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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Thursday Texas A&M University November 2, 1978 United Fund drive opens its needy hand It’s pay day. You’ve got that brand-new paycheck tucked away in your poc ket, soon to be folded, spindled or spent. “Well, self,” you tell yourself, “we’ll make it for another two weeks any way.” It’s a nice feeling. There are very good people doing some very good work in College Station who don’t know that feeling yet. These are the people who man the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center and the College Station Recreation Council. They’re Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, young and old, healthy and handicapped. These people work with or benefit from agencies that live or die according to the generosity of College Station’s people. Eighteen agencies in College Station and Brazos County depend on United Way-United Fund financing. And the good people of College Station have done their part in the past. But now the need is greater than ever. This area’s hell-bent-for-leather growth has strained all of College Station’s public service fecilities, including these agencies. But they’re still one heck of a bargain for the money. So give what you can. The United Way folks calls one day’s salary your “fair share.” You decide what’s a fair share for you. Invest in some mighty good people. L.R.L. running ov/t". Campaign ’78 — Tower in trouble By ROLAND LINDSEY United Press International AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Sen. John G. Tower, elected 17 years ago to succeed Lyndon B. Johnson, appears in jeopardy of losing Nov. 7, and his refusal to shake hands with his challenger may be a key to the outcome. While Tower is battling Rep. Bob Krueger, D-Tex., in the Senate race. Re publicans are waging their most expensive campaign for the governorship with GOP nominee Bill Clements, a former deputy secretary of defense in the Ford adminis tration, challenging Attorney General John Hill. Hill defeated Gov. Dolph Briscoe in the Democratic primary and claims he has a comfortable lead despite indications Cle ments is steadily gaining. If Krueger, a wealthy bachelor making his first statewide run, upsets Tower and if Clements is unsuccessful in his race against Hill, Republicans would be shut out from statewide office for the first time since 1961. If Clements can win, he would be the state’s first GOP governor in more than a century. Charges of dirty tricks and underhanded tactics have overshadowed any discussion of issues in the Senate race. Tower has filed a complaint with the Fair Campaign Practices Committee con tending Krueger has repeatedly distorted his statements on issues, and complained of errors in the Democrat’s campaign ex pense reports. The La Raza Unida party candidate for Senate, Luis deLeon, contends a Krueger campaign worker offered him a $28,000 government job and more than $1 million in federal funding for Mexican-American programs if he would drop out of the race. DeLeon contended the Krueger aide said the race was so close the 1-2 percent of the vote DeLeon might attract could affect the outcome. But the incident that attracted the most attention was Tower’s refusal to shake hands with Krueger before a debate at the Houston Press Club. Tower on the previ ous day had cancelled four televised ap pearances with Krueger because he was angry at circulation of a newspaper column about a senator who demanded whiskey and women at out of town speaking engagements. The column did not name Tower, but the Krueger campaign circulated a reprint and said it referred to the Texas senator. Politics At the Houston Press Club, Krueger approached Tower and extended his hand. Tower turned the other way and ignored the greeting. The pictures of made front pages and television screens nationwide. Krueger backers say Tower’s action backfired, and turned some Democrats and independents against him. Indepen dent polls show Krueger slightly ahead with a week remaining, but Tower forces still express confidence. Clements, head of one of the world’s largest oil well drilling firms, has based his campaign on a tax relief theme, promising to return much of a projected $1 billion state surplus to citizens and reduce the number of state employees by 25,000. Hill, who ran unsuccessfully for gover nor in 1968 and built a reputation as a strong consumer advocate during six years as attorney general, shocked many Texans by ousting the incumbent without a runoff in the May 6 Democratic primary. Clements has tried to paint Hill as a part of the Carter administration, which has come under strong criticism in Texas be cause of its energy policies. But Hill has threatened to support another candidate for the 1980 presidential nomination un less Carter revises his stand on energy, and is preparing a suit challenging major portions of the energy bill passed by Con gress. Although five of the state’s veteran members of Congress are retiring this year, there appears little liklihood of any significant Republican gains in the state’s Washington delegation. Texas voters also are voting on nine proposed amendments to the state con stitution, including a so-called “tax relief amendment” that could result in tax sav ings of about $500,000 to local school dis tricts and reduce property taxes for each of the state’s homeowners by about $48 an nually. drivers deserve equal courtesy Letters to the Editor Car Editor: In reference Tami Tipton’s letter of Thursday, Oct. 19 in The Battalion, I feel I must rise in defense of the lowly, second- class car driver. I myself being a veteran campus cyclist, and walker, can appreciate Tami’s gripe. Nevertheless, a car stopped at stop sign often has to sit while 20 or more students walk in front of it. Often the driver, meanwhile, will get no show of apprecia tion, and will occasionally get a contemp tuous glance shot in his direction. As soon as a break does appear in the ambulatory traffic, it is necessary to accel erate to make a getaway. If a pedestrian decides not to wait for perhaps five more seconds, but steps out into the road, is it not surprising that the driver will give the pedestrian a look of exasperation? It would be better for all concerned if a little give and take occurred at intersec tions and crosswalks. If five or six pedest rians, or cyclists, crossed at a time and then allowed the car to move on, the fric tion between driver and pedestrian and cyclist would not occur. Also, a wave or smile directed at the driver when he has just stopped to let you walk or cycle across, and vice versa would be much ap preciated. The car driver has every right to be on the road, and is probably in just as much a hurry to get to class the pedestrian is. The Aggie is a symbol of politeness and friendliness, and I would be surprised if I were chased down by an irate pedestrian, especially if the pedestrian had been in considerate and had been at fault. — Paul Barrett, 81 Meet your profs Editor: Ever since I enter this university as a freshman, I have heard nothing but praise for the type of people which comprise our student population at Texas A&M. Being a student, this recognition is something which is a boundless source of pride, but not just pride for myself or for being a student here, but also pride for being able to be a part of a university which has one of the most outstanding faculties and staffs anywhere. Unfortunately, I am afraid that many students go through their years here with out experiencing, sharing, or even realiz ing the great wealth of knowledge, friend liness, and personal concern which our fa culty and staff represent. Those students who do not take the time to absorb a frac tion of this great wealth will never have a complete education. Recently, I was afforded just one more opportunity to listen, learn, and to extend my relationship with our faculty and staff thanks to Dr. John J. Koldus, vice presi dent for student services. Dr. Koldus sponsors a series of luncheons throughout the year during which faculty members from different colleges, staff members, and students meet and discuss various is sues over lunch. This is a wonderful opportunity for stu dents to meet faculty and staff members other than those associated with their own course of study. I had a wonderful time and the conversation was most enjoyable, all of which was only interrupted by my having to leave early to attend class. Have you taken time this semester to really meet any of your profs? Have you gone to seek help on any class projects from any particular prof or staff member who may specialize in just what you need help on? Try it, and I assure you that you will leave with a very special feeling. Our faculty and staff — a very special resource — nowhere else but Texas A&M! — Mary E. Flori, ’80 General not ‘naive’ Editor: This letter is in reference to Leonard Seelig’s letter of Nov. 27 in which he criticized General Westmoreland’s speech, saying “the general is opposed to any advances in women’s rights.” Personally, I felt that General Westmoreland handled the question of a woman’s role in the armed forces better than anyone I’ve heard. He began by saying how he had recom mended that two women he knew be pro moted to generals. He also stated that women have an important role in the armed forces. But he then went on to say that women were not as capable when it came to combat training and performance as men. He said he felt like it was a reflec tion on the men of our country if they would allow women to fight. You quoted him as saying “the need for women in the armed forces is a reflection on the men of this country.” General Westmoreland’s humorous yet tactful remarks on this sensitive subject were extremely well received by the majority of the audience. As a general who spent many years in Vietnam seeing men suffer. I’m sure he felt it would be need less for women to be in that situation also. For a man who has contribute much to our country and whose speech was so well received by his audience at A&M, I don’t understand why you tore his speech down and called it “naive and unsophisticated.” I’m sure he was simplifying his vast knowledge on topic of “Trouble Spots Around the Globe” down to a level he thought we could better comprehend. — Kathy Jones, 81 Try recycling Editor: How many of you take a break during the day by relaxing on the grass, drinking a coke, and reading The Battalion? How many of you also get up to go to class and throw the can and paper in the trash? Our country does not have an unlimited supply of the aluminum the can was made from or the wood the paper was made from. If we want to continue to have these resources at our disposal, we are going to have to start conserving. Recycling is one answer. An article recently appeared in The Bat talion stating that past attempts to have a recycling center have received little sup port. This is very disappointing. Both aluminum and paper are used in great quantities on this campus. With a little ef fort put forth by all the students, a campus-wide recycling center could be a great success. Houston and Rice both have effective recycling centers so I know the Aggies can too. Why don’t we give it another try? — Carol Nease, ’82 Readers’ Forum Guest viewpoints, in addi tion to Letters to the Editor, are welcome. All pieces sub mitted to Readers forum should be: • Typed triple space • Limited to 60 characters per line • Limited to 100 lines Talk with Dr. Miller Editor: It has recently come to my attention that the administration is considering taking away the students’ right to Q-drop a course. I am very much against this for several reasons. First of all, many students are unlucky and get stuck in large sections with disin terested profs. These students should have the right to Q-drop the course so that their GPR is not lowered by an administrative problem. Secondly, in special instances, such as a temporary illness or other personal prob lems, a student may have a bad start in a semester. Instead of withdrawing from the University, students can Q-drop one or more courses and still bring up their grades in the remaining courses. Lastly, to end Q-drops would greatly hurt students who work or are active in school organizations as well as students who are on scholarships. Students occasionally miscalculate their available time for the upcoming semester and find their course load too heavy. The Q-drop allows them to continue in their extracurricular activities without lowering their GPR. Working students would have no other choice but to accept a low grade if there were no Q-drops. Similarly, scholarship students would be severely hurt if they were forced to take a low grade. I realize many students misuse the Q-drop to cover for their laziness but this is only one bad point. There may even be others, but I believe the good points out weigh the bad. Overall, to end Q-drops would be detrimental to many of A&M’s top students. — George Sofka Dear Mr. Sofka: There is no present plan to alter the policy of the University with regard to dropping courses with no record (“Q-drops“). As is true of many academic policies, however, this one will be subjected to periodic review to determine if it is adminis tered and used in the best interests of the University. The conditions for obtaining Q-drops have been revised from time to time because we thought we could improve the system, and we shall continue the practice of reviewing such matters. At the present time, however, no changes are expected in this one. — Jarvis E. Miller President “Talk with Dr. Miller” is a forum for readers to address questions to the ad ministration about university policies and procedures. Questions should be addressed to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, and must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Top of the News CAMPUS Freshman class runoffs today Runoff elections for freshman class president and vice presidentare today. David Porter and Jonny Weinbaum are running for the presi dency, while the vice presidency is between Rick Seger and Sally Takacs. Polling places are located at Sbisa Dining Hall, the Memorial Student Center, Zachry Engineering Center and between the library and Harrington Education Center. To vote, freshmen should bring their identification and student activity cards to the polling places between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Backgammon winners announced Results of a backgammon tournament that began Oct. 24 and ended Monday night have been released. The top six winners of the tourney were Ed Simmons, David Teieh and Manoucheagr Kavehkar in Division A and John Buchwalter, Kenan Alpan and Amin Siam in Division B. About 80 students participated in the tournament spon sored by the Memorial Student Center Recreation Committee. A&M aims at United Fund goal Texas A&M University fund-raising efforts on behalf of the College Station United Fund and the Bryan-Brazos County United Way have yielded contributions of $25,789 as of last week, says campus chair man Chuck Cargill. The goal is $42,000. University employees and students can pledge donations to both drives. Any student wishing to give donate money can pick up pledge cards and brochures at the MSC main desk Friday. The deadline for campus donations is Nov. 30. STATE Television too sexy, group says The National Foundation for Decency, a group out to sweep sex and violence off televison, demonstrated Tuesday at KTRK televi sion, the ABC affiliate in Houston. The picketing was to promote a month-long viewer’s boycott of ABC, according to the Rev. Donald Wildmon of Tupelo, Miss., founder and leader of the protest group. Wildmon’s group singled out ABC because it claims that network has increased its “sexually oriented programming by 48 percent in the new season. “Our goal is to drop ABC by 3 percent of the viewing audience in November, Wildmon said. He said such a decline would cost ABC as much as $60 million in lost advertising revenue. Charles E. Wolf, promotion manager of the station, said “ABC is theoretically youth oriented and morals nowadays are a little looser. But no shows are in bad taste or meant to offend.” Bare facts mean trouble at UH The editor of the University of Houston student newspaper faces possible censure or firing because she permitted the publication of a photograph of a man exposing himself at an art show. Lori Korelski, 22, senior editor of The Daily Cougar, said, “I see nothing indecent about the photo. He was going around exposing himself. Our photo grapher Phil Marcus asked the man if he could take his picture and the man said yes.” Tuesday’s issue of The Daily Cougar presented a full page of letters condemning last week’s publication of the photo graph. The hearing on the recommendation that Korelski be dis missed or censured has been delayed by committee reorganization. The flap is the second involving student publications use of ques tioned photographs. Earlier this year, a photo essay on nude models was scheduled for the school yearbook. The publishing house refused to print them. NATION Protesters begin hunger strike Fourteen anti-nuclear demonstrators who chained themselves to earth-moving equipment at the site of Oklahoma’s first nuclear generating plant Tuesday have begun a hunger strike in the Rogers County Jail. The demonstrators, who dubbed themselves the “Hal loween 14, said they would remain in jail and fast until they all were released on personal recognizance bonds. The 14 demonstrators were arrested about 7 a.m. Tuesday after construction workers found them chained to bulldozers and graders at the Black Fox site near Inola. Many of the demonstrators are members of the Sunbelt Alliance, which sponsored the Oct. 7 occupation of the Black Fox Station con struction site. Hal Rankin, a spokesman for the alliance, said Tues day’s demonstration was not sponsored by the anti-nuclear group. Judge Ed Carden had set bonds for 12 of the protesters at $50 each and placed two of them on recognizance bonds during a brief court appearance Tuesday. WORLD Iranian oil industry still halted Armed soldiers stood watch over idled oil fields in southern Iran Wednesday to guard against sabotage during the second day of a total strike against the nation’s $20 billion-a-year petroleum industry. The striking oil workers are demanding an end to martial law across the country, release of political prisoners and officials accused of corrup tion brought to trial officials. The oil strike is depriving the govern ment of $60 million a day in income. U.S. energy officials predicted the shutdown of Iran’s gigantic oil industry would do no “immediate” harm to the United States, even though Iran supplies as much as 10 percent of America’s daily oil imports. Limited quantities of oil were exported Monday and Tuesday. But the reserves are not likely to last through the week, the Kayhan newspaper reported. The Battalion 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. WAS I ery sea the po; without This 1 year on several U.S.-K< j mittee < Tonj subcorr Korean- tigation The r and the Park’s ii mediari rean “si | in Kore Amor launch e I ous mui “The on the li United | five, th< The s pursuin| to regul; “The ; | States vs Other —Sou weapons -The links to United S lators an govern h abolishe' -The Korea, and othe —A m kickback I which ei Party. -The ence buy Presiden lery Inc 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 Tuesday through Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per frill year. Advertising rates fur nished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Kim Tys* Managing Editor Liz Newlin Assistant Managing Editor . Andy Willia® Sports Editor David F City Editor Jamie Aitkw Campus Editor Steve 1# News Editors Debbie Parsooi Beth Calhoun Staff Writers Karen Rogers, Moil Patterson, Scott Pendleton, Sean Petty, Michelle Scuddei, Marilyn Faulkenberry, Diani Blake Lee Roy Leschper, Jr Cartoonist Doug Gratia* Photographer Ed CunniiS Focus section editor GaryWeldi Ticki Gem 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,! supporting enterprise operated by sfwM 1 as a university and community newspopK Editorial policy is determined by the ediW