‘ l )r( >ject(x,
Engine e;
()n - Centtij
' ra l Resoiif
Plant.
White House redesigned
By Holly Hutchison
group of A&M graduate architecture
jntsare redesigning the White House.
n dings|.nftissor Peter Zweig assigned his
Oceai pate design class a five-week bicen-
bildii, pi project of redesigning the Presi-
y applitjH Rome. It was not commissioned by
igton D.C.
members presented plans and
of the project yesterday,
gsaid the plans may be published in
ational magazines.
use of a laser field (generation ol
(magnetic waves) to prevent precipi-
a is included in the model and would
edom of movement in a natural
liuildii
in g >s
•liaracteiitj
think w e
'1 the enful
-'tices we
() other i
outdoor environment.
Air is drawn from below the lasers that
are on frames above the White House
buildings. The laser heats the air causing
movement, resulting in natural ventilation.
Freedom of movement, saving of energy
and environmental control would be ac
complished.
In this plan the old White House would
be torn down and the new buildings would
be in its place.
Professor James Fitch, a visiting centen
nial professor from Columbia University,
said, “At one level the idea is rational, yet
it’s also clinically mad and insane as far as
social acceptance goes.”
Fitch argued that to change the White
House image would be as though a foreign
country invaded our nation and changed
the White House image to demonstrate its
new authority.
Other teams chose to leave the White
House intact, either turning it into a
museum or using its available space for of
fices or living quarters for foreign dip
lomats. Fitch viewed this approach as the
most practical.
Several teams separated the President’s
house from the offices, increasing the
amount of privacy for the Presidential fam
ily. One team placed the President’s house
partly below ground level, connecting it to
the White House offices by a tunnel.
Two intersecting pyramids is another
White House proposal which would “pre
serve the old and revitalize the new” ac
cording to one of the teams . Glass would be
the main material used in the design. Fitch
warned of the “complicated phenomenon”
caused by glass because of the black,
somber effect that glass walls have at night.
Besides creating an area of privacy for
the President and his family, several teams
are concerned with using natural energy
sources such as the sun for radiant heating
and the wind for cooling.
Developing buildings which would allow
for flexibility and the preservation of the
landscape are other aims of the designers.
t Battalion
(Vol. 68 No. 95
I
College Station, Texas Thursday, Mar. 25, 1976
Senate discusses
Photo courtesy of Arthur Hahn
A NEW WHITE HOUSE
This is a model of a plan for a new White House
nursery, ticket policy
By RANDY DUSEK
and
[ LOUIS HEJTMANEK
light Texas A&M University mar
led students brought a handful of
jety reasons (youngsters) to last
,ht’s Student Senate meeting to
IJpshow the need for establishing a
jy Care Center.
HThe idea of instituting such a
center was presented to the senate
a concerned group of married
rodents who are facing the problem
of attending school and raising chil
dren at the same time.
M)ave Scarfe, chairman of the in-
piring group, said the center will be
open to children between the ages of
18 months and five years and whose
parents attend A&M.
|“The main goal of the program is to
e the children and parents by
lowing the parents to extend their
olastic activities and at the same
e provide a means of a quality
Ication for the children,” Scarfe
In attaining this goal, a three-
cnsional program will be estab-
icd in which the children will be
fit in the following ways: (1) It will
Jovide an environment that will in-
tyolve the manipulation of materials
[such as blocks and puzzles. Field
trips, art and music will also be used
to develop creativity and a good out-
jlook. (2 ) Instead of using many
Iteachers, the center will utilize one
Instructor for the youngsters to bet
ter identify with . (3 ) It is an attempt
to help the kids do their part in
strengthening family relations,
f The program will be under the di-
Irection of specialists in early child
hood education. Details are also
being worked out for the eventual
incorporation of the center into the
Educational Psychology Depart
ment of the College of Education.
It is also planned to introduce a
new concept of direct parental in
volvement and education, involving
suitable seminars, lectures and ac
tivities in the center.
In other business the senate voted
to let the students choose whether
they will revert to the old Aggie trad
ition of camping out to wait for foot
ball tickets or continue with the cur
rent policy of random allocation. The
students will get to vote on this in the
form of a referendum during the stu
dent government elections.
Senator Steve Burch stressed
numerous times that only 22,000 tic
kets would be available for students
and the Athletic Dept, is trying to
cut down on the illegal swapping of
ticket books by stamping them with
the student’s I.D. nunber. This will
minimize the use of stvident tickets
by non-students.
The classification of students will
be determined by the number of
hours they have completed or the
number of years they have been in
school ; using whichever will give a
higher classification.
They also approved a resolution
recommending to the Athletic Dept,
the relocation of the “consideration
section” which is designated for stu
dents who, because of some disabil
ity, can’t stand up during an entire
football game. At the present time
one vertical section of the upper
deck is set aside for these students.
Under the proposed resolution the
section would be relocated to run
horizontally between each end zone
including the first few rows of the
upper deck. The reason for this
change is that the people sitting on
the outside of the vertical section
can’t see over the people standing up
in adjacent sections.
Dr. Vergil G. Stover, professor of
Urban and Region Planning and
Chuck Fuhs, student at A&M , pre
sented a detailed study of bicycle
traffic and pathways in and around
the campus.
“Presently, there are 8,000 bikes
operating on campus totaling over
20,000 bicycle trips each day,” Fuhs
said.
During recent years, there have
been 37 bicycle-related accidents
and one fatality on campus.
“This shows the definite need for
increased bike pathways,” he said.
The majority of the bicycle traffic
comes from the North and South
sides of campus. These problem
areas will be the first to undergo
safety construction.
In the future, over seven miles of
inter-university bike routes at a cost
of $465,000 are to be constucted.
Stover said federal binding will be
sought but if not available, construc
tion will proceed at a retarded pace.
“Other routes are being planned
in the Bryan-College Station area
and will be determined by the loca
tion of the schools, students and
recreational facilities,” Stover said.
A resolution was passed by the se
nate to recommend that College Sta
tion adopt a ward system of electing
councilmen. The argument in favor,
of this resolution was that Texas
A&M would be made into one ward
therefore assuring there would, be
student representation on the Col
lege Station City Council. Senator
Steve Ingram countered that if the
students want a representative on
the city council they can vote for Jim
Crawley in the upcoming election.
The senate meeting was ad
journed during discussion of a bill
introduced by Donnie Payne to
place “none of the above” as a selec
tion on the ballot when electing the
president and vice-president of stu
dent government. All at once eight
senators left the room leaving less
than a quorum, thus business could
not be conducted and Speaker Fred
Me Clure was forced to adjourn the
meeting at 12:45 a.m.
Players seek
court injunction
Associated Press
DALLAS — An injunction has
been sought in federal court by sus
pended Texas A&M freshmen bas
ketball players Karl Godine and Jar
vis Williams in an attempt to be
come eligible for the 1976-1977
season. ‘
ruled Godine and Williams ineligi
ble for the next season because of
alleged recruiting violations. The
players were not allowed to partici
pate in the SWC’s post-season tour
nament in Dallas.
The injunction was filed in the
court of U.S. District Judge Patrick
Higginbotham, who earlier had
granted a temporary restraining
order allowing the two players to
finish the regular season.
The players are also sueing the
SWC, excluding Texas A&M, on a
charge of failing to grant them due
process at a Feb. 29 hearing because
it did not provide witnesses they
asked to appear.
HOUSES AND DUPLEXES ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY IN COLLEGE STATION
“Right now it’s a lot easier to buy than rent a house,” one local realtor says.
Housing becoming luxury in
By STEVE GRAY
and
SUZANNE DEATHERAGE
Right now, we’ve got only a couple of
|>lexes and houses for rent. They won’t
jjong.”
il’m getting at least five calls a day from
■>ple, usually students, wanting to know
•ere they can rent a house. There’s just
• much available.”
ITrhey’re going to have a helluva time
“^ing a place to live this fall.”
iThese statements by local realtors reflect
• sad truth that housing is fast becoming a
•ury in the Bryan-College Station area,
■ticularly for Texas A&M students. It is a
■tter of simple economics: demand far
peeds present supply and realtors here
i predicting that the situation won’t get
pch better for at least a couple more
fears.
Third of a four-
part series dealing
with the housing
situation for stu-
dents in Bryan-
College Station.
Jip?
Behind it all is the local (non-apartment)
building industry that has been unable to
effectively cope with College Station’s
rapid growth and overall development, not
to mention A&M’s 15 per cent annual
growth rate between 1970 and 1975.
Students are fighting a dog-eat-dog bat
tle for houses, duplexes and mobile homes
that are located close to the campus. They
take what they can get.
Students live off campus for a variety of
reasons, not the least of which is the shor
tage of on-campus housing. Others contend
it is cheaper to move into a house, duplex or
mobile home and split up the rent with two
or three other budget-minded roommates.
And, of course, there are those who can’t
stand the ear-splitting “crash” and sub
sequent “whoosh” of a toilet being flushed
on the floor above in a dormitory at 3 a.m.
Students are finding out that they are
spending more and more time searching for
a place to live. It’s becoming a major source
of worry for some.
According to figures from the College
Station planning department, about 11,000
private dwelling units will exist by the end
B-CS
of this year with the city’s population peak
ing at about 39,000.
That averages out to about 3.5 units per
person. According to the city’s projections,
if present trends continue, that figure
should drop to about 3.25 private units per
capita by 1978.
A major problem is that most students
have a fairly limited income and cannot
afford to rent an expensive home or duplex
in the newer subdivisions that are being
developed. As a result most are confined to
living in houses surrounding the campus, a
fair number of which are in need of renova
tion.
How can students find out what dup
lexes, houses or mobile homes are availa
ble?
Perhaps the best way, most realtors ag
ree, is by word-of-mouth from friends who
(See housing, page 5)
Students meet
to consider lobby
Student representatives from 100
schools across the nation will meet in Min
nesota today, possibly to organize a new
national student lobby.
The meeting, being held at the Univer
sity of Minnesota, is purely an organiza
tional one, according to Jeff Dunn, student
body president. “Basically all we will do at
this meeting is see if we are interested in
forming the organization and see if it’s
worthwhile,” Dunn said.
The University of Minnesota sent infor
mation to large schools last January stating
their interest in forming a national student
lobby organization for large universities. If
formed, membership to the association will
be restricted to large state and land grant
schools.
“The reason for this,” Dunn said, “is that
larger schools have special problems all of
their own which are different from prob
lems of small schools. As a lobbying force
we would be more effective if we had input
just from larger schools.”
The organization, which as yet has no
name, will act as an alternative to the Na
tional Student Association (NSA) and the
National Student Lobby (NSL), both of
which serve as campus lobby groups.
Dunn said that A&M is a member of NSL
which is comprised of both small and large
universities. He added that A&M is not,
however, a member of NSA, also open to all
universities, for they often choose to take
sides on issues that do not affect students
directly, such as civil rights, busing, war in
Vietnam, and Medicare.
If formed, he feels this new organization
will lobby only for issues that affect the
nation’s students directly as students.
Dunn said that this weekend student
representatives will probably compose a
constitution, and decide on rules, proce
dures, goals, and possibly a name should
they decide to form the organization. “The
University of Minnesota has outlined a tew
issues that the association may want to take
a stand on. We may also discuss a few of
these,” Dunn said.
He also said that he feels the organization
sounds like something that can help the
student body at A&M. He said that A&M
along with other Texas schools has been
only moderately involved in the national
scene.
“We’re not too close to the action in
Washington, D.C.,” he said. “And we
don’t hav the exorbitant budget to fly
around the nation all the time, either.” He
said the new organization will have broad
contacts with member schools, and he feels
this well help our student government to
be more active on the national level.
Rajesh Kent, vice president of academic
affairs; Stan Stanfield, an A&M student;
and Dunn will attend the meeting.—
LeAnn Roby
Candidates
favor street
improvement
By RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN
Both candidates for the Place 4 position
on the College Station City Council favor
plans for improving the streets and utilities
of the city.
Incumbent Jim Gardner, 55, of 1216 N.
Richfield, is being challenged by Clinton
Robison, 34, who lives at 1101 Southwest
Parkway.
Gardner is a Professor of Urban and Reg
ional Planning at Texas A&M. He received
a B.Arch. degree from the University of
The College Station City Council
will meet at 7 tonight in city hall.
Southern California and earned his Masters
degree in city planning from MIT.
Gardner said that in the two years that he
has been on the council much progress has
been made, but that there are still some
areas which the council has neglected.
A Comprehensive Development Plan for
the city is one of the goals Gardner hopes to
attain if he is re-elected in the April 3 elec
tion. This plan would give the city a sense of
direction for its future, something he says it
has been lacking in the past.
“It is important and quite critical to come
up with a Capital Development Program,”
Gardner said. “This would give College St-
tion security for its utility supply in the
future.” He added that if it were necessary
to discontinue utility service from Bryan
that the Bryan citizens would understand
the situation.
“I am also concerned with the quality of
housing being built in College Station. I’m
afraid that some of this housing may not
stand the test of time.” Gardner also said
that he would like for the population de
nsity to be lowered in some areas.
Robison attended Paul Quinn College in
Waco and now teaches Auto Mechanics for
the Bryan Independent School District.
He attends Blinn College at night where he
is studying business law and attends A&M
during the summer.
Robison has been on the Mayor’s Com
mittee for three years. The committee is
made up of citizens who work with the
communities around College Station.
Robison said he would like the Council to
work for all the citizens than for just a few.
“There are a lot of things the present City
Council has overlooked, such as streets.
sewage, street lights and water pressure,”
Robison said.
Robison has lived in College Station
most of his life, and says some things have
Look for a special section
next week on the school board
and city council elections.
not changed since he was a youth. “Some
things take time, but not a lifetime” was his
criticism of the present Council.
Robison accused the council members of
being out of touch with the citizens of Col
lege Station. “They should go out into the
community to see what the people need.
Some of the councilmen have never been in
the community.”
Improvement of the streets and the gen
eral condition of the city is the goal Robison
has for the City Council if he is elected.
“We need to get people interested in bring
ing the city up to standards and making it a
better place to live.”
Index
The Traffic Panel yesterday rec
ommended that a high-rise parking
facility should be studied as a pos
sible solution to parking problems.
Page 6.
Women managers aid A&M
track team. Page 8.
Aggie baseball team beat Min
nesota 5-2. Page 9.
The agriculture buildings are the
most distinctive architecture on
campus. Page 4.
Texas Student Association will
consider sponsoring Willie Nel
son’s Fourth of July picnic. Page 5.
THE FORECAST for Thurs
day and Friday is continued
mosdy cloudy and mild with a
20 per cent chance of rain. The
high today 74; low tonight 69;
high Friday 78.