21,
The Battalion
Serving the University community
, 76 No. 16 USPS 045360 18 Pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, September 22, 1982
Tuition rates topic
M Texas Legislature
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by Rebeca Zimmermann
Battalion Staff
The Texas Legislature may act on
ecedent-setting bills for the estab-
.^Jtnentof new Texas colleges, funds
beafft fo! university systems and construc-
bt’sgacjitm on campuses this session, said a
the Ci« ein b er of the Coordinating Board,
Icons. l|exas College and University System
have t:o n Tuesday.
Y “There are five things I think the
gislature will act on that will have a
Jg effect,” said Gwen Morrison,
ynote speaker for a workshop
onsored by the Texas A&M chapter
the Texas Association of College
teachers.
T 7£l Funds for construction on cam
's | pUses, the Permanent University
Fund, tuition rates, the foreign stu-
ftntissue and whether the University
O tvofHouston will get funds for a Wood-
IBnds campus probably will be major
tissues in the
she said.
ae next legislative session,
SAT exam scores are up, Board agency says
f I The Legislature’s actions can’t be
'8 edicted, she said. Since the legisla-
prohfe e sess ^ on begins after an election,
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ISOn United Press International
NEW YORK — The College Board
> e Triports scores on the SAT college en-
;e Smill ance exams are up for the first time
itedfoi t jg years, and 80 percent of the
more tl icoming freshmen say they need
hers of na ncial aid.
coact College Board President George
free K | Hanford said it is too early to tell if
1982 Suj je three-point increase for 1982 in
home,' )e Scholastic Aptitude Tests is a
irmup' enc i or a temporary break in the
iary bmfc
:h; andr
the political atmosphere differs dur
ing each session.
The proposed Woodlands campus
for UH may receive much attention
because of the amount of money in
volved in establishing a new campus,
she said.
If this campus is established, a new
precedent will be set, she said, be
cause no new institutions have been
created recently.
The Coordinating Board has been
“taking the quality bent” in higher
education, she said. Two philosophies
for higher education exist: using re
sources for existing institutions or
building more institutions.
The board has decided to use re
sources to “beef up” the two flagship
university systems — Texas A&M and
the University of Texas — and limit
the establishment of new institutions.
Another trend may be set concern
ing construction on state campuses,
she said.
The Legislature has approved con
struction projects totaling $151 mil
lion; however, the bill that approved
the allocations also asked the Coordi
nating Board to review these re
quests. These projects are in limbo
because questions have been raised
about the board’s authority to
approve or disprove a request after
the Legislature has approved it.
In addition, about $800 million
worth of construction project re
quests must be reviewed by the Coor
dinating Board before the Legisla
ture can act on these requests during
its next session.
The legislative session probably
will include discussion of the PUF,
Morrison said. The Council of Presi
dents and Chancellors of Public
Senior Colleges and Universities of
Texas has recommended that all
Texas A&M and UT system schools
share the PUF and that a designated
fund be established for other state in
stitutions.
Morrison said she also expects the
Legislature to discuss state tuition
rates, which have not been increased
since 1957.
Silent Protest
staff photo by David Fisher
A protest was held in front of Rudder Organization of Arab Students over the
Fountain Tuesday by the General Union recent slayings, which took place in the
of Palestinian Students and the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.
The 1982 SAT increase — two
points in verbal and one in math —
still left the average scores 87 points
behind those of 1963, the year the
great skid started.
Some observers linked the slight in
crease to the fact that students are
being coached on how to take the test.
Robert G. Cameron, College Board
executive director of research and de
velopment, questions that theory be
cause scores also went up on College
Board Achievement Tests, given for
languages and other academic sub
jects.
The verbal average rose to 426,
compared to 424 in 1981 and 478 in
1963; the math average went up to
467 from 466 in 1981 and 502 in
1963.
Scores of 650 to 800 are required
for admission consideration at the
most prestigious universities.
The SAT is given to about 1 million
college-bound students annually and
the College Board said 76 percent of
the 1982 group planned to apply for
financial aid. Information gathered
by the Board showed only about one
in five families could pay the full
annual cost of education at a public
four-year school and only 11 percent
could pay the full bill at a private four-
year college.
It said freshmen, especially
females, are aiming for high-paying
and technological fields of study and
away from low-paying fields.
The median family income among
takers this year was $26,800, up 11
percent from $24,100 in 1981.
The College Board’s study also
said:
— The most dramatic growth in
intended field of study was in compu
ter sciences. In the past year, interest
increased by 38 percent. Since 1973,
growth has been 381 percent, with
interest virtually tripling since 1978.
— For the fourth consecutive year,
business and commerce was the most
popular area of study.
— Interest in engineering careers
continued to rise for the eighth
straight year. It is the most popular
intended area of study for men.
— A notable decline in intended
areas of college study was for educa
tion — “interest has declined 50 per
cent since 1973.”
The College Board is a non-profit
educational association serving stu
dents, schools and colleges through
programs designed to expand educa
tional opportunity.
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:sts,
High insurance rates
bring cut in income
by Diana Sultenfuss
Battalion Staff
Leroy Mynar and his wife were
, chair® xpecting their second child in Au-
itteeon pst. Anticipating the extra costs a
tew baby would bring, Mynar took a
)art-time job at Wal-Mart. He work
'd there five evenings a week, in
ddition to his 40-hour week at the
Texas A&M Printing Center.
Then Texas A&M raised its in
surance rates — increasing the cost
nore than 100 percent for depen
dents on some plans. In Mynar’s
ase, the increase — plus the insur-
ance cost of a new dependent —
^^^■rtieant he had to keep his second job
three days a week.
Mynar said he considered insur-
; his children off campus but de
cided to remain on the University
plan.
“I’ll go ahead and pay the $140
because I’m sure my kids are co
vered that way,” he said. “If I go to
off-campus coverage, those com-
aanies can cancel out on you. Then,
if they cancel, you probably can’t get
insured anywhere else.
“I’ve basically just accepted it
now. But I will be making about $70
less on the check when the insurance
is taken out than I am now even with
my pay raise.”
Mynar said he worries he also
may be in a higher tax bracket be
cause of the pay raise University em
ployees received Sept. 1, which
would take another chunk out of his
paycheck.
“I took a cut in pay to come here
(IV2 years ago) ... for the benefits,”
Mynar said. “Now it looks like those
benefits are shrinking.”
Mynar’s case is not unique.
Almost every employee . at Texas
A&M University found something
to grumble about in the insurance
rate increase. The cut in income
meant administrators and upper-
level faculty faced the loss of vaca
tions or long-awaited purchases.
Staff and junior faculty faced huge
bites being taken out of their main
income. And all complained in un
ison about the abruptness of the
move.
The average pay raise effective
this semester for non-classified em
ployees — faculty and administra
tive personnel — was 8.26 percent;
the average pay raise for classified
employees was 9.45 percent.
However, insurance rates for an em
ployee with no dependents in
creased 12 percent — from $39.48 a
month to $44.25 a month.
Larry Reynolds, an associate pro
fessor of English, paid $83.55 a
month on his old plan.
“Now, I pay $149.58 a month,” he
said. “The insurance increase took
up about half of my recent pay raise.
“I’m surprised, given the leverage
that the University should have be
cause of the number of employees,
that it can’t get a better insurance
package. If individuals can go out
and get a better policy, why can’t the
University?”
John Honea, director of insur
ance and risk management, said em
ployees probably could get a better
rate on younger family members,
but they may be buying a cheaper
policy, not necessarily a better poli
cy. He recommended employees
make close comparisons between
policies.
The Texas A&M System now has
14,000 employees with 28,000 de
pendents. Claims at the University
nearly have doubled in the past four
years, from 8,531 claims in 1978 to
16,391 claims in 1981-82. And the
total of the System’s claims has in
creased from $4 million to $13.5
million in a four-year period.
Other employees also faced large
rate increases. For example, if a sec
retary earns $14,000 a year, a 9.5
percent pay raise would increase his
or her pay $1,330. If the secretary
had two children and wanted the
deluxe plan, insurance rates would
increase about $1,400 a year — and
the secretary would be $70 behind
rather than $1,330 ahead. In this
case, Honea recommended the sec
retary stay on the basic plan because
See INCOME page 18
Rail strike is damaging
to economy, Secretary says
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Transporta
tion Secretary Drew Lewis, defending
the administration against charges it
is anti-union, said Tuesday Congress
must end the nationwide railroad
strike to prevent serious damage to
the economy and to keep millions of
union workers on the job.
Lewis said the 3-day-old strike by
26,000 locomotive engineers was on
such a narrow issue — their desire to
have a pay differential above other
train crew members — and the poten
tial economic damage so severe that
“in the public good we are forced to
take an action that we would not
otherwise take.” He made the re
marks during testimony to the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
No face-to-face negotiations were
scheduled Tuesday to end the walk
out, which already has caused layoffs
among Amtrak workers and in mines
and auto plants, crippled passenger
rail service and cut into freight de
liveries.
The committee appeared to be
generally sympathetic to Lewis’ re
quest that Congress impose on the
engineers a settlement recommended
by a presidential emergency board.
The proposal would give engineers
the same pay raises and benefits
already accepted by other union
members, but would deny them the
right to strike before the contract ex
pires April 30, 1984, to gain addition
al increases that would maintain their
traditonal higher pay.
The average locomotive engineer
now makes about $36,000 annually.
Major dissenters on the committee
were Rep. Marc Marks R-Penn., who
accused Lewis and President Reagan
of being anti-union and engaging in
“union-busting” and Rep. Florio, D-
N.J., who said other alternatives were
available, such as a second cooling-off
period. Florio, however, promised to
keep an open mind.
Lewis reacted angrily to Marks’
charges, saying the administration
also was concerned with the millions
of other union workers on the rail
roads, in auto plants and other indus
tries who were being put out of work
by a narrow issue.
Lewis also rejected comparisions to
his tough stand against the Profes
sional Air Traffic Controllers strike,
saying the PATCO strike was clearly
illegal. He said the administration be
lieves in the right of private industry
unions to strike and was taking action
on the rail strike reluctantly, only be
cause there would be such enormous
damage to the economy.
Lewis said the walkout threatens to
halt the flow of $15 billion in com
modities each month, and the layoff
of more than 500,000 non-railroad
workers after two weeks of a strike, in
addition to the 400,000 rail workers
already idled.
The secretary also said he agrees
with a railroad industry estimate that
a prolonged strike would cost the eco
nomy $ 1 billion a day. Initial adminis
tration estimates put the losses at ab
out $80 million a day.
The Senate Labor Committee also
scheduled a hearing today to deal
with the crippling rail strike.
There already have been scattered
plant and mine shutdowns as the re
sult of the walkout by the engineers,
including a General Motors plant in
St. Louis that laid off 2,350 workers.
GM said more plants may be closed if
the strike persists.
Amtrak issued layoff notices to be
tween 3,000 and 4,000 workers across
the country and estimated it was los
ing about $600,000 a day.
Commuters struggled to get to
work in Chicago, Boston and San
Francisco — many having to turn to
buses and car pools. More than half
the normal number of freight trains
ran, however, with supervisors filling
in for strikers.
The railroads carry 37 percent of
all freight, including almost all ship
ments of coal, grain, ore and heavy
industrial materials.
Lewis said earlier Reagan “decided
that we must act decisively to bring
the strike to an end” because “the na
tion cannot afford a prolonged rail
strike. It is clear that any longterm rail
strike could have a serious impact not
only on the economy, but also on na
tional defense.”
"Parimutuel horse racing bill forecasted
to show or place, maybe win, in Texas
****
United Press International
Supporters of legalized parimutuel
betting believe the odds of trotting a
horse-racing bill through the Texas
Legislature are better than ever.
Oklahoma voters turned out in
strength Tuesday in becoming the
32nd state to approve parimutel wa
gering, completing a circle of race
track gambling ringing Texas.
“It’s an idea whose time has come,”
said B.F. Phillips Jr. of Frisco, presi
dent of the Texas Horse Racing Asso
ciation, whose membership is spur
ring a move to gain passage of a bill
similar to that adopted by Oklaho-
Rians.
“The thinking of people in Texas is
changing. The population of this
state is changing,” Phillips said.
“We’ve got an influx of people into
Texas who’ve seen the benefits of
parimutuel horse racing, and we’ve
got a new generation of folks who see
things differently. They do their own
thinking.”
The THRA guided an effort in
1981 that marked the first time in 48
years for a bill on parimutuel horse
racing to reach the floor of the Texas
House or Senate for a vote.
The measure providing for coun
ty-option horse racing sparked a
round of emotional debate during a
hearing before the full House Com
mittee of State Affairs. A 90-54 vote
to table to measure late in the session
assured it could not be acted on until
1983.
“That was the first time for it to get
that far,” said Phillips, “and if the
latest polls we’ve taken are accurate,
we’re only needing to pickup three
votes to get it passed when the Legisl
ature meets after the first of the year.”
Phillips, owner of Phillips Ranch
about 40 miles north of Dallas, said
supporters of horse racing were en
couraged by a number of factors, in
cluding approval of a non-binding re
ferendum favoring parimutuel wa
gering in the May 1 Republican prim
ary in Texas. The proposal did not
appear on the Democratic ballot, a
traditional source of support for rac
ing interests.
Economic conditions also weigh in
favor of the THRA, Phillips said.
Proponents of the bill claim legal
ized parimutuel wagering will have an
$12 billion annual economic impact
on the state, including $40 to $60 mil
lion in new state income from direct
taxes.
“And from everything I’ve been
reading and hearing lately, the state
could use the money,” Phillips said.
He said other benefits would in
clude an estimated 50,000 new jobs,
particularly for unskilled workers; an
increase in tourism; and expansion of
the state’s horse breeding and related
industries.
“A lot of things are in our favor,”
Phillips said.
“For years, Texans have been
going to tracks in Louisiana, Arkan
sas, New Mexico and across the bor
der for horse racing — bettors and
horse breeders — and returning
home wondering why they had to go
out of state,” Phillips said.
“Some of those tracks would close
down it wasn’t for all of the Texas
people. That’s money that is being
spent by Texans at race tracks in ad
joining states. It’s a sham and the peo
ple realize it.”
Hips
rill ti
osed bill to be introduced within days
of the Legislature convening in
January. 1
“It should be out of committee by
February and in plenty of time to get
something done,” he said.
“This time, it’s going to pass,” he
said.
inside
Classified 10
National 10
Opinions 2
Sports 15
State 6
Whatsup 13
forecast
Today’s Forecast: High of 81,
low in the high 50s tonight. Partly
cloudy skies, drier, cooler day with
less humidity.