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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1987)
>n. The Battalion /ol. 82 No. 172 GSRS 045360 8 pages College Station, Texas Thursday, July 2, 1987 Fernand! Ion teen. years, >et lead •5,6-2. Evert, (fo races ont aids, staii in like Etf hots to n g up, gandCh, them," s nin theC t moved famly ai 1 lost in |L d realizel less I'm J &M considers Ramada for dorm space Three Board members decide to hold decision t DS e Scottl four in i Jsed Billil )nsecutiit| Jose Cm I 11 Gullid| e. ad 3-0 ini RBIdoul and Danj I out. DiJ h with ln{ d. itros dostj a pair cfj ed in tlit| id scored | y Larkiil >op upfei ;led agairf on Denni I ouble. * h over tlit | is sevenik ning, and h mer; ■ his sixtll as his fin| 24 at-l By Yvonne DeGraw Staff Writer Three members of the Texas A&M Board of Regents who toured the Ramada Inn of Col lege Station Wednesday decided not to decide on a recommenda tion concerning the purchase of the hotel. “We’re just considering our op tions now,” said Doug DeCluitt, chairman of the regents’ Special Committee to Make Any Further Recommendations on the Ra mada Inn Property. The next Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 23 and 24. For over three nours, the com mittee and numerous A&M offi cials discussed the possibility of turning the hotel into a dormi tory in a session that was closed to the public. Regents Royce Wisenbaker, John Mobley and DeCluitt toured two campus dorms — Mosher Hall and Underwood Hall — and the inn after the session. The Ramada Inn was offered in a closed-bid sale by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on June 9. FDIC spokesman Victor Rob ert said two bids were made in the original auction, but neither has been accepted. Because no accep table offers were made at the auc tion, the FDIC can accept other bids. | Currently, it is working with | “more than four offers,” Robert said. The FDIC has not been con tacted by University officials, he said, but he had heard about the Regents’ meeting and was curious about the results. The Ramada’s current owner is the FDIC, which acquired the ho tel when it closed Unitedbank- Houston on April 30. United- bank had purchased it just three weeks before in a foreclosure sale brought on when Joe Ferreri, the original owner, declared bank ruptcy. Ray Eckart, general manager of the Ramada, says the tower has “That’s the assumption. In a distressed market it costs less to aquire prop erty than to build an equivalent structure. ” — Doug DeCluitt, Board special committee chairman 304 rentable rooms, 20 two-bed- room apartments on the unfi nished floors and"a 5,000-square- foot penthouse. He says several offices also could be converted to rooms. The three regents visited the penthouse, one of the two unfi nished floors, a furnished room and the cafeteria and kitchens at the Ramada. Earlier, they toured comparable facilities in the Com mons. DeCluitt said the committee was including qualitative aspects in its economic analysis. “You have to compare quality as well as cost,” he said. He said they were basing their analysis on the assumption that, if bought, the Ramada would be re ady for occupation by Fall 1988. It would be a matter of a few months and a seven-digit invest ment to renovate the structure, he said. The committee has received several estimates of the cost of turning the hotel into a dormi tory but would not disclose any numbers. DeCluitt said it is generally less expensive to purchase a building than to buila it when the eco nomic situation is declining. “That’s the assumption,” he said. “In a distressed market it costs less to aquire property than to build an equivalent structure.” He said the committee was even considering aspects like what to do with the swimming pool. “Don’t presume the swimming pool will stay here,” he said. Dr. John Koldus, vice presi dent for student services, said A&M will have 440 fewer dorm rooms next fall because of Corps dorm renovations. With an esti mated 2,500 more students next year, this will place even greater demands on a housing depart ment that must turn away many students each year. Reactions during the tour of the Ramada were mixed. “It certainly has a lot to offer,” remarked one member of the ret inue. The tour was a bit hurried be cause the air conditioning was turned off on the unused floors. Wisenbaker recalled that a for mer employee left to work on the air conditioning system of the original building 24 years ago. “I think it (the hotel) is a bit like I am,” he said. “It’s getting old.” Photo by Robert W. Rizzo Members of the Texas A&M Board of Regents peer out a window on the 17th story during their visit to the Ramada Inn in College Station. w Reagan nominates Bark to join Supreme Court justices | WASHINGTON (AP) — President Rea- i sinde■Man picked Robert H. Bork, a staunchly 1 on Hail;f onserval i ve appeals court judge, for a Su- Moses’sicftreme Court seat Wednesday, risking a I Moses: bruising showdown with the Democratic- lW f r0D1 : ijuled Senate over his confirmation. j If seated, Bork could be instrumental in ^ r U no!{ helping alter some of the court’s landmark double decisions, such as a woman’s right to an _ r (jjj • abortion and the principle of affirmative ngledinfi ction - Ids whoii 1 Announcing Bork’s selection, Reagan out B ra i se d him as “a premier constitutional au- thority” and said, “His outstanding intellect o right. }| rry Brow and unrivaled scholary credentials are re flected in his thoughtful examination of the broad, fundamental issues of our times.” of hardline conservatives to succeed Justice Lewis F. Powell, 79, who announced last Friday he was leaving the bench because of health problems and nis age. Bork is best known nationally for carry ing out then-President Nixon’s order in 1973 to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox after two higher officials re fused. At the time, he was Nixon’s solicitor general. Reagan called on the Senate to confirm Bork before the court’s new term in Octo ber, but Democrats served notice they wanted to examine his qualifications thor oughly. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a mem ber of the Judiciary Committee, said, “The Senate is going to carry out its constitu tional role . . . with probably more scrutiny than anything this decade.” Leahy said he could not envision Bork being confirmed before Congress’ August recess. He said that with Bork on the na tion’s highest court, “his vote would deter mine that abortions would not be legal to day.” “I think we have to take a look at that,” he said. Bork once said that the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision legalizing abortion was “a classic instance” of the court imposing its morality on local jurisdictions. He said abortion should be a matter of local control. Privately, White House officials said they expected a tough fight in getting Bork’s nomination through the Judiciary Commit tee, and then expected a filibuster from op ponents on the Senate floor. The Supreme Court is in recess until Oc tober. In addition to opposing abortion, Bork has complained that Supreme Court deci sions have extended constitutional protec tions and federal authority far beyond their proper bounds. In a 1982 speech, he sharply criticized high court decisions on abortion, sexual freedom, and many types of free express ion. igner foxes in Texas may cause increased unemployment level KS, l Z 5, OCK By Greg Sellers Reporter The Texas economy has been suffering for the past few years, and according to numerous re ports, increasing taxes would have a negative effect on employ ment for Texans. The Committee for Economic Recovery, which consists of 85 or ganizations and groups, opposes the proposed tax hike and on Monday urged Gov. Bill Clem ents, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, Speaker of the House Gib Lewis and all senators and representa tives to implement budget cuts proposed by the Texas Conserva tive Coalition. Citing results from numerous studies on taxes and unemploy ment, group spokesman Richard Ford said in a report that the re- N I suits indicate that increasing taxes | will mean a decrease in jobs for Texans. One of the studies was done by the Texas A&M Center for Edu cation and Research in Free En terprise, and although it dealt primarily with income tax, it did point out that increasing taxes was not the appropriate solution to combat Texas’ high unemploy ment. The center’s director, Dr. Svetozar Pejovich, says he feels that the real problem lies in tax reform. “The issue is not whether to raise or lower taxes, but to come up with a feasible tax reform measure,” Pejovich says. The correlation between higher taxes and fewer jobs is “not that simple,” he says, al though one of the center’s re ports does indicate that higher in come taxes have a negative effect on the work force. Over the last four years, sales taxes in Texas have risen 31 per cent and gas taxes have tripled, according to a report compiled by Ford. Hobby and the Senate cur rently want taxes increased by an other $6 billion, which, according to the committee, would delay Texas’ economic recovery and leave far too many Texans unem ployed. The Texas Conservative Coali tion pointed out that increases for mental health, the prison system and higher education would not be affected if its money-saving and non-tax revenue ideas are followed. Ford’s report says, over the past 10 years, California and Mas- sachussetts have had to cut taxes in order to foster their economic recoveries. , The committee has asked each senator and representative to sign a “no tax increase” pledge and re turn it within a weeK.. The committee also urges citi zens to contact their representa tives to emphasize the need for those elected officals to sign the pledge. Democratic hopefuls offer criticism of Reagan in early campaign debate HOUSTON (AP) — Seven Demo cratic presidential contenders cho rused criticism of President Reagan and vied for political standing in a wide open race for their party’s nomination as they met Wednesday night in an extraordinarily early campaign debate. Debating six months before the dawning of the 1988 election year, the seven blasted Reaganomics and the administration’s defense policies as they took turns offering them selves as providers of “better lead ership.” The debate was an expanded, two-hour version of commentator William F. Buckley’s “Firing Line,” and was televised live over the Public Broadcasting Service. It took place in the Wortham Center before an audience so partisan that the Rev. Jesse Jackson earned loud applause when he noted, “President Reagan will be gone in 18 months as a matter of law.” Buckley asked the first question — which portrait would each candidate remove from its perch in the White House Cabinet Room. Jackson, answering first, said he would deny Herbert Hoover his place and substitute a portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. “A great president,” he deemed him, the Vietnam War notwithstanding. Jackson’s six rivals answered the same question in turn, and thus the first debate of the 1988 campaign cy cle was underway. From the opening moments, Jack- son and the six other contenders took turns at what Buckley charac terized as “Reagan bashing.” “I think we have really sold our future in the last seven years,” said Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., in comments echoed by the six other contenders for next year’s Demo cratic presidential nomination. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware ac-' cused Reagan of failing to confront the difficulties posed by the AIDS epidemic and of planning to “nucle- arize the heavens” with his “star wars” program, while Sen. Albert Gore of Tennessee scored the presi dent for permitting officials to shred documents and steal public funds. Sen. Paul Simon called Reagan’s legacy grim. “There is no question that this ad ministration has moved in the wrong direction,” he said. Bruce Babbitt, the former gover nor of Arizona, said that although Reagan often speaks of eliminating the federal deficit, “He’s never sub mitted a balanced budget, even within $100 billion.” Massachusetts Gov. Michael Du kakis said that under Reagan’s stew ardship some Americans are doing very well, but others such as farmers and iron range workers in Minne sota are doing poorly. “We need star schools, not star wars,” he said. The Democratic debate was the earliest of many that will be staged by television networks, newspapers and other organizations. A “Firing Line” program for Republican presi dential hopefuls is planned for Sep tember from Los Angeles. Cargo plane crashes, kills 5 at Air Force base FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A C- 130 cargo plane performing a tank dropping maneuver crashed and burned on a dirt runway Wednes day, killing five servicemen but stop ping 100 yards short of bleachers filled with spectators. Four of six Air Force crewmen on the plane were killed, as well as an Army soldier on the ground, said Capt. Brian Irving of Pope Air Force Base, where the four-engine turbo prop was based. Irving said three crewmen were taken by helicopter to Womack Community Hospital at Fort Bragg. Sgt. Lori Cogan of the Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office later said one of those crewmen had died. The two surviving crewmen were being trans- fered to Brooke Army Medical Cen ter at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Irving said the soldier killed on the ground was one of two men in a military vehicle hit by the plane after it skidded 1,000 yards down a dirt runaway and into some trees. He said he did not know what happened to the second man. The plane was displaying a tech nique in which a parachute is used to pull a tank or other vehicle out the rear cargo door while the plane is only a few feet off the ground, offi- pe ludir formed in front of a crowd including families of 82nd Airborne Division troopers, was part of a military exer cise open to the public. Irving said he did not know how many spectators were in the bleach ers, which were designed for 5,200 people. Capt. Donald Sensing of the pub lic information office at Pope Air Force Base, where the plane is based, said landing gear always is ex tended for the maneuver and it was not unusual for the wheels to hit the ground. “We really saw what it didn’t do,” Sensing said. “T he aircraft should have gained altitude, but it did not. Then, the aircraft went out of sight and the next thing we saw was a ball of fire.” Irving said, “There was a mal function. Where the malfunction was, or what caused it, I really couldn’t speculate. Something just went wrong.” The plane’s tail section was nearly three-fourths of a mile from where the tank was dropped on the run way. Debris was scattered down the runway, with the plane’s tailgate only a few hundred feet from the tank.