The Battalion
Serving the University community
)l, 76 No, 123 USPS 045360 14 Pages College Station, Texas
'4 villagers shot by army,
il Salvadoran peasants say
United Press International
iAN SALVADOR, El Salvador —
asants from a western hamlet told
o U.S. congressmen Salvadoran
ny troops rounded up 74 villagers,
d their hands behind the backs and
>tthem in the head.
In a meeting Tuesday at the San
vador archdiocese office, villagers
im the Las Hoyas land reform farm
Sonsonate province said on the
;ht of Feb. 22 some 200 soldiers
ived at the co-op and began round-
; up peasants.
They told Reps. Bill Richardson,
N.M., and James Oberstar, D-
Minn., two men, aged 75 and 80, were
among 74 peasants taken away by the
troops.
“The soldiers returned, but they
had no prisoners, and we were very
sad," said one man. “We found one
friend tied with his hand behind and
his head destroyed by bullets. He was
75 years old.
“That’s how we found the rest of
them, the same, with their heads des
troyed and the hands behind them,”
said the peasant spokesman. He
blamed the soldiers for the killings.
There have been no arrests in the
killings at Las Hoyas, about 40 miles
west of the capital.
Oberstar said he and Richardson
met Sonsonate army commander Col.
Elmer Gonzalez Araujo, who claimed
the dead peasants were leftist guerril
las killed in a clash with government
troops.
“Col. Gonzalez Araujo said, ‘A Sal
vadoran with a machete is a danger
ous man,’” Oberstar recalled. “I said,
‘No colonel, a man with a machete is
no match for a man with a gun.’”
The lawmakers also visited prisons
where 645 men and 8J women are
jailed under Decree 507 that has sus
pended most constitutional rights
since 1980.
Oberstar, who toured the capital’s
jail for women, said Decree 507 was a
“gross violation of human rights. We
will urge the Salvadoran government
to take steps to repeal this law.”
Richardson, who visited the
Mariona men’s prison, said he was im
pressed with the amount of political
freedom. Some prisoners keep post
ers picturing revolutionary leaders
like Ernesto “Che” Guevara in their
cells. The Committee for Political
Prisoners has an office in Mariona.
ilection results in jeopardy; -
hree candidates not on ballot
by Robert McGlohon
Battalion Staff
[The names of three candidates
u ling in student elections were left
ill the ballot most of Tuesday morn-
which may cause parts of the elec-
n to be invalidated.
The three candidates whose names
re omitted are James C. Becker Jr.,
ididate for junior yell leader; Chip
ath, candidate for engineering
lator-at-large; and Jim Collins,
jbhomore engineering candidate.
I Election commissioner Les Asel
|d he didn’t know how the error had
I ppened. The ballot was proof read
eral times, but the omission wasn’t
ticed, he said.
Asel said he didn’t know who made
: mistake, but as election commis-
Iner he accepts full responsibility.
[ “It’s my error,” he said. “I am the
leauthority and the sole operator of
^elections; therefore, anything that
les wrong is my responsibility.”
[The errors went unnoticed until
about 10 a.m., when a candidate
noticed the omission of Heath and
Becker and informed election offi
cials about the mistake, Asel said.
Officials quickly corrected the error,
he said.
“They got back on the ballot very
early this morning,” Asel said. “About
an hour and a half after the polls
opened they were back on the ballot.
About 300 ballots had been cast at
that time.”
The omission of Collins wasn’t
noticed until after noon, Asel said,
but his name had been added to the
ballot by 12:30 p.m.
Election results will determine
whether the elections affected will
have to be repeated, Asel said.
“I’ve got the ballots isolated that
were voted on early,” he said. “I will
look at those and I will see how many
people voted in those races at that
time. '
“We’re going to have to look at the
gap between the winners and losers.
We’re going to have to see how many
votes difference there is. If there’s a
200-vote difference, there is really no
way that I can say with 300 votes cast:
‘Jim got 200.’”
The election will close at 6 p.m.
today. Results will be announced
shortly after midnight and posted
outside the Student Government
office at 12:30 a.m. Thursday.
Candidates may appeal the election
within 48 hours of the posting.
“Everybody that feels that they
didn’t get their fair deal is allowed to
appeal the election results,” Asel said.
Appeals originally are decided by
Asel. If candidates are dissatisfied
with his decision, they then may
appeal to the Judicial Board, which
has final authority in deciding elec
tion appeals.
If Asel or the Judicial Board decide
that the early ballots would have
affected the three elections, only
those elections will be repeated, Asel
said. He said the election commission
doesn’t have enough money to repeat
the entire election.
Collins said he probably will file an
appeal.
“I’m not certain yet, but I feel that I
probably will,” he said. “I’ve been
running my own little survey about
penciling in names and I’ve found
that it’s often detrimental.”
Corrections were made by writing
the candidates names on the ballots in
pencil.
Even if the election is re-run, Col
lins said, the results still won’t be the
same as if the mistakes hadn’t been
made.
“It’s going to be a lot more difficult
because a lot of people probably won’t
be informed about it and know that
it’s going on,” he said. “It probably
will be more difficult to get people out
because of the fact that the important
positions will have already been de
cided.”
Heath said he has not decided
whether he will appeal and Becker
was not available for comment.
1,000 Texas farmers face bankruptcy
Hightower says farmers need help
United Press International
[AUSTIN — Unless Congress acts
»defer foreclosures on government-
Icked farm loans, Texas agriculture
mmissioner Jim Hightower says it
11 be “chopping off the hands that
ed us.”
Hightower told reporters Tuesday
atabout 11,000 Texas farm families
e teetering on the brink of bank-
iptcy because they are facing forecl-
iures on loans from the Farmers’
ome Administration.
“We’re talking about the farm
terators who produce the majority
our food,” he said. “These are the
inds you and I count on to feed us,
id it is suicidal government policy to
mp them off.”
Hightower said 69 percent — the
highest percentage in the nation — of
the 16,000 Texas farmers who have
loans from the FmHA are on the
verge of foreclosure.
There are about 185,000 farmers
in Texas.
A bill pending in Congress would
defer farm foreclosures by FmHA
and make emergency money avail
able for additional loans.
“This legislation is a pragmatic ac
tion we can take this year to literally
save thousands of farmers,” said
Hightower. “And we must pass it
right now.”
Hightower said of the state’s more
than 6,000 farmers who had FmHA
operating loans last year, only about
600 were able to pay off their debts.
“It’s important to realize that most
farmers who might be considered
poor managers were already out of
business by 1982,” he said. “So those
who went under last year and those
who are facing the same prospect this
year are good, efficient, productive
farmers.”
Hightower said the delinquency
rate in Texas is higher than the na
tional average of 59 percent because
the cost of farming is higher. The har
dest hit Texas growers are those who
produce cotton and rice, he said.
The delinquency rate in some
Texas counties that produce mostly
cotton and rice is running as high as
85 percent, he said.
Rice and cotton farmers have been
especially hard hit, said Hightower,
because their cost of production high
and the price of their products is de
pressed.
Asked about the chances of the fed
eral legislation, Hightower said, “I
have reason to believe we have a good
shot at it.”
The bill is sponsored in the U.S.
House by Rep. Ed Jones, D-
Tennessee, and in the Senate by Sen.
Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas.
State Sen. Bill Sarpalius, D-
Hereford, and Rep. Tip Hall, D-
Ponder, are co-sponsoring a resolu
tion in the Texas Legislature that
urges Congress to approve the bill.
Wednesday, March 30, 1983
staff photo by Bill Schulz
A view of the Arab world
Ali El-Jeryes, left, a senior mechanical engineering major
from Amman, and Jamal Gutierrez, right, a junior civil
engineering student from Nablus, wear traditional Arab
dress and show hand-crafted objects from Arab countries
in the Memorial Student Center. The display is part of
International Week at Texas A&M.
Court approves
Braniff jet sale
United Press International
FORT WORTH — Bankrupt Bra
niff International’s plan to sell 20 of
its idled jets to People’s Express will be
worth $ 140 million to the airline, with
most of the money going to secured
creditors, a spokesman said.
Approximately $15 million will be
used for continuing maintenance and
training by Braniff personnel, said
Bob Ferguson, Braniff vice president.
A federal bankruptcyjudge Tues
day approved bankrupt Braniff In
ternational’s plan to sell the jets to
People’s Express for $84 million.
The purchase, approved by U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge John Flowers,
would double the size of the Newark,
N.J.-based carrier which currently
flies 21 737 aircraft.
Part of the deal includes the lease
of a 747 jet to PE for $50,000 per
month for 5'A months and $250,000
for the next 48 months with an option
to purchase the plane for either $25
million or $29 million, depending on
when the option is exercised, Fergu
son said.
He said PE would use the 747 to
begin flights between Newark and
London, a route already approved by
the Civil Aeronautics Board.
Another part of the deal includes
the sale of 20 727s for a net price of
$4.2 million each. Braniff will be left
with 32 727s once the deal is signed,
Ferguson said.
Although the contract does not
compel PE to hire former Braniff
workers, Ferguson indicated the car
rier will look favorably on applica
tions by such workers.
Unlike Braniffs efforts to begin a
joint operating venture with Califor
nia-based Pacific Southwest Airlines,
the PE deal met relatively little resist
ance in Flowers’ court.
“There were no competitors who
attended the hearings and the various
creditor groups resisted until the
price was increased and then (they)
basically agreed,” Ferguson said.
He said Braniff first contacted PE
as long ago as August or September of
1982 and “intensive discussions be
gan about three weeks ago.”
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14
Zloudy to partly cloudy skies today
vith showers ending and a high of
T Winds becoming northerly
lear 10 mph. Clear to partly cloudy
onight with a low of 49. Mostly
lear skies Thursday with a high
lear 77.
Polls close at 6
Voting in Student Government
elections will continue today at
selected polling places on campus.
Students may vote at the follow
ing places until 6 p.m.:
• Academic and Agency Building
• Academic Building
• Corps Quadrangle
• Memorial Student Center
• Zachry Engineering Center
Preliminary election results will be
reported at 12:30 a.m. Thursday on
the second floor of the Animal Pavi
lion. Results will be finalized at noon
Thursday.
If available, election results will
be reported in Thursday’s issue of
The Battalion.
Appeals will be accepted begin
ning at noon Thursday in the Stu
dent Government office, 216 Anim
al Pavilion.
Runoffs will be held from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Women
Editor’s note: This is the third part
of a five-part series on the Corps of
Cadets.
by Melissa Adair
Battalion Staff
Like other cadets in the Corps,
they do push-ups, have outfit runs
and are subject to all the same rules
and regulations. But there is one
major difference — they are
women.
Women in the Corps are diffe
rent, but they say they contribute to
the Corps just like any male cadet.
Valerie Sperandio, commanding
officer of Company W-l, says that
when she first joined the Corps, she
was extremely apprehensive about
it.
“It’s real hard being a woman in
the Corps,” Sperandio says. “You
tend to jump to conclusions.”
She says she used to think the
men in the Corps resented her being
there, but now she realizes that she is
a part of the Corps just like all the
other cadets.
And Sperandio says she has a de
finite role in the Corps.
“Over the four years I’ve been
here, I’ve come to the conclusion
that my role has been to strengthen
the position of women in the Corps
— to help women become more a
part of the Corps,” she says.
Susan Melde, first sergeant for
Company W-l, says all the women
have contributed to the Corps.
‘just like other cadets’
“I think it’s important for men to
learn how to work with women,”
Melde says. “If there were no
women in the Corps, the men might
not see the importance of this.”
But the reasons women join the
Corps are varied.
Sandra Phillips, a senior flight
officer for Squadron 14, says she
became interested in the Corps be
cause she was an alternate for a
Corps scholarship. Phillips didn’t
get the scholarship but decided to
join anyway.
She stayed in the Corps because
she became friends with the women
in her outfit, Phillips says.
She knew one woman who joined
just because it was the only way she
could get a room on campus, she
says. But the woman stayed in the
Corps because she also began to
make many friends.
Melde says she joined for two
reasons. First, she says, she didn’t
know anyone at the University and
joining the Corps seemed like a
good way to meet people. Second,
she said she thought joining would
help her scholastically.
But many female cadets don’t stay
in the organization just because of
friendships. They take the Corps se
riously.
Of 13 senior female cadets, 1 1 are
on contract and will enter the armed
services when they graduate. Of 12
junior female cadets, 10 are on con
tract.
Despite their genuine interest in
the Corps, the female cadets often
are not taken seriously.
Phillips says freshman and sopho
more male cadets many times don’t
respect junior and senior female
cadets. But, Phillips says, she doesn’t
let that affect her.
“I have realized that the ones (the
male cadets) who won’t come meet
me like they are supposed to are
really not worth meeting anyway,”
she says. “So I don’t let it bother
me.”
Some of the women also say that
many male cadets still have miscon
ceptions about the female Corps
members.
Phillips says some men don’t be
lieve the female cadets work as hard
as the male cadets.
“For example,” Phillips says,
“men frequently ask if we actually
do push-ups.”
Sperandio says the men don’t see
all the work the women do because
the female cadets are somewhat iso
lated in their separate dormitory.
Perhaps one of the greatest obsta
cles for women in the Corps is draw
ing the line between being a woman
and being a cadet.
Phillips says: “You’ve got to learn
to be a lady and play the Corps game
at the same time. And that’s not al
ways easy.”
But the women don’t think being
in the Corps has damaged their so
cial lives much.
Melde says she thinks she has had
more dates because she is in the
Corps.
“Wearing this uniform I really
stand out,” she says. “And so guys
See CORPS, page 14