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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1979)
Farmers police in ipected, Mark Ni Minor accident on rain-slicked streets wrecker hauls a damaged Mercury Monarch from the scene of a ree-vehicle collision Monday night. The Monarch, driven by University dent Annette Louise Capers, collided with another car and smashed to a University shuttle bus, a police report said. No one was reported injured in the collision, which occurred at the intersection of University Drive and Ireland Street. Capers was issued a traffic citation for disre garding a stop light. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. legally lenient’ sentences upheld stice appeal denied in Torres case United Press International Ie\V ORLEANS — A federal appeals irt Monday refused to alter the light laiies given three Houston policemen p violated the civil rights of a ■an-American who drowned in their tody, despite saying the district court ■beyond its authority in suspending entences. 1-1 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit I of Appeals rejected the Justice De- Bent’s request to issue a “writ of man- ps ordering the district court to stif- Inalties against former officers Terry Ini Denson, Stephen Orlando and Iph James Janish. The court said such a t v as an “extraordinary remedy availa- fcnly in rare cases.” ft officers were charged after a pris- ftjoe Torres, 23, drowned in Buffalo §>o in Houston after they arrested him Being drunk. Dissenting appeals court Ige Irving L. Goldberg called the sus pended senences “illegally lenient. “Our duty is only to issue the writ of mandamus where a statutorily illegal sen tence was imposed,” Goldberg said “Such a sentence has been imposed here, for a crime that is singularly offensive to a free society — a flagrant and violent breach of the law by those charged with enforcing it. The majority, Judges James C. Hill and Robert A. Ainsworth Jr., admitted U.S. District Judge Ross N. Sterling of Houston exceeded his authority to suspend the sen tences. They also said the error of the dis trict court was reversible by issuing the writ, but they refused to do so. “When we examine the facts in the in stant case, we do not feel the compelling need for the writ,” the court said in its 25-page opinion. “Indeed, we find a more compelling case for declining to exercise our discretion over the issuance of the writ.” Sterling imposed one-year sentences for misdemeanor “wrongful death” violations and suspended 10-year sentences, in lieu <if five years probation, for a felony' count. The three officers faced possible life sen tences on the federal charges. Federal law allows a judge to suspend a sentence in civil rights cases only when the maximum penalty is less than death or life imprisonment, the Justice Depart ment said. “(The policemen) have adjusted their lives to the punishment assessed,” the ap peals court said. “They have sought and secured employment opportunities consis tent with the term of incarceration im posed. “To withdraw the probation granted for which the defendants and their families have prepared themselves would work hardship on the defendants and their families.” Resentment among Texas Hispanics over the sentences, which they consider too light, resulted in a riot at Moody Park in Houston last May. Torres was arrested May 5, 1977, and was found beaten and drowned in the bayou three days later. A state court jury previously sentenced Denson and Orlando to one year’s probation for misdemeanor negligent homicide. Five officers were fired as a result of the Torres case. Glenn Brinkmeyer pleaded guilty to a mis demeanor federal violation and testified for the prosecution. Louis Glenn Kinney’s case was severed from that of Denson, Orlando and Janish and he awaits prosecution. United Press International WASHINGTON — Police using teargas and billy-clubs clashed with angry farmers in a massive traffic jam Monday as the demonstrators trundled into town in 2,000 tractors and pickup trucks to press Con gress for higher crop prices. The American Agriculture Movement protest was mostly peaceful, but a half dozen arrests and minor injuries resulted. Some farmers parked their tractors at in tersections and some rammed police cars. Rush-hour commuter traffic from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs was backed up more than 10 miles on some roads and frustrated commuters ex changed shouted curses with farmers mounted high on their cumbersome diesel tractors. Eye-watering teargas and diesel fumes hung heavy in the air around the Agricul ture Department where police fought some unruly demonstrators with fists and Mace. Those arrested were jailed on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer to disorderly conduct. The tractor drivers converged on the Agriculture Department and Congress and joined thousands of other AAM mem bers in town to demand higher federal crop price supports — a move which would certainly raise food prices at grocery stores. Movement leaders estimated the num bers would be greater than the 30,000 who came to protest last year. But congres sional sources said the new Congress is still in a purse-pinching mind and is un likely to grant small farmers much relief in the face of a possible recession. At a news conference, Joyce Robinson of Choteau, Mont., said she did not believe they would lose support for their cause by tying up traffic. “How else can we present our case to the American public?” she said. The farmers promised that some would stay in Washington until they achieved their goal: a congressional requirement that Agriculture Secretary Bob Bergland implement fully the 1977 farm law to raise crop loans to 90 percent of parity. Their demands translate into a minimum wheat price pf $5.05 a bushel and a minimum corn price of $3.53 a bushel, compared with $3.02 and $2.10 last month, representing 54 percent of par ity. Parity is a measure of farm income based on farm costs and living standards just before World War I. Joyce Robinson, a Choteau, Mont., producer, said demands would add 2.5 cents to the nearly 3 cents worth of wheat in a loaf of bread. Farmers came away from last year’s first tractorcade with higher supports for wheat and cotton, but claim the increases were meet capital nergy shortage generates minars beginning tonight By LORI SHULER Battalion Reporter ||eries of free seminars on energy con- Ition begins tonight at 7 at A&M Con- ted High School. pwing concern over electrical bills etroleum shortages have prompted Texas Energy Extension Service to Jthe Home Energy Conservation inars with the A&M Consolidated ^itnunity Education Program. i programs are a refinement of semi- Boriginally held last fall, which gener- Jinterest about the subject in the (i-College Station community, said Charlene Clark, Energy Information Specialist with TEES. The series will be at A&M Consolidated High School, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. It begins today and will end Feb. 15. Clark said the extension service had as sumed people would want information on energy conservation to learn how to save money, but found after the fall seminars that many people were even more in terested in the energy-saving aspect. “Generally people have equated energy saving with money saving, but lots of people are concerned with the energy problem and as a group, they are quite ihanklin recommended or new head yell leader 9 Battalion staff report Ben Shanklin has been recom- iended for the head yell leader posi- bn to replace Jeff Hancock, who re ined last week. Dr. John Koldus, vice president for judent services, said he will consider i recommendation today. |The Yell Leader Committee recom- ended Shanklin in a meeting Monday ening, said Col. Thomas R. Parsons, airman of the committee and director [safety and traffic. Hancock gave no reason for his res- nation other than it would be in his pd the University’s best interest. That’s all I want to say about it,” he id Friday. Monday afternoon Hancock said that be terminated his Air Force ROTC ntract as of Feb. 1 and has resigned om the Corps of Cadets. He’s out of the Corps, he said, on his m, not because he was forced out. Now he’s looking for a place to live off-campus, he said. Hancock, a man agement major, plans to graduate in August 1979. Shanklin, an engineering technology major, missed the meeting of the Yell Leader Committee Monday, but he said he will accept the position. He said he was surprised at Han cock’s resignation, adding that he has not talked with the former yell leader lately. Not much work is left for the yell leaders before spring elections, Shanklin said. The remaining yell lead ers, two juniors and two seniors, will be able to lead yells at the basketball and baseball games before they are re placed or re-elected in April, he said. The other candidate for head yell leader, senior Joe Wright, did not want the position because of other respon sibilities, he said. He also said he didn’t know any reasons for Hancock’s resig nation. knowledgeable,” Clark said. Tonight’s program, “Solar Energy in the Home,” will include a lecture by Peter Jenkins, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University. Jenkins is a member of the Texas Solar Energy Society. Jenkins said he will go through the basics of solar energy and give instructions on the use of solar water heaters. He will focus on the active, or mechanical, aspect of solar energy. Gary Sorenson, a civil engineering lec turer at Texas A&M, will lead the pro gram, “Passive Solar Energy,” on Thurs day. Clark defined passive solar energy as “non-mechanical use of solar energy, such as locating a house in the right direction and placement and use of windows — just taking advantage of sun coming into the house.” Sorenson will talk about the role of land scaping in energy conservation and the earth-home concept, which is a partial or total underground dwelling. Next Tuesday, local builder Tom Borski will speak on “Energy Efficient Design in New Homes” and tell how to incorporate energy-saving devices into the home from the start. Borski, who has used energy-saving concepts in improvements in his own home as well as in others, said he will talk about the Arkansas Plan of house design. An Arkansas Plan home has a specially designed roof structure, added insulation and less glass than a conventionally de signed home, Borski said. He will discuss these and other features during his pro gram. Clark and Lee Phillips, assistant direc tor for engineering studies in TEES, will lead the final seminar, “How to Do an Energy Analysis of Your Present Home,” next Thrusday, Feb. 15. Clark said the final program will deal with “retrofit, ” the idea of making an exist ing home energy efficient. Sigtzlughsi! Zeldron — for lowest of the low, and most despicable of the despised — is softly uttered from the proboscis of this alien, cursing another photo grapher snapping his picture at last weekend’s Warcon. Beneath it all is Mel Henshaw of Houston, who dropped in to participate in the Recrea tion Committee’s convention of games of war, battle, strategy and fan tasy. Please see related story page 7 Battalion photo by Colin CromW. insufficient to keep up with expenses and they were deeper in debt this year. Jim Kramer of Hugoton, Kan., said, “There are some who quite frankly feel they must stay because their farm is on the line and if they don’t get something done here, there’s no reason for them to return home.” Derel Fillingim, a Hico, Texas, farmer, said: “We came up here last year and we talked and talked, and wore the white hat, and tried to do the best we could to convey our message to the people, and they didn’t pay us any mind, so we’ve come back and we re going to get a little tougher each time.” But Rep. Peter Peyser, D-N.Y., said “I can think of few demonstrations as inap propriate and as counterproductive as the game currently being played on the streets of our nation’s capital.” Rep. John Myers, R-Ind., told a House Appropriations subcommittee the strikers drove “$50,000 vehicles with expensive tires and consumed barrels of fuel (on their trip to Washington) which they claim they cannot afford.” Subcommittee chairman Tom Bevill, D-Ala., about one hour late for the hear ing, said he was so tied up in traffic he missed a meeting he had scheduled with the protesters. 28,452 Aggies on main campus A spring semester record of 28,452 stu dents are enrolled on the main campus of Texas A&M University, for an increase of more than 1,300 over the same period last year. Registrar Robert A. Lacey said an additional 589 students are enrolled at Moody College in Galveston. Lacey said the previous spring semester record was established last year when 27,089 registered on the main campus and 540 at Galveston. Spring enrollment is traditionally lower than that of fall, the registrar added. The major reason for the second semester drop is midterm graduation. The registration figures represent enrollments as of Jan. 30, the 12th class day of the current semester and the official reporting period for the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University Sys tem. Khomeini names top minister United Press International TEHRAN, Iran — Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Monday appointed elder statesman Mehdi Bazargan as prime minister of his new provisional govern ment charged with ultimately establishing a “pure” Islamic state in Iran. The ayatollah told a news conference the 73-year-old Bazargan, former director of the National Iranian Oil Co., will an nounce other members of his new provisional government shortly. Bazargan has been the “honest broker” of Iranian politics for the past few weeks, acting as intermediary between Khomeini Please see related story page 6. and Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar and trying to arrange a compromise be tween the two men to head off a threatened civil war. The former university lecturer, re spected by both sides as well as army gen erals, had been widely tipped for the post for many weeks. Bazargan was trained as a businessman and a university professor after receiving an engineering degree in Paris and early in his political life he became a member of the opposition National Front. He was also for a time director of the prestigious Na tional Iranian Oil Co. A dedicated and deeply religious man, he ran afoul of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1962 and was arrested for his activities against the regime. Bazargan became deeply involved in the latest political crisis facing Iran several weeks ago when, on Khomeini’s instruc tions, he held talks with striking oil work ers and persuaded them to restart limited production to satisfy the country’s domes tic needs. Since that time he has been involved in highly delicate and secret talks between Khomeini, Bakhtiar and army generals try ing to find a peaceful solution to the cur rent crisis. Only hours before Bazargan’s appoint ment was announced, Bakhtiar warned he would not tolerate “two governments in Iran.” But in a conciliatory gesture, the prime minister said he would not interfere if the ayatollah established a “shadow provisional government” similar to Brit ain’s opposition parties to debate govern ment programs and put forward opposition ideas.