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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 1988)
Tuesday, September 13, 1988AThe Battalion/Page 3 State and Local ining facilities double as late-night study halls “We knew the situation (library overcrowding) would be worse this fall. After various and sundry things were examined, we came across the other three loca tions. We decided we would try to see how effective it would be to open these spaces. These study halls are not the ultimate solution, but in the meantime, we must provide students with places to study.” —Jerry Gaston, Associate Provost By Sharon Maberry Stuff Writer I Four new study areas have been ppened for Texas A&M students as an alternative to the Sterling C. Evans Library facilities. ■ A&M opened four dining facili ties after hours on Monday for stu dents who find the library too ftowded or too quiet for the work they need to do. These study lounges will be open Sunday through Thursday evenings after ■ining hours. I The four study halls are in: Sbisa Dining Center (East Wing), open pom 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.; Pie Are Square (on the f irst floor of the Civil Engineering/Texas ’Transpor tation Institute Building), open from 8 p.m.-11 p.m.; the Memorial Stu dent Center first floor snack bar, open from 8:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; and the Pavilion Snack Bar, open from 7 p.m.-l 1 p.m. Soft drinks and snacks will be sold at each location. Business Services Director Donald B. Powell said the University is try ing to alleviate overcrowding in the library. He said the new' study halls were opened primarily for students participating in group studies, al though they are open to all A&M students. “There are a lot of times when students working on class projects need to get together,” Powell said. “If students don’t need to use books on the shelf and just need a place to gather, this will work.” The study halls will operate on an experimental basis this semester to see how many students use them, Powell said. Associate Provost Jerry Gaston said the Universitv has been con TE Southwest battles for higher rates I AUSTIN (AP) — GTE Southwest officials said tl ey can prove the need for an $81 million rate increase as a Public Utility Commission hearing started Monday, although other parties have rec- Hmmended rate decreases. I “I don’t know of any other business that hasn’t Had a rate increase or increased their prices since H983,” Rex Timms, GTE Southwest vice presi- Hent of public affairs, said. “I think the merits of Hie case will show that we do have a revenue defi- Hencyof$81 million.” ■ Three other parties in the case have recom- Hiended that G I E Southwest's rates be reduced Hnd that customers be given refunds. Parties met Hriefly Monday to try to settle their differences, Hut they decided to proceed when no compro- Hiise was forthcoming. I Scott McCollough, assistant attorney general Hepresenting state agencies, said, “1 think the company thinks it (GTE) stands for ‘Give Them Everything.’ In my perspective, it stands for ‘Gee, They’re Expensive.’ The commission’s job is to get rates at a reasonable level . . . the commis sion’s notion of what GTE should stand for is ‘Go Toward Equity.’” GTE. Southwest officials estimated the hearing before Charles Smaistrla, PUC administrative law judge, will take four to six weeks. The Office of Public Utility Counsel, which represents residential and small business rate payers before the commission, has filed testi mony recommending a $103 million rate reduc tion and the return of $49 million in what it termed tax overcollections to ratepayers. The state agency said GTE continued to collect state gross receipts taxes totaling $38.5 million, including interest, even though the tax was re pealed in 1986. The public counsel’s office said the company also had another $10.5 million in excess deferred federal income tax. Austin attorney Don Butler, representing 90 cities in the case, has called for a $145 million rate reduction and $40 million refund to custom ers from tax overcollections. The PUC staff has recommended a $71 million rate decrease. GTE spokesman Clovis McAllister said the $81 million increase would mean a 30 percent to 60 percent increase for customers, except for Dal- las-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan area ratepayers with optional extended access service. Those customers in the Houston metropolitan area would get a rate decrease, and those in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area would not see a rate change. GTE serves 1.2 million residential and busi ness customers in suburban and rural comuni- ties. ttorney acquitted of racketeering quits job ■ WACO (AP) — The McLennan Hounty district attorney, who was ac- qi itted last year in a federal racke teering trial, said Monday he will qi it his job and join a manufacturing Hrporation as general counsel. ■ Vic Feazell said he accepted pun- Himent from the State Bar of Texas Hter a local grievance committee ^bcI earlier recommended a two- ytar probated suspension of his law 1 tense. Feazell, 36, will join ASK Corp., formerly American Solar King Corp., as general counsel. Feazell called a news conference Monday af ternoon to announce his resignation as district attorney. “We feel the addition of Mr. Fea zell to our executive staff will greatly enhance our depth of manage ment,” Brian D. Pardo, ASK presi dent, said. Feazell stood trial last year on alle gations that he accepted bribes from certain attorneys in exchange for dismissing or reducing charges against their clients. “Today, I mailed a letter to the governor, informing him I have re signed from the office of criminal district attorney for McLennan County, Texas, effective 9:23 a.m., Sept. 17, 1988,” he said in a pre pared statement. A spokesman said that is the time two years ago that Feazell was ar rested. Feazell said he was leaving his office in good shape, with no cap ital murder cases pending and im provements in office procedures that monitor and move cases more efficiently. I “I want to thank my family, my staff, my friends and my supporters who have stood by me through good time and bad,” he said. cerned with overcrowding in the li brary since last year. “In the fall semester of 1987, the problem began to be very notice able,” Gaston said. “During the spring semester, the library had a sign inviting students studying in groups to use the Pavilion. We rec ognize that students learn a lot from each other and studying in groups is often beneficial. “The large open space (on the first floor of the Pavilion) was not used much the first four nights of the week. We put in tables and chairs and arranged for the Food Services Department to sell snacks. It was a reasonably successful alternative to the lark of space in the library. “We knew the situation would be worse this fall. After various and sundry things were examined, we came across the other three loca tions. A&M Principal Center makes quality leaders By John Adkins Reporter Texas A&M’s Principals’ Cen ter is optimistic about the quality of principals in the state despite decreasing resources. Dr. David Erlandson, head of educational administration at A&M and director of the princi- pals’center said, the quality of pri- cipals in the state is outstanding. “Principals are good barome ters for judging what is going on in schools,” Erlandson said. “And right now they are not doing too badly.” He said funds are not the es sential problem when talking about the quality of education of fered by public schools. Principals and teachers must do their jobs, he said. Principals are required to at tend two summer programs that cover instructional skills and gen eral management, Erlandson said. The principals’ center at A&M offered a very intensive, one-week session this summer covering those two topics. The session was not mandatory, he said. Administrative skills as well as classroom skills were covered during the summer program. “It was very well attended, con sidering that they had to give up summer vacation time,” Erland son said. “We had someone as far away as El Paso come to the pro gram.” There were, however, only a couple of principals from Bryan- College Station that attended, he said. It is the school districts respon sibility to see that the principal at tends these programs, Erlandson said. It is important for people in education to keep up because schools are being called upon to do more than classroom educa tion, he said. “With the breaking up of tradi tional families, schools are being called upon to do more than basic education,” he said. “We’re fight ing very difficult problems. I’ll be optimistic only as long as we keep getting high quality people.” Erlandson founded the princi pals’ center and serves as direc tor. The center serves as an infor mation network for principals across the state. Principals are able to stay informed about changes in public school curric ulum and requirements through the center. The Principal Con gress of Texas also meets at the center every few months to dis cuss changes in education. Er landson said the center sends out a newsletter about four times a year. Capitalizing on Engineer Opportunities CAREER FAIR Tuesday, September 13,1988 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Blue-Jean reception.★ Eat Free BAR-B-Q and show some TEXAS A&M friendliness Wednesday, September 14,1988 9:00 am -12:00 noon, 1:30 pm -5:00 pm Student Interactions* 2nd Floor MSC Thursday, Sept. 15,1988 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Student lnteractions*-2nd Floor MSC ★Blue-Jean reception will take place at the Hilton on University Drive. ENGINEERING CAREER FAIR... Otherwise known as CEO-Capitalizing on Engineering Opportunities-is an annual event sponsored by the Student Engineers Council and the College of Engineering in conjunction with the Placement Center. WHEN AND WHERE? On Tues. evening from 6:00 to 8:00, there will be a blue-jean reception at the Hilton on University Dr. This is a casual reception so leave your resumes at home, bring your blue-jeans and a hearty appetite for the BAR-B-Q being served. Everyone is invited. WHO CAN GO? Students of all majors and levels are invited and encouraged to attend. In past Career Fairs, company representatives extended a welcome visit with faculty also. Alcoa Amerada Hess Corp. Amoco Chemical Co. Amoco Oil Company Arajet Arco Oil & Gas Arthur Anderson & Co. AT&T Bechtel, Inc. Bell Helicopter Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. Central Intelligence Agency Chevron Corporation Compaq Computer Company Conoco, Inc. Cooper Industries Dow Chemical E.l. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. Electronic Data Systems Exxon Frito Lay General Dynamics Greenhorne & O’Mara, Inc. Hewlett Packard Houston Lighting & Power IBM IMSL International Paper Lockheed Missiles and Space LTV Aircraft LTV Missiles Marathon Petroleum Co. Martin Marietta Astronautics Mason & Hanger-S. Mason & Co. McDonald Douglas Mobil Nasa + Northern Telecom, Inc. RNR Inc. Schlumberger Standard Oil Stonhard Sun Oil Texas Instruments, Inc. The Boeing Co. U.S. Air Force U.S. Navy United Parcel Service UTC-Pratt & Whitney Vista Chemical Company Houston, TX Vista Chemical Company Westlake, La Weyerhaeuser Paper Co. York International Corporation ‘Students will have the opportunity to meet the Company Representatives and talk to them one on one.