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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1979)
|OME EARNED BY PERMANENT UNIVERSITY FUND AS COMPARED TO TOTAL INVESTMENTS INVESTMENTS A&M, UT endowment faces capital challenge Actual Cash Basis Accrued Basis Total Fund Invested Income Earned rhe exact income (solid line) earned in ’78 by the Permanent University fund (PUF) is $64,548,822.53, and it was split one-third for Texas A&M Jniversity and two-thirds for the University of Texas. The increase in avestments is also shown (dotted line). For more details on the PUF and low it grew, see pages 8-9. Chart from the 1978 annual investment report on the PUF By LIZ NEWLIN Battalion Staff The Permanent University Fund — the billion-dollar endowment for UT and A&M — is under attack from within and without the state. And something should break loose soon. A bill on the Texas House floor today and an HEW report in Washington for two months now will probably change distribu tion of the fund. The PUF is built on revenues from 2.1 million acres in West Texas for sole use by the Texas A&M University and University of Texas systems to create “a university of the first class.” In modern terms, the fund is used as collateral for construction bonds, and the profits both repay the bonds with interest and enrich the campus here and at UT- Austin. Last year that enrichment here amount ed to about $4 million for the campus, $8.5 million for construction here and $8 mil lion to finance Texas A&M System bonds. The UT System received about $41 mil lion, twice what Texas A&M got. That one-third, two-thirds split was de cided back in the 1930s by legislators for “political convenience,” according to Texas A&M historian Dr. Henry C. Dethloff. (Before then, Texas A&M had received scarce benefit from the PUF.) These splits are imminent. But for some of the same reasons: —The PUF and its distribution are out lined in the Texas Constitution and sta tutes, so no other state college or university can touch it. That’s one challenge. —Within the systems themselves, not all institutions — like Moody College — can benefit from the fund, and not equally. That’s another challenge. —Finally, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare will most probably find some “vestiges’ of racial discrimina tion from its state-wide investigation of higher education, as it has in other South ern states. HEW can theoretically force redistribution of the PUF through with holding federal funds. That’s the third chal lenge. The constitutional amendment scheduled for the House floor today is Se nate Joint Resolution 7 (SJR 7), most fa mous for its repeal of the 10-cent state property tax. That tax financed construc tion at 22 state colleges and universities not in the Texas A&M or UT systems. In its place it creates from tax revenues another fund — known as SHEAF — for construction. Debate today is expected over the exact configuration of SHEAF. Reporters at the Capitol have long said, but not always written, that Texas A&M and UT support the SHEAF plan to protect the PUF. Robert C. Cherry, Texas A&M’s legisla tive liaison, wouldn’t comment Tuesday. President Jarvis E. Miller laughed, but he would only say, “That’s a very logical assumption.” That takes care of one challenge. The other two appear somewhat linked through Prairie View University. But first, SJR 7 would also affect another part of the Texas A&M System — the Texas Maritime Academy — known as Moody College. The amendment, which still must be passed by both houses and the voters, would let Moody use PUF bonds for con struction on its campus; it has not been able to before. Miller says Texas A&M could easily af ford the added expense since the bill also increases by 50 percent the amount of bonds the systems may issue. That would mean a one-time catch-up issue of about (Please turn to Page 8.) REP. SENFRONIA THOMPSON Hullabaloo i canoe... A pair of Aggies broke the record over the weekend in winning the na tional concrete canoeing cham pionships in Manhattan, Kan. The sport’s a new one to you, you say? See page 3. riri JLhe Battalion Vol. 72 No. 147 16 Pages Wednesday, May 2, 1979 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 as crunch Price hikes expected locally By RICHARD OLIVER WB , ... Battalion Staff Citizens in Bryan-College Station can Ifuy gasoline on Sundays, but shouldn’t t on this luxury for long, a survey of 20 Bryan-College Station stations on Texas Avenue, half indi- 0. they would be selling gasoline on u|iys, while the other half said gas was I scarce for them to remain open. Claude Dobbins, owner of Dobbin’s notation at 306 S. Texas Ave., said, “I ted closing on Sundays the last time jot in this mess. It just doesn’t pay Ipbre to stay open. Profits are down and e seems to be no end. ” %y Nash, on the other hand, is doing ^business and plans to remain open on days. |fash, part-owner of Nash’s Seco at 200 Jexas Ave., said, “We re going to have ugh (gas). As long as we re doing good Bless and no one tells us to close, we re to stay open.” jihough some owners are optimistic ut the gas situation, some distributors © area are pessimistic about the future, ick Broach, owner of D & B Oil Co., K-ts gas prices to rise in the next few Bis, causing more stations to close on pays. I the present time, we’re cutting hours j|veral of our stations in the area,’ he I expect gas will rise another four or ^■ents a gallon in the next 60 days.” Andy Sustaita, a dealer for Phillips 66, was more specific. “Last month they cut our allocation down to 70 percent of what we were receiv ing at this point last year,” he said. “I fully expect prices to rise to a dollar a gallon or more before the year is up, if not sooner.” Sustaita said the strange thing about the rise in gas prices is that the public is con suming just as much, if not more, than before. “I don’t think they’ll cut down in con sumption any time soon,’ he said. “I sup pose it’ll stay the same for quite awhile.” Carl Coslett, manager of Pilger Exxon on 1721 Texas Ave., disagreed with Sustaita. “I think once school lets out and the kids take off for the summer, the consumption will go down,” he said. “It always slows down about that time.” Broach, however, said the prime gasoline consumption months are May through September, and he expects con sumption will remain the same overall. “Sure, the gasoline consumption will de crease in our area, especially in College Station,” he said. “But, in our case, our stations are also on the interstates and highways, so they’ll add to the total con sumption when summer rolls around.” The 20 gas stations averaged a 10 to 15 percent cutback in allocations for the month of compared to the same time last year. Broach said he believes this trend will continue. , “This month we are down to only 80 percent of the allocation we got last year, ” he said. “It’s becoming a real problem, and we re having to cut down the hours more and more in all our stations.” Coslett, however, doesn’t believe there is a gas shortage. “Our gas situation has worked out pretty well,” he said. “The way things are going, I can’t see that there is a gas shortage. I really don’t believe there is one.” Broach disagrees. “There is a shortage, no doubt about it,” he said. “Everything points toward it.” The stations surveyed averaged 72 cents a gallon for regular and 78 cents for un leaded, up 50 percent from last year at this time. Gene Zulkowski, owner of Zulkowski Texaco on 1405 S. Texas Ave., was angry over the high prices he was paying. “We re definitely getting shafted price- wise,” he said. “It’s taking our bread and butter away from us. Our allocation gets lower and lower monthly, so we re trying to stay open all we can. “The fact remains, however, if a gas sta tion runs out of gas at any time, it hurts the very ones who are keeping the station open, the customers, and I really hate to see that happen.’ Draft protesters storm Congress United Press International WASHINGTON — A House subcom mittee’s approval of resuming military reg istration for 18-year-old men for the first time since Vietnam already has brought shouting protesters into the halls of Con gress. There will be more of the same across the country. The House Armed Services subcommit tee on military personnel voted unanim ously Monday to require the president to register all males who become 18 on or after Jan. 1, 1981. The proposal, which must be approved by the full committee before it can be de bated by the House as part of legislation authorizing weapons purchases and setting military strength ceilings, would not go into effect until after the 1980 congres sional and presidential elections. Several hundred young people, waving Vietnam-era signs that depicted draft card burnings and resist-the-draft slogans, pro tested against registation as a step toward resuming the draft and chanted, “Hell, no, we won’t go!” outside the Capitol. Diploma dispenser About 100 of them later jammed a House office building hallway outside the office of Rep. Paul McCloskey, R-Calif. They con tinued their chant and argued noisily with the congressman, who has proposed that all youths — men and women — be obligated to perform either civilian or military serv ice. Rev. Barry Lynn, head of the Committee Against Registration and the Draft, con demned the registration plan as “a fraudu lent and cowardly act” and said, “We want a full-blown debate before they take any of us away again.” Congressmen who addressed the rally pledged to fight the proposal. The demon stration was one of 70 scheduled across the nation this week. The last draft callup was in 1972 as American troops prepared to leave Vietnam. Registration, scorned by many young men who refused to comply, was scrapped three years later. But registration and possible return of the draft now are being discussed because of claims the all-volunteer military system cannot draw enough qualified recruits. Battalion photo by Lynn Blanco Back-saver invented [he‘diploma shelf is demonstrated by Craig Clark, one of the three Mechanical engineers who built it. The shelf, which rises as the number ot : Pnntas on it decreases, was designed by Fred J. Benson. By PEGGY C. McCULLEN Battalion Reporter Do not despair, Jarvis, the mechanical engineers love you — at least they love your back. Three mechanical engineering seniors have designed and built a diploma shelf which will rise as the number of diplomas decreases, alleviating the problem of stoop ing to pick up the remaining diplomas as the last few hundred students cross the stage. The device was invented by Fred J. Be nson, vice president of the College of En gineering, and Registrar Robert Lacey. The three students who built the shelf are Craig Clark, Joe Bulovas, and John Lusk. The shelf is practically noiseless. A hand-turned crank keeps the diplomas at arm’s reach throughout the entire gradua tion exercises. The estimated cost was $300 and the bill was footed by the mechanical engineering college, Clark said. Should the device prove successful for the engineering gradu ation exercises, five or six more will be built for future ceremonies, he said. Raghumal B. Agarwal, the students’ ad viser, who said he acted only as a consultant and added no ideas, is proud of the stu dents. He said the cabinet has already been approved by assistants to President Miller. The students, who spent from eight to 10 hours per week building the shelf, began the project at the end of the fall semester. The cabinet itself was built by a cabinet maker. The internal mechanical device, which uses a crank and beveled gears with a jack screw and was built by the students, remains concealed from the audience. The restrictions given to the engineers were that no wires could extend from the shelf, meaning it could not be electric; that there could be no air hoses used, and that it had to be silent. Cake and ice cream, please Tuesday marked the fourth birthday of Reveille IV, Texas A&M Univer sity’s mascot. Nine freshmen from Company E-2 gave her a party, com plete with a cake. Auto liability insurance may become mandatory United Press International AUSTIN — The House Tuesday over whelmingly gave preliminary approval to legislation requiring Texas auto owners to obtain liability insurance before being al lowed to drive on the state’s streets and highways. The bill by Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, which faces one more House vote before being sent to the Senate, would require autos to display window stickers similar to state inspection stickers showing the driver had at least minimum liability insurance or that the owners had posted a minimum $25,000 bond with the Depart ment of Public Safety. Failure to comply with the mandatory liability sticker provision would be a mis demeanor. “This is the strongest system that we have considered to this date,” he told House members. The House also approved an amendment by Rep. Ron Coleman, D-El Paso, requir ing vehicles from foreign countries such as Mexico to attain the liability insurance stickers before driving in Texas. Coleman said Mexican drivers without liability insurance are frequently involved in accidents in border cities.