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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1988)
Aggenizing Answers WHAT WOULD MAKE TEXAS A&M A WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY? Stephanie Cutlip, 18, business major from Houston: “I think A&M would be better if it had a fine arts department and then concentrated on getting in top quality professors and offering more classes in fine arts. I know we already have MSC OPAS, but if they could bring in more art shows and dance companies, it’d be even better. ” Tara Treloar, 19, business major from Houston: “A world-class university should have courses where you teach students, instead of deliberately trying to flunk them out like weed-out courses do. You don’t need to make it so difficult that everyone flunks out. School is difficult enough already. ” Jeanne Kane, 22, wildlife and fisheries science major from Brenham: “A&M is already a tough school, but I think better teachers who can teach in comprehendible English would help it achieve world-class status.” Phil Davis, 20, marketing major from Odessa: “To be a world-class university, we’ve got to diversify a little bit. There’s so much emphasis on engineering because that’s what we’re known for. But we need to be known for every department. I think we’ve achieved world- class status in many areas, but we haven’t come full circle yet. We don’t even have a fine arts college. ” Cynthia Smith, 19, psychology major from Houston: “To be a world-class university, the campus has to be open to more liberal views. 1 don’t mean politically, just open to other viewpoints. Right now, A&M is too close- minded. ” Lindsey Craig, 20, physical education/physical therapy major from Houston: “I think schools need a smaller student-to-teacher ratio. We need more personal attention from teachers . . . where you can feel the professors know who you are instead of just being a number like at a lot of large schools. ” Kathryn Sharp, 19, applied math major from Dallas: “I feel a world-class university is a place where everyone is free to attend and feel like they belong. A university shouldn’t be a homogeneous population. Everyone should feel free to have their own opinions and ideas without being pressured to conform. ” Matt Dougherty, 29, aerospace engineering major from Corpus Christi: “World-class status isn’t something you go out and purchase. It has to be earned. As long as we continue to worry whether we’ve attained world-class status, we never will. Maybe emphasizing research as much as football, and attracting more students for graduate work in all departments would be a step in the right direction.” Ann-Marie Atkins, 20, anthropology major from Bartlesville, Oklahoma: “I think Texas A&M would be a world-class university if fine arts and music were a vital part of the system. I think this is the only thing that’s holding us back.” Jacqueline Catala, 19, psychology major from College Station: “A&M needs to be more open-minded about other cultures and less egocentric. A lot of A&M students isolate themselves by ignoring world issues.” Aggenizing Answers was compiled by Mandy Mikulencak. Photos by Fred Joe and Mandy Mikulencak Thursday, Nov. 17,1988/At Ease/Page 7