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Conoco donates gift
A&M gets land in Brazoria County
Page 6
Hit!
SWC baseball forecast
Road to '85 title runs through Austin
Page 9
m Texas ASM m m W #
he Battalion
Vol. 80 No. 117 CJSPS 045360 10 pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, March 22,1985
&M claims Bullock’s
report is misleading
By SARAH OATES
Stuff Writer
State Comptroller Boh Bulloc k's
Jreinarks Monday that I exas < olleges
land universities have billions in local
Bunds that onh the\ can spend is a
|“hiisstatement of fact," Texas A&M
fUniversitvoflicials Thursday
a speech to the l exas Daily
per Association, Bullock said
Istate colleges “have their noses in a
[$3.4 billion bowl of gravy, which is in
liheir bank accounts and which the
[legislature never sees.''
i he figures were based on a spe-
Icial financial report prepared bv
[Bullock’s office. State- universities
Iget local revenues from such sources
|as library lines, ticket sales to athletic
events and dormitory tent, the re-
[port said.
Bullock said he no longer sup-
||M)itecl a college tuition increase af-
[ter discovering the amount of local
Ifunds. Hut A&M officials s.iid Bul-
llock s report is misleading.
A statement issued 'Tuesday by
Ithe A&M System (Comptroller’s of-
Ifice to < l.uil v points made in Bui-
A&M
By MICHAEL CRAWFORD
Staff Writer
Texas A&M’s new microcomputer
bequisilion piogtam. designed to
provide students, faculty and stall
[with significant discounts on miexo-
omputers, has angered some local
oraputer vendors and raised the
possibility that some of them may be
iriven out of business.
“I think it really stinks,” says Da-
id Lethe, vice president for Digital
^Computing Systems. “The Univer
sity should not compete in the busi
ness market. 11 they’re going to do
[that why don’t they just start selling
[cars or anything else. Why comput
ers? Why pick on that field? There’s
no logic behind it. The next thing
they can do is put up a university
[store, a grocery store or compete in
automobiles. They shouldn’t be in
that business."
Associate Vice Chancellor William
Wasson says the University does not
intend to compete with local busi
nesses in any other areas.
lock’s report “tells the story pretty
well,” A&M Chancellor Arthur Han
sen said.
"We’ve studied the report in det
ail." he said, “and there are a couple
of misstatements of fact we’ve at
tempted to point out.
“Bullock tried to show something
was discovered, which is not true.
I hat money has always been there.
The legislators know the story.”
Hansen said the local funds, most
of which pay for services not pro
vided by the state, cannot be re-
channeled into other budgets, such
as tuition.
“ The implication about tuition is
mat it could come from local funds,
but the local funds are not a slush
fund,” Hansen said. “We could raise
dorm fees, for example, but it would
be unfair to penalize students. You
just can’t do tnat.”
A&M President Frank Vandiver
said the local funds are not “new
money,” but are part of the cost of
running the University.
“I think the problem is the comp
troller has identified a body of
money that has always been used for
the University.” he said. “It’s part of
the cost of running the University
and I’m surprised he’s only just now
found it. What we tried to emphasize
is that clearly, there is nothing hid
den.
“Local funds are essential because
they’re flexible. If that money was
taken back into the state treasury,
we’d just have to get it back out again
because it’s already earmarked and
budgeted for long down the road.”
Bullock’s report stated no Perma
nent or Available University Funds
are included in the local funds.
A&M System Comptroller Wil
liam A. Wasson said over $111 mil
lion or 45 percent of the $247 mil
lion in local funds is AUF money
given to A&M by the Legislature.
Additionally, $38 million of PUF
bond revenues go to local funds for
System administration.
The report also said colleges can
raise their fees at will and that most
fee money is put into local funds
Death March
Photo by ANTHONY S. CASPER
See Bullock, page 6
Sigma Alpha Epsilon member Mark Ru
dolph pays his last respects to Paddy Mur
phy, alias Steve Stonecipher, in Thursday’s
bogus funeral promoting a SAE party. Mur
phy was an SAE bootlegger killed by A1 Ca
pone’s gang during Prohibition.
worry local vendors
Wf- have no intendon of selling
things like cars,” Wasson says.
‘ We re selling computers because
they arc important to our curric-
ulun). They are absolutely essential.”
If some retailers go out of business,
Wasson says, he does not believe it
will be because of the University’s ac
tions.
A&M’s program gives discounts
between 25 percent and 44 percent
>n certain Apple, AT&T, Hewlett-
Packard, IBM and Zenith microcom-
putevs T he University is able to sell
the terminals at a discount by pur
chasing the equipment in large vol
umes Those savings are then passed
on to the buyer. Smaller businesses
that don’t place large orders usually
can’-, offer the same discounts, and
local businessmen say their sales
have suffered.
Judy Wright, president of Yes
Computers, says she expects the
University to “drastically change the
retail environment of Bryan-ColJege
Station.”
“It’s hard to determine what the
iilV •' Ctv' • '
111
By MICHAEL CRAWFORD
Staff Writer
The new microcomputer acqui
sition confer will open Monday in
the recent! v renovated section of
the student textbook store in the
Memorial Student Center base-
ment. ; '•[
And the plan to locate the new
computer store in the area now
, occupied by Rumours appears to
$ beonhold.iiiili
-rnkTocompmet acquisition pro-
S 'am. part, of die proposal in-
uded finding a permanent site
for a computet store A&M Sys
tem administrators; wanted to lo
cate the store in Rumours, but
heavy opposition to the plan from
various MSC committees has
forced the new center to locate in
temporary quarters. •
The renovated section in the
basement will house the center
When Texas A&M began its See Computers, page 6
exact impact will be,” Wright says.
“We haven’t sold one Macintosh
(computer) since the program
started. T he reason I can't match the
Macintosh price is because Apple
Computer is selling it to the Univer
sity for less than I can buy it. Actu
ally. they are selling it to the students
for less than I can buy it.” Wright
says she expects some computer ven
dors to be driven out of business.
Although Yes Computers does
not sell the Macintosh through the
University, they do sell the Apple lie
and the Apple He through the pro-
gram. Other vendors who don’t use
the program worry about competing
with the University.
Bert Frenz, Computerland owner,
says the marker, for computers is
strong enough to support small ven
dors, but not in competition with the
University. He maintains local deal
ers will be in trouble from the com
petition.
“We are disturbed by the micro
computer acquisition program,”
Frenz says. “We are in conference
with the University in examining the
long-range effect this program has,”
Computerland recently began of
fering 38 percent discounts on IBM,
AT&T and Compaq systems. Frenz
would not comment on how his store
can offer discounts larger than the
University’s.
Candidates discuss
role of A&M students
By TAMARA BELL
:• Staff Writer
The role of students and Student
[Government in the Texas A&M ad
I ministration’s policy-making process
: was discussed by candidates Tot stu-
| dent body president Thursday
night.
The five candidates at the debate
j agreed Student Government should
act as an intermediary between the
student body and the administration
[in order to accomplish policy-mak
jing goals. A sixth candidate, Jeff
Dan/inger, was unable to attend be
j cause of a death in the family.
Speaking to a crowd of about 40
[people, the candidates said Student
Government needs to work to get
students involved in campus activ
ities.
Responses differed, however,
when the candidates were asked
what programs they would ern-
phasize within Student Government.
Bob Stephan, a senior mechanical
engineering major, said would
make changes within the individual
branches of government.
“There should be committees
within the executive branch that deal
with the concerns of the minorities,”
he said.
Bret t Shine, a junior finance ma
jor, said the current Student Gov
ernment constitution is restrictive.
Shine said he would reconstruct the
three branch system by getting rid of
t he judicial board.
“In an ideal situation, i would
consolidate the executive and legis
lative branches to create a system
Presidential candidates are (from left): Ma-
delcm Yanta, Bob Stephan, Mike Cook, Sean
Photc by ANTHONY S. CASPER
Royall and Brett Shine. Jeff Danzinger was
absent because of a death in the family.
Some vendors worry not only
about competition from the Univer
sity in hardware, but also about com
petition in selling the actual com
puter programs. According to
Wasson, when the University began
planning for the microcomputer
program, it agreed not to sell large
amounts of computer software. But,
some software is available through
the University program, and that
has at least one vendor worried.
“Software (competition) would
hurt the most,” Lethe says, “because
there is going to be a lot of pirating.
The situation is ripe for that type of
environment. We’ve even seen it on
campus.”
11 the University starts offering
more software, Letne says, some re
tailers would be reduced to provid
ing maintenance and support serv
ices.
“There’s little money in that,”
Lehte says. “Support is answering
questions and fixing little problems
and things like that.”
Seat belt bill
gets tentative
approval
Associated Press
AUSTIN —- The Senate on
Thursday tentatively approved a bill
that would require persons riding in
the front seat of automobiles and
most pickup trucks to strap on a seat
belt.
Sponsor Ted Lyon, D-Mesquite,
predicted the bill would save “tons of
dollars” and 1,000 lives in Texas
next year.
See Seat belt, page 6
that stresses working together,”
Shine said.
Mike Cook, a junior economics
major, said he would put less em-
phasison government committees
that subscribe to bureaucratic
“mumbo jumbo.”
Madelon Yanta, a junior finance
major, said she would increase exter
nal communication by emphasizing
Muster, the Big Event, and other
campus-wide activities.
Sean Royall, a junior economics
See Discuss, page 6
Reagan wants super summit, MX funds
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan, renewing an offer to meet
with newly installed Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev, said Thursday
night it is “high time” for a super
power summit and that there is a
good chance it will take place.
Reagan, speaking at his third tele
vised news conference in as many
months, appealed to the Democrat-
controlled House of Representative
to approve funds for the MX missile
in a pair of votes next week. He said
there is little prospect of success at
arms control talks with the Soviets in
Geneva without congressional ap
proval for 21 additional missiles.
“No request by an American presi
dent for a major strategic system
deemed vital to the national security
has ever been denied by an Ameri
can Congress,” said Reagan.
On other domestic matters, the
president said that when he meets
Senate Republican leaders today, he
will be prepared to discuss changes i
m his unpopular fiscal year 1986
budget. But he seemed to rule out
canceling next year’s Social Security
cost-of-living increase, as some sen
ators want. And he said further cuts
in his defense budget “run the risk
of lowering our capability at preserv
ing national security.”
Reagan also described the police
shootings of black demonstrators in
South Africa as “tragic,” but said the
racial troubles in that nation result in
part from those who want “violence
in the streets.”
in addition.to his desire to engage
in a superpower dialogue, the presi
dent said the United States is willing
to meet with a joint Palestinian and
Jordanian delegation to promote
peace in the Middle East, so long as
the Palestinian Liberation Organiza
tion is excluded. But he ruled out di
rect American involvement in peace
talks.
Even as he appealed for biparti
san support for his MX missile, Rea
gan set up a fresh confrontation with
Congress when he said he would op
pose an extension of federal unem
ployment benefits for those whose
state payments have run out.
The president also said the clo
sure of 71 state-insured savings and
loans institutions in Ohio had no na
tional implications. “This is not a
major threat to banking systems, and
not a problem anywhere else,” he
said.
Correction
In Thursday’s Battalion the
story about Sully’s Symposium in
correctly reported a statement
from student body president can
didate Sean Royall.
The story incorrectly said that
Royall said knowledge of issues is
not what is important, but rather
knowing who to talk to.
However, what Royall said was
that knowledge of the issues is
only half of the issue for the stu
dent bodv president. He said the
other half of the issue is being
able to work with the policy mak
ers because they are the ones who
can make a difference.
The Battalion regrets the er
ror.