962
state
Battalion/Page 3
August 31, 1982
dUT-Arlington image buried in metroplex
United Press International
ARLINGTON — The Uni-
e timeJersity of Texas at Arlington has
definite image problem.
The president of the
urgeoning school, which is still
thesm datively unknown outside
ademic circles, jokingly sug-
estsUT-A would be better off
it were somewhere in West
'gtos,
i was
artmej
ivatingi
the
htii
exas.
We’re located between Dal-
isand Fort Worth in a dynamic
letroplex’ area and we don’t
t'onsai et much attention,” said Dr.
ipentoi fcndel! H. Nedderman.
If we could move the city of
1,000 with the state’s fifth
irgest higher education institu
te the plains, there’d be at
astone newspaper and some
canevt iajor radio and television sys-
s instiu ms and we’d get noticed.”
UT-A is sandwiched between
etterknown Southern Method-
doffin 11 University in Dallas and
exas Christian University in
a PP rf |ort Worth.
To show how bad things have
arraoti een,when a new NBA franch-
tunbit
ingsom
ise formed in Dallas two years
ago and chose to be called the
“Mavericks,” UT-A fans pro
tested the pros had stolen their
team name. The NBA folks said
...Even locally, many
view the University of
Texas-affiliated school
as a commuter college
with only a few degrees
to attract a few
thousand students.
they had no idea what UT-A,
just 15 miles down the street, cal
led their teams.
Even locally, many view the
University of Texas-affiliated
school as a commuter college
with only a few degrees to attract
a few thousand students. During
a summer orientation, many pa
rents paying tuition for their
offspring thought the school
only had about 5,000 students.
In fact, the school has seen a
truly amazing growth in 22 years
from 5,500 students and 18 de
gree programs to 21,000 stu
dents, 97 degree programs, 43
master’s degree areas and 15
doctor of philosophy programs.
Half of the students live in
Arlington.
Faced with rapid growth and
overflowing buildings, the
school is lobbying hard to re
ceive benefits from the Universi-
ty of Texas and Texas A&M sys
tems’ Permanent University
Fund. The fund allows the two
universities to share in the oil
and gas wealth for construction.
UT-A is one of 14 components
of the UT system.
Nedderman acknowledges it
is the school’s location between
Dallas and Fort Worth that is re
sponsible for its growth, attrac
tion of talent and fine reputa
tion.
UT-A, which started its fall
semester Monday, is one of the
fastest growing schools in Texas
and has maintained constant
growth in a time when many
schools are reporting losses.
“Some people have asked why
UT-Arlington continues to
grow,” he said. “We have a very
strategic location. W r e’re in an
urban setting. We are accessible
to people.”
The school has a wealth of ta
lent within 25 miles to use as
speakers and lecturers. It is
accessible to thousands of
businesses and institutions
where student can get on-the-
job training.
UT-A boasts the nation’s sixth
largest business college with
7,000 majors, am engineering
school with 4,000 majors (mak
ing it the third largest in the state
and one of the 25 biggest in the
nation), the Southwest’s largest
graduate school of social work
and one of the largest nursing
schools in Texas.
UT-A’s Institute of Urban
Studies graduate program in
urban affairs has been ranked
No. 1 in the South and South-
khool officials complain
Illegal enrolling a burden
United Press International
SAN ANTONIO — Older
kool districts say they are not
educate significantly
lumbers of un-
d Mexican children
an last, but many say
r is more than their
n bear.
:y all came in and
50,000 homes, we
ne,” said Brownsville
ntendent Raul Besteiro.
hen they come, they can’t
to buy the taxable prop-
that offsets the burden they
tuse the district.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in
une struck down a ’Texas law
at had allowed school districts
charge tuition to the children
[illegal aliens. The court said
le children could go to school
fee as long as they lived in the
Tool district, regardless of
leir immigration status.
Most school districts had
already begun to admit the un
documented children after fed
eral Judge W'illiam Wayne Jus
tice originally ruled against the
Texas law’ in 1978.
About 25,000 illegal alien
children are believed to be in the
Texas schools at an estimated
cost of $62.5 million, state offi
cials have said. They predicted
the figure could rise to 100,000
under the Supreme Court rul
ing, but most school districts
along the Texas-Mexico border
said only a few more illegal alien
children than last year have
shown up.
Brownsville registered 219
illegal alien students among
nearly 29,000 children who
attended classes the first four
days of school, but that figure
reflected only the new students.
Most of the 813 illegal aliens
who attended last year will be
back, officials said.
Neighboring Harlingen has
signed up 42 undocumented
children so far.
To register, the children must
show a birth certificate and
proof they live in the school dis
trict. Those without documenta
tion papers are considered illeg
al aliens, Gomez said.
The U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service has no ac
cess to the school records, so un
documented families will not be
caught by enrolling their chil
dren, said Walter Cheedie of the
Harlingen INS district office.
In Hidalgo, across the border
from much larger Reynosa, ab
out 300 illegal students are ex
pected — the same as last year,
said Superintendent Alejo Sali
nas, who worries more about
children attending Hidalgo
schools while living in Mexico.
“We keep a very close eye on
the bridge,” he said. “We actual
ly have people at the bridge
checking the children coming
over. We have to educate them if
they’re living here but not if
they’re crossing the bridge every
day.”
In Tyler, the school district
which filed the original lawsuit
to keep from having to educate
illegal aliens, there are no re
cords yet to tell how many un
documented children have en
rolled, said Bob Barr, assistant
superintendent for personnel.
But Tyler expects no more than
200 among its 16,000 students,
he said.
The same is true for the San
Antonio Independent School
District, said spokesman Robert
Zamora.
“For the most part, we’ve
been happy to have them,” he
said. “I think the feeling is that if
we don’t educate them now,
they’ll become a liability to the
city and the state and the nation
later.”
west and seventh in the nation.
Its Energy Systems Research
Center is rated as one of the top
five in the world and its new doc
toral of science in chemistry de
gree is unique in the nation.
Although UT-A draws facul
ty from across the nation, it is
...Nedderman acknow
ledges it is the school’s
location between Dallas
and Fort Worth that is
responsible for its
growth, attraction of ta
lent and fine reputa
tion.
not widely known outside acade
mia. But the school shuns using
athletics to gain notoriety.
“Traditionally that has been
the case with schools like Alaba
ma, Nebraska and Oklahoma,”
Nedderman said. “In the mind’s
eye of the public, sports has been
one of the marks of a major uni
versity.
“But I think we are seeing a
more discerning public, a more
sophisticated public able to
make the separation between
academics and athletics. We
have no aspirations of being a
major football power.”
Nedderman believes athletics
will become less important in the
next decade as athletic prog
rams suffer from inflation. UT-
A currently competes in sports
as a member of the Southland
Conference, which includes
schools in Texas, Louisiana and
Arkansas.
Nedderman does not consid
er UT-A a commuting college,
but acknowledges the student
makeup is different from re
sidential colleges. For one thing,
the average age is 24'/a.
“We have a growing student
body, what I call a ‘working class
student body’ that is goal
oriented, willing to work,” he
said.
But he notes UT-A does not
shut down at night as at least
8,000 students participate in in
tramural sports and other extra
curricular activities.
While Nedderman wants to
see UT-A’s image improved, the
school needs assured financial
support to accomodate growth.
That’s where the PUF fund is a
factor.
UT-A was blocked this year
from getting PUF funds that
feed UT, Texas A&M and long-
established branches such as the
UT medical school, but Nedder
man said another effort will be
made in the next legislative ses
sion.
The hang-up is many of the
17 non-PUF state schools, who
are blocking the addition of any
other Texas A&M or UT system
components. They want to be
assured of a funding source now
that the state property tax is ex
pected to be repealed by voters
Nov. 2.
Bell’s rate increase
request called unfair
United Press International
AUSTIN — Southwestern
Bell’s $471.5 million rate in
crease request places the burden
on residential customers by re
fusing to raise long-distance
rates for fear of losing custom
ers to rivals like MCI and Sprint,
says the attorney for the Texas
Municipal League.
“Somehow in their own mind
they come to the conclusion that
their cost increases do not affect
their long-distance activities
where they have competition,”
said TML attorney Don Butler,
whose group has intervened on
behalf of the Bell-service cities it
represents.
“They attempt an annual
snow job of the public and the
press whereby they quote a cer
tain figure for the cost of provid
ing local service,” said Butler.
“We think long-distance should
bear some fair share of the in-
The 13.4 percent request,
which would be the biggest util
ity rate increase in state history,
translates to $471.5 million and
would raise basic residential
rates by $4.60 a month. A hear
ing before the Public Utilities
Commission begins Wednesday
and is expected to last six weeks.
This is the fifth consecutive
year the telephone company has
asked the PUC for permission to
raise rates for its 4.4 million
Texas customers.
The TML has recommended
Bell receive an increase of only
$217.9 million.
Last week, the PUC staff re
commended a $304.5 million in
crease. The PUC traditionally
has granted Southwestern Bell
increases of less than half the
amounts requested. In five sepa
rate rate cases filed in 1976 and
1978-1981, the company asked
for a total of $796.1 million in
increases, and the PUC granted
$370.2 million.
The company says it needs
the increase in revenue this year
to keep up with population
growth in Texas and to meet
continuing cost increases and
other capital expenses.
“We’ve increased sales, we’ve
improved productivity and
we’ve worked at holding down
expenses,” said Paul Roth, a Bell
vice-president. “However, con
tinued cost increases impact our
cost of doing business.”
In addition to increases in re
sidential rates, Southwestern
Bell has asked for increases in
one-party business rates ranging
from $1.55 in Houston to $6.55
in smaller cities, a decrease from
10 to 3 in the monthly allowance
for directory assistance calls and
a minimum fee of $63.85 for in
stalling or moving a telephone.
In addition to long-distance,
no increases were requested in
pay phone rates.
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