rticle
angers local Taiwanese students
s
I By RICHARD OLIVER
}/jfl Staff Writer
^Battalion article published Feb. 1 has
*d the anger of several Texas A&M
^rsity Taiwanese students.
f ! article concerns a crackdown by the
nese government on several opposi-
ictions in Taiwan.
;J«iam H. Joe, president of the Chinese
tjBnts Association at Texas A&M, ex-
j anger over the use of a false name
jJ jiTaiwanese student contributing to the
Joe said the use of the name was
j^iest and it should have been identi-
t .|,las a fake.
student, identified as Hung Sin Ping
thi story, was the only one of four
Taiwanese students interviewed to com
ment on the problems in Taiwan. He de
clined to be identified because he said he
feared reprisals against his family and
friends in Taiwan.
In the article, the student was quoted as
saying the people of Taiwan are dissatisfied
with the martial rule of the government,
and said the political crackdowns have
“spread fear throughout the country.”
The article also quoted the student as
saying the government of Taiwan has inter
vened in the affairs of the Taiwanese peo
ple, and everything is controlled.
David Chu, a grduate student in
meteorology, said he thinks the martial
rule is effective in Taiwan because it keeps
the peace. He said the Taiwanese people
are free to express their opinions.
“Everything is not controlled, ’ Chu
said. “You can do anything you like, ... but
you cannot allow violence. You can have a
different opinion, but you cannot destroy
the peace.”
The article also reviewed the story of
Shih Ming-teh, a Taiwanese radical who
was arrested on Jan. 8 and charged with
sedition. Shih was the manager of Formosa
Magazine, an opposition publication that
had demands which included the right to
form a new political party, an end to martial
law and freedom of expression and
assembly.
The trouble between the Taiwanese gov
ernment and the opposition factions began,
in December, when an anti-government
riot in Kaohsiung resulted in nearly 200
policemen being injured.
Wei-ping Mao, who said he was an
eyewitness to the riot, said the government
had granted the opposition forces a permit
to lecture on the day of the riot, but had
refused a request for a march permit.
The factions marched anyway, said Mao,
and attacked unarmed police who were
there primarily to direct traffic.
Chu pointed out only policemen were
injured in the fight. He said some people
were trying to protect policemen from the
protestors.
The Taiwanese people, Joe said, are
satisfied with their government. In addi
tion, the article has subjected the
Taiwanese students to scorn and ridicule in
the eyes of Texas A&M students and fa
culty.
The Chinese Students Association sub
mitted a letter to the Battalion, protesting
the article as “entirely untrue. ” The letter
was accompanied by 91 signatures. There
are approximately 140 Taiwanese students
at Texas A&M.
On Jan. 28, the Battalion received a let
ter from several Texas A&M Taiwanese stu
dents concerning the arrest of Shih
Ming-teh, and sympathizing with his
cause. The letter was accompanied by 14
signatures. Following that letter, the story
was written.
Taiwan is currently a satellite of main
land China, Chu said. The opposition fac
tions, he added, would like to see Taiwan
become a separate country.
“Our forefathers came from China,” he
said, “and Taiwan is a province of China.
We recognize that we are Chinese. You
cannot distinguish between the two.
Ben-Zu Wan, a graduate'student in che
mistry, agreed.
“We have confidence in our country, ” he
said. “The United States is a developed
country. Taiwan, however, is underde
veloped. They (the Taiwanese govern
ment) are trying to incorporate a Western
view ... and an Oriental view.
ffir J
The Battalion
Vol. 73 No. 94 Tuesday, February 5, 1980 USPS 045 360
12 Pages College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611
Body language
Texas A&M University gymnasts Cindy Mahle, above, and Tracy
Shearin, show their balance beam style during the Southwest Texas State
Invitational gymnastics meet. The Texas A&M team placed second over
all in that meet behind Texas Christian University. The Aggie women will
host their own invitational meet Saturday on the main floor of G. Rollie
White Coliseum. Competition for the Texas A&M Invitational starts at 10
a.m. Saturday. staff photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
■MMMHHHMMBI
eterinarian school
orks on new building
By GAIL WEATHERLY
Campus Reporter
ehind the receiving desk at the Texas
|M University School of Veterinary
HKdicine’s small animal clinic, one enters a
(■rid of narrow, crowded hallways, hur-
|d students dressed in green jumpsuits or
ite jackets and jeans, and dogs, dogs,
esl
■To give the animal- and student-packed
Jspital more room, an $11.5 million clinic-
'* allsciences building is being built next to
ie veterinary hospital. With three floors
S S'b 65,000 usable square feet, the building
give the veterinarians room to operate.
esides being a new, 300-cage small
lima! hospital, the clinic will house re-
fcrch labs, a storage area for both small
ddlarge animal units, classrooms, and the
[ministrative offices for the two hospitals.
flie present small animal clinic has
lOOO usable square feet and was designed
j64 students in a class. In 1968 enroll-
pt expanded to 138 per class.
|Dr. E. W. Ellett, project coordinator
id professor of small animal medicine and
ygery, said the old clinic was designed for
Tout 5,000 cases per year, and now 16,000
assorted animals are treated each year.
Hospital supervisor Noberto Espitia said
65 percent to 75 percent of the 235 cages in
the present hospital are occupied a major
ity of the time.
And, when the rush is on, portable cages
are brought in after the regular cages are
filled. Espitia said there was a time this
year when “we had animals coming out our
ears for about a week.”
More people are having to re-schedule
treatment for their animals, but Espitia
emphasized that no animal needing hospi
talization is turned away.
Dr. George C. Shelton, dean of the col
lege of veterinary medicine, said the build
ing project is a “catch-up program,” and
student enrollment will not be increased.
Although student tuition and the cost of
medical services for animals may be in
creased, Shelton said it would be due to
inflation, not the new building.
“Costs would have to increase whether
we had the new building or not,” he said.
Because the veterinary school is a
teaching hospital, it provides services to
the public that aren’t available in private
clinics. There are specialists in most areas
of veterinary medicine, and unique equip
ment aids in the diagnosis and treatment of
animals.
An operating microscope will be one new
piece of equipment in the new clinic. Ellett
said it will allow for microsurgery on the
eyes, blood vessels and middle ear.
Also, research with laboratory animals
and small animals such as dogs and cats will
be expanded.
“We are trying to bring the total function
of teaching and research into balance,”
Shelton said.
And, for those people who want to un
load a lion, tiger or gorilla at the school,
there will be a room on the first floor with
special caging designed for exotic animals.
Students have come in contact with exo
tic animals in the past mainly at zoos, Shel
ton said, because the present school had
“no facilities whatsoever designed for their
care and treatment.”
Although Zapata Warriot Constructors of
Houston has a 76-day working extension
due to rain and delays, Ellett said “they
plan to finish on time — in the summer of
1981.”
A committee will decide what depart
ment or departments will use the old “bark
ing” area when it is vacated.
Ticket, not car,
illegally parked
By KATHLEEN McELROY
Campus Staff
Most Texas A&M University students
who park illegally usually get upset when
they get parking tickets.
But when Bruce Bristow found a ticket
on his car, he was downright mad — he
knew he was parked legally.
Bristow, a sophomore in general studies,
has a green sticker on his car which means
he has to park in lots designated for male
dormitory students with less than 60 credit
hours.
However on weekends — according to
the University police from 5:30 p.m. Fri
day to 6:30 a. m. Monday — he can park his
car in any lot normally reserved for the
Texas A&M faculty, staff, employees or day
students. So last weekend Bristow, who
lives in Dunn Hall, parked his car in a lot
behind his dorm in an area reserved for day
students and female dorm students, and he
had planned to move it before 6:30 Monday
morning.
The only problem was some campus
policeman put a ticket on his car at 3:50 in
the morning.
Bristow took his story to Morris Maddox,
the assistant University police chief, who
agreed with him and stopped the ticket.
“He (the officer) should have known it
wasn’t a violation,” Maddox said Monday.
Even though any student with a sticker
can park in the blue or yellow sticker lots on
weekends, Maddox said only those with
red stickers — all female dorm students or
upperclass male dorm students — can park
in lots designated for red.
Anyone else, he said, will get a real ticket
— no matter what time of day, night, or
week.
Advisers warn
law may not affect
some renters
By LAURA RUTHERFORD
Campus Reporter
The recently passed Warranty of Habita
bility does not change the rights of many
student tenants, Texas A&M University’s
student legal advisers warn.
The warranty guarantees an apartment
renter that the apartment must be repaired
if a problem exists that can potentially affect
the health or safety of an ordinary tenant.
The legal advisers said some leases
already contain such a provision. Tenants
with these leases are already protected, so
the state statute does not enhance their
rights.
Lowell Denton, assistant adviser, said
the renter most affected by the warranty
will be the “subsistence housing” renter,
because the living conditions must not en
danger the health or safety of the tenant.
He said this may raise the rent if the land
lord has been able to keep the rent low by
not making repairs.
Denton said renters don’t have the right
to force the landlord to provide a pleasant
place to live.
“They just have the right to have a habit
able place,” he said.
While the law maljes it plain that the
landlord must pay for repairs, some leases
still don’t require landlords to make the
repair themselves. In this case, he said, the
tenant will probably be expected to hire
someone for the landlord or to make the
repair himself.
If a tenant feels the problem is covered
by the warranty he should follow the steps
required by the statute. The law is not
specific about what is covered or how se
vere the problem should be before it
threatens the health or safety of the tenant.
Student legal adviser Jim Locke said this is
something that will have to be determined
in court on an individual case basis.
The warranty requires the tenant to send
a letter to the landlord requesting a repair.
If the repair is not made in what the tenant
thinks is a reasonable amount of time, he
must send another letter demanding either
the repair, or a letter from the landlord
explaining the delay. If the tenant does not
receive a written explanation for the delay
or the repair is not made within five days,
the only recourse is for the tenant to prose
cute.
Locke said if these steps are taken and
the landlord gives written notice within
five days, the tenant must prove the repairs
should have been made.
If the landlord does not give written
notice for the delay within five days, the bu
den of proof is changed. The landlord must
prove why he could not make the repair.
Locke said the tenant should not expect
the landlord to repair something broken by
himself or his guests. He said in most cases
the tenant pays for the damage, then the
landlord repairs it. Locke said a landlord
may not even want a tenant involved in the
repair.
Denton said this is something the tenant
could use to his advantage. He said, if the
tenant has a repair he has asked the land
lord to fix and it has not been fixed, he
should write the landlord a letter saying
someone else has been hired to repair it.
He said this sometimes gets the job done.
The advisers stressed that the tenant
should write a letter requesting repairs if
thatis what the lease requires. Denton said
calling or just telling someone in the office
leaves the tenant without any legal re
course.
“If the lease requires a written notice
then that is what is legally required,” De
nton said.
The adviser said there are things the
tenant should do if he needs to approach
the apartment management about repairs.
“Be reasonable, at least business-like,
and be nice, if you can, with the local mana
ger,” Locke suggested.
He said the problem is not usually with
the manager but with managerial supervis-
ers. He said the manager may think the
tenant is right but many not be able to
override the autho^y of the supervisor. If
the tenant has the manager mad at him
personally, Locke said, he may not have
anyone on his side if a problem arises.
Denton said renters should remember to
get the full name of the management peo
ple they deal with. If a person leaves town,
which is not uncommon in this area, this is
the only way to get in touch with him, he
said.
Locke and Denton are conducting a
seminar on the Warranty of Habitability
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in 410 Rudder. It
is the first in a series of seminars to be
conducted by the advisers throughout the
semester.
The Almanac -\
By United Press International
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 5, the 36th
day of 1980 with 330 to follow.
The moon is moving toward its last
quarter.
The morning stars are Mars, Jupi
ter and Saturn.
The evening stars are Mercury
and Venus.
Those born on this date are under
the sign on Aquarius.
American evangelist Dwight
Moody was born Feb. 5, 1838.
On this date in history:
In 1631, British clergyman Roger
Williams arrived 4n Salem, Mass.,
seeking religious freedom. He
founded the colony of Rhode Island.
In 1904, Russia and Japan broke
off diplomatic relations in dispute
over Korea and Manchuria.
In 1937, a bitter controversy be
gan when President Franklin D.
Roosevelt sent proposals to Congress
to reorganize the federal judiciary,
particularly the U.S. Supreme
Court.
In 1971, Americn astronauts Alan
Shepard and Edward Mitchell of
Apollo 14 walked on the moon for
four hours.
A thought for the day: German au
thor Thomas Mann said, “A man’s
dying is more the survivors’ affair
than his own.
Susan B. Anthony dollar
gets the Bonehead Award
United Press International
DALLAS — It was worth a dollar but the
U.S. government could barely give it away.
No one, it seemed, wanted the Susan B.
Anthony dollar coin.
For the lack of foresight shown by the
U.S. Mint, the Treasury Department,
Congress and feminist groups that de
signed, commissioned, distributed and
promoted the coin, the Dallas Bonehead
Club has an honor: Bonehead of the Year.
“Our newest coin, the Susan B. Anthony
dollar, is a textbook example of the govern
ment’s ability to do the wrong thing in the
wrong way,” the Bonehead Club said.
The coin, similar in size to a quarter,
never caught on with the public and few
remain in circulation.
Economist Howard Ruff, author of “How
to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, ”
will accept the award on behalf of the feder
al government and feminist groups.
The Bonehead Clib, with the motto of
“to learn more and moPe about less and less
until eventually we know everything about
nothing,” annually honors the unusual and
hapless.
Previous Bonehead winners include
Andrea Weitman, the first female Boy
Scout, President Richard Nixon and Jimmy
“The Greek Snyder.