Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1989)
rant r wit wnfai wth a naft. The Battalion Section B Friday, September 1,1989 gnos. hallii te df. ere in e an; Sani: at at orntei char Cleat undt 5 that aroct mdtt oretc m A&M center international in scope Students, economy benefit from international business program By Juliette Rizzo Of The Battalion Staff but n bt ,H I iland colle- inked -and 'ation In the future, the Texas economy, as well as the world economy, will benefit significantly from strong in ternational business relationships. Texas A&M’s Center for Interna^ tional Business Studies (CIBS) has taken the first steps in getting the University firmly established in a wide variety of educational, business and research programs beyond the international threshold. According to John T. Cater’s edi torial overview in the Texas A&M Business Forum, the role of interna- donal business is critical to the diver sification of Texas. For Texas, he said, taking advantage of global op portunities will produce “significant and immediate” benefits to the state and its citizens. He said that in order for such diversification and growth to occur, business people from abroad need to feel comfortable doing business in the state; thus, in ternational relations need to be con tinuously monitored. Cater said Texas has a lot to offer the international market. He stated that due to the abundance of natural resources in Texas and its advantage of having access to several major sea ports, an estimated 340,000 jobs in Texas are directly or indirectly linked to the sale of Texas goods overseas. Another 150,000 jobs re sult directly from foreign invest ments in the state. Through the College of Business Administration and CIBS, Texas A&M is doing its part to develop and enhance instructional programs in international business. CIBS was created in 1985 by the A&M Board of Regents as an educa tional and research resource for the University, Texas and the nation. Since its creation, one of the center’s primary objectives has been to pro mote the offering of international business courses at A&M and abroad at universities such as Stirling Uni versity in Scotland, the University of Lancaster in England and the Kob- CIBS lenz School of Business in Germany. In addition, Texas A&M is in the process of strengthening ties with yet another country, Japan, by estab lishing an A&M branch in Ko- riyama. Beginning in 1990, faculty and student exchanges between the Koriyama campus and A&M will take place. Les Fiechtner, associate director of CIBS, said that although A&M’s international involvement has not been too visible in the past, the ef forts of CIBS are making people re alize that the University is a tremen dous resource to facilitate getting into the international business scene. “A&M is a respectable institu tion,” Fiechtner said. “While most people do not think of A&M as an international mecca, we are becom ing better known. Now, the Univer sity is a mechanism by which people can be assisted and views can be broadened.” To facilitate the actual teaching of business courses overseas, the center acts as a liaison between the College and the Study Abroad Office. Nu merous internships and exchange programs are available to students and faculty and information about such programs is available from CIBS. Several A&M students have bene fited from inquiring about inter nships with international businesses in Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, France and Mexico. CIBS not only provides internship opportunities; it also gives students incentives to study international business by administering schol arships. On Aug. 8, Mitsui and Com pany, a leading Japanese firm, for mally awarded A&M with 10 $2,000 scholarships to be distributed to un dergraduate students demonstrating interest in international business. The awarding of this funding makes A&M the only other American uni versity besides Harvard to receive funding from the firm. Fiechtner said “we’re in good company” as this honor speaks well of the University and its international business pro gram. The center seeks to make students and faculty realize that the best way to learn is through actual hands-on experience in real-world settings. CIBS is committed to the support of research and education that contrib utes to the understanding of the role of Texas and the United States in the world economy. By familiarizing students and faculty with the vast number of opportunities available internationally, the center hopes to contribute to strengthening both the local and international business com munities. General Studies office, Counseling Services help students decide career By Kelly S. Brown Of The Battalion Staff Many students enter college not knowing what they want to major in, so they choose a concen tration that sounds ‘interesting’ or ‘money —making.’ Then, too often, they wake up their junior or senior year unhappy in their major with a feeling that they’ve gone too far to change. The General Studies program tries to prevent that situation. It is designed for students with less than 60 credit hours who are un decided about a major, who have declared a major and later found it unsatisfactory or for students who know what they want to ma jor in but want to take the core curriculum a little slower. Jora Odom, an academic ad viser for the 12-year-old pro gram, said general studies is an option to being tied to a struc tured major and a good path for any student to take. “The biggest bonus with the program is its flexibility,” Odom said. “The students don’t have any course mandated for them to take so they can ride the fence for a while and get a feel for what’s out there academic-wise, while they’re getting an excellent base for their eventual major.” The program, which has advis ers who meet with students one- on-one, works in conjunction with Student Counseling Serv ices, a free counseling program available to all A&M students. The counseling service offers interest-inventory testing, career- interest clinics and a compute rized career-search system. The University admitted 10,564 freshman last fall, of which the program received 1,624. Odom said the numbers of those entering the program is in creasing, and she doesn’t expect anything to stop the numbers from rising. Frustrated men can tie one on with the Shelby knot NEW YORK (AP) — For men who think fumbling with a tie each morning is a pain in the neck, here comes a new wrinkle in the quest for a firm, symmetrical knot. It’s an in side-out style called the Shelby. Touted as the “first new knot for men in over 50 years” by a Midwest clothier, the knot was introduced to a Minneapolis TV anchorman by a viewer who chafed at his lumpy, twisted neckwear. “I got sick and tired of looking at his tie ev ery night. He always had a big knot in it,” said Jerry Pratt, 92, a retired manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who lives in Minne sota. So in 1986, Pratt collared Don Shelby in the lobby of WCCO and, quick as you can say clip-on, shared a formula he had used for at least 40 years. The secret is to start with the seams out. tfiT I he beauty of it is the knot won’t twist to one side or the other. A tie sets the whole theme of dress. If it’s twisted, that’s the first thing people notice” — Jerry Pratt. With a bit of sartorial sleight-of-hand, the knot forms securely and the broad part flows down the shirt, finished side out. The shorter blade underneath still has the seams and the label facing out, although it can be clasped with a pin or twisted so the seams will turn in. It’s simple to tie and works best with wider collars. Pratt, as humble as he is meticulous, said he stumbled across the knot by accident and never thought of giving it a name through de cades of secure wear. “One morning I put my tie on inside out, I tied it and it workeu. That was it,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “The beauty of it is the knot won’t twist to one side or the other. A tie sets the whole theme of dress. If it’s twisted, that’s the first thing people no tice.” Joseph M, a custom men’s clothier in St. Paul, Minn., learned of the knot, refined it and established the tie-in with Shelby. It printed a five-step diagram for customers seeking alternatives to the bulbous Windsor knot or the tightly tapered four-in-hand, the most common knot among American men. “You’re getting a balanced knot, but it’s small and precise, not big and bulky like the Windsor,” Kingford Bavender, an executive with Joseph M, said. “I made up the cards be cause I had so many customers ask me, ‘Why does your tie hang so much better than mine?”’ But because the knotting begins with wrongside out, purists may not like it. “It’s not for everybody,” Bavender said, “You’ll never see one of the Kennedys wear ing it.” The knot’s newness apparently is legiti mate. The method of creating the Shelby doesn’t appear in “Getting Knotted — 188 Knots for Necks,” a reference guide for ties, scarves, as- cots and cravats distributed by Ratti Silk Mills of Como, Italy, and used by the Neckwear As sociation of America. .♦ ' ♦ ♦ Our Hewest SUPERSTORE is Now Open in Bryan! HASTINGS Jfc) BOOKS MORE THAN 15,000 BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM! 30% OFF! All Bestsellers EVERYDAY 10% OFF! 10,000 Book Titles EVERYDAY fc) V— MUSIC DISCOUNTED PRICES EVERYDAY! MORE THAN 10.000 TO CHOOSE FROM! MORE THAN 5.000 TO CHOOSE FROM! We Special Order! SAY NO! TO DRUGS Hastings We’re Entertainment! Manor East - 725 Villa Maria «■» MOVIE RENTALS MON - THU INCLUDING NEW RELEASES FRI - SUN NEW RELEASES $1.49, THRU OCT. 8TH. MORE THAN 5000 MOVIES TO CHOOSE FROM Register to win a Movie Rental Every Week for One Year! 25 WINNERS Must Meet Membership Requirements & Responsibilities. Previewed Movies $7.96 And Up Children’s Videos 99< EVERYDAY! Drop Box For Video Rental Returns Available. Sunday - Thursday 10 am - 10 pm • Friday - Saturday 10 am - 11 pm