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Serving the University community
^ agreeti|78 No 59 ugps 0453110 12 pages
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College Station, Texas
Tuesday, November 22, 1983
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, Droui
Core curriculum
changes possible
John Makely, Battalion staff
The Rev. Jesse Jackson
enberthi
id are te
r compl fe
.An$8l|
the fiele^
by the
ackson: Youth must
xercise voting power
by Stephanie M. Ross
Battalion Staff
Some students might not be getting
a well-rounded education at Texas
A&M, English Professor Dr. Paul Par
rish says.
Parrish will reintroduce a motion
at the December Faculty Senate meet
ing to establish a committee within the
academic affairs committee to study
the feasibility of a core curriculum.
A core curriculum is a set of re
quired courses for all students, re
gardless of their major. The curricu
lum would include courses from the
liberal arts and sciences.
Currently curriculum require
ments are set by the individual col
leges or departments. As a result, the
course requirements in different col
leges can vary drastically.
The committee will address the
question ‘What do colleges want their
students to know beyond their ma
jor?’ Parrish says, not what courses
they think all students should take.
“That’s the question that needs to
be answered, not the appropriateness
of their (the colleges’) curriculum,” he
says.
Parrish says the University does
have experience in the core curricu
lum concept, referring to the fact that
all students must take English 103 or
104 depending on their college’s re
quirements, American history and
political science courses.
With a core curriculum, students
would take a variety of courses before
they begin taking courses in their ma
jor. This has some advantages, Par
rish says, because it would allow the
student to experience a variety of
courses. They also would have time to
decide on a major before taking sever
al courses in one area.
Currently the general studies
program allows many freshmen to go
through a program similar to a core
curriculum one.
Parrish says he does not propose
that the committee study restructur
ing any of the colleges, but increasing
the breadth of the students’ educa
tion.
Parrish says he does not expect any
opposition to the proposal of a study,
but further along, he does expect
some extended discussion.
If the motion is passed, the com
mittee would include representatives
from different colleges that may be
most affected by a core curriculum
because courses within their colleges
are concentrated, Parrish says.
Among others, these colleges include
engineering and business.
In the long run, Parrish says dis
cussion of a core curriculum and the
reason for it will cause administrators,
faculty and students to redefine the
goals of Texas A&M. Years ago, the
goal of the University was to be a tech
nical college, and then the additional
goal of being a liberal arts college as
well came into the picture, Parrish
says.
If the committee is set up after the
December meeting, it will study the
core curriculum concept and report
back to the Senate in February.
by Michelle Povve
Battalion Stall’
lise Jackson’s campaign trail stop-
ecommei
final appj
gtjat Texas A&M Monday and the
foracac:| ar ’ <)1( J , ' cv ^; c,ul to ' tl a ' vct 'P tiv f
■ and o» nct ’ t la ,l ls tmu ’ * <,r America s
’ conu ink people and minorities to exer-
in the Ip 1- V()tin ^ l’ ()Wt ' r
[1 S' Htl K> Democratic presidential eandi-
is and cl H told a standing-room-only crowd
irationiifekkler Auditorium that many peo-
)n." pni'iiiK the racial turmoil ot the 50s
on, pJXh "lost their lives to assure us the
or at,, 4n jewel of democracy — the right
mbero(I| te -
Me sacrifices of those people, Jaek-
|said, enable “this generation” to
icnce its future by influencing its
nunent.
lie added that potential voters
must take advantage of that basic right
to "serve your present age.
Jackson, wearing a maroon Texas
A&M jersey with “Jackson ’84
printed on the hack, said minorities
are uniting together “in a rainbow
coalition to form a new majority.
“We can now use our vote, he said.
“The democracy has made room for
us. We have power and must exercise
it.
Jackson, a renowned speaker,
prompted several outbreaks of ap
plause' during his one-hour speech
with his powerful voice and charisma.
This generation, he said, along with
new rights, faces some new problems
that it must solve.
One problem Jackson cited is that
more people are living in poverty now
than have been since 1965 — 3 million
more on welfare and 4 million more
unemployed.
“Reaganomics” also was confronted
by the only black presidential candi
date for the. 1984 campaign. Jackson
said the sacrifice for economic recov
ery in the United States has not been
shared equally among the American
people.
“The people who are making more
money are paying less taxes and the
people who are making the least
money are paying the most taxes, he
said. “Who is recovering and who is
sinking? The aristocracy has undercut
the democracy.”
Jackson said the United States can
not he a great nation unless it takes
care of its poor, elderly and children.
“We cannot he great at the expense of
those who are helpless.
Most poor people are poor not be
cause they are lazy, Jackson said, but
because they are not given the oppor
tunity to work.
“Let us (minorities) be trained to
help America ... and be competitive in
the world market,” he urged.
Another challenge confronting this
generation, Jackson said, is the threat
of nuclear disaster.
He said the nuclear arms race has
become too expensive and too danger
ous. But he said he doesn’t support
unilateral disarmament. In the face of
the “Soviet threat, he said, “that’s
almost naive.
Instead there must he an open line
of communication between the presi
dents of the United States and the
Soviet Union, Jackson said.
Prof to be sworn
in next Monday
ennedy
Former Texas A&M professor
Helmut Merklein will be informally,
but officially, sworn in as assistant sec
retary of energy for international
affairs Nov. 28 in Washington.
The scheduled swearing-in follows
the final confirmation of Merklein’s
nomination by the U.S. Senate Nov.
15.
Merklein currently works for the
Department of Energy as a consul
tant. He has been there since he left
Texas A&M last month.
In a telephone interview Monday,
Merklein said after next week’s swear
ing-in, “it (his job) will be an entirely
different ballgame.”
After the swearing-in, he officially
will become part of DOE Secretary
Don Hodel’s staff. That will give
Merklein access to new and different
types of energy-related data. He also
will become part of the decision
making process for the department.
He said he will no longer be an
“outsider.”
A formal swearing-in ceremony
will follow Monday’s informal cere
mony either later that week or early
the following week, he said.
Merklein had taught in the pet
roleum engineering department at
Texas A&M since 1982.
-therein!
ollows:
-CO®
nitteeo.
by Wanda Winkler
Battalion Staff
Memories of John F. Kennedy, 20
jiirs after his assassination, still re
ton among Americans across the na-
IofRet ;0n an d at Texas A&M.
JS
ff
rnt Ed.
A&M profs discuss former president, administration
MORE KENNEDY/page 7
FK and his attractive personality al-
2)' had the support of the American
(0 iflj'hblk:, says Dr. George C. Edwards
II, professor of political science.
Any of his (Kennedy’s) successors
ould be delighted to have the level of
Ipport that Kennedy had,” Edwards
I . “Everyone loved him.”
dwards was one of three Texas
&M faculty members interviewed
onday by The Battalion about Ken-
|ln«tW
nedy and his administration.
Kennedy successfully cut taxes and
was responsible for what was probably
the longest period of sustained econo
mic growth in America, he said. Eco
nomic growth helped fund the social
programs of the 60s that dealt with
health, education and welfare, Ed
wards said.
“Cutting taxes to stimulate the eco
nomy was innovative” for the time, he
said.
Kennedy proposed two important
social programs, Medicare and feder
al aid to education, but they failed to
pass Congress. His administration
often is criticized unfairly for its fai
lures in Congress, Edwards said.
Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B.
Johnson, enjoyed more success in this,
area, because he dealt with a more
responsive Congress, Edwards said.
JFK paved the way for the Johnson
Administration, which carried out the
Kennedy social programs, he said.
Charles W. Wiggins, professor of
political science, said Kennedy, who
“epitomized youth and vigor,” was de
voted to making public service and
politics respectable.
“He (Kennedy) encouraged young
people to devote a portion of their life
to public service such as the Peace
Corps,” Wiggins said.
JFK issued an executive order
creating the Peace Corps in March
1961. The Peace Corps has sent more
than 100,000 volunteers in 20 years to
aid people in underdeveloped coun
tries.
Vernon E. Schneider, disting
uished professor of agricultural eco
nomics, said the Kennedy years mark
a turning point in history because eco
nomists assumed a more significant
role in government.
“From an economist’s point of
view, I liked what I saw” in the Ken
nedy administration, Schneider said.
Kennedy brought a new appreciation
of economics to congress and to gov
ernmental agencies, he said.
Edwards said major events during
the Kennedy administration include
the Civil Rights Movement, Bay of
Pigs in April 1961, Cuban Missile Cri
sis in October 1962, and the nuclear
Test Ban Treaty in October 1963.
Kennedy strongly believed in milit
ary defense but favored a “a lesser
response than massive retaliation,”
total nuclear warfare, Edwards said.
JFK was successful in “cementing
good relationships with leaders of
other countries,” Edwards said.
He met with Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushchev in Vienna, Austria in
June 1961 and with Konrad Ade
nauer, West German chancellor, in
June 1963.
Another major event involved JFK
committing the United States in May
1961 to landing a man on the moon by
the end of the decade.
Reflecting on the Kennedy assassi
nation, Schneider said, “Events like
that sort the important things from
the lesser things in life.”
iglnmW.
ssassination occurred 20 years ago today
by Karen Wallace
_ Battalion Staff
hap«y iwenty years ago today, John F.
jnnedy was assassinated in Dallas,
ivv, the country remembers,
he Dallas climate was one of cool,
[p autumn. That morning, the
ident commented to his wife how
iy it would be to assassinate a presi-
t. All anyone would need, he said,
is a rifle with a telescope and a perch
a high building.
iDallas anxiously preparing for
Isit from the 35th president of the
ted States.
he dense crowd made it difficult
police to keep the motorcade path
r. People wanted to get as close as
could to the president and his
Jacqueline.
,^|t was 12:30 p.m.
ing
l0 oKrf
iycli.
glni
Cov. John Connally and his wife
Nellie were in the president’s car.
The motorcade turned toward the
triple underpass entrance to the
Stemmons Freeway. It was there, be
tween the Texas School Book Deposi
tory and Dealy Plaza, that the fatal
shots rang out from a sixth floor win
dow of the Texas School Book De
pository.
After the first shot, Kennedy, in the
back seat next to Jackie, clutched his
throat.
“My Cod, I’m hit!” Kennedy said.
Cov. John Connally slumped
against the door with bullet wounds in
his chest, wrist and thigh.
Connally said he was conscious and
his eyes were open when the bullet hit
Kennedy.
The motorcade sped at 70 mph to
Parkland Hospital. Efforts to revive
the president lasted 25 minutes. But
the head wound was fatal. The presi
dent was pronounced dead at 1 p.m.
Shock and despair swept the coun
try as bulletins spread the first word
of the shooting.
BULLETIN
DALLAS, NOV.22 (AP) — PRESI
DENT KENNEDY WAS SHOT TO
DAY JUST AS HIS MOTORCADE
LEFT DOWNTOWN DALLAS.
MRS. KENNEDY JUMPED UP AND
CRABBED MR. KENNEDY. SHE
CRIED,“OH! NO!” THE MOTOR
CADE SPED ON.
Police found three shell casings on
the sixth floor of the Texas School
Book Depository. They found a rifle
with a telescopic sight behind another
stack of book boxes.
A witness gave police a description
of a man seen leaning out of a sixth
floor window.
Patrolman J.D. Tippit stopped a
man who fit the description. The man
shot Tippit four times, killing him in
stant ly.
Texas School Book Depository
manager Ralph Truly reported one
of his employees missing — Lee Har
vey Oswald. Oswald had been seen
inside the building immediately after
the shooting but was dismissed by
police when Truly told them Oswald
worked there.
Police, looking for Tippit’s sus
pected killer, followed tips from wit
nesses and found Oswald in the Texas
Theater. After punching a policeman
and pulling a pistol, he was subdued
jand disarmed.
At 7:10 p.m., he was charged with
the murder of Tippit. At 1:35 a.m., he
was charged with the murder of Ken
nedy.
During a televised transfer from
the city to the county jail, Sunday,
Nov. 24, millions of horrified Amer
icans watched as Oswald was shot in
the stomach by Jack Ruby. Oswald
died 48 hours and seven minutes after
Kennedy.
Rumors of conspiracy plots quickly
spread across the country. Were
Oswald and Ruby working together as
part of a conspiracy?
The new president, Lyndon B.
Johnson, formed a committee headed
by Chief justice Earl Warren to inves-
See KENNEDY, page 12
Elephant Walk
The dying elephants will gather
at noon today in front of the Lawr
ence Sullivan Ross Statue to prepare
for their meander across campus
while the junior hunters ready for
the kill.
This is elephant walk.
Real elephants will be on the drill
field from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for any
one to ride.
The Corps Standard states: “Be
fore the bonfire each year the
seniors gather in front of the flag
pole on military walk and wander
aimlessly about the campus like old
elephants about to die. This symbol
izes the fact the seniors will graduate
the following spring and will be of
no further use to the Twelfth Man. ”
Classes held
despite win or loss
Although President Frank Van
diver was not available for comment,
an official in Dr. Cordon Eaton’s
office confirmed that classes will be
held Monday regardless of whether
the Aggies win or lose the Texas
A&M-University of Texas football
game this weekend.
inside
Around town 6
Classified 12
Local 3
National 10
Opinions 2
Sports 13
State 6
What’s Up 10
forecast
Partly cloudy with a 20 percent
chance of afternoon thunder
showers.
ft