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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1979)
Battalion News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Will George be back? Can George Woodard — once Texas A&M’s premier football player — get his knee and body in shape for the season? Battal ion sports editor David Boggan shares an insight on page 10. Clements’ plan includes wiretaps for drug traffic By ESTHER CORTEZ Battalion Reporter Gov. Bill Clements said Thursday he advocates using wire-tapping to stop drug traffic from Mexico, which he called “the most pressing problem of law enforce ment.” Clements spoke to the 21st Annual County Judges and Commissioners Con ference at the College Station Ramada Inn. Clements said he and other government officials are currently working on a plan that would put a stop to this problem. The plan, he said, includes the use of electronic sur veillance equipment. “Putting it bluntly, that’s wire-tapping,” Clements said. The governor and Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo recently discussed the drug trafficking problem. Another situation that should be cor rected, he said, is that law enforcement officers are not adequately compensated for their work. Too many law officers are being lost to private business because of this, he said. Clements also called for stronger laws on the handling of juvenile lawbreakers, bond making and speedy trials. Turning to government, Clements stressed the importance of communication between state and local governments. He said that county, state and municipal gov ernments often have differences. “We must be sure that state government does not ursurp the integrity and respon sibilities of our local governments,” he said. “But,” he added, “we in government must be Texans first, sticking together when there is a threat.” Federal government is the threat, Cle ments said. “It is no longer content to play big brother, it now wants to play big daddy.” The governor said he feels that govern ment at all levels must be accountable to the people. He added that voters deserve the right to call special referendum elec tions to either reject or accept tax increases approved at the local level. Clements also discussed the possibility of establishing a single tax appraisal office in each county, saying that it would be more practical than the current system. He added that the office should be headed by an elected offical, such as the county tax assessor-collector. Clements concluded his speech saying that accountable, responsible government must be a reality and not just saved for use in “lofty speeches.” Religion courses attacked by dean; clergy defends A&M University’s Ross Volunteers greeted 21st Annual County Judges and Commissioners f Texas Gov. Bill Clements at Easterwood Airport Conference. Thursday. The governor was here tO Speak at the Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. councilmen object to appropriations ‘game’ By JANE LYON Battalion Reporter Dr. David Maxwell, dean of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University, says he will not grant credit to students who take Bible courses being taught by ministers of local churches. Other administrators from Texas A&M colleges were not so definite, noting that sometimes they will grant credit. The courses, advertised in The Battalion last month, are accredited by Abilene Christian College. They were advertised as being transferrable to other universi ties. The courses are conducted at the Texas A&M Church of Christ on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Maxwell said in a letter to The Battalion editor, which appeared Jan. 23, that these off-campus courses cannot receive credit unless prior permission has been granted by the student’s academic dean. He also said the courses were not equiv alent to University courses in which “the professor is expected to pay allegiance to the canons of objectivity, neutrality, and pursuit of knowledge... rather than the sectarian views and values of a particular religious denomination and faith.” CS applies for $306,000 from HUD By ROY BRAGG Battalion Staff be College Station City Council Thurs- ipproved the draft of an application ing a community development block it worth $306,000 to be sent to the De ment of Housing and Urban Develop- nt (HUD). be vote was 5-2 in favor of the applica- olwith Councilmen James Dozier and mer Adams voting against it. Jy vote is mainly a vote against the e concept of community develop- Dozier said, adding that he was also st the methods used by HUD deter- g how money is appropriated. Its a game,” said Councilman Gary ter, referring to the procedure used by D to allocate funds. ast year, HUD cut off $300,000 from lege Station because it said that the city id provide any low-incime housing tance in previous years. h HUD, Adams said, was “blackmailing” the city by not providing funds unless the city meet strict minimum requirements for types of housing assistance. More than $160,000 of the grant will be used mainly for paving streets, street light ing and a water system in four predomi nantly black neighborhoods, said Jim Cal laway, community development planner for the city. These neighborhoods have already been approved to receive the funds, Callaway said, because of substandard housing and street conditions that existed in the areas for years. In addition, Callaway added, another $100,000 of the grant will be used for a Housing Assistance Program that will eventually include rent subsidies and hous ing improvements. Only low iricome families in these and four adjacent neighborhoods would be eligible for the program, according to the application. The money allocated for the housing im provements is for owner-occupied housing only, Callaway explained. The improvements mentioned in the ap plication include upgrading the houses in the eight neighborhoods to meet city build ing codes. Callaway explained that the upgrading is necessary because the houses were outside of the city limits and not subject to city requirements when they were built. The remaining $46,000 is alloted for planning, administration and contingency for the plan, Callaway said. The application also outlined future goals such as construction of low-cost housing and rent subsidies for low-income resi dents. The city must achieve these in order to satisfy HUD requirements for any future grants. The goals, Calloway said, include areas of subsidized housing for the elderly and handicapped residents as well as dwellings for small and large families in the low in come bracket. The application also mentioned a three- year goal of 120 new housing units for eligi ble residents. The new housing units are being pushed by HUD, Callaway said. The city, Callaway said, wants to provide housing assistance utilizing existing hous ing and keeping the construction at a minimum. The new housing units and the funds for rent subsidies are mentioned in the appli cation in order to receive HUD approval for the grant, Callaway said. The funding for these projects, which are themselves subject to HUD approval, will come from a combination of private and public funding. In an interview last week. Maxwell said, “As a group, these people who teach these off-campus Bible courses do not possess qualifications such that we consider them for appointment as professors at Texas A&M University.” He said he has checked the work in volved in the courses taught and the cre dentials of the men teaching the courses. Maxwell named several comparable courses offered at Texas A&M in the de partments of English, philosophy and humanities. Dr. Richard Stadelmann, assistant pro fessor of philosophy and humanities, said he was not in a position to judge whether a minister might be qualified to teach Bible courses or not. “Those of us who teach on campus are more subject to administrative review and advice,” he said. He added that religion courses are of a more emotional nature than other courses and therefore harder to maintain objectiv ity in. The religion courses at Texas A&M had been reviewed by the Brazos County Ministerial Association that most ministers belong to or attend, he said. Dan Warden, minister of the A&M Church of Christ and instructor of the Old Testament survey courses offered through ACU, received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the New Testament from ACU. Bob Davidson, instructor of the New Testament survey courses, re ceived his bachelor’s degree in the New Testament at ACU and his master’s in education at Texas A&M. “Abilene Christian University could not afford to let their extension courses be taught by unqualified instructors,” War den said, “because it’s a member in good standing of the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities and other equivalent educational organizations. We do not profess to be a denominational or sectarian group,” Warden said. “Were not reading in our own ideas. We re teaching straight from the Bible.” Warden said the extension courses had been offered for at least the last six years, if not more, before he came to Texas A&M. Warden explained that to receive credit for the Bible courses, a student must take tests and finals in the courses, and com plete a research paper for the Old Testa ment survey courses. “We leave it up to the student to go to the dean (for prior approval),” he said. Warden added that many students took the courses for their own personal benefit and no one had yet complained to him of trouble in receiving credit at Texas A&M for the courses. The Rev. W.C. Hall, campus minister for the United Methodist Church, said that campus ministers teach Bible courses for credit at all the colleges and universi ties in Texas — except Texas A&M and the University of Houston. He said if the courses were offered through Texas A&M by local campus ministers, the University could be more responsible for content of the courses and credentials of the teachers. Hall teaches two extension courses here, one in Old Testament studies and another in New Testament studies, through Lon Morris Junior College. These (Please turn to page 6.) Money refused, so bandit leaves United Press International HOUSTON — A savings and loan as sociation branch manager sent a teen-age gunman away empty handed by simply re fusing to give him any money, police said Thursday. Officers said a teen-ager carrying a gun walked into a branch of Colonial Savings Association Tuesday while the branch manager was alone and demanded money. “All your money and you won’t get hurt,” the woman quoted the intended bandit as saying. A savings and loan spokesman, who withheld the woman’s name, said she “thought it was a joke at first,” but when she discovered the youth was serious she refused to give him any money. The befuddled youth turned around and walked out. Police were questioning a 17- year-old boy who was arrested at his par ents’ home. S council rejects contract proposing housing association liege Station city council members several objections to a proposed hous- [association that would issue tax-free Is to finance developers building low- housing. Je council decided to alter the original [ of the contract so that the city would be held liable in case of default by |ers of the housing units. he housing association is proposed in a iract offered to the council by a consor- i headed by Robert Kassel, a New h resident who wants to build 100 King units in College Station, he contract calls for the housing associ- i to sponsor the bonds for the housing, ddition, Kassel and his group would the projects and retain all profits from roject, said Jim Callaway, community jelopment planner for the city. e apartments would be offered at the et price, Callaway explained. Any lent paying more than 25 percent of acome in rent would be eligible for a ■ subsidy that would be financed by a ® from the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The units, although financed through a different system other than HUD grants, would aid the city in securing future HUD grants. HUD cut College Station’s 1978 com munity development grant of $300,000 because it claimed the city had failed to provide low-income housing assistance for residents. College Station lost its 1978 community development grant request of $300,000 from HUD because it failed to provide low-income housing assistance in past years. One of the reasons for the council’s postponement was a reported change in HUD regulation of financing such projects. City Attorney Neely Lewis told the council that the changes, although un known at this time, might affect the status of the housing association if the contract establishing it were accepted as offered. The new regulations could change the status of the city as a third party in the contract, Lewis said. Another question among council mem bers was whether the contract allowed the housing association to negotiate with other developers. “I don’t want to be tied to Mr. Kassel like he was my wife I couldn’t divorce,” Councilman Jim Dozier said. Lewis said he thought this was allowed in the contract, but Mayor Lorence Bravenec and others requested that a clarifying clause be added to the contract. Bravenec also asked that an “escape clause be added stating that the city could dissolve the housing association if HUD placed the city or the association in an un desired financial position. The council also wanted to insert a clause in the contract to allow the city to OK any transfer of ownership of projects financed by the housing association. Councilman Gary Halter added a clause that would dissolve the association in five years if no projects are undertaken. Another clause was suggested by Coun cilman Anne Hazen to restrict projects funded by the association to permanent residents of College Station. Score! A member of the Texas A&M Lacrosse Team (right) scores against his teammates during the team’s prac- , tice Thursday afternoon. The team opens its South west Conference season Saturday against the Lone Star Lacrosse Club in Austin. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.