Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1982)
lion/Page Tiber 9,1! ) een slappsi 1AA. J lved prom prospeclirt Tied durinj academic jn I itch, who! isissippieaik ad nothinrJ SA&M specialists helping law enforcers See story, page 6 The DaiTciMon Serving the University communily Rations wild ive were coi i any man#: west Cotita ol. 76 No. USPS 045360 28 Pages In 2 Sections College Station, Texas Wednesday, November 10, 1982 affgaveal ed Akers s ard againsii a cansas last hristian speakers worry officials udness by! aving checii | by Rebeca Zimmermann Battalion Staff as the bestij jhe Dean of Faculties and the Bra- s Civil Liberties Union disapprove the presence of Christian Update rum speakers in classrooms here. Dean of Faculties Clinton A. Phil- said he has received complaints . “I know Si tive affecto nd after a ie Horned! rghornsifi om students about the speakers and is worried that students may feel dmidated or coerced. Tm very upset about this,” Phil- ssaid. “I’m really concerned about r Jewish and agnostic students.” Dr. Joseph Sonnenfeld, a spokes- an for the Brazos Civil Liberties Un it and a geography professor at :xas A&M, said he also thinks stu nts may feel intimidated. Attendance at the lectures held in University classrooms may not be compulsory, but many students feel compelled to go to class, Sonnefeld said. Thirteen members of the forum began Monday what they term a series of lectures dealing with the ap plication of a biblical perspective to particular academic subjects. The lec tures, which will continue through Thursday, are being held during such classes as mechanical engineering, psychology, sociology, physics and marketing and at night in the Univer sity Center. Local campus ministers were con cerned enough about the forum’s “biblical perspective” to place an advertisement in Tuesday’s Battalion stating that Christianity has many dif ferent views and those expressed by the Christian Update Forum may not be the same as those of the established churches in the area. Phillips said he particularly is con cerned about cards distributed at each lecture offering students an out line of the lecture and requesting in formation about the student. University attorneys say students should not be solicited in classrooms this way, he said. Phillips has notified college deans to tell department heads that no cards can be passed out. “It’s important for faculty to understand that they’re under no compulsion (to allow the speakers classroom time),” he said, “and they have an obligation to see that infor mation is relevant to the class.” Some students are upset because they have paid money for a class and expect the subject matter to be re levant, Phillips said. “I have no problem with a particu lar point of view being in a clas sroom,” Phillips said, “but it is incum bent on the professor to keep the sub ject relevant.” In such classes as philosophy, sociology and psychology, the lec tures might be relevant, he said, but engineering classes have the highest number of lectures scheduled. “They’re into classes where they’re stretching what’s relevant,” he said. Academic freedom also is in volved, Phillips said. A professor has academic freedom in a classroom, as long as the subject is relevant to the class, he said. Sonnenfeld said the civil liberties group believes academic freedom is not the issue. Instead, the constitu tional requirements of separation of church and state are involved, he said. “Our position basically is that any kind of teaching such as Christian Forum in classrooms is inappropri ate,” he said. “The appropriate forum is to have evening sessions where stu dents voluntarily attend.” But Steve Bennett, one of the forum speakers, said his presentation is pertinent to the classes in which he is scheduled to speak. “My purpose is to present a biblical perspective on the topic I was speak ing on,” he said. “The thing that dis It al Building construction majors Judy Burda, left, Valerie McKinneg and Joe Hafertepe probably aren’t selling B fellow building construction major Tracy Hammer a hard hat for his feet. But David Locklear, right, needed one for just that Sunday at the bonfire cutting site |—where he severely sprained his ankle moving a log ‘Faculty senate constitution ratified & SUBS by Rebeca Zimmermann Battalion Staff Faculty members approved the proposed faculty senate constitution ilmost two to one Tuesday. The final count was 775 for the constitution and 367 against it. More than 58 percent of the facul ty voted at the eight polling sites on campus and at the Temple division of the medical school. “1 was a little surprised it (the turn- t) was as high as it was,” said Dr. Claude D. Davis, chairman of the fa culty senate steering committee and associate professor of building con struction. “It shows there is interest among faculty on issues that affect faculty — a healthy faculty.” Dean of Faculties Clinton A. Phil lips said the University is ready for a faculty senate. “I think this is an historic event in the history of the University,” he said. Phillips, who recently chaired an ad hoc committee appointed by Presi dent Frank E. Vandiver to study the future role of the Academic Council, said that the council may play an im portant role in the adjustment pro cess required to establish a faculty senate. The victory margin probably will ensure approval of the constitution by the administration, Phillips said. The constitution must be approved by Vandiver, Chancellor Arthur G. Hansen and the Board of Regents. The constitution could be added to the regents’ agenda for this month’s meeting if the proposal is approved by Vandiver and Hansen, Davis said. An election for the first senate probably will be held in early Febru ary if the regents approve the senate and its constitution, Davis said. The steering committee will set up that election also. One steering committee member, Dr. Gwen Elissalde, said she had been worried about the outcome of the election and was surprised at the mar gin of victory. “I thought it (the vote) would be close,” she said. Elissalde, who worked from 9 a m. to 6 p.m. at the College of Veterinary Medicine polling site, said she was pleased with the results of the election and felt many “silent supporters” voted. Davis said steering committee members, faculty advisory committee members and volunteers worked at the polling sites throughout the day. Secret ballots were placed in locked boxes; votes were counted twice by steering committee members after the polls closed. appointed me was that I felt if the material is relevant (to the course), it’s important to provide academic credi bility.” Bennett, who is speaking about hu man sexuality and various religious cults, said he wasn’t allowed to speak in one class because the professor was told by the department head not to allow any forum speakers into the classrooms. Lance Bryant, forum coordinator and a senior industrial distribution major, said the forum’s topics are re levant to the classes. “A professor is in control of his class,” Bryant said. “It’s his decision (to allow a speaker). The professor gives his views — we’re giving another view.” Protests planned by Polish labor United Press International WARSAW, Poland — Polish au thorities tightened security at factor ies and threatened workers with milit ary court martials in an attempt today to stop planned strikes and demon strations meant to protest the ban ning of Solidarity. In the biggest protests ever called by the underground, leaflets urged workers to strike for eight hours to day to mark the anniversary of Soli darity’s registration in 1980 as the East bloc’s first free trade union, which was outlawed Oct. 8. Workers were asked to gather at the Warsaw courthouse where the re gistration took place and parade along the triumphal victory route taken two years ago to tfie Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Major cities with little visible sign of stepped-up security were quiet Tues day night. Only in the southwest Solidarity stronghold of Wroclaw, where there have been arrests of several under ground activists in recent days, were patrols of soldiers and helmeted ZOMO riot police reported. “It is difficult to foresee what will happen,” government spokesman Jerzy Urban told reporters Tuesday. “But there is no reason for excessive anxiety. If any disturbances do occur, the government is ready to use any necessary means to restore order.” Factory officials, teachers and Communist Party members were given special orders on how to pre vent strikes and protests. High school instructors were told under no circumstances to allow stu dents to leave schools until the end of the teaching day. Sources in Gdansk, where Solidar ity was born during an August 1980 strike at the Lenin shipyard, said security was so tight at factories work ers would need special permission even to use the toilet. Weapons freeze opponent to speak tonight Laser weapon theory to be discussed suB* by Dawson Clark Battalion Reporter A major opponent of a nuclear weapons freeze who says that the use of satellite-carried laser weaponry is the only way to prevent a worldwide nuclear war will speak at 8 tonight in Rud der Forum. Dr. Steven Bardwell, editor of Fusion magazine and military editor for the Executive Intelligence Review, believes a nuclear "capons freeze would undermine the United States’ ability to deter a nuclear war, said Jeff Danzinger, spokesman for MSC Great Issues. The press coordinator for the Fusion Energy Foundation, which publishes Fusion magazine, said Tuesday that a nuclear freeze would not be effective. The nuclear freeze is a hoax,” Tony Chaitkin said. “It’s an attempt to stop the development of nuclear and related technolo gy without addressing the problem of stopping a nuclear war.” Bardwell’s general theory involves the defensive use of laser weaponry, Chaitkin said. “Bardwell thinks that if any nation ever initiates the use of nuclear weapons, others will join in and there will be an all-out nuclear war,” he said. “His theory involves the development of laser weapon technology. After perfecting the beam weapons, they would be placed on satellites and put into orbit of the earth. “The most important thing about beam weaponry is that they shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Chaitkin said. “If the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. put 20 or 30 of these things into orbit, no one would start a nuclear war because their missiles would be blown into outer space long before they reached their targets.” Philip Butcher, a member of the National Democratic Policy Committee, also stressed the importance of beam weaponry in a visit to the University on Tuesday. “If we don’t develop beam weaponry, we need to learn Rus sian,” Butcher said. Butdher and other representatives from the NDPC were on campus to promote the Bardwell speech and the general policies of an ultra-conservative political network headed by Lyndon LaRouche. “Our (the NDPC’s) job is to bring forth an alternative view to the radical environmentalists who advocate nuclear disarmament and the build-up of conventional military weapons for use in looting the natural resources of other countries,” Butcher said. The NDPC is one of a number of political action groups under, the National Caucus of Labor Committees, the umbrella organi zation of LaRouche’s network. Other groups include the Fusion Energy Foundation, the National Anti-Drug Coalition and Cam paigner Publications, publishers of Campaigner and Executive Intelligence Review magazines and the New Solidarity news paper. LaRouche, a 1980 presidential candidate who was on the ballot in 18 states, was the subject of a series in the Houston Chronicle this week. The Chronicle questioned LaRouche’s use of funds and quoted ex-followers of LaRouche as saying that he is using a major portion of the National Caucus of Labor Committee’s funds to further his own political goals. The Chronicle said LaRouche’s network sometimes brings in as much as $200,000 a week, much of it from wealthy business executives who favor nuclear energy development or from ultra conservatives who would like to see LaRouche elected to a high office. inside Around town 4 Classified 12 National 11 Opinions 2 Sports 13 State 6 What’s up 16 forecast Today’s Forecast: Mostly cloudy skies today and Thu^kday. High in the upper 70s. Low in the lower 60s, with a slight chance of rain and southeasterly winds at 10-15 mph.