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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1980)
The Battali on Vol. 73 No. 87 10 Pages Friday, January 25, 1980 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 ranians vote for first president today By United Press International t the behest of the bedridden but re- prtedly recovering Ayatollah Khomeini, rfinians cast ballots today for their first Iresident while roving government teams ■vised illiterate voters to “find someone you can trust” the fill in the blanks. (The country’s 22 million eligible voters nit half of them illiterate were urged to te for the largely figurehead post by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who reas- |ured them in a recorded message the day not before the election his health was bad.” The 79-year-old leader of the Islamic re public was reported in good condition to day in the Tehran hospital for heart dis eases where he' was rushed Wednesday from his headquarters in Qom with a heart ailment said the duty officer at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran reached by telephone from New York. “We had a new bulletin today. He had a good sleep last night” said the officer who identified himself only as Moini. “He said his morning prayers when he got up.” Tehran Radio monitored by the BBC in London carried a similar report. In another broadcast tbe radio said Khomeini “went to a polling booth at the hospital this morning and cast his vote” for president. The Islamic leader has not en dorsed a candidate. The duty officer said the Interior Minis try was conducting the election “with some of the voting places moving as government teams went into the villages to collect the votes.” The front-runners in the election were Abolhassan Bani-Sadr minister of econo mic and financial affairs who was consi dered a moderate and Culture Minister Hassan Habibi the favorite among Iran’s powerful clergymen. But whoever wins it was clear the first president of the new Islamic Republic almost a year after the revolution will have little power under the Iranian constitution which gives most of the power to Khomeini including the power to discuss the presi dent. The other main contenders included Foreign Minister Sadeqh Ghotbzadeh whose job has thrust him stage center in the drama of the hostages held at the U.S. Embassy; Adm. Ahmad Madani, former governor of the oil-rich Khuzestan pro vince; Crisis Minister Dariush Foruhar; Sadeq Trabatabai, head of the prime minis ter’s office; and Mohammed Mokri, former ambassador to Moscow. Because 76 official candidates were in cluded in the running it was possible no one would receive a majority vote necessi tating another election Feb. 8 between the two front-runners. When asked who illiterate voters would cast their ballots for the officer at the Minis try said “They will be asked to have their friend or somebody they can trust” mark the ballots for them. en. Bill Moore backs residential decision to renew registration By RICHARD OLIVER Staff Writer ■ President Carter’s sharp attack on the pi l ies of Russia, and his call for a resump- ■m of draft registration are both solid Bows of strength and are a good sign for Americans, two political science experts laid Thursday. ■ In a speech Wednesday, Carter called for a draft registration that would required all young men, and perhaps women, from foe ages of 18 to 26 to tell the Selective Service system their names and addresses, md their parents names and addresses. ■ Carter also called for a review of the jltrength of the nation’s intelligence agen- fes. ■ State Sen. Bill Moore said he believes the president is doing the right thing. I’m not going to second-guess the presi- nt, ”he said. “I don’t think the volunteer y would work in the case of an armed inflict. The draft is a harsh thing, and I n’t want to see anyone go to war. I felt ie same way in 1941 when the draft was Instituted then. But it is simply necessary, fc William Snyder, an associate professor of political science at Texas A&M University and an expert in military science, said the draft registration is a good idea. Snyder, on a one-year leave from Texas teaching in Carlisle, Pa., said the president has a problem, and is trying his best to iolve it. "He does definitely have a bad situation on his hands,” he said. “It’s going to be iiard to get people into the armed forces, and he’s simply trying to kick off a debate I on the subject. I think maybe this is the first introduction of the idea so it can be discussed and weighed. It will take some time, probably.” country into the Persian Gulf would be met and “repelled by any means necessary, in cluding military force.” Snyder, however, said the country is not prepared to face a large conflict with the forces available at this time. “All the president has to work with is the present-duty armed forces, plus a few re serve units. There are many problems with these. They are under-strength, there are personnel problems, and the reservists aren’t particularly well-trained. If we ran into any sizeable conflict, we’d run out of people real fast,” he said. Snyder added it was because of this that the president was instituting the draft re gistration now. “It would take about six or seven months to get the draft registration up,” he said. “What do you do after the first shot is fired? Hold off until the draft is worked out? Until the time the draft is instituted, the forces we have would have to hold out.” Snyder said the issue of drafting women into armed service would be up to the young men. “In my view, I think women should be drafted,” he said. “Parents have different attitudes about having their sons serving than having their daughters serving. “I think the question is whether the young men who will be drafted will think about it. If you go up and ask some guy if he wants his girlfriend to be drafted, too, he might say yes, but it would be a mixed situation.” have everyone better informed,” he said. “Just to set up the machinery for all this is groing to take a lot of time. Who knows? It may be just a show of strength. You just never know. Aggies agree draft is needed Snyder said the armed forces currently employ approximately 100,000 women, and the long-term plan of the services is to increase that number to 200,000 by the mid-1980s. Snyder said the public’s feelings toward defense of the country has definitely changed in the past few years. “There’s been a dramatic attitude change in public mood toward defense spending, for instance,” he said. “In many polls I have read over the past few years, there’s been a slow and steady rise in public attitudes for defense. Attitudes on the draft, though, haven’t changed much. Snyder added he felt the nation’s intelli gence services should be allowed to oper ate freely. “Most polls will show that there are half for the draft, and half against. There is a very decided generation break in the atti tudes. Youths aged 18-24 are against it, while men over 50 years old are for it. Both of these generations are becoming more positive toward it (the draft), though.” Carter said the intervention by any “I really don’t know the specifics about it,” he said. “There have been very serious limitations placed on the intelligence ser vices both here and abroad. Perhaps they should be lifted or modified, so we could have a better scope of what people think and how they feel. Until we get some peo ple back in the services we have freedom to maneuver, we won’t accomplish that. “The situation in Iran may never have happened had the American government been aware of the problems. This is why the CIA and other agencies need less re strictions and more support.” Moore agreed. “I don’t think it would be a bad idea to Almanac By United Press International Today is Friday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 1980 with 341 to follow. The moon is in its first quarter. The morning stars are Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury and Venus. Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. Scottish poet Robert Burns was born Jan. 25, 1759. On this day in history: In 1980, young New Yorker Nellie Ely completed a trip around the world in the astounding time of 72 days, six hours and 11 minutes. In 1915, transcontinental telephone service was inaugurated in a hookup be tween New York and San Francisco. In 1971, Charles Manson and three women were found guilty in the mur ders of actress Sharon Tate and six other people. In 1972, President Nixon said North Vietnam had ignored a peace bid which included withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Vietnam in six months. A thought for the day: Poet Robert Bums said, “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.” The most massive single issue of a newspaper was the Sunday, Oct. 17, 1965 edition of the New York Times, which consisted of 946 pages and weighed 7.5 pounds. The world record for handshaking was set by President Theodore Roosevelt, who shook hands with 8,513 people at a New Year’s Day White House reception on Jan. 1, 1907. The shortest war on record was between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar, from 9:02 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. on Aug. 27, 1896. The youngest person ever kid napped was Carolyn Wharton who was abducted 29 minutes after she born on March 19, 1955 by a woman disguised as nurse. The most people to participate in a sporting event was 37,683, who manned 8,304 rafts in the “Ramblin’ Raft Race” on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, Ga., in May 1971. President Carter’s call for resumption of draft registration has drawn a mixed reac tion from Texas A&M University students and faculty. In a survey, the reactions ranged from “it’s great” to “it’s scary,” but all agreed the registration was necessary. Col. James Woodall, Corps Comman dant, said the president’s decision was a wise one. “I think the decision of the registration is timely,” he said. “I think the president’s done a good job. He’s handled the situation well.” Woodall said the draft may help the Corps, should it be reinstituted. “I think it’ll make people more aware, as they go through college, of the future, ” he said. “They’ll have to decide if they want to enter the service as a private or as an officer. “In the long run, it’ll help the Corps. The members are going to be officers, so they won’t be affected much, but people will be more aware of the future and the Corps will grow. ” Deputy Corps Commander Dillard Stone agrees. “From the Corps viewpoint, simply mentioning the idea of the draft won’t affect us,” he said. “If people hear of the draft being renewed, it’ll probably be good for the Corps, as people realize they can either go in as privates or officers.” Stone doesn’t believe the registration for the draft is pertinent at this time. “The situation as a whole, that is Afgha nistan and Iran, etc., is such that the regis tration is not all that applicable,” he said. “It’ll be at least a few months before the plan is even put into effect. In terms of a short-term answer.. . . it’s no good. As a long-term solution, it looks pretty good.” Sandra Francis, commander of the W-l company, said the induction of women is a good idea. “I think it’s great,” she said. “It’s equal opportunity. I think women have a place in the Army. If women can be officers and they can volunteer for service, they can be drafted. Francis said she thinks the president is doing a good job. “Just to be ready is the key to this whole thing,” she said. “The U.S. traditionally has never been ready for a war, but they’ve always managed to pull it out. I think he’s (the president) doing a good job.” — Richard Oliver At the occupied U.S. Embassy the 50 American s being held hostage went into their 83rd day of captivity. Militants were still demanding the return of the exiled shah in exchange for their release. Town sends dead daisies to Khomeini United Press International MORTON, Texas — A west Texas radio station has asked listeners to send dead daisies as a reverse get-well message to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who is hos pitalized in Tehran. Radio Iran reported that Khomeini was rushed from his Qom residence today 100 miles to Tehran where he was hospitalized in good condition with a heart ailment. Ed Couzens of station KRAN said he sought volunteers Thursday to handle in coming phone calls from listeners in West Texas and eastern New Mexico who were responding to his call for the flowers. “West started out with the idea of send ing dead dandelions” Couzens said but added he realized a parcel of dead daisies would be more appropriate. “It’s kind of like ‘he loves me he loves me not. I can’t make up my mind.’ He (the ayatollah) can’t seem to make up his mind about the hostages” Couzens said. The station manager said 200 listeners had phoned the 500-watt station in the first two hours of the campaign and that area high school students also planned to parti- The daily vigil The bronze statue most Texas A&M students know as “Sully” stands in front of the Academic Building near the center of the campus. The statue is a figure of Sul Ross, one the university’s first presidents, an important figure in the school’s early history. cipate. He said the station would take orders from its listeners until 4 p.m. today at which time the dead flowers would be ordered through a local florist. The station and the florist shop are covering the ex penses. From start to finish, 1979 was a nightmare of rising prices United Press International WASHINGTON — For inflation- watchers 1979 was a horror story from start to finish. The Labor Department today was ex pected to confirm that last year’s Consumer Price Index rose at the fastest pace — slightly more than 13 percent — since the government removed World War II price controls in 1946. The only year in the past three decades in which there was a comparable increase in the CPI was 1974 when the Arab oil embargo contributed to a 12.2 percent spurt. The government began compiling con sumer price statistics in 1913 and 1979 will go down as the fifth highest rate since then. It was topped only by 1946 and the three- year period of 1917-19, Labor Department analysts said. The 1978 consumer inflation level was 9 percent. In 1976 the year before President Carter took office it was 4.8 percent. The biggest culprits in last year’s huge price jump were energy and housing costs. Food prices began last year with a rush but settled down to more moderate levels in the final six months. But gasoline and home heating oil costs have set records for annual increases. During the 12-month period beginning in November 1978 gasoline prices at the pump skyrocketed by nearly 51 percent. Home heating oil went up 56 percent dur ing the same period. The White House has blamed the con tinued rise in inflation on oil price increases by the OPEC members. But housing costs also have played a ma jor role in the increase. They rose at an annual rate of nearly 17 percent in the Sep- tember-November 1979 period. RHA votes to request regents to end all plans for new dorms has ne c trai e m o d< exa nan Last year’s inflationary surge caught administration forecasters completely by surprise. One year ago this week the administra tion predicted the rate of inflation in 1979 would be 7.4 percent. Last July officials revised that estimate upward to 10.6 per cent. But both projections were far off. Carter is expected to tell Congress next week that inflation should taper off some what this year and grow in the 10 percent range. This forecast was supported Thursday by Alfred Kahn, chairman of Carter’s Council on Wage and Price Stability. Kahn told reporters on Capital Hill he didn’t “see any immediate relief from infla tion in the months ahead.” But he held out the hope that “we have a real shot” at slower rises in energy costs and a stabilization of mortgage interest rates later in the year. SHERRI DICKEY Campus Reporter In its first meeting of the semester Thursday night, the Residence Halls Asso ciation unanimously approved a motion re questing that the board of Regents consider ending all proposed construction of more dormitories. RHA President Barbara Thompson said the cost of living in existing dorms would soar, to offset high interest rates and con struction costs of new structures. Eric, Green, Walton Hall, representa tive, added that the University does re serve the right to require single students attending Texas A&M to reside on campus when there is available space. But if dorm costs rise sharply because of the high cost of creating more space, the student on a li mited income would suffer, Green said. “I was attracted to this university be cause of the relatively low cost. It would be a conflict to the University’s own interest to increase the cost of attending A&M. Many of us who live in Walton and Hotard Halls live there for economic reasons,” said Green. Thompson encouraged representative to take the issue to their respective hall coun cils. She also asked for feedback and assist ance in composing a conscientious letter with good sound objectives, to be sent to the regents. The RHA also voted that the Board of Regents be requested to implement a plan early in the semester to name Modular C and Modular D residence halls. In other business, RHA presidents and representatives voted to wear name tags on campus identifying themselves as campus leaders during Leadership Week, Feb. 4- 8. John White, an RHA advisor, reviewed the Quonset Hut Rental Policy. Many stu dents have been misinformed that Quonset Hut parties are to end at midnight, White said. There is no set ending time for par ties, White said, and the only requirement is that the place be cleaned by noon the following day. White emphasized that no money can be collected at Q-hut functions if liquor is present. Paul Bettencourt, student senate vice president for rules and regulations, discus sed the parking problem, and told RHA members that a 500-space lot at Kyle Field is planned, and the old turfed area by the tennis courts will be made into a parking lot. A news service to dorm residents, the “Wall Paper,” was also approved by the RHA. The 1330 Corporation, which also sponsors the “Nutshell,” will install a case in each dorm to display the paper which includes articles and advertisements geared toward college students and will be changed periodically.