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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1978)
The Battalion Vol. 72 No. 69 12 Pages Monday, December 11, 1978 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 :Governor orders investigation ill ( United Press International ELLISVILLE, Miss. — An angry Gov. Biff Finch ordering his own investigation »to the deaths of 15 women at a state- perated school for the mentally retarded owed Sunday to “get to the bottom of this pgedy.” This is not going to happen again,” said inch, who toured the burned-out dormi- or y at Ellisville State Sehool Saturday. 9 At Night light at Texas A&M With Aggieland weather turning colder, condensation forms over the utilities plant and forms what appear to he low hanging clouds. I he smokestack in the picture is a piece of Aggie lore. Close observers can see the “hidden college” of Texas A&M. When Texas A&M became a univer sity in 1967, the “college” was painted over, but it is still faintly visible. Battalion photo by Pat O’Malley The governor said he had ordered top Highway Patrol investigators to enter the case and “get a report back immediately. Dr. Paul Gotten, the school’s adminis trator, said state fire marshals had not yet determined the cause of the fire. The blaze was confined to a closet area of the dormitory but the victims died from inhal ing heavy smoke that engulfed the build ing. Praise but no pact at Nobel ceremony United Press International OSLO, Norway — Israeli Prime Minis ter Menachem Begin and an emissary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat Sunday WUected Nobel Peace Prizes — the most controversial ever awarded — for trying to en d three decades of Middle East conflict. But it was President Carter both men Pjuised as the architect of peace in the ‘ladle East — an unfulfilled goal that lr ed the Egyptian president and kept him away from the ceremonies scarred by ousands of pro-Palenstinian demon strators. Begin, who was hosting a luncheon , lay before flying home for funeral serv- l ^ es * or former Prime Minister Golda ‘ eir , said in his acceptance speech he will exist 6 ^ arn P David peace treaty as it Such a treaty can serve as the first in- s pensible step toward a comprehensive saief 6 ' n ° Ur re £i°n” the Israeli premier Sa * n rernar ks read by assistant truth” ^ lmec ^ Marei, said “a moment of w 1 J las arrived in the negotiations and ^ le accor ds as they now stand ou d crumble at the first blow” unless e y provide for the security of Palesti- j” 8 , ^ Israeli-occupied territory, ha ^ een hoped the two nations, who ou sht four wars since Israel’s birth in j'. > could sign a pact in Oslo. But the J> u f e over Palestinian security has f a ed the talks and so angered Sadat he Gained in Cairo to confer Sunday with ecretary of State Cyrus Vance. r o-Palesti nian protesters demon- a cd against the decision to jointly oevciai thousand demonstrators marched in torchlight processions through I 1 1 ID — 1 o P T'XV/A — award Begin and Sadat the $163,000 prize. Police arrested 10 persons who daubed their faces with red paint and chained themselves across a road leading to the Akerhus Castle that overlooks the icy Oslo fjord. Several marched in c Oslo and nearby Bergen, the largest pro tests ever massed against Nobel winners. Sadat’s and Begin’s speeches warmly praised Carter’s efforts to bring about a settlement. ,, _, , “A man of the highest integrity, Sadat called him. , , • Begin said Carter “unforgettably in vested unsparing efforts untiring energy and great devotion in the peace-making P 'Carter was not eligible for the 1978 prize because he was not nominated be fore the Feb. 1 deadline. Begin and Sadat were nominated after the Egyptian presi dent visited Jerusalem last year and Begin reciprocated with a visit to Ismaiha. Other Nobel laureates — dominated by Americans — were presented their dip lomas in Stockholm, Sweden by King Call Gustaf at a glittering ceremony The included Isaac Bashevis Singer, the American Yiddish-language author for lit erature; Americans Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith of Johns Hopkins Uni versity and Swiss Dr. Werner Arber for the trio’s discoveries in genetic medicine. Others were economics laureate Her bert A. Simon of Cargenie-Mellon Univer sity; Soviet physics winner Piotr Kapitsa and Americans Arno Penzias and Rob 61 ,! Wilson of Bell Laboratories, and British chemistry winner Peter Mitchell. As the investigators examined the death scene, patients and staff workers at the school went ahead with their annual Christmas program Sunday. Gotten said about 50 patients and an estimated 300- 400 staff members and visitors took part in the program which lasted several hours. “I think you have to always consider the living,” Gotten said. “They were looking forward to giving the Chritmas program and the other activities so there was no reason not to. I think you can show respect by continuing to live. Gotten said three of the 15 women killed in the predawn fire would be buried on the school grounds Tuesday. A memo rial service for all 15 victims is planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday. He said many of the patients at the school which houses many mentally re tarded persons were uanware of or unable to comprehend the tragedy, some believ ing those who were killed had simply “gone home for a visit.” Gotten said there was no way to deter mine if smoke detection devices and fire alarms could have prevented the tragedy at the dormitory which was scheduled for renovation early next year. He said plans included the installation of fire and smoke detectors as part of a 900,000 repair program for several build ings on the sprawling 2,500-acre campus. I have been trying to improve the safety standards of the dormitory and the other buildings,” he said. “We feel we have done well. We were doing the best we could. I have no way of determining if the patients could have been saved with the detectors or alarms.” The blaze was discovered by a nurses’ aide at the mental health facility about 2 a.m. Saturday. All of the victims of the fire died from smoke inhalation and another 15 patients were hospitalized at nearby Laurel for treatment of smoke inhalation. New women s housing, to he ready hy fall ’79 By HARVEY LAAS Battalion Beporter Construction has begun on the new women’s residence hall across Houston Street from Sbisa Dining Hall. The dormitory will be built as two buildings and house 508 people, said Ron E. Sasse, associate director of student affairs. The building is of modular construction with individual rooms manufactured in San Antonio by H.B. Zachry Co. The modules will be shipped to the campus, where they will be placed in a steel superstructure like building blocks. Each building will have a study lounge on the second, third and fourth floors, and the first floor will have a television room, Sasse said. Each building will also have a room with laundry facilities and vending machines, he said. The dormitory is supposed to be completed for the fall semester. Sasse said, “It seems to be on schedule.” He said the renovation of Legett Hall will be finished for the fall semester. It will house 192 women. Howard L. Vestal, vice president for business affairs, said the only other dor mitory the University is planning is a women’s athletic dormitory. He said it will house 120 women and be built across from Sbisa next to the new women’s dorm. Vestal said a housing feasibility study is being conducted at this time to deter mine if more residence halls are needed and if funds can be raised to construct them. Because no state money can be used to build dormitories. Vestal said revenue bonds for construction must be paid by the rent students pay. “Funding will be critical,” Vestal said, because the University must have suffi cient money to support the bonds. Just horsin’ around Polo has had a checkered career at Texas A&M Univer sity. First played on campus about 60 years ago, it died out when the military horses were taken away in 1943. See page 7. More protests expected in Iran United Press International TEHRAN, Iran — Shouting “victory is close” thousands of Moslem demonstrators spilled into Tehran’s streets today to turn a centuries-old religious holiday into a mass protest against the shah. When the overnight curfew ended at dawn, the demonstrators began to emerge from side streets and marched toward downtown Tehran where millions gathered Sunday in a highly successful and non-violent march. Young girls in ankle-length black veils and youths with dust in their hair — a sign of deep mourning — carried flowing trian gular flags in green, the Islamic color, in red for the Moslem martyrs and in black for general mourning for ancient Shiite saints and anti-shah demonstrators killed in recent clashes with the army. “Victory is close,” many shouted. “We have Allah’s blessings.” Today’s activities include self- flagellation rites climaxing Mohrram Shiite Islam’s holiest time of mourning. A Tehran clergy spokesman said tens of thousands of devotees would gather at the downtown residence of Ayatollah Sayed Mahmoud Taleghani. “No one knows what will happen after the protest,” he said. The self-flagellation rites, although al lowed by the military in a last-minute re versal, “have been overshadowed by people’s preoccupation with the political fight,” the spokesman said, referring to the year-old campaign to topple Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The violence resulting from that cam- paign has meant hundreds of deaths and paralysis of the economy and Iran’s vital oil industry. Sunday was the first full-scale public denunciation of the United States and Iran’s other western allies, carrying a har rowing spell of anti-foreign feeling that triggered the evacuation of Americans, Europeans and other foreigners this week. “Criminal Americans get lost,” read one banner in English. “The American presi dent should understand from this demon stration that he is the most hated of all,” said one slogan. Placards said, “U.S. imperialists pull out of Iran.” The well-organized procession lasted eight hours. Thousands of volunteers wearing white armbands controlled the flow of traffic greatly thinned as the entire city shut down. Troops maintained a low profile and only a few kept vigil on rooftops of some buildings. Army helicopters buzzed over the heads of the demonstrators, who re sponded by shaking their fists into the sky. Military authorities blocked all access to the shah’s palace and the capital’s post northern quarter, which houses most foreign residents, as a precaution against a repetition of November attacks on foreig ners and international hotels. The peacefulness of Sunday’s march was a relief to many, but as one political ob server said, “The point is this peaceful march contributes nothing to ending the civil strife. If anything it gave the opposi tion the chance to prove its organization.” Evacuees weary. hut safe in United Press International McGUIRE AFB, N.J. — Looking weary from nearly 14 hours of air travel, the largest group of American military depen dents evacuated from Iran because of the country’s recent unrest arrived back in the United States Sunday. The 183 people — mostly women and children — stepped from a chartered commercial TWA 707 jet onto the windswept runway of McGuire Air Force Base at 12:55 p.m. Clutching personal belongings they rushed for the shelter of the passenger lounge to escape bitter 25 mph winds. There, speaking to reporters, most said they did not actually witness much of last week’s rioting in the capital city of Tehran, but heard gunshots and the chants of Moslems at prayer on the city’s rooftops when the daily 9 p.m. curfew began. Mike Burkhalter, the 16-year-old son of a U.S. Army sergeant who moved to Iran two years ago from El Paso, Tex., said dis like for Americans could be seen in “very many ways.” “We... got a note under our door which gave us 30 days to get out or they’d kill us,” he said. “Another time a soldier tried to arrest me for spitting on the street.” For Julie Feugate’s 4-year-old son, Bobby the evacuation was nothing new. U.S. Bobby, an orphan from Bac Lieu in South Vietnam was one of the lucky chil dren who escaped from the wreck of a C-5 military transport jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut airport as the North Vietnamese closed in on the city in April 1975. Bobby, who was six months old at the time, “doesn’t remember it. He’s doing real well right now,” said Mrs. Feugate, who is from Ozark, Mo. She said her two daughters ages six and seven were “getting very concerned, but I don’t think it bothered Bobby as much.” The group arrived from Athens where they had been delivered Friday by one of five C-141 military transport jets that had been shuttling Americans out of Tehran. One by one, as they cleared customs, the dependents picked up their luggage and boarded buses to take them to spend the holidays with friends and relatives around the country. Most wished that husbands and fathers could have been there with them.. Air Force officials said the 183 made up the largest group of military families to re turn to the United States so far. Saturday night 70 other dependents ar rived at Dover Air Force Base in Dela ware. Three more jet loads were expected at McGuire Sunday night, officials said. Charter flight offered to Aggies bowl-bound By CLAY WEBER Battalion Reporter Thanks to the Aggie Club, Texas A&M University football fans desiring to travel to Birmingham for the Hall of Fame Bowl might find their planning a little easier. The Aggies will meet Iowa State Uni versity in the bowl game Wednesday, Dec. 20. The Aggie Club has chartered a Braniff Airways flight leaving at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, from Houston Intercon tinental Airport. About 1,130 seats are available on the flight. The round-trip air fare is $180 first class and $150 tourist. The trip is open to all Aggie fans and reservations may be made at the Aggie Club office near G. Rol- lie White Coliseum. The return flight leaves at 8 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 21. Fans who need motel accomodations in Birmingham may call the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Center. The number is (205) 252-9825. Rooms will be available for fans at the Ramada Inn Medi cal Center, where the Texas Aggie Band will stay. The Association of Former Stu dents will have an information table set up Dec. 18-20 at the Sheraton Downtown, where the team will be staying. A hospital ity room will be open in the Sheraton Mountain Brook for Aggie Fans 1-6 p.m. Dec. 19-20. A party honoring the Aggies and Iowa State will be Tuesday night in the Birmin gham Civic Center. Tickets for the party, $10 each, are available from the Association of Former Students, the Aggie Club or at the infor mation tables of each organization in Bir mingham . Tickets for the game will be mailed Wednesday. Fans may call the Aggie Club for prices. The Battalion is 100 years old this month, and the birthday party is at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Readers are invited to The Battal ion offices in Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, to see how the newspaper is produced. The Battalion also will feature a, special page in Tuesday’s edition about the campus newspaper’s past and present. Articles trace The Batt s history and describe its current computerized condition. Stories in other sections of the Tuesday paper will come from long-yellowed pages of The Battalion. Wednesday’s edition is the last scheduled for this semester, so Tuesday will be the last day of pro duction for staffers. The next issues of The Battalion will appear on Jan. 3 and 10. Full five-day production will re sume Monday, Jan. 15, with the be ginning of spring semester classes.