THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1978
Page 3
To help women help themselves’
Women’s rights seminar planned
By SUZANNE BLACK
Special to The Battalion
“I moved here nine years ago. My
I first impression was that this was a
|very oppressive place for women. ”
Nine years ago, the population of
I Bryan-College Station was just over
50,000. There was a shortage of re-
I sources for women — no crisis hot
lines, no shelter, few child care or
family planning services, few wo
men’s organizations and few career
opportunities.
“Our divorce was in Dallas.
(When he stopped sending the child
I support payments I thought I’d have
I to return there to file suit.”
Today, the population of Bryan-
ICollege Station is about 90,000.
Women from all over the country
make up a large percentage of the
migration to this area. When they
moved here, they brought their
problems and needs with them.
“The conference is designed
\from an objective approach,
rahter than an emotional one”
Rita Marsh-Birch said.
“It’s only natural for women to
[band together for support and to
[pool their efforts.” (
These quotes come from Bryan-
I College Station residents who have
something distinctive in common.
iThey’re part of a collection of
women who have joined in an at
tempt to help women help them-
| selves. The culmination of their ef
forts is the upcoming conference,
"The Legal Rights of Brazos County
Women.”
The conference will be held
Saturday at Bryan High School from
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It will focus
on how state and national laws affect
women in terms of family, employ
ment, credit, education and crime.
Participants will be familiarized
with the county-wide resources
available to them. It will be held in
the spirit of local cooperation, not
activism.
“The conference is designed from
an objective approach, rather than
an emotional one, to give a com
prehensive coverage of different is
sues and problems,” said Rita
Marsh-Birch, the program coor
dinator. Marsh-Birch is a member of
the American Association of Univer
sity Women (AAUW), the group
that initiated the conference.
“The AAUW branches in San An
tonio, Houston and Dallas had simi
lar conferences and some of our
members who went to one were
very impressed,” explained Marsh-
Birch. That was last April and by
June, plans for a local program were
junder way.
“The other conferences had the
cooperation of the local bar associa
tion and maybe one or two
additional groups. Ours is a bigger
conference. Besides the bar associa
tion, we have 12 other co-sponsors.
“Another difference,” Marsh-
Birch said, “is that Texas A&M Uni
versity is not officially sponsoring us
and our conference isn’t being held
on the University campus. Each of
the other conferences was on a uni
versity campus and had the school
somehow involved. We decided to
get away from the University so we
could also reach women other than
those at A&M.”
Greta Fryxell, president of the
Bryan-College Station branch of the
AAUW, said there is no doubt that
the conference was designed for a
community audience. “It has been
organized by a community-based
coalition of groups,” she said. “The
University would limit our accessi
bility.”
Participating in any kind of coali
tion of groups is new to at least 10 of
the 14 sponsoring organizations. It
is also their first involvement in
such a community-wide project.
However, the members all seem to
feel there will be benefits to their
organizations as well as the commu
nity.
“Our members aren’t involved
enough in the community and I
think this will help motivate them,”
said Vera Martinez, president of the
Ladies LULAG..(League of United
Latin American Citizens) Council.
“We have our own planned ac
tivities, but we thought this confer
ence was a worthwhile project to
announce to the Spanish commu
nity.”
“We decided to get away from
the University so we could also
reach women other than those at
AirM” Marsh-Birch said.
“We’re organized for the purpose
of promoting women’s studies as a
discipline and would only become
involved in a project involving wo
men,” said Charol Shakeshaft, pres
ident of the student chapter of the
South Central Women’s Studies As
sociation.
“There’s a need for women to
know more about everything, in-
beg
Wood cutting
for ’78 Aggie bonfire
By CLAY WEBER
Battalion Reporter
With the Texas A&M University-
I Texas football game a little more
than three weeks away, prepara
tions are being made for the 1978
[Aggie bonfire.
The bonfire,which symbolizes the
lAggie students’ love for their school
land their “burning desire to beat
Ithe hell out of t.u.”, will be at 7:30
|p.m. Nov. 30, at the intramural
(field.
The center pole for the 60-foot-
ill bonfire will be raised Friday, at
[noon.
The cutting of bonfire wood has
(already begun. The Texas Municipal
(Power Agency has allowed Aggies to
secure wood for the bonfire from
land outside Carlos on Highway 30.
Wood is cut at the Carlos area and
transported to the bonfire site by
truck.
All Aggies may help with the bon
fire preparation. In order to cut
wood a person should go to the ani
mal science pavilion between 5:30
and 6 p.m. during weekdays. He
will receive a brief course in cutting
safety and will receive a “cutting
card” which will enable him to work
on the bonfire.
The origin of the bonfire is hazy
but there is some indication in old
Texas A&M yearbooks that the bon
fire began between 1908 and 1912.
The old bonfires were made of
trash, old lumber and outhouses,
supposedly unoccupied.
The height of the bonfire tra
ditionally rose a foot each year and
in 1969 reached a height of 109 feet.
Concern over the safety of sur
rounding buildings from falling
ashes blown in the wind has re
sulted in bonfires since staying at a
maximum height of around 60 feet.
Corps members are required to
work on the bonfire. Non-reg stu
dents living on campus, who wish to
work may contact Wendell Pool at
845-1948. Off-campus students de
siring to participate may contact Tim
Meier at 693-4121.
eluding legal rights. That’s why
these women have come together as
a coalition, to seek information and
services,” Shakeshaft said.
Shirley Plapp, president of the
Altrusa Club, said, “We’re defi
nitely interested in things for
women and in assisting others in the
community through vocational serv
ices and scholarships.” Altrusa is an
executive and professional women’s
organization.
“We haven’t been involved in
such a large group effort before,”
Plapp said, “We were very anxious
to participate.
“There’s a need for women to
know more about everything,
including legal rights,” said
Charol Shakeshaft.
“We’re certainly interested in
ensuring that as many women as
possible are aware of their rights,”
said Merrill Whitburn, president of
the Brazos Civil Liberties Union.
Merrill said the Civil Liberties
Union recently had its largest meet
ing ever. He said he thinks many
other organizations are going to
have a resurgence in membership,
and the conference is an example of
growing community interest.
“It’s in the interest of these dif
ferent organizations to cooperate in
order to be more efficient and effec
tive. I think the community will see
more of this,” he said.
What the AAUW members would
like to see is a continued coopera
tion between women’s groups and
between groups concerned with
women’s rights. Referring to the
legal rights conference, AAUW
president Fryxell said, “We’d like to
use this as a beginning. The confer
ence isn’t the end of our objectives.”
JupTnaml**
Eddie Dominguez ’66
IP —
Some final notes on “The Legal
Rights of Brazos County Women”:
— for free babysitting arrange
ments, call 822-3393 or 846-6673.
— for free transportation, call
693-7293.
— for additional information, call
693-4812.
JdlBSON’S
DISCOUNT CENTER
Denver police raid
pot ‘vending machine’
United Press International
DENVER — Four suspects at a
house one block from a high school
set up a “pot dispensing machine” at
which students could buy
| marijuana, police said.
Detective Tom Fisher said Wed-
| nesday the “machine” was in the
form of a booth, and buyers would
slide their money through a slot cut
in a door. Police said many of the
customers were high school stu-
[ dents.
Fisher said a person sitting on a
| stool on the other side of the door
would slide a quantity of marijuana
and change through the slot and was
never seen by the buyer.
Police raided the house, located
one block from Manual High School,
Tuesday after receiving complaints
from neighbors, Fisher said. Three
adults and a juvenile were arrested
at the house after five Denver vice
officers broke down the door.
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