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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1977)
I The Battalion Vol. 71 No. 69 10 Pages Thursday, December 8, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Inside Today: Listening in on the local radio mar ket, p. 5. The Aggie football team speaks out, p. 2. . . . and David Walker tells his side of the story, p. 10. Council okays bid; not happy about it By RUSTY CAWLEY Battalion City Editor They didn’t like it. They didn’t want to do it. But the College Station City Council accepted the low bid for construction of a new city warehouse Wednesday night. The council, by a reluctant 4 to 3 vote, accepted the bid from Malek Construction Co. of Navasota. The bid of $364,895, though $24,665 below the next lowest bid, angered the councilmen because it was much higher than the costs estimated by the warehouse architects. But anticipation of higher bids. should new ones have been solicited, forced the council to act. The council instructed the city staff to study the plans and to work with the con tractor towards reducing costs. Council toyed with eliminating the warehouse meeting room and lunch room, a decision that would cut the price by $21,000. But Councilman Gary Halter said such a move would be a mistake. “You’re eliminating chicken feed, ” Hal ter said. “And you’re going to come back when you need it and pay $50,000 for it.” Approval of the warehouse bid had been tabled at a meeting Nov. 28. At that time Councilman Jim Dozier blasted the bid figures. He blamed the costs on the state law requiring cities to accept sealed bids. “We have a state law that cost the tax payers money,” Dozier said. “We can’t protect the taxpayers and that’s a crying shame.” The council asked City Engineer Elrey Ash for a breakdown on construction costs. Last night, they got them. The entire project, including architects’ fees, will cost around $391,300, Ash told the council. The new police station ap proved last week will run $390,438. The project will cost $95,438 more than the $350,000 worth of bonds approved by College Station voters. Approved by 4-3 vote City hires park designers Three architects were hired by the College Station City Council Wednesday night to design a city park. Timothy Keneipp, Rodney Hill and J.W. Wood wil be paid $4,500 to design Oaks Park for the city. Another $103,500 has been allocated for construction of the park. The architects were approved by a 4 to 3 vote. Councilman Jim Dozier in particular ob jected to the hiring of the architects. He claimed the city staff is capable of design ing the project. “We have people who are qualified in this area,” Dozier said. “I see no need to hire an architect just for this project.” Mayor Lorence Bravenec agreed. “I think this just points out something I’ve been saying for awhile,” Bravenec said. “That is, our need for another engi neer.” But Councilman Gary Halter disagreed, saying a design from a civil engineer could ruin the project. “Civil engineers see things differently than architects. Halter said. “The wrong design could ruin a park like this.” Councilman Jim Gardner objected to some of the plans for the park. “This will be a nice addition to apart ment complexes in that area,” Gardner said. “But I don’t see the need for two tennis courts. “This could be a nice little park if we do it right.” The council approved the contract, but stipulated that the architects’ fee would not exceed the $4,500 allocated. Hussein arrives in Cairo; Sadat denounces Arabs ’Tis the season Student “Y” member Julie Russell adds another newly wrapped gift to the table in room 216A of the Memorial Student Center. The Student “Y” is sponsoring a gift-wrapping service for Texas A&M students and faculty members. Battalion photo by Esther Cortez United Press International Jordan’s King Hussein arrived today on a fence-mending mission to Cairo where throngs of cheering Egyptians hailed Pres ident Anwar Sadat’s efforts for peace with Israel and heard him denounce his hard line Arab critics as “imposters and pyg- Hussein, seeking to mediate between Sadat and Arab opponents of his drive for a quick peace settlement with Israel, ar rived fresh from apparently fruitless Damascus talks with Syrain President aw could destroy music groups Edii Copyright to protect artists ditors note: This is the last article in a o-part series on the new federal lyright law. By LIZ NEWLIN Battalion Staff Fair treatment of authors and compos- was the purpose of a federal copyright v passed in 1976, but it may have other ects: the end of vocal and band music in lieges and a change for professional mus- groups performing on campus. Robert Boone, coordinator of vocal asic at Texas A&M University, said ednesday the new law is still very gue, but it could destroy the Univer- y’s music programs. It would literally wipe out the Singing idets, Century Singers and Reveliers. It uld probably wipe out the Fightin’ xas Aggie Band and the symphonic nd. The way it’s being interpreted, it’s im- issible to live with,” Boone said. The law removes the exemption from pyright laws given to non-profit organi- tions like universities, school districts, urches and community arts groups. In- rscholastic contests and juke boxes may so come under the copyright changes. Actually, its difficult to say right now tat the effects will be, simply because license and performance fees haven’t ien decided yet,” said James Randolph, student program coordinator for the Memorial Student Center. Groups representing publishers and composers on one side and the nation’s universities on the other are still in negoti ations. A meeting is scheduled for mid- December. “The law is so wide open right now that people can’t really tell you anything,” Boone said. But he has some ideas. “After Jan. 1, in order for the Singing Cadets, Century Singers or Reveliers to perform anywhere, whether admissison is charged or not, whether the music is in the public domain or not, we will have to pay a licensing fee to each of the three composer-publisher societies,” he said. The copyright societies are Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC), and American Society of Composers, Au thors and Publishers (ASCAP). “Public domain” music includes the “Star Spangled Banner, “Mary Had a Lit tle Lamb” and “Row Your Boat. Boone said fees may be required on these songs, and profits would probably go to BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. “The fee amount has’nt been settled, Boone said. “The societies are still dick ering over it, and each society is taking a different approach.” But he said the host ing organization will probably have to pay the licensing fee. For example, the Victoria A&M Club would be liable for paying the fee if the Singing Cadets perform there. Boone said the minimum fee under discussion is $750 per society for each performance. If the Singing Cadets used at least one song copyrighted by each of the three societies, the fee would be $2,250 for one two-hour performance. The club or any similar group would be hard-pressed to pay it, he said. “As it stands right now, it appears this new law, if enforced, would wipe out col legiate performing groups. It would make it financially prohibitive for them to per form,” Boone said. He plans to go ahead with the Singing Cadet’s two-week tour scheduled in January, even though the new law will be in effect. Their concerts will include songs copyrighted by all three societies. “We’ll just go on as we’ve been doing,” the group’s director said. “If someone calls me down on it. I’ll just have to say. Sue me.” Boon expects “thousands and thousands” of lawsuits across the country resulting from the new regulation. “I can’t see that it’s going to affect us,” said Lt. Col. Joe T. Haney, director of the Texas Aggie Band. “I’m not the least bit concerned with it until it’s settled in the courts.” He predicted that will take sev eral years. Haney said the band already pays copyright fees when it performs on televi sion, but he also foresees no immediate problems. Randolph, a Town Hall committee ad viser, could not predict how the new law will change the fees paid for professional groups who perform on campus. In the past, Texas A&M and other colleges signed contracts with artists which shifted copyright fee responsibility to the groups. (See CHANGE, page 8) Hafez Assad, a leading critic of Egypt’s peace drive. The Jordanian monarch began his Cairo mission against the background of a bois terous pro-Sadat demonstration by an es timated million Egyptians who marched thxough the heart of Cairo to the Abdin presidential palace. Addressing the throng from the palace balcony, Sadat said Egypt wanted peace with Israel, but warned “we are not seek ing peace at any price. “I wish these imposters and pygmies heard and read what I said before the Knesset Israeli parliament,” Sadat said, re ferring to his Arab critics. President Sadat greeted Hussein at the airport where the two leaders embraced and kissed and appeared smiling. Officials said the aim of Hussein’s Cairo’s talks is to heal the breach in the Arab world caused by opposition of hard line states to Sadat’s visit to Israel last month and his subsequent call for direct peace talks with the Jewish state in Cairo. The talks are scheduled to open next week. Syria is one of the principal opponents of this policy. Others include Libya, Algeria, Iraq, South Yemen and the Pales tine Liberation Organization. Jordan is steering a middle course in the rift. It boycotted last week s anti-Sadat summit at Tripoli, Libya, and is also stay ing away from the forthcoming Cairo talks. Hussein went to Damascus Wednesday for talks with Syrian President Assad and will be traveling to Saudi Arabia following his Egypt visit. While the Jordanian monarch traveled to Cairo, the Syrian president flew to Saudi Arabia today in a flurry of diplomatic- initiatives to try to heal the worsening rift over Egypt’s peace drive with Israel. Sadat’s peace contacts with Israel have drawn condemnation from the Soviet Union and radical Arab states, and in re taliation Egypt this week broke diplomatic- relations with five Arab nations and closed Soviet bloc offices in Alexandria, Port Said and Aswan. The United States and moderate Arab governments in Jordan and Saudi Arabia are trying to heal the split between Sadat and Syrian President Hafez Assad to clear the way for resuming the Geneva peace talks. Jordan’s King Hussein failed to sway Assad in a six-hour meeting Wednesday in Damascus. The Syrian government issued a statement afterward condemning Sadat’s “capitulationist” policies. The terse Syrian Communique stressed the “importance of firm confrontation” against Sadat’s peace efforts, which it called “an attempt to freeze the Arab struggle against the enemy and which will end in failure. Hussein planned to go to Cairo today for further reconciliation talks with Sadat and Assad was scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia for similar meetings. ampus police still looking or MSC purse stealer University Police are still unable to pture the person stealing purses from lemorial Student Center restrooms, al- lough one month has passed since the lefts were reported. Police said Wednesday that more than 00 in stolen cash and $400 in forged leeks have been attributed to the elusive indit who has stolen 16 purses and made 1 forgeries. ■ On Nov. 7 the Battalion reported that a toman of medium build with either red or blonde hair had been stealing purses from the restrooms. “She has changed her strategy some,” said Buford Thornton, assistant special in vestigator for the University Police. “She has stopped taking checkbooks and credit cards since the Nov. 7 article and has concentrated on cash.” She also has reportedly changed her method of discarding the stolen purses. They are taken to lockers adjacent to the restrooms, emptied, and then left in one of the lockers. All thefts are still occuring be tween 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., police said. “We believe she knows all of the special investigators on sight, even the evening personnel who rarely leave the office,” said Thornton. He said that several people have been used by police to stake out the thief. Handwriting samples from the forged checks have been taken to Austin for analysis, Thornton said, but the results won’t be in for a week. It's just begun Rick Newitt, graduate student in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, finds the fourth floor of the library a quiet retreat for study and napping. Newitt dozed off while studying for his final in Biological Oceanography. Battalion photo by Phyllis I yo .