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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1981)
' Wn on i ay night; TEXAS', 2 Texas [ The Battalion irJ Vol. 74 No. 101 30 Pages in 2 Sections points f grew ccl| )ack I ,n . 3J, to 8-6 bIJ ■game ah® 13-11 foil ped to 54 Serving the Texas A&M University community Thursday, February 19, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Yesterday Today High .... 73 High ...78 Low 52 Low ...57 Rain ■1; trace Chance of rain . . . 30% eagan unveils ‘New Beginning" at TCU, mp shi in the _ United Press International WASHINGTON — President Ronald Reagan’s “new be- ning” economic program calls for a hard right turn in the ection of the federal government, providing up to $41.4 lion in spending reductions and decisive tax cuts for indi- o eiv W ua ^ s anc l business, ible 7g.'ll The program, titled “America s New Beginning: a Program for Economic Recovery,” has been described as the most O ipovative since Franldin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the depths of the Great Depression. 1 Housteli; “Ifwe do not act forcefully, and now, the economy will get theSouJorsc,” Reagan warned. leavic And Reagan said to applause, “There is nothing wrong with :s aloner:America that we together can’t fix.” I; If enacted, the program would abruptly slow the growth of . federal spending from its recent 16 percent rate to 6 percent. t0 '^ | l | would slow but not reverse the rise in taxes that since 1960 18-6 oveft s doubled the percentage of income individuals pay the o 6-8 in laslderal governmen t. re season | j t ^uld make the first broad effort to check the growth in Bocial programs since the New Deal, cutting among others [public service jobs, food stamps, Medicaid, child nutrition, extended unemployment benefits, trade adjustment assist ance and student aid. It would — as previous presidents have tried — attempt to reduce and untangle the federal regulatory machinery. It would reduce federal subsidies for synthetic fuel de velopment, the Export-Import Bank, the Postal Service and dairy farmers and stretch out funds for highways, airports, sewage treatment plants and water projects. The program had four main components: — Spending cuts totaling $41.4 billion in fiscal 1982, which begins Oct. 1. In addition, Reagan proposed $2 billion savings by making barge operators, airlines and others pay for federal facilities they use, and $5.7 billion in additional savings — for “total savings” of $49.1 billion. — Individual tax cuts totaling roughly 30 percent over three years beginning July 1. The tax bill of a typical family of four with a $25,000 income would drop by $809 by 1984. Business would get tax cuts retroactive to Jan. 1 in the form of faster write-offs for depreciation. — Reduction of “unnecessarily stringent” and “intrusive” regulations the administration said will require Americans to spend 1.2 billion hours filling out forms this year. “Fewer regulators will necessarily result in fewer regulations and less harassment of the regulated,” the budget document said. — An appeal to the Federal Reserve Board to cut the growth of money in half by 1986 to curb inflation. Reagan said the administration will consult frequently with the Fed, while recognizing its independence. Individual tax cuts in the package would total $44.2 billion in 1982, business tax cuts $9.7 billion. All of this would add up to a 1982 budget deficit of $45 billion, compared to $27.5 billion projected by President Carter for 1982. Stockman told reporters Carter’s figure was based on unrealistic economic assumptions and really would have been more than $50 billion. The only major increase in the program was a $7.2 billion addition to defense spending. Reagan put the goal of balancing the budget off until 1984. Administration officials said if their proposals are enacted promptly and fully, the program would reduce inflation from an estimated 10 percent this year to 4 percent by 1986, and create by that year 13 million jobs — 3 million more, they said, than present policies would create. But they warned if the program is adopted “piecemeal” — if (New library hours start onday Students hankering for late-night re- Jearch will have things a bit easier when the Evans Library extends its hours Monday. ^ A student senate bill recommending longer library hours was passed in De cember and an amended version was [Recommended for approval by student [Services vice president Dr. John Koldus. I The new schedule is as follows: i, Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. —1 | a.m.; [ Friday, 7:30 a.m. — 11 p.m.; | Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; j| Sunday, 12 noon — 1 a.m. |; The reserve reading room only will be ;0pen Sunday mornings from 9 to the I main library’s opening at noon. The lib rary will be open for study purposes , pnly during this period, and no other services will be available. The reserve Boom will be open all other times the [main library is open. I Entrance to the reserve room on Sun day mornings will be through the side door on the building’s north side. Green scene Students in Dr. A.E. Nightingale’s greenhouse crop production course attended a field trip to Troup recently. Greenhouse manager Howard Blanton, with arm raised, shows the students various 82 greenhouses at Powell’s Plant Farm. Police get computerized dispatching unit By BERNIE FETTE Battalion Staff The newest addition to the University Police department can remember any phone call made to the station, word for word. But he can’t remember his own name, because he doesn’t have one. A new computerized dispatching unit is being installed at the University Police station, and one of the features of the system is the ability to record all phone calls made to the department. Parts of the system are presently in use and the entire system is expected to be operating in a month or so, Director of Traffic and Security Col. Thomas R. Parsons said. When completely installed, the system, which was financed through the sale of parking permits, will have cost about $40,000. “It’s just a higher state of the art than what we purchased 11 years ago,” Parsons said. “When we get it in, we’ll have a 24-hour taping ability, ” he said. “We’ll tape all radio conversations and anytime someone calls the dispatcher on the telephone, it will be taped.” Parsons said the taping of the calls is not prohibited by law. “Some people are going to say that’s against the law, but that’s a bunch of bull,” he said. “The law says that as long as one party consents to it, the conversation can be taped.” The new system also has the capability of “phone-patching,” Par sons said. In other words, someone calling the police station who needs to speak to one of the policemen who has only a radio at his disposal can be “patched-through” for a telephone to radio conversa tion. “I don’t know if we’ll use that very often, but if we need it, we have the capability,” Parsons said. Attached to the main terminal in the dispatch room is a series of intercoms located in the police station offices which monitor all radio calls. Parsons said he finds the interqusis “real handy” since he can “Some people are going to say that's against the law, but that's a bunch of bull. The law says that as long as one party consents to it, the conversation can be taped." overhear the patrolmen and sometimes correct mistakes before they are made. He said the intercoms also have a big advantage over hand-held radios since there is no worry of batteries running down. Also included in the new system is a “view-graph” information screen which will contain information for the dispatcher’s conveni ence. “She’s got a million things to remember,” Parsons said. And when the screen is in operation, she has at her fingertips any informa tion she might need, he said. Another added feature will be a visual display screen which shows the outside views and floor plans of 98 different buildings on the campus. Parsons said this will help the dispatcher in the event of a fire or intrusion in one of the buildings. A closed circuit TV screen on the main console of the new system will monitor the police station entrance “for security reasons since a lot of people come here at night for one reason or another, ” Parsons said. One component being used now, which will continue along with the new system, is a computerized display terminal which stores information on every vehicle and vehicle owner registered with the University Police. Also to remain is the central alarm system which is tied in to some 90 buildings on the campus. Whenever a fire or some other type of disturbance is reported by an alarm, the dispatcher can know im mediately what type of assistance is needed and where it should be directed. Before the new system is in full operation, GTE must hook up some telephone lines and Motorola, the makers of the system, still must install several components. Some of the components were damaged in shipment, Parsons said, and as a result the completion of the system is behind schedule. The previous system, which had been is use for 11 years, was damaged by lightning in September 1979 and until the system was repaired, hand-held radios had to be used in the dispatch room. Congress enacts only the “politically palatable” sections — the result will be no better than past economic policies. The budget package would preserve a “social safety net” of established programs — Social Security retirement; basic unemployment benefits; cash payments for dependent fami lies, the elderly and disabled; and veterans benefits. But it would make sweeping cuts in these social programs: — Eliminating 300,000 public service jobs under the Com prehensive Employment and Training Act, returning that program to its original purpose of training the hard-core unemployed and saving $3.5 billion. — Cutting $1.8 billion from the food stamp program by limiting eligibility to a typical family of four with income under $11,000, and saving $1.5 billion by eliminating subsi dized school lunches for children whose parents earn more than $15,630. — Cutting $1 billion from Medicaid, the health program for the poor. — Cutting $1.5 billion from child nutrition. — Saving $1.2 billion by changing the rules for extended unemployment benefits and halting unemployment benefits to those who will not take other jobs. Schools cheaper than prisons By MARJORIE MCLAUGHLIN Battalion Staff Politicians, teachers and parents all have the responsibility for preventing children from growing up to be crimin als, Texas Attorney General Mark White said Wednesday. Speaking before a conference of Texas county comissioners and judges in College Station, White said prisons can not be built “as fast or as cheaply as schools can.” “If we can train children to follow rules in school, they can obey the rules of this society,” he said. During his speech. White praised Jim Estelle, director of the Texas De partment of Corrections, as “the finest prison administrator in the nation.” “He (Estelle) has no control over the numbers (of prisoners) that are sent to him or the numbers that are released from that institution, but he does have the responsibility for making certain that those who are there are kept safely.” These comments were in reference to the civil rights case, filed last year by Texas prison inmate David Riuz, charg ing that the Texas prison system is over crowded and unsanitary. White has acquiesced to a federal judge’s demand that Texas prisoners re ceive better medical care, but as ex pected he has failed to agree to other demands that he said involve “hard money problems.” The attorney general said the state would implement a plan that would pro vide prisoners better care, but he would • not agree to Justice’s demand that each cell house but one prisoner. White also praised the role of the Texas A&M administration and Board of Regents in keeping the federal govern ment “out of Texas’ business' of higher education.” White was referring to a January De partment of Education letter order find ing Texas in partial compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, dealing with integration of public universities. White credited the Texas A&M Board of Regents and administration with setting up a policy “which affirmed compliance with the law. ” In other education areas, White said he supports appealing the court- ordered madate for bilingual education from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. Staff photo by Brian Tate crops grown in the Gramm: U.S. must be ready to ‘bite bullet" By MARJORIE MCLAUGHUN Battalion Staff President Reagan’s economic bills could cut inflation and interest rates down to 6 percent by 1982, if Amer icans are ready to “start biting the bul let,” said Congressman Phil Gramm. “We can’t stop runaway inflation unless we put federal government on a budget just like everyone else,” Gramm said in a speech Wednesday morning to a conference of Texas county judges and commisioners held in College Station. Gramm, the Democratic represen tative from District 6, divided Reagan’s spending cuts into three ma jor categories. — Reduction and consohdation of directly federally funded programs. Gramm cited as an example 27 diffe rent nutrition programs for poor chil dren, many of which have conflicting and overlapping purposes. He said such programs could be consolidated into one program, which would enable a budget cut of about twenty percent. — Cutting federal subsidies to pri vate industries by about 25 percent. — Targeting areas “we don’t like to talk about changing” such as Medi caid, food stamps and social security for waste and fraud investigations, and instituting felony punishment for abusers of such programs. “The , federal program cuts will be felt by everyone,” Gramm said. But, he added that if the opinions of his constituency are any indication of na tional attitudes, Americans are ready to do what they can to stop the nation’s economic woes. Sena te deba tes alcohol proposal By TERRY DURAN Battalion Staff Preparations for upcoming student elections and debate on a stance regarding a proposed extension of College Station’s alcohol-selling hours dominated a three-hour-long student senate meeting Wednesday night. Senate bylaws require selection of polling places 30 days before elections. Five primary polling sites — the minimum called for by election regulations — were chosen: the Memorial Student Center, Evans Library, the Corps guard room, Sbisa Dining Hall and Com mons. Two secondary sites, to be manned only if there are enough election workers, will be in Zachry Engineer ing Center and the Kleberg Center. After some discus sion, two third-level polling places were approved, if manpower is enough to operate the first two levels: the bus stop nearest the Commons and the bus stop out side Bizzell Hall. Filing for office opens March 3; elections will be held March 31-April 1. Following unanimous approval of a proposed Texas A&M student government lobby in the Legislature and acceptance of minor bylaw revisions, the senate approved new election regulations based on revised student population figures. Two new senate seats were created; the colleges of Business and Engineering and the off-campus Ward IV area (north of University Drive and west of Texas Avenue) gained one seat each, while redistribution of dormitory representatives created a new dorm senate slot. The College of Science and off-campus Ward III (north of University Drive and east of Texas Avenue) lost one senate seat apiece. Six bills appearing for the first time would: — Organize a weekly open forum in front of Rudder Fountain. — Support a proposal currently before the College Station City Council which would extend alcoholic beverage sales hours to 2 a.m. — Request changing parking ticket fines back to $5 and reinstating multiple ticketing. — Request the Board of Regents to assign “at least one” new modular dormitory to male students. — Support the Learning Resource Center in the Heldenfels Hall basement. — Request expansion of computing facilities in all academic areas. Legal sales hours for alcoholic beverages currently end at midnight weekdays and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. A Student Government survey to be run Feb. 23-25 will provide the senate with input regarding student feelings on the hours extension proposal. External affairs vice president David Collins seemed confident as he asked the senate to place “The Pink Elephant” bill on emergency status, which would require immediate action on the measure. The bill was placed on emergency and passed because the city council is expected to take action on the hours- extension proposal Feb. 26, which is before the next senate meeting. The senate moved on to other matters until senator Scott Hall moved for reconsideration of the “Pink Elephant” bill. Grumbling mounted as debate drag ged on; discussion was once more cut short and a motion to adjourn — which would have killed the bill permanently — was defeated narrowly. Off-campus graduate senator Fred Seals had favored the bill all along: “This is a chance for College Station to grow up and join the rest of the world,” he said. Others charged the bill had been considered too hastily. The measure passed once again, although not by as large a margin as before. A second reconsideration effort was defeated after rapid-fire parliamentary bickering. Another motion to adjourn was withdrawn in a compromise move, as the bill was amended to include the provision that the senate would support an hours extension only if the survey results backed up the measure. :s )f st t- ic >y m }d V. JP he' he of mt :ed ‘all sp iles, t or i or ’ or aan t of . It >nal any iik. I in the ison mar glas ton, Lied the por- cur- gas 1 by the