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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1979)
THE BATTALION Page 3 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1979 MSC s old ones to be replaced plagues Iranians New chimes planned as gift ' ‘ind villages, 'vt that the hj shared. • in the fa n relatively passionate v . lefnding the » remote. remote, l ne Minister ft ative govemm By LAURA RUTHERFORD Battalion Reporter Ihe Vahdat sisters are afraid. Jsal, 24, Ghazaleh, 23, and Tala |dat, 19, are from Iran. They are ;emed about their future in ;rica. “I don t want my situation to be t really worried, worried that erica might go to war with — Asal Vahdat. of he months4 lardized because of this,” (the and other i wan situation) Asal said in an in lew Sunday. ‘‘1 hope they can 1 . . ork it out and somehow get it over -Q to imagine'; H ” U< h a ^iuatiorr p ]e three A&M seniors have been niov 1 ue ‘InitTica for four years and all have e economyi n p 0 sure gained from their time certainly raist L ii.uy professionptti n g around the living room of great, howess l- house in blue jeans, they seem conscripts, portable with the American lifes- The Vahdat sisters said they came to Texas because tuition for foreign students was less in Texas than any where else. This has since changed. In addition, Asal and Ghazaleh plan ned to get their degrees in bio engineering and Texas A&M is the only university in Texas that offers undergraduate degrees in that field. Tala caught up with her sisters scholastically when they transferred because Asal and Ghazaleh lost so many credit hours. “But,” Asal said, “That’s A&M!” All three plan to graduate in May. Tala will receive a political science degree. The three started their in America when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahla- vi was in power in Iran. Now, with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini plac- teer armylias;| real test, o be that, can muddle of social poliq Bath, writes id laughter, talk about diets sisterly quarrels they appear to a normal college student lifes- But in reality, they face prob- many students never dream of. hi really worried, worried that rica might go to war with Iran,” said. She speaks for all her sis- accepting the role of older sister levelheadedness, control and ist the right amount of emotion. Ihazaleh, the link between Asal’s yllheadedness and Tala’s subdued musiasm, expresses their fear in a bn personal way. “From the time id revolution started, all the time elhink, ‘What is going to happen to ■ she said. “You just can’t con- mtiate; indirectly you think about When the trio came to America I and Ghazaleh spoke very little mi sh and began English classes at outhern Illinois University. Tala Kile English well enough to begin school immediately. Jala got her diploma after only one ear of high school in America, even wugh she had attended high school roae year in Iran. This is because Kiian high schools require such a eavy course load. “From the time the revolution started, all the time we think, 'What is going to happen to us?’ You just can’t concentrate.’’ — Ghazaleh Vahdat ing ever-increasing restrictions on Iranian women, the Vahdat sisters face the possibility they may not be able to use their degrees if they re turn to Iran. This is coupled with the fear that if they stay in America they may never be able to see their pa rents again. They said their parents visit them about once a year, staying several months each time they visit. “As long as they can renew their visa they stay here, when the immig ration officer says ‘no, that’s it they go back. Tala said with a smile. Their parents have been on vaca tion in India for the last month, but the sisters are afraid of what will hap pen when their parents return to their home in Tehran. “If my parents go back to Iran right now, I don’t think they will ever be able to come see us again,” Ghazaleh said. “Never seeing them again, I can’t think about it,” Tala said. Telling Tala to accept the fact it might happen, Asal said, “That’s what worries me, that’s why I don t n / j The Aggie-Longhorn football ;kend was a winner for Texas M University in more ways than Not only did the football team erge victorious, but pledges to MU, the University-owned and crated public television station, ike all previous records. 4ore than $7,200 was pledged to MU during special programs ladcast during the football ekend. During Friday’s live telecast of the ipe Bonfire and accompanying 1 practice that was followed by special Aggie films — “We’ve ver Been Licked” and “That Cer- Spirit” — a total of $3,402 was Ve just cant e last timeaif] ame was. It') ;ver actually aving heard tlj iors of Sparta comment al ever, I do F us stick ’t seen many iany of those it of the staw students? ay that the 12t] in. Here irticle — 11,1 mild up ang au trying to it would tale hots to resui y think t.u. cm? I d i teasips y on the suo] _ Brian Boy lotball team a OR THE [ON SHARE THE MAGIC of creating your own handmade Christmas gifts THE MSC CRAFT SHOP offers a year-round assortment of tools & supplies, a crafts library & qualified clues to help you with "Santa's Projects." Be creative & save money at the Christmas Supply Sale 10-25% Entire Stock (Excluding solder 8e stained glass) 7YOV. 29-DEC. 14 Craft Shop open 10 a.m.-lO p.m. M F 845 1631 10-5 Sat. 1-7 Sun. Closed for Holidays Dec. 21,5 p.m. get enough sleep.” The sisters, all of whom have very high grade point ratios, said the situation is not really affecting their grades, but they added they are hav ing a had time. “When I study, I study, but when “Now, when most of the students see me they think I am Khomeini. They forget I am a student here and haven’t done anything.’’ — Ghazaleh Vahdat. I go to bed at night I can’t really sleep,” Asal said. “I’m thinking of this situation all of the time.” Although they said people here have been really nice to them, they said they don’t feel they are totally accepted. “We got dirty looks before be cause we were foreigners, Tala said. “Now,” Ghazaleh said, “When most of the students see me they think I am Khomeini. They forget I am a student here and haven’t done anything.” The three said they were raised in an upper middle class family. “We are not considered rich in our country,” Asal asid. “We were kind of spoiled, never far from something familiar,” Asal said. But they all agreed things are alot easier on them because three of them are together. No matter what has happened, they said they liked their life here in America. “It’s quiet here,” Ghazaleh said. Asal had a different perspec tive of their life here. “I just like the way of living here ”’ she said. “I’m living for myself. I’m comfortable and there is more privacy.” They compared the city ol Tehran to that of Manhattan Island. Asal said she use to love the traffic but, “Now that I’ve lived in a small town for a while I don’t think I could ever live in a big city again.” The trio said it is their goal to adopt American customs and cul ture. They said they even plan to put up a Christmas tree this year. The sisters are Moslem and don’t cele brate Christmas as part of their reli gion, but they said everyone here is , so involved with the occasion and they want to get involved. The sisters say they don’t date often. “It is not in our culture to date that much,” Ghazaleh said. They said they have already had proposals to marry but they prefer to wait. They said some foreigners marry Americans just to get a permanent By KRIS WIESE Battalion Reporter In case you haven’t noticed, the chimes that used to ring every 15 minutes at the Memorial Student Center haven’t been heard this semester. According to the Rudder Theatre Complex office, which is rsponsible for their maintenance, the chimes have been patched many times in their 29-year history. However, last semester they broke and could not be repaired again because of age. The sound of the Westminster chimes will soon be heard again, though. Jeff Mason, Class of’81 pres ident, said the class has decided to purchase a new clock and chimes as its gift to the University. “We haven’t made an official announcement,” said Mason, “be cause the Class of ’80 hasn’t pre sented their gift yet, and we don’t want to compete with them. This is their senior year. “It has been voted on by the class, though, and has been unofficially approved by the administration,” Mason added. The project will cost the class somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000. Mason said there will be several differences between the old chimes and the Class of ’81 gift. The new set will have an indefinite life span. Mason said. “This should be the last chimes the University has to have,” he said, adding that the old set had an expected life of 30 years. In addition, the new clock and chimes will come with a speaker sys tem that will have a one-mile listen ing radius, so the chimes will be heard all over campus, instead of only in the vicinity of the MSC. The new chimes will do more than sound the time, too, Mason said. Tapes will also be purchased which will play “The Aggie War Hymn” and “Taps.” Mason said several dates have been discussed for installment of the new chimes. “Right now, we are considering Parent’s Day this year. That would be after the unveiling of the Class of 80 s statue of E. King Gill,” he said. That date is subject to change. Mason said. “Recently, several members of the class have brought up the idea of waiting until the be ginning of our senior year before playing the chimes. The idea has had strong support, so we may wait until next year.” | f BLENDS OF GtM-GIVING I 1 3609 Place E. 29th - Bryan Come on up | to the 2nd floor of the MSC! Aggie ! Christmas Fair A I TAMU IN SPAIN 6 wks./6 credits — Summer ’80 Meeting: Tonight, Tues., Dec. 4, 1979 7:30 pm — Academic Bdg., Rm. 108 Courses, Travel, Loans, Prices, Housing, Dates, Flights, etc. Dr. Luis Costa, Director 845-2124 FACILITIES MANAGER Graduate in Architecture, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering with strong interest in construction. Responsible for existing facilities and equipment in 10-15 store region. Seek individual with capability to develop energy conservation programs. Requires effective communication, negotiation and people skills. TGI FRIDAY'S is Dallas-based requiring relocation. 50% flight travel, excellent benefits and growth with an unusually innovative corporation. TGI Friday’s Inc. 14665 Midway Rd. P.O. Box 400329 Dallas, TX 75240 tinning weekend big for KAMU, too pledged by 161 individuals That tot al exceeded the previous record of contributions set in a single night by more than $1,300. That record was promptly broken Sunday night during the station’s telecast of the Texas A&M-Texas football game, when 308 people pledged $3,802. KAMU’s December festival will continue through Sunday night. Other special programs during the festival will include a live “Open House’ program from 7-9 p.m. tonight and a delayed broadcast of the Bryan-College Station Holiday Parade Sunday. 1 1 I l STEAK HOUSE 4: A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE IN GOOD FOOD, FUN AND FRIENDS. 2528 S. 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