The Battauon
Vol. 73 No.
14 Pages
81
Mexico may have
solution to crisis
United Press International
UNITED NATIONS — Mexico may in-
oduce a Security Council resolution link-
ng freedom for American hostages in
ehran to an international inquiry on the
lleged crimes of the ousted shah of Iran,
iplomatic sources said.
The sources Wednesday said Mexico,
hich became a Security Council member
i January, was considering a plan to bring
he Iran crisis to the council again.
A Soviet veto Sunday killed a U.S.-
ponsored resolution calling for economic
lanctions against Iran until the 50 hostages
ield in the U.S. Embassy are released.
In another response to the crisis,
iecretary-General Kurt Waldheim held
delicate discussions on Iran over the past
!4 hours, his aides said.
U.N. officials could not confirm the re-
»rt of a possible new council session on
Iran that would discuss a resolution to set
ip an international commission to investi-
^te Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s al-
eged crimes.
The Mexican delegation was unavailable
ibr comment.
Bangladesh and Jamaica, both non
permanent members of the 15-member
Security Council, were considered possi-
.•.-1 pie co-sponsors of the resolution.
The resolution would call for the com
mission to begin its investigation at the
same time the American hostages are re
leased, the sources said.
An American spokeswoman at the
United Nations declined to be confirm any
specific moves to resume the Iran debate.
“A variety of ideas, a variety of countries
— Mexico has been mentioned as one —
have been mentioned, but let me say this, I
haven’t heard anything that we would con
sider movement,” Jill Schuker told re
porters.
Waldheim postponed a news conference
because of his private Iran talks and
spokesman Rudolf Stajduhar shrugged off
Tehran denials that Waldheim was accept
able as an intermediary in the Iranian
crisis.
The secretary-general scheduled the
conference to brief reporters prior to leav
ing Friday for India to attend a United Na
tions Industrial Development conference
in New Delhi.
Waldheim talked by telephone with
Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Mansour Farhang;
Ambassador Jacques Leprette of France,
the president of the Security Council; and
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance during the
past 24 hours, the spokesman said. But he
declined to divulge the nature of the con
servations.
Heck, we’ve got restaurants
United Press International
MOSCOW, Ohio— Mayor Eugene IIol-
and says the Olympics should be in
Moscow.
“Moscow, Ohio, that is,” he points out.
That way you can move the Olympics out
ifRussia, but keep it in Moscow.
“We re only a village of500," the mayor
hits, “but beck, we ve got three or four
estaurants where people could eat.
“We ve got kind of a motel. It’s made out
jfsome trailers. People could stay there.
’There's a couple more motels 8 miles down
the road.
We re right next to the Ohio River, too.
We’ve held some pretty big boat races
there. We could hold the swimming events
in the river. Then we have the Moscow
Elementary School gym. There’s also hills
around us for the running events.”
The Moscow, Ohio, movement already
has the support of a U. S. senator.
Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, ac
cepted a “’Move it to Moscow, Ohio”
T-shirt from Holland on Wednesday.
“This T-shirt will be displayed in the
entrance of my office in Washington until
we get the Olympics moved to Moscow,
Ohio, said Metzenbaum. “You ve got my
pledge of support. We re coming to
Moscow, Ohio.”
Photo by Brian Blalock
Dr. Arthur Tollefson, director of counseling and testing for Texas A&M Uni
versity, says a report criticizing standardized admissions tests is full of “half-
truths.”
rl>
iThe almanac
By United Press International
Today is Thursday, Jan. 17, the 17th day
of 1980 with 349 to follow.
The moon has reached its new phase.
The morning stars are Mercury, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn.
The evening star is Venus.
Those born on this date are under the
sign of Capricorn.
American statesman, scientist and au
thor Benjamin Franklin was born Jan. 17,
1727.
On this day in history:
In 1806, the first baby was born in the
White House. He was the son of Thomas
and Martha Randolph and grandson of
President Thomas Jefferson.
In 1917, the United States bought 50 of
the Virgin Islands in the West Indies from
Denmark for $25 million, and they remain
a U.S. territory. The other 50 Virgin Is
lands belong to, or are associated with,
Britain.
In 1950, nine bandits staged a $1.5 mil
lion robbery of a Brink’s armored car in
Boston.
In 1977, Theodore Sorensen asked Pres
ident Carter to withdraw his nomination for
CIA director because of mounting opposi
tion.
A thought for the day; Benjamin
Franklin said, “Doth thou love life? Then
do not squander time, for that is the stuff
life is made of. ”
Thursday, January 17, 1980
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
StttfT photo by Lynn Blanco
Mother nature strikes
Lightning struck the roof of the YMCA Building Wednesday at about 4:10
p.m. According to John Jeane, a freshman petroleum engineering major,
about 20 bricks were blown from the northwest corner of the building,
some hitting Puryear Hall across the street. No one was hurt.
President believes
world condemnation
surprised Russians
United Press International
WASHINGTON —President Carter be
lieves the Soviets were “chastened and
surprised” by world condemnation of their
Afghan invasion and he has resolved to hold
them responsible for their military inter
vention.
Carter was meeting today with Egyptian
Vice President Hosni Molarak to discuss
the U.S. determination to establish a
stronger military presence in the Persian
Gulf and Middle East as a result of the
Soviet move. Egypt has offered the United
States the use of its bases.
In an interview with visiting editors that
was released Wednesday, Carter said, “My
own belief is, based on evidence, that the
Soviets have been somewhat chastened
and surprised by the strong reaction in the
other nations in the world, as exemplified
by the United Nations’ vote, and also that
other countries have rallied along with us to
lead action that would restrain the Soviets
repeating this in the future.”
Carter said he believes the Soviets felt
they could take this action with minimal
adverse reaction.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” he
said, “but I am resolved not to back off on
our commitment to hold the Soviets re
sponsible for what they have done.”
Meantime, press secretary Jody Powell
rejected criticism from some quarters, in
cluding Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash.,
that economic sanctions against Iran for
holding American hostages were “counter
productive.”
He said Carter had “thought carefully
about it and concluded” it was the correct
way to proceed to force Iran to pay a higher
price for its action.
Responding to a question, he said, “The
process of disintegration of Iran is not
primarily due to United States’ action but
due to the preoccupation of the Iranian
authorities with the incarceration of 50
American hostages.”
He said the Iranian authorities need to
bring the crisis to an end by releasing the
hostages so that “they can devote their at
tention to the real threats.”
Powell said the situation with the hos
tages remains the same with the United
States still unable to establish where they
all are and in what condition.
Powell said Carter has not contacted
Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev directly
since their hot-line messages in late de-
cember.
But he said the United States is certain
the Soviets are aware of Carter’s views and
commitments to protect America’s vital
interests in areas bordering Afghanistan.
Soviets order U.S. reporters
to leave Afghanistan immediately
United Press International
WASHINGTON — All American re
porters were ordered out of Afghanistan
Thursday by the Soviet-backed govern
ment, the State Department said Thurs
day.
Spokesman Mark Sawoski said jour
nalists, including cameramen, were told to
be on the first available plane out of the
capital city of Kabul.
He said additional details of the order,
relayed to Washington by the U.S. Em
bassy in Kabul, would be available later in
the day.
“It’s a flagrant violation of basic norms of
international behavior. We find it rep
rehensible,” he said.
It was not immediately clear, he said,
whether the order was being given to re
porters individually or to the embassy for
relay to the journalists.
The order, he said, appeared to have
come from Afghanistan’s office of informa
tion.
Press reports indicated there were 30 to
50 American reporters and cameramen in
Afghanistan.
It was the second time in the week
American news organizations were ordered
out of a foreign trouble spot. Corre
spondents were told Tuesday to leave Iran.
Nader’s SAT report Tull of half-truths’
By ANDY WILLIAMS
General Assignments Reporter
The conclusions of a study that criticizes
standardized admissions tests are too dras
tic and amount to “throwing out the baby
with the bath,” Texas A&M University’s
director of counseling and testing said
Wednesday.
Dr. Arthur Tollefson said a Ralph
Nader-sponsored report which was re
leased Monday is frill of “half-truths.” Tol
lefson is Texas A&M’s institutional repre
sentative for the College Board, the agency
which established the Educational Testing
Service, the target of the report.
The study said exams like the Scholastic
Aptitude Test are little better than random
chance at predicting success. It also said
the tests are biased against minorities.
Nader himself recommended basing
admissions on previous school records and
achievements.
Tollefson said the report criticized the
tests themselves for faults that lay in in
terpretation and use them.
Singer busted
on drug charge
United Press International
Paul McCartney, being held for al
legedly trying to smuggle marijuana into
Japan, was interrogated by police for six
hours today while crowds of rock fans out
side wept and shouted “Paul! Paul!
Narcotics officials said the 37-year-old
rock star was relaxed and cooperative dur
ing the questioning, but that he insisted
that he brought the drug into Japan for his
own use and that it is less harmful than
alcohol.
The former Beatle was arrested Wed
nesday at Tokyo’s international airport at
N arita on charges of trying to smuggle more
than 200 grams — about 8 ounces — of
marijuana. He was accompanied by his
wife, Linda, and their four children.
Mrs. McCartney and other members of
the Wings also wre questioned by narcotics
officials but were not charged. Many of his
fans wept as they saw McCartney, handcuf
fed but smiling, being led to the Narcotics
Bureau from the police detention center,
and they held a vigil for him outside while
he was being questioned for more than six
hours.
“Some administrators tend to look at
these (test scores) as a pure and sure indica
tor of success, ” Tollefson said. He said a
better way of forecasting success is to use
the tests in conjunction with school rec
ords.
Texas A&M changed its admissions pol
icy last fall to allow all students who
graduated in the top 10 percent of their
high school classes to enter. Before, a score
of at least 800 (of a possible 1,600) was
required of students in the top halves of
their classes.
Tollefson said this policy allows for a
“common sense factor which the tests do
not measure.
But Tollefson opposes the idea of basing
admissions exclusively on high school rec
ords.
“If the tests are eliminated, the inevita
ble consequence is that the public will pay
through the nose for it,” he said.
More students who are incapable of pass
ing classes at Texas A&M would be admit
ted, he said, causing larger and more sec
tions. The increased failure rate would also
necessitate remedial classes, which would
also be expensive.
ETS tests include the Scholastic Ap
titude Test, Law School Admission Test,
Graduate Record Exam, and several
others. More than 7 million students a year
are tested by ETS.
The tests do have discriminatory ele
ments, Tollefson said. One of their most
common faults, he said, is the use of terms
that are unfamiliar to most students who
grew up poor. He recalled one incident
that had to do with furniture — it used the
word “Chippendale.”
“You take kids from the wrong side of the
tracks. They wouldn’t know a Chippendale
from the Clydesdale.”
The best cure for the problems of the
underprivileged with admissions tests is
remedial education, Tollefson said. These
programs should be instituted through
universities and especially through com
munity colleges, he said.
Nader and his group are playing politics
in their statements on the tests, Tollefson
said.
“I think it’s just too bad that Ralph Nader
and a few other people who ought certainly
to know better are making political hay out
of this,” he said.
Whirlybird
Its day may he here
United Press International
NEW YORK — The country’s two big
makers of large helicopters are hoping the
whirlybirds at last will break into the
scheduled airline business in the 1980s.
Presently, large helicopters, those that
can carry a dozen to 40 passengers, find
their biggest non-military use in ferrying
men and equipment to offshore oil rigs and
remote mining areas.
They have been used to some extent in
New York and a few other cities around
the world to ferry passengers between air
ports to make air flight connections. But
this business did not prove consistently
profitable and one of two accidents gave it
a bad image.
Both Sikorsky division of United
Technologies Corp. and Boeing’s Vertol
division said the big helicopters now are
fast enough and have sufficient passenger
carrying capacity to compete with the
smaller fixed-wing airlines in the commu
ter trade — flights of 200 miles or so be
tween congested points.
“Congested points” is the key phrase.
The helicopter’s one big advantage over
the fixed-wing plane is that it can take off
and land vertically from close in to the
business district of a city.
One big problem of the commuter air
line is that customers lose a big part of the
time they have saved by flying while sit
ting in crawling buses or taxicabs between
downtown and the airport at each end of
the flight.
“Our biggest Chinook helicopter, the
44-passenger job, can land or take off in a
pinch at an area only 75 feet in diameter,”
a Vertol executive told UPI. They could
make landings on the rooftops of many
buildings or any vacant lot at least theoret
ically feasible. Of course, there are many
sound reasons for not doing anything as
hair raising as that in regular airline serv
ice.
But President Gerald Tobias of Sikorsky
said a lot of only three acres right in the
heart of a congested area could safely
handle commuter helicopter flights with
up to four gates and adequate ground and
terminal facilities, thus picking up and dis
charging passengers within easy bus and
taxi or even walking distances of their of
fices.
Much as they hope to break into the
commuter airlines neither of the makes of
big helicopters is counting on it for their
bread and butter.
Tobias said other, more urgent uses for
helicopters will produce a minimum de
mand for 8,000 new whirlybirds over the
coming decade for a wide variety of com
mercial, scientific and industrial tasks.
He said it is imperative that many com
munities recognize this and provide suita
ble heliports for helicopters to land and
take off. It simply is not a good, safe idea to
have the roto-blade craft continue to land
at airports designed for huge, high-speed,
fixed-wing airplanes.
Sikorsky recently set some new point-
to-point speed records with the 12-
passenger Spirit helicopter between New
York and Boston and Washington. Made
under varying conditions, the record be
tween Washington and New York was
205.17 miles an hour and the mark be
tween New York and Boston was 188.23
miles an hours. These speeds are a little
slower than those of a fixed-wing commu
ter plane but adequate for flights of 200 or
even 350 miles considering the saving that
could be made in ground travel at both
ends of the trip.
Unfortunately, neither Washington nor
Boston has a heliport, Tobias noted, so
there was no time saving as compared with
a fixed-wing plane on the speed tests.