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College Station, Texas
Thursday, September 8, 1988
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Raise your hand if you’re sure
Photo by Jay Janner
Marcus Chaloupka, senior stage manager of the
University Center Complex, directs the lighting
onto “The Hand That Was Not Called,” an 18th
century work by Thomas Beach. The painting is
part of the exhibit “Aspects of British Painting:
1500—1800” which opens today in the MSC.
Testimony continues
in dismissal hearing
By Stephen Masters
Senior Staff Writer
The Academic Freedom, Tenure
and Responsiblity Committee met
for a third day of hearings Wednes
day to discuss the contested dismissal
of a tenured Texas A&M professor.
Dr. Katharine Richards, an assis
tant professor in the department of
modern languages, was notified that
she would be removed from payroll
in May 1986 by Luis Costa, Modern
Languages Department head, in a
letter dated Dec. 16, 1985. Richards
protested the action and is still on
the University’s budgeted payroll be
cause of continuing appeals within
the school.
The school is attempting to prove
one or more of four accusations
among "professional incompetence,
continuing or repeated substantial
neglect of professional responsibili
ties, moral turpitude adversely af
fecting the performance of duties or
to the meeting of responsibilities to
the institution, or to students or as
sociates, and mental or physical dis
ablement of a continuing nature ad
versely affecting to a material and
substantial degree the performance
of duties or the meeting of responsi
bilities to the institution, or to stu
dents or associates.”
Richards and her legal counsel,
Gaines West of West, Aclams, Webb
8c Allbritton, have said the school
has listed no actual incidents of any
of the accusations and have filed a
civil suit with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission claiming
the school is discriminating against
her on the basis of her handicap, sex
and age. Richards is 48 and has had
poliomyelitis since she was 10.
She joined the A&M faculty in
1970 and received tenure in 1976.
She was elected to the Faculty Senate
and its Research Committee in
Spring 1988.
The Academic Freedom, Tenure
and Responsibility Committee nor
mally follows basic court procedure,
but some changes have been made to
accomodate witness’ schedules.
The prosecution normally calls all
of its witnesses prior to defense wit
nesses, but this has not been the case
since the proceedings will last longer
than the originally scheduled three
days. Committee members do all
questioning of the witnesses, but le
gal counsel for each party can sub
mit questions to be asked by the
panel.
Witnesses Tuesday said Richards
gave few explanations in class, stu
dents had problems understanding
her and was absent-minded in class.
Video depositions from some of
Richards’ former students are ex
pected to corroborate these com
plaints.
Costa said one student com
plained Richards tended to call on a
select number of students and ig
nore the rest of the class. Another
former student testified that she had
no trouble in Richards’ Spanish 205
class, but was advised to retake the
course with a different instructor af
ter failing to keep up on the first day
of Spanish 206.
Wednesday’s testimony included
two phone-in witnesses — Dr. Ad
elaida Martinez, a former tenured
associate professor in the depart
ment of modern languages at A&M
who now works for the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln, and John Poin
dexter, a May 1986 A&M graduate
now working for the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center
in Dallas. Both spoke to the commit
tee via conference call.
Martinez, who worked for A&M
for six years through May 1987, tes
tified that she had no way of know
ing how Richards’ former students
See Trial, page 13
I Cooke Cablevision properties for sale;
Tteport says price could top $1.5 billion
By Sharon Maberry
Staff Writer
Cooke Cablevision, the cable tele-
'ision company servicing Bryan-Col-
Hege Station, is up Foi sale.
“I don’t know the reasons why Mr.
pack Kent) Cooke is selling his prop
erties,” Tom Rose, manager of the
Cooke cable’s Bryan-College Station
jptfice, said. “He bought them from
vlcCaw Cablevision about two years
“As far as l know, Mr. Cooke,
limself, is not giving any comment
xcept that it is for sale.”
Cooke could not he reached for
omment.
Rose says the sale should not af
fect present subscribers.
John Southard, southern region
general manager for Cooke Cablevi
sion in Knoxville, Tennessee, agrees
that the sale should not affect sub
scribers.
“1 can’t imagine it having any ef
fect on the subscribers,” Southard
said. “Mr. Cooke ran a very good
company. I can’t imagine anyone
wanting to change that.”
The sale will not be finalized be
fore the end of January or February,
Southard said.
"It all depends on who the buyer
is, and negotiations during the pro
cess,” he said.
“There are no prospective buyers
now. The sale book will he out this
week sometime for the brokers (to
give information to buyers).
“It will be a bidding process. Peo
ple will be making offers. We will
know more on that line 45 days from
now.”
A spokesman for Drexel Burn
ham Lambert, the firm handling the
sale, said the firm is not free to dis
close any information concerning
the sale. However, an article in the
Aug. 29 issue of Broadcasting mag
azine reported that the sale price
could “easily exceed $ 1.5 billion.”
Cooke Cablevision has properties
in 17 states: Alaska, Arizona,
Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, New'
Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Washington and Wyoming, South
ard said.
Cooke Cablevision operates three
cable systems in Texas — Bryan-Col
lege Station, Paris and Victoria.
Broadcasting magazine reported
that Cooke’s cable systems had close
to 700,000 subscribers.
Rose was not able to provide the
number of Cooke Cablevision sub
scribers in Bryan-College Station.
Official: B-CS needs absentee voting
By Susan B. Erb
Reporter
GOP Party Chairman Rodger Le
wis plans to ask the Brazos County
Commissioners’ Court next week to
reconsider its decision to designate
the Brazos Center as Brazos Coun
ty’s only absentee voting site.
In the past, absentee voters in
Brazos County have voted at the
county courthouse in downtown
Bryan. At Tuesday’s commissioners’
court meeting, Lewis asked the com
missioners to set up additional ab
sentee sites on the I exas A&M cam
pus and at Post Oak Mall.
“What we want to do is put the
boxes where the people are,” Lewis
said. “The sheer fact that half of the
county is on the A&M campus every
day is enough to justify the place
ment of a site on campus, and the
second highest traffic area in Brazos
County is Post Oak Mall.”
Lewis’ Democratic counterpart,
Ron Gay, said that he is not opposed
to the placement of an absentee vot
ing site on the A&M campus, but
that it would not be accessible to Bra
zos County residents because of
parking problems.
To set up enough sites to coun
terbalance a campus site, he said,
would be expensive — about $3,000
per site.
Democrats suggested the Brazos
Center, he said, because it is cen
trally located, easily found and has
adequate parking.
The decision will be submitted to
the U.S. Justice Department’s elec
tions division, who must approve
changes in absentee polling sites.
Additional sites still can be added
once a decision is made.
Absentee voting, first established
for voters unable to be in their pre
cinct on election day, now is available
to anyone.
In an effort to boost lagging voter
turnouts, the Texas Legislature in its
last session extended the absentee
voting period from one week to two.
Absentee voters may cast their
ballots Monday through Friday Oct.
19 to Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at
the Brazos Center, pending Justice
Department approval.
UPD arrests 2
for burglarizing
cars on campus
By Jeff Pollard
Staff Writer
University Police officers ar
rested a student and a former stu
dent Tuesday night in connection
with nine automobile burglaries
occurring late Tuesday morning
and early Tuesday afternoon.
Sherry Ann Eckhardt, 19, and
Charles Anthony Cabico, 22,
were arrested after undercover
police officers observed the pair
breaking into a car in the parking
lot behind the Commons, Boh
Wiatt, University Police Depart
ment director, said.
Eckhardt, a sophomore busi
ness major, and Cabico, class of
1985, were picked up by under
cover officers Tuesday.
Wiatt said the officers observed
the couple “acting suspiciously”
around one of the cars parked in
parking annex 56.
“They did not even know we
were watching them,” Wiatt said.
“The problem was that we could
not see exactly what they were
doing.”
Wiatt said that the couple went
from there to the Commons lot
where they were seen standing
around two other cars.
“The officers saw the man stop
in the Commons lot, walk over to
a car and then walk back to his ve
hicle,” Wiatt said. “As he was
doing this a second time, the offi
cer in lot 56 reported that the
window of the first car had been
smashed out.”
At the time of the arrest, offi
cers found two radar dectectors
that had been reported stolen
earlier in the day. A search of
Eckhardt’s apartment turned up
four more radar detectors.
Wiatt said the UPD and the
College Station Police Depart
ment are considering filing addi
tional charges against the men.
“We have to check with the Dis
trict Attorney’s office to find out
how many charges they want fi
led,” Wiatt said. “Rather than file
nine separate charges, they may
want us to file only one or two
and lump them all together.”
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the
men were being held in the Bra
zos County Jail.
’Mobley speaks at first Student Senate meeting
in
ee
11
By Jeff Pollard
Staff Writer
The Fall 1988 Student Senate met
for the first time this semester
Wednesday night. While the meet
ing was mainly devoted to organiza
tional duties, it was highlighted by a
“State of the University” speech
from Texas A&M President William
Mobley.
In his first speech before the Stu
dent Senate since taking over the
President’s office Aug. 1, Mobley
said he was impressed by A&M’s tra
dition of student involvement and
great heritage in developing student
leaders.
“Compared to other schools, we
continue to produce a disproportio
nate number of leaders in all fields,”
Mobley said. “I want to continue to
Isupport and nurture that long
■standing committment to student
I leadership.”
Mobley pointed out the great am-
[mount of cooperation between stu-
sdents and faculty over the finals
Ischeduling issue and expressed his
I hope for that kind of working
I relationship between the students
land his office.
“There will be many times when 1
[will come to you and ask you for
your opinions,” Mobley said, “and I
will always welcome them. My door
is open to your suggestions.”
Mobley took the chance to outline
GO
T l£ X ;
TUDENT
RNMENT
1 UNIVERSITY
tant investments the state can make,”
Mobley said. “If we are to continue
to grow we are going to need the
help of the state legislature.”
After Mobley’s speech, the senate
unanimously passed a bill expressing
their approval of the new finals
schedule and a bill setting the sched
ule for Freshman Elections.
Freshmen wanting to run for the
four class officer positions (presi
dent, vice-president, secretary and
treasurer) and the 10 freshmen sen
ate positions can file between Sept.
19 and Sept. 23. A mandatory infor
mational meeting for all candidates
will be held on Sept. 27. Cam
paigning will begin on Sept. 28 and
end on Oct. 4. Elections will be held
on Oct. 5 in the MSC flag room, the
Kleberg Building, Evans Library
and Sbisa Dining Hall and run-off
elections, if needed, will be held on
Oct. 10.
During committee reports, Jody
Manier, Chairman of External Af
fairs, announced that her committee
would be registering students to vote
Oct. 4, 5 and 6 in the Commons and
the MSC.
Mobley presents finals schedule
plans to eliminate several issues of
student concern.
In response to several student
complaints about the lack of space
and too much noise in Sterling C.
Evans Library, Mobley said that his
office has identified four possible
sites to open up for individual and
group study. He said the MSC] din
ing area, Sbisa Dining Hall, Pie Are
Square and the Pavilion were chosen
for their large spaces and movable
tables.
“The variety of choices for studey
in the evening,” Mobley said,
“should help to maintain quiet and
order in the Library.”
On the issue of campus security,
Mobley said they are conducting a
study of campus to find out where
more lights need to be put up. He
said that plans are already underway
to put up lights and emergency tele
phone boxes along the jogging trail
near the President’s house and in all
parking lots. Plans are also being
made for bike trails on campus.
“The bike trails may eliminate a
few parking spaces,” Mobley said,
“but it will make it safer for bikers
and pedestrians who have to some
times dodge them.”
Mobley pointed but that many of
these problems are the result of be
coming an increasingly large and
complex university. A&M is the sev
enth largest university in the United
States, he said, and ranks in the top
ID in a variety of indicators. With a
new legislative session starting in
February, Mobley said that it will he
difficult schools to get the support
they need.
“We need to convince them that
education is one of the most impor
By Jeff Pollard
Staff Writer
The latest edition of the long-debated and much-re-
vised semester finals schedule was introduced to the
Student Senate on Wednesday night by President Wil
liam H. Mobley.
The new schedule, which faculty, student and Ad
ministration officials have haggled over for more than a
year, will go into effect at the end of the Fall 1988 se
mester.
According to the new schedule, finals will start on the
Monday of last week of the semester. The last final will
be given on Friday morning and Commencement will
be held on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
Commissioning, Final Review and Boot Dance will be
held Saturday afternoon and evening.
“The new schedule means that the campus will still
be populated at the time of graduation ceremonies,”
Mobley said. “It also means that all of the ceremonies
associated with graduation will still be accommodated.”
The new plan has three other major points:
• Finals for graduating seniors will be administered
with other student finals. This means that faculty mem
bers will have to write only one set of final exams.
• Dead week, which Mobley said was never really
“dead” anyway, will be eliminated. Instead, the Thurs
day and Friday before finals week are designated as
“Reading Days” during which no classes will be held.
• Graduating seniors will receive unsealed, unoffi
cial diplomas when they walk across the stage. After
their grades have been verified and all requirements are
completed, a seal will be provided to affix to the di
ploma, thereby making it official.
The new schedule is the result of efforts on the part
of a joint Faculty Senate/Student Senate finals commit
tee and the President’s committee on student finals.
Mobley said he was astonished by the amount of coop
eration between faculty and students and wants it to
continue.
“I had my own opinion from the the sideline,” Mob
ley said. “When I suggested my option, I found out it
would probably take three weeks to get through finals.
That quick dose of reality showed me how difficult the
situation really was.”