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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1977)
■ feast nibet i tional here wen n mates - 1 and sin a 12p f ie previ# Students get help deciding majors THE BATTALION Page 5 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1977 By ROBIN LINN The coordinator of the year-old ^ enii eneral studies program (GEST) at exas A&M University under rob lems students have hen they decide to change majors. ln mal( an undergraduate at Berkley lore ^ i niverSity ’ C 'J' ( Skip ) Leabo banged majors nine times in five jmesters. The former head of the Com- unications Department and pres- t coordinator of GEST says the rogram is designed to handle Ag- jj e s in the process of changing ajors, mainly on the freshman d sophomore level. “The change from high school to liege is a disorienting experience. <he p, they <!e ion icn 175, the !r m and can weigh heavily on a stu dent,” Leabo says. Leabo does as much as possible to make students who come to him feel that the university is not an in different machine. His office, a remodeled lounge area on the first floor of the Har rington Education Center, is de signed to be relaxing and informal. The desk that usually separates the student and professor in most offices is against the wall in his. The room contains such amenities as the memorial brick award (a cement brick given to him by his son), paintings done by friends and soft comfortable chairs. Leabo says putting the student at ease is an important part ofhis job. “Most students who enter this of fice have a general worry that they are different from everybody else,” he says. “They think somehow they are different because everybody else knows precisely what they want to do.” Leabo says he usually explains to them that there were 1,000 stu dents in the program last fall and that there are about 600 presently enrolled. He stresses that perhaps the most unique fact of the GEST pro gram is that it is a part of the Col lege of Liberal Arts, but works with all the colleges on campus. “We consider ourselves as a good referral service,” Leabo says. He says the program lets the students find out the real facts about a major and sends them to the right people. For example, a large group of students who come to him want to get into Business Administation, but they do not meet the 2.5 gpr requirement. Leabo sends them to talk with Ed Guthrie, who is in charge of admit ting students to Business Adminis tration. If they decide to go into that major, Leabo assigns them lower level classes in the college, along with the basic core of courses required by the state. alias research center growing UNG A new multi-purpose building jas been added to expand the West facility research and exten- Jon center in Texas. The new addition to the Texas &M University Research and Ex- jension Center at Dallas has offices Ittid laboratories for the extension rvice. It also has an auditorium, hich seats 500, and two class- s. The center also has four office id laboratory buildings and one large field house that accomodates about 1,200 people. The Texas A&M University sys tem owns about 380 acres for the center. The campus is built on 15 to 20 acres with the remaining land being used for research farming. The study of blackland farming started by the Texas Research Foundation about 15 years ago is still being conducted at the center. The soils at the center are the same as 26 million acres of black- land in Texas. The research land is subdivided into many test plots and pastures. Fertilization varieties, row crops and efficient use of soil conserva tion are a few of the research proj ects being conducted. Research on ornamental hor ticulture is being aimed at the large urban population. Homeowners are being advised on lawn development and landscap ing using native Texas varieties. The Texas Research Foundation gave the center to Texas A&M in 1972. The center attracts about 20,000 to 40,000 people a year for meetings and seminars, said Dr. H. O. Kunkel, dean of the College of Agriculture at Texas A&M. Kunkel says the new building will provide for more short conferences and seminars. pace ig tamu iyers Life on board sailing ;hips’ subject lecture Texas A&M Archivist Dr. Iharles R. Schultz will present a diversity Lecture Thursday, pril 28, in the 1977 series. Schultz will speak about “Life on oard American Sailing Ships Dur- igthe 19th Century,” reflecting on is work before joining the Univer- ty library faculty in 1971. The lecture is planned for 8 p.m. 1701 Rudder Tower. Schultz was keeper of manu- :ripts and librarian at Mystic Sea port in Connecticut eight years be fore becoming archivist at Texas A&M. His job involved acquiring, processing and cataloging materials of 19th Century maritime activities. Among the collections were ships’ logbooks and seamen’s jour nals. Schultz also started a union catalog of logbooks and journals in repositories throughout the United States. The catalog now contains records of several thousand voy ages. ALLIED INSURANCE AGENCY Bill Pipkin, Agent • AUTO • HOMEOWNER • RENTERS • MOBILE HOMES & RECREATIONAL VEHICLES • COMMERCIAL • BOAT • BONDS • MOTORCYCLE LIFE • HOSPITALIZATION OFFICE: 846-4774 HOME: 779-9361 4103 S. TEXAS BRYAN PLACE SUITE 206 D'NEILL TER IJHUTrafler SHHB Radio 100 Gift LT .-LL—I—i Certificate Buy your 346-1151 =PING CEN1S IDE ILY AT 30,9:45 w ,minguez 6 ;iniega 7 4 q Price . A Your choice of the following with purchase of any new street or dual-purpose 125. r 250 CC Harley David son motorcycle prior to June 1. 1977: 1. D«luxe. two-cycle Holsclaw motorcycle trailer ($247.00 retail value) 2. A High performance, Gen al Electric portable ra dio/cassette recorder free (re t«l value $149.95) 3. A gift certificate worth $100 of your choice of Har ley-Davidson parts, acces series or clothing SSI 25 base price $629 SSI75 base price $757 SS250 base price $949 SX125 base price $539 SX175 base price $697 SX250 base price $889 Harley- Harley Davidson Great American Dream Machine now and get up to a $300 rebate. Act Now! Limited time offer |C. E. Hodde’s Aggteland 801 Texas Ave. Harley Davidson 779-7300 Until you’ve been on a Harley-Davidson. you haven't been on a motorcycle _ StageCenter presents JEAN KERR'S Comedy MAKX MARY April 7-8-9 • 14-15-16 8:00 p.m. at StageCenter (South College at Villa Maria) Adults $ 2.50 • Students $ 1.50 • Children *1.00 Tickets available at the door POLITICAL FORUM PRESENTS Reagan Brown Commissioner of Agriculture and former Special Assistant to the Governor speaking on “An Aggie in the Governor’s Office” Thursday April 14 Rm. 601, Rudder Tower 12:30 p.m. free “We want to give them a taste of business, but won’t commit them so much that if they don’t make the 2.5 they can choose another major,” he says. Leabo says he feels the student who is in the GEST program is ac tually in a good position. “It is a wise student who knows he is not ready to make a choice but gets the basic courses and explores with an elective.” A&M has always been known for its student-faculty communications, he notes, adding that it is important for faculty members tube available to students. Leabo says the biggest problem is to get students to take the first step and visit with him if they are considering changing majors. “Students feel they are imposing on your time, but they forget this is what I am paid to do,” he said. If you plan to visit Leabo next year he will not be located in the Harrington Education Center. Be cause of the increasing size of the program, the offices will be relo cated in the Academic Building 106. PACK’S PLASTER & CERAMICS BACKYARD • Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs. 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. GREENHOUSE 400 Ehlinger Dr. Sunday 2 p.m.-5 p.m. 822-5358 ! FM 2233, Old Wheelock Rd. 823-3965 BROMELIADS & ORCHIDS Open by appointment IS WHO Robert Harvey representing? Why has Robert Harvey used his position as Corps Commander to get votes (e.g. Using the Quadrangle to publish a Corps list of candidates)? VOTE in the Student Election Runoffs April 14 pd. pol. announcement by the Concerned Students Group Doug Skee, treasurer Kenneth I. Powell, Chairman BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION’S LEADING AUDIO CENTER CUSTOM SOUNDS HAS FUCKED THEIR (DO®’s HURRY! QUANTITIES LIMITED! Belt Drive Multiple play turntable with Shure M75 cartridge. Reg. $137.80 SALE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK ©O© B l-C VENTURI