The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 31
10 Pages
Thursday, October 13, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Today:
Flying with a hang-gliding team,
page 8
Still traveling with the football
team, page 3
Starting a quarterback for the Baylor
game, page 9
Campus loan fund missing $3,000
Jtround 4 p.m. Wednesday the moon cruised into position to partially
Block the sun. The degree of the eclipse varied in the Western Hemi-
gsplicre and was a total in a section of the Pacific Ocean.
City, school wait
for tax research
By GLENNA WHITLEY
Battalion Staff
A shortage of $3,000 in the Campus Chest student loan
fund was discovered this week during a Battalion study of
a long list of unpaid loans.
Fred Pfeiffer, the fund’s director, says he can find
records for $1,200 in unpaid loans. But an additional
$3,000 — presumably also in unpaid loans — cannot be
accounted for in the fund’s hooks.
“I don’t know what went oh in the past, and I don’t
know what happened to the money, Pfeiffer said
Monday. He became director in November 1976.
Campus Chest is a student government fund designed
for emergency student loans and the purchase of flowers
for families of students honored in Silver Taps cere
monies. Before fall 1976, grants were also given from the
fund.
“It was a neglected fund,’ Pfeiffer said. He said he* is
now attempting to revamp Campus Chest system of loan
ing and collecting, which apparently led to the loss of
money.
In the past, student administrators of the loan program
were allowed to take out loans themselves, while they
were active directors of the fund.
William Flores, Mary Ellen Martin and Susan Price, all
directors of the fund at some time in the last three years,
each took out at least three loans from the Campus (.'best.
Now, a director and his assistants cannot take out loans.
“I never took out a loan when I was on the executive
committee,” said Price, director in the 1976-77 school
year. She did, however, take out loans before and after
she was director.
“I’ve always paid them back, she said. The fund’s
records substantiate her statement.
She said the rule forbidding these loans was adopted
when she was director because a previous director, Mary
Ellen Martin, “was a little late in paying loans back.
Price Said Martin would sign the deposit checks with
one date and actually pay the loan back at a later date.
“I don’t think people with that type of power should
sign their own loans,” Price said.
Records also show that Martin took out a $125 loan on
Oct. 10, 1975, and it was never marked paid.
Martin, who has since graduated and moved to San
Antonio, said Wednesday that she paid back the loan hut
doesn t remember when.
She said the restriction on directors getting loans was
imposed when she held the office and that there was even
discussion of making the fund off'limits to senators.
Martin said all loans had to he signed by three people;
the director and two other members of the student gov
ernment executive committee.
“I think the records arc* so inaccurate they can’t tell how
much is missing, she said when told of the unaccounted
$3,000.
Flores, director in 1974-75, repaid his loans total
ing $300 according to the records. He signed all the
deposit slips for his loan repayments in his. capac ity
as director.
Before 1974-75, loans were granted for as much as $400
at a time, The loan application was not a legally binding
contract, and only required the student’s name and iden
tification number. Loans were due in six months, and no
interest was charged.
In 1975-76, length of loans was shortened to 60 days,
because students tend to move' frequently and were dif-
iicult to locate after a six-month period.
The loan request was a legally binding agreement, and
could he collected in small claims court if necessary. This
form requested the applicant’s present and permanent
address, telephone number and reason for requesting the
loan. One-and-a-half percent interest per month (18 per
cent per year) was charged for overdue loans.
Currently, delinquent loans can only be collected
through small claims court. But Pfeiffer wants the Univer
sity to withhold student’s transcripts and grades and to
block registration if loans are not paid.
“I ve never had any capability of making them repay,"
Pfeiffer said. He also plans to limit loans to $50. This
should enable more loans to be given out, and make it
easier for people to repay the entire amount.
Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student services,-
said he didn t like the idea of withholding enrollment in
the University, hut that it could be done.
The students on one hand have c reated a fund to help
other students, and then want to keep them from enroll
ing. he said. “I didn’t like the fund to begin with. The
financial aid office already provides loan services and does
a good job.’ He said the idea of collecting funds for
emergency loans was commendable, hut that the disper
sal system would operate better if the services were in one
office.
Money collected for Campus Chest at football games is
put into a deposit bag after the game and dropped into the
night depository of the Student Finance Center. It is
usually counted by the Campus Chest director Monday
morning, then redeposited in the Finance Center. The
Center functions as a bank for many student organiza
tions.
In fall 1976, receipts from the football games were
usually more than $500 and at times more than $1,000.
Donations have diminished in the last two-years, accord
ing to the fund s records. Many receipts from football
games are as low as $60.
Price said the fund hasn t been doing as well because
the fund s presence and purpose wasn’t broadcast during
the home football games, even though they requested
such announcements.
Pfeiffer said the fund did poorly because people were
tired of being asked to donate game after game. He plans
to solicit money from student government for Campus
Chest this year because donations are so low.
By KAREN ROGERS
o contact has been made between the'
lege Station City Council and the' A&M
fsolidated School District since' they 7
ed to consider merging their tax offices
I week, school district officials said
jclncsday.
iut the city and the school district say
jy are,waiting for their attorm'vs to re-
yeh the proposed merger.
-ast week, the school board directed
)erintendent Fred Hopson to discuss
merger with City Manager North Bar-
hit Hopson has no immediate' plans to
akwith Bardell, said IVggy (Titte-ndem,
(dnesday. Crittenden is the' school s
ilic information officer. Sim said the
«rintendent is waiting for the' school
hict s attorney to study the matte*r and
wt to him.
k'hool District attorney. Jack Woods,
•lined to specify what would be' consid-
in his research.
wasjust told to look at it a little' bit, he
'loods said he was not aware Hopson
was waiting for the information he' is gather
ing.
Neeley Lewis, attorney for College Sta
tion, said he is studying two major obstacles
to the' mergc'r.
"The' first question is whether it can be
legally done in light of the fact that the
school district covers the whole southern
county, while College Station only goes to
thy city limits, he- saiel.
Presently, the- school and c ity tax office's
are assessing the same' land, an exception
being some rural land which only the
school district taxes.
Lewis cjuestions what would happem to
the rural land.
The College Station city charter (con
stitution) w ill also play an important part in
the merger, Lewis said.
Lewis said because the' way the charter is
set up, it may he' necessary for College
Station to amend its charter befe>re the'
merger.
The merger situation is very complicated
and will reejuire study of these two prob
lems before details such as persemned and
eejst cemld he worked emt, Lewis said.
Neither Lewis nor Woods could estimate
when his study would be completed.
Old safe to tough’
Hirglary attempt fails
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By ROBIN LINN
„ ! u . r 8 lar who broke into the Student
Cla . Office last weekend took no
R yi, did enc °unter a tough old safe.
■ Logan, director of student financial
not] j ec ] University Police that three
C: vere ransacked before the burglar
,ent t0 work” on the safe.
The burglar used a sledge lammer to
°tthe sa fe s handle and combination
1<m Tried to take the hinges apart and
[, £ sa fe open. But the old safe resisted
l? .. 8 : “ p atent 9-12, 1912. Others
I l , n ^’ * s written on the back of the safe
ehborate script.
That ole] sa fe was mac j e tough,” Logan
Sa f the burglar didn’t know was that
y,' 1 | a built-in weapon waiting for
■el \ V 0 ma naged to break through its
^ersihk Meth ° ds ° f topping safe-
lav I ” lt P a . st were more direct than
J j | I'sfead of silent electronic alarms
Cofledm "'T- the y us od tear gas.
led t (,u , gh tht “ walls of the safe is a
tnbe containing tear gas. The
ODcn u nace , wor ked so well that attempts
; pj n safe by a locksmith Tuesday in
[he rf. t!a Al i d Pfffice failed. The safe had
other dr j C to the locksmith’s shop for
otied 3 dayof workbefore it finally was
ODerwd Pogan, the locksmith said
ddm,,- f a similar sah' for a church and
out orT t , he . 1 t< ; ar gas kept parishion-
el, “t-i le building for more than
''k'hed . OC ^ Srn ' t h hit a copper ..
He to ., VdS to open it here and
„ 1 screeching halt when he hit the
Ert Ra '’ said -
Uni, Was wiped clean of fingerprints
ttCS'r p »li f e investigators are
iksj n ,i some fingerprints taken off
Univ-.d 0 c T.' Tom Parsons, director
Klay th a t' l ra hi c and safety, says Wed-
ds." Police were working with some
The Sa f,,
mall amount of
i(lent r l'* T-ittle Loan” program and
('lease forms for the Hinson-
Hazlewood Loan program, forms which are
not negotiable.
Logan said the only thing stolen was a
check protector machine which imprints
the amount of money on checks given to
students.
The future of the safe looks bleak. “I’m
afraid its ready for the trash heap, “Logan
said.
Procrastinators put it off
Battalion photo by Ken Herrera
If most professors had their way, attendence in the fictitious Procras
tinators club would he mandatory for their students. If most students had
their way, they would put it off as long as possible. This sign appeared at
the entrance to the Commons cafeteria Wednesday.
Euthanasia law protects family privacy
By LINDA NORMAN
7, John Doe, being of sound mind,
tcillfidly and voluntarily make known my
desire that my life shall not be artificially
prolonged under the circumstances set
forth below, and do hereby declare...”
The Texas Natural Death Act, passed in
August, removes the need for guardian
consent to refuse medical treatment if the
individual is unable to.
A three-member panel discussed their
opinions on the law at a seminar Wednes
day at noon entitled “Euthanasia: The
Medical Aspects. The Great Issues com
mittee sponsored the event.
The bill is designed to protect the pri
vacy of the family and the patient, and also
to protect the physician-patient relation
a
tube
h<
From left to right at Euthanasia seminar. Dr. Michael Jamail, Dr. Phil Davis and
Battalion photo by Dick Wells
ship, said Dr. Larry McCullough, head of
the*department of humanities in medicine
at the Texas A&M University Medical
School. He is also an assistant professor in
philosophy.
The Texas law stemmed from the Karen
Ann Quinlan ease, in which the right to
refuse medical treatment was extended to
the guardian, and was based on a similar
law in California, McCullough said.
“The law does resolve some conflicts in
minds of some doctors and hospital person
nel,” said Dr. Phil Davis, head of the de
partment of family and community
medicine in the College of Medicine here.
Davis cited as an example the dilemma
hospital staff sometimes face on whether to
issue an emergency code when a terminally
ill patient quits breathing. He feels the act
has created a mechanism whereby it is legal
for a doctor to say not to use mechanical
procedures if they have prior consent from
the patient.
"In a way it does complicate matters,”
Davis said. The law deals with “interven
tion of mechanical and artificial means,”
but does not define what constitutes artifi
cial means.
Davis said he interpreted the law to
mean it was illegal to withold antibiotics
from patients when they could possibly tide*
a terminally ill patient over, but that each
physician has to deal personally with that
situation and resolve it.
“If a physician has the right relationship
with the patient and the patient’s family, he
shouldn’t have any repercussions,” Davis
said.
The document relieves the guilt of the
family, said Dr. Michael Jamail, a
pschylogist and associate director of Per
sonal Counseling Services.
It also permits a person to do now what
he cannot do later, affords an opportunity
not to wreck a family financially, and injects
a note of realism about death, he said.
“You can’t be sure what you do now is
what you want to do in the future,” Jamail
said. There is also a problem of the applica
tion of the law in other states, when the
document was written in Texas.
Jamail raised the question of whether the
state should be involved.
The state becomes involved in the sensi
tive area of the doctor-patient relationship
with the passage of this act.
“At some point we have to realize that we
cannot deal with everything by legisla
tion, Jamail said. “Physicians have a code
of ethics, and those ethics arc going to have
to he relied on to some point or else we
completely erode trust, which is the basis
for all social interaction.”