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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1983)
/■i J warn ■ Texas A&JV1 pat ■ ■ M u The Battalion Serving the University community ■ 4 76 No. 151 USPS 045360 16 Pages College Station, Texas p’Connor says resignation |ue to lack of guarantee by Scott Griffin Battalion Staff H Rod O’Connor, First-year che- Stry director at Texas A&M for 10 ■ surprised the University com ity last week when he announced resignation. Iiile various rumors spread ab- Ihe cause of the resignation, Inor narrowed it down to one itrai issue. “When I came here, I was given a Intee in writing that I would con- le first year program and that I I ultimately make all the deci- I” he said. “But now the depart- ■head won’t guarantee that I will lue to have my current level of ferity.” leph Natowitz, head of the che- I department, said he told Inor that he would not make all I decisions concerning the program. “The position cannot be auton omous and he must answer to some one,” Natowitz said. And Natowitz said he’s seen no document giving O’Connor control over the program. “I’ve never seen it — he’s never shown it to me,” he said. “And if he had a guarantee, he cer tainly doesn’t have it anymore.” But O’Connor said that was not the only factor in his resignation, and he cited displeasure with some recom mendations of the first-year chemis try review committee. “The question was whether to con tinue with the program or be forced to go ahead with some changes which are detrimental to the education of students. “I really don’t feel comfortable im plementing these changes against the students. My basic philosophy is to help the students, and some of the committee suggestions conflicted with my own philosophy.” While O’Connor said he would not discuss the changes, he did say he was displeased with the review process. “I was permitted to meet with the committee early in the semester and I offered recommendations,” he said, “and I was under the full impression that I would meet with the committee and that it would be open.” But O’Connor said the meetings were not open to him. “I heard that the committee had suggested radical changes in the program, and these rumors were extremely disturbing,” O’Connor said. “So I called the com mittee chairman and asked for a meeting. He agreed to meet with me, but said it would have to wait for a couple of weeks. “I was later informed by one of the committee members that the depart ment head had forbidden the com mittee from meeting with me or giv ing me a copy of their report,” he said. O’Connor also said that the depart ment head wouldn’t allow him to see the report. “On Monday the 25th (of April), Natowitz said the report was essentially the overall concept he wanted to see,” he said. “I asked to see a draft, but he wouldn’t give me a copy. He did let me read through it quickly in his office and made me give it back to him. “I couldn’t read it thoroughly, but I did see some things that I thought were damaging — and not based on fact and objectivity,” O’Connor said. “I felt there had been a non-objective process in what was supposed to be an impartial review. And some of the suggestions I saw in the report were see O’CONNOR page 7 ttorney seeks writ ainst local judge Tmd Man C" By Angel Stokes Battalion Staff Brazos County District Judge n:\ “Tom” McDonald must re bond today to the Texas Court of Kminal Appeals in Austin in re gard to an application for a writ of aandamus filed by District Attor- ley Travis B. Bryan III. ■Bryan says he is seeking the writ -b court order telling a public offi- to do something — for two reasons. |Bryan says McDonald is review- I pre-sentencing investigation in- pniation prior to any hearing or iea of guilty — which is unconstitu- Kial, he adds. The PSI, which contains un worn statements by the defendant md information about the defen- jht’s history, is gathered by county irobarion officers. !‘I feel the judge is making deci- ions before the trial,” he says, sed on testimony outside the Birtroom.” rO Bryan also says McDonald is sending out a court’s proposed pun ishment, prior to any hearing, based on PSI information. Thus, Brazos County has twice as much plea bar gaining than other counties, he says. Because of this system, many cases are unnecessarily plea bar gained, Bryan says. Double plea bar gaining can occur when the defen dant’s attorney doesn’t receive wanted results from bargaining with prosecutors, he says. If wants are not met, the attorney will- ttempt to plea bargain with the judge. Bryan says he wants the appeals court to order McDonald not to re view PSI information or pleas of guilty prior to hearings and not to send out a court’s proposed punish ment based on the PSI information. The appeals court could take two weeks to two years to make a deci sion, Bryan said. McDonald was unavailable for comment. <yi-embracing’ war ^reatened in mideast United Press International With Israel and Syria trading warn- rgsofa new, “all-embracing” Middle 3 s^war, U.S. officials said Palesti- m fighters, Syrian troops and Niet military advisers had infil- ited Lebanon’s strategic Bekaa iy. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe r ens warned Tuesday Syria’s failure withdraw its 40,000 troops fi;om pnon simultaneously with Israel’s fighters “would mean a con- mation of tensions, and perhaps : Cf$ (i Arens’ comment was a reference to rian criticism of a tentative accord tween Israel and Lebanon for the ihdrawal of Israeli, Syrian and ,000 Palestine Liberation Organi- tion troops from the war-ravaged 'on. Bte accord, forged by Secretary of att George Shultz, was reached last Key. In response to Arens’ warning, n^-run Damascus Radio said, “Syria not let any war Israel might a rich be a limited confrontation, but iher turn it into an all-embracing war. Any Israeli aggression will mean an unlimited war.” In Washington, an administration official asking for anonymity Tues day said “a dozen or so” Soviet advis ers were in the eastern Bekaa Valley, ostensibly to train Syrian troops re equipped with Soviet tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft batteries following Israel’s June 6 invasion of Lebanon. State Department spokesman Alan Romberg said there has “clearly been some re-introduction of PLO forces into Syrian-controlled areas of Leba non.” He said there was “no sign Syria is preparing to attack.” The rising tension came as two ex plosions ripped through a shopping complex and a residential building in Beirut Tuesday, shattering the calm brought by a truce halting five days of fighting between Moslem and Christ ian militias. One of the explosions, apparently a car bomb, rocked the Hamra sector of west Beirut. It damaged a clothing boutique and injured three passers- by, witnesses and security officials said. Grads bestowed with wise words by Karen Schrimsher Battalion Staff When 3,135 Aggies graduated on Friday and Saturday, three men brought them words of wisdom and advice. Former Texas A&M regent John R. Blocker told agriculture, geosci ences and liberal arts graduates that commencement means “beginning.” He said graduation is an important beginning because graduates begin living a completely new and indepen dent life. He compared this beginning to the upcoming turn of the century. “The other (beginning) will come 17 years later, in the year 2000,” he said. “The beginning of a new century in which you’ll live the most produc tive years of your life ... and you won’t be 40 years old.” Blocker offered several tips for success. “First, have a bias towards action,” he said. “Take the initiative. Don’t wait to be told what to do or how to do it. ” ... Second, try things. Learn to make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. ”... Third, break the big jobs into bite size chunks. Some of your most important goals can loom as over whelming in size... Break the big jobs down into controllable pieces.” Lieut. Gov. Bill Hobby told architecture and engineering gradu ates that to live up to the expectations of taxpayers — their parents in cluded. “In general, Texas taxpayers have been glad to ... voice strong support for education through the years,” he said. “But, even so, are they not enti tled to expect something from you in return for their help, their confi dence that public good comes from public education? ” ... You have certain almost unde- finable attainments coming from attending A&M which will be lastingly important to your society and your country.” Houston Post columnist Lynn Ashby addressed business, education, science, veterinary medicine and Texas A&M University at Galveston graduates. Ashby, a graduate of the University of Texas, flashed his hook ’em horns sign. The croud hissed, but he soon coaxed a few whoops and even re ceived a standing ovation. “At times such as these, a com mencement speaker is supposed to tell you certain things — things which you should already know,” he said. “Onward and upward, the world is waiting for your talents. Save us from ourselves. That’s Bevo chips. By now you should know the direction, and if you don’t, it’s too late.” Ashby called Texas A&M a private club which the rest of the world can not join. “You have something going on which we don’t fully understand, but you have it, we don’t, and we’re some how jealous,” he said. Ashby said graduates of Texas A&M will always be labeled Aggies. “In a few minutes, you are going to ... be branded forever more as a Texas Aggie,” he said. “Eventually you may be broke, divorced, dispos sessed, displaced, disgraced, but no one will ever be able to take this away from you ... There is no such thing as an ex-Aggie.” Ashby said each Texas A&M gra duate will be representative of the University. “Be good,” he said. “Be very, very good. Remember, maroon is also a verb.” Student loss affects by Kelley Smith Battalion Staff When students leave for home in May, along with their clothes they take their appetites and their dancing feet. The loss of students during the summer affects local business in sev eral ways say several local busi nessmen. “It’s the pits,” said Bill Perry mana ger of Fish Richards Half Century House. Perry said the restaurant’s business is the worst during July with an almost 30 percent decline in business. Be cause of that, he said Fish Richards would be closed three weeks during that month. With the losses experienced dur ing the summer, it takes the nine months of school just to catch up, he said. However, Perry does not attribute the loss solely to the departure of stu dents. The departure of students causes a spiraling effect, he said, because the professors also leave. The business community feels the loss from both Wednesday, May 11,1983 staff photo by Irene Mees Modest streakers Valerie Edwards, left, and Staci Parker, two freshman finance majors from Bryan, turned some heads Thursday when they “streaked” past the Academic Building. The girls were donned in flesh-colored unitards, tennis shoes and bandanas. The two had taken a break from studying to make their dash across campus. Pentagon monitors Soviet missile test United Press International WASHINGTON — The Soviet Union may have violated the SALT II treaty in the past 10 days by test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile, Pentagon sources say. The firing was the third test shot of a Soviet ICBM since October, the sources said. The sources, who requested anonymity, said Tuesday the missile fired last week bore the same charac teristics as the one launched in Febru ary dubbed the PL 5. It could mean both missiles are of the same type. “The performance characteristics are essentially the same as those in the February shot,” one source said. “The only assessment that has been made is that the Soviet testing program is continuing. Their testing program is moving along on a prede termined schedule.” Under terms of the treaty the Soviet Union and the United States pledged to abide by, although it was not ratified, each country is permitted to test only one new type of intercon tinental ballistic missile. CBS News said a special panel headed by national security adviser William Clark will review intelligence data about the test firings before de ciding whether there is enough evi dence to accuse the Soviets of cheat ing on SALT. summer business groups and therefore, patronage from the business community also slows down. Nina Carter, day manager at Pizza Express, said weekday business drops by as much as 50 percent during the summer. But Joey Palieri, manager at Rebels Restaurant and Bar, said that although fewer students frequent Re bels during the summer, the local crowd tends to come out more often, making up for the loss. “Usually, you would think it would be dead, but it’s not,” Palieri said. Therefore the numbers at the lunch and dinner crowds at Rebels remain almost the same year round although the clientele is different. However, the late night crowd is a little smaller in the summer, she added. Palieri said local people and fami lies go out more often during the summer because they expect fewer crowds. The trend for the local people to come out more often can be seen even during spring break, he said. see SUMMER page 5 Apartment rates expected to rise soon, say owners m—-—-— inside round Town 4 assified 12 Kal 3 pinions 2 ports State 13 4 fctional Slice Beat 11 4 Vhat’sup 9 forecast loudy to partly cloudy today with a 40 percent chance of thunder- sfowers and a high near 83. A 40 Percent chance of thundershowers ■night with a low near 69. Cloudy pith a 30 percent chance of show- Pts Thursday morning and a high Bear 86. I by Scott Griffin Battalion Staff For those who thought apartment rent in the Bryan-College Station area would be cheaper in the next few months because of a housing surplus, think again. Apartment owners and mana gers are pointing to the decline in building as an indicator that prices will rise on existing residential units. In fact, some apartments have already increased their rates for the fall semester, and some people say prices will continue their upward spiral. Steve Peters, president of the loc al district of the Texas Apartment Association, is one of many who be lieve the end of the low-rent era is near: “Prices will rise over the next two years,” he said. “There won’t be any drastic changes, but there will be a steady increase.” Peters says the reason for the in crease is because of a halt in the con struction of new apartments. “Building starts over the past year have dropped dramatically,” he said, “so the problem of a surplus is not going to be as bad. “Prices bottomed out from June of‘82 to February of‘83,” he added. “During this time there was a signifi cant city-wide price decrease. “But right now,” he said, “prices are as low as they can be. We’re sta bilized at 1978 levels, and it will take at least two years to catch up.” Unfortunately for customers, many complexes will begin the catch-up process this fall. Chris McDaniel, supervisor for five local complexes, says, “The economy seems to be coming back, and that means a lot of people are going to be coming back to the area, which will help us. If the market keeps going like it is, prices will definitely go up.” And Tony Caporina, owner of Parkway Circle Apartments, say prices will probably go up in the fall. “The main thing is (housing) starts — if starts come, you can count on another overbuilt situation with low rents — if not, we’ll do all right.” But how did the local housing in dustry, once one of the strongest in the state, get to the surplus stage in the first place? Peters said the biggest factor causing the surplus was “the pullout of the oil workers in May of ‘82.” Since last year’s local oil decline, owners have tried to find other groups to help take up the slack. One such group is the people mov ing from dorms to apartments be cause of an on-campus rate hike. McDaniel said a lot of people are moving into the apartments from campus because of the increase in dorm prices. “With these new dorm rates, it’s becoming a bargain to live in an apartment.” He added, however, that the movement will have no real impact. “The dorms are always going to be full — even at a higher rates — because of their convenience and appeal. I don’t expect the price in crease to be of much help.” Whether or not a large number of people are moving off campus, one thing remains clear — rents are probably going to increase. And at this point, managers say the only thing that can save tenants is new complex starts, which are not prob able. Ken Sherry, supervisor of over 20 complexes in the area, highlighted the problem when he said recently, “There has been only one apart ment building permit issued this year.” While the situation may seem ini tially bad for the consumer, Peters suggests that some good things will come of the price increases: “De velopers will have to offer the peo ple more benefits — hot tubs, pools, etcetera, to get them in. Also, the apartments themselves should be much better because of competi tion.”
