The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 13, 1985, Image 8

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    Rain, Rain, Go Away
Although thunderstorms have clouded the skies, Texas A&M stu
dents manage to keep smiles on their faces. These students wait in^
Photo by 1
front of the Harrington Classroom Building until this particular
storm lightens up.
Computer system
to change at A&M
By SCOTT SUTHERLAND
Reporter
Every Texas A&M student and
faculty member should have access
to a computer by the year 2000, said
Dr. John Dinkel, new associate pro
vost for Computing and Informa
tion Systems.
Dinkel spoke at a meeting of the
A&M Microcomputer Users Group
Thursday and revealed his plans for
the University’s computer system of
the future.
“It’s a different computer world at
A&M than it was when I first came
here four years ago,” Dinkel said,
“and I hope that four years from
now we can say we have the type of
computer system a major university
like A&M should have.”
Dinkel foresees a computer sys
tem that is accessible to everyone.
The current system is only accessi
ble by modems that allow computer
owners to telephone into the system.
Dinkel says this is unacceptable.
Ideally, Dinkel says he would like
to see a computer in every dorm
room and on every faculty desk.
He realizes this idea may be a little
unrealistic, buf he promised that
Computing and Information would
continue its Micro Sales Centet]
the Memorial Student Center, wli
offers bargain prices to students.
If Din kefs system became art*
ity, students could work on cn
puter lab assignments at homeot
their dorms rather than spendu
long hours in the computer labi!
campus.
Faculty members would beablt
call up large amounts ofdatauij
tainable by small computers.
Dinkel said he is confidentaln
the future of computers on cani|i
because he has great faith inj
University’s commitment to thep
gram.
He gives the University crediti
the growth and expansion of ta
puter awareness.
Dinkel assured the group thaii
is confident of the U niversity’s ta
mitment to a modern telecomm;
cations system by the early 1990s,
“The University deserves m
for where we are today," Dinkelsi
“and with that in mind we should]
look forward to the possibilities,'
Dinkel said along with theUtm
sitiy’s committment he will needj
cooperation from all department
make the system of real valuetoi
University.
A&M offering speech communication degree
“Texas A&M was the only major or minor school in
Texas without a degree in speech communication. ”
— Department Head Kurt Ritter
By CYNTHIA GAY
l Staff Writer
From the sixth floor windows of
the Blocker Building, the faculty
members of the new Department of
Speech Communication and The
ater Arts can survey the class-bound
audience below.
And ever since this department
raised its curtains Sept. 1, students
attracted by speech and theatrical
studies have trooped to the Blocker
penthouse to gam a broader per
spective of life at Texas A&M.
Nineteen faculty members are
now responsible for 130 students
majoring in speech communication
and 33 theater arts majors. Last fall
the speech communication degree
was inaugurated, while the theater
specialty has been at A&M since
1977.
Department Head Kurt Ritter,
said, “Texas A&M was the only ma
jor or minor school in Texas without
a degree in speech communication.”
“We were a unit within the En
glish department being nurtured
and developed,” said Ritter, who
came to A&M three years ago. “Get
ting the degree was simply rounding
out the liberal arts curricula. The
creation of the department is really a
reflection of administrative reality.”
Dr. Roger Schultz, director of the
ater arts, added, “It’s another indica
tion that Texas A&M is emerging as
a university in the true sense of the
word.”
Expecting to draw about 75
speecn communication majors after
the first year, Ritter said the sudden
swelling of the ranks is partly be
cause of transfer students.
“The level of growth has been
quite astonishing,” he said. Four
years from now, the department
should have between 250 and 300
majors, Ritter predicted, and he
hopes to propose a graduate curric
ulum within five years.
Both Schultz and Ritter are con
vinced the department’s graduates
will have not only communication
skills for sale in the job market but
also flexible tools that adapt to a va
riety of occupations.
Addressing his introduction to a
theater arts class Wednesday,
Schultz told his students, “You need
to know how to think and how to re
spond,” and the study of the theater
will “make you a better person so
you can make the world a better
place to live.”
Liberal arts are designed to teach
students how to learn, Ritter said,
adding that students are in a better
position to grasp new approaches
and new techniques.
“We don’t want to give students a
false sense of confidertce, but we
have considerable evidence the lib
eral arts students have excellent
track records,” Ritter said.
He cited an ongoing 20-year study
by AT&T stating that liberal arts
majors are initially hired for lower
salaries. But over the longer working
term at AT&T, liberal arts majors
own a higher perch on the corporate
ladder. A recent survey of 50 com
panies by the Association of Ameri
can Colleges reports that 97 percent
rated communication skills as a “very
important” quality for all job appli
cants.
And why are many qualified ap-
licants rejected by employers? “Ina-
ility to communicate” or “Poor
communication skills” was the an
swer from 65 percent of the hiring
officers interviewed for the 1980 an
nual Endicott Report of Northwest
ern University, which surveyed 170
businesses and industrial concerns.
For these reasons, Ritter said one-
half of A&M undergraduates lake
some speech course. Also, 100 per
cent of students majoring in business
or education have a speech class or
namenting their curriculum, along
with one-fourth of all engineers.
The variety of jobs available to
speech communication majors
ranges from marketing, manage
ment, and personnel to teaching.,
public relations and journalism, Rit
ter said, so the choice is completely
up to the individual student.
When prospective theater stu
dents enter Schultz’s office, he
hands them a sheet of paper that be
gins: “You want to major in theater!!
Well, it might be okay to ‘play’ for a
while, but what are you going to do
in the 'real world?’ ”
Schultz then lists 32 ways to earn a
living, such as becoming an actor,
producer, choreographer, lighting
technician, stuntman and teacher.
Skunk tested
positive for
rabies in CS
A skunk found in the Sotii
wood Valley area of College &
lion on Aug. 23 has tested p
live for rabies, Brazos Animl
Shelter Director Kathy Rklu
said Thursday.
Although it appears there h
no human exposure to theskuii
Ricker said four dogs are unde
observation in quarantine.
Rabies is an infectious disets
of mammals that is transmind
through saliva. Symptoms ofilt
virus, which travels through ill
spinal cord to the brain, induii
fever, uncontrollable excitemee
and muscle spasms in the throat
The incubation period for Ik
disease ranges f rom 10 dayst
two years or more. Huraaif
usually contract rabies from lit
bite of a rabid dog,