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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1983)
wmm BTexas A8cM me ion esh' rated In i >d or peeled] Serving the University community -"andtl. 76 No. 80 USPS 045360 28 Pages In 2 Sections ■use m coU refrigerates eat within a» 1 onions can ‘•nperature ions) should College Station, Texas Friday, January 21, 1983 inority report berates A&M Lack of representation, funds called intolerable K ICS ^ ISt by Gary Barker I and Denise Richter Battalion Staff We are the Aggies — the Aggies V’ True to each other as Aggies can The symbols most revered by Hs represent unity — Muster, Sil- Itaps, bonfire, yell practice. Bft a recent report on minority Bions at Texas A&M indicates Hnity may in some cases mean ilulivity. He report, requested by Universi- Hsident Frank E. Vandiver, in- ded charges of “white negativism” J [possible systematic racism on Rumpus.” In a letter accompanying the re- ■ the President’s Committee on cnoi^Hity Conditions said: “Our inves- baJ ui anc i p U bHc hearings also ye [found that the political, social, Hmic and spiritual atmosphere at A&M University is not condu- e to the recruitment or the reten- "n of minorities.” Fht report, which included 31 re- nmendations, was the result of an hti-month study of a problem that B traditional at Texas A&M as the telfth Man — notorious underrep- entation of minority faculty and dents. The problem recently has gained aohwide attention. In his book, nbrities in Higher Education,” acation researcher Alexander W. in designated Texas A&M as hav- the worst minority representation rn major university in the nation, in was one of the consultants to the hoc committee that produced the XHt. In 1981, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare re leased a report that said Texas did not comply with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which stated that discrimi nation in federal programs is prohi bited on the basis of race, color or national origin. As a result of the HEW report, Texas A&M adminis trators drew up a plan calling for a large increase in the number of See related editorial minority students. But the new study reveals that while the situation has im proved slightly, the problem is still acute. The percentage of black students at Texas colleges and universities was 9.3 percent in 1980. In the same year, only 0.8 percent of the 33,370 stu dents enrolled at Texas A&M were black. The figures for all Texas col leges and universities showed that 13 percent of the state’s undergraduate students were Hispanic versus 3 per cent here. To make the atmosphere at Texas A&M more favorable for minority students, the committee recommends that the University ban “offensive acts,” which include slave auctions and flying the Confederate flag at bonfire. “Those acts limit recruitment and retention of academically qualified minority students and have no place on a university campus under any cir cumstances,” the report said. To better understand the atmos phere on campus, committee mem bers interviewed a number of black and Hispanic students and faculty. “Although no tangible examples were offered, minority students did express their belief that some stu dents and faculty considered them in ferior intellectually,” the report said. “... The minority students are hurt by the feeling of ‘white negativism’ which they sense is continuously dire cted against them. “Minority students, especially women, have experienced serious problems related to dormitory room placement and acceptance. Male stu dents have experienced fear stem ming from cries from majority stu dents that ‘There’s a nigger living on the floor!’ “Living with constant fear and/or social intimidation on a major univer sity campus is intolerable.” Other recommendations included changes in the selection and training of resident advisers and changes in the policies associated with roommate selection to help avoid racial tension. In addition to changes in the social atmosphere, the committee recom mended increasing the number of scholarships offered to minority stu dents and raising the amount of minority scholarships to $2,000 a year. Starting this fall, minority scho larships will be funded at $2,000 and increased proportionately thereafter. This school year, Texas A&M is spending $236,000 for scholarships for 200 of its minority students. The University of Texas is spending $2.1 million for scholarships for 1,425 of its minority students. The committee’s report primarily compared Texas A&M with UT be cause of its similarity in academic goals and programs. The group also recommended that the Office of School Relations, which serves as the major contact service for See MINORITY, page 6 Faculty senate approval postponed until March Eyhe proposed faculty senate must lIt un hl March to receive final •proval from the Texas A&M Board Regents. formation of the senate consti- fes a change in System rules and H adon s. Therefore, to be 'proved, the matter either must be Bed on the Board agenda at least Puays before the meeting, or 'proved at the meeting by all nine Bits. However, Regent Norman Br won’t be able to attend this ptmg because he arn surgery. j|The faculty senate, which was jPposed in October 1981, is de- Bd to increase the faculty’s role in H^rsity governance. Wp IT !| 3ers °f the regents’ Planning K U1 lding Committee will discuss is recovering the possibility of building additional “prestige boxes” in Kyle Field during their meeting, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The committee will hear a feasibil ity study commissioned by the Aggie Club concerning the construction of 48 boxes in the north or south end zone of Kyle Field. The additional boxes have been proposed because demand for the original suites, which were completed in 1981, has continued and increased, said Harry Green Jr., executive dire ctor of the Aggie Club. Kyle Field suites are leased for eight years. The cost of the lease de pends on the location of the box. Each suite is furnished with swivel armchairs, small commercial re frigerators and television hook-ups. In other business, regents will con sider appropriating $400,000 to establish a President’s Reserve fund, which would be used to compete with faculty salary offers from other uni versities. The fund also could be used to match federal equipment grants that have become difficult to receive if matching university funds are not available. The Committee for Academic Campuses will meet at 3:30 p.m. Sun day. The Committee for Service Units will meet at 4:30 p.m. and the Com mittee on Mineral Leases will meet at 5 p.m. The committee of the whole will meet at 8:30 a.m. Monday, and the full board will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tues day. All meetings will be held in the regents’ annex of the Memorial Stu dent Center. inside fssified q •Ocal 2 [ational.................... \2 Unions 2 P«i ts.... q tate ;;; 4 pat’s ■ up. 12 forecast eads ^Continued cold today, but not j ' QHIt - 1 C V.^4. CX y j K.J d. C 24.€on^l° Ud ^ The hi S h V lH be 40 , Ibht^ Wltb a . percent chance of go Precipitation. The wind will la . ort fr at 8 mph. Colder and 19 p c ’o u dy tonight with a low of Sat,, j rt ^ elear and warmer on purday with a high of 51. Preparations made for satellite’s fall United Press International Serious preparations are being made for the falling Soviet spy satel lite expected to plunge to Earth Sun day or Monday and a New York City official jokes he’s sending a “man in a rowboat in the East River to watch for the nuclear-powered satellite. In Washington, the government alerted emergency teams against the slender possibility radioactive satellite debris might hit the United States. Canada, which was hit by a Soviet spaceship in 1978, took similar action, as did Australia, which was struck by pieces of the doomed Skylab sent into orbit by the United States. With Cosmos 1402 drifting ever closer on its inexorable but unpredict able path toward Earth, the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington ordered special teams on the ready “for possible deployment to the scene of any U.S. impacted area. U.S. space trackers believe, howev er, there is only a 2 percent chnce debris from the 2-ton craft would drop on the United States and a 3 percent chance Canada would surfer a repeat of the hit it took. There was about a 30 percent chance the satellite would hit land, the same percentage Senate gives Clements’ appointments to White from staff and wire reports Senate Democrats succeeded Thursday in returning 59 of the 102 lame-duck appointments made by former Gov. William Clements. Gov. Mark White asked the Senate to return the appointments made by Clements after his November defeat. White agreed not to ask the Senate to return the appointment of Texas Supreme Court Justice Jack Pope. The Senate accepted 43 of the lame-duck appointments. Among those returned were three men appointed to the Texas A&M Board of Regents: geologist Michel Halbouty, former Texas House Speaker Bill Clayton and John Block er, who was reappointed to the board. The newly appointed regents will attend Sunday’s meeting, even though the Senate has returned their appointments. Legally the appointees are still regents until White appoints and swears in new regents. Sam Barshop, who was appointed to the University of Texas board, was the only major appointment accepted, said Alan Schoenbaum* legislative assistant to Sen. Kent Caperton, D-Bryan. The others were minor appointments, which passed because of ties the appointees had within the Senate, he said. “It was a real victory for Mark White,” Schoenbaum said. “And it See related editorial confirms the Senate’s desire to do away with lame-duck appointments. Now the first major battle of the Sen ate is over and they (the senators) can get down to work.” But it was a close victory, he said. The 31-member Senate decided many of the appointments by one vote. Democratic senators initially were confident that they had enough votes Thursday to turn back nearly all of former Clements’ 102 post-election appointments. But as the five-hour session wore on, the shaky coalition withered and Democrats failed to muster the neces sary 16 votes to allow White to review all of Clements’ nominees. The vote ended a two-week battle among White, the Democratic- con trolled Senate and Clements, which began when a group of Democrats announced its opposition to the lame- duck appointments. Lt. Gov. William Hobby and other Senate members said White had scored a victory because he was given the right to review the most controv ersial appointments, including for mer Gov. John Connally to the UT board and Clayton to the Texas A&M board. Clayton’s appointment was re turned to White on a 16-15 vote. Con nally suffered the largest rebuff with 19 of the 31 Senators voting to return his appointment to White. Those appointees not returned for White’s review still face confirmation hearings in the Senate before they can assume their positions. Several were not expected to receive the 21 votes necessary for Senate approval. as Earth’s land masses. Officials in some areas of the Un ited States prepared aginst the tiny chance the debris might hit there. Others were having a little fun with the subject. “We have a man in a rowboat in the East River,” said Peter Barrett, a spokesman for New York City’s De partment of Environmental Protec tion. “No, seriously, we haven’t made any preparations, nor hae we been given any indication it’s going to land in New York City.” Gordon Nichols, a spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Disaster and Emergency Services, put the odds on personal injury from the satellite at 10,000 to one. Nonetheless, he said Kentucky officials pulled out “Annex Q,” the guidelines for handling hazardous materials, and began alerting state agencies. The Federal Emergency Manage ment Agency said the “principal potential hazard” would be the satel lite’s nuclear power reactor that would disintegrate along with the rest of the craft as it passes through the atmosphere during re-entry. Social Security commission delivers report to Reagan United Press International WASHINGTON — The Social Security commission signed, sealed and delivered its report to President Reagan and Congress, laying the groundwork for higher payroll taxes next year and future benefit reduc tions. The formal report was delivered Thursday, shifting the burden to Congress to approve, reject, or mod ify the $168 billion package of recom mended tax and benefit changes to shore up the ailing retirement system. An incorrect calculation of the cost of improved widow’s benefits re duced savings from the originally announced $169 billion. In its report, the bipartisan panel proposed wiping out the system’s im mediate cash sho tage over seven years with increased payroll taxes, a six-month benefits freeze, a tax on checks of upper- income pensioners and requiring new federal workers to join. Without such a plan, the system would run out of money by summer, prohibiting the government from sending out July checks. Congress now must now decide in five months or less what it is to do with Social Security. It took the Commis sion on Social Security Reform more than a year to deal with problem, fin ally adopting a package Saturday on a 12-3 vote. The House Ways and Means Com mittee begins hearings on Social Security Feb. 1, with the aim of get ting a bill to Reagan by Easter an ensuring a steady flow of pension checks. Under the commission’s proposal, a $20,000-a-year worker would pay $63 more in payroll taxes in 1984. Social Security’s 36 million benefi ciaries would wait until next January for cost-of-living hikes, with single pensioners losing an estimated $132 and couples $222. The report, with 28 pages of for mal recommendations, also contains 11 chapters of dissenting and sup plemental views — reflecting the un savory choices forced on the biparti san panel in it drive to forge a com promise. The package only erases two-thirds of the system’s 75-year debt, leaving it up to Congress how to make up the remaining shortfall. Eight of the panel’s 15 members signed a supplemental statement re commending Congress gradually raise the retirement age from 65 to *^ by 2015.