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eniors get By PHYLLIS HENDERSON Battalion Staff tudent body presidential candidate ,tt Woodruffs appeal of the Student [vernment election procedures con ing the voting rights of graduating iors was upheld Thursday night by Judicial Board after a four-hour ised meeting. hairman Paul Bettencourt said the eting was closed in order to “keep i burden off the members of the trd when they are formulating their Inion.” ft the beginning of the session both foodruffand Executive Vice President [eg Dew presented arguments before board. We were asked to come in for infor- Bation purposes,” Woodruff said. ■Dew said: “My purpose in the meet ing was to present the case in defense ■the election commissioner.” be board then requested that druff and Dew leave the room so could begin deliberations. The Judicial Board agreed in an iinimous decision that graduating niors do have the right to vote in Stu nt Government elections and that jetion commissioner, Leah Whitby, id violated her authority in denying e voting rights of these students. It [ judged, however, that Whitby was acting with “willful and wanton dis regard” for the election rules and regu lations as Woodruff had charged. The opinion said it was not within the authority of the election commissioner to limit voting qualifications over and above those qualifications set out in the election rules and regulations. Bettencourt said the board reviewed the student body constitution, the stu dent senate by-laws and the election rules and regulations to determine all areas that pertained to voter qualifica tions. “The only voter qualifications are two sentences in Section 3400 of the elec tion rules and regulations,” Bettencourt said. Section 3400 states that voter qual ifications are current enrollment in the University and a current, valid I.D. “There were people (graduating seniors) who were denied the right to vote who met these qualifications, ” Bet tencourt said. The board directed the election com mission to open a polling place in the Memorial Student Center Monday from 9 a. m. to 6 p. m. for the purpose of allowing graduating seniors the oppor tunity to vote. All graduating seniors, including those whose I.D. was punched in the March 31, April 1 election, but who were then denied the right to vote, will be allowed to vote on Monday for all offices for which they are eligible. vote in appeal hearing The opinion said it was not within the authority of the election commissioner to limit voting qualifications. Seniors who were not stopped from vot ing will be held to the honor system to not vote again, Bettencourt said. Offices to be voted on include student body president, legislative vice presi dents, living area senators (except Corps senators), academic at-large senators, Residence Hall Association offices. Yell leaders and Off-Campus Aggies offices. Rolls will be used to check the status of voters at the polling place. “We already have the rolls,” Whitby said. The rolls were obtained from the Regis trar’s office and they list all seniors who have applied for a degree. Bettencourt explained the board’s decision saying: “We wanted to make it as uniform as possible and we wanted to make sure these people had a full day of voting. ” Woodruff agreed saying: “I personal ly feel that’s the best way to handle it (the election). I think it’s the only way. I didn’t foresee it (the appeal) being this much of a hassel. I’m sorry for the trou ble it’s causing all the candidates.” Tensions mounted between Dew and the board after the reading of the deci sion. Brad Smith, student body presi dent, tried to serve as mediator. “I support your decision,” Dew told the board, “I’m required to support it. But I think there are some questions that have to be answered. ” Dew refused to allow the release of the election re sults until his questions were answered. Dew was particularly concerned with which offices graduating seniors would be eligible to vote for. “Established election regulations do not specify what are appropriate offices, or this matter would not have come up,” he said. “It (the constitution) says what their (the senator’s) constituencies are, but it doesn’t say who can vote for them.” Bettencourt tried to explain the board’s position on the constituencies. “The difference is what we define as at-large,” he said. “Specifically, any thing tagged freshman, sophomore, junior or senior cannot be voted on by graduating seniors. “This is what we feel like is the only sensible line we can draw.” The Judicial Board authorized the re lease of all election results excepting those of the offices which would be effected by Monday’s election. Dew and Whitby, however, delayed release of the results of the senior academic senators for certification by the board because of questions not only over the board’s decision, but also to review the validity of the results. Tempers began to flare. “There’s no reason for this conflict because we made the decision, ” Betten court said. “We made the only logical decision. “It is our responsibility to release those results. We are the final authority on election matters.” Dew countered: “The results have to be released by the election commis sion." Maureen Kerrigan, a member of the board, said: “We’re not going to change our minds.” At one point, the board considered issuing a writ of mandamus to Dew ordering him to release the election re sults of these races. Smith, however, averted the conflict. “Just give me five minutes to talk with them,” Smith told Bettencourt. Lance Wright, a member of the board, said: “We re sacrificing our principles for di plomacy. It (the refusal to release the results) is like insisting that the world stop turning.” When satisfied that the results were valid, Dew and Whitby released the results to the board for certification. “Their decision to allow graduating seniors to vote,” Dew said, “does not change the fact that it is the responsibil ity of the election commissioner to en sure that the results of the election are valid before they are released to the public. “Their decision has made it especially important for us to exercise extreme caution throughout the remainder of the election.” Fhe Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community Vol.74 No. 127 Friday, April 3, 1981 USPS 045 360 12 Pages College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High 82 High 84 65 Cow 63 Chance of rain. none Chance of rain. . . . . . none Staff photo by Brian Tate Comprehensive Coverage Along with the rain Thursday came a problem for Lin Peterson. Her photographs being sold in the MSC Craft Show had to be protected from the elements and so did she. A piece of plastic provided a quick answer to the drizzly problem. Incomplete results released By DENISE RICHTER Battalion Staff Following a one-day delay, partial Student Govern ment election results were released at 11:20 p.m. Thursday. Complete returns will be released after a special election Monday in which graduating seniors, pre viously forbidden to vote, will have the opportunity to cast ballots. From that election, winners of the following offices will be determined: student body president, legisla tive vice presidents, yelUeaders, Off-Campus Aggies, Residence Hall Association, living area senators ex cept for the Corps of Cadets; and several senatorial positions. Certified results indicate the following winners: Class of ’84 secretary-treasurer — Jay Still; social secretary — Barbara Brunner. Class of’83 president — Mike Lawshe; vice presi dent— Larry Collis; treasurer—John Motley; secret ary — Ann Home; social secretary — Debbie Rich mond. Class of ’82 president — Gary Branch; vice presi dent — James Bond; secretary-treasurer — David Moyer; social secretary — Susan Pavloski. Graduate Student Council representatives: Agri culture — David Kee; Architecture — Celia Hall; Business Administration — David Montplaisir, Stephanie Moore; Education — Romy Rivera; En gineering — Robert Kosnetz, Thomas Geerjames Martin; Science — Ken Fredeen; Veterinary Medi cine — David Snyder. Senators: Corps sophomore — Bill Montgomery; junior — Jeff Greenwade; senior — Lee Flagg. Senators: Agriculture sophomore — Brian Terrell; junior—Jim Harris; senior— Dale Langley; graduate ■>—- Brian Hay. Senators: Business sophomore — Margaret O’Brien; junior — Alison Sanders; senior — Trisha Enke; graduate — Tracy Cox. Senators: Engineering sophomores — Rodger Drew, Judy Marcotte, Steve Forman; juniors — Greg Bates, Dan Kahler, Kevin Bordelon; seniors — Bill Price, Tony Marshall, Ross Walton; graduate — Cliff Walton. Senators: Liberal Arts sophomore — Sharon Hall; junior — Larry Gottlieb; senior — David Close; gra duate —- Mark Shomaker. The following offices will be contested in a run-off election: Class of ’84 president — John Dungan and Kam Hutchins; vice-president — Nicole Williams and Joseph A. Sandoval. Class of ’82 historian — Mark Morris and Bryan Bartels. Graduate Student Council: Agriculture (five places) — Paul Pierce, Bruce Clark, Neil Jeter, Morrie Luka, Jim Harris, Marcef Valday, John Roach, Kevin Bond and Saundra Hodge. Education (two places) — Rick Putnam, Kay Moss and Barbara Tuepke. Engineering (one place) — Sam Aleton, Dan Ruhn, Patricia Harding, Derrick Sallee and Alison McFar land. Run-offs in these elections will be held Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Polling sites will be the Memo rial Student Center, the Commons, Evans Library, Sbisa Dining Hall and the guard room. The delay was caused by computer programming problems when tabulating the returns and the Judicial Board’s review of presidential candidate Matt Wood ruff s request for appeal of the procedure concerning the voting rights of graduating seniors. After a four-hour closed meeting of the Judicial Board, the decision was made to uphold Woodruffs appeal. For complete election results, see page 10. Senate approves battered budget United Press International WASHINGTON — Some said it would mean “ruined lives and shattered hopes,” but the Senate overwhelmingly approved a package of budget cuts that would reach into nearly every facet of government except defense. The Republican-controlled Senate, after days of beating back Democratic efforts to amend it, Thursday accepted a package containing $36.9 billion in fiscal 1982 reductions. The vote was 88-10, with Sen. Lowell Weicker, R-Conn., joining nine liberal Democrats in opposing the measure. President Reagan was reported pleased with the Senate action by Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S. C., who saw him in his hospital room Thursday night. The spotlight now turns to the Democrat-controlled House, which be gins drafting its own budget package next week. “This resolution means the Senate for the first time in years has come to its senses,” said Budget Committee Chair man Pete Domenici, R-N.M. He said it would begin to reverse a trend of exces sive government spending. But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D- Mass., said the budget “makes no sense in economic terms or in human terms.” “In its wake will be the ruined lives and shattered hopes of millions in our society,” he said. “The cold and dry statistics in the budget resolution do not begin to tell the real story of this budget.” Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., said the American people may have voted last November to eliminate fraud and waste and curb the federal bureaucracy. “I do not believe, however, that they voted for a cruel abandonment of Amer ica’s commitment — indeed, America’s obligation — to help those most in need,” he said. Among the reductions are a $1.5 bil lion cut in the food stamp program, a nearly 25 percent cut in elementary and secondary education programs that would be funded through block grants, a phase-out of public jobs, a $1 billion cut in Medicaid, elimination of the Eco nomic Development Administration and eight regional commissions, and termination of the minimum benefit payment under Social Security. The Senate did not, at Reagan’s re quest, tamper with basic Social Security payments, despite attempts to reduce them. Total savings under the Reagan plan include the $36.9 billion in Senate- approved cuts, as well as $8 billion in reductions to be achieved administra tively and an additional amount in Car ter administration programs that were never accepted. Reagan, recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt Monday, had proposed slashing the budget $48.6 billion. The Senate’s action will serve as in structions to its spending and authoriz ing committees. The measure contains recommendations, or options for the panels to consider, but the committees themselves will decide where the cuts actually will come. In the House, Democratic leader Jim Wright, D-Texas, predicted the mea sure approved by that chamber would approach the administration’s total fi gure “very closely.” But he hinted Reagan would not get as much of a military increase as he wants, and that the tax cut approved by the House would be smaller — reduc ing the size of the deficit below Reagan’s projected $45 billion. Hobby stresses involvement for leadership qualities Campus roles help students become future leaders By RACHEL BOSTWICK Battalion Reporter The development of leadership qualities now can help guide the steps of the future, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby said Thurs day evening in Rudder Tower at Texas A&M University. Sponsored by the Class of’83, Hobby spoke to an audience of about 70 people which included a few anxious student government candidates who were awaiting election returns. Hobby pointed to members of the 67 th Texas State Legisl ature as examples to follow for developing leadership qual ities, Before elected by their constituents, he said, the legisla tors served as leaders in their schools and communities. And by following steps such as those they took and getting in volved in activities on campus, Hobby said, students can become leaders of tomorrow. The lieutenant governor expressed concern about the purchasing power of faculty salaries, which, he said, has decreased 20 percent in the last 10 years. The salaries have not kept up with rising inflation, he said, making it difficult to bold tbe quality educators that are needed. The conditions of the Texas Department of Corrections prison system, which is the largest in the country, is also of major concern, Hobby said. Originally planned to house 16,000 inmates, the prison system is now housing over 29,000 inmates, due to an annual increase of 10 percent. Overcrowding is a real problem and calls for emergency construction of dormitory units and ex pansion of the work release program, he said. The establishment of a prison such as the one in Grimes County is like the establishment of a nuclear waste disposal site. Hobby said. There are things that have to be done, which is why government has the power of eminent domain, Hobby said. The lieutenant governor said he didn’t envision the prob lem being resolved through the death penalty. He said he doesn’t know of any evidence that indicates the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. There are about 40 death-row inmates awaiting execution now in Texas, but these are on appeal, he said. Hobby, a native Houstonian, is a graduate of Rice Univer sity. After graduation, he joined the Navy, where he served for three years in naval intelligence. First elected lieutenant governor in 1972, Hobby said he plans to run for the office again. Photo by Margarita Jaime Lt. Governor Bill Hobby spoke on how developing leadership skills can be beneficial to students in their careers Thursday night in Rudder Tower. Here Hobby, who was sponsored by the Class of ’83, speaks with Class President Mike Lawshe an another member of the Corps of Cadets.