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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1979)
Slouch by Jim Earle “If you insist on having a waterhed, could 1 trade you the lower hunk? Opinion A close shave, but Q-drop saved Students nearly lost the Q-drop last semester. Now, however, the deans have modified the policy and the Q-drop will probably survive. Sentiment ran strong in some quarters to abolish the “forgiveness factor” that has saved many grade point ratios and, in turn, many young careers. (The policy allows a student to drop courses during a specified time without penalty if he gets approval from his academic adviser and dean.) Sure, students sometimes abuse the Q by taking too many courses, deciding which one or two are impossible — and dropping them without penalty. But other students use the Q-drop wisely — to compen sate for honestly biting off more than they can chew or to cope with unexpected personal problems. Individual colleges decided to deal with the abuse by restricting the number of Q-drops a person may claim or by making them harder to get. That was not fair — university-wide policies should apply across the University. And honest students can be penalized. The new proposal is fair. It moves the Q-drop cut-off day back by three weeks. For instance, if the new policy were in effect this year, the last day to get a Q-drop would be Oct. 5; instead, the last day is Oct. 29. The change — suggested by the student senate — must be approved by the Academic Council next month, but it is expected to pass. The date change — from a week after mid-semester grades are reported to the 25th class day — is a com promise. And in view of alternatives batted around last semester, it’s a good one. the small society by Brickman The Battalion USPS 045 360 LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday ,>eriods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday hrough Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per t school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates furnished ion request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. ! United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Liz Newlin Managing Editor Andy Williams Asst. Managing Editor Dillard Stone News Editors . .Karen Cornelison and Michelle Burrowes Sports Editor Sean Petty City Editor Roy Bragg Campus Editor Keith Taylor Focus Editors Beth Calhoun and Doug Graham Staff Writers Meril Edwards, Diane Blake, Louie Arthur, Richard Oliver, Mark Patterson, Carolyn Blosser, Kurt Allen Photo Editor . . .Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Photographers Lynn Blanco, Clay Cockrill, Sam Stroder, Ken Herrerra Cartoonist Doug Graham Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Viewpoint The Battalion #Texas A&M University m Friday • September 21,1 DICK WE ST To fatigued joggers, presidents inclub advice on how to quit the race graceful By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — I’ll leave to others the debate over whether President Carter should have been in the race in the first place. The only indisputable point seems to be that he didn’t get out of it in time. He waited until his legs turned rubbery, skin waxen, breathing labored. All of which are nature’s way of telling you you should have stopped 20 minutes ago. That the president failed to heed the earlier warning signs suggests he has not yet learned the most fundamental part of long distance running, which is how to quit gracefully. The president apparently felt that if he failed to finish the 6.2-mile course, people would interpret it as a deficiency of endurance or fortitude. Inability to go all the way, he may have reasoned, would have been another mark against him in the polls and given Sen. Edward Kennedy further incentive to seek the presidency. So he kept going past the time when prudence dictated a strategic withdrawal. Actually, as any experienced long dis tance runner will attest, there were a number of “outs he could have taken without giving the impression he was too pooped to continue. Here are a few of the acceptable ploys: Pulled ham string — Whenever a run ner runs out of breath, good form requires that he suddenly veer to the right, like a moped with a blowout, and limp to a halt. “Poor chap,” the other thousands of runners will cluck sympathetically. “Ham string.” There is, of course, nothing wrong with the runner’s legs. Indeed, if such medical records were available they probably would show it has been 20 years since any one in this country pulled a ham string, whatever that is. In running circles, nevertheless, pulling a ham string has become sort of a badge of honor, the jogger’s equivalent of the skier’s broken leg. Equipment trouble — Everyone knows you can’t expect a runner to stay on pace if something goes wrong with his jogging togs. Part of the mystique is that to feel like a runner you’ve got to looklikeatj ner. If, for example, your headbandsi down around your neck, people mistake you for a cleric. In those mu stances, there is little point in going® Beeper signal — Smart runners# along one of those electronic devicesd make beeping noises when someo® wanted for an important message. Oil has been modified so the runner can tivate it himself if he starts flagging. In the president’s case, the becji would have looked exceptionally antk tic, particularly if, when pulling outdj race, he snapped his fingers and mullen “Darn! Must he those Russian Ir® again. " Too bad the presidentdidn’ll of these cover stories before hebeca® obviously winded. Get Khrushchev on the Hot Line I AGGIE C hashisl: at 8 p.i “harol: Ruth ( score t gromei Gamin will hi MSG RACQif Sunda; 0FF-CA! Quons Univei freshir HOUSEI Club \ Green AGGIE ( hashis at 8 p “HAROL Ruth 1 score WILDE1 be he Condi PHI TH1 in Roi A&M W Millie WILDL1 raffle ALPHA with I rowm BIOMEI game: PAKIST Room MUSLI? tion a ALPHA Roorr - TT 1 a nTT/^VXT Sharing facilities: one way JLLi JL> LJ V_v/Y A XvAIa colleges are saving bucks By PATRICIA McCORMACK United Press International The idea’s as old as the United States of America: sharing. It’s the big movement in higher educa tion these days as colleges and universities lean into the next decade — full of shifting enrollment patterns, higher costs and growing public resistance to new buildings and fatter budgets. About one-fourth of the nation’s colleges are involved in cooperative arrangements — and insiders say the movement is grow ing about 10 percent a year. A report from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in coop eration with the Council for the Advance ment of Small Colleges explains: “The desire for cooperation is prompted in part by problems arising from enrollments and financing, but also by a genuine desire to avoid excessive govern ment intervention by working together to anticipate and implement needed change. ” The report on 170 groupings of colleges and universities involving 775 individual institutions makes these points: —Institutions studied reported 100 dis tinct cooperative activities that have been grouped as administrative, curricular, fac ulty and staff, facilities, commmunity af fairs and special interest. —The 10 most frequently reported cooperative activities are cross registration, coordinated student advise ment, faculty exchange, visiting scholars, shared classroom facilities, joint majors and degrees, library use, faculty development, community events and loaned adminis trators. Three types of private-public coperative groupings exist. To wit: —Type A: Informal partnership of two or three institutions in close geographical proximity. Right now there are 65 such partnerships. —Type B: This largest and fastest grow ing type is the regional urban cluster of institutions. There are 73 such clusters on the American scene. —Type C: In this category institutions are linked by special purpose such as inter national interests or a unique research facil ity. There are 32 groups in this classifica tion. Examples of each type: 1. Quachita Baptist College and Hender son State College are located almost across the street from each other in Arkadelphia, Ark., a small town 75 miles southwest of Little Rock. They’re into a Type A ar rangement. They are similar in size, around 3,000 students each. Students cross-register; courses are cross-listed. Many cultural events are joint. There is rivalry in sports but a mutual boosters association. 2. The Five Colleges Inc. are an example of Type B. This is the highly successful venture of five Massachusetts colleges — all in close proximity to each other and with complementary campus features. The clus ter, grouped since 1965, includes Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampton, and the Amherst campus of the University of Mas sachusetts. It is just a 25-minute bus trip from one end of the five-school campus to the other. Cross registration is in the thousands. Fac ulty exchange and visiting artists are fre quent. Meal service, when necessary, can be obtained without added charge on another campus. The inter-campus buses carried 800,000 passengers last year. Of the 6,200 cross-registrations last year, prefer ence ran 2 to 1 for Amherst. 3. The Association for Graduate Educa tion and Research for North Texas (TAGER) is an example of Type C. This association of seven institutions on 10 campuses and several major corpora tions in the Dallas-Fort Worth: provides academic programs on a teleii network serving 20 locations. The north Texas institutions Tagfl elude Austin College, Bishop College,!; las Baptist College, Southern Methd University, Texas Christian Univeii Texas Wesleyan College and three# puses of the University of Texas. General Dynamics, Texas InstniW* and Xerox are among the industrial re# ing locations. The association offers course worN graduate level to corporate employees! others at $100 per credit hour. Courses in computer science, engineering, hist# mathematics, philosophy, psycholo! sociology and statistics. TAGER’s board is composed of®#' sity and lay leaders. Commenting on the cooperative®' ment in higher education, Allan W. Os' executive director of the American Assi tion of State Colleges and Universi# said: “As the resources available to hi? education diminish, the quality of edi tion will depend increasingly upon' most effective use of the available# sources. “Cooperation is not a luxury, hs ; necessity.” Letters A shade tree doesn’t help much in rain; shuttle buses won’t keep you dry, either Editor: I enjoyed your “Opinion” on survival in College Station rain. I wish to question, however, your statement that,“The shut tle buses ... are dry. Perhaps you have not recently ridden a shuttle bus in bad weather. I invite you to ride my bus home one rainy day. We probably won’t have to wait more than 10 Readers’ Forum Guest viewpoints, in addition to Letters to the Editor, are welcome. All pieces submitted to Readers’ forum should be: • Typed triple space • Limited to 60 characters per line • Limited to 100 lines minutes for the bus to arrive and although our stop has no shelter, there is a lovely shade tree. Once on the bus, you may have to search a while to find a seat that has not yet hosted a wet raincoat, umbrella or body. And if you do find this seat, it will probably be next to one of the windows THOTZ that doesn’t quite shut all the way. # don’t worry, you won’t get wet — up bus starts moving. — Sharon Broun, by Doug Graham MSC AF cated ing e whicl CLASS a.m. OFF-Cy at 6:1 T-STAR Rude c