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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1985)
Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, February 28, 1985 — Students encouraged to run for SG offices Friday is the last day to File for Student Government offices. You may not be able to find out who you’re running against (because Student Government won’t tell you — see story on page 1), but you can still run for an office and let your voice be neard. The Battalion Editorial Board encourages all students to participate in Student Government. Any student interested in being a candidate must fill out the below voter’s guide information sheet. Save Student Govern ment some time and bring this application to the Pavilion al ready filled out, compliments of The Battalion. And good luck. The Battalion Editorial Board VOTER'S GUIDE INFO SHEET (please print legibly) NAME OFFICE YOU ARE SEEKING CLASS MAJOR PHONE NUMBER IN 150 WORDS OR LESS, PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN THE SPACE PROVIDED BELOW: 1) Why are you running for the office you are seeking? 2) What qualifications can offer the student body at Texas AfiM? 3) What are your goals, or what will you work for if elected? DON'T FORGET: WE WILL TAKE MUG SHOTS OF EACH CANDIDATE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CANDIDATE'S INFORMATIONAL MEETING, MARCH 8. PLAN TO BE THERE! Senate serves as forum for faculty awareness With the birth of the Faculty Sen ate in April 1983, the faculty of 1 exas A&M Uni- Reader’s Forum versity acqu.red an Reader . s Forum advisory role in „ i . r- the governance of cader s Forum the University. ■—■■■ This is an appro priate step for an institution moving up in the ranks of universities. The fac- up in ulty, with help of administration and support staff, guides the learning proc ess of students while inspiring them to realize their full potentials as citizens and as professionals. It is imperative, therefore, that the faculty of a univer sity has a mechanism to speak to issues facing the university. Teaching, re search, scholarship, educational re sources, facilities, programs, curricula, quality of life in the community, plan ning, and faculty welfare are areas of faculty responsibility and expertise. The faculty has grown rapidly over the past decade. The average age of its members is well below that of many uni versity faculties and the percentage of untenured faculty is rather high. Out standing young faculty members, as well as a sizable group of widely recognized senior faculty members, have been re cruited in recent years to blend with long time members of the faculty who contributed so much to the University as it began its rapid growth in the mid to late sixties. As a former student and as a faculty member for the past 16 years I am convinced that the faculty has Aggie Spirit just as the student body does, thanks to the oldtimers among us who convey a certain can-do attitude and en thusiasm for the University that is con tagious. Members of the faculty function un der pressures just as real as those faced by students. We are expected to be good classroom teachers, but that is not all. We are expected to be scholars and to attain national, if not international, rec ognition in our chosen discipline. Ulti mately that can be to the benefit of the University and to the students we teach, but it does mean we can’t be in our of fices with the door open every hour that we aren’t in class. We must think, read, and write as teachers and as researchers. We are judged and rewarded for doing th ese things, whether our creative thoughts originate in office, laboratory, library, garden, or shower. We are sometimes irritable; our personal con cerns may at times make us insensitive to the needs and concerns of students we advise or teach. Fundamentally, however, most of us are members of a university faculty because we treasure the interactions with students who are the hope for the future. We want our graduates to be the most responsible cit izens and accomplished professionals that their talents will permit. The bleak prospects for the support of higher education in the next bien nium are of great concern to members of the faculty. The ability to recruit re placements for vacancies on the faculty has been impaired seriously by the na tional perception that higher education in Texas is in trouble. Furthermore, talk of decreased budgets and the possibility of no raises, or even termination of fac ulty, makes those of our faculty with na tional reputations, or without tenure, more susceptible than commmon to out side offers. Many of us are hopeful that a State which so recently committed ad ditional resources to primary and sec ondary education will not reduce, in the final analysis, its commitment ot the higher education of students coming from the improved schools. It concerns us that the irreversible damage done by each passing day under the possibility of reduced budgets appears to be little ap preciated outside the University com munity. It is discouraging to hear emphasis on “fat” in the budget when efforts to cut costs in one area to provide for needs in others are a common occurrence, yet deficiencies are apparent in some areas. We lack a funded sabbatical program. Facilities, in general, are crowded. Tea ching loads are heavy in the areas of most rapid growth. Vacation days for newcomers are limited and sick leave for nine and IOV2 month employees has been threatened. Despite the significant progress made in recent years, much more input of resources is needed to put us on equal footing with peers at other major universities. Where is the “fat?” Most of us must use the resources available to use quite frugally to attain our goals. In many cases this is done without benefit of modern equipment or other state of the art items. The faculty now has a mechanism to address issues for which it bears respon sibility and in which it has vested inter ests. Having a means to make recom mendations on matters of concern and to participate in planning for the future is important for the morale of the fac ulty. The Faculty Senate at Texas A&M University is striving to become a body deserving of the respect of all who care about this University. After all it’s in its second year and is, therefore, a^ tradi tion. Dr. Murray H. Milford is the Speaker of the Faculty Senate. City ot vie- tudenl ent Gi St Wedne “Eve is hard a city ( said. At a You’ve come a long way, baby The other day I called the Regis trar’s Office, un der orders from my mother, to find out when I would graduate. “When does the College of Liberal Arts graduate?” I asked. Kari Fluegel Graduate or —————— Undergraduate?” the voice on the Other end asked. ‘Undergraduate,” I answered. “You will graduate at 9 a.m. on Satur day, May 4,” she said. At that precise moment, it hit and it hit hard. After 17 years in school I am going to graduate. After counting down in years, I can actually count the days. I remember in kindergarden the day we were doing the Bunny Hop. I was doing the best imitation of a bunny — in particular the Easter Bunny — that I knew how. I was hopping up and down with my hands folded slightly below my waist pretending to carry a basket of Easter eggs. My teacher asked me if I needed to use the restroom. In third grade, I had a nasty habit of finishing my work and then getting out of my chair to bother the other students. One afternoon, my teacher tied me in my seat with some old panty hose that the class was using to stuff pillows. Recess came around and when my teacher dismissed the class for recess, she forgot that I was tied to my chair. For 10 minutes I sat tied to my chair and cried. In my fifth grade class, there were eight boys and two girls. But Kathy and I could beat up any of those eight boys. One particular day, Bobby kept bother ing me, so 1 gave him a black eye. His father called my father at work and told my dad that he should control his daughter. My father came home and said, “Good job Kari.” On the last day of school in the ninth grade, my “best” friends gave a note to the boy I had a crush on. T he note told him everything. I still can’t look that guy in the face. My senior year in high school* year that I did most of my grown That was the year that 1 decided going to become a writer. Butldi of my growing up the weekend tin of my best friends was molested club adviser. My first two years in c< spent at the junior college in mv town. I had my first hangoverasa man. Now 1 live in a dormitory at A&M and I have a hangover all ery weekend. I’ll never forget the timelspt my ankle falling off a barstool sober then. I’ll also never I morning I crawled outofbedand the toilet only to find it covered* incredibly sticky substance. 1 out that the substance — loving plied by a friend down theh; roommate watched — is normal to keep bugs off of trees. Only 65 days until graduation come a long way. Kari Fluegel is a senior journalist jor and an assistant city editor fa Battalion. Creativity, crayons not just for children I’d been hypno tized by the magic of Crayola Cray ons years before I tried them out on mom’s white wall. In fact I ranked Crayolas number two on my list of Important Things, second only to my Lite Brite. Cami Brown Problem was, mom’s walls ranked a sacred number one on her list of Things to Keep White. “Colors,” as I called them, made real my pencil drawings of cats, flowers and big-teethed monsters. I loved crayons because I could break them and they still worked. I’d tear the paper off them and I wouldn’t get in trouble. I could make the sun blue, the sky yellow or turn my friends purple. I could escape into a world that I created, and then re turn to the calculated dramas of my real life. At first I worked with the basic materials — typing paper and coloring books. But creativity possessed me and I could not overcome the lure of the mon umental white walls. It started with an inconspicuous doo dle, and soon it was a masterpiece — ev ery color in my color box was rep resented. It was beautiful. Mom thought it was nasty. That began our miniature war on the finer points of creative ex pression, but I surrendered because mom had superior weapons. She had a belt — I was armed with crayons. Logical adult against naive child. It was a short-lived experience with spon taneous creativity, but it illustrates how maturity can overshadow creativity. I’m not advocating vandalism, but the urge to write on the wall — so to speak — is an urge too many people ignore. Everyone finds ways to be creative as child, but some jerk started a rumor that says you have to give up childish behav ior to be mature. I say it’s healthy some times to see the world through the unso phisticated freshness of a child’s eyes. It’s enlightening to skip down the hall, to play paddleball, to color a picture out of the lines, to ask silly questions. Be creative. Be fresh. Think new. Seeing the world as a child is one way to free the imagination. Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the entire world.” Creativity has a place in our society, whether you’re in engineering, com puter programming or any other left- brain oriented occupation. Developing both the creative right side of the brain and the analytical left side can make the brain more effective. In other words, a balanced brain will help you think bet ter. The secret to creativity? Let your imagination run wild. Brainstorm for ideas. Be curious and ask stupid ques tions. Have a 15-minute play time each day. And for God’s sake, learn to be childish sometimes. Children are our creative teachers. Let ideas out rather than work at them. If you feel like writing on the wall, go write on some wall. If you feel like singing nursery rhymes, or making mud cakes, don’t let the weird stares or the nasty comments from the uncreative stop you. My creative outlet as a child was scrib bling on mom’s walls. My sister’s forte was decoupage. (She spent hours glue ing foil squares on plaster figures. To each her own.) It’s important to set free the creative side of your brain, without being influenced by sneers from peers. I learned early, thanks to Crayolas and naivety, that quenching my creative thirst was worth the spanking I knew I’d receive later. Creativity is worth it. Cami Brown is a junior journalism ma jor, and an assistant news editor for The Battalion. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Associalion Southwest |ournalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board rigi He Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor Ed Cassavoy, City Editor Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor Michelle Powe, Eaitorial Page Edit# Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editors Kari Fluegel, RliondaSd Assistant News Editors Cami Brown, John Hallett, KayM) Assistant Sports Editor Charean Wl Entertainment Editors Shawn Behlen, Leigh-EllenO Staff Writers CathieAndtf Brandon Berry, DainahBtl Ann Cervenka, Michael Crass Kirsten Dietz, PattiR Patrice Koranek, Trent L«| Sarah Oates, JerrvC Tricia Parker, LyIlnRaef l, Copy Editors .Jan Perry, Kelleri* Make-up Editors KarenBb Karla M Columnists Kevin Inda, LorenS® Editorial Cartoonist k Sports Cartoonist DaleS* Copy Writer CathyBenS Photo Editor KatherineH 1 Photographers Anthony Caf 1 Wayne Grabein, Bill Hughes, Frankln John Makely, Peter Rocha,DeanS Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting operated as a community service to Texas atf llryan-Collegc Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion m tk#j uard or Editorial Board or the author, and do not necesai resent the opinions of Texas AX.-M adniinisiniwn.ll or the Board of Regents The Battalion also serves as'a laboratorynev students in reporting, editing and p/iolognp® within the Department of Communications, Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 w length. 7 he editorial staff reserves the right tordio for style and length hot will make every eflon ton* the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed nd 1 include the address and telephone number ofttit ,r! The Battalion is published Monday thivughi during T exas A&M regular semesters, except wtl* and examination periods. Mail subscriptions art l : per semester, $33.25 per school year and (3if year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed Md* Building, Texas A&M University, College StalM ISuiliUng, i exas A&M University, College 77843. Editorial staff phone number (409)S43'!w vertising: (409) 845-261E Second class postage paid at College Station, IX 11 POST MAST ER: Send address changes to Thek ion, Texas A&M University, College Stalioti, sympos he is ru City Co To r date n< politica a stude the nec “It is can I r< afford said. “1 candid; The an ave and inf student he said Had tributio dent G Fran atton” ' Ruddet The p.m., \ Brazos under Krager tor. The