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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1977)
of Engine (l ; ’ reer of Ho® . Geoscientei Cleburne, C(j A, 'C; Garrei irdson, MooJ e Sciences an Llrc es; Ro() t: llr les, La,, Cij md Jeffrey EJ College -ine. Lhi Kappa n tudents m point ratio»; p five or ] or senior Battalion Thursday, April 21, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Tentative approval won for lethal injection bills 7 1 J c V I EK y United Press International Legislators in Texas and Oklahoma have given tentative approval to replacing the electric chair with lethal injections to exe cute condemned men “humanely, like you do stray dogs.” The Oklahoma House yesterday ap proved an amended version of a bill already passed by that state s Senate. The Texas House also gave its tentative approval to a lethal injection bill. In Oklahoma the measure now returns to the Senate for consideration of House amendments. The Texas death by injection bill faces one more House vote before being sent to the Senate for consideration. In both states, supporters argued the electric chair was a barbaric method of execution. “Anything above the level of death by injection is torture and we need to get rid of it, said Rep. David Hood, D-Oklahoma City. “If you are going to execute people, you should do it humanely, like you do stray dogs. Rep. Bill Wiseman, R-Tulsa, told the Oklahoma House. In Austin, Tex., Rep. Ben Grant, D-Marshall, displayed a waist-high picture of the state’s electric chair and offered a graphic description of death by electrocu tion. Grant said persons electrocuted are hit with 1,800 volts of electricity. “Their body arches from the chair, and you see a red glow from the body because he is being an electrical conductor. ” He said the voltage is then temporarily reduced to 500 volts. “This is to keep him from catching fire and burning up. Then there is the sick sweet smell of burned flesh, but the state has installed a fan to carry that away. Then a doctor has to wait a while until the body cools before he can declare him dead.” In both states opposition came from legislators who said execution by injection would be too easy a death. Rep. Bob Parris, D-Sallisaw, told the Oklahoma House the bill is “soft on crimi nals.” “Some of us out here probably would let all of them go and just say pray for them, Parris said. Rep. T. H. McDonald, D-Mesquite, had a similar complaint in Texas. “What do you propose as an adequate way to destroy that mad dog that rapes a woman or a little girl and cuts her up?’ asked McDonald. “I get so upset when I think about slapping them on the hands and saying, ‘Don’t kill anybody else. “Mr. McDonald, execution is not a slap on the hand regardless of how it is carried out, Grant replied. Book tells about life with Ernest Hemingway talks of spouse Gunning for first place Battalion photo by Linda Howard Freshman members of the Texas A&M Universi ty Women’s Drill Team are shown practicing for the state championship meet to be held this Satur day in San Antonio. The team consists of 14 mem bers and is currently tied for first place with the University of Texas at El Paso. To win the cham pionship, A&M must win three of the four events Saturday, or must place highest in overall points of the five teams competing. The Women’s Drill Team is only two years old, but won the State Championship last year in its first competition. Members of the team, from left to right, are: Thelma Roman, Sandra Francis, Eve Totin, and (front) Carol Polly. By SUSIE TURNER “I thought he was a great big over bearded monster,” Mary Welsh Heming way said of the first impression her hus band Ernest made in 1943. “Ernest was a complicated, complex, ebullient, warm, sometimes exasperating, endearing, violent and virulent man,” Hemingway told the audience in Zachry Auditorium last night. “We somehow worked out a symbiosis.” &&M life uncomfortable for blacks By PHYLLIS CARVER n 1963, Texas A&M University opened doors to all civilians, women and cks. 'low, 14 years later, there are 26,000 ilians, 9,000 women, but only 100 cks. iVhy hasn’t the enrollment of blacks at :M increased as much as might have m expected? ?red McClure, student body president id a black, said one reason more blacks not attend A&M is the lack of social ivities for blacks. Chandra Myers, past president of Black areness Committee, agreed. Most blacks don’t consider A&M be- se they can’t identify with anything re, she said. “The first thing they ask is at concerts do we have here, then, at social activities are there for blacks. ” When I came here in 1974 there were ly three black girls on campus. I walked mnd four weeks before I saw a black ■e. I didn’t feel comfortable here at all first year.” Myers said she has been criticized by her blacks for not attending a predomi- antly black school They asked why I didn’t go to Prairie ew (A&M) so it could get more funds, ley’re worried that the black colleges lose their funds and fade away if they n’t get better attendance,” Myers said. Blacks are also concerned that a black lident at a predominantly white school 11 change his identity, she said. Tfs great to better yourself, but don’t get who you are or reject your back- round,” Myers said. I’ve seen black Corps members turn d walk another way to avoid saying hello other blacks,” Myers said. The social atmosphere is not the only tor. Robert A. Lacey, registrar, said fi nances might also be a reason. “A&M has no general scholarship for minorities as some other schools do,” he said. Lacey added that A&M makes efforts to be easily accessible to all students. A&M contacts National Achievement Students (National Merit scholars who ask to be listed as blacks), said Daniel Her nandez, assistant director of admissions. Hernandez has visited predominantly minority schools and worked with federal minority programs to acquaint minorities with A&M. “One girl asked if we still had to chop cotton as a course here,” Hernandez said. Myers said that in the past A&M was considered an all-white military college and is still considered to be an agricultural college. McClure said he has had no problems. “If anything, audiences seem to be more receptive to what I am saying be cause they want to know what a black as president of A&M is saying,” McClure said. Myers said that she has had only one bad experience, racially, at A&M. “The first year I was here,” said Myers, “I got on the elevator in the library with a friend and some guy stepped out and said he wasn’t riding with any damn nigger.” Athletic Director Emory Bellard said that, of the 100 blacks at A&M, 51 are on athletic scholarships. Wet ground moves muster back into G. Rollie White Aggie Muster, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. has been moved to G. Rollie White Coliseum because of the wet ground in front of the Systems Building, the original sight. Muster is the Texas A&M tradition when students and former students honor deceased comrades. Speaker for this year’s muster will be a former prisoner of war. Air Force Maj. James Edwin Ray. Ray, a 1963 Texas A&M University graduate, was a North Vietnamese prisoner of war for seven years. As a part of the muster tradition, a roll call of the absent is taken. Living friends answer “here” as names of Aggies who died last year are called. Muster, an event held on the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto at A&M since 1903, will be held all over the world wherever Aggies gather to remember the dead. The campus program also includes “The Spirit of Aggieland” played by the Texas Aggie Band, “Silver Taps” by hand buglers and a rifle salute by the Ross Volunteers Firing Squad. The Singing Cadets’ will sing “Auld Lang Syne. McClure said that the great number of black athletes at A&M does not misrepre sent the proportion of blacks to whites. “A&M tries to attract the best athletes without regard to color,” he said. “We should stop thinking in terms of black and white,” said Bellard. Dr. Haskell Monroe, dean of faculties, said that of the 1,525 faculty members, four are blacks. “A&M works as hard as we know how to recruit highly talented faculty members,” he said. “We are concerned with bringing a va riety of backgrounds, geographic and ethnic, together for the students. We are careful to recruit black, Hispanic and female faculty because this is a visible proof of A&M’s tolerance.” But there are not many minority in structors in A&M’s agriculture, engineer ing, veterinary medicine, and geoscienc es, Monroe said. “I think the dignity of the individual is important, not that individual’s ethnic background,” Monroe said. Living with Ernest called for a very busy lifestyle, Hemingway said. People were always coming to stay with them, especially during the 17 years they lived in Cuba. One day, she had written in her diary, marked the first time in 54 days that she and Ernest could lunch alone. Ernest was not always easy to live with, Hemingway said. Sometimes spats over the littlest things turned into a major verbal battle. “One time Ernest accused me of shrink ing the necks of his shirts,” she said with a smile. But those years in Cuba were good ones, Hemingway said. Lunchtimes were full of songs, friends and lots of wine. Mary Hemingway said her husband wrote about things he really knew. “I think that the Nick Adams he wrote about in those number of short stories was certainly similar to Ernest,” she said. If it hadn’t been for Mary Hemingway, “The Old Man and the Sea” would have ended with the old man’s death. She encouraged her husband to let the old man live, because “everyone would like it bet ter that way.” He changed the ending. Many literary reviewers have written about symbolism in “The Old Man and the Sea. According to his wife, Ernest said: “I wrote a story. If they want to put symbols in it, let them.” “He was dedicated to authenticity and accuracy,” Hemingway said. That is why he disliked every film about himself or his work except “The Killers.” Hemingway also talked about the years during World War II, before she met Er nest, when she wrote for the London Daily Express and later became a correspondent for the Time’s London Bureau . “In London, every night, 10,000 to 20,000 people were made homeless,” she said. HEMINGWAY “With incredible ingenuity, the British made do. Incidents,’ the British people called the bombings. It seemed like such an understatement to me. Hemingway also told antecdotes about several writers she had known during her early career before she met Ernest. She reminisced about Carl Sandburg, who nicknamed her “Minnesota” after finding out it was her native state. She mentioned some of the naive things she had said to him as an “inexperienced cub reporter of 33. Once while interviewing George Ber nard Shaw, she mentioned how handsome he was. “I wish all playwrites looked as well as they wrote,” she said. Shaw replied: “The surfaces of objects seldom proclaim their contents. Mary Hemingway has been lecturing throughout the United States since Oc tober to promote her new book “The Way It Was.” Aggie Muster: Former Students around the world reminisce House members give tentative approval to new property tax code revision bill United Press International [AUSTIN — Despite warnings they (ere creating a massive new bureaucracy, louse members tentatively have ap- iroved a property tax code revision which ould create appraisal offices in each punty. I The House debated the issues for more lan four hours yesterday before tenta- Vely approving the measure 85-61 and Iheduling it for final consideration today. It’s against my personal convictions to ss legislation that creates a complex new Jireaucracy,” said Rep. Leonard Briscoe, D-Fort Worth. Weather UPJjjll | with more showers Iteindershowefs today and to-. ‘. fNgh today tn the upper 70s, tonight tn the upper 60s- etoudy through mid-day to- fcecoroing partly cloudy afternoon. High in the Precipitation probability MMtaililtMiiiiliiMB “It’s a step in the wrong direction and, in my opinion, would cause an over whelming amount of paperwork.” Reps. Wayne Peveto, D-Orange, and Robert Maloney, R-Dallas, the bill’s spon sors, said the measure would be the only effective taxpayer’s remedy available. “Everyone knows it, property tax is one of the unfairest taxes in the state, but there is no way we can abolish it,” Maloney said. “We don’t know what the answer is but at least with the taxes we have, let’s have them administered fairly and equitably. The measure would create three state wide boards to administer the new prop erty tax code — to monitor the appraisal of property, set standards for appraisers and hear appeals in tax disputes. It also would create appraisal districts for each county, but would allow county taxing authorities to withdraw from the districts. Briscoe tried unsuccessfully several times to change the provisions giving county tax offices the option of joining the program, which is mandatory for school, city and other tax districts. Proponents said Briscoe’s amendments would have “gutted” the bill. “I do not believe the bill will bring about the reform it intends to bring about if it hopes counties will enter the program voluntarily,” Briscoe said. Peveto said the appeals process estab lished in the bill would allow property owners several methods of protesting un fair taxes. “Will this bill raise property taxes in your area? My answer to that is definitely no,” said Peveto, who contended local tax ing authorities could not increase property taxes without first posting notices of the increase and then conducting a public hearing. House members defeated a proposal by Rep. John Wilson, D-LaGrange, to tax holders of bank stock rather than the banks. “Let’s treat banks like we treat every body else,” Wilson said. “If you want to tax bank stock, tax the person who owns that stock, not the bank.” Wilson said the measure would result in more types of property being taxed. “I guarantee it will increase bureauc racy, increase and valorem taxes and will increase paperwork, ” Wilson said. The House also rejected proposals to tax intangible property, or property other than real estate, and to require disclosure of property improvements totaling $5,000 or more. In Egypt, Aggies may gather in silent memorial to deceased classmates while watching the sun rise over the pyramids. In Sweden, drinks may be lifted in “skal” to the occasion. From Madrid to Kuwait, April 21 offers an opportunity for Aggies all over the world to meet in their area for Aggie Mus ter — perhaps the only time of the year they meet. “If there is an A&M man in 100 miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas,” according to the March, 1923 Texas Aggie. When Aggies get together for muster it may range from a shrimp broil to a candlelight service. The Texas A&M University Former Student’s Association sends a program to each muster chairman which offers suggestions for the ceremony. The rest is up to the individual club. In New Orleans last year, muster was held during a beer and barbecue outing. In Norway it is usually a cocktail party. But musters in other places aren’t al ways planned. About two years ago a U.S. Navy frog man was clearing mines in the Suez Canal. While working he met several Egyptians who had graduated from A&M, so they celebrated muster by going out to eat, partying in Cairo and watching the sun rise. In Madrid, Spain, last year, one muster club went out to dinner after the cere mony. While at the restaurant, another Aggie family from Pamplona, Spain, hap pened to be there and joined them. Musters have been held on airplanes, submarines— anywhere Aggies happen to be. But there are problems encountered in organizing a muster in other parts of the United States or the world. “Sometimes communications are hard to cope with,” said James L. Youngblood, a Texas A&M graduate working with Brown and Root in Stavanger, Norway. He said trying to get films that are ex changed with other clubs in Norway is very difficult due to communication prob lems. Also a problem for a muster chairman is organizing and contacting large numbers of A&M alumni in a state or foreign country. Dallas had about 700 people at their muster last year. There are eight musters in Germany, with 38 people attending one last year. Saudi Arabia had 34 persons at one of its musters. Aggies in other states and countries enjoy getting together for muster, seeing old and new friends and remembering those they have lost. Most muster club members don’t see each other except at muster. They look forward to it more than those on the A&M campus because people here see each other every day, said Pat Gersbach, assis tant and secretary to the field director. Youngblood referred to muster in Nor way as “just a yearly thing.” .. . - “We merely learn who’s living here. It’s just a social occasion.” He said that mus ters in other countries do not have the same atmosphere as the one at Texas A&M. “It’s not really a solemn occasion. But today, all over the world. Aggies have the chance to capture the spirit of muster and join together once again. MANILA A&M CLUB