2
The Battalion
STATE & LOCAL
Friday, April 14,1989
3
most
eople
H?
Becky
Weisenfels
Editor
These scientists dupli-
icrirnents that support
de by Utah scientists
eved nuclear fusion in
rch such as this that
otoriety it deserves.
ate. Again, not a per-
my column.
enate may sometimes
hink are silly, but then
Congress. However,
nt Senate members
:ompromise with fac-
with a finals schedule
oth dead days anddi-
vorking to get certain
a teacher evaluation
l the results of those
in course catalogues,
ow the teacher’s qua!-
i other students’eval-
proposal, since you
nyone else without
diflcations and you
. her to educate you.
vorking on other bills
interest, and we owe
i football team. If you
ed them. They were
re on Sept. 16, but the
ing too darn hard. So
ule the game, and so
irricane Bowl — the
\&M went to, by the
ame, but gosh, wasn't
he only dog to have a
n John F. Kennedy,
mg — it was nice to
:e for Rev IV, but 1
went too far. Passing
dn’t know what was
thought it was a sen-
t or something. But
at A&M can you gel
Die to attend a doe's
Horak. The guy with
nber him? As one of
aptly put it, he's the
e world that if you’re
> on your girlfriend,
L in the military.
tember the name of
t she was the student
:uck next to the rail-
to add interest, she
stuff into her new
belongings were still
: car. A train hit her
was interesting.
ere other interesting
this year, but I only
— and it’s still my col-
Is is a senior joum-
tor of The Battalion,
Breathed
I'M 5T/U-
=f m PONT
ZP Ud6L
*(JMNCe.
.WHY ?
Prairie View A&M enjoys
black enrollment increase
National trend, funding give university boost
By Denise Thompson
STAFF WRITER
Due to a nationwide trend of
black students returning to predom
inantly black universities and addi
tional funding for summer enrich
ment programs, enrollment at
Prairie View A&M is steadily in
creasing.
While overall enrollment reached
5,640 at Prairie View for Fall 1988,
enrollment of black students was
4,687, or 83 percent. The increase
comes after a slump when black en
rollment dropped to 3,549 in 1985.
Since that time, overall enroll
ment and specifically black enroll
ment at Prairie View has been on an
upward swing, Elaine Adams, vice
president of student affairs at Prai
rie View, said.
The Texas A&M University Sys
tem recently approved $133,000
from the Available University Fund
(AUF) to help Prairie View continue
its precollege summer enrichment
programs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With his
position as the nation’s highest
elected Democrat in jeopardy,
House Speaker Jim Wright mounted
an emotional defense Thursday
against serious ethics charges and
declared he would “fight to the last
ounce of conviction and energy that
[possess.”
In a 30-minute counteroffensive
delivered to reporters and television
cameras, Wright sought to rebut
pint by point the charges being
lodged against him by the House
ethics committee, which was writing
its final report after a 10-month,
$1.5 million investigation of his fi
nances.
The programs, which are highly
developed recruiting programs,
have had a great effect on increased
enrollment, Adams said — enough
so that freshman enrollment in the
fall constituted the greatest percent
age of students at 39 percent.
Unlike recruitment programs at
most universities, the summer pro
grams at Prairie View not only re
cruit students into college, but teach
them what college is about and what
fields they should pursue.
The Institute for Pre-College En
richment is the main program Prai
rie View offers to high school stu
dents entering the 12th grade.
However, students aren’t subjected
to the usual recruitment techniques,
Adams said.
“Students come on the campus for
several weeks,” she said. “And it’s
not just to become acquainted with
the campus, but also to become ac
quainted with certain careers.
“In this program we have smaller
programs. One of them is MITE,
which is minorities in training for
engineers. We also have other pro-
Flanked by members of his lead
ership team and Texas colleagues,
Wright’s voice choked with emotion
as he defended his wife, Betty,
against the charge that her $18,000-
a-year salary from a Fort Worth
business partner amounts to an im
proper gift.
He said his wife was “a good de
cent, caring, thoroughly honorable
person” and he would “damn well
fight to protect her honor and integ
rity from any challenge from any
source whatever the cost.”
“Whether I’m speaker of the
house, which is the greatest honor
See Wright/Page 7
grams that focus on other disciplines
such as SCOPE, which focuses on bi
omedical sciences.
“So the person comes to Prairie
View to learn about the campus, but
we’re also using it to stimulate their
interests in going on to become a col
lege student in a certain field where
we feel there’s a need for more par
ticipation by minority students.”
Another magnet that’s attracting
students to Prairie View is the Ban-
neker Honors College, which is used
as a means of encouraging minori
ties to pursue doctorates in science
and engineering fields, Adams said.
Nine areas — biology, chemistry,
computer science, math, accounting,
finance, management, electrical and
mechanical engineering — form the
Banneker college.
“There’s a nationwide problem of
black students not pursuing Ph.D’s,”
she said. “Because of this. Prairie
View decided to focus a college ef
fort in that area, and we’ve been suc
cessful with it so far.”
Encouraging black students to
pursue doctoral work is important,
she said.
“One of the factors of staying in
school is having a role model,” Ad
ams said. “If we can expand the
number of students getting doctor
ates and then going on to become
faculty, then we effect the wdiole mi
nority retention.”
Adams said another reason en
rollment has increased at Prairie
View is because it’s considerably
cheaper to attend Prairie View than
A&M.
Statistics from a study done by the
National Association for State Uni
versities and Land Grant Colleges
for Fall 1988 show undergraduate
tuition and fees for a resident stu
dent average $870 at Prairie View
and $1,060 at A&M. Tuition for
non-resident students averaged
$3,990 at Prairie View and $4,180 at
A&M.
See Prairie View/Page 6
Wright vows to fight
House ethics charges
A year in reviezv
Sammis gets ready to charge
into duties of head drum major
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
When Mike Sammis was a ju
nior-varsity drum major in high
school in his hometown of Kill
een, he never imagined someday
he would be head drum major for
the “Pulse of Aggieland,” the
Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.
“My tryout was a spur-of-the-
moment thing,” said Sammis, a
junior eonomics major who has
played saxophone in the band
since he was a freshman. “It was
always something I would like to
do, but f never thought I’d make
it.”
Including Sammis, there are
three new drum majors who will
lead the band, made up of two
separate units, in 1989-1990.
Sammis, as head drum major, will
lead the entire band.
Troy Yoakum is the new infan
try band drum major, and Steve
Hare is the new artillery band
drum major.
They were chosen by a band
committee consisting of represen
tatives from each class, sergeant
and sergeant-majors and the pre
sent drum majors.
Tryouts take place for two days
and consist of candidates direct
ing the band in “The Spirit of Ag
gieland” and “The Star-Spangled
Banner” and teaching a mini
drill.
They were chosen from 12
candidates.
The drum majors have the task
of teaching the marching drills to
the band. The band director, Col.
Joe T. Haney, creates the drills
and gives the charts to the drum
majors to learn and teach to the
band.
In the fall, the band practices
drills every afternoon on the drill
field and Friday and Saturday
mornings at Kyle Field.
They also have a weekly music
rehearsal in the band room.
“It’s very time-consuming,”
Sammis said. “But it’s worth it.”
Sammis also has the honor of
being out in front of the more
than 260 member band leading
them in all activities — marching
during halftime, parades, reviews
and march-ins to Kyle Field.
“I enjoyed directing the band
during try-outs in the band
room,” Sammis said. “But leading
the band on Kyle Field — that will
be something else.”
When Haney retires in May af-
- - :
ter directing the band for 17
years, retired Air Force Lt. Col.
Ray Toler will take over the reins.
“Col. Haney is an institution
around here, and his absence will
be greatly felt,” Sammis said. “He
is loved by everyone in the band.”
He also said no major changes
will take place in the band next
year under the new director.
llll
■" : ’— 1 —;
IIII.IIIIIH
Archie
Challenges The World Again!
with This Coupon N
j FREE Bi^ GER Burgers
i F id ^ E d AC &?u I X & 15
Friday, Saturday Mi i nig ht
V. Qualities Limited ^
Friday and Sunday
Friday Sat D 15
^ ^ AM - 12 PM
twf.tatB Eim hours
Offer Good/J i° CATIONS
23rd winter - CoUege Station
Woodstone O e
w>tch Out
Dairy Qttffn, Jack-In-The-Box
Dairy QueeN^ King!
It's AlU Happening
At
Place
100% Pure Beef
Bryan & College Station
III
-Vi
iiifo
ft:#:;#:*:
p|i
liP
1 '
Hi
ijjt
Iji
'?£
m
■