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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1981)
■Fhe Battalion fit] 1111 Serving the Texas A&M University community 01.75 No. 60 doJ? Pages Tuesday, November 24, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High . . 77 High ... 80 Low . . 47 Low .. .49 Chance of rain 10% Chance of rain 10% BY Big as bonfire? avis-Gary Hall freshmen took more than four hours to construct their own rendition of bonfire and hang it outside of the dorm. The sign was made from four bedsheets and required more than eighty crayons to color it. Regents committee approves special events center study By DENISE RICHTER Battalion Staff Members of the Planning and Build ing Committee of the Texas A&M Sys tem Board of Regents Monday approved a feasibility study for a special events center if the regent backing the study can obtain the necessary funds. Regent William A. McKenzie of Dal las, who was appointed to head the spe cial events center funding committee, targeted the Aggie Club and Association of Former Students as potential donors of the necessary $50,000. “Such a structure is badly needed at this University,” McKenzie said. The center would he used for academic, cul tural and athletic purposes, he said. Under the System’s current five-year plan, a feasibility study for the center was not scheduled until 1985. However, McKenzie suggested that the study be undertaken now, although the center probably won’t be completed until after 1990. Committee Chairman H.C. Bell of Austin said there was “no doubt that a special events center at A&M would he a tremendous asset to the University and to the community.” But, he ques tioned making the center a priority con struction item since the University is facing a shortage of classrooms, faculty Regent William A. McKenzie offices and laboratories. Bell cited the construction of the En gineering and Physics Building and the 40,000-square-foot addition to the Hal- bouty Building as two items currently on the five-year plan that would he affected by construction of the special events center. “With construction of a special events center, academic (construction) plan ning would have to slip,” Bell said. McKenzie said: “I recognize all that we have going and all that we need to do. I’m only suggesting that a feasibility study be commenced.” However, Board Chairman H.R. “Bum” Bright of Dallas disagreed: “A feasibility study shouldn’t be made to day, knowing that it will have to be changed in a few years when (construc tion of the center) comes up on the five- year plan.” Despite Bright’s objections, the com mittee voted unanimously to authorize the study contingent upon McKenzie’s ability to raise the funds. The committee also discussed a $25,000 appropriation for the prelimin ary design of the Biological Control Facility. Estimated cost of the building, to be constructed behind the Entomolo gy Building on the west campus, is $1.7 million. Following the committee meeting, the Board met as a committee of the whole and heard reports from the Plan ning and Building Committee, the Committee for Academic Campuses and the Committee for Service Units. The Committee for Academic Cam puses introduced a plan designed to control rapidly increasing enrollment in the Department of Geology. Under this plan, a minimum culmula- tive GPR of 2.25 would be required for enrollment in junior-level geology courses. A minimum GPR of 2.25 over all and 2.25 in all geology courses would be required for enrollment in senior- level geology courses. Texas A&M President Frank E. Van diver said this is the same plan to limit enrollment that recently was intro duced in the colleges of business and engineering. Vandiver stressed that the new re quirements would not affect any stu dents currently enrolled in the Univer sity. “These requirements will take effect when ... students entering in the fall of 1982 or thereafter are ready to enroll in junior-level courses,” he said. The regents also discussed the crea tion of up to 12 “alumni professorships. ” Each professorship, funded by a $30,0()0-a-year allocation from the Texas A&M Development Foundation and the Association of Former Stu dents, would be given to an outstanding faculty member to supplement his sal ary and research activities. The Board also discussed the creation of the title of “System professor” for faculty members participating in a facul ty exchange program between Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M Univer sity. SG members say Campus Canvass effective but statistically invalid By NANCY FLOECK Battalion Staff Student Government members say their Campus Canvass is having positive effects, although biased questions make the survey statistically invalid. The canvass is acquainting students with their rep resentatives and giving these representatives an idea of constituency opinions, Lilli Dollinger, director of public relations, said. “The purpose of this is not a valid statistical poll, but rather, (to get) a feel for student opinion,” she said. “Senators are going to students instead of forcing stu dents to come to us.” Each canvass — two are being conducted this semester— asks questions on campus issues, such as whether fraternities and sororities should be granted University recognition. Representatives are to go to their constituents, talk with them about these issues and record their responses. But, Dollinger said, the canvass doesn’t just record the number and type of responses; it’s also an informa tion forum that opens communication between stu dents and student senators. “The purpose is not Only to get information, but also to better inform students on what Student Govern ment is doing,” she said. This way senators are able to get involved with their constituency, and students know who to contact for information and input on campus issues, Dollinger said. She said students reacted favorably to tbe opportun-/ ity to provide input: “People really started to let them selves go on these questions. ” However, the canvass does have problems, Dollin ger said. Questions on the survey are “blatantly one sided,” and senators are not able to reach all consti tuents, especially those living off-campus, she said. An example of a one-sided question is the one con cerning night exams: “Should exams require addition al class hours?” Obviously, students will say “no,” Dollinger said. Also, there is sometimes an overlap of student opin ion, since some students may be polled twice — once by their living-area senator and once by their college senator, she said. cum of all ;hers rid Pi ; ationiil sion, 5“ •le Wei Is. Sirfl ;hirt win ged Bef] B finals the 1$!| -11 p* ii-8 pm a-7 pm .11 pm Closed 40 pm heerleaders ) be sidelined i Thursday By MARY JO RUMMEL Battalion Staff he University ofTexas cheerleaders not be allowed on the playing sur- of Kyle Field during Thursday’s as A&M-Texas game, despite media arts to the contrary, iefore the game and at the begin- of the third quarter, the cheer- lers will be allowed to form a spirit as the Longhorns come out of the ;er room. owever, they have been instructed tay on the sideline strip of turf be en the field and the track, off the alplaying surface, senior Yell Lead- ohn Nesbit said. The cheerleaders also will have the ion of performing acrobatics behind end zone, but that area is not consi- ed a part of the actual playing field, ident Body President Ken Johnson 1. ohnson said the UT spirit line will be upon the curve of the track lanes and not interfere with the Aggie boot- held at half-time. Closed BThey (the cheerleaders) have 40 pm Closed Ti-3pm 41pm 40 pm idnigM n-5 pm ,41pm ts. The Jay and Jonda)' Ured us they will not go onto the ying field, he added. Tame activities were agreed upon 40 pm dnesday in a meeting between the 2-2 pm ’ Rally Advisory Committee and 11 P nl xas A&M University officials and stu nt leaders. The two universities have 40 pm Id similar pre-game meetings each ir since the incident in 1977 involving Texas flag. Vlembers of the UT chapter of Alpha i Omega traditionally spread a giant as flag on the field during half-time, [t in 1977 they were chased off the ]d by Corps officers of the day. his year the flag will not even be night to town, Johnson said. ©tails also were worked out at ednesday’s meeting concerning the | ivities of the Texas Band; the Spurs io take care of Bevo, the Longhorn jscot; and the Texas Cowboys, care- :ers of the UT cannon. Among Texas A&M representatives the meeting were Nesbit, Johnson, Jniver-1 Jac j yell Leader Mike Thatcher, V J 0 I" 1 1 >rps Commander Kelly Castleberry, I terim Athletic Director Wally Groff, ^^^uhiversity Director of Security and ^^^waffic Thomas Parsons and Director of |tudent Affairs Bon Blatchley. Center begun in child's memory Institute works in cancer research Photo by John K. Joyce A donor gives white blood cells at the Wadley his body in two hours, filtering out white blood Leukopheresis Lab in Dallas. This blood- cells and pumping the rest of the blood back into separating machine can process all the blood in his body. Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on the Wadley Insti tutes of Molecular Medicine in Dallas. Wednesday’s story will deal with the institute’s research on interferon. By DANIEL PUCKETT Battalion Staff DALLAS — A 6-year-old boy died of leukemia in 1943. Although tragic, children’s deaths are common and so are deaths from leukemia. This death, like many others, may have passed almost unremarked in the medical field to be soon forgotten had it not been for the boy’s grand father. Texarkana oilman J.K. Wadley, spur red by the loss of his only grandchild, decided to apply his modest fortune to cancer research and to the establish ment of a regional blood bank for the Dallas area. In 1951, the Wadley Institutes of Molecular Medicine first opened their doors. And financed mostly by private grants, they have become a world lead er in cancer research. The institutes operate a modern hos pital for cancer patients and offer the latest in computers and research tools to their staff. The institutes’ blood bank supplies 44 hospitals, as well as their own research facilities, with as many as 500 pints of blood a day. One of the best sources of that blood is the Aggie Blood Drive, said Dr. Nor wood O. Hill, president of the Wadley Institutes. This semester’s drive, spon sored by Student Government, Alpha Phi Omega and Omega Phi Alpha, col lected more than 2,000 pints of blood. But, Wadley requires much more than that to continue operations, so the blood bank conducts a number of blood drives throughout Texas. It also oper ates blood collection stations in Dallas and Denton. In all, the Wadley blood bank col lected about 65,000 pints of blood in 1980, said Bob Mahurin, blood drive coordinator at the institutes. Although supplies sometimes run short, and the bank is forced to borrow blood from other banks, it normally manages to keep pace with demand, he said. Collecting the blood is just the first step for the blood bank. Collected blood is put through the following process: Technicians test the donor’s blood- type and put his blood through anti- body-screening and hepatitis checks. They label the plastic blood-bag with all information discovered and record the donor’s name and his Rh factor in the computer system. The blood is then sent to the fractionating lab. In the fractionating lab, technicians separate the plasma from the rest of the blood and divide the blood into its com ponent parts by applying pressure to it. Blood elements, such as platelets, white cells and red cells, have different weights, and thus can be separated by gently squeezing the bag. Plasma is put on dry ic and the other components are refrigerated. Once fractionated and registered, the blood must be distributed. Some is sent to the research labs, but much of it eventually is distributed to hospitals in several counties around Dallas. To facilitate distribution, Wadley provides hospitals in Dallas and Denton with computer terminals which are link ed to the institutes’ computer. And when a hospital needs more blood, it enters its order into the system. Within minutes, one of the blood bank’s four delivery vehicles can be sent out with the blood, Mahurin said. The computerized system does more than make fast delivery possible, however, he said. If the blood turns out to be contaminated with a disease which escaped detection at the time of dona tion, the blood bank can find out the donor’s name and every location to which his blood fractions were sent. This enables the bank to pull con taminated blood from shelves before it could do anyone harm, Mahurin said, adding that the method has saved more than one life. But whole blood is not the only dona tion Wadley seeks. It also maintains labs in which only white cells or platelets are extracted from donor’s bloodstreams. White cells, or lymphocytes, are part of the body’s defense system against in fection and foreign substances. Some patients, such as those undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy, have an impaired ability to produce lymphocytes, and so they must receive transfusions of the cells. Wadley produces these transfusions in its leukopheresis laboratory. Donors are usually members of the patient’s family because they must be plugged into a blood-separator for three hours. The lymphocyte donor lies on a com fortable bed with a tube leading out of one of his arms. The blood is separated into its component layers and the white cells collected. The remainder of the blood is warmed and pumped back into the donor’s other arm along with an anti-coagulant to keep the blood from clotting. In the three-hour procedure, all the blood in the donor’s body is pumped through the machine one and a half times. The amount of lymphocytes obtained depends on the donor — his white-cell count and the volume of blood in his body. Donors in the lab said the process was painless, except for the initial prick of the needles going into their arms. Their main problems included feeling cold or See WADLEY page 6 I I, i ( ■ 4 ll } i I I I I