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A&M's Silver Taps to be held
tonight in honor of freshman
— Page 5
Aggie spikers hope to draw
good 'Cards' against Lamar,
— Page 9
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Serving the University community
Vol. 81 No. 216 CJSPS 045360 12 pages
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, October 1, 1985
dable ■
OeganL ,
1750 Reagan asks
Heckler to
Iritch posts
M Associated Press
■WASHINGTON — President
Mgan asked Health and Human
M Services Secretary Margaret Heckler
\ MMonday to give up her Cabinet
’IftPnV I 1 ^ or l ^ e an " )assac ' ors ^‘P to * re '
f Bd, the White House announced.
■Icckler, who launched a cam-
iECANtK" * n recent days to save her job
'Snoken helm of the government’s
jTjTT-Mjest department, asked for and
was given a few days to think about
jt,| presidential spokesman Larry
I & CYCLE Bakes said.
—-jBi ec ^ er met whh Reagan alone in
the Oval Office for 50 minutes Mon
day afternoon to try to talk him out
all makK'ofleassigning her.
B^ut Speakes said the president,
5th Bryan jwho denied earlier in the day that he
jntryCensfe'dd fire the HHS secretary, urged
9810 B 10 acce P t l he job as “a promo-
tion ”
'■larlier, Reagan had declared
i4tM^4*«hiniself satisfied with Heckler’s per-
1/Bnance. Heckler’s management
)UrSGl! ability and loyalty to conservative
principles have been questioned by
fa 01V t0 P ‘dministration officials.
' illeckler, after leaving the White
fl NPttJf use ’ 'S nore d reporters’ attempts
k* '^"Bquestion her. She returned to
r '***** ,, fiHS headquarters after the session.
■spokeswoman said the secretary
4 ' H ^%ould have no immediate comment
oi| the session with Reagan.
■leagan, who had never asked a
[ ■mher of his Cabinet to step down,
I By have been convinced by his
■ Bef of staff, Donald T. Regan, and
■ Her advisers that Heckler should
aids H removed from leadership of
I HJHS. But Speakes insisted the presi-
® dent was not dissatisfied with her
peviormance and that she was not
being fired.
Basked if she had the option of re-
aijaining in her post, however, the
spokesman replied, “I do not have
an answer to that.”
■Speakes said Heckler, as a woman
of Irish descent,“would make a valu-
(nNTuJ a bk contribution in U.S.-Irish rela
tions. ...”
seting iori!l'|| l ‘Mrs. Heckler has asked for a few
in officiating t0 consider the president’s offer
,, and will respond at that time,” the
Photo by ANTHONY S. CASPER
Booming Metropolis
College Station and Texas A&M now display scenes typical of larger cities. This view of A&M is from Tauber Road in College Station.
Four Soviets
kidnapped
in Lebanon
Associated Press
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Gunmen
dragged three Soviet diplomats and
an embassy doctor out of their offi
cial cars, fired bullets at their feet
and kidnapped them Monday in
Moslem west Beirut, police and wit
nesses said.
Anonymous telephone callers
claimed responsibility for the kid
napping on behalf of the terrorist
group Islamic Jihad, which has said
it is holding hostage six Americans
and four Frenchmen who have dis
appeared in Lebanon.
Radio reports said the Soviets
were seized from two embassy cars
that later were found abandoned
near Beirut airport. Witnesses said
one of the cars was intercepted by
several gunmen.
They dragged two Soviets out, the
witnesses said, fired handguns at
their feet, pushed them into a white
Mercedes and drove off. The other
two Soviets were seized from a sec
ond car, police said.
An embassy spokesman con
firmed the kidnappings but declined
to give details.
They were the first Soviets known
to be kidnapped in Beirut since gun
men started seizing foreigners in
See Soviets confirm, page 11
Aggies’ blood a highly prized item
:ry
ALL
D.m., Ri
See Reagan, page 11
By ED CASSAVOY
Staff Writer
In recent years, the Red Cross and
the Wadley Institute have been
locked in a competition for a valu
able resource at Texas A&M — Ag
gie blood.
Until two weeks ago only Wadley
had been allowed to collect blood on
campus, but a recent Red Cross
blood drive at the Veterinary Medi
cine Complex could be the first ten
tative step toward having both serv
ices at A&M, says Joanie DuVall,
Bryan-College Station director of
Red Cross blood drives.
“We’ve always asked them (Stu
dent Government),” DuVall says,
“but I guess they felt that students
“We’re (Red Cross) no
threat to Wadley. ”
— Joanie DuVall, the di
rector of Red Cross’ local
blood drives.
couldn’t support two blood drives on
campus. We just talked to Student
Government and showed them what
we wanted to do.”
The result was the collection of
304 units of blood during a two-day
period. Sept. 17-18.
“We couldn’t handle the volume
that Wadley does,” DuVall says, “but
if we had gotten 500 units we would
have been ecstatic. We got 304 units,
and we felt it was excellent. We’re no
threat to Wadley.”
The differences between the Red
Cross and Wadley are more philo
sophical than anything else, says
Lynda Faulkenbery, a Red Cross do
nor resources consultant.
“We’re a non-profit organiza
tion,” Faulkenbery says, “so we don’t
have the resources that Wadley
does.”
Wadley was chosen by the 1983
“ . . Wadley gives a very
good deal to Aggies. ”
— Beth Morrison, direc
tor of the Student Gov
ernment blood drive com
mittee.
Student Government blood drive
committee as the sole A&M campus
blood collector. Student Govern
ment, through its blood drive com
mittee, is responsible for deciding
blood drive policy every two years.
This year’s committee was respon
sible for looking at the current policy
and making the changes.
Student Government has allowed
only Wadley to collect blood for a
number of reasons, says Beth Morri
son, the blood drive committee di
rector.
“The way it is,” she says, “is that
Wadley gives a very good deal to Ag
gies. We are preferred customers.”
Blood donated by A&M students
See Red Cross, page 11
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■ By MELANIE WEINMANN
Reporter
■ Beginning today, students, faculty
ind staff of Texas A&M will be re
sponsible for charges for any ambu-
pnte service, other than the service
Hovided by A.P. Beutel Health Cen
ter
■ Howard Perry, associate vice pres
ident of student affairs, said the
Healih center will no longer pay for
|nv services provided by either
fyan or College Station ambu-
ces.
In the past, Perry said, the health
nter paid for all emergency runs
ade on campus when health center
Inbulances were unable to respond
center to stop paying for local ambulance services
due to prior emergency commit
ments. But the health center can no
longer support this policy, he said.
Perry also said the health center
cannot send ambulances off campus
due to local city ordinances prohibit-
ingsuch runs.
The health center previously paid
for all services provided by city am
bulances to off-campus A&M stu
dents, faculty and staff, but the cen
ter is forced to change this practice
too, Perry said.
Perry said Bryan and College Sta
tion ambulance services have be
come more expensive. Both cities in
creased service rates from $40 to
$ 100 a run, he said.
Perry reported that, between Sep
tember 1984 and August 1985, city
ambulances made a total of 128 calls,
for which the health center paid.
“It’s simply become prohibitive in
cost for the health center to pick up
city ambulance charges anymore,”
Perry said.
Health center fees paid by stu
dents at the beginning of each se
mester do not cover the cost of am
bulance services provided by the
health center, Perry said. He ex
plained that those fees pay only for
medical care given directly within
the health center facilities.
Perry said although the change in
the health center’s payment policy
was induced by the recent increase
in cost, it might have taken place re
gardless of the increase.
“The increase in rates prompted
the change,” Perry said, “but it
might have occurred anyway be
cause it’s a tight-budget year.”
Perry said the service was being
misused in some cases. Many of the
emergency runs made last year were
unnecessary, he said.
“I don’t want to say the service was
being abused,” Perry said, “but I do
think it was being misused.”
Perry explained that in some cases
ambulances were sent to patients
merely scared by an accident or sud
den illness or were called simply be
cause the patient had no other way
to get to a medical facility. In a lot of
those cases the patient’s condition
was not serious enough to warrant
an emergency run, he said.
Perry said he believes the change
in health center policy will cause
people to think twice before immedi
ately calling an ambulance at the
first sign of illness or injury.
Perry said he doubts that in the
future the health center will add
more ambulances to the two the cen
ter has already.
“We feel the amount’s pretty ad
equate, and we know we have the
backup facilities if needed,” he said.
Perry said he wants people to
know the health center will do as
much as possible to help patients.
Health center ambulances can
transfer patients from the center to
either St. Joseph or Humana hospi
tals if necessary, Perry said.
He explained that, in cases of
emergency, the center’s ambulance
can make runs to either hospital as
long as city ambulance services are
notified of the trip beforehand.
The health center also maintains a
station wagon for simple transport
services, Perry said.
The car is used in less'serious situ
ations, such as when a patient, with
out other transportation at his dispo
sal, needs to get to or from a medical
facility but does not need the equip
ment and care provided by an ambu
lance and attending paramedics.
Opponents: Proposals would hurt economy
irsf Ray equity bill stalled in U.S. House
ular season
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Associated Press
J WASHINGTON — Congressio-
lal Democrats thought they were
Haltzing toward passage of a law this
■ear that would lead to equal pay for
Jfomen. Then House conservatives
itopped the music.
Angry women’s groups and labor
Inions say the few Republicans who
lave stalled the legislation with
pres of amendments are fighting a
Ising battle against one of the most
Ignificant women’s issues of the de-
pde.
But opponents — backed by Presi
dent Reagan and major corporations
4-believe they are buying time to in-
fjorm Americans that the proposal to
ise pay for certain jobs tradition-
ly held by women could destroy
e economy.
_ At issue is a House bill scheduled
|for action this week proposing to
study whether women and minori
ties in the federal workforce are vic
tims of pay discrimination.
If it becomes law, it could be used
to establish a system of comparable
worth under which men and women
would receive the same salaries for
different jobs judged to be of similar
value. If the bill fails, the women’s
movement and labor unions will
have lost an important test of
strength.
“If they make this a big national
issue, they’re going to get a black
eye,” predicts the bill’s sponsor, Rep.
Mary Rose Dakar, D-Ohio.
“Women and minorities have a
stake in the bill. If conservatives
want to fight it, good. Let them
alienate the blacks, women and His-
panics in their districts.”
Dakar’s pay equity bill passed the
House by a 413-6 vote last year, but
it never came up for a vote in the Re
publican-controlled Senate. To in
crease the chance of passage this
year, the measure was broadened to
include minority groups. In addi
tion, an identical bill was introduced
in the Senate by Sens. Alan
Cranston, D-Calif., and Daniel
Evans, R-Wash.
This year, Dakar said, Senate ap
proval is more likely because Evans
is a co-sponsor and because 22 Sen
ate seats held by Republicans are up
for re-election next year.
Supporters of the proposal say it
is uncertain whether Reagan would
be bold enough to veto the bill with
the 22 Senate seats on the ballot next
year.
Opponents say including minori
ties is a political trick designed to
pass legislation that would hold
down the pay of men who hold blue-
collar jobs and increase pay for
women who work mostly in offices.
“How can you tell a steelworker
that his job is less valuable than a sec
retary’s? Free enterprise should de
cide that, not some government
panel,” said Rep. Richard Armey, R-
Texas, a former economics profes
sor leading the House fight against
pay equity.
Armey and his allies say the politi
cal risks of fighting the proposal are
exaggerated.
“The radical fringe of the feminist
movement is supporting this bill but
they don’t have the troops to back it
up,” said Rep. Robert Walker, R-Pa.
“They don’t really represent the
mainstream of American women.”
To support that view. Walker and
Armey cite the 1984 election in
which Reagan won 56 percent of the
vote among women despite polls
showing he was relatively unpopular
among them.
Graduation testing begins
today for 11th graders
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Close to a quarter
million Texas 11th graders will
take the state’s first graduation
test Tuesday and Wednesday
with about one-fourth of them
expected to flunk the exam.
State school officials expect
failing percentages to be even
higher for black and Hispanic
students.
“I anticipate the worst,” Jon
Brumley, chairman of the State
Board of Education, said about
the mandatory English test on
Tuesday and a companion math
quiz Wednesday.
“You’re going to have a lot of
unhappy people out there, and I
don’t know if they will take their
wrath out on the local school dis
trict or the state,” Brumley said.
Attorneys for the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Ed
ucation Fund said they would be
watching test results closely for
any discrimination. The organi
zation already has blocked, at
least temporarily, a Texas school
test required for college students
who want to become teachers.
The “exit-level” examinations
will be the first of four chances
that students will have to meet
academic standard set for the
1984 major school reform legis
lation.
Those who fail next week’s
tests and the following exams will
not get a diploma.
State school officials estimate
that about 24 percent of all those
taking the two-hour English lan
guage test on Tuesday will make
See Eleventh, page 11