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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1980)
The Battalion Vol. 73 No. 91 22 Pages in 2 Sections Thursday, January 31, 1980 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 Bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds and automobiles are causing traffic prob lems on Texas A&M’s inner-campus. University administrators are look ing at the problem and hope to design a solution soon. Meanwhile, the University Traffic Panel is considering a proposal to make the central area of campus a walking area for bicyclists. Photo by Paul Childress ongress thanks Canada for rescue United Press International L/l WASHINGTON — A grateful Congress 0/I s given its thanks to Canada for the dar- J ;escape from Iran and safe return home six Americans who will use the privacy of sver Air Force Base in Delaware to have eir first meeting with their loved ones. AirForce Maj. Robert Groom base infor- L/ ation officer said the six Americans ar- ved at Dover from West Germany ednesday afternoon. After an overnight stay at the base they meet their families who came to Dela- IVE are hr the reunion. 'n Friday, the six will travel to Washing- Students on SSI grants still waiting ton and, at a news conference scheduled for 4 p.m. EST at the State Department, will tell the story of how they hid tor nearly three months in the Canadian Embassy and used forged documents to escape. The House and Senate approved resolu tions Wednesday thanking the Canadian government for protecting the Americans and helping them escape. House Speaker Thomas O’Neill, who speaks from the floor only on special occa sions, called the escape “an extraordinary act of courage and friendship.” “It was truly a humanitarian act and America will never forget it,” O’Neill said. Sen. Lawton Chiles, D-Fla., said the Senate resolution represents “a special thank you to our neighbors of the North. The decisions they made and the actions they took saved the lives of six Americans. Canadian officials shrugged off state ments by Iranian Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh that Canada “will pay” for the deception which he called a “flagrant viola tion of international law, a betrayal of Iran, and a brutal act of espionage. ” The Americans conferred with State De partment officials Wednesday night but spokesmen would give no other details. State Department spokesman Hodding Carter said their seclusion was in part to protect them from “a ravaging horde of journalists.” Officials said the six were given physical checkups at Frankfurt West Germany after their weekend escape then flew to the U n- ited States. The six are Mark J. Lijek, a consular officer, and his wife Cora Amburn Lijek, a consular assistant, both of Falls Church Va.; Joseph D. Stafford, a consular officer, and his wife, Kathleen F. Stafford, a consu lar assistant, both of Crossville Tenn.; Hen ry Lee Schatz, an agricultural attache of Coeur D Alene, Idaho, and Robert G. Andres, a consular officer of Port Charlotte, Fla. According to what some members of the group have told relatives in the United States, they sneaked out the back door of the U.S. Embassy shortly after the Nov. 4 takeover and made it safely to the Canadian Embassy. There they were integrated into the Canadian diplomatic workforce while bid ing from Iranian authorities. Apparently carrying forged Iranians visas and Canadian passports, they finally left Tehran last weekend. Canada then closed its embassy in Iran to avoid retribution. Vi IVE 5 VE IVE Gold falls slightly, dollar up fo/ By LAURA RUTHERFORD ^/I Campus Reporter The 500 Texas A&M University students deceiving the State Student Incentive Grant may not get the money next year. Texas will not be eligible for the grant un less Congress reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965 to accommodate the state’s accreditation statute. Dr. B. G. Johnson, assistant director for student financial aid, said Texas A&M re ceives about $91,500 of the $4.1 million granted to Texas by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. £tj/ Johnson said the grant must be matched 'I by University funds, so Texas A&M uses |the grant to supplement money that would already be going to the student. This in creases available Texas A&M grant money IVE by one-third, he said. Texas State Student Incentive Grant money was impounded last summer be cause of a U.S. Office of Education ruling. Texas was not meeting the requirements of the Higher Education Act, under which the money is granted, the agency said. A1976 amendment to the act, effective in 1978, requires students attending any non-profit, post-secondary institution to be le for the grant. But Texas does not accredit all non-profit, post-secondary in stitutions. In Texas, those institutions not accredited do not receive State Student Incentive Grant money. i | Texas received the grant money this year lyjl because of a technical amendment spon sored by Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and signed by President Carter in October. The amendment only released the money for 1979-80. Dexanne Clohan, a spokesman for Bent- sen, said Texas should receive the money l/j| after reauthorization. Clohan said Con gress would probably just reword the tech nical amendment so that it will continue beyond 1980. She added Congress tries to protect state laws that exist before legisla tion. Clohan said Congress does not intend b take control over higher education away bom the state. United Press International LONDON — The price of gold fell slightly and the dollar rallied today in light trading on world money markets. The Almanac\ United Press International Today is Thursday, Jan. 31, the 31st day of 1980 with 335 to follow. The moon is full. 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. American entertainers Eddie Cantor and Garry Moore were born on Jan. 31 — Cantor in 1892 and Moore in 1915. On this date in history: In 1950, President Harry Truman announced he had ordered develop ment of the hydrogen bomb. In 1958, Explorer 1, the first U.S. earth satellite, was launched from the Cape Canaveral missile test center. In 1961, Ham, a male chimpanzee, was rocketed into space in a test of the project Mercury capsule to carry an American astronaut into orbit. In 1979, President Carter and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Teng signed agreements to provide the framework for what the president called “a new and irreversible course” in Chinese-American relations. A thought for the day: In a 1945 mes sage to Congress on atomic energy, President Truman said, “The release of atomic energy constitutes a new force too revolutionary to consider in the framework of old ideas.” “With no fresh news gold remained quiet and cautious today, ” said a dealer for John son Matthey bullion brokers in London. The price of an ounce of gold fell $39 on the Hong Kong market overnight closing at $681. Gold also fell in London and Zurich opening on the London market at $670 an ounce down from Wednesday’s close of $690 an ounce. It started the day in Zurich at $677 an ounce down from $698 an ounce. By mid-morning gold fell to $668 an ounce down $22 from its overnight close. Meanwhile rumors apparently fueled the rise in the dollar on most money mar kets. “The dollar scored a broad advance all around this morning following reports that Russia has a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan,” said a dealer for Barclay’s. Pastorini Administrators look at campus traffic problems By CATHY SAATHOFF Campus Reporter Recent problems caused by bicycles on campus have caused the start of a study to solve them. Dr. Charles Powell is surveying bicycle traffic control at universities across the country to work out a solution to Texas A&M’s problems with bikes. Dr. John Koldus, Vice President for Stu dent Services, asked Powell, his assistant, to tackle the problem which includes colli sions between bicycles and pedestrians, cars and other bicycles. "We re trying to come up with some thing that’s a compromise,” Powell said. Coping with the hikes alone won’t solve the problem, he said. All forms of traffic enter ing and leaving campus must be consi dered. Paul Bettencourt, Student Senate Vice President for Rules and Regulations and a member of the University Traffic Panel, said finding a solution won’t be easy. “There’s not a solution that is going to please everybody, Bettencourt said. Bettencourt is helping Powell with his survey by talking to groups on campus ab out what should be done; Powell is writing to other schools to find out how they handle bike traffic. “We hope we can take the best of what they ve done and come up with a workable plan for this campus,” Powell said. So far, Powell is impressed with the Uni versity of California at Berkeley’s plan, which includes specific bike trails and park ing areas. He said A&M is the only campus he has seen that mixes bicycle and pedes trian traffic. The traffic panel is looking at a proposal to make the central area of campus a walk ing area for bikes. “The traffic panel wants to take action on this because they see it as a problem,” Bet tencourt said. However, the panel will have to hold off until Powell finishes his investigation. Tom Parsons, director of security and traffic for the University Police is against the idea. “I personally am opposed to the proposal put to the traffic committee. Parsons said. You’re not going to see anything done ’til Powell finishes his investigation.” Powell said he could come up with a workable plan in a month, but it will be next semester before anything can be done with it. Meanwhile, he will visit California to see how several campuses on the West Coast are handling traffic. He is also meeting with city officials from Bryan and College Sta tion, since the problem isn’t isolated on campus. “We could work out a metropolitan bicy cle plan,” Powell said. Powell said all forms of traffic must be included in the study, which is being paid for with money from the Student Services fund. “It’s going to take a lot of cooperation between people, he said. Russ McDonald, University Police Chief, said lack of cooperation is part of the problem now. “It’s very hard to enforce bicycle laws,” McDonald said. Cyclists are hard to catch, he said, be cause they can ride between buildings to evade police cars, and officers on foot can’t keep up with them. “No one is going to solve the bicycle problem except the users themselves,” Parsons said. Powell said the final solution may restrict cyclists. “Bicycles have to obey the same traffic regulations as the motor vehicles,” he said. However, some cyclists on this campus are trying to have the best of two worlds, Powell said, by following a mixture of auto mobile and pedestrian rules, or no rules at aU. “It’s what the people are accustomed to doing,” Powell said. Powell said the administration encour ages people to ride bikes, and said most accidents are not serious, although he has heard of students losing teeth and breaking bones. “I’m looking forward to getting into it,” Powell said. “Hopefully the final results will make it livable for everybody.” Hong Kong and London were the only markets where the dollar dropped. In Hong Kong, the dollar closed at 238.80 yen from 239.35 while the pound sterling was worth $2.2685 at the opening on the Lon don market after an overnight .close of $2.2620. In Frankfurt the dollar opened at 1.7375 German marks from 1.7350 while in Zurich the opening of 1.6248 Swiss francs, com pared with Wednesday’s close of 1.6212. The dollar was also up in Paris at 4.0645 francs from 4.0635 in Brussels, at 28.8050 Belgian francs from 28.7350 in Amsterdam, at 1.9185 from 1.9160, and in Milan at 807.40 Italian lire from 806.55. Gold was traded at prices higher than $700 an ounce in all exchanges Wednesday hut dipped into the upper $600 an ounce range by time of the close. Regents foresee no worker firings By DEBBIE NELSON Campus Staff Due to adjustment factors, the Texas A&M University System is at present “substantially in compliance” with Gov. William P. Clements’ request to reduce employees by five percent, and will not fire employees due to the resolution, Chancellor Frank W. R. Hubert said Wednesday. Although the board of regents re solved Tuesday to adopt a policy calling for a five percent reduction in university system employees by August 31, 1980, their resolution also called for adjust ments for “changes in enrollment and research contracts” and “contractual obligations for research and teaching.” A statement released by Hubert stated, “In my view, the Texas A&M University Board of Regents took a posi tive and responsible position with refer ence to the Governor’s request for a five percent reduction in the number of em ployees between Jan. 31, 1979 and Aug. 31, 1980.” Hubert said the University system is in substantial accordance with the prog ram for efficient and effective manage ment in state government based on ad justment for the following factors: & Increased student enrollment in the system’s colleges and universities. — Legal obligations to government, business and industry for research and teaching programs already under con tract. — Essential services — fire fighting, fighting crop and forest diseases. — Maintaining excellence in the sys tem’s teaching, research and extension programs. An article appearing in Tueday’s Bat talion stated 645 University system em ployees would lose their jobs before Aug. 31, 1980. This was an oversimplifi cation of the facts, Hubert said, and could cause undue anxiety to University system employees. Without the adjustment factors adopted in the board of regents’ resolu tion, the figures in the Battalion article would be correct — five percent of the employees on Jan. 31, 1979’s University system payroll, or 645 out of 12,905 em ployees. Howeyer, due to the adjustment fac tors, which Hubert said he believed the governor would deem important, no fir ing of employees is anticipated. Quarterback denies requesting trade United Press International HOUSTON — Yes, Dan Pastorini is hav ing problems with the Houston Oilers and certain provisions of his contract, but no, he does not want to be traded, the team said Wednesday. Oilers spokesmen said Pastorini, 30, de nied telling a reporter he had requested a trade after being told two weeks ago his $300,000-a-year contract forbade him from engaging in “activities which may involve significant risk of personal injury.” The pro athlete, who drives racing boats, had sought recently to drive dragsters in the off-season. In a statement released Wednesday afternoon the team did indicate, however, that there were problems with the quarter back and that legal action might be taken to keep him from buying and racing a dragster. “Last week,” Oilers owner K. S. “Bud” Adams Jr. said, “head coach Bum Phillips had advised him (Pastorini) that he had instructed Oiler legal counsel” to inform an automobile dealer that employing Pastorini to “drive a high speed dragster in competi tion. . . would be a violation of his contract. ” Phillips was out of town Wednesday and Pastorini’s agent said the quarterback left town temporarily following the publication of the Houston Chronicle’s Wednesday edition. The newspaper reported that Pastorini wanted to renegotiate the final four seasons of his six-year contract or be traded to De nver, Oakland, San Francisco or Los Angeles. “I love it here, but I want out,” Pastorini More sports on page 12 was quoted as saying. In two interviews with Houston radio reporters following publication of the story, Pastorini denied asking to be traded. The quarterback told KPRC radio that the contract restriction against him driving dragsters was “not the problem.” In the newspaper, however, he said the restriction was “not the problem but part of the problem.” He also said he “failed to read” the stipulation. Ladd Herczeg, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of the team, contacted Pastorini by phone Wednesday. “Pastorini informed Herczeg that the newspaper story was untrue and he denied requesting that he be traded to another club,” the Oilers said. The quarterback confirmed to KTRH radio that he was having contract problems. “There is a contract dispute,” he said, “but I haven’t asked to he traded vet.