Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1980)
\Corps outfit disbanded ylor plays]] in Dins, Central J ist Shan McDi L-l has final review by TODD WOODARD lesfl Battalion Staff is Commandant Col. James Woodall has deacti- Company L-l, the Lonestar Company — much to [ismay of outfit members, who are upset over the X7i\YV" mi the way it was handled. 'VUi§a memorandum dated April 23, Woodall told Jeff icr, L-l’s commanding officer, that the unit would activated as of May 10. | n fifliMall cited attitude and apathy problems within the 111 vd, and referred to three incidents he said were indica- ifproblems within the outfit: ntatives Jan attempt to release a pig on Kyle Field during the ingemeil,lisas game. lurcesindphe destruction of two trees valued at $400 belonging n a contniUniversity professor. iFL gameiidumping pig manure in a cadet’s room, causing $400 )n and fell of damage. iccompa!)i|m trying to do what’s best for the Corps,” Woodall will be ti id broado§cause of arguments from outfit members and pro- from parents and friends, Woodall took until Final io quit Jew to reconsider the decision, career pAe picked a real bad way and a real bad time to do not discralsaid commanding officer Jeff Fincher. “I found ior to reljelf thinking about the outfits when I was taking a w days it fficialsajlie threat of disbandment would have been areal kick ass,” he said. “Other units have really shaped up in ie situation.' icherand other outfit members put together a letter incemed Lonestar parents and friends” which ex- icd the outfit’s version of the events mentioned in lall’s memorandum. The letter was drafted in the that its recipients would pressure Woodall into re- ingthe decision. the letter Fincher explained that the pig incident ted from a similar successful action two years ago. freshmen who released that pig “distinguished them- [esand added spirit to the game,” Fincher wrote, arts by other Corps members to release a stubborn uncaused an uproar when the chicken was injured, (incident resulted in a no-animal rule at Kyle Field, reshmen this year wanted to duplicate the Arkansas plot. But Fincher wanted to spare “the Office of the Com mandant any further embarrassment,” he wrote, so he passed the word to Corps Staff to stop the incident. They did. He went on to explain the other two incidents. Briefly, both were misunderstandings, Fincher wrote. The tree damage was during the Christmas season, when freshmen decorate the halls of their dormitory. As part of the process, they are expected to furnish Christmas trees. They were told not to cross property lines, fences, or private property while hunting for a tree. The freshmen crossed onto some property owned by the professor, cut ting down the trees valued at $400. The pig manure dump came at the prodding of last year’s seniors, Fincher said. Some former seniors told freshmen they should dump pig manure in a sophomore’s room to get back at that sophomore, who had insulted them and the unit’s first sergeant, Luis Gonzalez. They did — and four of them got caught. The four paid for the damages and were placed on conduct probation. Conduct probation means a student cannot represent Texas A&M in any official capacity. He is not eligible for financial aid, and the probation goes on his record. Fincher said the problems had not occurred before. He said the freshmen overran guidelines. “We didn’t teach those fish to do that,” he said. “It’s just been a screwed year,” said L-l freshman Harvey Haney. “We tried to do things right, but just screwed up on them.” “They obviously couldn’t control their freshmen,” Woodall said. “Freshmen will respond to the attitude of the upperclassmen,” he added. “We say that a commander is responsible for what a unit does and does not do,” outfit adviser Capt. Donald Mar kus said. “I have seen other outfits with attitudes that were worse, and other outfits with attitudes that were better.” “As far as my opinion, I support Col. Woodall and his decision,” Markus said. The people who will be hurt the most by the deactiva tion order will be the five juniors in the outfit. Of those five, Gonzalez will lose the most. He was commander-designate. “I’ll be the first to admit we haven’t performed up to par,” Gonzalez said. “But we were getting better. There should have been some kind of probation. From the things Col. Woodall said, it was a decision he had to make.” Haney said, “We have done some stupid things, but all fish do stupid things.” Fincher disagreed with Woodall’s bad attitude charge. He said that classes before this year had the reputation of being “red-ass, ” of resisting authority and being rebel lious. “We were a quiet class,” he said. No unit has been deactivated in the last five years, although some have split or combined, Lt. Col. Don Johnson, assistant commandant, said. When a unit disbands, the people in it have few choices. They can change to another unit, drop out of the Corps or drop out of the University. Outfit members don’t like the idea of going to other outfits. “When you go to another outfit, you’re an outcast,” Gonzalez said. Fincher wrote, “When the cadets of this outfit are re-assigned to other outfits, they will be nothings.” “The ease of frogging in is a function of what outfit it is. It is not easy,” he added. Frogging in — which usually means entering the Corps after a student’s freshman year — means jumping to other outfits in this sense. “We (the freshmen) have got the best deal for going into other outfits,” Haney said. “The seniors next year, they’re not going to be anything.” “If I were a junior in that outfit, I’d look for a unit that had a job opening.” Johnson said. “Or they may say, 1 have some good buddies in another unit. ” “We would like to place them where they have friends already,” Woodall said. Woodall said he sympathized with the unit. His own unit. Spider D, disbanded when he was a freshman to make room for more air and navy units. He said he understands the difficulties of switching units. “The decision was mine,” Woodall said. “If it’s a bad decision, I’ll take responsibility. If I thought that it was a bad decision, I wouldn’t make it.” “I just don’t think he (Woodall) was right,” Fincher said. “It seems to me, that if he were really sympathetic, he would have given us another chance. I just think the people next year deserved another chance. “I’m going to be leaving the Corps with hurt and pain. ” Sophomore Jeff Langston, guidon bearer for Company L-l, studies the unit standard he carried for the last time during Final Review Saturday. Col. James R. Woodall, Corps commandant, has disbanded L-l, effective this F riday. Staff photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. he Battalion Vol.73 No. 153 [16 Pages Wednesday, May 7, 1980 College Station, Texas US PS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 Inside today The Battalion presents three spe cial photo features. Page 6 features a story and photo sequence on the black community of south west College Station. On Page 12 is a picture page highlighting the weekend’s Final Review and Commencement activities, and the sports section features a special on the region- champion women’s softball team. ome Iranian visas not to be renewed by JANA SIMS Battalion Staff Texas A&M University international student administrators vere notified last Wednesday that Iranians will not be given xtensions of stay. The Immigration and Naturalization Service said Iranian stu- lents who have 1-94 permits (permits to stay) with expiration 1 lateswill be expected to leave the United States by that date. Officials still do not know the fate of those students with I-94s temped “duration of status,” a term allowing students to remain as long as they enroll in a specified number of credit hours. Dr. P. Wayne Gosnell, director of international services, said Miller shuns student, refuses to shake hand 15 students have expirable permits and will be affected by the recent decision. An April 30 letter which International Services mailed to all Iranian students advised them to request an extension of stay as usual because the situation is “constantly changing. ” The letter said that under present regulations, a student applying for an extension will be turned down and given a voluntary departure date, 30 days from the day action is taken on his request. Extensions, however, will be granted for someone needing urgent medical treatment available only in the United States. Also, an Iranian can adjust his status to that of a permanent resident if he has close family ties to a U. S. citizen or permanent resident. Gosnell said his office is advising Iranian students to “double up” their course loads if they are any where near finishing their degrees. “If I was an Iranian student, ” Gosnell said, “and it would be possible for me to finish my degree this summer by working double hard, I’d do it.” Also stated in the letter, the INS is proposing a procedure that would change the duration of status to expiration dates for all international students. If accepted, International Services said the process will probably begin in late summer and they are still awaiting word as to how duration of status Iranian students will be affected. Jena Shasai, a Texas A&M political science graduate, said she and her two sisters have duration of status permits and she has taken the letter to mean that they will have to leave the United States. Shasai said she had applied for graduate school but after reading the letter, she said it is “very likely” that by mid summer the INS will ask Iranian students with duration of status permits to leave. “I like it here,” she said and if she and her sisters must return to Iran, she said she will try to come back when possible. by DEBBIE NELSON , Battalion Staff 'Wfren cadet Melanie Zentgraf received diploma from Texas A&M University 'esident Jarvis E. Miller at graduation remonies Friday night, she expected him shake her hand just like he had shaken «hand of every other graduate. He didn’t. After she had taken her degree from Mil- lt, Zentgraf extended her hand to him. dien Miller refused to shake her hand, ie paused for a moment, then walked off ie stage. Zentgraf, represented by the American ivil Liberties Union, has filed a class ae on suit against Texas A&M University, lillerand various other University repre- utatives. Miller, in a statement relayed through issecretary Monday morning, declined to omment on the situation because of Zen t- rafs pending lawsuit. Lamar Hankins, one of the attorneys handling Zentgraf s lawsuit, said, “We ex pected the booing and the hissing, but this (Miller’s action) was unbelieveable. I couldn’t believe such a petty thing. ” ; Hankins said the lawsuit is still in the stages of discovery and negotiation. He said he would be “perfectly happy” to take the suit to court, but he feels a court trial would be detrimental to Texas A&M. He hopes the University will agree to certain changes — out of court. Things went differently for Zentgraf at Saturday afternoon’s commissioning cere mony. After accepting her commission, Zent graf walked across the stage toward Col. Kenneth W. Durham, commander of Texas A&M’s Air Force ROTC detachment. More than a few eyes were watching to see if Durham would shake Zentgraf s hand. He did. He even smiled. $409million Regents okay 80-81 budget The Texas A&M University Board of Regents has approved a record $409.6 million budget for operation of the Texas A&M system during 1980- 81. The budget, which goes in effect Sept. 1, carries expenditures that increased 11 percent from this year’s budget. The board approved the new budget during its meeting last weekend. System officials attributed the 11 percent increase to a combination of high inflation, high enrollment and more research activities. Texas A&M University’s operating budget will total $230.8 million, a gain of $24.7 million from this year’s budget. The other universities within the system also received increases. Prairie View A&M’s budget rose to $32.1 mil lion, an increase of $1.5 million. Tarle- ton State University’s budget in creased to $ 11.4 million, a $ 1.3 million rise. Texas A&M’s campus in Galveston received an additional $629,062 for the next year, increasing that school’s budget to $5.1 million. Budgets for the research and exten sion sections of the system also re ceived increases. They were: — the Texas Agricultural Experi ment Station, $41.1 million, up $4.1 million. — the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, $35.7 million, up $2.3 mil lion. — the Texas Engineering Experi ment Station, $24.2 million, up $3.7 million. Local police to apologize for strip search incident by BECKY SWANSON Battalion Staff' A Texas A&M University graduate stu dent has reached a tentative agreement with the College Station Police Depart ment to issue a public apology for a Febru ary incident in which she was strip- searched after an arrest for failure to appear for a traffic violation. Shelley Ruby Lang, a nautical archaeolo gy graduate student represented by the Brazos Civil Liberties Union, was arrested Feb. 15 for failure to appear and made to submit to a strip search by a female matron at the police station, the agreement said. Lang complained to the BCLU about the incident, and they took her case. “After a thorough investigation by the College Station Police Department Inter nal Affairs Officer, Lt. Kennedy, College Station Police Chief Marvin Byrd, agreed with Ms. Lang and the BCLU that the strip search incident should not have occurred,” the agreement says. On behalf of the police department and the city. Chief Byrd “expresses his regret that the strip search of Ms. Lang occurred and offers ... his apology for the incident which was clearly humiliating and degrad ing to Ms. Lang and unnecessary, under these circumstances, to the legitimate functioning” of the police department, the agreement says. The statement says that other means of searches, such as pat downs or the use of hand-held metal detectors are sufficient in checking for weapons. The agreement provides that Lang will not hold the City of College Station, the Police Department or its employees re sponsible for “any damages or liabilities arising from her arrest ... aperton win surprises many, but not campaign manager William Moore by NANCY ANDERSEN Battalion Staff Kent Caperton’s victory over incumbent Sen. William T. “Bill” Moore in the Democratic primary surprised many people, but not Caperton’s campaign manager, Alan Schoenbaum. “We’ve worked hard, done our homework and kept our finger on the pulse of public feeling,” Schoenbaum said. “Moore had a vulnerable record, and the people were ready for a change. ” But, he added, “State-wide, people are in shock.” Moore, the dean of the Texas Senate, has served for 32 years. “Moore is a fine man — it was nothing personal,” Schoenbaum said, “but we have differences in priorities 1 and positions on the issues. We need to rearrange and reassess priorities in government.” The issues, Schoenbaum said, are public education, law enforcement and senior citizens. Caperton’s number one priority is public education, he said. “The Legislature for years has taken a Band-Aid approach towards a problem requiring major surgery — public education funding.” The main problems are insufficient teacher salaries and a large disparity among school districts, Schoenbaum said. “Also, Caperton wants to keep A&M strong,” he said, “and to keep the Permanent University Fund intact and make sure A&M gets its share and more.” The Permanent University Fund (PUF) is a fund sup ported by oil lease payments to the state and is the main source of funds for the University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System. Other colleges and uni versities in Texas have tried unsuccesfully for several years to break up the PUF so all state schools share the fund. Schoenbaum said Texas A&M University professors don’t get paid enough and the school is suffering from a classroom space deficit of at least one million square feet. Texas A&M University President Jarvis Miller said, “We ll work with Mr. Caperton in anyway that we can if he’s elected in the fall.” Miller said in response to Moore’s loss, “Sen. Moore has served this district in a very fine manner for 30 odd years, and we’ve appreciated his support. As for any potential harm to the PUF due to Moore’s defeat. Miller said, “That is a hypothetical question. We think the University’s reputation is quite high, and we’ll be working with Moore’s replacement. Rep. Bill Presnal and the lieutenant governor (Bill Hobby) on this. Another Caperton priority is to increase law enforce ment by paying Department of Public Safety officers more, Schoenbaum said. This could be done by cutting out waste in government, he said. Also, Schoenbaum said Caperton wants to help senior citizens. He said Caperton has a drug bill which would allow people to substitute generic drugs for the higher priced brand name drugs. Schoenbaum denied that the new dean of the senate. Sen. A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, D-Galveston, campaigned for Caperton. ‘He only attended one function early in November,” he said. Schwartz and Moore were long-time political foes in the senate. Caperton and Schwartz disagree on many issues, Schoenbaum added. He said Caperton will work to maintain strength in the Brazos Valley district during the upcoming redistricting. Caperton’s opponent for the 5th district senatorial seat in November will be Republican N.A. McNiel. McNiel could not be reached for comment. McNiel is a former professor of genetics at Texas A&M who quit to work full-time on his campaign. Kent Caperton