«/» The Battaoon USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 Tuesday, November 20, 1979 College Station, Texas Vol. 73 No. 57 8 Pages government favors Zentgraf in sex bias suit From staff and wire reports government asked a federal judge |day to force Texas A&M University to /women to join the all-male bastions of [larching band and three other elite os of the Corps of Cadets. In papers filed in U.S. District Court in ouston, the Justice Department sought ptervene in a private lawsuit filed by Melanie Zentgraf against Texas M, its president, a vice president and head of the Corps. “I’m glad they did it,” Zentgraf said Monday night. She said she hoped the motion would help bring the case to court more quickly, but added that she expected to have to wait another year before the suit begins. “We are really still on the backside of getting anything done,” she said. She said she bad not known for certain the government was going to take action. Zentgraf filed her suit last May. She charged that she and other females were denied the opportunity to participate in certain elite functions of the Corps’ program. Col. James R. Woodall, commandant of the Corps, declined to make any comment over the phone. Corps Commander Bill Dugat could not be reached, nor could De puty Corps Commander Dillard Stone. “Other than a desire to keep the Aggie Band all male there is no reason for the current effective restriction of the Aggie Band to male membership only,” the gov ernment said, noting there is no talent re quirement for joining the band. The government suit notes there are only 60 women among the University’s 2,200 ROTC cadets. It says there have never been women members in four of the five special units of the Corps of Cadets that represent the Uni versity nationally: — The 300-member band, which does not require applicants to audition and uses as its main criterion for membership parti cipation in a high school band. The suit says each female expressing interest in joining the band “has been actively discouraged or dissuaded by band and-or faculty mem bers.” — The Ross Volunteer Company, whose 120 members serve as the honor guard for the governor of Texas and as lead marching unit in a Mardi Gras parade each year. Its members decide who will be allowed to join the company. — The Fish Drill Team, a “nationally famous precision drill team” composed of freshman cadets, which also has no talent requirement. “Female freshman cadets who might wish to participate in the Fish Drill Team are directed to the Women’s Drill Team,” the suit says. — The Parsons’ Mounted Cavalry, a volunteer cavalry unit representing the University at agricultural and equestrian events throughout Texas. Freed hostages kept isolated for ‘humanitarian reasons’ United Press International WIESBADEN, West Germany — Three American hostages freed by Moslem students holding the U.S. Embassy in Tehran arrived in West Germany Monday and entered the U.S. Air Force Hospital at Wiesbaden for medical observation after their 15-day ordeal. The hostages — two black Marine guards and one woman secretary — were smug gled into the hospital through a back door, reporters said. The special military jet, with one medic al technician and one nurse and crew aboard, picked up the three in Copenhagen, where they were flown early Monday on a Scandinavian Airlines System commercial flight from Tehran. After the landing at the Rhein-Main base, opposite the huge Frankfurt airport, officials whisked the three away to the Wiesbaden hospital 20 miles away. A U.S. Consulate spokesman said they would undergo medical treatment before being flown on to the United States. “We intend to do everything possible to make their return to their families as com- Related story, page 7 fortable, safe and rapid as possible,” the spokesman said. The SAS flight carrying the three arrived in Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport at 11:15 a.m., where they were met by U.S. Ambassador Dean Warren Manshel. They were taken immediately from the aircraft into a waiting car and ferried to the U.S. Air Force jet that took them on to Frankfurt. Kathy Gross, 22, of Cambridge Springs, Pa., an embassy secretary, was the first off the plane in Copenhagen and was given a welcoming kiss by the ambassador. She was smiling and looked in good health. The two black Marine sergeants, Ladell Maples, 23, of Earle, Ark., and William R. Quarles, 23, of Washington, D.C., fol lowed behind, but were not noticeably smiling. They had been traveling in the first-class section, where they were cut off from con tact with other passengers. One Iranian woman on the plane said she tried to talk to them, but they refused to comment on the embassy situation and said they had been told not to talk about it. The embassy said the three would not be allowed any contact with the press “for humanitarian reasons. Ring around the leg Sharon Adkins attempts to toss a garter around one of the legs supported by Stacy McElroy in the Town Hall-sponsored garter toss. The contest was a prom otion for the play “Chicago” to be presented later this week, with free tickets to the production going to the winners. Battalion photo by Sam Stroder By ELLEN EIDELBACH Battalion Reporter Student senators voted Monday to urge the Texas A&M University Board of Re gents not to build a new dorm complex if it would mean an increase of 50 to 100 per cent in dorm room costs. Senators will also ask the board to reconsider the location of the new complex across from Zachry En gineering Center. The regents will meet Nov. 29 and dis cuss the new dorm project. The complex would be similar to the Aston-Dunn-Krueger-Mosher dorm com plex on the southeast part of the campus and would include a cafeteria, said Brad Smith, vice president for student services. The two possible locations of the new dorm complex would be across from Zachry Engineering Center on the northeast side or on the west end of the campus. Smith said there is an unwritten law not to build in front of the administration build ing. He said the possible construction site would distract from the pleasant view of the green fields in front of the campus. One senator argued that the location across from Zachry would be convenient for engineering majors. Smith said the campus is expanding to wards the west end and that a dorm located by Zachry would be isolated from other campus areas. Another bill passed at the meeting re quested the physical education depart ment give space for a student weight train ing facilities in the new sports complex under the Kyle Field expansion. This bill was passed unanimously. The student senate will be responsible for several surveys to be taken between now and the end of the semester. These will concern: — a proposal to hold Silver Taps on the first Tuesday of each month instead of the first opportunity after a student’s death. This survey will be taken Nov. 27 and 28 in the Memorial Student Center. — professors giving exams at night out side of class. This survey will be taken Dec. 4 and 5 at the MSC, Zachry Engineering Center, Francis Hall and the Academic Building. — professor evalution, which will be given in various classes Dec. 3-7. The senate also voted to change the reg ulation for graduation with honors so that the grade point ratio will be computed from college hours attempted at Texas A&M only. Previously, the rule maintained that the GPR for graduation with honors would be based on all college hours attempted. At present, seniors must take a mini mum of 60 hours at Texas A&M to graduate with honors. Transfer student GPR’s at Texas A&M are now based on grades received here, with hours earned at other colleges used only if the student’s transferred GPR was lower than the one received here. New senate business included the intro duction of the following bills: — to extend postal service hours in the MSC — to have a program on attack preven tion and self-defense — to establish a “Meet Your Senator Week” and provide senators with name tags — to request the designation of bicycle paths on both sides of Spence Street from Zachry Engineering Center to the Com mons complex — to urge the highway department to install a traffic light at the intersection of Joe Routt and Wellborn. The senate also elected Ken Johnson as speaker pro tern, replacing Dorothy DuBois who resigned due to a lack of time for the position. mbassador-at-large speaks on country’s energy potential U.S. interests in Mexico do not end with oil — Krueger By MARCY BOYCE Battalion Reporter Mexico has the potential to be one of the world’s most powerful energy producers, but our interest will not stop there. Bob wueger, ambassador-at-large to Mexico, said Monday at Texas A&M University. Sponsored by MSC Political Forum, kieger told a group of about 200 that forts are underway to coordinate policies ith Mexico concerning trade and illegal ens in addition to energy. Krueger said Carter created the ambas- idor-at-large position to coordinate poli- cies between the various agencies within the U.S. government that deal with Mexico. He said that although Mexico is produc ing five times more oil now than it did in 1976, it is not a major world producer yet. “Mexico today is courted as the new oil heiress by the world, ” he said. But of the 1.5 million barrels it produces daily, they use one million, sell 400,000 to the United States, leaving only 100,000 for remaining countries. For this reason, Krueger said Mexican imports cannot account for the loss of the 700,000 barrels imported daily from Iran. However, an advance in oil trade be tween the United States and Mexico should ease the loss of Iranian oil, he said. The United States will begin receiving oil from Mexico at $3.62 a barrel beginning Jan. 1., he said, overshadowing former energy secretary James Schlesinger’s re jection of a previous deal. Because this rejection symbolized a his tory of misunderstandings between the United States and Mexico, Krueger said he considered negotiation of this deal an im portant advance. Two weeks ago Mexico took another step towards improved relations. A newspaper advertisement by their secretary of com merce supporting Mexico’s entrance into the General Agreement of Trade clearly represents their move towards the world trade market, Krueger said. In the past, “Mexico has tended to have a very protective attitude towards trade, us ing import licenses, tariffs and duties, but Portillo is looking to export stimulation in stead,” he said. Krueger said as their largest trading partner the United States can expect to be a major target for their exports. Because of future interaction between the two economies, the United States should recognize that, “the little things we do have a big impact on them,” he said. For example, tomatoes are farmed in Mexico specifically for export to the United States. Had the U.S. Treasury Department prohibited the sale of the tomatoes here, in response to protests by Florida farmers, many Mexican workers would lose their jobs, he said. Considering Mexico is already plagued by 40-45 percent unemployment, it is no wonder workers experience a strong urge to seek jobs in the United States since they “expect to earn five to ten times as much by crossing that shallow stream,” he said. He considers undocumented Mexican workers in the United States as the “largest overarching problem” between our two countries. However, Krueger said legislation prop osed by President Carter to deal with the problem has been buried in Congress since 1977. ^ike issue to be discussed nt open meeting Monday By JETTIE STEEN Battalion Reporter The bicycle vs. the pedestrian. Student ganizations are still discussing that he- } ed issue and possible solutions to the i