Vol. 73 No. 59
10 Pages
The Battauon
Monday, November 26, 1979
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
[Silver Taps, the memorial service for Texas A&M students who die while
i enrolled, may soon be scheduled for once a month. This view of an actual
'Taps ceremony is seen from the front steps of the Academic Building.
an flees from plane
r Jo avoid hijacking to Iran
he Bottom ill
irred.... 4
United Press International
EL PASO — Jeff Huppert figured the
[cape from a hijacked airplane was less
sky than an unscheduled trip to Iran.
Huppert, 32, was one of the 73 people
aard American Airlines Flight 395, hi
ked after it landed Saturday at El Paso
International Airport en route from San
tonic to Los Angeles.
24 0i.$|BBut Huppert had a special reason for
£»« ''Baring a trip to Iran.
“They don’t allow Jews in Iran, so I
lit,” said the Jewish sales representative
pm San Diego in explanation of his deci-
7 11'lion to flee the plane. He pretended to
.yP Have to use a restroom but then slipped out
J apar cabin door and down a flight of stairs.
SPECIAl!] “1 was scared. I looked around and saw a
pe-and-take situation and I decided that
|d rather make my play here than some-
[here else,” he said.
The hijacker, who authorities identified
Gerald James Hill, 18, of Chester,
(iass.j remained in the El Paso County Jail
junday, where jailers said he spent a quiet
night.
Held in lieu of $500,000 bond on charges
If attempted hijacking and crime aboard an
Jirplane, Hill was scheduled for another
earing before a federal judge today.
Authorities have declined to reveal why
wanted to go to Iran.
Airline officials Sunday could not explain
iw he could have gotten through airport
security with the large knife — variously
described by hostages as a ‘‘Bowie knife,”
“machete” and “butcher knife” — he used
to begin the hijack.
Officials said the San Antonio airport,
where Hill boarded the plane, has two X-
ray machines and a security guard and that
all passengers were checked. An FBI offi
cial said the hijacker got aboard by running
to the gate at the last minute and possibly
dodged past security.
American spokesman John Raymond
said the airline still was trying to determine
if Hill had been on another plane before
boarding in San Antonio.
“If he came off another plane he may
have been in a sterile area (where passen
gers already cleared by one security system
would not have to go through another). If
that were the case, we would have to take
the microscope off San Antonio and look
elsewhere (for the security breach).
No one was injured in the four-hour inci
dent and all women and children passen
gers were freed shortly after it began.
Sid Campa, one of about 20 hostages
freed when the FBI slipped aboard the
plane and captured Hill, said he heard a
bystander say the hijacking attempt
“wasn’t much” as far as hostage situations
go ;<
“That may be,” Campa said later, “but I
would have traded places with almost any
one this morning.’
lowing
inf eli,
in BryimlW
id MondiK). n-
SI
United Press International
$5)il GLEN ROSE, Texas — Ninety demon-
IflU 'Gators opposed to nuclear power cdam-
™ ^)ered over a fence at the Comanche Peak
nuclear power plant Sunday and were
irrested on trespassing charges, sheriffs
)fficials said.
As soon as protesters landed on power
plant property, sheriffs officials moved in
:omake the arrests, said Somervell County
Sheriffs spokesman Bobby West,
a By mid-afternoon 66 protesters had been
Vfffifv processed at the sheriffs office, but several
refused to give their names or leave the
,jth 2 Sp^ police bus that carried the prisoners from
the demonstration site to sheriffs head
quarters, West said.
All were to be charged with criminal
trespass, a Class C misdemeanor punish-
| able by a fine of $1 to $200, and released,
fhey were to be notified by mail of their
required appearances in court.
After their release, protesters continued
heir demonstration against further con
struction of the nuclear plant, rallying out
side the sheriffs offices, listening to anti
nuclear speeches and conducting a worship
service.
A large number of those arrested already
face criminal trespass charges stemming
from a similar demonstration June 10 in
which 48 protesters were arrested. The
group originally was tried together, but the
case ended in a mistrial because the jury
became deadlocked 4-2 in favor of ac
quittal.
Now, the defendants are undergoing
separate trials in a tactical move by special
prosecutor Tommy Altaras.
In both the first trial and the retrials, the
anti-nuclear forces have used the cour
troom to expose what they say are the dan
gers of nuclear power.
The $1.7 billion plant, owned by Dallas-
based Texas Utilities, is scheduled to begin
operating in 1981 with a capacity to gener
ate 2,300 megawatts of electricity.
Builders of the plant are finding defects
in more than 40 percent of certain welds
that would not have been tested had it not
been for a former construction worker’s
charges.
The welds in question are not narrowly
defined as “safety related” but could be
important to the overall safety of the plant.
Although the Nuclear Regulatory Com
mission said federal regulations did not re
quire testing of the non-safety related
welds, it substantiated charges that con
struction foremen were ignoring a program
of random testing.
Survey to be considered
in ruling to change Taps
By ROSEMARIE ROSE
Battalion Reporter
One of Texas A&M University’s most
honored traditions may soon be changed.
The Silver Taps ceremony is, according
to “The Standard” of the Corps of Cadets,
“that final tribute paid to an Aggie who, at
the time of his death, was enrolled in gra
duate or undergraduate courses at Texas
A&M.”
Traditionally the memorial ceremony
has been held the first Tuesday following
the death of a student during the academic
year. No Silver Taps are held between
Aggie Muster on April 21 of each year and
the beginning of classes in the fall.
But on Nov. 7 the Student Senate heard
a bill which would schedule Silver Taps on
the first Tuesday of every month from Sep
tember to April after a student dies.
The bill was referred to the Student Ser
vices Committee which researched the
subject and held a meeting Nov. 13 to dis
cuss suggestions to be made to the Student
Senate.
Vice President of Student Services for
Student Governmemt Brad Smith said that
because the bill was so important and be
cause passing it would “change one of the
best traditions A&M has,” the committee
decided to refrain from making recommen
dations to the Student Senate until they
could take a student opinion survey.
Students will have the opportunity ot
voice their opinions Tuesday and Wednes
day in the Memorial Student Center.
Smith said the committee will provide lists
of pro and con arguments so the students
will have some definite ideas to consider.
On Dec. 4 the committee will consider
the results of the opinion survey and vote
on recommendations to bt made to the
Student Senate.
The Senate will hear the committee’s
recommendations on Dec. 5 before they
take a vote on final passage of the bill.
If the bill passes the Student Senate it
will be referred to Dr. John Koldus, vice
president for student services.
Koldus said his office would act to imple
ment whatever recommendations the Stu
dent Senate makes.
“It (Silver Taps) is a student function, so
the students must make the decisions.
Whatever the Student Senate recom
mends I will accomodate,” he said.
Tracy Cox, the junior class senator from
the College of Business, wrote the bill. Cox
said he introduced the proposal to the Sen
ate because of declining attendance at the
ceremonies and because of the change he
has seen in students attitudes.
“Students either didn’t know when Sil
ver Taps was to be held, or they felt it was
coming too often,” Cox said, referring to
the fact that the ceremony was held four
times during the first eight weeks of this .
semester.
“The student population has increased
so much that the probability of having Sil
ver Taps is greater than in the past,” he
said. The more Silver Taps is held, the
lower the attendance becomes and the less
significance the ceremony holds for the stu
dents, he said.
Terrell Pruett, commanding officer of
the Ross Volunteers, agreed that the fre
quency of Silver Taps is detracting from the
impact it has on the students.
“Students have to be mentally prepared
for Silver Taps, ” he said, and if they have to
go through the emotional preparation ev
ery other week, they will just stop going.
Dale Laine, graduate representative for
the College of Business who co-authored
the bill with Cox, said that A&M has be-
Continued on page 3
Urgent U.N. consultations today
offer hope to American hostages
United Press International
TEHRAN, Iran — An urgent U.N.
Security Council meeting and a U.S. offi
cial’s pledge to ask Congress to investigate
the deposed shah offered some hope today
for the 49 American hostages held for the
fourth week in the U.S. Embassy.
The special Security Council meeting
was requested Sunday by Secretary Gener
al Kurt Waldehim and endorsed immedi
ately by the United States. Waldehim said
in New York the crisis in Iran was “the most
serious threat to peace since the Cuban
missile crisis” in 1961. It was the first time
in 19 years a secretary general invoked his
special authority to call an urgent meeting
—- a privilege usually reserved for the 15-
member countries of the council.
No time for a meeting was scheduled but
closed-door consultations were set for
today.
Rep. George Hansen, (R-Idaho), in the
Iranisn capital on an unofficial “mercy mis
sion,” pledged he would ask Congress to
set up a commission to hold an inquiry into,
Iranian allegations against Shah Moham
med Reza Pahlavi.
A spokesman for the militant students
holding the Americans captive for the 23rd
day today telephoned United Press Inter
national Sunday to ask if there had been
any reaction to this proposal from the Un
ited States.
He said the students “will watch closely
Hansen’s movements to make sure he was
not lying when he claimed to represent the
American people.”
The sttidentS are demanding the return
of the shah to face trial in Iran and
Washington has flatly refused to extradite
him.
Hansen, the first American official per
mitted to see and talk to the hostages at
length, was led blindfolded past a mob of
Iranians and into the compound, where he
spent four hours visiting the hostages Sun
day. He said the 49 were in reasonably
good physical condition — although wear
ing the same clothes since the embassy was
seized Nov. 4. One suffered from chicken
pox, another had a cold and a third had
blisters.
President Carter said Sunday he was
“not particularly” optimistic the Security
Council session would lead to the release of
the American hostages, but said, “but
we re trying in every way we can.
Acting Foreign Minister Abol Hassan
Bani-Sadr first said Sunday he was flying to
New York today to address the United Na
tions, but a few hours later it was
announced he would not come until mid-
December.
The Republican congressman was un
able to say if he saw all the hostages in the
embassy who were kept “pretty much
separate — a few in one room and a few in
another.” He said he had an interesting
dialogue with the student captors.
But there seemed no mood of reconcilia
tion on the streets where thousands of peo
ple, their clenched fists in the air, marched
on the embassy Sunday shouting “Death to
Carter,” “Death to America,” and proc
laimed in a broadcast “if the Imam
(Khomeini) calls for the Jihad (holy war) not
one American soldier can stand in front of
us. ”
The strong anti-American statement also
called on all Moslems to go to war against
the United States and “rub America’s snout
in the dirt.
The thousands who marched included
Iranians from supporters and non
supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini. The
two sides jeered and heckled each other,
but there was no violence.
On the economic front, Iranian Oil
Minister Akbar VIoinfar warned, according
to the officials Pars news agency, that any
country adopting a hostile attitude to Iran
would be subjected to an oil boycott.
inety demonstrators
zflirrested at nuke plant
tWll f
Folk medicine alive and well in Bryan
Woman makes own herbal remedies
By CLAY B. COCKRILL
Special to the Battalion
Opal Payne lives in a small trailer in
north Bryan. She doesn’t own a televi
sion or an air conditioner.
“There’s nothing but junk on televi
sion,” she said. As for the air condi
tioner, she likes having her trailer
windows open in the summer, and she
spends most of her time outside
anyway.
. In the spring and summer, she wan
ders the vacant lots and cow pastures
near her home, looking for wild herbs.
Goose grass, centuary plant, wild
grape, sow thistle, and coeklebur —
they all are useful to her. She cuts and
dries them on her front porch. From
the dried matter she makes teas and
body lotions.
“Most herbs are good for the whole
body,” she said, “but each one has a
particular ailment it is best for.”
She burns the grapevine and uses
the charcoal as a toothpaste. The cock-
lebur lotion, when applied long
enough, will “draw a thorn or metal
sliver right out of the flesh, ” she said.
But she doesn’t confine her belief in
herbs to minor ailments. She said that
an eyewash made from a plant called
centuary (not the cactus) can prevent
glaucoma and cataracts; and that wil
low tea is good for hemophiliacs.
Do the herbs work? Many folk
medicines have been tested scientific
ally and shown to be effective; others
have been proven ineffective, and still
more have never been tested. Bruno
Gebhard, M.D., writes in “American
Folk Medicine,” it is estimated today
that “primitive medicines are 25 per
cent objectively helpful.”
The history of folk medicine is the
history of medicine itself, and both are
much older than the medical profes
sion, Gebhard wrote. Medicine did
not acquire an academic status in this
country until around the turn of the
present century. In other words, the
modern medical profession has its be
ginnings in the cutting and drying of
wild herbs.
Evelia Jasso, who sells patent medi
cinal herbs from her bakery in Bryan,
perhaps best explained the origin of
folk medicine.
“People long ago, living in the
mountains, couldn’t get to a doctor.
There weren t any doctors around. So
they treated themselves, she said.
To define exactly the degree to
which folk medicine exists today
would be difficult, because some form
of home remedy exists in almost every
family. But Gebhard says research in
dicates that for the third generation of
city-born people, the pharmaceutical
industry and patent medicine have
more or less taken over.
Folk medicine exists today only on
the outer fringes of society among old
er Americans, less literate, rural
groups and in highly traditional
societies like the American Indian.
Jasso said that most of her herb cus
tomers are older people.
Folk medicine persists as a medical
alternative for groups of people who
feel modern medicine is in many ways
inadequate.
Gebhard quoted James Marion
Sims, a successful surgeon, who said
this about the developing practice of
medical science around 1840:
“It was heroic, it was murderous. I
did not know anything about medicine
but I had enough common sense to see
that physicians killed their patients,
that medicine was no exact science,
that it proceeded empirically and that
it was preferable to put one’s confi
dence into nature and not into the
dangerous skill of physicians. ”
Of course medicine has come a long
way since those days, but apprehen
sion toward it still exists.
“If I had cancer, I wouldn’t go to a
doctor,” Payne said. “I might die with
it, but I would rather take my chances
with the herbs. All the doctors will do
is cut on you, and I don’t trust that.”
“When the Lord made us, he put
things on the earth that are good for
us,” she said. “I don’t trust all these
machines that doctors have now.”
Jasso said she believes one reason
people still use the herbs is because
“they’re cheaper.
“You can’t go to a doctor now for less
than $10 or $20,” she said. “Just for a
consultation.”
Jasso said she doesn’t believe that
herbs as a medical alternative prevent
people from seeing a physician when
they need to.
“If they get really sick, they’ll forget
about the herbs and go to a doctor,
she said.
Opal Payne, a firm believer in the benefits of nature in curing ailments,
scours fields and pastures to find the herbs she uses to make teas and body
lotions. Battalion photo by Clay B. Cockrill