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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1977)
Rude! 'iew,l m: "SFil . T p.m.l cicty, Fl ersatitr.l ack of I m. s ofC vi sc^l s ofC ograms J s ofC rrent . 4 p.ni ttee, 5,10 a leralp >n: hows niques; k ons anil( v ely ligiij] ■ Registiti , and Tla If lory Befc] ir, 10a.i lem, C, !01,7:31iJ SC ICS of I C 224,11 icsofl eans,"SI! ics ofl in Luliai ics of( rlheatKli Battalion Vol. 70 No. 84 14 Pages Wednesday, March 2, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 biggest impact would hit labs Teaching assistants may lose jobs if bill passes in House iversitj fi| h, Roo®' e Millinl 3 p.m, i, “Em< itional ludderJUj spcakeiijj :nt ofJ at David ■tment i/[f onsin at Hi] iseofCrK America a 'Ethnkilj Politics (f! By BO GRIFFIN Dr. G. W. Kunze, dean of Texas A&M University’s Graduate College, said yesterday that some teaching assistants would lose jtheir jobs if a bill presently before the Texas House of Represen- jtatives passes. “If the bill in its present form passes, the College of Science (here would be hurt the most because of the greater number of teaching assistants in those departments,” Kunze said. Section 1(b) of proposed House Bill 833 states that in a public |institution the number of teaching assistants employed in a lepartment cannot exceed the number of full-time faculty [members in the same department. In the chemistry department alone, there are 109 teaching [assistants and 53 full-time faculty members. “This portion of the proposed bill would cause a devastating [effect on the efficiency of instruction in chemistry laboratory [courses,” Dr. Fred Sicilio, chief administrator for under- [graduate chemistry at A&M said yesterday. “The degree of devastation depends on the interpretation of Ithe bill,” he said. “There is simply not sufficient faculty to [teach our laboratory courses and meet the constraints of this [clause.” [obile home owners petition Section 1(a) of the proposed bill would determine whether A&M could employ a teaching assistant to conduct a class alone. The assistant would only be allowed to teach if he had served as a co-teacher with a full-time faculty member for at least one semester in a course in the same area that the assis tant will be employed to teach. “This clause of the bill would probably not affect instruction in our department, since we only use teaching assistants in laboratory courses,” Sicilio said. The last clause of the bill says teaching assistants are not to teach more than 25 per cent of the class hours taught by a full-time faculty member at the same level. “Chemistry has several hundred lab sections each semester and teaching assistants serve a very vital function in these lab courses” Sicilio said. “The effect of this clause would be devas tating to this department because teaching assistants do not have the capability to teach without supervision.” Sicilio said he believes that teaching only by theory or dem onstration is ineffective in teaching any experimental science. “It all depends on how the legislature interprets the bill,” Kunze said. “The bill, in its present form, is written so loosely that it could be interpreted in any number of ways.” Bryan utility rate opposed EnrichmS Shidenli.'l| " by Dr. , Ruddn By LADONNA YOUNG Timberlake Mobile Home Park resi- mts in Bryan have filed a grievance peti- m against Bryan Utilities. The petition, sent in care of Bryan City iticsofC® lanager Lou Odle, cited residents’ com- d the Sju a j n ( S they are paying commercial itics of Cm tf es instead of residential rates for their t in rtietifectricity. >1,12:30p; The petition is signed by 63 park resi- ot 5 mts who are paying the commercial iticsofte tes. Part of the park is supplied with in- of Ameriti vidual meters and charged residential tes. In 1975 Bryan Utilities began switching Rep. Dai e mobile homes from a master meter MSC» stem to an individual system. Only part sap & I p.m. k HoW um, 8 p.i 12 m: of the park was redone when work stopped a month later. Odle yesterday said there was a com munication problem between the park owners and Bryan Utilities. The park is responisble for providing the pedestals and wiring necessary for the conversion, Odle said. He said 15 of the pedestals for the individual meters are ready, but the park hasn’t filed a work order yet. “What I’ve got to do is get our operating people and their operating people to gether atid see, really, who is waiting on whom,” Odle said. Park owner Robert Holmes was out of town and unavailable for comment. Terri Rather, a park employe, said the park has l&M laundry may stop service; Dutside alternatives considered d van i A study of survey results may leave |exas A&M University without its own ndry service, according to Manage- 510H Ient Services Director Ed Davis. “It is very likely that we will discontinue laundry service as a University oper- ted business. It is also very likely that we provide an alternative,” Davis said re- mtly. The alternatives being considered in- ude contracting with an outside laundry provide service at the present facility, nother possibility would be to contract a undry to do the work off campus and de- ver to distribution points on campus. A third alternative would be to provide ushers and dryers near each dorm on impus. There was not a cash Iqss last year, but epreciation of laundry machinery mounted to $13,000, he said. Davis said his initial impression from ernafional iore, D-l Qualified 1 be aW pandedj# y’ve do»f esterdaj-i posed con to renai sion a ire for com st a Supi that alsof ver to susj ss indiett accused (f s approval ; House, endment. Jack d rename imissionoJ provide (oi hearings sosal woulii ill be sub® Jovembei commissi against 5 . Carrillo. 1 to impi i judge. , \vas h; do,” said 4 the survey results is that a higher percent age of Corps members use the service than civilians. He said the difference may be caused by the delay in getting clean clothes or maybe an unpleasant experi ence with the laundry, such as losing clo thing. Survey results showed that 45 per cent of Corps members currently on the serv ice would be willing to pay $40 to $50 for the same service next year, while 35 per cent would pay $50 to $60 . Only about five per cent of the civilians completing the survey said they would pay more than $40 for the service next year. The decision to be reached later this semester by Management Services will af fect approximately 65 laundry employes and 2,715 students currently on the plan. Last semester, 3,420 students used the laundry service. — Rene Ogletree :ing disk been waiting to hear from Bryan Utilities. Residents on the master meter are being billed through the park office. Rather said the office reads the individual meters connected to the park meter and then totals each bill. Because the office receives a bill based on commercial rates, the residents pay the same rate. , Odle said the medium commercial and industrial rate charged to the park is 6.07 cents for the first 80 kilowatt-hours. The rate then decreases as more hours are used. Residents on the individual meters are billed by Bryan Utilities and pay residen tial rates. The first 80 kilowatt-hours for residents is 4.85 cents per hour. John Hogue, senior biomedical science student, drew up the petition with the help of Chris Kling, A&M student legal counsel. Kling said he advised Hogue on the con tents of the petition and who to send it to. Kling also recommended that the petition include a deadline for action. “If Bryan Utilities requires that the work be completed before we can be charged residentially, then we feel this work can and should be completed by April 1, 1977, or we will take whatever action we feel appropriate,” the petition reads. Kling said the deadline was provided to give the two conflicting parties an incen tive to work things out. The possibility of residents simply pay ing residential rates after April 1 is the only action Kling said was discussed. This action would mean a loss to the park owners. They receive one bill from the utility company, and then collect sepa rately from the residents. If the residents pay only residential rates, the park may have to make up the difference. Odle said the city wasn’t charging the petitioners commercial rates as stated in the petition. Bryan Utilities charges Tim berlake commercial rates, and what the park owners charge the residents is the owners’ decision, he said. Battalion photo by Cyndy Fuighum Fake rabbit Joann Wright, public relations chairman for Great Issues Committee ran around campus yesterday advertising Mel Blanc, the cartoon voice behind Bugs Bunny and other cartoon characters. (See story, page 8.) Spouses may get event cards By MARK PENNY The Graduate Student Council (GS( has submitted a proposal to Student < V ernment for the creation of spouse activiu cards. Spouses of Texas A&M University stu dents usually are required to pay nonstu dent prices to attend University functions The Student Services Committee is in vestigating the feasibility of such a card. Part of the purpose of the proposal is t< provide access to University facilities to spouses of Texas A&M students, alluvial - ing a potential economic hardship to thos< families on a limited budget. Troie Ann Pruett, vice president of stu dent services, said that if the student can go to the event for free and the spouse can’t, more than likely they will not go. Jay McMillen, secretary for the CSC said the card would allow spouses to at tend MSC activities, check out books from the library, write checks on campus and attend sporting events when space i available. “This has nothing to do will, football,” McMillen said. The proposal states, the card does not include privileges to football tickets or any right to preempt the normal date ticket purchase procedure. McMillen said the CSC has discusse d such a proposal every year since the coun cil was created. “As far as I can tell, this is the first time it has gone to the Student Senate McMillen said. In the past, most of the proposals in cluded receiving football tickets at student rates, he said. The proposal states that a check-off to, spouse activity card would be included on the fee schedule card used in registration. Payment would be at a rate determined by the current student service fee and subje< i to the approval of the administration. I no propoasal calls for normal payment ol I - to be made after registration. Pruett said one idea being discussed i- to charge the same as a regular activily card, minus the proportion that goes to ward the football program McMillen said the maximum price ■■ CSC felt should be paid would be tin equivalent of a student activity card “The activity card will mainly be a > > venience, not a savings,” McMillen said The proposal states that no economic e! feet should be experienced by \aiio; University departments since an\ re\ emir loss from ticket sales would be made up in revenue from activity card sales and Iron- increased participation. Pruett said the student services com mittee will bring its version of the prop - sal before the Student Senate on March 9 “I think that it would be a good service for married students,” Pruett said. A spouse who wants to go to an evem that the student doesn’t want to go to h is to pay nonstudent prices, Pruett e\ plained. The CSC proposal states that the card will provide potential accomodation toi diverse individual tastes by allowin'.', either spouse to attend functions withe:■ obligating the other to attend or to be in convenienced. House-Senate panel hears testimony Witnesses oppose Texas death penalty (1#0- - ol panel o 1 ’ jpithe^ s jderai!)’ c (Jourlj 11 ** Jn# el- Battalion photo by Cindy Salter Sully gets rub down While others were out washing their cars and otherwise enjoying the sunny weather last Friday, residents of Moses Hall chose to put the shine to Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Plenty of old rags. Brass© and rubbing went into the project. One student said Sully needed a rubdown every so often and someone entering the campus from Westgate should be able to see him shining. United Press International AU STUN — The Texas death penalty law sends “black people, brown people, and white niggers” to the electric chair, while wealthy whites go free or receive lesser punishment for murder, a former legislator said yesterday. Maury Maverick Jr. of San Antonio, re calling his days in the legislature 25 years ago and his civil liberties campaigns since he left the House, told a joint hearing of House and Senate committees he opposes the death penalty no matter how it is ad ministered. “Black people, brown people and white niggers, that’s who is on death row today. That’s who is waiting to be killed down on death row,” Maverick said in arm-waving testimony. “I’m not for putting bank pres idents in the electric chair. I’m not for put ting anyone in the electric chair.” Maverick was among the first in a long line of witnesses testifying for legislation repealing the state’s death penalty law. Committee members listened impassively to the often emotional testimony, seldom questioning the witnesses. Spectators, searched before they entered the crowded House chamber, wore black armbands and buttons reading, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” An Alabama farm couple whose son is on death row for the murder of a highway patrolman tearfully pleaded for repeal of the death penalty. “If we were wealthy people, I know he wouldn’t be there,” said Mrs. Billy Hughes of Fairhope, Ala. “But we are very poor people. We are unable to do anything except appeal to you to abolish this inhumane thing that has happened to people like us. “If you want to see people suffering, look at us and look at our two other chil dren who have never done a thing in this world.” Mrs. Hughes said her son had under gone three years of psychiatric treatment for paranoid schizophrenia before leaving Alabama to come to Texas. She said he had been in Texas less than 24 hours when he was arrested for killing a patrolman. The bill repealing the death penalty statute and another requiring a unanimous Candidates need majority in Consolidated election The A&M Consolidated Independent School District will operate on a majority vote requirement for this year’s April 2 school board election, instead of on the plurality requirement used in earlier elec tions. The change, which affects only the vot ers in the College Station school district, requires a runoff election when no school board candidate receives a maioritv vote on the first ballot. Before, the candidate receiving the largest number of votes in an election won even if he received less than 50 percent of votes cast. Now the winning candidate must receive 51 per cent of the total vote. Fred A. Hopson, A&M Consolidated superintendent, received a letter recently from U.S. Asst. Atty. Gen. J. Stanley Pot- tinger saying that the attorney general does not object to the change from a plurality to a majority vote. However, Pottinger said in the letter that even though the attorney general does not object to the change now, future judicial action may prohibit the change. The justice department can revoke its approval at any time if it finds reason, Hopson said. “By changing to a majority vote proce dure we can now have runoff elections, bringing it down to two candidates,” he said. Citizens have appeared before the Board of Education in previous years re questing a new voting system. Changes within College Station’s elec tion procedures prompted the school board to take the action, Hopson said. — Cathy Brewer opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals before an execution could be carried oi:; were referred to subcommittee for furthei study. Most lawmakers predict the propo sal to repeal the death penalty has littn chance for passage. The House did not meet yesterday be cause of the death penalty hearings, but senators approved 28-3 a proposed con stitutional amendment expanding membership on the court of criminal ap peals from five to nine members. Sen. A. R. Schwartz, D-Calveston. blocked Senate action on a bill raising tin maximum weight limit for concrete trucks Schwartz talked for 30-minutes against the bill, and said he would filibuster again today to prevent its passage. Weather 1 Cloudy, mild and windy today with cloudiness decreasing tomor row. Winds are southerly at 15 m.p.h. gusting to 25 m-P-h. and becoming northwesterly tomorrow High today in the upper ^ ow tonight in the upper 60s. High to morrow in the low 70s- Precipita tion probability 20 per cent today and tonight. No precip'ta t ' on ,n sight for tomorrow.