Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Thursday Texas A&M University January 26, 1978 Senate spins wheels It was hoped at last night’s student senate meeting some progress was going to be made in resolving the scholastic qualifications problem now before student government. It didn’t happen. In fact, one wonders if the semester will end with the question resolved at all. It seemed at the beginning of the meeting that the senate might be in the spirit to clean up the constitution that now makes checking into student government members’ grades an exercise in futility and any necessary re moval from office a laughable impossibility. In his “state of the campus’’ address, President Robert Harvey urged that steps be taken to quickly and finally clarify the grade check and removal procedures of the student government constitution, an appeal, by the way, from a student body president who had just admitted he posted below a 2.0 last semester. It looked as if there was going to be some serious house cleaning of the constitution, and contingent on that, possible house-cleaning in student government. But, in fact, nothing constructive came about. One bill was introduced, but not voted on, that would require all mem bers of the senate and executive committee to make their GPR’s available. However, the bill accomplishes little in cleaning up the constitution, and with all the trips it’s going to take around the governmental merry-go-round we may never see it again, anyway. Waivers that would allow GPR’s to be checked by the end of the week were passed out, but senators and officers were told that, quite frankly, no one knew what would happen if they refused to sign. Progress. Then a bill was sent floating about the room that was never introduced, but word has it it will crop up at the next senate meeting. At first glance the bill looks like an attempt at serious problem-solving, providing for a GPR check as well as a procedure for removal from office. But there’s a lot of grumbling nevertheless. The bill doesn’t set a hard and pat minimum grade level for qualification for office. It states that only scholastic probation puts a person on the firing line. The problem here is that scholastic probation is the prerogative of the student’s dean. One dean might waive scholastic probation for a student while another dean might not. Poor standards here. There’s even some question as to whether the bill affects anyone in the executive branch. Poor coverage here. And finally, the bill is only tacked onto the existing constitution. Tired of living in a dirty house? Build on an addition and move in. Nothing solved anywhere. It looks like students interested in seeing this not-so-hard job done are going to have to sit back. Pull out the Monopoly board. At least in that game you know you go directly to jail for fouling up. / A. Sports in the courts One of the more and more disturbing trends which occurred in 1977 was the increasing violence exhibited in the professional sports arena. Until recently, deliberate acts of violence between players were a rarity, with the exception of a very few sports — such as hockey. Even hockey tried to clean up its act last year with officials placing under arrest several players on assault charges. But while hockey was trying to eliminate some of the most obvious mayhem artists, professional football and basketball spawned a number of brawls between players and, occasionally, whole teams. Obviously something has been lost when the pursuit of victory on the gridiron or court involves bone-breaking punchs and kicks. To their credit, officials did react with suspensions and record fines in some of the incidents. If that doesn’t prove a sufficient deterrent, civil suits for damages by injured players could be the next move. Someone has to return sportsmanship to sports. If not, the players and game officials, it might as well be the courts. Biddeford Maine Journal Tribune Panama not so much the loser By MARK ELAM Like Mr. Shiner and Ms. Mahler, I would also like to praise John Weaver’s article concerning the Panama Canal, but I would remonstrantly resist their attempt to label Weaver’s thoughts as either mislead ing or inaccurate. To say that the treaty and construction of the canal was advantageous to the U.S. is not to say it is advantageous to the exclusion of Panama. To suggest that the treaty of 1903 is not advantageous to the nation of Panama is to belie the facts. I would openly welcome the chance to publish copies of the proposed treaties, the Treaty of 1903 and the Shaw vs. Wilson case if space permitted, but alas, it does not, and with no intention of insulting their intelligence, I must suffice by asking that the interested persons perform the dubious task of looking them up for themselves. The building of the Panama Canal provided the U.S. with obvious economic and military advantages, yet we are asked to believe that Panama gained less from the treaty than did the U.S. But what did Panama actually gain? Hopefully Ms. Mahler will forgive my heresy when I suggest that Panama gained as much and perhaps even more than the U.S. by ratify ing the treaty. To begin with, the tiny nation of Panama gained its independence. Prior to this time the inhabitants of what is now Panama at tempted to revolt from the nation of Co lumbia on more than 50 occasions. Due to the vast superiority of Columbia in terms of economics and military strength, Panama repeatedly failed to gain its independence. .The economic ,giuns whicfi -jpight be de rived from an Amierican canal through the Isthmus was apparent to the Panamanians and they openly sought to take full advan tage of the situation. Surely independence can be considered as advantageous. The fact is, the independent nation of Panama arose out of a desire on the part of both parties to build a canal, and in the very Readers' forum first article of the Treaty of 1903, the United States guarantees at the request of Panama to guarantee their independence. These are hardly the works or actions of a coniving nation which is attempting “plain theft.” And there is more, much more. The U. S., at great sacrifice virtually irradicated disease in this tiny swamp-infested nation. Surely this is advantageous to Panama! Roads and bridges were constructed and drainage and sewer facilities were built in the cities, making life bearable and growth possible. Beyond this, our nation has liber ally funded educational programs in Panama, substantially raising literacy levels at U.S. taxpayer’s expense; Mone tary benefits to Panama from c^paj.^ac tivities and direct payments to government and private citizens directly served to give Panama the highest standard of living of any Central American nation. Apparently Mr. Shiner and Ms. Mahler’s definition of “advantageous must tran scend such realities as independence, eco nomic solvency, basic educational and de cent health facilities which arose directly from our treaty with Panama. We are told that no Panamanian repre sentative was present at at the signing of the original treaty. This is simply not the case. The provisional government of Panama, knowing full well what they were doing, selected Phillipe Buana-Varilla, a Frenchman who was involved in the aborted French effort to build the canal, as Plenipotentiary for the Republic of Panama. A Plenipotentiary is diplomatic agent having full authority. As an indi vidual knowledgeable of the situation the government of Panama gave him full au thority to negotiate the treaty. If the Panamanians were dissatisfied with the re sults of his negotiations, we must ask why both the Provisional and the later duly elected government of Panama ratified the treaty. Surely the governments of Panama would not have ratified a treaty which they considered to be totally disadvantageous to themselves. We must ask if the Panamanian people are seeking to vent their frustrations be cause they resent America or because they! anguish over the socio-economic and polit ical situation in their nation which arises from their leaders, and denies them basic human freedoms such as freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom to form political parties. And yes, let us consider pride, (even though you would ask Mr. Weaver in the same breath to speak of pride and reject emotionalism) and let us ask how anyone who loves freedom can be proud of strengthening an already repressive re gime, which openly scorns human dignity. Mark Elam is a junior political science major. Opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of this paper. Tetters to the editor Off-campus students find library hours restrictive Editor; I’d like to direct this comment to the director of the library and/or whoever it may concern. As an A&M community member who has spent a semester here, I found that the operating hours of the li brary are too limited, especially on weekends. Once the semester gets rolling, the daily overcrowded library is a dis couraging situation to many students, par ticularly off-campus living students like myself. Except our hope for a speedy com pletion of the new building, it seems that nothing is being done, in the meantime, to alleviate the situation. Furthermore, an absurd situation I encountered last semester was the operat ing hours of the library during and im mediately before the final examination week. While the professors and instructors toiled to have their students absorb knowl edge at a steady and regular pace, the li brary operated a situation which condoned and encouraged cramming as a way of learning. I found it ridiculous for the library to close at 5:45 p.m. on the Saturday (Dec. 10) before the final exam week but, stayed open for twenty-four hours that following Monday. I believe the community of students can profit more from regular extended weekend hours. For instance, remain open til 10 on Saturday nights. I think the library owes it not only to the daily crowding situa tion but, also to the fact that this is an institution for higher education, research and learning. I have heard much talk by President Miller and others about improv ing the academic quality at A&M. Perhaps, a better access to the library facility can make a significant contribution toward the efforts. — R. Muchontham, graduate student economics Lack of coverage Editor: Why wasn’t the women’s basketball game played last Saturday in Lubbock, given coverage in Monday’s Battalion? If the yell leaders are going to be criticized for missing a game, then the Battalion should be criticized for failing to cover a game. It is your job to cover the sporting events of this school. Practice what you preach. —Charles Townsend, ‘79 Editor’s note: The Battalion extends its coverage to as much of the campus as pos sible. The staff of students only reaches so far. As for Saturday’s game. Sports Editor Paul Arnett drove to Lubbock to cover the women’s and men’s games. Only a severe snowstorm hampered him • \y e tried. Throw it back Editor: In response to a letter by Nicholas Green, Jan. 24. An apology is in order from you to us. I’m referring to that portion of Ags that do not believe in masticating and regurgitating the local slang while trying to get their point across. From looking at your major and your “pre-cognated” word selection it appears that you are probably quite intelligent. The typical character of a “quite intelligent” in dividual means they possess an I.Q. of 100 and common sense (of humor, also) of about 0. What I gathered about you in your letter was that you are the epitome of a quite intelligent person. Here is a hint from a normal cell con glomerate. Next time you are brutally as saulted with that tasteless, odorless, white crystaline substance, rectify your situation on the spot, not in tears over your SR 56A. Here’s how: take a pinch and put it be tween your cheek and gum, then grab a couple handfuls and compact them tightly, look at your enemy, draw your handful in hand to the corresponding ear with a short, chopping spastic motion, release the sub stance in your opponents direction, and repeat until satisfied. —Spencer Wendt, ‘78 Slouch by Jim Earle “I GOT TIRED OF NOT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THE WEATHER!” Top of the News State Gunman takes hostage and cash A single gunman yesterday robbed the New Braunfels National Bank in New Braunfels, Texas of what was described as a “large amount of money” and escaped by taking the bank vice president hostage. The hostage, former mayor George Erben, was released unharmed shortly after the 2:17 p.m. robbery. Police would not dis close the amount of money taken but in their radio communications one officer said “a large amount — I mean a large amount.” Officers said a stocky white man, about 5-foot-7 and weighing approximately 160 pounds entered the bank armed with a pistol. They said the man was wearing a trench coat, golf hat, white gloves and had a moustache. Accep losle, Ir ibonds i the C Vednesc A tota With Rot: effective Rival gas co. must negotiate soon Bill The Texas Railroad Commission granted LoVaca Gathering Co. and Coastal States Gas Corp. and their customers another 45 days to settle their five-year dispute involving natural gas rates. To aid the negotiations, the Commission gave the pipeline companies a multibillion-dollar incentive for making an agreement succeed. Two of the three commissioners said they would have voted Wednesday to require refunds of $1.6 billion ana a $1.5 million a day rollback of natural gas prices if nearly 20 of the pipelines’ biggest customers had not requested a delay. LoVaca and Coastal say the refunds and rollback would destroy them. Texas will spea day, Jan. jries. Claytc jneounfr 2:30 p.r er Tow ublic-fr A 195 Angry veteran seizes classroom Vr A Vietnam veteran and former football player, angered by the way homosexuals are treated, used a .25 caliber pistol yesterday to seize a college chemistry class in Edinburgh, Texas for two hours, surrender ing only after he was assured he would be safely transported to a hospital. Eddie Montalvo, 24, seized the 36-member class at Pan American University but made no attempt to harm any of the stu dents. He surrendered after an attorney entered the building and was taken to Edinburg General Hospital. Montalvo had previously at tended the university for two and one-half years. He wrote a letter, including a list of demands, and dropped it off at a local newspaper before taking control of the classroom. SAN I Convent iolds a ielect th |e city ( The bi >r barter omethi )iego ui the “Sir lanhatl Sixty f reau sr Court says no to police 'hunch' Police cannot stop and search a motorist because he is driving five to 10 mph, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled yesterday, overturn ing a Houston taxi driver’s conviction for carrying a handgun illegally. Police said they stopped Charles W. Shaffer because they suspected Shaffer was ill or drunk since his car was traveling at 10 mph or less. “Detention based ‘on a mere hunch’ is illegal,” the Supreme Court ruled. Valley farmers' rally 'no strike Farmers paraded more than 100 tractors through the Lower Rio Grande Valley yesterday and rallied at the Mercedes Stock Show grounds in support of higher parity. While the farmers said they were supporting the aims of agriculture spokesmen currently lobbying in Washington, they were careful to disassociate themselves from the American Agriculture Movement and its strike. “This is not a strike nor a sympathy tractorcade,” said one of the rally’s organizers. “It is an effort to show our support for the 70,000 farmers in Washington who are there in protest of the 1977 Farm Bill that guarantees all American farmers the right to go broke with 68 percent parity prices.” Nation Humphrey accepts Senate seat Mrs. Muriel Humphrey agreed yesterday to fill the U.S. Senate seat of her late husband, Hubert H. Humphrey, until a special elec tion is held in November. She said she plans to complete “some important business Hubert hoped to finish.” Humphrey will be the Senate’s only woman member. She said it was “too early to tell” whether she would seek election in November to fill out the then remaining four years of her late husband’s term. Gunman, stolen plane captured The gunman who took an Idaho city official and deputy sheriff hostage and then traded them for a pilot and plane, surrendered yesterday. Law officers shot the tires of the aircraft when it landed to refuel. The incident began Tuesday in Marsing, Idaho when Harold Starry, 22, was taken off a bus because he was intoxicated. Starry took the sheriff and a city clerk hostage and exchanged them for a pilot and a plane to take him to California. Carter plugs welfare reform In a hand-written letter President Carter told a key California congressman that he has “every hope and expectation” Congress will approve a welfare reform package this year. The congressman, Rep. James Corman, D-Calif. is chairman of a special House Welfare Re form Subcommittee, which has been drafting a welfare reform bill Carter praised the committee’s work and asked Corman to “call on me directly” for help in pushing welfare reform through Congress. The letter sought to reassure lawmakers that Carter stands behind his $31.1 billion proposed package of jobs and supplemental income for poor persons. The letter was dated yesterday and signed “Jimmy Carter. Weather Fair and cool today turning cold tonight. High today in the mid-40’s, low tonight in the mid-20’s. High tomorrow - upper- 40’s. Winds out of the North-Northeast at 5-10 mph. Partly cloudy & cold Saturday. Cold with a chance of rain Sunday and Monday. The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Re gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterjtrise operated by students as a university and com munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POUCY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising ~ -vices, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angel Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas ^ United Press International is entitled exclusively’ 0 use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited’^ Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein rertf' Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX " ' MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Jamie A# Managing Editor Mary Alice Wooit Sports Editor PauIAi* News Editors Marie Homeyer, CarolN*! Assistant Managing Editor Clenna City Editor Karen ft* Campus Editor KiniT 1 ’ Reporters Liz Newlin, ^ Boggan, Mark Patterson, Lee Roy Leschper Jr - ^ W'ff Photographers Susan Webb, Ken Heff Cartoonist DtHigCn* The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester: $33.25 per school year; $35.(X) per full year. Advertising rates fur nished on request. Address: The Battalion. Room 216, Student Publications Board: Bob C. Rogers. Chet* Joe Arredondo: Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. John W III 1 Robert Harvey, Dr. Charles McCandless; Dr. Clinti' Phillips: Rebel Rice. Director of Student Publkrf Donald C. Johnson. Fc Cc Ct