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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1984)
Monday, October 22, 1984AFhe Battalion/Page 5 Local girl has role in Sally Field film ol Media) ge in Aik v the I'm! Insiimifi ts ph.hesa to maud is tested a By GIGI SHAMSY Reporter Gennie James wants to be an Aggie when she grows up. But this is a far cry from the instant film stardom the 8-year-old Na- vasota girl now has from the movie “Places in the Heart.” Gennie said she hasn’t consid ered other universities. Leaning forward on the edge of her chair, she said she cannot wait to visit A&M and eat in Sbisa Dining Hall. She has a hard time sitting still and her spunk and charisma spread to those around her. “I love math, science, and my second grade homeroom teacher, but don’t ask me about reading,” ; Gennie said. “Of course I want to be an actress, hut at A&M I’ll learn to be a teacher,” she said with crossed fingers, “just so I’ll always have a job to turn to.” Her mother and father are pleased with this goal. They said Gennie’s grandfa ther, a former student, will pay for Gennie’s education at A&M. Her movie career started when John James, Gennie’s father, spotted an ad in The Eagle for a children’s audition call for a Wax- ahachie-based movie. The ad said the movie would be called “The Texas Story” and would be di rected by Robert Benton, the di rector of “Kramer vs. Kramer.” James, a counselor for the Texas prison system, said he thought he would take Gennie to the audition in Houston just for the fun of it. Sally James, a clerk for the i prison system, said the family laughed all the way to the first au dition in Houston, where 800 girls showed up to try for the part of Sally Field’s daughter, Possum. But they didn’t laugh long. The number of young ac tresses narrowed to 30 by the third audition in Dallas, she said, and Gennie was one of them. Sally James said the fourth au dition in Waxahachie wiped away her parents’ laughs and brought on serious thoughts for the fu ture. Gennie’s mother said she sat motionless with the letter from the director’s office stating her daughter’s contract terms for “Places in the Heart.” The letter also said the director felt lucky to have discovered actress Gennie James. Gennie, however, was passive about her launch to fame and for tune. The auditions were easy, ef fortless and fun, she said. Gennie, sporting a brunette, cropped hairstyle and a face full of freckles, said she was excited about her acceptance to play Pos sum. Gennie looks like she be longs on the set of “Little House on the Prairie.” In some ways, Gennie is a typ ical 8-year-old. She said she’ll be a punk rocker for Halloween, she adores any food with sugar in it, she wants a Gabbage Patch Doll and twistie beads for Christmas, and she fights occasionally with her 2-year-old brother, Johnny. But not every 8-year-old is chummy with Sally Fields. They filmed the movie together from September 1983 to December 1983. “Sally gave me this engraved silver heart necklace for Gennie James Christmas last year,” Gennie said proudly. Gennie said she can’t put her finger on her favorite memory of the filming. “I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t do that one. Everything was so easy and fun. It’s hard to choose just one favorite part.” She said some of her best mem ories are fun times with 12-year- old co-star Yankton “Yank” Hat- ten; filling a wall with cast pic tures; staying with her grand mother in a Waxahachie duplex during filming; and shooting and re-shooting a shelved carnival scene until 4 a.m. Gennie said that filming some times would get boring and she and Yank would run away from the set for a quick recess. Then Sally Field would lay down the law and demand that the two get back to work. Gennie said she is now an ex pert on talking about being a “movie star ” and acting with Sally Field. Classmates gave her a party and a card that read “Don’t forget us, Gennie, when you’re rich and famous.” Sally James said she is happy that the sudden attention to Gen nie has left her a normal child who still cares about school. “Above all else, we don’t want to be split up as a family,” she said. :>!' thisitsl xtsitiojH il. v st is a r*-l ompetc ith said combid Educators discuss status of Texas teaching . By DEENA ELLIOTT Reporter The national education process r . .,_^eds “hard, strong leadership,” said Richard Wallace, member of the ; National Commission on Excellence ', l in Education. “Leadership is cru- unlytopuB,,, 1 ■Wallace presented a national per- , itoective on education in a sympo- ll( " silim on the status of science and ,0 ' lal1 piathematics education in T exas at the Rudder Center Forum on Fri- dav. ■Two other speakers presented views on the situation in Texas and me purpose of the education reform I’ - ■Wallace said more money will not I solve the problems nor will longer school days or longer school years. He said much is right, but much can still be done. The purpose of the commission, Wallace said, is to examine how schools are using their time. Of the six hours of school time recom mended, high school students are averaging only 4 1/2, he said. Co-curricular activities can be jus tified as being good for the students. “But is missing school good for them?” Wallace questioned. He sug gested using those six hours of school in the classroom. Katherine Mays, president of the Texas Science Supervisors Associa tion, said Texas schools are not pre paring the students to be productive citizens in society and “outcries are falling on deaf ears.” Mays, who teaches chemistry and physics at Bay City High School, said Texas education leaders have “failed in their responsibility ... to excel to excellence.” The education reform bill passed by the 68th Texas Legislature is be ing fought by the people who should be giving support to the bill, Mays said. Dean C. Corrigan, dean of the College of Education at A&M and a member of the governor’s select committee on public education, said the key element in the bill is insuring the quality of teachers. Corrigan said the number of tea chers has declined 53 percent in 10 years. About 63 institutions are available and 8,500 students who are qualified to teach, but 85 percent do not pursue a career. A 64 percent national decline in science teachers has occurred, Corri gan said. During the question and comment time immediately after the presenta tions, one teacher from A&M Con solidated said she sees several posi tive areas: their extra curricular activities are on weekends and do not use classroom time; the school’s coaches are also good instructors; and the grade of 70 as passing, speci fied by the reform bill, “is working”. Employees accused of child abuse United Press International ARLINGTON — The Texas De partment of Human Resources will begin today questioning employees of a day-care center where children allegedly were sexually molested and forced to fondle the private parts of their teachers, state officials said. The president of the day-care chain said he had placed four of the 11 La Petite Academy employees on leaves of absence pending the inves tigation. The four female employ ees, who were implicated by children who were interviewed by state inves tigators, have denied the allegations. The DHR received complaints last week that at least 15 children at the center were being sexually abused, said Nancy DeWees, program direc tor for the DHR’s child protective services branch. The children allegedly were told to take their clothes off and dance in circles, officials said. They also alleg edly were required to fondle each other’s private parts and to touch the private parts of their teachers. The children reportedly were threatened with reprisals if they told their parents about the incidents, DeWees said. Police said no criminal charges had been filed against the center, but officers have been asked to join DHR officials in questioning em ployees on Monday. “At this point there are enough al legations to consider the possibility of criminal allegations,” DeWees said. State officials said there were no immediate plans to close the center, but results of the investigation will be turned over to the DHR’s day care licensing division, which could close the center if necessary. Although the investigation is in the early stages, officials said the al legations involve more children and more employees than any previous probe at a licensed day-care center in Texas. About 130 chldren are enrolled at the center, DeWees said. “Nobody’s more concerned about this than we are,” said Jack Broz- man, president of the Kansas Gity Mo., La Petite chain. “We are going to thoroughly investigate this.”' DeWees said caseworkers believe the abuse had taken place for several months at the year-old facility. The investigation began last week when the mother of a 3-year-old child told police she suspected her child had been sexually abused at the center. Police referred her to DHR caseworkers, who began inter viewing the children. y Someih/ng's Brewing IT S AN UNBELIEVABLE HALLOWEEN REN/T SPECIAL/' 696-9111 LUCIAs Skin Care at Park Avenue u Beauty Center There are many types of skin care, but none as unique as the European facials given by Lucia. Lucia's International reputation & experience makes her European facials the most unique in town. YOUR SKIN NEEDS CONSTANT CARE it All types of skin care treatments it Acne treatments it Removal of dried cells and blackheads By appointment 260-9050 4340 Carter Creek, Suite 101, Bryan )pletW FREE Voice Your Complaints Directly to Student Government ISSUES AND GRIEVANCES MEETING If you don't tell us...We can't do it! 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