Basketball stars declared ineligible
By TONY GALLUCCI
I and PAUL McGRATH
Battalion StafT Writers
/ een tUBpingfurther clarification by the con-
closinjE student athletes Karl Gtxline and
nA&M’ifc Williams of Texas A&M University
'g list, Hifcclared ineligible for further coinpeti-
Uhel infisketball for the remainder of the
20 pointiM’
J statement was issued yesterday
ing by Southwest Conference (SWC)
hree
up wild
Carl Gi
Willi,
tction
i' TCU
Baylor,
Loni
lent Kenneth Harrick. It followed a
specially-called Sunday meeting in Dallas
of conference officials. It is the only official
pronouncement in the disclosure of alleged
wrongdoing by the two Aggie freshmen
basketball players.
There is speculation that recruiting vio
lations were involved in the case of the pair.
However, as of this morning, conference
officials had made no clarification. Both
Godine and Williams attended Houston
Kashmere High School last year. A&M of
ficials could make no comment as they are
Karl Godine
Jarvis Williams
bound by a “gag rule” imposed by the con
ference.
A&M’s official response camfe late yes
terday when Dr. Charles Sampson Jr.,
chairman of the A&M Athletic Council,
served a notice of appeal to the conference.
The SWC member representatives must
now meet to discuss the Aggies’ response.
Of immediate concern to the team,
which leads the SWC standings, is the pos
sible forfeiture of past games. Conference
spokesman Bill Morgan said that during the
Sunday meeting “forfeitures were not even
discussed.”
Media speculation about the type of vio
lations was triggered by a release by the
Houston News Service yesterday.
The story, written by Dennis Tardan,
said that the players were driving 1976
cars. Tardan also said the two got special
privileges such as being allowed to drive to
Houston for the Bluebonnet Classic while
other team members were forced to ride on
the team bus.
A&M Athletic Director Emory Bellard
said Williams drives a 1974 Cutlass and
Godine drives a 1975 Camaro.
The news service statement continued:
“Two Southwest Conference recruiters
were told (last year) by ex-Kashmere head
coach Weldon Drew that the team that gets
Godine and Williams will have to come up
with some cars and some cash. ”
Drew, contacted by The Battalion at
New Mexico State where he is now an assis
tant coach, flatly said, “That is a lie. ”
“As far as I m concerned there were no
illegal tactics used. They were recruited in
the manner that they should have been, ”
Drew said.
Drew said that heavy recruiting of the
pair made it inevitable that such rumors
would surface. He said he had told the pair
that anywhere they went they would be
investigated.
The Dallas Times-Herald said in a story
yesterday that Godine and Williams were
asked to take lie detector tests on Friday by
SWC investigators. Godine confirmed the
story.
Although no official announcement was
made, Godine and Williams apparently
were investigated earlier in the season. At
that time they also apparently took a lie
detector test. Conference sources reported
that the two passed with “flying colors.”
Dr. Sampson said he could not comment
on any aspect of the investigation.
One SWC official told the Associated
Press that no criminal acts are involved.
Williams and Godine have both started
for the Aggies during the conference sea
son. The 6-foot-2 Godine is averaging 13
points per game and 2.7 rebounds. Wil
liams, a 6-foot-6 forward, is averaging 7.7
points per game and 5.4 rebounds.
★★★
Godine hit seven of eight shots in the
second half of A&M’s televised bout with
Texas Tech Saturday to spark the Aggies to
a 73-64 win and the conference lead. The
Ags have compiled a 10-2 SWC record and
are 17-5 overall.
The squad has been cut to seven scholar
ship players. Seniors Barry Davis, Sonny
Parker, Ray Roberts and Gates Erwin re
main. Also junior Steve Jones, and
freshmen Wally Swanson and Joey Robin
son are still playing. Junior walk-on Kevin
Jones may see more action and former
junior varsity player Brian Barrett has been
asked to accompany the team.
The starting lineup is currently up in the
air, although Cates Erwin and Wally Swan
son have been the chief substitutes for
Godine and Williams.
★★★
he Battalion
Aggies to file suit
to retain eligibility
, it wets I
68 No 76
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1976
of dnf
stroytk I
INDEX
old Cze.:||
f Voter registration deadline nears
|city and school elections are ap-
kching. Page 3
sSCONA ended Saturday and
ers say SCONA 21 brought little
lussion. Page 5
President Jack Williams made the
State of the University address to
pembers of the Association of
mer Students. Page 5
Reader’s Forum, a new feature,
j^ns today. Page 2
ockheed Aircraft may lose its
nadian contract for $1.3 billion
iause of financial problems. Page
fhe Aggie basketball faces UH
Dnight without Karl Godine and
ds Williams. PageS
Aggie swimmers do well in
skend competition. Page 6
[HE FORECAST for Tues-
jy and Wednesday is consider-
je morning cloudiness becom-
partly cloudy in the after-
jons. The high both days,
:r 70’s; tonight’s low, 55.
■ed siiKfl
Eraley
Coaclil
lay.
viil deltl
1 Sara Hi
Nibble, nibble
Kevin Venner
What is it, an experimental lawnmower? No, it’s
Moonshadow, a guest at A&M. Moonshadow is
staying with Brent Thorpe of Legett Hall. Let’s
hope Sbisa doesn’t catch the cute little critter.
chool Board meets
Suggests school bond issue
hestkl
| Moss® cjtj zen ’s advisory Committee re-
" njl1 npended a $6.43 million bond issue to
AkM Consolidated School Board last
;S into If
in sq h Board will consider the committee’s
ughopffrt in preparation for a potential bond
r)lin Bif jpn later this spring.
committee recommended that a
containing grades five and six be
JJfed in the old middle school building at
1(11)0 Jersey St.
projected cost of renovations, site
ements and equipment for the old
P lBle school building is $1,785,600.
■e committee also recommended
ing $1,545,600 for a new vocational
y^ilmg at A&M Consolidated High
Expansion of physical education
facilities, cafeteria expansion, a service
drive, correction of existing building prob
lems and other equipment at the high
school would total $835,600, according to
the committee Suggestions.
The committee advised the school board
that $774,900 is needed at College Hills
Elementary School and $710,000 at South
Knoll Elementary School for additional
classrooms and improvements.
An expenditure of $396,500 was also
suggested by the committee for building
and salvage work on maintenance facilities
in the district.
The committee advised the board to
begin studying the possibility of acquiring
property for future building sites.
Committee chairman Alvin Jones said
the committee did not recommend using
any funds from the forthcotning bond elec
tion for land acquisition.
The Professional Consultation Commit
tee of the College Station Education As
sociation (CSEA) presented the board with
a statement of needs as seen by the teachers
in the district.
The consultation committee’s percep
tion of school needs was included in the
advisory committee’s information used to
calculate the recommended building prog
ram.
Betty LeBlanc, chairman of the consulta
tion committee, said the need for a voca
tional building has been evident since the
high school opened.
the
A field house was also needed for
high school, LeBlanc said.
She said currently there are no facilities
for girls’ athletics in the high school.
The athletic teams are now using the
high school s physical education classrooms
and lockers.
LeBlanc said with the addition of a field
house, overcrowding in the physical educa
tion facilities would be eliminated.
LeBlanc said the teachers also felt there
was a need for general improvement at the
Middle School, including drainage, light
ing, ventilation and security.
Additional classroom space and expan
sion of the library and caf eteria are needed
at the Middle School, LeBlanc said.
Associated Press
Texas A&M was ready to file suit for an
injunction today, a lawyer said, to keep two
of the school’s freshman basketball stars
from being declared ineligible by the
Southwest Conference.
He asserted the league ruling Monday
against the players — Karl Godine and Jar
vis Williams — “was made on hearsay and
erroneous information” that failed to sub
stantiate charges of recruiting violations on
which they were cited.
The Aggies already had appealed the
matter officially to the conference. Texas
A&M faculty representative Charles Sam
son Jr. served notice of the appeal late
Monday afternoon, a few hours after the
SWC office in Dallas disclosed the two
players had been held ineligible for the rest
of the current season.
Lawyer Hugh M. Smith told the Corpus
Christi Caller-Times from his Dallas office,
where he worked on the case past mid
night, he would file the injunction suit on
behalf of Godine and Williams during the
day in state district court.
After asserting the ineligibility ruling
was based “on hearsay and erroneous evi
dence,” Smith added, “No one has even
advised us of the charges against them. The
Southwest Conference has not informed
me of the charges against them and has
refused to divulge any charges. ”
The lawyer said the hearsay to which he
referred was contained in a report on an
independent investigation performed for
the conference and submitted to Smith Jan.
2. He said this report grew out of allega
tions made against the two players and it
did not back up the charges.
Smith said the independent inves
tigators looked into charges that:
— Each of the two A&M players re
ceived a new automobile.
— These cars probably were registered
in the name of a “Coach Boyd,” which the
lawyer said he understood is the name of a
junior high school coach in Houston.
— The two players received bonuses
placed by speculation as high as $6,000.
— Mothers of the pair received electric
washing machines and dryers.
— The two freshmen were furnished
jobs in which they were paid well above the
normal amounts which would have gone to
other employes in those jobs.
Smith said the report further stated that
the automobiles in question were purch
ased by the parents of the players and pay
ments were being made by members of
each family; that Williams’ mother, Mae
Frances Williams, has a washer and dryer
which she bought at a department store,
while the Godines have neither a washer
nor a dryer and that the two athletes had
received no bonuses or anything of value.
Smith said, “I was told by a committee of
three people affiliated with the Southwest
Athletic Conference that unless they,
Godine and Williams submitted to a polyg
raph examination, the conference probably
would rule against them.”
This led the players to undergo polyg
raph examination Friday, he said.
“On one of the tests,’ Smith continued,
“there were no discrepancies but on the
other test there were some. I was then
permitted to appear before Southwest Con
ference officials, and Dr. Ken Herrick of
Texas Christian University, who is the con
ference president said I had 20 minutes to
review the results of the polygraph tests. ”
There was a precedent for the A&M
players’ court move last season, when
Southern Methodist L T niversity football
player was declared ineligible by the Na
tional Collegiate Athletic Association. He
still played several games, however, after a
state court in Dallas issued a temporary
restraining order against the NCAA.
Faculty representatives of the confer
ence acted against the Texas A&M players
after a meeting Sunday at the Dallas-Fort
Worth Airport.
CS Council
finds problem
in amendment
The College Station City Council in a
special meeting yesterday sent a proposed
city charter amendment back to the Char
ter Revision Commission.
A referendum planned in conjunction
with the city elections on April 3 asks Col
lege Station voters to choose from three
systems of electing councilmen: the at-
large system, the ward system or the com
bination ward-at-large system.
Councilman Larry Bravenec said a prob
lem arose which will not allow the amend
ment to be placed on the ballot as planned.
Bravenec said that according to Texas
law, voters must vote yes or no on every
proposition on the ballot. The way the elec
tion had been planned, if voters decided to
retain the at-large system, the two other
items on the ballot would not need to be
answered.
The council submitted several sugges
tions to the Charter Revision Commission
on how to rework the proposed amend
ment so a referendum can be held in April.
Time is also becoming a major considera
tion, Bravenec said. The council must
submit the ballot to state officials and to the
voters at least 30 days prior to election day.
This leaves two weeks for the Charter Revi
sion Commission and the council to take
action.
The council also added the place 3 vac
ancy to the April ballot. The vacancy was
created by the resignation of Councilman
Bob Bell, effective March 31. Bell has an
nounced his candidacy for mayor.
Three other councilmen positions are up
for election on the April ballot (places 2, 4
and 6).
tllasft
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iaf
Politics seen through
eyes of second graders
By PAUL ARNETT
and
CAROL MEYER
Another election year is upon us
tte fl md the second graders of College
[scasl* 1 -Jills and South Knoll Elementary
chools already have a favorite in
ind. President Ford is the unanim-
|us choice, with Ronald Reagan
finishing second.
1 None of the children knows any of
[the individual^ running on the
)emocratic
ticket.
“1968, that’s when I was born,”
vas the response of one boy when
old that Hubert Humphrey, a pos
able candidate for this year’s elec-
ion, had run against then-President
lichard Nixon in 1968. Local politics
eemed to interest the children the
east. Very few of them knew that
Dolph Briscoe is the governor of
Texas. A girl responded to the ques-
:ion with, “Isn’t George Washington
he governor?” Other answers
anged from God to Abraham Lin
coln.
Teachers Cherry Burnett of South
Knoll and Julie Click of College Hills
ippeared to have done an excellent
job teaching their students about
American history and its govern
ment. All the students had a strong
feeling, of nationalism.
“My favorite thing about America
is the flag because it’s cute,” one girl
said.
Another added, “I like the presi
dent, the police and electricity.”
There were varied replies to the
question of who runs the country.
Some responses were God, Jesus,
firemen and the police.
When asked about the President
of the United States, a quick “I hate
him rose from a boy in the crowd.
That boy changed his mind when he
found out that Ford was the Presi
dent, not Nixon.
The Pledge of Allegiance is an
everyday occurrence for second
graders. Parents often wonder if the
children know exactly what they are
saying.
“I pledge my allegiance to God
and to the flag,” was one girl’s ans
wer.
Another said, “I pledge my
(See Children, page 3)
al-
Early views remain
In high school, Chuck is president
of the student council, vice-
president of his class, and once
helped campaign for the senator
from his hometown.
Most people would say Chuck dis
plays the first signs of an interest in
politics. However, a pair of resear
chers maintain that this interest ac
tually was kindled in elementary
school, where a child begins for
mulating his political attitudes and
values.
“Early impressions acquired in
childhood are likely to change much
more slowly than those developed
through later experience, especially
in maturity,” say David Easton and
Robert D. Hess.
Their study of more than 12,000
elementary school children is related
in their essay, “The Child’s Political
World.”
The Easton and Hess findings cor
relate with the attitudes of second
graders whom The Battalion talked
with at South Knoll and College Hills
Elementary Schools in College Sta
tion.
For example, the children realize,
as Easton and Hess learned, that
“they are different from other mem
bers of a society.” One boy in The
Battalion’s interview said he was glad
all the children didn’t have to wear
(See Growing, page 3)
I like the President, the Police, and Electricity’
J