The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 05, 1978, Image 2

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    Viewpoint
The Battalion Wednesday
Texas A&M University April 5, 1978
G. Rollie falling behind
It’s great to finally have a fitting
home for the Texas A&M baseball
team. Olsen Field is a fine tribute to
these contenders. We certainly hope
the University will not stop here,
however. Our basketball team has,
over the years, developed quite a rec
ord itself, including the Southwest
Conference Championship two years
ago. The team and the school deserve
more than G. Rollie has to offer.
More than once we’ve heard
visitors’ comments about the coliseum
where the south end of the court ends
in an army barrack wall. If the 24-
year-old facility is not out of date, it
will be before the hoops need new
strings.
Some administrators say that since
the coliseum is not consistently filled
during the season, a new facility is not
in order. Perhaps if students thought
they stood a chance at a decent seat
more would show up.
But looking past the current scene,
SWC basketball is getting hot. Arkan
sas and Texas made it big nationally
this year, and we can expect the entire
conference to pick up the pace with
such competition. It would behoove
the University to get rolling on a new
coliseum and keep up with the chang
ing times.
JA.
Briscoes,
Hill in close
race
By JIM CRAWLEY
John Hill is a small man. In stature,
only.
The Attorney General of Texas is taking
the role of the giant-killer in this year’s
Democratic gubernatorial primary. And
like David, his weapon is small and his
opponent is a giant.
Dolph Briscoe, the two-term governor,
is endeared by some and loathed by
others. At best he is often misunderstood
because of his apparent shyness. To use
the words of his wife and confidant, Janey,
“Dolph Briscoe is a simple man.”
Briscoe may be a simple man, but the
machinery behind his campaign has all
the tooling and precision of a finely
tuned race car. With a month left be
fore the primary the campaign is turning
into a race for the nomination and
probably the governor’s mansion.
Briscoe has the decided lead in the race,
at least in campaign resources and political
backers. He has people from every
imaginable profession and trade, from doc
tors to common laborers, lined up
“ for Briscoe” committees. He also
has big ranchers and Houston oil behind
him. How’s that for a start?
Hill is considered by many Texans as
the best and hardest working attorney
general in the last few decades. He has
transformed the A.G.’s office into a con
sumer protection agency for Texas resi
dents and has fought for Texas in the com
plicated Howard Hughes will cases. His
advocacy for the consumer has drawn the
fire of many businessmen and large com
panies that have felt the hand of justice tap
them on their shoulders.
Politics
While Hill may not have the support of
many large corporations, Houston oil and
Dallas clout, he does have a potent follow
ing in the middle-class neighborhoods of
the urban areas. The cities are the key to
the Hill campaign. Briscoe has the rural
farm vote, so Hill must march through the
streets for his support.
Briscoe’s power in the farmlands of Cen
tral Texas and the ranchlands of the High
Plains is tied to his occupation. Before be
coming a politician he was, and still is, a
rancher. His Uvalde ranch is one of the
largest in the state and he is well respected
in ranching circles.
The attorney general can’t get the rural
vote. His platform is moderate to liberal.
The farmers are inherently conservative.
They aren’t the Reagan reactionary con
servative — just old-fashioned, keep the
status quo, conservative. That’s the true
division in Texas politics. Not Republican
or Democrat. The split is between liberals
and conservatives.
Within the past month, Hill has made
substantial gains in his race for the nomi
nation. He is continually closing the gap
between himself and the governor. By the
time of the primary the race should be too
close to call. Both candidates will have sol
idified their support and will have to flip a
coin over the undecided Democratic vot
ers of the state.
In bygone times Briscoe might have had
to worry about the Republican vote in the
Democratic primary. Texas election laws
are such that a person can decide at the
poll which party primary he wants to vote
in. No pre-primary party registration for
Texans. The Repubicans have tried to
“spoil” the Democrats by voting for a
weaker candidate in the Democratic pri
mary. This year the problem should be
minimized with the increasing strength of
the Texas GOP and the GOP gubernato
rial primary between Hutchinson and
Clements.
Most observers will base the outcome of
the election on the abilities and strengths
of either Hill or Briscoe. In this instance
the pivotal personage in the election is not
a candidate, but a candidate’s wife. Betty
Jane Slaughter Briscoe.
She alone can determine the outcome of
this close race. What magical powers does
she possess that can determine an elec
tion?
Janey, as almost everyone calls her, is
the perfect woman and wife. She keeps
Dolph out of political trouble and makes
sure that he’s in the limelight (even if it’s
aimed at her). She is called “The Gover
ness of Texas” by the governor’s friends
and enemies.
On the campaign trail, Janey is the per
fect campaigner. Much better than her
spouse. She is poised, can carry on a con
versation with a Houston oil tycoon, and
turn around and speak on the same level as
the oilfield roughneck. She is a doll that
won’t break under pressure and with hair
that’s perfectly coiffured.
If Dolph didn’t have Janey, Briscoe
wouldn’t follow Governor. And John Hill
would have an feasier time being the
giant-killer.
Letters to the editor
Baseball team thanks enthusiastic supporters
Editor:
We, the 1978 baseball team, would like
to take time right now and thank the stu
dent body for your tremendous support
this year. Never was it more evident than
this weekend in Waco where it helped us
sweep a big three-game series from
Baylor. We also would like to mention
how much we appreciated the telegram
we received in Austin before the t.u. se
ries there, because at that time we were
struggling and the continued backing of
the over 5,000 students who signed it was
a big lift. Again, thanks and your con
tinued support will help lead us to our
second consecutive SWC championship.
— The Aggie Baseball Team
A dance too loud
Editor:
I hope that the dance held at the Grove
Monday night was a great success. I also
hope that those residents of Law, Puryear,
Hart, or Fowler who were studying for
tests or doing homework enjoyed the disco
music that was blasted across campus for
several hours. It seems ironic that with the
dorms’ concern for relative quiet and its
related enforcing rules, the University
would allow a dance of such incredible
volume to be held on a school night. I’m
not knocking dances at the Grove, I would
just like to see them restricted to weekend
nights or at least toned down to a noise
level that is a little more considerate of
others.
— Christopher Liles, ’80
Response
Editor:
In response to the response to George
Welch’s letter Wednesday, I must say I
hope the apathetic attitudes of these 32
cadets isn’t exemplary of the Corps as a
whole. Nonetheless, the Corps doesn’t
own this school, nor do they run it. If they
don’t like that they can go to t.u.
— Olin L. Hartin ’79
C larification
Editor’s note: In the student govern
ment election guide published Tuesday in
The Battalion, some of Paul Knudson’s
responses to questions were inadvertently
left out. Knudson is running for vice pres
ident for finance.
Should the Athletic Department have
been cut off completely from student
service fees?
Four years ago, student government,
with the tacit approval of the Athletic De
partment, decided to gradually phase out
its funding from student service fees. The
process was completed this year. The lost
funds will be replaced by purchases of the
newly created All-Sports Pass. I feel that
the new user fee basis will be more equi
table and fair to the entire student body.
Would you ever advocate raising stu
dent service fees? When?
As a student senator, I have voted
against raising student service fees and
would continue to do so as your Vice-
President of Finance. I would only advo
cate raising student service fees when the
students want them raised and right now
students are tired of higher costs, and so
am I.
Quiet, please
Editor:
We have a complaint that certainly
many other Ags share with us. We have
put up with it for a long time, but we are
getting pretty damn tired of people going
to the library to carry on their conversa
tions. We’ve heard everything from lover’s
quarrels to bragging about one’s accom
plishments the previous night.
Come on, Ags! The library is supposed
to be a place where you can get away from
the noise to concentrate on your studies. If
you have to talk, there ae places that are
designated just for that. So, please, re
spect your fellow Ags and let them study
in peace and quiet.
— Scott Terry, ’80,
Tom Knightstep, ’80
Mayor on dogs
Editor:
Th is letter has reference to Flavia
Krone’s excellent news article of March
24, relating to the destruction of two pet
dogs by the City of College Station. The
City regrets that the two pet dogs were
destroyed while the owners were search
ing for them. We certainly will take steps
to guard against such a recurrence.
To those who value their pet dogs and
wish to guarantee that they are not inad
vertently destroyed by the City (through
occasional human error), I would like to
point out that you can take two steps:
1. Keep your pet dog fenced or re
strained. Not only will you thereby com
ply with City ordinances, but you will
minimize the likelihood of the pet’s theft
(unaccountable disappearances) or of the
pet’s injury or death caused by an au
tomobile. Further, you will show to your
neighbors who don’t have dogs that you
have consideration for their feelings. If
you don’t understand how your dogless
neighbors can object to dogs running
loose, please ask a dogless neighbor, par
ticularly one with children.
2. Have your pet dog registered and
tagged. You will thereby comply with the
City ordinances and make it relatively easy
to identify your animal if it breaks loose
and wanders. In addition, because the
City requires the pet’s vaccination against
rabies, you will protect the pet against this
dreaded disease. Needless to say, you will
also protect your fellow citizens against
rabies. The cost of vaccination and of regis
tration is nominal. Do it now.
— Lorence Bravenec
Mayor, City of College Station
Pro abortion ad
Editor:
I would just like to voice my agreement
with you in regard to the abortion ad pro
test letters. Whether or not you or The
Battalion support abortion is not the issue.
Abortion is a legal operation and advertis
ing, a by-product of free speech. Unfortu
nately, even in this day and age sex educa
tion is very poorly explained to some
people. Result: sex between consenting
and often ignorant youths. Therefore I be
lieve abortion information should be avail
able — even in an ad. To an impregnated
girl it could be as important as knowing
where to go for wheel alignments and
tuneups.
As for Mr. Walter’s comment concern
ing a woman’s right to “terminate” a child
she has given birth to, I can only ask him
to open his eyes for nowhere is mercy kill
ing legal.
— Amanda Creighton, ’80
Con Correction
Editor:
In regard to your AggieCon article of 3
April: A Con is a get-together of Fans to
party, socialize, and discuss SF, not to
promote it. The word “Con” is merely an
abbreviation of “convention ”, not a word
per se. Also, the Con is called “Ag
gieCon”, not “the Aggiecon”, and is the
largest Con in the Southwest.
The dealers room (in 212-224, not the
ballroom) concentrates mainly on used SF
paperbacks and collectors editions, and al
though it holds a place near and dear to
every fan’s heart. Con is also day and
nighttime film programming, author’s re
ceptions, readings and discussions, art
displays and contests, auctions, demon
strations, and exhibits, all of which are
equally important, yet all take a backseat
to the real Con — the parties, the all-night
bull sessions, the impromptu gatherings of
fans and authors, dealers and workers, to
discuss and argue, to talk and to exchange
ideas, and in general to have fun. That is
the real Con.
The off-campus organization CRAB
Nebula (sic) is not affiliated with A&M in
any way, and was in fact organized to be a
separate organization independent of the
MSC Student Union due to bureaucratic
difficulties encountered by CRAB mem
bers in the past.
Aggiecon’s Author Guest of Honor was
Damon Knight, Toastmaster was Bob
Tucker, Special Guest was Alan Dean Fos
ter, and attending Neopros were Howard
Waldrop, Lisa Tuttle, Roger Stine, and
Joe Pumilia instead of the one author men
tioned.
I appreciate the emphasis on the
dealer’s room and the use of my state
ments, but would rather have seen an arti
cle truly representative of the Con as a
whole and properly quoting and repre
senting both myself and CRAB Nebula.
— Stephen D. Poe
Top of the News
Campus
Volunteers needed for elections
Student election commissioners are asking for volunteers to oper
ate polling locations today and Thursday. Workers are needed at
Sbisa, Zachry and the bus stops of Reed McDonald, Rudder and
Commons. Anyone interested can sign up in room 216 Memorial
Student Center or call 845-3051. The polls will be open from 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. each day.
State
Bell seeks $298 million increase
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The Texas Supreme Court in Austin will hear arguments today on
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company’s suit for a $298 million
statewide rate increase. Bell officials are challenging the formula used
by the Public Utility Commission in determining the rates Bell and
other telephone companies in Texas are allowed to charge. The re
quest for the $298 million rate increase was the first filed before the
PUC when it assumed jurisdication over utility rates in Texas Sept. 1,
1976. After weeks of testimony, the PUC authorized Bell to increase
rates by $57.8 million. Bell filed suit challenging that decision, con
tending it is losing more than $350,000 a day in Texas because the
utility commission did not allow it to charge the requested rate.
View
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Solicitation calls may be banned
Telephone customers should not be annoyed by automatic dialing
devices which call their homes and play solicitation messages without
allowing the customer to end the call, the attorney for the Public
Utility Commission in Austin contends. John Bell, general counsel
for the PUC, has proposed a regulation banning the use of the au
tomatic dial devices in some circumstances. The commission has
scheduled a public hearing on the proposed ban and about 70 other
changes in its rules for May 9. Members of the three-member com
mission think the ban on junk calls will be popular among customers,
but point out it will not apply to all calls in which residential numbers
are automatically dialed and recorded messages played to the person
who answers. Bell’s proposed rule change would apply only to solic
itation messages the telephone customer cannot terminate, ones that
tie up the telephone line until the entire message is completed, even
if the person called hangs up immediately.
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UH fires top official, demotes two
University of Houston Regents, concluding an investigation into
the quality of financial management at the school, have fired one top
administrator and demoted two others. Douglas G. MacLean, chief
financial officer of the UH system, was fired and Dr. Roger Singleton,
executive vice president and Dr. Patrick J. Nicholson, vice president
of development, were stripped of official duties. The action came
after a 10-hour meeting which ended Monday night. Regents re
ceived a report from an investigation into short-term financial in
vestments made by a fired analyst, Samuel Harwell. The extent of the
losses because of Harwell’s pyramid-type of investments in govern
ment securities known as Ginnie Maes has not been determined
because of problems in record keeping. A report is expected next
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Diet linked to breast cancer
A noted health researcher in Houston Tuesday called for a study to
see if dietary changes can affect the risk of developing breast cancer.
An association between fat intake and breast cancer has long been
known. Dr. Ernst Wynder of the American Health Foundation in
New York said new animal studies suggest both animal and vegetable
fats may increase production of a hormone which seems to promote
tumor development. Since numerous studies on breast cancer — the
killer of 34,000 American women annually — have not identified any
other factor that might be linked to the disease, Wynder said in
creased emphasis should be placed on diet. He suggests studying a
group of women who already have had cancer in one breast. Half
could remain on their normal high fat diet and half could be placed on
a diet low in saturated and unsaturated fats.
Nation
‘Duke’ comfortable after surgery
John Wayne, king of the western movie industry, is recuperating
well and also “comfortable, awake and in good spirits” one day after
open heart surgery in Boston to replace a failed valve, his doctors said
Tuesday. “Mr. Wayne will continue an uneventful post operative
course following the surgery,” a hospital spokesman said. The tube
placed in the 70-year-old actor’s windpipe to support his breathing
during anesthesia and the immediate post-operative period has been
removed. Barring complications, Wayne will be released from Mas-
sachusett General Hospital in 12 to 21 days, “the normal length of
recuperating time,” the spokesman said.
Followers ‘Keep the Dream Alive
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The dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. were re-lived by 1,700
friends and followers Tuesday who took to the streets of Memphis for
a peaceful march. The civil rights leader was slain in Memphis by an
assassin’s bullet 10 years ago. Those who marched did so quietly,
carrying only memories and posters with the plea, “Keep the Dream
Alive. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King
founded, led a similar peaceful march in Gadsden Ala., to protest the
shooting death by police of a young black man. There were scattered
me
observances elsewhere in the country, including Atlanta.
Weather
Considerable early morning cloudiness today, becoming
partly cloudy this afternoon and evening. Slight chance of
thundershowers today, tonight & Thursday. High today
mid-80s, low tonight low 60s. High tomorrow low 80s. Winds
from the south-southeast at 15-20 mph. 20% chance of rain
today, 30% tonight and 20% on Thursday.
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 feeing 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 7784*
United Press International is entitled exclusively 1
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credit®
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein rtf
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX '
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
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
Editor :... Jamie
Managing Editor Mary Alice VV<
Sports Editor Paul
News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol ^
Assistant Managing Editor Glenna" 1
City Editor Karen ft
Campus Editor Kim'
Reporters Liz Newlin, David 8°!
Mark Patterson, Lee Roy LeschperJr C
Welch, Jim Crawley, Andy"^
Paige Beasley, Bob
Photographers Susan Webb, David
Cartoonist Doug
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers, Cht
Joe Arredondo, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. CharlesMcC^
Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Relyel Rite. Director of ^
Publications: Donald C. Johnson.