Monday, November 14,1988
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Social;
ietnam veteran finds peace
digging into past civilizations
CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — It’s
hard to imagine archeologist Her-
an Smith doing nothing.
His conversation is dotted with su-
erlatives and an occasional enthu-
astic curse. He juggles phone calls
mavli^K n different lines, shuffles through
j the drawers of his office, consults
t ’ W J° f,maps and gulps coffee — “This
)e p I should keep me going for another
e seetBi^ minutes,” he quips,
r n f' I h’s hard to picture him at a cross-
'7°N ; roads. Quiet. Lost.
U0nm ! : But the 50-year-old Smith recalls
| time when he was just that, walking
along a beach questioning his sanity.
He was in his early 30s and had
lecently resigned from the Marine
orps. He’d been an aviator with the
ank of captain for eight years, in
cluding service in Vietnam.
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He’d flown 322 combat missions
and witnesses^ what he calls “a lot of
senseless killing” and returned tired
and confused.
Smith started over. He and his
wife were divorced, and Smith sold
his house, his houseboat and his
sports car to help put himself and his
ex-wife through school.
With help from the GI Bill, he en
rolled at Texas A&I and started
work on a bachelor’s degree in socio-
logy.
Some people feel awkward about
going back to school, but Smith felt
confident and less intimidated by the
stresses of collegiate life.
He got a master’s degree in an
thropology from the University of
Texas and a doctorate in anthropol
ogy from Souhtern Methodist Uni
versity, and, in 1985, he was hired to
be archeologist of the Corpus Christi
Museum.
Since 1976, Smith has been field
director at projects in La Paloma
Creek in Duval County, Los Olmos
Creek in Austin, Taylor’s Bayou in
Jefferson County and Baffin Bay in
Kleberg County.
He’s held adjunct professorships
at Texas A&I and been principal in
vestigator or co-investigator at sites
at Ek Lumm, Chac Balaam and San
Juan in Ambergris Cay, Belize; the
McGloin House in San Patricio
County; a 1554 Spanish shipwreck at
Padre Island National Seashore; an
archaic settlement on Greenwood
Avenue; a Civil War torpedo raft re
covery on Mustang Island and site
near Oso Creek.
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an Antonio school district
ets second TEA warning
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Texas Education
gency has lowered the accreditation of the South San
\ntonio School District to “warned status” for the sec-
)nd time in four years.
A recent TEA report on the 11,000-student school
ystem in conjunction with last week’s move blames the
divisive board of trustees for many of the district’s
problems.
“Examination shows that South San Antonio stu- •
dents are consistently below the performance levels of
x>th the region and the state in academic achievement,”
he report said.
“There is no obvious reason for this other than the
reality that the turbulent behaviors of the board and ac-
ompanying machinations absorb so much of the crea
tive energy of the district that it blunts the instructional
program.”
The “warned status” is just two steps away from revo
cation of accreditation, a move that would cut off $32
million in state funds and force the district, known sim
ply as South San, to close.
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Education Commissioner William Kirby instructed
his staff to begin preparing a briefing on South San’s
history for the State Board of Education should it be
come necessary to revoke the district’s accreditation, the
San Antonio Light reported Sunday.
When a TEA team attended a South San board meet
ing this summer, it expected to see trustees address the
district’s $1.5 million budget shortfall, receive a report
of the booster club’s financial records, and review pen
ding litigation against the district.
But, in a meeting marked by several heated argu
ments, the board did not address the budget and took
little or no action on the remaining agenda items.
“The board president attempted to keep the meeting
in focus and orderly,” the TEA report said. “However,
the disorder and chaos appeared to be status quo. . . .”
South San Superintendent Herbert Harper said
classroom instruction has been unaffected by the
board’s turbulence. The district’s biggest problem is
money, he said.
ewly elected state district judge
could preside over wife’s work
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King v
HOUSTON (AP) — A little-no
ticed outcome of last week’s election
ras that a new state district judge
lay have to pass judgment on his
life’s work.
George H. Godwin, judge-elect
Ifor the 174th District, may be asked
to preside over trials of juvenile de
fendants for whom his wife, a Harris
‘County senior prosecutor, has
sought to be certified for trial as
adults.
Elizabeth Godwin is the chief of
the district attorney’s juvenile divi
sion.
District Attorney John B. Holmes
Jr. acknowledged that having a pros
ecutor married to a district judge is a
novel situation for the county.
“There are 22 district courts and
only 25 certifications a year here, so
I don’t see it as that much of a prob
lem,” Holmes said.
Godwin said he plans to disqualify
himself in the event that a case in
which his wife has a special interest
lands in his court.
Tm sure I can arrange a swap,”
he said. “We can handle it.”
Mrs. Godwin agreed, saying, “I
can’t imagine him being influenced
by the fact that I’d filed a case.”
The Godwins have been married
about five years. Before that she was
chief prosecutor in State District
Judge Robert Lowry’s court and
Godwin was a second-in-command
prosecutor in another court down
the hall.
With neatly trimmed mustache
and beard and a sun-reddened face,
Smith could be cast as the academic
version of Indiana Jones. He moves
restlessly; and as he describes his
most recent trip to Panama, it’s clear
he really hasn’t come home yet.
A specialist in terrestrial archeol
ogy, he was invited to a site at the
mouth of the Rio Belen, where, in
1503, Christopher Columbus and 80
settlers had built a trading post dur
ing Columbus’ fourth voyage.
Smith explains that the explorer
had sought refuge at the site during
a February storm. The river is the
only one on the Atlantic coast of
Panama with a natural harbor,
Smith said and Columbus had heard
that the Indians there had gold.
The problem was that after the
colonists landed, the river’s water
level went down, and the three ships
couldn’t get back over the bar to
open sea.
“Columbus spent three months
there,” Smith said, “until finally they
got a big rain.”
The adventurers got back to their
ships only to find them weathered
and leaking. The Indians attacked
and an eight-day battle ensued. The
ships’ crews were stranded in the At
lantic and had no longboats.
The group eventually headed for
Spain but left behind a fort, a store
house and, somewhere, the ship Gal-
laga, which succumbed to wood-de
vouring worms, had sunk.
And almost 500 years later, arche
ologists are searching for ballast
stones and iron with a magnetome
ter, which detects abnormalities in
the magnetic field.
Any luck?
“Well, six abnormalities — targets
— were found,” Smith said. “And
any one of them could be the ship.”
Smith’s job was to excavate near a
waterfall, high ground that fit Co
lumbus’ description of the set
tlement’s location, for 16th-century
Spanish objects. He straightfor
wardly admits that the search was a
failure. He found nothing older
than from the late 1700s.
But there’s a spot where a land-
owner didn’t want any digging done
that Smith suspects might conceal
remnants of the trading post.
If the Indians were hostile toward
Columbus, the modern Panamani
ans weren’t much less so toward the
band of archeologists.
In Panama City, he and his col
leagues were instructed not to leave
the hotel, and in the jungle, they
didn’t wear white so they wouldn’t
be confused with forces opposed to
the ruling government.
“They looked at us like we were
Martians,” Smith said. “I felt like I
was in a zoo.”
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A104
Physical Education
My first time tutoring was a night
to remember. My student was some
thing called Bone Crusher Reed, a.k.a.
Billy Jo, defensive tackle for the foot
ball team.
I had the shock of my life when
he answered his dorm room door.
He was about six foot seven...in —
diameter And when he shook my
hand, I thought Fd never get it back.
So there I was, face-to-knee with
the big man on campus, wondering
how I was going to relate American
Literature to The Hulk.
t But then he pulled out a can of
Orange Cappuccino. I was shocked!
Could it be that this tough jock
liked its delicate taste? And when
Bone Crusher brought out the bone
china, I was beyond belief
Reading the expression on my
face, he said,“What can I say? I like it.
The Cafe Francais is pretty good,
too.” Well, who’s going to argue, I
thought. As we sipped our Orange
Cappuccino, I discovered that Billy Jo
loves reading novels; his only problem
was poetry. So I gave him tips on
reading Emily Dickinson, and he
gave me a copy of Ann Beattie’s
“Falling in Place.”
All I could think was. Dad’s never
going to believe this!
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General Foods® International Coffees.
Share the feeling.
Marines
Wre looking ibra far good men and women.
Capt. Mahany ’77 846-9036/8891
MSC STUDENT CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL AFFAIRS
MSC SCONA 34
PRESENTS
"Japan: The Power of a Changing Economy'
February 8 to 11,1989
MSC SCONA will be having an informational meeting
for students interested in representing Texas A&M
University during the February conference.
Monday, November 14,1988
8:30 P.M. 224 MSC
GET YOUR CHRISTMAS WISH
WITH A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE IN
MEXICO CITY
DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 5
ENJOY THE AZTEC PYRAMIDS. BULLFIGHTS &
OTHER NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF
MEXICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
REGISTRATION DEADLINE NOVEMBER 14
(SPONSORED BY
MSC JORDAN DESTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS
CONTACT THE JORDAN OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION
845 - 8770
MSC CAMERA
GENERALS MEETING
mmm m li mmm m m mm, mm mmm 9mm mmm m m 9 w
Monday Nov. 14 MSC 026 7 p.m
Special Guwsst
amateyr
are to attend.
/?"' v ""~
McGregor wiil speak on the methods of
All members of the TAMU community
Press One
Yes
-Yes, I would like the opportunity to leave my
mark at Texas A&M.
- No, I would rather just get my degree and get
out of school.
Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
is looking for men who want to
leave their mark at
Texas A&M.
Men who want to look back on their
college experience and say, "I did it all!"
If you are interested in establishing a
fraternity, a chapter of Pi Kappa Phi,
please call our National Representative,
Bill Maycock
at 822-1301
Call Battalion Classified 845-2611