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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1979)
Vol. 73 No. 23 14 Pages The Battalion Wednesday, October 3, 1979 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 ■ ic i 1 n , ic ! 11 : * 7,000 fewer student seats available for U of H game By DARRELL LUECKEMEYER Battalion Reporter Construction setbacks at Kyle Field will leave about 7,000 fewer seats available than previously anticipated for the football game Oct. 13 with the University of Hous ton, officials said Tuesday. Assistant Athletic Director Wally Groff said only 19,000 student seats will be available — 5,000 fewer than last fall. An additional 3,000- 4,000 seats will be on the track. As of Monday, 22,000 student tick- etbooks had been issued. When completed, the stadium will ac commodate approximately 71,600 people. Capacity last year was 54,000. A spokesman for the contractor said Tuesday that two sections of the upper deck — one on each side of the stadium — will be usable for the University of Hous ton game, with progressively larger number of seats available for games later in the season. Next week, students who do not receive seats will have three options: — Accept seats on the track. — Watch the game on closed circuit tele vision. — Receive a refund for the ticket. KAMU-TV will provide the closed cir cuit television coverage for the game in G. Rollie White, which has a seating capacity of 8,000. Seats not claimed before the game will be sold for $3 to students and $5 for non-students. Student Body President Ronald Kapavik expects students to be angry over the situ ation, but says the athletic department is doing the best it can. “Freshmen have always been discrimi nated against in the seniority system,” Kapavik said. “We’ll just have to put up with it for a while.” Groff said with construction running behind schedule, the total seating capacity will be 57,000 for the U of H game, 1,000 more than last years’ capacity. Many Aggie Club season ticket holders will find themselves on the Texas A&M student side of the stadium once again. More than 2,200 Aggie Club members —- who pay from $600 to $1,200 for the right to order season tickets — will be moved from the west side to the east side. Also, Groff said 1,500 tickets allotted for the high school students attending Career Day Oct. 13 have been canceled to make room for more Texas A&M students. “We hope to accommodate all students for the SMU game Nov. 3,” Kapavik said. Completion of the Kyle Field expansion is expected Nov. 17. Like predecessor, pope pleads for peace before U.N. assembly ^ut their I outherntj jonghora le match buffalo k tt. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Construction workers, silhouetted against the evening sky, work long hours to make Texas A&M’s Kyle Field ready for the first game against University of Houston Oct. 13. The U of H game ill be in the stadium, although fewer seats will be available than previously anticipated. ‘No fuel like an old fuel’ United Press International UNITED NATIONS — The talk was reminiscent of the first papal visit to the United Nations 14 years before, but Pope John Paul II went a step further. John Paul Tuesday repeated the call for peace and “never again war” that Pope Paul VI delivered when he addressed the world body in 1965. But then, John Paul said peace will be elusive so long as human rights and human dignity are not upheld; so long as the human spirit is oppressed by politics, eco nomic plight or tyranny. “Every human being is endowed with a dignity that must never be lessened, im paired or destroyed ... if peace is really to be built,” he said, depicting the Universal Declaration of Human rights as the cor nerstone of the United Nations. The pope said the “frightful disparities between excessively rich individuals and groups on one hand, and on the other hand the majority made up of the poor or indeed the destitute” was a threat to peace. For six hours, the pope excited the dip lomatic routine at the United Nations with his appeal to mankind to respect human rights and bring peace at last to the world. The heavily guarded U.N. building was packed with diplomats, politicians, reli gious groups, reporters and staff when See related stories, pages 7, 8 and 11 John Paul made the rounds in the confer ence halls and lobbies — waving, blessing and lifting the spirits of the world’s repre sentatives. The highlight of his visit was a 70- minute speech in the General Assembly to 2,000 delegates and guests. Thousands more watched on closed-circuit television. The pope said there was a “second sys tematic threat” to peace in “the various forms of injustice in the field of the spirit. ” He spoke for the advancement of civil liberties “under any political regime or system.” He also urged a settlement of the Mid dle East crisis, but pointedly said it must include the rights of the Palestinian people. He warned huge arms stockpiles mean that “sometime, somewhere, some how, someone can set in motion the terri ble mechanics of general destruction. ” “The speech has made a mark in the spiritual and political history of the United Nations,” said one diplomat. The Albanians, as Communist purists, boycotted the visit. The Chinese, unhappy about the Vatican’s continued relations with Taiwan, played it low-key — attend ing the speech but avoiding two social functions. The two principal Middle East rivals, Farouk Khaddoumi, delegation head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Blum, each had brief friendly chats with the pontiff and each interpreted the speech in his own way. Blum liked the specific condemnation of the World War II holocaust. “There was a very moving passage about Auschwitz, ” he said. Khaddoumi was delighted with the pope’s recognition of Palestinian rights and his idea of a special statute and inter national guarantees for Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its capital. Khaddoumi urged the pope to visit Palestine. The pope did not respond immediately. Liquid propane becoming popular By KENT DUNLAP Battalion Reporter With all the talk about gasohol and grain alcohol as alternatives to gasoline, an old fuel that bums cleaner and allows cheaper operation is becoming more attractive. The conversion of a gasoline-powered vehicle to liquid propane may be a logical alternative to spot gasoline shortages and increasingoline prices. Dr. Ashley Lovell, area economist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, said there has been a sudden increase in demand for liquid propane conversion kits for gasoline-powered vehicles, due to the widening gap between gasoline and pro pane fuel prices. Savings will increase over a given period of time, Lovell said, because of the in creasing difference in prices between the two fuels and high mileage use of the vehi cle. “A major conversion benefit is the an ticipated lower fuel cost per mile,” Lovell said. Since propane produces only about 75 percent as much energy as gasoline, a 20-30 percent decrease in miles per gallon could be expected. “If reduced fuel cost per mile is the major savings considered, then the annual ) weaf bead other £ADS CHAIN' ir nantf'" JEADS." nr , ion. I® 0, 14-year-old threatens to shoot classmates United Press International HOUSTON — A 14-year-old boy, de scribed as a good student who considered himself “mistreated by everyone,” Tues day pulled a .45-caliber pistol in class and threatened to shoot his classmates and himself before surrendering, police said. Assistant Principal Ben Lenamon of George Thompson Intermediate School said the boy sneaked his father’s pistol away from home, wrapped it in a news paper and brought it to school in a grocery bag. Lenamon said the boy, whose name was withheld, pulled the gun about 9:20 a.m. in math class, threatening his teacher and about 30 other students. Eight students ran from class the moment the boy pulled the gun. “He brought it out and told everyone in class to freeze and then he began to talk about how he was mistreated by everyone,” Lenamon said. The principal talked the boy into sur rendering the ammunition clip. Lenamon said the gun at that point was unloaded but officials were uncertain so they waited for police, who persuaded the boy to give up the gun. Police released the boy to his parents. amount of savings is directly related to the annual mileage,” Lovell said. For example, assume a vehicle gets 15 miles per gallon from gasoline and 11.25 miles per gallon from liquid propane. Gasoline is $1 per gallon and liquid pro pane is 55 cents per gallon. The rate of savings is 10 percent. “Driving 10,000 miles a year, you would save about $865 in seven years,” Lovell said. At 15,000 miles a year, the dis counted savings would be $845 in four years, and if you drove 20,000 miles annu ally, you would save $884 over three years, Lovell said. The total savings received from reduced fuel costs is not the onlyavshnwr will realize. Since liquid propane burns cleaner and has a higher octane rating than gasoline, it should cause less engine wear. Savings should also include longer life of spark plugs and crankcase oil. The liquid propane conversion kit in- Firefighting dispute eludes a tank for storing the fuel; a conver ter, which vaporizes the fuel; and a mixer, which mixes the propane gas with air. The cost is about $1,000, including installation. These kits are sold and installed by most propane dealers. Lovell said the conversion represents a major capital investment and should be considered carefully before the change is made. As for power and work efficiency, Lovell said that he has heard both pros and ons. “I’ve heard both sides. Some have said that there is some loss of power, while others have said they couldn’t see any dif ference,” Lovell said. Since the gas lines have disappeared and the price of gasoline has leveled off does not see the system having a strong impact at the present time. When gas lines and soaring prices re turn, the system could have a far greater impact. Chief wants solution Mexican bus accident called worst in 15 years United Press International LAREDO — A passenger bus collided with a semi-trailer truck 14 miles south of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, early Tuesday, killing more than 10 persons and injur ing up to 40 others. Reports from the scene indicated at least 11 and perhaps as many as 18 persons, including the drivers of both vehicles, were killed instantly in the wreck. The accident was described as the worst in 15 years for the Nuevo Laredo area. A spokesman for the Laredo Fire Department said the Red Cross in Mexico telephoned at 1:12 a.m. Tuesday seeking assistance from its rescue squad in removing the victims from the wreckage of the bus and a truck loaded with soft drinks on the Pan American Highway between Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey. The spokesman said the victims were rushed by ambulances and private vehi cles to hospitals in Nuevo Laredo. “When the men returned, they reported 12 persons killed instantly and 38 to 40 injured persons,” the Fire Department spokesman said. Mexican newspapers reported 11 deaths, while Spanish radio broadcasts indi cated 14 to 18 persons died in the collision. By RICHARD OLIVER Battalion Staff Negotiations between the College Sta tion city council and Brazos County over a new firefighting contract have not begun yet, but College Station fire chief Douglas Landua is ready for a solution. The City of College Station is involved in a contract dispute with Brazos County over fire services. Under the present con tract, which expires Dec. 1, the county pays College Station whenever the city fights a fire outside the city limits. According to several city council mem bers, College Station has not been paid for several calls made during the summer. Landua said he wishes the city council and the commissioners court could get to gether to settle the issue. The city had given Brazos County an ultimaumn to be accepted or rejected within 30 days, at the beginning of Sep tember to solve the problem or face ter mination of fire services. The deadline was extended until Dec. 1 at the Thursday council meeting. In that meeting. City Manager North Bardell listed communication between the area volunteer fire departments as a major problem which needs to be solved in the new contract. Bardell said there have been instances when the city fire department and both volunteer units have shown up to fight a fire outside of the city limits. “We really don’t have a whole lot to do with them,” Landua said about the volun teer departments. “We have had no prob lems with the volunteer fire depart ments.” Until the situation is settled, the station will not alter its response to emergency call outside the city limits, he said. “As far as I’m concerned,” Landua said, “each call will be answered as quickly as possible. “We will continue to do so until the court tells us to do otherwise,” he added. “Until Dec. 1, we will not change our pro cedure at all.” Bardell told the city council he expected some changes in the new contract. One of the changes Bardell mentioned would involve the creation of a central fire dispatching office for the county. Another idea would create a new fire unit in the county that would respond to rural calls. Landua, however, has steered clear of any of the decision making. “I haven’t been involved in negotiations at all,” he said. “Really, I don’t see any thing wrong with the way we re doing it now. As far as who pays who, I suppose that’s an important part, also. I’m sure all of that comes into it, but we are still here to give protection, and that’s what we are going to do.” Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Aggieland editor Pat O’Malley displays one of the 1979 yearbooks which will be distributed starting today. Behind O’Malley are a few of the 16,000 Aggieland yearbooks published this year. "79 Aggieland now here; ’78 Aggieland gets award Distribution of the 1979 Texas A&M University yearbooks, the Aggieland, starts today in Lounge C, which is bet- weealton and Schumacher halls. Students who have bought a yearbook need to show their student I. D. s to pick up their books. The Aggieland is the largest college yearbook in the nation. More than 16,000 copies were sold this year. The 1978 Aggieland, edited by Norine Harris, won a Certificate of Award in the 1979 graphics arts competition of the Printing Industry of America in the college yearbook category. The purpose of the contest is to promote high standards in the production and de sign of printed material and is open to us ers, creators and producers of printing of all designs and processes. Awards, which include plaques and cer tificates, will be presented in dinner ceremonies in Washington, D.C., this month.