The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 26
10 Pages
Thursday, October 6, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Today:
Gradparents hit the books, p. 7
A few ways to skip the books, p. 6
A conference look at the history
books, p. 9
Student Senate rejects
research committee bill
Vench, audience favorite,
vins national talent contest
Battalion photo by Ken Herrera
The sun and the clouds
he bright rays of the sun penetrated one the many clouds in the sky last
eek creating a mystic impression in the skies.
By LIZ NEWLIN
Battalion Staff
A move to take power away from Texas
A&M University’s student body president
to appoint members of the blood drive re
search committee failed Wednesday night
in the Student Senate.
The bill would have given the student
government vice president for student af
fairs authority to appoint a research com
mittee to investigate Wadley Blood Bank
and the Red Cross each year and recom
mend which firm should be used in the
Aggie Blood Drive.
Vicki Young, vice president for student
services, said a subcommittee of student
senators would be unbiased and not ob
jected, to members of groups which work
with the blood drive recommending which
firm should be used.
“There is inherent bias in a system of
that sort,” she said. “I don’t feel we can
provide an objective look at these firms
now.”
Student Body President Robert Harvey
said, T welcome the idea of legislative
committees that are counterparts of execu
tive committees . . . because of its inertia,
an executive committee will not change for
any reason but its own.”
Harvey said since it is “the student’s
blood,” they should have input through
the Student Senate.
Senator Lynn Gibson objected to the
bill. He said it was not a legislative action
to decide who would be on the research
committee, but only to approve its rec
oin mendation.
Gibson added that groups which must
work with the firm (Student Government,
Alpha Phi Omega and Omega Phi Alpha)
deserve a voice in choosing a firm.
The Senate defeated the bill 40 to 16.
Senator Joe Beall won approval to offer
Texas A&M University as a site for the
spring Texas Student Association conven
tion. Beall said if Texas A&M hosted the
convention, the student body “would have
a chance to become more well-versed in
student government.”
Beall said he could not confirm details of
the convention until later, but it will in
clude workshops on student government.
The convention is tentatively scheduled
for March or April 1978.
The Senate also approved a $958 alloca
tion for 16 senators to attend the fall Texas
Students’ Association convention at North
Texas State University in Denton. Texas
A&M students serve on the board of direc
tors of the association.
Lighting for the intramural complex
across Welborn Road was discussed in the
first reading of a resolution recommending
that action.
By MARK PENNY
^French has passed the first step on
auway to a national television ap-
anee.
■irteen acts performed on the local
i ™n es day night in Rudder Theater
6 ,7, Hope Search for the Top in
13 1 Talent. French, the audience
, lte , won.
of the contestants offered musical
t'n the talent show was
on! 3 ° rms entertainment. The
irk!/ 15 s °nie combination of
band ° Ca * S ^Pi an i S t exce P t ^ or one
The seven judges were all connected in
some form or another to music. The acts
were judged on technical excellence,
showmanship and professionalism, and
treatment and interpretation of material.
Many of the entertainers wrote their
own material. French was a member of
that group.
French performed three numbers. The
first, “Mutiny of the Red Sky,” was a bal
lad. “Blue Shadows” is the opening
number to a “space opera” French is writ
ing.
The thrid number was written by St.
Williams, one of French’s “favorite conn-
udge rules confession
voluntary’; can be used
By SCOTT PERKINS
W !|; nfe f ion of capital murder sus-
...” , er Joe Coleman was ruled “vol-
y Both District Judge W. C.
ebv r, 3 P fe h ear ing Wednesday,
Permitting the use of the confes-
ima e n UPt '° ming triaI “ .
•tinu r 1S accuse d of robbing and
i; arry T Baugh, a Texas A&M
b Div , ^ ra<aUate stu( Jcnt, on Jan. 12,
Navasn? r i; cover< ‘d Baugh’s body from
) ’“ota River three days later
Kirn 11 ? a^orneys, Fred Davis,
unlap and John M. Barron Jr.,
(he u nU) . ti< ' n w hh Judge Davis to for-
lirigs a ■ toe confession in trial pro-
iflan h ai n''n g R had been forced from
Bokk, v 0 e § e Station police detec-
iCe, ,
w beth UC ^ e Dovis refused to rule
Plied c r n °t the information
ed,l^yO t"0 confession had b en
n 8 the trj^i e ma tt er open for dispute
OOO m was lowered from
° n Proiv i The defendent, who
a >on when arrested, will be
released in his own custody if he is able to
raise the sum.
Dist. Atty. Tom McDonald protested,
saying he did not want a capital murder
suspect on the streets. Judge Davis offered
to schedule a hearing on a motion to re
voke Coleman’s probation, but the date
was not set.
Severity-two motions were presented to
the court, most of which involved the dis
closure of evidence held by the prosecu
tion.
Numerous requests were made by the
defense for court-appointed specialists in
such areas as chemistry and firearms to re
peat tests which already had been made by
the state.
Judge Davis offered the defense results
of those tests, but refused to have the
county pay for similar tests.
The defense was granted a motion
which restrained the prosecution from tel
ling the jury that the state would be
“happy” to execute the defendent if he was
found guilty. ,, , ,, ,
Judge Davis said he would hold under
advisement a defense motion to restrict
press coverage of the trial.
No date was set for the next hearing.
The first reading of a bill or resolution is
an opportunity for senators to learn about
the bill; the Senate will debate and vote on
the measure at their next meeting Oct. 19.
Dennis Gorrington, director if in
tramural activities, answered questions
about the lighting plan.
“I don’t know where the money would
come from,” Gorrington said. Several
sources are available to the Texas A&M
board of regents. If the past is an indicator,
he said, the money, would not come from
student service fees.
He estimated the cost would be about
$160,000.
“We would havg no less than five times
the facility by lighting it (softball fields),”
Gorrington added.
He explained if the softball fields were
lighted, 266 games a week could be
scheduled. Without lights, 126 games can
be played on 14 fields.
The number of possible football games
would increase from 210 to 410 per week.
“Hopefully, the quality of officiating
would improve,” Gorrington said. If stu
dent officials could work longer shifts, they
could be better trained, he said.
Another item to receive a first reading
was a resolution to create an Intramural
Council to “oversee the operations of the
Intramural Program.”
The nine-member board would have
advisory and policy-making functions in
the regulation of intramurals and the ap
proval or disapproval of the Intramural
Budget.
“The council would, we hope, have the
authority to divy it (the budget) up,” Har
vey said.
Students have no voice to the president
concerning intramurals, said Gorrington.
The council, he said, could provide stu
dent input.
But Gorrington said the council’s
policy-making authority would “hamsting”
the intramural staff.
Most universities which have similar
boards only allow them to advise on in
tramurals, Gorrington said.
A proposal for easily accessible dorm di
rectories also received a first reading in
the three-and-a-half-hour meeting.
Joe Nixon, Resident Housing Associa
tion president, asked, “How in the heck
are you (the Senate) going to make the
dorms do this?”
Harvey said he would ask the dorms or
“I’ll go around at night and do it.” Action
on the bill will be taken at the next meet
ing.
Senators defeated a by-law revision
which would have required four senators
to speak on an issue before it could be
voted on.
Senators also heard a first reading on
resolution to place Student Radio under
the control of the executive branch of Stu
dent Government.
“The Student Radio Board has proved to
be ineffective in handling its fiscal respon
sibilities, as is evidence by the $5,783.64
debt (owed internally to Student Govern
ment),” the resolution stated.
In other business, the Senate passed a
student service fee procedure resolution
and heard first reading of a bill to rescind a
bill creating a “committee on committees”
passed last year.
Harvey nominated seven students to fill
senate vacancies, the nominations were
approved by the Senate. New Senators are
Frank Box, Jeanette Faye Alterhoff, J.
David Sandlin, William C. Altman, John
K. McNutt, Virginia Lee van Hardevelt
and Dara M. Flinn.
Harvey also appointed Bill Rademacher
to the University Planning Committee and
himself to the University Center Board.
Proposal answers proposal
Council wants cooperation
By RUSTY CAWLEY
Battalion City Editor
Cooperation, yet. Merger, no.
The College Station City Council an
swered Bryan City Manager Lou Odle’s
proposal to merge the two cities with a
proposal of its own.
Cooperation, not merger, is the answer
to the water and sewerage problems that
face the two cities, the council says in a
letter approved yesterday.
"If we cannot cooperate on simple mat
ters such as water and sewerage, the let
ter asks, “how can we cooperate in the
larger framework of the merger?”
Cooperation, the letter says, is “the only
feasible approach.
The letter, expected to be mailed this
week, turns down Bryan’s plan and out
lines the council’s reasons for doing so.
Bryan city officials suggest that merging
the two cities and sharing public services
will save tax money. But the College Sta
tion City Council calls this idea “a myth. "
The larger the city, the more money
spent per resident, the council says in the
letter.
Differ dices in approach to land use is
another point for dismissing merger, the
council says.
College Station has strict laws governing
land use, including ordinances on eom-
News Analysis
mercial landscape, parklands and com
mercial signs.
“Bryan has seen fit not to adopt these
land use controls,” the letter says.
The council also opposes involving Col
lege Station residents in Bryan Utilities, a
power company owned by Bryan.
The utilities company has been plagued
with problems, among them losing Col
lege Station as a customer. College Station
is phasing Bryan Utilities out of its system,
replacing it with Gulf States Utilities, Co.
It thus is our position that a merger is
much more complicated than deciding
what the ‘new town would be called," the
letter concludes.
The letter is expected to be signed by
College Station City Manager North Bar-
dell.
The letter is another in a series of pro
posals and counter-proposals concerning
sewerage problems in the Northgate area
of College Station.
Bryan, which presently handles North-
gate’s sewerage, wants College Station to
handle the sewerage itself.
College Station doesn’t have the
facilities to do so.
Bryan has offered to annex the North-
gate area from College Station, an offer the
council answered with a firm “no."
The next Bryan proposal was to merge
the two cities, a proposal College Station s
council never took seriously.
try writers. ” It was the “Long Gone Lone
some Blues.”
After the contest French said his former
roommate talked to him about entering
the contest.
French said he learned to play in the
sixth grade on his little brother’s guitar.
A 23-year-old senior from Beaumont,
French began performing in high school
with friends. “We use to play at Lions
Clubs and old women’s clubs,” French
said. He said one of the things he enjoyed
about singing for women’s organizations
was watching their faces when he would
sing “Daddy Please Don’t Get Drunk At
Christmas.”
His repertoir consists of some 260
songs.
French works weekends at the Tokyo
Steak House as an entertainer. He has also
performed in the Basement Coffeehouse,
Mr. Gatti’s and Peanut Gallery.
He said in November he would proba
bly put on a concert in the Basement since
he doesn’t get a chance to perform there
very often anymore.
Formerly a meteorology major, French
changed to the communication depart
ment this year. He is interested in the
broadcasting field.
French is currently a disc jockey at
WTAW-AM.
French said he considered the work
another form of entertaining. He said it
was just as enjoyable as performing.
Previous broadcasting experience con
sisted of working at KANM, the student
radio station, and KAMU, Texas A&M
University’s educational radio station.
Ethel shared the spotlight with French.
Ethel is his guitar.
He named it after his great-grand
mother. “She was a cool of woman. I think
she would have smoked marijuana,”
French said.
The next step for French is the area con
test to be held at Wayland Baptist College
in Plainview, on October 21-22.
Section finals will be held at Texas A&M
in December. Kansas City will host the
national finals in January.
The national winner will perform on a
Bob Hope television special in February.
Hot summer y recent rains
produce ‘cricket explosion
By STEVE MAYER
You’ve probably seen them.
They’re those little insects swarm
ing all over the Bryan-College Sta
tion area.
They’re the ones squashed under
your feet and car tires, jumping up
your pant leg and around in your
room.
The recent large number of field
crickets in the area is due to favor
able environmental conditions when
their eggs were laid last spring, said
Phil Ham man, entomologist for the
Texas Agricultural Extension Serv
ice. Female crickets can lay 150 to
400 eggs, Hamman said.
A dry, hot summer produced
cracks in the soil and gave the young
crickets a shelter against predators.
Recent rains have provided favor
able weather and green food sources
for the crickets, he said.
“Add these reasons together,”
Hamman said, “and you’ve got a
hell of a lot of crickets.”
Hamman noted that
environmental conditions change; a
lot of crickets this year doesn ’t mean
there will be an abundance next
year.
He said an extremly large number
of them can damage crops, but that
it is a rare occurence. Inside a
house, they will feed mainly on ny
lon, wool, and plastic fibers.
“The cricket population will start
to decline through the next 2-3
weeks,” Hamman said. He said
most of the crickets which are now
mating, will be dead by the first
freeze.
Hamman also gave advice on how
to cope with them the next few
weeks.
By keeping fewer outside lights
on at night, the crickets will stop
migrating toward houses.
Household insecticides can be
used to kill crickets found around
doors, windows, and baseboards.
Picking up litter and lawn clip
pings will decrease the number of
shelters for the crickets.
Battalion photo by Ken Herrera