The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 09, 1980, Image 1

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    Battalion
d ‘i m
; ont inued
t,n S' | Vol. 74 No. 7
ie new til 14 Pages
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Tuesday, September 9, 1980
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Yesterday
Today
High
85
High
88
Low
74
Low
74
Humidity. . .
100%
Humidity
. . . 95%
Rain
.. .38 inches
Chance of rain . . .
. . . 75%
layton Brilab trial
ow set Thursday
So meone dj
Campbel
held to J,
day, tod^B United Press International
r on theiaBOUSTON — A federal judge Monday delayed the start of
1 up withf Bse Speaker Bill Clayton’s Brilab trial until Thursday so his
d touclidui "Wers can seek Supreme Court help in obtaining testimony of a
ad to la■ the FBI called “the most knowledgeable person” in the
e lon’Tli(i:j[H er y case -
ig kickoffi® e ^ ense lawyers want co-defendant L.G. Moore, a five-state
i knew it! bf’ -’Oritative of the Union of Operating Engineers, to testify at
rand news '■ton's trial. The FBI said Moore was “the most knowledgeable
i, in frontS 011 ‘ n tbe various criminal conspiracies” that make up the
ing his fc ^ il *' cases across the Southwest.
>r Housti ® i cause Moore could not be compelled to testify against him-
land forD . ’ ^ district Judge Robert O’Conor last month granted him
24 0 f43p S feparate trial. O’Conor also said Moore’s testimony in Clayton’s
"H could not be used against him later in his own trial except for
- p'Q
Wederal prosecutors appealed the ruling and Sunday the 5th
f gS. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans removed the
Hective order. Moore’s lawyer said Monday his client would
1(1,testify for Clayton without the limited immunity.
■The waters are too deep and there are too many sharks in those
vaters, defense lawyer Michael Ramsey said,
with Clayton “rarin to go” for the scheduled start of jury
■ction Tuesday, O’Conor delayed the trial two days to enable
■speaker’s attorneys to ask the Supreme Court to overrule the
iJew Orleans’ court’s decision.
B unsuccessful in the attempt to obtain Moore’s testimony,
Bton said he still was optimistic about acquittal.
; “1 think we can prove up everything that needs to be proved up
■way,” said Clayton, who has pushed for his case to come to trial
Bkly since his indictment in June on racketeering, conspiracy,
raud and extortion charges.
Clayton said he had spent the last two weeks dividing time
25
r
between his West Texas farm, his Capitol office and in preparing
for trial.
Clayton is to be tried with Austin lawyers Randall Wood and
Donald Ray, whom the government alleges aided and abetted
Clayton in a scheme to have him influence handling of a $76
million state employees’ insurance contract in exchange for a
$5,000 bribe and the promise of $600,000 more.
Clayton admitted last February that he took $5,000 from an FBI
informant posing as a Prudential Insurance Co. agent during a
Nov. 8 meeting in his office. But he said he did not plan to keep
the money.
He said he did not refuse it because it was offered in the
presence of Moore, the man who introduced the informant to the
speaker, and Clayton did not want to embarrass his longtime
friend.
During a pretrial hearing O’Conor expressed “grave concerns”
about the government’s Brilab tactics, suggesting the informant
“thrust” the money on Clayton and saying Clayton’s rights to be
free of government induced wrongdoing apparently were
ignored.
Moore, the informant’s admitted dupe, contacted labor and
political officials in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma
seeking their help in winning multi-million dollar insurance con
tracts. Prosecutors want to prove those contacted accepted kick-
backs on the insurance commissions.
Clayton’s lawyers hope to contrast his reputation with that of
the informant, Joseph Hauser, a convicted Beverly Hills, Calif.,
swindler paid $65,000 by the Justice Department for helping
make the Brilab cases.
Prosecutors will argue Clayton violated the law when he failed
to report the $5,000 as a political contribution, but defense attor
neys claim that failure only supports the wealthy Spring Lake
farmer’s contention that he never intended to keep the money.
Rain soaked the campus Monday, bringing out umbrel
las of every size and color. Weathermen say the rains the
area has been experiencing for the last few days are
indirectly a result of tropical storm Danielle. The fore-
Staff photo by Pat O’Malley
cast says there should he scattered showers today and
Wednesday, but the skies should clear by Thursday or
Friday.
League decides Wednesday
if Anderson will join debates
Danielle drenches CS
jj.. United Press International
independent candidate John Anderson
fearently has met most of the criteria set
.forth by the League of Women Voters for
an invitation to participate in presidential
debates, but whether debates will be held
at all is still debatable.
KThe League is expected to announce
pednesday whether Anderson has met its
conditions for participating in the national-
. , ly televised debates, the first of which is
ClIGS tentatively set for Sept. 21 in Baltimore.
I I But the chance of actually holding the
® debates dimmed late Monday when pres
idential press secretary Jody Powell said
position to a three-way debate is growing
[onger in the White House,
ince Republican candidate Ronald
lagan has insisted at least the first debate
r IntramuralBist include Anderson, the possibility is
big success #® m >ng there may be no debates at all this
highest part*®;
15 peoplep® re perfectly willing to participate in
ssts that
rent activity
sail thisse
around 60
ERY
multi-candidate debates, involving three,
four or five candidates,” Powell said, but:
“There’s got to be assurance there will also
be a one-on-one debate. There is no assur
ance at this point.”
Anderson, campaigning in upstate New
York Monday, said, “If the president wants
to stonewall it. I think it could become one
of the major issues of the 1980 campaign
and I think it is an issue on which we could
win.”
A Carter aide said he assumes the
League will invite Anderson, and Reagan
will accept because that would avoid a one-
on-one debate with Carter and help boost
Anderson, which, the aide said, would tend
to help Reagan.
President Carter’s only campaign trip
this week is today — a quick trip to Perth
Amboy, N.J., for the dedication of a new
steel plant.
Reagan was in the Midwest courting
blue-collar and ethnic votes Monday.
He dined with Gerald Ford in Chicago
Monday night. Afterward, Ford said it was
“unconscionable” for Carter to exclude
Anderson from the debates.
Anderson’s campaign, meanwhile,
fought attempts in Maryland and North
Carolina to keep him off the state ballots.
An appeals court heard arguments on the
cases, which earlier were decided in
Anderson’s favor, and will announce its de
cision later.
Anderson filed his own suit in Georgia,
challenging the decision of the secretary of
state’s office that said he failed to qualify for
the ballot of the president’s home state be
cause too many petition signatures were
invalid.
But he got good news from Florida,
where plans to challenge the state’s certifi
cation in court were dropped abruptly mi
nutes before the court closed for the day.
Common sights on the rain-soaked campus Monday were
umbrellas, soggy heads and future track stars.
The rains the area has been experiencing for the last few days
are indirectly a result of tropical storm Danielle. The rains are
occurring from moisture instability created by the storm, a
spokesman for the Texas A&M meteorology department said.
There should be some scattered showers today and Wednesday
and the skies should clear by Thursday or Friday, he said. The
rainfall was measured at 0.38 inches Monday at Easterwood Air
port. Sunday’s rainfall was 1.7 inches.
Charles Sistrunk, county extension agent, said the rain has not
significantly helped area farmers.
Sistrunk said the rain has delayed the cotton harvest that was in
progress up until last weekend and the harvest will not resume
until the weather clears. The grain harvest was completed before
the rains hit, he said.
The rain could be beneficial for the pastureland, however. If
the pastures get enough water it could mean an additional cutting
of hay, Ssitrunk said.
There had been eight weather-related car accidents reported in
the area by 6 p.m. Monday, the College Station police said. No
accidents bad been reported at Texas A&M.
Mailbox shortage worst ever
By SHERRY A. EVANS
Battalion Reporter
More than 500 Texas A&M University
students were still having difficulty receiv
ing mail Monday because College Station
post offices have no boxes available for rent.
Monday’s waiting list for those wishing to
rent boxes included 320 at Northgate and
over 200 at Aggieland Station (MSC). Only
three or four unrented boxes were available
at the post office in the Redmond Terrace
Shopping Center.
Employees of all three post offices
agreed that they have in the past always had
plenty of boxes to accommodate the stu
dents as well as the general public.
Stanley Patrick, a spokesman for the post
office at Northgate, attributes much of the
problem to the construction of two new
modular dormitories, Hobby and Neeley.
its
jump to 33,313
a mystery to predictor
H Mel Lasell is trying to figure out what
j-j -Went wrong.
1 The computer told him earlier this year
up forClass'F * 1 ^ J ust over 32,000 students should be on
the old sys4^' s carn P us - Instead, the computer now
•„ J says 33,313 students had enrolled by Fri-
•<•(1 to theC*| r ’ the last da y to register.
^ Responsibility for accuracy of the enroll
ment prediction lies with Lasell, associate
ector of the Office of Planning and Insti-
teams to
>rth. Ho]
ect the apf tutional Analys
• team,
il change
1 for f<
s forfeit to
he team ei#
) per team.
He hopes to receive final but unofficial
’ures from the registrar’s office today so
he can find where the computer program
is off.
“We project what we’ll have in each ma
jor at each level, ” he explained. “We ll com
pare what we projected with what showed
up.” The differences, he said, should ex
plain the unexpected jump in enrollment.
The prediction comes from three
sources.
His office, using the past three years as a
base, estimates the number of sophomores,
juniors and seniors. The admissions office
estimates the number of freshman, and the
graduate college estimates its own enroll
ment.
If enrollment stays at 33,313, the com
puter underestimated the figure by 3.67
percent. Last year the computer missed
by only 0.77 percent.
mday, Sep-
J will close
itember 16-
otry fee and
/ill be pro-
IM Depart-
learn tfe
iller begins working
for the governor’s office
SR0 crowd
i the whirl-
ned to the
1 comment-
e that “Aj!-
Pickle-Ball
By LIZ NEWLIN
Battalion Staff
I Dr. Jarvis Miller, former president of
Jexas A&M University, is now “on loan” to
ov. Bill Clements.
The governor’s office asked Texas A&M’s
I Board of regents if Miller could work on
ilecial projects in higher education, said
Jon C. Ford, the governor’s press sec
tary.
ft The board agreed to let Miller work part-
time in Austin and continue paying his sal
ary, he said. The governor can and often
|oes request other state agencies to loan
employees.
“He (Clements) expected Dr. Miller
ould have some time on his hands he
uld devote to this,” Ford said in a tele-
phone conversation Monday. “He’s got a
|reat deal of respect for Dr. Miller, and
fiey’ve been very good friends for the last
Sear and a half. ” The two cemented their
fiendship last September when the gov-
Jrnor invited Miller to go on an agricultural
Imur of Russia.
I The former president started commuting
to his new job across from the Capitol last
Tuesday. He’s working primarily with the
governor’s office of budget and planning,
which is trying to increase efficiency in the
management of higher education and other
parts of state government.
“He’s sort of a resource person,” Ford
said, adding that Miller had been working
with the governor and other university
presidents on a similar project before being
removed as University president. The re
gents on July 10 reassigned Miller to un
specified duties as special assistant to
Chancellor Frank W.R. Hubert.
Part of the new arrangement. Ford said,
is that Texas A&M will continue to pay
Miller’s salary for the rest of 1980. Accord
ing to the 1980-81 budget, Miller’s annual
compensation is $68,900 plus the house on
campus. Miller has moved out of the house.
Ford said he expects the “loan” will last
until the end of the year.
“After January, he (Miller) is going to
accept re-assignment at A&M or go some
where else,” Ford said.
Miller was not available for comment.
Battalion Staff Photo
The first Silver Taps will be held tonight at 10:30 p.m. in front of the
Academic Building. The ceremony, a tradition unique to Texas A&M
University, will honor Aggies who died since Muster, last April 21. To
remind students of today’s event, flags on campus are being flown at
half-mast.
Silver Taps
to be held
By DAWN SCOTTE FERGUSON
Battalion Reporter
Silver Taps, a tradition unique to
Texas A&M University, will be held
tonight to honor students who have
died since Muster in April.
To remind students of today’s
event, flags on campus are flown at
half-mast, and notices giving the time
of the ceremony are posted on the
doors of the library, the Rudder Tower
Complex, and the Memorial Student
Center. The names of the deceased
are posted on the base of the flag pole
in front of the Academic Building.
At 10:30 p.m., the lights visible
from the Lawrence Sullivan Ross sta
tue are extinguished and students
walk toward the area without talking to
preserve the somberness and tranquil
ity of the occasion.
The 21-member Ross Volunteer fir
ing squad approaches the flag pole,
marching to a funeral cadence. Three
rifle volleys of seven guns each are
fired and buglers, unseen in the dark
ness, play a special arrangement of
taps three times.
Before last year, Silver Taps was
usually held the Tuesday after the
death of the Aggie who was currently
enrolled in Texas A&M. However,
with the increasing student enroll
ment and mobility, student deaths
have risen.
Because the ceremony was held
with increasing frequency, the stu
dent senate voted to hold Silver Taps
once a month to preserve its special
nature.
Tonight’s Silver Taps will honor
Antonio Cardona of Lamesa, Mark R.
Dare of Houston, Gehrig D. Feuge of
Rankin, Jeffrey H. Giles of Galveston,
Kevin D. Hanlon of Saugus, Mass.,
Jayson G. Harris of Hamilton, Thomas
H. Newman of New Braunfels, Jon
Lee Raethka of Cypress, Juan X.
Riojas of Eagle Pass, Sharon L. Turner
of Austin and James M. Vanderwilt of
Pasadena.
This “hit a lot harder than anticipated,” he
said, “putting tremendous pressure” on the
post office.
Because of the terms of the rental agree
ments, Patrick said he “cannot re-rent (va
cated boxes) until Sept. 15,” resulting in a
“two-week lag (since Sept. 1) with boxes
available but unable to rent.”
To make matters worse, Patrick said, a
number of box rental agreements will reach
expiration soon. Patrick urged students to
help the situation by notifying the post
office if they plan to rent their boxes again.
Patrick said the problem could have
been avoided if the new modular dormitor
ies had been equipped with mailbox deliv
ery according to room numbers like the
Commons complex.
Harry Anderson, spokesman for the post
office at Redmond Terrace, agreed with
Patrick, but said he realized this procedure
would be a “hassle” for the University.
Anderson said that while his facility was
not usually preferred by the students be
cause of its location on Jersey Street near
Texas Avenue, he rented out over 200
boxes to students last week.
Employees of all three post offices say
they will not allow two or more people to
share a box — unless they have the same
last name — because the mail can only be
forwarded to the address of the boxholder.
However, mail sent to a person in care of
the boxholder will be acceptable on a tem
porary basis until the present situation can
be alleviated, they said.
Patrick suggested general delivery mail
service as one alternative for students who
are unable to rent a box. However, general
delivery service will be available only at the
Northgate office with mail pickups during
regular business hours only, he said.
Patrick said his office is awaiting approval
to put an additional 5,000 boxes in the
Northgate post office, which presently con
tains 10,081 boxes. Approximately 7,000 to
8,000 of those boxes are rented to students
and the remaining to businesses and resi
dents of the community, he said.
Patrick said he hopes the new boxes can
be installed within six months to one year,
barring any complications involving
approval of the plan, relocation of person
nel or altering of equipment inside the post
office.
“We (at the Northgate post office) don’t
anticipate clearing the entire waiting list,”
Patrick said.
But a spokesman of the Aggieland Sta
tion, Omer Everett, said: “We will prob
ably fill (all requests for boxes) but it may
take awhile.”
Everett recommended that people on
the waiting list continue checking with the
post offices because boxes are becoming
available daily.