he Battalion
Inside Thursday
Ag-analia, p. 6
Women s rugby team undefeated, p.
7
Ags lose to SMU overtime, 71-70, p.
8 .
Vol. 71 No. 89
8 Pages
Thursday, February 2, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Judicial board wants more evidence
By LIZ NEWLIN
and KIM TYSON
Battalion Staff
lie student government judicial board
i ged three elected student officials with
[igence and ordered them to give evi-
ceof their scholastic proficiency Wed-
jelday night in a 4-0 decision. One
nepber abstained.
Jobert Harvey, student body president;
|ki Young, vice president for student
ices; and Joe Young, student senator
received writs of mandamus which require
proof that they meet academic require
ments for elective office.
Austin Sterling, student senator also
subpoenaed before the board, was cleared
of negligence when he stated he posted a
4.0 GPR last semester.
Chris Farmer, acting chairman, an
nounced the board s decision:
“The question here is to decide whether
writs of mandamus should be issued at all.
The question was not the wording or con
struction of waivers issued previously.
“For this reason, the judicial board feels
that not signing these waivers has shown
negligence by student government officers
in their responsibilities as interpreted in
the constitution by the judicial board.
“The writs will then contain a require
ment to provide proof of adequate scholas
tic proficiency as defined in Section 4, Arti
cle I and Section 2C Article III of the con
stitution.
“To the vice president of rules and regu
lations, the burden of proof to the consti
tuency is a responsibility of the student
officers who have to show qualifications of
scholastic proficiency, the board said.
The defendants have two days to re
spond. If they ignore the writs, remedial or
removal hearings will be called. Formal
announcement of the decision is expected
this week.
In summation, both sides outline their
basic arguments.
Stan Stanfield, chairman of the judicial
board, spoke for plaintiff Jim Connor, who
petitioned the board to issue the writ.
“Enforcement is inherent and explicit in
the judicial board, he said. The board rec
ognizes in its by-laws that a writ can be
issued for non-performance of duties, he
said.
Establishing their qualifications for of
fices through releasing grade point ratios is
an implied duty based on grade require
ments stated in Articles I and III of the
student body constitution, Stanfield said.
“The judicial board has the authority to
act in this case, he concluded.
Student senator Joe Young spoke for
45
Fired Houston policeman testifies
jllorres was violent, needed calming
Members of the student senate judicial board hear evidence from
the student senate credentials committee at Wednesday’s meet
ing. Paterson issued grade check waivers to student senate
members. Top right, Robert Harvey. Bottom right, Jim Connor.
Battalion photos by J. Wagner Tynes
United Press International
1 HOUSTON - A fired policeman
lliarged with beating and drowning a
llexican-American arrested on a barroom
Dmplaint testified Wednesday the man
as violent and needed to be calmed be-
)re going to jail.
Terry Denson, 27, told a federal court
try why police took Joe Campos Torres,
3, from the bar where he was arrested
lay 5 to a secluded spot where he al-
igedly was roughed up and pushed into
luffalo Bayou. His body was found May 8.
Federal prosecutors charge* Denson and
hree other officers conspired to violate
Torres’ civil rights by beating and drown
ing him and that they tried to obstruct jus
tice by covering it up. They could receive
life sentences.
Denson said he arrived at the Club 21 as
“backup” just after Torres’ midnight arrest
for drunken brawling. He quoted officers
involved as saying, “We had to fight him
all the way out here (to a patrol car).”
“The prisoner was in the back seat of the
car, lying on his back and kicking the door
and cage and back drivers’ side window,
Denson said. “I could hear screaming and
cursing. He made several references to
police (as) pigs.”
Denson said the arresting officers took
Torres away from the club parking area,
where a crowd was gathering, to try to
calm him so the jail would take him.
“I assumed they were going to...talk to
him or calm him down,” Denson said.
“Generally, when you remove them from
the scene where there’s no audience to
show out to they calm down,” Denson
said.
“It has been my experience in the past
that overly rowdy prisoners...the jail had
required us to take them to Ben Taub
Hospital for psychiatric examination or let
them test them for drugs or some other
reason they were acting in this manner. ”
Denson said Torres “never ceased being
rowdy. He was constantly thrashing
around...kicking at the officers.”
Denson, Stephen Orlando, 22, and
Joseph Janish, 24, are on trial. A fourth
defendant who started trial with them
Louis Kinney, 27, was severed from the
case Tuesday and will be tried later.
Kinney’s lawyers complained there had
been prejudicial testimony about his being
granted immunity in the state murder trial
that arose from Torres death. U.S Dist.
Judge Ross Sterling agreed.
In the state trial, held last fall in
Huntsville because of local publicity, a
jury convicted Denson and Orlando of
misdemeanor negligent homicide and sen
tenced them to a years probation.
The other federal civil rights defendant,
Janish awaits trial on a state assault charge.
A fifth fired officer, Glenn Brinkmeyer,
has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor civil
rights violation in exchange for testifying
for the prosecution. He awaits sentencing.
himself and the other defendants in the
hearing: Robert Harvey, student body
president; Vicki Young, student senate vice
president for student services; and Austin
Sterling, student senator.
“The writ of mandamus requires a clear
and concise statement of duty,” he said.
The constitution “requires some clarity be
fore acting on these points.”
Young said the revised waiver forms
gave more people access to grades. The
wording of the forms, he said, had been
changed from that informally agreed upon
by the executive committee.
Wording of the form was changed, giving
any “student official” the right to see the
grades instead of specifically granting that
power to the senate credentials committee.
“That needs to be cleared up,” Young
said.
“Enforcement is not a function of the
judicial board, he said, concluding three
hours of testimony, procedural motions
and objections.
Early in the hearing, Stanfield was re
moved from taking further action as board
chairman because of his “exceptional in
terest in the case.” Chris Farmer, senior
member of the board, served as acting
chairman.
Both the plaintiff and defense said Har
vey might not get a fair hearing if Stanfield
was chairman and asked him to step down.
The chairman only votes in case of tie, but
he can contribute to the deliberations. The
defense was “insecure” with that fact,
Young said. Judicial board members' said
they are required to consider only evidence
given in open session, calling the defense’s
argument “an affront to our credibility.”
Stanfield defended his involvement in
the case, noting he was “acting on a request
from Dr. Carolyn Adair, director of student
activities, to “clear it up using in-house
procedures. Stanfield added that his defeat
for the office of student body president was
not a factor in his actions.
“That’s my job,” he said.
After his removal, he aided plaintiffs at
torney Marc Young.
Spring semester
records 27,089
at Texas A&M
A spring semester record 27,089 stu
dents are enrolled on the main campus of
Texas A&M University, an increase of
more than 1,000 over the same period last
year.
Registrar Robert A. Lacey said an
additional 540 students are enrolled at
Moody College in Galveston.
The previous spring semester record
was established last year when 25,960 stu
dents registered on the main campus and
447 at Galveston.
Spring enrollment is traditionally lower
than that of fall, the registrar added. The
major reason for the second-semester drop
is midterm graduation, which this year in
volved a record 1,571 students.
The registration figures represent
enrollments as of Tuesday, the 12th class
day of the current semester and the official
reporting period for the Coordinating
Board, Texas College and University Sys
tem.
Gas wars: local dealers compete for business
By BILL WILSON
Some local gas stations are having a gas war, but some
najor oil company outlets can’t compete.
The good news for local drivers is that for the past
with prices have been down to 47.9 centers per gallon
'or regular gasoline. /
The bad news for major brand retailers is that 47.9 cents
is below the price they pay for gas.
Independent retailers, because of federal regulations,
can buy their gas cheaper than major chain retailers even
though they buy from the same source.
An independent retailer can rent the property his sta
tion is on directly from the property owner. In many
cases, such as Walding’s Texaco on University Drive, the
operator must rent his station from the oil company.
The overhead of self-service stations is lower than that
of full-service station gas-and-repair shops because self
service stations need only cashiers.
Kelley Broach, an area oil distributor, said the Bryan
and Waco markets are “not one of the better markets in
the United States.
Because competition is tough, dealers cannot depend
on the sale of gas to keep them in business unless they sell
at high volumes. Prices must be comparatively low to do
this.
Self-service stations such as Fill-Um-Fast on the corner
ofTexas and University Drives, and Amoco, at the Corner
of Jersey and Texas, do have high volume sales.
Steve White of Fill-Um-Fast said his station had a
volume of 170,000 gallons of regular a month. Broach of
Amoco said his volume was “very high.”
If a gas sation operator can’t keep up a large volume of
sales. If he has the storage capacity, he can be a “jobber.”
sales and if he has the storage capacity, he can be a “job
ber.” A jobber buys gas and sells it to stations that don’t
have a large volume.”
stations are in Bryan-College Station. He said gas wars
can be a “real problem” for operators. “We may not start it
but we hope to be around when it’s over, he said.
Other stations open a repair shop to supplement their
meager income from gas profits.
Right now, drivers can buy relatively cheap gas. But
higher gas prices will be here soon.
The oil market is chitted because major oil companies
are getting rid of their excess inventory. Broach said.
After the excess is sold the price of oil (gas) shoidd rise
again- , r , ,
Walding said self-service stations are definitely the
trend.
“They’ve cut a lot of corners that we can’t. People like
me are on the way out.“
The gas war raging between some local filling stations has kept
prices at rock-bottom. But many major oil companies can’t compete
Battalion photos by J. Wagner Tynes.
with the prices, because 47.9 cents a gallon is less than the price they
pay for gas. The independent dealer is coming out on top.
tzciuiA/nnn — KOSS — KF.NWOOD — SANSUI