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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1979)
ID ss !A The Battalion Vol. 73 No. 35 10 Pages Friday, October 19, 1979 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 jjj&xed girls might ut on Bonfire By DILLARD STONE Battalion Stall he Texas A&M University Bonfire and eD Leader Committee is recommending J women be allowed to work in the Bon- cutting area. the recommendation is being forwarded Dr. John J. Koldus, vice president for Bent services. It represents a change in Tlitional Bonfire policies, which have not Iwed women to cut down and carry out he trees needed to build the Bonfire. Ron Hilton, area coordinator for the ps of Cadets and a committee member, he requested the meeting which led to See related story, page 6 e proposed change after some female lets who attended a mandatory cutting lass did not receive cutting cards. was a misunderstanding due to the Ithat it (the issue of women) had never |n brought up before,” Hilton said. The fire supervisors issuing cutting cards |e not informed that University officials not made a decision, Hilton explained, at decision has now been made, he Hilton said the legal aspects of a ban on Male participation, as well as a knowledge Jwhat sort of work is involved in the cut- ing area, were considered in making the ■sion. ■exas A&M and the Corps currently face a sex discrimination suit filed by a female cadet. Hilton said he thought only female cadets had requested to work in the cutting area; no civilian women appeared at any of the safety classes. He added that there had been no pressure from any quarter for the committee to make a particular decision. Thomas R. Parsons, committee chair man and University director of security, could not be reached for comment. It was unclear when or if women will be working in the cutting area. Koldus must approve the recommendation today if women are to work Saturday and Sunday, the first cutting weekend. If Koldus approves the proposal, Bonfire work supervisors — redpots —- will have to allow females to cut, according to redpot James Law. Law also said that women will be allowed to work on pulley crews in the stacking yard this year. “That was the policy before the propo sal,” he said. “We’d already agreed to let them work on pulley crews.” As recently as last year, redpots denied women the opportunity to work in both the cutting area and the stacking yard. Georgia Hughes, a member of Squadron 14, was one of the seven women who did not receive a cutting card. She, too, was unsure of the women s status for the weekend. “If we have cutting cards, hell, yeah, we ll he out there in force,” she said. exas files lawsuit gainst SEDCO Down on the farm ft United Press International | AUSTIN — Attorney General Mark Vhite Thursday filed a suit contending jilSDCO, the oil well drilling firm founded )| Gov. Bill Clements, and Pemargo, a Bxican drilling contractor, should pay I^as more than $10 million for damages Bn oil that spewed from the blown Ixtoc I I yell. (White filed the suit in U.S. District art in Houston, and said he may later Pemex, the Mexican national oil com- jiy, as a defendant unless negotiations ween Mexico and the U.S. State De- tment result in voluntary payment of ages by Mexico. Elements at first declined comment on ite’s suit, which he had contended ear- iei was politically motivated, then told re fers he has nothing to do with SEDCO. jT don’t have any comment. I don’t think Is suit is any good against anybody,” Cle- Ints told reporters as he left the Capitol t lunch. Klements placed his SEDCO holdings in 1st when he ran for governor last year. His son is the firm’s general manager. ■We feel we have no responsibility, ” said png Davis, a vice president of SEDCO in “It was under charter to a Mexican frilling contractor and we have no respon sibility. We certainly have plans to defend Tselves in court.” The state also is seeking $1,000 a day in civil penalties from SEDCO and Pemargo ice the date the Mexican oil first entered ps waters Aug. 1. [The attorney general rejected Clements’ contentions that the suit is politically motivated. “We are treating this suit the same as any other, and had it been any other drilling firm we would have handled it the same,” White told a news conference. “I am filing suit against Pemargo and SEDCO for injuries and damage to the beds and bottoms of the lagoons, bays and inlands of this state and to their products, and to its territorial waters, caused by the negligence, trespass and other fault of the defendants.” White said the state also suffered a loss of tax revenue due to the impact of the oil spill upon the state’s tourism and seafood indus tries, possibly in excess of $10 million. The attorney general said specifics of negligence by SEDCO and Pemargo will be developed during the trial of the suit, but told reporters, “These events do not occur in the absence of negligence. ” SEDCO had filed suit Sept. 11 to limit its liability in the case to $300,000. The attorney general has corresponded with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance about the suit, and said Vance had advised him against naming Pemex in the suit at the present time. “In the interest of our international rela tionships with Mexico, at this time I am not bringing legal action against Pemex. Since it is not imperative that Pemex be included in the suit at this time, we are refraining from doing so until it is certain that all negotiations by the U.S. Department of State for damages from Mexico in regard to the oil spill have been exhausted,” White said. Chad Kruger, left, a Brenham first-grader, learns first-hand about pigs at Texas A&M University’s Swine Center. Chad was one of 2,700 area youngsters visiting the University for the Saddle & Sirloin Club’s annual Children’s Barnyard. Gina Burgett, right, seems to enjoy meeting a Brahman calf. For more on the Children’s Barnyard, which continues through today, see page 3. Battalion photos by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Witness saw man in area before slaying Police seek suspect in CS stabbing By ROY BRAGG Battalion Staff College Station police have found no motive in the LaShan Muhlinghaus mur der, hut a witness claims to have seen a man in the vicinity shortly before the slaying last Friday, Detective Ronnie Miller said Thursday afternoon. Muhlinghaus, a junior from Rowlett, was stabbed to death in her Travis House apartment Friday night. According to police, Muhlinghaus, who worked at Montgomery Wards in Bryan, had been complaining about feeling sick all day Friday. She left work at 7:30 p.m. Fri day. She arrived home, police said, at ap proximately 7:45 p.m. Her nude body was discovered in her roommate’s bedroom by her roommate around 9:20 p.m. Police and medical reports say she died around 8 p.m. She had been stabbed over twenty times in the abdomen, chest and pelvic area, said Pathologist Dr. J.C. Lee. Earlier this week, College Station police and a Texas Ranger hypnosis specialist from Waco questioned a witness who claims to have seen a man in the area a few hours before the murder. Police now have a composite sketch of the man based on the information supplied by the witness, Miller said. “This guy (in the drawing) was seen in the area and he is a suspect,” Miller said. Police have spoken to several other sus pects in the case, he added. In addition, Miller addded, a man is being sought for questioning based on his resemblance to the composite sketch. The man being sought for questioning, Miller said, was not a friend or acquain tance of Muhlinghaus or of her roommate. “Were questioning anyone who would’ve had a reason to kill her,” Miller said. \ According to a story in the Eagle earlier this week, Muhlinghaus told fellow work ers she was afraid to go home. Miller said he questioned several Wards employees and none of them told him she was afraid to go home. Miller also would not comment on whether or not there were signs of forced entry in the apartment, whether the sus pect was a Texas A&M student, or the exact number of stab wounds on the body. Miller said certain information is being held from the public because of the nature of the crime. “Anytime you have multiple stab wounds, you’re dealing with an angiy per son or a nut,” Miller said. If the killer is a psychotic. Miller said, any extensive release of facts about the case could cause him to flee town or commit another murder. China: U.S.-Taiwan treaty a problem United Press International WASHINGTON — A federal judge’s ruling that President Carter cannot end the Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan with out approval from Congress raises a “seri ous problem” in U.S.-Chinese relations, the Peking government said Thursday. The administration quickly readied an appeal of U.S. District Judge Oliver Gasch’s ruling late Wednesday nullifying Carter’s independent action to terminate the treaty. Unless overturned, the court ruling would block Secretary of State Cyrus Vance from terminating the 1954 pact on Jan. 1, as scheduled. Asked about Gasch’s ruling, First Secre tary Yu Zhizhongofthe People’s Republic’s Washington embassy said in a brief two- sentence statement: “It is a serious problem. We think the United States government will take neces sary measures.” The Peking government had for years made the opening of full relations with the United States conditional upon a cutoff of U.S. ties with Taiwan. During court hearings in the case — a lawsuit challenging Carter’s action by Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., and 25 other conservatives — Justice Department lawyers warned relations with Peking could be irreparably harmed by a ruling blocking the Taiwan treaty termination. On Capitol Hill, Senate Democratic leader Robert Byrd, holding a copy of the Gasch decision, said: “I find it awfully hard to understand how any appeals court could uphold the ruling.” There was no indication Byrd would luring the issue to a confrontation on the Senate floor until the administration has exhausted the appeals process. Senate GOP leader Howard Baker said he was not “greatly surprised” by the deci sion . “I think it’s so important that if the courts uphold the ruling, it will have to come up here (to the Senate) this year or next — election year notwithstanding, ” Baker said. ‘King s English’ band to play for memorial scholarship fund Fleeting fall flowers With autumn here and cold weather not far away, the flowers in Texas A&M University’s floral test garden are putting on a final brilliant show before disappearing for several months. The gardens are on Houston Street, just south of G. Rollie White Coliseum. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. By BECKY MATTHEWS Battalion Reporter Contrary to popular belief, the English department at Texas A&M University doesn’t get all its kicks from butchering term papers. Eight English teachers take out their frustrations by playing music. The King’s English String Band, com posed entirely of members of the English department, has arranged a benefit for the Greg Cowan Memorial Scholarship Fund. Cowan, a former associate professor of English at Texas A&M, died in July. The benefit will be at 6 p. m. Saturday at Grins Beer Garden. 'Members of the band, formed in April, include Marynell Young, Gene Young, Dennis Berthold, Clint Machann, Sylvia Grider, Doug Street, Malcolm Richardson and Rose Norman. The band performs music that varies from old-time mountain music to traditional Irish jigs. Berthold said the band likes to perform because “we get to respond to students as human beings.” He said it is easier to relate in an informal atmosphere, like Grins, than it is to relate in a classroom. Marynell Young, one of two band mem bers who has had formal music training, said the first time they performed together, the students didn’t believe they were really English teachers. “That’s the kind of reaction we probably want, said Gene Young, Marynell’s hus band and an English instructor. The Buzzard will follow the King’s English at 7 p.m. The Buzzard plays west ern swing, progressive folk and bluegrass music. It is composed of three A&M stu dents who can regularly be seen playing by the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross at the Academic building. A one-act melodrama will also be per formed Saturday night following the Buz zard. The play, an original Aggie produc tion, was written by Tom Jordan of the English department. The $1 admission charge will go toward the scholarship fund. However, extra dona tions will Ire accepted at the door. Boston schools seek peace United Press International BOSTON — School officials hoped promises of tighter security would restore calm today in Boston’s racially tense high schools, where already this week four stu dents have been arrested and one has been stabbed. Thursday morning before classes began, police were sent to East Boston High School to break up a riot there. At least two buses were targets of rocks hurled by students; the window of a police prowl car was smashed, and two private cars were damaged by the mob. Four white students were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct.