The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 14, 1980, Image 1
ill honors with Q scored nine poiotl •ing on long-range! ■d all Aggie scoren ojans were pez, who scored oints. Terri 1 Kathy Hammi ts to round out thei ring for USC Thursday, February 14, 1980 College Station, Texas Battalion USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 CS officer accused of civil rights violation By NANCY ANDERSEN City Staff A Texas A&M University oceanographer has filed a complaint against a College Sta tion police officer claiming his civil rights were violated when he was stopped for a routine traffic violation Feb. 6. Hussein Abdel-Reheim said he was driv ing his moped to work on University Drive when a College Station patrolman pulled him over. Abdel-Reheim said the officer told him he was driving without a license plate, which is a misdemeanor. Abdel-Reheim said he was not aware it was missing and would replace it when he returned from a pending trip to Brazil. The officer asked the Egyptian-born U.S. citizen if he carried a gun or knife and told him to put his hands on the car, Abdel- Reheim said. “Although I was cooperative, (he) sear ched me spread-eagle against a car for con cealed weapons, handcuffed me and took me to the College Station police station where I was locked up, until a friend came and paid a ticket violation of $18.50. “I was in complete shock,” he said, “I couldn’t even react.” Abdel-Reheim’s complaint states he nev er was presented with nor asked to sign a ticket, nor was he read his rights during the incident. Abdel-Reheim said he tried to file the complaint after his one hour stay in jail, but was told to come back the next day at 2 p.m. He did, but he was told to come back at 5 p.m. and was not able to file it until 7 p.m. During this time he said, “Everybody was just laughing at me, asking me what I wanted.” What he wants is the ticket dismissed and an apology. “I was ashamed to tell my friends what had happened to me,” he said. “Maybe this has something to do with the Iranian situa tion or maybe he thought I was fleeing the country and he wanted his $18.50. This could probably happen to any foreign- looking fellow 95 percent of the time. ” However, arresting officer Wayne On- stott said, “I was as polite as I could be and handed him the ticket to sign, but he said he couldn’t sign it because he would be out of town. So I took him down and made him post a cash bond.” Lt. Mason Newton, patrol division head, said Abdel-Reheim’s refusal to sign the ticket gave Onstott the authority to arrest him. Also, an officer does not have to read a person’s rights in a misdemeanor arrest, he added. Newton said Onstott’s supervisor has been notified of the allegations, and sworn statements by the officer and Abdel- Reheim have been forwarded to the assis tant chief of police. “But nothing will he done as far as we re concerned,” he said. “This is not a formal complaint, which would be filed with the federal government.” As for possible legal action, Lamar Hank ins, Abdel-Reheim’s lawyer, said he will reserve comment until his client goes be fore a judge Thursday to fight the ticket. T don’t want to say that I want to sue the city, ” Abdel-Reheim said, “I want an expla nation from the chief. ” Bombs no laughing matter; "pranks’ lead to expulsion Give your heart a valentine |99 2 W | 1991 Ed Ramos-Echandi, a senior majoring in political science from San Antonio, has his blood pressure checked by Bill Tarver, a freshman from Victoria. Tarvers is part of the Texas A&M Emergency Care Team that is holding a tree blood pressure clinic in the Memorial Student Center today, until 5 p.m. Cirlcle-K is also sponsoring the clinic. [A o-op Doing it beats reading about it By JAN EVANS Campus Reporter If you would like to try out your future Dceupation instead of just reading about it, the Cooperative Education Program might be for you. The program, which involves about 1,200 students, is sponsoring the Co op Fair today and Friday. UK .) Representatives from Co-op will be set J?.v/Up in various locations around the campus Urn to tell students about the work program. Pfllit Steve Yates, director of Cooperative Education at Texas A&M University, said the goal of Co-op is to combine a student’s iClassroom learning with work in his chosen ■field. ! The program generally involves a stu dent working for one to four semesters alternated with attending college. Yates said the program has three major advan tages: Education. The student gets practical job experience which enhances his studies and usually commands a better salary after graduation. Pay. Most students can help pay for their schooling with money earned on Co- ;op jobs. — Experience. Students learn to deal YKE®with people at work and problems of living Q|yj' .on their own. —j Yates said the jobs students do are varied Bas the fields they are in. The colleges parti cipating in Co-op are Agriculture, j Architecture and Environmental Design, 1 Business Admistration, Education, En- Igineering, Geosciences (Meteorology ;only), Liberal Arts, Science, and Veterin- i W! I Gh! W! « ary Medicine (biomedical science only.) The student interviews for and selects the company he wishes to work for. Large and small companies participate in the program. Companies such as Dow Chemic al, Southwestern Bell, and NASA now em ploy Texas A&M Co-op students. Most students work at companies scat tered throughout Texas, but some students have worked as far away as Illinois and Florida. Yates said four students have worked in Saudi Arabia. Co-op students can sometimes live at home during the work period, which is a fall or spring semester, or two summer ses sions. Some, however, are in Co-op through the “Parallel Work Program.” In this prog ram, the student attends school and works part time. This arrangement is sometimes perferable to a student who is paying for his school. Earnings vary according to the company, Yates said. Generally, he said, the pay is over $700 per month. But engineering stu dents last fall averaged slightly over $1000 per month for the first work period. Students must have a 2.5 GPR to be eligible to enter the program. Minimum college hours vary according to the college, but the requirement is usually 30 or 60 hours credit. Yates said the program’s main disadvan tage is for participants who are involved in student activities. “The alternate semester system means the student will be away at least one fall and one spring semester. This breaks the con tinuity so it’s sometimes harder to get high leadership positions,” he said. But students in the program seem to think the advantages outweigh the dis advantages. Some of these advantages were mentioned at a meeting of the Co-op Stu dent Advisory Committee. “As a student all I had to do was go to class and regurgitate the information periodically. But when I worked, we had to pull together as a team and do a job. ” Johnson said the experience was particu larly valuable because it showed him he did not want to do that type of work. “I just can’t get too fired up about electricity.” By RICK STOLLE Campus Reporter Booomm! The explosion rips the late night silence. Lights appear in windows and sleepy faces stare to see what is hap pening. A few curses are heard from the dorms. Far away, is the sound of soft, mocking laughter. The scene has been replayed many times at Texas A&M University. A “prankster” has exploded a bomb made from the avail able materials of a snuff can and black pow der. If he intended to wake everybody or get attention, he has succeeded. What the “prankster” may not know is the detonation of a major explosive device on campus is a serious enough offense to get suspended from the University. Every part of the campus has felt the effects of bombs, said Jerry Mainord, assis tant director of student activities. He said last year, explosions caused $1,000 in dam age. One person, he said, blew off parts of two fingers while he was trying to light one. “When they’re big enough to do a great deal of damage to somebody or some prop erty, action has to be taken,” Mainord said. The length of the suspension depends on the case, he said. Action has been taken in the Corps of Cadets. In December, a window was blown in by an explosion near Dorm 7. Col. James Woodall, Corps comman dant, sent a statement to every cadet that spells out the University and Corps policies concerning bombs. “There will be no misunderstanding of policy in the Corps,” Woodall said. All cadets were required, under penalty of dismissal from the Corps, to sign the statement saying they understood the policy. “Anyone caught now,” Woodall said, “will not have a leg to stand on.” He said it was a preventive measure. “We don’t want any injuries,” he said. “Hopefully, this will make a prankster’ think twice about a prank ”. Corps policy in the event a bomber is caught is immediate dismissal from the Corps. University policy depends on the case. Last year, eight cadets were dismissed from the Corps. So far this year, three have been asked to leave. But one was jailed, fined $200 and lost his military contract, Woodall said. “It was kind of an expensive lesson.” Nobody has been seriously hurt this year, Mainord said. One student had a tem porary loss of hearing when she walked to close to a detonation. The explosions occur all over campus, he said, and there is no pattern to when or where a bomb might be. Usually they are outside and at night but there have been some in dorm rooms during the day. Bathrooms, hallways and entry ramps are favorite targets because they are public places. Unfortunately they are sometimes found in dorm rooms, Mainord said, and he fears that someday a serious injury will occur. Mainord said it is the responsibility of the students to be aware of University policy. “They are adults now, ” he said, “and it is their job to know what the rules are. And as responsible adults, students should report bombings when they occur.” Board payment due Friday The second installment board pay ment for the 1980 spring semester is due Friday. The amount due for the seven-day plan is $170.30. For the five-day plan, it is $152.45. Payment may be made at the Fiscal Office in the Coke Building or at the Cashier’s Office in the main lobby of the Rudder Center. A penalty will be charged to those who miss this deadline. arter sees signs progress in Iran United Press International 1 ^lIKB WASHINGTON — President Carter P Vlllt I. ays he has seen “some positive signs ’ of I progress toward ending the 103 day-old | ordeal of the American hostages in Iran — f no thanks to Sen. Edward Kennedy. But the president cautioned the Amer- : ican people against premature optimism, i; saying the hush-hush United Nations’ ( efforts to free the 50 captives are still in a delicate stage. Stung by Kennedy’s criticism of his handling of the Afghan and Iran crises. Car ter accused the senator of overstepping the hounds of both propriety and accuracy in the presentation of views by a responsi ble official.” The president, meeting the Washington press corps Wednesday night for the first time in 11 weeks, gave his first relatively hopeful assessment of the hostage drama since the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4. “In the past several weeks, our efforts and our activities have become particularly delicate and intense,” he said. “Recently there have been some positive signs, although experience has taught us to guard against excessive optimism.” Carter’s comments during the nationally broadcast news conference came hours af ter Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr said Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had accepted a plan that could lead to freedom for the hostages. There were reports the proposal would include formation of an international com mission under U.N. auspices to consider Iran’s charges against deposed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Technology’s side effects are unplanned — Coates Joseph Coates presented the opening address to about 200 people attending SCONA 25 in Rudder Theatre Wednesday. He opened the conference with a speech on “Technology: Tool or Tyrant?” Staff photo by Lynn Blanco By CAROL HANCOCK Campus Staff Technology’s adverse consequences come from unplanned side effects, a think- tank president told the opening session of a national student conference Wednesday. “There is no technology I know of, ex cept technology of war, that is designed to be vicious and harmful, Joseph Coates told over 200 people in Texas A&M Univer sity’s Rudder Theater. Coates, president of J.F. Coates, Inc. and an appointment holder at the George Washington University, was the first of six speakers for the 25th Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA). Coates said he wanted to open the con ference on “Technology: Tool or Tyrant?” by explaining some concepts about tech nology that will be useful to the SCONA delegates for the next few days. Coates said every problem that is en countered in technology is a problem that was not planned or accounted for. Side effects are not planned for because they do not advance economic interests. “The market system is at odds with the need to control side effects,” he said. Side effects can also go unconsidered be cause of short- and long-term planning con flicts, he said. In the haste to solve a prob lem, short-term solutions are used and long-term effects go unconsidered. Coates gave the area between Houston and Galveston as an example of short-term planning without looking into the future. The land between the two cities has sunk more than nine feet since the turn of the century, he said. “The fact that the area is a coastal flood plain went ignored because of the mindless short-term concern for growth, growth, growth.” The lack of planning for side effects is reflected partly by the overwhelming growth of government regulation, he said. “We fail to force our government to sup port the kind of studies about technology that would help us in making decisions ab out them.” Coates pointed out, however, that growth of bureaucracy isn’t always bad and won’t go away. The world is getting more complex, and with complexity, more ex perts are demanded, he said. And with these added experts comes added bureauc racy. Coates said technology has only three criteria attached to it: it has to be possible, it has to be sellable, and it has to be safe. Unplanned, unexpected and alarming side effects are not considered, so additional criteria must added, he said. “We have to supplement the three tradi tional criteria with additional criteria. If we don’t supplement them early in the game, we will suffer through the rest of our lives,” Coates said. Social inventions are also a source of many of our technological problems, he said. Welfare, school segregation, social security and the all-volunteer Army are so cial failures because of lack of foresight and planning, Coates said. “Social inventions need not be failures if we approach them with a bit more intelli gence.” Coates charged that the U.S. space prog ram is an outrage, not because of what is being done, but because of what is not being done. “We’ve allowed the space program to become bureaucrasized. We’ve failed to face the fundamental facts of space — that space is to be explored,” he said. People are being blinded to the enor mous excitement of technology, Coates said. The most exciting element of space technology is to find what’s out there — to be a Columbus or a Magellan.