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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1983)
Texas A&M oing to (ii| :Tship, a f] igetouto:K| king coni lags madl ■ ■ ion Serving the University community r#kec011 /ol, 76 No. 173 USPS 045360 10 Pages, stheren College Station, Texas Thursday, July 14, 1983 mean,® ivithl :anestbai ; ou meail didn't cas body caa egislators describe state budget problems •— * by Gwyneth M. Vaughn - & Battalion Reporter | Budget problems, which prevented [lUpr ova l of teacher salary increases, • the highlight of this year’s Texas 6 Hlative sessions, Sen. Kent Caper- m and Rep. Bill Presnal said J fednesday morning. ■"his year the Legislature had $3 iPion less to work with than ex- Hed. Ways to increase the state’s Iffiniue were discussed, but were not —^proved, Caperton said. [The Legislature studied sales, alco- ttl, tobacco and gasoline tax in- iases as possible alternatives to rais- l g u venue > f* 6 sa id, and concluded " "^feiiat the sales tax increase would be ^ Hi least offensive alternative to >vS g a ! "A state income tax was not even Milidered,” Caperton said. Hperton and Presnal were speak ing at a breakfast sponsored by the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce. Presnal said the federal gasoline tax, which went into effect April 1, may have turned the Legislature away from a state gasoline tax. Caperton said the greatest failure of the session was pushing teachers into the background. The issue of teacher pay raises will be considered again in another special session of the Legislature in September or October. A performance evaluation for teachers is needed, he said, but treat ment of the educators should be on a more professional level. The lack of state funds also is hurt ing prison reforms, the legislators said. The state cannot afford to keep building maximum security units to meet Texans’ demands for safer streets. However, bills were passed that will give the state options for pris on reform. The Legislature voted for an elec tion in November 1984 to pass a con stitutional amendment that would re structure the Permanent University Fund to include all universities within the Texas A&M System and the Uni versity of Texas System. The amend ment also would allow Prairie View A&M University to receive more funding. The Legislature wrestled with sev eral bills promoted by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers during this session. A bill proposing the banning of open containers in vehicles was not passed, but some of the loopholes in the current driving while intoxicated laws were closed. Caperton said because the DWI offender will be dealt with more se verely, repeated offenses probably will not occur as often. PUF securities value up fiscal year 1981 *s 3-1 vkB by Angel Stokes Battalion Staff Permanent University Fund secur- roft 5,( ies are valued at 27.6 percent more ngs, gpcal year 1982 than they were in i;XP0Si-||l year 1981, according to July fi- stros ei ures. i the fit® ?r DaveSf The PUF, the principal of which airigs ofiKonly be invested, is an endowment the saujat receives funding from oil and gas 3, CARI&ses located on state-owned land. Angelecj Income from all the PUF securities ed a f oes into the Available University th inninjind, which is divided for use be- n two(i jeen Texas A&M and University of and ,I 7- , ETS 2 -| ank Pi er ove an Di runs ti Gotta dance staff photo by Eric Evan Lee Texas Systems, said William Lobb, UT System executive director of in vestments and trusts. The PUF is administered by UT and Texas A&M receives income from it. Typically the increase in the PUF from year to year is less than 22 per cent, he said. But because stock market values have increased dramatically in the past few months, overall PUF secur ities have increased, he said. Although stock market values are up, he said, the bond market has been down most of this year. The PUF has more bonds than stocks, because bonds have a higher current yield, Lobb said. The stocks are up 46.6 percent and bonds are up 24 percent from last years figures, Lobb said. W.C. Freeman, executive vice pres ident for administration at Texas A&M, said that while the value of PUF securities are up, the principle of the PUF remains the same. “The stock market affects only the market value, not the basic value of the PUF,” he said. The PUF can only grow through royalties off the land, he said, not through increases in mar ket values. Members of the Spring Woods High School drill team, from Houston, practice routines by McFadden and Haas halls Wednesday afternoon. The Tigerettes are one of many dance teams that are here this week for the drill team camp. Parties must share fault in products liability cases ysler to repay loans United Press International DETROIT — Chrysler Corp.’s TBS 3'|ans to repay its remaining $800 mil- to !; ion in federally guaranteed loans the 1 even years early means the Firm is in n the sec Iposition to grant union pay raise i three-: [mands, United Auto Workers lead- the left-i -s say. sixth as I ive timet I Chrysler Chairman Lee lacocca -phe via inounced Wednesday in Washing- dace Fail 1 af the ft | he ton that the firm will hand over a check in September for the remain der of $ 1.2 billion in federally backed loans obtained three years ago in a brush with bankruptcy. UAW President Owen Bieber said Chrysler’s announcement “recog nized the company’s responsibility to deal fairly with workers’ demands for more money.” “As proud as he (lacocca) is of the company’s remarkable comeback, he knows full well that it was Chrysler workers more than anyone who made the sacrifices and exercised the fore- bearance which made that recovery possible,” Bieber said. Chrysler workers currently make about $2 an hour less than other ma jor automakers because of three sets of concessions granted as part of the bailout plan. United Press International AUSTIN — The state Supreme Court has ruled that all parties in fu ture products liability cases in Texas must bear a proportionate share of the fault when damages are assessed. The landmark ruling Wednesday came in a complex legal fight that stemmed from a 1976 airplane crash in New Mexico that killed two men, Benjamin Smithson, a New Mexico pilot-instructor, and James Parker, a Texas pilot trainee. The widows of the two men sued Cessna Aircraft Co., the manufactur er of the Cessna 150, claiming the deaths were caused by defective seats in the aircraft. Juries returned damage awards against Cessna totaling $2.2 million. The high court affirmed a $1 million award to Parker’s widow, but referred the Smithson case back to an appellate court. While the Supreme Court agreed with the principle that Cessna should be able to offset damages by making a claim against Smithson’s estate for pilot error, the justices said the new procedure would apply only in future cases. The court said it would be unfair to make its ruling retroactive since par ties in the cases had been relying for the last six years on previously estab lished court opinions. But Chief JusticeJack Pope sharply disagreed with the majority’s decision to apply the decision only to future Under the previous court rules, de fendants in a products liability case paid all of the damages or none. ? irst black astronaut prepares for next shuttle flight rIANTS SCO, Jj three i United Press International rove in| HOUSTON — Air Force Lt. Col. I andC J u '°n S. “Guy” Bluford will continue^ on a? he string of firsts for the shuttle mis-. tsburgh: ae Gian! is next month by becoming the st black to go into space. In the seventh shuttle mission, Sal- 1 Ride became the first American jemale to go to space. iFor his part, Bluford, 40, said he i never “driven to be the first black ronaut in space” accepts being a role model for blacks and anticipates a fun flight. “I feel as if I’m a pacesetter but I don’t feel as if I have to be perfect as well. I’m very pleased to be flying, I’m looking forward to it and think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said in Wednesday’s news conference with Challenger’s crew. The eighth mission, set for late Au gust, will also mark the first night launch and landing of the shuttle. Blast off will be at 2:20 a.m. poss ibly Aug. 20, pending final prepara tions of Challenger at its Oceanside space port at the Kennedy Space Cen ter in Florida. Challenger Commander Richard Truly said the night launch and land ing should provide a spectacular light show for the public, but the rest of the mission would be lacking in spectacles but not in importance. “I think we have an extremely im portant mission. I hope we can finally get to the point where every flight does not have to be a big pizazz,” Tru ly said. “We’re going to see some missions that make it appear they are more important than others but I really don’t think that’s true (in this case).” Highlights of the five-day mission include the launch of a communica tions satellite for India, further work on a space medicine-making experi ment and testing of a Tracking Data Relay Satellite launched from the Challenger in April. Joining Truly and Bluford will be pilot Daniel C. Brandenstein, 40, and mission specialists Dale A. Gardner, 34, and Dr. William Thornton, 54, added late to the flight to study space sickness. The lauching of a second TDRS, which is used for communication links between the shuttle and Earth, was scrubbed because of problems with the first satellite. A new two-stage rocket malfunc tioned following the first TDRS launch and caused the $100 million satellite to assume an abnormal orbit. mph- nke, Phone: 75-1531 ,ocal woman is Houston rimefighter on weekends by Rusty Roberts Battalion Reporter Joy McLean of College Station en joys an element of danger because, ihe says, “it kind of spices up my life.” f McLean, a mail and consumer re cords clerk for the city of Bryan, commutes 220 miles each weekend to add that spice to her life. She is a ember of the Houston Guardian ngels, a community group trained md dedicated to protecting citizens in the more violent areas of how to make their neighborhood a safer place to live. The easiest way to secure a community from crime is to have its residents look out for each other, she said. The seminar also will advise citizens on rape prevention includ ing suggestions on how to stay out of a rape situation. The few simple self-defense tech niques that will be demonstrated at 1 nC Houston. ^nU The r underlying goal of the , pngels is to stop crime before it hap- =s 0 . pens, McLean said, ne Me “The police usually arrive after Ce" the crime has been committed,” cost McLean said. “We (the Angels) try at t# )o get there before it happens.” it is 101 Crime prevention will be the ma- e at U 0r theme at a free seminar that BlcLean and fellow Angels will hold from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in 02 Brazos Center. The seminar will focus on corn- unity involvement, rape preven- an and “being street smart,” cLean said. The group’s main goal, McLean id, is community involvement, he Angels want to show citizens 30-7 P' Tl.-Zp' Joy McLean the seminar can benefit all age groups, McLean said. Even those who use walking canes can benefit from a special demonstration on cane defense, she said. “You don’t have to be in fantastic shape to protect yourself on the streets,” McLean said. The Angels are unarmed at all times. McLean said the only weapon they carry is a keen understanding and mastery of the martial arts. Each Angel also projects an im penetrable wall of self-confidence, she said. A patrol of only 18 Angels can seem like a patrol of 100 because it splits up into groups and spreads out to create a visual deterrent to crime, McLean said. The Angels job, however, is simply to prevent crime before it occurs, she said, and cooperate with local police upon request. McLean said no definite plans for a Guardian Angel chapter in the Bryan-College Station area have been proposed. She said she w T ould like positive public feedback on the idea first. She said a program should be started before the cities need it be cause of the Angels’ desire to pre vent crimes before they occur. Poland to debate martial law United Press International WARSAW, Poland — Police broke up a demonstration just hours before parliament’s session today to begin legal preparations for ending 19 months of martial law in Poland. Riot police Wednesday dispersed a peaceful crowd of Solidarity suppor ters who staged a regular 13th-of-the- month protest marking the govern ment’s imposition of martial law Dec. 13, 1981. Helmeted officers scattered a crowd of people singing anti government songs outside a church in the capital’s Old Town section, a ral lying point for sympathizers of the outlawed Solidarity union. Witnesses said two or three people were taken into custody, but no violence was re ported. Police have avoided confrontations with opposition gatherings since Pope John Paul IPs visit last month, in keeping with the government’s claim that it is time to ease martial law re strictions because life is returning to normal in Poland. But after listening to the pro- Solidarity crowd’s songs for an hour, including several loud renditions of a ditty declaring, “We’ll never surren der to the Communists, to the KGB or the secret police,” the police broke up the gathering. MX missile opponents prepare battle plan United Press International WASHINGTON — A core group of Senate opponents of the MX mis sile prepared for a coordinated assault today against the intercon tinental nuclear weapon in a debate they predicted will extend into next week. Led by Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., the group said they will propose sev eral amendments attaching condi tions to the MX. Their purpose: to prolong debate in the hope of gaining support from the half-dozen or so senators needed to turn around the 59-39 vote by which the chamber endorsed the nuc lear weapon last June. Hart’s amendment would delete all funding — $5.04 billion — for pro duction of the first 27 missiles and for further research. “If deployed, the MX missile would radically change our world and place at risk the very future of civilization,” Hart, a presidential contender, charged. “I’ll talk as long as I can hold the floor,” Hart promised. The shadow of the MX has hung over this week’s debate on a $200 bil lion military spending bill that also includes funding for production of the first 10 B-l bombers and for re sumption of nerve gas production af ter a 14-year ban. The comprehensive military bill would authorize $199.96 billion in 1984. inside Classified 7 Local 3 Opinions 2 Sports 9 State 4 National 10 forecast Cloudy today with a 50 percent chance of showers and a high of 83. A 30 percent chance of showers tonight with a low near 73. Mostly cloudy Lriday with a 40 percent chance of showers and a high of 88. Partly cloudy this weekend with a 20 percent chance of thunder showers.