a
¥
Page 4/Friday, June 13, 1966/The Battalion
Newspaper
wants new
readers
— literally
EL PASO (AP) — lay Ambrose,
whose mother mstiOed in him a
passion for books, is editor of the
afternoon newspaper in this bor
der city, where jpme figures show
a fifth of the adult population
can't read.
Ambrose and the £/ Paso
Herald-Post have cheerfully de
clared war on illiteracv. The
strategy is straightforward
"Our god is to put together the
most ambitious literacy program
in the United States, ne said
The Herald-Post isn't alone
among newspapers in its en
deavor
More than 700 newspapers
nationwide are involved in prom
oting literacy, dthough most aim
their efforts at children, said Lin
da Skover. assistant director of the
American Newspaper Publishers
Association Foundation, which
oversees the 30-year-old News
papers in Education program
However, the Herald-Post is
targeting all ages in El Paso and
has enlisted the help of commun
ity groups, businesses and indi
viduals in a campaign that in
cludes:
• A weekly literacy column by
Herald-Post education reporter
E. Patrick McQuaid.
• A daily cartoon strip prepared
by a psychologist from the Univer
sity of Texas-EI Paso designed
help parents teach pre »chool<
how to read.
•Columns by a reading instruc
tor at El Paso Community College
on how to be a literacy tutor
• A regular feature on new
books ayaiiabie at the library
The newspaper has sponsored
to
tooiers
a contest that challenged children
to read 100 books during the
school year and held a "Reading
Day in the Park.” with storytellers
entertaining children and aduhs
who then spent the day stretched
out on blankets reading
Together with Hispanic orga
nizations and El Paso Community
College, the newspaper formed a
committee that arranged the
donation by New York publishers
of 300,000 unsold books that
would otherwise have been
burned.
A local family has donated
“Our goal is to put
together the most
ambitious literacy
program in the
United States."
— lay Ambrose,
editor of the
El Paso Herald-Post.
warehouse space to store the
books, said Kay Taggart, the liter
acy program coordinator whose
salary comes from a 140.000 fund
established by Scripps Howard,
the Herald-Post’s parent com
pany. specifically for the newspap
er's campaign
In one of its latest projects, the
Herald-Post has established the El
Paso Business Consortium for
Literacy, where represenutives of
25 businesses have jumped on the
bandwagon to support the literacy
tampaign
Protects in the planning stage in
clude helping youngsters on prob
ation learn to read and linking
cfuMren and a eldeHv neopie in
retirement homes . said Ambrose
Figures on the rate of illiteracy
vary, depending on who's count
ing and how they define the
problem
The 1980 Onsus showed El
Paso's population of 470,000 in
cluded 106.115 adults who are
functionally illiterate The Census
Bureau defines as illiterate per
sons who haven't gone bevond an
eighth-grade education.
Deborah Stedman. with the
Governor’s Task Force on Adult
Literacy, said a federally funded
study conducted at the University
of Texas in Austin in 1975 took a
different approach
"They looked at the require
ments on an adult in our society:
could they fill out a job applica
tion. could they come up with a
decent, balanced diet, did they
know their rights if arrested.'' she
said. "Just bits and pieces of litera
cy. apply ing bask skills to living in
society.
Even so, the figures were so
bering. Nationally. 19.7 percent of
people age 18 or older were func
tionally illiterate The figure for
Texas was 21.3 percent, and 24.1
percent for El Paso, she said.
"There’s also a vicious cycle of
illiteracy — children of adult illi
terates are often illiterate them
selves," said Stedman “Working
with parents is a very effective way
to break the cycle.
Ambrose, whose mother has
given his own children books “ail
her hfe,” said he’s aware of how
difficult it is to make children
learn to love reading.
White welcomes
elderly legislators
AUSTIN (AP) — Gov Mark White
welcomed newly elected members of
the Silver-Haired Legislature Thurs
day bv promising that the concerns of
elderly Texans will be heard bv the
1987 Legislature
"Senior Texans will now have the
opportunity to establish legislative
priorities for Texas lawmakers to
consider in January .’* White told a
news conference
He received a list of the 116 mem
bers of the non-partisan organization
of Texans 60 years of age and older
from Harriet Griffin of Fort Worth,
chairman of the steering committee
The Silver-Haired Legislature was
created by a resolution of the 1985
Legislature. On Mav 30, about
150,000 older Texans elected the 116
representatives from 28 districts over
the state.
On Sept 29. the mock Legislature
will be convened in the Capitol by
White for three days of committee
hearings and debate before selecting
the issues they think should have
priority in
A training session for the 116 rep
resenutives w ill be held in July by Lt.
Gov Bill Hobbv
White said Thursday, “I am
pleased that Texas has joined a list of
22 other states in sponsoring such a
program.
"Some might ask why the Silver-
Haired legislature was created. For
too many years, there was no torum
for senior Texans to discuss Issues
that concern them and no avenue in
w hich to present their concerns to the
regular legislature
"Senior Texans represent a vast,
untapped reserve of knowledge and
experience, and their numbers are
growing.’’
The governor said that in other
states witn a similar program. 70 per
cent of the ideas that came out of
Silver-Haired Legislatures have be
come law. In Arkansas. 90 percent of
the proposals later became law, he
said.
"There is an impressive group
coming to Austin." White said, giving
as examples the election of a former
state representative, two retired
judges and three retired educators
Although created by the 1985
Legislature, the Silver-Haired Legisl
ature was provided no sute money
White said hundreds of volunteers in
business, government and civic
affairs have donated their time to
provide coordinating efforts and
technical assistance
"Senior Texans now have a chance
to gain undersunding of the legisla
tive process through direct involve
ment," White said. "And because of
their advocacy experience with the
Silver-Haired legislators, they will
offer informed assistance to policy-
makers here in Austin and in then
own communities."
ew Summer Rates in Effect Now!
M 22
$1W $265*
“Open until 7:00 p.m. on
Student orientation daya”
Monday-Friday
ARBOR SQUARE APARTMENTS
1700 SOUTHWEST PARKWAY 693-3701
chimney hill
FLORIST
and gifts
^ AGGIE DOZEN
13 Long Stem Red Roses
Arranged and Delivered-$29.50
or
Cash and Carry-$22.50
CALL 846-0045
701 University East 102-A
Behind the Hilton
INTRODUCING OUR NEW STYLISTS
(alttlng) Barbara Salango Trlcla Falk
cuU. blow, drvs and perms
arts. Mow-dry* and parrm
Your Special Cut
$5°° off
Shampoo, Haircut & Blow-dry
Not valid on Saturday
Except by appointmant
One coupon per sendee
Mon.-Fil 9-8 p.m., Sat 9-6 p m.
846*3355 4m W«Hbona (Btyaa)
THEATRE GUIDE
a
raw
1:00 3:10
5:20 7:30
9:40
1:20 3:20 5:20
7:20 9:20
mm wom.o Mcrwacs
E2
HUM! CMfM MS-4714
This summer’s
GREATEST
ADVENTURE
. They came to SpaccA'amp
with the dream of
becoming astronauts.
Before they were ready...
They were launched into space.
SpaceOmmp
IMF S'lAKS BELONG TO A Nl Wt.F NT RATION ^
/4fkL PG.rtXMtk umwa UrtHSiH •«>',
- ’ ——•*-«■ - --■ — * -'•H
m ..
2:00 4:30 7:00 9:30
A
ti i
STALLONE
COBRA
Ttw atronfi arm of tr*» U*w.
•OMMutus ummmm bftour NN. WKMI uwus — .. uontt r cosaeos
SYLVESTER S1AU0NE COBRA
Mlfcini NMIStN MM' UNIONI . SU«S1I« ItMf
- IHNSIfS SIMiMM . flMHJ MStMH.
, JMNSS BMUMM’ MHUXtM MUM TU**M Utttus
H UMWi ' CBUM’in re
“ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL!
Take the day off and
see this one”
Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews
FERRIS DUELLER’S
DAY OFF
On* man’s struggle to taka It aasy.
A |OMM HUCMCS rtkM
I JOHN HUGMCS
.. TOM IACOMON WU* JOHN
9
mion»r w—M*.'
:20 7:40 9:50
Paul Stevens' high school science project
won’t get him better grade s.
It trill make luni the* inosi dangerous mail on t .tstli.
He just httili an atomic IioiiiIi.
PROJECT
«» ^H> \