Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1988)
1 tie tsattaiion Voi. 88 Mo. 24 CISPS 045360 14 Pages College Station, Texas Thursday, September 29, 1988 Effect By Susan Stubing Staff Writer Presidential debates are standard in America’s election process today, but it is sometimes difficult to deter mine how much influence these of ten fiery confrontations have on voter opinion. The impact of a debate and the in fluence it exerts on election results varies from year to year and from candidate to candidate, A&M politi cal science professor George Ed wards said. “Sometimes a debate can be very effective in predicting people’s opin ions,” Edwards said, “but the poten tial of effectiveness varies.” After one of the 1980 Carter-Rea- gan debates, Reagan’s popularity in the polls increased substantially in the days immediately following the debate, Edwards said. Reagan even tually broke the neck-in-neck tie with Carter and won by 10 percent age points. In that instance, the de bate clearly made a difference, Ed wards said. In the 1984 election, however, the debate did not sway voter opinion significantly. “During the Reagan-Mondale campaign,” Edwards said, “people’s opinions were in place long before of debates hard to determine the debates took place.” Therefore, there was little potential for the can didates to influence the voters, he said. But in 1988, Edwards said, the de bates are likely to have a greater in fluence on public opinion because many voters are not yet “sold” on ei ther candidate. “The debates have more potential this year because people’s opinions are more volatile,” he said. “There is more indecision and people are less intensely committed to the candida tes.” An unusually large percentage of the population is not strongly committed to the campaign at this point, he said. Although this year’s debates may have a greater impact on the election than in the past, their influence still is not significant. Political Science Department Head Dr. Bryan Jones said, because most of the people watching the debate already favor a certain candidate. The viewers that would be affected most by the de bate are those with few predisposi tions toward the candidates, he said. “The debate itself is not tremen dously important,” Jones said, “be cause most viewers already know who they like.” What is important, he said, is how the media portrays the debate to non-viewers. “What the public hears about the campaign the next day determines the impact of the debate,” Jones said. The press plays a large role in de termining the outcome of the con frontations, he said. Representatives for each candidate try to convince the media that their candidate won the debate, because positive media analysis is crucial. As a rule, the underdog has the advantage, Jones said, because the candidate who is ahead has more to lose. But determining who won the de bate is a difficult task, especially if neither candidate makes a terrible blunder. The way a candidate presents himself and how he responds to ad dressed questions are good criteria for evaluating the debate, he said. “Clearly, I think that how one pre sents himself to the public makes a difference,” Jones said. “It isn’t the determining factor, but is does make some difference.” The candidates’ views on the is sues presented and the way they an swer questions also can help decide the “winner.” It is easier to deter mine who wins each debated issue than it is to determine the overall winner, Jones said. “People do pay attention to issues to a certain extent,” Edwards said, “but they don’t make too much of a difference because the issues are not fully illuminated.” Candidates debate over tax breaks Associated Press Michael Dukakis waved a $20 bill in the air Wednes day and ridiculed George Bush’s plan for a middle-class tax break as worthy of Ebenezer Scrooge. The vice president said his idea would give average Americans a chance at a little nest egg. An aggressive Dukakis also accused the Reagan ad ministration of permitting a “Hall of Shame” to spring up over the last seven years, citing dozens of top admin istration officials who broke the law or violated the pub lic trust. He said he would crack down on lobbying by officials who leave their government posts. Bush tried to turn the tables on his rival, criticizing the Democrat’s plan for people to repay student loans through a lifetime of payroll deductions. “We do not need to put the IRS on your tail for the rest of your life,” he said. Vice presidential candidates Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bentsen went through their daily campaign paces as they pointed toward next week’s nationally televised de bate in Omaha, Neb. Dukakis stepped up his attack on Bush’s new plan for tax-deferred savings accounts as he campaigned in Western Pennsylvania. Waving a $20 bill to represent the amount the aver age family would save in a year, he declared, “George Bush plays Santa Claus to the wealthy and Ebenezer Scrooge to the rest of us.” That was a reference to Bush’s call for a cut in the capital gains tax, a move that Dukakis says would give huge benefits to the rich. Bush set out on a 150-mile bus tour through Illinois combining political offense with defense. He said his proposal for tax-deferred savings account was a move designed to “give taxpayers a little nest egg.” Under the plan, low or middle income Americans could invest up to $1,000 a year in a long-term savings account and defer paying taxes on the interest. A&M SAT scores rank high Freshmen gain election record By Juliette Rizzo Staff Writer The Scholastic Aptitude Test scores for the Fall 1988 freshman class are the highest for any fresh man class in the history of Texas A&M, Dr. Dale T. Knobel, director of the University Honors Program, said. “The average freshman SAT score jumped 19 points,” Knobel said. “This should place Texas A&M among the leading state universities in Texas.” This year, 636 freshmen had SAT scores higher than 1,250, he says. The average SAT verbal score was 486, compared with 478 in 1987. The math score was 557, an increase from 546 last year. “The 250 students here on presti gious academic scholarships such as the Lechner, the McFadden and the President’s Endowed Scholarship, have a mean SAT score of over 1,370,” he said. AUSTIN (AP) — University of Texas Longhorn band director' Glenn Richter said this week that the school’s fight song may be replaced if students continue to replace the ly rics with a certain scatalogical phrase. The official school fight song at the university goes, in part, like this: “Give ’em hell! Give ’em hell! Go Horns Go!” The song is played by the band during university football games. A&M president William H. Mob ley said this year’s high SAT scores indicate A&M attracts top students. “We are obviously pleased that our entering freshmen are coming to us with increasingly impressive academic credentials,” he said. “We believe this to be reflective of our ef forts to make Texas A&M even more attractive to top students. Honors programs, strong faculty, solid curricula in each of our col leges and A&M’s emphasis on stu dent leadership development com bine to make Texas A&M a highly desirable university for top stu dents.” Glenn Dowling, director of plan ning and institutional analysis said the freshman class’ average SAT score of 1,043 is 139 points higher than the national average score. Nationally, SAT scores declined for the first time in eight years. The But the ‘Go Horns Go’ portion of the song has given way to another phrase many students replace it with. A University of Texas source said the phrase is repalaced with ‘Make ’em eat s—.’ Band director Richter would like to see an end put to the use of this phrase. In a memo Richter sent this week to the University’s Rally Advisory Committee, he said the fight song average national score on the verbal section was 428, and the average na tional math score was 476. Dowling said that under an enroll ment management program, enroll ment in the University was con trolled and limited this year. “We maintained our standards from last year, but the required scores for automatic admission were increased at all levels of SAT and high school ranking,” he said. “Stu dents in the top quarter of their graduating high school class with an SAT score of 1,000 or above were admitted automatically.” Of 1,938 students who applied for admission, 1,496 were accepted. Knobel says that over the last seve ral years, A&M has been among the top 10 universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars. This may be replaced if students don’t co operate with attempts to end the phrase’s use. “These words are embarrassing for the school, the band and the stu dent body,” Richter’s memo con cerning the controversy said. Problems with the song occur most often at high-emotion games, such as those games that are played against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, he said. At those games, the chanting of year’s freshman class includes 113 National Merit Scholars. He says that the scholars are at tracted to A&M because of the hon ors program opportunities available here. “Many students with high SAT scores received academic recogni tion in high school,” Knobel said. “The overwhelming majority come here to actively participate in the University Honors Program. Those who, a few years ago, would only look at Rice in terms of academic and honors opportunities available, are now looking at A&M because of the honors program and because of cheaper costs, since that is definitely a factor in selecting a university. “Overall, the image of the univer sity as a leading research university and as a place where a variety of un dergraduate study is available, is what attracts high quality students to A&M.” the phrase has been broadcast over national television and radio, Rich ter said, and they don’t promote spirit or a good image of the school. Melinda Jolly, a junior art major, said she believes attempts to stop stu dents from modifying the song are not fair and seem to be “kind of judgmental.” “Everyone who says it knows it’s just in good fun,” Jolly said. “I think students are still going to use that quote.” By Kelly S. Brown Staff Writer When the Class of ’92 came to Texas A&M in August as the largest freshman class in the nation, it was speculated that they might break a few other records as well, and so far, they’re off to a good start. The number of students running for freshman positions, in Student Government has increased by 300 percent since last year — an A&M record. Perry Liston, a junior business major and co-chairman on the elec tion commission from the executive branch, said the competition is fierce. One-hundred and five freshman are competing for 16 positions, and the quality of these students is high, Liston said. “I can tell they know they’re speci al,” he said. “We’re motivated with the turn out, we have great hopes for them, and know they’ll produce a fine class,” Liston said. Liston attributes the increase of applicants to effective advertisement around the campus as well as Stu dent Government being emphasized at Fish Camp this summer. Whatever it was that drew the ap plicants in, it worked, he said. Fifty-six freshmen are running for senator positions, and 10 will be chosen. Sixteen students are run ning for president, 14 for vice-presi dent, six for secretary, six for trea surer, four for social secretary and three for historian. Student identification cards are required for students wanting to vote in the election Oct. 5 in the Kle berg Building, MSC flag room, Evans Library, Sbisa Dining Hall and on the Quad. Run-off elections will be held on Oct. 10, if necessary. Student Government also has 12 senate seats open to anyone, other than freshman on campus. Seats open on campus include one senator from either Aston or Dunn and one senator from either Spence or Briggs. Off-campus open seats include four senators from Ward II (west of Texas and south of University), one senator from Ward III (east of Texas and north of University) and four senators from Ward IV (west of Texas and north of University). A seat also is open to any agriculture senior. Michael Kelley, a senior political science major and Speaker Pro- Tempore, said the Ward seats are traditionally the hardest to fill. “We would like to see all positions filled, especially in Ward IV,” he said. “Ward IV includes students liv ing in University Apartments (mar ried student housing), and they have never been represented, and we would really like to see them apply this year.” Applications can be picked up on the second floor of the Pavilion in the Student Government office. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. U.T.’s fight song may be replaced Photo by Kathy Haveman What’s wrong with this picture? Arnold Strickland of McKenzie, Tenn. checks a in to the Old Chemistry Building Wednesday. He moving truck’s tire while workers move furniture should have checked the spelling on the truck. Opportunity to drop classes by Q-drop concludes Friday By Juliette Rizzo Staff Writer Friday is the last day for students to Q-drop classes without academic penalty. After the 12th class day of the se mester, a student can drop a class with the approval of an adviser in the student’s college, says Kriss Boyd, director of general studies. “In between the 12th class day and the end of the fifth week of classes, students can drop courses without a grade showing up on their transcripts,” she says. “The only thing that does show up on the stu dent’s records is a Q, which stands for drop without penalty. Yes, the Q does show up on the transcripts, but it is not necessarily negative. The Q does not affect the student’s hours or GPR.” Boyd says students may drop courses for a variety of reasons. “Students may need to drop courses for personal reasons, health problems or because of a job,” she says. “Some students find that they just don’t have the background to take a certain class.” Some colleges may put restrictions on Q-dropping, she says. “The College of Business allows a student to Q-drop only two courses while in the college,” she says. “In the College of Engineering, students are allowed only one ‘free’ Q-drop. “With the increasing importance of GPRs to staying enrolled in a spe cific college, a student who is not doing well in a course may benefit from Q-dropping instead of letting one grade bring down his entire GPR.” To Q-drop a class, the student must fill out a Q-drop form by 5 p.m. Friday and have the request au thorized by a college dean or ad viser. Refunds are not made for courses dropped during the Q-drop period. A student who drops a course af ter the Q-drop deadline will receive a grade of F unless otherwise speci fied by a dean. NASA says shuttle will launch today CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Discovery’s five astro nauts, anxious to break an ag onizing 32-month drought in American spaceflight, studied re vised flight plans Wednesday as the shuttle was readied for a Thursday midmorning launch. NASA officials were nervous, but confident. “The space shuttle is ready to fly,” shuttle administrator Rich ard Truly said. “Even the weather is looking good.” The ship, obscured for weeks behind a giant scaffold, stood ma jestically in view after NASA re tracted the structure. The process took place hours early, so workers will have a head start on final countdown procedures. Fueling was to begin shortly af ter midnight, with the craft bathed in brilliant spotlights. “This has been a long 2 years,” Truly said of the difficult period since the Challenger accident in 1986. Liftoff was scheduled for 9:59 a.m., with a two-hour win dow to take care of weather or technical delays.