Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Closing off you Aggie Cinema is closing itself off. Yes, closing itself off, so that only about one-third the regular number of Texas A&M moviegoers can see midnight films at the University. But can you blame the committee and the theatre staff for switching some of its midnight shows from Rudder Auditorium to the Theatre? Rudder Auditorium, with its expensive furnishings, was virtually attacked at one of its movies — carpet ripped, two chairs broken, seats burned by cigarettes, theatre entrance light stolen, and beer cans and liquor bottles found after the performance, according to the cinema committee. The switch to the Theatre reduces the number of tickets from 2,300 to 700. The ticket lines will get even longer than they have been; no fun for anyone. A few students could have calmed down the few drunks in the crowd, but instead the committee feels forced to hire a cop. Gina Casas, chairman of Aggie Cinema, now asks students to protect their student center. Students should have enough sense to do that anyway. Maybe in the future, a little of this sense will prevent closing off other activities^ Monday October 2, 1978 Ar 5 /Muv' A — r-'y Let's iqnore Wm] Heir go away- & V 'S Wi —K.T. Los Politicos, after el vote By ROLAND LINDSEY UPI Capitol Reporter AUSTIN, Texas — Republicans Bill Cle ments and Sen. John Tower are making strong pitches for support of Mexican- American voters in the Nov. 7 election, but a leading Mexican-American spokes man says the GOP is fighting an uphill bat tle. Ruben Bonilla, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), was particularly miffed at some of Clements’ comments concerning Mexi can aliens, and said he would do all in his power to prevent Clements from receiving more than 5 percent of the Mexican- American vote in South Texas. Bonilla also said he hopes Clements will become more active in campaigning among Mexican-Americans. “The more visible lie is, the more votes he loses,’’ Bonilla contended. Letters to the Editor The LULAC also noted the number of Mexican-Americans registered to vote has increased 21 percent since 1976, while the turnout among other minorities is declin ing- , ... A Clements news release concerning his public opinion poll will not help his stand ing among Mexican-Americans. That release identified Mario Compean as an independent candidate for governor. Compean is the nominee, and a cofoun der, of La Raza Unida. Robert Spellings, one time top assistant to former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, has joined the staff of Comptroller Bob Bullock as an administrative assistant. He joins another former Barnes as sociate — former Rep. Ralph Wayne of Plainview — in the comptroller’s depart ment. Robert Heard, editor of the Texas AFL-CIO Labor News, in a column retold a familiar story on Sen. John Tower, R-Texas, saying that Tower, wearing cow boy Ixiots and hat, once was unrecognized by an elevator operator in his office build ing. When Tower reminded the elevator operator he had passed Tower’s floor, Heard’s column said, the operator replied, “Just hold it cowboy, we’ve got a United States senator on board this elevator. Ken Towery, Tower’s top press aide. Politics said he has dim hopes for a retraction on the labor newspaper, but distributed a statement saying the story is false, and is one that has been told on virtually every Texas senator in years. Towery said the story was printed in the Washington Post during Tower’s first term in office, and was later retracted by that paper. Since the nature of the “Report of the Editor” in this instance was obviously meant to lx- a gut job on the senator, we have no reason to expect anything amount ing to a retraction from the AFL-CIO Labor News, and will not ask for one. Towery said in a printed statement dis tributed to the news media. "But I wanted you to know the facts of the matter. Not all the fighting between stall of political candidates these tlays involves general election opponents, however. "Bentsen’s Bullets, the staff of Sen Lloyd Bentsen Jr., D-Texas. squared off against "Krueger’s Killers. " their counter- parts from the office of Rep. Boh Krueger, D-Texas, in a softball game. Staff members didn't tell the score, put ting more emphasis on describing the post game refreshments. ‘Shear Class’ supports the Aggies Editor: In regard to a letter published in the Battalion, (Sept.26). It was acknowledged that “Shear Class, ” being a humanly operated business, made the mistake of having their picture made in an honorable place, with honorable in tentions, to promote their business and express their support of the Aggies. The problem being, people stood on the grass, unaware of the Aggie tradition at the time. After having their picture made they were notified of their mistake and rendered apologies in admiration for such traditions. (Incidentally, the ad had already been published.) It appears such businesses should be noted for their support of A&M rather than further embarrassing them by making an issue of the error - ridiculing them for not observing Aggie tradition. Maybe thought should be given to the good inten tions involved, after all, humans do make mistakes. -Carol Timm Un-coverage Editor: Time and time again we hear of the pro fessionalism of the staff at the Battalion. The fact that this praise comes from the staff itself couldn’t have anything to do with it could it? At the risk of sounding trite, I’d like to subit to you an old cliche, “Me thinks you protesteth too much.” In a campaign for publicity, Fowler Hall has asked for coverage of some of its functions from the Batt. Twice we have had the opportunity (??) to be publicized — or exploited. The first of these incidents was our Jock Raid, it was Fowler’s Jock Raid, not Fowler, Keathley, and Hughes. We raided the entire North Area Campus and the Corps dorms — not just the two dorms your staff randomly chose. Unwill ing to complain about something so trivial to the interests of the University popula tion, we shrugged it off. Noon Bash” is a farce and a slur to the reputation of Fowler Hall and the Corps. In the first place, Steve Manley, P.R. offi cer. Corps staff was very kind to allow- Fowler to participate in the afternoon’s ad- tivities, thereby furthering our reputation as an active dorm, while raising funds for future activities and having a great time. To express appreciation to Corps staff for including us in their bash, we jokingly offered them a free kiss. The Batt s transla tion: “... Fowler made $50.25 from kisses despite ‘freebies’ given to Corps staffers and others.” That statement was uncalled for unless prefaced by the circumstances surrounding it. Congratulations on the quote, “The cadets acted like gentlemen ...” — you got something right! The addendum , “No mashers — no wandering hands ...” is a new one on me. Never would I mention the word “masher” (which, by the way, I consider extremely derogatory) in connection with the Corps of Cadets. More than one per son has commented the subtitle suggests I was expecting “mashers.” Certainly not! I simple stated that I was pleased with the gentlemanlike conduct of the men despite the effects of the beer and revelry permeating the afternoon. I apologize to the vast majority of stu dents who might regard these misquota tions as another trivial gripe. I would suggest, however, that you learn from our experiences. In the future, all interactions between Fowler and The Battalion will be more closely monitored by our staff and council to avoid further false impressions. Our dorm council has put in too much time and effort into building dorm spirit and goodwill to have shadows cast on our reputation by unprofessional journalism. No publicity is better than bad publicity. —Wendy Clark, ’80 Fowler Hall President No joke, no fun Editor: with more emotion involved than simple dorm rivalry. A water fight was scheduled to be held between Northside male resi dents and Sou£hside residents (Dunn and Aston). The skirmish took place between Dunn Hall and the Corps’ Quad. After the North emptied their first buckets of water, they refilled them with fresh swine ma nure and deposited the waste on unsus pecting victims from the South. It could be smelled at the MSC. Mud and fruit were also thrown to add to the North’s de light. The free-for-all ended in a sort of Mexican stand-off with Lubbock Street separating the opposing sides. Then a couple of “good Ags” tried in vain to unite the group in singing the Aggie War Hymn. The Northside resi dents refused to join in the song or a “Beat the Hell outta Memphis St.” yell. Instead they chose to have their own yell. Using my God-given talent of hindsight, it appears to me that the Northside entered the water fight with a total lack of respect for their fellow Ags who live only one-half mile away. From a military standpoint the North won. A majority of the South was covered in manure. We were humiliated, disgusted, some injured (one guy lost two front teeth from a flying object), but most of all it hurt us to be treated with no more dignity than that given a snake. I, along with most of the Southside resi dents, simply ask the residents of the Northside to come to the realization that we are not stuck-up snobs or any richer” than anyone else. We would like to be ac cepted as friends and fellow Ags. I believe that inter-dorm competition and rivalry is good only if mutual human respect exists between them. I still smell like shit after a thirty-minute shower. -Jamie Jordan, ’80 Forum reaction Editor: Heprding Wednesday's (Sept. 27) Readers Forum.” I Med to understand Kosie Hassoun s expression of regret re garding a supposed lack of sympathy for the displaced Palestinian people. The issue is not a lack of understanding for those who have been “evicted” as a nation but rather the reaction of this nation’s lunatic fringe” toward being kicked into the garage.’ Anyone with any sense of nationalism and love of his home could be expected to rebel against such a situation To claim that the senseless bloodletting perpetrated by the PLO against Israeli civilians and assorted foreign nationals is in any way understandable or justifiable i7 e Xf r ’i is k° rderin g on the barbaric it self. If the P.L.O. were genuinely in terested in liberating” their homeland in- stead of murder for grins,” they would probably be giving more thought to a more etui method of achieving their goals. —Sam R. Leverett, ’77 peacef Help, Ags Editor: I would like to solicit your help and that of the student body at A&M. This sum mer, I lost my high school senior ring pTachtree 6 ^^^ 11 ^’ ^ring is from eacntree High School in Atlanta, Geor gia. It has KLH inscribed inside and the stone is a white saphire with a starhurst in it. If anyone finds it,’ could they turn it into the required ilE. office or the lost & found at the MSC Hotel desk. Thanks. I appreciate your help. — Karen Hargrave, '81 Senior honors Editor: for the past three years I have waited in eager expectation of becoming a senior and receiving senior privileges. My first disap pointment was when I found out that I had to park in not junior-senior parking but upperclassman (non-freshman) parking. Even so, that is not what inspired me to write this letter. Mv ' ’ “ the one thing I have , wlvrcll u to more than anything else, boot line. For more years than 1 can ever re member it has heen a senior privilege to form a line at the end of half-time for the Fighting Texas Aggie football players to run through at the begining of the second half. Saturday was my first boot line and 1 was disappointed to see more than half of the people in the line wearing high school senior rings (don’t tell me they are A&M seniors), and to top it all off in front of me I saw five local junior high school students. Don t get me wrong, this letter is not as much to complain as to thank. The thanks is to all the non-seniors for not participating in the rest of this year’s boot lines. —Mark Hancock, ’79 Correction In the Friday (Sept. 22) Battalion it was incorrectly reported that cement was sto- Bangfodesh!’ 0 Sch,, °' ° f A ~"’‘*-ure “ Cement was pilfered from other sites but not from the School of Architecture ’ Also, in the Thursday (Sept. 28) Battal- !ff!heT978A ,nC« e itonal staff reserves the right to rors amlT tG grammatical er- iors and to avoid litigation. Address letters to the editor to Letters to the Editor l he Battalion Room 216 Reed McDonald Building ^ Co/Zege Station, Texas 77843 IS< Top of the News campus A&M raises $3,712 for fund University fund-raising efforts on behalf of the College Stati i ^ ited Fund and the Bryan Brazos < t nited \\.,\ | iave ■ contributions of $3,712 .is ot last Monday according to L-a cha an < buck CaryciU I niversitv cuinlovees have tin- designating that theii gittb support either lundoi both t m J li the person contributing docs not spent) which drive is tn rt- u 0 M tbe contribution, the gilt will (redivided between the twodriveiTL "l campus god km this years drive is $42,000, an increase of mat el) 5 percent over last v eais actual collecti fgetcon ^ tion date for the university-wide effort is Oct. 31. IRS offers to help taxpayers Tile Internal Revenue St Tuesdays and Wednesdays with tax questions starting Texas Ave. IRS Director's hours are from 9 a.m. to 3; that tax help also is available day through Friday from 8 car Fr[ e announced they "ill beojaeCX "I I'hhf . • \l ml |\ to help p^,' 7() | today The office is located at 1300$. Representative Frank Nason said oH*, 15 p.rn Nason reminded area tanaya ■ by dialing toll-free 1-800-492-1830 M* a m. to 4:30 p in. Groups plan diplomatic exams Applications for competitive written tests for Foreign Service01 fleers and Foreign Service Information Officers must be turnedintt the examination center by Oct. 20 Information and applicationixai may lx- obtained from Dr. J.M. Nance of the department of Histtr in room 426 of the Academic Building Nance serves as campus«j viser on State Department matters. The tests will Ik* given Dec. i The FSO test will incluck* sections on administration, eonsuhr. economic-commercial and |>olitical fields, in addition to tests on En glish expression and functional background The test for information^ officers will also include the English expression and functiooil< background test and will have a functional Pick! test in mfurmatn.i culture. < j e Student senate positions open Texas A&M University’s student senate has five offices openwhid will lx* filled in the fall elections. Spots to lx* filled include tk graduate schools of Liberal Arts and Engineering, a graduate camps (Kisition. an at-large place from Mcxxly College, and a place Kras Walton. Mclnnis. Schumacher and liotard dormitories. Those» terested should pick up applications at room 216 of the Memoht Student Center before Wednesday . STATE Passing car shoots at state prison Three* or more shots were fired at a guard tower of the CleflMS Unit early Sunday by a passing vehicle, the lexas Department^ Corrections reported. No one was injured. Sixikesman Ron Tiykr said at least two of the shots hit the main radio tower, mannedb Officer Santos Carrion, with one going through a window and WH cell hbh k occupied 1 >' two inmates flie unit is .i maximum prison Tay said EC1 607, CIA club 8; 30 NATION Rio Grande expected to food lA s v Rampaging flood waters fitom the Rio Grande and Rio ( ondios tltttgen, v killed .it 1« .ist two persons and swept away live others in Ojinsja Mexico, li.i\<- substantially subsided in Presidio rhefloodciwL expected •«* move down th< Rio Grande toward the mouth > vei and Lake kmistad, causing mayo lowland t* ‘ throughout tin river valley foi th<- n in.imdci ot the week, t e‘ ^ ^ Honal Weatbei Service said \uthorit ies w am residents along -tin nail Grande to keep abreast of tl<»>d status rejiorts ami he P re P®Jfr mov cvaculute \ spokeswoman t"i the International Boundary and ‘ ,p e w . Commission m Presidio said they were not anticipating any » problems from the* rivers, which were* swollen by several days in the normally dry Sierra Grande mountains. WORLD Finnish hijacker frees hostages The armed hijacker of a Finnair jetliner Sunday ended a neaU 3,000-mile journey in his hometown of Oulu, Finland, where e last of 49 hostages. The* hijacker, identified as building t !‘ ,n j Aamo Lamminparras, seized the Finnair jet with 50 P®°Pj e a ,. .-j Saturday on a domestic flight from Oulu to Helsinki. At last stop before Oulu, Lamminparras's spoils consisted , ransom payments and four Ixittles of whiskey. He released all 05 but three crew members in Helsinki, Lamminparras sail >< ^ , give himself up texlay after police agreed to his demands to x his wife, a car and a driver at the Oulu airport. Wi ne wwww 3aesar’ sident ly was ut 4 p ; a per ftark < tt Brov :p of i estim; ween ( lergen rtuar^ kesma sent t ial. ,fter n WEATHER i We will have fair skies today with mild tern P era |. u t r f e | 0 win ® will be southerly with the high in the mid 80 s a n( b the mid to upper 60’s. " Jm —% The Battalion £> member • LETTERS POLICY Tc Jlrcs, Association < Lettets t<> the rJitnr ghould not exceed 300 word* and am „ fHwest lournalism ^ on ^ ri V subject to Ifritig cut to tiuit length ttr less if longer The ' > editorial staff reaervet the ridht !o eiUt auch lettem and dots Editor Liz' nof t’uarantee to publish nny letter Each letter must /«- . .Kditor A. sinned, thou thr mhlress of the writet unil li\f a Ichplium ‘ ' ,, .rinc? Editor .A 1 ' 1 M number for verification. Assistant Managing Davi( j sv: Address correspondence to letters to the Editor. The Sports Editor Tginjelg Battalion. Rtmm 216, Bred McDontild liuildinp. Colleue Cilv Editor i . . Station. Texas 77H43. ' ’ is Editor Alldy Jlv Represented nalionully by Nutional Kducational Advrr- ^ I. ] - * , . . . Dcbbfe ! tisiii* Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and I-ns News Editors Jk Angeles. LeSC |i|< ■ The Battalion is publishes! Momlas tlmnii’li Kml.is imni Editorial Director Lee c September through May except during exam and holiday . p.jfferSOflt ft periods and the* summer, when it is published on Tuesday Sniff Writers Mark 1 ‘ through Thursday. PU Scott Pendleton, Mail subscriptions are *16.75 per semester; $33.25 per Pottv Michelle Scll‘ u 1 S school year; $35.00 per hill year. Advertising rates fnr- w -i’ Fo,,Ikellberry J ms bed on request. Address: The Battalion. Room 216, Marilyn r. pong Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843 Cartoonist J nited Press Internatkmal is entitled exclusively to the 8 usi or reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. T ts of reproduction of all other matter herein reierved. . J Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are Regents. The Battalion ^ those of the editor or of the writer of the supporting enterprise of article and are not necessarily those of the as a university and cow " , University administration or the Board of Editorial policy is determn - mm