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The Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Vol. 74 No. 90
16 Pages
Wednesday, February 4, 1981
College Station, Texas
faking of hostages
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United Press International
VASHINGTON — A senior official says
Department experts warned in 1978
le ailing shah of Iran was admitted to the
ited States, American hostages might be
sn by Iranian revolutionary militants.
Harold Saunders, retiring as assistant
retary of state for the Near East, dis-
ed in an interview with United Press
:mational, “The professionals in the dp-
tment were very concerned about the
sible consequences and urged that he
come here. ”
Among the possibilities raised, Saun-
■s said, was that Americans might be
en hostage.
However, he said, “I have always re-
icted the idea our senior political leader-
p has to make difficult decisions on a
is that is much broader than it is for us in
professional ranks.
President Carter articulated the
reasons very well: that we should offer
haven to people who need what this coun
try has to offer,” he said.
In the interview, Saunders said, “If there
was an error, it was possibly in not fully
pressing the possibilities for alternative
(medical) treatment (for the shah) in some
other place.”
Saunders describes the breakdown of
order in Iran as the greatest disappoint
ment in his years as the department’s top
expert for the area.
He said nobody accurately predicted the
fall of the shah’s regime because no one
could foresee the shah himself — who over
came other political crises in the 1950s and
‘60s — losing the will to resist.
“It may be an oversimplification, but the
one thing that was missing in 1978 was the
shah himself,” he said. “Whether he was ill
and we didn’t know it, or emotionally
drained and unable to rise to the challenge,
he was not able to turn things around.”
Saunders disputes the idea — put for
ward this week by President Reagan —
there should have been no negotiations
with the Iranians, and such situations
should be dealt with by “swift and effective
retribution.”
“Negotiation is the classic way to deal
with kidnappers,” said Saunders. “In pri
vate life or government, you try to open
channels and communicate.”
On the value of the threat of retribution,
Saunders said, “There was nobody to
threaten with potentially decisive results.
Retribution would not have affected the
people holding our hostages. ”
The hostages, he said, were released
only when the political factions in Iran
sorted themselves out and came to a con
sensus the political value of their American
captives had been used up.
Senate faces big agenda
Full
lavored
Bland
By TERRY DURAN
Battalion Statl
Lively discussion is expected tonight as
student senate catches up on legislative
ion in its second meeting of the
nester.
Five bills that were held in committee
|oweeks ago will probably be acted on by
11 senate:
an evaluation of holding Silver Taps
ly once a month when necessary,
a proposal that would suggest raising
health center fee to provide for hiring
w personnel,
—a measure to suggest changing bicycle
parking policies,
— some suggested revisions in universi
ty rules and regulations,
— a request to clarify whether or not
classes would be held on the Monday fol
lowing a football victory over the Universi
ty of Texas,
Three measures introduced to the body
two weeks ago will also likely be acted
upon:
— a proposal for registration of potential
)eadline for degrees Friday.
f eb. 20 for announcements
Texas A&M University students who
lectio graduate in May have until Friday
apply for a degree.
Graduate and undergraduate students
st apply by that deadline in order to be
nted degrees, Registrar Robert Lacey
An $11 graduation fee is required of all
ilicants and it can be paid in the Fiscal
ice in the Richard Coke Building,
dergraduates should then present the
receipt in the registrar’s office, 105
aton Hall, and complete application
Graduate students, however, apply at
the Graduate College, 125 Teague
Building.
The deadline for ordering graduation
announcements has been extended to Fri
day, Feb. 20.
Faye Yeates of the Student Finance Cen
ter said the center had made arrangements
with the supplier to extend the deadline
two weeks.
Announcements may be ordered in 217
MSC.
body part donors to run in tandem with the
Aggie Blood Drive,
— a series of four bills opposing the im
plementation in Fall 1981 of a Housing De
partment policy that would exclude fifth-
year seniors and graduate studertts from
on-campus housing,
— a proposal to transfer funds from
another Student Government account to
support a summer job-finding program for
Texas A&M students.
Director of Student Affairs Ron Blatch-
ley met Monday night with staff members
and student representatives to discuss the
proposed exclusion of fifth-year and gradu
ate students from on-campus housing, a
decision made initially by then-President
Jarvis Miller in the summer ofl980 to allow
more freshmen to live on campus.
Blatchley told the senate two weeks ago
nothing could Be done to stop eventual
implementation of the policy. He said then
the only points to be resolved were how
and when the policy would be im
plemented.
Two of the four bills titled “Discrimina
tion Against Old Folks” would request
postponing the policy’s implementation;
another would request consulting affected
groups before similar decisions are made in
the future; the fourth would censure the
Student Affairs Office and request Acting
President Charles Samson to review the
policy before putting it into effect.
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Yesterday
Today
High
56
High
49
Low
25
Low
37
Rain
Chance of rain . . .
...30%
Former U.S. Representative Frances “Sissy” Faren-
thold spoke of a lack of conflicting opinions in Texas
Sissy says Texas lacks conflicts
By RUTH M. DALY
Battalion Reporter
In hopes of having her audience “develop a more coherent
perception of Texas politics,” Frances “Sissy” Farenthold
posed the question “How representative is Texas government”
Tuesday night at Rudder Forum.
The former state legislator used John Madison’s idea of
majority rule — representation from all factions — as the basis
of her statement that there is not representation from conflict
ing interests in Texas. She said her “own experiences have
shaped perceptions of lack of divergence in society” and that
this absence conflicts with Madison’s theory.
The Corpus Christi native said “the white male club is the
most tenacious of institutions” and that frorti its inception, this
“country has been a haven for white males compared to every
one else;” She said that the U-S. Constitution approved of
slavery and ignored women.
Farenthold said that white men were not the problem for
the lack of diversity in Texas politics, but that there was not
equal representation of all factions. Farenthold added that the
white-male majority was the same she saw in the legislature
and the same that was in the faculty and administration at
Texas A&M.
Farenthold, 54, was the only woman in the House of Repre
sentatives from 1968-73. She said she began to realize the lack
of diversity when she started collaborating with the handful of
other minority legislators.
Farenthold said she was bristled when she graduated from
the University ofTexas Law School in 1949 and discovered she
could practice law but not serve on the judiciary; she was also
bristled when she heard how few women were faculty mem
bers and how few had tenure at Texas A&M.
Farenthold said that “minorities and women were studied as
appendages” during her formal education and that the lack of
diversity was not pointed out to her while she was in school.
In MSC Political Forum Committee’s first program of the
semester, Farenthold didn’t criticize Texas A&M as a violator
of equal representation of minorities. She told the some 100
people to open their eyes, minds and hearts and look at the
University and “compare yourselves to your siblings at Prairie
View.”
Farenthold retired from politics after placing second in the
1974 Texas Democratic gubernatorial race. She said the high
cost of campaigning presented the biggest stumbling block for
determining whether she would participate in politics again.
Farenthold completed a four-year term as president of
Wells College, in Aurora, N.Y., in 1980. At the college, she
developed a dual-degree program with Texas A&M in pet
roleum engineering.
The program involves three years of study in the petroleum
engineering curriculum at Wells and one year of study at Texas
A&M.
Farenthold said she insisted the program be with the Uni
versity since she had heard its petroleum engineering depart
ment was the best in the country. She said she met with some
controversy when she didn’t choose her alma mater, the Uni
versity ofTexas.
Farenthold explained her choice ofTexas A&M over UT: “I
didn’t choose UT, because I was looking for the best. ”
Staff Photo by Brian Tate
Kids at play
Five-year-old Clover Sweeney, left, and her three-year-old brother
Adam, use the fountains in front of the Chemistry Building to climb on
while waiting for their father, Bill, who is the business manager for the
Evans Library.
Dedeker’s concern is larger council
By KATHY O’CONNELL
Battalion Staff
Working effectively with the increased size of the council
members and coordinating activities between the various
committees is MSC Council president-elect Doug Dede
ker’s main goal.
Dedeker, a junior business major from Dallas said, “It
will be interesting to see how the new structure will work;
however, I don’t see that there will be that big of a differ
ence.”
Dedeker said he was in favor of the restructuring from
the beginning, even though he did raise some questions
about it. “For instance,” he said, “I was concerned about
the size and whether the restructure will accommodate our
(the Council’s) needs.” He also said he was concerned
about filling the new positions.
At a Jan. 26 meeting, the Council voted to approve
reorganization of its structure. The number of members
was increased from nine to 25.
After an analysis of the Council’s needs, Dedeker said
the reorganization would prove to be beneficial. Only 12 of
the new officers are required to attend the Council meet
ings, he said, so it wouldn’t be much different than working
with the original nine.
The 12 members include the six vice presidents, four
coordinators of programs and two coordinators of projects.
These officers are also voting members of the Council.
As current vice president of administration, Dedeker
said his job is to head the Building Studies Committee.
This committee is in charge of all policies within the Memo
rial Student Center.
One of the things he’s done is work with Food Service to
offer Directorate committees and other student groups a
low-cost banquet and luncheon meal. Dedeker said this
helps the smaller organizations which don’t have much
money in their budget.
Dedeker said he’s also working on a project to get
students to park their bicycles in the racks instead of on the
MSC concourse. He said new bike racks won’t be purch
ased unless the existing racks are filled.
As president-elect, Dedeker said he’ll be involved in the
interviewing process of the other Council officers. Election
of the president is always held in early February. “There
are two reasons for this, ” he said. “First, the new president
should be in on the selection of new officers and second,
this gives the people who applied for the presidency a
chance to run for the other offices.”
As far as the budget for the 1981-82 year, Dedeker said,
“I don’t imagine it will be any higher than this year’s.” He
said the budget review committee goes over all the budgets
for the coming year and submits its findings to the Council.
He said the committee has been working on it since before
Christmas. The current budget is approximately $1.5 mil
lion.
Dedeker will assume office at the MSC Awards Banquet
on April 11.
House addition plans on hold
Decision not yet made on $90/square foot proposal
By DIANA SULTENFUSS
Battalion Reporter
A proposed addition to the president’s home at Texas
A&M University is in the works, but it is unknown when
plans will move forward.
Robert G. Cherry, assistant chancellor and secretary to
the Board of Regents, said this week that one plan under
consideration could cost $367,500 but no final decision has
been made. Cherry was the only System official who would
comment on the issue; the architect also refused to make
any statements on the house.
The Board of Regents appropriated $20,000 for design of
the addition in November. That was the last action taken on
the subject.
Bryan architect D.D. Matthews, who designed the
home, also designed one possible addition.
Cherry said costs for this plan include: $240,300 in con
struction costs, $75,000 for furniture, $40,700 for design,
administration and contingencies, $10,000 for landscaping,
$1,000 for surveying and $500 to form a program of require
ments, which is a list of all purposes and requirements for
the addition.
At their Nov. 25 meeting, the regents reviewed the
preliminary design for the addition calling for a 2,017-
square-foot garden room with a storage area and two and a
half bathrooms. The plans also included a 1,858 square-foot
arbor area and patio and 234 square feet of covered walk
ways.
These figures, although preliminary, indicate a cost of
about $90 a square foot. This compares with the new
Academic and Agencies Building cost of $51 a square foot or
a new modular dormitory costs of $42 a square foot. New
houses in College Station cost about $40 per square foot.
At a party last fall, Dr. Charles Samson, acting president
of the University, outlined the plans for the addition to a
guest. According to preliminary drawings, the home’s liv
ing room will be expanded to about twice its current size;
the back wall of the remodeled house will be aligned with
the garage’s west wall.
Cherry said this is only one possible plan. He said a
structural defect would also be repaired if the project pas
ses. The back porch and sidewalk were enclosed several
years ago and are now pulling away from the house.
Cherry said that the proposed work may take some time.
Money to fund the project must come from gifts to the
University donated specifically for the project.
“We were disappointed that the media previously made
it seem that tax money was to be used for this addition,” he
said.
Cherry said that the gift funds must be collected for the
project first. Then the Board of Regents will authorize the
construction. After that, bids will be accepted and a con
tract negotiated.
No gift funds are currently reserved for construction on
the house.
The idea originated for two reasons, Cherry said. First,
the house is vacant now. Samson lives in his own home in
Bryan.
Second, Cherry said, there is a desire to expand the
home for entertainment purposes. The atmosphere of the
home is important, he said.
“Members of the Association of Former Students meet at
the house after home football games,” Cherry said. “Both
faculty and student groups also use the house for entertain
ment purposes.
“You feel like you’ve been invited to someone’s home
when you go there,” Cherry said, speaking of the informal
atmosphere.
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