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 .