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Alders: student participation
the key to making changes
By BRIAN PEARSON
Reporter
I Texas A&M students will have
to get involved if they want to
change student government, Stu
dent Body President David Ald-
• ers said during Sully’s Sympo
sium Wednesday.
K “We get our ears bent by stu
dents’ opinions when most of
these people are not involved at
all with the student government,”
Alders said.
1 Many students have not made
any effort to contact their sen
ators and some do not even know
who their senators are, he said.
B Alders said student opinion
does have an effect on school pol
icy, but added that a certain
amount of experience is needed
to run the University.
B Alders said although at times
he disagrees with the Texas A&M
Board of Regents, the regents are
most qualified to run the school.
I “It wotdd be the height of igno
rance if the University let stu
dents with two or three years ex
perience at A&M to run the
government and formulate poli
cy,” he said.
■ Alders said he respects the ac
tions of the board, but unfortu
nately since it mostly concerns it
self with business issues, it can
only consider student opinion a
small percentage of the time.
I Student Government’s pur
pose is to consider student opin
ion, he said.
i Alders said the executive office
is the figurehead of the student
body and chief officer of the Stu
dent Government.
E Alders said his list of accom
plishments in Student Govern
ment included speaking against
the raising of the drinking age,
opposing budget cuts increases
and supporting local events such
as the blood drive and Big Event.
8 Alders mentioned several
problems currently plaguing
ITexas A&M.
■ “The academic advising at
A&M ranges from good to de
plorable,” Alders said, “and the
majority is deplorable.”
1 He said the University has be
come more research-oriented
than teaching-oriented.
Photo by WA YNE L. GRABEIN
David Alders, student body president, speaks to the
small gathering at Sully’s Symposium Wednesday.
“Good teachers have been let
go because they are not good re
searchers,” Alders said.
He said he bases his opinions
about women in the band and dis
crimination against minorities on
his valuejudgement.
“If traditions discriminate,
then they should be evaluated,”
Alders said.
He said he encourages minori
ties to come to the University and
although he is for women in the
band, Alders said he does not en
courage them to join.
Even though Student Govern
ment has been criticized, Alders
said it has made progress this
year. Governmental organiza
tions have always been looked
down upon and the negative
image can never be eliminated,
he said.
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FREE FOOD
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10 a.m.-6 p.m.
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One week remaining
Black History Month to end
By DAINAH BULLARD
Staff Writer
Only one week remains in Black
History Month, and the Memorial
Student Center Black Awareness
Committee is wrapping up the
month with a number of activities.
“We began Black History Month
with a party — a Soulful party, set in
the ’60s — and we’re going to end it
with one,” said Charnella Swanson,
chairman of the Committee. 1’he
March 1 formal, “A Touch of the
Orient,” is the last official event
sponsored by the Committee for
Black History Month.
Other events scheduled for the
last week of Black History Month
are:
• The final black history class
Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in 510 Rudder.
• “Entrepreneurs in the ’80s,”
featuring successful black doctors,
lawyers and other professionals,
Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m. in 410 Rudder.
• A jazz concert featuring Notro-
pis Feb. 28 at La Cabaret.
The Committee sponsored events
throughout the month, such as the
“I Have a Dream” program Satur
day night and black history classes
every Monday night in February.
Swanson said she was pleased with
the participation at the events, espe
cially the ‘T Have a Dream” pro
gram. About 150 people attended
the black heritage celebration at
New Jerusalem Baptist Church.
“The turn out was really great,”
Swanson said. “I think that was the
biggest turnout we’ve had.”
Attendance at Black History
Month events has been better this
year than last year, Swanson said.
“I don’t know the cause of it, but
more students are participating than
before,” she said. “It’s not where we
want it to be, but it’s a lot better.”
Kevin Carreathers, Student Activ
ities minority counselor, said he w^as
leased with attendance at the two
lack history classes he taught. But
Carreathers said he would like to see
more participation from non-black
students.
“Last year was my first time doing
it (teaching the classes),” Carreathers
said. “This year, word got out that
what I had to say was pretty good
stuff.”
Tracey Howard, vice president of
cultural affairs for MSC Council,
said planning for Black History
Month began in Fall 1984.
Roosting birds on campus
more nuisance than threat
By BRAD WHITTEN
Reporter
At dusk the Texas A&M campus
is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s
movie “The Birds.” Except that peo
ple are being bombed rather than at
tacked.
The birds that roost in the oaks by
the Academic Building have been a
nuisance since the early 1970s, says
Dr. Keith Arnold, professor of orni
thology.
“The first big problem was in
1974,” he says. “They tried to settle
it by shooting them (the birds). The
University Police killed about 30,000
of them with shotguns, but that
didn’t drive them off.”
The problem then was monumen
tal compared to the bird problem
now. Arnold says in 1974, there
were about 2 million birds living
around the campus compared to es
timated 200,000 birds on campus
this year.
“The droppings were an inch
thick on the sidewalks and this was
out by westgate, Northgate, . . . ev
erywhere,” Arnold says. “They
hosed the sidewalks off but it wasn’t
long before it built up again.”
Though none have been entirely
successful, many different methods
have been tried to get rid of the
birds.
Eugene H. Ray, director and
landscape architect for the Depart
ment of Grounds Maintenance, be
gan using an exploding propane
cannon and blackbird distress call.
“It worked well,” Ray says, “but
the noise was such that it disturbed
classes so we had to stop. It took time
to figure out the right way to do it.
We found that you need to explode
the cannon and broadcast the dis
tress calls from the back of a truck,
not stationary.
“We had them (the birds) off the
campus over the holidays for a while
but we had to stop the noise on Jan.
2 when the faculty arrived.”
Both men say that for this method
to work, maintenance personnel
must use the cannon and calls before
the roost is fully formed and they
must keep using them until the birds
are settled in elsewhere.
Arnold says some of the birds are
here year round. Some come from
local roosts and others come from as
far away as Dallas. When the breed
ing season begins the birds concen
trate in an area such as the campus.
“You hear people talk about a
health hazard and there are a couple
of diseases one has to worry about,”
Arnold says, “but for the most part
they are just a nuisance.
“They like the protection the
buildings and trees afford them
from the wind, rain and cold. The
ideal solution would be to cut down
some trees, but they won’t do that
because the aesthetic value is so
great.”
Ray says grounds personnel have
been thinning the trees which has re
sulted in part of the bird population
moving away.
Other methods tried by the main
tenance department include hang
ing burlap sacks filled with chemicals
from the trees, spraying trees with
water and chemicals and even, plac
ing rubber snakes in trees.
THE SOCIETY
| FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
I /\ND NEW VENTURES
present:
DEAN WILLIAM MOBLEY’
of
the College of Business Administration
speaking on:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ACADEMIA!
THURS. LEB. 21 st at 7:00 p.m.
ROOM 301 RUDDER
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Printer Month at Yes Computers!
Buy a printer during February and get a free
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