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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1983)
Texas A&M e are ■ increase iii mission staii ; effect last! e no ng the it Kimrfj No 162 USPS 045360 10 Pages fable ounr 1 rter said. ia er faculty, J [liliarwitlt ested tltiriiij lion Serving the University community College Station, Texas Thursday, June 16, 1983 l second ment willpi| i this sessiorii other recotll aton cites reasons not top school by Scott Griffin Battalion Staff life it ranks sixth in the nation in umber of National Merit Scholars nrolled, Texas A&M University has rme major problems to correct be- ■ it can be considered a “world ■ university” says an academic Bial here. |[T)r Gordon Eaton, provost and ce-president of academic affairs, uesday said Texas A&M cannot be nsidered a “world university” and cited five major problems that the school from attaining that ie first of the problems, Eaton said, money. ■Today’s education involves more ■ just the students and profes- )rs,” Eaton said. “Studios, laborator- pind equipment are now a necessi- Plan for ty, and equipment is becoming ex ceedingly expensive. Eaton pointed out that the money shortage can’t be blamed on the school. “The state has done a very poor job of funding this school in terms of equipment,” he said, “and there’s not a department or college at this university which couldn’t use some more equipment.” Engineering alone asked for about $27 million,” he said, “and they’re going to wind up with only about $1 million.” Eaton said another major problem is the University’s lack of computers. “This University is just emerging from the dark ages as far as comput ing facilities and computer literacy is concerned on the part of both the students and faculty,” he said. A third problem area, which Eaton said is undergoing change, concerns entrance standards. “We will continue to raise com bined SAT scores for admission,” Eaton said. “You can raise the acade mic performance level to one of grea ter excellence by making it harder to get in, thereby drawing better stu dents.” Another problem, and one which may be considerably more difficult to correct, is rampant growth. “One thing this school must do in order to provide a quality education is to reduce class size,” he said. “When you’re sitting in a classroom with 300 other people, you’re not getting a quality education.” See EATON page 9 desegregation colleges OK’d LO. all ns r with a i limited m save perma- •rt curly wavy ) make manage humid ummer. <ury... rrtment! United Press International AlpSTIN — A plan to desegregate s colleges and universities, ed “wholly inadequate” by lOrity groups but praised as “a ark for the state” by Gov. Mark ite, has been accepted by federal ials. the U.S. Department of Educa- announced its acceptance of the ( Wednesday, saying it “adequate- tforms” with Title VI of the Civil Its Act of 1964, which prohibits imination on the basis of race, or national origin in federally- jted education programs, i his is the first (time) any state Jhas ever been approved without piion,” White said at a news con- jhce Wednesday. “I think it’s a nark for the state of Texas.” However, the NAACP Legal De fense and Educational Fund earlier said the 170-page document was “wholly inadequate to eliminate the vestiges of the state’s racially dual system.” The Education Department’s acceptance of the plan hinged on ade quate funding of provisions calling for the state to spend more than $200 million to improve programs and teaching staffs at mostly black Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern uni versities. The plan also required the state to appropriate $101 million for schools with a high percentage of His panics, including the University of Texas-El Paso, UT-San Antonio, Pan Amer ican University, Texas A&I Universi ty and Corpus Christi State Univer sity. Texas Secretary of State John Fainter, who represented the state in final negotiations, said many of the plan’s requirements already had been implemented. White filed the document in re sponse to a federal court order in March that gave Texas 45 days to de velop a plan that met the U.S. Educa tion Department’s approval. The order from a Washington, D.C. federal judge was obtained by civil rights activists unhappy with the pace of desegregation in the college system of Texas and 12 other states. The Texas system includes 105 colleges and universities and more than 667,000 students. Federal aid to higher education in Texas is esti mated at $300 million a year. upremc Court quashes estrictions on abortion United Press International WASHINGTON — The Supreme ourt, in its most sweeping ruling Kfc the 1973 legalization of abor- |n, pulled the rug out from under ates that had placed restrictions on a Oman’s right to end her pregnancy. Wednesday’s ruling provoked out- Iged cries from opponents of abor- on who denounced the court for Knitting “abortion on demand” ravowed to redouble their efforts to rewrite the Constitution to ban the procedure. Holding that states may not freely regulate access to abortions, the na tion’s highest court struck down some state restrictions that required man datory hospitalization, mandatory waiting periods and “informed con sent” from women who sought abor tions after their first three months of pregnancy. The court’s first woman justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, sided with the dissenters in the 6-3 decision on the state rules and agreed with the major ity on the few restrictions allowed for minors. Her vote was carefully watched by both advocates and foes of abortion. When she was nominated to re place Justice Potter Stewart, abortion foes criticized her stand on the issue during her service in the Arizona leg islature. OFfope heads for Polish homeland United Press International VATICAN CITY — Pope John nl II prayed his sensitive pilgrim- to Poland today would bring edom and justice” but admitted it [coming at a difficult time for his ve land. The special Alitalia 727 jet car- ag the pope, his entourage and 60 brters was scheduled to leave tie’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport at :40 a.m. today for the two-hour, 20- aute flight to Warsaw. The eight- ay trip is his second to Poland since mning pope in October 1978. On the eve of the trip, the pope limented on the journey’s sensitive tre, saying Wednesday it was tak ing place “in this both sublime and difficult moment for my homeland.” “I pray to you so that this pilgrim age may serve truth and love, free dom and justice. That it may serve reconciliation and peace,” the pope told some 35,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear his weekly general address. “May the good shepherd of our souls permit all of us to join together in prayer and hope.” The journey — his first to Poland since 1979 — is a gamble for the Vati can, the Polish authorities and church and the opposition. But all sides seemed to agree it could not be put off any longer. The trip was delayed for 10 months because of the December 1981 mar tial law crackdown that eventually crushed the Solidarity trade union. In Warsaw, there was intense spe culation on whether a meeting be tween John Paul and former Solidar ity leader Lech Walesa — who have met twice before in private audience — will be able to take place. Walesa said two plainclothes secur ity policemen entered his Gdansk apartment Wednesday night and made it clear the military authorities did not want the former Solidarity leader to leave his Gdansk home. He said the officers told him to re main at home “for my own safety.” staff photo by Peter Rocha The Academic Building was the first and one of less than thirty buildings on major building to be erected here with a campus at the time. Restoration of the structural frame of reinforced concrete, landmark will begin in August. Academic Building to receive facelift by Robert McGlohon Battalion Staff The Academic Building, beauti ful but old landmark that it is, will get a face-lift beginning in August, but it won’t spoil its regal look. It would be easier to simply re juvenate the building Tim Donathen, the Texas A&M System architect in charge of the restora tion, said, but that wouldn’t be in keeping with its character. “I have more of an appreciation in preserving the original form,” Donathen said. “It’s going to take a year to achieve it, but it is a very worthwhile project.” Unfortunately, the original form of the Academic Building, without repairs and alterations, dates back to 1912, to the time when Old Main, Texas A&M’s first building, burned down and the Academic Building was built in its place. It was the first major building to be erected here with a structural frame of reinforced concrete, and one of less than thirty buildings on campus at the time. Former head of the architecture department Dr. Ernest Langford, in his book on Texas A&M buildings “Here We’ll Build The College,” writes of an amusing problem that arose with the relatively new techni que used in the construction of the Academic Building. “In the mid-thirties drinking fountains were being (installed) in the building and in order to run pipes and drains to the various floors, it was necessary to cut holes in the concrete slabs,” Langford writes. “In cutting these holes work men exposed a veritable mesh of steel reinforcing bars — so many in fact that the only way they could be removed was to burn them out with a torch. “Professor F.E. Giesecke had done the structural design, and when this mesh of bars was called to his attention he said in a joking sort of way: T knew a whole lot less about reinforced concrete than I do now. So I just figured out the amount of steel which I thought was necessary and doubled it!”’ Barring natural disaster, Donathen, Class of ’74, said, “that building will be around for an aw fully long time.” The restoration of the Academic Building will not involve structual repairs, Donathen said. Nor, at pre sent, will it involve interior work, he added, because the classrooms are too important to the registrar’s office. The project consists entirely of exterior work. Some of thejobs to be done include: replacement and re pair of small portions of the exterior brick and cast stone; installation of a new urethane foam roof; repair of See ACADEMIC page 9 Chilean labor boss snatched United Press International SANTIAGO, Chile — Armed men Wednesday kidnapped a Chilean labor leader who organized anti government protests that erupted into the worst street violence in the 10-year military regime of Gen. Au gust© Pinochet. Two were reported killed and at least 350 arrested in Tuesday’s de monstrations broken up by police armed with submachine guns. Police used tear gas, water cannons and attack dogs to disperse thousands of protesters demanding a return to civi lian rule. Labor leader Hernan Mery said armed men arrived at his Santiago home at 2 a.m. and kidnapped Rober to Seguel, head of Chile’s copper workers union and organizer of the protests. The demonstations included a nationwide job and school boycott and street protests that included the banging of pots and pans and the honking of car horns in Santiago neighborhoods — scenes reminiscent of the days preceding the overthrow of President Salvador Allende. Radio reports today said two youths were killed in the street battles and more than 350 people were arrested across the nation — at least 175 in Santiago. It was the second day of mass pro tests in just over a month against the government of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who is facing mounting opposition sparked by Chile’s deepest economic crisis in 50 years. Parents kept their children from school and workers stayed home as part of the boycott called to demand an end to the state of emergency, ear ly elections, the return of political ex ile and an end to censorship. Organizing the protest was the Na tional Workers Command, set up af ter a May 11 demonstration in which two people died in clashes with police and more than 300 were arrested. Copper mine leader Rodolfo Seguel called the protest a success and said “discontent is mounting in the country.” Pinochet, 67, blamed the riots on the outlawed Communist Party and warned he will prevent further dis turbances “at any cost.” Pinochet, who left Santiago early Tuesday accompanied by eight cabinet ministers, warned of harsher measures to prevent further out breaks. In a speech in the northern mining town of Copiapo, Pinochet said he will not give in to demands to reform the 1980 Constitution, which extends his rule until 1989. “To the politicians, I say from here little by little we are going to send them to their caves to put an end to this problem,” Pinochet said. In working class neighborhoods of Santiago, protesters erected flaming barricades with car tires and in the neighborhood of La Granja, some 150 unemployed youths rampaged when police arrived to disperse them with tear gas. In middle class neigh borhoods, families went to their bal conies and banged empty pots and pans while others honked car horns along the main avenues of the city. In downtown Santiago, riot police used water cannons and attack dogs to break up crowds of people milling around after work. Earlier in the day, outside the Uni versity of Chile library, 1,000 students burned effigies of Pinochet. Tolice said 296 people were arrested around the country, 175 in Santiago. T1 xas ToasH m A&M researchers trying to find answer to shuttle ice formation uwvERSirr * I 8§§ by Joe Tindel Jr. r • jrim 4 ^ ill \ Battalion Staff The infamous tiles that protect the space shuttle from the extreme heat encountered during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere have been a source of worry since the maiden voyage of Columbia. And for about a year, Texas A&M has been involved in the ■ search for a solution to one of the • several problems concerning those lit .***$ 1 tiles — the formation of ice on the shuttle’s central fuel tank. Dr. Jose Porteiro, working the placement of a probe model of the space shuttle. staff photo by Barry Papke wind tunnel, checks a practice run of a Texas A&M’s Wind Tunnel Facility is the site of the testing. The goal of the testing is to discover a way to prevent ice from forming on the tank. During lift off, the ice breaks loose from the tank striking the tile area and damaging some of the tiles, said Dr. Jose Porteiro, assis tant professor of aerospace en gineering. Porteiro, along with Dr. Thomas Pollock, associate professor of en gineering design graphics, coordin ates the testing using a mock-up of the Cape Kennedy launch complex and a 1/50 scale mock-up of the attached center tank, solid rocket boosters and orbiter, Porteiro said. Results of the testing are reported to the Johnson Space Center, he said. The professors currently are working on a possible solution that would prevent the ice from forming before launch. Porteiro said the idea involves placing a number of vertic- aljets on the launch pad between the tank and the orbiter. These jets would blow heated air up the side of the tank and hopefully prevent the ice formation on part of the tank. To prevent ice at the upper levels of the tank, including the topmost part, or ojive, fans would be attached to the launch tower at dif ferent heights along the upper part of the tank. The fans also would blow air onto the tank. Success of the project depends on the improvement of a mathematical value called the heat transfer coeffi cient, Porteiro said. If the heat transfer coefficient is raised to a high enough value, the ice will not form. inside Classified 4 Local 3 Opinions 2 Sports 9 State 4 National 8 forecast Partly cloudy today with a 20 per cent chance of isolated thunder showers and a high of 89. The low tonight near 70. For Friday, partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of afternoon thundershowers and a high of 91.