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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1977)
Page 2 Viewpoint The Battalion Monday Texas A&M University August 1, 1977 tell for new president Time will ! Dr. Jarvis E. Miller became the 18th president - of Texas A&M University Friday. Dr. Jack K. '.Williams became the third chancellor of the Texas A&M University System at the same time. It would seem the administrative restructuring „ within the University system is complete. But in Xfact its only beginning. I - It will be some time before the delicate balance I between University and system offices is estab- Ilished. It’s been 12 years since Texas A&M had I both a president and a system chancellor, so the I division in powers and jurisdiction between the • two is none too clear. In theory. Dr. Williams’ office would concen- • trate on system-wide problems, programs and • plans; Dr. Miller’s jurisdiction would include mat ters relating specifically to the University. But ^there’s lots of room for territory to overlap. There’s little doubt who’s the boss. Dr. I-Williams has made very clear that he will remain I the liaison between the board of regents and all :ureas within the system. *« He also gained a great deal of control in several • ureas through four subordinates appointed by the I regents Friday. Dr. John C. Calhoun, formerly I-University vice-president for academic affairs, be- • jcame system vice-chancellor for programs. System attorney James Bond became vice-chancellor for legal affairs and Robert L. Walker, formerly Uni versity director of development, became the vice chancellor for development. In addition. Lane B. Stephenson, formerly associate director of the University News Service, became an assistant to the chancellor for public information. Those four new positions join the recently formed vice-chancellor for administration posi tion that W. Clyde Freeman holds. What does all that shifting mean? It means that Dr. Williams is understandably taking his hand picked subordinates up to the system level with him. Freeman, Calhoun, Bond, Walker and Stephenson will all be doing the same basic jobs, in their same areas of expertise, with slightly wider responsibility. But they will answer directly to the chancellor’s office and not to the new University president. The new vice-chancellor system follows the same basic administrative structure Williams es tablished here when he became University and system president in 1970. Now there are vice- chancellors assigned to 1) construction and bud geting, 2) academics, and 3) funding (develop ment) just as there were vice-presidents assigned to these areas when Williams was President. Which leaves Miller with at least the academic vice-president post for the university to fill as soon as possible. In a university system with several large, di verse universities or campuses, a chancellor would have to divide his time between the different cam puses. But the Texas A&M system — although it contains great diversity and land throughout Texas — has its heart, mind and insides right here in College Station. The extension services, the re search and experimental programs and the major ity of the academics are centered here. So this is where the system chancellor should be — in the center of things. But that could be un comfortable for a president who wants to be free to run his campus his own way. Dr. Miller has a solid background in managing programs, especially the Texas Agricultural Ex tension Service, and in research and in education. Much will depend on how he uses his talents to shape his administration. University officials generally agree that Texas A&M and the University system have grown too large to not operate under a chancellorship sys tem. The programs are too diverse, the respon sibilities too large and the sheer size too great to make any other system practical. But the manner in which these two men, the new chancellor and the newer president, shape and mold their administrations will have monumental effects on the University and the sys tem in years to come. The next few months will Score one for dorm students ; Dorm students won a small victory Friday ; when the Texas A&M Board of Regents decided 7to renovate and maintain Leggett Hall as a men’s dorm. Leggett had been slated for conversion to office ■ 'space later this year. But the regents’ building ■ committee decided on a 2-1 vote Thursday to keep Leggett as a non-airconditioned dorm. That decision came only after almost an hour of - unusually-spirited debate between the commit- tee’s members and University Chancellor Jack K. "-’Williams. Williams has earned a reputation as a frequent ’ champion of student interests and he didn’t ■budge an inch Thursday in defending students’ need for that dorm. “We can ask the academics to make adjust ments, but we can’t do anything when we lose a dormitory,” he said. He pointed out that the dorm had to be renovated, no matter what was done with it, but that the non-air-conditioned op tion was cheaper than any other. He argued that Leggett was meant specifically for students with out much money who might not be able to attend A&M without the inexpensive housing that dorm offers. But regent and committee chairman H.C. Bell was just as determined the dorm should be turned into offices. He defended the “business standpoint,” as he called it, of converting the dorm to faculty offices and classrooms. The 187 students that live in that dorm will be out of a place to stay anyway while the dorm is being ren ovated, he said. But Williams was firm. “I’d hate to go into another season telling people we’re doing nothing for dorms, and even taking one away,” he said. He added that there is “extreme pressure” on the University’s administrators to add more on- campus housing. The other two regents on the building commit tee, John Coleman of Houston, and Ross Watkins of Uvalde, eventually sided with Williams. The rest of the board of regents agreed with them, keeping the dorm for students. Dr. Coleman summed up very well our opinion when he said Thursday, “We can teach students under a tree, but we can’t ask them to sleep there.” L.R.L. campaign Dole opening up for 1980 By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — By the time Bob Dole reached the Senate, it was no longer adequate to say, “Beat Nebraska,” when the question asked was, “What are your foreign policy views, Senator?” Yet, for most of his tenure in Congress, the Kansas Republican had an equally succinct view of the best course for the United States in the world. It was, “Sell wheat.” But then, almost a year ago, Gerald Ford chose Dole as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate and statesmanship beckoned. His best-remembered cam paign line may have been his reference to World War I, World War II and the Ko rean conflict as “Democrat wars.” But he also talked about candidate Jimmy Carter’s “dangerously superficial understanding of fundamental geopolitics.” For a fellow from Russell, Kansas, that was pretty heady stuff. Now the “dangerously superficial” one has taken over the government, and Dole’s involvement in foreign policy has grown apace with his ambition for the White House. These days, his activities offer a fascinating demonstration of how a smart, energetic politician can turn even the most complex, sensitive issues of foreign policy into grist for his political mill. Dole faced one immediate obstacle when he decided to take his plunge into the diplomatic pool. His Kansas colleague. Sen. Jim Pearson (R), was already on the Foreign Relations Committee and there seemed no way to displace him. But as chance would have it, the defeat of Sen. Jim Buckley, the conservative Republican from New York opened a Republican spot on the Commission on Security and Coop eration in Europe. That’s the official U.S. body supervising compliance with the Helsinki accords on human rights. Dole sought the vacancy and has be come one of the most active and conscien tious members of the commission. He is demonstrating almost daily how the human rights issue can be made into a weapon against the very President who brought it to the fore. In recent speeches from Rehoboth Beach, Del. to Burbank, Calif., the sena tor from Kansas has lambasted Carter for “a pattern of inconsistencies” in human rights. “If we are to condemn our tra ditional allies in Latin America, Africa and Asia for their violations of internationally recognized standards of human rights,” Dole said, “can we be any less attentive to the flagrant violations which abound in Communist-governed nations?” On the Senate floor, he has offered a series of amendments, forbidding aid or concessions to China, Vietnam, or Cuba, and opposing troop withdrawals from Korea. Only a few Dole amendments have been passed, usually in modified form. But all have helped sharpen the issue for future use. He has won a widening constituency among those who look at American foreign policy from the perspective of righting a particular wrong or protecting a specific nationality or religious interest. Whether it be MIA families opposed to recognition of Vietnam, Hungarian refugees opposed to the return of the Crown of St. Stephen, or Jews opposed to the return of the West Bank territory, Bob Dole is ready to intro duce a resolution or make a speech espous ing their cause. Meantime, campaigner Dole is turning his new foreign policy interest to domestic account by speaking to Republican audi ences in more than 20 states during the past six months. In addition to appropriat ing Jimmy Carter’s favorite issue, he has absorbed the lesson of Carter’s success, telling GOP audiences: “We make a mis take running every four years — instead of every year.” Dole is hardly alone in his early lunge for the 1980 nomination. Senate colleague Lowell Weicker of Connecticut and How ard Baker of Tennessee, Gov. Jim Thompson of Illinois, former Secretary of Treasury William Simon, and the in- exhaustable Ronald Reagan and John Connally are also hot on the trail. But few of them schedule appearances on behalf of out-of-state county clerk candidates, as Dole did the other day. “I’m not lying awake nights waiting for something to happen,” Dole says, when, asked about the extent of his ambition.. “But having had one run around the coun try, it’s good to keep yourself alive.” , Having seen Jimmy Carter go from peanuts to the presidency. Bob Dole can’t be blamed for thinking he can climb out of the wheat fields into the White House. Foreign policy can' elevate a contender, even if the reverse is not necessarily the case. (c) 1977, The Washington Post Company Tetters to the editor Don’t leave your good manners at home >c Top of the News Local Second week of firemen s school starts The Texas Firemen’s Training School continues this week witl 1,700 participants expected for the Industrial Firemen’s Training School which will run through Aug. 5. Henry D. Smith, headofthe Fire Protection Training Division of the Texas Engineering Exten sion Service said the total attendance of the 1977 schools will be about 4,650. Schools for Spanish-speaking firemen and building in spectors will be held Aug. 8-12. Dog lovers to have flea market? The Humane Society of Brazos County (HSBC) is presently seel ing donations of all kinds for their September flea market. Those having garage sales are asked to consider giving their left-over items to the HSBC. All proceeds from the flea market will help finance the HSBC’s attempts to establish an animal shelter. Pick-up of itemscai be arranged by calling 846-1031 or 846-9248. State Insurance hoard to consider increases The State Insurance Board will consider arguments for rate in creases in auto insurance at a hearing Tuesday. Texas motorists may face increases as high as $34 a year if the board approves a $112 million, 10.1 per cent increase recommended by its staff. tc et T nity vers $17! Mol Edi fort edui C cess com thei an f exist matt the viclu then Tl geve D> The tion ices kans part Mi cl ■A from (TEA ng- riet Guardsmen begin manuevers at Ft. Hood Some 10,300 National Guardsmen arrived at Ft. Hood during the weekend to begin two weeks of training exercises. It is the largest group to gather at Ft. Hood since World War II. Atty. Gen. Hill, Hughes will executor meet Texas Attorney General John Hill and the executor of Howard Hughes’ will met this weekend to discuss the late millionaire’s legal residence, but no agreement was made, according to a Hill assistant. A Probate Court trial to determine the legal residence issue is scheduled for Sept. 1. If Hughes is ruled a Texas resident, the state could receive millions of dollars in inheritance taxes. Tech assistant head becomes OSU head Texas Tech University administrator Dr. James E. Osborn will become head of the Oklahoma State University department of ag ricultural economics Sept. 1. Osborn is chairman of the Texas Tech agricultural economics department and assistant dean of the college of agricultural sciences. Nation o lie Yes and it gets 45 miles per politician Researchers at the Rocky Flats nuclear energy plant in Colorado are hoping to develop an electric car that gets its charge from the wind. Rocky Flats is operated by Rockwell International for the fed eral Energy Research and Development Administration. Experi ments are being conducted using windmills to charge the battery ol an electric-powered Volkswagen. Airline could go on strike Contract negotiations between Ozark Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association were halted yesterday after the company submitted its offer. The union is recommending the mechanics reject the offer and go on strike. Ozark said a strike would force a shutdown of its operations. Busted black bank blames bureaucracy mer xmoi di 5 De Priv, re 1 Iryan gem al F Dr. ( hed :ept e at othei iora e in .He v Officials of the defunct Republic National Bank in New Orleans, l r . La., said the federal government acted illegally in declaring the || * black-owned bank insolvent. State banking officials and agents for the L°^ m Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed the bank Friday. Abanlr^ ‘ official said the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency’s office withheld^ information about their intention to close the bank. World Diplomats fear Libya will ruin Vance trip Western diplomats in Cairo said they fear Libyan leader Col Moammar Khadafy might be planning incidents to disrupt Secretary of State Cyrus Vance’s peace mission to Egypt. Already tight security in effect for Vance’s trip was tightened after six days of border battles with Libya last week. Some diplomats expressed fear for Vances personal safety. B Editor: In your recent edition of July 27, 1977, there was an article that caught our atten tion: “Training School Teaches More Than Firefighting.” We feel the title was more than appropriate. We believe some Firefighters’ overabundance of attention towards females has been totally uncalled for. As hometown representatives and rep resentatives of their profession, they should conduct themselves in a respectful manner. However, we, as women and as people, have been verbally slandered, visibly assaulted and insulted by lewd and provocative gestures. We not only speak for ourselves, but for other students and many members of the community. We more than welcome visitors to our upstanding University, but we expect from our visitors the same man ners and respect they would accord to members of their own family. We hope that future visitors to our University will be more considerate. —(Names withheld by request) D.C. K.W. J.W. G.S. Z.M. T.V. J.C. D.D. B.N. J.N. T.M. B.C. P.E. B.L. A.C. J.S. M.R. S.D. F.M. B.R. K.R. M.B. T.S. C.W. C.C. Editor’s Note: As you say there have been many incidents where men connected with the fire school have not acted like the best of gentlemen. Few people who have been out in the community in the past week could honestly say that they haven’t seen such an incident or two. But we question how such could be avoided. Any time 2,000 men are brought together in one community for a week- long school or convention, some are going to get out of hand. Make no mistake — we do not condone gutter behavior. Women have every right to be treated with respect particularly by visitors we welcome with every courtesy. Part of the problem may be that those firemen who make asses out of themselves attract far more attention than the major ity who do not. And the majority have be haved like the gentleman they are. The best cure may be for those gentle men to police their own ranks and call to task their ill-mannered colleagues. Let’s hope that’s the case for the second week of fire school, starting today. There are far too many good men there who don’t deserve the bad names a few are giving them. L.R.L. Job complaint Editor: Take heart! Those hard earned college credits can indeed be worth more than “on the job” training, at least here at A&M. My wife, an employe working in a lab here on campus, was recently passed over for a promotion to a higher paying posi tion. She has been working in this lab for almost 2 years and she has always been given above average ratings on her job evaluation forms. The person to whom the position was awarded has been working there for 4 months. Both my wife and this person have college degrees, neither of which are applicable to the requirements of the position. Puzzled as to the reason for this adminstrative action, she asked the appropriate person why she was over looked. The reason she was given was that she had one less college course in chemis try than the other person. Therefore, that 20 months or so of extra experience in good standing was meaning less when compared to one college course. My wife’s immediate supervisor was not even questioned by the administrator con cerning her work and qualifications. So choose your courses carefully, for they, as well as the shade of brown on your nose, may someday have a great bearing on your quest for success. —Name withheld on request The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Re gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and com munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays and Wednesdays. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax, Advertising rates furnished on^ Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald ing, College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exelusiv^ 1 use for reproduction of all news dispatches credit Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein ^ Second-Class postage paid at College Station, $ 11 MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor News Editor . . Campus Editor Sports Editor . . Copy Editors . . Lee Roy Marie ^ Glenn*' 1 Paul ^ .... Edith<> RustrH Reporters Toumonfl'* Julie Speights, Sarah E. White, Mary Becker Photographers Ste* Bernard Gor, Bd 5 ) B fi Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogersf Joe Arredondo; Tom Dawsey; Dr. Gary Halter; W. Hanna; Dr. Charles McCandless; Dr. Clints, lips; Jerri Ward. Director of Student Publication’ Cooper. >