Monday, October 24,1983/The Battalion/Page 3
Student WICIchapter
earns national honor
by Clara N. Hurter
Battalion Reporter
The Texas A&M student
[chapter of Women in Com
munications Inc. was one of
five university chapters to re
ceive an award this month for
[outstanding achievement.
The WICI national organi-
j/ation presented the Texas
'A&M student chapter with a
plaque for its achievement at
its National Professional Con
ference in Philadelphia on
jOct. 13.
Chapter President Kim
[Schmidt, a senior journalism
major, says chapter members
are excited and proud of the
S award.
“It’s a pretty big achieve-
jment because we’ve only been
around for a year,” she said.
The Texas A&M chapter
[of WICI was chartered on
March 25, 1982.
All of the chapter’s accom-
fplishments should be attri-
Jbuted to the 1982 officers,
(Schmidt said.
“They sort of established a
[good reputation and a sound
[foundation on which future
WICI members will be able to
build,” she said.
WICI was founded in 1909
at the University of Washing
ton. It was then called Theta
Sigma Phi, and was a college
honorary organization for
women in journalism.
National headquarters for
WICI was established in Au
stin in the 1930s. In 1972, the
name Theta Sigma Phi was
changed to Women in Com
munications, Inc., and men
were granted membership in
the organization.
There now are 170 profes
sional and campus chapters of
WICI. The five campus chap
ter being honored are Boston
University, Hampton Insti
tute in Virginia, Miami Uni
versity of Ohio, Southern
Methodist University and
Texas A&M.
Chapter members have a
good reason to be proud. The
Texas A&M chapter was a
rookie vying for first place
amidst seasoned veterans.
Texas Tech, for example, has
had a chapter for 50 years and
Boston University has had a
chapter for more than 60
years.
The awards were given on
the basis of programs the
chapters sponsored during
1982. The Texas A&M chap
ter produced eight programs
and a Fireman’s newsletter.
“The programs we put on
to win the award were done
with a grand total of 17 mem
bers,” Schmidt said.
Now that the Texas A&M
chapter has received the
award and recognition, the
chapter is changing the focus
of its goals.
“Our focus has shifted,”
Schmidt said. “Instead of
building programs, we’re
trying to build up member
ship.”
The membership drive has
been very successful, she said.
The chapter has added 14
new members, and 12 more
applications have been sent to
national headquarters in Au
stin for approval.
The goal shift resulted
from a loss of members in
May. Many of the officers
were seniors and graduated,
Schmidt said. Only nine mem
bers remained in the chapter
last May.
Nicotine, alcohol among
socially accepted drugs
^ by Holly Powell
Battalion Reporter
■ Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol
bve become accepted drugs in
our society, a local neurophy-
, siologist told a group of local
ji qitizens at the College Station
■ommunity Center Friday.
I “Because these three drugs
' s are commonly used in our socie-
tl, they have come to be socially
I acceptable,” Dr. Clifford Sherry
; said.
I He said part of the problem is
-fth.it people don’t realize they are
j taking a drug.
I “I think the number one
Bason why alcohol is so popular
is that it decreases all our inhibi
tions,” he said. “It’s an iceb
reaker.”
■ After a few drinks, a shy per
son is much more likely to
approach a stranger at a party,
he said.
{I A problem with alcohol,
t ’ Skerry said, is that people don’t
jlBalize the effects it has on the
’libody. He said alcohol has the
Bost profound effect on the
i nervoussystem — it impairs the
^Bion and muscle coordination.
j-j “lean think of a lot of organs
ij/ that we can do without, but with
out a liver, we’re in bad shape,”
■terry said. Sclerosis, or scar
ring, of the liver is the leading
use of death among alcoholics,
said.
Nicotine is as much of a prob-
Jlm as alcohol, he said. In 1975
there were 4,200 cigarettes sold
for every man, woman and child
in the United States, he said.
Nicotine increases the respir
atory and heart rates, and con
stricts the blood vessels so that
the smoker feels cool, he said.
Studies show that three out of
four smokers want to quit smok
ing cigarettes, but less than one
out of four can do so success
fully.
“The real tragedy with nico
tine products is that less than 15
percent in that circumstance will
be able to remain abstinent,” he
said.
Nicotine is a very potent
drug, Sherry said. Two and one-
half grams of nicotine are
needed for a euphoric feeling
compared to 10 grams of mor
phine by injection needed for
the same feeling.
Overseas study programs
meet many students’ goals
by Rhonda Snider
Battalion Reporter
Imagine spending your next
semester studying in an Italian
monastery just south of Flor
ence or in the museum district of
London, or spending three
weeks touring Europe with your
classmates.
A number of Texas A&M stu
dents have done precisely that
through the help of the universi
ty Study Abroad Office, which
works with colleges and depart
ments coordinating overseas
study programs.
Coursework for a study
abroad program is tailored to
best take advantage of the locale,
Mona Rizk-Finne, study abroad
coordinator, says.
A group of students from the
College of Architecture and En
vironmental Design spent the
spring semester in La Poggerina
monastery in Italy.
Ron Edwards, a senior en
vironmental design major who
participated in the program,
said he gained an understand
ing of Italian architecture that
he could not have learned sitting
in a classroom here.
“I picked up some methods of
thinking,” Edwards said,
“through studying there and
seeing the buildings that I
couldn’t have picked up
through watching a slide show.
To really understand about
foreign architecture, you have
to know about their culture.”
Edwards said he recommends
participating in a study abroad
program, but with the right atti
tude. Students need to be willing
to reach out and try to under
stand the people and the cul
ture, he said.
“If people are going just to get
away from here, they need to
re-examine their motives or the
trip for them will be a waste,” he
said.
The Study Abroad Office also
helped the finance department
coordinate a summer session in
England.
Pam Pritchett and Judy Law
spent five weeks in London
attending their Finance 454
class between field trips and ex
cursions in the area.
The students talked with
management people in foreign
banks and witnessed first-hand
the banking system in London,
senior accounting major Law
said.
Pritchett, a senior finance ma
jor, said the program was be
neficial and worth the more
than the $2,000 which each stu
dent paid to go on the trip.
Pritchett said the living ex
penses worked out to be about
the same as it would have been if
they had stayed here.
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Rizk-Finne said the office is
trying to dispell the myth that a
study abroad program is finan
cially beyond most students’
reach. Attending school over
seas in most cases would cost an
equal amount or a little more
than going to school here, she
said.
Mark Kirkpatrick, a graduate
student working on his master’s
degree in mechanical engineer
ing, who went on an European
tour for engineering students,
also thought his study abroad
program was well worth the
money.
Twenty-nine Texas A&M en
gineering students spent 19 days
in Europe, touring plants and
engineering facilities in Holland
and Germany.
The things Kirkpatrick said
he enjoyed the most were the
relationships that developed
and the friendships he made
with other students on the trip.
The Study Abroad Office has
recently received approval for
spring and summer programs.
The College of Architecture
and Environmental Design is
again offering a semester of
study at La Poggerina monas
tery in Italy this spring. In-
t3rested students presently are
attending seminars to prepare
them for their trip.
Two summer sessions have
been designed for students in
the College of Liberal Arts. Dur
ing the first summer session stu
dents can take courses in Italy. A
program in Great Britain is
planned for the second summer
session. In each session the stu
dents may take two courses.
The College of Business
Administration has five overseas
programs planned for the sum
mer — one in Germany, three in
European countries and one in
the Orient.
Other summer programs in
clude a session in the United
Kingdom through the College
of Education, a two-week Euro
pean study tour for engineering
students, and various programs
in France, Germany and Spain
offered by the modern lan
guages department.
MSC TOWN HALL
presents
JIMMY
nimn
nuc
MffMUR
HARBOUR
TOUR
Wednesday, Nov. 2- 8pm
G. Rollie White
Tickets 8.50, 9.50, 10.00
MSC -TOWN HAOv
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