The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 48, Ed. 1 Monday, April 5, 1976 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
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Referendum resultsshowoverwhelmingTexPIRG support
by KIM D. BROWN
A relatively high number of
students turned out last
Tuesday to overwhelmingly
support TexPIRG (Texas
Public Interest Research
Group) and its effort to
negotiate a new contract with
the University administra-
tion. The vote was 671-166 in
support of TexPIRG, and that
turnout is approximately
three-fourths of the usual
turnout for regular SA
elections.
Also appearing on the ballot
was a new race for Cam-
panile Business Manager,
with Terri Jones, a Hanszen
sophomore, outpolling Ed
Harr 304-225. There were 57
write-in votes in the contest,
and approximately 250 less
people voted in that race than
in the TexPIRG referendum.
Students active with
TexPIRG were quite happy at
the support given the
consumer-oriented research
organization by 81% of the
voters. The referendum
'question asked students if they
the
thresnef
monday, april 5, 1976
volume 63, number 48
still supported the concept of
the organization, and if they
wanted the University to
continue the $4 annual
voluntary membership with
the University bills.
"It demonstrates a lot of
support for TexPIRG," said
Ricky Bost, chairman of the
statewide TexPIRG board.
"We're going to try to work
with President Hackerman to
develop another contract
which will allow students to
continue to fund TexPIRG for
another five years." Hack-
erman will take his re-
commendation to the Board of
Governors for a final decision.
The present contract was
terminated this year after only
43% of the students paid the
fee; the present contract
required the support of at least
half of the student body.
TexPIRG had claimed that a
communication breakdown
this year before school had
caused a lower amount of
student financial support.
Bost said the contract they
hoped to negotiate this time
would probably be somewhat
different from the present
arrangement. The new
arrangement should in-
corporate the several amend-
ments which were added to the
original contract and should
remove the 50% clause. In
addition, the new agreement
should specify the amount of
payment to the University for
collecting the fees, an area
which Bost describes as a little
vague at present, and also
specify the mechanics of how
to terminate TexPIRG support
if strong opposition to the
group's research activities
should develop among the
student body. The Rice chapter
is presently the strongest in
the state organization, which
includes chapters at Texas,
UH, and other universities.
Bost added that the local
TexPIRG board will meet
sometime this week to discuss
the referendum results and
goals for next year. He said
that the meeting is open and
student input would be
welcomed, and that the board
would have to discuss two sets
of goals — depending on
whether or not the University
will renegotiate the contract
on the basis of the referendum
results.
Baker races to win first beer-bike double crown
by DAVID BUTLER
Tall Paul Fichtinger, a Baker
chugger, said last Friday
night, "Baker's gonna surprise
the world." They did, winning
both divisions of the 19th an-
nual Beer-Bike Race Saturday.
Baker's victory-grabbing
total times in the men's and
women's races were 23:11 and
11:50.4, respectively. Baker's
top men's racer, Eric
Gausmann, tied the course
record with a two-lap time of
2:05.0, while the fastest
females, Debbie Turner and
Leila Freeman, finished their
lapsin l:03.0each.
Team Wiess, defending
men's champion and consen-
sus favorite, was swamped by
both the Baker and Will Rice
men. The Wiess Cabinet
demanded an evaluation from
both beer and bike captains as
to why their team failed to win.
Also, a Cabinet committee is
planning on raising the beer-
bike appropriation 50% to an
alleged $600. Baker, on the
other hand, used its $400
budget for maintaining utility
bikes for the College, as well as
for the race. Team captain
Terry Celiske estimated that
about $80 was spent for actual
equipment, and $160 for beer.
In the women's division, the
mild weather also led to
extremely ' fast times for all
concerned; even last-placing
Hanszen set a college record
despitejudgescallingpenalties
much closer this year. The
Hanszenites, who racked up
seven penalties in the course of
the race, claimed that those
penalties were partly due to a
misunderstanding of the rules
by the judges from the Naval
ROTC unit.
Observers of the race
speculated that a new category
ought to be set up for the most
innovative entrance by a team.
Fourth-placing Sid Richardson
was considered this year's
unofficial winner, as their
bikers wheeled in carrying
torches, while the chuggers
followed in an ambulance
accompanied by a brass band
playing "Buglers' Dream,"
ABC-TV's theme music for the
Olympic games. Other strange
entrances were made by Will
Rice (in electric CitiCars, one of
which broke down), Hanszen
(in dilapidated pickup trucks),
Jones (in a U-Haul truck from
which thebikerscame spinning
out), and Wiess (with the beer
team literally wrapped in the
American flag atop a truck).
Spectators were amused
considerably by the Lovett
College Team and their motto:
"We may not finish but we
always come." The men of
Lovett College raced on such
humorous vehicles as a bicycle
built for two, a unicycle, and a
tremendous high-wheeler
which harkedbackto bicycling
in the last century. Former
Lovett President Chris
Amandes drove the Master's
daughter, Kathy Klineberg,
around in a makeshift
rickshaw. An imitation Hell's
Angel, with motorcycle,
completed Lovett'screw.
The Rev. John Edwards.
D.D., Lovett team captain, said
th at" the ide a of a j oke b ad been
sitting in the back of my mind
for months; nobody seemed to
have the time to practice. About
two weeks ago, Chris Amandes
approached me explicitly with
this suggestion, and we started
looking for joke bikes."
Edwards, though pleased with
the effect of his team in
lessening the competitive
hostility, hopes to offer real
competition next year. "I think
it's time Lovett won more than a
moral victory."
For those interested in the
final statistics: in the men's
division, the order was Baker,
Will Rice, Wiess, Sid Rich,
Hanszen. and Lovett; for the
women. Baker led t h e
standings, followed by Jones,
Brown, and Hanszen.
yre
EE*
Top left: Lovett members model T-shirts emblazoned with team motto (Walter Underwoods Lower left: Exuberant Baker
victors show some "spirit." Above center: Hanszen chugger Barb Huppertz finishes one more Above right: "Reverend
Littlejohn Edwards, Lovett cyclist, gets a 20th century push for his 19th century vehicle i David Butler
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 48, Ed. 1 Monday, April 5, 1976, newspaper, April 5, 1976; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245289/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.