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The Battalion
Vol. 83 No. 31 GSPS 045360 12 pages
College Station, Texas
Monday, October 19, 1987
A&M students march to protest apartheid
By Elisa Hutchins
Staff Writer
About 100 people marched from
the College Station City Hall to Rud
der Tower Friday afternoon carry
ing signs and chanting, “I, you, we
all say, apartheid must go and it
must go today.”
The march was in protest of $5.5
million (market value) that Texas
A&M has invested in companies with
holdings in South Africa.
Students Against Apartheid spon
sored the event in an effort to gain
attention from the Board of Regents
and the community to stop support
ing apartheid, organization Presi
dent Waylon Collins said.
“News blackouts have made apart
heid appear to have been solved in
South Africa,” Collins said. “People
iust aren’t aware of the nature and
effects of this evil government and
the civil and criminal crimes that are
being committed there.”
He said the legalized South Afri
can government gives virtually no
representation to the millions of
[blacks in the country and is anal-
gous to the Ku Klux Klan setting
p their own government.
The group marched along Texas
venue and down University Drive
i gain attention from motorists on
heir way home.
They made their First stop at the
ystems Building where participants
left a message for Chancellor Perry
.. Adkisson attached to the front of
he building.
The sign, with more than 100 sig-
atures, read, “We, the under-
igned, condemn apartheid and we
urge the Board of Regents to divest
"rom American banks and compa-
ies which have Financial holdings in
outh Africa.”
Norman Muraya, club divestment
hairman, said A&M has a vast
!outh African portfolio. Some cur-
ent major holdings include
282,000 invested with American
•Express Credit Co., $251,000 in
merican Express Corp. and
1216,000 invested in Merck & Co.
■nc.
has not been understanding with
their cause. “When we formed in
1985, we drew up a resolution
asking for disvestment and the
board responded that is wasn’t in the
periphery of the University and they
felt they were being asked to take a
political position,” he said.
Many universities and cities
throughout the country already
have divested. Houston City Council
members voted in 1986 to pull the
city’s investments out of South Af
rica and the University of Houston
Board of Regents voted in July to di
vest UH of more than $11 million.
To date, the University of Houston
is the only university in Texas to
have pulled out.
Arthur Shaw, a member of the
Houston Free South Africa
movement, also participated in the
march and spoke at the rally. Even
though A&M’s march had a rela
tively small student turnout, the
march still could have an effect, he
said.
“It is not how many people that
show up, but how persistent they
are,” Shaw said. “At University of
Houston anti-apartheid meetings,
no more than six people ever
showed up, but they got the job
done.”
David Lesmes, a graduate student
from California, passed by the front
of Rudder Tower while the rally was
taking place. He said he did not see
divestment as the solution.
Lesmes said he understood that
some companies do not exploit the
black workers, but treat them fairly,
so their pullout would hurt the situa
tion instead of helping it.
“I’m not convinced (divestment)
would solve the problem,” Lesmes
said. “While I don’t condone apart
heid, some companies, like Kellogg’s
Corp., aren’t using the same tactics
as others in South Africa; they actu
ally have a positive influence.”
He also said the low attendance at
the rally reflected the sentiment of
other students. He believes nothing
will come of the march because of
the conservative nature of the cam
pus.
"ii Wi
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A&M students protesting apartheid in South Africa march in front of the College Station City Hall Friday afternoon.
Photo by Jay Jminer
Collins said the Board of Regents Shaw said the argument that di
vesting would hurt the black South
Africans is ridiculous because the
blacks have been victimized for de
cades. Any unemployment or disad
vantage caused by divestment would
be short term, he said, and the situa
tion of the black workers would be
ultimately improved.
Shaw also conducted a study using
as an example the Houston munici
pal pension fund, the source of in
vestment for the city. The study con
cluded that universities would not
lose money if they pulled their
money out.
“Average yields on securities over
a 3-year-period showed that dirty
companies (those that invested in
South Africa) had yields of around 5
percent and clean companies (those
not doing business with South Af
rica) actually had a yield of 9 per
cent,” he said.
Members from several anti-apart
heid groups in the state also partici
pated in Friday’s march at A&M.
Jon Jackson, chairman of Black
Student Alliance at the University of
Texas, said many groups are getting
together to build a stronger power
base.
Collins said Students Against
Apartheid at A&M will write an
other resolution for divestment and
circulate a petition among students
for the same purpose.
Ian DeSouza, who participated in
the march, is a member of the Pro
gressive Students’ Association at
UH. He said students must get in
volved and present a strong front
against apartheid if they want it
changed.
“Student movements play a vital
role in getting universities to divest
and in disbanding apartheid,” De-
Souza said.
Sunday, two days after A&M’s
march, the sign participants left at
tached to the front of the Systems
Building was found in the trash
dumpster near the building.
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[A&M focuses
on alcohol
in activities
By Mary-Lynne Rice
Staff Writer
College students across the na
tion are urged to “celebrate re
sponsibly” this week, which has
been designated National Colle
giate Alcohol Awareness Week.
Texas A&M has planned seve
ral educational activities and par
ties for the week-long awareness
campaign, which is aimed at in
forming students about alcohol
use and abuse, Student Affairs
Chairman Jan Winniford said.
“It’s part of a national aware
ness campaign on college cam
puses across the country to try to
heighten students’ awareness,”
Winniford said.
“We’re not advocating drink
ing, we’re not advocating talking
about the evils of alcohol, but in
stead just trying to talk about mis
use and abuse,” Winniford said.
The activities began Sunday
with an Almost Anything Goes
contest, which brought co-recre-
ational teams together for events
ncluding tug-of-war, egg tosses
nd Frisbee throwing.
Dinner for two and tickets to
he Rice football game will be
iven away at the “Red Ribbon
elebration” at Graham’s.
Bob Wiatt, director of traffic
nd University Police, will play
the defendant in a mock DWI
trial Tuesday night. The “trial,”
Sponsored by the Office of Stu-
ents’ Attorney, will include a
emonstration of a breathalyzer
;est.
Residence halls will square off
ednesday for a competition to
lest their knowledge of alcohol,
nrugs and other health-related is
sues. “Hall-y-wood Squares” guest
stars will include student leaders.
I Wednesday night, a theater
presentation will dissect “The
(Anatomy of a Party.” A dis-
gcussion afterward will show the
Babilities associated with alcohol
and social situations.
I “Mocktail Cocktails” (nonalco
holic drinks) will be served
around campus Thursday.
I MSC Political Forum and
Great Issues Committee will
Sponsor an alcohol awareness fo
rum Thursday afternoon. That
evening, a dance and live enter
tainment will be sponsored by
MSC Town Hall.
Only freshmen will get midterm reports
By Drew Leder
Staff Writer
Midterm grade reports will no
longer be available for sophomores,
juniors and seniors who want to
check their six-week academic pro
gress — and some Texas A&M stu
dents and administrators say they
won’t be missed.
The change — which ends A&M’s
practice of making midterm reports
available to all undergraduate stu
dents — was approved by the Fac
ulty Senate on March 9 and ap
proved by President Frank E.
Vandiver later in the spring.
Registrar Donald D. Carter said
freshman midterm reports should
be available for students to pick up
Wednesday. The reports will be
given out at the Pavilion as soon as
they become available on Wednes
day until 5 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Thursday and Friday, he said.
Grades also will be mailed to stu
dents’ parents who requested the
University to do so if the student is
their dependent child. Carter said
the majority of freshmen — defined
as students with less than 30 hours
— will have grades mailed to their
parents.
less than half of the undergraduate
students picked up their midterm
grades. And the midterm grades
sometimes did not reflect the stu
dent’s true grade, Kibler explained.
“Many faculty members took mid
“Midterm grades only reflected one exam and in many
cases not even an exam. ... If grades are not reported
in a meaningful manner, what good can they do?”
— Donald D. Carter, registrar
The elimination of the reports
was part of a revision of the Univer
sity Rules and Regulations. Bill
Kibler, chairman of the Faculty Sen
ate’s Rules and Regulations Commit
tee, said the reason for the change
was the small percentage of students
picking up grades and the fact that
grades were often inaccurate.
Carter said that in past semesters
terms seriously,” Kibler said, “but
others gave blanket grades (like all
B’s or C’s), and in many cases they
were making grades up.”
Carter agreed that midterm
grades were sometimes unreliable
assessments of student progress.
“Midterm grades only reflected
one exam and in many cases not
even an exam,” Carter said. “In seve
ral instances in the past, they weren’t “To me midterms aren’t a big
reported at all. If grades are not re- thing because they’re not indicative
ported in a meaningful manner, of what you will get at the end of the
what good can they do?” semester,” he said. “As a freshman,
Kibler said a proposal to the Rules though, it may help you re-evaluate
and Regulations Committee last the way you study. Some freshmen
spring originally called for the elimi- think they study enough, and mid
nation of midterm grade reports for terms may let them know different.”
all undergraduate students. The Greg Deans, a junior psychology
proposal was amended to continue major, said that while midterms
midterm reporting for freshmen be- aren’t necessarily useful to evaluate
cause the committee thought the academic progress, they provided a
less-experienced students might way for students to check their
benefit by knowing how they are schedules and grades,
doing at midterm, Kibler said. Fac- “The only good reason for mid-
ulty advisers of freshmen also need terms is that they help you check up
to know if the new students are hav- on your classes to make sure your
ing problems in their classes, he said, grades are what you think and make
Several upperclassmen also ex- sure you’re enrolled in everything all
pressed doubts as to the usefulness right,” he said.
of midterm reports and said they Another student, James Neill, a
won’t miss them. Thanh Nguyen, a junior computer science major, said
junior biology major, said midterm he found midterm grades totally
grades aren’t important to him but useless.
agreed that they might be of some „ w .
vllue to freshmen. See M.dterms, page 10
University comes under fire for lack of protection
Fire marshal criticizes A&M’s safety code use
By Richard Williams
Reporter
Texas A&M is not providing its
students with enough fire protection
in its buildings, College Station Fire
Marshal Harry Davis said.
“The University does not build
enough fire protection — or as
much as they should — into their
buildings,” Davis said.
Fire safety at Texas A&M
Part one of a two-part series
But Harry Sdteler, the A&M
safety and health officer, said, “We
do feel like we are providing ad
equate life safety and complying with
the codes as much as possible.”
Because A&M is a state agency,
State Fire Marshal Ernest Emerson
said, the University does not have to
follow College Station building
codes, and since there are no state-
mandated building safety codes
A&M is free to adopt its own codes.
The codes in question include
building codes like the Southern
Building Congress Codes and the
National Fire Protection Association
Codes.
The SBC codes and the NFPA
codes are codes both College Station
and A&M use to help determine the
proper design of structures.
However, College Station uses the
codes and city ordinances as manda
tory standards all College Station
buildings must meet, while A&M
uses codes only as guidelines.
Paul W. Stephens, manager of the
A&M System Facilities Planning Di
vision, said A&M designs all new
buildings to meet the SBC codes and
the NFPA Life Safety codes. The
NFPA Life Safety codes are a section
of the NFPA codes dealing with a
building’s personal safety require
ments.
Wesley E. Peel, vice chancellor for
Facilities Planning and Construc
tion, said there are certain state-
mandated codes A&M must follow,
but outside of those, he said, A&M is
free to adopt the building codes it
wants to follow.
“We follow it (the NFPA and SBC
codes), unless there is a valid reason
not to,” Peel said. “A guideline can
not cover every case. That’s why
people have brains.”
Stephens said, “Building codes
are guides and they have to be
adopted by someone with authori
ty-”
But Davis said he was not sure
how close the University follows the
codes Stephens and Peel said the
University is using as guides.
“We know for a fact they only use
the portion of the building code they
want to use,” Davis said.
Peel said, “You would be doing a
great disservice if you didn’t (follow
the code). I don’t know about any
time at which we violate that (the
NFPA Life Safety Codes).”
But Davis disagrees.
“If he says they are following the
NFPA codes 100 percent, he is
wrong,” Davis said.
Emerson, the state fire marshal,
said that 75 percent of building code
provisions relate to fire protection,
so a unified state policy on fire pro
tection is needed. He said he would
like to see Texas adopt a standard
policy that state agencies like A&M
would have to meet.
Even if A&M does have unsafe
conditions present, Emerson said, he
could not force a change.
A section of the Texas Insurance
Code gives the state fire marshal au
thority to order state agencies to cor
rect or remove any hazard. But
Emerson said there is a catch to that
part of the code: because Texas has
no state building standards, there is
no standard definition as to what a
hazard is, he said, so that section of
the insurance code is difficult to en
force.
Peel said it is his responsibility to
make sure building plans meet
safety standards, and he said it is ul
timately the responsibility of the
chancellor and the Board of Re
gents.
However, Stiteler and Stephens,
manager of a division under the con
trol of Peel, both said they did not
know who was responsible for assur
ing A&M’s buildings were con
structed to code.
When asked who was responsible
for making sure A&M buildings
meet the codes A&M has adopted,
Stiteler said, “That has really never
been defined.”
Stephens said A&M relies on the
architects and engineers involved
with the project to make sure the
buildings meet the codes A&M is fol
lowing and he said A&M officials,
architects and engineers work as a
team to make sure codes are met.
“We are alert to things on a set of
drawings when we see them,” Ste
phens said. “If we see something
that might not be safe, we take a
closer look at it — that’s common
sense.
“If something is not up to code,
See Fire safety, page 10