Page 2
THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, APR. 6, 1976
Over the wall
"D Hof. r ori ] j ^ # Don’t be bested by a tricky piece of paper;
^ y t-X • there’s a chance to correct your mistake
i
By JIM PETERS
I is a ignorant voter.
Somehow, though, I guess I
should feel proud. They used to
chase many non-white voters away
by giving them literacy tests and
charging them a poll tax. Now voting
is open to all—even us dumb whites.
This past weekend in College Sta
tion, there were some important
municipal and school district elec
tions. One proposition asked
whether voters wanted to change to
a ward system for elections or stay
with the at-large method we have
now. It was an easy decision, or so it
seemed.
The ward system would be an ill-
conceived disaster for a town the size
of College Station. It smacks of big
cities and their corrupt ward politics.
The continual redistricting problem
would likely end up as a partisan
political tool.
Good representation would suf
fer. Ten of the twenty-two school
board and council candidates this
year resided in Precinct 8, one of six
in the city. Four of the seven mem
bers of the new council live in Pre
cinct 24. If they wanted to run for the
council again after their terms expire
several would have to move to
another ward to do so. Either an ex
perienced councilman or his home
would necessarily be lost—it’s fairly
obvious which one would.
As advocates of the ward system
noted, a student on the council
would be assured when the campus
became a ward. Quite an undeserv
ing reward, considering that not
quite eight per cent of those regis
tered on campus voted in Saturday’s
municipal elections.
Anyway, I was dead solid against
the ward system. Six of the seven
councilmen and nine of the eleven
council candidates also refused to
support it. The only councilman who
favored it said he was doing so be
cause it would guarantee that stu
dents would never “take over” the
council. A random city-wide survey
conducted by council candidate Jim
Crawley indicated that 75 per cent
were opposed to the ward system.
The Charter Revision Committee,
which recommended that the ward
system be placed on the ballot.
didn’t even support it. Most commit
tee members favored a combination
ward and at-large system, but the
ward proposal was submitted to the
voters, several members said, be
cause “it was sure to lose and that
way we can come up with a better
system next year.” It was to be a
sacrificial lamb, but it backfired.
Local newspapers wrote stories on
the proposal and urged in editorials
that it be defeated. I even joined in
and wrote a couple of editorials
against it.
Yep, I had done my duty educat
ing. The only thing left to do was to
exercise my individual right and
vote. I figured it would be easy
enough. After all, there were only
two choices, “for,” and “against.”
The first clause simply said: “The
Mayor and other members of the
City Council shall be elected from
the city at-large.” The rest of the
proposition was a long discourse on
how the ward system would work,
200-plus rambling words which I had
read time and time again. Yep, that
first sentence said enough; that’s
what I want. I’ll just take that do-
Che Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or
of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the
university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal
ion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by stu
dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial
policy is determined by the editor.
Editorial assistant Will Anderson
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are
subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial
staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran
tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the
address of the wi'iter and list a telephone number for verifica
tion
Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room
217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New
York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full
year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request.
Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station,
Texas 77843.
Mail subscriptions are $5.00 per semester; $9.50 per school year; $10.50 per full
year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request.
Address: The. Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station,
Texas 77843.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news
dispatched credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of
spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of reproduction of all other matter
herein are also reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
Acting Editor Roxie Hearn
News Editor T. C. Gallucci
City Editor Jim Peters
Contributing Editors Sandy Russo, Steve Gray
Sports Editor Paul McGrath
Photo Director Douglas Winship
Staff Writers
Carolyn Blosser, Ray Daniels, Pat Edmondson, Tony Gallucci, Lee Roy Les-
chper, Jerry Needham.
j$j®
• •••••
• ••••••••••••••••
»••••••
CATCH
IPOCO
live:!
NOW AVAILABLE IN COLLEGE STATION
PASSPORT PHOTOS IN
LIVING COLOR — INSTANTLY
UNIVERSITY STUDIO
115 College Main • Northgate • 846-8019
• ••••••••••
On Epic Records and Tapes m
<S> “EPIC." MARCA REG. © 1976 CBS INC.
S K: A.T 13NTG-
oisrx-rsr
every TUESDAY
7:00-9:00 PM
we feature:
Roller Skating
Bumper Cars
Miniature Golf
Shooting Gallery
Game Machines
Photographs
Concessions
Pooh’s Park
846-5737
846-5736
Across from College Station water
tower on Hwy. 6
SALE
SPECIAL SELECTION
ONE WEEK ONLY
ahspli’s
707
TEXAS
846-9626
;c> VALUABLE COUPON O
How does your hair look today?
TRY THIS
KENNETH
Hairstyling Salon
Good through Saturday, April 10
Ramada Inn
OFF
Wash, Cut & Blow Dry
410 S. Texas
College Station
846-1441
Q CLIP AND SAVE Q.
jimmy and punch that “for” box on
the ballot. Done.
After the polls closed, I went to
Election Central in Bryan to watch
the returns come in. When the final
vote on the charter revision proposi
tion came in, and it was determined
that the ward system had squeaked
into our electoral process by 29 vot
es, most candidates and poll-
watchers were shocked. One
dumbfounded city official attributed
its surprising passage to voter confu
sion over the ballot. He said he had
to read it several times in advance to
figure it out.
When I checked the ballot to see
what he meant it struck me—I too
had voted for the ward system.
There, buried in the fourth line, was
the important line: “Be amended
and repealed so as to hereafter
read...” Damn, pass me the literacy
exam.
Of the 3,067 persons who voted in
the city elections, only 2,351 actually
voted on the referendum. Appa
rently, the others were either con
fused by the proposition or over
looked it.
Later, in loosely canvassing other
at-large “supporters,” some
sheepishly admitted similiar errors.
The daughter of Mayor-elect Larry
Bravenec said both she and her hus
band had erroneously voted for the
ward system. If only 15 such misun
derstandings had been reversed, the
outcome similiarly would have been
reversed. And I was one of them.
Justice is blind, but also deaf...and
dumb.
A committee has been established
by the City Council to study the re
cent city charter referendum. If you
voted on the proposition and erred
in your choice because of confusion
over the ballot. The Battalion would
appreciate your filling out the sam
ple ballot (shown at right), circling
your corrected vote.
Bring your completed ballot to
The Battalion office, or mail to: City
Editor, The Battalion, Reed
McDonald Bldg., Campus. Results
of this straw poll will be turned over
to the special council committee.
Sun Theaters
333 University 846-1
The only movies in town.
Special Midnight Shows Friday A Saturday $2.00 par parson
No one under 17.
Escorted Ladles Free
ALL SEATS $3.
$1 off with this ad.
846-9808
Dear Fellow Students and Local Citizens of Aggieland:
We were raised in the shadows of Texas A&M Uni
versity; went to school at A&M Consolidated; and then
to TAMU. We urge you to support our favorite candi
date, W. W. (Woody) Gilpin, A&M, Class of 1950, for
Brazos County Commissioner, Precinct No. 3, in the
May 1, Democratic Primary. Not only because he is our
DAD but because he is the best qualified candidate, by
education and experience. He fought for you in World
War II. Sincerely,
Lendon Gilpin, Class of ’74
Gary Gilpin, Class of ’76
PoI. Ad pd. for by L. & G. Gilpin
EPISCOPAL
STUDENT
CENTER
902 JERSEY
(SOUTH SIDE OF CAMPUS)
EUCHARIST & SUPPER 5:30 P.M.
TUESDAYS. DAILY EUCHARIST IN
LENT — MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
5:30 P.M.
PHONE 846-1726
Big Results! CLASSIFIED ADSi
Battalion Classified Call 845-2611
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, MUNICIPAL ELECTIOkhard I
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS—APRIL 3, 1976 if, CT
idena, T
/hat do i
"lent gov,
PROPOSITION 1
o repres
ts to the
fbat is «
form? V
jcally _
*Si'
stl
Article III, Section 18-(a) which presently reads as follows:
“(a) The Mayor and other members of the City Council shall
be elected from the city at large.”
Be amended and repealed so as to hereafter read:
"(a) The Mayor, who may reside anywhere within the City
Limits of College Station, shall be elected at large by a
o'u-alitv vo‘e. The Ciy shall be divided into six council dis
tricts and the qualified voters of each council district shall
elect, by a pluralty vote, a Councilman who must reside
within the council district from which he is elected and
must have resided within the district for a. period of at least
90 days prior to the date of the election.
The City Council shall, after
each Federal Decennial Cen
sus or at such other time as
the City Council may decide,
after a public hearing, make
alterations in the council dis
tricts as are necessary. Each
of the six council districts shall be composed of approxi
mately equal numbers of persons as far as practical and
reasonable and justification must be shown for the variance
between council districts.
This cnarter provision shall be put into effect as of the date
set for the general municipal election in 1977 wherein
Councilmen from district 1, district 3 and district 5 shall be
FOR
AGAINST
30
31
itudent:
sh hasn’
ssues lik
tumid tl
r? W h
by?
ink it
to the 1
j| enoug
ding apa
;h.
at are
sition
dents
very
nment
udent
er of A
;rican In
Its.
/hat do 5
janipus
ity-wise
®st you
elected to fill the vacancy in place 1. place 3 and place 5; ng with
and as of the date set for the general municipal election in
1978 wherein a Mayor shall be elected and Councilmen
from district 2, district 4 and district 6 shall be elected to
fill the vacancy in place 2, place 4 and place 6.”
NAME
jlexes a
[the sti
to the
hope 1
about
ling else
y
ADDRESS
VOTER REGISTRATION NUMBER
pres<
t Service
i Studen
I—2 ye
I'ice-pre
r \CcLraos /a r h{o(fe
iat are
iffice ai
lified to:
:e. Iknov
V
mo
Rope and
beach or
thong .
18.
leather
patio
meet me at
ved an
otne pro
r include
dj legal
’ers arc
ive con
gh sure
iat ext
vices do y
blems do
’he Shut
ig into £
n. Alst
e is no
re buses
:d to be ai
)o you thi
imp
nproved
)oe main
is a noon
continue
ty of stud,
|ining h
for a r
EVERY WEDNESDAY IS
Ladies’ Day!
SAVE 10% ON ALL
PURCHASES EXCEPT
FERTI-LOME PRODUCTS
■ ( 7l.
J
iat are
ttffice ar
5el one
f for thej
] is that l
“Complete Plant Center"
HARDY GARDEI
College Station 2301 S. Texa
Bryan 1127 Villa Maria Rd
Dandylion Manor East Mai
FOOTBALL TICKETS!!!
LONG LINES OR SHORT LINES?
ON THE FIFTY OR IN THE ENDZONE?
YOU DECIDE!!!
TOMORROW AND THURSDAY, APRIL 7 & 8, WE, THE STU-I
DENTS, WILL BE GIVEN OUR CHANCE TO BE HEARD. STU
DENT ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD ON THOSE DAYS. ON THE
BALLOT, THERE’S A REFERENDUM ON FOOTBALL TICKET
ALLOCATION SYSTEMS, A REFERENDUM ON THE NEW
STUDENT GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTION, SELECTION OF
YELL LEADERS, CLASS OFFICERS, RHA OFFICERS ANd[
STUDENT GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND SENATORS.
\
V.p. of
IF YOU DON’T VOTE YOU CANNOTS
BE HEARD!!!
POLLING PLACES ARE LOCATED AT THE COMMONS, THE'
MSC, NEAR SBISA, THE CORPS GUARDROOM, ZACHRY]
CENTER
\/OTP III You need A&M Student I.D.
^ ■ ■ ■ and Activity Card to Vote.
STOJOEIMT GOVERIMIV1EIMT
IF YOU DON’T VOTE. YOtJ CAN’T BE HEARD