Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion Monday
Texas A&M University September 12, 1977
University on laundry merry-go-round
Things seem to change with great caution in Aggieland, it seems. But when
something does change, it almost invariably sets off plenty of fireworks.
Such has been the case this fall with the new laundry service, contracted out
for the first time to a local laundry. Fabric Care Service. The University
laundry service had been losing $50,000-60,000 per year before it was discon
tinued last spring.
Fabric Care took the contract for the laundry service with the understand
ing that prices would be increased and laundry limits per week lowered to
make the service a paying proposition. But most students on the service didn’t
know, or didn’t realize, that change was being made until they came back for
fall classes.
They weren’t the only ones caught by surprise. Fabric Care wasn’t prepared
for the first-week crunch of students. While owner Ron Vandiver was adjust
ing personnel and equipment to handle the rush, students complained of
long waiting lines and week-long waits for laundry to be returned.
Several hundred of the almost 2,000 student’s originally on the service have
dropped it since classes started. Many of these may have been students who
really weren’t sure they wanted the service anyway. Director of Management
Services Ed Davis said.
“In the spring when we didn’t know what would happen with the service,
we told students to sign up for it, and they could drop it later without penalty, ”
Davis said.
Students are complaining that they’re not getting their money’s worth.
Many are ready to drop the service, (see related letter, this page) Vandiver
says he can’t charge less and stay in business. It seems neither side can win.
The day of the on-campus laundry may be past. The cost of such a service
may have exceeded the price students will pay for the service. That’s a
question for Mr. Vandiver and University officials to answer.
But if the service is going to survive, it needs a fair chance. In another two
weeks Fabric Care will have most of its systematic problems solved. Then if
the service still isn’t working it deserves to die. But it deserves that chance.
L.R.L.
Carter learning his lessons
By HELEN THOMAS
UPI White House Reporter
WASHINGTON — President Carter is
learning the limits of presidential power
and also his possibilities as the preacher in
the “bully pulpit.’’
Carter has said in many interviews that
he cannot wave a “magic wand to solve all
problems, particularly those that were
around before he assumed the presidency.
He also likes to point out the Arab-Israeli
problems goes back 2,000 years.
Washington Window
But that does not lessen the pressure on
him to strive for solutions, or to keep his
campaign promises to the people. He faces
a much tougher Congress, despite its
Democratic majority, than his recent pre
decessors.
His biggest test for the “bully pulpit” as
Teddy Roosevelt called it, will be the sell
ing of the Panama Canal treaty. If he wins
the people to his side, he probably will be
able to gather enough votes in the Senate
for ratification.
A defeat in the Senate will be a severe
blow to his own stature as president and to
his power to lead in foreign affairs.
Carter has found that congressional
leaders are free with their advice, and they
go public with it now.
When he went all-out in defense of his
friend, budget director Bert Lance and his
banking problems, Carter found himself
deserted by Senate Majority Leader
Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Sen.
Abraham Ribicoff, D-Conn., who called
for Lance’s resignation.
Carter responded with a brusque ex
pression of his “appreciation and said he
hoped hearings on the allegations against
the budget director would begin without
delay.
But soon it became clear that Carter was
standing almost alone with Lance on the
issue. He could not rally supporters on
Capitol Hill to stay with him on a sinking
ship.
In the old days of a powerful presi
dency, President Johnson would have de
manded unquestioning loyalty.
Privately, he would have made his com
promises and his swaps, but he wanted the
world to know that he was in the driver’s
seat.
On the Panama Canal treaties, Byrd,
who should be carrying the ball for Carter,
is taking a wait-and-see attitude. In effect,
Carter has to go to the peple to whip up
support from the constituencies before
Senate lieutenants will be.responsive.
In many ways, Caittr finds that he is
being forced to lead from a defensive posi
tion.
He accused Vernon Jordan, executive
secretary of the Urban League, of making
“demogogic” statements on the adminis
tration’s attitude toward the joblessness
and state of blacks in the country.
A few weeks Jater, through his spokes
man, he expressed his “deep concern
over the alarming rise in unemployment
among black youths, a problem not only
Jordan but others including Coretta King
had been warning him about for some
time.
Carter is learning the hard way.
So for, he has shown the ability to re
treat as a better part of valor. Sometimes,
he seems to retreat without a fight. Some
times, he appears resigned to defeat when
outside forces come into play.
Such has been his attitude on the Mid-
dle East ryyqntLy w^ejihe.Siud in an iijyte.r;
view thtiL-theR.- wtrufd^be. “gi-ie-at disiUuv*
'Viontnent ’ in the world if the parties in the
conflict failed to go to the peace table.
In the education of a President, how
ever, Carter also has learned that he can
use his position to communicate and to
persuade and that the White House is a
powerful platform when he chooses to use
it.
Intellectuals rocking French politics
By ADALBERT DE SEGONZAC
International Writers Service
PARIS — Few countries in the world
are more swayed by fresh ideas than
France, where intellectuals often attain
the prominence of movie stars. Thus the
French are currently being exposed to a
group known as the “new philosophers,’’
whose theories may have an important
impact on the political scene here.
These young intellectuals, who have
emerged within the past year, were in
volved in the student revolt that rocked
Paris nearly a decade ago. They have since
repudiated leftist thinking on the grounds
that it inevitably leads to the to
talitarianism depicted by Aleksandr Sol
zhenitsyn, the exiled Soviet dissident
writer.
The startling popularity of these intel
lectuals is especially significant now, since
it coincides with the campaign building up
for the legislative elections scheduled to
take place next spring.
The Union of the Left, a coalition of
Socialists and Communists, at the moment
appears destined to win the elections and
overturn the conservatives who have been
in power for the past 18 years.
But the so-called “new philosophers
seem to be exerting a measure of influence
on this situation. They have driven a
wedge into the coalition to the extent that
their warnings have raised doubts among
supporters of the Socialists as to the future
of an alliance with the Communists.
The Communist media have denounced
the young intellectuals as “rightists,” a
label that bears a particular opprobium in
France. But Francois Mitterand, the
Socialist leader, is reserving judgement on
them, thereby indicating that he may not
completely oppose their views.
Meanwhile, the conservatives who back
President Valery Giscard d’Estaing are
seeking to exploit the ferment. They are
asserting that their disenchantment re
flects a profound distrust of the Union of
the Left throughout France.
And added to all this in a society that
thrives on changing fashions in thought
the young intellectuals are being lionized
on television and in the newspapers, and
that has made them attractive to the pub
lic.
Most of these intellectuals are under the
Letter to the editor
Who’s going to adjust?
Editor:
It appears that laundry service at Texas
A&M will be obsolete in the near future. If
the efficiency of the service cannot be im
proved, the service cannot long survive.
Costs are still on the rise. What addi
tional limitations will Fabric Care place on
your laundry list next year? How much will
Fabric Care charge next year? Next semes
ter?
Cast your eyes at this quote from the
Sept. 6 Battalion.
“Eddie J. Davis, director of man
agement services, said students will
just have to adjust to the new sys
tem.”
That is just the kind of attitude to which
students should never adjust! And why
should we adjust to a more expensive fee
accompanied with less service?
I would rather spend $1.20 and two
hours washing my clothes at a local laun
dromat than spend four days waiting for my
laundry bag to be returned from Fabric
Care Service. I can wash seven pairs of
pants and the rest of my laundry for $1.20.
Don’t adjust to the system if it works to
your disadvantage. Let the system adjust to
you, or let it die. I’ll bet Mr. Vandiver
wears more than three pairs of pants a
week.
— Greg W. Boatman
Editor’s note: How you handle your dirty
laundry is your own business. However,
several points in your letter need some
clarification.
Your quotation from Ed Davis does not
reflect the point Davis was trying to make.
As you quoted him, Davis seems to be
completely unconcerned about the stu
dents’ laundry problems. However, that is
not the case.
Davis has said the University’s business
personnel have been trying to make the
most of a difficult situation with the laun
dry service. Any new program is going to
be inefficient until all the problems are
corrected.
But if your complaint is, as you say,
trying to “adjust to a more expensive fee
accompanied by less service,” then wel
come to the business world.
Yes, the service costs more and offers
less. But that’s because for far too long the
University was running the service at a
$50,000-60,000 loss per year. Students got
used to those prices and services. What
business do you know that can run that
large a loss each year and keep operating?
Fabric Care’s contract allows them to
change service limitations, with Univer
sity approval. But those changes would
have to be made well in advance and only
to bring their prices in line with local laun
dry prices, Davis said yesterday.
So drop the service if you want. But
don’t expect it to make adjustments that
are impossible.
age of 40. One of the most vigorous among
them is Bernard-Henri Levy, an author
and publisher, who describes himself in
his book, “Barbarism With a Human
Face,” as having been born of that
“diabolic couple. Fascism and Stalinism.”
Another key figure in the movement is
Andre Glueksmann, who argues in his best
selling book, “The Master Thinkers, that
Communism is a perversion of Marxism.
Others involved are Jean-Marie Benoist,
the author of “Marx is Dead, and Maurice
Clavel, an older journalist who has written
several polemical books.
Most of these men, active in the student
uprising that swept Paris in 1968, were
disappointed by the lack of support they
received then from the Communist Party.
Their disappointment peaked with the
publication of Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag
Archipelago, with its revelations of the
horrors of the Soviet penal system. This
led the young intellectuals to the conclu
sion that a classless society, such as that
proposed by the Communists, cannot be
established without oppression of the
worst sort.
The “new philosophers’ were so named
to contrast them with the 18th century
philosophers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
Voltaire and Diderot, whose Utopian no
tions were perverted by the terror of the
French Revolution.
Basic to the thinking of these present-
day intellectuals is a rejection of ideology
as a cure for problems. Levy, for example,
argues that formulas for promoting prog
ress are an illusion and that the best that
can be done are practical efforts that pre
vent conditions from worsening. His phi
losophy, in short, is both pragmatic and
pessimistic.
These young men claim a degree of suc
cess, pointing out that Socialist spokesmen
no longer indulge in grandiose abstrac
tions. They deny the Communist charge
that they are a plot against the leftist coali
tion, saying that they will probably vote
against the conservatives in next year’s
election.
Whatever the “new philosophers” actu
ally achieve, they have injected a healthy
dose of controversy into the political pic
ture, and this promises to increase the
drama of an election campaign that is al
ready stirring the French more than any
event in years.
(Segonzac, a funner French corre
spondent in Washington, writes on politi
cal issues in France.)
“SINCE YOU’RE FROM OUT-OF-STATE, MAYBE I’D BETTER
TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT TEXAS WEATHER.”
Top of the News
5
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State
Former prostitute wont testify
A former prostitute and heroin addict who drove the getaway ar
the night Dr. John Hill was killed has refused to testify inawrongfil
death suit against the* plastic surgeon s father-in-law. Attorneys in the
Houston trial hope to provide the woman’s testimony via a video
taped deposition.
The surviving family of Dr. Hill is suing millionaire oilman Ash
Robinson for $7.6 million in damages for their pain, suffering and loss
in the sensational 1972 killing. Testimony resumes at 1 p.m. Monday.
Injured youth identifies Davis
The 22-year-old youth ambled down the Amarillo courtroom aisle
crutches sagging under his weight-tw isted around and heaved his
husky frame onto the witness chair. Cos Gavrel, Jr., still carries
inside him the bullet that partially paralyzed his right leg thenighthe
took a girlfriend to Priscilla Davis fashionable $6 million mansion.
And the man responsible for his misery is millionaire industrialistT,
Cullen Davis, said Gavrel, who has filed a $13 million damage suit in
connection with his injuries.
“He turned and shot me, Gavrel said of the ill-fated night heand
Beverly Bass surprised a darkly clad gunman outside the Fort Worth
mansion. Gavrel s testimony marked the second time Davis, 43, his
been identified as the "man in black involved in the Aug. 3, 1916
shooting spree that left two dead and two others wounded.
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The 14-year-old winner of the Miss Teen Queen USA title has
refused her crown amid a seething money controversy with pageant
promoters. Sharon Gregory of Bridge City, Texas, was named winner
Saturday night in the Memphis, Term., contest over 31 other contes
tants but quickly renounced the title. “Hold it, she said, takingthe
microphone after her name was announced. As she explained her
rejection, she used the words "dishonesty, corruption and honor.
Miss Gregory and other: Teen Queen winners from aroundjb
country said they were dismayed tri find that $100 advance payments
they sent to cover hotel reservations had been paid to the hotel w
promoter’s check that bounced.
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Billy says Bert won t resign
In Odessa, Mo., Billy Carter said Budget Director Bert Lance
not resign because of the controversy about Iris dealings as a Georgia
banker. “Bert told me he won t resign, the President’s younger
brother said during the weekend. "He may be fired, hut he wont
resign. He described Lance as “ the best man in Washington aid
said "If 1 had to take my choice between Bert and Jimmy Id haven
hell of a choice. The first brother from Plains, Ga. said he doesnot
believe the President’s popularity is slipping because of the Lance
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Bakers strike in Britain
Thousands of Britains who endured the rationing of World WarII
are again standing in breadlines and stocking up on a dwindling sup
ply of bakery goods — this time because of a three-day-old bakers
strike. “The strike is universal, David Duke-Evans, director of the
Bakers Federation, said Sunday. “Ther e is no activity at any ofout
bakeries. There is a total stoppage and we supply 80 per cent of tin
nation s bread. Thousands of Britons spent the* weekend standingir
breadlines at independent bakeries or prowling their communitiesfoi
small shops with stocks of bread. By Saturday, packaged bread mixes
had disappeared from grocery' store shelves and even flour and yeast
were becoming scarce.
Weather
Partly cloudy and hot Monday and Tuesday with southeaster^
winds 8-12 mph. 10% chance of showers today. Increasing clouii
ness Tuesday with 20% chance of rain. High today 93°. Lowtonigh
70°. High Tuesday 88°.
The Battalion
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editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily
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Rights of reproduc tion of all other matter herein*
Second-Class postage* paid .it College Station. T\
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congms
Editor
Managing Editor
Editorial Director
Sports Editor
; Editor)
Reporters
Speights
i Whith
Photographei
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MaryAlkrW
Lee Roy hsi
P;
Mane Homeyer. iV
Busty Ok'
•y. Darrell huifonl. b
hi*
The* Battalion is published Monday through Friday irom
September through May except during exam and holiday
periods and the summer, when it is published on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Student Fiddications Board Boh ('. Ritfiax(^
Joe Anedondo. Dr. Cary Haller, Ur. Jtilniti
Rohcrt Harvey. Ih Charles McCandlrsyiytft
Phillips; Rebel Rite. ’Director of Student FiUk
Donald ( jobnson. Production CoordiiwltrA
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