I
The Battauon
Vol. 73 No. 31
12 Pages
Monday, October 15, 1979
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
Mold, mosquitoes plague
lew modular dormitories
By KRIS WIESE
Battalion Reporter
BLeaky toilets, moldy ceilings, damp
Malls, mosquitoes — does this sound like
someplace you wouldn’t want to visit,
much less live in?
■These are some of the conditions that
telist in the new modular dormitories on
tin north side of the campus.
■Haas Hall and McFadden Hall —
klown as “Modular A’’ and “Modular B,”
ilspectively, until they were recently
gi\ en names hy the Board of Regents —
have been suffering from high levels of
hpinidity since their construction. And the
rAidents have been suffering with the ex
cess water since they moved in.
■Liz Waring, a resident adviser in
I Be Fad den, said the worst of the problems
lathe mold.
■ It’s on walls, ceilings, clothes, shoes,
hooks, plants, carpet — it’s just
ejerywhere, she said.
ome rooms are worse than others,
bring said. “There doesn’t seem to be
am pattern, she said.
■Waring said several girls have had to
have clothes cleaned and shoes repaired
■cause of mold and moisture damage,
nhi cleaning bills are being paid by the
University, she said, as long as the student
■s a resident advisor verify the damage.
Afaring said she knows of one girl who had
ti| have her clothes cleaned twice because
tin mildew smell was so had.
■Some of the residents are allergic to the
■Idew, she said, and some have been sick
be arise of the dampness.
■Lori Fisher, a resident in Haas, said she
had a sore throat for the first three weeks
■ school. She and her roommate have'
tried to dry out their room.
■“We turn our air conditioner on high
when we re gone, then turn it down when
we are there,’ she said.
■Lee Harvey, head resident of the new
dormitories, said the residents of Haas are
also experiencing a mosquito problem.
■Harvey, who lives in Haas, said the
nmsquitos are present even when the res
idents keep their doors and windows
CKised.
■T don’t know if they’re breeding in the
■asers (vents leading from small storage
rooms in the building to the outside) or
what,” she said. “But those chasers drip
vyater onto the bare ground. You almost
have to think they are breeding in the
dorm somewhere.’
■ Harvey said she doesn’t know why
McFadden doesn’t have mosquitoes, too.
She added that the mosquito problem is
being looked into and that it should be
taken care of soon.
The many problems in the new living
areas stem from the large amount of
moisture that has been present in the
buildings since construction was finished
on them this past summer, said Eugene
Oates, supervisor for residence hall safety
and maintenance. However, he said, no
one knows exactly what went wrong.
“If I knew the answer to that, or if the
contractors did, ’ Oates said, “it would’ve
been corrected long ago.’’
Oates said that problems such as these
are seen every time a new building is con
structed. “For instance,” he said, “we had
similar problems with Krueger and Dunn
when they were being built.”
Tom Murray, area coordinator for the
north area dormitories, agreed that there
is no easy answer as to the reasons for the
humidity problem, but he suggested three
probable causes:
— A certain amount of moisture ac
cumulated in the modules when they were
being built in San Antonio before they
were moved to College Station. That
moisture, he said, is now being released.
— The dormitory halls are not air-
conditioned, only the rooms are. And
when doors are opened the warm air from
the halls flows into the rooms, causing
some condensation.
“You can’t expect the girls to keep their
doors closed all the time, Murray added,
“especially when the air conditioning isn’t
working right.”
— Insulation and drip pans (in the air
conditioning system) were not installed
properly. Murray said some of the drip
pans were installed above the valve that
the water drips from. “Water won’t run
uphill,” he said.
Steps are being taken to correct the
situation, said Monica Christen, Murray’s
assistant, who is in charge of Haas and
McFadden.
“The maintanence people, have dev ices
that are measuring the humidity,” said
Christen, “to see if they can speed up the
drying out process.”
Oates explained that disk-shaped de
vices are placed in five or six different
rooms each day to measure humidity
levels and temperature.
Murray said that finishing touches are
being put on calibrating the air condition
ing system — which should also help.
“If the air conditioning is working prop
erly, it should take care of the humidity.”
But now, Murray explained, other humid
ity is coming in — sweaty walls and drip
ping pipes, primarily. “The air condition
ing system just can’t keep up,” he said.
Oates said “progress is being made
every day’ to remedy the conditions. And
Harvey said the residents realize this.
“The girls realize that it’s a big prob
lem,” she said, “but they also realize that
housing and maintenance are doing all that
they can to get it corrected.”
Harvey said complaints have been dying
down. “At least they don’t conie down to
my room and complain — but, they make
sure I remember that things aren’t right.”
Christen said the residents seem to be
handling more of the problems themselves
— especially the mold.
She also said the cleaning staff has been
helping the residents with the mildew
problem, and supplying them with clean
sers.
Murray agreed that the Haas and
McFadden residents have handled the
whole situation very well.
“The girls have stuck it out well, ” he
said, adding that he doesn’t know of any
one who moved out of the new dormitories
because of the less-than-perfect condi
tions. “We re especially appreciative of
the resident staff over there,’ Murray
said. “They are the ones who have had to
deal directly with the upset girls. They’ve
been between a rock and a hard place —
and they’ve been great.”
At least, Murray said, lessons learned
through the conditions in the dormitories
will help to avoid similar mistakes in the
modular dormitory which will be built be
tween Sbisa and Hotard Hall.
Planned dorms to benefit
from previous mistakes
By CAROL HANCOCK
Battalion Reporter
Texas A&M University officials hope to
incorporate what they have learned from
problems in building the school’s first
modular dormitories into construction of
the second ones.
Completion of two new modular dor
mitories for women is scheduled for next
fall.
They will be built parallel to Hotard
Hall on the north side of Sbisa Dining
Hall. The new dorms will bring the total
available residence spaces on campus for
women to 3,474.
Modular C and D, as they are being
called temporarily, will be identical to the
two modular dorms completed this fall,
Haas and McFadden halls. The only dif-
ference, said Ron Sasse, associate director,
of Student Affairs, is that precautions Will
be taken to correct problems occurring
with the first two dorms.
It is theorized that the carpets, which
came pre-installed in each room of Haas
and McFadden, absorbed moisture while
the dorms were being built, Sasse said.
The humidity has caused problems, so
carpets will not be installed until after the
modules are in place in the new dorms.
Thermostats will also be installed after
the modules are in place. Moving the
modules from San Antonio, where they
are built, has damaged some thermostats.
Some problems with the air condition
ing system in Haas and McFadden will
also be corrected in the new dorms, Sasse
said.
The main contractors for the dorms,
H&G Construction Co., will turn the
completed dorms over to the University in
early August.
Hotard Hall, which is 40 feet from
where the new dorms will be built, is
being considered for renovation, Sasse
said, although the idea has be approved by
the Board of Regents first.
The Department of Food Services is
now considering how to handle the
additional students who will eat in Sbisa
Dining Hall next fall. Lloyd Smith, assis
tant director for board dining food serv
ices, said plans to modify the upstairs din
ing area or open an area downstairs are
being considered.
Hullabaloo, ‘Pinky’
J.V. “Pinky” Wilson, author of Texas A&M University’s “Aggie War
Hymn,” received the University Lettermen’s Association Hall of Honor
award before Saturday’s football game against the University of Hous
ton. Wilson, class of 1920, composed the War Hymn while fighting in
France during World War I. Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
Prof wants to add 9 free hours
Special council to study proposal
By DOUG GRAHAM
Battalion Staff
The Academic Council has authorized
“a council of village elders” to seek so
lutions to the problem of limited cur
riculum.
The council was conducting a routine
meeting in Rudder Tower last week, but
the focus of the meeting was on a motion
by the head of the philosophy department,
Dr. John J. McDermott.
McDermott contends that some col
leges, including Business Administration,
Agriculture, and Engineering, are not al
lowing students enough freedom of choice
in picking electives.
His motion would require all student
curricula include nine hours of electives in
fields outside the major course of study.
Various colleges have differing numbers
of electives, but in some colleges,
McDermott maintained, even the free
electives are chosen more by the faculty
adviser than by the student.
McDermott’s motion elicited responses
from various members of the council.
Joe B. Dixon, professor of crops and soil
sciences, said students themselves limit
their electives to their chosen fields.
“The first request (to the advisers) is
‘what’s going to get us a job?”’ He added,
“We must counsel them wisely. If they
want to take philosophy, fine. If they want
a job, we should direct them to that.”
Others, including Col. James Woodall,
Related editorial, page 2
commandant of the Corps of Cadets, went
on record in favor of McDermott’s motion.
Woodall was joined by William Maxwell,
dean of Liberal Arts, and Ronnie Kapavik,
student body president.
One faculty member said the question
was whether Texas A&M was going to be
come a university or be just a trade school.
Dr. Gordon Hopkins, head of mechani
cal engineering, replied that if Texas A&M
was a trade school, it was the best. He said
that in the engineering profession, accre
dited programs have to have a certain
number of hours in various fields.
“Nothing prevents a student from taking
extra courses, ” he said. “We teach a man
how to earn a living, and most learn how to
enjoy it.
“I don’t want to teach a man to enjoy life
without teaching him how to earn it; that
would leave a frustrated man.”
Dr. Haskell Monroe, dean of faculties
and vice president of academic affairs, said
that the curriculum committee, on which
he serves, is set up for routine matters.
Therefore, he said. University Presi
dent Dr. Jarvis Miller should appoint a
council to work on a solution to the prob
lem.
His suggestion substituted McDer
mott’s motion and passed.
After the meeting McDermott said he
was pleased by the vote. He did not expect
as much support as he had received, he
said.
He said his amendment probably would
have been beaten if it had come to a vote
Thursday.
Miller has not yet appointed committee
memhers.
Woman student stabbed to deat<
in CS apartment Friday night
A 20-year-old Texas A&M student was
found stabbed to death in her College Sta
tion apartment Friday night.
The victim was identified as LaShan
Nuhlinghaus. Her nude, blood-covered
body was found on the bedroom floor by
her roommate at 9:25 p.m. Friday, police
said. She was pronounced dead at the
scene by Justice of the Peace B.H. De
wey.
Nuhlinghaus was stabbed once in the
pelvis area according to police reports.
The roommate told police she found the
victim’s shirt on the floor of the apartment.
She called for Nuhlinghaus but heard no
Malfunctions cause third
of Colorado nuclear plant
Smile for the camera
Dale Craxton’s horse, Ganaisha, gives her a wary
look as she puts the mare through several warm-up
exercises prior to competition in the Texas A&M
University Horseman’s Association Intramural
Horse Show. Pleasant weather prevailed for a
pleasant show Sunday morning at the Equestrian
Center.
Battalion photo by Sam Stroder
United Press International
PLATTEVILLE, Colo. — The Fort St.
Vrain Nuclear Generating Plant was shut
down Sunday due to a reactor room cool
ing malfunction which allowed a small
amount of radioactivity to escape into the
atmosphere, officials said.
It was the third time in less than two
years the huge nuclear plant had to be
shut down because of an equipment mal
function. It is located 40 miles northeast of
Denver.
“There was a minute release of radioac
tivity in the reactor building, but the
safety of the employees was not jeopar
dized and there was no measurable release
into the atmosphere,” reported Gary Re
eves, a spokesman for the Public Service
Company of Colorado.
Reeves said the plant was automatically
shut down at about 7 a.m. when helium,
the primary coolant used at the facility,
seeped into a back-up water system.
He said the incident was not made pub
lic until 11 hours later because it was not
answer. She found the body in the bed
room.
The roommate then ran to a neighbor’s
apartment to call the police.
Results from the autopsy were unavaila
ble at press time.
The case is still being investigated by
College Station detectives.
shutdown
in two years
considered an emergency. He said the
utility was required under federal law to
immediately report potential health
hazards.
“At no time was there any hazard to the
public,” Reeves said. “If there had been,
we would have made an immediate re
port.”
The plant will be reactivated at its au
thorized power level when the cause of the
problem is determined and rectified. Re
eves said. The plant was scheduled to be
closed for regular maintenance Oct. 20.