mUcujircoJm^f nrcmOmwamD^orn \ Austin’s SKunKs
e Battalion
Serving the Texas A&Af University community
Vol. 74 No. 60
12 Pages
Friday, November 21, 1980 USPS 045 360
College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Yesterday Today
High 56 High
Low 36 Low
Rain 0.00 inches
56
33
f I
Staff photo by Pat O’Malley
Michael Mixon, a junior in Company E-2, gets a lift from
an H.B. Zachry crane to the first level of the bonfire
stack Thursday afternoon. Bonfire workers say there is
still much work to do before the bonfire on Tuesday.
on fire workers
ay they need help
The last weekend before Tuesday’s
nfire is here and supervisers say help
still badly needed to get the huge
.ggie stack ready for burning.
Mike Thomas, head civilian for bon-
ire this year, is asking students to come
ut to the stacks and help. Work in-
ludes hauling the logs to the stacks,
utting wires and wiring logs together.
“I just want to let people know that
ths weekend is critical,” Thomas said.
We have the potential to have a bigger
lonfire than ever before if we get a good
umout in these last few days. ”
Thomas said that there is not a lack of
nthusiasm. But he said he thinks many
avilian students might not know how to
i about participating.
People can stay for whatever time
they want. We’ll be happy to have
them,’’ he said. Once at the stack, stu
dents should find a member of the red-
pot committee for directions of work,
Thomas said.
Redpots are bonfire supervisors.
Working shifts will operate 24 hours a
day.
Students who would like to work on
bonfire should bring their own wirecut-
ters, pliers and hardhats if possible,
Thomas said.
Chains should be attached to the tools
a student brings, to keep them from
falling from the stack, he said.
Students without any experience on
bonfire work should wear a white mark
ing such as tape or a handkerchief on
their right legs.
Bonfire is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday.
Reagan goes to California
to consider appointments
United Press International
WASHINGTON — After a conquering hero tour of
Washington at the White House, Capitol Hill, the Su
preme Court and meetings with President Carter and
German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, President-elect
Ronald Reagan turns his attention to Cabinet appoint
ments and foreign policy.
Reagan scheduled morning meetings today with for
mer President Gerald Ford, Vice President-elect
George Bush, members of his transition team and a first
gathering with his foreign policy advisory group before
returning to California.
He also was set to meet Saturday in Los Angeles with
a Cabinet appointments advisory committee composed
primarily of members of his “kitchen cabinet,” a group of
Southern California businessmen who have backed and
advised Reagan since he ran for governor in 1966.
Reagan arrived in Washington Monday night and
embarked on a whirlwind tour of the city to introduce
himself to local and national leaders.
After a Thursday-night dinner at the home of conser
vative columnist George Will, Reagan said he had not
made any Cabinet decisions.
“We’re just in the process of accumulating all the
possibilities and names,” Reagan said. “We haven’t got
ten down to selection.”
Among those attending the dinner honoring the
Reagans and Vice President-elect George Bush and his
wife were Robert Strauss, Carter’s campaign chairman;
Washington Post Co. board Chairman Katharine
Graham and Roone Arledge, head of ABC News and
Sports.
The president-elect’s day was highlighted by a trip
across the street from his temporary government resi
dence to the White House to meet with Carter.
The meeting, which lasted more than one hour, was
described as a success by both men who had not seen
each other since the debate in Cleveland a week before
the election.
“The president was most gracious, most helpful and
he’s gone all out to be completely helpful in the tran
sition,” Reagan told reporters outside the White House.
Carter called the meeting “very delightful.” While
Carter and Reagan talked, Rosalynn Carter led Nancy
Reagan on a tour of the White House.
“It was nice and very helpful,” Mrs. Reagan told
reporters. “But I think I’m going to have to come back a
second time,” she said laughing.
After walking across Pennsylvania Avenue to his guest
townhouse, Reagan met for an hour with Schmidt, who
was in Washington to visit Carter and requested the
meeting with Reagan.
Neither man would comment on their discussion, but
Schmidt described it as “very friendly.”
He also said it was “good to hear” Reagan reassert his
campaign promise of close consultations with America’s
NATO allies. He declined to compare Carter with what
he expects from Reagan.
Elephant Walk to take place Monday
By TERRI COULSON
Battalion Reporter
Every year before the Texas A&M-Texas
football game, Texas A&M seniors gather
in front of the Academic Building flagpole
to participate in Elephant Walk.
According to the tradition, they form a
single line and wander aimlessly around
the campus like dying elephants.
Seniors are dubbed “elephants.”
Elephant Walk is an acknowledgement of
the seniors’ impending “death,” for after
the Texas game, they are of no further use
to the Twelfth Man.
In order to hasten the “death” of their
upperclassmen, juniors wait in ambush
along the expected path of the Walk.
Armed with toy guns, berries, ax handles or
a variety of other “weapons,” the juniors
pick out their favorite seniors and “shoot”
them.
The ambush does have its drawbacks.
Seniors often chase down and wrestle their
attackers.
The walk will take place Monday at noon,
and it is for all members of the Class of’81.
Seniors are to meet in front of the Academic
Building by the statue of Lawrence Sulli
van Ross, Head Yell leader Mark Outlaw
said. A short yell practice will be held and
from there the walk will begin.
“I’m not really sure where we will go,”
Outlaw said, “since I haven’t been involved
in it before.
“We will most likely go by the northside
dorms, then over to the drill field. Then we
will probably go over to Kyle Field by way
of the Memorial Student Center and Rud
der Tower. Once there, we will have
another short yell practice.
“Then we will head on over to the Quad
and finally end up at the bonfire site,” he
said.
Once there, another short yell practice
will be held and then the seniors from the
band will conclude it by playing “The Aggie
War Hymn” and “The Spirit of Aggieland,”
Outlaw said.
The walk will probably last about IV2
hours, Outlaw said.
Regents to discuss
planning, building
A host of planning and building items
and a report on a marine programs study
highlight the agenda for a Texas A&M Uni
versity System Board of Regents meeting
next week.
The Board will meet in its various com
mittees starting at 9 a.m. Monday. Tues
day, a general meeting will start at 8:30
a.m.
Among the items for action include
awarding of bids for a new $13.1 million
Engineering Laboratory Center at Texas
A&M, to be located south of Zachry En
gineering Center. The center will house
research and laboratory facilities of the
Texas Engineering Experiment Station and
Center for Strategic Studies.
The regents will also hear a report on the
reorganization of the System’s marine
programs. In September, the Board heard
a preliminary report citing the need for
greater coordination among the programs.
Other items for action include:
— an appropriation for the preliminary
design of the Texas A&M Animal Science
Pavilion;
— approval of a dormitory renovation
program for Texas A&M, to take place in
Summer 1981;
— approval of an installment purchase
agreement for a new TEEX computer, to
supplement the existing facility at Texas
A&M;
— consideration of the purchase of a new
sea-going vessel for TEEX; and
— approval of field trip fees for various
Texas A&M classes.
The regents will meet in the Memorial
Student Center annex.
Fried ra t responsible
for campus blackout
A “very dead, very fried rat” was re
sponsible for a blackout on parts of the
Texas A&M University campus Thurs
day morning.
Power was out for about six hours in
the Biological Sciences Building, the
Sterling C. Evans Library and the Reed
McDonald Building.
“A rat got into the library switch gear
and chewed it up and blew three fuses,”
Joe Estill, director of the physical plant,
said. “This flipped a breaker at the pow
er plant.”
The lights went out at 12:04 a.m.
Thursday, and power was restored ab
out 6 a.m.
In order to maintain power to the rest
of the campus, power to other areas was
reduced, Estill said.
“We had to reduce our load and lost
feeders four, five, six and eight,” he
said. “These are the DPC (Data Proces
sing Center), the Cyclotron and the
O&M Building and Married Student
Housing. These were back up within 30
to 40 minutes.
“We took these off the line,” Estill
said, “or else we would have lost the
whole campus.”
It took longer to restore power to the
original three buildings, Estill said, be
cause workers had to re-establish power
loads ^nd find the cause of the failure,
the fried rat.
Expert says it s not as difficult as people think
Establishing credit rating important for students
By BERNIE FETTE
Battalion Reporter
As some college students anxiously look forward to their gra-
Btion, course credits seem to be more important than anything.
|tas that graduation date draws nearer, a different kind of credit
®ay become even more important.
.ccording to David Benson of Texas A&M’s Personal Finance
ipartment, establishing a credit rating is important for college
[dents, particularly seniors and graduate students, “because
jy’ve got to have it for the rest of their lives.”
ebiggest misunderstanding among students about obtaining
edit rating is that they think it’s difficult to do, but it’s not
ly, Benson said.
In fact, they (the students) are actively solicited by credit
mpanies because they are good or at least potentially good
edit risks.”
1 survey of 300 college seniors and graduates conducted by
irket Facts Inc. for the American Express Co. showed that
iile three quarters of those students surveyed felt a credit rating
s important to have, less than half of them had actually estab-
led one.
1 similar survey was conducted on one of Benson’s finance
sses by Burston Marsteller of New York, during a visit here,
e results of that survey were almost identical to the national
■vey, according to Phil Shuman of Burston Marsteller.
“They didn’t really know how important it was for them to
ablish a credit rating as soon as they could, ” Shuman said. “But
en you really need credit, that’s when it’s harder to get.”
According to Thomas K. Meyers, executive vice president of
e American Express card division, “the consumer credit crunch
iffecting all Americans, but none more so than this year’s more
bn one million graduating college seniors. ”
Credit Bureau Services in Bryan is a credit reporting agency
lich keeps references on file for persons seeking credit.
If, for instance, a student applied for credit at one of the local
bks, the bank would contact the Credit Bureau in order to check
ft the student’s credit history.
If the student had no file, the bureau would check out the other
erences given to them by the student. If there are no such
erences, the student has to establish a credit rating on his own.
The two most common ways of establishing a credit rating are
her to simply apply for a credit or charge card, or to take out and
pay a loan. '
When using the method of repaying a loan to get a credit rating, However, to be eligible for loans from a credit union, mem er
a credit union is one place to consider. Credit unions generally ship in the organization which that credit union serves is
have more lenient lending policies than most financial institutions times required. Such organizations include labor unions an co
and usually charge lower interest rates than banks. leges.
Finance experts say students should try to establish a credit rating while
they are still in school. Applying for a credit card or charge card is one way
to get a credit rating started.
Savings and checking accounts, although they do not establish
credit ratings on their own, can help to develop one. Keeping a
clean record with a bank will usually help as a basis of credit
history for future credit ratings.
The advantages of being able to use a credit or charge card are
numerous, Shuman said.
The credit or charge card user doesn’t have to carry cash and
won’t have to worry about getting caught short. The card also
provides instant identification.
Detailed receipts are provided to help itemize spending and
prepare imeome tax reports. What some students may not realize
is that all cards are not created equal. Credit cards are not the
same as charge cards and “if you don’t know the difference, you
run the risk of using them improperly,” Shuman said.
Charge cards such as American Express, Carte Blanche and
Diners Club work on a pay-as-you-go system. These companies
charge an annual fee, which is supposed to cover the cost of the
services offered. No preset limit is imposed on the card user as to
how much he can charge.
The extra features offered by charge cards as opposed to credit
cards include automatic travel insurance and personal check
cashing at hotels and airline counters.
Charge cards are used primarily for hotel, travel and restaurant
expenses, but are now being accepted at an increasing number of
retail and department stores.
Credit cards, such as MasterCard and VISA work on a buy-now,
pay-later system, and are usually issued by banks. Some banks
began charging annual fees for these cards in 1979, but others do
not charge a fee. Banks receive most of their income not from
those fees, but from finance charges they collect on unpaid
balances.
Credit cards preset spending limits, which charge cards do not.
Retail and oil company cards are considered credit cards and
usually can only be used at outlets of the company which issued
them.
Charge cards are usually harder to obtain since they have
higher income requirements. But one company, American Ex
press, has a special program for students.
If the student has been promised a job with an annual salary of
$10,000 and has no negative credit history, that student will
probably qualify for the American Express Card.
Benson said most of the other credit companies offer similar
programs.