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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1988)
Wednesday January 27, 1988 The Battalion/Page 7 sister ver h( ASS Nie MSt ear the ; | ors oper, Je, butnc j ^bitatioJ deni 'ep< :| 1 is Peave, c; ■ft room, doct tha de pulliiic; ■ummons a lOTORVEt an officer ij with the [ < broken a police ick, it t 1 speaker d beeni New computer system to replace drafting tables for some students By Todd Riemenschneider Stuff Write t A Dev*' compuiei system .Hcjuired by tlu- b il enginei ring department at Texas A&M v\ tli atlc^w students to pjodutf p;otessional vv<nk without ^elt.in,^ then hands dntv It is a wave of the future, said l)i jtm Earle, a professoi in the civil engineering department, referring to the Hewlett-Packard computer system acquired to aid students with drafting. “We spent about $400,000 on the system,” Earle said, “and that is ap proximately half-price, because Hewlett Packard gives A&M a dis count." The system will take the place of drafting tables and has some advan tages over pencil-and-paper draw ing. It makes lot greater accuracy, improves storage ot drawings and makes work easier to convey and communicate from one geographic site to the next. Earle said It en ables people to change and edit drawings eaiset than it would with an eraser ' Earle said the computer also will help students who do nor draw very well “It seems to be a means for people who have difficulty drawing,” he said. “They seem to adapt and do better.” Dr. Richard Skowronek, an asso ciate professor in the engineering graphics department, agrees the computet is very valuable. “It allows a person to produce very professional documentation, regardless of how well a person draws,” Skowronek said. "Changes can be made to a set of drawings alreadj created very quickly, as opposed to manual draw ing where you would have to do some cutting and pasn.ng and start ail over again,” he said. The computer will be used in En gineering and Design Graphics 105 and ENDG 407. The freshman level course is com prised of 40 percent to 50 percent computer work The senior level course familiar izes students with sophisticated com puter-aided design. “It gives us the opportunity to ex pose every freshman student to cur rent technology and computet -aided design,” Skowronek said. “This wall give us one ol the most, outstanding graphics capabilities of any univer sity in the nation.” Skowronek said the department ici 561 alias Bai e ration i lets -in' I raises ial said* ilav B) )iindl|< eledllK 7- ms, Bui e funds i later by ite pi sxpensi ierfor®| percei ven to I t WOllll ast if si rtii' 1 ! com ofsu ' Seat ! is s t n is msiti'l School’s use of lie detector riles parents HOES EON (AP) - Some par ents of high school students are upset that Houston school ofli cials had students take he dei.ee tor tests in a’tempts to resolve the theft of a puise containing about $4 Miib\ High School Principal Claude Brinkley said Monday the tests weic given alter parents signed consent hums, but he wouldn t sa\ if the> were advised of theit children’s lights or of possible legal ramifications. Yolanda Pena, mother ol a Ib- year-old Milbv student, said she was stunned to learn that her daughtet and four othei students were threatened with die poly graph tests if one >1 them did not confess to theft ot the- purse Pena said her daughtei came home Dec lb tired confused and frightened after being questioned at length hy a Milby assistant principal about the alleged theft. Pena said Assistant Principal Sarah Smith told the students they would have to take the poly graph test and, that the guilty party would have to pav the $50 administration cost. Pena refused to permit the test and immediately called the Hous ton branch of the American Civil Liberties L r nion. Cold weather diminishes nutritional value of grass By Kimberly Motley Repot tet The sudden cold weather that swept across Texas this month has caused summer grasses to remain dormant, which diminishes their al ready poor nutritional quality foi beef cattle, Texas Agricultural Ex tension Service experts say. The importance of the beef cattle industry to the Texas economy brings with it concern ovei quality pastures and rangelands, T AES Di rector Zei le Carpenter said. Dr. Neal Pratt, a TAPS specialist, said the summer grasses stopped producing nutrients because of the cold weather. T ins could endanger the state's beet cattle industry il ranchers cannot provide adequate nutrition for the cattle To counter the negative effects, Pratt suggests that farmers and ranchers plant winter pastures, which are foliage pastures that grow in the winter and aie high in nutri tional value. Although tfie cold weather was anticipated and some farmers did plant winter pastures, Pratt said the pastures did not get much ol i chance to grow The warm-season perennials (grasses that grow all year) kepi producing nutrients be cause of late-season warm weather and took over the winter pastures, Pratt said. Also, he said, some ranchers did not plant winter pastures bec ause of expense. Pratt explained that winter pastures cost $100 or more per acre each winter including labor, ferti lizer and equipment such as tractors “Winter pastures have to be plan ted every year,” he said. “They don’t just come back with cold weather the way summer grasses come hack with warm weather.” Pratt said b8 percent of the value of beef cattle comes from the pas lut es. Even il a cow were raised in a feed lot. its mother was probably raised on pasture he sairi. Because ol its poor nutriupnal va lue, summer foliage tan barely sup- peat a cow. Pratt said. When cold weather hits, tin summer pastures become dormant ami othei nutntio nal support is needed. Pratt said winter pastures are 20 percent to 24 percent, protein The extra nutritional support that wintei pastures provide is worth the expense, Pratt sairi because it. im proves the heel's quality But piovid- ing it when cold weather hies can be difficult. I he problem he said is knowing when the cold weather will Tome. Man who shot police officer was diagnosed schizophrenic UT consultant warns Capitol of fire hazards AUSTIN (AP) — The century-old Texas Capitol is a fire hazard, a Uni versity of Texas management con sultant has warned the State Preser vation Board. Terrell Blodgett, who teaches at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, said the following ob servations were based on talks with the state fire marshal, Austin Eire Department, and a consulting re storation architect, Joe f reeman of Austin. • Electric transformers are in poor condition. • The electrical system needs coni plete re wiring. • The fire detection systems need replacing. • False ceilings and voids above them can help spread fire DAI.1,AS (AP) — A homeless man who shot a Dallas police officer to death once lived in his family’s stately North Dallas home, but spent his last night in the Union Gospel Mission downtown. Carl Dudley Williams, 34, was an accomplished high school athlete who was voted most handsome of his class, but his family twice sought to have him committed for mental help after he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Williams saw visions, heard voices and believed he was being perse cuted by his family and prevented from succeeding, court records show. On Saturday, he shot and killed Officer John Chase, 25, with the of ficer’s revolver, police said. As a child, Williams struggled with schoolwork, but was an avid athlete who seemed eager to suc ceed, friends and records say. He was picked as a promising athlete and student leader and as most handsome boy in North Dallas High School. His father, Carl L. Williams, is a middle school principal. His mother, Marie Williams, is a Blue Cross-Blue Shield employee. “He was very easy to get along with —- very motivated, very inclined to do well,” classmate Charles Long- Law officers attend funeral DALI,AS (AP) — Thousands of law officers, then badges masked in black, ringed a Baptist church and packed a sanctuary I uesday to mourn a policeman shot three times in the face by a deranged transient “We’re hurting this morning, O God,” Sgt. Carroll Pruitt prayed. “We don’t understand the tragedy of this man whose life was taken from him because of the uniform he wears.” Meanwhile, thousands of Dallas residents offered a silent show of support for the beleaguered police department. Tuesday as they drove to work with theit headlights on. A group of homeless people marched Tuesday afternoon to hack police, while other citizens scheduled a can dlelight vigil foi Tuesday night. Chase, 25, died Saturday in a downtown parking lot when a man who lived on the streets wrestled his gun away and, ignoring the officer’s pleas for mercy, shot him in the face. Carl Dudley Williams, 34, then walked away, firing a shot at two pursuing off-duty officers, and was killed in a hail of return gunfire. oria, 36, who played with Williams on the football squad, said. But his family recalls a different man. They remember finding him at the foot of his grandmother’s bed with a hand saw, laughing and talk ing to himself. They recall Williams threatening to shoot his father with a .22-caliber rifle. T wo years after graduating from high school, Williams was arrested on attempted kidnapping charges. Williams dropped out of at least one community college, enlisted with the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam. He was honorably dis charged after 15 months because of unnamed problems. In 1978, Williams’ parents sought to have him committed. “We have been in prison with him living with us, locking him up in his bedroom w hen it’s time to sleep,” tlie elder Williams wrote in a petition for his son’s commitment. 'We cannot leave him alone with the little one or alone in the house.’ SUBMIT TO MTS ST mi PICKUPS PLUS Complete service and repair on all pickups, vans and 4WD , s. Free Estimates 512 W. Carson 775-6708 has been looking at the svsttTn foi a few years “We started looking it the system four oi five years ago, he said, and getting it into the graphics curric ulum, we fell, was the wave ol the lu lu re “ To get out on the cutting edge of technology, you have to keep up with it. It is a good investment — pe riod. Earle believes this system will help students in their careers. “A lot of people in the industry are anxious to move in this direction and someone who has a little exper tise will he thought of as an asset,” he said. “Computers in the past have been burdensome,” he said. “Now they make a lot more sense; you can use them as a productive tool.” SER VENG AGGIE LAND FOR OVER 5 YEARS KmmmmmmmmmmMummmmmmmmm & Hair Design Men’s Cuts 5.00 Women’s Cuts 5.00 All Perms 16.50 all services include shampoo & blowdry 693-7878 11406 Texas Ave.S. College Station, TX Corner of Jersey & Texas Ave Redmond Terrace Shopping Center AEROSPACE ENGINEERING GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Major areas of graduate study and research (M.S. & Ph.D): Aerodynamics Aeroelasticity Combustion Computational Fluid Dynamics Computer-Aided Design Flight Mechanics & Controls Propulsion Rotary Wing Technology Structural Dynamics Structures-Composites RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AND ONE—THIRD TO ONE—HALF TIME RESEACH ASSISTANTSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE Financial aid per calendar year: SB^OO-SIS^SOO plus tuition and fees All graduate students will participate in research. For further information contact: Dr. C. V. Smith, Graduate Coordinator School of Aerospace Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (404) 894-6046 Office hours: M-W 2-4:30 HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW [TO TT-J FEB. 17-MARCH6 1988 Performanc® Times: Saturday Matinees - 11 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 28 Matinee 1 p.nr., Sunday, Feb. 21 & March 6, 4 p.m. performance only ALL EVENING PERFORMANCES ARE AT 7.45 P.M. categories: Collage, Drawings, Paintings, Pastel, Miscellaneous (no photographs) will be accepted in the MSC Gallery from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., February 22-24. Entry fee is $3.00 per piece, limit 4 pieces PRESENTED BY Kenny Rogers Bud Light & Channel IWo Alabama Februay 28 Matinee & Evening February 21 (special 4 p.m performance only) Wifiie Nelson Februay 29 PRESENTED by Miller Lite & Channel 11 Gloria Estefan and George Strait Miami Sound Machine Februay 22 March ' l Jimmy Buffett Emmylou Harris Februay 23 Ricky Van Shelton March 2 Barry Manilow Februay 24 The Oak Ridge Boys March 3 Randy Travis Februay 25 Reba McEntire March 4 Conway IWitty Loretta Lynn The Jets Februay 26 March 5 Matinee Restless Heart The Staffer Brothers Sweethearts of the Rodeo March 5 Evening February 27 Matinee The Judds Anne Murray March 6 Februay 27 Evening (special 4 p.m. performance only) TICKETRON OUTLETS: Texas A&M University Main Student Center box office; Dillard’s stores For information or to charge tickets by phone, call RAINBOW TICKETMASTER at 1-800-992-8000 or TICKETRON at 713-526-1709. FOR TICKETS BY MAIL, WRITE: Ticker Director. P.O. Box 25395. Houston, Texas 77265-5395 NET PROCEEDS BENEFIT YOUTH AND SUPPORT EDUCATION