Texas A&M
Battalion
Serving the University community
76 No. 87 USPS 045360 14 Pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, February 1, 1983
Senator may
aid truckers
United Press International
The independent truckers’ strike
was marked by more violence today
with reports of sniper fire in Pennsyl
vania, Maryland and Ohio. A North
Carolina trucker was killed late Mon
day and a teenager suffered a severe
injury near Pittsburgh.
The truckers, protesting the 5-cent
gasoline tax and increased road-use
taxes, may have found an ally in Sen.
Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn. At a meet
ing in Arden Hills, Minn., with about
600 drivers, Boschwitz aides said he
was expected today to introduce legis
lation that would lower user taxes in
the first year of the new Surface
Transportation Act from $1,600 to
$400.
Independent Truckers Associa
tion President Mike Parkhurst, coor
dinating the strike from Washington,
D.C., said between 50,000 and 60,000
of the nation’s 100,000 independent
truckers were participating in the
shutdown but said, “It’s a little early to
tell. I’ll have a pretty good handle on
it by (Tuesday) afternoon.”
With the strike less than 24 hours
old, a trucker identified as George
Capps was killed by rifle fire while
driving on U.S. 701 between Smith-
field and Newton Grove, N.C., about
11:30 p.m. Monday.
In Brigham City, Utah, Howard W.
Adams, 45, of Pomona, Calif, was in
critical but stable condition today with
a chest wound after being shot while
unloading his truck at a hardware
store.
Some truck stops reported business
had dropped off as much as 50 per
cent and many drivers admitted they
were parking their rigs out of fear.
“This (violence) will keep happen
ing until they get their way,” said a
driver whose truck was hit six times by
rifie fire near Davenport, Iowa. “But
I’m not going to run no more. If I lose
my job, that’s just the way it goes. My
life’s worth more than that.”
Snipings or rock and brick throw
ing incidents also were reported in
Utah, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
North Carolina, Michigan, Mississip
pi, Maryland, Illinois and Oregon.
MSC Council
Silver Taps is at 10:30 tonight in front of the Academic
Suilding. The ceremony is in memory of Christopher A.
Edwards, Oary W. Gray, Alexandra Sorrells, Kimball
ZONEW-Cascante.
Franklin Yarboro and Stefan
Office of Student Affairs requests that all lights on
campus be turned off from 10:20 p.m. to 10:50 p.m.
elects president
blit
‘Lebanese negotiators protest
threatening tone’ of Israelis
United Press International
KHALDE, Lebanon — Israeli~and
Rnese negotiators concluded a
V teise and nasty” round of troop
■drawal talks Monday, reporting
■ H;ress in some areas and agreeing
■ Bep up the pace of the negotia-
1 ions.
■ ,®lelcl amid unusually tight secur-
Icfe the talks followed a weekend of
g ighting among Christians and Druze
Moslems around Beirut. It was consi
dered the worst outbreak of factional
violence since the Israeli siege ended
five months ago.
In suburban Khalde, subcommit
tees met for six hours of apparently
heated discussions on issues of secur
ity and future relations, and agreed to
continue their talks in Israel today.
Until now, the subcommittees have
met twice a week, in Khalde on Mon
days and in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, on
Thursdays.
A statement issued after the six-
hour session said the subcommittees
worked “intensively” Monday “and
advanced in bridging gaps in the
mutual understanding of our points.”
But a conference source said: “The
atmosphere was tense and nasty. The
Lebanese side did not hide its anger
over recent remarks by (Israeli De
fense Minister Ariel) Sharon.”
He Said Lebanese chief negotiator
Antoine Fattal sharply criticized
Sharon at the opening of the troop
withdrawal talks for remarks sup
porting Syria’s demand for monitor
ing stations in Lebanon.
Fattal also protested what he said
was a “threatening tone” in Sharon’s
remarks on the future of the Israeli
presence in Lebanon.
The MSC Council, in a meeting last
night, elected a new president and
made a change to its constitution.
Greg Hawkins, a junior civil en
gineering major from Friendswood,
was elected president for the forth
coming year. He succeeds senior
Todd Norwood and will assume the
office on April 10.
The MSC Council is responsible
for policies affecting all areas Of MSC
programming. The council is com
posed of student officers, representa
tives of former students, faculty rep
resentatives, MSC staff members and
student representatives from other
areas of the campus.
In other business, the council
approved a change in its constitution.
The change creates three new officer
positions. The new offices include an
executive vice president for prog
rams, an executive vice president for
adminstration and an executive vice
president for marketing and person
nel. Voting to fill the positions will be
later this month.
The council’s next meeting will be
Feb. 13.
PA lists violators of Clean Air Act;
Soviets reject plan
for missile talks
ix Texas counties below standards
United Press International
WASHINGTON — I he Environ
mental Protection Agency Monday
released a list of 1 1 1 counties that may
lose billions of dollars in highway and
construction funds because they do
noi meet federal air pollution stan
dards.
r
^■The agency said 33 other counties
IBy be failing to meet other require
ments of the act, including passage of
reeded local legislation or publication
of regulations.
EPA Assistant Administrator
Kathleen Bennett said the agency has
authority to impose the funding sanc
tions on any area that was not in com
pliance with air quality regulations by
the Dec. 31 deadline. After a 45-day
comment period, the EPA will pub
lish a final list for counties that have
failed to meet requirements of the
law.
At that time a halt on construction
goes into effect on all major sources of
the air pollutant in question, Bennett
said.
The agency sparked protest from
local officials in late December when
it listed 472 counties in 49 states that
did not meet clean air standards for
various pollutants, including sulfur
dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone,
nitrogen oxides and particulates.
Bennett later divided the non
complying areas into two categories:
those that are likely to be in com
pliance but have not yet been redesig
nated, and those the EPA believes still
are violating the air pollution stan
dards.
It is unclear whether all 111 coun
ties can be denied federal highway
and construction funds due to non-
compliance with pollution standards.
Areas in Texas on the EPA list of
“not anticipated to meet the require
ments of the Clean Air Act” are: Dal
las County for ozone violations; Tar
rant County for ozone; parts of
Cameron County for particulates;
parts of Houston, Harris County for
particulates; parts of Corpus Christi,
Nueces County for particulates; parts
of El Paso County for particulates and
carbon monoxide; and all of El Paso
County for ozone violations.
United Press International
MOSCOW — The Soviet Union to
day rejected as part of a “Hollywood
promotion campaign” President
Reagan’s offer to meet “anytime, any
where” with Soviet leader Yuri
Andropov to sign a ban on medium-
range nuclear missiles in Europe.
The Soviet press agency Novosti
said the Reagan offer, delivered in an
open letter read by Vice President
George Bush in Berlin, “is tanta
mount to a demand that only Soviet
missiles be banned from the face of
the earth.”
“The Soviet Union has always sup
ported a constructive dialogue with
the United States, including well-
prepared summits,” Novosti said in a
commentary signed by Vladimir
Alexeev.
Novosti said Reagan’s offer failed
to remove suspicions that the United
States still was not serious about arms
control with the Soviet Union.
“The United States plan calling on
the Soviet Union to dismantle its
medium-range missiles in return for a
pledge by Washington not to deploy a
new generation of its missiles in West
ern Europe is tantamount to a de
mand that only the Soviet missiles be
banned from the face of the earth,”
Novosti said.
Reagan’s offer restated the presi
dent’s earlier “zero option” proposal
to cancel deployment of U.S. Per
shing 2 and cruise missiles in western
Europe if the Soviet Union removes
all its medium range missiles targeted
on Europe.
Novosti described Bush’s seven-
nation tour of Europe as “a Holly
wood promotion campaign” and said
Reagan’s offer left his audience “sore
ly disappointed.”
■
Correction
In an article in Monday’s Batta-
ion, it was reported that Dr. Ivory
Ct B'iebon, who served as acting presi*
itof Prairie View A&M Univer-
isoiww-V’ would join the staff of Prairie
illbekjUView President Percy A. Pierre.
elson will be an executive assis-
mustjwwant to System Chancellor Arthur
enW l( ®6- Hansen. The Battalion regrets
( 845^‘Hthe error.
Campus news
Senior deadlines near
Aggie pilot enjoys his job:
flying the president’s jet
Friday is the last day for graduat
ing seniors to apply for spring gra
duation.
inside
IClassified ; 10
[Local 3
[National 7
[Opinions 2
[Sports 11
| State 5
[What’s up 9
To ensure May graduation,
seniors should go to the Coke Build
ing to pay a $15 graduation fee. Di
plomas can be ordered, in 105
Heaton. 1
Feb. 8 is the deadline for ordering
graduation announcements.
Announcements can be ordered in
217 MSC.
Speakers for the commencement
ceremonies, which will be held May 6
and 7, have not yet been announced.
The Convocation Committee, which
selects the commencement speakers,
is scheduled to meet later this month.
The committee will make its re
commendation to Dr. Charles
McCandless, acting vice president for
academic affairs. McCandless then
recommends speakers to University
President Frank E. Vandiver, who
makes the final decision.
Self-study progresses
forecast
Clear to partly cloudy skies today
with a high of 57. Gusty northwest
winds at 10 to 25 mph. Only a slight
chance of rain for today. Mainly
clear and cold tonight with a low
near 29. On Wednesday, clear skie.s
and cooler with a high of 50.
A committee chairman for the
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools is on campus today making
preliminary arrangements for a com
mittee visit in April.
John Prados, vice president for
academic affairs and research at the
Unversity of Tennessee in Knoxville,
is scheduled to meet with Texas A&M
President Frank E. Vandiver this
morning and with the self-study
steering committee this afternoon.
The committee’s visit is the final
stage of the University’s self-study,
which is necessary for re
accreditation. The self-study is a
routine process that has been used at
the University since the 1950s.
When the 30-member visiting
committee visits Texas A&M in April,
its members will tour the campus, visit
with administrators and talk with stu
dents. Then, based on reports the
University has filed and on the visit,
the committee will make recommend
to the Southern Association head
quarters whether Texas A&M should
be re-accredited.
A decision should be made by the
fall.
by Cheryl Burke
Battalion Reporter
Every year, Aggies meet to cele
brate Muster on April 21. But to
one former student, April 21 also
marks another important day —
the day Maj. Robert D. Barr was
selected as a pilot for Air Force
One, the president’s jet.
“Now that was a day for me to
remember,” Barr said during a
telephone interview from his
home at Andrews’ Air Force Base
in Maryland. In 1980, Barr and
two others were chosen to become
three of the four pilots for Air
Force One.
“Our mission is to do whatever
we have to do in support of the
president and to ensure that we
are 100 percent reliable,” he said.
“We rotate, generally flying every
other trip and serving in a backup
capacity when not flying.”
As a pilot of Air Force One, Barr
has flown many trips overseas to
Europe and Japan. He recently
flew President Reagan on his trip
through South America.
Barr was also in charge of one
special mission to Germany. On
Inauguration Day in 1981, Presi
Air Force One pilot
Maj. Robert D. Barr
dent Reagan loaned Air Force One
to former President Jimmy Carter
for one final trip — to pick up the
returning Americans held hostage
in Iran.
Barr said he plans to continue in
his position as presidential pilot as
long as he is able.
“There couldn’t be a better job
for a pilot,” he said. “There is no
place to go from here but down.”
Every couple of years, Barr said,
he and his wife Elaine and their
two sons return to visit Texas
A&M. Their sons, Bobby, 12, and
Johnny, 10, will be Class of’92 and
’95, Barr said.
“A&M makes a great difference
in a person’s life,” Barr said. “It’s
something that never leaves you.”
After graduating with a degree
in finance in 1968, Barr went to
Laredo Air Force Base where he
received his flight training.
While stationed there, he flew
Bob Hope on his last two USO
Christmas tours, in 1971 and 1972.
In 1973, Barr flew a mission cal
led “Operation Homecoming,” in
which he picked up returning pris
oners of war in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“That was the most emotional
thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he
said. “The weather was bad. It was
rough going over. I remember
watching as they were unloaded
from the bus and processed. Ev
erything was so quiet as we crank
ed up. Then, as the wheels lifted
off, there was just one loud mass of
yells.”
Barr moved to Andrews Air
Force Base in 1974 after complet
ing assignments in California and
Thailand.
f II
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