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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 <BL )blems are up before the Texas A&M
liversity Student Government.
Paul Bettencourt, vice president of rules
1 regulations, told a meeting of the Off-
mpus Aggies that all surveys conducted
the student senate say the problem of
■ke-pedestrian accidents has been “semi-
Werstated.”
i There has never been a bill before the
1 udent senate to ban bicycles from any
j art of the Texas A&M campus, Betten-
^ Court said. There is, however, a bill being
iehatedover the necessity of bike lanes on
Spence Street in front of Zachry Engineer
ing Center.
Bettencourt said that there are many
possible solutions being discussed includ
ing reinstating mandatory bike registra
tion, enforcement by ticketing cars parked
in bike lanes and more bike paths through
the campus.
There will be an open meeting of the
rules and regulations committee on the
regulation of campus bicycle traffic Mon
day at 8 p.m. in Room 701 of Rudder Tow
er. The group’s members hope others who
are interested will attend.
“People and bicycles can co-exist on
campus,” Bettencourt said. “All it takes is
conscientiousness on the part of cyclists
and pedestrians.
A merrier Christmas for retarded students
Family buys candy for Austin State School
By SYLVIA FELLOWS
Battalion Reporter
Giving candy to the mentally re
tarded at Austin State School has been
a tradition in the Robinette family for
16 years.
Jim and Mary Robinette started by
collecting leftover Halloween candy
from their daughter's kindergarten
class to give to the school, but began to
worry about the possibility that some
candy might be tampered with. So
now they accept cash donations and
buy candy themselves for the retarded
students from local stores.
The Robinettes work at Texas A&M
University. Jim is a laboratory mecha
nic for the chemistry department, and
Mary is a technician for horticultural
sciences. They have a son, 22, who is a
resident of Austin State School.
“Besides giving the kids treats on
holidays, the candy is used as a reward
for good behavior —- a positive way of
teaching the children — rather than
punishing them when they do some
thing wrong,” Mary said. “They use
suckers to develop pre-speech mus
cles in the throat instead of using
peanut butter on sticks like they used
to.”
There are more than 1,(XX) students
at the school and the Robinettes try to
provide them with candy for Christ
mas, Easter, Valentines Day, and Hal
loween.
Each year the project has grown,
and now the Army Reserve Unit helps
the Robinettes by storing the candy
and delivering it to the school.
Even though the Robinettes’ son
has hypoglycemia and cannot eat
sweets, the family is still devoted to
the program. They plan to continue
the candy project indefinitely because
it is rewarding for them.
A fund has been established in care
of John Birkner at University National
Bank for the candy donations. The
Robinettes and Birkner met while
doing volunteer work at the Brazos
Valley Rehabilitation Center several
years ago and became friends. As a
bank employee, he takes care of the
account.
Checks can be made to “Retarded
Children, State School, Candy Fund”
or sent to the Robinettes, Route 5, Box
11 SO, Bryan 77801. The Robinettes
are starting now to collect for the
Christmas candy and all contributions
are tax deductible, Mary said.
The Austin School will send its IRS
number to all contributors.
Senate against new complex
if it means high-cost dorm rooms