Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Wednesday, December 2, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
1 High
68
High
Low
35
Low
.. .35
Chance of rain. . .
. . . 10%
Chance of rain
. 10%
Photo by Diana Sultenfuss
Lana Dial, standing, a freshman general studies major, get into the spirit of the season by
pjor, and Cathie Feighl, a senior journalism decorating a Christmas tree in Mosher Hall.
frees started chain of customs
Yule origins unknown
By JENNIFER WAYMAN
Battalion Reporter
is Christmas countless evergreen
is will be decorated with ornaments
lights — although few people know
_~re the holiday tradition originated.
(Tree worship and using evergreens
ome decorations was a practice of
Christian origin. However, it sur
er! after European pagans were con
ed to Christianity.
In Scandinavia the custom was to
decorate the house and barn with ever
greens at the New Year to scare away
the devil.
And in Germany, trees were placed
in the home during the winter, indicat
ing that nature did not die under the ice
and snow and spring would come again.
But, the custom of trimming and
lighting a tree at Christmastime prob
ably had its origin in medieval German
hiding the right tree
la liven up the holidays
By Tina linch
Battalion Reporter
: how to select a live cut Christmas
eludes you, following is a list of
Its:
]*Check freshness by bouncing the'
|e trunk on the ground to see if the
ledles fall.
[*Ifthe trunk is sticky with resin, the
|e is fresh.
|*Keep in.mind where the tree will be
Iced. A small tree may look better on
pw table than on the floor. If the tree
be viewed from all sides, choose a
By branched symmetrical one. But,
pnches may be wired into a tree’s bare
pts.
*When ready to decorate, make a
^gonal cut across the trunk an inch
ove the original cut for better water
|sorption. Keep the tree in water to
event drying out and fire hazards. Do
It place by televisions, heaters or fire-
Ves.
[Although many people avoid the
[nual tree-lot shopping by opting for
(tificial trees, the live Christmas tree
Idustry is not declining, Dr. Mike
■alterscheidt. Agricultural Extensive
Service forester, says.
About 30 million Christmas trees are
sold in the United States annually, with
about 4.5 million sales in Texas. Most
trees sold in Texas are from northern
states, mainly Michigan, Wisconsin and
Oregon.
Yet, the Christmas tree industry hit
Texas several years ago. Three to four
million trees have been planted in Texas
with about one million new trees
\olanted each year. About 40,000 Texas
frees were sold this year.
Several campus organizations are
participating in Christmas tree sales this
year.
The Texas A&M Forestry Club is sell
ing' 5 foot to 8 foot trees for $18 at the
Forestry Building until the supply is
depleted.
And first year veterinary students are
selling 5 foot to 8 foot trees at prices
ranging from $19 to $35 at the College of
Veterinary’ Medicine. Proceeds will go
maindy toward renovation of an animal
shelter in Bryan.
Lambda Sigma, a sophomore honor
society', will sell 2 foot to 4 foot trees for
$4 to $5 at Commons and Sbisa Dining
Halls beginning Dec. 3.
Vandiver’s new aide
discovers busy job
1 I
By DENISE RICHTER
Battalion Staff
Writing letters to former students, arranging brunches and
visiting student organizations is all in a day’s work for the
assistants to Texas A&M President Frank E. Vandiver.
Sheran Riley, 36, discovered this recently when she was
hired as an assistant to Vandiver. She joins Dr. Malon South
erland, who has served as an assistant to the president for two
years.
Riley previously was employed as a trust administrative
officer at RepublicBank in Dallas. She came to College Sta
tion Nov. 15 to start work the next day.
Riley will also be working towards a master’s degree while
at Texas A&M. She holds a bachelor of business administra
tion degree from Memphis State University and she says
plans to enroll in computer science and statistics courses.
“This position was a wonderful opportunity, an opportunity
to be on a university campus,” Riley said. “This job won’t be
too different from the one in Dallas — both positions involve
working with people. The actual day-to-day work will be
different but basically, a lot of the problems will be the same.
“I’m still getting broken into the job. This office handles a
lot of special events and it’s our responsibility to see that
everything is coordinated for these events.”
Being an assistant to the University president is never
boring, Riley said. Her duties can, and do, include everything
from ordering football tickets for guests of the University to
corresponding with former students.
“I didn’t realize the amount of paperwork in this office, ” she
said. “Former students write (Vandiver) with their opinions
on ... specific things going on and each of these letters has to
be answered.”
Riley said she and Southerland usually write the letters,
which are subject to Vandiver’s approval.
Although Riley is a newcomer to Texas A&M, she is no
stranger to Aggie traditions: “I’ve always felt there was a real
spirit among people who had gone (to Texas A&M). I’ve heard
Sheran Riley
the saying ‘Once an Aggie, always an Aggie’ and now I know
that it’s true. There’s a great fellowship among Aggies.
“This school has a lot of traditions and I like that. That’s
why the idea of getting a master’s degree from here and being
a true Aggie appealed to me.”
Riley replaces Dr. Elizabeth Cowan, who served as an
assistant to the president for one year. Cowan, a professor in
the Department of English, took a leave of absence to com
plete work on a book on writing. She plans to return to
full-time teaching in July. (
Reagan offering olive
branch to union leaders
mystery plays when a fir tree, called the
Paradise tree, was decorated with ap
ples representing the Garden of Eden.
After these plays were discontinued, a
Paradise tree was placed in the home on
Dec. 24, the religious feast day of Adam
and Eve.
The tree was hung with cookies rep
resenting the Host, the Christian sign of
redemption. Candles often were added
as a symbol of Christ.
Also during this season, a Christmas
pyramid — a triangular, wooden con
struction with shelves to hold Christmas
figurines — was decorated with can
dles, evergreens and a star, and placed
in the home. By the 16th century, the
Christmas pyramid and Paradise tree
had merged, becoming the Christmas
tree.
By the beginning of the 19th century
the custom had spread from Germany to
most of the countries of Northern
Europe. It was introduced in England
in 1841 by Prince Albert of Saxony, hus
band of Queen Victoria. The Victorian
tree was decorated with candles and
candies, and fancy cakes hung from the
branches by ribbon and paper chains.
German immigrants brought the
Christmas tree to the United States in
the 17th century and it was the height of
fashion by the 19th century.
Today many types of Christmas trees
are available including the Douglas fir,
noble fir, blue spruce, Scotch pine and a
new variety called the white pine.
Ernest Gregg, salesman for the local
Farm Patch, said the most popular tree
this year is the white pine because it is
guaranteed to last six to eight weeks
without shedding or discoloring. The
bark and needles also are less sticky
than other trees.
Gregg said trees range in size from
about 3 feet to 17 feet tall and in price
from about $6.95 to $74.95.
Trees may be flocked in almost any
color requested including white, red,
pink and even maroon.
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan is offering an olive branch to
union leaders — a possible change in
administration policy that would allow
11,400 fired air traffic controllers to get
other federal jobs.
The White House said Reagan ex
pressed that possibility Tuesday during
a meeting with Teamsters union Presi
dent Roy Lee Williams and will restate
it today when he meets with AFL-CIO
President Lane Kirkland and leaders of
the 15-million-member labor federa
tion.
White House spokesman David
Gergen emphasized that Reagan is not
considering putting the air controllers
back in the towers at this time, but at
some future date.
Kirkland has expressed anger over
Reagan’s handling of the controllers’
strike, charging the administration with
having “an economic house of ill repu
te,” and attacked its response to the 8
percent unemployment rate.
Today’s meeting with the 35-
member AFL-CIO Executive Council
caps a three-day effort by the White
House to court better relations with the
labor movement that has become in
creasingly hostile in recent months.
In a statement released Tuesday, the
White House said Reagan told the
Teamsters officials there was no change
in his fundamental position with regard
to the controllers.
“The president suggested to the
Teamsters leaders today (Tuesday) that
he was considering the question of
whether or not the controllers who have
been fired should continue to be barred
from any federal employment for a
three-year period, as is currently the
case,” the statement said.
Reagan wanted to confer with Trans
portation Secretary Drew Lewis before
making any decision, the statement
added.
“Our first responsibility is to the con
trollers who stayed on the job, working
long hours to keep the planes flying
safely,” the statement quoted Reagan as
saying.
Prison director to speak
about recent problems tonight
Behind bars in the Texas Depart
ment of Corrections is not the safest
place to be these days.
W.J. Estelle, director of the Texas
Department of Corrections, says this
year is winding down as the most violent
of the 10 years he has been chief of the
nation’s largest prison system.
And he will be in College Station
tonight to discuss the TDC’s recent
problems and how they are being hand
led in a program sponsored by the MSC
Political Forum Committee.
Estelle has served as director of the
TDC since 1972. His career in correc
tions begn 29 years ago with the Califor
nia Department of Corrections, and he
also served as a warden of the Montana
State Prison.
This year, 11 inmates have been mur
dered by other prisoners and from Nov.
14 to Nov. 21, violence erupted at three
Texas prisons, injuring 70 guards and
inmates and causing at least $300,000 in
property damage, the Dallas Morning
News reported.
In addition to violence, the TDC has
been faced with overcrowding. The
Texas prison system has grown from
15,000 in 1971 to over 31,000 in 1981.
Dpartment of Justice efforts to control
overcrowding have led the TDC to set
up tents on prison grounds for the in
mates to help alleviate the problem.
The program, entitled “And Justice
for All?” will begin at 8 p.m. in Rudder
Theater. Admission is free.
Alien education arguments
studied by Supreme Court
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The issue of a
free education in the United States as a
motive for illegal immigration was the
focal point of arguments before the Sup
reme Court testing a Texas law exclud
ing the children of undocumented
workers from the state’s schools.
The case, heard Tuesday by the
Court, will be decided sometime before
July.
All of the justices took active part in
questioning the lawyers but despite
prodding by Justice Thurgood Mar
shall, the key constitutional issue of
whether the illegal aliens are protected
by the Equal Protection clause of the
14th Amendment — and thus have the
right to an education — was addressed
only obliquely during the oral argu
ments.
At issue in the controversy is a 1975
Texas statute, struck down by lower
courts, that cut off state funds to local
public school districts for the cost of
educating the children of illegal aliens.
However, the law allows school dis
tricts to either exclude the children or to
make them pay tuition which, because
illegal aliens are generally poor, effec
tively prevents their enrollment.
“We feel it (illegal immigration) may
be a disasterous number in the future,”
Richard L. Arnett, Assistant Attorney
General of Texas told the court.
Arnett argued that if the law is ruled
unconstitutional, all the children in
Mexico could potentially cross the bor
der for an education in Texas.
He said the state had “one overriding
objective, and that is preservation of the
educational resources of the state.”
But lawyers from the Mexican Amer
ican Legal Defense and Education
Fund, representing the interests of the
children, argued that education was not
much of a lure in bringing illegal aliens
into the country.
“The evidence indicates that educa
tion is a minimal pull factor, ” Peter Roos
told the Court. “Education has little to
do with unlawful immigration, ” he said.
adding that “the preclusion of education
will not solve the problem.”
Peter Schey, also representing the
undocumented children, argued that
the state of California has a much larger
non-citizen population than Texas yet
has not found it necessary to deny the
children of illegal aliens in that state an
education.
He also noted that Texas gets some 25
percent of all federal funds aimed at
bilingual and migrant children.
Roos told the court that despite their
illegal status, many families of un
documented workers had been in the
United States for more than a decade
and it was very unlikely the Immigra
tion and Naturalization Service would
ever move to deport them.
“There is a de facto amnesty policy in
the United States (that effectively) dulls
the likelihood of these children being
identified and deported,” he said.
“The INS has limited resources. They
do not go after families except in the
rarest of cases. ”