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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1981)
he Battalion }l. 74 No. 141 Pages in 2 Sections Serving the Texas A&M University community Thursday, April 23, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High 74 High 78 Low 62 Low 63 Chance of rain. 100% Chance of rain. . . . . . . 40% ^Tuition raise brings protest lead fori] ing doul who hac second dj cored La BY HIGtt e in a pa™ By LIZ N EWLIN lc an ? f R Battalion Staff ch in 11 AUSTIN — Close to 800 college stu- I odor, gents filled the visitors’ gallery and the i his 19' goor of the Senate Wednesday to pro- a proposal to raise tuition for state iversities. Eleven students, including one jie, testified during the 90-minute aring before the Senate Education mmittee, but another 700 filled out itness cards. Student lobbyists say by have a good chance of killing the ole bill in the Senate committee. The students — representing more than 500,000 college students across Texas — said raising tuition would cre- :TAR V ate financial hardships at the same time AM! the federal government is planning to AFIER ; cut billions in aid for students and their ' parents. Students Wednesday gave igtuch the same testimony they did last ek during a 3-hour, late-night hear- |g before a House education commit- considering tuition increases. Black and Hispanic students repe- d that they would be especially hard t, and many minority medical and law idents would be forced to quit or nsfer to less expensive, out-of-state hools. Carmen Rocco, a medical student at le University of Texas at Galveston, id higher tuition would worsen the lortage of minority doctors among lexican-Americans and other low- come groups. {“Our people are grossly medically der-served now,” she said. “The ulti- late outcome of the tuition increase is hat health care will be a privilege and ot a right.” H ,R The committee ended the hearing at .0:30 a.m. as planned, but Chairman V.E. “Pete” Snelson decided to con- inue the hearing next Wednesday noming because so many wanted to estitfy. “It (the students turn-out) was cer- ainly very complimentary to the stu- lents, their testimony, their decorum id to their attitudes,” Snelson said af- |er the hearing. He said the committee may recom- nend some tuition increase, but prob- ibly not the proposed 100 percent for mdergraduates, 900 percent for medic- students and 600 percent for dental students. The exact amount will be ba lanced, he said, against the cuts in finan cial aid from the federal government. Student John Taylor said the federal government contributed 72.6 percent of all financial aid received last year by Texas students at senior colleges and universities. “While this bill is talking about adding a little loan money on the one hand, the federal government — which accounts for 3 out of every 4 dollars in total financial aid — is taking away a chunk of funding on the other hand,” Taylor told the committee. “That makes the bill’s loan provision, which applies only to medical and dental students, look like a drop in the bucket.” Taylor said the study committee that recommended the tuition hike was told that federal funds for student financial assistance would be significantly in creased. “That was one year ago,” he said. Now those federal funds are being sev- erly cut. Sen. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, came to the hearing to make that same point. He is not a member of the Education Committee, but strongly opposes a tui tion increase. Doggett asked Tom Keel, staff chair man of the study group that recom mended the hike, if the group had known of the president’s cuts. Keel said no. Keel also said the study committee had not considered any method but a tuition hike to supplement higher edu cation in Texas. The money was primar ily intended for construction at state universities outside the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems. Several legislators, including House Speaker Bill Clayton, have introduced bills to “create” the needed new funds for higher education from other sources. Clayton’s bill would re establish a state property tax until a $2 billion endowment is collected, and the profits — estimated at $100 million a year — would fund construction. None of the bills have been approved by either house. See related story on page 3 College students packed the gallery in the Senate chamber in Austin Wednesday to protest a bill that would double college tuition. Members of the Senate Education Committee listen to one of 11 students who did Photo by Liz Newlin testify. Jessie Oliver (standing at the far end of table), president of the University of Texas Student Bar Association, said the increase would be hardest on minority students. A&M student protests bill Freshman found stabbed to death By LIZ NEWLIN Battalion Staff AUSTIN — Tommy Schwartz, a senior at Texas A&M University, took a swipe at University administrators Wednesday during a hearing on a prop osal to double college tuition. He appeared before the Senate Edu cation Committee as a representative of the Texas Student Lobby, an indepen dent lobby group, comprised mostly of University of Texas students. Schwartz, son of former Sen. A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, told the senators that University administrators have said the estimated 5 percent enrollment drop won’t harm Texas A&M. Some might have financial problems, one adminis trator said, but since the University is growing it will not be hurt. “Considering a 5 percent decrease in enrollment (about 1,700 at Texas A&M) predicted with a tuition increase, over all numbers may seem insignificant,” Schwartz said. “But to Texas A&M and the Texas Student Lobby, students aren’t numbers, and they are signifi cant.” When the increase was first prop osed, he said, the Junior College Asso ciation of Boards and Presidents im mediately condemned it. “These people understand the im portance of a college education as a last chance to improve oneself,” Schwartz said. “It’s too bad that the four-year col lege presidents and administrators don’t understand that same need to make education available to everyone on an equal basis.” Schwartz echoed the testimony of other students who said the increase is coming at a bad time—just when Presi dent Reagan is cutting financial aid. “Over 35 percent of A&M’s student body benefit from some kind of financial aid,” he said. “With full implementa tion of Reagan’s budget, approximately 60 to 80 percent of the families currently eligible for Guaranteed Student Loans would not be eligible or will not find a lender to make small loans.” Schwartz quoted Alvin Bormann, a financial aid advisor at Texas A&M, for that statistic and others. In an analysis of Reagan’s budget cuts, Bormann said the potential effects are “devastating.” Specifically, he said: — About 60-80 percent of families currently eligible for Guaranteed Stu dent Loans (GSL) would not be eligible or able to find a lender. — Lender participation in GSL would be sharply reduced due to the increased administrative budget of col lecting in-school interest on loans dire ctly from students and not the federal goverment (as it is now). — The demand for student loans and student employment will increase be cause of reducing Pell grant eligibility and requiring a $750 “self-help” from students. Currently there are no prop osed increases to other forms of loans and work. — Dramatic shifts in school enroll ments may occur forcing students not to consider private colleges or public col leges away from home, but schools clos er to home. In many cases, students may choose not to go on to college, but enter the work force instead. — Severe reduction in GSL would reduce enrollment in graduate school since GSL is a primary source of funds for graduate students. Schwartz also said that Aggies default on student loans at the rate of 4.7 per cent, less than half the federal goal of 10 percent defaults and well below the na tional average of 17 percent. “Aggies are working and paying for their education,” he said. Other students agreed with Schwartz that the tuition raise, even though it may be a small part of the whole cost of college, would be enough to close the university doors to many. A random survey at Texas Tech Uni- veristy showed that 17 percent of the students there would be forced to quit school if tuition doubles, not the 5 per cent predicted by the state. Jessie Oliver, the president of the UT Student Bar Association, told the Sen ate committee that the hike would most affect those students least able to carry the burden of that increase. “The consequences of a tuition in crease could be a step towards decreas ing minority enrollment and a potential loss of up to $250 million in federal high er education funds,” he said. “It may be argued that an increase— even a 100 percent increase in the pre sent rate — would not be a substantial amount. However, when resources are limited every dollar counts." SPECIAL I PRICE I 570 i 1125 1105 1285 ! 1440 | 1555 j IflSO 1 By PHYLLIS HENDERSON Battalion Staff Axel F. Youngberg, an 18-year-old Texas A&M freshman, was found dead in his apartment Wednesday. Youngberg, a biology major from Irving, had several stab wounds in the chest and arms. He was killed after what appeared to be a fight inside his Briar- wood apartment, police reports said. There was no forced entry and all doors were relocked. Police estimate the time of death as sometime Tuesday night. Youngberg’s body has been sent to Dallas where an autopsy will be per formed. Youngberg had been burglarized twice in the last three weeks. According to police reports, $6,000 worth of stereo equipment was stolen three weeks ago. A week later, an additional $3,000 worth of equipment was stolen. Youngberg’s body was discovered by the apartment manager and a mainte nance man when they investigated a complaint by a neighbor who had not seen Youngberg since Monday. The maintenance man climbed over the rear patio fence and opened the door with a passkey. He discovered the body on the dining room floor. Police reports say one of Youngberg’s neighbors heard a noise Tuesday night and afterwards saw Youngberg’s dog out on the apartment stairwell. Youngberg is survived by his father F.A. Youngberg III of Irving. Young berg graduated from MacArthur High School in Irving. out on west campus Power goes By BELINDA McCOY Battalion Staff Seven buildings on the west side of Texas A&M University’s campus were rendered powerless for ab out two hours Wednesday night. Officials speculate that the shorting out of heavy electrical cables and a slight explosion caused the power failure, but nobody is sure yet which came first — the explosion or the short-out. Electrical power was cut off in six dorms and the basement of A.P. Beutal Health Center when under ground electrical cables shorted out and started smol dering near a manhole behind the Health Center just before 7 p.m., officials agree. College Station fire Capt. Dave Giordano said the electric short-out may have been as the result of an explosion of a gas accumulation within the manhole. University Police Cpl. Delbert Davis said, howev er, that the short-out came first. It could have been the result of a rat chewing through the 440-volt under ground cable, or maybe a shift in the ground, Davis said. Davis said that he was not even sure if an explosion occurred. No one reported actually hearing one, he said. “One of the manhole covers was thrown to the side,” he said, but that could have been the result of the impact of the sparks from the heavy cable short- out. Davis said that explosive gases accumulate natural ly in underground tunnels from deteriorating mate rials. If an explosion did occur Wednesday night, he said, it was the result of the heat from the electrical sparks igniting those gases. “If enough heat hits it (the gas), it may cause a very slight explosion,” he said. Power was restored to the buildings around 9 p.m., Davis said. But, the Health Center’s basement went only a few minutes without electricity before an emergency generator produced power. The College Station firemen searched other man holes in the area, Giordano said, to make sure the damage had not extended beyond the area of the manhole in which the possible explosion occurred. The exact cause of the electrical short-out and possible explosion is still under investigation. UT plans to limit business enrollment, A&M doesn’t causes classroom, faculty shortages IAL :e io 15 :5 10 0 0 By TERRI ZAWACKI Battalion Reporter Although University of Texas administrators 1 recently decided to limit the enrollment of trans- | fer students in the College of Business Adminis- 1 tration, there is no such action planned for the I business college at Texas A&M University. However, rapid growth of the Texas A&M I College of Business Administration has created a I problem because of limited faculty and clas- | sroom space. With a spring enrollment of5,056, I the College of Business Administration is the I second largest college at Texas A&M. The University of Texas decided to limit en- I rollment of transfer students in the College of I Business Administration — its largest college — I beginning this summer. I The university’s administrators have not yet I decided what the maximum number of students | accepted will be; however, the change will not | affect freshmen students entering the college, I Augustine Garza, associate director of admis- | sions at UT, said. William Muse, dean of the College of Busi- I ness Administration at Texas A&M, said he does | not expect the restriction at UT to affect the I enrollment in the business college on this cam- | pus. Since most Texas universities offer a degree in business administration, he said, it shouldn’t cause an increase in enrollment in that college at Texas A&M. However, Muse said the rapid growth in the business college is causing problems in accom modating students. Since the spring of 1976, enrollment has increased 110 percent from 2,408 to the current 5,056. Muse said additional classroom space will be available Sept. 1 when the College of Business Administration moves into the new Academic and Agency Building. Increased enrollment also has caused prob lems maintaining a sufficient number of faculty for the college. Muse said the business college does not have enough instructors to offer all the courses the college needs to offer. Funding for new faculty is not as much of a problem as finding people to hire, Muse said. Universities are losing faculty to industry, because in many cases the salaries industry pro vides are better than salaries the University can offer. Muse said. Although there are currently no plans to limit enrollment in the college, in the past, there have been restricted entrance requirements. From 1970 to 1979, admission requirements for the College of Business Administration were higher than those of other colleges within the University. Dean of Faculties Clint Phillips said John Pearson, then dean of the College of Business Administration, proposed that standards be raised. The proposal was approved by the Academic Council and put into effect in 1970. Upon this action, freshmen who wished to enter the college were required to have higher Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Students who wished to transfer into the college from other colleges or universities were required to have an overall grade point ratio of 2.5. During that time, students who could not meet the requirements for admission into the business college would enter other colleges and still take business courses, Phillips said. Such students would later try to change to a business major. In 1979, the college decided to remove the higher standards because the University was dis satisfied with the outcome, Phillips said. Phillips was interim dean of the College of Business Administration when the standards were re moved. Departments within the college are also hav ing overcrowding problems, such as with under graduate advising. Sharon Reed, an undergraduate adviser in the accounting department, said there is not a full-time adviser for the department. “The budget just won’t allow it,” she said. There are 1,609 students majoring in account ing at the University this semester. Reed, who works 30 hours a week, and another faculty member who also teaches, are the only full-time undergraduate advisers in the accounting department. A graduate student also assists Reed in advising 20 hours a week. Other colleges at Texas A&M are feeling the pressures of overcrowding. The largest college on campus is the College of Engineering. The engineering college is having difficulties accommodating the number of students enrol led, said Robert Page, dean of the College of Engineering. “We try to do the best we can with the resources available,” he said. The current enrollment in the college is 10,214. This semester’s enrollment has in creased 69 percent from the 1976 spring enroll ment of 6,046. Increased enrollment in the entire University has caused problems in available classroom space and faculty. The increased enrollment in the College of Engineering and the College of Business Admi nistration also affects other colleges, Charles McCandless, associate vice president for acade mic affairs, said. All students enrolled in engineering and busi ness are required to take English, mathematics, government and history, he said, and therefore these colleges also have to deal with the over crowding. Currently, Texas A&M University adminis trators are discussing strategies to deal with the rapid growth of the entire University, said McCandless. McCandless said enrollment could be limited at two levels. On one level, entering freshmen could be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Or the University could increase the academic standards for acceptance. The second level would require students to have a set GPR before they could enroll in up per-level courses, McCandless said. This would restrict these courses to high-quality students. But, McCandless also said that restricting: courses to a high-quality students might have a reverse effect and increase enrollment. Raising the standards might cause a more competitive atmosphere and therefore increase enrollment even more. If limitations are placed on enrollment, McCandless said, they would probably occur in the various colleges within the University. “It depends on the situation,” he said. A final decision on any recommendations by the administrtion to limit enrollment must be made by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. If such a recommendation is made and accepted, the Board will also decide how enrollment will be limited.