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Friday, May 1, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
Official: Lawyers work to help students
Service at A&M offers legal advice
By Cray Pixley
Reporter
For students who have faced a
problem that can’t be resolved with
out professional legal advice, there is
a place to turn for answers — right
on the Texas A&M campus.
Housed in Bizzell Hall West, the
Students’ Legal Department advises
a steady stream of students with le
gal questions ranging f rom landlord-
tenant problems to drawing up pow
ers of attorney.
The department is supported
through student service fees, and
students aren’t charged any additio
nal fees unless the case goes to court,
says Alex A. Walter, the depart
ment's assistant students’ legal ad
viser. When cases involve litigation,
students are responsible only for
court and f iling fees, Walter says.
fhe department, which has been
on campus for 13 years, advises stu
dents on virtually all matters, but can
only represent students in court on
consumer—protection matters, he
says.
“We cannot litigate all cases, and
lor those we will refer the students
to a private attorney,” he says. “We
can advise students on minor crimi
nal matters or real estate and tax
matters, but we do not represent
them in court.
“Consumer-protection cases are
not clearly defined. The students’ le
gal department ultimately decides
what is and what is not a consumer-
protection case.”
Consumer-protection cases han
dled by the department’s two full
time licensed attorneys include land
lord-tenant problems, divorces,
adoptions, auto accidents and traf fic
tickets.
“The majority of cases we handle
are landlord-tenant problems that
usually involve a landlord’s failure to
return a security deposit to the te
nant,” Walter says. “Because of the
number of landlord-tenant cases we
handle, I feel many students have
the misconception that this is the
only type of problem to bring to the
department.”
But Walter says the department
also does a great deal of legal draft
ing work.
“Students see us to draw up pow
ers of attorney, wills and contracts,”
he says. “Occasionally, students
come in to obtain advice about incor
porating a business, and we can pre
pare the papers for them.”
Walter says the department pre
pares assumption of risk papers for
student groups planning outings.
“Students may be unaware of the
many services that the department
offers,” Walter says.
The Students’ Legal Department
doesn’t advertise its services and re
ceives most of its business through
referrals f rom campus departments.
“W’e get a lot of business concern
ing landlord problems from the Off-
Campus Housing Center,” Walter
savs. “A student will often go to the
center if he has landlord dif ficulties;
if the student has a legal problem it
can’t handle, the center will refer the
student to our department.”
Even without advertisements, the
department does advise a large
number of students. Its monthly ac
tivity report shows that 478 students
visited the department for advice
from January 1987 to March 1987.
Clark Carpenter, an A&M grad
uate who works in the department,
says both attorneys do an enormous
amount of paperwork f or students.
“They write many letters to land
lords f or students and prepare docu
ments,” Carpenter says. “There is a
large amount of paperwork involved
with running the department.”
The department does, however,
have some restrictions on the types
of cases it handles.
“The department cannot rep
resent one student against another
student because the department’s
purpose is to represent all students,”
Walter says. “It wotdd be a conflict
of interest to do otherwise.
“We also cannot represent a stu
dent against a part of the Universi
ty”
The Students’ Legal Department
is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Students needing legal advice
must schedule appointments on
Thursdays for the next working
week.
Although the scheduling of ap
pointments is handled in advance,
the department does handle emer
gencies as quickly as possible, Walter
savs.
“7 he majority of cases we handle are landlord-tenant
problems that usually involve a landlord's failure to re
turn a security deposit to the tenant. ”
— Alex A. Walter, assistant legal adviser
A&M counseling office helps students
overcome physical, mental test stress
Biofeedback muscle relaxation offered as ways to cope
By Suna Purser
Repot ter
Few students finish their college
careers without having suffered
from exam stress at some time.
Dr. Ludy Benjamin Jr., a Texas
A&M psychology professor, says
there are two kinds of problems as
sociated with exam stress.
“First, there is a physical arousal,
such as perspiring or rapid heart
beat," he says. “ These conditions ex
ist before and/or during a testing sit
uation.
“Secondlv, there is a cognitive
problem. People think negatively
about themselves and their ability to
perform under the pressure of tak
ing an exam.”
Benjamin says this stressful condi
tion may persist after students have
successfully proven themselves in
the testing room many times.
Some causes of exam stress in
clude personal insecurity and self-
Correction
A story in Thursday’s issue of
The Battalion incorrectly identi
fied a Texas A&M organization
as the Mexican Democrats of
America and as the Mexican-
American Democrats of Texas.
The correct name is the Mexican-
American Democrats of Texas
A&M.
doubt, or pressure to successfully
compete against other students.
“They (students) have irrational
and negative thoughts about them
selves," he says. “Before a test, they
may tell themselves, ‘I’m not pre
pared for this exam,’ or ‘ I he other
students are brighter than I am.’
To eliminate exam stress, students
must overcome both the physical
and cognitive problems, he says.
Professionals treat the condition
using such techniques as biof eedback
and muscle relaxation.
People who use the biofeedback
method learn to modify involuntary
body functions (such as blood pres
sure or heartbeat) with the help of
electronic devices.
This technique allows a person to
gain control over certain emotional
states such as anxiety or depression.
The Texas A&M Student Coun
seling Service uses biofeedback and
muscle relaxation in its Test Anxiety
PANHANDLE (AP) — One of
three men who refused to eat after
being jailed for blocking the en
trance to the Pantex nuclear weap
ons assembly plant said he hopes
their fast provokes debate on the ar
mament issue.
The three are part of a group
dubbed “The Pantex Seven” who
Workshop, says Carlos Macossay, a
student worker in the office.
“The counseling service uses two
primary techniques — muscle relax
ation and biofeedback,” he says. “To
use the biofeedback equipment, a
thermometer is taped to the hand,
which constantly monitors tempera-
lute. Heart rate is also monitored. A
rise in temperature indicates a re
laxed condition.”
Workshop activities include listen
ing to three tapes while using the bi
ofeedback equipment, he says.
During counseling office hours,
students come in and listen to each
tape for two weeks at their conve
nience.
The first tape talks about the im
portance of learning to tighten and
relax muscles, he says.
This teaches students the benefit
of being able to control bodily func
tions (such as heartbeat), which re
sults in a more relaxed condition.
were arrested Aug. 10 outside the
Pantex plant about 17 miles north
east of Amarillo on U.S. Highway
60.
Four other men pleaded guilty
last week to misdemeanor charges of
blocking the entrance to the plant
and paid $600 fines.
Carson County Jail officials have
Students monitor their tempera
tures while listening to the tapes.
The second tape talks about imag
ery and the importance of devel
oping a positive self-image.
This tape stresses self-worth and
positive thinking, Macossay says.
The third tape instructs the stu
dents on how to relax in outer situa
tions (conditions outside the con-
trolled environment). This includes
maintaining control in an exam set
ting, as well other stressful situa
tions.
This semester’s workshop has met
twice (Feb. 17 and April 7).
For those interested in learning
more about using the biofeedback
equipment without participating in
the anxiety workshop, one-hour
training sessions are available every
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., he
says. After training, students then
may make appointments to use the
equipment during of f ice hours.
tried for the last three weeks to feed
the three Houston men, who were
sentenced to 40 days in jail.
Greg LeRoy, 29, Charles Perez,
36, and Jimmy Clark, 19, have taken
only liquids while in jail. They said
they fasted to protest their imprison
ment and to publicize the nuclear
arms issue.
3 in jail protest nuclear arms by fasting
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