August 25, 1985

THE 117th college football season opens this week like many of the recent campaigns - in an atmosphere of suspicion and scandal. Three of the stronger teams are serving punishments for violations in recruiting some of the athletes who helped them earn national rankings. Southern Methodist University will start its season Sept. 7, just three weeks after receiving one of the most severe penalties ever dealt a football program by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on Infractions. Florida and Illinois are also serving probations for recruiting violations. The Mustangs, the Gators and the Illini are preseason selections to finish among the top 10 teams in the nation. Clemson, the No. 1 team for the 1981 season, entered last season as a contender again for the No. 1 ranking as it was serving a probation period that ended last November.

ARISE in the number of people who operate businesses and professions in residential cooperatives and condominiums is creating problems for boards of directors. Active offices in both city buildings and suburban complexes can generate an unwelcome increase in foot and motor traffic and an additional security risk. They also can add to the noise level, place an unacceptable burden on the electrical supply and increase wear and tear on hallways, lobbies, lawns and other public areas. Controlling these operations can be tricky, but those who counsel boards on such matters or have been through the experience themselves suggest that it can be done if certain steps are taken. These include carefully documenting alleged violations of house rules or bylaws that result from office activity before making any allegations, taking action immediately rather than letting months slip by, and amending the rules to specifically regulate enterprises likely to cause the problems.

President Reagan, commenting on his planned meeting with Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, said today that he hoped to eliminate ''hostilities'' and ''suspicions'' between the two countries. In presenting that goal for the meeting, Mr. Reagan also played down the likelihood of signing major agreements. Similar expectations have been advanced by top White House officials who have discussed the Administration's preparations for the meeting, which will be held in Geneva on Nov. 19-20. Mr. Reagan's remarks came in a telephone interview with Dick Doty, executive vice president and news director of Washington Broadcast News. The interview will be broadcast beginning on Monday, and the White House is to make a transcript available then.

The price farmers get for beef cattle has fallen sharply this year, but little of the saving has been passed on to shoppers, according to Government statistics. The gap between the farm price and the retail price has reached a record amount, bringing protests from cattlemen and prompting Gov. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska to order an investigation by his Attorney General. Representatives of the food marketing business assert, however, that comparisons are misleading because of a lag between the time cattle are sold for slaughter and the time the meat arrives in the stores. A Farmer Is Puzzled On a farm of about 20,000 acres here in eastern Kansas where Trent Burkdoll and his three brothers raise and fatten about 4,000 head of cattle, Mr. Burkdoll said he was puzzled. ''It seems to me,'' he said, watching his brother Mark and his son Clint herding cattle across a wide pasture, ''that the question folks in New York ought to be asking is this: Why, when we are losing $100 a head on some of those cattle, are the stores still charging so much?''

BEFORE mammoth rejuvenation projects like Manhattan's Battery Park City ignited building booms and changed cityscapes in the nation's downtown areas, it seemed that a deadly cancer was spreading unchecked through the body of urban America. Only a few years ago, major metropolises were facing financial ruin. Aging industrial slums and dilapidated residential neighborhoods had a choke-hold on inner cities, discouraging development. And much of corporate America, complaining about crime and the poorly educated urban labor force, fled to the lush greenery and superior schools of the suburbs. Manhattan's downtown financial district was as battered by these forces as most others. But now, major corporations like Merrill Lynch, American Express and Dow Jones, will soon begin moving into Battery Park City, the bold renewal project that is adding a new dimension to Wall Street. The phoenix-like rising of their collective new home is demonstrating that predictions of lower Manhattan's demise were unduly hasty - like forecasts for other downtowns across the nation.