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Serving the Texas A&M University community
Thursday, May 7, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
. Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
High
84 High
85
Low
64 Low
66
Chance of rain
20% Chance of rain. . . .
. . . 20%
Student aid
to be tighter
4 "Vx
';V ^
Staff photo by Greg Gammon
Houston native Randy Majors (right) and Scott Hennigar (left)
spend Wednesday afternoon in front of the commons wishing good
luck to all undergraduates taking finals next week. With them are
their creature comforts — a small wading pool and liquid refresh-
Appoints University committee members
ments (in baby bottles). Majors, a chemical engineering student
and Hennigar, a range science student, will both be graduating
F riday.
By KATHY O’CONNELL
Battalion Staff
With proposed federal cuts in student
financial aid and probable delays in re
ceiving aid, students may have to think
twice this summer before planning a
two-week vacation to the coast, or
buying a new stereo.
Clair E. Fink, financial aid officer at
Texas A&M University, said Reagan’s
proposed budget cuts are going to affect
“the overall student financial aid prog
ram at Texas A&M by reducing the total
amount of money available.”
The maximum basic grant (Pell
Grant) a student can receive in the
1981-82 academic year is $1,750 — a
$50 dollar reduction from last year’s
$1,800 allowance, he said.
Fink said some students, particularly
students from middle-income class
families, may not receive grants at all.
This is dependent on the changes Con
gress makes, however.
He also said students may not receive
their grants at the beginning of the
semester since the government halted
processing on the Student Eligibility
Report until April 11. The SER deter
mines whether or not a student qualifies
for financial aid and how much he can
receive.
The new Eligibility Index, which de
termines financial need based on family
income, the number of dependents and
several other factors, will not be ready
until Congress votes on the proposed
budget cuts. It is expected to vote on the
proposals sometime next week.
For these reasons, many students’
grants will not be available until some
time during September, Fink said.
Bob Piwonka, manager of student
financial services, said students can de
lay fee payment until the first class day,
but they must fill out a card at the
Financial Aid Office stating they are re
ceiving financial aid.
Students who are receiving financial
aid must “be prepared” to supplement
their finances some other way, he said.
Fink said students who want to se
cure a Guaranteed Student Loan,
should submit their applications to the
Financial Aid Office as soon as possible.
But it is still the student’s responsibility
to find a lending institution that partici
pates in the GSL program.
The proposed changes in the loan
program should be effective on or about
Oct. 1, he said. Some of the proposed
changes include eliminating interest
subsidies to lending institutions and re
quiring the student to establish financial
need before securing a loan.
This would mean students would
have to go through a process similar to
applying for a basic grant. Right now,
there are no requirements to secure a
GSL loan, other than that the student
be enrolled at least half-time in an edu
cational institution.
3,1^7 degrees to be awarded
at ceremonies this weekend
i Student Government wraps up year
By TERRY DURAN
Battalion Staff
Elections, confirmations and some
[uick legislating were the order of busi -
iess Wednesday night at the 1981-82
tudent senate’s last meeting before
ummer.
One of the first actions of the newly
fleeted legislative body was to elect a
eaker of the senate to preside over
jegular meetings. The first ballot saw
e position go to Jeff Anthony, asopho-
ore animal science and agricultural
fdueatioii double major from DeSoto.
h Anthony served as the senate’s
peaker pro tempore during the 1980-
|1 school year.
J It took two ballots, however, to select
Mike Wolff, as the speaker pro tern for
1981-82. He is a sophomore agricultural
engineering major from Alexandria, La.
Nominees recommended by Student
Government President Ken Johnson for
For more information on SG appoint-
‘ ments to University committees, please
1 see page 7.
executive branch positions were con
firmed unanimously by the senate, as;
were 179 student appointments to 40
different University committees.
Nominees had to be confirmed by a
two-thirds vote of the senate.
There were still vacancies on two
cooperative education committees and
the Sbisa Dining Hall menu board.
Johnson had said earlier that “no
great controversy” was expected in the
confirmation proceedings.
Anthony, who was handed the gavel
immediately upon election, told the
confirmees, “Welcome to the family,
folks,” after the uneventful confirma
tion vote.
Academic Affairs Vice President
Kathy Bartholomew drew interest
when she announced tentative plans to
increase achievement awards for in
structors.
Bartholomew said an ad hoc commit
tee of students, former students and fa
culty were considering increasing both
the number and the size of awards given
to professors for teaching excellence.
Six $1,000 awards are currently given
to instructors for teaching excellence.
Bartholomew said that number would
probably be increased to 30, as well as
adding three awards a piece in the cate
gories of student relations and research,
which currently hand out two and three
awards per year, respectively.
She said the two awards for those in
volved in continuing education and ex
tension work, as well as two staff or
administrator awards, would be con
tinued without change.
Two bills before the senate on first
reading were approved after being
placed on emergency status, making
them eligible for immediate action.
The first measure set aside $300 for a
new phone bank and tape delay system
forcable radio station KANM, FM 99.5.
The new equipment, said station mana
ger Todd Gross, will be used to air a
weekly talk show.
Gross said the station, which current
ly broadcasts from Lounge B-l, be
tween Moore and Crocker halls, hopes
to have the system in operation by the
first week of the fall semester.
The second bill passed Wednesday
night recommended setting aside funds
for printing “Discovering Aggieland
Guides,” aimed at giving new students
consumer tips, banking and eating in
formation, etc.
Other bills appearing before the sen
ate for the first time proposed:
— Separating KANM radio station
from Student Government and making
it an autonomous student organization
within the student activities office.
— “Encouraging” the use of “secular,
nondenominational prayers” at events
such as football games, Aggie Muster,
etc.
— Recommending repair or replace
ment of carpets in the Memorial Stu
dent Center.
By CARLA SUTTER
Battalion Reporter
Texas A&M University diplomas will
be presented to 2,807 undergraduate
students and 380 graduate students this
weekend.
This figure is tentative at the mo
ment, however. Don Gardner, assistant
registar, said there is a probable
variance of 20 or 30 because of either
academic or financial reasons.
Too, some graduates don’t show up
for the ceremony, Gardner said.
The University will graduate 1,208
students at 2 p.m. Friday. This figure
includes the 380 graduates receiving
master’s and doctorate degrees.
Also being graduated Friday are 532
students in the College of Agriculture,
166 in the College of Science and 130 in
the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Friday at 7:30 p.m., 1,027 students
will receive their diplomas. The College
of Engineering has the largest number
of undergraduates with 745. Forty-
seven students in the College of Geosci
ences and 235 in the College of Liberal
Arts will also be graduated.
The last graduation ceremony will be
Saturday at 9 a.m. with 952 students
participating. There will be 143 stu
dents from the College of Architecture,
570 from the College of Business, 183
from the College of Education and 56
from Texas A&M University at Gal
veston.
Vending machines often not appreciated
By MICHELLE OROZCO
Battalion Reporter
Vending machines — an 800-pound
species which lurks around campus fre
quenting hallways and dorms of Texas
A&M University; are frequently
ignored, sometimes abused.
Some students may hardly notice the
soft drink or candy machines, yet let an
urge for a snack arise and the tempting
treats dispensed by the coin-operated
venders are only 30 cents to 40 cents
away.
The machines are usually taken for
granted and few people even stop to
think about how much they actually cost
or the maintenance they require.
For example, campus vending
machines (the soft drink and snack vari
ety) grossed approximately $1.07 mil
lion in the fiscal year 1979-1980 accord
ing to Jim Ferguson of the Department
of Business Affairs. Figures for 1981
have not been tallied.
At 35 cents a can with a recent boost
to 40 cents a can, soft drinks brought in
more money than any other type pro
duct dispensed in vending machines,
said Russell Hanna, manager for the dis
tribution of the vending machines on
campus.
The three most popular soft drink
items on campus are Coca-Cola, Dr
Pepper and Sugar-Free Dr Pepper, he
said.
With 120 soft-drink machines and 60
snack machines on campus, keeping the
machines full might seem to be a prob
lem. However, Hanna said only six
workers, who work days and nights, are
responsible for filling them. There are
also two service men who service the
machines for repairs and replacements.
How often the machines are refilled
depends upon their locations which are
determined by the Coca-Cola Company
or by the University. Seventy-five per
cent of the machines are filled once a
day, while others are filled on a Mon-
day-Wednesday-Friday schedule, or a
Tuesday-Thursday schedule.
Hanna said vending machines are
installed upon the request of University
personnel and are usually only removed
if it doesn’t make money.
Machines can be moved if noise from
their use became annoying. Sometimes
soft-drink machines are placed in halls
outside of classrooms and they will have
to be removed because their noise in
terrupts classes, Hanna said.
“Students seem to congregate
around Coke machines and it some
times can be disturbing to classes,”
Hanna said.
Hanna said soft drink sales increased
subsantially in the 1950s when bottled
drinks replaced those in cups, and even
more profits were made when can
drinks machines were installed at the
University.
Sales are the highest in September
and October due to students returning
firom summer vacation, Hanna said.
April is the next biggest month, with the
lunch break being the busiest time of
the day on the avarage.
The vending machines were first in
stalled at the University in the 1950s
and on the average can hold 480 can
drinks and 240 bottle drinks. Bottled
drinks take up more space.
Vandalism of the machines is not as
much of a problem on campus as it is in
the industrialized sections of town,
Hanna said.
“Overall, I think the students are
pretty good with them (the machines), ’’
Hanna said. The most trouble with van
dalism is in the dorms late at night. He
said when people lose their money,
they sometimes get mad and even beat
on the machine if no one is around.
Hanna said the worst case of vandal
ism on campus was when the mechanic
al engineering shop was being remod
eled and a soft drink machine dis
appeared. He said they later found it in
someone’s duplex.
Another problem with the machines
is getting refunds for money lost in the
machines. When this happens the cus
tomers are told to go to the refund cen
ters on campus, with the MSC and the
Academic Building the most used cen
ters.
According to Jolinda Parker, secret
ary in the Academic Counseling Center
wbo handles refunds, the Coca-Cola
company gives the center a supply of
money and they have a list for the stu
dents to sign, state their name, address,
ID number or drivers license number,
location of the refund and time of re
fund. The centers continue to give re
funds until they run out of money,
which is usually within a couple of days.
Parker said an average of 25 people a
day go in for refunds at the Academic
Counseling Center.
A swift kick in the belly may not necessarily be the
way to get a vending machine to cough up a drink or
Staff photo by Greg Gammon
the money, but it sometimes makes a person feel
better after having lost 40 cents.