In 1947, the League of nations
recognized the historic trend of the
Jewish people in Palestine. Varon
also pointed out that the Palesti
nians could have achieved indepen
dence through the United Nations
but had refused.
Varon also said Israel was a shame
to the Arabs and while the Palesti
nian Liberation Organization wants
to establish a separate state on the
west bank of Israel, this would not
stop their goal of entire liberation of
Israel and Jordon.
“The Arabs are only satisfied withi
extinguishing Israel,” said Varon.
Attacking Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger’s past attempts at
peace negotiations, Varon said;
“With all his prestige and bril
liance, Dr. Kissinger has yet to win
a single war and a single peace, yet
he won a Nobel Prize for a war you
see in the papers everyday.”
Citing the violence of the Palesti
nian guerillas, Varon said many
Palestinian refugees were placed in
cariips in 1947 and that the seeds of
hate for Israelis by guerillas were
planted in these camps.
Joseph Hayeck attacked the Is
raelis as fighting a people that don’t
exist, referring to former Prime
Minister Golda Meier’s remarks
that “Palestinians don’t exist.”
Hayeck said for either side to ig
nore the existence of the other
should only bring more bloodshed.
The Middle East is a dilemma
that demands a solution, a durable
and just solution, before it plunges
Wally Groff
The eleventh-hour meeting was
originally called for the purpose of
writing a press release by the de
partment and the SG.
Dunn stated that SG “doesn’t
want an underfunded Athletic De
partment. We just want to know
where the money is going.”
Another complaint of the Senate
was that game attendance is man
datory for the Corps and that they
have to march in. Wally Groff, assis
tant athletic director, replied, “An
easy solution is to have the Corps
march in and then out of Kyle
Field. ”
During the discussion with SG
leaders Wednesday night, Groff
said the increase was figured to
draw 10,000 students to each home
game. Curt Marsh, past vice presi
dent of finance and the author of the
Senate’s original ticket proposal,
said his figures indicated an esti
mated attendance of 12-14 thousand
per game under the Senate’s plan.
Koldus said that he and Tate
would attempt to meet with Wil
liams this morning and discuss the
present situation. Dunn added that
he and other SG leaders would like
to see Williams take the role as
mediator between the students and
the Athletic Department.
“I would like to pursue a personal
discussion with the president, ” said
Koldus.
According to Shokes, the Athletic
Council, the governing board of the
department, had approved the in
crease on Monday. He said the orig
inal proposal was for a $25 season
ticket.
SG unanimously votes
athletic ticket boycott
By DON MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
At its unofficial first meeting
Wednesday night, the student se
nate voiced unanimous approval of a
student boycott of an Athletic De
partment decision requiring stu-
The action taken at the Student
Senate “meeting” preceded the
events leading to the decision to re
negotiate the ticket controversy.
dents desiring season football tick
ets to pay a $17.50 user fee during
the pre-registration period.
In compliance with a Judicial
Board decision, the Senate took no
official action on the decision, con
ducting only a straw vote on the
issue to determine the general feel
ing of the senators.
Rajesh Kent, vice-president for
academic affairs, stated that the Ath
letic Department had decided on
the $17.50 user fee and $7.00 per
game ticket price after the 74-75
Senate had approved a $10.00 fee
with a $3.50 per game price, but had
not informed the public of the
change until Wednesday morning.
Kent called for the boycott due to
the price hike and the fact that stu
dents have not been given sufficient
warning or information on the deci
sion.
“We feel the $17.50 season ticket
is a rip-off,” Kent told the senators,
“and we want to know why the deci
sion was made without further stu
dent input.”
Sandy Hood, graduate senator
Coordinating Board
bill moves ahead
(AP) — A Senate committee ap
proved Wednesday a bill that would
increase the powers of the College
Coordinating Board even though
the measure had two amendments
defeated earlier this week.
Several members of the State Af
fairs Committee expressed disap
proval that the bill, sponsored by
Sen. Oscar Mauzy, D-Dallas, would
be brought with the amendments
turned down by the committee
Monday.
Sen. A. M. Aikin, D-Paris, said.
What I don t like are amendments
being disapproved by the commit
tee and then seeing the same
amendments come out of subcom
mittee.”
The measure, approved by the
committee 9-4, allows the board to
make recommendations to the legis
lature on maximum enrollments in
state-supported colleges.
The schools are also prohibited
under the bill from offering courses
for credit outside the county where
the principal campus is located
without prior approval of the board.
Institutions are also required to
obtain the board’s approval for cer
tain new construction projects.
mankind into a holocaust,” said
Hayeck.
Hayeck blamed Zionist forces for
distorting information in the United
States and for generally beginning
the Middle East conflict.
Attacking Varon’s comments on
Palestinian guerilla violence,
Hayeck blamed Jewish terrorist or
ganizations for killing hundreds of
innocent Palestinians in 1948.
He claimed the Palestinian prob
lem was the story of a people who
have lived in their homes and coun
try peacably for 1300 years. Then, a
people from across the seas dis
lodged them and claimed these pos
sessions as their own.
Mideast Debate
Israeli Ambassador Benjamin Varon (at lectern)
argues the Mideast problem with International
Arab Association President Joseph Hayeck.
j Photo by Jack Holm
from the College of Education,
stated that “the Athletic Depart
ment did not consult Dr. Koldus
(University vice-president for Stu
dent Services) or the Student Gov
ernment. They went straight to Dr.
Williams and ignored all the correct
channels of communications. ”
Joe Marcello, graduate senator
from the College of Science and
president of the Graduate Student
Council, told the senate that the
GSC was also opposed to the Athle
tic Department’s action.
“We (GSC) agreed unanimously
to tell the Athletic Department that
we will not pay one cent more than
what the Student Senate originally
approved,” Marcello said. “We re
the ones who should decide where
our money is spent and no one
else.”
The senate agreed to support the
boycott until an agreement could be
reached with the Athletic Depart
ment that would be more accepta
ble to the student body.
In other action student body pres
ident Jeff Dunn informed the senate
of his intention to nominate Mary
Ellen Martin as senate executive di
rector at the next meeting.
“I believe she has shown
throughout the past year that she is
competent in the area of student
government and will do the best job
next year,” Dunn said.
Other applicants for the job were
Allison King and Karla Mouritsen.
Dunn also introduced the five
vice-presidents who outlined their
committee structure and briefed
4he senators on proposed projects
for the coming year.
Jerri Ward, vice-president for ex
ternal affairs, cited increased stu
dent involvement in city affairs and
research into federal and state legis
lation concerning education as
major priorities.
Vice-president of Finance Bill
Flores proposed establishment of a
Student Business Council to inves
tigate student fee increases and
provide input to the administration
concerning student feeling on such
increases.
In the area of student services.
Vice President Troie Pruett out
lined a program including a market
survey to determine the feasibility
of a Food Co-op, a recycling center
and research into health and prop
erty insurance.
Kent stressed the need for expan
sion of the professor evaluation pro
gram, a departmental program
evaluation and close examination of
the university “Q” drop policy.
Duane Thompson, vice-
president for rules and regulations,
called for revision of the Student
Body Constitution, senate by-laws,
university “Blue Book” and election
regulations.