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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1982)
local 'n/Pagei 28,1i Battalion/Page 5 January 28, 1982 Controversy Student Senate handles touchy subjects in fall lS by Nancy Floeck Battalion Staff Student Body President Ken ohtison told the Student Senate Vednesday night they had ;; land led more legislation and een more controversy last ^jester than in all of last year. [These issues ranged from rnlumer safety to Texas A&M iflemic policies, from student pihion to the pros and cons of ioVing Student Government MimnaSi nt0 t h e computer age and owers' ' rec ^ s ‘ mo t ^ ie University Internal, , , „ 1 1 he semester s trend began ■ lU0 Pdjj .(September, when Student 1 ower, Jovernment established a com- nittee to study the possibility of Jnjversity recognition of frater- litips and sororities, which muld have given Greeks the ||je rights as other student irganizations, including access University facilities. Kl wo months later, the Stu- lent Senate handed down its 'erdict — no recommendation or [recognition until the organi- ad Tl ;atipns are willing to comply becaust nth University regulations, to tamp ‘This decision followed a com- Hall tv nittee report by Johnson, who spots, id that the Interfraternity ates the Council and Panhellenic Coun- )0 ride •'•I. hie Greek governing bodies, id fli lad withdrawn their request for night' ecpgnition. The councils said ents rei he| petition was withdrawn be- rips :ause they felt that University (Inveni inancial policies were not in rs u || (1 heir best interests, ad than!- Student representatives also i j vers 1;| :onducted two Campus Canvas- leratelh ,es i— informal, subjective stu- lent surveys on campus issues. tVhile this acquainted some stu- ■ "Terits with their representatives ind gave them an opportunity ovoice their opinions, it hascre- tted controversy within Student jovernment. Student Government officers aid the results of the polls were neant to reflect constituent vork — not to be a statistically iccurate measure of student ipinion. But some senators re- )uested that the project be ter- ninated because of the surveys’ nvalidity and the amount of ime and work necessary for ienators to poll constituents. Much of this dissatisfaction ill resulted in legislation — one bill asks that Student Government drop the poll because it is a sta tistical embarrassment; another recommends that a statistically valid survey be added to the can vass; another requests that ex ecutive officers of the organiza tion actively participate in the polling, as senators are expected to do. These bills are scheduled to be acted on this semester. Student Senate also took stands on campus issues and opposed some high-ranking de cisions. Saying that a engineering en rollment policy designed and approved by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents discri minated against current stu dents and violated the Universi ty Rules and Regulations Hand book, the senate voted unani mously to recommend that cur rently enrolled students be ex empt from the policy. The policy states that an over all grade point ratio of 2.25 is needed for enrollment in junior level engineering courses. Senior level courses require a 2.25 GPR in all engineering courses as well. Further opposition to Re gents’ actions presented itself in the form of the approved Uni versity Press Location Bill. This bill recommends that the University Press be built some where other than its proposed site of the intramural field be hind Duncan Dining Hall. The possibility of moving bonfire, which traditionally is held on the field, was one reason for the bill; another was the fear that the building would interfere with intramural sports. The senate also recom mended colleges form commit tees and outline what is expected of professors in order to be cons idered for tenure. It also recom mends that student evaluations be considered when evaluating professors for tenure. Student and vehicle- pedestrian safety was another concern of the Student Senate during the fall semester; it approved several pieces of legis lation dealing with the topic. These bills recommend that: — University Police ticket illegally parked motorcycles and mopeds and encouraging im pounding vehicles of repeat offenders. — a committee be formed to study problems and possible solutions to increased bicycle usage on campus. — motorcycle and moped parking areas be continually ex panded, with new spaces being along University streets and in parking lots. — the sidewalk leading to the Academic and Agency Building be widened to accommodate pedestrians. — the Senate work with the city of Gollege Station to lower the Highway 30 speed limit to 30 mph. — the Senate work with the City of College Station to make the west side of Puryear Drive available for parallel parking, because of a lack of legitimate parking. — the Senate support mer chants in University Square Shopping Center, because mer chants have agreed to work with the Senate in correcting hazar dous parking lot driving condi tions. Revising the Texas A&M Uni versity Regulations was another area Student Government ven tured into last semester. Most of the changes corrected grammatical errors or clarified vague wording, but some added or changed academic policies. For example, one addition says no academically deficient student — one with a GPR below 2.00 — may participate in inter collegiate sports or attend con ventions as a Texas A&M dele gate. Keeping track of such changes and Student Govern ment records may be easier in the future — in November, the Student Senate approved the purchase of a $7,300 micro computer system for maintain ing records. An executive office charged with maintaining the system’s software was created when the system was approved. Bill Price, college of engineering senator and researcher of the computer system, was elected to this posi tion. The system is expected to be delivered to the University by Wednesday and in operation by May. luvhOveM mm RESTAURANT INSIDE THE BREAD BOX NEXT TO THE WASH HAUS WOODSTONE CENTER INTRODUCING All New... All Different SPAGHETTI by the FLORICULTURE - ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE CLUB PLANT SALE SATURDAY, JANUARY 30 PLANT SALE AAA AT THE FLORICULTURE GREENHOUSE 10a.m. to2 p.m. CLU’B BUCKET COUPON — Buy 1 Bucket of Spaghetti Any Size & Get Another for Vz PRICE!! for 2 or more people please expires Feb. 28th CALL DIG SG collects exams er wi for new quiz file Student Government is looking for quizzes to set up a central quiz file in the reserve room of Sterling C. Evans Library. The file will be a composite of various on- and off-campus quiz files and will be accessible to all stu dents. |1 Student Government is col lecting quizzes from the 1980 spring semester through this semester. |i| “When it becomes functional depends on when the students are going to turn their tests in,” Kathy Bartholomew, Student Government vice president for academic affairs, said. Student Government is asking each Dorm Council to help set up the central quiz file by donating either quizzes or manpower. “The main advantage is that it will be a larger, more orga nized file than the existing files on campus,” Bartholomew said. Quizzes should be turned in at the Student Government office, 216 Memorial Student Center. Each quiz should have the course name and number, the semester it was used and the professor’s name written at the top. [! *2 ng r KAPPA SIGMA 1 SPRING RUSH ’82 9 utility wing im of Sat., Jan. 30 Golf Party Arbor Square Party Room Info: 696-3172 Tues., Feb. 2 Aggie New Year Sundance #9 Info: 696-3172 For information regarding RUSH, please call: Will Symonds 693-5696 Rush Chairman Gregg Eslinger 696-3172 President WE CAN SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY & TROUBLE It you damage one at our cables there can be serious consequences. Neither of us needs unfavorable public reaction... expense.. .or, most important, intermp- tion of vital emergency communica tions. Won't you do your share to help eliminate dangerous and costly cable damage? Before you dig, call 779-4102 (Bryan, College Station, Snook-Tunis) or 779-6158 (Kurten) or nearest General Telephone repair service number. General Telephone