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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1981)
Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community Vol. 74 No. 78 18 Pages in 2 Sections Monday, January 19, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Yesterday Today High 47 High 45 Low 32 Low 38 Rain Chance of rain 70 percent Iran agrees to freeU.S. hostages United Press International LGIERS, Algeria— Iran formally agreed today to release the American hostages in exchange for the return of billions of lars of frozen Iranian assets. Two Algerian jets landed in iran to fly the captives to freedom and end their M'A-month eal. The hostages were taken to Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport to it the go ahead for them to board the planes and leave Iran, wrt officials said. At 4:58 a.m. EST, President Carter said the words that have dedhis administration during his entire last year in office: “We Inow reached an agreement with Iran which will result, I ieve, in the freedom of our U.S. hostages.’’ Preparations were made for Carter to fly to Wiesbaden, West any, to greet the returning hostages. ollowing the release of our hostages, then we will unfreeze transfer to the Iranians a major part of the assets which were by me when the Iranians seized our embassy compound )k our hostages.” formal agreement between the United States and Iran was iced by Algerian go-betweens on the 443rd day of the crisis began when the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized by wielding militants on Nov. 4, 1979. Behzad Nabavi, Iran’s chief hostage negotiator, said the Amer- is would be freed as soon as Algeria “officially informs us that deposits and gold confiscated by the U.S. government have n deposited in a third country’s central hank on the Algerian ivemment’s account.’ ‘Major part’ of frozen assets to be released “Oh my Godl Oh my God! I can’t believe it! I’m so filled with happiness,” Agnes Moorehead Kennedy, 73, said in New York on learning that her son, a State Department economic and commer cial officer, could be freed in a matter of hours. Reached by UPI, the Algerian embassy in Tehran said the hostages were examined today by six Algerian doctors and found to be “in good health.” Iran agreed to free the hostages in return for the release of billions of dollars in its assets frozen by the United States 10 days after the embassy was seized. It was believed that the White House would at some point transmit a coded message to the Bank of England to transfer some of the assests into Algeria’s account. An Algerian spokesman said the hostages would be flown to Algiers after a refueling stop in Turkey. The captives were then to be shuttled to Wiesbaden by two U.S. Air Force Nightingale C-9 hospital planes on their way to Algiers. The agreement ending the crisis that undermined Carter’s administration and and inflamed Americans was signed in Algiers and Tehran. The two Algerian Boeing 727s were loaded with oranges, fruit juice and sandwiches during a stopover in Ankara, Turkey, before going to Tehran to pick up the hostages. Carter, who personally phoned the families of the hostages to pass on details of the feverish negotiations, opened champagne with his family and closest aides for a private celebration. President-elect Ronald Reagan, who discussed the crisis with the president Sunday, said as far as he knew, the agreement preserved the nation’s honor. The Algerian government announced the agreement at a news conference during which a Foreign Office official read three docu ments totaling 20 pages that had been initialed and signed by Tehran and then flown to Algiers for initialing and signing by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Under the agreement, the United States pledged to “restore the financial position of Iran insofar as possible to that which existed prior to Nov. 14, 1979,” when an estimated $8 billion in Iranian assets were frozen. “In this context,” the agreement continued, “the United States commits itself to ensure the mobility and free transfer of all Iranian assets within its jurisdiction.” Carter Friday ordered the transfer of gold bullion and cash reserves to the Bank of England for immediate transfer to an escrow account held by Algeria on behalf of Iran. One U.S. official said military spare parts that were in the pipeline when Carter froze Iranian assets were involved in the hostage deal, but he declined to elaborate. The announcement of the long-sought agreement came with about 31 hours left in the Carter administration and capped 10 days of frantic negotiations carried on mainly through Algiers. Christopher signed the agreement, drafted in English, Farsi and French, while seated at a long table. Turning to Algerian Foreign Minister Mohammed Benhaiya, Christopher said he conveyed “the abiding appreciation of the American people for all Algeria had done to get the hostage deal concluded.” It was Christopher’s ninth straight day in Algiers and he said at the signing that he had gone virtually without sleep in the last 48 hours. The State Department immediately began notifying the fami lies of the hostages of the imminent release of their kin, who spent two Thanksgivings, two Christmases and two New Years’ holi days in captivity. Statements from the White House, the Iranians and the Alge rian mediators Sunday and early today had indicated a final solu tion was only hours away. “The final moment is now approaching, and for Iran the hostage issue is over,” Nabavi said. The last snag apparently was translating the document into English, French and Farsi. Ghetto hotel’ eadied for team United Press International (WIESBADEN, West Germany— Milit- f officials were clearing out a “ghetto next to the Wiesbaden U.S. Air hospital today for the arrival of a : Department hostage treatment team tiled by former Secretary of State Cyrus | The team was assembled in Washington lay night awaiting final word on an ementthat would free the 52 American lages held in Iran for the 443rd day. An advance party of medical experts at Lindsey Air Station in Wies- i during the weekend. A select group iychiatrists, psychologists, dentists and [tysicians was placed on standby in lington. | The arrival of the medical officers and e moves by the State Department team e a clear signal that at least some of the postages would be flown to West Ger- my. Military sources said scores of service- land their families were being evicted i the 550-bed Amelia Earhart hotel to i room for the specialty teams. 1 Families of the 14 hostages already re leased by Iran stayed at the hotel. But military sources said hostage relatives this time were being “strongly discouraged” from traveling to Wiesbaden. Reporters were barred from the top floors of the pink and white high-rise hotel, which is less than 200 yards from the Wies baden Air Force hospital. The Amelia Earhart normally houses transient military personnel who pay as lit tle as $4 per night and are reimbursed. “What is normally a ghetto hotel is sud denly going to be transformed into posh living quarters for some of the top people in government,” said one ex-serviceman. The U.S. Army, which took over opera tion of the hotel from the Air Force seven years ago, kept a disco operating in the hotel despite a number of rape cases re ported in the area of the dance hall. At least one room of the hotel has been boarded with plywood because of a fire that blackened several walls. Another was closed for health reasons. The location of the hotel, however, is ideal for the visiting officials. They can walk to the nearby hospital in minutes. StalT photo by Greg Gammon Finished! With work complete, Houston Street is now open from Sbisa Dining Hall aligned it with College Main. A new four-way traffic signal has been to University Drive. The street was closed for several months while crews erected at the intersection of University and Houston. SC Council to hear ^organization plan Others to make up for Schwartz, Moore By JANE G. BRUST Battalion Staff | A proposal which would restructure the ISC Council’s executive committee will [epresented at the Council’s first meeting : semester tonight. | Ifpassed by the two-thirds majority vote ired for a constitutional change, the osal would create two new vice presi- mt positions and several new director sitions. Job descriptions for existing *r positions would also change. Because it calls for a constitutional ge, the proposal would then be subject provalby Dr. John Koldus, vice presi- int for student services, and Dr. Charles mson, acting president of Texas A&M iversity. I One new vice president position would i some responsibility from the present ) description of the vice president of ams. That position, vice president for lent development, would plan leader- flip workshops along with one director of ionnel. | Another new position would be that of ! president for development which would work with three directors. Directors for development public relations, develop ment finance and development fundraising would work specifically in the area of en richment for MSC Council programs. Another change in the structure would be making the current director of public relations position into a vice presidential position with director of promotions and director of publicity and advertising posi tions. Vice President for Programs Sara Morse said a committee of more than a dozen people including council officers and facul ty members have worked on the proposal since September. She said council mem bers have toyed with the idea of reorganiz ing the executive structure for as long as two years. If the proposal is approved through the appropriate channels, the new executive structure would take effect with those tak ing office next fall. Council members will meet in the con ference room of the Student Programs Office (216T MSC) at 7:30 p.m. Wells: Threat stronger to PUF hy DILLARD STONE Battalion Staff The chairman of the Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents sees a stronger threat to the Permanent Universi ty Fund in this session of the Texas Legislature. “I think the threat (to the PUF) is stronger,” Clyde H. Wells of Granbiiry said. “People have become acquainted with what the permanent fund really is in the last few years — not necessarily members of the Legislature alone, but their constituents have.” The PUF is the constitutionally mandated and pro tected endowment of 2.1 million acres of West Texas land, administered for the benefit of the Texas A&M and Uni versity of Texas systems. The discovery of oil and gas on the land has caused the PUF’s value to skyrocket in the last 30 years. Money from the PUF cannot be spent, but it is in vested, and the return on the investment is known as the Available University Fund. The UT system receives two-thirds ofthe AUF, and the Texas A&M system receives the other one-third. The PUF has come under attack in the last decade from legislators who wish to give other state-supported schools a slice of the PUF pie. The controversy was heightened when the 1979 Legisl ature virtually abolished the ad valorem tax, which pro vided construction funds for those other state schools. They have been left with no guaranteed source of funds for construction, although this Legislature will be consid ering several alternatives. The threat Wells sees to the PUF gained a little more force in 1980. Sens. Bill Moore (D-Brvan) and A.R. Schwartz (D-Galveston), both Texas A&M graduates and both ardent backers of the PUF, were defeated in their bids for re-election. Moore was the Dean of the Texas Senate, and Schwartz was also a senior senator. Wells expects the loss of those two to increase the hazard to the PUF, but he expects other legislators to take up the battle. “We’re talking about two members of the Legislature that had been in the Legislature for a long time,” Wells r aid. “Naturally, they were respected by their colleagues, and they should have been.” But, Wells pointed out, the UT and Texas A&M sys tems have other backers in the Legislature. “I think that we have others there that are now just as interested in our University system, and I look to those people of course as being public servants that are going to give all that they have to preserve the PUF.” Wells didn’t say, as many others have, that the many other Texas schools couldn’t receive enough money to justify a breakup of the PUF. He did say he thought other ways could be found to finance those schools’ construction plans. Texas A&M’s future strength rests on the fate of the PUF, Wells said. Without the fund, Texas A&M and UT “would be watered down. Eventually (they) would not be as strong as (they are) today. “We need to do the things that need to be done to keep it (the PUF) in place, for us to have two universities of the top order that we now have in Texas. That’s what the Constitution intended for us to have at the very begin ning.” IEOG checks due Jan. 21 Some students receiving Basic Educa- 1 Opportunity Grants (BEOGs), may Jv e to wait till Jan. 21 for their checks to five, However, Dr. William McFarland, ictor of financial aid, said BEOG checks t ready for students who turned in their dent Eligibility Report (SER) by Dec. 1980. Hie SER is a form completed by the Nent to determine whether he qualifies ^ a BEOG. McFarland said some students didn’t ive checks because the SER was , in after Dec. 17. He also said stu nts may not have received checks if they still undergoing validation. To be valid, he said, students must fill out the SER, be enrolled at least six semes ter hours, maintain a 2.0 GPR and have an affidavit. The affidavit is necessary to prove that information in the SER is correct, he said. McFarland said an undetermined num ber of applicants was fed into the computer on Jan. 14, and providing there is no com puter breakdown, those checks will be ready on Jan. 21. Students wanting to apply for a BEOG for the 1980-81 academic year can still do so, he said, if their application is in the financial aid office by March 15. McFarland said about 3,000 students will receive grants during this academic year. Board plan validation available through Friday Those who have paid for a board plan but have not yet validated their meal tickets may still eat in their assigned dining halls by showing a current stu dent identification card and a spring fee slip until Friday. Student requests for board plan changes will also not be authorized after that date. The University Department of Food Services will be validating I.D. cards until 7 p m. today at the Commons din ing entrance and in Sbisa’s fast food sec tion. Cards inay also be validated Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. at both entrances of Sbisa and Thursday and Friday from 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. in Duncan and from 2:20 p.m.-4:30 p.m. in Sbisa’s Underground Railroad. Dining hall assignments correspond to dormitories. Corps dorm residents (except civilian females) will eat in Dun can on weekdays and the Commons on weekends. Non-Corps residents of Briggs and Spence should eat in the Commons. However, those wishing to eat in Dun can at noon will be so validated and will be blocked from Commons noon dining for the semester. Off-campus students may eat in either Sbisa or the Commons. Jan. 18 was the last day dropping the board plan was authorized, but refund applications for missed meals will be accepted until Feb. 3. Ice, snow clog traffic, hit Florida citrus crop United Press International An icy snowstorm that clogged traffic in Texas and New Mexico was cheered by southwestern skiers, and Florida farmers armed with wind machines today fought to save their already-damaged crops from the second onslaught of freezing temperatures in a week. Travel advisories were in effect for parts of Texas and neighboring sections of New Mexico hit by a half-foot snow and sleet Sunday. Moderating temperatures settled over the Northeast, however, easing the critical heating fuel shortage in Massachusetts. In Texas, a winter storm dropped up to six inches of snow in west Texas and brought sleet as far south as the Hill Coun try. A Lubbock county police official said only a few minor accidents had been re ported despite the conditions. The snow, however, was a boon to ski areas. “We received about 7 inches of new snow at the lower area, ” said Chris Collier, assistant manager at New Mexico’s Eagle Creek ski area. “It really helped out a lot.” Florida citrus and vegetable growers, who stand to lose $60 million to $80 million as a result of last week’s devastating freeze, were faced today with the prospect of even greater losses. Freezing temperatures invaded the state’s citrus belt and farmers kept wind machines blowing and watering devices on to ward off further damage.