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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Tuesday April 4, 1978 Student election endorsements President — Jeb Hensarling Both candidates are qualified and would make good presidents. But it seems that Hensarling has more experience in getting things done within student government bureacracy and has spon sored a good amount of student consumer-related legislation. Tucker was a good senate speaker, but failed more than once during the year to provide leadership when the senate needed it. VP for Academic Affairs — J.C. Colton Colton leads his opponents in experience with University projects. He favors streamlining the student academic grievances system and con solidating University committees. Within the se nate arena he generally has shown he knows what he’s talking about — the other two candidates have not. VP for Finance — Paul Knudson Knudson wants to make sure students’ money is wisely spent; as he says, “I feel it is of paramount importance to start accounting for the monies that students pay through their student service fees.’’ We also approve of his stand on phasing the Athletic Deaprtment out of receiving student service fees. His opponent does not seem to have a grasp of the athletic department situa tion. VP for Student Services Neither Kevin “Potsy” Patterson nor Judy Rip- pel have the experience or qualifications this job requires. If voters do not take The Battalion’s recommendation to vote “no confidence” for this position, we suggest Judy Rippel as the more ap pealing candidate. She has worked on the student services committee. VP Rules and Regulations — Austin Sterling Austin Sterling, one of the senate’s most out spoken members, seems to have students con cerns at heart. He has served on the rules and regs committee and knows better than anyone else what’s going on. VP External Affairs — Joe Beall Together with Hensarling, Beall produced much of this year’s good senate legislation and ran the external affairs committee. One problem we hope he’ll correct is his use of parliamentary pro cedure to delay senate meetings. He’s a good choice for Texas A&M’s liaison with the cities. RHA President — Lynne Andrus Andrus offers possible solutions to on-campus issues such as drinking,hours extension and din ing hall dilemmas. Having more RHA experience also helps. Reasons Randi Mays gives for running for this office seem somewhat shallow by com parison. OSCA President — Jill Hall OSCA has potential for being Texas A&M’s strongest organization — but so far this young group hasn’t found itself. Hall seems to under stand the real problems of the off-campus stu dent: rising utility rates, 12-month leases, ir- reputable firms. Perhaps, under her leadership, the OCSA can meet the needs of its 20,000 mem bers. Carter threatening Democrats’ seats By DAVID S. BRODER KALAMAZOO, MICH — It has been 12 years since Rep. Jerry Brown (R-Mich.) won the House seat from this district, one of five seats the GOP gained that year in Michigan as part of a national pick-up of 47 seats. Not in 12 years have the Republicans had a congressional victory as big as that 1966 win — not even when Richard Nixon led them to two successive presidential victories. Despite the trouble now besetting the Carter administration and the evident nervousness of congressional Democrats, few in the Republican hierarchy are will ing to be very bold in their claims about 1978. Yet there are a few signs — discer nible to some officials in both parties — that suggest that next November may be much rougher on the Democrats in Con gress than most people expect. The reasons for caution Are, on the sur face at least, very., strong. The historical and statistical odds are against a bigi Re publican victory . As Rhodes Cook of Con gressional Quarterly has pointed out, “There was little change in the status quo” in the four previous mid-term elections following a change in party control of the White House. In 1934 (Roosevelt), 1954 (Eisenhower), 1962 (Kennedy) and 1970 (Nixon), Cook reports, “The president’s party on the av erage lost only six House seats and actually gained an average of four senators. C ommentary “The big losses for the presidential party,” Cook points out, “have come dur ing the second mid-term election of each president, his sixth year in power. In the four mid-term elections that fit in diis cat egory — 1938, 1958, 1966 and 1974 — the president’s party has lost an average of 54 House seats and seven senators. An additional factor weighing against a serious Democratic defeat is the increas ing survival power of congressional in cumbents. With the rich resources of staff, travel, communications aud constituent services they have available, at least nuic of every ten f&Qu&e .nxemb.ers' seeking reelection in tht* last 2Q-\yea#s have-been successiul. Soundings at this time indicate that pat tern is not likely to be broken. In Michi gan, Democrats now enjoy an 11 to 8 edge in the House delegation, almost as big as the 12 to 7 advantage they held before the voting in 1966. But William McLaughlin, the veteran GOP state chairman, says candidly that only one Democratic seat looks vulnerable at this point, and Repub licans have a vacancy of their own coming up that they have to worry about defend ing. “Since the last redistricting eight years ago,” said McLaughlin, “our incumbents have been pretty well locked in. That appears to be the general pattern. In Washington, William Walsh, chief political strategist for the American Federa tion of State, County and Municipal Em ployees union, says polls of 64 marginal House districts, won narrowly in 1976, show “there’s hardly an incumbent — Re publican or Democrat — who’s in trouble. In almost every case, their name recogni tion is up and their performance rating is quite high.” Such findings focus the attention of party officials on the relatively few districts ; where the Retirement pf incumbents or their.capdidaciesrior other.offiQes will upen ; the sSats fo easier challenge. So far)' there are 24 such open Democratic seats and 16 seats where Republicans will not be run ning. Steve Stockmeyer, the director of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, says there are “about 20 good ones we think we can pick up and get back to the 165 range” from the present Repub lican strength of 147 seats. That, in turn, jives with the private estimates of Demo- cratic National Chairman John White about his party’s probable House losses. Why, then, the hunch in a few quarters that it may be worse for the Democrats and better for the Republicans than these experts — and most others — suppose? The answer, in a nutshell, is Carter and inflation. If rising prices drive down the presi dent’s overall performance rating — as some of his own political advisers fear will be the case — the effect could be felt se verely in some of the suburban districts Democrats won for the first time in 1974 and held in 1976. “I haven’t really factored Carter into my calculations very much,” Stockmeyer said. “But if he continues to flounder about, especially on issues that ebunf, like infla- . tion, he’s got to give us some help.” “Even 2 points off his standing in 1976 would give us 25 seats,” Stockmeyer said. And 25, added to the open Demo cratic seats, could produce a 1966-size shift. (c) 1978, The Washington Post Letters to the editor Handicapped suffer again with seating policy Editor: I attended the student government meeting Wednesday evening March 8, 1978 and would like to express my ap preciation of Senator Joe Young and Senator Linda Sandstedt in their exquisite demonstration of the Spirit of A&M. They were the main proponents of a bill, SB78- 053-(ll), which moved the students with lesser disabilities,, students recently out of the hospital, pregnant women and stu dents older than average from the consid eration section, which was the first five rows in the upper deck to the “good seats” behind the horseshoe area. I am sorry that these representatives of the students feel that I should not have served my country in the military and have broken my leg. I am also sorry that they feel that I should have been more careful and not allowed the bones on my compound fracture to slip back inside the skin and muscle so it could not be properly cleaned which results in the possiblity of developing osteomyelitis in the leg which within a period of two weeks can cause the leg to turn red, swell and be amputated. I do feel gratitude to these two seantors and the others that did allow three of us to attend the meeting but felt that we could not properly express our view or answer any possible questions. Others were al lowed to speak later on more worthy issues than consideration for lesser disabled and pregnant women. Thanks again to these senators who rep resented the student body so well in stat ing that there were just not enough seats available for these students. It was brought out that these students just did not have quite the same spirit of the more normal students that could stand and that our spirit was more closely related to the alumni who did not need to stand to show their spirit. I was under the mistaken im pression that I was also a student at A&M and fairly loyal for rooting my team on. Sorry Senator Young and Senator Sandstedt, maybe you can perform a mira cle and heal these people and make these women not be pregnant so that they will have the Spirit of A&M and not be consid ered as two percenters. — Jessie W. Cowan Graduate student—Entomology Pro abortion Slouch Editor: I think that the ad for pregnancy termi nation was most needed. Styre it is all well and good for you boys tj) scream im- by Jim Earle morality and murder but then you re not having the baby — you aren’t risking your life for that of another. Some of the aver age risks involved are: 1) Blood clots - they are nine time higher in pregnant women than non. 2) Heart attacks - the risk is greatest dur ing delivery. 3) Eclampsia 4) Kidney infections 5) Anemia But each pregnant woman runs her own set of risks. Since this might not bother you — lots of women have babies. Let’s discuss constitutional rights — what about those of the mother or doesn’t she have any. You are denying her rights to pursue happiness by wanting her to have un wanted children — for whatever reason. Also I would like to point out that a child’s “unalienable rights’ do not begin until it can survive outside of the womb. The abortion laws allow legal abortions up to 20 weeks. Up until that time the fetus has no rights because of the fact it cannot survive without the mother. Most unwanted children are abused by the parents for destroying their lives — espicially if they had to get married. Is this right to the child? What about raped women that conceive? Should they have to have that baby — a constant reminder of a horrible thing done to her? I suppose it’s better to put the family through financial and emotional trauma. , Last but not least 9 times out of 10 the woman assumes responsibility for the child no matter what their circumstances of having the child were. All too many guys leave the responsibility of birth control on the woman’s shoulders. Okay then, if women want abortions, for whatever rea sons she shoidd not be denied the right to do so. A woman’s body is her own just the same as a man’s is his own. — Ruthanne Taylor, ’80 bat out of hell trying to make the light on University Drive. I feel that the campus police should periodically stake this area out and enforce both the speed limit and the stop signs. — Bob Hugman AngryCon Traffic control BJ.tU.ff- k '-tO l. ^ J.PA./C '/-7f NOW WE NEED A CANDIDATE FOR CLEAN-UP MAN!’ Editor: It may not be long before there is a pedestrian hit at one of the crosswalks to the student parking lot behind the Zachry Engineering Center. The signs instructing drivers to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks are ignored by many drivers who feel that if they drive fast enough, no one in his right mind would step into the street. I suspect a large portion of the violators are non-students who are taking a short cut across campus. I have had several close calls with middle-age types driving like a Editor: Congratulations! We didn’t think that it was possible, but you managed to surpass last January’s WarCon article. Monday’s article on AggieCon contained the most varied assortment of mistakes and clouded half-truths that I’ve seen in any recent Batt article. I’m not one to complain, however I felt that these mistakes should not be left uncorrected. Item #1: CRAB Nebula is an off-campus science fiction society. It is neither a part of nor recognized by Texas A&M Univer sity. Furthermore, CRAB Nebula, as an organization, had nothing to do with Ag gieCon. Item#2: Louise Seguin paid $28 for three dealers tables. Item #3: All three of the films listed in the article were nighttime films, not nighttime and daytime films as was in dicated in the article. Item #4: Only one writers’ seminar took place at AggieCon. Item #5: The article implied that there was only one guest author at AggieCon, Texas writer Joe Pumilia. The article failed to mention AggieCon s Guest of Honor, Damon Knight, a well-known science fic tion writer and editor; AggieCon’s special guest, Alan Dena Foster, author of the Flinx and Star Log series; AggieCon’s Toastmaster, Wilson Tucker; and the six Texas writers and artists in addition to Pumilia, who attended the convention. I could list at least five other errors, but I won’t. Negligent journalism like this is. typical of the Batt. I feel that journalism students should be more professional when they write articles to published in the Batt. Indeed when journalists write anything that will influence the public, care should be taken to make certain that the facts are reported. — Becky Matthews Chairman-elect, Cepheid Variable Editor’s note: Congratulations to you, too! It’s good to know you read The Battal ion so carefully. A daily critique of our typical negligence would be very useful. Perhaps you could give us some examples. Our office is at Reed McDonald 216. We stand corrected on the AggieCon story. Top of the News Campus Films, panel set for library week In celebration of National Library Week the Sterling C Evans I Library will present a program of animated films tonight in Room 226 1 beginning at 7:30. Dr. Harriette Andreadis, assistant professor of I English, will present the program. On Thursday at noon there willk [ a panel discussion on the role of the research library in meet research, teaching and community needs. Panel members will be Dr, Roscoe Lewis, professor, biochemistry and biophysics; Dr. Norman] Thomas, associate professor, sociology and anthropology, and Dr Paul Crawford, assistant director, Texas Petroleum Research Com ] mittee. After the discussion, a special award will be made to a faculty] member who has contributed to the development of the library in terms of collection development and library use. wm State Appeal on horse racing issue >• Opponents of legalized horse race gambling in Texas asked the 3rd H Court of Civil Appeals Monday in Austin to require a Travis Count) I district court to reconsider attempts to ban the issue from the May 61 Democratic primary ballot. Randall Wood, attorney for the oppo- I nents of the pari-mutuel betting referendum, said he expects the K appellate court to act within one or two days on the appeal. Natural gas price increases The complex settlement plan in the LoVaca Gathering Co. con troversy will mean immediate increases of more than 1 percent in natural gas prices for millions of customers, officials revealed Monday in Austin. LoVaca’s rates would increase 2 percent in the second year of the plan under consideration by the Texas Railroad Commission The cities of Waco, Irving, Abilene, Denison, Dallas, Richardson, Duncanville, Rockwall and Crystal City and several private industries protested the proposed settlement. T1 dent Stud Pres bloo Mill Heroin best for cancer pain? Two government-sponsored studies will begin soon to see if heroin is more effective than morphine in relieving severe pain experienced by cancer patients, it was reported in Houston Monday. Several approaches to relieving pain are being investigated across the coun try, including neurosurgical destruction of pain pathways to the brain, hypnosis, electrical stimulation of nerve cells and experiments with various pain-killing drugs. Heroin Inis long been used in En gland to treat chronic pain in cancer patients, but it has been out lawed in the United States for clecndt's. Nation Park denies offering bribes South Korean businessman Tongsun Park, telling his story in pub lic for the first time, Monday identified for a House committee the congressmen he paid about $8()(),()(X)-nioney he said was used solely to conduct private business. Park, the accused middleman in an al leged scheme to curry favor for the South Korean goverqjpent among influential members of Congress, told the House Ethics Committee in Washington he was sorry for “certain things that I did, but he denied he acted improperly. Most of the money he paid out. Park said, went to men no longer in Congress. But he insisted he always acted in his capacity as a private businessman, not as a South Korean government agent paying bribes. Wayne undergoes heart surgery Academy Award winner John Wayne, who lately said he had been losing his “zip,” Monday underwent successful open heart surgery during which a valve in his heart was replaced with one from a pig. The 70-year-old actor underwent a three-hour operation at Massa chusetts General Hospital in Boston, which began at 7:15 a m. Monday, was to replace a mitral valve which controls the flow of blood between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. “The valve which was replaced came for the heart of a pig,” said Dr. Roman DeSanctis, head of the MGH cardiology team. “It is a fairly common operation, not uncommon in older people.” The operation, conducted by a team of cardiac surgeons headed by Dr. Mortimer Buckley, was termed “uneventful.” Buckley said the new valve will function the same as the original and can easily be repaired and replaced if need be. Although very early in his post-operative course, his condition is satisfactory,” a hospital statement said. Wayne, who lost a portion of his left lung to cancer 14 years ago, will remain in the intensive care unit for two to three days, doctors said. Doctors said Wayne will remain at the hospital 12 to 21 days. • \A Wheat donated to Vietnam The Antiochia, the first American ship to enter Vietnam’s waters since the end of the war, set sail Monday with a $2 million cargo of wheat donated by American farmers for the hungry citizens of that country. The project was undertaken by the Church World Serivce, the international development and relief arm of the National Council of Churches and by CROP, an anti-hunger organization. The bulk of the wheat was donated by financially hard-pressed Midwestern farm- • I Weather Partly cloudy today, tonight and Wednesday with consider able early morning cloudiness. High today mid-80s, low to night mid-60s. Winds from the southeast at 15-20 mph. 20% chance of rain on Wednesday. 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 Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise oper ated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY 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. McDonald Building, College Station, Texas United Press International is entitled exclusive]) 1 use for reproduction of all news dispatches credit Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein res Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. 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; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor :... J: Managing Editor Mary Alice Sports Editor l^ News Editors Marie Ilomeyer. Uin't] Assistant Managing Editor Clcnnii City Editor kinvi Campus Editor ^ I " Reporters Liz Nowlin. Mark Patterson, Lee Roy DvschptTjb Welch. Jim Crawley. AntM' Paige Beasley. Bold' Photographers Susan Wehb. Daviib' Cartoonist I^ 1 ' Student Publications Board: Boh (.’. Roget'x. Joe Arredondo, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. Charles Mdf" Dr. Clinton A. Phillips. Rebel Rice Durctoroj Publications: Doruild C. Johnson. '■ . ■ •
