Local THE BATTALION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1981 Page 3 RHA passes restructure package s By BERNIE FETTE Battalion StafT In order for the proposed structu ral reorganization to be accepted by the Residence Halls Association, 35 of53 voters had to vote “Yea” for the measure to pass. And 35 votes is what they got. The restructuring plan voted down, except for one item, at the last RHA meeting, was discussed Thurs day night part by part by the general assembly before the members pas sed almost the entire package. The RHA Chaplain was given sta tus as an ex officio member of the executive committee but would have no vote in the general assembly. According the proposed plan, the he call s. Sim Learning Spanish helps English skills ,H,U mica Ever) 1 ; the All veryh srtka chaplain would have been taken off the executive committee altogether. RHA Adviser Nolen Mears said that it would be beneficial for the chaplain to remain on the executive committee since she has become in creasingly active in the workings of the committee. “The purpose of the restructuring is to improve the effectiveness of the committees,” RHA President Sher rie Balcar said. “It is also meant to give general members a better opportunity to get involved.” The first part of the discussion cen tered around the conflict of whether or not the five directors would have a vote in the general assembly. Some of the members contended that the directors should get a vote since they should know what’s best for their committees. But others said a conflict would arise when a director was also a dorm president or a dele gate. Balcar said a person having two positions would still receive only one vote. The members voted to give each of the five directors a vote. Next the members voted to not include the national communications coordinator on the executive com mittee. The contention made by many of the members was that the position was an appointed one and that appointed office-holders repre sented no constituency. The members voted at the last meeting to make the office of treasur er an elected one instead of an appointed one. That action included the treasurer on the executive com mittee along with the president, vice president and secretary. In the new structure, five direc tors will oversee the workings of va rious committees under them and report on those workings to the vice president who would then confer with the rest of the executive com mittee. Balcar said this structure will make the implementation of new programs much easier since the headings over each department are much broader. By NANCY FLOECK Battalion Reporter Children learn to read quicker and understand complex ideas easier in Spanish than in English, a Texas °m'? A&M University Spanish professor says. And he has the kids to prove it. Using his son and daughter, who were both reading Spanish at the age of 2, as examples, Dr. Chester Christian said children grasp Span ish faster because its sound and writ ing systems are congruent. In comparison, English is incon sistent, irrational, ambiguous and unpredictable, he said. To illustrate, Christian said the letter “a” can be pronounced five ways in English and its sounds repre sented 16 ways in writing. There fore, any word with the letter “a” in it presents a problem for a child, he said. “No matter how many words he bows with the letter “a” in it, he can’t depend on it representing a certain sound in a word,” Christian said. “What the child learns to do is ead meaningless material.” There are only eight spelling pecularities in Spanish, so a child can read all the words he knows and even pronounce the ones he doesn’t bow, he said. Christian said a background in Spanish can help a child learn to read English with less difficulty than would normally be encountered. His daughter entered kindergar ten knowing almost no English, he laid, and she began reading in En glish on her own when the English- speaking children weren’t reading at all. Christian said the textbooks used in Mexican schools support his be liefs. The official government seventh grade textbook contains a lengthy poem by a famous Spanish poet and a grammar lesson and noun phrase analysis based on the poem; the eighth grade textbook contains a selection that is comparable to the old English version of the Canter bury Tales. “This sort of thing you don’t dream of learning in English in the seventh grade,” he said. “You’re lucky if you get it before you get out of high school.” In addition, he said, the textbooks contain sophisticated linguistic ter minology. In contrast, he said, “I have two daughters with degrees in English from the University of Texas at Au stin and they don’t know it (the ter minology) yet,” Christian said. Christian said children in the Un ited States could have the same qual ity of education if it weren’t for ling uistic, cultural and institutional bar riers and prejudices and “a system that insists on mediocrity.” Christian also said the reading ability of persons in the United States with little or no formal educa tion is lower than comparable situa tions in countries where Spanish is spoken. Christian said Spanish-speaking students who come to English uni versities often find it difficult to make the transition to English. English is a difficult second lan- Prof exchange plan could begin this fall By SHEILA FRAZIER Battalion Reporter A limited number of faculty memners at Texas A&M University could be temporarily exchanged for faculty members from 24 other major southern universities. The exchanges, part of a new program designed to increase and renew opportunities for professors, might begin as early as the fall of 1981. The swaps will be made on a one-for-one basis when arrange ments can be made. The program, still in its planning stages, is outlined to allow exten sive flexibility to meet individual university needs. A faculty exchange coordinator at every participating university will make initial contacts and negotiations and the Southern Regional |» Education Board will assist in arranging the actual exchanges. Dr. Clinton Phillips, Texas A&M dean of faculties and exchange coordinator for the University said, “The program is designed to give a faculty member a refreshing experience. ” the art p court etwort hat of« L ther 1* ador"' 1 ' th Dert ,un$ The program outline cited a need to renew interests of professors who are in tenured positions at a relatively young age. “Sometimes it is good for people to get a change of scenery. I hope some people will take advantage of it, ’’ Phillips said. Who will go, duration of exchange, work load and other details will be worked out between the universities. Salaries and fringe benefits will normally be paid by the home university. The Southern Regional Education Board suggested that house swaps would be the easiest living arrangements. Phillips agreed and said Texas A&M would fund part of the professors’ traveling expenses from a central University account. “The program can give faculty an opportunity for research and a fresh perspective. We may learn a great deal,” Phillips said. i»l vt" 1 AGGIES! Dou^IuoA Jcw'clrv tt-ilion, 1 jtatioi 1 '" on [>< shedf"* ,toH 10% AGGIE DISCOUNT ON ALL MERCHANDISE WITH STUDENT ID (Cash Only Please) We reserve the right to limit use of this privilege. Downtown Biyan (212 N. Main) and Culpepper Plaza guage to learn because of its inconsis tencies, he said. But, he said, the transition can be smoothed by teaching students to identify the meaningful sounds in English. Variations in dialect also make En glish a confusing second language, Christian said. “Sounds in Spanish are much more precise,” he said. “You have more variation from one county to another in Texas than you have in (all of) Spanish.” English uses words from other lan guages without changing their pro nunciation to fit English sounds, Christian said. But in Spanish, he said, borrowed words are made consistent with Spanish sounds. Christian said other languages aren’t as precise and consistent as Spanish, but aren’t as confusing as English. “I don’t know of any language which is more inconsistent than En glish, ” he said. “There must be -- but it’s not Russian and not German.” Christian said French has prob lems in its sound system, but not to the extent of English. Christian said he has not always spoken Spanish. “I did not begin to use Spanish until after I was thirty years old, ” he said. “I consider that a great personal misfortune. ’’ Brazos Valley holds largest oilfield, Ag wildcatter says By JOHN WEAVER Battalion Reporter The largest developing oil and gas field in the United States is in the Brazos Valley, a leading inde pendent oilman said Thursday. “This is a huge field and it will help us supply our strategic reserves, which are so low now we are captives of the Arabs,” Midland wildcatter Clayton Williams said. Approximately 250 businessmen from seven sur rounding counties attended the Brazos Valley Out look Conference, an economic outlook meeting held in the MSC. The day-long session was to help busi ness identify potential problems caused by rapid population and industrial influxes to Brazos Valley. Williams said the continued development of the Giddings Field will bring more money to the area economy. • “There are 1,700 roughnecks in the Giddings Field and they are spending substantial amounts of money in the various surrounding cities,” the West Texas oilman said. “More men are going to move in here as the field opens up even more. “Most of the men are driving in from other parts of the state—like West Texas—and staying in motel rooms or trailer houses. “We in the industry would welcome private initia tive to provide homes for the workers, some of whom will be permanent.” Williams described the field as being “ten miles wide and one-hundred miles long” with about 100 rigs currently producing approximately 700,000 bar rels of oil per month. “I think the field will someday have between 3,500 and 7,000 wells producing at least 200,000 barrels of oil per day,” the oilman said. He also said the field could produce about 300 million cubic feet of gas per day and this would require more manpower. “We would have, and do have, pipelines running through the area, along with production plants,” Williams said. “Each town in the Brazos Valley would be competing for the workers. “Many live in College Station now because they like larger towns and the schools are a little better. ” The wildcatter, a 1954 graduate of Texas A&M University, refused to speculate on the longevity of the Giddings Field. “Five years ago I thought West Texas was finished and done for as far as oil and gas production was concerned,” he explained. “Now, they are having another boom and this taught me not to guess too much in this business.” r i .A.:.i MORE AT PIZZA INN SUPER SPORTS SALE!! Select group of SHOES ♦ 10 to 40% OFF NIKE-PUMA-TIGER BROOKS & OTHERS Entire stock not included. ♦ ALL WARM-UPS Ladies - Mens Children 30% OFF t ALL SKI WEAR Chnn TUP 1 Plf 1 /2 OFF roat hi iv/cl! 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