Battalion
Vol. 70 No. 102
8 Pages
Thursday, April 7, 1977 News Dept. 845-2611
College Station, Texas Business Dept. 845-2611
Senate committee approves Coleman
Anti-abortionists fail to stop controversial A&M appointee
By CATHY BREWER
The morality of abortion was the basis for discussion yester-
ay when Texas A&M University’s regent nominee. Dr. John
IJpoleman, appeared before a seven-man Texas Senate com-
littee in Austin.
Despite heavy testimony against Coleman’s part-ownership
fCullen Women’s Center abortion clinic in Houston, the
ommittee voted 6 to 1 for recommending approval of Coleman
a tlie board.
He is scheduled to appear before a full Senate hearing next
/eek.
Sen. Walter Mengden of Houston asked that the hearing,
riginally set for today, be postponed until he could be pres-
nt
Mengden asked Coleman several questions, one of which
Sen. Betty Andujar of Fort Worth found objectionable. An-
dujar said Mengden was “completely out of order” when he
asked what was done with the bodies of the aborted fetuses.
“The thing we are debating here is whether or not this man
is qualified enough to serve on Texas A&M’s board of regents,”
Andujar said. “Questions such as this are irrelevant to the issue
at hand.”
Coleman told the committee that the clinic did abortions up
to 18 to 20 weeks from the woman’s last period. “It is our
choice not to do abortions beyond 20 weeks,” he said.
Witness Ira Early, president of Life Advocates (an anti
abortion group) did not agree with Coleman’s statement. “I
submit one case where Cullen Women’s Center did an abor
tion at seven months,” he said. “Perhaps Dr. Coleman was not
involved, but it does make you question if his morals are suffi
cient enough to allow him a position on Texas A&M’s Board of
Regents.”
Early was prepared to give a lengthy presentation but was
cut short by Chairman Peyton McKnight who said he would
like to abstain from any type of emotional appeal.
Sen. Jack Ogg of Houston pushed away a pamphlet Early
passed around showing pictures of aborted fetuses. “This is far
outstretching the issue,” he said.
Houston attorney Lewis E. Berry, another witness, said
Coleman was “unworthy of associating with moral and civilized
people.” He asked that the committee “not consider an abor
tionist for the nomination just as it should not approve of
pimps, prostitutes, Nazis or Communists.”
Gertrude Sanja, an anti-abortionist who gave testimony, said
that after listening to Coleman for an hour, she was convinced
of his “fine qualifications for the job.”
A member of Early’s group, Mary E. Donovan, said she
considered it wrong to honor Coleman with a position on the
board. “College students get some sense of morals from those
who represent them,” she said. “What kind of example would
this be to follow?”
Coleman, who resigned his position on Texas Southern Uni
versity’s board upon nomination to the A&M board, said he
thought he could contribute something to the board at A&M.
“I’ve been unusually impressed by the teaching and research
done on campus, he said. “I would like to do my best to serve
Texas A&M.
Human rights controversy
not political, speaker says
By JOHN SNEED
Amnesty International, an organization
xracerned with human rights, hopes that
immy Carter will continue to remain im-
lirtial in his intervention into the hu-
Hn rights question, warned Joshua Ru-
Histein.
Speaking in conjunction with the Inter-
ional Students Association and Political
M University students last night that it
important to remove politics from the
e of human rights.
Car ter must be careful not to create
tain problems. He must see to it that
jman rights doesn’t become a political
ue, used as a club to show superiority
id Rubenstein.
A freelance writer and authority on
iet dissidents, Rubenstein has worked
h Amnesty International for two years.
Aperience important
He is a 1971 graduate of Columbia Uni
versity, and has contributed articles to the
New Republic, Commentary and the New
York Times Book Review.
Amnesty International is a London
based organization founded in 1961,
whose main object is to help gain the re
lease of anyone who has been imprisoned
for political, religious or racial reasons.
Because of the group’s actions, more
than 10,000 prisoners have been released
from prison, and many thousands more
were not arrested because of the watchdog
tactics of Amnesty International, said
Rubenstein.
He explained that the organization was
one that collects information in an attempt
to publicize the torture and unlawful de
tention of people all over the world.
Amnesty International obtains most of
proposal may give
ay raises to teachers
United Press International
AUSTIN — A House subcommittee has
cided experienced teachers are worth
bre money, but in passing a $263 million
ay increase it also decided new teachers
en’t worth much more than they used to
“Given the number of dollars we have
t teacher pay raises, the legislature has
to set priorities,” Rep. Dan Kubiak,
D-Rockdale, said yesterday.
“Were going to have to give the
eatest percentage increases to those who
ed it most, and that would be those who
ve been in service longer. They’re the
es who have suffered the most from in-
tion,” Kubiak said.
The subcommittee submitted the pay
ecommendation to the House Education
Committee, which scheduled a session
oday to consider the bill in an effort to get
»pies of it to the legislators before they
eave town for Easter weekend.
Rep. Tom Massey, D-San Angelo, said
he bill would cost the state more than the
200 million he preferred, but he said it
vas not an unreasonable amount.
[“Were still under $1 billion for the
intire school finance package,” Massey
aid. “We re in the neighborhood of $950
million and that is not an unreasonable
amount for us to be placing in public edu
cation this year,” he said.
Last week the Education Committee
approved a school finance bill estimated to
cost the stae $694 million. That proposal
was set for consideration next week.
Under the teacher pay raise proposal
adopted by the subcommittee, the salary
for beginning teachers with a bachelor de
gree would increase only $84 a year.
Significant pay increases would begin
for teachers with three years experience,
and salaries would increase from the pres
ent $8,950 to $9,400 annually.
The proposed legislation would add
three new experience steps to the teacher
pay scale, enabling a bachelor degree
teacher with 19 or more years of experi
ence to earn up to $14,382 a year.
Kubiak said he favored larger raises, but
he said the state had no more money avail
able.
He said he and other legislators would
attempt to attach larger pay raises when
the House debates the teacher pay bill.
One of his proposals would raise teacher
pay 10 per cent in fiscal 1978 and 20 per
cent in 1979.
Kubiak said the cost of that proposal
would be between $400 million and $500
million.
its information from individuals around
the world.
“In every country in the world there are
people who care about human rights,” said
Rubenstein.
“They get lists of prisoners, attend trials
if there are any trials, and then they try to
get the information to us. Amnesty Inter
national also tries to send its own obser
vers to political trials when permitted.”
Rubenstein said that when the informa
tion is compiled on conditions and num
bers of prisoners in a country, a conserva
tive estimate of the figures is always given
because of the uncertainty of the sources.
In recent months, Amnesty Interna
tional has stated that between 30,000 and
300,000 persons have been executed in
Uganda; 100,000 political prisoners have
been held without trial in Indonesia since
1965; and that between 25,000 and
100,000 persons have been jailed in Iran
for political reasons.
The strength of Amnesty International
is publicity, said Rubenstein, because na
tions are embarrassed and afraid of the
truth and become inhibited by it.
Besides publicity through the media,
letter writing campaigns to various gov
ernment officials around the world,
gathering petitions and visiting embassys
on the behalf of political prisoners are
methods used to pressure repressive gov
ernments.
Rubenstein said that Amnesty Interna
tional has become increasingly concerned
with the widespread use of torture. “It is
used mainly to affect society at large—to
inhibit dissension from generating among
the people,” he said.
He added that there is documented
proof of systematic starvation of, and com
plete lack of medical attention for Soviet
political prisoners.
While here to speak on human rights,
Rubenstein said he would be more than
happy to help start a local organization of
Amnesty International
College Station area.
in the Bryan-
Battalion photo by Cathy Day
Balloons and ballots
The Memorial Student Center was filled with students who were partici
pating in student body elections yesterday.
Citizens study
design, site
of civic center
Recommendations for the College Sta
tion Civic Center will be studied by a
three member committee established at
Monday night’s City Council meeting.
The committee, consisting of council-
men Lane Stephenson, Jim Dozier and
Gary Halter, will study a recommendation
report made by a citizens’ committee on
the civic center. The report was submitted
on March 15.
The citizens’ committee is divided into
two subcommittees, a building committee
and a site recommendation committee.
Seven sites were evaluated in the report
as possible locations for the center’s con
struction. Two of the sites are public
property.
The first location is at Texas Avenue
across from K Mart. It was originally
bought for a new city warehouse and
police station.
The second location is owned by the
A&M Consolidated School District. It is at
Holick and Anderson.
The other five locations are privately
owned and were not released because the
owners had not been contacted by the
council. At Monday night’s meeting, the
council instructed City Manager North
Bardell to contact the owners.
The citizens’ committee recommenda
tion wiil require a minimum of 10 acres.
Construction costs are estimated at
$560,000. It will be partially funded by the
hotel-motel tax as approved in last year’s
bond election.
The citizen’s report suggests that the
building inculde: two multi-purpose
rooms (for parties, meetings, dancing and
dining), four counference-meeting rooms,
a kitchen, three arts and crafts rooms, a
social room, library, lobby and activity
room.
The committee will discuss the pro
posed community center tomorrow after
noon.
No date has been set for the center’s
completion.
White cell production method found
United Press International
SARASOTA, Fla. — In a development
that could improve cancer care for
thousands, a doctor today reported finding
a simple way to produce white blood cells
often gravely needed to replace body dis
ease fighters suppressed by anti-cancer
drugs.
Dr. Isaac Djerassi of the Mercy Catholic
Medical Center at Darby, Pa., said the
new method of separating white cells from
the blood of donors will expand the capa
bility to small blood banks around the
world.
Until now, only about 100 major medi
cal centers in the nation have been able to
separate white blood cells from plasma.
This required one of two types of expen
sive and complicated machines requiring
teams of skilled personnel. The process is
slow and can only meet the needs of a
small fraction of cancer patients.
“In fact, with very few exceptions,
■major cancer centers have priority lists for
patients, who should be given the
privilege of clearing their life-threatening
infections,” Djerassi said at an American
Cancer Society seminar for science
writers.
His technique is simple. A pint of blood
is taken from a donor, then clotting agents
called platelets are removed from the
blood by spinning it in a centrifuge.
The remaining red cells and white cells
are suspended in a clear fluid with low
viscosity and a chemical called hy-
droxyethl starch is added. In 12 minutes,
the red cells fall to the bottom of the con
tainer and the white cells float on top.
The white cells are collected and the
red cells are given back to the donor.
Djerassi said the method is more than
80 per cent efficient, compared to 20 to 40
per cent efficient for the older techniques.
This means far more white cells can be
taken from far less blood.
Dr. Frank Rauscher, vice president of
the Cancer Society and past director of the
National Cancer Institute, called the
Djerassi method “quite remarkable.” He
predicted 100,000 cancer patients would
benefit.
Kissinger gives IRS extension
on Rocky’s $50,000 ‘gift’ decision
A new Beauty Treatment?
Battalion photo by Jim Crawley
These residents of Hotard dorm decided that the sunny weather and
warm temperatures yesterday were perfect for a frolick in the mud.
The residents placed a “slip-n-slide” behind the dorm and used it to slide
into a mud puddle.
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Henry Kissinger
has agreed to give the Internal Revenue
Service more time to determine if he
should pay income taxes on his $50,000
“gift” from Nelson Rockefeller in 1969,
UPI learned today.
A source close to the former secretary of
state said Kissinger signed a waiver neces
sary to extend the statute of limitations in
the case.
Kissinger is one of 27 friends or as
sociates who received gifts totaling $2 mil
lion from the former vice president and
who are being investigated by the IRS.
The IRS has ruled in two test cases that
the Rockefeller gifts were actually income
and therefore subject to income taxes,
since the recipients worked for Rockefel
ler when he was governor of New York
State.
Ironically the ruling could mean a $1
million windfall for Rockefeller.
Rockefeller paid nearly $1 million in gift
taxes on the funds. If the IRS rules the
money was income, he will get the gift tax
back. The government then will have to
collect the income tax from all the recipi
ents — and the total could be more than
Rockefeller originally paid in gift taxes.
Rockefeller said he gave Kissinger
$50,000 in 1969 so he could pay personal
debts related to his divorce and the sup
port of two sons, and so he could afford to
enter government service.
Weather
Continued faff and mild today, to
night and tomorrow. Winds south*
edy at 6*12 nrup.h. High today in
the low 60s, Low tonight in the
upper 60s. Outlook for the
weekend is partly cloudy and mild,
with some early morning fog. No
! precipitation Is In sight
mmmmrn