Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1983)
5 1C J in 198, ^‘Phinsi 1 Year toi ieneral ^ Texas A&M e signini s cut fro® start ot: «s Battalion Serving the University community Vol 78 No. 64 USPS 0463110 14 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, December 1.1983 Donn Friedman, Battalion photo Hold your tongue A.ggie basketball player Michell Tatum shows regret after being called for an offensive foul Wednesday night. The ™ n ‘ wer ‘m'exas A&M women’s basketball team defeated Lamar 4 vers ^ 90-70 behind Lisa Langston’s 31 points. Tatum 1 stron 6 M mnd Mary Ann Swearingin chipped in 18 points each. For retweentlK com P^ ete game story see Sports page 14. Nov. 19 J should ;turn tofoi pe of bad se ofhisstn or a montl! m of his sin to prepan t,” Johnsot t open tilt )ti could S n to sign ights panel bill United Press International WASHINGTON — President eagan, citing his commitment indersoniW) fighting discrimination while gaising legal questions, signed 1 failingto! Ipnipromise legislation Wednes- owl, theC | a y t hat reconstitutes the 26- eltotheffl | ear . 0 id U.S. Commission on Id reapreC- Rights. Houston a« 54 Texanst 1 | Reagan ended months of tur- hnson.aiis 'hioil by signing a bill that en- exas. “Sodflarges the commission from six embers to eight and divides the |uthority to appoint them be- een the president and Con- ess. The legislation also bans e firing of members for politic- reasons, allowing dismissals only for abuse or neglect of office. Reagan promptly reap pointed Clarence Pendleton as hairman and Linda Chavez as taff director, but left open the jhree other vacancies he is empo- ered to fill. The anti-discrimination agen- y became mired in controversy after Reagan moved to replace five of its six members and actually fired three commis- sioners. In a brief written statement, eagan, who has had a constant ug-of-war with the commission nd its supporters in Congress, aid his action “is cause for confi- lence that the commission’s best ears are yet to come.” The commission technically went out of business at midnight Tuesday and the controversy )ver its membership and mission asta cloud over its future until a :ompromise was struck between he White House and Congress. Reagan said he was “pleased hat the commission has been re- :or them, it in this es Teaff, is 7-3-1 and j. 2 ranked half offei iys played] d the OSlf ‘put as 0 jeopl iver the hi Committee chairman suffers heart attack ie golden 5 she’s giw M; iever been a ason-a bed] -for giving" rand pendan 1 - 1 e our whole j col lection f too. Stop IE eforetheptit* ; oes higher*! pecial peopl'l Christmas I'd® rugerrand! | I United Press International WASHINGTON — Rep. Clement ^itwoyww^Zablocki, D-Wis., chairman of the § CP House Foreign Affairs Committee, •JAfcWl: ere d a heart attack in his Capitol HAM® Hill office Wednesday and was hos- nlversityDf pitalized unconscious and in critical > A Texas condition. iStatlonBry 1 Doctors at Capitol Hill Hospital, fromei cnico where Zablocki was rushed by ambu- s KKiiioormtWWice, said he was not breathing on his jngttov.H , ; 0Wn. Zablocki, 71, suffered two subse- Kient “episodes where the rhythm of created,” but added the signing does not alleviate concerns with in the administration that the new structure violates the consti tutional principle of separation of powers. The Justice Department, in a separate statement, said by divid ing the power to appoint its eight members between the president and Congress, “the commission itself is not placed clearly within any of the three branches of gov ernment.” “Agencies which are inconsis tent with the tripartite system of government established by the framers of our Constitution should not be created,” the de partment said. “Equally un acceptable are proposals which impermissably dilute the powers of the president to appoint and remove officers of the United States.” However, the department ack nowledged the commission “is unique in form and function” and indicated the political man euvering that went into its res tructuring should not become a precedent. Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan., a key figure in negotiations on the bill, had warned a veto “would be a big setback” for the cause of civil rights and could damage re lations between the White House and Capitol Hill. One aspect of the controversy fizzled out Wednesday when a federal appeals court sidestep ped a legal dispute over Reagan’s power to fire three holdover Democrats on the commission — Mary Francis Berry of Washing ton, Blandina Ramirez of San Antonio, and Rabbi Murray Salt- zman of Baltimore. Party chairmen speak on schools, Grenada by Brenda Bivona Battalion Reporter The Texas state party chairmen agree on two things: there is a prob lem in the Texas public education sys tem and that the United States was correct in sending troops to Grenada. Democratic Chairman Bob Slagle and Republican Chairman George Strake spoke to a group of about 200 at the MSC Political Forum meeting Wednesday night in Rudder Tower. “The Democratic solution to com bat the lack of competent teachers in Texas is to realize we are going to have to pay more for quality teachers,” said Slagle. Strake said the first step in impro ving the Texas public education sys tem is to restructure the system by getting quality teachers through com petency tests and then making more money available. Both chairmen said the troops sent to Grenada should be complimented for their efforts. Strake added that the move might affect the freedom of this country and the Western Hemis phere for a long time to come. The chairmen also answered ques tions geared to their own parties. Dur- Dave Scott, Battalion staff Republican George Strake (left), Democrat Bob Slagle (right) discuss education at Wednesday’s debate. ing this time no rebuttals were allowed. Slagle said he rejects the idea that the Democratic party relies on special interest groups. “Today there are many so-called special interest groups — even far mers and teachers,” he said. “Ideas are generated by special interest groups. I am a father, attorney, and a church member. These are all special interest groups.” Strake, in response to the question directed at the Republican party, said the needs of minorities and women are much better served by two parties. “There is a benefit in having com petition,” he said. “It is now to the black communities advantage to look at both parties.” Slagle, when asked about Phil Gramm’s split from the democratic party, said that in no way indicates a possible split among the party itself. “To be quite frank, I’m delighted Gramm let his feet follow where his head has been,” he said. Asked about the effect of Bill Cle ments loss in the governor’s race, Strake said the Republican party still has a future in Texas. “The Republican party represents a system where the individual is called on to do more for himself,” he said. “Republicans stand for more respon sibility and reliance of individuals. We have a unique system in which there are vast differences in the two par ties.” Strake became the chairman of the Republican party of Texas in April, 1983 and Slagle has been ihe Texas Democratic party chairman since 1980. Looking forward to teaching Dean of Liberal Arts resigns by Steve Thomas Battalion Staff In his ninth and last year as a Texas A&M admi nistrator, Dr. Keith L. Bryant Jr. is looking forward to getting back into teaching and research. “That’s what I want to do,” says Bryant, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “Get back into teaching full time and doing research. His resignation, effective Aug. 31, 1984, was accepted by President Frank E. Vandiver Nov. 22. “I feel very good about those nine years, but I didn’t get into academe to be an administrator,” he said. Bryant taught college history in Missouri and Wisconsin for 14 years before accepting the posi tion of professor and head of the department of history here in 1976. Since then he has continued to teach and publish, but not as much as he would like. “I have missed the opportunity to do both to the extent which I did as a faculty member without administrative obligations,” he wrote in a Nov. 23 memorandum to the faculty of the College of Liber al Arts. Bryant said he likes to work with people, and he uses individuals in his lectures to demonstrate points. He has continued teaching history 106 in addition to his duties as dean. “Those are the three best hours of my week,” he said, and it is the students that make his work enjoy able as much as his love of the subject. “Aggies are fun to teach,” he said. They have more of a sense of commitment to learning than students at other universities. Bryant said Texas A&M teachers should feel privileged that they have the opportunity to teach Aggies. Bryant intends to take a four-month leave of absence next fall to finish his most recent book, a biography on the American artist William Merritt Chase. The people of history are most important, Bryant said — and that’s the reason for his interest in biographical work. “Keith is always relating history to what he’s doing,” President Vandiver said, “and I think that’s wonderful. He’s a splendid man to work with, and I’m sorry for the University that he’s resigning.” Vandiver said Bryant has done “a fine job” as dean, including his efforts to get the issue of a University core curriculum before the faculty sen ate, in which he recently has succeeded. Vandiver said a core curriculum is necessary to the advance ment of the University. Bryant wholeheartedly agrees. “We’re one of the few universities in the country of this size that doesn’t have a general education requirement — a core curriculum,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure students get a university educa tion, not just technical training.” Bryant talked of the exceptional progress the College of Liberal Arts has made in the past 20 years/ He said some of the departments have already met national standards. The Department of Economics, he said, is among the top 25 in the country. GM’s scholarship package by Holly Powell Battalion Staff General Motors’ recent endowment $250,000 to fund scholarships for minorities and women is the result of an agreement between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commis sion and CM. The endowment is part of a $15 million package for endow ments and scholarships provided by General Motors. According to a CM press release, the program should resolve a charge of discrimination by a former chair man of the EEOC against General Motors. The settlement will avoid the possibility of a long litigation over the charge. The charge consisted of failure to hire and bias in training and promo tion of blacks, Hispanics and other minorities, and women. Texas A&M will receive $50,000 annually for five years beginning with the 1984-85 school year. The money will go to minority and women scho larship recipients with preference given to CM employees and their families. The scholarships are intended to offer educational opportunities for students in need of financial assist ance in order to reap benefits in the future for General Motors and its em ployees. Sullivan executed despite Pope’s pleas the heart was unsatisfactory,” after he came to the hosptial, said Dr. James Trane, medical director of the hospit al. A hospital spokeswoman said Zab locki had suffered a “full cardiac arrest” in the emergency room, but heart rhythm was restored by doctors. Trane said at a late afternoon briefing that Zablocki was still not breathing on his own and there was “essentially no change” in his condi tion, but heart rhythm, blood press ure and pulse were normal. United Press International STARKE, Fla. — Despite an appeal for mercy from Pope John Paul II, convicted murderer Robert A. Sulli van was put to death in Florida’s elec tric chair Wednesday. He died with a plea for an end to “this monster of capital punishment.” Sullivan, who had spent more time on death row than any present in mate, was killed by a two-minute surge of 2,500 volts of electricity after telling the 24 witnesses, “I hold malice to none. May God bless us all.” The burly 36-year-old college dropout, convicted of the 1973 execu tion-style murder of a motel clerk, never waivered in maintaining his in nocence and his attorneys fought to the end to spare his life. A final appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was turned down at 10:02 a.m. EST, the same moment Sullivan was strapped to the 59-year-old three-legged electric chair at the Florida State Prison. Wearing a white shirt, blue pants, white socks and no shoes, Sullivan then read a two-page statement from a legal pad held by Prison Supt. Richard Dugger. “I plead and encourage a con tinued effort to end this monster of capital punishment,” he said. The adopted son of a Harvard- educated physician also quoted from the 62nd Psalm and thanked the pope for his intevention on his behalf. “I send my love to my friends who are in reality my family,” he said. He urged capital punishment foes to continue the fight “because the cause is just.” Corrections officers then placed a steel mantle containing electrodes on his shaved head and a strap across his mouth. Gov. Robert Graham in Tallahas see, who had an open telephone line with Dugger, was told at 10:02 a.m. that the Atlanta appeals court had de nied a stay. Eight minutes later, Gra ham told Dugger, “There are no stays. God save us all.” Dugger signaled a hooded execu tioner who turned a handle at 10:11 a.m. to send current surging through the chair. A rubber flap had been lo wered over Sullivan’s face but his chest heaved and he twisted his hands, resting on the sides of the chair. One witness said he saw faint smoke coming from his right leg and head. The current was turned off two minutes later and Sullivan was offi cially pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. by Dr. Cahn Nugyun, the prison physician. Prison officials said the execution “went very smoothly.” “I don’t know that there is any humane way to kill a person,” said spokesman Vernon Bradford. “I think it is the law and it has to be carried out and it went very smoothly.” ; The 280-pound Sullivan, a Catho lic, asked that his body be cremated and the ashes spread near his father’s grave in Nashua, N.H. No family members were present at the prison. His 83-year-old mother, Stella Sullivan, reached by telephone alone at her Arlington, Mass., home, said: “I am not talking to anyone at all. There’s no one else here and I don’t want to make any comments.” Outside the prison under cool, clear skies, about a dozen protesters who had conducted an all-night vigil sang folk songs and hymns and car ried signs reading “Death Row Must Go.” Another dozen, however, back ed the execution with signs saying “We Love the Victim.” Services held today Memorial services for Jolie Mailhos will be today at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Father Leon Strider and Father A1 Palermo will officiate at the 4:30 p.m. service. Mailhos, who was an active member of Student Govern ment, was killed along with her father, grandfather and brother in a plane accident Saturday. Mailhos was traveling to Louisiana after the Texas A&M- University of Texas football game. inside Around town 10 Classified 12 Local 3 National 12 Opinions 2 Sports 13 State 5 What’s up 9 forecast Partly cloudy with mild tempera tures. High in the mid-60s.