The Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Vol. 75 No. 23 Thursday, October 1, 1981 USPS 045 360
32 Pages In 2 Sections College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
High 92
Low 65
Chance of rain 20%
Tomorrow
High 90
Low 68
Chance of rain 20%
Faculty mentors help
with student problems
By NANCY WEATHERLEY
Battalion Staff
Mentor is defined in the dictionary as
“a wise and trustful counselor or
teacher. ”
Mentors are what Shirley Black,
assistant professor of history, says she
wants University faculty members to
be. “Everyone is a mentor in a way,”
Black said. “Everyone should be able,
willing, eager to counsel students,
whatever the problem.”
This ideal is what faculty members in
the University Mentors Program are
trying to achieve. "This specific group of
professors is saying that, ‘y es » 1 really
like to work with students, ” Black said.
“These specific professors are sup
posedly trained to let students know of
any place students can go with a
problem. ”
Black emphasized that any professor,
picked by a student, might be able to
help the student, but the Mentors pro
fessors are trained to make referrals to
appropriate University services such as
the Academic and Personal Counseling
centers, the student legal advisers and
financial aid officers.
To help participants learn how to deal
with students and their problems. Men
tors is offering evening discussion
groups on “Improving the Mentor’s
Skills ’ every month during the school
year. The first meeting is scheduled for
Oct. 6 in 105 Harrington. Dr. Nick
Dobrovolsky, a psychologist at the Per
sonal Counseling Center, is scheduled
to speak.
“Dr. Dobrovolsky will be discussing
how we can identify really troubled stu
dents we are not trained to handle,”
Black said.
"When we have a student with a spe
cific problem that we aren’t capable of
handling, we will be able to identify
where this student needs to go for
help. ”
The Mentors program began in the
spring of 1980.
Dr. R(k1 O’Connor, professor and di
rector of first year chemistry, started
the program alter he realized professors
sometimes didn’t know where to send
students that were coming to them with
problems, Black said.
“Rod O’Connor was counseling stu
dents in all kinds of things, ” Black said,
“and the counseling of academic prob
lems and of personal problems, which
are really one in the same, kept overlap
ping. So, his problem was where do we
as professors send them.”
Mentors formed so that professors
could better handle the students they
come in contact with.
“What Mentors comes down to is
whether faculty are going to spend their
time helping and counseling students
and being better teachers, or are they
going to spend their time doing re
search, writing books. Black said. “I
don’t see why there has to be a separa
tion. ’"
Black recalled an article published in
the Fortnightly, a University newslet
ter for faculty and staff in which Dr.
J.M. Prescott, vice president of acade
mic affairs, addressed the issue of
whether teachers should concentrate on
research or student relations.
“1 propose that we attempt to make
the genius ... of Texas A&M a marriage
of a caring and humane, but rigorous,
undergraduate program of education
and a first-rate research and graduate-
level institution,” Prescott wrote.
Black said about (30 professors came
to monthly meetings in the spring of
1980. In 1981 attendance increased to
around 200, she said.
This year, due to publicity setbacks,
not all of the Texas A&M faculty mem
bers have been notified, but Black
already has received approximately 50
responses.
Colombian student adapts
to A&M’s excitement
Staff photo by Greg Gammon
Peace and tranquility
Senior Environmental Design major Sam
Swan found a quiet place to relax Wednesday
afternoon under the tall columns of the
Systems Building. Facing the East Gate
entrance to the University, the Systems
Building houses the Texas A&M University
System Chancellor’s office, the College of
Agriculture, and other University offices.
By ANNE OLIVER
Battalion Reporter
Spending two years of college at one
campus and then transferring to a fore
ign university eight times as large as
your own can be quite an adjustment.
Juan Gaviria, a civil engineering ma
jor from Colombia, has found himself in
this situation, but he says the shock
doesn’t measure up to the excitement of
being at Texas A&M University.
As a participant in the International
Student Exchange Program for college
students, Gaviria will attend the Uni
versity for one year.
“I’ve always thought it would be in
teresting to study in the United States,
so when my college began taking appli
cations for the exchange program, I im
mediately applied," he said.
Originally, 25 Colombian students
applied for the program. “After two
months, they selected eight of us and
sent our applications to Georgetown
University in Washington — where the
program is administered, he said.
“Eventually, five of us were chosen and
sent to various colleges throughout the
United States.”
The 20-year-old junior said leaving
his family and friends behind to come to
a strange country was not easy, but he
wants to take every advantage of the
educational opportunity he has been
offered.
“Now that I’m settled, I really like it
here, but it did take some time getting
adjusted,” he said. “This school is a lot
bigger than mine. The first day of clas
ses I was wandering around in the pour
ing rain with a wet map of the campus
trying to find all my buildings.”
Gaviria said he also found some terms
used by Texas A&M students confusing
at first.
“Texas A&M students seem to have
their own private vocabulary,” he said.
“The first week of my classes, everyone
was always walking by and saying how
dy’ to me. I had no idea what they were
trying to tell me. After a while I figured
out that they were just saying hello. ”
Student trades A&M for Holland castle
By DENISE RICHTER
Battalion Staff
Few Texas A&M students living in
residence halls or apartments would
iompare their housing accommodations
to a castle. But, this semester at least
)ne University student can legitimately
all her home a castle — she is living in
>ne as she attends the Netherlands
School of Business in Holland.
Brenda Linn, who was selected for
he International Student Exchange
’rogram for 1981-82, is enrolled in a
inance program in the school based in
Sreukelen, a city between Amsterdam
tad Utercht.
“A couple of years back, I went to the
United Kingdom and ever since then,
Ive wanted to go to school overseas,”
dnn, aTexas A&M junior finance major
rom Dickinson, said in an interview
>efore she left for Holland. “Because of
iSEP, I’m finally getting to do it. ”
Mona Rizk Finne, study abroad coor
dinator with the University Internation
al Services office, said, “ISEP is a pilot
program — it just opened at Texas A&M
this fall. We feel it’s an excellent oppor
tunity for our students to get an oppor
tunity to study overseas.”
ISEP is administered through
Georgetown University in Washington.
Texas A&M is the only state university
in Texas that participates in ISEP.
“(University) participation in ISEP is
by invitation only,” Finne said. “Dr.
Miller (former Texas A&M president)
worked on the program a year before
A&M was accepted.”
In the case of student exchanges, par
ticipating colleges and universities have
dual roles as hosting and sending insti
tutions. Each institution advises ISEP
of the number of students it wishes to
exchange. Applicants apply to, and are
selected by, their home institution.
The exchange student w'ho is attend
ing Texas A&M through ISEP is Juan
Gaviria, an engineering major from Col
ombia.
ISEP participants pay the normal cost
of tuition, fees, room and board at their
home institution, regardless of the fees
at their host institution.
In addition, students who are regis
tered at their home institution during
their year abroad are entitled to all
grants, scholarships and financial aid
they would receive if they were attend
ing their home university.
While enrolled in the Netherlands
School of Business, Linn will take gra
duate-level courses in European poli
tics, the philosophy of business ethics,
European organizations and business
law.
“I had to take graduate courses so
they would transfer back to A&M,”
Linn said. “But, the classes there are
structured the same way they are at
Texas A&M. Twenty-four of the 30 cre
dit hours I’ll be taking will transfer back
to A&M. I’ll even be using two of the
books used for business courses here. ”
Linn prepared for her stay in Europe
by studying the European political sys
tem and the Dutch language.
“I’ve tried to keep up with the politic
al system and what’s going on so I’ll
know what’s happening when I get
there,” she said. “I know a lot of people
will be anti-American but I can’t go over
there and expect to americanize
Europe. I’m going there to learn.
“I’m still preparing myself mentally.
There will be a lot of things I’ll miss.
When you go overseas, you learn to
appreciate what you have in the United
States.
Gaviria said it seems to him that
Texas A&M students always are
laughing and having fun. “It’s a lot diffe
rent from in Colombia, he said. “They
joke around more here. I really like it.
And they’re always making those ‘who
op noises. It took me a while to figure
out what that meant also. ”
Gaviria said he firmly believes there
are valuable educational opportunities
for students at Texas A&M.
“Universidad de Los Andes, my
school in Colombia, is considered a very
good school. ” But, he said, the school’s
lab facilities are inadequate and the in
structors aren’t always the best.
“The classes (at Texas A&M) have
very good labs and the teachers are
great. It’s really interesting,” Gaviria
said.
Noting other differences, the Col
ombian student said there are tremen
dous economic differences between
Colombia and the United States.
“There are great differences between
the social classes in Colombia — many
poor and few rich,” he said. “Here in
the United States, most of the people
seem to be very middle class. ”
Although Gaviria can point out many
differences between living in the Un
ited States and living in Colombia, he
said when it comes to students having a
good time there are a few differences.
“The parties I’ve been to here are
very big, bigger than any I’ve ever been
to in Colombia, but what goes on at
them is about the same, he said. “We
listen to the same music: and drink a lot
of the same drinks. "
Gaviria did say, however, that he
needs to learn to conn try-western
dance.
After completing his year at Texas
A&M, Gaviria will return to Colombia
and the Universidad de Los Andes
where he said he plans to finish his
undergraduate education. However, he
said, he is seriously considering return
ing to Texas A&M for graduate school.
“I’m really impressed with the Un
ited States and the people I have met
here,” he said. “This is something not
many students get to experience and I
plan to learn everything I can from it.”
Staff photo by Greg Gammon
Juan Gaviria, a 20-year-old exchange student from Colombia, works on
a project for his Journalism 315 photography class.
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