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The Battalion
Serving the University community
Vol 78 No. 52 USPS 0453110 16 pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, November 11, 1983
peaker examines prejudice
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lispanics
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by Bob Caster
Battalion Staff
ndhi'H is panics for Jackson,” a local
er*eii)up of Hispanics supporting Jesse
htdivkson for the democratic presiden-
*glt' nomination, held its first press
ghi-tference Thursday at the office of
icnct rza and Associates in downtown
a spa yan
ercoc The committee is the first of sever-
nage to be organized statewide and
oss ihe nation, said Duke Bonilla,
skfesman For the committee and a
, mber of Jackson’s campaign staf f.
t net “Hispanics for Jackson” com-
.tees will soon be formed in a num-
: of major Texas cities and in New
j j |rk, New Mexico, Florida and Cali-
Bonilla said they also plan to orga-
i. eon a number of college campuses
_ lading Texas A&M.
I He said the most important ftinc- |
, n pf the committee is to get people
the polls. To do this they wdl con-
itraie in getting Hispanics between |
S : ages of 18 and 25 registered to,
te. They also plan to educate the j
spanic community about Jackson,
r; residential politics and the electoral
f ‘ocess, Bonilla said.
“1 think that once a person goes to
j’| j polls and votes, he feels a part of
? electoral process and will go back
vole again,” said Bonilla, who also is
iitoi bli< relations director for the na-
f; ’tial League of United Latin Amer-
|L ,m[Citizens.
all s Although the LULAC constitution
jitirtrblds the organization from endors-
uti ? any political candidates, Bonilla
,n id [individual members are free to
pport the candidates of their
eitfcoice. ,
lay: He said that much of the Hispanic
[)( mniunity is supporting Jackson be-
antluse he “offers hope where there is
rspair.”
“Jackson has been on top of issues
, at are important not only to Hispa-
cs but to the rest of the country as
ir! >ll,” Bonilla said. Contrary to what
any people believe, he is not splil-
k igthe democratic party, rather he is
■ K inching it by getting voters reg-
:ered.”
Bonilla said a number of issues im-
i)rtaiu to Hispanics that Jackson will,
Idress are:
• Immigration —Jackson opposes
i immigration policy that implores
motions against Hispanics and
vors policy that will economically
.“nefit Mexico.
• Latin America — He opposes
ilitary aid and intervention.
• Economic parity — He supports a
ilicy that won’t aid the rich and hurt
ie poor.
• Education — He favors reviewing
ie educational policy in the United
tales and making appropriate
langes.
Bonilla said the Hispanics’ main
mcern is defeating Ronald Reagan
i the general election by getting as
lahy delegates as possible.
“The bottom line,” he said, “is to
Ha candidate in the general election
lat Hispanics will be comfortable
gjith — someone who puts Hispanic
pncerns at the forefront of the pres-
' le|idal race and who won’t put them
Sfthe back burner once he gets into
ffice. We want someone who will
eep in constant contact with the His-
anic community at all times.”
|1 Bonilla said he also hopes “Hispa-
"ics for Jackson” will serve as a
lachine to work with blacks on issues
lat will affect both groups in the fu-
ire.
by Chappelle Henderson
Battalion Reporter
Spellbound!
That was the emphatic feeling Dr.
Charles H. King left over his audience
in Rudder Theatre Thursday
evening.
King, founder and president of the
Urban Crisis Center in Atlanta, Ga.,
held the audience at the edge of its
seats as he addressed the topic of
racism.
To begin the program, sponsored
by the MSC Black Awareness Com
mittee, King placed the panel of 15
white and three black faculty, staff
members, students and community
leaders, and the audience under some
“house rules.” They were:
• Complete honesty
• Focus only on the relationship
between whites and blacks
• No personal experiences
• Willingness to participate
• Commitment (don’t get mad and
leave)
After the rules where made, King
asked the panelists how they felt ab
out the problems with racism. King
compared responses and pointed out
that no one on the panel would place
the blame on whites.
“Whites will not acknowledge that
they are the problem,” King said, “no
body said white ignorance, white atti
tudes or lack of communication be
tween whites.”
King asked direct questions to the
panelists and often cut them off in the
middle of their responses. He used
this as an analogy to show how blacks
are placed under certain rules and
must conform to those rules or get out
of the game.
He said this game black people are
playing is the game of life. It
appeared some of the panelists
thought King was rude in his delivery,
but he often apologized for the
method — not the message.
“If the victim does not cry out, no
one will take action,” King said.
“Black people need to understand
that they must take some kind of ac
tion too if they want others to help.”
Better understanding, better in
sight and finding out how blacks feel
were answers given by the white
panelists when asked what they hoped
to accomplish by attending this
seminar.
King said all this is fine and well but
asked when will white people take
some action.
The audience of about 300 also was
included in the program. King often
paused to find out if there were any
questions about anything he had co
vered.
King used many charts to illustrate
his ideas of how whites’ advantages
had been turned around to be blacks’
disadvantages.
King’s main goal was to bring about
racial understanding and equal
opportunity by sensitizing white insti
tutions to the reality of racism.
“You never escape white pre
judice,” King said. “Blacks must put
up with white prejudice but whites
don’t have to put up with blacks’ pre
judice.”
King said he has dedicated the rest
of his life to educate white people to
see that racism is a problem.
About two hours after the program
began. King stopped to create more
audience participation by asking it to
form small groups, which were
dominated by whites in most cases. In
these groups, he asked each member
to tell the others how they felt about
the program.
The consensus in most groups was
that whites on the panel were trying to
defend themselves and were finding
out they were more prejudiced than
they thought.
visits Ags
Texas A&M will face the Arkan
sas Razorbacks at 2 p-m. this Satur
day. The Aggies are 3-4-1 this sea
son and are 2-2-1 in the eonfer-
jectce. Arkansas is 5-3 this season
and is 3-2 in the conference,
have more than another mark in
the win column at stake Saturday.
Possible bowl bids could hinge on
the outcome of the game. Last year
Arkansas shutout Texas A&M 35-
0 in Little Rock, Ark.
The forecast for Saturday is
For a related story please see
page 15,
Events center
plans reviewed
The singer sings a song....
Karl Pallmeyer, Battalion photo
People
Thursd
Symons
at Rudder Center at noon
ay were entertained by Tracy
who sang and accompanied herself
on her guitar. Symons is a graduate
student in wildlife and fisheries science
from San Antonio.
by Rusty Roberts
Battalion Staff
In 1954, Texas A&M had 7,000 stu
dents. At that time, the University
needed a larger facility for basketball
and other campus events. So it built G.
Rollie White Coliseum with a capacity
of 7,000.
But now, Texas A&M has 36,000
students and the Coliseum is outdated
and inadequate, to say the least.
The Universty has already taken
the first step in solving this inadequa
cy. It’s called the Special Events Cen
ter and the recommendations for the
center will go before the Texas A&M
Board of Regents on Nov. 12.
The new center would have floor
space large enough for a removable
basketball court, leaving room for
concerts and other special events.
These events include “arena shows”
like rodeos, circuses and traveling ice
shows.
Donald B. Powell, chairman of the
center’s user committee, says the new
building would resemble the Frank C.
Erwin Jr. Special Events Center at the
Universtiy of Texas.
He says the center has adequate
floor space and sufficient seating
capacity.
“The Erwin Center is quite a facil
ity,” Powell says, “with the exception
of the ugly orange seats.”
He added that the proposed Texas
A&M facility would also have uphol
stered seats, but they’d be done in a
more attractive color.
There would be more than 15,000
seats for basketball and almost 17,000
for concerts and and other special
events. Powell says the added seating
capacity is a major reason for building
the center.
“It’s not fair to the student body to
have to put up with a coliseum that
only seats 7,000,” he says. “We have a
football stadium that will seat more
than 70,000 spectators for a Universi
ty with only 36,000 students. It’s the
standing in lines for the basketball
games and concerts that discourages
the students from attending a func
tion they’d really like to see.”
Powell says the Special Events Cen
ter would attract “bigger name” talent
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Seven House
Democrats Thursday asked the
House to impeach President Reagan
for ordering the invasion of Grenada
two weeks ago.
Their resolution, offered to repor
ters prior to its introduction, said
Reagan’s action was unconstitutional
and thus an impeachable offense be
cause it usurped Congress’s power to
declare war, ignored treaty obliga
tions, and violated First Amendment
rights of the public and press in pre
venting reporters from covering the
invasion in its first few days.
Those submitting the resolution
were Reps. Ted Weiss, D-N.Y., John
Conyers, D-Mich., Julian Dixon, D-
Calif., Mervyn Dymally, D-Calif.,
Henry Gonzalez, D-Texas, Mickey
Leland, D-Texas, and Parren Mitch
ell, D-Md.
Conyers Wednesday night issued a
statement saying he thought Reagan
should be impeached for ordering the
Oct. 25 invasion of the Caribbean is
land.
The call for impeachment goes
contrary to House Speaker Thomas
O’Neill and his 14-member House
fact-finding delegation that visited
Grenada and reported this week that
there was justification for Reagan’s
decision to order the invasion of the
tiny island.
An impeachment resolution must
first be approved by a committee and
then by the full House, which acts in
effect like a grand jury, with an im
peachment resolution equivalent to
an indictment. Were the House to
approve an impeachment resolution,
a trial would be conducted by the Sen
ate with the Supreme Court chief jus
tice acting as a judge and the 100 sena
tors as members of a jury.
In 1868 Andrew Johnson was tried
by the Senate, but acquitted by a nar
row margin. In July 1974 the House
Judiciary Committee recommended
three articles of impeachment against
President Nixon, who resigned the President Reagan: Impeachment,’
following month. — said Weiss.
“The framers of the Constitution
provided for impeachment in order
to defend the country against what
James Madison referred to during de
bates before the Constitutional Con
vention as ‘the incapacity, negligence
or perfidy’ of the executive. To guard
against the danger of too much power
concentrated in the hands of a single
person, as the American colonists had
already experienced under the king
of England, the framers included
gross abuses of power and violations
of the Constitution as impeachable
offenses,” Weiss said in remarks pre
pared for delivery to the House.
“By his actions in Grenada, the
president has usurped the war
making power of Congress, contrary
to the very consitutional framework
of our government. It is now left to
Congress to resort to the one option
provided for in the Constitution
which can truly rein in the actions of
“I realize that this action does not
fit the current mood of most Amer
icans. But the Constitution of the Un
ited States was not meant to apply
only when its provisions enjoy major
ity support,” he said.
Conyers, head of a House Judiciary
subcommittee, said Wednesday,”The
genius of the Constitution is that it
provides for the constitutional re
medy of impeachment in the event
that the executive abrogates his con
stitutional duties and oath of office by
abrogating powers which, in turn,
undermine the integrity of the
office.”
“Aftercareful study and thought, it
is now my position that the president’s
recent military actions in Grenada
constitute this abrogation of the
duties to which he is sworn,” he said.
because of the larger seating capacity.
He says the student body would have
a chance to see the groups who don’t
stop at Texas A&M now because they
attract larger crowds in Austin, Dallas
and Houston.-
Retractable seats will be used to
maximize floor space for events like
rodeos and ice shows. The center also
would make graduation shorter by
splitting the ceremonies into two
groups instead of the current three to
four groups.
Recommendations to the Board of
Regents in November also will include
adding the athletic offices to the new
center. This suggestion came up at
the last board meeting when the athle
tic department asked for centralized
office space.
If the center is approved without
change, Powell says an architect
would be selected and drawings for
the center would begin immediately.
However, the Intramural Office and
the Health and Physical Education
Department also have made requests
for additional space. Their requests
may require the board to take a more
concentrated look at allocating space.
Dennis Corrington, director of In
tramural-Recreation sports, says the
center is badly needed to alleviate the
over-congested conditions in G. Rollie
White Coliseum that now exist.
“Right now, we have 85 indoor
soccer teams signed up and only one
court for them to play on,” Corring
ton says. “The congestion problems
multiply even more when a concert or
basketball game occupy the main
floor because we lose space.”
Corrington says some of the re
quests include additional basketball
courts and racketball courts, a new
squash court and a quality weight
room and a new swimming pool. He
says the facilities would be used for
both intramurals and classes.
Don Powell says even though the
center could cost as much as $60 mil
lion, he says he thinks it will be
approved because at this time the stu
dents aren’t adequately taken care of.
The proposed site for the arena is
across frc - - - -
Field.
from Pat E. Olsen Baseball
Impeachment vote suggested
inside
Around town
13
Classified
14
Local
3
National
13
Opinions
2
Sports
15
State
8
What’s up
.5
forecast
High today of in the upper 60s
with a low tonight of 34.