Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1977)
Vol. 71 No. 15 14 Pages The Battalion Wednesday, September 21, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 P.E. courses will be pass-fail this spring By ROBIN LINN Texas A6cM University students now can take required physical education courses pass-fail with the designation of Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). The change was made by the Academic Council Tuesday to give students more grade options for the four semesters of re quired physical education. According to the new regulation, a grade of S will he given to students who make C or above in the required P.E. courses with the hours not affecting their overall grade point ratio. A grade of U is given for grades below C. There is no distinction between a D or F under the U grade. If a student makes 69 or below, a U will be given and computed into the semester GPR as an F. Dr. Carl Landiss, head of the depart ment of health and physical education, said the Unsatisfactory-Satisfactory grade system was set up for students who want to take P.E., but do not want the course to affect their GPR. He noted that not many students make a D or F in the required physical education courses. Landiss said most students would be better off to take the required P.E. courses on a grade basis because many raise their GPR with the required courses. The new system was met with mixed reactions by students questioned about the change. Troby Hoffaeker, a senior education major said of the grading option, “I don t think it should be pass-fail, people wouldn t try. The grade point system motivates people to learn.” Rand Lindsly, a junior nuclear engi neering major, said he was in favor of the change. Tf you want to shoot for a 4.0, you don't have to worry about P.E. dragging you down. Landiss said required P.E. courses are structured for the beginner, and added that each person in a class will have differ ent abilities. Under the Pass-fail system, only credit is given for the hours, not grade points. Israel warns Syria, fighting continues /^No uit; FTD y — Floriculture Teacher Delivers James L. Johnson, Professor of Floricultui'e, transferred flowers from the floriculture greenhouse to the classroom Tuesday, where his Horti culture 203 students will observe demonstrations on principles of design in flower arranging. Battalion photo by Jo Ella Dixon United Press International Israel has warned Syria to stay out of south Lebanon but offered to act as a peacemaker in the fighting between Pales tinian guerrillas and Israeli-backed Lebanese. Israeli warjets swooped over the area Tuesday and the Lebanese, backed by Is raeli artillery fire, fought to cut off a main supply route to a strategic Palestinian hill stronghold near the border, reporters in the area said. “Any escalation in the situation in the south will be Israel’s fault,” Syria’s official press said. UT unhappy all Ei litsfc" ,[ jhl 'lit c.It. I.j: House painted in ‘Aggie colors’ By STEVE MAYER The University of Texas is kinda upset with us. The Texas A&M Development Founda tion plans to paint one of Austin’s most historic homes. . . you guessed it. . . maroon and white. But it’s not an effort to represent the Aggies. “The Daily Texan was upset when they found out we (the Heritage Society of Aus tin) were going to sell the house to A&M,’ Elaine Mayo, a spokesman says. “Then they called later when they found out it was going to be painted maroon and white. They were furious. Joe H. Moore, class of ’38, purchased the 1885 Victorian house last January and donated it to the A&M Foundation. The Foundation is the vehicle by which alumni make capital gifts to A&M. “The home was given to A&M with the understanding that if we don’t have a functional use for it, then we can sell it,” Robert Walker, vice-chancellor for de velopment says. However, plans are under way to re store the two-story house to its original appearance, he says. Architects have determined the original colors were maroon and white, Mayo says. “Many Victorian homes used ijnaroon trim. It was very popular.” Walker says the second floor will proba bly be used as offices for some A&M oper ation such as an extension service or re search program. He estimated restoration will take one to two years. The Henry Hirshfeld home, at 303 W. Ninth St., is eleven blocks from the U.T. campus. Hirshfeld, one of Austin’s outstanding citizen’s and founder of the Austin Na tional Bank, moved to the city before the Civil War. After fighting in the war, he returned and built a cottage on the prop erty in 1875. In 1886, he built the two- story house adjacent to it. In Tel Aviv, the state-run radio reported Israel had warned Syria through the United States to keep its peacekeeping troops in Lebanon out of the southern border zone. Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin told reporters in Tel Aviv that Israel was ready to take on the role of peacemaker in the the war-torn region. Reporters in the area said the Syrians were staying north of the imaginary line about 17 miles from the Lebanon-Israeli border, beyond which Israel has said it would consider Syrian intervention a threat to its own security. Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, however, accused Is raeli artillery of “barbaric bombardment” of Palestinian positions inside Lebanon and sent urgent appeals to Arab leaders. serious injuries Schoolbus overturns Thirty-two members of a Cameron junior high women’s volleyball team were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital last night after their bus overturned on FM 2818 near the Bryan city limits. All were treated and released to parents who were notified by Department of Pub lic Safety officials shortly after the acci dent. “There were a few broken bones and minor lacerations,” said Dr. T.O. Walton, who treated some of the injured. “Thank God the injuries were not real serious. They were fortunate.” The team, from O. J. Thomas Junior High, was returning to Cameron from a game with A&M Consolidated Junior High when coach Janice Swope reportedly lost control of the bus at about 7:40 p.m. Swope said she looked into the rearview .mirror to check on a sick student. “The next thing I knew, we were out of control,’ she said. "The bus swerved off the road and I couldn’t get back. “All I could think was don’t hit the brakes. ” Swope and some of the students said the bus turned over twice. But DPS inves tigators said it rolled three-fourths of a turn. The girls either crawled out of the bus or were pulled out, according to a DPS report. “I just looked up and we were turning flips,’ said Georgia Mae Freeman, 14. She was treated for a sprained right arm. “We started swerving back and forth, then turned over about two times,” said Christy Widner, 13, who suffered a bro ken right arm. “Everybody was scream ing” DPS investigators said no other vehicles were involved in the incident. Reagan Brown, Texas Agriculture Commissioner (left), was honored Tuesday with a birthday cele bration at the Bryan Civic Auditorium. The auditorium was filled with many friends from the commissioner’s days with Texas A&M. (See related Story page 5.) Battalion photo by Susan Webb ‘Ramp construction meets needs of handicapped Uphill slope to learning The Reed McDonald building will soon be acces sible to people in wheelchairs. Previously, stu dents with a class in the building couldn’t attend without rescheduling of the class in another build ing or forcing the student to take another class. BattaHon photo by Jim Crawley BY MARGIE KOVAR Debora Golla, a Texas A&M University journalism major, has to take the back entrance into the Reed McDonald build ing, where she has her journalism classes. The sophomore from Houston is not try ing to sneak in unseen. She is confined to a wheelchair and because the stairs in other parts of the building make it impossible for her to reach an elevator, she must enter the building through the press area. When she came for registration she had to be carried to the first floor elevator by two journalism professors. This will not continue for much longer because the University is constructing two wheelchair ramps outside the building. There are other buildings that cannot be entered by students in wheelchairs; one of them is Francis Hall. “If I ever had a class scheduled in there I couldn’t take it,” Golla said recently. "There is no way for me to get in. This situation should not occur, accord ing to Don Gardner, counsellor at the Texas Rehabilitation Commission at Texas A&M. “One of our purposes is to see that classes are moved if they are inaccessible for anyone enrolled, Gardner said. Other services performed by the com mission include setting up a special pre registration period for handicapped stu dents and payment of their tuition and fees. “Our concern doesn’t lie solely with making buildings accessible, but also vari ous University programs,” Gardner said. “And so far every professor has been more than willing to work with handicapped students.” The alterations that colleges and univer sities throughout the country will have to make are required under section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The act bans discrimination against physi cally, mentally or psychologically disabled persons. The 504 regulations went into effect June 3, at which time University President Jack K. Williams appointed a committee to conduct a self-evaluation of the University in regard to section 504. Cynthia Irby, head of Affirmative Action and chairman of the committee, pointed out that much has already been done years ago to meet the needs of the handicapped students. “Presently the committee is preparing a report of the additional needs and re quirements that will be turned in to Chan cellor Williams in December,” Irby said. “Plans are being made to alter existing structures, and the blueprints for build ings being constructed include plans for necessary facilities such as ramps.” Irby said that, though section 504 is making the requirements official, “the in tent by the University has been there for many years.” Jerry Don Easley, chairman of Students Concerned for the Handicapped, agreed that Texas A&M has made progress in making facilities and programs available for disabled students. “In 1973 when I first came here there were only three wheelchair ramps; now there are ramps everywhere,” Easley said. “Back then I was the only wheelchair student and everybody did everything he could for me, which included building some wooden ramps,” he said. There are still some barriers for the 14 wheelchair students enrolled now. "Phones and water fountains are coming along slowly,” Easley remarked. “There is one phone in the Memorial Student Cen ter near the registration desk which has a long cord but the phone is still too high to reach to dial unless you really stretch.” Other buildings that pose problems for students confined to wheelchairs include the Coke Building, Rudder Tower and G. Rollie White Coliseum. “Whenever I want to look at my rec ords,” Easley said, “I have to call to the Coke Building ahead of time and tell them when I’ll be there so someone can bring my records outside for me to look at. "The registrar’s office is in the process of moving to the new registration center in the Old Exchange Store,” Easley said. "That building is easily accessible.” The theater and auditorium in Rudder Tower have also created problems for Eas ley. "In the theater we have to sit in a kind of a throughway at the back of the room where people are often milling around.” he said. “But in the auditorium there is no place at all for wheelchairs,” he said. Easley also noted there is no way for wheelchairs to get to the second floor classrooms in the Coliseum. “The University took immediate action and is working on the problems," Easley said. "But all of this takes time. At least people are aware there are disabled stu dents on campus.”