■■■■■W Texas A&M _ w A
The Battalion
Serving the Gniversity community
Vol 78 No. 83 CISPS 0453110 20 pages in two sections
College Station, Texas
Thursday, January 26, 1984
pour great goals’ lead
eagan’s Union speech
United Press International
■WASHINGTON — President
tsag an issued an election-year call
Wednesday “to keep America free
nd secure” by pursuing four great
■is — steady economic growth, de-
elopment of space, strong moral fi-
>er and "a meaningful peace.”
•‘America is back,” Reagan told a
oitu session of Congress and a nation-
iltelevision audience in his third Stale
j)f the Union address, which featured
■eated appeals for bipartisan solu-
Bis to the problems still confronting
ihe nation.
•.ooking to a cause that has rallied
■ nation in the past, Reagan said it is
ime to “develop America’s next fron-
;iei”and set a goal of having a perma-
lent manned space station in orbit
vithin the next decade.
■‘America has always been greatest
«®en we dared to be great,” Reagan
aid. “We can reach for greatness
■in. We can follow our dreams to
■ant stars — living and working in
pau for peaceful, economic and sci-
ntific gain.”
Just four days before the expected
formal announcement of his candida
cy for re-election, Reagan recited his
victories over the growing federal
bureacracy and increasing taxes, his
success in slashing inflation and re
building America’s armed might, and
said: ”we have journeyed far. But we
have much farther to go.”
The president spoke in the ornate
House chamber to an audience of law
makers, Cabinet and other adminis
tration officials, the Supreme Court
and members of the diplomatic corps.
The Capitol was shrouded by the
tightest security since World War II,
stringent controls spawned by fears of
terrorist attacks.
“It is time to move forward again
— lime for America to take freedom’s
next step,” the 72-year-old president
said, calling on Americans to “unite
tonight behind four great goals to
keep America free, secure and at
peace in the ‘80s.”
Together, he said, “We can ensure
steady economic growth. We can de
velop America’s next frontier. We can
strengthen traditional values.
“And we can build a meaningful
peace — to protect our loved ones and
this shining star of faith that has
guided millions from tyranny to the
safe harbor of freedom, progress and
hope.”
“The heart of America is strong,
good and true,” he said. “The cynics
were wrong. America never was a sick
society.”
Reagan sought to extend the con
ciliatory tone of his speech to his most
persistent domestic problem by
announcing plans to work with Con
gress to reduce budget deficits by
f 100 billion over the next three years.
But he said raising taxes is not the
answer. “Simple fairness dictates gov
ernment must not raise taxes on fami
lies struggling to pay thier bills.”
Instead, he advocated “common
sense in federal budgeting: govern
ment spending no more than govern
ment lakes in.”
Reagan also:
• Made clear he will not withdraw
American Marines from Lebanon,
telling Congress the resolution it pas
sed last fall allowing the troops to re
main for 18 months is “serving the
cause of peace.”
• Asked Americans to put aside “bit
terness” and “find positive solutions
to the tragedy fo abortion.”
• Repeated his support for prayer in
public schools and a call for credits for
parents of private school students.
• Vowed to continue his campaign to
improve the natis, with special emph
asis on discipline problems.
• Promised to “work to ensure
women’s rights,” move forward on
fair housing laws, and continue a
crackdown on organized crime and
drug trafficking.
As he has done before, Reagan raised
the banner of bipartisanship in seek
ing support for some of his most con-
troversto ease restiveness over key
elements of his foreign policy.
Calling peace “our highest aspira
tion,” Reagan sought to answer those
who portray him as too prone to
choose confrontation over negotia
tion and military force instead of di
plomacy.
See REAGAN page 12
itudent Senate opposes election date
By ROBIN BLACK
Staff writer
[The Student Senate unanimously
Jsed a resolution opposing Gov.
dark White’s March 10 scheduling of
■pedal election for the 14th district
■tin the state House of Representa
tives.
■ White chose the March 10 date
llltiesday to fill the seat vacated earlier
this month when Bill Presnal res-
Jied.
The Senate is opposed to the date
uise it falls during the 1984 Texas
JcM student and faculty spring
leak.
■Sen. David Kloslerboer, who intro-
||iced the bill in the Senate Wednes-
|ay, said he was opposed to the date
■cause of the possible misrepresen-
■ion that would occur in the 14th
(■strict.
■ Kloslerboer justified the possibility
by pointing out that about 6,000
Texas A&M students are registered to
vote in Brazos County, as well as a
substantial portion of the University’s
faculty and staff.
The bill states that because “stu
dents and faculty traditionally make
vacation and travel plans during this
break and are therefore expected to
be out of town during the election,
expecting such a large number of vo
ters to vote absentee is both an incon-
vencience and increases the chances
of misrepresentation of the 14th dis
trict’s population.”
Since the resolution was passed, the
Senate officially empowered the stu
dent body president, the Senate ex
ternal affairs committee, and the
Legislative Study Group to use what
ever resources they have in represent
ing the Senate’s opposition.
In other business, the Senate
approved resolutions regarding the
student service fees general budget,
funding of the International Student
Service and discussed revisions in
University regulations.
The recommendation was made to
cut in half the proposed amount of
funds to be given to the International
Student Services.
The decision was a result of a re
port filed by the Legislative Study
Group showing that about one-half of
the costs covered by the service were
administrative.
That, according to the LSG’s de
finition, is not a student service and
should not be funded as such.
The LSG did recognize the necessi
ty of the service, though, and recom
mended half the funds be granted
and the rest obtained through state
aid.
The guest speaker at the meeting
was Dr. John J. McDermott, speaker
of the Faculty Senate and disting
uished professor of philosophy.
McDermott addressed the Senate
on some of the problems Texas A&M
is facing in becoming a flagship uni
versity.
Some of the ideas McDermott dis
cussed include:
• increased faculty input;
• increased faculty salaries and
funding of the liberal arts;
• a more enlightened student body;
• and better representation of
females and minorities at the Univer
sity.
McDermott said he believes it is im
moral to squander the University’s fu
ture by wasting great potential, and
that if something isn’t done to change
Texas A&M’s image in the next 15
years, it will remain “bloated, self-
preening and also-read.”
Photo by JOHN MAKELY
Foul, foul, foul
Officials at Wednesday’s Texas A&M-Texas game in G.
Rollie White Coliseum confer after calling a foul
on A&M’s Darnell Williams. The Aggies defeated the
Horns, 68-52. For more on the game, see story page 13.
Influential Moslem leader calls for Gemayel’s resignation
I ■ .
■ United Press International Moslem rebels in the mountains over- munitv. accused the government of T^rrim*. anrt a ,,n f'in-tifinrr tticif 1, ic r»ii, ...) ^
I BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s
liost influential Sunni Moslem leader
Wednesday joined critics of embat-
tltd President Amin Gemayel, whose 1
Sites fought rebels in the mountains
Aid in the streets of the capital.
I Government troops, some mail
ing tanks, fought Shiite Moslem
Jilitiamen in crowded southern
|eirut while army gunners ex-
pnged artillery rounds with Druze
Moslem rebels in the mountains over
looking the capital.
There were no immediate reports
suggesting the fighting involved the
U.S. Marines, whose presence in
Beirut was vigorously defended by
President Reagan at a meeting with
Congresssional leaders in
Washington.
With Gemayel’s Christian-
dominated administration already
isolated, former Prime Minister Saeb
Salam, patriarch of the Sunni com
munity, accused the government of
using emergency powers to establish
“dictatorial” rule.
Ending months of relative silence
regarding Gemayel’s government,
Salaam also called for the inclusion of
Christian sects other than the presi
dent’s dominant Maronites in
attempts to end the fighting in
Lebanon.
“The decrees issued in 1983 consti
tute a violation of legal and constitu
tional laws, the democratic par
liamentary regime and a dictatorial
control,” Salam told a news confer
ence.
Salam, supporting his demand for
the withdrawal of the decrees with a
56-page study, warned that they “sup
port unacceptable and incredible per
sonal dictatorships.” The decrees he
cited include imposition of press cen
sorship.
It was the harshest criticism of the
Gemayel government ever leveled by
Salam, whose Sunni community has
iules end quadding, fish bites
stood aloof from the fighting that has
pitted members of other Moslem sects
against the government.
His attack came one day after
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt deman
ded Gemayel’s resignation and said
he would never participate in f urther
talks with the president on the future
of Lebanon.
Salam’s complaints came as new
fighting ended two days of relative
calm around the capital. Clashes
broke out in the mountains during
the morning and resumed in the
afternoon after a short-lived cease
fire.
The state radio blamed the fight
ing on the anti-government forces,
although a new Druze-operated radio
station said the army had launched
bombardments against Druze posi
tions east of the capital.
Fighting also erupted in the Shiite
Moslem areas of south Beirut along
the “green line” that separates the
Christian neighborhood of Ain Rum-
maneh and the Moslem sector of
Shiah.
Corps traditions discontinued
In Today’s Battalion
By LORRAINE CHRISTIAN
Reporter
New regulations issued by the
Corps Commandant during Christ
mas break have put an official end to
several traditional Corps of Cadets
activities — including jogging in
combat boots, “quadding,” “fish
bites,” and “details.”
“Quadding” is holding a person
down while a garbage can full of
water is poured on him from an up
per-story window. “Fish bites” are a
portion of food so small that they
can be swallowed after three bites.
“Details” are errands run by under
classmen for upperclassmen.
Reaction to the orders issued by
Col. Donald L. Burton, Corps com
mandant, while the students were
on holiday, appears to vary with in
dividual cadets. Corps Commander
Preston Abbott took a diplomatic
view of the matter:
“If it doesn’t produce an officer, a
gentleman or a graduate, we prob
ably ought not be doing it,” he said.
Kirk Joseph, public relations
officer for the Corps, said that
Corps staff was surprised by Bur
ton’s policy changes since he rarely
acts without staff participation. Nor
mally, Joseph said, Burton lets staff
make the decisions and then
approves them.
Ft. Col. Donald J. Johnson, assis
tant commandant, said that some
times changes have to come from
higher than Corps staff since the
members of the staff are students.
In those instances, Johnson said, the
commandant has to make the deci-
The change that appeared to
cause the biggest stir among the
cadets is the requirement for wear
ing tennis shoes on jogs instead of
combat boots.
Johnson said minor injuries can
occur from jogging in boots. Since
the military services don’t jog in
boots, Johnson said, he sees no
reason why theCorps should.
Johnson, Burton and Joseph
-agreed that quadding leads to prob
lems. Johnson said quadding was eli
minated because after the freshmen
quad the seniors in their units they
lose respect for them. He said that
some units quad their seniors daily.
Burton said better ways exist to
resolve problems between cadets
than sending freshmen to quad
someone.
Joseph said that another draw
back to quadding is that it looks bad
to visitors and parents because they
don’t understand what is happen
ing. The Corps doesn’t need that
kind of publicity, he said.
Fish bites, Johnson said, were eli
minated because they served no
traingprpose. In addition, he said,
freshmen sometimes failed to get
enough to eat.
Joseph said the bites had been
enforced to be sure that the fresh
men could answer upperclassmen’s
questions while eating. In reality, he
said, it was just another way of in-
coneniencing the freshmen and let
ting them know that they are under
the control of the upperclassmen.
Abbott said that there are two
types of details. A detail can be
either an errand or it can be used to
get back at somebody, he said.
Burton said the revenge-seeking
details have been eliminated since
they are being used by upperclass
men to send subordinates to abuse
fellow upperclassmen. The abuse
may be degrading and physically
painful, he said.
See CORPS page 11
Local
• Bryan Mayor Gary Halter and City Manager North
Bardell will investigate the NRT preburn system, a new
alternative in eliminating city trash. See story page 6.
• Shrimp might be one of the best crops to raise in Texas,
according to Texas A&M University researchers. See.story
page 5.
State
• A pathologist testified Wednesday that 15-month-old
Chelsea McLellan died from an injection of a muscle relax
ant administered by vocational nurse Cenene Jones. See
story page 4.
• Railroad and natural gas interests spoke out Wednesday
against a proposed 945-miles of pipeline that would cross
through 36 Texas counties. See story page 8.
National
• Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Krueger said
Wednesday that America is too dependent on other coun
tries for basic energy sources. See story page 10.