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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1978)
The Battauon Tt, lift, pla, iavi Vol. 72 No. 70 10 Pages Tuesday, December 12, 1978 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Bof-falioo ]ourt hears use more Important’ \than Bakke’s United Press International WASHINGTON — The Supreme Diirt agreed Monday to rule on a major >w “reverse discrimination” case calling to question the legality of some affirma- L action plans voluntarily adopted by nployers. Participants in the case which could ove more significant than the highly Iblicized Bakke decision which preceded (last summer include: I—Brian Weber, 32, a white who works |alaboratory analyst at Kaiser Aluminum id Chemical Corp.'s, Grammercy, La., ant and sometimes wears a hard hat. —Kaiser Aluminum and United Steel- arkers of America, which negotiated an ;reement in 1974 creating an on-the-job alt training program temporarily reserv- |ghalf its openings for blacks. Kaiser hoped that by adopting the pro- am as part of an industry-wide agree- jentit could head off discrimination suits blacks and comply with executive or is obligating federal contractors to take irmative action. But the firm wound up being sued by a lite instead. Weber, a union steward was “burned l’ when some blacks with less seniority into the program that leads to better and job security while he was left wait- |gin line. “Those guys weren’t discrimi- ted against,” he said. The Supreme Court, with Justice John lid Stevens not taking part, decided to sir arguments later on the case which ises the question: Does federal law bar a pipany from voluntarily setting racial iotas for applicanst to an on-the-job lining program without admitting past icrimination and opening itself to suits [minorities? Last summer the court ruled 5-4 that ite medical school applicant Allan ikke was discriminated against by an missions program that voluntarily set de for minorities a number of openings each freshman class. This second-generation Bakke case re- ires the court to interpret the 1964 Civil ?hts Act s bar against racial discrimina- i in employment when it is invoked by kite. STUDENTS WOULD LIKE BETTER TELEPHONE SERVICE I 111 I5.-AT T/A:U04 l 'rn Kms w >■& Consol board denies hearing ' A, A: T. C. U. Frogs to Arrive Friday Afternoon Meyer Man of \Wsi it 1 Ihnn tot s Apprmv III ( Ihrni tmii vm smm ElW-TEh f residen r ■i ■ a | Vrog SnuvuU 'fM* w V~¥ Things have changed in 50 years Battalion photo by Steve Lee, courtesy of University Archives This is The Battalion, as it looked Tuesday afternoon on Oct. 11, 1938. The paper no longer has a straight vertical layout with col umn rules between the columns. The editor is a woman, and a computer system is used to prepare copy for production. However, stu dents still complain about telephone service. For other examples of the way “it used to be,” please see the Editorial page, the Sports pages and pages 6 and 7. Driver in school bus tragedy has history of violations is United Press International McCAULLEY, Texas — The 21-year- old driver of a truck that rammed a school bus broadside killing four students had been issued 13 traffic tickets since May 1975, according to an officer who investi gated the crash. Bill Dixon of Snyder, the driver of the oilwell service truck that struck the McCalley High School bus, remained in guarded condition at an Abilene hospital. Fisher County Attorney Rudy Hamric Monday said it may be several days before tasked men steal >5 million at airport officials decided whether to file charges against Dixon. In McCalley, a town of 96 people lo cated northeast of Abilene, residents buried three more crash victims. Three of the crash victims — two teen age girls and a boy — were buried Monday near McCaulley, a town of 96 persons lo cated northwest of Abilene. A fourth victim, Lolita Perales, 17, was buried Sunday. Trooper Albert Hataway said Monday he and his partner, Allan Arnwine, ran a routine traffic check on Dixon the day after the collision 11 miles west of Roby. Hataway said Dixon’s driv ing record the past seven months was flaw less. But earlier Monday Richard Faught of the DPS Driver Improvement and Cor rection division in Austin confirmed Dixon had been cited 13 times since 1975, in cluding seven times last year. Included among the citations were nine violations for speeding. Hamric has decided to allow a grand jury to consider whether charges should be filed against Dixon The grand jury meets once % month, but can be called in special cases. A total of 21 persons remained hos pitalized in the aftermath of what the Fisher County sheriff called the worst wreck he had ever seen. One of the survivors, Wandell Williams, said Monday apparently only school prin cipal and assistant coach Doyle Bell saw the southbound truck closing on the westbound bus at a rural T-intersection about 1:15 p.m. Friday. By SCOTT PENDLETON Battalion Staff A requested hearing on the recent firing of Consolidated Superintendent Fred Hopson was denied Monday by Dr. Bruce Robeck, school board president. College Station residents Oran Jones and Bill Parker asked for the hearing last week in a letter to Robeck. The letter also asked specific questions about the school board’s methods and motives in firing Hopson. In a statement made after the Nov. 20 firing, the board said only that it termi nated Hopson’s contract because of “dis agreements concerning educational policy and policy implementation.” Last spring, the board negotiated a new contract with Hopson that ends June 30, 1979. Since that contract ends two years be fore the old one, the board agreed to give Hopson his full salary of $34,400 for the first year and $20,000 compensatory dam ages for the second year. Hopson will also get up to $2,500 for moving expenses and the use of a car until he finds a new job. Robeck, in a written reply to Jones and Parker, challenged the wording of their letter. “I am puzzled by the use of the word hearing’ in your letter of Dec. 5, 1978,” Robeck wrote. “I assume that you mean the appeal or fact-finding process as part of a personnel decision. “Therefore, you do not have standing; only the employee concerned has the right to such a hearing,” he wrote. Robeck also said the board’s action “will be in the best interests of the students at tending school within the District and the citizens residing in it.” Jones said Monday he doesn’t intend to drop the matter. “Obviously, we will have to reapply to them in language they can understand,” Jones said. He said he will send another letter with the same questions, but reworded, as soon as he can draft and type it. Jones said he and Parker aren’t trying to get Hopson rehired. “I think that would be great if we could,” Jones said, but explained that the purpose of the hearing is “to make the board accountable for what they’ve done.” “The expenditure of funds is the biggest bone of contention,” Jones said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me to use so much money for so little purpose. Sixty thousand dollars could by a lot of school equip ment.” “It would be cheaper, if the board can’t get along with Hopson, to fire the board,” Jones said. In a telephone interview, Roebeck said that ultimately the board has to justify its action to the district. When asked when the board would do so, Roebeck said, “I assume at election time.” Roebeck said at a press conference after Hopson’s firing that further comment on the board’s decision would violate the pri vacy involved in executing personnel mat ters. He said the board was advised by its legal counsel that any additional discussion of the matter other than that given at the press conference might open the board to libel or slander action. Personnel matters discussed by the board are closed to the public by law. Patient trades gun for matches United Press International LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Using the hos pital intercom for negotiations, a nursing supervisor convinced an armed psychiatric patient to trade a gun for a book of matches. The patient had held authorities at bay nearly three hours. Tommy Hoyt Williams, 30, of Jackson ville, Ark., Monday agreed to trade his gun for matches so that he could light a cigarette, police said. Williams was charged with disorderly conduct and illegal possession of a firearm, then taken to the state hospital pending arraignment today, police said. The seige at Baptist Medical Center began Monday morning when a student nurse saw the pistol lying beside Williams on the bed and reported it to her super visor. Pamela Anderson went to Williams’ room and was able to talk him out of an ammunition clip but not the pistol. Williams had more ammunition in his room. Speaking by intercom through the morning, Anderson, 33, and Williams fi nally arranged for Williams to place his pistol and ammunition outside the door of his room in exchange for a book of matches. !) v and Fi •s and /arbeW in Co-1 enelas lie Mi United Press International ^EW YORK — A band of masked gun- n handcuffed 10 employees at a Lufth- sa Airlines cargo hangar at Kennedy iport early Monday and fled with $5 mil- nin cash and some $300,000 in jewelry, thorities said. The money was en route to the Chase inhattan Bank from a bank in Frankfurt, est Germany, according to a spokeswo- IcNaiw in for the New York bank. andS James Connolly, a spokesman for the layers*! 'rt Authority police, said the gang mem- Standifii TS gained entry to Building 261 at the port at 3:10 a.m. by thrusting a gun into e face of one of the Lufthansa em- oyees. They forced the worker into an em- oyees cafeteria where they pistol- ipped one man and then left the group wdcuffed, Connolly said. The gunmen then went back to the - oiJP holdin g area where they took some f ( [tags containing $5 million in cash and i f ' in jewels and fled in a dark- he se ilored van believed to be a Ford, au- 5-14. Ml in the the thorities said. “It went off like clockwork. It was well- planned, well-organized and well- executed,” Connolly said. He said Port Authority detectives were trying to determine why a silent alarm sys tem that would have alerted police failed to work. Port Authority spokesman Ed Franzetti said one of the airline employees told police the suspects were armed with a shotgun, a .45-caliber pistol and three .38-caliber guns — all new. Connolly said the money was to have been taken from the airport Friday, but for some unknown reason was not picked up and instead had to be held over the weekend. The Chase spokeswoman was uncertain of why the money was being shipped to Chase, but she noted “It’s not unusual for large shipments like that to come in from foreign countries.’ She was not certain of the name of the West German bank that had made the shipment. Wanted alive: trees or Houston parks U/-,,, United Press International : TON — For Christmas, instead ' o m i„ U M' n S a dying Douglas fir or Scotch r In 6 ° . COra * e and later toss in the trash, ^offl ustonians are being encouraged to pur- as e a living tree to donate to the city at "e end of the holidays. a° U ^ k® a sort of Christmas present lid t i c * t * zens to the city of Houston,” Judy Vinson, a spokesman for the '■feens Open Space Taskforce. I . e or g ar iization was formed this fall as vate effort to imporve local parks and at atl ,? n facilities - Houston ranks 140th ■onally in per capita park space. The ree program is one of COST’s first r J)jects. We re encouraging citizens to use liv- lien t0 f ta ' ne ri Ze d trees heir homes; leiT) Christmas they deliver ill ] ° P a rks department which itv ” v?* them in open space around the j,’ v mson said. lidT S an< ^ Recreation Director Jim Hart Can ran 8 e upward to $80 or )L though he expects the average cost 35 n ^40. Chopped trees cost $15 to it added cost is tax deductable. r owj as he a tree that is suitable for e mj ', n ^ ' n the Houston environment, r e n ro P* ca h Vinson said. “Varieties that Particularly suitable are juniper, east- Bu" em red cedar or American holly.” Monterey pine, similar to Scotch pine but with longer needles also will do. COST presented one of them to Mayor Pro Tempore Larry McKaskle this week to promote the idea. “And you want to take care of it so it will grow when it s planted, Vinson said. You have to be particularly careful that you keep it well watered and that you use a minimum amount of lights. You don t want to burn the tree or dry it out excessively. Vinson said she hopes it will be the first of many local live tree programs. “We’re hoping to start Christmas groves in the parks. If we receive a sufficient number of trees, the parks department has promised they will try to plant them to- ^ Hart praised the project and said Hous ton where development, disease and ac cidents kill “an incredible number” of trees, can really use the added greenery. He said the parks department will re ceive the trees at its Memorial Park for estry headquarters and plant them, notify ing the donors of the locations chosen. “I think it’s a great idea,’ Hart said. “Trees are not being replaced as rapidly as we’re losing them, so we’re very anxious to stir up enthusiasm about replacing the trees.” Master’s thesis lost, but ‘fame’ found By JULIA CRAWFORD Battalion Reporter What would someone do if two years of his master’s thesis work was thrown out by unknowing maids? Cry, scream, or give up? Others might have, but Art Leuterman, a 27-year-old graduate student in oceanography, took as much advantage as he could of the situation and decided to bypass his master’s work and start on his doc torate. Five years ago, Leuterman was finalizing his research on marine life for his master’s degree. He had all his notes compiled and had only to write them up in the proper form. He and his office partner were short of working space, so Leuterman made a makeshift table out of two garbage cans and a door. Here he laid out all his specimens and pa pers. The next day when Leuterman returned to his office, he was shocked to find two empgy trash cans and a table neatly stacked in the corner. The maids, thinking the papers and samples of muddy water were to be thrown out, did just that. Along with the trash the maids had thrown out two years of work and research. “After I calmed down, I took the news to my department head,” Leuterman said. “We both decided the best thing to do would be to start over again with the studies in the Gulf, but to do a more conclu sive study and submit it for my doc torate.” Perhaps it was fate that promoted the maides to rid Leuterman of all his research, for during his second term of study he discovered a new species of marine life. While re-gathering his samples in the waters off the flower garden banks south of Galveston, he found a microscopic marine creature, 0.4-0.7 millimeters in length, with a calcium carbonate shell, that did not match any of the known genera. Thinking that perhaps it was a zooid, or indiviual bryozoan that had been transported from foreign waters on the hull of a ship, he checked with the Smithsonian In stitution and other marine biologists around the globe, yet none were able to identify it. Art Leuterman, soon to become Dr. Arthur Leuterman, discov ered a new species of marine life. Battalion photo by Ed Cunnius Then, for final confirmation of a new species, the specimen was sent to Dorothy Soule at The University of Southern California. She is con sidered the expert on the genus Parismatina, the supposed genus of the sample. Soule, too, was unable to identify the creature, so it was decided that Leuterman had added a new member to the genus. But Leuterman did not end his research with this discovery. He continued his research for four more years and will present the defense for his dissertation entitled “A Taxonomic and Systematic Discus sion of the Systematics and Ecology of Bryozoans in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico” in March. “I’m ready to get it all finished just so I can see a book that I have written,” Leuteman said. “I had this stuff in six and a half volumes of notebooks, but all I have left to do now is the pain stuff — getting the descriptions down in the scientific jargon, finishing up the photographs and matching up the plates.” As for future plans, Leuterman said that he would like to work for the Bureau of Land Management, the sponsor of his and many others’ research in the Gulf. “I’d like to think up the projects and delegate the authority,” Leuterman said. “I’ve also been offered a post doctorate degree by Dr. William Banta at the American University in Washington, D.C.,” Leuterman said. “There I would be doing a lot of taxonimic work under him. I’ll only be making $12,000 to $13,000 a year, but you don’t get much money if you are into academics.” Leuterman, a native of West Virginia and a 1973 graduate of Mar shall University in Huntington, W.Va., said that Texas A&M was not his first, second or even third college choice for post-graduate work, but that Texas A&M’s facility compares quite well to others in the oceanography field. “The main difference between this school and other fine schools of oceanography is that we don’t have a seaside facility,” Leuterman said. “But if Texas A&M’s Moody Col lege continues growing, it may not be long until we are strong competi tors in the oceanography field.” When asked what he is going to name his discovery, Leuterman said he is thinking about naming it Mil- dredi, after his mother. “She is a unique individual, just like the specimen. And why not? Just don’t tell her, ’cause it’s a se cret.” So, after a two year setback, many extra hours and dollars, and a scien tific discovery. Art Leuterman will be Dr. Arthur Leuterman this March.