Page 4/The Battalion/Monday, December 9,1985
Lawyer claims
new prisons
not needed
Associated Press
HOUSTON — The Texas De
partment of'Corrections may be fac
ing its own execution if it doesn’t
start building new prison facilities in
line with guidelines imposed by a
federal court, an attorney for in
mates says.
TDC of ficials aren’t panicking but
acknowledge that the situation is se
rious because the state has failed
twice to sell about 3,700 acres of land
in the Houston area. The proceeds
were earmarked by the Texas Legis
lature to finance prison construc
tion.
The Texas prison system, the na
tion’s second largest, needs $125
million. Odds are, the state will be
taking an alternate route — lease-
purchase construction or swapping
land for construction, if the latter is
legal.
But, William Bennett Turner, at
torney f or inmates who won a case in
which prison reforms were man
dated a decade ago, doesn’t think
new prison facilities are necessary.
“We hope that no prison is ever
built,” he said. “It’s just fine with us
if they’re not able to sell the land and
if they’re not able to build any new
institutions.” He contends about half
of the 37,500 Texas inmates in the
TDC are non-violent of f enders.
He said the state could release
prisoners and achieve a 25 percent
to 40 percent reduction in popula
tion without touching more serious
offenders.
Turner said he will oppose any
move the state makes to extend
court deadlines for new prison con
struction.
TDC board chairman Alfred
Hughes of Austin said enough time
exists to construct a $60 million
prison at Palestine for more than
2,200 inmates and trusty camps for
another 2,000 prisoners, he said.
TSSA committee seeking role
as education advisory panel
By FRANK SMITH
Si nit Writer
A Texas State Student Associa
tion coalition might receive recog
nition as the official student advi
sory committee to Gov. Mark
White’s Select Committee on
Higher Education, TSSA Presi
dent John Hatch said Friday.
Hatch, a senior political science
major at Texas A&M, said select
committee member Bill Parsley of
Lubbock contacted Texas lech
student government officer Alli
son Bennett about two weeks ago
concerning the possibility of an of
ficial role for the TSSA committee.
Bennett relayed the message to
Hatch.
“He (Parsley) said he knew that
we’d been at each meeting (of the
select committee) so far and that
he wanted to see us possibly take
on the role of being the official
student advisory committee,”
Hatch said.
The TSSA committee is trying
to get back in contact with Parsley,
he said, to see if he will nominate
the group for the advisory role at
the select committee’s Dec. 19
meeting or if he thinks the action
should wait.
“I think it’s a matter of getting
us on the agenda or getting some
one to make the motion,” Hatch
said.
The TSSA committee, called
the Student Coalition on Higher
Education, was formed in Novem
ber. Coalition Co-Chairman Jay
McCullough said the intent of the
group was to show that student
leaders of Texas are concerned
about the future of higher educa
tion.
McCullough said he hopes any
recommendations the coalition
might have would be received as
proof of their seriousness and
commitment to keep Texas in the
forefront of higher education.
Hatch said tne number of issues
researched will necessarily have to
be somewhat limited.
“I’m trying to give (Mary Jo Pe
terman, chairwoman of the coali
tion) more or less free rein about
w hat she wants to do,” Hatch said.
“(But) I have given her some spe
cific guidelines as to where I’d like
her to limit her resources, namely
on the issues of financial aid, tu
ition and core curriculum.
“The select committee will meet
every two weeks — they can study
everything they want to study. But
we’re going to try to limit ourselves
to the things we feel are more im
portant to us and make recom
mendations based on that.”
Following the planned addition
of two more members, the coali
tion will be comprised of 13 mem
bers, each from a different mem
ber school of the TSSA. Serving
on the committee from A&M will
be Chris Gavras of the Legislative
Study Group.
Peterman, of Texas Woman’s
University, and McCullough, of
North Texas State University, at
tended the select committee’s first
public hearing, conducted Nov. 16
at Richland Community College in
Dallas.
“Introducing them to us and
hopefully getting a good response
from them about us —that was our
main objective,” McCullough said.
“We did get to introduce ourselves
to Larry Temple (chairman of
both the select committee and the
Coordinating Board, Texas Col
lege and University System), and
we did get to introduce ourselves
to the committee and to the public
that was there, and we got a very
good response.”
The coalition conducted its first
meeting Nov. 23 at TWU. At that
time the members discussed the
role and scope of the coalition.
The TSSA still will be an infor
mation network rather than a lob
bying group, even if the coalition
is granted tne advisory role, Hatch
said.
“A lobbyist is someone who goes
and tries to get different things
done — it’s more like an external
deal,” Hatch said. “Well, this (the
coalition, should it be granted the
advisory role) is where we’re actu
ally part of the process.
“It’ll be a part of TSSA, but it
won’t be the official feeling of
TSSA because we can’t take an of
ficial position ... I think the thing
I would like to see us do is utilize
our ability to be on the inside so
that we can spread the informa
tion to all these schools about
what’s going on so that if they want
to make some recommendations
they can go through us to make
the recommendations.
Hatch said even if the coalition
doesn’t receive official advisory
recognition, it will still pursue its
original objectives.
‘ vVe’ve already decided that ev
ery time the select committee
meets we want to be at each mee
ting,” he said. “Now' that was be
fore we were approached about
being the advisory panel — so I’m
sure we’ll try to be at every meet
ing anyway whether we’re there as
an advisory panel or just there to
observe and then to relay the mes
sage of what happened back to the
schools...
“We just want to be able to be
there and help research the issues
and offer the students’ view —be
cause that’s what we do best.”
Expansion of
A&M health clini
to begin in 1986
By TAMARA BELL
Suit Writer
Renovation and enlargement of |
rgt
the A.P. Beutel Health Center will
begin in January, says Dr. Claude
Goswick, director of the center.
When health services moved into
the center in October 1973, the space
was just barely adequate for its
needs, Goswick says. The center ac
commodates 20,000 students which
was adequate when that was the en
rollment.
But the enrollment has nearly
doubled while the center’s space has
stayed the same, Goswick says. He
says it’s obvious that the center needs
to be expanded.
The health center got the go
ahead by the Board of Regents to ex
pand in September 1983, he says.
Joe Williams, project manager for
Facilities Planning and Construc
tion, says 16,208 square feet will be
added to the center. He says con
struction cost is more than $1.6 mil
lion.
The contractor, Holley Brothers
Enterprise, Inc. of Pasadena, should
finish the job by Fall 1987, he says.
Financing for the center will come
from the building use fee which is
earmarked for this purpose.
The center will stay open during
construction, Goswick says. The au
dition to the center will be built first.
Then, during the renovation of the
current building, the center will op
erate from the annex, he says.
Williams says the construction will
be in two stages. The annex will
match the existing two stories and
basement of the health center. It w ill
fill in the L-shaped area on the
southeast side of the building.
In the basement of the existing
building, an x-ray unit, a lab waiting
room and an emeigencyw
will be added, Goswick says. |
“On the first floor there*;!
arger orthopedic clinic,” ki
"Tnere also will be mores®
record storage because we &
cords coming out of our eye
Goswick says the secondl
lx- an enlargement of the i
non and treatment area.
In the basement of the;
there will be a new hyper
gen treatment area, umit
He says one use for thistte
to help diabetics, who ha\e;
healing, recover from lesions
"The treatment was first,
treat the bends some
when diving," he says,
is in a chamber and theaitt
increases. He breaths
oxygen. The oxygen dissohoil
liquid blood which is gooiiirl
chronic lesions that wontheil
Goswick says Dr.
lessor emeritus of biolc
experiments with a cii
tow n. Fife is donating a i
the center.
On the first floor of thti
there will lx 1 new exam
increased waiting areas,
says.
He says the waitint
throughout the center
the department the patient!
f jo to and not in a central!'
ike the existing waitingrm
“This will help because!
there could be someonewb
wart removed in the same
area w ith someone whohaiarJ
blood," he says.1l
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make things more smooth'
Hughes said the prison popula
tion must be reduced to about
34,()()() in existing facilities by Sep
tember 1989, with about half of that
accomplished by September 1987
Records show, inmates are being
released at a rapid rate — 3,000 be
tween Oct.28 and Dec. 1. Most are
on parole and mandatory supervi
sion; the others are on conditional
pardon, discharge or shock proba
tion, according to T DC officials.
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By CRAIG RENFRO
Stuff Writer
The construction of a new hazard
ous waste storage facility will begin
at the first of the year, said Harry
Stiteler, Texas A&M safety and
health of ficer.
T'he construction site for the
$102,000 project, scheduled to be
completed by March 1986, will be lo
cated one block north of the Agron
omy road and F&B intersection, Sti
teler said.
The facility will be divided into
two areas, Stiteler said.
Part of the building will store 55-
gallon drums and another section
will hold small containers of chemi
cals gathered from campus laborato
ries.
A refrigerated section will be
added to contain heat sensitive
chemicals, he said.
. up
From the labs,” he said. “Once we
pick them up they have to be stored
per chemical specific requirements.”
Ben Woods, director of the physi
cal plant, said Rhodes Building Sys
tems, f rom Somerville, wall construct
the 25-by-50 building which will
house the waste.
Rhodes will be responsible for
meeting safety requirements cov
ered under the Toxic Waste Act,
Woods said.
Stiteler said currently the waste is
being stored at the Purchasing and
Storage building on Agronomy
road.
“It (Purchasing and Storage) suf
fices for what we need now, but it
just doesn’t have much space,” he
said.
The waste cannot be stored for
more than 90 days, he said.
I Every 10 to 12 weeksi J ) IU
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teler said. Ml 216 Rt
“This is a serious prop
have here," he said. "Evenfc
to lx- tagged and stored prop;
The costs for waste di^'
becoming expensive, SfdP
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Your last chance to have your Yearbook
photos taken is Dead Week (Dec. 9-13).
Photos will be taken at Yearbook Associate's studio
located above Campus Photo Center at Northgate.
Olllce hours are 8:30*12 and 1-4:30.
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