G
3
DOUGLAS JEWELRY §
G
b
15% DISCOUNT
with current A&M I.D.
(repairs not included)
Use your student discount to purchase
diamond for your class ring.
(and let us set it for you)
•^vs^
l
§
a
a
Culpepper Plaza
College Station
693-0677
or
212 N. Main
Bryan
822-3119
<*i£^SZ>*4ZFZi <S>.
I
Come Ski Winter Park With Us
•*
*
Price $295 $100 Deposit Due Oct. 12
Leave Jan. 5th
Return Jan. 1 3th
■*
■X-
Stay at Silver Crest Condos
£ Includes: Transfer up & back Trailways Bus
■jfc’ '
*6 nights: Condo w/Kitchen, Jacuzzi & Sauna
*5 days: Lift Tickets, Boots, Poles & Ski Rentals
■x-
*
* Contact Skip or Mike at 268-0097
or Come by Weightlifting Club Room
2 n d floor G. Rollie
*
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BOOK SALE
SAVE 50%
AND MORE
OFF ORIGINAL
PUBLISHED
PRICES
Our selection ranges
through numerous dis
ciplines including phys
ics, chemistry, medi
cine, mathematics,
engineering, comput
ers and more. Your sav
ings range from a tre-
mendous 50% and
more.
Page 4/The Battalion/Wednesday, October 10, 1984
Presidential aid
has many duties
By KEVIN S. INDA
Reporter
When Dr. Arthur H. Blair walks
into his oiTice in the morning, he has
to be ready for anything.
Blair, assistant to the University
president, is the man behind the
scenes who makes life easier for
President Frank E. Vandiver.
“My in-box is Dr. Vandiver’s out
box,” Blair said. “My job is to assist
the president in whatever task that
he may give.”
Some of the tasks he performs for
Vandiver are drafting letters, inves
tigating problems and making reco-
mendations, making phone calls and
keeping the vice presidents in
formed.
“Basically, my job is to make sure
the president and the vice presidents
are never surprised,” Blair said.
If Vandiver is going to ask the vice
presidents to do something, Blair
will let them know ahead of time, so
they can respond more quickly.
Blair said he also attends the
Texas A&M Board of Regents meet
ings with Vandiver. The Board will
sometimes ask Vandiver for some
type of information he doesn’t have,
and he will send Blair to try to locate
it.
“My job is kind of like an utility in-
fielder — whatever comes up I do,”
Blair said. “The interesting part
about it is, I have absolutely no au
thority as an assistant to the presi
dent to tell anybody to do anything,
but I’ve got all kinds of responsibility
to make sure things run smoothly.”
Blair said he can be perceived to
be “the power behind the throne,”
but that isn’t true at all.
“I work extremely hard to keep
out my personal biases, but if Van
diver asks for my personal opinion
then I’ll tell him,” Blair said.
Even though Blair’s job takes
much of his time and requires a
great deal of responsibility, he said
he finds it rewarding.
When Blair came to A&M on Jan
uary 19, 1983, he brought with him
a diversified educational and teach
ing background.
He received a bachelor of science
from the United States Military Aca
demy in 1950, a master of science in
civil engineering from the California
Institute of Technology in 1956, a
master’s degree in literature from
the University of Pennsylvania in
1961, and a doctorate in English and
American literature from the Uni
versity of North Carolina in 1975.
Blair has taught English at the
United States Military Academy,
military history and policy at the Eu
ropean Division of the University of
Maryland and served as an assistant
to the dean of West Point.
Blair retired a colonel from the
Army in 1977 after serving 27 years.
He was head of the department of
English at the Citadel from 1977-
1979, commandant of cadets in 1980
and a professor from 1981-1982.
In addition to being an assistant to
the president, Blair also teaches a
course in the English Department
here.
Around town
Science students must take exam
Any junior or senior in the College of Science who has not pie-
viouslv taken the English Proficiency Examination should plan to
take the test Oct. 15 unless they have completed English 301 witha
minimum grade of C. Students in the College of Science are required
to pass either English 301 or the test in order to qualify as a degree
candidate.
The English Proficiency Exam will be administered by the En
glish department. Students in the biology, chemistry, mathematics
and physics departments should register for the exam in 313 Biolog
ical Sciences Building prior to the exam.
Big Event job requests accepted now
Joi) requests are now being accepted from the Bryan-CollegeSta
tion community lor projects for the Big Event. Student organiza
tions wishing to volunteer for this four-hour service project are en
couraged to pledge. Deadline for organization pledges is Nov. 1.Job
requests will still be accepted after that date. Contact Mark Manihaal
696-5930, or Mar itza Pena at 764-0770.
Tutoring offered for freshmen courses
Phi Eta Sigma is of fering a free tutoring service for freshman
level courses. A tutoring card file is located on the 2nd floor ofthe
Pavilion in the Phi Eta Sigma cubicle. The tutoring is f ree of charge
Program on Lubbock Lake presented
The TAMU Anthropology Society is presenting a program fea
turing Dr. Vance Holliday speaking about the Lubbock Lake Project
at 7 p.m. in 301 Bolton. Lubbock Lake contains an archaeological,
paleontological and paleobotanical record in a well-stratified, well-
dated context spanning the past 17,()()() years. The lake contains ar
chaic, ceramic, protohistoric, and historic perion occupations, and
thus is a rare storehouse of information about man’s habitation of
the High Plains region over a substantial period of time.
Now is time to order Christmas gifts to ensure arrival
FTC rule also applys to mail-orders
By KARI FLUEGEL
Staff Writer
Only 76 more days until
Christmas. Time is running out.
While most shoppers have plenty
of time to destroy their charge ac
counts at local department stores,
mail-order shoppers are running
out of time.
Mail order customers should
place their order in September or
October, Nancy Wilson, customer
relations for Neiman Marcus, said.
Ordering in November, when most
people place their orders, is fairly
risky, she said. ✓
“The most important thing is to
order early,” Wilson said.
The Federal Trade Commission’s
mail-order rule — which applies
only to orders placed through the
mail, or shipped through the mail —
requires companies to ship your or
der within the time they promise or
within 30 days after they receive
your order, said Nancy Granovsky,
Texas A&M Agricultural Extension
Service home economist.
Neiman-Marcus does a large
Christmas mail-order business. In
the past, mail-order items from Nei-
mans have included a chocolate mo
nopoly set, robots, a Texas-shaped
swimming pool and this year, cow
shaped couches.
Because such items are usually im
ported and quota restrictions some
times limit the supplies, customers
The Federal Trade Commission's mail-order rule —
which applies only to orders placed through the mail,
or shipped through the mail — requires companies to
ship your order within the time the company promises
or within 30 days after they receive your order.
should order early to avoid missing
the original shipment. If the de
mand is more than the supply, a new
shipment is ordered which delays
shipment to the customer, Wilson
said.
If the company is unable to de
liver the shipment during the speci-
lied time, the FTC rule requires the
company to notify the customer who
then has the option of waiting for
the purchase or cancelling the order
for a full refund.
Many mail-order companies now
offer toll-free numbers for easy or
dering.
“Using the telephone may seem
more convenient than ordering by
mail, but it’s also riskier, since phone
orders are not covered by the Fed
eral Trade Commission’s mail-order
rule,” Granovsky said.
When ordering by phone, con
sumers are not covered by the time
limit rule. The consumer must as
sume the responsibility for merchan
dise not delivered or delivered late,
Granovsky said.
Caution also should be exercised
when placing an order. Many mis
takes are made by customers incor
rectly or incompletely filling out the
order form, Granovsky said.
Customers should keep a copy of
the order form for documentation
purposes in case a problem does
arise, she said.
Consumers also should be caref ul
to include all taxes, shipping and
handling charges. If the company is
headquartered in Texas, residents
should include the state sales tax,
Granovsky said.
Wilson said that Neimans will in
sure expensive items before ship
ping. She added that while the store
is responsible for insurance when
shipping the item to the customer,
the customer is responsible for in
surance when shipping the item
back to the store in case of ex
changes or returns.
If the merchandise is unsatisfac
tory, both the mail-in and phone-in
customer can request a refund. Mail-
in customers also can look to the post
office for assistance if the company
Hoes not satisfy their complaints^.
Granovsky said.
The best policy for consumers
to be careful whether they shop!)
phone or by mail, she said.
Before placing an order, considc
the company. An established,^
known company is likely tobeos
that satisfies most of its customtn
she said.
Granovsky also advises consuma
to read the descriptions of theproi
nets carefully. Words such as “ji
bo," “giant” or “miniature” have!
legal definition. Instead lookford
scriptions that include specificn»
su re me ms.
Refunds and return policies ah
should be examined before purcl®
ing merchandise.
The return policy should
stated somewhere on the onkj
form. If it is not stated, thecompa®
may not have a return policy, Gra!
ovskv said.
The return policy should beift
cific. Granovsky said, the pioniid
an “absolute refund” means no!
ing. With an “absolute refund pd
cy" the company could reply abio
lutely no" or send a return oi Slaii
say “this is absolutely all you get," :
If a problem arises with a mi
order company, first try to resolvei
with the company, Granovsky sal
If that doesn’t work, write acot
plaint to the postal mspecloriflltj
postal service was involved in tk ■!
transaction and then notify the to 1
ter Business Bureau.
Join the Parade
Get your picture taken for
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Here’s the Schedule for 1985 Aggieland Photos
r
YEARBOOK ASSOC.*
PAVILION
Freshmen & Sophomores
Sept.lO-Oct. 12
Oct 15-26
Juniors, Seniors,
Oct.15-Nov. 16
Nov. 19-30
Grads, Meds, & Vets
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*1700 S. Kyle behind Culpepper Plaza