1
Irime up, down
■he first half of 1978 saw a 2
percent decrease in overall
jiine in the U.S. In the South,
ovferall crime dropped 1 per-
|it. However, violent crimes
Ireased. See page 3.
The Battalion
Vol. 72 No. 11
12 Pages
Friday, September 15, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Female
science
The now-famous Furbish
Lousewort was discovered by a
woman. She and other female
scientists are in a new exhibit at
the Smithsonian Institution. For
details, see page 4.
Schools must provide
illegal aliens with free
education, court rules
United Press International
TYLER, Texas — A federal judge ruled
Thursday, in what may be a landmark de
cision, Texas school districts must provide
free education to the children of Mexicans
who are in the United States illegally.
Judge William Wayne Justice issued a
permanent order against the Tyler Inde
pendent School District saying it could not
charge tuition to the children of illegal
aliens in an effort to offset the rising cost of
education.
The district’s policy was based on Texas
law calling for the fees.
Justice said illegal aliens were'entitled
to equal protection of the law under the
U.S. Constitution and therefore were eli
gible for the same free education provided
to the children of legal Texas residents.
The suit was brought by the Mexican-
American Legal Defense Fund on behalf
of a group of children of Mexican families
who are in Texas illegally.
The school district had contended the
sharp increase of illegal alien children in
the state had placed a financial burden on
Texas schools. Tyler officials argued the
parents should be forced to pay tuition if
their children were to attend classes.
Justice, however, held that the state’s
tuition law conflicted with federal laws in
policies governing funding and nondis
crimination in education.
“Bent on cutting educational cost and
unable constitutionally to exlude all such
“problem children the state has at
tempted to shave off a little around the
edges, barring the undocumented alien
children despite the fact that they are no
different for educational purposes from a
large proportion of legally resident alien
children. Justice said in his ruling.
“Apart from the arbitrary nature of the
state policy, such a marginal approach to a
major social problem is strikingly ineffec
tual.
Justice also said educating the children
of illegal aliens could be a benefit to the
state.
“The undisputed testimony at trial indi
cated that if these already disadvantaged
children are denied an education when
they are young, they will be forever rele
gated to the lowest level of employment, ’
he said. “If the state refuses to educate
them now, even a future grant of amnesty
by Congress will not prevent many of
these children from having been perma
nently stigmatized and crippled by then-
former illegal status.’’
The director of the Mexican-Ameriean
Legal Defense Fund hailed the riding as a
landmark decision.
“Were delighted with the decison,’
said Peter Rons. “While we haven’t yet
studied the full opinion, we believe it will
set a precedent in Texas and throughout
the nation that you can’t exclude un
documented children from access from
public education.
Vilma Martinez, president and general
counsel for the group, also praised the de
cision.
“We re hopeful the Tyler decision will
have a favorable impact on future cases
concerning the constitutional rights of un
documented workers, she said. “Today’s
decision affirms our belief that it is uncon
scionable to deny education to any of our
nation’s children.
Battalion photo by Beth Calhoun
Israel may withdraw from
lands as part of settlement
Ummm, ummm.
Jan Boyett tries coaxing her 1-year-old daughter
I Bree into trying some strawberry ice cream outside
[the Texas A&M creamery Tuesday. From the look
on her face, it seems Bree might prefer chocolate
or vanilla. Mr. & Mrs. Guy Boyett live at 1809
Medina in College Station.
United Press International
CAMP DAVID, Md. — Israel appar
ently has agreed in principle to eventu
ally withdraw from the occupied West
Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a com
prehensive Middle East settlement being
worked out Thursday as the Camp David
'rogram allows earlier graduation
1LY
4AL
By MARK BEATTY
Battalion Reporter
Iraduation may come sooner than ex-
ted for 52 juniors in the Corps of
jtldets. The cadets are in the ROTC
oi jjp 'ademic Substitution Program, which al-
8|T0Pjvs them to substitute two courses in
ir major field of study for Military Sei-
le 321 and 422. M.S. 321 covers mili-
yhistory, and M.S. 422 deals with mili-
y laws, duties and obligations,
t student in the program, tor instance,
;ht take Speech 403 or a political sci-
course instead of M.S. 321.
Executive officer Lt. Col. John Maloney
he reviews the course the student
pts to substitute for military science. If
jloney decides it will benefit him as an
er, he allows the course subsbitution.
-Ve try to adapt the program to fit the
needs of the individual,” he said. "It is a
compromise. We meet the student half
way.
Col. Thomas Parsons, director of se
curity and traffic for the University, in
itiated the program two years ago when he
was still commandant of the Corps of
Cadets. Col. James Woodall, present
commandant, has kept the program active.
Parsons said he started the program to
let students who do not have much time in
their degree plans take electives.
“The courses they substitute would ben
efit themselves as well as the Army,” he
said.
In addition to taking regular classes, the
students in the substitution program must
attend a one-hour seminar each week.
Capt. Garry Cooper, assistant professor of
military science, teaches the course. He
describes it as a condensed military history
seminar. There are no books, no tests and
no grades given for the course.
“They learn about military personalities
and various terms and definitions relating
to the profession of arms. It is interesting
and an enrichment,” he said.
The ROTC Academic Substitution
Program does not guarantee a cadet will
graduate on time, but it helps.
“It’s up to the individual, Maloney
said. “He has to pass all of his other
courses, too.
Maloney said the program has been suc
cessful because it solves problems in a stu
dent’s degree plan and is one way of get
ting commissioned into the Army.
Students in the program must sign a
contract and will be commissioned if they
meet minimum University academic stan
dards and successfully complete all ROTC
Course work. The new commissioned of
ficers can choose to go on active duty or
into the reserves as a part-time soldier.
summit neared its conclusion.
Sources close to the conference said the
three-way summit, which began nine days
ago, would not end Thursday, but ap
peared likely to wind up by today.
The session followed Carter s 25-minute
chat Wednesday night with Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin that occurred
as ministerial delegations from Israel and
the United States met in Washington for
nearly an hour.
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy
denied that Israel has agreed to the prin
ciple of withdrawal from the West Bank.
But sources close to the conference con
firmed that agreement apparently had
been reached.
Th e source added the word “apparently”
to the original flat statement because of the
possibility of the comprehensive agree
ment unraveling as the conference moved
into its final hours.
Sources confirmed that agreement on
the principle of withdrawal from the lands
Israel has controlled since the 1967 Mid
dle East war is coming into clearer focus.
but stipulations and reservations on both
sides still must be worked out.
The sources said two key obstacles are
the future of the Palestinians and the Is
raeli settlements in occupied Arab lands.
Israeli agreement to the principle of
withdrawal, as explained by these sources,
would be a giant leap forward as well as a
major accomplishment for President Car
ter.
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem
Begin has been adamant in the past in re
fusing to relinquish the West Bank of the
Jordan River because he views it as the
Biblical homeland of the Jews.
Jordan had previously governed the
West Bank territory. Egypt had loose con
trol over the Gaza Strip in southern Israel.
Estimates that the conference would
end Thursday appeared premature and a
better guess seemed to be Friday.
And Carter will deliver a nationally
televised report to the American people
some time following the conclusion of the
summit, sources said.
&M Consolidated KvilCgCf* S
chool district may get
ull-time police officer
Tower s daughter disregards
‘ childish’ remarks
The possibility of a full-time police of
fer the A&M Consolidated school dis-
Ictwas discussed by College Station city
incil members Thursday night.
The annual cost of the project is esti-
ited at $14,964. The money would be
jpropriated from the city’s revenue-
aring funds.
City Manager North Bardell said the of-
ler was needed for training school chil-
jjen in the new Safety City program, lec-
fring at various schools, offering counsel-
and aiding in the control of drug and
Jcohol abuse.
ICouncilman Anne Hazen spoke in favor
5 the proposal, saying that “there’s so
luch traffic in town, but no officers that
are trained to teach safety to children.”
In other business, the council approved
an ordinance establishing a structural
standards code. This code requires win
dows in all dwellings to be covered by a
screen. According to the ordinance, all
existing buildings must comply with the
new standards code by Sept. 1, 1979.
The council also discussed purchasing a
“bubble” for Adamson Pool and the plan
ned pool at Thomas Park. The plastic air-
supported cover would cost aproximately
$14,000 and allow the pools to be heated
during cold weather. The council took no
action on the proposal, which also would
be financed by the revenue-sharing fund.
swald’s widow says late
husband ‘sick’, acted alone
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Calling her late
asband a “sick” man, Marina Oswald
orter testified under oath Thursday she
lieves Lee Harvey Oswald shot and
lied President John F. Kennedy and
at he acted alone.
In her second day of dramatic testimony
efore the House Assassinations Commit-
e, the Russian-born witness, who has
emarried and currently lives in Texas,
aid Oswald was probably mentally ill at
he time of Kennedy’s murder.
But, she said, she did not recognize his
illness for what it was.
On Wednesday, her first day before the
panel, she resisted stating flatly that she
believed Oswald had killed the president.
She said, initially, she was not qualified to
make such a judgment.
Her public answers Thursday were simi
lar to testimony she gave in closed interro
gations to the Warren Commission in
1964. Her testimony Thursday was more
qualified, however.
By JAMIE AITKEN
Battalion City Editor
Jeanne Tower, the 22-year-old daughter
of Sen. John Tower, dispensed with the
established political handshake and traded
it for Aggie football calendars to draw sup
port for ber father’s re-election campaign.
The articulate blonde spent most of the
morning Thursday at the Memorial Stu
dent Center dustributing calendars and
voter registration cards for her father, who
is in Washington.
She claims to be a novice on the cam
paign trail, but spoke strongly on such
legislative measures as the compromise
natural gas bill (which her father opposes)
and the military procurement bill (which
her father supports).
“My father proves his commitment to
our nation’s national defense by support
ing acts to appropriate money for the B-l
bomber and overrides Carter’s veto of the
military procurement bill, which included
a desperately needed new air carrier for
the Navy.”
Tower, the youngest of the senator s
three daughters, added, “many students
are concerned about national defense as
it relates to my father’s campaign for re-
election, especially since my father’s op
ponent was absent in the House during
the votes on the B-l bomber, the military
procurement bill and the military con
struction approproation bill, the last of
which affected millions of dollars worth of
improvement for Texas bases.”
The reference to Sen. Tower’s oppo
nent, Rep. Bob Krueger of New Braun
fels, is indicative of a campaign that has
grown hotter on the issue of attendanace
on Capitol Hill than any political issue.
Both candidates have reportedly spent
millions of dollars on media campaigns,
which often speak to the other’s absen
teeism in Congress over the last few years.
Nevertheless, Jeanne Tower says her
father's is a straightforward campaign and
describes Krueger’s media blitz as the tac
tic of a man running scared.
“My father is trying to run a high-level
campaign and stick to the issue, which I
think is improtant for any candidate.
That’s how you elect someone — on the
basis of their beliefs, not on a bunch of
mudslinging.
“Krueger has spent a lot of time trying
to get away from the issues and put Tower
down. He’s been down in the state a lot
and he’s missed a lot of votes. He’s cam
paigning hard because I think he’s scared.
“Tower,” she continued, “is up in
Washington doing his job five days a week,
he’s got two days down in the state to
travel around, and he’s working hard,
sticking to the issues.
“He’s not going to waste a lot of time
trying to answer back to Krueger’s childish
remarks.”
Tower elaborated on some of her father’s
stands, which include opposition to the
recently enacted minimum wage increase.
“My father’s against it because he feels
it fuels inflation,” she said. “He feels that
the minimum wage increase will make it
harder for an employer to hire more
people, and especially the small busines-
man won’t be able to hire as many people
because he won’t be able to pay the higher
wages. So he’ll maybe even have to lay off
some people and not hire students.”
One of Sen. Tower’s latest drives for
students has been in support of a tuition
tax credit bill that would provide up to
$250 tax credit for those who pay tuition.
Tower, who is touring 31 campuses
in the state in a “Young Texans for Tower”
campaign, said she was not familiar with
the specifics of the bill.
The measure has passed the Senate and
awaits consideration by the House.
The Texas A&M stop was the fourth on
her three-week campus drive. It winds up
Sept. 11 at Baylor University.
Sen. John Tower received a helping hand Thursday from 22-year-old
daughter Jeanne, who encouraged student support on the Texas A&M
campus for her father’s re-election campaign. The 1977 graduate of
Southern Methodist University will cover 31 campuses in three weeks as
part of a “Young Texans for Tower” campaign. Photo by Sally Bland