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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1981)
THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1981 Page 3 .ocal White to rule on A&M presidential candidate list ot a spi i minii at was > Japane ?hly in I lip but U.S. the X't relal ons in nber of By BERNIE FETTE Battalion Stall Afirst draft of the opinion which nay or may not require the Texas l&M University Board of Regents disclose a list of candidates for e University presidency has ieen completed and is expected to |o to Attorney General Mark fc for approval in two to three reeks. “I can’t predict with any cer- ainty how long it will be,” said ie( iusan Garrison, chairman of the general’s opinion com- nittee. “From this point on, it de fends mostly on the attorney gen ts schedule.” And, she said, she knows no- Jiing about White’s schedule. A presidential search commit- te in February chose 20 names or consideration from a list of over 1 ICO possible candidates. Since 7 re hat time The Eagle, a Bryan daily di lewspaper, has been unsuccessful ti :ral’ in its attempts to acquire and pub lish the list. The Board of Regents, through the University’s legal staff, has re fused to give up the list. The Eagle claims the list is not protected information under the Texas Open Records Act and should be made available to the public. One recent attorney gen eral decision The Eagle is relying upon was handed down Oct. 29 and concerned whether or not the identity of persons who have ap plied for a position with a gov ernmental agency constitute pub lic information. The decision in part read: “A member of the public has a strong interest in being apprised of the names of persons being con sidered for important public posi tions, so that, prior to selection, he may attempt to influence the choice, and, after selection, he may evaluate the wisdom of the choice. “We realize the importance of not deterring qualified persons from seeking public employment. Nonetheless, we believe the weight of authority requires us to find this information available to the public.” The Eagle’s position was ex plained in a February editorial: “The Regents said that many of those 20 may not have known they were being considered and to re veal their names would have been embarrassing ... It certainly can not be an embarrassment to any one to be considered for this high ly important position. If it is, that person should have asked to have his or her name withdrawn.” The Eagle said it does not want to conduct lengthy interviews or discussions but only to publish the names and basic information ab out those persons being consi dered, such as ages and current positions. “Clearly, the people of this state, those thousands associated with the University and with other institutions of higher learning, and the citizens of the Brazos Val ley will be affected by that per son,” the editorial said. “All of those and the thousands of A&M former students have an un quenchable thirst in knowing who those candidates are. “There can be no harm in mak ing the public aware of those who are being considered for this high ly important post,” it said. “There could, on the other hand, be con siderable harm for the selection process to be held in total pri vacy.” James Bond, system vice chan cellor for legal affairs, said late in February that the list in this case is covered by an exception to the Open Records Act and is therefore not protected. Bond said Section 11 of the act excludes inter-departmental and intra-departmental memoranda which concern advice and recom mendations and that the list clear ly comes under this exception. The candidate list is a recom mendation from the search com mittee to the regents. Garrison said it would be diffi cult to predict when the decision would be final because other legis lative requests may take priority over this opinion. Once the committee’s opinion is reviewed by one member it goes on the agenda for its next meeting, Garrison said. If it is approved by a majority vote, it then goes to the attorney general’s executive assis tant, his first assistant. Judge Zol- lie Steakley (who Garrison said is a specialist in cases such as this one), and then to the attorney gen eral for final approval. :h a conn lowever, j fall on iort cutb panese Murder of A&M student still under investigation e possibi m. lat was id he wo ack hom By KAREN KALEY Battalion Reporter ^ The murder case of LaShan A. Muhlinghaus still n Binvestigative priority, Lt. Ronnie Miller of tf~ liege Station Police Department said Monda Muhlinghaus, a Texas A&M University student, ns stabbed to death at her College Station resi lence in the Travis V 'use apartments on Oct. 12, 179. Anautoi > eaf-J that Muhlinghaus’death was ■Hy : ore thar. 25 stab wounds to the chest, nd torso. , witnesses gave conflicting descriptions of a -.jen in the apartment near the time of the ler, Miller said. i composite drawing was constructed from an vitness description of a man she saw inside the tment as she walked past the window, he said, drawing brought in many calls but yielded few m y ; ae weekend Muhlinghaus was murdered was a ball weekend for Texas A&M, Miller said. There r ways a great influx of people from the oilfields the opposing school and that makes the case e difficult, he added. he weekend Muhlinghaus was murdered, Col- Station’s population was almost doubled in size, neitk time >g y°| pon gaP e. ' 3 as sho' adull lisifl 1 wisb t m® i. ore , Manag •ant & ® newspap et igraphy d* 1 editorial rn jl Icome, an 1 nts as le^ :o: Editor, :M Univers' 3xas A&M'* ,d exainm® mester, vertising ■Donald Buj in, TX 77$^ dusively W credited to erein reseC' ion,TX77»t College Station police have investigated similar murders in San Angelo, Amarillo, Farmer’s Branch and Austin, Miller said. The Austin murder is the Go'V— c *■'•*■•’ ,J : r-' 1 ; nterested in. . case, tiie body of Sandra L-ulLs, * St. Louis woman traveling through Austin, was found in a wooded area off Highway 35 on Oct. 8. She received 30 stab wounds. The man suspected in connection with the two murders is serving time in the state penitentiary (Ramsey unit) for violation of parole. He was paroled after serving time for the aggra vated assault of three girls. Miller said the suspect could be placed in Austin and College Station around the time of the murders. The man is only a suspect and the College Station and Austin police don’t have any concrete evidence against him, Miller said. The only way police can prove he committed the murders is if a witness can make a positive identification, Miller said. It’s been more than a year since the murder, and a positive identification would be difficult to get, he added. Miller said the man may have no connection with the murder at all. That is what the investigation is for. Love Run’ begins today; joggers need sponsors By CARLA SUTTER Battalion Reporter Today marks the beginning of lerica’s Love Run for the Mus- Dystrophy Association in the yan and Waco area. The MDA is asking runners to jet sponsors to pledge at least 5 Mtsfor every mile they run dur- Last year, 20 miles was the av erage distance during April. The nationwide event will take in May, but because the semester at Texas A&M University ends in May, the Bra zos Valley will hold its Love Run during April. This is the second annual run for the University and the fourth national run. Last year the Bryan- College Station area made over $900. “We re hoping for a lot more this year,” Pat Murphy, program coordinator for the MDA prog ram, said. Murphy said last year about 50 people participated in the run, but she doesn’t know how many will be participating this year. The money from the project will go directly to the Bryan- College Station MDA. People interested in participat ing in the run can pick up an appli cation at WTAW radio station and from bulletin boards around campus. “You can start at any time,” Murphy said. “If a runner decides to run after the month begins, he can still register, keeping record of the miles he ran at the begin ning of the month and getting sponsors as soon as possible.” Texas A&M track coach Charlie Thomas is the local chairman again this year. SOLID WOOD FURNITURE SOLID WOOD FURNITURE SOLID WO APRIL IS ANNIVERSARY MONTH! Big Savings Throughout The Store! 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