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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 1982)
Mel makes magic in College Station See page 5 \JHOLB WHEAT .XX* Organic food, sweat and diets See At Ease ine Banal ion Serving the University community . 76 No. 48 USPS 045360 32 Pages In 2 Sections College Station, Texas Friday, November 5, 1982 all Street sets record United Press International NEW YORK — Wall Street, isted by Wednesday’s record Dow industrial average, had its busiest day in history but prices jlunged as many investors cashed in huge profits made in the three- onth rally. With the Labor Department sche duled to report on October’s unem ployment rate— expected to be high- ■ than September’s 10.1 percent — the Federal Reserve preparing oney supply figures, trading was , " 1 ’' to be restrained in today’s ses- The Dow, which soared a record b3.41 points Wednesday to an all- time high of 1,065.49, skidded 15.27 to 1,050.22 T hursday in a late selloff. Several analysts said profit taking was not surprising since the closely followed average, which Wednesday eclipsed its old peak of 1,051.70 set Jan. 11, 1973, had gained 73.77 points in the previous three sessions. Thursday’s New York Stock Ex change volume climbed to a record 149,350,000 shares from 137,010,000 traded Wednesday, top ping the old mark of 147,081,070 traded Oct. 7. “This was a normal retreat since the Dow had gained 73.77 points in the previous three sessions,” said Newton Zinder. E.F. Hutton vice president. “I think things will cool down for the rest of the week.” “This has been a market of sur prises and this was one of them,” said Trude Latimer, Evans & Co. analyst. “The day was disappointing from the start when institutions didn’t do the buying everybody had expected.” The market has rallied this week on investor belief the Federal Reserve would cut its discount rate since the economy remains mired in recession. Donald Maude, a policy committee chairman at Merrill Lynch, predicted interest rates would decline in the near future and the Fed would ease credit conditions to foster an econo mic recovery. Treasury Secretary Donald T. Re gan said “American corporations are still undervalued” by securities mar kets despite the historic rally that be gan in mid-August and drove the Dow up 288.57 points. Regan also suggested election re sults — in which the Republicans held control of the Senate but lost ground in the House — might make the admi nistration more willing to comprom ise in the future. Leland Prussia, BankAmerica chairman, said the economy may have made a bottom in the recession but it will remain sluggish well into 1983. tility protest planned by Tom Dobrez Battalion Reporter Afew Bryan residents are planning tn organizational meeting to be held December to protest utility service, it a Bryan Utilities official says all ey have to do to solve their prob- ns is talk to the utility company. Pat Fetzee, an engineering tech nology major at Texas A&M and a resident of Country Place Apart ments in Bryan, is organizing his neighbors and other Bryan residents inorder to get Bryan Utilitites to “cor rect bad billing techniques and lower the cost of electricity.” Gaylord White, operations mana- ;er of utility service for the utilities tompany, said: “Any problem with gcan easily be worked out, but there is very little one can do about the cost.” About 300 people probably will attend the organizational meeting will be held in early December, Petzee said. “Many residents have gone for two months without recieving a bill and then (they) get a bill on the third month for all three months totaled IDgether into one awfully high bill,” Fetzee said. White said that the utility company admits the problems but he said a solution is in sight. “The main reason for the billing problem has been the installation of a aewcomputer billing system in May,” White said. “It has been a frustrating experience for all of us. But if a per son falls victim to an error of this sort, all they have to do is come down to the utilities office and arrange to pay the "11 on a deferred payment plan.” If a person receives a bill that has three months added together, then he has three months to pay the bill, e said. But Fetzee said billing is not the only problem. The group will go door-to-door to get signatures for a petition that calls for the lower elec tricity prices for Bryan residents. “I have lived in this same apart ment for three years and I have noticed my electric bill nearly triple in that time,” Fetzee said. White said he sympathizes with the New TMPA plant could lower costs by Ann Ramsbottom Battalion Reporter The new Texas Municipal Power Agency facility — soon to become Bryan’s primary source of electricity — may not mean immediate savings to residents, but should mean more stable prices, the director of Bryan Utilities says. It probably will be a year before Bryan residents actually see any posi tive effects from the new TMPA plant, Gaylord White said. “I’m not saying that electricity costs will be any cheaper,” White said. “However, we should see an end to escalating prices.” The jointly-owned TMPA facility, Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station Unit 1, also will serve Denton, Garland and Greenville. The plant, located three miles northwest of Carlos, has started generating some power, but TMPA officials predict that won’t be running on full power until March. White said he is less optimistic ab out the early prediction, but said things are running smoothly. Some Bryan residents are burning natural gas in their homes now, he said. “Natural gas is a clean gas and the facilities to it are relatively cheap to build,” White said. “However, we want to get away from natural gas. We have no control over the gas prices and they continue to escalate.” Lignite, the fuel to be used in TMPA’s new facility, is a low-grade coal and power plants that burn lig nite are expensive. “Since lignite is not a very clean coal, extra facilities are needed to clean the fuel and change it into a usuable form,” White said. “The ini tial cost of building the facilities makes it only economically feasible to build a big plant that can serve a large area.” The real advantage of the lignite plant is the long-term savings it yields, White said. “Seventy-five to 80 percent of the costs involved in a lignite plant are the facilities themselves,” White said. “It’s a one-time cost. On the other hand, when burning natural gas, 75 to 80 percent of the actual cost is the fuel. It’s a continual cost that we have no control over.” But even after the plant is running full power, Bryan and the other four cities still will be using about 25 to 30 percent natural gas as they’re using now. The facility, which is hoped to be paid for in 24 to 25 years, is being funded through revenue bonds which each city is selling. Utility sys tem sales eventually will pay off the estimated $660 million facility. price Bryan residents are paying, but he said neither the group nor Bryan Utilities can do anything. “I pay the same bills and complain too, but there’s very little one can do,” White said. “Three-fourths of the price is based on the price of fuel, so there is very little room for adjusting. “The main reason for the rapid increase in the past few years has been that natural gas has been underpriced for 25 to 30 years. It is now just rising to its proper cost, he said.” White also said that the rapid in crease in price will soon start to slow. “As soon as our new lignite plant starts to produce electricity efficiently — say within 6 months to a year — then there will be a decrease in the increase of price,” White said. “That is to say prices will probably continue to go up with inflation, but at a much slower pace than now.” Fetzee said another problem with the utility company is that it rarely reads his meter and guesses his elec tricity consumption for month. “I have only seen a meter reader out here once this semester,” Fetzee said. The estimating of bills is done for less than 10 percent of the utility com panies’ accounts, White said. “Sure there is going to be guessing and estimating of consumption,” White said. “It would be very hard to read 32,000 meters a month. Also, there is a problem of a meter reader falling down on the job. “But the estimating that is being done accounts for less than 10 per cent of all meters and is done ran domly, meaning different people are involved every time.” White said individuals with prob lems of any sort should visit Bryan Utilities and they will attempt to fix any problem. Cheap thrills staff photo by John Ryan Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist for Cheap Trick, entertains a full house at G. Rollie White Coliseum on Thursday night with his zany antics. See review, page 3. inside Around town 4 Classified 8 National 9 Opinions 2 Sports 13 State 6 Whafsup 11 forecast Today’s Forecast: High in the tnid-60s. Low in the high 30s. Fair skies continuing through the "’eekend. Program getting passing grade Athlete attendance policy progressing by Carol Smith Battalion Staff It may be too early to tell if the mandatory class attendance policy for scholarship athletes is a success, but Dr. Don Hunt, athletic academic counselor, says that he’s pleased with the prog ress so far. The policy, started by Athletic Director Jackie Sherrill at the beginning of the fall semester, calls for mandatory attendance at all classes by all scholarship athletes, both men and women. The policy was enacted not only to increase class attendance among students, but also to help the students adjust to a combina tion of classes, studying and the time restraints of intercollegiate athletics, Hunt said. At the beginning of the fall semester, the athletes took letters to their instructors explaining the policy and asking for their cooperation in making the policy successful. The response to the program has been good so far, Hunt said. “About 89 percent of the professors who responded — and 96 percent responded — agreed to participate,” he said. “Professors who responded negatively did so, not because they aren’t in favor of the program, but because the size of their classes is not such that attendance can be taken.” At the end of each week, the athlete takes a card to the instruc tor for him to sign if the athlete has been in class. If the student has not been in class, the instructor can report his or her absence to the athletic department. “The attendance has been good but not satisfactory,” Hunt said. “We’re not exactly where we want to be, but we’re making progress.” At midterm, the average cuts per athlete was 1.7, Hunt said. The figure applies to all classes, not just per one class, he said. Midterm grades averaged about 2.25 overall for all sports, he said. “I believe I read where the overall average of the student body was a 2.39 and the Corps was at a 2.4, so we don’t feel out of kelter with the rest of the students,” he said. Hunt said he thinks the program is moving in the right direc tion, though he did stress that it does have a way to go before the objectives are reached. Some positive aspects have come out of the program so far, he said. “We’ve had satisfactory responses from the participating athletes and the faculty seems appreciative in that the athletic department is interested and concerned in the progress of the athletes,” he said. The policy also has been productive in regard to communica tion, Hunt said. “It has given the athlete the chance to visit with the instructor, understand exactly what it is the instructor may be asking for, and ask for assistance if complications arise,” he said. The basketball season begins Nov. 20 and more travel is in volved than was involved with the football team. The basketball season will test the communication aspects of the policy, Hunt said. “We’re hoping that what we’ve started will provide us with an avenue of communication to solicit a little understanding here and there,” he said. “The kids will be responsible for whatever work they miss and we’ll be in touch with the basketball players’ instructors to make sure they have their vork completed.” “It’s basically a process of communication — not just ‘hey, we’re going to be gone, but don’t worry about it.’” The policy has not been changed from the one that originally was outlined by Sherrill at the beginning of the semester, Hunt said. All scholarship athletes are required to go to all classes and attend study hall two days a week. The number of tutors has remained the same, he said. The academic counseling office spends three times as much on the tutorial program as in past years, he said. “We can’t make an overall evaluation yet, and we may not be able to at the end of the semester,” Hunt said. “But at least we’ll have some idea of the direction in which we’re going to try to accomplish our goals.” It’s taken everybody a little time to adjust to the program and the policy may need some redirection in emphasis once it can be evaluated effectively, Hunt said. “I think as soon as we get into the routine and everybody understands what we’re trying to do, and where we’re trying to go, they’ll see that we’re headed in the right direction,” he said.