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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1977)
Vol. 70 No. 96 12 Pages Battalion Tuesday, March 29, 1977 News Dept. 845-2611 College Station, Texas Business Dept. 845-2611 Battalion photo by Kevin Venner A prop(er) affair Rough winds prevented an easy landing for pilot David Bolton of Hous ton. Bolton was not injured when the Cessna 210 hit the runway at Easterwood Airport about 10:30 yesterday morning. The craft had a broken nosewheel and bent propeller. Panel to consider attendance; opinions differ on regulation By MARY HARDIN Changes in Texas A&M University’s at tendance policy will be considered in the April meeting of A&M’s Academic Coun cil. Both the A&M Student Senate and the University Rules and Regulations Com mittee have recommended changes in the policy. Under present University regulations, in effect since September, instructors may use class participation and attendance in determining a student’s final grade. Student and faculty opinion on the at tendance policy differs. George Flynn, assistant professor in communications favors an attendance pol icy saying exposure to scholars is part of a student’s college education. In contrast, Dr. David Parrish assistant professor in geology said, “If a student can miss class and still pass my tests, I don’t see any point in attending my lectures.” Many students feel attendance is the student’s responsibility. “I think a college student should be re sponsible enough to attend class; if not, he shouldn’t be in college,” said Russ Ruhmann, a senior marketing major. Tamara Hamilton, a sophomore food technology major, differed in opinion say ing, “I think attendance should be manda tory, but it should be used only for border line cases in determining grades.” Susan Rudd, student government vice president for rules and regulations, was the only student present at the last Uni versity Rules and Regulations Committee meeting. Rudd said that saying professors can use attendance in grading encourages the professors to do so. “Class participation and performance are more important to a student’s educa tional development than the fact that he is merely sitting in his seat, Rudd said. Beverly Gross, sophomore accounting major said, “It’s up to the student to de cide it it’s important to attend class. He may feel he doesn’t get anything out of attending certain classes.” Mary Hogan, freshman undeclared Liberal Arts major, also feels it is the re sponsibility of the student himself. “If a student really cares about his edu cation, he’ll go to class without being forced to,” she said. Diane Strommer, associate dean of Lib eral Arts and member of the University Rules and Regulations Committee, said, “The major function of taking roll is to keep up with the students.” Rudd said, student and faculty senti ment should be an important determinant in any decision concerning the attendance policy. Ag students honored at Convocation By SUSAN RIFF Texas A&M University is a unique school because it believes there is more to education than textbooks provide State Representative Joe A. Hubenak said yes terday. Hubenak spoke last night at the 1977 Agricultural Convocation held in Rudder Center Theatre. The representative from Rosenberg is the chairman of the Committee on Ag riculture and Livestock and is in his fifth term of office. He was named the Distin guished Former Student by Texas A&M Alumni in April 1973. He is the fourth nongraduate of Texas A&M to be given this award. “Texas is second to California in agricul tural sales and is one of the top five states in farm exports,” Hubenak said. “Texas has the potential to be the most important agricultural state in the country.” Although Hubenak talked about the hard work that lies ahead in agriculture and praised Texas A&M and today’s youth for their dedication, he spent most of his time entertaining the audience with stories. “During the election, everyone was say ing we needed a new spirit in the White House,” Hubenak said. “Jimmy Carter brought that spirit — and Billy drank it.” After Hubenak’s speech, the convoca tion was dedicated to Dr. R. C. Potts, as sociate dean of agriculture. Awards of Merit for Seniors in Agricul ture were presented to Rae Wilkinson, Dan Kaspar, Laurie Niell, Beth Anne Rusnak, Bill Norman and Marcus Shef field. The Eva Simmons Potts Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Debra Diet- zel. This $400 scholarship established in 1975 as a memorial to the work of Dr. Potts’ late wife. Alpha Zeta, the honorary agricultural fraternity, presented awards to outstand ing freshmen, sophomores and juniors in the College of Agriculture and also pre sented the Alpha Zeta Scholarships. The outstanding freshman award went to Amy Marie Hodges. Outstanding sophomore awards were presented to Karen Moore and Ron Lastovica, and the outstanding junior award was presented to Alvin Luedke. Alpha Zeta Scholarships were given to Sandra Jane New, Denise Susan Fojtik, Catherine Elizabeth Blanton, and Jeffrey Stephen Scott. The Honor Professor Award was pre sented to Dr. Donald R. Levi, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M. The Attendance Gavel was awarded to the Collegiate FFA Club for having more members present at the convocation than any of the other technical clubs compris ing the Student Agricultural Council. Yesterday, the College of Agriculture sponsored a career day for high school students thinking of attending Texas A&M. Booths for each department in the College of Agriculture were set up in the Rudder Tower Exhibit Hall with two stu dents and one professor at each booth to answer questions. The high school stu dents were also taken on tours of the cam pus. Fred McClure, Texas A&M student body president, gave a speech at 9:30 a.m. in Rudder Theatre. He urged the students to use their talents and not to let them go to waste. “You’ve got to believe you can make ag riculture better by taking advantage of the opportunities it provides,” McClure said. Hubanak Williams defends A&M System’s $383 million budget in Austin Four days after being reinstated to pres idency, Dr. Jack K. Williams traveled to Austin Friday to appear before the Texas House Appropriations Committee to de fend the Texas A&M System budget. The $383 million budget request in cluded $199 million in state revenue for 1978 and $184 million for 1979. The com mittee’s hearines are in oreoaration for state House recommendations for this year’s allocations. Williams was accompanied by Student Body President Fred McClure, Corps Commander Robert Harvey and other students and administrators at the hour- long hearing. Prairie View A&M, Tafleton State Uni versity, Moody College and the Engineer ing Experiment and Extension Services, all parts of the A&M System, defended their specific budget requests during the hearing. Issues included setting a minimum fac ulty workload, allocating funds to organize research, and housing University person nel on campus. The committee considered setting a legal minimum on the number of hours taught by each faculty member. Williams described such efforts as “dis astrous” and suggested the committee consider setting average workload re quirements for each school rather than Pan Am, Spanish officials deny crash responsibility United Press International SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Spain — The smoking wreckage of two Boeing 747s still litters the scarred runway where nearly 600 people died. Spanish air offi cials and Pan American airlines deny re sponsibility for the fiery crash and KLM airlines says it will await official findings before commenting. The Spanish government said Monday 562 persons were killed in the collision Sunday during takeoff maneuvers on the foggy runway. KLM and Pan Am put the death toll at 574. By either count, it was the worst avi ation disaster in history with only about 70 survivors. The scorched tail of the KLM plane was the only part left standing yesterday. Two sheared wings and a pile of ashes marked the remains of the Pan Am airliner. Clothes, tennis shoes and magazines lit tered the runway. Dozens of investigators have descended on the small holiday island 200 miles off the coast of Morocco to try to determine why Look for the College Station City Council and A&M Consolidated Inde pendent School District election guide in tomor row’s Battalion. the two planes were on the same runway when the KLM plane roared for takeoff at 186 miles an hour. Spanish authorities yesterday said a misunderstanding could have caused the collision, but an air ministry statement is sued later denied that the control tower was responsible. “Any type of sabotage or the failure in the communications of the control, tower or its personnel can be discounted,” the ministry communique said. In New York, Pan Am officials denied a report carried by the Spanish news agency Cifra that the Pan Am pilot may have mis understood control tower directions and instead of turning into a parking area moved onto a runway in front of the KLM plane. KLM spokesman Hans Fischer said in New York his airline would have no state ment on the crash “until the investigating commissions have made their first find ings.” Both planes, on charter tours, were originally scheduled to land at Las Palmas on Tenerife’s sister island, but were tem porarily diverted because of a separatist bomb explosion in the airport there. Provincial Governor Antonio Oyar- zabal, speaking at a news conference yes terday, said when the all-clear was given at Las Palmas, the Tenerife control tower told the KLM 747 to go to the head of the runway. He said the Pan Am crew was then told to taxi to a standby position. “Both planes took to the runway,” he said. “The key point is whether the KLM plane crew had been given orders to take off.” vvunvmum requirements for individual pro fessors. Regarding a 50 per cent cut of research funds to all state institutions, Williams suggested cuts be made on an individual school basis rather than across the board, and cited what he termed the tremendous amount of properly conducted research in the Texas A&M System as an example. The committee also considered allowing only one member of the faculty/staff to live on campus. Williams said the blanket pro posal would adversely affect some areas. Many agricultural experiment stations have staff in residence to protect property and animals, he said. Vice President John Koldus’ residence on the A&M campus would be affected by the proposal if passed. Williams said in that case, Koldus would be charged rent. “The committee was attentive, courte ous and understanding of our needs,” said W. Clyde Freeman, executive vice presi dent for administration. “I think the fact that Bill Presnal (chairman of the commit tee) is from Bryan will help because he’s familiar with our operations.” Williams said he thought the hearing went well and that the group was well re ceived. The committee will make specific rec ommendations to the House on the sys tem’s budget at a later date. Battalion photo by Jim Crawley Strong winds subsiding Sunday night’s rains and winds wrecked havoc on the current crop of student election signs at the corner of Spence and Ross Streets. However, these winds have subsided today and the fore cast reads mostly cloudy and mild with an over cast of fog and strata. High today in the upper 70s. Low tonight in the mid-40s and high tomorrow in the upper 70s. No precipitation is in sight. Bill regulating mad dogs passes House United Press International AUSTIN — Legislation giving Texas counties the power to adopt ordinances regulating “mad dogs, fireworks, massage parlors and other ill sins of society” has passed its first House test. The House approved yesterday 81-59 an amendment to the bill placing some re strictions on the ordinance-making power it grants to counties. But the proposal, de bated more than three hours, also pre- It’s spring!!! Two unidentified male streakers reportedly raced through the Com mons this morning about 1. Several persons — all males — chased the intruders, but lost the pair in Aston. Two women reportedly applauded and cheered as the pair went by. vented consideration of a dozen or more other proposed restrictions that the bill’s sponsors said would have made it mean ingless. “We need to pass this bill so we don’t wind up with everything under the control of some fat cat, big city bureaucracy either here or in Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Phil Cates, D-Lefors, sponsor of the bill. “This bill contains sufficient safeguards to protect our counties against unscrupul ous public officials, especially the Texas Legislature, and leaves control in the hands of people who walk those streets.” Cates was successful in amending the bill to prohibit county commissioners, however, from passing ordinances dealing with agricultural activities, timber farm ing, zoning, gun control or hunting and fishing. Opponents of the bill injected a number of controversial issues into the debate, in cluding the proposal on gun control. Rep. John Wilson, D-La Grange, asked Cates if the bill would permit counties to adopt gun control ordinances. “God forbid,” Cates replied. “I didn’t ask you what God forbid, I asked you if a county could adopt an ordi nance on gun control under this bill,” Wil son said. “If anybody tried it they’d probably be dead, at least in my district,” Cates re sponded. The House defeated an attempt to re move the agricultural exemption from the bill, and an amendment that would have limited the ordinance-making authority to counties of more than 50,000 population. “I don’t like this bill in the first place, but if we can have some amendments on it we can at least make it acceptable to the people I represent,” said Rep. Buck Flor ence, D-Hughes Spring, sponsor of the amendment exempting 221 of the state’s 254 counties from the bill. Senators Monday approved 20-10 a bill permitting hotels to serve guests cocktails in their rooms. The “booze in bed” bill was cheered when it arrived in the House for consideration. Hotel guests may currently order beer and wine in their rooms, but must go to the bar for cocktails. Candidates for student body president, vice presi dent and yell leader are asked to come by The Bat talion office in Reed McDonald 216 to pick up questionnaires and to have pictures taken for The Bat talion’s special student elections page. "\