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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1979)
Viewpoint Monday February 19, 1979 The Battalion Texas A&M University VIETNAM Talk with Dr. Miller Wrestlers need coach Jan. 17 Dear Dr. Miller: Did you know that Texas A&M has a wrestling team? It would appeal' that most people, including the athletic director, hardly know it exists! Yet this team — with only one of their own as a coach — has gone out to represent a school that hasn’t even provided them with a coach. And they have captured a record so far this year of 10 wins and no losses. This is, as I said, without a professional coach. There are 5 out of the 10 on this team who are defending state champions. It seems a shame to me that some sports are provided with a host of coaches while a team with this record has none. There is no doubt that this team is doing very well without a paid coach. However, there are two main functions a team-member coach cannot provide for his team. A wrestler may not speak to a referee — therefore a coach must intervene. Also, a coach is necessary for recruiting new team members. All of our opposing teams have these advantageous over our Aggies. It seems a school the size and reputation of A&M should provide this team with a much needed coach. Dr. Miller, what is the policy on financial support of our teams? Is there a chance for the team to have a staff coach in time for the championships? —Brenda Blair accounting assistant Texas A&M veterinary hospital Dear Ms. Blair: Feb. 15 Yes, I do know that Texas A&M has a wrestling team, and that it is conducted as a club sport within the Intramural Department under their director, Dennis Corrington. Our athletic director, Marvin Tate, is also familiar with the situation under which the wrestling team functions and has met with representatives of the team a number of times over the last several years. Texas A&M fields intercollegiate athletic teams in all of the men’s sports recog nized by the Southwest Athletic Conference: football, basketball, baseball, track and field, swimming, tennis, golf and cross country. These sports operate under the supervision and control of the Athletic Council and Athletic Director of Texas A&M. Funds for these programs are generated by ticket sales to athletic events and contributions made through the Aggie Club. The Athletic Department can spend only those funds generated by their programs. Extramural club sports are funded out of student service fees on a limited basis. Currently, we field approximately 22 club sports such as wrestling, rugby and soccer; and the amount of funding is obviously limited. These club sports are supervised by our Intramural Department under the direct supervision of Jim Jeter, associate director of intramurals. Mr. Jeter can answer any further questions you might have. I hope that this provides you with some insight to the problem that you presented in your letter. — Jarvis E. Miller President, Texas A&M Editor’s note: The wrestling team’s present record is 7 wins, 2 losses. China, inflation to test Carter s leadership By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — The third year of a President’s term is, ip iru^jy resjgectjj^he most crucial for him politically an substan tively. One does not know how Jimmy Car ter will end his third year. But the begin ning could hardly have been more omin ous. Consciously or not, Carter has managed to focus his third year strategy on the same landmarks which guided Richard Nixon on the passage from political travail to reelec tion, back when he was President. Those subjects are China and the fight against inflation. It will be recalled that Nixon entered the third year of his presidency, 1971, in a rather vulnerable position. Inflation was worsening, the war in Vietnam was drag ging on, and the polls showed his facing a difficult contest with the Democratic front-runner, Sen. Edmund S. Muskie of Maine. Nixon managed to reverse the dete riorating situation with two bold strokes. He tackled inflation by suddenly slapping a wage-price freeze on the economy. And he opened the possibility of a post-Vietnam era of foreign policy by sending Henry Kis singer to China to end a quarter centuiy’s isolation from the world’s most populous nation. As a result of these two moves, the credi bility of Nixon’s leadership was (temporar ily) restored and the way was opened for a second-term victory. Carter’s situation in the first month of his third year is less shaky than Nixon’s. The nation is at peace, the economy is strong and no challenger in the oppostion party is on a par with the President. Nonetheless, it is clear to everyone — including Carter — that the credibility of t -his, leadership is not yet firmly established in the eyes of the voters who will be passing judgment on him, beginning in primaries less than a year away. To buttress his standing, Carter has fo cused on Peking and the consumer price index, just as Nixon has done. Thus far, neither seems to be yielding the policy and political dividends expected. Instead of communicating a mastery of major issues. Carter’s efforts appear — fairly or unfairly — to give evidence of a tentativeness that has been the recurring source of his politi cal vulnerability. In January, Carter orchestrated the pre sentation of his “austerity” budget which he sought to relate his fiscal discipline to the larger political themes of his presidency was a fiasco. The “new foundation’’ slogan became a subject of ridicule, not the keyn ote for a reelection campaign. Moreover, Carter’s middle-road eco nomic policy is being challenged on two fronts. A conservative-led drive for a con stitutional amendment to require a bal anced budget is marching through the state legislatures, endorsed by Carter’s likeliest intra-party challenger, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D). Meantime, the President’s voluntary wage-price guidelines are being undercut by the impact of food and fuel inflation. Administration economic officials were prepared for bad news on prices in the early months of this year, but last week’s report of a 1.3 percent jump in one month in the wholesale price index was the worst in four years and far steeper than Carter had ex- Letters to the Editor Nuke fear unwarranted Editor: Although the subject is far less interest ing to many fellow Aggies than walking on the MSC grass or the status of the Waggies, I would finally like to present a personal gripe in The Battalion. In recent years, it has been my observa tion that most of the stories released by the two major news syndicates on the subject of nuclear power generation tend to present nuclear power as some ominous threat which must be eradicated. Even the syndicated comic strips have become anti-nuclear (see Broom Hilda, Shoe — Jan. 31). Being a potential May ’79 graduate in nuclear engineering, this of course disturbs me. It is incomprehensible that members of the press could become so fearful of something they never even tried to understand, and that they woidd go so far as to try to pass that fear on to the public. While we always hear fearful cries of “waste disposal” (which does have a safe simple solution) and “meltdown” (which aside from being almost impossible is guaranteed not to happen by three separate but simple backup systems), very few good words are ever written. Unfortunately, it is more interesting to hear about protestors who interfere with construction of reactors or lie on the sidewalk in front of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission playing dead from an over dose of radiation than to read articles about low fuel costs, high dependability, and a I know that nuclear power is safe; it is unfortunate for everybody that few people agree with me. —David Eppes, ’79 Rates inflationary Editor: The Battalion is planning to increase its advertising rates by 15 percent effective April 1, which is more than double the increase allowed by President Carter’s price increase guidelines to curb inflation. As a local merchant, I have held down my price increases to within the guidelines because I believe everyone has to cooper ate if we are going to control inflation. It’s easy to attempt to justify an excessive price increase by saying my costs are up and I’m just a little guy, it won’t make any differ ence. However, when the government is forced to invoke mandatory wage and price controls, the blame will be on all the little guys who didn’t comply with the voluntary guidelines. I’m sure The Battalion can cite many reasons why it feels it should not have to comply with the President’s guidelines, but the fact remains that a 15 percent price increase is inflationary. By the way, the last price increase by The Battalion was Feb. 1, 1978. —R.N. Williams P.O. Box 9038 1201 Hwy. 30 Tcge Station pected. The damage to his anti-inflation drive is heavy. But that is nothing compared to the set back Carter’s prestige has suffered in the foreign policy field with the dissolution of Iran into chaos at the very moment that Teng Hsiao-ping was in America, celebrat ing what the President had hoped would be a triumph in the opening of formal U.S.- Chinese diplomatic relations. The spectacle of the American govern ment watching immobilized while the last remnants of pro-Western authority were obliterated in Iran was deeply disturbing to everyone — except, apparantly, Andrew Young. Teng’s first comment after reaching Tokyo on his way home from Washington was an expression of anxiety at the inability of the Carter administration either to an ticipate or respond to the crisis of Iran. The implications of the upheaval in Iran — both for the security of the Persian Gulf and the future of the free world’s energy supply — make it potentially the most de stabilizing development in the interna tional balance of power since the end of World War II and the revolution in China. It is clear already that the tests of Jimmy Carter’s leadership in this third year of his presidency, both foreign and domestic, are far more difficult than he or his colleagues anticipated. For him to turn these tests to his advan tage, he will have to be a much stronger President than he has looked so far. (c) 1979, The Washington Post Company Found: 1 energy crisis By DICK WEST WASHINGTON — Mr. Keen of the Missing Crises Bureau has done it again. By dent of brilliant detective work, he has established that the energy crisis is still alive and being rehabilitated by Iran. “When I took on this case last month, there were hardly any clues, and those we did have were misleading,” Mr. Keen said in his final report. “From the few words President Carter said about conservation in his State of the Union address, you would have thought the energy crisis had been given up for dead. Also subject to misinterpretation were reports of oil gluts on both coasts and of gas companies trying to attract new customers again. “All in all, it appeared the energy crisis might have gone the way of the cranberry crisis, the ozone layer crisis and other de funct exigencies.” I said, “What made you suspect the energy crisis still existed despite signs of its demise?” I was struck by the fact that the energy crisis had never been officially reported as missing,” Mr. Keen replied. You know how terrorist groups claim responsibility whenever there is a bombing or something of that sort? Well, it’s much the same when a crisis disappears. Ordinar- ily, you have a lot of people claiming credit for doing it in. But nobody was talking about what happened to the energy crisis. I traced it to the time last fall when Congress passed the bill deregulating natural gas prices. But after that the trail got cold.” I said. How did you go about tracking it to Iran?” Sometimes, when you are really baf- fled, you look for something where nobody else would think of looking,” Mr. Keen explained. In this case, I started lurking around the Senate Energy Committee. “I hardly need point out that normally Congress is one of the last places you would look for information about the energy crisis. If members of Congress knew anything about it, it would not have taken them al most two years to pass an energy bill. And certainly the legislation they did pass would not have taken the form it did. Nine times out of 10, the Senate Energy Committee would have been just another dead end. But this time I got lucky. I chanced to overhear Energy Secretary James Schlesinger telling the senators of plans for mandatory conservation mea sures, such as a ban on Sunday gasoline sales. To a veteran investigator skilled in crisis identification, that could only mean one thing the energy crisis was still with us. After that, mostly through good, old- fashioned deduction, I was able to link the energy crisis with the oil production shut down in Iran.” I congratulated Mr. Keen on his percep tion. Thanks, he said. In a few more months, you’ll be able to see it again for yourself. ” Top of the LOCAL to c oil i Unite Boston ticket refunds begin today Ticket refunds for the canceled Boston rock concert began this morning in the Memorial Student Center Box Offipe, said Jim Reynolds, associate director of the MSC. The rock group canceled its Feb. 11 appearance in G. Rollie White Coliseum because of the illness of guitarist Tom Scholz. Boston’s personal management, Premiere Inc., was sent a telegram Tuesday listing 10 possible mtxkeup dates for the concert, Reynolds said. Premiere Inc., however, has said that there are no dates open for the group between now and summer. Reynolds said he felt Boston had an obligation to do every thing they it could to reschedule the concert. If an agreement for a makeup is made after today, tickets for the new concert will be reprinted and soldona first-come basis, Reynolds said. MSC Box Office hours are9a.m.to4 p.m. Monday through Friday. OTTAVV rovermnei ’niergency rill permi asoline su] ’ "1 still th nanagable - rill need t lill,” Enerj espie said. |uard agaii ran and p diddle Eas Gillespi' ’ommons 1 ijve the gc [locate err STATE Bill requires car repair estimates Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, has introduced a bill requiring auto repair dealers to provide customers with written estimates on all work costing more than $50. Edwards said the estimate must include the cost of parts and labor and the length of time the repair will take. If the written estimate is not provided or not signed by the person seeking repairs, the customer will not be liable for any cost of parts or labor. Other provisions would require the auto repair dealer to furnish the customer with an invoice detailing the costs of the total repair bill and to either return the replaced parts or allow the customer to inspect them. NATION Boy dies after life-support shut off Benjamin C., a 3-year-old New Mexico boy, died with his parentsat his bedside 17 minutes after doctors turned off his life-support machine, acting under permission granted in an unprecedented court order. A spokesman for Children’s Hospital said the child died Friday, ending three months in a coma. The parents had gone to court for permission to shut off the life supporting respiratory machine, citing medical testimony that the boy could never recover and was, in affect, already dead. Superior Court Judge Richard Byrne Thursday issued what was believed to be the first such life-and-death decision involving a juvenile in the United States. As is usual in cases involving a juvenile, the family’s name was not released. City prays for end of police strike egions, inc itroduce a onsumer.’ The act lemented anient, w: nternation; ion if supi re cut by ’ The Irani odd supp applies als ecision b; o\v of Ver ian subsid ent. Gille: erial resui The legis ito five re luebec, O ritish Co ich a cert; If furthe eal with t ythe susp ■volution- ent will 1 te oil sup Rationin; s would st resort urce said Now Unite ie tune inner,” tl is taken eaven,” a Tourists with cameras and French Quarter residents followed Mayor Ernest Morial and his family Sunday to take communion in St. Louis Cathedral and hear Archbishop Philip Hannan pray in a special Mass for an end to a two-day police strike that wrecked the opening weekend of Mardi Gras. Hannan asked for divine guidance not only to solve the strike , but mPre importantly to build a greater bond of unity and harmony based on justice, equity and charity.’ Members of the Teamsters-affiliated police union walked off the job Friday, leaving protection of New Orleans during the first weekend of Mardi Gras celebrations to the National Guard and state police. Morial told re porters after the service he was offering striking policemen adayol amnesty to allow them to return to work without retribution. / \ WORLD Soviets deny involvement in killing The Soviet Union officially denied Saturday that it played any partin the raid by Afghanistan police that led to the depth of the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, the Tass news agency said. U.S. com plaints about the Soviets’ “callous disregard” for Ambassador Adolph Dubs’s life were based on a “falsification of facts,” Tass said. The United States delivered a strongly worded protest to the Soviet Union Wednesday over the role played by Soviet security advisers in the incident. Dubs, 58, was kidnapped by Moslem extremists Wednesday as he drove to the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital. He died later in a shootout between the terrorists and police. It still is unclear whether the kidnappers killed Dubs or whether he died in a crossfire with police. Americans evacuated from Chad The State Department said an unspecified number of American dependents were airlifted Saturday out of Chad, a central African nation torn by civil war. Spokeswoman Anita Stockman said e Americans were taken aboard two French militar y aircraft to Yaoun e. capital of Cameroon, Chad’s southwestern neighbor. “At this time, wn cannot provide an exact breakdown of the number of Americans, s e said. We are attempting to evacuate all non-essential U.S. g ov( ; r " ment personnel and also (other) private American citizens whovvis leave.’’The spokeswoman said 143 of the 230 Americans reported to in Chad still remain in the area. About 80 are in N’Djamena, w c some fighting between rival factions took place earlier this wee I WEATHER Cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain. High in the upp® r 40 s, low in the low 40’s with a 20% chance of rain. 83/° humidity. Winds will be E-N.E. at 5-10 mph. The Battalion LETTERS POLICY tellers to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject o being cu, to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. wiepnone Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor The St^ 0n Te R xr‘77^3 Reel ' MCD0 "" W C “"^ Angeles. C,ty> Ch,ca g° and Los The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiZ mTugh Thu t rs e day ,mmer ' When “ " PUb ' ished school'year S $35 > OO rf ^f 16 75 ^ —ter; $33.25 per on reauel; Aclwrti -”g^sfurnished M A q ?J D The Battalion, Room 216 Reed UnZd P C ° lleRe Texas 7784a United Press International is entitled exclusively to the Rights'^ ° f a11 neWS dis Pa‘ches creXed to it Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. member Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism <r^ j Editor pziNe” I Managing Editor , .. - A G u; Assistant Managing Editor • Sports Editor ' . 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