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Area businesses sponsoring
Designated Driver Program
— Page 5
Winning no longer a given
when Owls hosts Ags Saturday
— Page 8
Hi
Tlifiir’D —.4.4.—.1!
The tsattalion
Vol. 80 Mo. 27 GSPS 045360 10 pages
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, October 23, 1985
Jordan rejects
Israeli leader’s
peace initiative
Associated Press
TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Min
ister Shimon Peres said Tuesday he
called for negotiations with Jordan
because Israel must regain the initia
tive in the search for peace.
Peres’ proposals on Monday ap
peared to offer anything new for the
Arabs. The proposals were promptly
rebuffed hy Jordan and criticized at
home by Israeli hawks.
The call for direct talks on ending
the state of war and resolving the
Palestinian problem came as Jordan
was trying to improve relations with
neighboring Syria, a hard-line state
that has refused to talk peace until it
achieves military parity with Israel.
A statement issued Monday, after
|ordanian-Syrian talks in Riyadh un-
Jer Saudi Arabian sponsorship, said
Iordan rejected “all partial and uni
lateral settlements with Israel.” A
high-ranking official in Amman said
his was King Hussein’s response to
he Peres speech.
Peres acknowledged there was
)nly a “possibility” his peace feeler
would be answered, but he cau-
lioned against taking initial public
■■eactions from Jordan and other
|\rab countries at face value.
[ wouldn’t judge very much the
leactions by the public declarations,”
je told a meeting of Jewish leaders
New York.
T There was no immediate reaction
from key Arab moderates, such as
Egypt, or from the Palestine Liber-
Ition Organization. The silence
could indicate that Arab govern
ments were awaiting more definitive
statements from Jordan and the
PLO, which agreed in February on a
joint approach to Middle East peace.
PLO chairman Yasser Arafat told
a news conference Monday in Ku
wait, before the Peres speech, that
he rejected earlier offers of negotia
tions with Jordan and self-rule for
Palestinians in Israeli-occupied Arab
territories.
“I am sure no Palestinian party
will dare to take part in any negotia
tions without PLO approval,” Arafat
said. He claimed Peres was trying to
“cover up his iron-fist policy” with
peace proposals.
In his U.N. speech, Peres did not
specifically rule out talks with the
PLO, but he said Israel would not
talk with those engaged in acts of
terror.
Peres noted that the late President
Anwar Sadat of Egypt, who signed a
peace treaty with Israel in 1979, pre
viously was its enemy.
“Sadat attacked us in a war, and
we did not ask whether he had
fought against us,” he said. “From
the moment he approached us for
peace, we accepted him according to
his current situation.”
Rightists in Israel’s year-old coali
tion government criticized the pro
posals, attacking the prime min
ister’s conciliatory tone toward the
PLO and his bending toward Jordan
on an international peace confer
ence.
Ham it up
Members of the Texas A&M Singing Cadets ham it up during their
s rendition of “Dames” in a special concert for the Corps of Cadets
Tuesday night in Rudder Auditorium. The performance was a
Photo by GREG BAILEY
scaled-down version of the group’s normal repertoire but included a
variety of tunes.
Election ’86
Senator Brown wonts to be first Republican attorney general
Special envoy says U.S.
deplores Israeli air raid
Associated Press
I TUNIS, Tunisia — President
Reagan’s special envoy said Tuesday
jliat the United States deplores the
■Israeli air raid on the PLO head-
|uarters outside Tunis as it does “all
■acts of terrorism.”
1 Deputy Secretary of State John C.
jlvhkehead, ending a diplomatic
peace-mending tour of the area after
|the Israeli raid and the Achille
Lauro ship hijacking, said in a
Statement to reporters, “The bomb-
;ing surprised and shocked Ameri-
Ilans as much as it did Tunisians. We
Beplore it, as we deplore all acts of
ierrorism wherever they may ocur.”
K He referred to the “tragic and un-
jlecessary loss of innocent lives” in
jtlie Israeli attack Oct. 1 and said he
Repeated to officials of this U.S. ally
in North Africa “that the United
States was not involved in this in any
toy and had no knowledge of it.”
There was no official reaction in
Tel Aviv to Whitehead’s remarks.
Israel Radio led its 5 p.m. news
broadcast with the story, comment
ing that Whitehead’s statement “in
Jflect contradicts the original Amer
ican declaration on the bombing.”
In Washington, State Department
bpokeswoman Anita Stockman said
(late Tuesday, “We have spoken to
the deputy secretary (Whitehead),
and he said he did not describe the
Israeli raid as a terrorist act; he did
not intend to imply that it was such
an act; and his statement should not
be read to suggest otherwise.”
Shortly after the Israeli air strike,
White House spokesman Larry
Speakes called it a “legitimate” de
fense against terrorism.
The administration later said the
raid “could not be condoned” be
cause one act of violence inspires an
other and “a pattern of escalation is
established.”
The United States abstained Oct.
4 in the U.N. Security Council vote
on a Tunisian resolution that called
the air strike “armed aggression
against Tunisian territory.”
Whitehead said in the statement
to reporters that he expressed Rea
gan’s regret for the raicl to Tunisian
officials. He refused to answer ques
tions after delivering the statement.
The special envoy also visited
Rome and Cairo to ease tensions cre
ated when U.S. Navy jets forced an
Egyptian airliner carrying the hi
jackers of the Italian cruise liner to
land in Sicily, and by the dispute
over Italy’s release of a Palestinian
guerrilla leader who also was on the
plane.
J. E. “Buster” Brown
By GENE ROBERTS
Reporter
If State Senator J.E. “Buster”
Brown wins his bid for attorney gen
eral in 1986, he will be the first Re
publican attorney general in the his
tory of Texas.
Brown told Aggie GOP members
Tuesday night that if elected he
would defend the Constitution and
laws of the state of Texas.
“The issue in 1986 is strong law
and order and someone who will de
fend the state,” Brown said.
“Experts said I couldn’t beat a 20-
year Democrat incumbent when I
ran for senator, but I did,” Brown
said. “It won’t be easy, but with the
people on my side we can do the
same in 1986.”
Brown said that Attorney General
Jim Mattox has neglected his job by
refusing to appeal cases. Two of
those cases specifically involved
Texas A&M — the Gay Student
Services issue and the Zentgraf Con
sent Decree.
“Take either side on the issues,
but the University asked the attor
ney general to defend it and he refu
sed,” Brown said. “That’s like pick
ing and chosing when he’s attorney
general.”
Brown said he would like to im
prove on criminal justice because he
believes citizens are tired of watch
ing a system that favors criminals in
stead of the innocent.
Part of Brown’s crack-down in
cludes Proposition 11 which will be
on the November 5 ballot. The
proposition is designed to eliminate
appeals based on technical discrep
ancies such as typographical errors
on indictments in criminal cases.
“Whether or not the person is
-guilty or innocent has nothing to do
with a misspelled word,” he said.
Brown said (Republican strength
in Texas has been a growing trend
for the last six years and could be an
advantage in the coming election.
“The reason for the shift is plain
and simple,” he said. “The Republi
can Party stands for something im
portant.”
Brown said, “I’ve been rated as
the most conservative member of the
Senate, and I’m proud of it.”
State judge upholds no pass, no play statute
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A state district
judge who earlier declared the
Texas no pass, no play rule unconsti
tutional on Tuesday upheld the con
troversial statute.
State District Judge Marsha An
thony, who last May ruled the law
unconstitutional, refused to grant a
temporary injunction that would
have kept the state from enforcing
it.
Under the rule, students must
achieve a grade of 70 in all subjects
at the end of each six weeks grading
period or be declared ineligible for
extracurricular activities for the fol
lowing six weeks.
Anthony, a former teacher, ruled
that the case would be tried on its
merits Nov. 18 as a class action suit,
affecting all elementary and second
ary school students in the state’s
1,100 school districts.
In her earlier decision, Anthony
said the law was unconstitutional be
cause it did not apply equally to all
high school students. The Texas Su
preme Court overruled her decision
in August.
“We are pleased that the judge
made this a class action suit because
we will now have to try the case only
once,” Assistant Attorney General
Kevin O’Hanlon said.
Houston attorney Anthony Shep
pard, who also is appealing the case
to the U.S. Supreme Court, filed the
challenge Tuesday and sought the
class action trial.
Patricia Patterson, who testified
earlier that her daughter, Lori, 15,
had become distraught with a failing
grade in geometry, disagreed with
the judge’s ruling.
“What they are trying to do is
wrong,” Patterson said. “My child’s
extracurricular is just as important
as French, math or English. She
needs them all to grow into a mature
adult.”
Patterson said her daughter had
three As, and a B and C in other sub
jects but the threat of not being able
to perform with the band could
jeopardize all of her school work.
The girl is a member of the Spring
Westfield symphonic band.
“She may end up with all Fs be
cause of this rule,” Patterson said.
Sheppard said he thought the rule
provided no margin for error.
“My personal opinion is that if
they are going to jerk students out of
activities, it should be for a shorter
period of time,” Sheppard said.
“And it should apply only to a small
number of activities.”
Sheppard said students involved
in vocational courses, including af
ter-school typing classes, also are af
fected by the rule.
ports disagree over effects of water proposals
:•*!
: 1
’s.
A
Ned Fritz
By JENS B. KOEPKE
Staff Writer
In a debate Tuesday night, an op
ponent of the Texas water plan said
that a “sleeper clause” in Proposition
1 allows the Legislature unlimited
water expenditures, while a proposi
tion supporter contended that the
water plan successfully balances en
vironmental and economic water is
sues.
Ned Fritz, chairman of the Texas
committee on natural resources, op
posed the water package, while Steve
Stagner, executive director of the
Texas Water Alliance, supported it.
The debate was sponsored by the
Texas A&M Regional Studies Club,
The Sierra Club and Greenpeace
and was moderated by Dr. Wayne
Jordan, director of the Texas Water
Resource Institute.
Stagner said, “It (Water Bill) is an
effort to give the state some tools
with which it can help local entities
finance projects and to put in place
management and conservation
mechanisms in the state water poli
cy.”
Fritz countered that the water
plan was throwing money at the wa
ter problem. He showed the audi
ence of about 150 people an over-
i sized check for “all you want” made
' out to “the Texas Water Commis
sion” for “water projects, needed or
not” to emphasize his point. The
“sleeper clause” in Proposition 1,
Fritz said, allows the Legislature to
create unlimited special appropria
tions for water assistance programs
and constitutes a blank check to “wa
ter hustlers” (bond speculators).
Stagner argued that the Legis
lature has always had the constitu
tional privilege to appropriate spe
cial water funds and used it in 1981,
while Fritz said that the 1981 action
should have been challenged as un
constitutional and that many attor
neys say that the Legislature does
not have this power. Fritz ques
tioned why it would be necessary to
have the “sleeper clause” if the state
already had this power.
From an environmental and con-
servational standpoint, the bill is an
improvement over present condi
tions, Stagner said. Water devel
opment boards are currently re
quired only to consider the general
ecological effects of a water project,
he said, while the bill provides “dis
cretion within a statutory defi
nition.”
Fritz replied that common law,
rather than statutory law, has pro
vided some regulations as to what
environmental concerns a board
must consider in reviewing a project.
The water bill leaves too much up to
Jhe discretion of boards that are
dominated by water development in
terests, he said, and would result in
the needless destruction of rich
farmland and valuable recreation
acreage.
House Bill 2, the Texas Water
Bill, is a comprehensive plan dealing
with conservation, development,
flood control and quality protection
of the surface and underground
state water resources. It will be fi
nanced by Propositions 1 and 2,
which will be voted upon in the Nov.
5 election.
Proposition 1 would authorize the
sale of an additional $980 million in
See Water plan, page 10
Steve Stagner