I
Texas A&M
Photo by Frederick D.Jot
er, returns a shot
oaquin Lopez.
es host
tonight
;ams first meeting in
orward David Willie
■ throws with lour sec-
nmg to lift Ric e to a
ver the Aggies.
of A&M's starters
ionble figures led by
i Saber's 16 points,
.tatted eight different
til the Texas game
(tied on the coninina-
nald Thompson ;nd
at the forward posi-
a three guard attack
foiiy Milton, Freddie
t.ivid Williams,
tompson and Milton
I all 24 games this sea-
M.
son is leading the Ag
a scoring average of
s a game and rebound-
The Battalion
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1.88 No. 102 USPS 045360 16 pages
College Station, Texas
Thursday, February 23,1989
Clements defends A&M regent nominations
AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clements de
fended Wednesday his nominations of two
neiv regents for Texas A&M University, al
though some legislators complained that all
of his recent appointments mean neither
A&M nor the University of Texas board
will include a black member.
Clements this week named two men, one
Hispanic and one Anglo, to the A&M
board. One of those being replaced is John
Brady Coleman, the only black on the A&M
board that also oversees the predominantly
black Prairie View A&M.
“On a nine-member board, there really is
no reason why there is not room for the
kind of diversity (where) you could have
blacks and browns and women on the
board,” Rep. Wilhelmina Delco, who chairs
the House Higher Education Committee,
said.
Delco, D-Austin, said the failure to nomi
nate a black sends a poor signal at a time
when Texas universities are trying to re
cruit more black students.
“It seems to me amazing that when we
are seeking diversity in our student popula
tion . . . that our boards of governance for
those insitutions would not reflect that con
cern,” she said.
But Clements, during a brief new's con
ference, adamantly defended his two nomi
nees as the best people available.
“I want to make one thing clear: the
choice is mine,” Clements said. “I found
what I believe to be the two most-qualified
people that I could find to fill this partic
ular situation.”
Clements said he did consider black can
didates for the A&M openings. But he said
no one should criticize the abilities of the
two men he did nominate.
“I have had no one criticize their qualifi
cations,” the governor said. “And I stand by
the appointments. I think they’re excellent
appointments.”
P r
View, was not available for comment
Wednesday. Prairie View released a
statement T uesday saying there would be
no official comment on the matter until af
ter the Senate confirms the nominations.
But Clements again finds himself under
fire from lawraakers, many of whom crit
icized him earlier when he nominated three
Anglos to the University of Texas board.
The barrage was so heavy then that one
of the three withdrew his name from con
sideration, thus giving Clements the chance
to appoint a Hispanic, Dr. Mario Ramirez
of Rio Grande City to the UT board.
Some state senators said at that time they
hoped Clements would name a black to fill
one of the A&M vacancies.
“The fact that the governor has seen fit
not to nominate a black to the Texas A&M
system would mean that both major univer
sities . . . would be without representation
of a black,” Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus
Christi, said.
Noting that Clements’ earlier UT nomi
nations sparked such an outcry, Truan
added, “This is not acceptable. It would
have seemed that the governor would have
seen the wisdom of avoiding another con
frontation with the Senate.”
Student Senate approves
funding for sports facility
By Kelly S. Brown
STAFF WRITER
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When students pay their fees next
year, they might find themselves
paying an additional $35 to fund a
proposed recreational sports com
plex.
The Student Senate approved a
referendum Wednesday night that
reaffirms the results of a 1987 refer
endum supporting the creation of a
recreation sports facility use fee.
The referendum will be presented
to the state Legislature for approval.
Dennis Corrington, director of
Recreational Sports, said 62.7 per
cent of the student body was in favor
of such a project in 1987, even
though the fee then would have
been $50. The referendum went to
the Texas Legislature, but didn’t get
through in time.
“Two years later President Wil
liam Mobley wants to make sure the
student body is still for this,” Cor
rington said. “He doesn’t want any
one to think the administration is
forcing this on them.”
Leanne Rogers, Rules and Regu
lations Committee chairman and au
thor of the endorsetuent presented
to the Senate, said it’s not just an
other fee but a facility that is needed
by the University.
“There is not enough recreational
space anymore,” Rogers said. “You
have to make reservations if you
want a racquetball, basketball or vol
leyball court and it turns into a big
hassle. This facility is long overdue.”
Brian Banner, Judicial Board
chairman, has worked with the issue
since 1987.
“I’ve given speeches to classes and
have received positive feedback for
the facility,” Banner said. “People
want it — it will be like a sports club,
not just a gym.”
Several students expressed dis
sent, saying the students who pay for
know won’t he here to use it.
Corrington said there is no alter
native in situations like this.
“People don’t always get to see the
completion of things they help
build,” Corrington said. “We have to
look to the future and help them
out.”
If it is approved, Corrington said
TUDENT
IRNMENT
UNIVERSITY
it’s likely that plans will begin in Sep
tember and the construction will
take at least four years.
An ad hoc committee on the rec
reational sports complex will be
formed with student representation.
In other action, the Senate ap
proved a general election bill setting
the new- polling sites for the March
30 general election at the Academic
Building, the MSC, the Blocker
Building and Kleberg.
Student Body President Jay Hays
vetoed the general election bill the
Senate passed at the Feb. 8 meeting
because, he said, the logistics of the
polling sites were not feasible.
“There would have to be 200 vol
unteers working two days at six poll
ing places,” Hays said. “And l don’t
see that working out smoothly.”
The bill that passed Feb. 8 was not
the bill the election commissioners
recommended.
Election commissioners Kristin
Hay and Perry Liston asked at that
meeting that the polling places be
Kleberg, the MSC, Sterling C. Evans
Library, the Academic Building and
Blocker Building. However, after a
45-minute debate the Senate ap
proved the following polling places:
the Quad, Sbisa, the Academic
Building, the MSC, the Blocker
Building and Kleberg.
Before the Senate voted on the is
sue last night, Hays asked the sen
ators to be objective and vote for the
good of the student body.
Also during the meeting, Rhonda
Walls, a Ward I senator, and Ty Cle
venger, an agriculture sophomore
senator, introduced three resolu
tions, all of w'hich were approved.
One of the three resolutions for
mally rejected the concept of giving
the A&M Board the power to set un
dergraduate tuition levels. T he Sen
ate wants the state Legislature to
continue its current procedure of
setting tuition.
Clevenger said tuition for the un
dergraduate students at A&M is de
termined by the Texas Legislature,
and he’d like to do everything he can
to keep it that way.
The resolution states, “Giving the
power to the Board of Regents to
raise tuition levels is known as flexi
ble tuition, and the regents are not
necessarily accountable to voters or
sensitive to needs and interests of
the A&M population.”
The Senate also passed a resolu
tion calling on the Legislative Study
Croup to express to the Texas Legis
lature the Senate’s support of House
Bill 111, which allows students to
register to vote when registering for
college.
Clevenger said most students
don’t go to the trouble to pick up a
voter’s registration card, and tnis
process could easily increase the
number of eligible voters at A&M
and other universities.
Clevenger and Walls also called
for increased funding for faculty
and staff.
The Senate passed a resolution
stating the LSG w'ill inform the
Texas Lesgislature of their support
for the increased funding.
The resolution stated that in a
1988 comparison of average faculty
salaries, it was indicated that Texas is
still 10.8 percent below the average
of the ten states with populations
nearest Texas and 4.1 percent below
the national average.
According to the resolution, cur
rent faculty funding has limited the
availability of course offerings.
701 Furthermore, since it is nec
essary to maintain adequate funding
for faculty and staff to ensure quality
instruction, they are entitled to more
money, the resolution said.
The population of the Senate in
creased Wednesday night when 13
senators were sworn in. They are the
following: Kelly King, Diane Purin-
ton, John Albers, Ricardo Gonzales,
Brian Kingston, Perry Liston, Doug
Steele, David Hartman, Bruce Min-
chey, Gina Lyn Mertz, Anneene
French, John Hubert and Brent Ad
ams.
Farmers Write!
Payne Harrison, a 1971 A&M journalism grad
uate, signs copies of his book “Storming Intre
pid” Tuesday at Waldenbooks in Post Oak
Photo by Scott D. Weaver
Mall. The book, about the Soviet takeover of
an American space shuttle, was placed on the
New York Times best seller list last week.
Figures show spring enrollment
down at A&M compared to fall
By Andrea Warrenburg
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
Spring enrollment figures show 36,704 students en
rolled at Texas A&M, an increase of 256 students from
Spring 1988. The figures, compiled after the 12th class
day, also show enrollment dropped 2,459 students
from Fall 1988.
“Historically there are 2,000 to 3,000 less students
enrolling in the spring semester than in the fall,” Regis
trar Donald Carter said. “The majority of our new stu
dents enroll in the fall and summer.”
The spring total includes 29,763 undergraduates,
6,272 graduate students, 477 veterinary school students
and 192 medical school students.
A&M enrolled 6,062 more males than females. Male
enrollment is higher in seven of the 10 colleges includ
ing Engineering, Business Administration and Agricul
ture. More women than men are enrolled in the col
leges of Liberal Arts, Education and Veterinary
Medicine.
The 10 colleges show only slight enrollment varia
tions from Spring 1988, with the exception of the Col
lege of Liberal Arts, w'hich had an increase of 605 stu
dents from Spring 1988.
Minority enrollment is up, especially among Hispan-
ics and international students. More than one-third of
the 1,850 international students are enrolled in the Col
lege of Engineering.
Enrollment at A&M peaked in Fall 1988 at 39,163
students. That same semester, the University had im
plemented new admission requirements for entering
Freshmen.
Military panel appoints Corps commanders
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
Corps Sgt. Maj. Matthewf Pol
ing was chosen Texas A&M
Corps Commander and Corps
Advocate Sgt. Scott McLean was
chosen deputy Corps commander
for 1989-1990, Corps Comman
dant Thomas Darling announced
Wednesday.
“The Corps will continue in
good hands,” Darling said as he
gave Poling the four diamonds
signifying his rank of Cadet Colo
nel.
Poling, a junior biomedical sci
ence major from Bryan, said,
"This is an exciting time to lead
the Corps and I’m looking for
ward to the opportunity.”
McLean is a junior industrial
distribution major from Charles
ton, S.C. He said he was a bit sur
prised but honored by his selec
tion.
They were chosen from five
candidates by a panel of military
advisors. The three other candi
dates were juniors Robert Magee,
Don Parker and Clay Whitaker.
Darling said it was tough to
choose between the five cadets.
“But there is a key place for all
five in the Corps next year,” Dar
ling said.
"A&M has produced fine lead
ers and we’re very proud of Matt
and his accomplishments. He’s
outstanding at everything.”
Gen. Thomas Darling (left) awards the four di
amond cluster, signifying the rank of Cadet
Colonel, to new Corps Commander Matthew
Photo by Kathy Haveman
Poling, a junior biomedical science major from
Bryan while new deputy Corps Commander
Scott McLean looks on.
Accents may present
challenges for students
By Kelly S. Brown
STAFF WRITER
Some individuals believe a com
munication deficiency exists be
tween foreign-born teaching assis
tants and English-speaking students.
Many say the fault for such a com
munication gap lies in a student’s
poor attitude, while others cite a tea
ching assistant’s speech as suspect.
Texas A&M regent Lowry Mays
said he doesn’t know if it’s a serious
problem at the University, but stu
dents have complained to him about
the quality of their teachers’ English.
“I’m one of those people who be
lieves that whether it’s one, two or
five students that can’t understand
or communicate with the teacher be
cause of his accent or whatever then
the student’s been robbed academi
cally,” he said.
“We can’t lose sight of the fact that
this is a teaching institution based on
communication.”
President William H. Mobley said
in a Jan. 24 article in The Battalion
that 6.7 percent of undergraduate
lecture classes and 21 percent of un
dergraduate labs are being taught by
teaching assistants at A&M.
Susan Bernhard, a junior horti
culture major, was in one of those
labs, and experienced a communica
tion problem with her teacher’s assis
tant. Bernhard said the assistant had
about 60 percent proficiency in En
glish.
getting the
point across because of his accent,”
Bernhard said. “It was hard to un
derstand him, so I was spending
most my time feeling sorry for him,
and straining just to decipher what
he was trying to say.”
Mays said something is wrong
with a system that allows that type of
situation to happen.
“If a teacher or teacher’s assistant
lacks effective communicative skills
— whether it’s due to his accent or
even if he has beautiful command of
the English language but just can’t
communicate well — these teachers
should not be placed in the class
room,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
Mays said he realizes some stu
dents try to use a foreign-born pro
fessor’s accent as an exuse for poor
classroom performance.
“They say a teacher has poor
knowledge of English after not get
ting along with a teacher or getting
poor graaes,” he said.
Sandra Burke, of Dublin, Ireland,
is a teacher’s assistant in education
technology.
Although she has received few
complaints because of her accent,
she is aware of the grievances other
teaching assistants have received
about their accents.
“It seems like in America, every
one is brought up with the philoso
phy that they only need to know En
glish and the whole world will
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