Monday, March 23, 1987AThe Battalion /Page 3
• xtmrsramir
State and Local
ISfudenfs offer alternative publication
os outlet for aspiring writers at A&M
By Alan Sembera
Reporter
If a group of five Texas A&M stu
dents are successful, a new outlet for
spiring writers soon may be avail-
ble in the Bryan-College Station
rea.
A journal, tentatively titled Pal
impsest, will contain both socially-
oriented and literary articles and will
Wome the third independent pub
lication to appear at A&M in the past
|15 months.
In January 1986, the Scannapie-
Ican, an underground newspaper,
jbegan publishing news and com-
jmentary about A&M. About six
Imonths later, Purple Cabbage, a
[magazine containing poetry, short
[stories and other art, also started
[publishing.
Dan Unger, a junior philosophy
[student working on Palimpsest, ex
plains the need for these alternative
publications.
“There’s not a lot of freedom of
expression on this campus,” he says.
A need exists for an independent
magazine that can offer writers
more freedom, he says. He says Lit
mus, a campus journal published by
)ag<
r, n
e is a
ie says,
sen because purple cabba
substitute for litmus paper
and the magazine’s purpose is to en
able anyone to get work published.
Brian Donovan, the other pub
lisher of Purple Cabbage, agrees that
there are not enough artistic outlets
at A&M.
“There’s not a lot of freedom of expression on this
campus. ”
— Dan Unger, a student working on Palimpsest
the MSC Literary Arts Committee,
does a good job of presenting liter
ary work, but is too regulated and
doesn’t contain enough social com
mentary.
Jeff Newberry, a publisher of Pur
ple Cabbage, says it also is an alter
native to Litmus. Its name was cho-
“This university has a very conser
vative image and people are sup
pressed by that image,” ne says.
Marco Roberts, who created the
Scannapiecan, now called the Scan-
napiecan Times, says his newspaper
also was meant to provide an alter
native forum for ideas. He says the
paper tries to cover what The Battal
ion won’t.
Some stories the Scannapiecan
Times ran that The Battalion didn’t
run at the time, Roberts says, include
a story about professors requiring
new editions of the textbooks they
wrote that change only cosmetically
and a story about the tradition of sex
in men’s restrooms at A&M.
Roberts says the Scannapiecan
Times has a circulation of about 500,
and is supported by advertisements
and donations.
Gilbert Gonzales, another of the
students publishing Palimpsest, says
anyone can submit articles to the
magazine. The magazine will accept
a variety of material, including short
stories, poetry, editorials, essays and
visual art, he says. It also might in
clude a schedule listing events such
as bands playing at local clubs.
Bryan schools give
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to earn diploma
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aper questions lawyer-judge campaign
DALLAS (AP) — Seven incumbent Dallas
County civil judges received from 75 percent to
96 percent of their identifiable campaign contri
butions from lawyers, the Dallas Morning News
reported in a copyright story.
Two out of three of those lawyer-contributors
eventually appeared before the judges on cases
that have been settled or still are pending,
according to an analysis of case filings by the
News in Sunday’s edition.
The findings underscore a debate in the Texas
Legislature over whether judges should be
elected or appointed. Texas is one of only nine
states that select all of its judges in partisan elec
tions.
Many lawyers tapped by judges for campaign
f prizes, 1 ; contributions say their intent is not to buy influ
ence but to assure a stable, quality judiciary for
them, their clients and the public.
Judges say financial supporters should expect
nothing more than courtesy and diligence in re
turn.
But backers of legislative efforts to reform
Texas’judicial elections say political and financial
relationships between lawyers and judges raise
ethical questions about the integrity of the bench.
“It’s a corrupt system,” said John Hauer, a past
president of the Dallas Bar Association. Dallas
judges have not been corrupted, he said, but
costly partisan elections “don’t lead to impartial
ity, to say the least.”
State Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hill
— who was elected — is a leading advocate of ap
pointing judges through a screening commission.
That plan, he said, would curtail at least the ap-
“Anybody who makes a contribu
tion to a candidate for public office
expects some kind of a return.
There are as many expectations
about the return you expect as
there are people who make contri
butions. ”
— Lawyer Lee Simpson
pearance of impropriety that now taints judicial
campaigns.
“Unfortunately, no matter how hard a judge
may try to be fair to contributors and non-con
tributors alike, the necessity and practicalities of
campaign fund-raising can only create the public
perception that the judges will not be impartial,”
Hill said.
The News' study focused on the seven civil
court judges who were on their benches before
Jan. 1: Republicans Joe B. Burnett, Catherine
Crier, Craig Enoch, Gary Hall, John Marshall,
Harlan Martin and John Whittington. There are
no Democratic civil district judges in Dallas
County.
Court records show Martin once appointed
Billy Gunter, his longtime friend and and former
campaign treasurer, as legal guardian for a mi
nor in a personal injury suit. Martin appointed
Gunter’s brother, Rex, also a lawyer, 16 times.
A comparison was made of campaign disclo
sure reports filed by the judges and 100,000
cases randomly assigned by the Dallas County
district clerk’s office to the same seven courts be
tween Jan. 1, 1981, and Dec. 31, 1986.
While records reviewed by the News showed
that many lawyers received favorable decisions
from judges to whom they had contributed, be
cause of judicial discretion, decisions by juries
and other factors, no pattern could be estab
lished on whether contributors consistently fared
better than non-contributors.
“Anybody who makes a contribution to a can
didate for public office expects some kind of a re
turn,” said lawyer Lee Simpson, a former Dallas
City Council member.
By Suna Purser
Reporter
The Adult Basic Education
Program offers a variety of
continuing education courses for
adults wanting to earn a high
school diploma, says Larry Cox,
community education director
for the Bryan Independent
School District.
ABE, funded by the Region Six
Educational Center in Huntsville,
offers training for pre-General
Education Development and
General Education Development.
ABE also offers an individualized
instruction program, which is
similar to the GED programs, he
says. These programs are de
signed to prepare students for
the GED test. Once the test is
passed, students are eligible to re
ceive a high school diploma.
“Our programs offer a sense of
accomplishment and esteem,” he
says. “The classroom environ
ment is not competitive, and stu
dents work at their own pace.”
The pre-GED is the lowest
level available for preparing stu
dents to take the GED test, Cox
says. Most of the students enter
ing this program do not have as
many years of education as some
one entering at the GED level.
Students in the pre-GED level
may not have completed junior
high school and lack such skills as
basic mathematics, grammar and
English, he says.
Students enrolled in the GED
program are at a more advanced
skill level. Most have some high
school education, and others are
very close to earning a diploma,
Cox says.
“Many people want to com
plete high school,” he says. “Typi
cally, they left school to get mar
ried or work. Most of our
students are in the 18 to 24 age
group.”
During the enrollment process.
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Come Be Our Guest At
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Soon To Be Another Great Aggie Tradition
Come in today and enter our drawing for
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We Value Your Business...K.D. Timmons ’50
students are placed in the pre-
GED or GED level. A counselor
reviews the students’ educational
background, and after a brief in
terview, places the students in the
appropriate level, Cox says.
More in-depth interviewing is
done in the classroom by the in-
tructor, he says. Instructors, who
are paid with state funds, ask the
students more detailed questions,
such as how long they have been
out of school or what kind of
hands-on work experience they
have had.
After determining if the stu
dent has been correctly placed,
the state-certified instructor gives
some preliminary tests to assess
each student’s capabilities. Cox-
says. This is the final step in en
suring the students’ placement in
the pre-GED or GED level.
“Both levels of instruction r e
structured so that students <
progress at their own rate," he
says. “Material is generalized so
students may enter the program
at any time and not feel behind.
“We try to determine their
level of capability before plat.
ment,” he says. “Hopefully this
eliminates some of the worry and
apprehension the students feel in
the classroom.”
For those wanting a less strut
tured, more individualized ap
proach to GED preparation, AB1
offers the Individualized Instruc
tion Program, Cox says.
“This is a newly developed pi
gram based strictly on individual
assessment,” he says. “IIP is also
geared toward preparing the stu
dent for the GED test, but it is r
structured as a formal classrot
setting.”
The program is “non-schedti
led,” meaning students do not
have to attend a formal class and
may set a flexible schedule, but
instructors are available five days
a week if needed.