Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1984)
MSC offers many things to many people Student Center a world in itself By KARLSPENCE Reporter The director of Texas A&M L’ni- versitv's Memorial Student Center is an enthusiastic: admirer of the place where he works. He also lias strong feelings about the students and alumni who have brought its facili ties and programs into being. James R. Reynolds says there is a lot to appreciate. Along with the ad joining Rudder l ower and Theater Complex and the Regents' Annex (which together make up the L’ni- versitv Center), the MSC provides more space for student meetings than any other college union, Rey nolds savs. And its Student Pro grams Oi l ic e ov ersees what Rey nolds calls "the largest student center programming organization in the world" — 1 ,<S()() students in So committees running 1,400 pro grams. Those programs operate on an annual budget of SS.4 million, 70 percent of which is self-generated, the test coming from student fees. Rev itolds estimates total partici- pation in the center's programs last vear at 4.40,000. When the Univer- sitv is in regular session, as many as 20,000 persons enter the MSC every dav. and sometimes more than 100 meetings are held in the L'niversity Center's conferenc e rooms daily. Apart from size, what does Rey nolds find most special about the MSC? “ The students," he savs. “ The t ea- son we can have what we do is the kind ol students who come to A&M. Tor example, one of our goals here is to prov ide works of art for the stu dents to enjov. That couldn't be done if the pieces were going to be stolen or defaced." The same goes for the rest of the center's decor, Reynolds savs. The care Aggies take of their building enables the MSC to escape the con crete-floor appearance of many other college unions around the count rv. 1 he MSC opened in 19f>() alter the student body had expressed, two rears earlier, a desire for something besides barracks and ch ill fields to relax in. Construction was financed partly by the Permanent l niversitv Tund. partly by student fees, and partly bv contributions from alumni, who gave their donations in memory of the Aggies who had died in the two world wars. Hence the obser vances of doffing hats while in the building and keeping off the grass outside. The center was renovated and ex panded to its present size in 1974. A first-time v isitor to the MSC will need no help in discovering the Stu dent Lounge, the Aggieland Station Post Office, the longhorn-hide couc hes, the cafeteria, the bookstore and gift shop, and the basement bowling and games area and snack bar. Alter a few weeks, new Aggies mav have noticed that guest accom modations and check-cashing serv ices are available at the Main Desk, and they mav also have located the basement barber shop and beaulv salon, the first-floor art gallery, the Schiwetz Lounge with its original oil and watercolor paintings, the For- svth Alumni Center, and the second- floor browsing library. But a student might attend school This picture of the Memorial Student Center vras used in the 1952 Aggieland. Many changes have been made since then. here for mam semesters and never inspec t the Nletzget-Sanders Cun Collec tion at the top of the staircase bv the Main Desktor have a ch ink in Rumours, the coffee shop next to the MSC's south entrance: or catch or give a ride home and bac k with other Aggies through the Hitching Post bv the Student Lounge: or step into the Student Programs Office above the bookstore and become in volved in an activity of interest. More than the facilities and serv ices the MSC provides, the programs of the MSC Committees spark Rey nolds' enthusiasm. Films, arts, travel, outdoor recreation, games, concerts, fairs, lectures and more are brought to Texas AX.M bv programs whic h, he points out, "are basicallv con ceived. planned and produced bv volunleer st udents." Student involvement. Reynolds savs, fulfills the fourth goal of the MSC: providing opportunities for students to develop their abilities as leaders, managers, marketers and accountants in organizations which thev themselv es create and sustain. ' This experience makes the MSC one ol the most ef ficient educational programs on campus.’ Reynolds savs. The value Reynolds places^,, Mll _ dent programs explains the em phasis he places on their gringh. When he became director ol U*. MSC in I97<S, about BOO students participated in 400 programs. After another eight veins, he hopes, 4,000 students will be engaged in 2,000 pre jgrams. Rev nolds savs that right now the MSC could use half again as muc h meeting space as it hits. Bv 1990. the demand lor space could be for dou ble thiti of todav. Consec|uently. it push for center expansion is in store this vear. At the same time, the MSC miM adjust to the fact that it coming sta>t- lization of enrollment will put a ap cm student-generated revenues (lees, textbook and food purchases, etc.). F.lfec lively, that income will shrink because ol inllation. The MSC. therefore, must oper ate more efficiently unci look more toward generated revenues such as those brought in In outside confer ence groups. Rev nolds sav s. Civic and business groups use the meeting rooms during the dav while students are attending classes, he ex- gkiius. I hev pav for the room use Ttl purchase food and other serv- In return, the l’niversity. lullil- •'ig/ts responsibility as a laud-grant '•slttmion, provides a valuable serv- ■< e to tf*. community and state. Cue tuoiect that eM w 'Cinllv inter ests Reynolds tins year is the expan- jsion of Texas A14:M s Endowed Lec ture Series. The MSC gels S29().<)(><) eac h year in private donations f rom businesses, foundations, and indi viduals. SbO.OOO of that is ear marked for the lecture series. To date, the series has concenliaieil foreign policy, briiiginKtntlicc pus such speakers asGeraldf Helmut Schmidt, AlexanderE and Henrv Kissinger. Rent wants to add endowmentsfnril othei series, to focus oneonm foorl and water, and natioid lense. o mm h else .ilnuildid! program would stand Tik such among universities world-tvide nc>lds savs. 1 o new Aggies and those»li coming back to school this teed ha> these words of wisdom: "Your academic program 1 exas A&M is the most imporr reason you're here. Bgifyotiffl age vour lime well, yottjivilltat time to participate jin thosep grams where you canpritinlnpi tue what vou learn in the dasstii Mv adv ice to vou is: LetinvoM MSC Council president plans ahead By MICHAEL CANNATA Reporter MSC Council president Pat Wood III is a civil engineering major who nev er stops moving. The fifth-year senior’s involve ment with the MSC Council began after he was president of his sopho more honor society. At the end of his term, he went to his adviser in a panic. Wood says he thought his po litical career could go no further. His adviser told him about the MSC Council. Wood was v ice president for pub lic relations his sophomore year, then became executive vice presi dent for programs his junior year. As a senior. Wood had to choose be tween graduating or staying a fifth year and seeking the council presi dency. Wood says his only regret was moving into the purple-painted of fice of past president Greg Hawkins. Wood hesitated to change the color and has joked about it with Hawkins. Humor is typical of Wood’s way of dealing with people. Nothing moves fast enough for Wood. He calls himself a six-month planner. He says this is a problem because many of his duties call for one- and three-year planning sched ules. “I have to think not what I am going to get done in my year but what 1 am going to set up for the f u ture of the MSC Council and Texas A&M," Wood says. He says many of the other MSC, committees have short-term goals MSC Council President Pat Wood with fixed objectives, but in his job continuity is important to make sure that long-range goals are met. He calls long range planning the most inspiring and fun. As MSC president, Wood super vises members, arranges external business and works with council members. Wood says the president spends about 40 percent of his time supervising members, which in cludes rev iewing progress reports of executive vice presidents and attend ing other committee meetings. About 40 percent of his time is spent working with other groups on and off campus. Wood says most of his time is spent working with adminis trators in fund-raising, and at social events. The remaining 40 percent involves working within the MSC Council and its branches. The rest of the time, Wood says, he meets with individual council members and at tends meetings. Last year 280,000 people at tended MSC] functions. Wood says, and this year more are expected. He estimates that the MSC, is now reach ing about 75 percent of the student body with its programs. He says he enjoyed learning about plans for the university, but he also is concerned that some administra tors cannot think past their own per sonal needs. “It’s exciting to see the direction which Dr. Vandiver hopes to see A&M move in,” Wood says, "hut it is disturbing to see the upper level ad ministrators with set schedules and their own agendas who don’t think bevond their own term in office or their own range of interests.” Wood says high-handed politics really bothers him. He says that when decisions affecting students are made without asking their opin ions he gets very angry. Wood says administrators sometimes ignore student opinion because they think it represents only one individual, who will be at the university only a few seats. But, be savs, students vj al ways be here and their needsuist be considered in the Ionium goals. Wood also is unhappy vvitlvhat he calls "the wave of mediocrit that has swept through Texas AM in the last few years. He is botliid by the disappearance of “HowcUtnd a reduction of attendance at siynl-re lated activities. Wood says h^^ts al ways been impressed with t high quality of students at TejdjjA&M. He says the University slfld not have to be promoted becat it sells itself. “From a student’s poipjf view there is a lot we can do toiomote our own university and rfhave to rely on paid personnel’ do it,” Wood says. The students should able use the programs offered, m changes in the tilings they disagfwith and suggest new ideas, he sav Wood says the MSCjluncil has established a committee look into leadership and managent train ing for students. He stum the top of his list of long- tenoals is the desire to make TexassM a school to be proud of. “I remember havinmie alumni tell me ‘Go out there I make peo ple see that ring a then make them anxious to see abetWood says. “A&M has alvv.operated on that and that’s one t tradition we should continue.” if This rare English “duck foot” flintlock multi-shot pistol made by Barbour in the late 18th Century can be seen in the Metzger and Sanders Gun Collection $3.5 million budget By JULIA NUNNALLEE Reporter The MSC Council is the student governing body of 43 Memorial Stu dent Center committees with inter ests ranging from opera to outdoor recreation. The council, which is responsible to the vice-president for student services, was formed in 1951 as a group of student volunteers who represented the MSC committees. Today, the council determines the budget, operations and public rela tions policies of all student commit tees. sue ti as the MSC All Night Fair the MSC Madrigal Dinners.Aim 250,000 people attended coin programs last year. “ The council has impactonew person who walks through theE# to a program,” Davis said. I ne 27 council members arts let ted through a nominationamli terview process beginning « spring semester. Students aref tinned on leadership, collegeui* philosophy and purpose andgt New executives take office dm April. “Every potential interest on cam pus is sitting around one table witfi the council,” said Denis Lee Davis, executive vice-president for market ing and personnel for the council. The MSC’, Council in 1984-84 su pervised more than 1,300 programs, The MSC Council had a budjtt $4.5 million last year. Most of money comes from fundraising: student service fees, with corpoft and individual gifts providings*' support. “A good portion of that is ras by the committees themselves,' vis said. Resume help to interviews of red in Rudder PlacemenCenter helps grads The Forsyth Alumni Center is on the first floor of the MSC, across from the Post Office. By Karen Bloch Reporter Of ficials at the Texas A&M Place ment Center say they are ready for the annual assault of graduating se niors looking for a job. The placement center, on the 10th floor of Rudder Tower, pro vides students with many employ ment related services, including counseling and interview schedul- ing. “At the center we offer counseling in career planning and job search,” Louis Van Pelt, director of place ment, said. “We also teach students how to write a resume and how to re search a company. Our job is to do everything we can to see that a stu dent is properly placed. “The center’s main purpose is scheduling students for their initial interviews with recruiting employ ers.” This semester the placement cen ter will begin the second year of us ing a system of bidding points for the assignment of interview slots. Until the fall of 1983, students had to wait in line — often longer than three hours a night, five nights a week — to sign up for interviews which were granted on a first come, first served basis. With the new system, interview re quests are made by filling out a com puter-read interview sign-up card and depositing it in one of the drop- slots in the Placement Center lobby. Since this can be done any time prior to the deadline for a particular inter- More than employers interviewed indents at l exas ASc during the 1982-83 sol year. Most came in b* the fall and spring seners. view week alere is no advantage to signing Lilly, there is seldom a problem wibwding. The comr checks the qualifi cations of Undent against those requested the recruiting com pany. Qua! students are then scheduled hterviews in order of the numb^>oints they bid. “Every tnt is given 400 points to use the before they graduate. Several olchools use similar sys tems,” VHt said. “Students are given fivints a year at Purdue, while theversity of Texas School of Businves students 200 points every w< “Thetber of points students get is te. Bidding points just gives stts a better chance of get ting therviews they want the most,’’Pelt said. Stutwho graduate in Decem ber r» 150 points during the Spriniester prior to their grad- uatiof 250 points in the Fall. May iates are given 200 points durijeh of the two semesters precg their graduation. Lyes the students closest to graduation a better chance of get ting interviews. Van Pelt said, “The: closer a student is to graduating, the more they need interview opportu nities. By giving them (graduating seniors) a 50 point relative advan tage, we increase their chances of re ceiving those opportunities.” Students interested in finding summer employment follow the same procedures as graduating stu dents and are given 75 bidding points each semester. Points are deducted when a stu dent gets on an interview schedule that fills. No points are deducted if the schedule does not fill or if a stu dent dots not get on a schedule. When a schedule does not fill, qualified students can sign up for va cant time slots. This is done on a first come, first served basis and no points ate deducted. Students are placed on a waiting list if they do not get on an interview schedule they have requested. Inter view times that become available are assigned — in order of the number of points initially bid — to those on the waiting list, but no points are de ducted. Even if a student is not as signed to a schedule, he can request that the Placement Center send a copy of their resume to the com pany. “Some people are conf used by the system at first,” Van Pelt said. “We hold hour-long orientation sessions to familiarize students with the point system procedures. “The system (of bidding points) has been well received by business, industry and patient students. There were some initial problems wiilii computer programs, but well gotten most of the ‘bugs’ wotl out.” Van Pelt said. l exas A&M students desij the system and programmed computers. When there wasapid lent, students suggested altern® and modified the programs. Van Pelt said studentinvolveiK probably has contributed to dies cess and acceptance of the system fhe placement center tries to students know in advance whicio ployers will he recruiting at thel versity. A placement manual lisc companies coming and the dates their sc heduled visits is published! ery semester. The center also distributesdi sheets to all academic departintf The sheets, which are upd weekly, list employers visiting campus during the next month. More than 600 employers^ viewed students at Texas A&Mdt ing the 1982-83 school year. came in both the fall and spring mesters. Representatives from TexasAl are constantly visiting empto and professional associations, 1 Pell said. “We try to convince recruiteti come to A&M and we try toeno 1 age those who already recruith* to interview people in different^ jors,” he said. “This last year we saw majot provements in the numberofjolx portunities available. The job # look is really picking up. Things really looking good.” "A ol p j(>:7 walk the AXT T dent Unit all f no n at tl pray tatio > said lor v T mav T Dep serv help cale< cial; fina floo colic won calk L ing fall, by ti stud men pe»| of I it due are I not i help E' expc pare the i stud cial; mex attei man re." (’. step fmai list ti