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
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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. ”
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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.
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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.”
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