\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