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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1985)
STA '' 'A I \ ii ra Knitf Group holds vigil to support church refugee harboring By JEFF BRADY Reporter Concerned local Christians held a Candlelight vigil for three hours Sunday night in support of a (lovement allowing churches to har- ar Central American refugees. About a dozen members of the in terdenominational group Sanctuary Advocates stood on the steps of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 21° de- ree weather and listened as each expressed personal concern for the ^responsibility of U.S. churches. "We are here as a testimony to the brotherhood of man,” said the Rev erend Jeffrey Schiffmayer of St. Francis Episcopal Church. B The incident spurring the local vigil is the upcoming trial of Jack Elder, 41, Director of the Catholic- sponsored Casa Oscar Romero shel ter for Central Americans at San Be nito, Texas. Elder was tried earlier this year on federal charges that he transported three Salvadoran aliens from a San Benito refugee center to a Har lingen bus Station in 1984. Elder’s defense contended that in ternational law and the 1980 Refu gee Act made the Salvadorans bona fide refugees and that his religious right to grant sanctuary to war vic tims was violated by the law against harboring or transporting illegal aliens. The jury acquitted him Jan. 24. His acquittal was the sanctuary movement’s first victory in its con- llicts with U.S. immigration law. Now Elder faces a second federal trial, this one involving fellow sanct uary worker Stacey Lynn Merkt. Set in Brownsville, the two are to be tried today for transporting two ille gal aliens in an unrelated case. Ms. Merkt was convicted on such a of Members of the Sanctuary Advocates stand on the steps home nations,” says spokesman Dale Nave. “A large portion of the civilian population has to llee — considered to be rebel sympathizers by the gov ernment and government sympa thizers by the rebels.” “U.S. immigration laws are not unilaterally applied,” says Nave. East charge last year and placed on pro bation. A local spokesman for Brazos Val ley Peace Action says most refugees come to this country because they are chased out of Central or South America by civil war. “They are not wanted in their ra effort!' )te thet this»' tendait he bac lowed t Contests offer students chance to display their literary talents By CATHIE ANDERSON Staff Writer | “Remember the day old Flapjack died? 1 parents puzzled, children cried I hadn’t a mark 1 on his scrub brushy hide, I curled up on the driveway I and patiently died.” I This is an excerpt from “Dog in the Dust” by Brad M. Whalen, a ju- Ibior English major. A year ago Wha- en entered the Texas A&M Poetry ontest sponsored by Sigma Tau elta, the English honor society. Three of nis poems were pub- ished by Sigma Tau Delta in the klet, “Nine Poems.” Now Whalen s preparing his poetry again, but his semester he is pursuing two ave- ues for his writing. ! Demand for original poems, com- posvuons and short stories has in creased with the creation of Litmus, the University literary arts mag azine. Both organizations are having separate literary competitions. Both Litmus and the Texas A&M Poetry Contest will be publishing students’ works in 1985. The Memorial Student Center Literary Arts Committee, which cre ated Litmus, is accepting short sto ries, poems, topical essays, and graphic art in mailbox G-9 of room 216 in the MSC, said Paul Stewart, committee chairman. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 12. “We’re really excited about this project because it’s a new way to open up writing to the students,” Stewart said. He said Litmus would be 60-90 pages long and would be published once a year. Melissa Romine, Sigma Tau Delta president, said the group is accept ing both poetry and short stories in its contest this semester. Submissions can be taken to the English depart ment mailroom until Feb. 15. Neither of the contests wants names put directly on the submis sions. Instead students should write their names on a 3x5 card and attach it to their work. “I would definitely encourage stu dents to enter their work in both competitions,” Romine said. The preface to “Nine Poems” says that the English honor society hoped that the interest in the contest would “... flourish into the creation of a lit erary magazine for Texas A&M and for Brazos County.” At the end of last semester, seve ral students approached the Memo rial Student Center Council with this idea, which brought about The Me morial Student Center Literary Arts Committee. Aggieland price raised by Student Publications By LYNN RAE POVEC Staff Writer The price of the 1986 Aggie land will increase from $15 to $20, the Student Publications Board decided Friday. “We’ve been talking about this for three years,” said Don John son, director of Student Publica tions. “We’ve been trying to keep the cost down because we wanted to be as fair as we could to stu dents.” The Aggieland is currently the least expensive yearbook in the Southwest Conference at 1.8 cents a page, Johnson said. Rais ing the cost per page to 2.4 cents for the 1986 book will keep the Aggieland the least expensive yearbook in the SWC, he said. Aggieland Editor Vanell Lee said the price of the yearbook hadn’t been changed — the last Monday, February 4, 1985/The Battalion/Page 3 Group sponsors handicapped awareness By KIRSTEN DIETZ Staff Writer To increase awareness of the problems facing the handicapped, the Texas A&M Student Council for Exceptional Children will be spon soring several activities this week. Dr. John Koldus, vice president for Student Services, will carry out his regular afternoon routine sitting in a wheelchair Tuesday. Koldus said he has done some thing similiar in the past, but has never had to negotiate a wheelchair in his office. He also has played in wheelchair basketball games for sev eral years. “As a person who has no obstacles, you don’t recognize the obstacles there are around the campus,” Kol dus said. “The different thing for me is it’s very tiresome, in terms of my arms ana shoulders.” Tentatively, a panel of supervisors or owners who employ the hand icapped is scheduled for 7 p.m. in 113 Heldenfels. Wednesday night, parents will dis cuss what it’s like to have a hand icapped child. The panel will meet at 8:30 p.m. in 402 Rudder. In “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” stu dents can try out wheelchairs and crutches or mimic blindness in the Memorial Student Center Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Junior Jeff Scott, who is i wheelchair, says “Walk a Mile in Shoes” is a good idea. “You can look at somebody and see how they act, but you can never really understand it unless you expe rience it,” he said. Scott said his wheelchair does not deny him access to many buildings, as most have ramps or elevators. The biggest problem is the lack of electric doors, he said. Photo hy DEAN SAITO St. Mary’s Catholic Church. European and Soviet refugees get asylum in this country easily, he says, because they are classified as politi cal refugees. But those who arrive here from countries in this hemi sphere are supposedly economic ref ugees, and Nave says therefore rar ely get asylum. price increase was in 1976 — be cause the book was making money. But costs are increasing, she said. The 1983 and 1984 yearbooks cost more than $16 each, Johnson said, and the 1985 book will cost more than $17. The Aggieland is not subsi dized. In addition to the $15 a book that students pay, the year book gets $20,000-$25,000 in rev enues from Yearbook Associates, the photographers that take indi vidual class pictures for the book. “It’s been a very real benefit to us the last five years,” Johnson said. The Aggieland’s contract with the company is renewed each year, but Johnson said Student Publications is not sure the con tract will continue to be renewed. in Most Texas A&M students and faculty are understanding of the problems he faces and are willing to iclp, he said. E APOLLO HAIR RESTORATION/ REPLACEMENT CLINIC OF HOUSTON TOTAL HAIR RESTORATION 1 ' 1 ★Minoxidil Physician Supervised ★ Hair Progression: Step-by-step ★Derma Vacuum™ The Ultimate Replacement ★Select your own program with health professionals dedicated to meeting your needs. 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