£
A
Three top contenders in House race
express views before Feb. 12 election
See pages 4, 5 and 6
mei
rsfortlj
rks,50i|
nner, l'i|
1:03.||
roke,
1 freesui
1,0
)’Neal,
ndSco
:56i
The Battalion
Serving the University community
s,;-,/ol 76 No. 83 USPS 045360 16 Pages
200fJ 1,1
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, January 26, 1983
It isn’t a gang; it’s a display of
motorcycles belonging to members of the
Texas Aggie Motorcycle Club. The
display at Rudder fountain publicized the
club’s activities, which include a trip to
the Houston Motorcycle Expo, a “treasure
hunt” on motorcycles, guest speakers and
safety meetings, and its meeting today.
A&M conference examines
research on Soviet military
by David Marchand
Battalion Reporter
Dr. Richard E. Thomas, director of
he Center for Strategic Technology,
(aid Tuesday that researchers must
‘think Soviet” to more accurately pre-
iict Soviet selection of military sys
tems.
glrhomas and other military experts
discussed new methods of research
Factors that influence Soviet military
decisions during a two-day closed
ttonference held on the Texas A&M
ttampus this week.
Erickson, a visiting professor
at Texas A&M and an authority on
the Soviet military establishment, said
at a noon press conference Tuesday
that this review of research methods
should produce short- and long-term
effects on U.S. arms negotiations.
Gen. Russell E. Dougherty, former
commander-in-chief of the Strategic
Air Command, said: “We have got to
learn how these (Soviets) think.”
This research “transcends” the
Reagan administration, he said. It is a
review of methodology aimed at not
increasing risks to this country, he
said.
“The administration is committed
to reaching an agreement,” he said.
This, Dougherty said, is what strate
gic technology is all about.
When asked if deployment of the
MX missile would be a positive step
towards arms negotiations, Dougher
ty said deployment is the “most credi
ble” move available now, considering
that the missile represents only about
1.5 percent of the national budget.
Although Erickson said that he be
lieves w'ar is inevitable, Col. Lynn
Hansen, an Air Force expert serving
on the Arms Control and Disarma
ment Agency, said that this adminis
tration and the Soviets don’t feel war
is inevitable.
Erickson called this research “pret
ty viable,” and Dr. Roger Beaumont,
professor of history here, also ex
pressed his hope for success for this
new study of the Soviet “mind set.”
But when asked if he thought this
research would be effective at the bar
gaining table, Beaumont said, “I
wouldn’t bet on it.”
Reagan: U.S. needs
medicine’
‘strong
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan says the U.S. economy is “on
the mend” but still dangerously ill.
His prescription is the “strong medi
cine” of a freeze on non-military
spending and partisan politics, and,
as a last resort, higher taxes.
The president, beset by soaring
deficits and unemployment and fall
ing approval ratings in the polls,
offered his cure Tuesday night in his
second State of the Union address.
Reagan spoke on national televi
sion to a joint session of Congress in
the packed House chamber. The
Cabinet, the Supreme Court, the Pen
tagon high command and the diplo
matic corps joined the House and
Senate to listen to the constitutionally
mandated report on the national con
dition — an annual ceremony of
American government.
The speech was heavily weighted
toward domestic problems, with
emphasis on the federal deficits pro
jected to reach or pass $200 billion
this year and unemployment, which
hit a four-decade high of 12 million
while inflation was dropping during
his first two years in office.
He also sketched new steps to im
prove education, health care, law en
forcement, foreign trade and state-
federal relations and pledged to con
tinue the search for arms reduction
and peace abroad.
The rising tide of red ink and the
lengthening rolls of the jobless de
ficits were on his mind. He called the
deficits “a clear and present danger to
the basic health of the republic” and
unemployment “an ordeal” govern
ment must bend every effort to end.
The speech also was an appeal for
help from the same Democrats and
the few Republicans Reagan fought,
no quarter asked or given, during
1981-82.
The president appealed for bipar
tisanship at least half a dozen times,
praising Democratic House Speaker
Thomas O’Neill by name for his part
in the recent Social Security financing
compromise agreement.
“Let us, in these next two years —
men and women of both parties and
every political shade — concentrate
on the long-range, bipartisan respon
sibilities of government, not the
short-term temptations of partisan
politics.”
But the president in no way retre
ated from his insistence the supply
side economic programs he brought
to Washington two years ago were
working.
“We have a long way to go, but
thanks to the courage, patience and
strength of our people, America is on
the mend,” Reagan said. He made
clear, too, he would fight any effort to
repeal the 10 percent tax cut and anti-
inllation indexing reform due to take
effect this year and offered job prop
osals, but came nowhere near the big^
governmentfinanced programs fa
vored by the Democrats.
Board appoints officials;
Bright again chairman
by Angel Stokes
Battalion Staff
During reorganization of the Texas
A&M Board of Regents on Tuesday,
H.R. “Bum” Bright unanimously was
re-elected chairman W’illiam A.
McKenzie, also was elected vice
chairman.
Calling Bright the man “who has
led us to greatness in the last two
yers,” Regent Joe C. Richardson Jr.
nominated Bright for his second two-
year term as board chairman.
Following his re-election, Bright
named chairmen for the board’s
standing committees. Richardson will
head the planning and building com
mittee, John R. Blocker will chair the
committee for academic campuses
and Norman NV. Moser will head the
committee for service units.
Blocker, Bill Clayton and Michel
T. Halbouty, Gov. Bill Clements’
lame-duck appointments to the
board, were appointed places on
those committees.
The board elects new officers at
the first meeting after new regents
are appointed. Because Blocker,
Clayton and Halbouty are regents un
til new appointees are sworn in, they
have full power to act in all board
activities until that time.
On Tuesday, Gov. Mark White
submitted the names of John B. Cole
man, David G. Ellers and Joe H.
Reynolds as Texas A&M regents. The
three appointees must be approved
by the Senate.
Regents also named Valerie Nel
son as the new secretary for th board.
Nelson replaces Robert G. Cherry,
who announced in November that he
planned to retire sometime this year.
Nelson has served as assistant secret
ary to the board for the past year.
Cherry, secretary to the board for
the past 17 years, also is the vice chan
cellor for public affairs. He will serve
in that capacity until a successor is
found and will continue to act as a
lobbyist for Texas A&M during the
current legislative session.
Clayton offered to §erve as a lob
byist with Cherry on behalf of T exas
A&M. He said that keeping Cherry as
a lobbyist in Austin is of “utmost im
portance because of his contacts there
and his rapport with the members of
the Legislature.”
In other appointments, the board
appointed Dr. Perry Adkisson deputy
chancellor of the Texas A&M System.
Adkisson now serves as deputy chan
cellor for agriculture.
Adkisson will oversee both the
agriculture and engineering activities
of the System.
In approving the appointment,
Bright said the board believes Adkis
son is one of the first men qualified to
direct such a monumental part of the
System.
Dr. Willian V. Muse was appointed
vice chancellor for academic prog
rams. Muse, dean of the College of
Business Administration for the past
two years, replaced Dr. Don Hel-
Iriegel, who has served as interim vice
chancellor. Hellriegel will return to
his previous position as a professor of
management.
In other action, the board:
• Approved a recommendation to
create a Department of Computer
Science here. The computing science
division now is offered through the
industrial engineering department.
The proposed department, which still
must be approved by the Coordinat
ing Board, would offer bachelor’s,
master’s and doctoral degrees.
• Named Dr. Stephen Safe as the
first recipient of the Chester J. Reed
Chair in Veterinary Medicine. Safe, a
professor of veterinary physiology
and pharmacology, came to Texas
A&M in 1981. The chair was created
by funds donated by Dr. Chester J.
Reed of Houston.
• Approved the sale of Permanent
University Fund bonds totaling $23
million. The bonds will be sold to the
First National Bank of Chicago at
8.0419 percent interest.
• Confirmed the promotion of 123
Texas A&M faculty members and
and granted tenure to 109 indi
viduals.
• Approved an increase in
See REGENTS, page 3
\
N
it}
inside
Traditions ‘very important,’ poll shows
Classified
10
local.
3
^National
:. 12
Opinions
2
Sports
State
1 v)
6
I'hat’s up
12
forecast
gPartly cloudy and substantial gusti-
fcess today with a high of 56. NNW
pvindsat 10 to 20 mph. Mainly clear
Kind cold tonight with a low of 29.
For Thursday, clear to partly
:loudy with a high of 54.
The survey
When was it taken? Nov. 3 to
Nov. 6, 1982.
Who sponsored it? The fall
semester Journalism 403, inter
preting contemporary affairs,
class.
How many students were pol
led? The survey results are based
on 351 completed questionnaires.
How was it taken? The names
were randomly selected from the
1982-83 Campus Directory. Stu
dents were telephoned and asked
40 questions.
How accurate is it? Because we
only sampled 351 out of the 32,000
undergraduate students at Texas
A&M, the survey does contain a
small amount of sampling error.
For every percentage reported,
the actual value could range 5.2
percent higher or lower. For ex
ample, a percentage of 50 percent
could actually be as high as 55.2
percent or as low as 44.8.
Editor’s note: This is the third of a
four-part series based on a recent
survey of Texas A&M undergra
duates.
by Patrice Koranek
Battalion Staff
Traditions have been a part of
Texas A&M since it was estab
lished in the middle of a prairie
more than a century ago. And
judging by the results of a recent
survey, they are likely to be around
for a lot longer.
Students were asked to assign
ratings, ranging from very unim
portant to very important, to a
variety of traditions.
Silver Taps and bonfire ranked
as the traditions thought most im
portant by the students polled.
Seventy-two percent of the stu
dents polled said that Silver Taps
was very important. Bonfire was
ranked as very important by 68
percent.
Midnight yell practice was cons
idered very important by 59 per
cent, of those polled, while stand
ing at football games was ranked as
very important by 41 percent by
the students.
Of the five traditions ranked,
elephant walk was the only tradi
tion that did not receive a rank of
very important by a majority. Ab
out 30 percent of the students pol
led felt that it was either important
or of average importance.
Less than 10 percent of the stu
dents thought any of the traditions
were unimportant.
Students also were asked how
they felt about having women in
the Aggie Band and recognition of
fraternities and sororities on
campus.
More than 90 percent of those
polled ageed the the Corps of
Cadets is an asset to the University,
but there was no clear opinion on
allowing women in the band.
Twenty-six percent agreed and 5
percent strongly agreed that
women should be in the band, but
39 percent disagreed and 28 per
cent strongly disagreed with mak-
See TRADITIONS, page 3