The Battalion
Farmers Fight!
Eight thousand students
gathered at G. Rollie Monday to
get acquainted with Aggie tra
ditions, the football coach and
President Miller.
Check it out on page 5.
Vol. 71 No. 190
14. Pages
Tuesday, August 29, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Ktorm slams
into coastline
United Press International
AMERON, La. — A mass of wind and
ain that began the day as a tropical depres-
ion, grew into Tropical Storm Debra
Jonday and slammed into the Louisiana
nd Texas coastline with 70 mph winds
londay night.
The eye of the storm, which almost
pined hurricane strength before its land-
ill, moved ashore at the Texas-Louisiana
order, formed by the Sabine River.
Thousands of oil rig workers fled to shore
head of the storm and hundreds more in
he low-lying marshes of Cameron Parish
Iso abandoned their homes.
One oil worker died when he was swept
ffhisrigbya 15-foot wave. Tides ran 5 feet
r than normal and tornadoes were
pawned in southwestern Louisiana and
utheastem Texas.
Several hundred residents, many coastal
hennen who depend on the gulf for their
Kvdihood, were evacuated from the lower
Iqrtion of Cameron Parish Monday after-
loon. Some moved northward to bunk with
Jelatives, but the sherifTs department and
led Cross also opened four shelters in Cal-
asieu Parish schools.
Debra formed bust Friday off the Yucatan
'eninsula as a poorly organized tropical
lepiession without a definable center. It
rasn’t until midday Monday that the de-
iression developed the familiar “eye of a
ropical storm and began gaining strength.
We got 70 mile an hour winds at Grand
Hheniere,” said Hilarie Hebert of the
lameron Parish sheriffs department, re
erring to a tiny town east of Cameron on
ihe Gulf of Mexico.
“We’ve got quite a few people left in
iown and there is little water rising. The
jivil Defense announced people should
get out, but a lot of people didn’t. ”
Rains fell most of the day throughout
Louisiana and flash flood warnings were,
issued for the entire state. Similar warnings
were in effect for as far north as the north
eastern corner of Texas and heavy rains
were expected Tuesday in Mississippi and
Arkansas.
Late Monday, however, the only road
covered by water in Louisiana was the coas
tal road in Cameron Parish, where in 1957
Hurricane Audrey killed 521 persons.
The rains were blamed for an accident
involving seven cars on an interstate high
way near Lake Charles, La. Seven people
were injured in the mishap.
Lake Charles had received five inches of
rain and three inches had fallen in Beau
mont Monday night. But in Houston, less
than 100 miles away, there were only
cloudy skies and occasional light rain.
Much of the population of southern
Cameron and Vermilion parishes, the
memory still vivid from the disaster of 21
years ago, were evacuated. Many of those
who left the area spent the night in a high
school at Lake Charles and a recreation
center in Vinton, La.
Larry Mayne of the National Weather
Service in New Orleans said the eye of the
storm passed to the west of Cameron.
“They could see blue sky off to the
southwest,” said Mayne. “The tides were
four feet and we were getting reports of
winds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts of 60 to 65. ”
But in the northeast quadrant of Debra,
where the heaviest winds of such storms
are found, gusts reached 70 mph.
Once it reached 55 mph and took on
tropical storm status, Debra began moving
quickly. The storm moved the last 100
miles to shore in less than five hours.
Bellard s the name, yelling the game
Battalion plioto by Paige Beasley
Coach Emory Bellard leads one of the yells at All University Night in
G. Rollie White Coliseum Monday. Bellard, football coaches,
players and President Jarvis Miller, behind Bellard, joined about
8,000 students for the annual session. After seeing the enthusiastic
crowd, the football coach said, “There will be a helluva lot of fun on
this campus.” See related story and picture on page 5.
Mail strike averted
Postal negotiations to reopen
Begin anxious
for peace talks
United Press International
TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister
iMenachem Begin says he is willing to
J spend many days at Camp David to reach
^an agreement that will lead to further
peace talks with Egypt.
“It is not to be supposed that you can
solve the problems of a conflict which lasts
for 60 years in a few days," he said. “You
have to negotiate. ”
Speaking after a four-hour Cabinet
meeting Sunday, Begin said he will be tak
ing Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, De
fense Minister Ezer Weizman and nine
aides to the talks beginning Sept. 6.
The Israeli delegation will base its posi
tion on the government’s 26-point plan cal
ling for Israel to maintain its presence in
the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip,
he said.
Israel stands by its willingness to discuss
a territorial compromise, but the offer to
grant the local population self-rule under
Israeli control is a better solution. Begin
said.
He also said Israel would be willing to
discuss sovereignty over the territories
five years after a peace treaty is signed a
position he has previously stated.
Officials pointed out that a communique,
issued after the Cabinet formally approved
the trip, resolves that the Israeli delega
tion “will act to attain an agreement be
tween the parties.”
By JAMIE AITKEN
Battalion City Editor
With a last-minute break in hard-line
Postal Service bargaining strategy, postal
customers have been spared a mail strike
scheduled for midnight Monday.
Postmaster General William Bolger re
lented late Monday afternoon, agreeing to
open renegotiation of a postal workers con
tract agreed upon July 21.
Throughout the weekend, Bolger adam
antly refused to renegotiate the proposed
contract, and threatened postal employees
with criminal charges and loss of jobs
should they strike.
Under federal law, a postal strike is il
legal.
Two postal unions, the National Associa
tion of Letter Carriers and the American
Postal Workers Union, voted to strike late
last week. Main points of contention over
the proposed contract were cost of living
and overtime clauses. The pact included a
19.5 percent increase in wages and bene
fits over the next three years.
Bolger won a six-day injunction from
U.S. District Judge John Pratt Saturday
barring a strike, an order union leaders
said they would honor. They warned,
however, that local unions may disregard
the injunction.
Although the vote of the rank-and-file
postal workers was secret, local union
leaders agree that the proposed contract
was roundly rejected.
Tommy Scanlin, president of the Bryan
NALC local, said Monday his local union
members would strike if the national lead
ership called for a walkout. He said, how
ever, that his contingency would wait for
results of the latest round of talks.
Bryan area Postmaster Gayland
Moulder said Monday he doubts that a
strike will be called, describing
negotiators as “dedicated and learned
men” who will “be able to sit down and
work out their differences.
“Frankly, I don’t think we have a prob
lem here,” Moulder said. “I think most of
our people here are concerned that if
there is a strike, they’ll be forced to really
not show up for work, and they’re just as
apprehensive as I am about what’s going to
happen to them.
But Moulder had some strong com
ments for workers who may be considering
following the national leadership should it
call a strike.
“Obviously, if we schedule people to
work and they don’t show up, we re going
to have to take certain administrative ac
tions against them, which would mean
removing them from the service if they fail
to show up for work without just cause.
“If we fire them for striking or not show
ing up for work and not providing a reason
for it, obviously we re not going to turn
right around and hire them back.
Under negotiating rules, Postal Service
officials have until midnight Wednesday to
return to the bargaining table before a
strike can be called. If they meet that
deadline, they have 15 days to settle be
fore another opportunity for a strike.
Secret Service
imposters reported
at JFK shooting
Dorm living resembles zoo
By MARILYN BROWN
Battalion Staff
Dormitory living has never been the
greatest for privacy on any campus. But
there was even less privacy than normal for
about 350 male Texas A&M University
students who were without a dorm room
Monday.
More students were assigned to rooms
than there were rooms available for, and
those without rooms are living in dormi
tory lounges, study carrels and three or
four to a room.
See related
story, page 5
Students living in the lounge of Crocker
Hall described their room as a “zoo,” but
said they would be willing to spend the
rest of the semester there if necessary.
They agreed that it would be all right if
they could lock the lounge and not have
more than five or six to a room. The lounge
residents were told by the housing office
that they would be placed before those
students who are living three or four to a
room.
Crocker resident Jimmy Stagner said he
Four freshmen are living in Aston Hall, but not
in dorm rooms. Instead, they and others are stay
ing in study carrels, lounges and putting more in a
room until housing officials can find places for
Battalion photo by Scott Pendleton
them. Each semester, “no shows” in the dorms
make places for some students. These carrel dwel
lers are, from left, Bryan Dawson, Mark Hudgens,
Brian Haight and Allen Mabry.
had a dorm space until he decided to join
the Corps of Cadets and then decided it
was not for him.
“Now I’ve lost my ‘fro and my dorm
room,” Stagner said.
Another Crocker resident, Mark Raney,
said he has enough clothes to last until to
day, and he is keeping the rest of his be
longings in a friend’s apartment. All of the
lounge residents must store their valu
ables and semi-valuables in their cars or in
friends’ rooms.
Most of the dormitory residents said
they had to live on campus because of
transportation and living costs off campus.
The over-assigned students will begin
finding out how long they will have to wait
for a room today. The University claimed
the rooms of “no shows’’ at 5 p.m. Monday
for those waiting. Some may be housed in
dorms ordinarily used by the Corps of
Cadets, according to Ron Sasse, assistant
director of student affairs.
The men said they received letters in
August saying that they would have tem
porary housing for the latter part of the
month. The letter stated that the over
assignments were based on “statistical ex
perience” and that the “no-shows” simply
had not materialized as predicted. The let
ter said “accomodations for a short time
may be less than ideal,” and that some fee
adjustment would be made for the incon
venience.
Peter Nielsen, an Aston Hall-study car
rel resident, said his situation was “not
that bad.” He said the housing office told
him he was fourth on the waiting list. He
said he would take “any dorm they would
give me.”
Robert Davis and Lanny Dusek, two
other Aston-study carrel dwellers, said
they would be willing to stay in the carrel
if the room fee is lowered. Davis, who has
been on a dormitory waiting list for a year,
said, “We don’t have a sink or anything —
just four study carrels and two beds
apiece. ” Some of the carrels have four stu
dents in them.
Davis said they weren’t telling anyone
what a good deal they had.
United Press International
DALLAS — Several witnesses of the as
sassination of President John F. Kennedy
claim they met men posing as Secret Serv
ice agents shortly before the president was
shot, according to the Dallas Morning
News.
In a copyrighted story Sunday, the
News said the men were all seen near the
grassy knoll where some assassination re
searchers claim other shots were fired. Ac
cording to the Warren Commission, no
Secret Service agents were on foot in the
area at the time of the assassination.
The Warren Commission also said three
shots were fired from the sixth floor win
dow of the Texas School Book Depository
and that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the
trigger.
A House Assassinations Committee re
cently restaged the assassination in Dallas
for acoustical tests. Sharpshooters also
fired a rifle and a pistol from the knoll as
part of those tests.
The News quoted Gordon L. Arnold,
now an investigator for the Dallas De
partment of Consumer Affairs, who said he
was neither interviewed by the Warren
Commission nor the House committee.
Arnold told the News that a man told
him to leave the knoll and “showed me a
badge and said he was with the Secret
Service and that he didn’t want anybody
up there.”
Arnold, 37, claimed the first two shots
were fired from behind him from the
grassy knoll across from the Texas School
Book Depository. He said he was later or
dered to leave the area by police.
Arnold told the News he never reported
his story until now because “I heard there
were a lot of people making claims about
pictures and stuff and they were dying.
I just said to devil with it, forget it.
However, two police officers, James C.
White and James W. Foster were assigned
to the area and said they never saw anyone
claiming to be a Secret Service agent.
“If there was one up here we didn’t
know it,” said White. “He wasn’t on that
bridge. I know that.
A woman who also claimed she was at
the assassination site told the News she
spotted a man dashing into a parking lot
adjacent to the Texas School Book Depo
sitory immediately after the shooting.
Jean Hill said she chased after the man,
but was stopped by another man who
“whipped out” identification indicating he
was a Secret Service agent.
“I thought he was trying to get away,
she said. “But evidently he wanted me to
keep from getting away and pursuing the
fleeing man. He identified himself and I
took it that he was a Secret Service agent."
Mrs. Hill told the News she thought the
fleeing man looked a lot like Jack Ruby,
the man who assassinated Oswald.
Mrs. Hill told the News that she told
her story before the Warren Commis
sion, but nothing came of it.
According to the newspaper policemen,
Joe Marshall Smith was sent to the assassi
nation site shortly after the shooting and
encountered a man in the bushes who said
he was a Secret Service agent. The
policeman also said he showed a proper
Secret Service identification.
“I remember one thing—he kind of had
dirty looking hands or dirty fingernails,”
Smith said. “But hell, we all have to work
on a car or something like that every now
and then. That’s what they looked like.”
Smith did not testify before the Warren
Commission.
Gunfire intensifies
Nicaragua trouble
I United Press International
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Gun battles
between antigovernment demonstrators
and National Guardsmen and a nationwide
general strike called for Monday inten
sified pressures against President Anas-
tasio Somoza Debayle.
The Red Cross reported Sunday that
marksmen fired at helicopters rushing the
wounded from earlier clashes north of the
capital.
The strike threatened to bring activity
to a standstill in Managua, closing fac
tories, stores and banks.
Demonstrators, emboldened by a suc
cessful Sandinista guerrilla attack on the
National Palace last week, fired at troops
from the roof of the Matagalpa social club
and from nearby hills in the city of 70,000
people, Red Cross officials said.
New fighting also broke out Sunday in
Jinotepe, 25 miles south of Managua,
where National Guardsmen continued to
occupy the National University. Uncon
firmed press reports said the fighting left a
number of dead and injured.