Tuesday, June 14,1988/The Battalion/Page 5
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By Susan Erb
Reporter
Disadvantaged youths who
ontemplate dropping out of
igh school are getting counsel
ling and training as part of a sum-
er program at Texas A&M
imed at getting students back on
jthe diploma-earning track.
Youth Opportunities Unlim
ited (YOU), a statewide
ork/study program, provides a
combination of academic train
ing, hands-on work experience
and counseling to 14- and 15-year
olds who have either low ability or
motivation or who have unsup-
portive home environments.
Dr. Dempsey Seastrunk, head
of the A&M chapter of the pro
gram, said the selection of partici
pants is made through the com-
jined effort of local school
as well as YOU representatives
San Antonio, Austin, Gonzales
and Beeville.
About 180
pants arrived
day and will
Aug 6.
“The students
program partici-
at A&M Wednes-
here until
remain
have
not
car, there dropped out,” Seastrunk said.
“They are not special ed. They
may not necessarily be the gifted
or the talented. They are students
who come from family back
grounds that lack the capacity,
because of financial or other fac
tors, to lend support to the stu
dent.”
YOU’s objectives, Seastrunk
said, are to expand the students’
perceptions of career opportuni
ties, to give them the motivation
to complete high school and to
help them realize it is feasible to
achieve their career objectives if
they try.
Seastrunk said the program’s
basic concept was designed in
1972 for the entering freshman
class at St. Edward’s University in
Austin. It was expanded in 1975
to include migrant and seasonal
farm workers’ children. The pro
gram now is exclusively for high
school freshmen and sopho
mores.
“We try to help the students
get a feel for what some of their
interests might be that they
haven’t been able to verbalize,”
Seastrunk said.
The high school freshmen and
sophomores indicate their career
interests on job survey forms
filled out as part of the initial ap
plication process. These interests,
Seastrunk said, are matched with
jobs available in the communinty
by the host university and local
program directors. After the stu
dents receive interview-skills
training, they apply for three dif
ferent jobs, from which they may
or may not receive offers.
“We are trying to create a real-
world work experience,” Seas
trunk said. “Just because you in
terview for a job doesn’t mean
you’ll necessarily get it.”
The youths are paid minimum
wage for 170 hours of work expe
rience and also are paid for 421/2
hours of career counseling.
The academic component of
the program consists of 200
hours of courses in math, En
glish, reading, computer literacy,
study skills and tutoring.
Eighteen Texas universities
will participate in the two-month
program this year.
Fired worker takes
hostages, kills self
RICHARDSON (AP) — A fired
computer company employee re
turned to his offices Monday and fa
tally shot himself after earlier hold
ing two hostages at gunpoint for
much of the day, authorities said.
Police spokesman Jim Wheatley
said Mervin D. Gilliam, 28, entered
Zeus Components of Dallas shortly
after 8 a.m. looking for his boss and
attempted to take four hostages, but
two escaped.
One man and one woman were
held for much of the day. Donna
Dippel, a company secretary in her
20s, was released early afternoon
and Roman Gonzales, a Dallas resi
dent in his early 30s, was released at
about 4 p.m., Wheatley said.
Friends said they were shocked by
the incident.
“He was a very nice guy,” said
Greg Foster, pastor of Hamilton
Park First Baptist Church where Gil
liam attended.
“Sometimes something in a per
son’s life comes up that you can’t
explain,” Foster said. “Mervin wasn’t
capable of this.
A man who identified himself as a
former co-worker of the suspect said
the man got along well with other
employees.
“I’m surprised to see him do
something like this,” said Brad Da
vis, 36. “I’m really shocked.”
The gunman’s brother, Charles
Gilliam, and his mother arrived at
the offices late Monday morning to
help police negotiate, Wheatley said.
Another friend, Dwain Thomp
son, who described Gilliams as “a
very talented young man,” said Gil
liam had recently been through a pe
riod of depression after losing his
girlfriend and his job.
Hanna called the suspect “a short-
time employee” of the company.
* Police were on a direct telephone
line with the man when they heard a
muffled gunshot and the phone
went dead at about 5:20 p.m., said
Capt. Joe Hanna. Police entered the
building immediately after hearing
the shot and found Gilliam dead,
Hanna said.
Richardson is a suburb on Dallas’
north side.
Earlier, Wheatley said police
maintained telephone contact with
the suspect and that “the man ap
peared calm.”
The other two hostages, Andy
Byles and Bill Pendergrass, escaped
shordy after the suspect entered the
office, Hanna said.
Ex-aide believed book
for Wright ‘part of my job’
FORT WORTH (AP) — Working
on a book for House Speaker Jim
Wright was “part of my job,” said a
former aide who added he was not
told the project was to be accom
plished on personal time.
Publication arrangements for the
book are being examined in an in
vestigation of Wright by the House
Ethics Committee.
gressional job,” Matthew Cossolotto
told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
in a telephone interview published
Monday.
“That was my understanding at
the time, and I still think that,” he
said.
The House panel last week de
cided to conduct the inquiry to de
termine if Wright has violated rules
on ethics and conflicts of interest.
Wright, in two network interview
programs Sunday, said Cossolotto
performed the job voluntarily and
on personal time included with his
congressional duties.
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