THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1979
Page 5
em
oast
^Btorm
faces
‘disaster’
By DILLARD STONE
Battalion Staff
K, Cam]
d CambojH
s alive
her forme, ''
a SUerriUA population increase along the Texas Gulf Coast, human nature,
namese forrjd coastal geology would all make for a heap of trouble in the event
lese Kyodja major hurricane, a Texas A&M University geologist said Monday.
I Irom Pel, Dr. Christopher C. Mathewson, associate professor of geology,
assy distrilJd: an oceanography seminar “what we re really looking at is a plan-
plomats jid disaster.”
people aiiijThe seminar was co-sponsored by' the oceanography department
their (ig||d the Texas A&M Marine Fellows.
are routedjThe great influx of northerners into the Texas Sun Belt has contri-
I first deMted greatly to the potential casualty numbers in the event of a
II alive. UP'j 01 ' storm, Mathewson said.
ted that he/The storm surge of Hurricane Carla today would affect 150,000
troops a orc people in the Houston-Galveston area, and would inundate
took com lterstate 45," Mathewson said.
Interstate 45 is the only' thoroughfare leading inland from Galves-
and Phi n Island, and Mathewson said this would hinder evacuation,
unced a T ( lon’t think they could do it,” he said.
ietnanu Human nature runs contrary to the idea of a hurricane evacuation,
j 0Rnii athewson said. People mentally rebel against storm warnings in
ttle I n Cerent ways, he said.
Some think, “I paid $75,000 for this home, so it’s not going to blow
to ' est |,a J’ w hH e others take the attitude that “it’s happened here once,
i arrhel >d won t do if to me a g ain ”
r | The most potentially harmful attitude is that of people who think
, ve survived a big one, like Carla.” The fatal fallacy, Mathewson
.! n " id, is that people who think this generally were 150 miles away from
e storm’s landfall.
Texas’s coastal geology would also be responsible for some of a
trricane’s damage, Mathewson said. However, a hurricane s effects
11 aiK metimes alter the coast for up to 40 years.
ny , gent Mathewson used as an example an area near Corpus Christi hit by
clian Vi! Q |) Urr j canes j n the 1930s.
itiona s ‘•g v 1973 a hypothetical land development, not hurricane-
ment,
J by theoStl
cy, (noditoi
‘^Objective listeners
Area hotline operating
Dr. Christopher C. Mathewson warns the damage of a “good” hur
ricane could do along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Battalion photo by Lynn Blanco
destroyed, would in fact be destroyed by' a process that was initiated
after the hurricane cleared the land,” he said.
Mathewson said hurricanes have four major means by which
short-term damage is caused. Some hurricanes display only one
major damaging aspect of the four: wind (Carla, 1961), waves (Celia,
1970), rain (Beulah, 1967), and tidal surge.
“However, if we ever get a hurricane that puts Celia, Carla and
Beulah together, we re going to have one marvelous planned disas
ter,” he said.
By KAREN ROGERS
Battalion Staff
A Crisis Hotline, sponsored by
the Brazos County Mental
Health-Mental Retaxdation Center,
will go into partial operation this
week in the Bryan-College Station
area.
Persons who need to talk to
someone about their problems may
now call the hotline at 779-2000.
Eight volunteers who have com
pleted an 18-hour training session
staff the hotline.
Th e hotline is state-funded
through the Alcohol and Drug
Abuse program at the MH-MR
Center. Along with alcoholism and
drug abuse, the phone operators
have also been trained to respond to
problems dealing with rape, child
abuse and suicide.
“It’s designed to help anybody
that’s in some sort of life crisis that
wants someone to talk to,” said Ralla
Spotts, coordinator of the project.
“We will refer them to some other
agency such as Planned Parenthood
or the Department of Human Re
sources in the case of child abuse, if
it is necessary.
The persons answering the
phones are more or less just objec
tive listeners.
“The trend at the Mental
Health-Mental Retardation Center
now is crisis prevention. We try to
get to people before the crisis gets
too severe,” she said.
Volunteers are better than profes
sionals, she said, because “when a
person is feeling kind of down, we
think he would feel better if they
could talk to a regular person.” She
emphasized that the volunteers are
not professional counselors and that
they are only there to listen and
make referrals if necessary.
Volunteers attend six three-hour
sessions where they are trained in
crisis intervention, communication
and listening skills, and community
resources. Representatives from
community agencies such as Plan
ned Parenthood and the Texas A&M
University Personal Counseling
Center lecture at some of the ses
sions. The students also participate
in role-playing where one is the cal
ler and the other the phone
operator. They' are given a
hypothetical situation and are asked
to respond to it.
Twenty to 25 volunteers are
signed up for the next training ses
sion scheduled to begin Jan. 24.
Another session will be scheduled if
more people volunteer, Spotts said.
“When they have completed the
training program, we hope to have
the hotline operating 24 hours, 7
days a week,” Spotts said.
Several of the volunteers are
psychology students at Texas A&M
who say tbey want experience work
ing with people and their problems
before graduating.
“I enjoy psychology' a lot and the
hotline provides the perfect oppor
tunity to work with people. It 11 also
provide me with some experience
for when I graduate and go looking
for a job,” one volunteer said.
ewer country boys are enrolled
i ag colleges, survey shows
is vowed to;
army in a
Vietnamei
ibodian red
ive of (lit r icultural schools are not full of
a handful r y boys anymore. Today, city
national , r s are in the majority,
ing to tin f exa .s A&M University survey
Agency J82 students at 14 of the na-
United largest agricultural schools in
security C ?s a large influx of metropolitan
fourth d school graduates into agricul-
rhethertk fields.
mdemn searchers say 35 percent of all
bodia and dull ural students come from
anoi s troopopolitan areas which have
the Solvations of 50,000 or more while
veto an) who grew up on a farm or
its pro! represent 30 percent. The
ning students came from small
5 or,cities with populations
I'• 50,000.
^ Cl Th study also showed that the
students were not influ-
1 to study agriculture by their
* â–  -Bool counselors and teachers,
VfHiat scholarships were not im-
â–  t, st of the students were attend-
K liege without the aid of stu-
Jns. Almost one-third of the
nts felt they' would go on to
ate school or get a professional
iH oHlie® mo1 e T5 percent of the
nts reasoning their starting
Is would be less than $13,000
felt compelled to achieve a
r degree.
2 explanation for the trend of
â– hooled students entering ag-
with the : jre ’ s the young adult’s desire
ise econoiifr 6 fronfl hfe in the city, ac
cording to Texas A&M researchers.
Dr. Arthur Cosby, a rural
sociologist and study leader, says
there is a clear preference of coun
try life to city life. The vast majority
of the agricultural students, (more
than 85 percent), ranked living in
the country as being important in
their life after graduation.
Less than 3 percent wanted to re
turn to living in a city of more than
500,000, even though originally 12
percent had grown up in that envi
ronment.
“It seems to be part of agricul
ture’s appeal,” says the researcher.
“When asked why they went into
agriculture in the first place, 60 per
cent said it was because they wanted
to live in the country, Cosby ad
ded.
At Texas A&M, which has the
largest single-campus agricultural
school enrollment in the country in
cluding 5,382 agricultural majors,
approximatley 22 percent were
raised on farms and ranches. How
ever, 21 percent came to the Uni
versity from cities of over 500,000
population.
There was a similar enrollment
pattern at other universities in the
South and Southwest.
Cosby says agricultural enroll
ments remarkably follow a normal
cross-section of demographics in the
United States.
“Agriculture is literally becoming
a mass-culture phenomenon. It cer
tainly is no longer under rural
domination,” Cosby said.
In the study, the 2,382 students
were tested and interviewed from
the following universities: Auburn,
Clemson, Louisiana State, North
Carolina State, Mississippi State,
Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas
Tech, Florida, Tennessee, Ken
tucky, Arkansas, Virginia Tech and
Georgia.
High school background or family
owning land was not an overriding
factor in going into agriculture, re
searchers reported.
The study revealed that more
than half of the students majoring in
agriculture never had an agriculture
class in high school.
“It’s interesting, but not surpris
ing," Cosby said. “You wouldn’t ex
pect a wide seleeiton of agriculture-
related courses being available in
Dallas or Houston.”
The Texas A&M Tae Kwon Do Club Presents
KARATE
DEMONSTRATIONS — REGISTRATION
ROOM 256
G. Rollie White Coliseum
7 P.M.
EACH NIGHT
MONDAY-THURSDAY
JANUARY 15-18
Demonstrations & Classes By:
Steve Powell 3rd Degree Black Belt Texas Karate Champion
Nationally Recognized Competitor & Instructor
For Information Call: 846-3013
I
s of the i
iscussed w
s last vveel
n, the Uni
Icohol
^search
dings
Misleading
irehers at Texas A&M Uni-
' say they have disproved a
Hfic belief that alcohol’s into-
hg effects are due in part to a
fical called acetaldehyde which
iced by the body from al-
ig brain wave patterns from
journals, biologist William
im and graduate student
» Mikeska reported that doses
Jtaldehyde, at levels even
r than those normally occur-
ter heavy drinking, caused no
• of intoxication.
p results, to be published in
mth’s Science magazine,
serious questions regarding
alcohol research methods,
said.
;se methods often employ
one-shot doses of acetal-
i instead of a continuous infu-
|imulating steady drinking,
present study has not ruled
|!2,he possibility that acetal-
may create the physical ad-
m occurring in chronic al-
sm.
ture intoxication research
i be directed at alcohol, not
shyde, the researchers said.
SPECIAL CREATION — OR ORGANIC EVOLUTION???
How did man get to be man? Some say an omnipotent, omniscient God “specially" created mankind "in His image" — ex nihilo
creation, fiat creation. Others say man is the result of millions of years of evolutionary development — the accidental product of
chance and environment. Sir Julian Huxley once commented that Charles Darwin, through the theory of organic evolution he
advocated, had “removed the idea of God from the sphere of rational thinking." The Bible says “In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth." Who is right?
What are the evidences (scientific, philosophical, etc.) for or against organic evolution and special creation? Does either theory
purport to substantiate itself with sound evidences which can be investigated by an open-minded person? Or are these “open and
shut” cases with little left to be said? If you are a person who thinks organic evolution to be true; If you are a person who thinks
special creation to be true; If you are a person who wants to link the two together as truthful through “theistic evolution”; If you are
a person who is withholding judgment until more evidence is available — then perhaps this is for you.
On January 17, 1979 a new course on Christian Apologetics and Christian Evidences is being offered for people who are
looking for answers to questions about God's existence, Jesus’ Sonship, the Bible's inspiration, Special Creation vs. Organic
Evolution, and many other such questions. This course, which is taught on the college level, meets each Wednesday evening from
6:00 until 8:00 P.M. It is not a course in church doctrine; rather, it is a course designed to investigate and examine the evidences
which stand behind the Christian faith. It is a course for anyone who would like to see these evidences presented in an objective
manner.
The course meets each week of the regular TAMU semester (except holidays) at the building of the A&M church of Christ (across
the street from the A&M Consolidated High School Building) at 1001 West Loop South. The course lasts 15 weeks. There is no
charge whatsoever for the course. A textbook is provided free of charge to each participant, as well as a large volume of written
handout materials. There are no term papers required, or oral presentations. The class is conducted in the discussion/lecture
format, with ample time given for discussion.
The teachers are: Bert Thompson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine,
TAMU, and Ken Lawrence, sophomore Biomedical Science major. We invite you to join us as the course begins on January 17,
1979 at 6:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome! For further information feel free to call Dr. Thompson at 696-7513 after 5 or Mr. Lawrence
at 845-3439.
ANNOUNCING:
THE T-SHIRT
OF THE WEEK
Each week this semester Loupot’s will feature a
T-Shirt of the week, with a big 10% discount on
any shirt bought with that decal.
10%
DISCOUNT
Ask about THE CARD”
good for even more savings on Loupot’s T-Shirts.
And remember our group discounts on custom
T-Shirts.
LOUPOT’S
BOOKSTORE
NORTHGATE-
ACROSS FROM
THE POST OFFICE
ET
el
efl
We’re Here to Serve You
★ Used Books
e-
° v CALCULATORS
e°
from
Texas Instruments
INCORPORATED
â– VI-59
NOW
WAS $299.95
$ 209
95
Plus $20.00 worth of free soft
ware through February, 1979,
from Texas Instruments.
*<L
l
%
+c,
<s>
iP
(SSf.
0 ny
★T-Shirts
NOW
★ Full 2 Week Refund Privilege
OPEN DAILY
7:30 — 6:00
MBA
WAS $124.95
*89 95
WAS $70.00
â– vv
*1
NOW
WAS $60.00
*38®
j The football team gets Its
news from the Batt.
At The Southgate
696-2111
(Across from University Police)
ROTHER’S
NOW
$54®
We also carry All
Chargers, Battery
Packs & Accessories
for Tl & HP
Calculators.
- Avoid The
OOKSTORE Hass,e - p,enty
of Parking