The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 07, 1977, Image 1

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    The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 27
8 Pages
Friday, October 7, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Today: ^
Getting off to the jazz, p. 5
Stepping off to the Texas Aggie
Band, p. 6
Looking off to the Texas-OU clash
p. 7
No’: University’s reply to fraternity
to Waco
at O’Malley
Xt
By KIM TYSON
Battalion Campus Editor
(Ipvas A&M University has denied offi-
[ recognition to a national fraternity,
a Phi Epsilon, which has been operat-
ff-campus since 1965.
fte rejection was issued this week by
I John Koldus, vice president for student
I ices, in a letter to Sigma Phi Epsilon
"ident John Gilbert.
e fraternity asked for recognition
31, 1977. It was the first Greek or-
■zation ever to officially apply for Uni-
jty recognition.
,iat recognition would have given the
inization the right to use campus
(ties, opportunity to request student
city funds, ability to advertise on cam-
I use of the Student Finance Center and
right to an official adviser.
tie
Koldus said in a prior interview that he
was considering the Greek system as a
whole and not just the fraternity that
applied.
In the one-page letter Koldus explained
the reasons for his denial of recognition.
He wrote, “During its long history, the
university has developed its own unique
approach to providing outstanding curricu
lar, service, research, and student activity
programs. Traditions have been developed
which were considered to support the
uniqueness of the institutional program,
gave it strength and character, and were
considered to be in the best developmental
interest of the entire student body.’*
Koldus said Texas A&M has chosen for
more than 100 years not to include the
national social fraternity and sorority sys
tem as part of its education program.
“The university has supported the prem
ise that its social character was developed
in the concept of togetherness in that all
students were Aggies and that a social caste
system would detract from this most impor
tant concept which welded together the
students that attended Texas A&M.
“Suffice it to say that for oyer 100 years,
this institution has been most successful in
accomplishing this task.”
He said, “as an administrator, it is my
responsibility to attempt to perpetuate
these traditions which have added not only
to the character of the institution but to its
strength.”
Koldus was out of town and could not be
reached for further comment.
Freeman Fisher, spokesman for the
fraternity, said his fraternity definitely
would not seek legal action to get Univer
sity recognition, but that he was unsure
whether the decision would be appealed to
Texas A&M President Jarvis Miller.
Fisher said he did not agree with Koldus’
reasons for refusing recognition.
“Tm unhappy with his reference that we
would form a caste system on campus. We
are not here to undermine tradition and
we re not here to undermine the together
ness of A&M,” Fisher said.
“As far as the caste system is concerned, I
think that the caste exists on campus any
way as far as between dormitories, grade
classification and between the Corps and
noh-regs.
“He (Koldus) mentions it was a tradition
to not have fraternities and sororities on
campus for over 100 years, but none have
ever applied until this year,” Fisher said.
He said he believed the rejection re
sulted from the fraternity’s selection pro
cess for members.
“I think the main basis for rejection was
the misconcept that we discriminate
against various religions, races or socio
economic status.
“But I think our selection process is less
stringent than Town Hall, OPAS or
SCONA (all recognized organizations).”
Fisher said his fraternity would like to
compromise by working with the school,
possibly through an inter-fraternity coun
cil.
Health Center alters
iolicies ? raises fees
lit! Spmj
what ll
>ii)K tolu
tudy," I
n investiJ
the \( 1
By ELLIF LA PORTE
'm ^il 1656 are changing times, and changes
1 ■ ivi even become evident at the Beutel
ehlth Center on campus.
avers lm e cen ter has recently made several
lliams fr« C y changes, such as charging for al-
necausfi |y s h 0 ts, dispensing medicine through
i I University pharmacy and raising stu-
|t health center fees.
tudents who used to receive free al-
shots at the center are now required
bi rfV a fee per injection, said Dr.
he cafct) Ij^g Goswick, director of the health
Iter.
loswick said the policy was changed
Charles I l ause not ** was f a * r f° r some
Bents to bring chronic illnesses, such
Irgies or migraine headaches, to school
I expect other students to “foot the bill
, ( j H em” through their health center fees,
pother recent policy change made by
health center concerns the Univer-
s pharmacy. The pharmacy will no
;er refill prescriptions or supply medi-
ions for chronic illnesses, Goswick said.
reason for this change is because “a
students grossly abuse the services
by obtaining medication they do not
Hy need, Goswick said,
naddition, prescriptions must be filled
a pharmacist or a physician for his own
ients; nurses are no longer allowed to
pense medicine in the pharmacy.
leginning January, health center fees
be increased from $14 to $15.
The need for health center income has
'e higher than actual income has been, ”
1 Goswick. “We were on the verge of
tiding money we didn't have to supply
vices,”
ksides offsetting the rising costs ol
■to-day services, such as laboratory
■ruitedqi
linanctd
h a Bran
Her oft
oothall
friend
man
imountet
alxive wl
to supply
tests. X-rays and medication, the increase
in fees will help offset salary increases the
center must offer to attract good doctors,
Goswick said.
The fees, which students are required to
pay, cover expenses for the many services
the center now provides to students with
out extra charge. These include: an unlim
ited amount of out-patient visits, medica
tion from the university pharmacy. X-rays,
laboratory tests, physical therapy, 10 days
of in-patient care (after 10 days students
must pay $22.50 per day) and consulta
tions with specialists (no charge if the cen
ter sets up the appointment).
“Eventually there should be and will be
a charge for the things that we now
provide free of charge,” said Goswick. A
so-called “user fee, where the people who
use the services would be the ones to pay
for them, would be established, he said.
Good times and all that jazz
Wells
“Kid Thomas” Valentine plays into his hat as the rest of the band joins
in. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans played before
an enthusiastic crowd in Rudder Auditorium Thursday night. See
related story, page 5.
Complaints not voiced in right way
nsr
NG CENTS
sents
icture
Tenants, managers: bad communication
By MARK POWER
Apartment dwellers may have a lot to
complain about in College Station. But
sometimes residents fail to voice their
complaints to the right channels.
“There has been quite a breakdown as
far as communication, said Bob Martell,
president of Columbia Properties. “Unfor
tunately, it’s like the tenants are on one
side and the management on the other.
That is not really true.”
Martell manages six large apartment
complexes in College Station: Sevilla,
Scandia I, Taos, Aurora Gardens, Sausalito
and Sundance.
“The tenant wants a fixed packaged
product, and we are trying to provide
one,” said Martell. He rejects the idea that
his tenants are unsatisfied.
“I admit we have been very defensive
about our image, but for good reason. We
have been accused in the past of unfair
rates and fuel charges by attorneys armed
with half truths,” said Martell.
teps oppose closing of tower
mb
inguez &
iiega
^ exas A&M University is taking an act-
interest in keeping Easterwood Air-
ns control tower open.
ursday the University sent two repre-
.j v , e p to a Federal Aviation Adminis-
L" hearing in Kansas City to
fa. S P° s kion on the possible elos-
!°' the tower.
Q P. a ' / 'f’ director of management serv-
atA&M, an d Howard Vestal, A&M’s
'erniU 6nt business affairs, will rep-
‘h 6 University and the Bryan-
,S e ;f on are a at the hearing.
wi be our contention that Easter-
Vfaa^ is a victim of timing in that
• < teport did not take our growth
into account, ” Davis said.
referred to is a recent
■ ^ v that suggests Easterwood’s
>r group gets
ictory in House
gainst business
L 0tl T^ Press International
|AS HlNGTON _ organized labor
111 tli 35 ItS ki§ victories on Capitol
Sovp C 6 ! 31 ^ w iih House passage of a bill
f j r f au ihe labor law and Senate ap-
Neitk 3 . ^ minimum wage by 1981.
lex tu* * ssue was settled finally by the
Iren rsday - But AFL-CIO officials
lor’s By their ability to reverse
s J eCOi : d defeats in legislative bat-
liAfo 'I 151 business,
pate’s V ° te Was ex P ecte d Friday on the
flier h rni / 1 ' murn wage proposal passed
i s ome4 7 he -u° Use -
ImtheS mi h°n workers would benefit
t r e t;o nate ^ an to ra i se the minimum
USinman 5 ne ^ Jan.l; $2.90 in 1979;
hel l! , and $3.40 in 1981.
i )Use Tj* )rbdl approved, 257-163, by the
i y wou ld severely penalize
ificp'. Prank °Tk i0late lab ° r laWS ’
»derf . k Tompson, D-N.J., floor
hdouC . bdl, described it as a “tre-
lasily tk v ' c ‘tory for labor — producing
B a ?ner ^ J? 1081 pro-labor bill since the
■(Wm Ct more than 40 years ago.
lau k nts a § ree d. “It’s 97 per cent of
Ibrook^n nu nted , Said Rep- J ° hn
W dared t If Vf* 110, A business coalition
J ation of ^he most outrageous demon-
tnescnJ Unt 'hecked union power ever
esse d on Capitol Hill.”
tower is not providing enough services to
justify itself economically.
The study is one of five FAA options
that will determine the fate of 73 control
towers in the country, including Easter
wood’s. Under this option, the FAA would
close all 73 towers in question.
The FAA has presented its five options
for public comment, and A&M is using
this opportunity to express its views.
“We find that out of the 73 towers, Eas
terwood’s is number three in order of
magnitude,” Davis said. In other words,
Easterwood’s tower is more profitable
than 70 of the 73 towers, he said.
“The FAA study shows that Easter
wood’s tower would lose about $8,000 over
the next 15 years,” Davis said. “That
would only amount to a little over $500 per
year, and if our growth rate were taken
into account that would probably be a gain
instead of a loss.
Martell was referring to a letter from the
attorney at Hassle Free, the student-run
organization for handling apartment dwel
lers’ complaints, that accused Martell of
unfairly charging tenants for fuel adjust
ments.
“That was just one issue that created a
lot of hard feelings,” Martell said. Records
show that Martell was passing on directly
tile costs charged him by the utility com
panies.
“The utility company was charging a flat
fee on a per kilowatt-hour basis, Martell
said. “We just passed that cost on. ”
Martell said his company is just now re
covering from the publicity generated by
the fuel adjustment fees. He admitted that
he made a mistake handling the situation,
and said if the situation were to arise
again, he would find a place large enough
to assemble his tenants and explain the
situation.
“We might be laughed at, but we are
trying to upgrade a product here and we
will do whatever it takes to make our
people happy,” he said.
Residents in Sevilla have mixed reac
tions toward Martell management.
“It has taken some time to get things
done, but they are pretty good,” said Paul
Michael, a sophomore majoring in aero
space engineering. “The rent seems high
and the response to complaints seems low
at times, but I am satisfied.
Paul Burns, a junior computer science
major, reported a different story.
“I have complained several times about
holes in the wall and broken towel racks,”
.he said.
Peggy Cowgill, manager for Sevilla,
readily admits that maintenance is the
number one concern for Martell.
“The biggest and hardest problem we
had was just getting people moved in dur
ing September,” she said. “The apartment
complexes were, for the most part, left va
cant during the summer months and we
were deluged with problems when the
new tenants moved in.
Cowgill blamed the slow response to
problems on the volume of requests she
receives opposed to the number of
maintenance men at her disposal.
“We are just now getting to repairs re
ported at the end of August because of our
ordering of priorities, ” she said.
The management repairs broken
appliances and air conditioners first, be
fore taking on repairs such as walls and
peeling wallpaper.
The problem of maintaining all Colum
bia Properties frills to Margie Sikes, prop
erty manager for Martell. She said a new
maintenance program may be expected as
of Oct. 15.
“We are going to have two people on
call at all rimes to handle emergency re
pairs and minor appliance repair,” said
Sikes. Major repairs will be handled by
outside contractors with experienced,
trained repair crews.
Maintenance costs are mostly incurred
by the owner of the complexes, but in
some cases where damage is caused by the
tenant, repair costs are deducted from a
security deposit.
“We have $30,000 in deposits and use
only $3,000 of those deposits to make re
pairs,” said Martell. That works out to
each tenant forfeitting, on the average, 10
per cent of his security deposit.
“To make up for the inconvenience of
collecting security deposits, we pay five
per cent interest on the deposits,” Martell
said. He is the only apartment manager in
College Station to pay interest on any type
of deposit.
Israel, Palestine
headed for peace
The new library construction has attracted the
attention of many a passersby, but Thursday the
project was being observed by a self-proclaimed
supervisor. Liudas Motekaitis, 5, son of Mr. .and
Vm the supervisor
Battalion photo by Jim Crawley
Mrs. Ramunas Motekaitis of Bryan, spent several
hours watching and commenting on the early
phase of the project. The completion date is Spring
1979.
United Press International
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Or
ganization appear headed toward a com
promise that will allow a resumption of the
Geneva peace talks with West Bank
mayors taking part in a Palestinian delega
tion.
Both Israeli and PLO officials said
Thursday they were willing to accept an
arrangement in which the Palestinian
mayors of towns on the West Bank of Jor
dan would join the talks, perhaps as part of
an all-Arab or Jordanian delegation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan,
in appearances in Chicago and Atlanta,
said the Jewish state will allow the PLO to
designate delegates to Geneva, as long as
they are not PLO members.
“If the PLO would authorize them or
say we think they would represent its posi
tion, then that’s their business. But as far
as we re concerned, they must be non-
PLO leaders of the Palestinian Arabs in
the West Bank,” Dayan told a news con
ference in Atlanta. “We would take them
at face value.”
Dayan said feven if a representative is “a
sympathizer with the PLO — we shall ac
cept him.”
U.S. officials in New York went one step
beyond Dayan’s comments, saying Israel
had agreed to accept low-ranking PLO
members mingled with other Palestinians
in a group officially called “Palestinian
representatives. ”
The officials said the Palestinians would
form part of an all-Arab delegation and
later split off with the Jordanians to discuss
the future of the West Bank and compen
sation for refugees.
One element of the compromise, U.S.
officials said, is that it will not be detailed
in any official agreement, and another is
that neither side will discuss it publicly
until there is agreement. The officials said
that could take weeks.
At the United Nations, a high PLO offi
cial said Thursday “all Palestinians are
members of the PLO” and that the West
Bank mayors could be included in a dele
gation to Geneva.
But Zehdi Labib Terzi, the PLO’s Per-,
manent Observer, said the key to the
PLO’s participation in a resumed Geneva
conference would be “an official invitation
to the PLO to participate.
“We will insist that a formal invitation to
the conference must be extended to the
PLO,” Terzi said in an interview at U.N.
headquarters. “Once it is extended, the
PLO will designate its delegates.”
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, the cen
tral figure in intensive diplomatic negotia
tions over the past 10 days, expressed
guarded optimism in a New York speech
to American ambassadors, but said, “Many
uncertainties and difficulties lie ahead.
“But when we look ahead, and compare
it to the last year, the outlook in the Mid
dle East has improved,” Vance said. —