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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1981)
Page 10 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1981 i. ti Jb AGGIE CONNECTION GO TEXAS TUDENT F^NMENT M UNIVERSITY , The Aggie Connection is a monthly nen letter published by the Texas A&MUaro sity Student Government, the link betwee: students and administration. Senators illustrate issues with canvass; student voice to be heard at last Do thoughts of Greek recogni tion, exams at night or the limited parking on campus make you want to step up on a soapbox and preach to mul titudes of Aggies or at least to someone who will listen and try to help? Here's your chance! Texas A&M Student Government senators are coming to your doorstep sometime in the next month to ask your opinion on student issues so that their votes will more accurately re flect your thoughts and so they can relay what you think to ad ministrators. "Student Government wants to know what Aggies think," Speaker of the Texas A&M Stu dent Senate Jeff Anthony said, "and well be knocking on a lot of doors to find out." The canvass, an inquiry of student opinions from both on and off campus, will mainly be a door-to-door process of find ing out what Aggies think rather than the previous survey method which gathered infor mation randomly in the Memo rial Student Center. "The surveys previously done in the MSC were unscientific," communications director Lilli Bollinger said. "What 200 peo ple think who happen to be in the MSC doesn’t prove much. To let administrators know what Aggies think takes an or ganized system." The new system of con stituent communication is in the form of a monthly question naire of four to five yes/no, agree/disagree and short an swer questions. Each edition will focus on a specific controv ersial issue such as Greek rec ognition, user fees or the park ing situation. Responsibility for the ques tioning task will lie with the senators in their respective areas (listed on the opposite page). On-campus senators will go door-to-door in the dorms in their areas. Off- campus senators will have three methods of reaching their constituents: working at the bus stops, going door-to-door in apartment complexes where feasible and questioning mem bers of Off Campus Aggies at their meetings. Academic senators will attend meetings of clubs in the departments of their colleges as well as meet ings of each college's Student Council. At the Senate orientation on Sept. 5, senators met to discuss ways to improve communica tion with their constituents. Each group, on and off campus and academic, prepared a plan. At last night's Senate meeting, the first step of the plan was taken as senators were provided with canvass forms and a briefing on the specific issues of this first can vass. "This is campus canvass," Student Body President Ken Johnson said. "Everybody will have a chance to contribute. We may not get a response from everyone, but every Aggie will have an opportunity to be heard." He also said that this is the first time such an effort has been made at Texas A&M. "Much of the success lies in the responsiveness of Ags." The canvass project will do much more than give Aggies an accountable say-so in student affairs, Johnson said. "It will be a tool for effective action in aca demic affairs, external affairs, financial considerations, stu dent services and rules and regulations. We'll provide in formation to fellow students, they to us, and on up to the administration." "The canvass in an exciting new concept in student repre sentation," Bollinger said. "It may take a while for students to get used to the idea that they will be seeing their senators three times a semester instead of only at election time." The senators will have an ad justment period as well. With this new method of constituent contact, more time will be de manded of them. But with the cooperation of their con stituents, they'll be able to do the job and do it well, Bollinger said. "The effort put into the canvass and its results will show we are serious about ef fective, responsible student representations at Texas A&M." Prepare your canvass opin ions on campus issues and stu dent affairs so when your senator knocks, your doorstep can be your soapbox. SG works with Texas legislature Summer break — senate style As the majority of Aggies were making their last Skaggs or Safeway run of the semester and brewing all-important pots of coffee to stay awake through spring finals, the newly elected 1981-82 Student Senate was busy wrapping up its spring legisla tive business which culminated in the passage of Senate Resolu tion 81-01. This resolution was a congratulatory note to President Ronald Reagan on his speedy recovery from the gunshot wound he sustained on March 30, 1981. Bill Price, a senior College of Engineering senator, flew to Washington to personally present the resolution to the President. He was greeted with warm enthusiasm by the White House staff, although the President was unable to meet with Price. Political matters pay no attention to vacation, and activities involving an anti-Texas A&M state document from the House Committee on Higher Education kept several Senate members busy during the summer. Price prepared an extensively researched paper, Further Re search on the History of Higher Education in Texas, to clear up the misconceptions in the house committee's report. It was pre sented to Texas Representative Bill Presnal and Texas Senator Kent Caperton by Price and 1980-81 Student Body President Brad Smith and 1980-81 Vice President of Student Services Eric Lang ford. A month later Price presented the paper to the House Commit tee on Constitutional Amendments at a public hearing held in Austin. His testimony helped clarify several amendment issues that would affect students at Texas A&M and the funding of the university. Not all summer efforts took place in Austin. Lynda Beard worked diligently collecting materials for the 10,000 Survival Kits that were put together and delivered the weekend before school started. Beard also organized Student Government's August 27 recep tion for new faculty members. The new professors had their first yell practice and a warm welcome to Texas A&M. In recognition of their hard work, Price and Beard were named Outstanding Senators for the summer months at last night's Senate meeting. STUDENT OPINION CANVASS Greeks. The growing Greek system at Texas A&M is represented by the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Coun cil. If they receive recognition, they will be encouraged to become an active and contributing part of Texas A&M. They will not be eligible for Student Service fees or Bookstore profits but they may be able to keep their financial independence. Exams. Selected departments currently schedule exams outside of regular class hours. For instance, some departments in the Colleges of Business Administration and Engineering currently sched ule some weeknight exams for the purpose of departmentalized test ing. This could later extend to other colleges. MCI. An independent long distance telephone service. With a long distance phone bill of $25 or more, rates are usually 20 to 40% lower than GTE's; however, MCI-billed calls can only be made to other cities with MCI Service. These include most major cities: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Waco, etc. Fees. All students pay $39.50 per semester in Student Service fees to provide a financial base for Student Services. However, a significant portion of the operating budget for the Intramural athletic program, the shuttle bus system and somewhat at Beutel Health Center are generated through "user fees." Air Service. Student Government is investigating the possibility of bringing a major airline with regularly scheduled service to College Station pending the upgrading of facilities at Eas- terwood Field. The direct service would probably include Houston, Dallas and Austin with connecting flights to most other cities in the Southwest. 1. Should the fraternity/sorority system be recognized by the university in some form? YES NO UNDECIDED Should the Inter-Fraternity Council and Panhellenic Council be recognized by the university? YES NO UNDECIDED 2. 3. 4. Should exams require additional class hours? YES NO Should Student Government work for faster installa tion of MCI in B-CS? YES NO Should the user fee concept be continued in a) the Intramural team sports fees? YES NO b) the shuttle bus system? YES NO c) health center prescriptions? YES NO 5. If there was airline service out of Easterwood compar able in price and schedule to SW Airlines, how many times per semester would you fly to major Southwest cities? # principal city Name Phone Living area (apt. or dorm and #) College Classification Make your voice count by completing the canvass form, 1. Save the form for your senator when he oi* knocks on your door. or 2. Mail to: Student Government 216 MSC College Station, TX 77843 or 3. Drop in canvass box in 216 C MSC, theSti^ Government Office. THE AGGIE CONNECTION Editor Susan Hopfc Layout and Design.... .... Barbara Rap# Graphics Richard del$ Writers Shelley Stt# Julie Can# Dennis W# Director of Communications Lilli Doi# The Student Govenrment is located in room 216 C MSC, 845-3051.