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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1989)
2 STATE & LOCAL The Battalion Thursday, February 23,1989 rtment. e a bit )tures out ivariably into some tat the nt public ed with a lis ears, and :re! 1 : on but not ke any class inewhere )* de part ies of Bryan Iryan- iously The t Texas n a mention s when taff at oesn’t the l he te mine) or on the front >sed Sunday Engle did) todate some Lnlion not to word: Irre- ' 1 OK run r the dosing )ean pie.” His ting drugs, eeman? il defense; tere.” He is rational -vn mowers t how often y hose on g, “I realize ft hurt for hurt for ight to edit Utters ust be signed and ►ns lesire them for :ople we desire i compassion, dieted to for> ion. And weal 'urselves from people is the . People and forever. And want them to those who are . They wish to drat their live) ever reach pre rt simply go on r abyss. rssarily evil. 1 tractive, or rm e quality of ad ntensity of ad ontrol and the It also depend from it. In the :ial choice, anf lo can possibl' iphomore psj' unnist for Id Lack of accreditation funds U.N. official asks A&M to help dooms social-work program balance conservation, economy By Mia B. Moody Reporter The sociology department is phas ing out its social-work program be cause it can no longer afford to have it accredited and faculty members believe the program will be useless unless it has accreditation. “In order to get the social-work program accredited, the sociology department would have to prepare for one year and it would have to spend approximately $60,000 to $100,000,” said Dr. Ruth Schaffer, associate professor in the sociology department and one of the initiators ofthe social-work program. Deborah Rabinowitz, a lecturer in the sociology department, said, “We think that our program needs to be certified in order to provide stu dents with the best opportunities to t jobs. Since the department lesn’t have the resources necessary - _., >gy ulty members decided it would be best to phase the program out.” Schaffer said certification wasn’t a big issue until recently when the so ciology certification board began raising its standards. “In the past students could grad uate from a certified program or the equivalent and they would be al lowed to take the social-worker exam,” Schaffer said..“We had the equivalent so our students were al lowed to take the test. Now students can’t take the exam unless they grad uate from an accredited social-work program.” Schaffer said she recognized the problem forming five years ago when former students began calling the department and telling sociology professors their jobs were in jeop ardy because A&M’s social-work program wasn’t accredited. “Though we have never had any problems with students not being able to pass the certification exam,” she said, “we have had problems with them gettingjobs, which is why we began to consicfer the necessity of accreditation. “Many times to get a job in a good paying agency, social workers have to be a certified graduate of an ac credited social-work program,” she said. Schaffer said the social work pro gram wasn’t certified years ago be cause of a court order that pre vented Texas A&M from duplicating courses that Prairie View A&M offered. She said this law ex pired about three years ago. Schaffer estimates more than 100 students are taking the courses which allow them to take the certifi cation exam. The sociology depart ment will continue to provide these courses until the students who are participating in the program finish, which probably will be in August 1990. 50 people exposed to rabies at children’s home MISSION (AP) — As many as 50 youths and adults who were exposed to a rabid puppy at a home for neglected children and orphans may have to re ceive shots to ensure they don’t become infected with rabies, a home official said. Superintendent Ralph Owens said about 37 peo ple were exposed to the puppy, which was brought to the Rio Grande Children’s Home by an employ ees relative, but was unsure how many would re quire treatment. He was scheduled to meet with Dr. Charles Wil son, Hidalgo County health director, to determine how many children and adults would require the se ries of vaccinations. Dr. Wilson said he expected to receive a state-sup plied shipment of rabies vaccine sufficient to give initial shots to as many as 50 people at the home. About 85 neglected and orphaned children, rang ing from six years old to teen-agers, reside at the pri vately-operated home, located on 160 acres three miles west of Mission. Owens said the children were questioned Tuesday by staff members to determine the extent of their ex posure to the infected dog. Some youths played with the 5-month-old puppy until around Feb. 14 when it began acting suspi ciously and “fighting with everything” including big ger dogs, he said. The puppy bit one adult worker and scratched an other, Owens said. The unvaccinated dog was brought to the chil dren’s home by a visiting relative of the worker who was bitten, he said. Dr. David Heflin, a Mission veterinarian, sent the head of the stricken dog to the state rabies exam lab in Austin last week, and officials confirmed Monday that the puppy was the 17th case of rabies among an imals recorded in Hidalgo County since Novemb er. Rabies is transmitted by an infected animal’s saliva through biting or licking. The virus can enter the body through a break in the skin or through mucous membranes, health officials say. Several rabid dogs have been found in rural areas west and north of Mission in recent weeks. About 55 residents of the Lower Rio Grande Val ley county have received rabies vaccinations since November. Patients receive a single injection of ra bies immune globulin in the buttock and a series of five rabies vaccine shots in the arm. By Alan Sembera SENIOR STAFF WRITER The director of the U.N. Envi ronment Program of North Amer ica called on Texas A&M to be in the vanguard of the effort to find ways to balance economic devel opment with the conservation of natural resources. Dr. Noel Brown told about 600 people in Rudder Theater Wednes day night that conservation of natu ral resources is vital for sustaining long-term economic growth. But the reverse also is true, he said, — economic growth is an es sential part of conservation, because many countries are depleting irre placeable natural resources to solve economic problems. A&M currently is developing a research and teaching program in conservation and sustainable devel opment. Brown said A&M will be a useful part of a network designed to de velop a global strategy to sustain economies while conserving natural resources. A&M’s proximity to Latin Amer ica and its expertise in fields relating to conservation and development — especially biotechnology — make the school ideally suited to this task, Brown said. Conservation is becoming more of a global concern, he said, because environmental problems such as acid rain, ozone depletion and global warming affect all countries. Brown compared the environ ment to the stock market. When the stock market crashed in New York, its effects were felt throughout the world. When an ecosystem such as a rain forest fails, he said, its effects also will be felt worldwide, because rain forests are natural sinkholes for car bon dioxide. He said when the forests are de stroyed, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, which contrib utes to global warming. The world also is losing its genetic pool at an enormous rate, he said. About 10,000 species are becom- Photo by Frederick D. Joe Dr. Noel Brown, director of the United Nations Environment Program of North America, speaks Wednesday night in Rudder Tower about methods of balancing economic devel opment with the conservation of natural resources. ing extinct every year because of de forestation, he said. This leads to the loss of plants and animals that are useful to medi cine and industry. Although the rain forests only cover 6 percent of the Earth’s sur face, they contain 70 percent of its species.About 27 million acres of rain forest are being destroyed each year, he said. “Its ominous to be losing forest at this rate,” Brown said. The forests are being destroyed because developing countries need resources to support their econ omies and huge foreign debts, he said. His own country, Jamaica, spends 42.7 percent of its export earnings to service its debt, T his burden has led the Jamaican government to invest heavily in cash crops, which is decreasing the na tion’s watershed. Cutting down the watershed is not good for the long-term health of Jamaica’s economy, Brown said. “We know that we’ve been very naughty, but we need the money,” he said. “Many countries are in the same position of having to sacrifice their resources for short-term gains in or der to service these debts.” Interna tional development agencies must give developing countries alterna tives to destroying their natural re sources in order to sustain their economies, Brown said. These alternatives must include ways for countries to use their re sources without destroying them, he said. Research institutions such as A&M must lead the way in devel oping alternative methods of eco nomic sustenance which preserve the worlds natural resources, Brown said. gpring for a friend! ' ■ ..yV ■ ■ • ' -'.V ' r; - Ti Buy a Whataburger for a friend ^ & get To celebrate the coming of Spring, Whataburger" has an offer guaranteed to make you smile! For a limited time, when you come There’s nothing quite like enjoying a hot, fresh, made-to-order Whataburger® with a friend. This offer is our way of saying thanks in and spring for a friend’s Whataburger® to you, our friends, our customers. So and bring this coupon, you’ll get your come in, spring for a friend, and get Whataburger® absolutely free! your Whataburger ® absolutely free! Buy a Whataburger for a friend. Get yours FREE! Please present coupon to cashier before ordering. Limit one coupon per customer per visit. May not be used in conjunction with any other offer. No substitutes. Coupon good only at participating Whataburger ® restaurants. Coupon expires March 15, 1989. WHATABURGER HOT, FRESH AND MADE TO ORDER. J Spring Blowout Bash Thursday, February 23 Elk’s Lodge (Bryan) Sponsored by: Zeta Beta Tau featuring live from Austin: Corporate Rats For more information contact: Chuck Ray 260-5087 Spencer McDonald 696-7190 “A BROTHERHOOD UNIQUE” Rush Schedule 1. Feb. 23, Thursday: Open Party (psuedo-rush) location: Elk’s Lodge (Bryan) band: Corporate Rats time: 9:01 p.m. 2. Feb. 24, Friday: Rush Party I location: Treehouse Apts. (Phase 1) music: Nick’s Dance Rock-N-Roll time: 9:01 p.m. (B.Y.O.B.) 4. Feb. 28, Tuesday: Smoker (Invite only) location: Frank’s Bar and Grill time: 5-7 p.m. 5. Mar. 1, Wednesday: Date Party (Invite only) location: Plaza Club, 1 st City Bank Plaza music: Concert Pianist time: To be announced. 3. Feb. 25, Saturday: Rush Party II location: Treehouse Apts: (Phase 1) music: Nick’s Dance Rock-N-Roll time: 9:01 p.m. (B.Y.O.B.) S. College 304 Mobile Ave. -ZBT was recently founded locally in the fall of 1988. -New members recieve full rights upon joining colony.