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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1981)
he Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Yesterday Today High 70 High . ..71 Low 42 Low .. .53 Rain 1 Chance of rain . . 17% Health center requests more service fees The Arkansas who? Staff photo by Greg Gammon T< is A&M students hold up copies of The Battalion indicating indiffer- G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Aggies lost the game, 65-61. For more on (ice as Arkansas players are introduced prior to Tuesday night’s game in the game, see today s sports pages. 'ivilrights committee optimistic By TERRY DURAN Battalion Staff AUSTIN — Members of a governor’s committee tp ersee university desegregation are optimistic that Eexas will be able to meet the June 15 deadline set by federal civil rights authorities. | Even though committee chairman Tom Rhodes tdmits there “is still a long way to go,” committee lembers expressed confidence at a Tuesday morning leeting in Austin — their first — that the state will be mle to fully satisfy federal desegregation require- feents under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. After some eleventh-hour “good faith” bargaining Texas Attorney General Mark White with the U.S. ucation Department, federal authorities gave Texas segregation efforts a temporary okay in January and a June 15 deadline for submitting an acceptable tailed plan. Noncompliance could result in the loss of federal aid aling almost $250 million a year. The plan outlined by White calls for a 50 percent uction in the disparity between the proportion of inority and white high school graduates entering lieges over a five-year period. Also included is an crease in the number of minority faculty and admi nistrators, and elimination of unnecessary academic program duplication. Committee members expressed concern that, while such efforts might satisfy federal requirements, lawyers for the National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People (NAACP) might still sue the state for Title VI noncompliance. The committee agreed to use White’s January letter to the Education Department as a guideline for overall planning, although different schools will have to tailor the general plan to their own particular situation. White, who sat in on the meeting, said it is “very important to avoid a letter of noncompliance.” He said it will take “a burst of money” to bring the state’s two mostly-black universities — Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern University — into compliance. Small extra appropriations spread out over several years might be “dribbled away,” he said. Rhodes said the $20 million “educational excellence fund” recommended by the Legislative Budget Board was “just the first step” on the road to full compliance. TSU will get $12 million of that fund, Prairie View $8 million; however, the funds cannot be used for major building repair and rehabilitation, which most agree is one of the most pressing needs at both schools. “It’s not going to be easy, ” White said, “to say TS U is equal to the University of Houston. Your eyes will tell you they’re not. This (educational excellence fund) doesn’t paint buildings or build new dorms.” Committee member Leonard Spearman, TSU pres ident, said a lot of the excellence fund would go to expanding TSU’s law school, pharmacy school and educational department. Spearman criticized federal authorities for charging them (TSU and UH) with “du plication” of programs. He said both schools had “reached a saturation point” of enrollment, so that more students were being served than if only one institution had a law school- Spearman said he envisions TSU attracting new students of all races by offering specialized field train ing not offered at other schools in the area, such as energy law, x-ray technology, insurance and banking. The committee will turn its recomrpendations over to a writing committee of staff members from the state’s colleges and universities, which will draft the plan in detailed form. It will then be sent to the individual schools in mid-April for them to review and see what kind of changes are needed for that specific school. By AUGUST SKOPIK Battalion Reporter State laws restricting the amount uni versity health centers can charge stu dents for health services ($15 per semes ter per student), have forced the A. P. Beutel Health Center to increase its de mand for student service fee support, the center’s director says. Dr. C.B. Goswick presented his stu dent service fee request before the Fi nance Committee Tuesday night. The health center’s 1981-82 prop osed budget calls for $346,000 increase in the request for student service fee funds, up 125 percent from last year’s $276,000, to $622,000 next year. The total health center budget of $1,885 million is a 25 percent increase over last year’s total of $1,505 million. Mandatory pay hikes and the prop osed addition of three doctors make up 83.6 percent of the increase in student service fee usage. Since the center is already charging the maximum rate, as well as for some services, the new money must come from the student ser vice fee allocation. The student senate has recom mended the addition of three new doc tors to the center staff, effective next year. The center was forced to give state employees a 5.1 percent increase in January and will have to give them a 9.2 percent increase in September. “Salaries and wages are our biggest expense,” Goswick said. The three new doctors would cost $126,000, he said, and an additional $5,000 would be needed for lab equip ment and microscopes. The projected increase for food, medical and printing supplies was 10 percent, or $15,484. “I think this is a reasonable projec tion,” Goswick said. “Whoever heard of getting food supplies for 10 percent more than last year?” General expenses, such as telephones and utilities, were also projected to in crease by $31,000 (10 percent) over the 1980-81 budget. Goswick asked for an extra $2,200 to repair the air conditioning system. Goswick warned that fixture repairs may be costly. “We have not had any heaters can take advantage pf disciplinary appeals process ■ :■ CSslIllE x . Z.. i WBSmm ditor’s note: This is the second and nal story in a series examining cases of holastic dishonesty at Texas A&M Iniversity. By MARJORIE MCLAUGHLIN Battalion Staff “Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal, nor lo they tolerate those who do. ” — The Aggie Code of Honor. Although the “ideal Aggie” would nev- r cheat, Texas A&M University is not (nmune to the ever-present cheating problem. According to the 1980-81 University Rules and Regulations (section 34-1), bases of apparent scholastic dishonesty must be reported by the professor, in vriting, through the head of that de- Jartment to the dean of that particular allege. But in most cases, the problem is landled on the student-teacher level, flaking it difficult to determine the pre valence of cheating at Texas A&M. Ron Blatchley, director of student affairs, said that many« professors deal with cheating cases as isolated inci dents. “We like for them (the professors) to orward the information to the dean of the student’s college to make sure that the isolated case is not a part of some Pattern,” he said. Blatchley blamed economic pressure r what he sees as an increase in cheat- ■flg. He remarked that many students are desperate to get good grades so that they can get good jobs. He also blamed widespread apathetic attitudes toward cheating, saying, “I’m not sure we have the same value system as twenty years ago.” Teachers themselves “make opportu nities for students to cheat, ” by leaving the classroom or not paying attention to students during tests, according to Blatchley. “It is a temptation that students can’t handle,” he said. Dr. Murray Milford, both a professor and the chairman of the University Dis- icplinary Appeals board, which handles academic dishonesty cases, agreed that the “atmosphere in the class” has to do with how much cheating goes on. He said professors stressing and ex pecting integrity from their students, don’t have the same problems with cheating as teachers who have an “adversary” relationship with their class. “Cheating becomes a game,” in such situations, Milford said. “Students don’t let themselves, or the teacher’s expecta tion of them, down by cheating. ” In cheating cases, professors have the option of either failing the student for that particular assignment or test, or failing them for the class. If the student protests the professor’s accusation or the punishment, the case is brought before the dean of that col lege. If the student is enrolled in another college, his dean is informed. If the dean upholds the professor’s deci sion, the student is informed in writing of the action, and has three class days in which to file a written appeal to the University Disciplinary Appeals Panel. The appeals panel consists of a chair man, four faculty members and three students. The students serve one-year terms and are appointed by the student body president. Faculty members serve three-year terms on the board and are appointed by the president of the University. The student has the right to have either an open or closed hearing, to be represented by counsel and to present witnesses and any material pertinent to the case. A formal letter is sent to the student, the president of the Univexsity, and to all parties involved, informing them of panel’s decision. Three cases of academic dishonesty were handled last semester at Texas A&M. No figures for previous years were available, because according to Milford, each chairman keeps files for his term and then most are destroyed. Milford said that it is “relatively rare for academic dishonesty cases to get to the disciplinary panel,” and that most students are appealing the punishment, not the accusation itself. He said that students are more likely to protest if the teacher’s decision will affect long-range plans, such as getting into professional school. “To me this means that students con fronted with scholastic discipline gener ally find the punishment given (to be) reasonable,” he said. Reagan to detail budget cuts United Press International WASHINGTON — President Reagan will contend “the ship of state is out of control” and recommend 80 specific federal spending cuts totaling 149.4 billion in his address to Congress tonight. The cuts will include some subsidies paid to traditionally protect ed constituencies. The Reagan program will call for mas sive tax cuts beginning July 1 for indi viduals, and retroactive to Jan. 1 for businesses. Reagan will unveil the highlights of his economic recovery program in a na tionally televised address before a joint session of Congress at 8 p.m. “The president is expected to say the ship of state is out of control,” said Brady. “He will say it is within our pow er to change the situation, that there’s nothing wrong with the system.” A 30 percent across-the-board indi vidual income tax cut spread over three years will be included in the Reagan message, along with an accelerated de preciation tax break for business “to stress the creation of new jobs and in creased productivity.” House Speaker Thomas O’Neill cautioned that Congress will not give Reagan everything he wants, nor will it move quickly. “Legislation made in haste makes for an awful lot of waste along the line,” said O’Neill. Hi Mickey! Photo by Kevin Romo Brian Replogle dresses up as Mickey Mouse in his efforts to keep the NBC-TV series “The Wonderful World of Disney” on the air. NBC has decided to cancel the series after this year, and Replogle and others are soliciting signatures in front of Rudder Tower. repair expenses,” he said, “but it won’t be long before we have some major ex penses, such as the roof, and it’s coming up sooner or later. ” Student health center fees would pro vide 61 percent of the proposed $1,885,000 budget. Various services which the health center charges for would provide an additional $108,000, or 5.7 percent. The rest of the money must come from student service fees. Goswick detailed some of the charged-for services: “We contract phy sicals for military personnel, and we also charge a nominal charge for pregnancy tests. “We don’t think it would be fair for a test that is only provided for females be partially subsidized by the males, and vice versa,” he said. Some center revenue comes from selling some prescription drugs at be- low-market prices, drugs which could not be provided free of charge, Goswick said. “We would like to make a nominal charge for all prescriptions to make the student pay for our expenditures on the drugs,” Goswick said. “It would help keep us in the black.” Charging for x-rays would also help out, Goswick said. “It costs more and more every year just to keep the same thing going.” Tracy Cox, vice president for finance, said students can expect an increase in the student service fee next year. “It’s highly unlikely that the fees will stay the same,” he said. The student service fee is now set at $33.50 per semester per student. The 1981-82 projection for the stu dent service fee fund is $2,173,392 if the fee stays $33.50; $2,205,993 if the fee increases to $34; $2,266,848 if the fee increases to $35. The final Finance Committee hearing for service fee users will be Thursday night. Saturday, the committee will meet to make its recommendation to the student senate. The recommendation must be approved by the student senate; Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student services; Acting President Charles Sam son and the Board of Regents. Pre-meeting GTE talk set for senate By TERRY DURAN Battalion Staff A General Telephone representative and his University counterpart will brief students on the touchtone telephone system to be installed this summer and answer questions about the system’s use and its cost to students in 206 Memorial Student Center at 6:30. Discussion of a recent University de cision to exclude fifth-year and graduate students from on-campus housing will probably highlight consideration of ten measures the senate’s under “old busi ness.” A bill currently before the senate would suggest an alternative to immedi ate implementation of an eight- semester limit on dorm housing. Other bills to be considered include: — A request to University officials to decide officially whether classes will be held the Monday after a football victory over the University of Texas. — A proposal for establishing a Texas A&M student lobby in the Texas Legisl ature. — A recommendation to the campus police for changes in traftic policies. — A request for $11,500 in Universi- ty funds to develop student organization storage space under the west Kyle Field ramps. — A proposal for an “All-University Pre-Election Bash” just before campus elections to acquaint students with can didates. Five measures appearing before the senate for the first time are: — A bill, “Rx for Apathy, Laryngitis or Whatever It Is That Ails the Silent Majority, ” that would organize a weekly open forum in front of Rudder Foun tain. -— A request to reverse the doubling of campus parking tickets and reinstate multiple ticketing instead. — A request to the Board of Regents to assign one of the new dormitories to male students. A proposal that would support extending alcoholic beverage selling hours in College Station from midnight to 2 a.m. The senate will meet in 105 Helden- fels at 7:30 p.m.