The Battalion
Vol. 74 No. 47
10 Pages
a c areaei
; sin & otlj
"'ho rf
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Tuesday, November 4, 1980
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Yesterday
Today
High
80
High
....78
Low
51
Low
....56
Rain
. 0.00 inches
Chance of rain . . .
... .0%
‘eraskin
rrective
ned,”
ened,
nottoohmll
ute a fe«
0n 8 e rwitlj
Ug 0
don.”
^pple
m Patiy pers
ls P°rtitsp
street
'amburgersi
^ out thehi
residential race a toss-up to the end
United Press International
jpublican Ronald Reagan is the narrow favorite to win the
presidential election today, but Jimmy Carter pleaded for
irats to return to the fold and rescue his hopes for four more
in the White House.
Democratic president and his Republican challenger
:d at the end of a long, lackluster and negative campaign
a few points apart on the pollsters’ charts. Reagan was the
ler, both nationally and in most of the big electoral vote
:es that would do most to select the next president.
Despite pollsters’ numbers and pundits’ estimates indicating
Carter will be the first elected president since Herbert Hoover to
lose a second term bid, several big questions remained to keep the
election in the toss-up category:
— Did the Iranian Parliament’s offer to release the U.S. hos
tages help Carter even though he could not promise immediate
freedom for the 52 Americans held captive for a year?
— Would Democrats who defected to independent John
Anderson return in numbers enough to give Carter some of the
large swing states in which Reagan held slim leads?
— And could the feverish efforts of Democrats and their allies
to reverse the 16-year decline of voter turnout yield enough extra
votes to eke out victory for the president?
The presidential contest tops the ballot, but voters are also
choosing 435 members of the House, 33 senators and 13 gov
ernors, as well as electing thousands of other state and local
officials and deciding scores of ballot questions, from tax cuts to
educational policies.
There were some bitterly fought contests, especially for the
Senate, across the country, but early GOP hopes of breaking the
Democratic hold on Congress — now 59-41 in the Senate and
276-159 in the House — does not appear likely to pan out even if a
Republican does move into the White House in January. Nor do
the Republicans appear likely to make heavy inroads on the
current Democratic lead of 31-19 in governorships.
Turnout is vital to both sides, with the Democrats standing to
gain most from a big vote because of their advantage in both
registration and voter self-identification.
But most experts are predicting no more than 88 million votes
— less than 55 percent of the 160.5 million Americans of voting
age and about the same percentage as in 1976.
\tuden t survey says Reagan
ined votes after debate
By RITCHIE PRIDDY
Battalion Staff
aid Reagan’s personality is more per-
e than Carter’s, and as a result he
away with a significant increase in
two Texas A&M University speech
junications professors say.
iversity professors John Cook and
un Strong conducted a survey on col-
itudents to try and determine the in-
ceof the presidential debate, and con-
d that the debate could have an im-
on the way some people will vote
Ve cannot make projections from the
ly; we dealt primarily with why Reagan
|d votes after the debate. The reason
Is because people could more readily
ify with Reagan,” Strong said,
ite two professors studied responses of
college students on questionnaires be-
and after the debate. The question-
re consisted of questions ranging from
ich man was best suited for the pres-
cy?” to “What was the most impor-
issue in the campaign?” It was random-
istributed to 250 students. Of the 250
fionnaires given out, 157 were corn
ed, which the two professors consi-
■ed a poor return.
the length of the questionnaire (eight
it) might have been part of the prob-
\ Cook said.
ne ABC News poll, after the debate,
|ioned about 1,000 people nationwide
)ne question per person.
Surs dealt with 157 people with 210
itions so it was more information from
people,” he said.
TLE
The results indicated Reagan was the
only candidate who got a significant shift
upward in the number of people who said
they would vote for him.
“But, of course, with 59 percent of the
population tested for Reagan to start with
and like only 27 percent for Carter, you are
in Reagan country, so more people are
going to say he won and more people are
going to shift that way just from talking to
others,” Cook said.
The study indicated that both candidates
achieved higher credibility from the de
bate, with Reagan scoring higher in social
and physical attractiveness.
“Reagan was higher on physical attrac
tiveness, how well he dressed and how
good he looked, and more socially attrac
tive, as well. People seem to like him better
which, according to his campaign officials,
fits the goal of his campaign,” Cook said.
“He was trying to come off inter-personally
warm, talk to you one-on-one, and it must
be working because he is liked more.”
Another thing measured was whether
the voter thought the candidates’ views
matched his own. Does the candidate be
lieve the same things I do, have the same
attitudes, the same values?
“Identification is persuasion,” Strong
said. “If someone can identify with a candi
date he’ll most likely vote for him.”
Strong explained that Reagan’s positive
identification comes from his use of lan-
quage that emphasizes feelings and atti
tudes that people already have. Reagan
mirrors the attitudes of society and makes
people feel they are agreeing with him.
when in fact he is agreeing with them.
“Carter restrains himself to be presiden
tial, and Reagan will go ahead and let him
self relate to the individual citizen,”
Strong said. “He talks a lot like every
body’s grandfather.”
The study indicated Reagan scored high
er on questions about similar beliefs, atti
tudes, values and background.
Cook said Reagan was perceived to be
similar in his cutural and economic back
ground, closer to the voters.
“So being from the South is no net asset
in East Texas (for Carter).”
Of those surveyed, the economy was
shown to be the most important issue in
the campaign for most people, with
foreign policy also considered important.
Carter’s performance as president was ap
parently not a major issue.
Cook said that the debate did have an
impact on the number of undecided voters,
since they were reduced from 19 percent to
13 percent. Some 5 percent of the unde
cided indicated a move in their preferenc to
Reagan, with only a one percent increase
for Carter.
Also, apparently, many voters consi
dered themselves better informed on the
issues after the debate. There was, howev
er, no increase in the number of people
who said they were going to vote.
“What we think we found in this data is
the same kinds of things we expected,”
Cook said. “The candidates are doing the
things they do best, doing what their
coaches told them to do, and well enough to
come off the way they are supposed to —
credible and likeable.”
Here at last...
Staff photo by Pat O’Malley
Texas A&M students stand in one of two lines in the be picked up in the Commons from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Commons Monday afternoon, in order to pick up their daily for the next two weeks. For a review of the 1980
long awaited copy of the 1980 Aggieland. Yearbooks can Aggieland, refer to page 2.
jocation of hostages remains well-guarded secret
United Press International
susands of Iranians rallied outside the U.S. Embassy today
hen flocked into the diplomatic compound on the first
fersary of its seizure, but the whereabouts of the 52 American
iges was a tightly guarded diplomatic secret,
le official Pars news agency said thousands of Iranians
med through the streets of Tehran to the embassy for the
and “then thousands were allowed into the embassy com-
I.”
Pars did not disclose the location of the hostages, deepening the
mystery of their whereabouts since the militants transferred “re
sponsibility” for the captives to the government Monday and
told it to send a representative for “delivery of the American
spies.”
Pars said the rally began with readings from the Koran and a
communique read by one of the militants, who Sunday evening
said they would invite the public into the compound for tours.
PO Hanson has
iiird chance
■I
^ED.
•r parole
color
only.
II per
United Press International
VACAVILLE, Calif. — The only real
|ion about Charles Manson’s parole
hg today is whether the bearded mass
Perer will show up.
I
s aging leader of the drug and sex cult
as the Manson Family has little
ce of winning time off a life sentence
ordering the murders of actress Sharon
5 and eight other people in Los Angeles
if conceding that fate, Manson
Bed a meeting with hearing officers last
r, calling them “a bunch of liars.”
luison, 45, has twice been rejected as
jitable for parole, and no follower who
onvicted of murder has been granted
ist month, parole officers denied early
dates to former Manson Family
bers Charles “Tex” Watson, Steve
i” Grogan and Robert Beausofi. Ear-
bis year, parole also was denied Patri-
^renwinkel, Susan Atkins and Leslie
louten.
jlanson is intelligent enough to know
not going to get paroled,” Stephen
! a Los Angeles deputy district attor-
in a recent interview.
|don’t know whether he’ll show up or
games. I don’t expect anything start-
to happen, although where Charles
Son’s concerned we can never be
pson spokeswoman Teda Boyll said
day Manson indicated he would attend
bearing, “but that can change by
Student debate airs
views of candidates
By ROBERT R. GREEN
Battalion Reporter
The Texas A&M University Debate
Club, on the theory that Jimmy Carter
and Ronald Reagan would not agree to a
campaign debate, scheduled a debate of
its own between students speaking for
the four presidential candidates on the
Texas ballot.
But the date they picked, October 28,
happened to be the very day Reagan and
Carter representatives finally settled on
for their candidates’ meeting.
Pre-empted by the real thing, the
club had to settle for Monday, the day
before the election, to hold what it cal
led an “open forum on the election.”
The debate, held in 401 Rudder Mon
day night, may have been late, but that
didn’t make the participants — or the
audience — any less vocal.
Lainee Kobeluch, the club’s vice
president, said the forum’s late date
didn’t mean it might not help some un
decided voters make up their minds.
“A lot of people won’t make up their
minds until they go in the booth and go,
‘Eenie, meenie, minie, moe,’” she said.
But few of the students could have
been called “undecided.” Though only
about 20 people attended, those who
were there voiced their opinions freely,
and the event was probably closer to a
full-fledged “debate” than the more
structured Carter-Reagan bout the
week before.
After prepared speeches by students
representing the four candidates — Re
publican Ronald Reagan, Libertarian
Ed Clark, Independent John Anderson
and Democrat Jimmy Carter — the
floor was thrown open for questions and
discussion from the audience. There
was plenty, with students supporting
Anderson and Clark the most vocal.
Instead of simply questioning the
spokesmen, students in the audience
ended up in a debate over government
itself, with Libertarians advocating
wholesale cuts in government and
others questioning how the poor could
be taken care of under such reduced or
eliminated programs.
The notion of abolishing the mini
mum wage — the Libertarians want to
— also made sparks fly, as did the ques
tion of the military draft.
Anderson and Clark supporters each
urged people who don’t want to vote for
either major party candidate to vote for
their candidates.
“If you plan to waste your vote, like
votingfor John Anderson,” said Jeff Per
kins, Clark’s spokesman during the de
bate, “you might as well waste it on
something worthwhile.”
In the prepared speeches the student
surrogates made many of the same
claims and charges that the the candi
dates themselves have been making:
— Jack Cherry of the campus Young
Democrats echoed the so-called “war
and peace” issue by saying that “the
man we elect tomorrow may very well
determine whether this nation goes to
war or stays at peace.”
— Reagan backer Scott McGraw, a
junior English major, recalled Carter’s
1976 campaign pledge that “I’ll never lie
to you” and said, “That was the first
one.”
— Witzel of the Anderson campaign
said that when people are asked why
they are voting for Anderson, “the first
two reasons that usually come out are
Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.”
— Clark representative Perkins, a
senior marketing major, rejected all
three of the other candidates’ platforms
as “runaway government” and advo
cated cutting the federal budget by $200
billion in one year, with “more to come
later.”
Hojjatoleslam Musavi Khoyeni, chairman of Iran’s special hos
tage commission, and Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rajai spoke
at the rally, and Haj Seid Ahmad Khomeini, the son of Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, attended.
There were no details on the speeches by the Iranian leaders,
but the radio said Khoyeni had yet to mention the hostages, who
the militants Monday turned over to the “responsibility” of the
government.
“We are not making any comments about the hostages what-
Court lifts ban on transfer
soever, ” said a spokesman for the militants, reached by telephone
from London, fueling the mystery over who was watching the
captives and exactly where they were being held.
As the first votes were cast in the U.S. presidential election in
Dixville Notch, N.H., with Ronald Reagan outpolling President
Carter 17-3, the militants in Tehran whitewashed the U.S.
Embassy of graffiti to celebrate the anniversary of the capture of
the diplomatic compound.
Refugees sent to Puerto Rico
United Press International
MIAMI — The first contingent of re
fugees will be sent to Fort Allen in Puerto
Rico this week, but federal officials say the
group will be made up of newly arrived
Haitian boat people and not Cuban re
fugees.
Hours after the Supreme Court lifted a
ban Monday on the transfer of refugees to
the Puerto Rican facility, which can house
at least 2,000 people, Cuban-Haitian Task
Force director James Gigante said flights
were expected to begin this week, probably
by Thursday.
Puerto Rican Secretary of State Pedro
Vazquez said in San Juan, however, that
“all legal means will be used to protect the
Puerto Rican people.”
Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo, who also
opposes the transfer, said only he would
confer with his lawyers on the Supreme
Court decision. He faces a difficult re-
election battle today.
Among the first refugees to leave the
U.S. mainland will be about 80 Haitians
who came ashore near Islamorada late
Monday.
“All new arrivals,” Gigante said, “will
not begin processing by voluntary agen
cies” in Florida, but will be transferred to
Fort Allen for processing there.
Gigante said there were no immediate
plans to send an estimated 500 Cuban re
fugees now staying at Miami Beach hotels
to Fort Allen, although those who reject
resettlement and are unable to find means
of support could eventually be transferred
to the facility.
“A little less than 50 percent of them are
accepting resettlement,” said Gigante. The
remainder plan to stay in the Miami area,
seeking help from friends or relatives or
looking for jobs. The federal government
has announced it will no longer foot the bill
for hotel rooms.
Resettlement efforts also continue for
823 Haitians housed at the Krome Avenue
center in South Dade County. Gigante in
dicated that sponsorless, jobless refugees
were likely to be sent to Puerto Rico.
Dems likely to rule Congress
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Democrats are certain to maintain control
of Congress in today’s elections, but are likely to lose some ground
— and possibly some of their top leaders — to the Republican
minority.
A United Press International pre-election survey indicated the
Democrats will continue to rule Congress, extending their domi
nance over both Senate and House to 28 years. The Democrats
now have a 273-159 edge in the House with three vacancies, and a
59-41 margin in the Senate.
A loss of 15 to 25 Democratic House seats was predicted by
experts in both parties, and not enough Senate seats were ex
pected to change hands to reverse the Democratic majority there.
But it is not the numerical makeup of Congress that is making
the 1980 congressional elections interesting. It is the personali
ties, single-issue political action groups and scandal-tainted in
cumbents who have a big stake in its outcome.
The new Senate is certain to remain a white, nearly all male
club, but the House is expected to pick up a handful of new
women and black members. There currently are 16 females and
15 blacks in the 435-member body.
Anti-abortionists, consumer groups, labor unions, fundamen
talist Christian conservatives and other pressure groups also get
their first look at how much influence they can exert in a general
election.
Also awaiting the voters’ verdict is an unusually large number of
men who have stood or are awaiting trial — or who have already
made their peace with the law.
Several House members connected to the Abscam investiga
tion are in tight re-election races, including convicted Reps.
Michael Myers, D-Pa., and John Jenrette, D-S.C. Both are ex
pected to lose.
And in Maryland, Rep. Robert Bauman’s disclosure that he is
an alcoholic with “homosexual tendencies” turned what had been
considered an easy re-election for him into a possible win for
virtually unknown Democratic challenger Royden Dyson.
Bauman, a well-known conservative spokesman, escaped a
morals charge after he agreed to enter a rehabilitation program,
and the publicity has hurt him.
Most eyes, however, were on two committee chairmen who
have not come to trial — House Administration Committee
Chairman Frank Thompson of New Jersey and Merchant Marine
Chairman John Murphy of New York.
In the Senate, which has been relatively free of scandal com
pared with the House, personalities and pressure groups domin
ate the elections.
Some of America’s bestknown politicians are up for re-election
today, including two former presidential candidates — Sen. Barry
Goldwater of Arizona, the 1964 Republican presidential candi
date, and Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota, the Demo
crats’ 1972 standard-bearer.