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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1981)
he Battalion . 75 No. 11 J!'® cages Serving the Texas A&M University community Tuesday, September 15, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High 88 High 90 Low 70 Low 73 Chance of rain 30% Chance of rain 20% flepublican leaders ask r Social Security cuts United Press International WASHINGTON — Some Republi can leaders want President Reagan to his cost-cutting knife on Social urity and other entitlement prog- is, previously considered off-limits for 1982 spending reductions, sources sa\ ■ They say Senate Republican Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee and other ) seem: GOP lawmakers, when they meet with id piWagan today, will suggest $2 billion in Mnned increases be cut from the prog- ing2fi-l ranis next year. mm J Baker indicated Monday he thought on«,i Ititlememt programs, which also in clude federal pensions and Medicare, uld be considered for possible cuts [view of rising federal budget deficit ijections. Deputy press secretary Larry cakes, in an interview Monday, said publican leaders had asked the ite House to look into the possibility [trimming the entitlement programs, he word around the White House is Bit budget director David Stockman owas searching for ways to shave the t-of-living increases in such prog- and to put a cap on Medicare, dministration officials have said all mg the entitlement programs would me under close scrutiny in the 1983 Id 1984 budgets, but up until now they J been considered untouchable in lj82. ■Nineteen Democratic congressmen, who sided with Reagan on the presi dent’s first round of budget and tax cuts this summer, met privately with him Njonday to discuss his future cutting is. ftervvards, they told reporters agan decided he must reduce spend- for domestic programs by $18 billion ’rfthefiscal year starting Oct. 1, in order tnobtain a 1982 federal budget deficit of $42.5 billion. ■Aides reported $14 billion pared from the 1982 fiscal year budget is closer to tfje mark. ■During the weekend, the White Hjbuse said Reagan would cut only $13 Id's \ President pushes for sale of arms United Press International ASHINGTON — President agan once again is applying his per- lal lobbying touch to a sensitive, ex plosive issue — this time his proposed 5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia. I Reagan, who earlier this summer Wed his power of persuasion to win con- Jjessional approval of his economic ig forygram, is now pushing the arms sale ■ his first major foreign-policy fight on Cjipitol Hill. The president conferred privately onday with several key senators about tHe proposed package, which includes five sophisticated surveillance planes, "own as AWACS. ! “Right now, if the vote were con- icted today, I’d say we don’t have the Ites to support the sale,” Sen. Paul Itoalt, R-Nev., said afterwards. But, he |ded, he expects the tide to turn. Formal notification of the deal, iposed by Israel, probably will reach ingress about Oct. 1. After that, Con- less has 30 days to make up its mind. , J The deal will go through unless both , ur Wuses reject it on a majority vote. In P et |the House, controlled by the Demo- :o cou s lividig o did md oi*’ jivisiJ billion from military spending over three years, starting with $2 billion in fiscal 1982. Parceling out the remainder of the hit list will be thrashed out between Stock- man and agency heads this week. While Reagan musters forces for a new wave of budget cuts, he is also laun ching a campaign in support of his prop osed and endangered $8.5 billion arms package sale to Saudi Arabia. Reagan met Monday with 27 senators who are still keeping an open mind on the sale the president says would en hance U.S. security against Soviet en croachment in the Middle East. Israel, which has similar planes, is bitterly opposed to the sale and has allies on both sides of the aisle lined up to vote against it. Rudder lot to be site of facility By NANCY FLOECK Battalion Staff Members of the Aggie Club, the Association of Former Students and the Texas A&M Development Foundation will soon meet to discuss construction plans for a new resource center to house the three organizations. Construction of the center is still in the planning stage, and University offi cials say it will be a few months before architects can begin the center’s design. The Texas A&M System Board of Regents in July approved a proposal to build the the facility on existing ground of the Rudder parking lot. But Wesley E. Peel, University director of facilities and planning construction, said the southeast corner of the parking lot may have to be expanded to accomodate the center. Peel said the center will be financed by funds from the three organizations — the University is providing only the space. “They (members of the three groups) felt they wanted a place of their own, at their expense, that would make them more visible and accessible to the pub lic,” he said. Randy Matson, executive director of the Association of Former Students, said the three organizations have been considering the move for about two years. The University population and the former student population have grown rapidly, he said. And the Forsyth Alum ni Center, located in the Memorial Stu dent Center, doesn’t have room to in crease its staff and add new programs to accomodate the growth, he said. He said members of the three organi zations will meet soon to discuss the center’s needs and begin its program of requirements for construction. Those plans will describe the center’s scope, justification, budget and time frame and will include a list of what the center should contain. Programs of requirements are then subject to approval by the regents as is the appointment of an architect. When designs are finished and approved by the three groups and by the regents, the University will begin accepting bids from construction companies. Peel said a multi-story parking garage to accompany the resource center also is under consideration. If approved by the regents, it would be designed to com plement Rudder Tower and the center, he said. However, the parking lot ex pansion, if necessary, and the center and garage construction, will be done so that trees and present parking spaces are not disturbed, he said. Matson said he is pleased with the new center’s site, although he likes the association’s present location in the MSC and wishes they didn’t need to move. Bob Rutledge, director of develop ment, said it is logical for the three orga nizations to move to the same building since all are concerned with raising funds for the University. The Develop ment Foundation handles gifts, grants and donations to the University. Harry Green, Aggie Club executive director, said the center will enable the organizations to share facilities and coordinate their fund-raising efforts. Vandalism vs. ? Staff photo by Greg Gammon The new Academic and Agency Building on the Texas A&M campus has been the sight for some recent vandalism. The sign, spray- painted in red on the west side of the building, says “Disarm vs. Armaggeddon,” in reference to the controversial nuclear arms race. The literacy of the vandals, among other things, is questionable, since Armageddon (in reference to the final battle between good and evil in the Bible) is misspelled with two g’s. Intramural costs up $15 user fee in effect By NANCY FLOECK Battalion Staff The intramural program is charging user fees because of increased expenses and growing demand, not because Stu dent Government cut the department’s budget, Student Government and in tramural officials said Monday night. In a meeting for residence hall repre sentatives, Dennis Corrington, director of intramural sports, said salaries and the cost of supervising intramural games have caused team entry fees to increase from $5 to $20. The department’s 1981-82 share of student service fees, $436,000 — about 15 percent more than last year’s $379,781 — isn’t enough to cover the costs, Corrington said. Demand for the New look by end of season Band uniforms to change its, defeat for the AWACS package |ems certain. House GOP Leader Robert Michel ^Illinois said the president is “a realist” when it comes to the House vote, and it is ‘pretty accurate” to say there is no ipe for victory there. The president wants to sell Saudi rabiafive Airborne Warning and Com- Jand System planes, plus enhance ments for already ordered F-15 fighter- tembers with Sidewinder air-to-ground (issiles. Said Laxalt: “I rather think that by 14e time the president indicates to our jilleagues in the Senate the basic tasons why we should go AWACS, We ll eventually be able to win. But it’s ; to be a very difficult fight.” | H Senate Republican Leader Howard I Baker of Tennessee saw Reagan, together with some 26 other senators I [ from both parties. n Baker earlier disputed AWACS opponents’ claims of 51 Senate votes [•gainst the sale. “The battle has just [legun,” Baker said. I At the State Department, a spokes- | man said there is no direct linkage be tween the proposed sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia and the fate of liew U.S.-Israeli strategic ties. I “We seek to establish a comprehen sive security strategy for the Middle fast as a region in response to Soviet |lioves in the area in recent years,” said epartment spokesman Alan Romberg. By ELAINE ENGSTROM Battalion Reporter The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band will have a new look by the end of the foot ball season, says Corps Commander Kelly Castleberry. Band members should be wearing new winter Class A uniforms in time for the University of Texas game. The Class A uniform worn by the Corps consists of winter pants and an army green jacket worn with a shirt and tie. The only major change to the uni form will be a white belt on the hip- length coat. Jay King, military housing and purchasing agent, said. The Class AA uniform also consists of the same jacket but it is worn with a tuxedo shirt and bow tie and is used on more formal occasions. Castleberry said the major reason for getting the new uniforms is because the current ones are getting old. “The band is one of the most visible parts of the Corps so they received the new uniforms first,” Joey Armstrong, inspector general of the Corps, said. Castleberry said the uniforms will be phased in slowly over the next two years. And King predicted all Texas A&M cadets will be wearing the new winter uniform by next school year. The new uniform looks basically the same as the current uniform except that the pants leg will be more tapered and the jacket will be altered, Castleberry said. But, the Corps commander said the changes will definitely be notice able. Armstrong said, “The jacket will be more form fitted with broader shoulders and a narrower waist. The jacket also will have a white belt.” Some Corps uniforms such as the senior boot uniform date back to World War II and earlier, Castleberry said. The new uniform will be a return to an earlier style. The federal military services supply the ROTC uniforms to Texas A&M, and Corps of Cadets officials issue each cadet the specified uniforms. Neither the University nor the individual cadets incur the cost of the required uniforms. Every cadet is issued about “$850 to $900” worth of clothing and accessories. intramural program is finally surpassing its funds, he said. “We should have been raising our fees a little each year instead of making this jump, ” Corrington said. The intramural department’s total budget last year was about $470,468; this year it’s $564,650. During that time, salaries increased 19 percent, from $161,811 to $192,604, a difference of $30,793, Corrington said. Other expenses, such as equipment, office supplies and employee benefits, increased 10 percent, Corrington said, from $95,000 to $105,000. Most of this will be covered by the $20 entry fee, he added. It also costs more to supervise and organize games, Corrington said. For example, he said, the average cost for a football game was $23.26 last year, but now it’s $32.18. “The decision to go from $5 to $20 was strictly mine ... with consultation with Student Government. When it came down to it, it was either charge $20 or not offer the same (quality of) services, ” Corrington added. Ken Johnson, student body presi dent, said the intramural department had two options: charge only those stu dents using intramural services or raise student service fees for all students. The student service fee was raised $6, to $39.50, for this school year; if user fees hadn’t been implemented the fee could have increased as much as $20, Johnson said. Student service fees are included in students’ fee slips each semester. They support the MSC Council and Directo rate, the Personal Counseling Service, student publications, the A.P. Beutal Health Center, the student activities department, the University legal advis er, the shuttle bus service and the intra mural department. Terry Smith, Student Government vice president for finance, said the $15 user fee increase constitutes a 324 per cent hike over the $5 fee. This figure was calculated by multiplying this year’s estimated 3,260 teams by $20, multi plying last years 3,075 teams by $5, and comparing the two figures. “I hope we can come up with an alter native plan for next year’s budget,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair for the (teams’ fee) to be raised 324 percent when other things weren’t raised 324 percent.” Intramurals also raises money through its equipment rentals, locker rentals, guest passes and faculty IDs, among other things. Corrington said most of these fees have also increased, and the depart ment hopes to raise an additional $100,000. Hurricane Harvey may graze Bermuda today Corps Commandant Col. James Woodall said. But, most upperclassmen also buy additional uniforms with their own money, Castleberry said. Seniors also must buy their own boots which generally cost about $300. The estimated cost of the coat to be worn with the new uniform is $65 and the white belt costs approximately $10, King said. United Press International MIAMI — Hurricane Harvey whip ped itself into a “dangerous” major storm moving up the Atlantic and fore casters warned the western fringes of the tempest’s 130 mph winds could affect Bermuda later today. The Hurricane Center issued an advisory Monday urging residents of the resort island to closely monitor the progress of Harvey, the strongest storm since Hurricane Allen in 1980, which devastated Alabama’s Gulf Coast. At 3 a.m., the hurricane was cen tered about 240 miles southeast of Ber muda; moving toward the north and packing winds of 130 mph, with further strengthening expected. The storm was expected to turn gra dually toward the north-northeast dur ing the next 24 hours — which would make the center of Harvey pass east of Bermuda. “The center of the Harvey is expected to pass more than 100 miles east of Ber muda today and only the western fring es of the hurricane are expected to affect the island with showers and possibly a few squalls,” a hurricane advisory said. Once Harvey passes Bermuda, Hope said the storm would head to open sea where its powerful winds could do no damage to land. The storm strengthened rapidly Monday. At 6 a.m., highest winds were 85 mph, enough to make it only a minimal hurricane. By noon, however, winds had jumped to 110 mph and by 9 p.m., they were 130 mph, making it a “dangerous” storm, forecasters said. Harvey’s sustained winds were the strongest since Hurricane Allen sides- wiped Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and devastated Alabama’s Gulf Coast in July 1980 with 165-mph winds. Allen was the second most powerful storm of this century. Highest winds in a hurricane this cen tury were 200 mph, recorded in Hurri cane Camille, which hit the Mississippi coast in 1969 and in an unnamed hurri cane that came through the Florida Keys on Labor Day, 1935. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Gert continued to weaken as it sped on an easterly course across the North Atlan tic. Its highest sustained winds were only 40 mph. Late Monday, the center of Gert was located about 275 miles west-northwest of the westernmost Azores. Forecasters also were watching other areas of disturbed weather, including a disorganized system passing through Nicaragua late Monday located about 700 miles east of Trinidad and another in the middle of the Atlantic, halfway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles. Hope said the hurricane season has peaked, although hurricanes often de velop in the second half of the month. “The second week in September is the historical peak,” he said. "It histor ically starts to taper off a little . although quite a few storms have developed in the second half of September. They don’t just abruptly stop coming. "Lots of times there are a few in Octo ber and an occasional storm in Novem ber, which marks the end of the