Phone calls, letters help
couples deal with separations
— Page 4
Sherrill, Texas A8cM SID claim
WFAA 'misrepresented' itself
— Page 9
■HHW Texas ASM m a
The Battalion
Serving the Gniversity community
ol. 81 No. 14 USPS 045360 16 pages
College Station, Texas
Iritain calls
ir end to
[xpulsions
Associated Press
ONDON -r- Britain called a halt
Wednesday to the exchange of dip-
irnatic expulsions that began when
|ht KGB’s top agent in London de-
fetied. The end came after the -So-
vie Union ordered six more Britons
oui making the score 31-31.
Ifhe Kremlin, in its first major
diplomatic imbroglio since Mikhail
S. Uorbachev assumed power March
11, took the unusual decision to re-
■iate in equal numbers to Britain’s
expulsion of 25 alleged Soviet spies
■t Thursday and six more on Mon-
dy.
■ The Foreign Office said after
■oscow completed the second
jqund Wednesday that it would not
■ict any more Soviets, insisting that
it had not backed down and that
Britain had come out ahead.
■ The cycle of ejections reduced the
number of British citizens in Mos-
■wfrom 103 to 72 and the number
■ Soviets in London from 234 to
pT
I Britain started the scrap by expel-
Btg 25 alleged Soviet agents last
■hursday on information provided
■by Oleg A. Gordievski, 4b, identified
w the Foreign Office as the KGB
■ation chief in Britain who def ected
See Britain, page 16
Enrollment
By ED CASSA VOY
i Staff Writer
Official fall enrollment figures for
exas A&M were released Wednes-
Vj showing a total of 35,701 regis-
lered students as of the 12th class
day. This year’s figure was a drop of
1,126, or an overall decrease of 3.05
percent.
University officials had antic-
pated a decline in enrollment partly
lue to a tuition increase that went
into effect this fall.
The Texas Legislature in the
spring raised the tuition for Texas
v/*'- J
im
A-Maze-Ing
Steve Frawley, Human Resources Manager for
Taco Bell, puts together a display during yester
day’s Professional Career Planning in Agriculture
Photo by ANTHONY S. CASPER
Day. The trade show provides an opportunity for
students to become familiar with job requirements,
opportunities and career goals in agriculture. .
decrease attributed to tuition hike
residents attending state-supported
colleges and universities from $4 per
semester hour to $12. Non-resident
tuition jumped from $40 per semes
ter hour to $ 120 per hour this year.
The number of non-resident stu
dents — students who come from
other states or countries — dropped
to 5,243, a decrease of 472 students
from last year. The loss represents a
decline of 8.3 percent in overall non
resident enrollment.
Sophomore class enrollment de
clined more than any other under
graduate class — dropping from last
year’s figure of 6,206 to 5,730 stu
dents this fall.
Head Registrar Robert A. Lacey
said the drop in sophomore enroll
ment was not unexpected.
“In making our projections,” La
cey said, “we predicted that many
non-resident students with less than
60 hours of credit accrued (students
who are not yet juniors) would feel it
financially advantageous to transfer
to a school in their home state or
otherwise not return to Texas and
that seems to be the cAse.”
Lacey also said the number of
transfer students with less than 60
hours appeared to be similarly af
fected.
Pieter Groot, assistant provost for
academic affairs, said he had not
seen the official figures but he said
that the drop of 1,126 was not as bad
as first expected.
“It (the official decline) was a little
better than what we expected when
the numbers were still coming in,”
Groot said. “It appeared at one point
that it might be as high as 1,600, but
this figure is not nearly as bad.”
Groot said the large loss of sopho-
See Enroll, page 16
Thursday, September 19, 1985
U.S. confirms
hostage freed
by terrorists
Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. — The Rev.
Benjamin Weir is free after a 16-
month kidnapping ordeal in Leb
anon, but President Reagan said
See related story, pg-14
Wednesday that he “will not be satis
fied” until the six remaining Ameri
can captives also are released.
Weir was released to U.S. authori
ties in Beirut on Saturday, but an an
nouncement was withheld to deter
mine whether the release of the
other Americans might also be ob
tained.
“We were trying to keep it,so quiet
because we don’t want to 'do any
thing that endangers the chances of
the other six,” Reagan said at the
conclusion of a speech promoting
his tax reform proposal.
But White House spokesman Ed
ward Djerejian, briefing the press af
ter Reagan’s speech, said it became
apparent Tuesday night that no
more releases were “imminent.”
Unconfirmed reports about
Weir’s release surfaced Saturday
with an anonymous telephone call to
the Reuters news agency. The Pres
byterian Church saifr early Wednes
day that Weir had been freed. Soon
afterward, Reagan supplied the offi
cial confirmation that Weir was
“back in America, safe with his fam
ily.”
“I am happy for him and his fam
ily,” the president said, “but I will
not be satisfied and will not cease
our efforts until all the hostages, the
other six, are released.”
Later, as he boarded Air Force
One to return to Washington, Rea
gan held up six fingers and told re
porters, “Six more to go.”
Weir, 61, a Presbyterian minister,
was kidnapped by terrorists May 8,
1984, in Beirut.
Neither Reagan nor Djerejian of
fered any details about his release.
Djerejian said Weir was in Nor
folk. Va., but that he was not hospi
talized. Doctors described him as be
ing “in good mental and physical
condition,” the spokesman added.
He said the United States had “ab
solutely” made no deal with the ter
rorists who had held Weir. “Our po
sition on negotiating with terrorists
is very clear,” he said.
Djerejian refused to answer ques
tions on why only Weir had been
freed.
But he said that “we have been in
contact with several governments” in
the drive to free the other Ameri
cans. He said Syria, widely believed
to have influence with the terrorists,
had “not specifically” helped these
efforts.
According to Djerejian, officials
had hoped the release last week of
the last Lebanese prisoners held at
Israel’s Atlit prison camp “would im
prove the atmosphere in the re
gion.” Following the release, he said,
“We did enhance our efforts.”
Vice President George Bush has*
scheduled a meeting Friday with the
families of the six remaining kidnap
ped Americans.
A native of Salt Lake City, Weir
graduated from Princeton Theologi
cal Seminary. He served as a pastor
in Oakland, Calif, and as a U.S.
Army chaplain before being ap
pointed to Lebanon as a missionary
in 1953. Fluent in Arabic, he worked
with the National Evangelical Synod
of Syria and Lebanon and was actve
in humanitarian activities and relief
programs in Lebanon.
When Weir was kidnapped, a man
claiming to represent Islamic Holy
War or Islamic Jihad, a terrorist
group, told the French news agency
Agence France Press that his organi
zation was behind the incident.
Sherrill questions truth
of WFAA-TVs allegations
By TRAVIS TINGLE
Sports Editor
Texas A&M Head Football Coach Jackie Sherrill
questioned the validity of a Dallas television station’s
report which accused A&M quarterback Kevin Murray
of receiving $300 a month and a lease car from an Ag
gie alumnus.
“I seriously question the methods, motives and val
idity of the sources of information involved in this mat
ter,” Sherrill said at a specially called press conference
Wednesday.
“Kevin hasn’t committed a crime,” he said. “He
hasn’t shot anybody. He hasn’t robbed a bank. ... It’s
not like he went down to the bank and pulled out a gun
and said, ‘Hey guys give me your money.’
“I’m not questioning the TV station (WFAA-TV —
Channel 8), I’m questioning the validity of the sources
on the basis of how they were collected.”
The WFAA-TV report said two of the A&M alum
nus’ former employees discussed monthly $300 checks
they said had been made out by the alumnus to Mur
ray. They said they had seen Murray driving the car.
The taped segment, which ran on the station’s 10
p.m. newscast, included an interview with Murray out
side of Cain Hall. A WFAA-TV reporter showed Mur
ray a copy of what he said was a 36-month lease
agreement signed by Murray for a 1984 Nissan 300ZX
with cash payments made by the Aggie booster. The
station said the lease showed the vehicle, with payments
of $749 a month, was delivered to Murray in December
1983.
Murray, a redshirt sophomore from Dallas, denied
any wrongdoing when confronted by station reporter
Gerry Oher.
“No, that’s a forgery,” Murray said Tuesday in the
televised report. “I’ve never seen this before.”
At Wednesday’s press conference, Murray read
from a prepared statement and declined further com
ment.
“In light of what has happened, meaning the way the
TV station handled me yesterday, I’d like for you to
understand my situation/’ Murray said.
“I want you to understand that I have decided not to
talk to anyone at this time,” he said. “I will be open in
talking with our University officials, the Southwest
Conference office, as well as the NCAA office.
“When this situation is resolved, I’ll be happy to dis
cuss this situation with you. I have no other com
ments.”
Sherrill said he discussed WFAA’s allegations with
Murray Tuesday night.
“I told him he has two choices,” Sherrill said. “He
could face this and fight through it with the other dis
tractions that he might have and . . . get on with his life
as a student — as a person. Or he could run and hide.
“It’s very evident, by Kevin being here today,
See Sherrill, page 16
Kevin Murray
Faculty committee investigating charges against Murray
By TRENT LEOPOLD
Senior Staff Writer
Texas A&M President Frank E.
Vandiver said Wednesday evening
he had no comment to make about
allegations made by Dallas television
station WFAA Tuesday night in re
gard to Aggie quarterback Kevin
Murray.
Vandiver said he could “not real
ly" make any comments because the
investigation into the allegations “is
already under way.”
The actual course of the investiga
tion will be conducted by the Faculty
Athletic Committee under the
chairmanship of Dr. Tom Adair, a
physics professor, Vandiver said.
The committee, of which Athletic
Director Jackie Sherrill is a member,
will be aided by the A&M legdl of
fice.
“I think he (Sherrill) is absolutely
right not to try to be in charge of the
investigation,” Vandiver said. “It is
to be done by the institution — in
proper procedure. And the proper
procedure is that the Faculty Coun
cil does that.”
Meanwhile, A&M students ex
pressed a variety of opinions
Wednesday concerning the allega
tions.
Jeff Hedge, a junior speech com
munication major, said, “If it’s true,
then coaches like (Jim) Wacker (of
Texas Christian University) and
(Bobby) Collins (of Southern Meth
odist University) are going to . . .
push to have A&M on probation.”
If A&M is put on probation,
Hedge said he still would “back the
Aggies all the way.”
Victor Gonzales, another A&M
student, said he would hate to be in
Murray’s shoes.
“In the first place we don’t even
know if the allegations are true,” he
said. “But this kind of stuff goes on
all the time, everybody knows that. I
would hate to be in Murray’s shoes
right now. But I understand he is
willing to be open about the allega
tions.
“I think there certainly had to be
some kind of an incentive to bring
him (Murray) out of baseball.
“The NCAA is going to eventually
have to handle situations like this in
some other way. Maybe college ath
letes should be paid.
“If they (the NCAA) keep putting
Southwest Conference teams on
probation then there eventually
might not even be a Cotton Bowl
and that’s not any good.” -
Gonzales said he too would sup
port the Aggies whether or not the
allegations prove true.
But Randy Carter wasn’t as sym
pathetic as Hedge and Gonzales.
“College atnletes in general
should clean up their acts,” he said.
“I believe every word of the allega
tions about Murray and he knows it’s
true too.
“We just have to wait and see what
kind of punishment A&M is going to
receive now.”