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The Battalion
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a new way to get to class?
Not exactly. Paul Sawin and Franck Nichols, left, from
the Swain Restoration Company are evaluating the places
in the Academic building that will need restoration and
the type of work that will be needed. You may see them
for the next couple of days riding around the buildings
going up and down and side to side as they look for
bad spots that need repair.
Vacation ranch
denied tax cut
Serving the University community
College Station, Texas Tuesday, September 14, 1982
Israelis attack Syrians,
Palestinians in Lebanon
United Press International
Israeli jets pounded Syrian and
Palestinian positions in eastern Leba
non for more than eight hours in the
worst attacks in a month, killing up to
50 people in retaliation for alleged
cease-fire violations.
French troops, the last of a tri
national, peace-keeping force sent to
supervise the evacuation of Palesti
nian guerrillas, left Beirut Monday
and Lebanese Prime Minister Chefik
Wazzan demanded Israeli troops
leave as well.
The Lebanese army, taking full
control of security in Beirut, today
were set to move into east Beirut,
which has been under the control of
the rightist militia built up by
Lebanese President-elect Beshir
Gemayel.
For more than eight hours Monday
Israeli jets bombed at least 12 posi
tions in the eastern Bekaa Valley
where an estimated 70,000 Israeli
troops face up to 30,000 Syrian and
5,000 Palestinian guerrillas.
The Israeli planes smashed a Sy
rian SAM-9 missile battery — the
seventh destroyed in less than one
week — in the worst fighting in the
area since July 22. The state-run
Beirut Radio said 40 to 50 people died
in Monday’s raids.
It was the worst Israeli attacks in
Lebanon since the latest cease-fire
took effect Aug. 12 after extended
negotiations mediated by U.S. envoy
Philip Habib.
The radio said Israeli forces Mon
day reinforced their frontline posi
tions by moving 40 more tanks into
the Bekaa, which lies between Beirut
and Damascus.
The Bekaa raids and the presence
of foreign troops in Lebanon was at
the center of discussions between
Lebanese President Elias Sarkis and
Wazzan.
The National News Agency said
Wazzan demanded the immediate
and unconditional withdrawal of the
Israeli troops who invaded Lebanon
June 6 and forced Palestinian guerril
las out of southern border areas and
west Beirut.
Wazzan said Damascus and Beirut
would negotiate the departure of the
Syrian forces as called for at last
week’s Arab League summit in Fez,
Morocco.
The Israelis have said they will not
leave Lebanon until all Syrian and
Palestinian military fighters are gone.
Talks on the withdrawal are sche
duled for the end of September after
Gemayel takes office.
Israel previously had warned Syria
to stop Palestinian fighters — behind
Syrian lines — from attacking Israeli
positions.
But a bazooka raid Friday left kil
led three Israeli soldiers. Israel, as
Monday’s raids were under way,
charged 98 ceasefire violations had
occurred since July 23.
Begin drops plans for early
elections despite popularity
United Press International
TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minis
ter Menachem Begin dropped plans
to hold early elections even though he
is riding atop a crest of public support
over the invasion of Lebanon and his
hard-line reply to President Reagan’s
Mideast peace initiative.
The cancellation of plans to hold
the ballotting as early as next May —
as opposed to a scheduled race in
1985 — was made because of fears
among his junior coalition partners
they would lose further strength at
the polls.
Shimon Peres, leader of the oppo
sition Labor Party, also complained
that Begin would turn the campaign
into “a circus” and win votes as he did
in the last election by slashing taxes so
more people could afford luxury
items.
Peres went so far as to complain
that an early race would become “a
festival of cars and televisions at half-
price.”
The announcement of the cancel
led early elections was made at Sun
day’s session of Parliament. Begin
said he would not hold elections be
fore scheduled unless all his coalition
partners approved.
The minority parties feared that
Begin — whose support has risen
since the June 6 invasion of Lebanon
— would be able to gain a majority in
Parliament without their support and
rule with the first real majority in the
Knesset since Israel was founded in
1948.
Every government, including Be-
gin’s Likud bloc, has been a coalition.
At last week’s parliament debate,
Begin called for an early election as a
challenge to American and opposi
tion party claims that most Israelis
would give back major portions of the
occupied West Bank and Golan
Heights in a new peace settlement.
The Labor Party for years has
offered to turn over as much as 70
percent of the occupied territories in
exchange for a formal peace treaty
with various Arab governments.
Begin, rejecting Reagan’s call to
freeze Israeli settlement of the West
Bank and permit Palestinian rule in
the area in association with Jordan,
approved construction of 11 more
settlements.
Aides to Reagan said the president
unveiled his initiative knowing full
well it would be rejected strongly by
Begin. But they hoped the call would
spark a new debate in Israel over Be-
gin’s policies and possibly yield con
cessions if Likud’s strength di
minished.
r
8
United Press International
DENVER — The Colorado Sup
reme Court Monday denied a charit
able tax exemption to owners of the
Singin’ River Ranch, a 260-acre facil
ity that provides recreational grounds
for religious groups and others in the
mountains west of Denver.
The high court ruled the West
Brandt Foundation, Inc., failed to
provide sufficient evidence to prove it
falls under the tax exempt status in
Colorado law.
The West Brandt Foundation pur
chased the Clear Creek County ranch
from a church group in November
1971. The foundation is connected
with the West Brothers chain of de
partment stores with headquarters in
DeRidder, La., and with stores in sev
eral southern states, primarily
Louisiana and Texas.
, The ranch has a number of build
ings, including two large dormitories
and a dining hall, as well as a large
recreational field and facilities for ice
skating and sledding during the
winter.
The court said although a majority
of the groups that used the facility
were churchrelated, others had no
apparent religious, educational or
(haritable affiliations. It cited speci
fically retirement dinners, weddings,
meetings set up by the Bureau of
Land Management, family reunions
and meetings of managers and em
ployees of the West Brothers stores.
Although West Brandt alleged the
ranch operated at a loss of about
$150,000 a year with subsidies com
ing from the Foundation, the court
said the extent of that aid was not
clear.
“Eligibility for exemption is deter
mined by examining the use to which
r 1
Peso devaluation distresses
Mexican students at A&M
the property is put, not the character
of the owner,” the court said. “Thus,
the fact that the West Brandt Founda
tion is exempt from state and federal
income taxation as a non-profit orga
nization is not dispositive of its claim
(on the ranch property).”
The court said it was true a large
number of church groups used the
facility. It noted the president of West
Brandt Foundation claimed one aim
of the ranch was to get more people to
live the Christian life.
“Nevertheless, the ranch also
accommodates large numbers of
groups who have no particular reli
gious program and affirmatively
maintains that it is open to groups of
any denomination, including non-
Christian parties,” the court said.
The court noted the ranch charged
uniform rates to all groups, whether
or not they had an educational, reli
gious or philanthropic orientation.
West Brandt made no showing that
the normal fees were ever reduced or
waived because of an individual’s ina
bility to pay, the court said.
The court said the largest receipts
for lodging at the ranch were from
student ski groups. The area is not far
from such popular Colorado ski areas
as Loveland Basin, Keystone, Arapa
hoe and others.
The court said the evidence before
it suggested the primary purpose of
the ranch was to provide inexpensive
lodgings to a variety of groups to use
for whatever purpose they choose.
“The provision of low-cost meeting
facilities to worthy groups is certainly
a commendable activity, and we do
not mean to discourage it,” the court
said. “However, a recreational facility
of this kind must be examined closely
in determining eligibility for exemp
tion.”
by Daniel Puckett
Battalion Staff
Jorge Resendez, from Nuevo Lare
do, Tamaulipas, Mexico, plans to gra
duate in December. But he has a
problem — money.
“Luckily, I paid my tuition before
the August devaluation,” he said. “I
have money for this month and the
first few days of next month. But then
... I don’t know.”
Resendez is an industrial engineer
ing major. His father, who has been
putting him through school, has been
unable to send him any money since
exchange controls were imposed in
August.
Less than three months from gra-
|duation, he doesn’t know how he’ll
finance the last few weeks of his edu
cation at the University. He doesn’t
work because of a heavy course-load;
he can’t get a University loan; it is now
illegal to take dollars out of Mexico;
and the exchange-rate is so unfavor
able that buying enough dollars in the
United States to finish his education
would be too expensive.
“We’ll come up with something,”
he said.
“We have to.”
Mario Zaldivar, who is working on
his master’s degree in agricultural
economics, has a different problem:
he’s getting money from his govern
ment but doesn’t know how long that
support will continue.
“I’m part of the SEP (Secretariat of
Public Education) program,” he said.
“They send us about $500 a month,
which is enough to pay for tuition,
books, rent, food — everything. But
who knows how long that will con
tinue?”
Rumors that had circulated for
weeks among the Mexican commun
ity here were confirmed Sept. 6, Zal
divar said. On Labor Day, more than
50 SEP students at the University of
Texas were told to return home — the
government could no longer afford
to pay for their education in the Un
ited States.
SEP students come to the United
States, learn English, then start work
in their discipline. None of the stu
dents recalled from UT had finished
their English program. And Zaldivar
hopes the fact that he already is work
ing on his academic program will save
him from a similar cut.
“We haven’t heard anything yet,”
he said. “But who knows? They could
call us tomorrow and pfft! all our
money would be gone.”
Resendez and Zaldivar are among
the more than 100 students from
Mexico now at Texas A&M. No one
knows exactly how many Mexican stu
dents are attending the University
this fall — the registration figures
aren’t complete. But the most recent
figure the Office for International
Services has is from Spring 1982,
when 172 Mexican students were re
gistered here. Of those, about 25 were
graduate students.
But Tina Watkins, international
student advisor, said that although
the final figures haven’t come in, she
feels that Mexican enrollment has
dropped, perhaps as much as 20 per
cent.
The students fall in two categories:
those whose families are financing
their education, and those whom the
government supports.
Non-scholarship students hurt
The students like Resendez, who
get their money from private sources,
always have faced problems in getting
money from home. Even before the
current crisis, no local bank would ex
change pesos over the counter for
dollars. Instead, some would accept
the pesos and send them to Houston
for exchange; Anna Colvin, a collec
tions teller at University Bank, said
customers had to wait from three days
to two weeks before they had their
money.
Now, the same process takes at
See AMPESO page 8
12-mile border strip exempt
Trade restrictions announced for Mexico
inside
Classified
... 6
National
5,6,8
Opinions
... 2
Sports
... 9
State
... 4
Whatsup
... 7
forecast
Today’s Forecast: High
in the
low to mid 90s, low in the low 60s.
Forty percent chance of afternoon
showers.
United Press International
MEXICO CITY — The central
bank today slapped tight restrictions
on all goods sold to Mexico in an ex
tension of its unprecedented prog
ram of exchange controls.
A 57-page decree, published in
Mexico City newspapers and to take
effect Wednesday, detailed currency
exchange rules and states regulations
for imports and exports.
Under the Banco de Mexico de
cree, enabling legislation for ex
change controls announced Sept. 1,
all imports must be approved in adv
ance by the commerce ministry.
The import regulations apply to
Mexican cities along the border, as
well as those further inside the
country.
In the past, most items were
allowed to enter if Mexican com
panies importing them would also
pay tariffs of up to 100 percent. But
now the goods also will be required to
have the special permits.
The move was expected to further
complicate sales of U.S. merchandise
to Mexico, a vital market for many
businesses in U.S. border states.
One provision of the decree pro
hibits imports of any machinery that
already is made in Mexico. Com
panies, including those owned by the
government, must submit proof that
a machine is not made locally before it
can be imported.
However, a 12-mile-wide band in
side the border will be exempt from
many provisions of the exchange con
trols.
Tourists crossing the border but
not venturing more than 12 miles into
the country are not required to regis
ter their money. Any other visitor
must register all funds he brings into
Mexico.
Other regulations set a $1,500
yearly maximum that Mexican tour
ists can take out of the country. Busi
nessmen with a documented need for
travel may take as much as $3,000 out
of the country each year.
Mexicans needing foreign medical
care will be allowed to take no more
than $6,000 out of the country, but
first they must present documents
from two local hospitals stating that
foreign treatment is necessary.
Meanwhile, about 100 leftist orga
nizations, including the nation’s lead
ing leftist parties, united to demand
an emergency salary hike to offset a
70 percent inflation rate.
The leaders of the leftist unions,
student groups and parties, who met
in a marathon weekend session, also
called for a demonstration Sept. 27 to
protest any possible government-
imposed austerity measures.
Business has told labor organiza-
tions that another wage increase will
mean more layoffs and possible bank
ruptcy for numerous companies.
A document compiled by the Na
tional Confederation of Chambers of
Commerce said the Mexican Social
Security Institute dropped more than
600,000 workers from its registry in
the first half of 1982.
Private and government firms alike
are hit hard by Mexico’s financial cri
sis, caused by a drop in foreign re
venues that has left the country with
out dollars to pay its $80 billion fore
ign debt, the developing world’s
largest.