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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 1988)
Texas A&M ■ % m a m 0 The Battalion m ornif; t: 87 No. 114 GSPS 045360 6 Pages i unA a College Station, Texas Friday, March 11, 1988 ommittee reviews College of Medicine By Tracy Staton Senior Staff Writer TEMPLE — A special committee n medical education gave the Texas &M College of Medicine a thor- lugh check-up Thursday at a public learing in Temple. Members of the Special Commit- ee on Medical, Dental and Allied lealth Education heard testimony rom A&M medical school represen- fctives after touring the school’s fa- l(1 , ^Bilities in College Station and '^■emple this week. The legislatively- )tontHppomted committee is examining -hold )iamf' ishini e quality atewide. of medical education Charged with proving the College of Medicine’s value to the state, rep resentatives stressed the “unique ness” of A&M’s program. They em phasized the school’s value as a training ground for “family practi ce” physicians who eventually estab lish practices in non-urban areas. Dr. Dennis Myers, assistant dean for student affairs on the clinical campus, said the College of Medi cine has accomplished its mission of educating general practitioners for non-urban locales. Forty-three percent of A&M’s graduates are working in “primary care” areas for their post-graduate resident training programs, he said. • 1 P 1 prised of general internal medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics/gyne cology and family medicine. And 66 percent of A&M’s medical graduates stay in Texas, Myers said. Of those who establish practices in the state, 23 percent are ,in commu nities with populations of less than 25,000 people. Nationally, 15 per cent of practicing physicians estab lish themselves in these commu nities. These graduates are important to Texas because the state needs physi cians in non-urban areas. Statistics from Texas State Board of Medical Examiners show that 59 percent of Texas physicians practice in urban areas, but only 9.5 percent work in rural areas. Seventeen counties have no practicing physicians at all. Dr. Dave Morehead, associate dean of the College of Medicine, said the partnership that supports A&M’s program is an entirely differ ent structure than that of any other school in the nation. The medical program is a “marriage” of Texas A&M University, the Olin E. Teague Veteran’s Center, Scott & White Hospital and Scott & White Clinic, he said. “Each of the partners bring some thing to the relationship,” Morehead said. “And it becomes a cooperative venture of organizations with differ ent missions. The great potential of our college is the opportunity to cap italize on the strengths of each of these institutions with different mis sions.” A&M medical students spend two years learning basic medical science at the College Station campus, then complete two years of clinical train ing at Scott & White Clinic in Temple. The 330 clinical faculty of the medical school make up the staff of the clinic, Morehead said. The faculty divides its time between pa tient care and educating the medical undergraduates. “We are pleased that our faculty members are physicians who are practicing the skills they teach,” he said. This unique approach results in quality medical education for A&M’s students, Morehead said. Later in the hearing, Myers pre sented statistics that indicated the success of A&M’s program. Since 1983, A&M’s graduates have either scored highest or second highest on licensing exams, Myers said. And supervisors of post-grad uate programs reported that 93 per cent to 95 percent of residents from A&M performed as well or better than graduates of other medical schools. House demands ouster }f Noriega from position ■ WASHINGTON (AP) — The ■ouse on Thursday overwhelmingly demanded the ouster of Panama nian strongman Gen. Manuel Anto- Bo Noriega, and the opposition am- Bissador to the United States pedicted Noriega’s overthrow ithin a few days.” At the same time, the Reagan ad- flinistration was considering the im- Bisition of further sanctions, inlud- ina the withholding of about $7 Billion in payments to Panama due by March 15 for canal-related opera tions. The money would go into an escrow account. The House voted 367-2 for a non binding resolution that noted allega tions of drug trafficking, murder, money laundering and racketeering against the Panamanian Defense Forces, which Noriega heads. It called on Reagan to “consider se riously” additional economic and po litical sanctions. It also called upon Noriega to comply with an order two weeks ago by Panamanian President Eric Ar turo Delvalle, dismissing him as commander of the defense forces. Instead, Noriega dismissed Delvalle a few hours later. The United States recognizes Delvalle, who has been forced into hiding in Panama, as the legitimate head of the Panamanian government. Members on both sides of the po litical spectrum lashed out at No riega and gave the administration virtually carte blanche to impose ad ditional sanctions. Rep. Mel Levine, D-Calif., said “the government of Panama is in the hands of a thug, a common criminal.” raduate student offers tips n checking car before break By Shannon O’Neal Reporter tudents’ dreams of the perfect ©ring break catching rays on a landy beach or schussing down inowy slopes can be spoiled by the Jgly reality of a car breakdown on lie way. Automotive problems can be ivoided if car owners practice simple preventative maintenance, says (raduate electrical engineering stu- lent Lonny Sumpter, who teaches he University Plus course in begin- rer’s auto mechanics. fl|f a car owner’s manual is used, he fays the basic preparations for a car :rip can be done in only a few min- Bfs by someone with little or no me- :hanical knowledge. ^ recommends checking four Bas of the car — vital fluids, sus- || »sion, the electrical system and )elts and hoses. Mhe vital fluids are oil, coolant, SpWer-steering fluid and brake ® raid. Sumpter says the vital fluids B>uld be at the levels set by the Bnufacturer. If they are low, the Bnufacturer’s recommended re- ficement should be added until the pel is correct. H Oil should not be too black and shouldn’t smell burnt. He says if the I car has a radiator coolant overflow B Bservoir, the reservoir must be dean and tightly sealed. I The suspension includes the tires ft and shock absorbers or “McPherson Hffi'uts.” Sumpter says the owner should check the air pressure in the I tires and adjust it to the manufactur er’s recommended pressure. ■ “Customizing” the tire pressure for a better ride or improved gas mileage may give the desired result, but will definitely reduce the tire’s life, he says. The shocks should be fastened tightly, clean of oil and checked for wear by using the “two-bounce test,” he says. The test is to bounce the front of the car and if it bounces more than twice, the shocks should be replaced. The electrical system consists of the light bulbs and battery. The owner should check the brake lights, turn on signals and headlights to make sure they work and make sure the battery’s connections are tight and clean. The belts should be checked by pressing on them. If they give more than a half an inch they should be tightened, unless they are extremely long. Sumpter says flares and a fire ex tinguisher are extra, but are good to have and that a box of baking soda will put out almost any automotive fire. He says repairing a problem on the road is fairly easy if it is ap proached correctly. If the car is overheating, he says to first turn off the, air conditioner, slow down and see if the tempera ture drops. If it doesn’t cool down, he suggests turning on the heater to help cool the engine. He says not to stop unless steam comes from the engine, fluid hits the windshield or the smell of antifreeze fills the car. These symptoms indi cate a radiator leak. Time can be gained on a small ra diator leak by loosening the radiator cap one click. This is enough to re lease pressure without allowing the cap to come completely off. Brake fade or loss is no cause for panic, he says. If the brakes fade sometimes they can be improved by g umping them, though they should e fixed if fade is noticed. If the brakes go out, try to slow down and get in a lower gear, he says. The parking brake shouldn’t be used until absolutely necessary be cause it isn’t meant to stop the car — only to hold it in place. He says if the electricity starts to fail, turn off all unnecessary accesso ries including the radio and hope for the best. A dead battery can be revived many times by cleaning and tighten ing the connections, or adding water to the battery itself, he says. If the worst happens and a car owner is stranded on the roadside, he should turn the hazard lights on, open the hood and stay off the road. Beat the hell outta Bevo In honor of “Fiesta Day,” sponsored by the Texas A&M Food Services Department, Kimmy Ander son, a junior physical education major from Fort Photo by Shelly Schluter Worth, tries to break open a pinata in the shape of Bevo. The pinata was filled with Frisbees and candy. South-of-the-border foods were served. Associate provost: ELI system needs work Bush will establish ethics panel if elected Associated Press I George Bush, declaring him self “personally disturbed at the breaches of ethics” he’d seen in government, said Thursday he would set up a White House ethics panel if elected president. 1; Meanwhile, Bush’s Super Tuesday victories produced a cas ualty —Jack Kemp — and Gary Hart prepared to quit the Demo cratic race. Richard Gephardt, who ran a poor fourth among emocrats on Tuesday, said Michigan could decide his fate. Bush flew to Illinois to press is campaign for the 82 GOP del egates at stake in next Tuesday’s primary. And he quickly took up a new issue, saying he was “tired of being embarrassed” by scan dals surrounding public officials, though he named no names. The vice president’s chief rival, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, stuck to party politics, questioning Bush’s “electability” and telling Chicago voters he would be a stronger candidate for the GOP in Novem ber. Democrats Michael Dukakis, Jesse Jackson and Albert Gore Jr. also campaigned in Illinois for a share of the 173 delegates at stake in their party’s primary there. By Karen Kroesche Senior Staff Writer What Texas A&M’s English profi ciency system needs is a personal touch, says Dr. Duwayne Anderson, associate provost for research and graduate studies. Anderson is in the process of re vamping the system in response to complaints from both faculty and students that the current system is unfair. While he doesn’t have spe cific recommendations formulated yet, Anderson says he has identified the major problem areas and some general solutions. He says he hopes to have solid recommendations by early April. One of the biggest problems with the current system, Anderson says, is that the foreign student is thrown into the red tape of admission from the first moment at A&M. He says he thinks that the first image of A&M should be a personal one. “It seems to me a shame that the first thing they (foreign students) encounter here at A&M is another manifestation, an undesirable man ifestation, of a bureaucratic way of dealing with what I think should be dealt with on an individual basis,” Anderson says. “I would like to know that there is a personal touch from the beginning in the lives of these foreign students when they ar rive on our campus. “I would like to see us do more to make this a mature adult experience for everybody, rather than a me chanical thing, as cool and cold as that often is.” A&M’s English proficiency system for foreign students has come under repeated fire in recent months. The controversy centers on the forced enrollment of foreign graduate stu dents in the English Language Insti tute. When international students ar rive at A&M, they are required to make a certain score on the Univer sity’s English Language Proficiency Exam. If they don’t make the score on any section, they must enroll in a non-credit ELI course — taught by non-tenure track faculty — for that section. More than two-thirds of interna tional graduate students are re quired to enroll in at least one course at the institute. Costs range from $400 to $1,300 per four-month session, depending on the number of courses they have to take. Anderson says his recommenda tions are still in the formative stages, but one option he sees is assigning each incoming foreign graduate stu dent a host mentor when he or she arrives on campus. This person most likely would come from the student’s major de partment, such as his faculty adviser, Anderson says. He says this person could help show the ropes to the new student, as well as advising him in English proficiency matters. In this way, the system could more easily adapt to each individual’s set of circum stances. “I think it would be wise for the student’s department, major profes sor, mentor or host to have some say in when the ELPE (English Lan guage Proficiency Exam) is taken,” he says. “I also think it would be helpful if the student’s departmental advisor or mentor or host would have some thing to say about interpreting the results of the ELPE and discussing those results with the results of the TOEFL (Test of English as a For eign Language) or other experiences that the student may have had in other English speaking countries or perhaps in this country,” he says. Students and professors have crit icized A&M for using the ELPE, charging that the test is not a fair measure of English abilities. Ander son says the. test is a valuable tool in the evaluation process, but that there are problems with the adminis tration of the test. “The main problem I see in utiliz ing this instrument at the present time,” he says, “is that we force it on students in many instances before they are rested and prepared for it in the worst cases, and in many more cases at inconvenient times. “In our present system, the results of the examination are swiftly used to determine a course of study or a course of remedial work that has not been discussed in advance and that the student is not fully willing men tally and emotionally to commit to. So there’s an element of coercion in our present procedure that we would be wise to try to mitigate.” There are also security problems with the ELPE. Foreign student associations have copies of the test, and one group even has it on microfilm. The Battal ion recently obtained two copies of the test. Anderson says he was not pre viously aware of the security prob lems, but that those problems are probably just indicative of the gen eral ill feelings that foreign student have toward A&M’s English profi ciency system. “The motivation to cheat gener ally comes into play when a system is considered as corrupt itself,” he says. “Students learn and serve them selves best when they don’t cheat. Anderson says he plans to have an improved system in place by the fall semester. He says this is an important issue to resolve promptly because of the negative impact the current system has on A&M’s reputation abroad. Other countries’ advances in sci ence and technology make foreign students attractive to the University, Anderson says. “Enough time has elapsed now af ter the end of World War II — when America was the dominant science and technology country in the world — that other countries have caught up and even surpassed us in a num ber of important areas,” he says. “That (recruiting foriegn students) gives us the opportunity to make sure we’re exposed to the best and the brightest from abroad.” Anderson says the sheer volume of negative feedback about the ELI has made a change in the system necessary. “One of the most significant things about this issue in my mind is that not only are the students them selves complaining about it, but a significant part of the University ad ministrators are also a little con cerned about it and a very large number of the research-active fac ulty members are (concerned). “And when I hear similar obser vations from all of this wide audi ence, I know that there’s some rea son for us to do something.”