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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1981)
^3 keys, Cadillacs given to hostages hat would p. Smith said, incomfortaUf, "ecent expejfj ;nt outside p , riously disc B orporate Jilote McMii Now is tlieii 8 tivities," t sts in baseb 'There are juality ofdiei onment, the rith the escals nishing mark United Press International America belonged to the hostages today. From San Diego to New York City and places in between like ■akow, Mo., Balch Springs, Texas, and Olyphant, Pa., the for- er captives were being lavished with heroes’ tributes. There were kisses and keys to cities, yellow ribbons and yellow adillacs, champagne and cheering throngs. Tve kissed so many women today, I don’t know if I could kiss [ore,” laughed one hostage. Marine Sgt. Johnny McKeel Jr. — who joked earlier this week couldn’t wait to “get back to chasing women” — kissed them The front lawn at his Balch Springs home in the Dallas suburbs as covered Wednesday night with about 300 people, including a Dzen teen-age girls who bounded over porch railings to get close jough for a kiss. A high-school band played “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” as a Marine guard escorted McKeel, his parents, and younger brother Todd to the steps of their home. “There were times I didn’t think I would be here,” he told the crowd from the front porch. “The day they told us we were going home, the first thing I thought of were my family and my friends back in Balch Springs. You’re beautiful. “It makes me proud to be an American.” About 200 people braved a chilly afternoon to welcome Jerry Miele back to Youngwood, Pa., and broke into a spontaneous rendition of “God Bless America” that quelled any words he wanted to say. “I’m not much for words, but I just want to say thank you, thank you all,” he said softly. “I don’t know what to say.” Walking through the crowd, the 18-year State Department employee shook hands. Young girls, wearing yellow ribbons or carrying yellow balloons, lined up to receive kisses. Miele pecked each and every one of them on the cheek. In Houston, where they do things big, former hostage William Royer’s homecoming was no exception. Royer, 49, his 79-year-old mother, and sister, arrived in sub urban West University Place to find 1,000 well-wishers, chanting “Welcome Home” and singing “God Bless America.” Someone had hung a sign on the front of the house that read “Welcome Home, Bill Royer. 444 days: Too damn’ long.” Parked in the driveway, wrapped in a huge yellow ribbon, was the yellow Cadillac given him earlier Wednesday at an airport welcoming ceremony. The $17,540 car was a present from a group of private citizens who have refused to reveal their names. A local bank set up a $444 savings account to provide diesel fuel for the auto. Royer — ill with the flu and a 103-degree fever he called “Mr. Khomeini’s parting gift” — grinned when he was given the keys, shook his head in amazement, and said in voice that was barely above a whisper: “I want to thank Houston, Texas, America. I’m proud to be an American. All I can say is thank you to everyone for the tremen dous support. It’s just really mind boggling how great this country is and how marvelous it is to be back home.” By no means are the celebrations over. The small mining community of Globe, Adz., 90 miles south east of Phoenix, planned a parade today for Jimmy Lopez. A cheering crowd of200 nudged its way through Arizona police lines at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix Wednesday to welcome him home. Twenty-four aunts, uncles and cousins from three states broke into tears and rushed to greet the former hostage when he stepped off the plane. The Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community g by hiring fe ;n as general ■ from Astra division di in 1975 toll nith and Mi forming thei smith was )aniel ndictment eturned niee! owners was unaware ituation 1 > Car ial l 3 ■tiding ■ded. DELS OF: nbird oenix a/,.. Feet iHible steel ty of distance to jht! jO! S 75 ;/7 ^«32 || pin*'Vj rade nee» s DR78-14' Z8-14) Pacer Hornet Gremlin & ZepM Monarrii Cornel Vol. 74 No. 86 14 Pages Thursday, January 29, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather % Yesterday Today High 70 High 72 Low 55 Low 54 Rain none Chance of rain. .... none United Press International LIBERTY, Texas — The wife of former :xas House Speaker Price Daniel Jr., in cited on murder charges in his shooting lath, is expected to be arraigned some- ne next week, authorities said today. Vickie Daniel, 33, has yet to be ques- medby authorities and refused to appear fore a Liberty County grand jury that turned the indictment late Wednesday, istrict Attorney Carroll Wilbom Jr. said. Defense lawyer Andrew Lannie said his ient was being treated for emotional ock. Lannie submitted a letter to the strict attorney’s office Wednesday, stat- g he had avised his client not to appear fore the grand jury. The grand jury, in session non-stop for most 10 hours, interviewed 22 people he re returning the indictment shortly he re 11 p.m. He said there were indications the shoot- gfollowed an argument between the cou- and there “was some premeditation.” Among the final witnesses appearing he re the grand jury was Kim Moore, 11, Irs. Daniel’s daughter by a previous mar- age. Wilbom said he did not expect to call the Has a prosecution witness. Lannie has stated the girl did not witness shooting, but saw an altercation before shooting. He has said Mrs. Daniel had uises that might have resulted from a mfrontation before the shooting. Sheriff Buck Eckols, who charged Mrs. aniel with murder, was the grand jury’s lening witness. He testified for an hour. Also testifying was deputy Marvin swell, who headed the sheriffs depart- ent investigation. Others called by the grand jury included ubulance attendants who discovered aniel’s body and drove Mrs. Daniel to hristian Memorial Hospital where she treated for shock, experts on finger- rints, trace metal tests and ballistics, dical examiners,' and relatives and lends of the Daniels, including his rather, Houston. Former Texas Gov. rice Daniel Sr. did not appear. Mrs. Daniel had been invited by Wil- to testify but not subpoenaed. Daniel, 39, was shot at the couple’s ranch ouse Jan. 19. Eckols said the shooting, with a .22- aliber rifle found in a bedroom near the itchen-carport hallway where Daniel’s ody was discovered, followed Mrs. laniel’s filing for divorce Dec. 31. He said neofthe Daniels was packing to move out. Under terms of the indictment, a convic- on could result in a penalty of no less than years in prison and a maximum of 99 Private parking qpi Staff photo by Brian Tate One Texas A&M dorm student found a shady solution to the campus parking headache which plagues most students. Finding the surrounding parking lots full, the student settled for covered parking in the wooded area west of Fowler Hall. Uselton to quit as free enterprise head By KATHY O’CONNELL Battalion Staff Dr. Gene C. Uselton, director of Texas A&M Universi ty’s Center for Education and Research in Free Enter prise, has notified University officials that he is resigning from his position as soon as a successor can be named. Uselton, who served as director for two years, said he resigned the position because he was appointed as a senior professor in the Department of Finance. The free enterprise center, funded entirely from pri vate contributions, is involved mainly in helping public school teachers inform their students about free enter prise and economics. Uselton said the Texas Legislature passed a law requir ing public schools to teach a course in free enterprise; however, guidelines on what to teach and and how to teach it were not given. Also, the Legislature did not allocate funds to finance the new requirement. This is where the free enterprise center comes in, Uselton said. The center holds summer programs for teachers on the Texas A&M campus and they are given five hours graduate credit for attending. He said the center explains some basic principles of economics and techniques on teaching. For example, he said, “How do you teach a third grader about inflation? ’These are the sort of things we concen trate on.” He also said the free enterprise center holds a spring leadership program, also on the Texas A&M campus, for approximately 300 teachers and administrators. He said the spring program is similar to the summmer one, but participants don’t receive credit. In-service programs are another area the center is in volved in. Uselton said experts in economics are invited to state school districts to speak to social science teachers on their in-service day. Normally, students don’t attend clas ses on this day, whereas the teachers do. The other main concern of the free enterprise center is to research and publish information about economic prob lems. He said the center commissions researchers to find out a particular problem and then the center writes them in laymen’s terms. Uselton said the publications are dis tributed to all business decision-makers including state legislators, federal judges and even the president. Usel ton said the center’s Board of Consultants, at its Feb. 19 meeting, will appoint a search committee to look for a new director. Until then, Uselton will remain director. Q-drop rules differ among colleges By JERI JONES Battalion Reporter Two deadlines occur in February for stu dents wishing to drop classes from their schedules. Students may drop classes through Feb. 3 with no record. The student University will, as the term implies, have no record of the student having taken the course. Between Feb. 3-Feb. 20, with the approval of the dean of the his college, a student may Q-drop a class. The Q-drop, formally known as drop ping without penalty, allows a student to receive no grade in the course, though his transcript will reflect his having taken and dropped the class. There is no maximum number of Q- drops for students in the following colleges: agriculture, architecture, education, gra duate, liberal arts, science, and also for biomedical science students in veterinary medicine. Students in the College of Business Administration are allowed two Q-drops. If a student transfers from one college to business administration and has had pre vious Q-drops, then the student is allowed one additional Q-drop. After two Q-drops a student must have an unusual circumstance to drop. “Failing a course is no justification,” Carlton Stolle, assistant dean of business, said. The College of Geosciences allows stu dents to have one Q-drop per semester. Students in the colleges of engineering, veterinary medicine and medicine are not allowed to drop classes. Students wanting to Q-drop should fol low this procedure: — Go to a departmental advisor for his approval. — Take the Q-drop slip to the college dean. (Students in the College of Business Administration and the College of Science should go directly to the Dean’s office to Q-drop.) Students receiving Basic Educatuonal Opportunity Grants should notify the Financial Aid Office if Q-dropping classes, Bill McFarland, director of student finan cial aid, said. After the Q-drop deadline a student will receive an F if dropped from a class, unless unusual cicumstances exist. Those cir cumstances would be determined on an individual basis by the dean of each col lege. Money, minorities, growth highlight System goals — ter By JANE G. BRUST Battalion Staff Recruiting minority students, planning for iwth of the System and getting the 1982 budget ough the Legislature are among the Texas A&M '’niversity System’s 1981 priorities, says Chancel- Jr Frank W. R. Hubert. Hubert, 65, recently entered a Houston hospital )r tests after he detected a slight increase in his eart rate. He was back in his office five days later, titlhe now says he’s in “good health.” The chancellor’s health is the subject of a great jeal of speculation among administrators, stu- mts, faculty and former students, as it has been ince Hubert assumed the job in 1979. Although he wears a pacemaker and had nnounced plans for retirement before he was ed chancellor, Hubert said he is not consider- ng quitting his current job. In an interview Monday, Hubert commented on sveral issues facing the System’s administrators in s new year. Minority recruitment "We ll continue to give considerable emphasis to he recruitment of minority students without mod- lying or lowering standards anywhere within the Wem,” Hubert said. That’s going to be a challenge in ’81.” The fact that the state-supported institutions in lexas compiled a minority recruitment plan that 'is acceptable to the Department of Education is a ^accomplishment, Hubert said. In December, the Board of Regents adopted a solution calling for an effort to increase the num- of minority students at Texas A&M and Tarle- Hubert says no plans for resigna tion ton State, and to increase the number of white students at Prairie View A&M. The Education Department said Texas’ desegre gation plan was provisonally acceptable, and it gave Texas six months to come up with a plan that satis fied all the requirements. “It means we can continue to plan our own recruitment program for minority students and the other facets associated with the Title VI program without being under federal mandate,” he said. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act calls for the desegregation of public institutions of higher learn ing. Institutions found in violation of Title VI must develop plans to correct the deficiencies; loss of federal funds is the penalty for noncompliance. System growth While System administrators make minority re cruitment plans, each of the four campuses within the System continues to experience rapid growth. Last semester the Texas A&M University campus had a record enrollment of 33,499 students. “The academic institutions which are part of this System are growing at a much more rapid rate than are institutions elsewhere in the state,” Hubert said. The chancellor explained that the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System made some predictions last year for the enrollment at each state public institution for each year of the new decade. “We have reached, throughout the System, in 1981, the projections which they said we’d be at in 1985,” Hubert said. The chancellor said limiting enrollment at the University has been discussed among administra tors. “It has been a topic of discussion,” he said, “but up till now we’ve made no plans to put a ceiling on enrollment. ” He added: “Trying to provide the physical facili ties essential for a growing student population is one of our No. 1 priorities.” Hubert said there are dormitories under con struction on the Texas A&M campuses at College Station and Galveston, and renovation and repair programs are underway at Prarie View A&M Uni versity and Tarleton State University. Presidential search The search for a permanent president for Texas A&M is another of the System’s top priorities. Last week the presidential search committee finalized a list of 20 nominees whom they will re commend to the Board of Regents in February. The regents will then determine the remaining process and make the final selection themselves. Hubert said he does not feel the System reorga nization will affect the appeal of the position, which has been open since the removal of Dr. Jarvis Mil ler last July. The reorganization plan implemented a year ago removed the extension services and experiment stations from the control of the University pres ident; their directors now report to the System chancellor. Thus, the Texas A&M president now controls the University alone. “We contemplate that this will be no deterrent whatsoever in attracting to that post a truly out standing individual,” Hubert said. “Obviously it must not have been a deterrent — over 500 nominations and applications were re ceived. ” Budget approval Seeking the Texas Legislature’s approval of the 1982 budget is another top priority for the new year. Hubert explained that the draft approved by the Board of Regents last fall was sent to Austin, where it received the recommendations of the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor’s Budget Office. Hubert said he will be present when the legisla tors review the budget this spring. “I will participate in that along with the chief executive officer of each part of the System,” he said. Teaching practices The chancellor said there will also be a spotlight on the importance of quality teaching in 1981. Hubert organized the System Conference on Qual ity Teaching held on the Texas A&M campus ear lier this month. He was unable to attend the conference himself due to a brief stay in the hospital. However, he said he has heard favorable comments about the confer ence, which featured speeches and panel discus sions by educators as well as workshop sessions for participating teachers. Chancellor FranK W.R. Hubert