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The Battalion
Monday
Texas A&M University
April 6, 1981
Slouch
By Jim Earle
RAY PUTNAM
'‘Now bear in mind this is just a rumor, and I don't want you
to repeat it; but I hear the present football coach at Alabama
is being considered for the presidency of A&M. "
Luncheon honors
greats of baseball
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON — It was billed as a
White House luncheon for the members of
baseball’s Hall of Fame, but it quickly be
came evident that it was really a celebration
of that most magnificent of baseball institu
tions, the Chicago Cubs. Otherwise, what
were several of us members of the Emil
Verban Society doing there last week
when the president of the United States
played host to 32 of the game’s immortals?
The Verban Society, as attentive readers
may recall, is the band of displaced Cub
fans in the nation’s capital, organized under
the name of the legendary Emil, whose
lifetime major-league total of one home run
did not qualify him for membership in the
Hall of Fame but epitomized the unique
and endearing quality of the Cubs.
There are those who say sniffingly that
the Emil Verban Society is a band of fana
tics. That is unfair. It is true that the society
newsletter, the work of our leader, Bruce
C. Ladd, Jr., took an offbeat approach to
the election results when it headlined,
“Former Cub Announcer Wins Presiden
cy. ” But that just suggests that we have our
priorities straight.
Ronald Reagan reached into the ranks of
the Verban Society when he picked Jim
Brady (winner of the society’s Harry Chiti
Look-Alike Contest) for press secretary,
and Brady infiltrated several of us other
Verbanites into the luncheon.
Because of that, I am able to report that
when the president was asked about his
current team loyalty, he did not duck the
issue. He said that he had acquired a root
ing interest in the Dodgers during the
many years he lived in Los Angeles, but in
his heart, the loyalties forged during the
four seasons that he “recreated” Cub games
from shorthand telegraphic descriptions for
the radio listeners in Des Moines had never
faded.
Anyone who doubted that would have
seen Reagan’s embrace of Billy Herman,
the great Cub second-baseman of those
years. Almost 50 years later, Reagan recal
led the lineup and batting order of that
team as if it were yesterday. When Baseball
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, a trivia fan,
said the Cub roster of those years was un
usual in having two men whose name ended
in “ee” — an outfielder named Demaree
and a pitcher named Parmelee — it was
Reorganization need has aris
The chairman of the Board of Regents
has taken the first step toward another reor
ganization of the Texas A&M University
System.
Two weeks ago, H.R. “Bum” Bright
appointed a 15-member committee, con
sisting of numerous System officals, to de
termine how a study of the organizational
structure should be conducted, should the
need ever arise for such a study.
The need has indeed arisen, and the
regents should know it.
The controversial reorganization plan
implemented 15 months ago stripped the
Texas A&M University president of his au
thority over the extension services and ex
periment stations and transferred that au
thority to the chancellor. Thus, greater con
trol of the System was channeled into the
chancellor’s office.
Coffee breaks
By Jane G. Brust
The plan gave the president control of
the University alone, much to the chagrin
of many persons, including former Presi
dent Jarvis Miller. Chancellor Frank W.R.
Hubert, who authored the plan, and Mil
ler, who protested it, clashed in a power
struggle which resulted in Miller’s firing by
the Board of Regents in July.
Former students and other persons close
to Texas A&M have criticized not only Mil
ler’s dismissal, but also the current organi
zational structure.
The criticism is especially intense in
view of the fact that the University is cur
rently looking for a president to succeed
Miller.
“There’s just no need for a strong presi
dent under the current system,” one prom
inent former student said.
The question has been raised: Why
would a desirable top-notch administrator
want to come to the presidency of this Uni
versity under the current organizational
structure which gives the chancellor, tradi
tionally a figurehead, more control of the
System?
Another prominent former student said
a number of former students have spoken
with Board members concerning a review
of the System’s organization: “Texas A&M
University officials are concerned that once
you start taking things away from the Uni
versity itself, other things come into ques
tion — and what next?”
Hopefully, “what’s next” will be a re
ation of power to the University presia
through another reorganization
And maybe, if another System reo^
zation is to occur, those candidates
consideration for the president’s
particularly the most desirable candii
will find the job a bit more appealin)
Perhaps the candidate selected for
Board approval will accept the job
certain conditions calling for a S)'
reorganization restoring some of tbe
power and prestige to the presidem
and to the University.
That should prove all the betterfori
University.
Bright has said he has felt no pre
from former students requesting a
nization of the System and that theii
form the study committee is his own
The important point is that thecoi
tee has indeed been formed and ise:
to present a preliminary report to the
gents at their July meeting.
Gov. Bill Clements’ appointments
three new regents in January
own hand-picking of Bright to sura
Clyde Wells as chairman — were thoiis
to signal a new direction for the fiitureofl
Texas A&M University System.
With this last Board meeting, theh ssistant
chaired by Bright, it seems the
indeed taking a new direction underi M the
new chairman’s leadership.
paf***
But
teve Wa
icture ta
tting E.
fall.
Reagan who supplied the missing first
names, Frank and Roy.
(Bjefore you write, let me tell you that I,
too, 1 -realized afterward that all of us in that
discussion forgot that Big Bill Lee was also
pitching for the Cubs with great skill in
those years.)
In the awed gaze of this spectator, the
Hall of Famers were very much like any
other alumni group. The friendly shop talk
mixed with the murmurs of surprise and
regret at the inroads time was making on
some of these magnificent athletes’ bodies.
Two men came in wheelchairs and several
others were either a feeble shadow of their
former selves or caricatures gone to fat.
But the younger pitchers like Sandy
Koufax and Bob Gibson looked like they
could go out and work that afternoon.
For a guy who spent three season of his
youth trying to get Phil Cavaretta to sign his
scorecard, the presence and propinquity of
the greatest players of the last 50 years was
almost more than could be absorbed. I had
gone to the luncheon under a strict injuc-
tion from Washington Post sports editor
George Solomon. “Don’t act like a jerk,” he
said, “and ask for autographs. If you do, I
swear I’m going to ask Tip O’Neill for one. ”
Well, Tip, get your pen ready. I kept my
cool all through lunch, but when I trooped
into the East Room to watch the Hall of
Famers pose for a group picture, I confes
sed to my fellow-Verbanite George F. Will
what an act of willpower it had been not to
beg for signatures.
“Don’t be silly,” he said. “Tom Korolo-
gos (the former White House lobbyist) has
got two baseballs signed by all these guys.
Everybody’s collecting autographs.”
I figured that in this administration, a
dispensation from George Will counter
mands even an order from George Solo
mon. For the next 10 minutes, I went run
ning around the room like a nine-year-old
kid, collecting autographs on the back of my
menu card.
It was not until I was walking away from
the White House, still in a daze, that I
collected my wits enough to inspect what I
had. And I saw something striking.
Every one of the greats but one had
simply signed his name. The exception was
the signature that reads: Ernie Banks. Chi
cago Cubs.
Somehow, I was not surprised.
By DA
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Prank is no laughing matter
Editor:
Somewhere — in a living room, or a
bedroom, or hanging on a dorm wall —
there is a sign that says STOP. Somewhere
in Texas, there are four newly sodded
graves waiting for spring when perhaps
someone will plant some flowers.
In those graves are four people who were
killed instantly one night last summer. The
car in which they were riding collided with
a tractor-trailer rig at a highway intersec
tion. The driver of the automobile was not
familiar with the intersection. He did not
know he was required by law to stop. The
stop sign that would have warned him was
stolen just before the crash.
Two of the four who were killed were
children. Four others were injured. They
will be haunted by the memory of that
hideous crash for the rest of their lives. It is
possible that the person who took the sign
will also be unable to forget. But no one
knows for sure, because the police don’t
know who took it. (Do you?)
Seemingly innocent pranks can have un
foreseen and tragic consequences. Stealing
warning signs may seem like “fun and
games” but it is illegal and deadly. What
abut the next time you or your friends enter
an unfamiliar intersection? Think about it.
(This is adapted from an article written
by the Christophers.)
Dale Youngs
More blues
Editor:
I’m the apartment dweller that sings the
blues. I wrote a complaint letter to Metro
Properties about Scandia apartments that
was also printed in the Battalion a few
weeks ago. Only two people asked me if I
had received any reply from them. They
live at Scandia, too, and apparently their
ceiling leaks every time it rains. A lot of
apartments are like that at Scandia. And
raking the excess water off the roof after the
rain doesn’t solve the problem. Metro
Properties seems to like the easy way out. I
can’t say much for the apartments they’ve
built recently in College Station. As for the
reply I got back from Metro Properties I
received only a questionaire concerning!
apartment complex. I feel as though no
read my letter but only recognized it
complaint letter and responded accort
ly. We still get lukewarm water in
morning, the toilet breaks down nowi
then and the ceiling is still falling apJ
They towed away some individuals’ cars
night because no visible sign was
the area to let us know what they were'
to. Anyway, now they’ve handed
notices saying we can’t put anything out
our porch that looks unappealing. I’mtif
of trying to manage my own apartment!
doing all the dirty work. I don’t pay if
only to take weekly trips down to
maintenance building. I don’t think
should be satisfied with a business i
monopolizes against our interests and rail
the rent more and more each year.
Sharon S
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Warped
By Scott McCullar
The Battalion
MEMBER
ISPS 045 .460
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Dillard Stone
Managing Editor Angelique Copeland
Asst. Managing Editor Todd Woodard
City Editor Debbie Nelson
Asst. City Editor Marcy Boyce
Photo Editor Greg Gammon
Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy
Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff
Asst. Focus Editor Susan Hopkins
News Editors VenitaMcCellon,
Scot K. Meyer
Staff Writers Carolyn Barnes,
Jane G. Brust, Terry Duran, Bernie Fette,
Cindy Gee, Phyllis Henderson,
Kathleen McElroy, Belinda McCoy,
Kathy O’Connell, Richard Oliver,
Denise Richter, Rick Stolle
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Photographers Chuck Chapman
Brian Tate
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