The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 27, 1979, Image 3

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    THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1979
Page 3
Mayor authorized to seek contract
Married housing ‘low-rent Bryan to share health funding,
tn
By Marjorie McLaughlin
Battalion Reporter
entialfori For some 886 Texas A&M Univer-
* sity students and their families,
home is a large apartment complex
north of the Zachry Engineering
Center.
The university-owned apart
ments, which include buildings on
Jersey Street, offer lower-rent
accommodations for married stu-
re jects tie dents enrolled in either undergradu-
s Prwlecesj ate or graduate programs at Texas
^hemilitjBA&M. '
The one or two bedroom apart
ments, ranging in price from $99.50
to $224 a month, are fully furnished
Aith all utilities paid, except for
metering on some apartments with
window units air conditioners.
The 781-apartment complex is self-
sustaining and does not receive any
state or federal funds.
“We don’t have a large profit mar
gin,” said Ken Nicholas, “We are not
the business to make money. We
are providing a service and we try to
keep it (the rent) as low as possible
for Aggies.’
The university-owned apartments
provide washaterias, play areas for
children, a locked boat yard, and
areas for tenants to make gardens.
School buses take children to and
trom local schools.
In addition, part of the motor
maintenance shop in the complex is
>et aside for tenants to work on their
•s.
My approach is that you do for
he tenants, not to them, Nicholas
iaid. “We try to help the students
iave any money that they can.’
Security for the complex is pro-
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vided by the University Police, who
make regular patrols of the area.
“Our biggest continuing crime
problem is theft of bicycles,” Nicho
las said. “But it is very rare to have an
apartment broken into here.”
Students have to apply up to a year
in advance for an apartment. At the
beginning of the fall semester, there
were 450 applications for 175 apart
ments.
“We can never take care of all the
applicants,” Nicholas said.
“We had trouble getting in be-
tion,” she said.
Dan and Angeles Martinez, who
have lived in the apartments for over
a year, also like the idea of living with
other married couples.
“Married couples seem more re
sponsible,” Angeles said. “And,
when I call the office when some
thing is wrong, they come and fix it.
For me, the service is fine.”
The first accomodations for mar
ried students, the Southside Apart
ments, were built before WSorld
War II. Originally designed to house
Council settles squabbles
Residents of the married student apartments get a chance to voice
their opinions about how the complex is run at the twice-monthly
meeting of the A&M Apartment Council.
Gus Wilson, council president, said that the group, consisting of
elected representatives from each apartment complex, handles all
complaints brought by the tenants.
“Most of the problems are minor,” he said. “We either solve the
problem, or tell the tenant who he can call to get help with the
situation.”
The council, which is funded by the MSC Bookstore, the Texas
A&M Association of Former Students and by the Texas A&M Parents
Fund, also sponsors projects and activites for the residents.
“We have projects such as the garden plots and the auto garage,”
Wilson said. “We also rent camping equipment to the residents for a
nominal charge.”
cause they don't always stick to their
waiting lists,” said Lois Matus, who
has lived in the apartments for six
months.
“But, we wanted cheap rent and
paid utilities, and we also like living
around people in the same situa-
male students, the buildings were
later converted into housing for mar
ried students.
In 1946, the College Avenue Bar
racks, located north of campus, were
brought in by the United States
Army to house the influx of veterans
Chicago’ brings back vaudeville
Musical different, delightful
By DILLARD STONE
Battalion StafT
MSC Town Hall brought some-
hing new to Texas A&M last night
-a touch of vaudeville, in the style
)f 1920s Chicago.
You didn’t have to he on your toes
:o notice “Chicago” was different
rom normal musical fare. Oh, the
longs, dances, comedy, and melod-
ama all were present, and just as
njoyable as in any other musical —
iut this musical was different.
The show’s unique air came from
the dichotomous manner in which it
was written, produced and staged.
“Chicago” is a vaudeville show,
and so its players are not only actors
Check letter size
for holiday mail
A Bryan postmaster reminds cus
tomers to check the size of envelopes
before mailing Christmas cards.
Effective last July 15, envelopes
must be at least 3 1)2 inches high and
5 inches long.
A 7 cent surcharge was also placed
on first class mail weighing one
ounce or less, and single piece third
dass mail of two ounces or less that
measure more than 6 1)8 inches
high, 11 1)2 inches long or 1)4 inch
thick.
in a musical story, but participants in
the vaudeville framework.
Slick production values, excellent
technical work and an energetic cast
combined to set an atmosphere that
Review
gave an initially skeptical audience a
good show, and a message as well.
“Chicago” was an excellent parody
of the media hype that often enables
criminals to make a mockery of the
American judicial system by turning
their fame into fortune.
The plot was basically a series of
some-dialogue-and-one-musical-
number sketches tied together by an
emcee in true vaudeville fashion.
Once I realized this, it wasn’t hard to
get involved in the storyline, which
revolved around the efforts of a
woman to escape a murder rap and
use her noteriety to catapult her to
vaudeville stardom.
Melanie Adam and Kristen Childs
both gave energetic performances as
the woman, Roxie, and her friend
Velma.
They were overshadowed though
by Bill McCauley’s melodramatic
performance as defense lawyer Billy
Flynn.
Donald L. Norris, as Roxie’s wim
py husband, headed a fine support
ing cast, which was just as irfuch a
part of the vaudeville act as it was of
the musical.
Backup choreography is just as it
should be — dynamic enough to add
to the show, hut subordinated to the
main action. The surreal dance cos
tumes, though identifying the dan
cers as minor participants, were a
little distracting to my eye — they
didn’t seem to fit the surroundings.
But add a simple stage setting,
more than adequate lighting, a sur
prisingly well-microphoned sound
system, and a polished band backing
the song and dance, and you’ve got
an evening full of a kind of entertain
ment that’s just not around anymore.
__ frank I 1
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returing to school after the war.
The buildings were shipped in
pieces from Texas Army bases and
reconstructed at their present site.
As the number of married stu
dents increased, three more sets of
apartments were built. The newest.
College Avenue, was completed in
1974.
The university is in the process of
tearing down the old barracks build
ings to make room for a new 88-unit
complex called the College View
Apartments.
Nicholas said that poor wiring,
termites, and thin walls make the
low-rent barracks unpopular with
most tenants.
“They were only meant to last 18
months at the most, and they are still
here,” Nicholas said. “But they’ve
gotten many a poor Aggie through
school.”
Tenants still living in the barracks
are given plenty of advance notice
when their building is going to be
demolished. Nicholas said that the
tenants have first priority when
apartments are available for their re
location.
The new apartments are built fac
ing the prevailing winds, and each
has a large set of windows, both front
and back, to allow for good air circu
lation.
Nicholas said that the apartments
are also arranged so that the need for
artificial lighting will be reduced.
“At no time will the sun shine di
rectly into the apartments,” he re
marked. “But, they are arranged so
that the apartments receive the max
imum amount of indirect light. On a
sunny day, the tenants will rarely
have to use artificial lights.”
The new apartments will be unfur
nished, with moveable divider walls
on rollers so the tenants can rear
range the living space as they please.
“I think these are really the apart
ments of the future,” Nicholas said.
“We hope to have 32 of them ready
for occupancy by the spring.”
Make
(HAPPY cottage|
Your Christmas
Headquarters
|We have:
Music Boxes
Tree Ornaments
from Germany
Nativity Sets
Pyramids
Nutcrackers
1 Jewelry from around
the world
[(Located across from Luby’s)
By FLOYD WILTZ
Battalion Reporter
The Bryan City Council Monday night authorized
Mayor Richard Smith to work out a contract with the
city of College Station and Brazos County to deter
mine the city ’s share of funding for the Brazos Coun
ty Health Unit for fiscal year 1979-80.
The health unit provides county-wide services in
cluding restaurant sanitation inspections, septic tank
inspections and venereal disease control. Smith said
after the meeting Bryan’s share would be out
$50,000.
In other business, the council approved payment
of $82,578 to the for renewal of an insurance policy
covering boiler machinery in the Utility Administra
tion; City Hall, Bryan Public Library, Waste Water
Administration and Rural Electric Division.
The council also approved payment to First City
National Bank of $16,667 for its in issuance of $2.7
million City of Bryan Rural Electric Bonds, and
approved payment of $1,718 to Wixon Water Supply
Corp. for relocation of a water line.
The council also approved awarding a contract for
life insurance for city employees to the Southwestern
Life Insurance Company and approved a change
order for a supply increase in the city’s contract for
fuel oil totaling $66,000.
A public hearing was also held concerning im
provement costs to portions of Apple, Peach, Plum,
Stevenson and George streets, hut no one showed up
to address the council.
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Texas A&M Bookstore
has just received a new shipment of books.
NOW 50% OFF
FOR YOUR GIFT GIVING PLEASURE!
Also great for
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SALE IS THIS WEEK
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