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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 1991)
November 26, iguage ■amaic ration, the sound| nn this mountair ckets of Aramaitjj g continually i juage. not written," sat; ikla Greek Ortho- shrines in Chris : rage of our Lord e," the children -obe of her order, iguage has beet I by the people o; din and Najafa. ith the Lord Jest l of this traditior -abic, are misprc- it Aramaic could Partly cloudy today with high in the 70s. Low in the 50s tonight Annual Battle of the Letters: Editors from The Battalion and The Daily Texan exchange criticisms to prove which university is better and why their team will win. Page9 State & Local Section Page 2 • Douglas Pits, the next editor of The Battalion, makes plans for the spring semester. What’s Up Police Beat Page 4 Page 5 UT, A&M meet for the 98th time 1 in the battle for pride, traditions and bragging rights. Page 7 .91 No. 63 The Battalion College Station, Texas “Serving Texais A&M since 1893” 10 Pages Wednesday, November 27, 1991 regents merge Galveston, College Station campuses will become effective Jan. 1,1992. The po- eluded $40.8 million, were preliminary eighth for the last two years, despite a "We just got the final word on the con vlt.Joy sition of Galveston's university president figures. 27th ranking in federal funding dollars. tract," he said. "Most accidents in Galve alion will be re-named Dean of Geosciences The program was created in 1989 to "We have tremendous potential to in- ston bay have been the result of towinj ) 1946. iy people driftin': , /ond, toAmericiH The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents concluded the official which is closelv flH'rger of Texas A&M University at o have been de- Galveston with the A&M main campus as it breezed through its agenda Tuesday. I The Galveston integration began last fall, and a task force has been wading B^ough the details throughout the year. He formal authorization by the Board HU not complete the process, however, Hd the phasing-in of the school is expect- ■ to continue for several years, a report approved at the Board's meeting in the ^KC said. i I A report by A&M System Chancellor [H. Herbert Richardson said the merger will become effective Jan. 1,1992. The po sition of Galveston's university president will be re-named Dean of Geosciences and Maritime Studies. In other Board business. Dr. Edward Hiler, deputy chancellor for academic programs and research, said A&M's Fed eral Research Enhancement Program has met with encouraging initial success. "State and federal fund crisises have made federal funding more and more dif ficult to receive," Hiler said. "Attaining the funds has become even more critical for the system." Hiler said the first two years of the program combined brought in more than $56 million for items in the plan. The cost the additional A&M presence in Wash ington D.C. cost the system only $280,000. Hiler said the 1991 results, which in cluded $40.8 million, were preliminary figures. The program was created in 1989 to establish an ongoing presence for the sys tem in Washington by increasing federal funding to the system and promoting the research capabilities of Texas A&M, Hiler said. Hiler said top priorities for the pro gram include securing the final $700,000 funding needed to complete $12.5 million needed for the Institute of Biosciences and Technology. Other goals include funds for an Institute for National Drug Abate ment Research Center, a Materials Science Center and Medical School initiative. Hiler said A&M system federal fund ing increases might move A&M to sev enth nationally in terms of total research volume. A&M schools had been ranked eighth for the last two years, despite a 27th ranking in federal funding dollars. We have tremendous potential to in crease our research funding," Hiler said. "Especially in areas like defense and edu cation. We have specifically in mind to penetrate these areas." Funding has not been a problem for Texas A&M at Galveston, however, A&M at Galveston President William Merrell said. "We have been the fastest growing University in Texas in each of the last four years," Merrell said. "Minority enroll ment has increased dramatically, as has overall enrollment, in those four years." Merrell said funding at the school has increased from $350,000 in 1987 to $20 million in 1991. The funding includes $500,000 for a towboat study program. 'We just got the final word on the con tract," he said. "Most accidents in Galve ston bay have been the result of towing problems, so the industry needs this pro gram badly." Merrell said the program will not be opened until 1993. The Board also approved acceptance of builds for several construction prod ucts, including a $3.2 million Turboma chinery laboratory. The Facilities Planning and Building committee report, given by Gen. Wesley Peel, also contained bids for a Plant Biotechnology Center to be located on West Campus that would include con struction of eight new greenhouses. Re-roofing contracts for Aston and Nagel halls, the Printing Center and the Animal Industries building were also ap proved. Peace talks to resume in U.S. Palestinians, Syrians, Israelis near agreement over resumption of talks >tudio sed & Printed & 110. One offer. Not n at time of ord® •rtrait studio. i Maria aria Cleaners >402 One >ta ner. Not dead RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion Senior yell leaders, accompanied by senior redpots, lead the class of 1991 Tuesday afternoon in a few yells between Evans Library and the Agriculture Building. Seniors hold yell practice at several points around campus before stopping at bonfire stack. WASHINGTON (AP) - Syria and the Palestinians edged closer Tuesday to accepting a resump tion of Mideast peace talks with Is rael here on Dec. 4. They raised "any number of questions" in their replies to a joint U.S.-Soviet invitation, and the Bush administration is insist ing on unqualified acceptances, Margaret D. Tutwiler, the State Department spokeswoman, said. Israel is expected to give its an swer after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The replies from Syria and the Palestinians "show a readiness to respond positively," Tutwiler said. Without disclosing the con tents, she said there would be no U.S. reply to the questions even though they are "sincere." "Our proposal is out there," she added. "We are not accepting conditions." Monday was the deadline set by Secretary of State James A. Bak er III, but only Jordan and Lebanon accepted Washington as the site and Dec. 4 as the starting date. Syria takes the position Israel should agree beforehand to nego tiate on a basis of giving up land for peace. Syria's aim is to reclaim the Golan Heights, which it lost in the 1967 Six-Day war. The Palestinians want the Bush administration to issue visas to Palestine Liberation Organization members who are advisers to the Palestinian delegation. Tutwiler said waivers of the Congressional ban on PLO visas would not be issued for the See Baker/Page 6 ongress passes bills to protect deposits, build highways A 'new class of poor' Former donors need charity I WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress labored Tuesday to com plete its work for the year by pass ing major bills to build highways, ai- the Soviets and protect Ameri cans' bank deposits. I Plans to adjourn before Thanksgiving were thrown into dpubt as President Bush dared Democrats to consider a tax cut plan. I House Speaker Thomas S. Fo ley, angered by comments made by Bush and other Republicans, was inclined to bring Congress back into session on Dec. 10 for hearings comparing Democratic tax proposals with a House GOP plan that Bush embraced. "Whether we can get it (a tax bill) done depends on what the president can accept," said Rep. Leon Panetta, D-Calif. The discussions came amid a rush of legislation aimed at reach ing adjournment Tuesday night, and hours after Bush, under attack from the GOP right wing, ex pressed enthusiasm for a House Republican plan including a capi tal gains tax cut. The talk of a December session was part of the battle for a political leg up before the final gavel, as both Democrats and Republicans tried to cast their parties in the best light going into the 1992 elec tion year. (AP) —The economic slump has charities strug gling to cope with increased numbers of people seek ing aid this Thanksgiving, including a "new class of poor" who were the donors of past years, officials say. A Connecticut church group is turning people away in what its director calls "the most heart- wrenching decision I've ever had to make." In Michigan, which abolished welfare for 83,000 adults last month, a soup kitchen is facing "astro nomical" demand. In Burlington, Vt., the emergency food service is trying to serve up to 20 percent more people with only a tiny increase in donations. "Don't tell me that the recession is over," said Ruth Shecter, executive director of the Housing Infor mation Center in Kansas City, Mo. "President Bush needs to walk with the people and find out what it really means." Capt. Phil Murphy of the Salvation Army in Raleigh, N.C., said donations to his unit are off $18,000 from last year for the Christmas and winter relief drives, but the number of people seeking help has been rising. See Churches/Page 6 346-0379, ps Like >roduces 200 lime-' ns of a properly i use 9% less fuel car. Ilredskaj iSll V amen FreeoT CHANGE ith purchase o' .priced tune if , mm* .8 M to fund science students By Mark Evans TTrc Battalion The Texas Engineering Experiment Station , an agency of the Texas A&M Universi ty System, will use a recently received $4.8 mil lion grant from the National Science Founda tion (NSF) to establish an alliance to offer assis tance to minority students involved in the fields of engineering, mathematics and science. I The NSF Alliance for Minority Participa- tipn(AMP) binds community colleges together with major universities to increase the number of minorities graduating with college degrees in the engineering and science fields. "The goal of the program will be to bring even more qualified students into engineering and science programs and to retain them through graduation," Gen. Julius Becton Jr., president of Prairie View A&M and chairman of the Texas Alliance governing board, said in a released statement. "The community college component is very important because many of these students are place-bound, meaning few transfer to senior institutions after completing programs at their local community college." The program offers stipends to community college students enrolled in science or pre-en gineering programs, said Mike Cronan, Re search Coordinator for TEES. After transfer ring to one of the senior universities, engineer ing and science students will benefit from in ternship opportunities as well as continued fi nancial aid. Businesses have pledged their support for the program. So far, the Texas Alliance has re ceived more than $600,000 in funding from 67 industries and 12 national labs. In addition to financial backing, many of these companies will offer minority students internships. These internships provide both financial See/Page 4 Researcher: Students lack skills to fill high-tech jobs By Mark Evans The Battalion In the upcoming years, the United States will face a short age of people with advanced degrees in fields such as engi neering and mathematics, hin dering both the economy and the growth of technology, said Mike Cronan, research Coordi nator for the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. Many of today's students are turning away from careers in engineering and the sciences, he said. They lack the skills necessary for studies in these areas. "Students that graduate from high school and aren't prepared to enter calculus at See/Page 4 I PICK UP A BATTALION GAMEDAY TOMORROW