Injury-plagued Hogs,
Longhorns not 100%
See page 5
>g times,
v «t is
?ason orat
Rep. Gramnn speaks
at headquarters
College of Business
is given $500,000
See page 4
See page 7
The Battalion
sioie indeiBf
for noJ Vol 80 Mo.21 GSPS 045360 14 pages
Serving the University community
College Station, Texas
Thursday, September 27, 1984
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Alders defines student government
By PATRICIA FLINT
Staff Writer
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mg, cliquish entity entirely unto
itself,” Student Body President
David Alders said during
Wednesday’s Sully’s Symposium.
But, he said, “student govern
ment, to a greater degree than
any organization on this campus,
is subject to your control.”
Sully’s Symposium, sponsored
by sophomore honor society
Lambda Sigma, provides an open
forum where student leaders
meet the student body face-to
face for a brief talk by the leader,
followed by a question-and-an-
swer period.
Alders said that in a debate last
spring with his opponent Grant
Schwartzwelder, he agreed to do
a weekly column in The Battal
ion, but that with the death of
Battalion editor Bill Robinson
and subsequent complications, he
has had difficulty communicating
with acting editor Stephanie Ross.
Despite student displeasure
about the Coke Building stopping
their check-cashing service, Ald
ers said that the primary function
bt the office is to pass out schol
arship money and financial aid.
Alders said that the office be
lieves that they don’t have ad
equate man-power, space or secu
rity to handle cashing student
checks and payroll checks in addi
tion to doing their other work.
Alders’ appointment of Sean
Royal] as a student representative
to the faculty senate was ques
tioned, since, while on the rules
and regulations committee, Roy-
all voted in favor of mandatory fi
nal exams for seniors, a major
student concern.
In every dealing you have
with the administration you have
to be credible, otherwise you are
discounted out-of-hand,” Alders
said. ‘It’s just not credible for us
to go to the administration and
say that we don’t want to take this
test.”
Royall said that he presented a
.
Photo by FRANK IR WIN
Student Body President David Alders discusses various issues at the Sully’s Symposium Wednesday afternoon.Sully’s
Symposium is sponsored by Lambda Sigma, a sophomore honor society, and provides an open forum where student
leaders meet the student body in person.
report from Jordon to the faculty
senate arguing the students’ point
of view — maintaining the status
quo. But if they decided to make
the change, Jordon had three rec
ommendations in the report: no
student present at A&M as of that
spring would have to take senior
finals; at commencement, the
handing out of diplomas would
not be changed to giving out
empty tubes; and that seniors
would be allowed to take their ex
ams before finals week to afford
them that extra time before grad
uation.
After reading the report, Roy-
all was instructed from Jordon to
go with the faculty’s reaction so as
not to lose everything. “The fac
ulty senate was resolute on imple
menting student finals,” Royall
said, therefore all the students
voted yes.
Alders said that student gov
ernment has three basic func
tions. The most important func
tion is to serve as a platform
representing all the students for
the advancement of student opin
ion to the administration, with
whom the student government
meets frequently, he said.
The next is the programming
they do: coordinating Aggie Mus
ter, Parents’ Weekend, the Big
Event and the Aggie Blood Drive.
“These are the activities in my
mind that typify what Aggie spirit
is all about,” Alders said.
Leadership training, third, is
the most important function of
student government that is not
overt, he said. With it’s executive
branch, judicial branch (judicial
board) and legislative branch
(student senate), Alders said the
student government mirrors the
federal government in structure,
but hopefully not in perfor
mance.
Alders said that anyone want
ing to make changes at A&M
should apply for one of the 24
open seats in the student senate.
Sully’s Symposium is held ev
ery Wednesday in front of the
Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue
next to the Academic Building,
beginning at 12 p.m.
Pecos is
picked for
new prison
United Press International
PECOS — Construction is sched
uled to begin Nov. 1 on a new $4.4
million, 450-inmate federal prison to
be located about two miles southwest
of the city limits, Reeves County offi
cials said Wednesday.
County Judge W.O. “Bill” Pigman
said the prison, a minimum security
facility, will be operated with federal
funds, generating its own revenue.
“The community is backing the
new facility because it will create
from 55 to 90 new jobs,” Pigman
said. “There will also be additional
jobs created during the construction
phase.” Pecos has an 8 percent un
employment rate.
County commissioners this week
authorized the advertising of bids
for the new prison, Pigman said.
Unlike conventional financing
from bond issues, the potential bid
ders are being asked to present a full
financing plan for the new jail, Pig
man said.
“This will make it an unusual pro
ject,” the judge said. “The prison will
be handled as a lease-purchase with
the federal government. There will
be no revenue bonds and the people
of Reeves County will not be out a
penny.”
Pigman said the new prison will
probably handle a large number of
illegal aliens. He said the facility will
serve the western federal district,
from San Antonio to El Paso.
Bids will be advertised on Oct. 16
and a contract awarded on Oct. 22,
he said.
Pigman said Reeves County is ne
gotiating construction of the prison
as part of a contract with the Federal
Bureau of Prisons.
“We are already keeping federal
prisoners in the Reeves County Jail,”
he said.
Officials had anticipated water
problems with the new prison, but
Larry Fleming, City Water Superin
tendent, said the city of Pecos has
enough water to provide the prison
with the required 20,000 gallons a
day. Fleming said low water pressure
problems are being corrected.
GSS supporters criticize decision to appeal court ruling
ts
ations
view
•Wear
By kari fluegel
Staff Writer
A derision by Texas A&M regents
1 nv, a courl: order requiring
LA nitI() ? Student Services
P bra nded “ridiculous” by '
^Porters of the group.
L lt * completely hatred and
ToL )n , th . eir ( the regents) part,” said
Tel u° eman> . president of the
| ro . oman Rights Foundation, a
IX“k as helped Gss pay for
^ res ’^ ent Marco Roberts
s not logical. It doesn’t make
two
big-
any sense. I think it will be damaging
to the University in the long-run.”
After discussing the matter in ex
ecutive session at the regents’ meet
ing Sunday and Monday, the regents
gave the green light to file an appeal
to the U.S. Supreme Court regard
ing the early August federal court
ruling stating that A&M must recog
nize Gay Student Services as an on-
campus student organization.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled Aug. 3 that A&M will
have to recognize the group as an
on-campus organization.
The ruling, made by a three-
judge panel, reversed the 1982 deci
sion of U.S. District Judge Ross N.
Sterling, who had ruled that the
University had not violated a pro
tected constitutional right by deny
ing recognition to the group.
CSS was denied recognition by
A&M in 1976 on the grounds that
homosexual conduct was illegal in
Texas and that it would be inappro
priate for A&M to recognize an or
ganization likely to “incite, promote
and result” in homosexual activity.
That argument became invalid
when a federal judge in Dallas struck
down the section of the Texas Penal
Code forbidding sexual acts between
adults of the same sex.
After Sterling’s ruling, A&M
based its argument on the premise
that GSS was a social organization
and that the University does not rec
ognize social groups.
Ted Hajovsky, system general
council, said Tuesday that he has
written a letter to Attorney General
Jim Mattox requesting that he file an
appeal. Hajovsky said he also stated
in the letter that the System under
stands the attorney general’s office
has a heavy case load and that the
System would he happy to pursue
the case itself.
Hajovsky said that he has not
“gotten strong feedback” from the
attorney general’s office about pur
suing the case.
A&M has until November to file
an appeal. If an appeal isn’t filed by
that time, the case will be handed to
Sterling to enter an order and to en
force the Court of Appeals decision.
In the August ruling, the Court of
Appeals stated: “At (the) heart of the
First Amendment is the freedom to
choose, even if such choice does not
accord with the state’s view.”
The ruling also said: “TAMU’s re
fusal to recognize Gay Student Serv
ices as an on-campus student organi-
zation impermissibly denied
appellants their First Amendment
rights.”
Hajovsky said there are some
clear exceptions to First Amend
ment rights and that the regents felt
See GSS, page 4
Is ^ersonweeps upon heoring trial verdict
I
pif
61L
Jury: bank officer not guilty of crimes
hi
United Press International
iPenn\ LAH ° MA CITY ~ Former
Bank officer William G.
t r olhhl° r \ C A? a P sec * anc * we P l uncon-
■himsd y a Wednesda y ^ he heard
25-mn ac 8 u ‘ Uecl Of 23 counts in a
‘adictment that charged
l,mvv *thcriminal misconduct.
toner ; happy : Patt erson told a re-
’oiceiKt 1 3 c ^°^ e d, emotion-filled
;°niposiirp te j Tlporaril y regained his
he S re ab out 30 ninutes after
^ '3th Vof». the l>ai ' iff in
j p a . f
|ng from 01 ', d to have help stand-
| aile V whenU e ? S n attprney Burck
West re, ^ j' bbstnet Judge Lee
r erntiin eSSe( the jury to consider
fretment tW ° c b ar ges in the in-
West told the jurors to return af
ter he asked them if they felt a ver
dict could be reached on the remain
ing two counts, which involve
allegations of wire fraud.
The jury, which deliberated just
over eight hours after receiving the
case Tuesday afternoon, acquitted
Patterson of 17 counts of misapplica
tion of bank funds, two counts of al
tering bank records and four counts
of wire fraud.
The indictment charged Patter
son broke the law with his allegedly
wreckless lending habits during his
tenure as head of Penn Square s en
ergy lending department before the
bank’s July 5, 1982, collapse.
“Obviously, we’re pleased," Bailey
said as he led his 34-year-old client
from the courthouse, adding it
would be “inappropriate” to make
further comments until the jury had
rendered its verdict on the last two
counts.
Patterson and his wife, Eve, came
into the courtroom holding hands
shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday
when it was announced the eight-
woman, four-man panel had
reached a partial verdict.
When West instructed the bailiff
to read the verdict, Patterson stared
down at the table and, as he heard
himself acquitted of each charge, be
gan crying.
By the time the bailiff read the last
four acquittal verdicts, Patterson had
collapsed and was weeping openly.
His wife, tears of relief streaming
down her face, watched from the
front row of the spectators’ section
of the courtroom, tightly clasping
her brother’s hand during the pro
ceedings.
After West had recessed the jury
and told them to resume deliber
ations, she bolted to the table where
her husband sat, hugged Bailey,
then turned, put her arms around
Patterson’s shaking shoulders and
wept with him.
Federal prosecutors alleged Pat
terson generated millions of dollars
worth of fraudulent or poorly collat
eralized loans that were either
funded by Penn Square or
chased by participating banks.
If he had been convicted on all
counts, Patterson could have been
sentenced to more than 70 years in
prison and could have been fined a
total of $105,000.
pur-
In Today’s Battalion
Local
• Student Counseling Service gets new home. See story
page 4.
• English department offers mini-courses on improving
writing skills. See story page 6.
State
• Texas prison reformer arrested on felony assault and
other charges. See story page 6.