The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 08, 1977, Image 1
leany com lo-hei rang :al)le lio The Battalion Vol. 70 No. 71 10 Pages Tuesday, February 8, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 City asks A&M to move bonfire site t parti it thfil 1 bani »eir p| By MARY HESALROAD Battalion Staff ptroversy over the present site for Texas M University bonfires still exists, al- jugh the next one will not burn for nine [re months. Dr. John J. Koldus, vice president for pent services, said Friday he received a erfrom College Station Mayor Lorence [tvenec shortly before the Christmas pdays requesting a meeting to discuss ving the site of the bonfire, poldus said many of the students were et with the City Council over the ward em. He said he thought it was a poor e to talk about the bonfire while they e still upset. I told him it was a pretty inappropriate e for him to be talking about any other rtmet prior to establishing a good relation- p with members of the executive com- [tee of the student government.’ ilhe City Council has not come to us in s beinf redrooi sped d," St regard to moving the bonfire,” said Fred McClure, student body president. “Student government has nothing to do with the location of the bonfire.” Koldus said Bravenec is going to meet with the executive committee Feb. 15 to discuss problems. The present location for the bonfire is dangerous because of traffic congestion and fire hazards, Bravenec said last Monday. He said the Council did not want to interfere with A&M traditions. “It seems to me as ingenious as these students are they could find a safer place,” Bravenec commented. “I feel the present bonfire site is not a tradition in itself, he added. Councilman Anne Hazen said she be lieved the bonfire endangers the homes of those living on the south side of the cam pus. "The only alternative is to not allow the bonfire to burn if it is windy, or have it be moved,” Hazen said. “I share the Council’s concern in terms of the fire hazard, ” Koldus said. “I think in the future we are going to have to use good common sense in determining when to burn the thing and when not to. If the winds are rough and such that they’re blow ing in that direction, I think we’ll have to take a close look at it before we decide to put the torches to it. “Since I’m responsible for student serv ices, I would assume it would be my deci sion whether or not to burn it,” Koldus said. “Of course, the president could over ride my decision.” Dr. Jack K. Williams made a commit ment to the students a couple of years ago to keep the bonfire in that particular area, Koldus said. “At this point I’m surely not going to be receptive to what the City Council is rec ommending, which is a position contrary to one that the president of the University committed himself to,” Koldus said. Three years ago arrangements were being made to move the bonfire site to a field on the west side of the campus, he said. That area was under the jurisdiction of Dr. O.D. Butler, head of the animal sci ence department. Koldus said they could not move the bonfire there because Butler had other uses for the land. Butler could not be reached for comment. “That was when the president made the commitment about not moving the bon fire, Koldus added. Koldus cited some advantages to the bonfire s present location. “The Corps does most of the work so the location is to their advantage. There is less of a parking problem, too, because the stu dents can walk over.” “Also, the land is high so it will be less muddy during rainy weather, Koldus said. The cost to the city of College Station for providing extra fire protection is part of the controversy. “We generally use about 26 to 30 men,” Chief Charles Yeager said last Wednesday. ■tural Wilsoi ng tki hoblems of office cited in speech jy Texas Atty. Gen. John Hill market By JOHN TYNES Battalion Staff Illegal drugs and illegal aliens are the turalk® 0 biggest problems that Texas law he baW orcement ‘•ffitkds presently face, Texas said 1^' ^ en ’ J°h n Hill said yesterday at ixas A&M University. ude MHn a speech sponsored by Political jtball k pi ^mm, Hill cited the problems facing the Attempts are being made to stifle the drug traffic. Hill said, but little progress will be made until agents are “able to hit the big boys at the top who are making all the money.” Hill said the drug problem is at least rations I iiversit)l ed solek| idle! or li ■ hand [ice of the attorney general and how he to cope with them. We must start looking south (to :xico) more and more,” be said, “be- [ise there’s a great nation there. That doesn’t mean we can move down T!“ ;re and start taking on all of Mexico’s iblems,” he added. “We have enough of j - line [ b , r own. i andt ors are i thers d lildrens lited f® act as i lominim are intfl .-ork tfil jgethef “It o wod same Hill said the smuggling of Mexican bin creates more crime than any other Sblem. He said statistics have shown n Antonio to be the sixth leading city in e nation in the distribution of Mexican John Hill 300,000 approved for job Old Exchange Store to be remodeled soon [Remodeling will begin this month to liange the Old Exchange Store into of- ces for Admissions and Records. The project, approved by the board of jegents, was allotted $300,000 from the [niversity Available Fund, says Allen L. plandt, system comptroller. |Dr. Billy G. Lay, director of admis- Jons, said the construction and remodel- Ig should he finished by August or July. ] He added that the construction would ; done by Jordan & Woods General Con- |aetors of Bryan. Steven J. Evans, de- gner with the facilities and planning divi- lon, said that the remodeling will not pange the outside of the building. “The first floor will be a reception area kith offices for Admissions and Records,” Evans said. including offices for the Dean of Admis sions and Records and the Registrar.” However, it has not been decided where registration and drop/adds will be locatad, said R. A. Lacey, registrar. “We’d be satisfied with the same amount of room that we had in the Ex change Store,” Lacey said. “We re looking at several possible locations, but we ha ven’t decided yet.” Dr. John J. Koldus, vice president for student services, said he is unaware of any plans to replace the lounge in the Ex change Store. “The store was originally renovated to serve as a lounge for Milner and Legett Halls, ” Koldus said. “The need for the lounge is not very great because Milner Hall has been changed into offices, and it is planned to do the same with Legett." —Susan Riff indirectly linked to the steady flow of il legal aliens into the United States, which he said may provide a means of drug traf ficking. “I would like to see the national Con gress address this problem and do it dra matically and do it at an early date,” he said. Illegal aliens are contributing to the un employment problem by working for low wages, he said. “It’s one of the greatest drain-offs of skil led jobs.” He also said that Texas’ ability to restrict illegal immigration is improving. “One of the problems has been coopera tion with the Mexican government, but that’s greatly improved,” he said. “We have evidence of corruption on both sides and that’s a problem.” As a solution to both problems. Hill suggested spending more state money to improve the quality of the Texas law enforcement network. “Crime is fought with human hands and human minds and we tend to forget that just because it’s gonna cost us some money,” he said. On another subject. Hill said he was against capital punishment except for probable repeat killers. “I’ve taken a strong stand against tele vising executions,” he said. “I don’t think we need to have it in our livingroom to understand the horror of a person dying in any circumstances.” Hill said he is considering running for governor in 1978 but he has not made a final decision. Heated controversy The College Station City Council and Texas A&M University officials have been discussing the possibility of moving the site of the Aggie Bonfire to a different location. Mayor Bravenec says the present location is dangerous because of traffic congestion and fire hazard. Battalion photo by Jim Hendrickson Yeager is the assistant chief training offi cer for the College Station fire department. “We don’t require off-duty men to stand by. That duty is optional. Generally, 20 to 25 men volunteer,” he said. Regular-duty firemen are paid $2.60 per hour and off-duty volunteers get $3.90 (time and a half), Yeager said. “The men usually stand by from 7 p.m. until it falls, which happens around 10 p.m.,” he said. Extra police protection is also present on the evening the bonfire is burned. McClure said the figures regarding the cost of extra protection were exaggerated. Debtors may receive transcripts Students cannot be denied a copy of their transcript if they owe money to the University. This ruling was handed down 11 days ago by Texas Atty. Gen. John Hill. Texas A&M University Registrar Robert A. Lacey said that his department is aware of the ruling. “We are seeking to find out just what it says, and we ll change our policies accord ingly,” he said. Lacey said he found out about the ruling last Friday when one of his employes read about it in an Austin paper and brought a copy to him. The registrar says he is trying to get a copy of the opinion. “I’m a little afraid to base any decisions or changes on what a newspaper article said,” Lacey said. “At this time, if money is owed to the University and a department notifies us of this, a transcript is withheld until the de partment notifies us that the money has been paid,” he said. Lacey said that the opinion may have come into the system’s attorney’s office;, but, he said, “If it has, we have not been notified or been forwarded a copy of it.” Asst. System Attorney Ed Kaska said his office had received a copy of the opinion. “We are studying it in order to make an interpretation, Kaska said. He said it would be a few more days before the attorney’s office completed an interpretation and forwarded a recom mendation on any policy change to the registrar’s office. James H. Colvin, vice president for business affairs at the University of Texas, requested the opinion when two former students were denied copies of their tran scripts. Steven Gardner, a legal aid attorney representing one of the former students, requested the transcript last November. The request was denied be ause his client had not repaid a university loan. Student delegates meet at annual conference SC ON A provides wide exchange of views By MARY HARDIN Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA) is an annual conference that brings students together from all over the United States, Canada and Mexico. The conference invites approximately 200 student delegates to participate in an intensive four-day examination of a topic of current national interest. “SCONA provides an exchange of ideas from students with different cultural back grounds,” Brett Hamilton, vice chairman of SCONA, said recently. “It gives future leaders a chance to discuss relevant is sues.” SCONA, which is scheduled for Feb. 16 to Feb. 19, is planned and operated by a committee of Texas A&M University stu dents, with Van Steed as chairman. The committee of 57 students begins its planning the summer before the confer ence with a fund drive. SCONA members contact former and prospective sponsors to raise the necessary funds to finance the conference. They raise about $27,000 each year to pay for expenses. This money comes entirely from donations. “SCONA’s major objectives are to create awareness of the problems of the U.S. and to develop responsible leaders by free expression and exchange of ideas among students,” Steed said. Five speakers are invited to the confer ence and they speak on different areas of the major topic. This year’s topic is “The Expression of Individuality in American Society. Groups of 20 students meet to discuss the topic after each speech. “We plan a discussion session right after each speech so the important points brought out by the speakers will be fresh on tbe delegates minds,” Hamilton ex plained. One of the round table discussion groups is made up of high school students. “We invite the top two or three stu dents from different high schools. Steed said. “This is done so they can see what type of atmosphere a university like Texas A&M provides, he added. SCONA also provides social activities for the delegates and speakers. They have a barbecue dinner and a square dance on Friday night of the con ference. On Saturday they have a brunch for the guests of SCONA. All speeches are open to the public. Dr. Ruth Fry, director and founder of the C. G. Jung Educational Center in Houston will speak at 2:45 p.m. Wednes day, Feb. 16. Dr. M. L. Shariah, senior vice presi dent of Research and Engineering of Con tinental Oil Co. (Conoco) will speak at 9 a.m. the following Thursday. Dr. Nathaniel Branden, executive di rector of the Biocentric Institute of Los Angeles will speak at 3:30 Thursday after noon. Friday at 11 a.m., Dr. Stanley Milgram, professor at City University in New York City, will speak. Lynn Ashby, editorial columnist for the Houston Post, will speak at 11 a.m. Satur day. House may allot $825 million for highways United Press International AUSTIN — Speaker Bill Clayton prom ised quick House action today on the first major measure before the 1977 legislature — a bill to pump $825 million into high way construction during the next two years. Gov. Dolph Briscoe declared the bill an emergency measure last week. That move allows representatives to pass the highway bill before considering a general appropri ations bill to finance state government for the biennium. Clayton said he has been assured the Senate will act quickly on the bill after representatives approve it. Lt. Gov. William P. Hobby has ex pressed some doubts about whether the highway, department needs the full $825 million recommended hy Briscoe and in dicated the Senate will study the budget ramifications carefully. Critics say allocating $825 million for highways will shortchange teachers seek ing pay raises and local school disticts seeking increased state aid. ‘Somebody’s going to be left out in the cold,” an analysis by the House Study Group says. In addition to teachers and schools, the study group says the highway spending plan may leave legislators no money for new or exanded programs in other areas. Senators yesterday approved one such new program — a $1.5 million, four-year pilot project to set up 10 special guidance centers to work with juvenile delinquents and other youths with emotional or educa tional problems. Sen. Chet Brooks, D-Pasadena, said community school guidance centers will provide classes and guidance for young sters whom public schools cannot handle. Brooks’ bill now goes to the House. Foundation gets historic Austin home Clarence Griffin, a painter for the Physical Plant, is doing just that. Griffin is presently painting the inside area of the dome in the Academic Building and is shown above while making his ascent to the top of the scaffold. At the top, the painter will be about 85 feet from the floor and will still have to stand on his toes to reach the center area of the dome. Battalion photo by Kevin Venner Texas A&M University now owns a downtown Austin home. The Henry Hirshfeld home and neighboring cottage, at W. 9th and Lavaca Sts. in Austin, were purchased by the Texas A&M Development Foundation Jan. 25. Bob Rutledge, associate director of the foundation, said this was the first property the A&M group had purchased. The foundation purchased the historical home and cottage from the Heritage Soci ety of Austin for an undisclosed amount. Funds for the purchase came from dona tions from alumni and friends of A&M. “Alumni in Austin knew the Heritage Society' had purchased the home and wanted to resell it,” he said. Hirshfeld, a founder of the Austin Na tional Bank and first president of Congre gation Beth Israel, built the cottage in 1875 for his bride after returning from the Civil War. “The cottage is presently being used as an antique store,” Rutledge said. Elaine Mayo, executive secretary of the Heritage Society, said the larger 12-room house was built in 1885 to accommodate the prospering family. The two-story stone house rests on four city' lots and has floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. An adjacent carriage house held one of the first Buicks in Austin. weather Cloudy and mild Tuesday with in termittent drizzle or light rain. High today in the low 50s. Low tonight in the mid-40s. High tomorrow in the upper 50s. Winds from the east at 5-10 mph. Winds and drizzle to continue through tomorrow.