The Battalion
Vol.82 No.89 GSPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Monday, February 2, 1987
ate of campus businesses to be decided
Congress views competition between merchants, colleges
By Daniel A. La Bry
Staff Writer
M The fate of Texas A&M’s Micro
■enter, Copy Center and Photo-
B-aphic Services, along with other
^■rvices sold on campus that can also
purchased in the local commu
nity, lies in the hands of a congres
sional committee scheduled to meet
later this spring.
H The Ways and Means Subcommit
tee on Oversight will hold hearings
■ March or April to re-evaluate a
provision in the Internal Revenue
^^^»de that taxes unrelated business
Bcome of tax-exempt organizations,
a< ommittee spokesperson said.
■ Unrelated business income in
dudes services offered on a univer
sity campus that are not directly re
lated to educational purposes.
■ Businesses in the private sector
art complaining about unfair com-
peution from universities and other
^fcn-profit organizations involved in
^^■erything from selling computers
to running in-house travel agencies,
the spokesperson said.
An example of this occurred in
College Station in January 1986
when KLS Computers, a local com
puter store now out of business, filed
a $4.05 million lawsuit against Bill
Wasson, the vice chancellor and sys
tem comptroller of Texas A&M.
KLS accused Wasson of promoting
unfair competition by allowing the
Texas A&M Micro Center to use
state funds to sell computers at low
prices.
John Hawtrey, the attorney for
KLS, said the case is still in court.
The committee spokesperson said
the committee is not necessarily
looking to change the law, but it ini
tially is looking to see how the unre
lated business income tax provision
is working.
After holding and evaluating the
hearings, the Subcommittee on
Oversight will determine whether or
not a report should be given to the
full Ways and Means Committee on
its findings and conclusions. The
spokesperson said the subcommittee
will make a report to the full com
mittee if it feels there is a problem
with the present law.
Any member of the Ways and
Means Committee has the option of
drafting legislation after the sub
committee reports a problem.
The final decision could range
from no action at all to a tightening
of the law which would apply it to a
broader range of activities to the
writing of a totally new provision,
the committee spokesperson said.
Although the Small Business Ad
ministration discussed the unfair
competition issue last summer at the
White House Conference on Small
Businesses, the impetus for the hear
ings came from concerns of the
chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski
(D-Ill.), the committee spokesperson
said.
Wes Donaldson, director of pur
chasing at Texas A&M, said, “Gene
rally speaking, we — by we, I mean
the National Association of College
and University Business Officers —
think at this point it is certain some
type of legislation will come out of
Congress.”
The National Association of Col
lege and University Business Offi
cers formed a task force to formu
late the policy of NACUBO on the
unfair business issue.
William L. Erickson, vice presi
dent of fiscal affairs at San Diego
State University and chairman of the
NACUBO task force, said the out
come may affect a large number of
non-profit organizations, including
universities, churches, hospitals and
YMCAs.
The task force is made up of a
broad spectrum of higher education
business officers and representatives
from auxiliary services and
bookstores around the nation. Erick
son said a decision on the task force’s
position won’t be made until after it
determines what direction the hear
ings are taking.
Donaldson said, “Basically, it’s the
small-business people who are be
hind this, and they’re claiming —
with some justification — unfair
competition.”
Some universities have gone into
businesses in which the main pur
pose is not to serve the university but
to make money, Donaldson said.
Concern about unfair competition
has already led the State of Arizona
to pass a law which took the univer
sity bookstores out of the business of
selling items that were not either di
rectly related to the university or the
university mission, he said.
The law Donaldson referred to
was House Bill 2148, passed about
five years ago. This law prevented
universities and colleges from pro
viding goods and services readily
available in the local community.
Val Ross, manager of the
bookstore at Arizona State Univer
sity, said, “We can’t carry sundries
for our students, like aspirin and
miscellaneous things they need. If
they get a headache on campus, it’s
too bad for them. They’ve got to
walk off campus to get aspirin.”
Ross said students and faculty
were the losers in House Bill 2148,
not the bookstore.
“We’re not here to service the
public,” he said. “We’re here to serv-
See Competition, page 12
iut Is It Art?
Davis Gary residents (left to right) Stephen Zobal, Bryan Dulock and
thris Rudesill inspect their addition to the campus art scene in front
of the Academic Building Friday. Along with another friend, they
Photo by Tom Own bey
built what they call the “Baby Jack” with lumber they found in a
dumpster. Their artwork was on display with the original jack on Fri
day, but had disappeared by Sunday.
Filipino voters ‘test’ Aquino’s strength
with ballots cast on new constitution
■MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Filipinos cast
ballots Monday to approve or disapprove a new
constitution. The voting was seen as a crucial test
of strength for President Corazon Aquino’s 11-
mpnth-old administration.
BrSmall explosions within 20 minutes occurred
at three locations in Manila the night before the
plebiscite, but no one was injured, private radio
station DZRH said.
■The explosions, apparently from homemade
bombs, were at the San Roque Roman Catholic
Church, a bookstore and in a vacant lot about
200 yards from the DZRH studios, according to
the broadcast. Police said they had no suspects.
. Also Sunday night, Manila police arrested two
men and seized 120 sticks of dynamite after
learning of a plot to disrupt the voting.
■The military put 79 battalions on alert to pre
vent trouble during the nationwide voting, which
came days after the government put down a mili
tary coup attempt by supporters of former Presi
dent Ferdinand E. Marcos.
T Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (6 p.m.
Sunday to 1 a.m. today EST). Nationwide results
were not expected for days, but the private Na
tional Movement for Free Elections said it ex-
pecied definitive results from the Manila area by
midnight (11 a.m. today EST).
Ramon Felipe Jr., chairman of the Commis
sion on Elections, predicted an 80 percent turn
out of the 25 million registered voters.
The plebiscite marked the first time Aquino
went to the electorate for a show of support since
the “people power revolution” swept her to
power in February 1986 following contested
presidential elections. That uprising forced Mar
cos to abandon the presidency after 20 years and
flee into exile in Hawaii.
Marcos said Sunday in Honolulu that “I have
been informed that massive cheating and fraud
has already happened.” He claimed lower level
government workers had been offered 100 pesos
(about $5) each to vote for the document.
The proposed 20,000-word charter was com
pleted in October by a 48-member commission
Aquino appointed despite opposition from both
leftist and rightist critics.
The plebiscite asks voters to respond to the
question: “Do you vote for the approval of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines as
proposed by the Constitutional Commission?”
The constitution would sharply reduce the
power of the president, re-establish a two-cham
ber legislature, guarantee civil rights and ban the
military from political activity other than voting.
It would confirm Aquino in the presidency for a
six-year term.
Presidential spokesman Teodoro Benigno has
said the plebiscite was a “vote of confidence in
Corazon Aquino” and an approval margin below
60 percent would spell trouble.
Former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile
campaigned against the charter. His Coalition of
Democratic Action predicted a 60 percent “no”
vote unless the government “rigs the election.”
It was unclear what would happen if the pro
posal is rejected. Aquino’s opponents say she
should then resign and call new elections, but
there is no legal requirement to do sq.
Right-wing criticism has centered on a provi
sion which extends Aquino’s term to June 30,
1992, and affirms her as the winner in the Feb. 7,
1986, fraud-tainted election in which both she
and Marcos claimed victory.
Election officials admit no accurate count was
ever made.
Leftists, including the May 1st Movement la
bor federation and the Communist-dominated
National Democratic Front coalition, charge the
proposed constitution does not go far enough in
changing the country’s social, political and eco
nomic institutions.
Clements’ plan
for state budget
may change PUF
By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Senior Staff Writer
Although short on details, offi
cials in Gov. Bill Clements’ office
have suggested that the Permanent
University Fund and other public
trust funds may be used in uncon
ventional ways to help bridge the
state’s projected $5.8 billion budget
S a P-
Clements will announce a com- -
plete budget proposal at the State of
the State address Wednesday and
may elaborate on his plans for the
PUF, the Permanant School Fund
and merit teachers’ pay, Jay Rosser,
the governor’s deputy press secre
tary, said Friday.
“A lot of details will become a lot
clearer,” Rosser said regarding the
fate of the PUF. But when asked if
he knew any particulars of the gov
ernor’s proposal, Rosser replied, “I
know, but I’m not going to tell you.”
A story in the Dallas Morning
News Wednesday attributed “the
governor’s associates” as saying that
under one proposal, capital gains
from the sale of PUF stocks and se
curities may be appropriated for
other uses such as funding univer
sity research.
House Speaker Gib Lewis sub
mitted a similar plan in August as a
special session of the Legislature
wrestled with the problem of mas
sive future deficits.
But the bill was assailed by public
criticism and suffered a quiet death
in the House Appropriations Com
mittee.
The PUF has profited handsom
ely from the rising value of stocks
and securities in recent years. Since
1980, the fund has grown over $1.5
billion and now that hard times have
fallen on the state, this capital
growth has become especially attrac
tive to the deficit-ridden state gov
ernment.
The Texas A&M Office of Gen
eral Counsel responded to Lewis’ bill
by sending a brief to Attorney Gen
eral Jim Mattox, arguing that the
Gov. Bill Clements
Texas Constitution — which created
the PUF — prohibits the Legislature
from using the funds directly. The
brief also argued that any capital
growth in the fund is similarly off-
limits to the Legislature.
For the Legislature to appropriate
funds directly from the PUF, the
brief argued, a consitutional amend
ment would have to be approved by
popular vote.
Rosser said any questions concern
ing the constitutionality of Clements’
plan would be resolved before it is
proposed.
“It will be a plan that will be con
sidered by the Legislature and not
dismissed,” Rosser said. “This gover
nor does not really care about crit
icism.”
Jerry Cain, Texas A&M associate
general counsel, said Friday his of
fice hasn’t formulated an official re
sponse because no proposal has been
announced by the governor’s office.
The Dallas Morning News story
also reported that one of the gover
nor’s proposals would have the Per
manent School Fund purchase sur-
lus state lands, possibly as much as
400 million worth, which the state
has been unable to dispose of in the
depressed real estate market. The
proceeds would be used in other
areas, such as to build new prisons.
American journalist
detained by Iranians
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An
American reporter has been de
tained in Iran, the Swiss Foreign
Ministry said Sunday, and, hours
after his detention, the Iranian
news agency said a person posing
as a journalist had been accused
of spying.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic
News Agency (IRNA) said Satur
day night a “spy of the Zionist re
gime” had been arrested after en
tering the country with a false
passport and disguised as a jour
nalist.” It did not identify the per
son by name or nationality.
In New York, a spokesman for
the Wall Street Journal said a re
porter for the newspaper was be
ing held in Iran.
“We have learned through dip
lomatic channels that Gerald F.
Seib, staff reporter for the Wall
Street Journal, has been detained
in Iran,” Managing Editor Nor
man Pearlstine said. “We have
not been informed of any reason
for this detention.
“Jerry Seib is a highly re
spected foreign correspondent
and there can be no basis for his
detention. We are seeking expla
nations through Iranian and
other diplomatic channels. We
hope any confusion will be
cleared up and we are requesting
his immediate release from de
tention and from Iran.”
Seib, 30, has been a Journal re
porter since 1978, and has cov
ered the Middle East from Cairo
since 1985.
State Department spokesman
Bruce Ammerman said in Wash
ington: “The Swiss government
has confirmed the detention of
Gerald F. Seib, a U.S. citizen. . . .
From official diplomatic sources,
we do not know why he has been
detained.”
Ammerman said Seib “should
be released immediately and al
lowed to depart Iran forthwith.”
Ammerman said the United
States was “in close communica
tion with the Swiss, who are our
protecting power in Iran.”