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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1984)
Tuesday, September 18, 1984/The Battalion/Page 3 Debate Forum discusses GSSO Vote against gay recognition By BRITTANY MILLHOLLAND Reporter Seventy-five percent of the people who attended the debate sponsored by Texas A&M Debate Forum Mon day night, voted against University recognition of the Gay Student Serv ices Organization. A total of 204 voted against and 70 voted for the is sue. Last August a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas A&M will have to recognize the GSSO as a student organization. Later this month the Texas A&M Board of Regents will meet to deter mine whether or not they will con tinue litigations on this topic. David McDowell, a freshman busi ness major from Houston, began the debate by speaking against the rec ognition. “Texas A&M should retain the right to recognize who they want to and who theydon’t,” McDowell said. He compared the GSSO to the fraternities and sororities that were refused university recognition. Mc Dowell pointed out that the fraterni ties ana sororities went off campus and have still successfully thrived at Texas A&M. Mcdowell said that this is a matter of principal not need. “Gay students at Texas A&M have a social responsibility to remember the majority of the people not only on this campus, but around the na tion, do not support the stance they take on the moral issue of sex,” he said. Andy Kirkpatrick, a sophomore general studies major from Hous ton, argued in favor of recognition. He said that one doesn’t have to agree with the morals of the gay community, or the Texas law that le galizes homosexuality, one just has to agree with the U.S. Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech and association. In dealing with equal representa tion, Kirkpatrick said, “Since A&M has allowed the publication and pre sentation of anti-gay material, Texas A&M is legally obligated to allow an opposing group equal time.” The GSSO can’t be compared with fraternities and sororities, Kirk patrick said, because it is a service or ganization not a social organization. It offers referrals, counseling and speakers on gay issues. MSC Council discusses PUF change, approves entertainment programs dent sectioj lave a gues ent section >t my tide t they knot ven getm By KARI FLUEGEL Reporter The MSC Council heard a report from the Legislative Study Group about Proposition 2 which concerns the future of the Permanent Univer sity Fund at the council’s meeting Monday night. Texas voters will vote on Nov. 6 about a constitutional amendment which will restructure the PUF, said Michael O’Quinn, administrative di rector of the Legislative Study Group. Until 1981, schools not financed by the PUF recieved funding from ad valoreum taxes (property taxes) dedicated to state universities. This tax was repealed in 1981 and with out this portion of taxes, the schools have no guarantee of funding from the legislature. This means the legis lature has had to budget funds for the non-PUF schools on a yearly ba sis. The lack of funding restricted long-range planning, O’Quinn said. The amendment would create an annual $100 million fund derived from general revenues for state uni versities. The money from this fund would be allocated by a formula, O’Quinn said. Universities which would share in the fund, if the proposition is ap proved, will include Texas Tech University, the University of Hous ton System, Sul Ross State Univer sity, North Texas State University and Texas Southern University. If the proposition fails, funding for non-PUF schools will be re turned to the political arena and long-range planning will be impossi ble, O’Quinn said. For Texas A&M and the Univer sity of Texas, which already share in the PUF, the passage of the proposi tion would insure that new system schools also would share in PUF bond proceeds and would allow Texas A&M and UT to use PUF proceeds to acquire land, repair exi- sisting buildings, purchase scientific equipment and library books. In other business, the MSC Pro gram Review Committee was asked by the MSC Council to study the purpose, organizational placement and programming scope of the MSC Christmas Program, MSC Fall Lead ership and MSC Spring Leadership. By conducting a review, the coun cil hopes it can find continual lead ership and consistent membership for the committees. Also, the council approved several entertainment programs. Among those are Four Hams on Rye and Joe King Carasco, Sept. 21 sponsored by MSC Basement; Alabama, Oct. 21, and Willie Nelson, Nov. 28 spon sored by MSC Town Hall; and Promise Them Anything, Sept. 11, and Hypnotist Edwin Baron, Sept. 24 sponsored by MSC Great Issues. Photo by Peter Rocha TREE ART A student stares at a “work of art” in front of the Academic Building. The work, several jean pant legs stuffed with pa per, was hanging from a tree. There was no clue to the mean ing of the art, and it remained unsigned. CSISD sets guidelines for implementing newest Texas education requirements :s, there ii ubles. :e of num- the pockc| didn’t like ophomore Police beat The following incidents wer e re ported to the University Police De partment through Monday. MISDEMEANOR THEFT: • A green Kuwahara 12-speed bi cycle was stolen from outside the Memorial Student Center. • A red Schwinn Le Tour 10- speed bicycle was stolen from the first floor of the Reed McDonald Building. The bicycle was locked at the time of the theft. CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: • Someone threw an egg at a Uni versity Police patrol car as it passed in front <>I Puryear Hall. BURGLARY OF A MOTOR VE HICLE: • A Pioneer KE-3000 stereo and a Clarion Equalizer, model EQB300, were stolen from a Chevrolet in Parking Annex 40. By CAMILLE BROWN Staff Writer The 1984-85 goals for the College Station Independent School District were adopted, with the exception of administrative services goals, Mon day evening during a meeting of the district’s board of trustees. The goals include provisions to in sure that the new state education re- quiremeqts, passed this summer, will be carried out by schools in College Station. The other topic raised during the meeting was brought up by con cerned parents. The parents com plained about scheduling delays and the hiring of teachers for subjects which they may be unqualified to teach. The board agreed that scheduling has been badly organized this year. “We know about the situation,” said John Reagor, president of the CSISD board of trustees. “It has been the worst scheduling problem ... and it just has to be different next year.” H.R. Burnett, the superintendent of CSISD, attributed the problem to a late increase in enrollment, only one counselor being available to ad vise students’ schedules and com puter problems with scheduling. Burnett said changes in schedul ing will be made by next year. Other items brought up by teach ers at the meeting concerned the dis trict’s evaluation procedures. They said the evaluations are inconsistent from campus to campus and that the evalutions are completed too late in the year to be benefical to the teach- Burnett said the evaluation proce dures are being re-evaluated. The district’s goals were divided into four sections: special programs, instructional, personnel and admins- trative services. 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