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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1988)
Wednesday, September 7, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3 4 &M directional signs ade to point the way By Fiona Soltes Staff Writer ■ Ms, | tfnsei he dtHesults of a project started last ' 'tsipring to erect directional signs ftodjui the Texas A&M grounds are lecoming evident. shoi'H oine s ‘£ ns already have been jut up, and many more will be in- Hed within the next four to six e p.Bk.s, says Gene Ray, director of grounds Maintenance. JWThe intent of the plan is to !l " name major buildings correctly 11 ind in a consistent manner to 'illf-help people to find their way TbfBund campus easier,” he says, i^ May says the project is 40 per cent complete. v. dl SB We’ve done a lot of work which hasn’t shown yet,” he says. « ^ jit’s a big job to check with the . ■, phone, electric, water and Her companies to clear the ' areas where the posts are plan- ii ted ” ’nsiijHVhen the project is complete, ,i v about 300 new signs giving direc tions, building names and park ing lot information will be put up Hund campus. Hiome signs identifying build ings will be replaced to keep the lettering consistent throughout ' the university. ICaiH’We will also erect locator-type Jre; signs in the major pedestrian parts of campus and in the dor mitory areas to help parents find the halls,” Ray says. “These will be ‘y ou are here’ maps, oriented as you look at them.” Ray says he thinks people will like the new signs. “They’re more personalized, since each has an ‘ATM’ logo,” he says. “There will be a lot of them, but they’re necessary for such a big campus.” Ray says he expects the project to enter a second phase. “It’s such an encompassing job,” he says. “We’ll have to keep up with new buildings.” The next phase of the project also will include signs giving di rections from the periphery of campus to the interior. In other parts of campus, ad vances are being made in parking area construction, says Tom Wil liams, director of Parking Transit and Traffic. The Northside Parking Garage will open Jan. 1, 1989, with 1,280 student parking spaces. Faculty and staff have claimed the remaining 416 spaces. In Advance Four-member panel to discuss banking The College of Business Ad- nistration is sponsoring a Bank Career Day Thursday, Septem- ber 8 at the Memorial Student Center. ■ The program begins at 2 p.m. Bth opening remarks from Dr. Bai v frennepohl, who is head of Be Finance Department at Texas AcVM. ■ The keynote address will be given by Don Hawk, vice presi dent of Texas Commerce Bancshares/Chemical Bank in Houston. Hawk will speak on the oppor tunities availaole today in bank- ing. A four member panel dis cussion will be held at 2:30 p.m. Panelists will speak on a variety of topics ranging from getting that first job to the last 25 years in banking. State and Local ■ I II Wi IMII■ IMOMBB———aPMUM—K1QH—gg Professor: Soviet math education stronger than America’s average By Sharon Maberry Staff Writer The average Soviet Union citizen has a stronger background in math and science than the average Ameri can citizen, a Texas A&M associate history professor says. “Their society worships science and math in a way we don’t,” Dr. Chester Dunning says. The Soviets place a greater em phasis on math and science earlier than Americans do, Dunning says. Soviet children are tested on techni cal studies, and those who show tal ent are encouraged to focus on sci ence and math throughout the rest of their education. A technical education gives Sovi ets an opportunity to raise their so cio-economic status, he says. “A clear way for Soviet peasants to escape (poverty) is through math and science,” Dunning says. At least 1 million technical work ers are involved in basic research in the Soviet Union, more than twice as many as in the United States. “However, it is dangerous to say that just because they have more (ba sic researchers) they are better,” Dunning says. The basic training of a technical worker differs between the United States and the Soviet Union, he says. Many Soviet researchers have the equivalent of a technical school edu cation, he says, unlike American re searchers, who receive broad train ing. “Our 450,000 are better trained than their 1,000,000,” Dunning says. “The Russian results (in basic re search) are negligibly better. They are strong in areas that rely on older technology. It is much more likely that the American scientist will be re ceiving the great accolades. Look who’s winning the Nobel Prize.” Dr. Jonathan Coopersmith, A&M assistant professor of history, says that Soviets are traditionally strong in math and theoretical science. However, the Russian strength in those areas is matched by a weakness in some applied sciences like com puter hardware. “Soviets have fewer computers of lesser capability (than Americans),” Coopersmith says. “The Soviet edu cation is in a general period of re form now. They particularly ac knowledge a need to catch up in computer education. “Soviet prowess in theoretical sci ence is in part because of a lack of equipment (for the study of practical science). Soviets have a different style of teaching because their envi ronment is different. But Soviet en gineers can be every bit as ingenious as American engineers. “Soviet engineers tend to be more specialized. They also lack the sup port services that American engi neers have, such as secretarial serv ices. Most Soviet engineers can’t hand something to their secretaries to type. There are fewer American engineers, but they are usually more efficient.” A large gap exists between the best schools and the average schools in the Soviet Union, Coopersmith says. “The best schools produce some of the finest students in the world in math and some sciences,” he says. “Russia is a very centralized country. There are excellent resources for the center, but the outlying areas tend to be shortchanged. Moscow and Leningrad tend to have the best facilities, the best universities and the best students. “Math and science competence is a serious economic issue, not just with Soviets, but with the entire world. We live in a society that’s de pendent on numeracy (a Mongol word for literacy). “There is an alternative view that says all the ‘smarts’ will be in the computer so people won’t need a sense of numbers or even literacy. In that case, you’ll see a split in society emerging between those who can use numbers and those who can’t. “I think the issue is real, but it’s other countries we should view as economic competitors. Our major scientific threat comes not from the Soviet Union, but from Japan and soon, probably Korea. “As a society, we do need to have more training in the sciences and math, but also in the social sciences and humanities. We need to under stand the differences between So viet, Japanese and American educa tions, because these are real differences that reflect those cultu- Science and math requirements for some majors at A&M have de creased over the years. According to the 1938-39 A&M course catalog, education majors were required to take 13 credit hours of science (bi ology, geology and chemistry), and six hours of math. In the 1988-89 catalog, only eight hours of science electives and three hours of math are required for the same major. Local Briefs Mobley will address Faculty Senate Texas A&M President William H. Mobley and the deans of the Texas A&M academic colleges are scheduled to attend a recep tion with facultv senators before the Sept. 12 Faculty Senate meet ing. Mobley is also scheduled to ad dress the senators at the meeting. Social Security office will relocate Beginning Sept. 12, the Brazos County Social Security office will be located in the Carter Creek Center in Bryan, located at 4021 E. 29th Street, Suite 114. Office personnel request that customers hold their calls until af ter the move is complete, if possi ble. Free computer demonstrations offered Apple Computer Inc. will offer Texas A&M faculty and staff free participatory demonstrations of the Macintosh computer on Sept. 13 and 16 in Room 120A of G. Rollie White Coliseum. The sessions will cover basic use of word processing, spreadsheet, database and desk top publishing programs. Those interested may choose to attend any of the following ses sions: Sept. 13: • 8:30 a.m.-lO a.m.: Hyper Card, a database system. • 10:30 a.m.-noon: Desktop Publishing. Attendance at each session is limited. Reservations may be made by calling (713) 682-3200. Mens and Ladies Texas A&M Watches $32 5 ° Diamonds -shop now at Texas Coin Exchange for the best selection of loose diamonds. We never have a sale. Our prices are always the lowest in town. 30 day money back guarantee. 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