Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1988)
Michael Morris’ dorm room looks basically like anyone else’s. Ph ° t0 ^ Dean Sait ° handicapped students on campus and off. But Landry and Murray say A&M is set up better than other schools in Texas. “I have some friends who go to the University of Texas, and they say it’s hard to get around there, ” Murray says. “It’s not as flat there, so going across campus is more difficult than here. ” Landry learned from friends at the University of Texas at Arlington that l JTA has dorms designed for handicapped students. “There is a section of the dorms that are geared for handicapped students,” he says. “It is connected to the regular dorms, but it is adapted, like with different shelf heights and modified bathrooms, and all the handicapped students live there. “I like the way it is at A&M much better,” he says. “I lived on campus here for a while, and I didn’t have that much trouble getting around. Plus, there was always someone around to help if I needed it. ” As far as help goes, A&M gets gold stars for consideration for handicapped students. “I have a manual wheelchair, and it is never a problem getting help, ” Murray says. “I meet half the people I know when they help me, because they will ask if I need help and we start talking. People are always helping if they are going my way, or are quick to open doors.and things like that. ” Landry has had similar experiences. “Everybody is more than happy to help out, and they are always really friendly,” he says. “That makes getting around a lot easier. Landry and Morris both have electric wheelchairs. Morris says it is easy to get from one part of campus to another without help, but the paving sometimes poses a problem. “Half this school is paved with cobblestones, and driving over them really shakes my chair, ” he says. “I already have muscle spasms, and they aren’t helped by the rough ride. ” But drawbacks aside, A&M seems to be a pretty good place for handicapped people to study. All three students have definite plans for careers upon graduation. Landry plans to go into real estate when he graduates. “I would like to work with builders on the housing situation for handicapped,” Landry says. “A lot of times it’s hard to adapt a home for a handicapped person. Builders don’t want to go to the trouble and expense. I hope to change that somewhat and try to make handicapped housing easy and affordable for more people. ” Although Murray hasn’t declared a major yet, she hopes to get into the education department and teach after college. “I might like to work in special education,” she says. “I love kids and I think it would be great to teach them. ” Morris also wants to teach, and hopes to graduate with a degree in biology. “I want to teach high school, ” he says. “I love biology and would like to teach somewhere in the Houston area. ” CAMAC boosts A&M culture By Suzanne Hoechstetter Promoting Hispanic cultural programming at Texas A&M will be the topic of a round table discussion Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in 226 MSC. The discussion is being sponsored by the Committee for Awareness of Mexican American Culture (CAMAC). Sophomore philosophy major Robert Villarreal, program director for CAMAC, says one of the group’s goals this year is to steer away from the political programming they have traditionally emphasized, so they can help sponsor more cultural programs. “One of the most productive avenues of dealing with stereotypes is through cultural awareness,” Villarreal says. Students and professors will discuss the kind of programs they would like to see at A&M. One table will discuss the possibility of creating a Latino theater group which would produce bilingual plays by Hispanic playwrights. One night the play would be performed in Spanish, and the next night it would be in English, Villarreal says. Another table will discuss how Hispanics can bring more cultural taste to The Battalion by possibly having editorials in Spanish. The program will also talk about creating Mexican-American and/or Latin-American studies at Texas A&M. The Brazos Symphony is reviewing symphonies written by Hispanic composers, and are considering co-hosting an annual program with CAMAC featuring Hispanic symphonies. The symphony’s first Hispanic program will be in March 1989. Villarreal says the committee hopes to accomplish an alliance between Hispanic student organizations through the cultural awareness they will plan at the Tuesday night program. “There is a common link that can’t be denied,” he says. “We need to remember that. The program is open to all students — not just Hispanics. We need to educate everyone about Hispanic culture. Not even all Hispanics know about their own culture. ” The program is open to all students interested in Hispanic culture, the world or moving cultural themes onto A&M’s campus, Villarreal says. “We want to encourage all ethnicities to have a cultural movement on A&M’s campus,” he says. .Thursday, Nov. Tp,/I98$/Af £a^/page 11