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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1981)
The Battalion The Weather Serving the Texas A&M University community Yesterday High 47 Low 35 Rain none Today High 52 Low 36 Chance of rain. . none Vol. 74 No. 98 10 Pages Monday, February 16, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 reeks to begin recognition push By PAMELA EADES Battalion Reporter Two fraternity and sorority groups are working on a proposal to obtain official University recognition. The Interfratemity Council and its sorority counterpart, Panhellenic, have joined to try to improve relations and communications between fraternities, sororities and the University, said Mark Hawkins, president of the Interfratemi ty Council. Interfratemity Council and Panhel lenic are composed of two representa tives from 10 fraternities and 10 soror ities. One fraternity. Sigma Chi, drop ped its membership in Interfratemity Council last May. Official recognition would allow the two councils to use University facilities for advertising and meetings. Like other student organizations, the two councils would be able to apply for a share of the Memorial Student Center Bookstore profits. Hawkins said the proposal is for rec- Leaders voice thoughts on recognition question By PAMELA EADES Battalion Reporter Student leaders and fraternity- sorority leaders expressed their opinions about a proposal to give offi cial University recognition to Inter- fraternity Council and Panhellenic, the sorority equivalent. Brad Smith, student body presi dent: “I think that the fraternities and sororities have a definite place here and they meet a need that’s not met by any other organization. But as they get stronger ... they develop along the lines of every other Greek system with heavy competition be tween the groups. That’s bound to take away from this overall unique ness of being an Aggie first.” Mark Hawkins, president of In terfraternity Council: “It’s going to be a big step for them (the Student Organizations Board) to recognize Greeks. It’s like getting girls here at A&M. ” Sherrie Balcar, president of Resi dence Hall Association: “If they want to be recognized then I think they should be given a chance. There’s been a lot of trouble with their advertising .... I think they should be recognized and reg ulated as we (other student organiza tions) are.” Lisa Jakubik, president of Panhellenic: “The sororities are all for it (recog nition). It would help us a lot going through rush, and I believe Texas A&M would benefit a lot.” Ernen Haby, president of MSC Council: “I think that every student organi zation should provide something others do not. I really don’t know that the fraternities would add a new service to students — other than purely social.” Tracy Cox, Student Government vice president of finance: “I believe fraternities and soror ities fyllfill a need for some students at A&M. As far as being an official recognized group, I don’t feel A&M is the place for them. New clues point to four Hilton fires ognition of the two councils only and does not involve individual fraternities or sororities. Work on the proposal began last semester, Hawkins said. Hawkins said he met with Dr. John Koldus, vice pres ident for student services, for help in preparing the proposal. Hawkins had another meeting with Koldus Feb. 10 to submit an introductory proposal. Kol dus told Hawkins to continue work on the proposal and re-submit it to him Tuesday. “As I see it now, the proposal is just an outline,” Koldus said. He said the proposal needs more work before it can be submitted to the Student Organizations Board for evalua tion. Hawkins is optimistic about the prop osal. He said he thinks the two councils could gain recognition by the end of this semester. Hawkins said the councils are seeking recognition for several reasons. He said these groups could serve as an informa tion service, keeping fraternities and sororities informed about on-campus events, and as an arbitration board for disputes between the Greeks and the University. Greek is a term used to de signate members of fraternities and sororities. Panhellenic became involved with the proposal when its members voted unanimously Feb. 9 to join the Inter fratemity Council efforts. The president of Panhellenic, - Lisa Jakubik, said she thinks official recogni tion would bring the Greek system a closer relationship with the University. “If they (University officials) wanted to tell the Greeks anything, they could come through us,” Jakubik said. A previous attempt for University recognition was made by an individual fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon) in Oct. 1977. That proposal was rejected by Kol dus. • Swackit! Pitcher- Chuck Roe watches as Russell Pantermuel swings at the softball. Puryear Hall’s Class A intramu ral practice Sunday afternoon was one of many held Staff photo by across the campus, as teams prepare for Greg Gammon the spring Wreckers use ‘Slim Jims'to force entry Locking won’t stop car towing United Press International LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Investigators Sunday looked into the possibility that two friends of accused arsonist Philip Bruce Cline were involved in the Hilton hotel fire that took eight lives. New evidence shows that four sepa rate fires were started in the 30-story hotel last Tuesday night. In addition to the eight deaths, more than 100 guests were hospitalized and about 300 were treated and released from hospitals. Cline, a 23-year-old busboy, claimed the fire started accidentally while he was engaged in a homosexual act with a man known only as “Joe,” on the eighth floor and a marijuana cigarette ignited some drapes. Cline has been charged with one count of first-degree arson and eight ipi counts of homicide. A formal complaint is to be filed in court Tuesday and Cline is to be arraigned Thursday. Capt. Mike Patterson of the Clark County Fire Department said new evi dence shows, however, that four sepa rate fires were deliberately set. He said two other persons were suspects, but he would not name them. Cline’s story was not believed by Clark County Fire Chief Roy Parrish. Parrish said a marijuana cigarette does not bum as hot a regular cigarette and could not have generated enough heat to ignite the drapes in the elevator lobby as Cline claimed. Nine lawsuits, including six for $1 million each, have been filed against the Hilton chain, charging negligence. iifllp'i a ■ Y . pfWtlYY. ' ' - '" f » ? -■ ^ Resident sunbathers Residents of the fourth floor of Hotard Hall took outdoors Sunday after noon to relax and study in the sun. Afternoon temperatures tempted many students to play outside instead of study. By LARRY WHYDE Battalion Reporter If you think you can keep your car from being towed away by locking it, you’re wrong. University Police and towing companies use a flat tool called a “Slim Jim” to unlock cars which are to be towed. The Slim Jim works much like a coat hanger to open the car — only this is made specifically for opening cars. University Police Chief Russ McDonald said. It is legal for the police to open a car, as long as they have a good reason, Jim Locke, student’s legal adviser, said. That means any car that is illegally parked can legally be opened. After the car is opened, the police inventory everything and all damage is noted, he said. Before a car is towed, it has to be inventoried, McDonald said. If a police officer had to wait for the wrecker to arrive and unlock the vehicle before he could inventory the contents, McDonald said, “We’d lose an officer for an hour or 45 minutes.” Any car can be towed from the Texas A&M campus if it is illegally parked in a reserved spot, has an altered parking permit, has been aban doned, or if the owner has three or more unpaid parking tickets on record, McDonald said. Last semester 177 cars were towed away. Already this semester more than 50 cars have been towed. “We’ve had people come in and claim damage was done, but we just show them the inventory we took, so nothing ever comes of it, ” McDonald said. “If they’re going to take possession of a car there has to be a good reason,” Locke said. “I don’t think there’s a problem there. “But there’s a technical distinction between what they do (an inventory) and a search. They need to secure any valuables there (in the car) so the owner of the car doesn’t lose any valuables.” “We do not open most cars. The wrecker ser vice does that, but it is legal,” McDonald said. “We are not in the business to break the law.” He said the University Police have a policy of using A-l Wrecker Service because “they’re more responsible and cheaper and they have a guarded service lot,” he said. “We use the best service available, but we don’t have a contract with them. “And if a car is towed away, usually the owner just checks with us and we give them the location of the service and they go pay their $25 to get their car back,” he said. If anything illegal is found in a vehicle during an inventory before it is towed away, the owner is not exempt from criminal prosecution. If your car is damaged as a result of opening it, then you have to show that someone was negligent or that an unreasonable means was used in open the vehicle. Housing kills senate request By TERRY DURAN Battalion Staff Despite a one-year delay requested by the student senate, the Department of Student Affairs will imple ment, in Fall 1981, a poficy that would exclude most graduate students and fifth-year seniors from on- campus housing. The policy reads: “Effective with the Fall, 1981 semester, on-campus residence hall housing will not be guaranteed for graduate and fifth-year students. This policy will remain in effect thereafter until the shortage for on-campus housing eases.” Under the policy, a student would normally be eligi ble for housing only for eight long-term semesters after his original housing application, regardless of whether the student lives on campus all eight semesters. Resident advisers and students who hold Residence Halls Association executive positions are exempted from the eight-semester limit as long as they hold their position. The policy provides for an appeals committee com posed of: the housing services coordinator, who will chair the committee; a student affairs staff member; two RHA representatives, one member at large and one officer; a representative from the Corps of Cadets; a graduate-level resident adviser; and a representative from the student senate. Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student ser vices, met Feb. 9 with student organization leaders to explain why the policy was being put into effect despite a Feb. 4 student senate request for a one-year delay in its implmentation to give those affected more time to make arrangements for off-campus housing. Student Body President Brad Smith said Koldus told them the cost to freshmen unable to live on cam pus was not balanced by the moratorium’s benefit to the upperclassmen. “It wasn’t a case of the university not listening to the student senate,” Smith said. “They listened to us, but they made the decision they felt they had to make. “I think this is the first time since I’ve been here that Koldus has not gone with the senate,” he said. Two parts of a three-bill series opposing the policy were passed by the student senate Feb. 4. One bill called for a one-year delay in implementing the policy; the other asked university officials to seek input from affected groups before making such decisions in the future. Smith said University officials agreed to ask for input from students affected by such decisions in the future before taking action. The third bill would have censured the student affairs department (“a strong verbal slap on the wrist, ” said the bill’s author) and asked Acting President Charles H. Samson to review the policy, originally suggested by then-President Jarvis Miller in the sum mer of 1980. Off-campus graduate student Fred Seals, the author of the bills, was unavailable for comment on the deci sion to go ahead and put the policy into effect. RHA President Sherrie Balcar said she thought the decision was “very fair, real explicit. “The appeals process will take care of any areas not taken care of in the policy,” she said. “I’m glad the policy is being implemented immediately to give freshmen more (on-campus) housing in the fall. ” Finance major Craig Hayes, who has lived in Aston Hall for four years, will be a graduate student in the fall. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said, “because I’m going to move off-campus in the fall anyway. I appreci ated getting a room when I was a freshman, but it’s time for me to go off-campus now.” Dale Schaffer is also moving out of Aston after four years, but he said “kicking fifth-year seniors off- campus is pretty low.” . «* j > Schaffer, a civil engineering major, said, I don t think it’s right to kick a student off-campus until he’s gotten a degree. 1. can see graduate students being excluded, and I agree with the part about freshmen living on-campus their first year to see what’s going on, but some degrees require a lot of summer school if you want to graduate in four years. If you have to work during the summer to make money, there’s almost no way you can get out in four years, unless you take 20 hours a semester.” Eight of the seventeen degree programs offered in the school of engineering require 140 hours or more, which would call for 17 or 18 hours every semester to graduate in four years. Schaffer added that students who only need one extra semester to finish would have difficulty finding a short-term lease for an apartment. Senior finance major Valerie Sollars said she will go through the appeals process to try to keep her room in Krueger Hall. “I can’t afford an apartment,” she said, “and I don’t have a car.” Sollars said she would probably have to get a job to finish out her last “two or three” semesters in an apart ment if her appeal was not successful. Computing science graduate student Guylaine Pol lock said she agrees with the policy itself, but dis approves of the way implementation is being handled. T would have appreciated some other way than a little slip in the mailbox saying, ‘Sorry, you can’t live here anymore.’” Students who will be affected by the policy were notified by a slip left in their post office box. A bill currently before the student senate would suggest shifting rooms to freshman priority after stu dents already living there choose to leave the dorm, rather than immediate and universal implementation of the policy.