Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1976)
Weather Partly cloudy and mild today with perature in the high 70s. Low night 64, high tomorrow 77. Saturday will have a 50 per cent pee of rain from dawn until 2 Sunday will be partly cloudy and nild with a 10-20 per cent chance of ain Cbe Battalion Vol. 68 No. 108 College Station, Texas Friday, April 16, 1976 Barcelona increase ‘mistake/ firm says This auto stuffing contest (these guys crowded in 19) near Rudder Fountain was one of several events held during “Gas Week.” The MSC Re creation Committee’s events were to “get ev eryone outside the buildings and themselves,’ said chairman Doug Branch. By JIM CRAWLEY An announced $180 per month rent in crease has been reduced by the owners of the Barcelona apartments. A spokesman for the owner said the original increase was “a mistake. ” The $180 increase was publicly disclosed at last Thursday’s College Station City Council meeting by newly-elected Coun cilman Lane Stephenson. The rate was raised from the present $280 per month for a two bedroom-two bath apartment to $460 for the same apartment. The revised rent increase calls for the rent on a two bedroom-two bath apartment to be $380 per month. Charles Kaufmann, of the Max Kaplan firm which owns Barcelona, said the in crease was necessary because taxes and utilities have increased at a faster pace than the apartments’ rent. Another employe of the Kaplan firm, Enid Meyer, said the change in the amount of the increase was due to a re-evaluation of the rate structure. Mst run-off election to he set • Florida luf ividual fa'i ost the im a sudden te And\ M By LeANN ROBY nee. Jaimthil year’s Student Government elec- ationalh S arc not over yet, according to Susan ini.shed fee. Student Government Election ms. amission chairman. un-off elections were held yesterday ^ ,IS '* alf races not decided in the Student ) and anai, ernment g enera i election last week, weeks ^j. iss 0 f 1979 treasurer is still unde- igusta, (( l|p r iee said the Election Commission favorites a tht Judicial Board will decide later this k Ivhen the run-off will be held, ini shed race for treasurer, Michelle Marti irn to leadiected 197 votes, David Person picked mors. LiwH repei limits underspent t least 11 will he f teams lia'l up 190 votes, and Mark Hryhorchuk got 73 votes, making another run-off election for this position necessary. The new vice-president of finance is Scott Gregson, elected by 116 votes. Greg- son picked up 679 votes to opponent Hal Brunson’s 563 votes. In the race for graduate senator. College of Business, Charlie Snyder won by 5 vot es. In last week’s general election, no one ran for this position but a run-off was held yesterday between Snyder and rival Hal Richards, both write-ins. Class of’77 vice-president is Susan Fon taine, who collected 139 votes and won the race by 21 votes. Competitor Mark Smith gained 118 votes. Susan Colgan beat oppo nent Scott Turner by seven votes to be come the new treasurer. Colgan collected 122 votes to Turner’s 115. Class of ’78 vice-president is Richard Tocquigny who was elected by only 8 vot es. He collected 230 votes to opponent Mark Mohr’s 222 votes. The new sec retary-treasurer is Gail Hawley who gained 307 votes to beat competitor Mark Sicilio by 166 votes. Class of’79 president is Ronald Lastovica who picked up 211 votes over opponent Brad Wakeman’s 184. Results on the referendum on football ticket distribution systems in last week’s general election are: the random allocation system—2,488 votes; the first come, first serve system—2,294. This is the largest voter turnout in A&M history for a run-off election, according to Price. She said approximately 1300 stu dents voted which is double the amount for past elections. ell leaders outspend others afW By DAVID WHITE k_/Iv/l n|iddition to time expenditure, Fred ■Cl) 1 re spent $60 to win the office of stu ff body president. This is less than most 1 leader candidates spent on their cam ’s father'll? 11 ^ and 1 All candidates for yell leader spent over so moner’[ exce P t John Barnes and Bill the 75a bitehead who spent $15 and $20 respec- „rs livini! ply There were 19 candidates for the somehotfj Positions. 06. jniet < pickup llect al®| siring or" der Gita nd quiet 1 iction i*| iace witli and a pid Associated Press o is con CORPUS CHRISTI —Twelve men who lie statiot gambled into a saucer-like survival cap- mes. lie before an oil drilling platform sank in ®MI^®vind-whipped Gulf of Mexico were W * un ri dead in the capsized capsule early Ji pL'day, the Coast Guard said. S/Two Navy scuba divers, battling 15-foot JBk D^as, made their way to a hatch beneath the • * m iKerturned capsule and sighted an unde- I I Vfitmined number of bodies in the flooded iterior of the capsule, the Coast Guard tokesman reported. r AN T1 h . divers made the grim discovery as (VRLO fJVeral tugs and larger craft, including the avy s aircraft carrier Lexington, stood by McClure’s opponents, Duane Thompson and Richard Maulsby Scruggs, spent $70 and $25 respectively. There was no real relation to the winners and the amount of money spent by the candidates, said Susan Price, student elec tion commissioner. However, most candi dates took advantage of the increased limit for campaign spending, she said. The student senate amended the rules governing elections. It raised campaign men drown vhen oil rig topples FRIENj 'HE P0| )URTS D APAfi] YOU M AV0RI1 NDED ' GREE eciali: SSIC :s. PARLC INEST 00SBAI ELE HAVE A 7 era night of futile rescue efforts. Several popters hovered overhead. [he Coast Guard had initially said there 14 men trapped in the capsule but [sed the count downward by two after a ck with survivors who had abandoned drilling platform Ocean Express mi nutes before it capsized 40 miles east of Corpus Christi. The big rig went down about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. The heavy seas and winds topping 50 miles per hour stalled attempts to reach the trapped men for hours, bouncing the cap sule around like a top in the raging sea. Lines fixed to the device broke as attempts were made to right the capsule, which was floating with its entranceway facing into the sea. Rescue authorities said 17 men left the platform in one survival capsule, bobbed about for a time in the water and were hoisted aboard one of the tugs which hus tled alongside. They reported there were 19 aboard a second capsule and seven escaped before it flipped over, trapping the others inside. Tugs took the seven aboard, all apparently bruised but not injured seriously. It was more than six hours afterward be- (See “Rent,” Page 4.) spending allowances from $15 to $50 for senators and class officers and from $35 to $100 for executive positions. The senate raised the limit because they felt that it couldn’t cover the rising costs of materials, especially plywood for signs. About 10 candidates had approached the limit, Price said, and none had gone over. The increase in the budget allowance did not affect any of the candidates’ decision to run, but some voiced disapproval of the increase. Robbie Tucker, senior yell leader-elect, said he spend $92 on his campaign. He was against the budget increase. “It’s getting to the point where you have to pay a lot to be elected. I liked it better at $35,” he said. Pee Wee Sellars, who was defeated in his campaign for senior yell leader, spent $40. “I would have liked to have spent more but I couldn’t afford it,” he said. The other winning yell leaders’ expendi tures were: Frank Shannon, $97.36; Joe D. Mickler, $66; Tim Macmanus, $85, and Joe Reagan, $87. In the race for vice-president of student services, Troie Pruitt was re-elected over Gregg Ball, who spent no money for his campaign, concentrating instead on mak ing himself known by word-of-mouth. Pruitt re-used signs she made last year so her campaign costs came to an eshmated $14. In the race for vice-president of finance, the winner, Scott Gregson, spent $90 in the election and $20 of the alloted $25 for the run-off. His opponent, Hal Brunson, spent $90 in the election and $16 in the run-off. The unopposed vice-presidential candi dates all spent some money on their cam paigns, except Jerri Ward, who was re elected vice-president for external affairs. Index In today’s column, David Broder analyzes Jimmy Carter’s cam paign technique. Page 2. Lloyd Bentsen and Phil Gramm, both campaigning for the Dem ocratic Senate nomination, at tacked each other in their cam paigns yesterday. Page 2. Presidential hopeful Henry Jackson gives his views on big govern ment. Page 2. Your guide to weekend entertain ment and calendar of events. Page 3. News from around the world. Roundup, Page 6. Bill Schwennson has been named head drum major of the Aggie Band. Page 6. A&M has signed two all-state bas ketball players. Page 8. ★★★ We were wrong An advertisement printed in yes terday’s Battalion incorrectly said that Julian Bond was to have spoken at noon today. Lynn Gibson, chair man of Political Forum, reports that the speech was cancelled more than a week ago, but because of a mixup, the ad was not cancelled. “We feel we have a new approach,” Meyer said. She explained that, under the revised rent increase, each student would sign a separate lease. If a roommate moved, the student wouldn’t be responsi ble for the unpaid rent of the roommate. “We re not afraid to admit a mistake,” Meyer added. Kaufmann said the apartments had in curred a loss of $122,000 last year because of the high taxes and utilities. He said the costs are the same year-round, while the apartments are nearly empty during the summer months. Saying the increase was “purely economic.in nature,” Kaufman compared the 12-month apartment market in Hous ton with the eight and a half month market in College Station. "You have to attempt to nearly approach the rent price of the 12-month market be cause of the low summer market in College Station, said Kaufmann. The Kaplan employes said the occu pancy rate of the Barcelona complex flue- A quarter per call tuated from 85 to 90 per cent during the school year to only 20 per cent in the sum mer. In an attempt to cut utility costs, several local apartments are contemplating the in stallation of electric meters for each apart ment, as opposed to a master meter for the entire complex. Under the individual meter system, each tenant pays for his utilities. Kaufman said Barcelona will not be changed to an individual meter system be cause the per apartment cost of installing a meter is approximately $200. Disagreeing with the idea that apart ment owners are trying to make a lot of money in the tight housing market, Kauf mann said, “If we fill up Barcelona this August, with the new rates we ll hold our own for the first time. I don’t think anyone is trying to gouge the students.” The Barcelona Apartments are located at 7(X) Dominick Dr. in College Station. The complex has 250 units. Pay phone tolls rise 150 per cent By DEBBY KRENEK The next time you go out, be sure to take some quarters in case you need to make a phone call. General Telephone has raised the cost of using a pay phone to 25 cents. The 150 per cent increase was approved in October 1975 by the College Station City Council despite the fact that GTE was receiving a rate of return higher than that deemed qecessary by the council, accord ing to Ordinance 980 concerning the case. Although the increase was approved last year, the conversion of pay phones in both Bryan and College Station will not be com pleted until the end of April, Bill Erwin, division manager of GTE, said. The increased revenue from these pay stations is needed to cover increased labor and operating costs, Erwin said. “Pay stations get a lot more than their normal share of usage. They require more maintenance because of vandalism and need to be self-compensating,” Erwin said. Ordinance 980 on the GTE rate hike case says that the council found that GTE was not entitled to more than a 6.7 per cent rate of return a $14,900,000 rate base, or $998,300. Before the rate hike, GTE was earning $1,150,243 giving them a rate of return of 7.72 per cent. The ordinance also stated that GTE failed in its burden of proof to show any increase in rates was justified. However, the council approved the hike “in hopes of avoiding costly litigation and in hopes that GTE will upgrade its service.” The use of common equipment was the cause given by Erwin for the busy signals one invariably gets when trying to dial the 693 extension at night. “A certain number of switches operate a (See “Pay Phone,” Page 4.) Godbey speaks here, slams Teague’s votes Attacking U.S. Rep. Olin E. Teague’s voting record in Congress, Democratic hopeful Ron Godbey made a final bid for votes last night in a personal campaign ap pearance at the Memorial Student Center. Godbey, campaigning for the Sixth Con gressional seat, addressed approximately 50 students, completing a two-day visit to Bryan-College Station. The 41-year-old former Fort Worth weatherman and municipal judge centered his presentation on the voting record of Congressman Teague. “Back in I960,” said Godbey, “Mr. Teague made one promise and one boast. First, he promised that we would have the Millican Dam; secondly, he boasted about his 90 per cent voting. Today; well, we don’t have the dam and his voting record has declined to 58 per cent.” Saying that he doesn’t like to talk about someone when he can’t defend himself, Godbey nevertheless said that the only issue in the race is Teague’s record. Godbey also chastised Congress on their foolish spending of different National Sci ence Foundation grants. He said many of the studies are necessary, but some are “boondoggles.” Concerning the defense budget, the Re serve officer said that military allocations should be spent on weapons for conven tional (no-nuclear) war. Godbey explained that because of the “one-shot” syndrome of American defense spending, the United States is falling behind in the military power race. Godbey said Teague has opened offices in the Dallas area of his district. Godbey, a resident of Duncanville, a Dallas suburb, cites his challenge of Teague as the reason for the new offices. The question-and-answer session after the speech became a confrontation bet ween a small group of Teague supporters, seated in the back of the room, and the candidate. The verbal exchange, between Teague’s campus campaign coordinator and Godbey supporters, was punctuated by verbal barbs at both candidates on the various issues. Godbey, who drove to the meeting in his worn 1970 Ford convertible, commented that he didn’t have as much money as Teague and that he didn’t have as many contributors as the incumbent claimed to have. Godbey said he has good name recogni tion in the northern part of the district, where he is remembered as a radio and television weatherman. — Jim Crawley Burning off gas Twenty-four students sat for up to two hours and ’ifteen minutes yesterday eating jalepeno peppers as fast as possible. The Jalepeno Eating Contest, leld near Rudder Fountain, was part of Gas Week. When the last pepper had been eaten, Terry Bleck was declared the winner after eating 32 peppers. Mark MacDonald downed 58 to finish econd. In these photos, contestants await the star ter’s signal (left). Chuck Hinton samples one of the jaleperios (center) and Laurie Jahn (right) expres ses her opinion of the whole affair. Staff photo by Kevin Venner Photo Courtesy of Cathy RuedinRer Staff photo by Kevin Venner