Thursday, February 26, 1987/The Battalion/Page 5
ommittee lobbies for A&M interests
^Students research and identify pertinent education issues
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By John Marr
Reporter
Although the Legislative Study
Group sounds like a group of stu
dents that meets on Thursday nights
oil the fourth floor of the library, it
' 1 is an established committee of Texas
4&M Student Government that lob-
“Fi'tHesin Austin for A&M and its stu-
fcnts.
“We (LSG) are student lobbyists,”
IG director Alan Moore says. “This
ans we lobby idealistically and not
ancially. Our funds are used to
ther and disseminate research to
islators and media personnel.”
The 20-member, non-partisan
|oup is funded by Student Govern-
nt and outside donations. The
Kitside donations are used for travel
■penses, Moore says.
Generally, two to four members
vel to Austin each week to rep
ent students on issues relevant to
M.
The two main objectives of the
G are to identify and research
her education issues that affect
AkM students and to present these
liues to legislators and media rep-
lesentatives in Austin, he says.
■ As a procedural check, the Stu-
dtnt Senate legitimizes all positions
lie LSG takes on issues to ensure it is
Jpresenting A&M students.
■ “Networking is the name of the
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game in determining relevant is
sues,” Moore says.
Networking involves talking to
numerous sources and reading
many journals and reports to find
needed information.
Moore says that once the informa
tion is found, the LSG develops it
one step further. The group com
piles all the information and re
search it has collected into a reliable
report on which legislators can base
higher-education decisions.
Currently, the LSG is compiling a
study on each state’s tuition and fee
policy.
LSG member Mark Browning, a
junior accounting major, says the
study will help establish the group’s
credibility to legislators in Austin by
showing that the group has initia
tive.
“We do not want to be classified as
a stereotyped, whining student
group,” Moore says.
To further its credibility, the LSG
is working on two statewide newslet
ters targeted at legislators, the press
corps and A&M administrators. One
will be a monthly four-page letter
with articles written by LSG mem
bers, and the other will be a two-
page position brief that “draws the
battle lines,” Moore says.
A battle line already has been
drawn on cuts in higher education.
Cutting higher education defeats the
purpose of educating students who
nave ability and not just money,
Moore says.
“When the federal level starts
closing the door on education and
the state level starts closing the door
on education, you have to be very
thin to get through that door,” he
says.
Moore is talking about the door to
the Permanent University Fund.
The LSG is prepared to defend the
PUF against any attempt to give the
Legislature authority over its alloca
tion.
The LSG is concerned that PUF
money could be substituted for gen
eral research funds A&M receives
from other sources. The use of the
PUF as a substitute is a disguised cut
in higher education, he says.
“Higher education is the engine
that drives the state,” Moore says. “If
you cut off the fuel to the engine, it
doesn’t take a mechanical engineer
to tell you the engine will stop.”
Browning says the consensus in
Austin is that any raid on the PUF is
unlikely because the University of
Texas and Texas A&M delegations
have too much power. However, the
LSG will compose a formal report to
present to the delegation, he says.
Moore says the LSG also is form
ing positions on several house bills in
the Legislature, such as House Bill
24, presented by Sen. Gonzalo Bar
rientos, D-Austin, titled “Hazing Rit
uals.”
The bill, if passed, would establish
the fact that consent is not a defense
in a hazing incident. Also, it would
establish that a university is not re
sponsible for a hazing incident if it
publicly states its opposition to
hazing.
The LSG also is looking at House
Bill 284 concerning grade point av
erages. The bill would change the
method for calculating a student’s
grade-point ratio when a repeated
class is involved. The bill proposes
that a grade of C, D or F received by
a student in a class be excluded from
the student’s GPR if the student re
peated the class for an equal or bet
ter grade. This would not apply if
the student repeats the class more
than once.
But the LSG is not confined to
higher-education issues. Research
also is being conducted on matters
closer to home.
Moore says that A&M students’
concern about changes in the tax law
which made scholarships taxable led
LSG to research the changes. The
LSG reports that only scholarships
awarded after Aug. 16, 1986, are
taxable and that only money used
for non-educational expenses is tax
able. Expenses such as room and
board must be itemized much like
mileage is itemized for employers.
imoking cold’ irons used for painless brands
iranii a*
PARIS, Texas (AP) — All branding irons
l smoke, but Jimmy Harden’s irons are smoking
rowB The animals probably appreciate that.
“It’s totally painless,” Harden says as he
ttellresses a smoking iron to his blue-jeaned leg.
Irani ki||
krta-BThe process, developed at Texas A&M, is
pilled freeze branding, and it’s done with liquid
kJdlrBtrogen that chills the branding irons to 320 de-
juraillaBees below zero. The cold kills the hair follicles
njtkfffid when the dead follicles fall off, the new hair
grows back white, making the brand appear as if
it grew there.
“It’s a fairly new process,” says Harden, the
Northeast Texas livestock inspector supervisor
for the Texas Animal Health Division. “They
were fooling around with it at Texas A&M in
1980-1981, and it has really caught on the past
few years.”
Harden has been freeze branding for about
five years and said he thinks the expense pre
vents people from getting involved.
“The brass irons cost from $30 to $80 each.
and I’ve bought over 100 irons,” he says. “I’ve
helped set up two other people in the state.”
With freeze branding there’s no scar and no
chance of infection. Harden says.
Harden has branded some cattle, goats and
dogs, but most people want their horses freeze
branded.
“A description of the color and markings of
one horse could fit a dozen others,” he says, “but
a brand gives you positive identification, and
there’s no way to blot out a freeze brand. It’s per
manent identification.”
FREE MINI-COURSES
The Department of English invites stu-
dents, staff and faculty to attend any of
the following sessions on improving writing skills. Each session lasts
about 1 1 / 2 hours, and no registration is required.
All sessions are held at 6:30 pm in 105 Blocker
Thursday, Feb. 26
Monday, March 2
Tuesday, March 3
Wednesday, March 4
Thursday, March 5
Wednesday, March 25
Thursday, March 26
Cohehence
Effective Persuaion
Editing
Appealing to an Audience
Writing Good Paragraphs
Comma Usage
Punctuation Rules
Call 845-3452 for more information.
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LUNCH SPECIAL
(campus only)
No. 1
salad
V4 lb burger
or 1 lb potato
16 oz. soft drink
dessert
$3.90
No. 2
salad
y 2 lb burger
or sub-sandwich
16 oz. soft drink
dessert
$4.45
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