I
Tuesday, September 22, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
em
jse who wouldst
dlv exceed our c
Recruitment program provides
money for minority fellowships
Class to start fundraiser
to revive eternal flame
By Doug Driskell
Staff Writer
ipout rates.
Iiown that Amenc
had a higherlittni Minority applications to Texas
: todav. Thiswa; s g'-'duate program have
-^u^lc.SWJbled in the last year, an official in
public schoolsoi ft ^ ,
, he graduate department said,
ation, and prua.: , i ncrease j s a result of an in-
:1 those whocoi rerlified minority recruitment pro-
on their own. Pr grain funded primarily by the Com-
il well in the pa mitment to Texas program created
i to suppose iu by the Texas A&M Board of Regents
^^■year, Duwayne M. Anderson, as-
, . Bate provost for research and
nols are not do jrifrjijaje,studies, said.
(1 new material, wan t to increase the total
n to the basics.a' auriher of graduate students and at
if of which have uul same time we will be working
roved our schod^d to increase the representation
s more fundan)mffi rri ‘ nor ‘ t y Students,” Anderson
' sail.
In the Commitment to Texas pro-
$5 million of A&M’s Available
Inc ited citizetiT' University Fund allocation is pro-
i ve our f ree re vided for the recruitment of minori-
... ties. It has been predicted that an es-
is a seniorflist [j m;ite( j 40 percent of the college-
nd a columnist population will be black or His-
I) Bic by the year 2000.
Brhis money only gets us started,
but it is not sufficient to do the whole
job, ’ Anderson said. “It is the ad
ministration’s intention to try to
raise additional funds to allow this
plgram to grow.”
Part of this money is allocated for
minority merit fellowships, he said.
These fellowships are offered to
black and Hispanic U.S. citizens who
are accepted to the A&M graduate
program.
Estimated Increase in Minority Graduate Registration
unied. Only by [
our schools can
VJ
l
Jack Ivin, assistant to the director
of graduate studies, said A&M is
unique in offering these fellowships.
“We are one of the few who offer
$10,000 a year,” Ivin said. “There
are several universities that offer
$10,000, but that is only for one
year. At A&M, students receive this
every year on a monthly basis as long
as they take 12 hours and keep in
good academic standing.”
The students who receive this
money are not required to work for
the University, Ivin said.
Graphic by Susan C. Akin
An estimated 50 percent of those
accepted into the graduate program
will register at A&M, he said.
Based on this estimation, 71 mi
nority students attended in 1985. In
1986, approximately 75 attended,
and this year 303 are predicted to at
tend A&M. That would be a 103
percent increase in actual registra
tions to A&M in the graduate pro
gram since 1985.
“When you look at this increase, it
is quite impressive, especially when
you are looking at a very select
group of highly qualified minorities
around the country,” Anderson said.
“These applicants are being offered
excellent opportunities at all of the
big schools. To get them to apply in
the first place is a major victory.”
Eric Lee, from Tennessee, is a mi
nority student who decided to regis
ter in A&M’s graduate program. He
graduated from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in June
1986.
“Initially I researched many col
leges around the U.S.,” he said. “I
applied to the University through
normal channels and was later noti
fied of my acceptance into the phys
ics doctorate program. I came on a
visit to A&M and I was impressed
with the facilities provided for re
search.”
The fellowship turned out to be
the determining factor in his deci
sion to attend A&M, Lee said.
“I was notified of my eligibility to
the fellowship before I decided to
come to A&M,” he said. “Research in
low-temperature physics is just get
ting off the ground, and I think it
would be good to get in on the
ground floor.
“There are other places that have
good, if not better programs, but be
cause they have so many students, it
is hard to support each student the
way this University does. Cash and
research development — coupled
with (the fact) that it is a lot closer to
home than some of the other schools
I applied to — got me to come to
A&M.”
UT researchers test new electrical weapons
BMJSTIN (AP) — University / of Texas re
searchers are testing three types of electric guns,
which military officials say could allow an out
numbered U.S. force to beat a numerically supe
rior Soviet force.
1 Engineers at the Center for Electromechanics
are testing an electromagnetic railgun — a revo
lutionary anti-tank weapon — in a 150-foot deep
hole in North Austin.
| N Texas researchers in the two-year test pro-
I at i§ m ’ w h> c h is funded by the Army at about $21
million, are competing with California and Mich
igan researchers to design the railgun.
Another electric gun is part of the star wars re
search program for a space weapon to shoot
down Soviet nuclear missiles. It is being funded
at about $ 11 million.
The third weapon being tested is a rapid-fire
electric gun, which is funded at $3.5 million by
the Army and the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency.
The rapid-fire gun could be used in a battery
to protect a military headquarters from enemy
missiles, said John Gully, deputy director of the
center. It is a complete success and will be fin
ished by month’s end, he said.
Eventually, the center plans to build a 40-ton
package consisting of a 21-foot-long electric gun,
with its power supply bolted to a steel platform.
The Texas design will compete in 1989 with
guns being developed by Maxwell Laboratories
of San Diego, Calif, and Kaman Sciences of De
troit, Mich.
By Drew Leder
Staff Writer
The inscription on the marble
that holds the eternal flame says
the flame is “to symbolize the un
dying spirit all Aggies have for
Texas A&M.” If the flame is an
accurate symbol of Aggie spirit,
then the undying spirit must have
died.
“It’s kind of like an Aggie
joke,” Student Body President
Mason Hogan said of the flame,
which hasn’t burned in the past
two years.
Located at the north end of
Kyle Field next to the graves of
Reveille I, II and III, the struc
ture of the eternal flame — lack
ing a flame — stands surrounded
by a pool of polluted water. The
structure was donated in 1983 by
that year’s graduating class.
However, Ann Horne, the
agent of the Class of‘83, told Stu
dent Government representatives
Saturday that the class will try to
raise the funds needed to re-light
the eternal flame.
Hogan, along with other Stu
dent Government representatives
and former students, is trying to
get the flame relighted, a task
that will require raising money.
It will cost about $3,000 to
$4,000 to fix the flame and an
other $500 a year for the gas
needed to keep it “eternal,” Brian
Banner, vice-president for ad
ministration in Student Govern
ment, said.
The Class of ’83 is attempting
to raise $6,000 to $7,000 for an
endowment to repair the flame
and keep it burning — for a
while, at least.
Horne said she hopes the
money will be raised by next fall
through donations from Class of
’83 members.
“We’re trying to see what we
can do to get it right,” she said.
The class will hold its five-year
class reunion next fall. Hogan
said there will be a big push to get
the flame burning by then. If the
Class of ’83 doesn’t acquire
enough money to repair the
flame, he said, Student Govern
ment will attempt to raise the nec
essary funds from present classes.
“If they don’t come up with the
money we’ll try to go to the class
councils (to raise it),” Hogan said,
“but hopefully they will be able to
generate the funds.”
The flame was designed by an
“It’s kind of like an Ag
gie joke.”
— Mason Hogan, stu
dent body presiden t,
describing his reaction
to the eternal flame,
which hasn’t burned in
two years
A&M student, but its original de
sign wasn’t set up to be eternal,
Hogan said.
After it was constructed, it re
mained lighted for a while, but
when rain or a strong wind came
along it would go out.
Eventually, Hogan said, the
flame was only lighted on days
when A&M had a football game
at Kyle Field so the former stu
dents would see it burning.
Horne said a member of the
Class of ’83 attempted to fix the
eternal flame about three years
ago but was unsuccessful.
Hogan said the problem of an
eternal flame that doesn’t burn is
one of the many minor problems
on the A&M campus that he
hopes this year’s Student Govern
ment will help remedy.
“If we get the little odds and
ends done, we’ll be doing more
than a lot of past Student Govern
ments,” he said.
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Bringing the
house down!
The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society is bringing
the house down with the premier performance of the
1987-88 season, the Mikolais Dance Theatre in Rudder
Auditorium Tuesday, September 22 at 8 p.m.
Mikolais Dance Theatre has championed modern dance
around the world since 1953. The company blends form,
motion, sound, light and color in vibrant displays of ex
pressive dance. Award winning Alwin Mikolais is a one-man
composer, choreographer and designer whose trademark
incorporates quicksilver muscular control into beautifully
synchronized movements.
A few good seats remain for this dazzling evening of
imagery, color, light and exacting dance. Tickets are
available on a first-come, first-served basis.
MSC Box Office • 845-12 34 • Dillards Ticketron
VISA and MasterCard accepted!
MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society
gt Memorial Student Center • Texas lniversits • BoxJ-l • College Station TX 77844-9081
TUESDAY 9/22 7:30 pm $2 00
RUDDER THEATER
TICKETS AVIALABLE
45 MINUTES
BEFORE SHOWING.
Gary Cooper won an Academy
Award for his performance as a
small town sheriff who, on the
day of his wedding and sched
uled retirement, learns that a
criminal he convicted will be
returning on the noon train for
revenge. This landmark
Western won four Oscars
Wednesdayi
Special
Buy a LARGE one topping PIZZA
plus a pitcher of soft drink
for only
501 University
99
good every Wednesday
Call
Battalion
Morthgate
Classified 845-2611