r
The Battalion
Inside Tuesday:
Anti-stall device developed, p. 4.
A&M professor studies Alaskan
wildlife, p. 5.
Bellard keeps the wishbone, p. 7.
Vol. 71 No. 123
8 Pages
Tuesday, March 28, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
egents to study room, board increase
By LEE ROY LESCHPER JR.
Battalion Staff
n-campus students can expect to pay
lire for room and board this fall. Univer-
system officials will decide today on
[iposed room and board increases of 12
13 percent, respectively,
fexas A&M University business officials
|re also recommended 10 percent rent
reases for University manied student
aents.
be increases, including the second
Jmi rate hikes in two years, are scheduled
[consideration by the University System
of Regents during the board’s regu-
| meeting this morning.
recommending the increases, How-
Vestal, University vice president for
ness affairs, blames federal and state-
ordered wage increases and utility price
increases for making the increases neces
sary.
New federal minimum wage require
ments will increase the base wage for all
University employees this September,
from $2.47 to $2.90 per hour. Student start
ing wages will go from $2.30 to $2.50 per
hour.
Also, the Texas Legislature has ordered
institutions to begin paying the 5.85 per
cent employee share of Social Security con
tributions withheld from salaries and
wages. This is in addition to a mandatory
3.4 percent salary increase for all em
ployees now earning less than $12,000 per
year.
Utilities, primarily used for heating and
cooling dormitories, are expected by Uni
versity officials to increase eight to ten per
cent over the next year.
The regents approved similar room fee
increases of 7.2 to 8.8 percent in March
1977.
The present increases, if approved, will
increase rates for the least expensive dorms
on campus from $147 to $165 per semester
and the most expensive dorms from $418 to
$468 per semester.
The 13 percent board increase, if ap
proved, will increase fees for the 5-day
board plan from $360 to $407 per semester
and for the 7-day board plan from $403 to
$455 per semester.
Rent for married student apartments
under recommended increases would rise
from $7 to $41 per month, depending on
the apartment unit.
efense budget too high,
enator Proxmire says
ittinglij
Owls
H
exas.
dies.
By DEBBI PIGG
enator William Proxmire (D.-Wisc.)
s the U.S. government is spending too
ch money on military defense.
In a speech to Texas A&M University
[dents Monday night, Proxmire said the
posed 1979 defense budget, which has
eased 2 percent since last year and is
first defense budget to increase in
s, can be cut back. This can be accom-
hed through personnel selection, he
Proxmire’s speech was sponsored by
itical Forum.
roxmire contended that increased na-
al defense spending is an inefficient
' to supply jobs because “unskilled
'omen, blacks and teenagers” are not ca-
Jable of working at these technical jobs.
The military is the largest employer in
J nation, he said. But of the two million
eople the military employs, only 6 per-
ent re women, he said.
When women are present, it makes
in institution attractive,” he said.
’roxmire also said the military could
e money by enforcing its contracts so
t contractors produce on time, follow
cifications and adhere to pre-
ermined budgets.
he military faces a declining force level
blem, he said. The military spends
ire money on one aircraft carrier than it
Id on many ships or planes, he said,
t is assumed that the U.S. is up against
major potential tough enemy, the
iet Union, Proxmire said. According to
K Central Intellegence Agency, the
[viet Union is behind the U.S.
hnologieally and economically, Prox-
e said. Their hardware lacks quality
trol, he said.
he U.S. is far ahead of Russia when it
nes to weapon readiness, the senator
d. Fifty percent of U.S. submarines are
sea at all times, Proxmire said. Only 11
rcent of Russian submarines are kept at
i, he said.
Sen. William Proxmire
Pat O’Malley
Construction needed
^Commissioners discuss county jail inadequacies
me
)Vfc;
ir
>r
By ANDREA VALLS
The need for major construction on the
s County Jail so it will comply with
ndards of the Texas Commission on Jail
[Standards was discussed at the County
mmissioners meeting on Monday.
Presently, Brazos County Jail does not
imply in 58 specified areas with the state
il codes, said Judge Bill Vance. The
ree major compliance problems are the
iling height, the ventilation system, and
e cell locking mechanism, he said.
The commissioners appointed a Bryan
Purchase date
or license tags
is March 31
It’s that time of year again. The
swallows have returned to Capis
trano, the mud daubers to Lucken-
bach and now car owners are flock
ing to the tax assessor’s office.
The deadline for purchasing au
tomobile license tags is 5 p.m. Fri
day, March 31. The Brazos County
Tax Assessor handles distribution
from his office in the County Court
house, E. 25th St., Bryan.
The staggered registration system
is in effect this year. The next to the
last number in the present license
tag determines when the new
sticker will expire. April is used as
the base month. If, for example, the
next to the last number on your tag
is nine, the sticker will expire in
December 1978.
The deadline for displaying the
new stickers is midnight Saturday,
April 1.
architect, Jack Cumpton of Jack Cumpton
and Associates, as consultant for the jail
construction. Cumpton said he will soon
submit approximately 9 to 11 variances, or
authorizations to build contrary to the
usual building code, to the Texas Commis
sion on Jail Standards for approval.
The major problem will be maintaining
a maximum security jail during the period
of construction, said Cumpton. Vance said
construction will not begin until the sub
mitted variances are approved. He esti
mated that January 1979 will be the ear
liest date on beginning construction.
In an effort to reduce the number of
false alarms in Precinct 3, Commissioner
Bud Cargill suggested that Precinct 3 no
longer pay the cities of Bryan and College
Station for grass or trash fire calls unless
the call has been authorized by a member
of Precinct 3 Volunteer Fire Department.
Cargill said this would not affect the
payment of calls made to structure fires,
but payment for trash or grass fire calls
would be the responsibility of the property
owner.
No action was taken on Cargill’s propo
sal until the city of Bryan and the County
Commissioners can discuss the problem of
fire calls. Judge Vance said a contract
exists only between Bryan and Bxazos
County for the payment of fire calls, not
between Precinct 3 and Bryan.
In other business, the commissioners
appointed a three-man steering committee
to organize the Boonville Cemetery As
sociation. Commissioners also appointed
members to the Child Welfare Board and
confirmed the status of existing board
members.
The Commissioners also amended the
Fee Schedule for facilities at the Brazos
County Livestock Arena.
The Commissioners will meet Friday,
March 31, at 10 a.m. to discuss the pur
chase of additional voting machines and to
consider proposals for oil and gas leases on
county property.
Jury to be picked
for Coleman trial
By KAY WALLACE
Jury selection began Monday in the
85th District Court for the trial of Walter
Joe Coleman. Judge John M. Barron Sr. is
presiding.
Coleman, 19, is charged with the
Jan. 12, 1977 shooting death of Law
rence T. Baugh. Baugh was a lecturer in
Texas A&M University’s English Lan
guage Institute and a graduate student in
English at the time of his death. Coleman
lives at 105 Davis St., Apt. 6, College Sta
tion.
Baugh was reported missing by friends
and co-workers Jan. 14, 1977. Coleman
The board of regents will also consider
increases in form room deposits, late regis
tration fees. Corps uniform rental fees and
reinstatement fees for students dropped
from the University rolls for writing hot
checks.
The room deposit would be increases
from $65 to $100 in an attempt to discour
age students for reserving and then not
claiming dorm rooms.
The present $65 deposit is not a sufficient
deterrent, John Koldus, vice president for
student services, told the regents, because
students forfeited over $20,000 in deposits
over the past year.
The late registration fee would be in
creased for the same reason, to impose a
stiffer penalty for students foiling to regis
ter on time.
The uniform rental fee, charged to drills
and ceremonies (non-contract) junior and
senior members of the Corps of Cadets,
would be increased to reflect increasing
cost for uniform replacement.
Students who pay fees to the University
for “bad” checks and are subsequently
dropped from the University rolls for fail
ing to “make good” those checks will have
to pay a $50 reinstatement fee before being
returned to the University rolls, if that fee
is approved by the regents. The fee is
aimed at reducing the number of bad
checks the University receives from stu
dents. Since the beginning to the fall, 1977
semester, $113,463 in unpaid checks have
been returned to the University.
Two fee decreases have also been re
commended to the board of regents.
Those recommendations are to reduce
the Corps of Cadets uniform handling fee
from $8 to $4 and to discontinue the $1.50
bicycle registration fee.
PROPOSED
RENT AND ROOM
FEE INCREASES
MARRIED STUDENT
APARTMENTS
Old College View
PRESENT
PROPOSED
PERCENTAGE
INCREASE
(unfurnished)
Old College View
$ 70 per month
$ 77
10%
(furnished)
Southside (3 bedroom.
$ 84
$ 93
10.7%
furnished)
Southside
$134
$175
30.5%
(furnished)
$103
$113
9.7%
Hensel (furnished)
New College View
$120.50
$133
10.4%
(furnished)
College Avenue
(1 bedroom.
$166
$183
10.25%
furnished)
College Avenue
(2 bedroom
$166
$183
10.25%
furnished)
(All rates include basic utilities)
$190
$209
10%
GROUP I DORMS
Hotard
$147 per semester
$165
12.25%
GROUP II DORMS
Hart
Law
Puryear
Walton
$168
$188
11.9%
GROUP III DORMS
No. 1 thru 12 (Cadet Area)
Crocker (North Area)
Davis-Gary
Moore
Moses
$270
$303
12.2%
GROUP IV DORMS
Fowler
Hughes
Keathley
Mclnnis
Schumacher
$298
$334
12.1%
GROUP V DORMS
Krueger
$418
$468
11.9%
Dunn Aston
Mosher
Students enrolled in the professional College of Veterinary Medicine will pay pro rata room fees based
on the trimester.
Unidentified radio signals
linked to health problems
United Press International
PORTLAND, Ore. — Engineers and
state health officials investigating reports
of mysterious and disturbing radio signals
pulsing across Oregon say they could be
‘coming from anywhere — even outer
space.
The powerful shortwave radio pulses
have been detected in Portland and Bend,
but are as much as 100 times stronger in
the Eugene-Springfield area, Kristine
Gebbie, Oregon State Health Division
administrator, said Monday.
“At the same time this electromagnetic
source has been detected, people have re
ported noises in the head, stuffiness and
reddened skin. We are concerned with the
health problems,” Mrs. Gebbie said at a
news conference.
She said a federal electromagnetic radia
tion analysis van has been requested to
check the source of the high-frequency
impulses, but it is not known if or when
the equipment will be assigned to the in
vestigation.
The health division began monitoring
the signals last week after receiving a re
port from Marshall Van Ert, a University
of Oregon industrial hygienist, who said 25
people, including himself, had health
problems in an area where the signals ap
peared strongest.
Van Ert said he has detected the signals
in his apartment and believes they have
caused a reddening of his skin.
Mrs. Gebbie said the signals were be
lieved to be in the 4.74-to 4.75-megahertz
range on the shortwave band. She said the
Federal Communications Commission,
the National Bureau of Standards and the
Environmental Protection Agency have
been asked to help in the investigation.
Clifford Schrock, an electronic engineer
with the Pacific Northwest Center for the
Study of Non-Ionizing Radiation, was
called in by Van Ert to monitor the signals.
He said the center had determined in
two ground checks and an aerial flight
since February that the signal source ap
parently was not within the Eugene area
and could be coming from Asian points or
outer space.
“I wouldn’t throw it out,” Schrock said
when asked about the signals coming from
outside the Earth. “We don’t know yet.”
The 4.75-megahertz frequency, far from
the usual microwave-oven frequency, is in
the range usually assigned to the federal
government and for international overseas
communications, he said.
Sales total $4.5 million
Bookstore profits shared
was arrested by College Station police the
same day.
Divers found Baugh’s body in the
Navasota River, and an autopsy revealed
he died of a single gunshot wound to the
back of the head.
The Brazos County grand jury indicted
Coleman for the capital murder of Baugh.
A pre-trial hearing was held last Oc
tober to establish guidelines for the trial.
Seventy-two motions, most of which dealt
with admission of evidence in the case,
were filed.
Jury selection will continue today in dis
trict court.
By ANDY WILLIAMS
The student organization that benefits from the Memo
rial Student Center Bookstore profits may be your own.
This year, $100,000 of this money was scheduled to be
distributed to various campus groups and activities.
Another $75,000 went to fund part of the Hensel Park
project, which is expected to cost $265,760 in all. The
project will involve construction of a recreational area on
fields on the north part of the campus.
Estimated bookstore sales for the 1977-78 school year
amounted to $4.5 million, of which $407,293 is expected
to be net profit, according to the income budget estimate
for the bookstore in 1977-78.
Charles Cargill, director of the University Center, said
the bookstore had a choice between selling items cheaper
and making no profit, or distributing what profits it made
to student organizations.
“We use the manufacturers’ list prices,” he said. He
said that this means the MSC bookstore sells items other
than textbooks at about the same prices as the private
bookstores in the area.
Cargill said the publishers set the retail price of
textbooks and sell them to bookstores at 80 percent of that
price. Martha Camp, manager of the privately owned
University Bookstore north of campus, said this is a na
tionwide practice.
Thus, the prices on texts are the same at virtually every
store in the country, she said.
What is left of the MSC bookstore’s profit after distribu
tion to student organizations, activities, and special
projects, will be placed in a reserve fund which will help
support the inventory of the store.
Howard Vestal, vice president for business affairs, said
the reserve fund generally amounts to about $1 million.
Administrative funding, distributed to groups such as
the Texas Aggie Band and the Aggie Players, accounted
for $44,555 of $100,000 in profits to be used by students.
Allocations to clubs took another $46,286, with $9,159
going into an emergency reserve fund.
An extra $28,000 was added to these three areas by the
Parents’ Fund and money from the Former Students As
sociation.
“The money from the bookstore is in no way intended to
support student clubs,” said Dr. Carolyn Adair, director of
student activities. She explained that organizations can
receive aid from these funds but are normally expected to
be self-supporting.
Allocations of bookstore profits to clubs is made through
the Student Organization Board, chaired by Adair. The
board is composed of representatives from seven
categories of clubs.
All of the funding recommendations are submitted to
President Jarvis Miller for final approval.
Administrative funding is done by Adair, Dr. John Kol
dus, vice president for student services, and Howard
Perry, associate vice president for student services.
Only six of the seven club categories received bookstore
funds this year. Sports clubs received money only from
the Parents’ Fund and the Former Students Association.
This money also is distributed by the Student Organiza
tions Board,
Military organizations received more bookstore money
than any other club category. They were slated to receive
$12,971.
The next largest amounts went to academic clubs
($11,000), recreational clubs ($8,575), international stu
dent organizations ($5,000), general student organizations
($4,515) and general honor and service groups (4,225).
The largest portion of the money given to military or
ganizations went to the Ross Volunteers and the Rifle
Club, and was to be used mostly for travel.
Vocal music was the branch of administrative funding
which was alloted the largest sum ($11,000). The bulk of
the money was expected to be used in traveling expenses
for the Singing Cadets and the Century Singers.
The Aggie Players were given $5,900 from administra
tive funding. Production of the MSC calendar ($5,680) also
came from this source.
Adair said she expects no changes in the groups which
will receive bookstore money next year, but said that
much more money probably will be given out. She blamed
this on the increasing travel costs of many groups.
T generally pitch for a large reserve,” she said. The
reserve fund is chiefly used in emergencies. Adair gave
the example of the time the Symphonic Band was invited
to play a concert after it had budgeted all its funds.
But she added that the reserve fund is occasionally used
to make a purchase. The reviewing stand on the drill field
was bought with this money.
Cargill said the bookstore is divided into two stores: one
which sells gifts, supplies, and so on, and another which
sells textbooks and related items such as study guides.
The bookstore buys used books at 50 percent of their
new retail price and sells them at 75 percent of that price.
Therefore, the bookstore prefers to sell used books, Car
gill said. He pointed out that the bookstore makes a 33.3
percent profit on used books but only a 20 percent profit
on new ones.
The markup on supplies is generally higher and it
ranges from 20 to 50 percent, Cargill said. He said this is
due to the higher handling costs of these items, which are
usually packed in smaller cases than are books.
Cargill and the operators of three private bookstores
agreed that the bulk of their profits comes not from
textbooks but from the gifts and novelties they sell.
“You have to have the other stuff, or else you couldn’t
sell books,” Camp said.