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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1979)
■ mil. campus THE BATTALION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1979 Page3 "nputetlie, "nation, | I is views 'us scrutimj s. His si Silver Taps • • • Continued from page 1 E come a victim of large numbers. 1 No one could have predicted the i growth the University would ex- Iperience, he said, just as no one [could predict the increased mo- ibility of the student body. J “It sounds gruesome, Laine i® I said, “but it is a fact that more ■ people are going home more ' I often, and the chances for a stu- . lrn Prov«jH dent getting killed are greatly in- lce ~isi I crea!i ed. At the first Silver Taps lnin gpei» Lj there was a nassive number of I people in attendance, 5,000 or Iso.” But attendance steadily de- I creased from there, he said. .. ii lnB I Cadet Cominander of the 1( j a vinii I c 0I p S ft;]] D u g a t said that having Vk-'l" 31 ' I ^>l ver Taps almost every other 1 e ^ ( j a ^ iTuesday night was inconvenient h Ipftt ^ or stu( ^ ents an d partici- ? pants. The proposed change rve , 0Bllli would be academically more be- H* 1 * a . r f t ' ,s neficial, he said. The firing squad of the Ross Volunteers is the student organi zation responsible for scheduling and performing the Silver Taps ceremony. The memorial is the wn to the onditioi toastiffcot i-sily disloo; dlengi i no need If is rgeofbui asCarteii s ago. % is whatnufe y pros-i t from 13! i PostCompr sole function of the firing squad. Pruett said he felt the proposed change would reinforce the im portance of the ceremony. However, he said, “even if it got to the point where they held Sil ver Taps every night, the Ross Volunteers firing squad would al ways be ready to carry out their duties.” The most prevalent argument against changing Silver Taps is that holding the ceremony once a month would tend to depersonal ize the memorial. Perie Pitts, senator for off- campus Ward 4, said that accept ing the bill would be “changing a tradition for the institution. But this particular tradition is for the person, not the institution.” Changing Silver Taps to in crease attendance will not make the ceremony more meaningful, he said. The Aggies who take the time to come to Silver Taps be cause they want to remember a student who is gone are the ones who give the ceremony its impact and importance, he said. Pitts added that holding the ceremony only once a month would increase the chance of Sil ver Taps being held for more than one person at a time. Laine said that he was aware of this argument, but he pointed out that the first memorial held in the fall is usually for seven or eight people who die during the sum mer, and of the ceremonies held this semester several of them have been for more than one person. Laine added that when a family attends Silver Taps they see the ceremony as being held for their own son or daughter, not two or three people. “And even if Silver Taps is only held once a month, that is still four times a semester,” Laine said, “which is quite a few times. ” “Silver Taps is such an honored and cherished tradition and it is as much for the students attend ing as for the student being re membered,” he said. Another consideration in changing Silver Taps is the effect it may have on the family of the student being honored, said Oif- Campus Aggies President De bbie May. The situation could arise where the ceremony would not be held until over three weeks after someone dies, she said, and it would be hard on the family to go through an additional or pro longed period of grief. One final argument against changing Silver Taps is that the regular scheduling would not eli minate all the scheduling con flicts that do arise, said Pitts. However, Laine said he felt it would help. Having intramurals going on during Silver Taps, as was the case at the ceremony Nov. 20, could be more easily and consistently avoided if a special night once a month were set aside for Silver Taps. Ronnie Kapavik, student body president, said that because changing Silver Taps is such an emotional issue, arguments on the question will be mixed and the issue will not be settled in everyone’s mind. It is important that students be involved in the making of this decision, he said. Study of zooplankton starts Oceanographers at Texas A&M University have begun year-long study of trace metal accumulation by zooplankton, the sea’s microscopic smorgasbord. Zooplankton were chosen for the research because they represent a basic link in the marine food chain, say researchers. The $35,000 project sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is meant to determine how tiny particles of organic and ihorganic matter suspended in the water affect the pattern of metal uptake. Using seawater collected off the Texas coast, Dr. B.J. Presley and Dr. Paul Boothe hope to tell federal authorities responsible for regulat ing waste dumping the extent to which particulate matter influences the sub-lethal accumulation of cad mium, mercury and lead by zoo plankton. This is an important question since most of the trace metals in wastes dumped into seawater are associated with the particulate mat ter, not the water itself, said Boothe. Presley, who has conducted other dumping effect studies for NOAA, said wastes and trace metals have an easily measured short-term effect on particulate matter, but that it is not known if this effect is dangerous for the zooplankton. The two Texas A&M scientists hope results of this and other long term studies can provide some answers since contamination of zoo plankton has implications for other rungs in the food ladder. To measure the minute amounts of metals involved, the oceanog raphers will have to depend on such sophisticated techniques as com- partmental analysis and gamma ray spectroscopy. X Danski We carry a full line of traditional and the latest in leotards and tights. # 318 Jersey •/ COLLEGE ST 693-935T or "college station i^ !iJ : M * i§. is I ii if m K I '' 1 BLINDS OF GIFT-GIVING 3609 Place E. 29th Have your own half-time show this Thanksgiving ivith our Dallas Cowboy and Houston Oiler Frisbees! Frisbees for $2.29 Reg. $2.89 Make IHAPPY COTTAGEl Your Christmas Headquarters |We have: !• Music Boxes Tree Ornaments from Germany Nativity Sets Pyramids Nutcrackers Jewelry from around the world I (Located across from Luby’s) j exas Public Employees Association Ags represented by un-union For Your Complete Christmas Shop By EILEEN WALL Battalion Reporter Since Aug. 29, there has been an nployee association — but not a ion — for Texas A&M University [aff members. The Texas Public Employees isociation represents employee in- st ccording to its bylaws, the asso- iation will “never become affili- ted with, become a part of, or ndorse any labor union/' terests, but says it wants nothing to do with unions. I According to its bylaws, the asso- feiation will “never become affiliated , ffith, become a part of, or endorse any labor union.” ■ Local TPEA chapter President Jim Phillips said there are two main ifferences between the TPEA and a nion. First, he said, membership in te association is voluntary, and ;cond, TPEA operates on a state- ide, rather than a national, basis. Dues are another major difference etween the two groups. TPEA dues re $13 per year, while, according to its members. At its August 1979 con vention, the association reaffirmed this policy in a resolution presented to Governor Bill Clements. Collective bargaining is against the law in Texas, so unions must use other means to accomplish their ob jectives. Dave McNeely, in an arti cle on unionization in Texas, said political means is one way the union tries to achieve its goals. McNeely said the union becomes actively involved in elections in order to bring pressure on the Leg islature, which determines state em ployees’ salaries. McNeely said collective bargain ing is not needed for raises and be nefits. The TPEA has been representing chapter, some University staff mem bers participated in the local high way chapter of the TPEA, Phillips said, but since that chapter’s work ing conditions are different from University staff, it was felt the staff needed its own chapter. Phillips said this is the first time in 103 years that the University staff has had a voice. He said he feels they are ready for a chance to speak out. The Texas A<b-M chapter, which started with 17 members, has now grown to about 60 members and is increasing, said President Jim Phillips. Phillips said this is the first time in 103 years that the University staff has had a voice. He said he feels they are ready for a chance to speak out. Ray Smith, director ofTexas A&M personnel department, said that the University has always has had and “open door policy” with employees and added that employees have “never been bashful” in approaching them. University policy on the new TPEA chapter, he said, is one of “absolute neutrality.” “We neither want to hinder nor go out of our way to assist them,” he said. They do not want to help the TPEA, he said, because the adminis tration does not want employees to feel that they have to join the TPEA in order to be heard. They don’t want to hinder the TPEA either, he said, and discour age staff from becoming members. The TPEA chapter has not approached the administration with any proposals yet, Smith said. Tie TPEA dictates in its bylaws hat no strike action will be taken iy its members. At its August 979 convention, the association eaffirmed this policy in a resolu- ion presented to Governor Bill 'lements. m PEA Executive Director Gary Hughes in an earlier interview, American Federation dues would be minimum of $96 per year. The two organizations also take ipposing viewpoints on the subjects if strikes. The TPEA dictates in its bylaws hat no strike action will be taken by public employees since 1946, and currently has approximately 32,000 members. The Texas A&M chapter, which started with 17 members, has now grown to about 60 members and is increasing, said President Jim Phil lips. Phillips, an electrical technician in the electrical engineering depart ment, said the chapter’s main goals right now are to build membership and to open lines of communication between the association and the administration. There are 6,000 TPEA members here, Phillips said. The more mem bers the chapter has, the better the cross section of opinion will be rep resented, he said. 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