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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1979)
he Battalion Vpl. 72 No. 120 Tuesday, March 27, 1979 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Money, not police This man is the highest- ranking Latin American in the U.S. State Department, and he says economic aid — not Tortilla Curtains — can stop the north ward flow of illegal aliens. See page 6 for more details. ong road to peace gins with treaty United Press International WASHINGTON — Anwar Sadat and )I;eij|ii hem Begin, old enemies brought ogether by a determined Jimmy Carter, et out today on a path of peace that could irove as perilous as the road to war they raviled four fateful times. “We have no illusions — we have dreams, prayers, yes — but no illu- ions, ’ a frank President Carter said at Monday’s signing of the first peace treaty letween Israel and an Arab nation. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Is- aehj Prime Minister Manachem Begin, isiting Capitol Hill this morning to ex- llaij the treaty to members of Congress, lledged an end to three decades of war ietw(«n their ancient peoples. Sadat, the ex-general who launched he |973 Yom Kippur War; and Begin, the rgun gunman who once had a $40,000 »uaty on his head, began their journey of reminding one another of the two ougliest hurdles before them. Salat called for creation of a full-fledged ’aleltinian state on the Israeli-occupied Yesl Bank and Gaza Strip. Begin insisted Rfioly city of Jerusalem would never av@ Jewish hands. In the Arab world, angry Palestinians emlinded vengeance. “I want Carter, Begin and Sadat to know that no one can burn oirr fingers,” Palesti nian leader Yasser Arafat said in Beirut. “Begin should know that I will chop off" his hands.’ And the 22-member Arab League — thrown into turmoil by Sadat’s lone wolf decision to sign a treaty with Israel — met in Bagdad, Iraq, today to discuss sanctions against Egypt. Hundreds of thousands of delirious Is raelis danced in the streets, sang Hebrew songs and shouted “mazel tov!” — good luck. But a grenade, apparently thrown by Arab guerrillas, exploded in the old walled city of Jerusalem, injuring 15 people. Egyptians huddled in cafes and homes to watch the treaty signing on television, but saved their public jubilation for Sadat’s triumphant return from Washington. Sadat and Begin leaned across a 19th Century mahogany desk at 2:10 p.m. EST Monday to sign page after page of the vol uminous treaty package in English, Arabic and Hebrew. Then a triumphant Carter, beaming as he sat between the men with the White House’s bare, gnarled trees as a backdrop, scrawled his name as a witness. “We have won, at last, the first step of peace,” Carter said as television cameras beamed the event live to millions around the globe. Sadat said “a new dawn is emerging out of the darkness of the past,” and Begin foretold a time of “no more war, no more bloodshed, no more bereavement.” The euphoria was tempered, however, by signs the tough Egyptian-Israeli treaty talks would seem a breeze compared with the next stage in the peace process — negotiations for an overall Mideast settle ment. Diplomatic observers warned that fail ure of the coming talks — set to start a month after the treaty goes into effect two weeks from Monday — could sabotage the fragile peace fashioned by Carter, Sadat and Begin. And the chanting of hundreds of pro- Arab demonstrators in Lafayette Park across from the White House during the ceremony was a grim reminder of the troubles awaiting Sadat and Begin back home. Carter conceded the treaty will not au tomatically bring peace to a turbulent land where Jews, Asyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Turks and Arabs have vbloodied the desert sands for three mil- lenia. ounty judge makes avis mistrial official United Press International F0RT WORTH — Tarrant County’s Oil W^Rjstrative judge Monday officially in- )[a firmed attorneys in the T. Cullen Davis 03 isj jivorce trial that the long-running case — saaMft'fited already to have cost taxpayers 15Jon — Has been declared a mistrial d|liat the presiding judge has with- from the case. Judge Charles Murray, who has overall sponsibility for all civil proceedings in ie county, said District Judge John Bar- jon’i order declaring the mistrial had not yet been received. “But I talked to Judge Barron this morn ing and he said he mailed the order Satur day. Barron, a crusty Bryan judge, was ap pointed by Murray after District Judge Joe Eidson withdrew from the case because of charges being filed against Davis for solic itation of his murder. Davis’ trial on the charges ended in a mistrial in Houston earlier this year. A new trial date has not been set. Barron stormed angrily out of Fort d'sjfecinesday application deadline Aggieland, Battalion editors Wednesday is the last day applications be accepted for editors for the Aggie- pnd The Battalion. Student Publications Board will a summer and a fall editor for The jlion. The Aggieland editor will serve le entire academic year. Iplications are available at the Student ■cations office, 216 Reed McDonald Building, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Completed applications must be re turned to Bob G. Rogers, chairman of the board, 301 Reed McDonald, no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Student Publications Board vyill interview candidates and select the editors at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, Room 301, Reed McDonald. Worth Thursday proclaiming he was going to declare a mistrial because a county prosecutor had impugned his honor by confiscating testimony and exhibits about the Texas millionaire’s financial holdings while the divorce case was in progress. But the judge relented and attorneys planned for a resumption of the trial Monday. That hope disappeared when Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers re ported Barron had met privately in his hotel room on at least two occasions with Davis while the trial was in progress. This time Barron said the news media had “impugned my integrity.” He insisted he had done nothing wrong and that he had invited Davis in the hope of persuad ing him to agree on a settlement in the complex case. But Judge Murray questioned the ac tivities. “I never, repeat never, discuss any part of a case with a litigant unless both attor neys are present and I never do it except in the courtroom or in my chambers,” he said. “Here in this case, it’s easy to see that people will suspect something and nobody can really say nothing happened. It hurts the system.” &M Regents meet today New designation could boost Prairie View statewide, nationally Bystanders (foreground) argued, at times heatedly, over the Arab student protesters’ right to demon strate on the Texas A&M campus. The Arab stu dents said they were protesting the Middle East peace treaty, signed Monday. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Arab students protest pact, draw spectator opposition By KEITH TAYLOR Battalion StaiT A group of about 20 Arab students staged a demonstration in front of Rud der Fountain here at noon Monday to protest the signing of the Egypt-Isreal peace agreement. The students were mainly protesting what they felt is a lack of attention to Palestinian rights by the treaty. They carried signs saying, “No Peace without the Palestinians,” “Free Palestine,” and “We Shall Overcome.” The dem onstrators also carried a Palestinian flag. “We are opposed to the whole prin ciple of the treaty, ” a spokesman for the protesters said. He said he did not want to be identified. “All of the Camp David accords are being refused by the Arab states. They are not dealing with crux of the issue which is the Palesti nian rights. “No promise was put in the treaty to give recognition of their plight. There were only vague statements about the freedom of the Palestinians.” They are also opposed to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s acceptance of the treaty, according to their spokes man. He said Sadat has betrayed the Egyptian people by not revealing the tenets of the treaty to them. The spokesman said Sadat agreed to sign the treaty without consulting the Egyp tian congress. One of the protesters, Samer Younis, a mechanical engineering and man agement major, said Sadat agreed with or compromised on three of the treaty tenets that will be harmful to the Pales tinian people. The tenets would have set up an of fice on the Gaza Strip to guarantee the rights of Palestinians living in that area, allowed Egyptain oil to be exported to Israel, and allowed the exchange of Egyptain and Israeli ambassadors. He said Sadat agreed to disregard the Palestinian rights office, let Egyp tian oil be sold to Israel through the United States, and allow the ambas sadors to be exchanged before the Is raelis left occupied territory. Another protester said the peace treaty is an ego trip for Sadat and that he signed it for prestige. The spokesman said the protesters were a representative group from many Arab countries with sympathizers from Europe, Latin America and the United States. He said the demonstration was not meant to disrupt the campus and that yyas why the group did not chant slo gans or answer antagonists. He said the Arab students felt Americans only re ceived the Israeli view of the Mid-East conflict and the protest was meant to draw attention to their viewpoint. A group of American students were on hand for the demonstration and had a protest of their own against the Arab protest. They unfurled an American flag and sang the National Anthem. Amid laughing, some shouted “Kill communists,” “Israel forever,” and “The shah is alive and well. “The deal is they don’t have the right to protest in their own country, so they come over here to protest,” one of the American protesters said. “That’s not right. ” He also said he did not want to be identified. Another of the American protesters said he did not know why he was dem onstrating against the Arabs. The Arab group had a permit for the demonstration. erations Feb. 28, the morning after the two-story building burned. Battalion photo by lee Roy Leschper Jr. By STEVE LEE and DIANE BLAKE Battalion Staff Prairie View A&M University may as sume statewide, or even national promi nence if a proposal by its president is ap proved by the Texas A&M University Sys tem Board of Regents and, in turn, the State Legislature. Regents Monday heard recom mendations by Dr. Alvin I. Thomas, pres ident of Prairie View, to make the school a “special purpose” university. This title would allow Prairie View students to be “put into the mainstream” of middle-class society, Thomas said. The statements were made during one of four committee meetings held during the day, which were in preparation for to day’s regular board meeting. Regents also discussed alternative fates of the old Board of Directors Quarters, which was damaged by fire in February. In addition, the Planning and Building Committee decided to recommend that regents appropriate funds for a detailed design of the new Medical Sciences Build ing. Thomas said the special purpose desig nation for Prairie View would clarify that the school serves students statewide and not just students from the Gulf Coast area. He said the school wouldn’t stop at placing students in jobs on the state level, but would also aim for the national market. The designation will provide a base for the school to deal with problems, such as standardized tests, which Thomas said are harder on minorities. He said Texas Southern University, a predominantly black university in Houston, is a special purpose school and has had success with its programs. Regent Joe H. Reynolds said he had questioned Thomas before about the pos- Regent H.C. Bell Jr. sibility of a “watered-down” curriculum with the new designation, but Thomas said the curriculum would be stronger. Re gents identified a problem with the word ing of the proposal, saying they will prob ably consult with Bob Cherry, secretary to the board and legislative liaison, before it is presented to the Legislature. The Board also discussed whether to de stroy or restore the old Board of Directors Quarters. President Jarvis E. Miller recom mended that the site be cleared for new construction later. The new building could house the part of the development office, the University Press, and/or an art gallery. Miller re ported. A dormitory could also be built at the site, he said. Also suggested was a plan to buy and equip two temporary metal buildings for $50,000, to be used as offices. Regent H.C. Bell Jr. argued that mobile home buildings would be more economical. Bell directed Howard L. Vestal, vice president for business affairs, to get esti mates on costs of the mobile homes for a report to the board today. Another alternative would repair the existing building. Bell suggested that an eight-man committee headed by Regent Royce C. Wisenbaker be appointed to study the feasibility of the renovation. Regent Alfred I. Davies opposed the renovation. “You kid yourself about keeping some thing for posterity, he said. “It’s just an old frame house. Who cares about where the board met in 1917?” Wisenbaker agreed. “I’m an engineer, and it would be my inclination to bulldoze it down. I wasn’t taught how to measure sentiment.” Other items to be recommended for ac ceptance are: —An appropriation of $650,000 to sup plement the $170,000 already appropri ated for the design of the Medical Sciences building. —A bid of $2,888,700 by H&G Con struction Co. Inc. of Abilene, for 11 stu dent apartment buildings with eight units each. The bid includes cost of moveable wall partitions and was submitted by the same company now building the modular dormitories. —A bid of $34,860 by Hamilton- Woodard Construction Co. of Bryan to give Heaton Hall a “facelift.” —Appropriation of $20,000 for design for lighting C.E. Olsen Field. The total cost for the project is estimated at about $323,000. The lighting is needed so Texas A&M can be eligible to host Southwest Conference baseball tournaments. Bell said. —Bids of $114,731.45 by Abel Contract Furniture Co. Inc. of Austin; $42,135.44 by Rockford Furniture & Carpets Inc. of Austin; and $17,727.30 by Fingers Office Furniture of Houston for office and class room furniture. —A bid of $495,000 by Ed A. Wilson Inc. of Fort Worth for a slaughterhouse at Tarleton State University.