The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 31, 1980, Image 1
UR DIO 1 mplex! e Batt. Rocy Smith takes a fall in the men’s team competi tion of the Little Aggieland bike race. The event was sponsored by the A&M Cycling Team and Baskin Wipeout! Robins Ice Cream Parlors and was patterned after the Little Indy held annually at the University of Indiana. There were fifteen teams entered in the race. Each three-man team went 24 laps, approxi mately 10 miles, around the drill field in front of Puryear and Law halls. Nine of the starting teams finished the race. Please See the story on page 10. Photo by Dan Harrison. The Battalion Vol. 73 No. 128 Monday, March 31, 1980 USPS 045 360 12 Pages College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611 enators say $100,000 from Bookstore profits By ANDY WILLIAMS and DILLARD STONE Battalion Staff I Several student senators say the Texas A&M Bookstore will be the source of $100,000 they voted to allocate to the omen’s athletic program Wednesday. The senators, interviewed over the I'eekend, said George Black, the student Sice president for finance, told them the poney would come into the student service jccount from the bookstore profits fund, ^lacksaid he introduced the measure at the leanest of University President Jarvis E. Miller. “That’s the first I’ve heard about it,” said Charles Cargill, director of the University Center, when asked if the money would be transferred from the bookstore’s profits account. Asked later if the funds would come from e bookstore’s reserve fund, Cargill said, 'I just don’t know. Keep in mind that all we do is make the money. ” The bookstore profits are used for a vari ety of purposes, among which is the fund ing of clubs recognized by the director of student activities. The senators voted in closed session on a resolution to transfer the money to the women’s athletic program from the student service account — an account usually gen- Please see related editorials on page 2 erated by collection of the student service fee, which costs each student $33.50 a semester. Texas A&M President Jarvis E. Miller, asked whether the $100,000 would come into the account through this fee, said Thursday night, “I’m not prepared to answer that.” Miller, asked Friday whether the $100,000 was being taken from a bookstore account, said he had no comment. “You’re making a mountain out of a mole hill, creating a tempest in a teapot, ” Miller said. “The editorial today (in Friday’s Bat- |Battalion asks Kapavik for open records compliance By RUSTY CAWLEY StafT Writer Battalion editor Roy Bragg has requested |brmally that Student Body President Ron nie Kapavik make public all information boncerning last Wednesday’s meeting of [|the student senate. Bragg asked for information under the gate’s open records law. He has also asked both Chancellor Frank .R. Hubert and Brazos County District \ttorney Travis Bryan III to ask the attor- hey general for an opinion on whether the (senate legally closed a section of that neeting. Bragg said he also intends to file a com plaint with the Judicial Board, charging that the senate went into closed session without a unanimous vote, a violation of its bonstitution. In a letter to Kapavik delivered Friday, Bragg asked the student president for “im- aediate delivery of all information, mi nutes, votes, bills, amendments and riders germane to both open and closed session of [the Texas A&M student senate meeting of Vednesday, 26 March 1980.” Bragg cited ■several sections of the open records law to Jsupport his request: — Section 3(a) makes public “all informa tion collected, assembled, or maintained By govermenmental bodies pursuant to law ordinance or in connection with the (transaction of official business .... — Section 2 (1) (F) defines a governmen- |bl body as “the part, section, or portion of (every organization, corporation, commis- (sion, committee, institution, or agency J'vhich is supported in whole or in part by (Public funds, or which expends public (funds. ” This, Bragg says in the letter, includes (ftudent government, since it is part of an j'Ustitution which receives public funds. Kapavik and other student leaders have said they will not consider the request until after a press conference which was sche duled for 11:30 a. m. today in 216 MSC. In letters mailed today, Bragg asked Hubert and Bryan to request an opinion from Attorney General Mark White. If rendered, the opinion could settle whether a student government at a state- supported university must obey the state open meetings law. Bragg also said he intends to file a com plaint with the Judicial Board. The student government constitution requires a unani mous vote for a closed session. Student senate leaders claim they had a unanimous vote. Bragg said two Battalion reporters at the meeting saw at least three people vote against the closed session. Wednesday, the senate closed its meet ing to discuss whether to funnel money earmaked for the women’s athletic program through student government. In this way, the University administration hopes to in volve the entire student population in any discrimination suit the Department of Health, Education and Welfare hopes to bring against the university. The open meetings law allows a body to close a meeting if its members wish to dis cuss pending litigation, land purchase or personnel. The discussion Wednesday falls under none of these catagories. Student government leaders maintain that the senate is not covered by the law. Bob Heh, chairman of the attorney gener al’s opinions committee said Thursday that no ruling has ever been made on the issue. If either Bryan or Hubert asks for an opinion, and the attorney general rules against the senate, each participating mem ber could be held guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalty for breaking the open meet ings law is a fine of $100-$500 or a jail term of one to six months. talion) was a pretty low blow, and I don’t have any more to say about this matter.” The editorial said that the University “suffers from a fear of public scrutiny,” and said that Miller’s handling of KAMU-FM’s budget two years ago was an example of that fear. In that incident. Miller turned down a request from The Bryan Eagle that he re lease information about the University- owned radio station. He said then that tbe budget represented working papers until voted on by the Board of Regents. Miller said the transfer of the money from the student service account is an attempt to involve all students in any action by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Student Body President Ronnie Kapavik also declined to comment on the source of the money. “I’d tell a student who wasn’t connected with student publications,” Kapavik said. Kapavik is also a member of the Student Publications Board, the panel that names the editors of The Battalion and the Aggie land. Kapavik said student government’s next comment would be made today at 11:30 a.m. in 216 MSC, when a statement was Officials fear more floods in south La. United Press International Officials today warned raindrenched South Louisiana communities to prepare for still more flooding from the Bogue Chit- to and Pearl rivers, swollen by the worst floods since the turn of the century. Flood waters rose chest deep at Frank- linton Sunday, forcing evacuation of about 400 people and bringing National Guards men in boats to patrol for looters. The National Weather Service stressed the danger was not over simply because five days of heavy rains cleared into blue and sunny skies. “Remember,” NWS officials said, “it may take a day or two for the full effect to be felt in urban and rural areas adjacent to the flooding rivers. Listen to advice from Civil Defense and other local officials. If you are told to evacuate, do so while there is time. ” The NWS warned residents to store ade quate food, drinking water, medical and other supplies and said sandbagging might be needed to help keep water out of houses. Sheriff s deputies and National Guards men were patrolling the evacuated Bogue Chitto subdivision in flat-bellied “piro gues” to watch for looters. The flooding is the result of a five-day downpour that let up Sunday, but left the Bogue Chitto at 20.5 feet — more than 8 feet above flood level. Franklinton officials said it was the worst flooding since 1900, when the river crested at more than 27 feet. scheduled to be made concerning The Bat talion’s request for records of Wednesday’s closed senate meeting. Brad Smith, student vice president for student services, said student activities will not lose any money because of the transfer of funds. Smith defended his and other senators’ reluctance to talk about the transfer of the money and the closed session. “We’ve got 80 senators in the senate, each representing some part of the Univer sity,” Smith said. “Nothing’s going to go through that’s not to the benefit of the stu dents. ” Athletic Department plans $50,000 fund-raising drive By DEBBIE NELSON Campus Staff The Texas A&M University Athletic De partment plans to have a money drive to raise its $50,000 share of the $150,000 needed for compfiance with federal anti sex discrimination guidelines. The money is needed to offset the in creased cost of University compliance with Title IX rules. Title IX sets federal sex dis crimination standards for educational insti tutions. Wally Groff, assistant director for busi ness affairs for athletics, said the needed $150,000 is part of the proposed $706,019 women’s athletic budget for 1980-81. The proposed men’s athletic budget is $3,211,801. Kay Don, women’s athletic director, said the athletic department plans to raise $50,000 through public donations from Aggie clubs and Texas A&M mother’s clubs. The administration had told the de partment it would supply the other $100,000. Last week, the student senate approved a recommendation allocating the $100,000 — reportedly from MSC Bookstore profits via the student service account — to the Athletic Department. Women athletes contacted by The Batta lion over the weekend said men’s teams may have slightly better facilities and fund ing than women’s teams. However, they said they saw insufficient grounds for an anti-sex discrimination suit. Women’s track team member Sande Lambert said, “I see no grounds for a suit. When I came here (in 1976) women had no shoes, no warm-ups — now we do. I don’t think we can expect a lot. We don’t bring in any money.” Groff said until this year all sports ran at a deficit except football. “This year men’s basketball paid its own way,” Groff said. “All other sports (men’s and women’s) are supported solely by men’s football.” Groff said there are approximately 100 women and 240 men in University athle tics. Over half of the men are in football. Men’s athletics cannot afford to continue funding the women’s programs, Groff said. Kay Don, women’s athletic director, said, “If you want a high caliber program, you need to spend money on women’s athletics. ” Don said women’s teams don’t have assistant coaches, while men’s teams do. This is the main area where men’s and women’s athletic programs are not equal, she said. Groff said men and women athletes get comparable money for travel, scholarships and equipment. Salaries aren’t equal, he said, due to “experience and longevity in the field.” Basketball team members Lisa Hughes and Peggy Pope both said although male athletes may have things a little better than female athletes, they saw no grounds for a sex discrimination suit. Women’s softball player Nancy Sullivan said the men’s baseball team has its own field, but the women’s softball field will be completed by next fall. “The women’s faci lities are very good,” Sullivan said. “I can’t complain.” Don said, “We re gradually getting there. ” Young, unskilled workers get jobs through council By TODD WOODARD City Reporter Sixteen-year-ola Paul Rios had a dream. He wanted to work as an artist. But Paul was unskilled and young. For his goal to be realized, he needed someone to take a chance, to hire him. Employers normally do not take risks. Now 18, Rios is working in graphics at KAMU-TV, the Texas A&M University television station. Rios had help getting on at KAMU. Brazos County has an organization to give young, unskilled job seekers a chance. The Brazos Valley Development Council uses federal funds to employ youths in a summer program. Youths applying for jobs through the council must be between 14 and 21 years old. Being economically disadvantaged is another factor. Melissa Harris, lead counselor for areas relating to in-school classroom training and on the job training at BVDC, said that “the neediest are selected. ” She said that needi ness takes priority. Income levels for a family, supplemental income from govern ment, and handicaps are all considered for eligibility. “If you're handicapped or a foster child, we automatically consider you economical ly disadvantaged. These criteria, age, in region, and disadvantage, qualify people for our program,” she said. The region qualification means living in one of seven surrounding counties: Robert son, Madison, Leon, Washington, Grives, Burleson, and Brazos. This is the way the council works. Bill Stanley, labor and market analyst for BVDC, said funding for the programs like summer youth employment comes from federal money. “The Comprehensive Employment Training Act was passed in 1973. CETA money goes to the Department of Labor which then passes money to the Texas De partment of Community Affairs, our prime sponsor. We contract with them for funds,” he said. Those funds are paid to workers who have qualified at BVDC. Harris explained that the council finds employers who are willing to take on youths as summer help. CETA funds from BVDC pays their wages,” she said. Harris said, “A lot of them are on public assistance, but they don’t want to be. They can get control of their lives with job ex perience. “The main purpose is to get them em ployment and training. A lot of kids we get have no idea about working. They can learn about being on time, getting along, being employable. ” “I could have found work on my own. There is no way a high school student could have the job I have now. I’m glad I didn’t go out and sack groceries at Safeway now,” Rios said. Youths in the summer program as well as people in other CETA financed programs start with a disadvantage. Harris said Continued on page 5