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THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1981
Too many required hours makes Jack and Jill dull
; McCandless believes in varied course curriculum
By KATHY O’CONNELL
Battalion Staff
With the “explosion of know-
ge” in the past years, students
are finding it increasingly difficult
to take the number of required
courses to get a baccalaureate de
gree, as well as gain some sembl
ance of a broad education.
Dr. Charles E. McCandless,
sociate vice president for acade-
meoneisfjmic affairs, said the greatest diffi-
state me, Iculty students have at Texas A&M
/hat ifalhfUeiversity is that many profes-
[onal curriculums have conde-
ed programs with an irreducible
number of minimum degree re-
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lirements.
For instance, he said, the pet-
leum engineering department
and the architecture department
have five-year degree programs.
“My background is my bias,’’
he said, “and that is primarily an
pucation in liberal arts. So I’m
These nyla very sympathetic to a general edu-
be anywhet station core curricula concept.”
)urload. Sti He said he doesn’t foresee
:t coming
ver the lac
)ur girliriei
move to increase all degree prog
rams to five-year plans. The diffi
culty, particularly in highly tech
nical disciplines, is that the job
market is extremely good.
“If you can start out making
$28,000 in four years, then why
defer steps and spend another
year of outgo and forego the in
come?” he said.
"I think there are a lot of us who
teach and believe that it would be
good to know a lot more about a lot
of things.” However, he said, stu
dents “seem to want to graduate
and go to work and make money. ”
McCandless said the real dilem
ma comes when educators try to
draw a line between requiring
general education courses and
training the students for their
planned profession (learning
the ever-increasing technological
courses).
The more technological the
field becomes, the less flexibility
the student has.
“In liberal arts,” he said, “you
have more flexibility. So it really
depends on the discipline as to
how much flexibility you have.”
McCandless doesn’t foresee a
move towards establishing a core
curriculum at Texas A&M that
would require all students to take
more hours in English, foreign
languages and math.
“Basically we have a kind of
core curriculum,” he said.
“Everyone takes English, history
and political science. Almost
everyone takes math and some sci
ence.
He said students have a “very
professional orientation and their
question is — ‘How is this going to
make me a better fill-in-the-
blank?’”
“Again it’s one of my beliefs
that a college education should
prepare you for a good life, as well
as a good living. I think it is impor
tant we learn to communicate in
writing and that we have some
understanding and appreciation
for literature.
“There are a lot of things,” he
said, “that may not contribute di
rectly to making you a better fill-
in-the blank, but it will make you a
better educated person. ”
He said that if he had to estab
lish a “McCandless Tech” he
would require English, math, sci
ence, history, social and behavior
al sciences and some computing
sciences.
“I think it would be reasonable
to have some understanding of our
economic system.
“Basically I would increase the
number of hours, but then I would
recognize the person in the highly
technical areas. They are going to
have to scale these down.”
McCandless said he realizes
many students don’t want to take
extra courses, especially if they’re
already swamped with a large
number of required courses.
“I think we need to recognize
we have people in our classes who
are not there because that’s their
burning desire to be in that class,”
he said.
If there isn’t an emphasis on
some general education courses,
Texas A&M would essentially be a
technical institution as opposed to
a University.
He said the University should
take the blame for a student’s re
luctance to take more general
courses.
“I think we ought to do a better
job of explaining why we have
general education courses. It’s ob
vious to us (administrators), but
it’s not obvious to students.
“We need to show them (stu
dents) how it can help them pro
fessionally, how it can help them
personally and how it can help
them emotionally.”
prof says Cold War clash
is dangerous but different
i
By LAURA YOUNG
Battalion Reporter
Even though the Cold War of today is not as
tense as the Cold War of the 1940s, there is
a possibility of a clash between the Soviet
nionand the United States, said Dr. Robert
A. Divine, professor of diplomatic history at
the University of Texas.
I “There is still considerable danger to the
future,” Divine said, speaking to about 100
iculty members and students at Harrington
lassroom Center Tuesday night. “There is
till the danger of a runaway nuclear arms
ce.”
The speech by Divine, author of “The Re-
uctant Belligerent: American Entry into
World War II,” was sponsored by the Depart
ment of History and Phi Alpha Theta.
“The other great danger is that we will over
react to Soviet moves,” Divine, a professor of
20 years, said.
Divine explained that with new Soviet
aggressions, the United States has already in
creased defense spending and reinstated the
draft.
“In the 1940s the primary component was
fear of Soviet expansion,” Divine said. “And in
the 1940s, we overreacted to the Soviet
danger. ”
United States foreign policy, Divine said,
varies from relaxation to extreme tension.
“In the 1960s the Cold War began to evade, ”
Divine said.
He explained that the Vietnam War was one
of the reasons for the action. Lack of support
from other nations for that war compounded
the problem, he said.
Another reason Divine attributes to the de
cline of the Cold War in the 1960s is the rise of
the third world nations and the formation of
OPEC.
“They diflused power from Washington and
Moscow to other areas of the world,” Divine
said.
However, even with the apparent Soviet
agression, the Cold War of today is different
from what it was in the 1940s.
In the 1940s there were two main powers,
the Soviet Union and the United States.
“Today we live in a multi-polar world,” Di
vine said. “We have to worry about our allies.
We can’t rely on them to go along with what we
do.
“We need a coalition to convince our allies of
our actions.”
The other main difference between the Cold
War of the 1940s and today is the idea of com
munism.
“We have more understanding of commun
ism today as an ideology,” Divine said.
PART-TIME
PIZZA HUT,
is looking for a
"PEOPLE PERSON"
for O
PART TIME
position as
COOK
HOST/HOSTESS
toi our restaurants in
NAVAS0TA
As one of America's leod-
ers in the restaurant
industry, we've always
considered people to be
among oui most impor
tant assets the people
who work with us. and the
people we serve
So. it you've been
looking for a Pori Time
position with
FLEXIBLE HOURS
where your attitude,
ability and personality
ore more important
than your experience.
Apply directly to the
Manager of
APPLY AT 501
S. LASALLE
NAVASOTA
i An vouo* coeortirvrv •mrxover
COME BY ON
SATURDAY MAY 2ND
FROM
lO AM TO 6 FM
FOR OUR ANNUAL
SIDEWALK SALE.
MOST ITEMS PRICED
50% OFF
AND MOKE!
Eust Z9it) St Ulacehouse
yi3 / 846 / 6J7l
Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity
Announces Their FIFTH Annual
‘w> w If* -j . “ J -t*
.•-fwiw 4h#h>* l r« ■P.' 1 -
. i -. nd(r. - it'Ii •<
)lii‘1 '! tltiii -.U'HVr I •
If r H i.-.?}<*.•*' > fro ?.•".»‘Joy <*•«!«■. .idfrit "irHl
Coffeehouse to open this summer I p|QHT NIGHT
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mp and«l*
he nine-dif
By LAURA HATCH
Battalion Beporter
After much delay the MSC
Basement Coffeehouse is ex
pected to open on a trial basis this
summer. The grand opening,
however, is scheduled for the fall
semester.
The Basement Coffeehouse has
been under renovation since Sep
tember. The opening this summer
will be to smooth out any prob
lems the new facilities might have,
said Dwight Smith, staff adviser
for MSC Basement.
Work on the mezzanine is ex
pected to begin in a couple of
weeks, said Edward Kozlowski,
associate director of the physical
plant. Bids for the flooring area
have been received and the elec
tricity and plumbing should be
done within six weeks.
The Basement Committee is
planning to expand programming
next fall, Smith said, and will try to
have programs in the Coffeehouse
every night. In the past the coffee
house was open only on
weekends. “Open-mike” nights,
comedy nights and video tapes are
just a few of the programs commit
tee members say they hope to
offer.
The coffeehouse will be open
this fall frorft 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
and will serve hot and cold sand
wiches, pizza and nachos.
A wide-screen television set for
students to watch while eating is
another addition to the coffee- weekends,
house.
Smith said the television’s
addition is the result of the com
mittee’s efforts to draw crowds for
Monday night football as well as
crowds on local football
The committee would also like
to be available for use by other
other MSC committees such as
MSC Aggie Cinema or MSC
Cepheid Variable, Smith said.
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&M Universe'
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dvertising ^
■cPonald Bu^
0 n,nvm
Publisher to speak
on books, budgets
Frederick A. Praeger, founder of the Westview Press, will speak on
The Impact of Technological Advances and Budget Crunches on
Scholarly Book Publishing” today at 2 p.m. in 204C Sterling C. Evans
Library.
Praeger is also president and chief executive officer of the company
and vice chairman of the board. He founded the company in 1975.
The Westview Press specializes in international relations and econo
mics, energy, agriculture, geography, natural resources, public poli
cy, military affairs, the health sciences, minority problems and linguis
tics.
Westview Press is also the official publisher of the American Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Science Symposia Series. It also coop
erates with about 100 other foundations, research institutions, uni
versities and government and private research organizations.
AGGIES!
Douglas
Jewelry
10% AGGIE DISCOUNT
ON ALL MERCHANDISE
WITH STUDENT ID
(Cash Only Please)
We reserve the right to limit
use of this privilege.
Downtown Bryan (212 IN. Main)
and /
Culpepper Plaza
Take the $25.00
Challenge
at Bud Ward's!
just can't lose! i
So
Sez
Rddlin' ■
Faron
fii.i i.i ■»» i »»■»>'
WANTED!
OLD CLASS RINGS
TON
CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MAN.
WE NEED GOLD & SILVER
TO FILL OUR JEWELRY ORDERS.
GOLD SILVER COINS
SCRAP GOLD
GOLD INGOTS
DENTAL GOLD
WEDDING BANDS
MOTHERS RINGS
CLASS RINGS
INDUST. SILVER
STERLING SILVER
SCRAP SILVER
PLATINUM
GOLD COINS
SILVER COINS
1964 & BEFORE
DIMES. HALES
QUARTERS. SILVER $
FOREIGN COINS
BRYAN
GOLD & SILVER EXCHANGE
808 VILLA MARIA
ACROSS FROM MANOR EAST MALL
PH 779-GOLD OPEN MON.-SAT. 10-6
I VIMltlMtiilxx x x x xTT
Admission:
$2.00 Pre-Sale
$3.00 Gate
Tickets available:
Shellenberger’s
Courts in Culpepper
Texas Aggie Bookstore
Hastings in Culpepper
May 1 & 2
County Pavillion
Fighting Starts 6:00 p.m.
Boxing Between TAMU Organizations