The Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Vol. 74 No. 115
12 Pages
Wednesday, March 11, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
High
64
High
... .70
Low
42
Low
. ...51
Chance of rain .... 90%
Chance of rain . .
. . 60%
enate panel reviews A&M budget
turdav
yardfeS By LIZ NEWLIN
n, jf ! Battalion Staff
vyardba AUSTIN — If the State Senate Fi-
'^ re ■ 16 nance Committee is as friendly handing
jpannlt mone y as it was hearing requests for
it Tuesday, Texas A&M will be in good
place fi® shape.
[ “When you get a hostile committee
you can really tell it,” said Dr. John
Calhoun, the System’s deputy chancel-
lor for engineering. “They really bear
1 in ' ,,
I The committee was not hostile. For
H more than three hours it heard the 12
I chief executives of all parts of the Sys-
lQ I tem ask for money and had only a few
JO 1 suprises for administrators.
Chancellor Frank W.R. Hubert said
he was pleased with the hearing, at
which he discussed the Legislative
Budget Board’s recommended bien
nium budget for the System.
U “I thought most aspects of the hearing
i were positive,” he said. “I have good
S feelings about it.’ In his overview for
the whole System, he commended the
LBB’s inclusion of salary increases for
[acuity and professional staff — 18.6
percent the first year of the biennium
md 8.7 percent for the second. He said,
though, the committee should reject a
iroposal to increase salaries across the
ard because that removes incentives.
Hubert also said all the schools in the
ystem need more money than recom-
ended for departmental operating ex-
enses, which fund technical equip-
||ment and supplies. He also supported a
ill introduced this week by House
peaker Bill Clayton under which the
ne
hai!
state would pay the entire cost for em
ployees’ Social Security tax.
Hubert said all the universities in the
System will need additional funds to
meet guidelines for desegregation.
Texas A&M, for instance, is requesting
a total of $1.77 million for the two-year
budget period. Tarleton State Universi
ty is requesting $90,000 and Prairie
View $600,000. Generally the money
will pay for recruiting and scholarships.
The committee will recommend a
budget to the full Senate, probably
sometime next month. Today the agri
culture budgets are scheduled for re
view in the House Appropriations Com
mittee. Other parts of the Texas A&M
System'budgets, including Texas A&M
University, were presented Feb. 12 in
th'e House Higher Education Commit
tee, where representatives closely
questioned the uses of the Permanent
University Fund, the $1.3 billion en
dowment Texas A&M shares with the
University of Texas.
Senators Tuesday asked a few ques
tions about the fund, but more ques
tions were about specific programs in
their districts that Texas A&M is in
volved in, such as swine or lumber pro
duction.
But Sen. Peyton McKnight, a Tyler
Democrat and former Texas A&M re
gent, asked a question about Dr. Jarvis
Miller, the former University president
who was relieved of his duties last July.
McKnight wanted to know if Texas
A&M still pays Miller’s salary, which is
currently around a $73,000 annual rate.
Shortly after Miller was removed as
president, Gov. Bill Clements asked to
“borrow” Miller to work on his Higher
Education Management Efiectiveness
Council. The regents agreed and made
Miller an assistant to the chancellor to
keep him on the Texas A&M payroll.
That deal was set to expire Feb. 1, but
Gov. Clements asked the regents for an
extension of Miller’s loan, and they
agreed. Clepients put Miller on his task
force to ensure compliance with federal
desegregation regulations. Texas has
until June 15 to submit a plan outlining
its proposal to increase minority enroll
ment at schools like Texas A&M and
white enrollment at schools like Prairie
View A&M University.
McKnight said he didn’t know Miller
was still on Texas A&M’s payroll. He
then asked the salary of the general
counsel for the System, who makes ab
out $50,000 a year.
“So he (Miller) is working in the gov
ernor’s office and doing nothing and get
ting $10,000 or $12,000 more than
others who are working for A&M,” said
the former regent. “I thought the com
mittee ought to know about it. I know
we never did have money around to
staff politician’s offices with per
sonnel.”
Jon Ford, the governor’s press secret
ary, said later Tuesday that using the
state’s experts is a well-established con
cept. More than 100 businessmen have
volunteered to serve on the governor’s
management councils, along with sever
al other state employees, he said, such
as professors from the LBJ School of
Public Affairs.
Texas A&M System officials discuss the 1981-82 and
1982-83 budget requests at a Senate committee hear
ing in Austin Tuesday. Dr. A. I. Thomas, Prairie View
A&M University president. Chancellor Frank W.R.
Photo by Liz Newlin
Hubert and Texas A&M’s Acting President Charles
Samson answered questions about the budget re
quest. The committee will forward a budget recom
mendation to the Senate next month.
Survey seeks opinions
on possible tuition hike
jit’s Congress’s turn
■ HI
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President
eagan, who kept the momentum going
md the public’s attention focused for
eeks on his budget plans, now has
hifted responsibility for the fate of
hose plans to Congress — the final
judge.
Early signs indicate Congress — with
ore Republicans than it has had in a
[uarter-century and as much Democra-
ic cooperation as any GOP president
:an expect — is willing to give most of
| Reagan’s ideas a chance.
Congressional leaders already have
planned “a very fast track” for consider
ation of the president’s budget-and tax-
1 cutting plan. They hope to have it wrap
ped up before their August recess.
Reagan sent Congress Tuesday the
final installment of his plan to bring
down federal spending — a package of
$13.8 billion in cuts to be added to his
earlier proposal to slash $34.8 billion
from the fiscal 1982 budget. / -
While cutting virtually every other
function of government, it called for a
net defense increase of $4.4 billion. The
increases include a 5.3 percent military
pay raise in July.
Reagan’s defense budget totals
$188.8 billion. With increased 1982 au
thority for future-year commitments, it
hits a massive $226.3 billion.
House Republicans introduced the
tax part of Reagan’s plan Tuesday — a
proposal to cut $44.2 billion in personal
income taxes with across-the-board re
ductions over three years and $9.7 bil
lion in business taxes.
Budget Director David Stockman
told reporters Reagan’s proposals re
duce “the thundering herd of sacred
cows” in the budget.
But a few came out ahead, like tobac
co subsidies so important to some in
fluential Southern senators, the Clinch
River Breeder Reacter located in the
home state of Senate GOP Leader Ho
ward Baker, RTenn., and first lady Nan
cy Reagan’s foster grandparent
program.
The bottom line on Reagan’s budget
proposal is unquestionable if his econo
mic assumptions hold true. It would
keep fiscal 1982 outlays at $695.3 billion
and represent a downward trend in the
rate of spending. It also would hold the
deficit to $45 billion.
There were substantial cuts in myriad
programs — food stamps, public service
jobs and training, nutrition, mass tran
sit, legal services for the poor, farm
loans and more.
Special interest groups affected by
the cuts already were marshalling their
forces. Coal miners marched on Mon
day to protest a cut in black-lung be
nefits, black leaders spoke out on behalf
of the poor and labor unions blasted the
entire economic plan.
A spokeswoman for the National
School Boards Association said the cuts
represented “an assault on children.”
Congress will hear from all of them in
the coming weeks.
Meantime, Democratic and Republi
can leaders removed a major obstacle to
action on Reagan’s programs by
agreeing on a timetable calling for final
action on budget and tax legislation by
late July.
Although the action does not guaran
tee Reagan will get everything he
wants, it at least guarantees speedy con
sideration of his proposals.
The agreement, which had the bles
sing of the White House, came in a
meeting House Speaker Thomas
O’Neill called “unprecedented.”
“There was some give and take, and
I’m personally very happy,” said House
GOP Leader Bob Michel of Illinois.
BY LAURA HATCH
Battalion Reporter
Student Government is surveying
students this week to find out their opin
ions on a possible tuition increase.
The Texas Legislature is considering
an increase in tuition for all state univer
sities.
Student Government wants to find
out how students feel they will be
affected by the increase, student sena
tor Scott Hall said. Enrollment in state
universities may suffer along with the
medical and dental schools, he said.
“No bill has been filed yet,” Hall
said. “There will probably be a bill pre
sented in the House by the end of this
week. ”
The student lobbyists for Texas A&M
have not said whether they are for or
against the possible increase, Collins
said. “That is the big reason we’re doing
the survey,” Collins said, “to see how
the students feel.”
A bill or bills may be presented to the
Legislature with any combination of
three basic ideas, Collins said. One idea
calls for students to pay 10 percent of the
cost of education instead of the current
fee of $4 per semester hour, Collins
said. This would put fees on an escalat
ing scale with inflation.
“That’s what is really dangerous,”
Collins said. If this legislation passes
now, it will be possible for tuition to be
raised in the future without going
through the legislature, he said.
The state currently pays an average of
95 percent ($94) of the cost per student
per hour.
A second idea calls for a 100 percent
across-the-board increase in tuition for
undergraduates, graduates and veter
inarian medicine students from both in
state and out of state. Hall said. For
example, this proposal would raise in
state tuition from $4 per semester hour
to $8, and out-of-state undergraduate
tuition from $40 per semester hour to
$80.
The third idea calls for an increase in
the tuition for medical schools and de
ntal schools, Bettencourt said. This, he
said, is not likely to pass.
If it did, tuition would increase 900
percent (from $400 a semester hour to
$3,600) for medical school students and
650 percent (from $400 to $2,500) for
dental school students.
Some people feel the state should not
pay for such a large proportion of a stu
dent’s college education. Judicial Board
Chairman Paul Bettencourt said. That’s
why the proposed increases are so high.
With the federal government cutting
back Its budget, federal loans becoming
harder to get and state programs poss
ibly being cut back, students will
already have more difficulty getting into
medical schools and dental schools, Bet
tencourt said.
Tuition in state-supported schools has
not increased more than the rate of infla
tion since 1957, Hall said.
Service fee raise
to be eyed by senate
Final consideration of recommended
student service fee allocations will prob
ably highlight the student senate meet
ing tonight at 7:30 in 204 Harrington.
The finance committee’s $2.6 million
allocation recommendations for student
service fees will be discussed and prob
ably acted upon, before being acted
upon by University officials. Controver
sy arose when the finance committee at
its Feb. 21 meeting considered fee re
commendations, and then presented a
different set of recommendations to the
senate meeting.
Cox said at the March 4 senate meet
ing the final recommendations called for
a $7 fee increase to $40.50 as opposed to
an original $1 increase estimate.
Other bills likely to spark lively dis
cussion:
— The “Equal Opportunity Hous
ing” bill, which would make one of the
new modular dormitories curreintly
slated for female occupancy available to
male students.
— A bill proposing official University
recognition of the Interfratemity Coun
cil and the College Panhellenic Associa
tion.
— A measure proposing user fees for
health center services such as prescrip
tions and X-rays, along with two bills
proposing expansion of the A. P.
Beutel Health Center facilities.
Appearing before the senate for the
first time tonight will be a bill proposing
an increase to $20 for the fine charged
for parking on campus without a valid
parking permit.
Famous A&M chemist
dies of heart attack
Dr. Minoru Tsutsui, chemistry pro
fessor at Texas A&M University and
world-renowned scientist, died Tues
day morning of a heart attack at a local
hospital.
“He was very well liked by students
and faculty alike,” said Dr. C.S. Giam,
head dean of science at Texas A&M.
“He was pleasant to work with and an
excellent researcher.”
Tsutsui, 63, came to Texas A&M in
September 1968 where he specialized in
organo-metallic chemistry.
He was bom in Japan on March 31,
1918 and came to the United States in
1951 where he became a citizen in the
mid-1950s. He received a B.A. in agri
cultural chemistry from Gifu Universi
ty, Japan in 1938.
In 1941, Tsutsui earned an M.S. in
organic chemistry at the Tokyo Univer
sity of Literature and Science, Japan,
and from 1945-1950, completed post
graduate work equivalent to a Ph. D. in
plant chemistry at that institution. He
attended Yale, where he received
another M.S. in organic chemistry in
1953 and a Ph. D in organic chemistry in
1954.
The chemistry professor also received
a D.Sc. in 1960 from Nagoya Universi-
Dr. Minoru Tsutsui
ty, Japan in inorganic chemistry.
Tsutsui published over seventy-nine
works since 1940. Among his numerous
other accomplishments, he was the
chairman of the chemistry section of the
N.Y. Academy of Sciences,l963; presi
dent of the N.Y. Academy of Scien
ce,1967 and president of the Japan-U. S.
Chemists’ Association, 1967.
Tsutsui is survived by a wife, Ethel
Tsutsui, associate professor of bioche
mistry and biophysics at Texas A&M,
and one son, William Tsutsui.