Tuesday, December 13, 1983/The Battalion/Page 3
Final exam policy debated
by Michelle Powe
Battalion Staff
The Faculty Senate spent a
aborious session Monday pas-
ing and amending by-laws,
Approving curriculum
hanges and discussing the
(ossibility of requiring future
[raduating seniors to take fin-
l examinations.
The Senate’s Ad Hoc Com-
itv n i™ n i ttee on Academic Stan-
hpartitii | arc j s presented to the Senate
n ' a report which strongly sug-
rests abolishing the policy of
tempting Texas A&M de-
rree candidates from final ex
aminations, saying the policy
‘ ‘is a serious compromise of
Cadets, Residence Hall Asso
ciation, Graduate Student
Council and Cap and Gown (a
senior honor society).
dents have of raising or lower
ing their final grades depend
ing on how well they do on the
final exam.
— The policy is a nice re
ward for being a senior, and
may even be considered a
right of graduating seniors.
Some of the objections that
surfaced during the inter
views and surveys were:
By being exempt from
id c ‘
— The policy limits the
academic freedom of profes
sors. It limits the types of
assignments and projects that
can be used.
ttheu ,
ve * enr*
finals, less of expected of gra
duating seniors in their last
semester than in any other
semester.
Some arguments in favor of
the policy were:
nee in ild
■roush::
— Many graduating seniors
stop attending class after the
last regular examination and
miss material presented after
that time.
— The present policy
allows graduating seniors to
receive their diplomas at com
mencement, and allows gra
duation ceremonies to take
place while school is still in ses
sion.
X)d teaclc mportant academic values.”
levels n
»researcl
don the
is
The Faculty Senate will
oteon the issue at its January
neeting.
During its evaluation of the
^■exeinption policy, the com-
Uni ' e ®«nittee surveyed faculty mem-
rectiong ^ ers anc l interviewed leaders
of major student organiza-
(searchii dons.
The student leaders inter-
jdewed represented the Stu
dent Government, Corps of
iinued i.
enterpnst
tsityBj
t we
k striven
— Some students manipu
late their degree plans by tak
ing an unusually large num
ber of courses during their last
semester or delaying difficult
or feared courses.
— The early commission
ing of officer candidates
allows candidates at Texas
A&M to receive their commis
sions before candidates at
other schools.
— The policy requires eva
luating students on unequal
standards. Degree candidates
don’t have the opportunity or
the jeopardy that other stu-
— Completing the final
semester early allows gradu
ates to interview for jobs or
prepare for graduate or pro
fessional schools.
While both student leaders
and faculty members cited
advantages and disadvantages
to the policy, nearly all the stu
dents were in favor of senior
exemptions and the majority
of the faculty surveyed were
opposed.
The Faculty Senate will de- _
bate and vote on the policy
change recommendation Jan.
16, the first class day of the
spring semester.
If the Senate approves the
policy change, the issue will
have to go through a few more
channels, including recom
mendations by University vice
presidents, before the Senate
proposes the change to Presi
dent Frank E. Vandiver foi
final approval.
The committee also recom-
mended that the policy
change, if approved, be put
into effect no later than the
graduating class of December
1985.
Board finishes up
routine concerns
by Christine Mallon
our
hand oi
district Attorney joins others
calling for new trial for Geter
Battalion Staff
The most exciting thing that
happened at Monday night’s
CSISD school board meeting
was when the meeting was tem
porarily recessed by Christmas
carolers led by the principal of
South Knoll Elementary School.
The second most exciting
thing was when Board President
Bruce Robeck introduced his
parents from Oregon who were
in the audience.
“They just dropped by to see
how I spend my Monday
nights,” Robeck explained.
This was the last meeting of
the year and the board was
trying to get routine matters out
of the way before the holidays.
The board voted to extend
the use of district schools for
new churches that will come to
College Station in the near fu
ture. The churches are:
• Beautiful Savior Evangelical
Lutheran which is currently
holding services at South Knoll.
• St. Thomas Aquinas Catho
lic Church which is holding its
services at College Hills Elemen
tary School.
• Aldersgate United Method
ist Church which will temporari
ly use the junior high school faci
lities.
• St. Francis Episcopal
Church of the Redeemer which
will begin holding services in
January at Oakwood Elemen
tary School.
In other action, Superinten
dent H.R. Burnett announced
the appointment of Tommy Att-
away as the new personnel direc
tor for the district.
Durst, Wood, Milberger and
Associates have completed the
annual financial audit of the dis
trict which will be submitted to
the Texas Education Agency
this month.
The actual expenses for the
general operating funds were
about $142,800 less than the
estimated total in the 1982-83
budget.
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187 ndl(®DALLAS — District Attorney
m.thenaiHenry Wade Monday said he
nizedasifyas joining defense attorneys in
ice thrOijpM'otf f° r a new lr * a * f° r Lenell
^®ter, a black engineer sent-
Hced to life in prison in a rob-
. Irv case that has sparked alle-
coJiumiin-
Itions of racism,
avost aan Wade said that because of
Mbin questions raised by news
Kounts of Geter’s robbery trial,
the Dallas County District Attor-
-^nry'- office was seeking a new
Geter’s attorney, Edwin Sigel,
said he hoped Geter would be
freed from prison by the
weekend, and he predicted that
Judge John Ovard would order
a new trial Tuesday.
“We expect a new trial to be
granted in the morning,” Sigel
said.
The Dallas chapter of the
fair trial,” said Elna Christ
opher.
“That’s not to say he’s guilty
or he’s innocent. It’s just that
there are enough questions ab
out the way the matter was hand
led that the whole thing ought to
be looked at again,” she said.
“We’ve been working on this
case for some time,” she said.
■ “On behalf of this office, I’m
■pining with defense attorneys
for Lenell Geter in asking that
the courts grant him a new trial,”
|ade said.
■The case gained attention, in
Bn, because a number of Ge
ter s co-workers at E-Systems
pc. in Greenville testified that
hjwas at work the day of the
■That went squarely against
. the testimony of five restaurant
'employees, who identified Geter
as the robber, and Wade said he
jbelieved their testimony proved
Geter’s guilt.
I“I have reviewed the record
of the previous trial, which is
lengthy,” Wade said. “The evi
dence indicates his guilt since all
the five witnesses who were rob
bed identified him as the guilty
Trson, but in view of a recent
devision show and other media
reports, I believe some doubt
has been raised in the minds of
apt
NAACP responded to Wade’s
announcement by saying mem
bers were “elated with the news.
We really are. The NAACP has
been contending that if the full
facts of the case were reviewed,
Lenell Geter would be set free.”
the robbery charge would be
dropped. But Wade said if Geter
failed the test, he would be re
tried.
Geter, 24, a graduate of South
Carolina State College, was con
victed in October 1982 of rob
bing a fast food restaurant of
several hundred dollars. He was
sentenced to life in prison.
Gov. Mark White said he was
glad the case had been
reopened.
An aide to Texas Attorney
General Jim Mattox said Wade’s
announcement was a victory for
fairness.
“We are gratified that the
apparent new evidence in the
case has prompted the district
attorney to look again at the
whole situation, to see if he got a
“I am pleased with the deci
sion of District Attorney Henry
Wade to push for a new trial for
Lenell Geter,” White said. “A
new trial will also resolve any
questions about the impartiality
of Texas justice. I look forward
to a speedy resolution of this
Wade said his office would
thoroughly investigate the case
and interview all witnesses.
60 Minutes, the CBS televi
sion news magazine, did a story
on Geter’s case Dec. 4, which
challenged the validity of Ge
ter’s conviction.
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Wade Monday said that his
office would have Geter take a
polygraph test, and if he passed,
Wade, in a prepared state
ment Monday, did not say that
Geter was innocent or that his
office had erred in its handling
of the case. He merely said that
he was calling for a new trial be
cause of the publicity the case
had gained.
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many people concerning the
:ss of his
lis trial as well as his
guilt.”
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