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ol.89 No.60 USPS 045360 14 Pages
College Station, Texas
Monday, November 27,1989
Sco-pro solutions
I* Better habits decrease
probation in liberal arts
By Jeff Fulmer
pedal to The Battalion
The percentage of liberal arts stu-
lents on scholastic probation at
Texas A&M has decreased 8 percent
)ver the past three years, the College
)f Liberal Arts director of advising
aid.
Mary Broussard said according to
[988 statistics, 17 percent of the
,400 A&M liberal arts students are
>n probation, compared with 25
)ercent three years ago. Seventeen
)ercent is on par with other larger
alleges on campus, she said.
“It is steadily getting better with a
arger percentage of our students
jetting off probation each year,”
Sroussard said.
Scholastic probation, as defined
>y Broussard, occurs when a stu
dent’s overall cumulative grade
joint average or average in his ma-
or has dropped below a 2.0. Brous-
ard attributes the drop in percent-
ige to a new stance taken by the
rouji ;ollege as a whole.
“I think it can be attributed to the
ii’tlos [act that the college has begun to
ake a serious look at our probation
KCBtudents, which means they do not
let students jeapordize their educa-
ion by allowing them to continue if
u# heir grade average drops each se-
botpiiester,” she said.
“We have found that it is essential
hat we take a much more responsi-
)le position with the probation stu-
lents, so as not to allow them to put
hemselves in a position where ulti-
ttle k nately they won’t earn a Texas
UfcM degree.”
Broussard said another reason for
preventive measures by contacting
the students before they go on pro
bation and giving them a warning.
The college also urges students on
probation to take advantage of the
resources and campus services avail
able to them, such as tutorial and
counseling services, she said.
“Making a student sit out is a
really big decision to make, because
the college is in the business of mak
ing sure our students graduate,”
Broussard said.
“We don’t let our students go in
definitely until they are so far in the
hole that they can’t get out and earn
a degree. Liberal Arts looks at each
student individually and we don’t
have a formula that we use to deter
mine who stays in the college and
who doesn’t.”
There are a wide variety of rea
sons students are placed on proba
tion, she said. Fall 1988 statistics
from liberal arts probation confer
ence surveys said the number one
reason for probation is inadequate
study skills. Other reasons include
procrastination, lack of interest in
the course, personal and financial
problems, family problems and
problems with comprehension, she
said.
“A lot of it has to do with students
not developing good study skills and
time management, but it has nothing
to do with class rank,” Broussard
said.
The best advice Broussard can
give students on probation is to “fo
cus on the here and now and the
positive things.” If students develop
good study skills and manage their
time wisely, she said, everything else
I ii
thei
pe w he drop is that the college has taken should fall into place.
SC Hospitality
ights up holidays
Cotton pickin’ Razorbacks
Razorback cornerback Anthoney Cooney(left) celebrates with
teammates after intercepting a Lance Pavlas pass in the A&M-
Arkansas game Saturday. The interception sealed the Hogs’
victory and helped earn them a trip to the Cotton Bowl.
Special to The Battalion
ly Michelle Boyd
It’s beginning to look a lot like
Christmas, with the help of MSC
Hospitality.
“Holiday Happenings,” a week-
long program beginning today, will
romote a holiday spirit for stu-
ents, faculty and staff, said Liz
Tisch, holiday program executive.
The week’s events will include a tree
lighting ceremony, fashion show,
0 noonday programs and an arts and
crafts show.
The noonday programs begin to
day with the tree-lighting ceremony
from 12 to 1 p.m. in the MSC flag
|room, Tisch said. Student organiza
tions will decorate the tree and Dr.
jjohn Koldus, vice president for stu
dent services, will light it.
A fashion show, sponsored by Bri
dal Boutique, will follow the cere
mony. Hospitality members will
model evening wear and tuxedos for
the holiday season.
From Tuesday to Friday, the
noonday programs in the flag room
will feature area choirs. Allen Aca
demy Choir will perform Tuesday,
Century Singers on Wednesday,
Women’s Chorus on Thursday and
Voices of Praise on Friday.
An arts and craft show will take
place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tues
day and Wednesday in the Rudder
Exhibit Hall. The show will include
crafts from Aggie Mom’s Clubs and
various independent craft dealers
throughout Texas. Tisch said
Christmas and Hanukkah gifts and
gift ideas will be available.
“The craft show gives students the
chance to buy gifts or get ideas for
the holiday season, particularly since
finals will be so close,” she said.
Hospitality members will set up a
booth for Christmas cards, postcards
and other gifts. The cards and gifts,
made by Hospitality members, are
part of an ahnual fundraising pro
ject.
A&M to establish AIDS policy
Committee expected to recommend final proposal
for President Mobley’s approval by end of semester
By Melissa Naumann
Of The Battalion Staff
The AIDS epidemic is not being
ignored at Texas A&M.
A committee to establish A&M’s
policy on AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome) has been
working since May 1988 to outline a
plan to educate students, faculty and
staff about AIDS.
Former A&M President Frank
Vandiver appointed the committee
to do three things: recommend the
adoption of a general statement on
A&M’s response to AIDS, recom
mend policy and procedural
guidelines relating to the specific is
sues involving AIDS and promote
educational programming to the
University community.
The committee, chaired by Dr.
Jerry Gaston, associate provost, has
continued to work under President
William Mobley.
The committee probably will pre
sent him with a final proposal before
the end of this semester.
Although the policy is not in final
form to present to Mobley, one part
of it has been put into action.
Two sections of the University
Rules and Regulations have been
adapted to include the term “sexual
orientation.”
“Students shall be treated on an
equal basis in all areas and activities
of the University, regardless of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orienta
tion, age, national origin or educa
tionally unrelated handicaps,” the
1989-90 regulations read.
The regulations on page 31 re
garding student life were changed
also, defining sexual harassment as
ranging from “unthinking and often
verbal denigration of a person on
the basis of gender or sexual orienta
tion to actual physical assault.”
Another committee proposal,
which will not require presidential
approval, will be the establishment
of a new one-hour course on social
diseases.
Home sweet home
Derek Spears, a senior electrical engineering
major, pops a movie into his VCR as he
camps out in front of G. Rollie White. Spears
Photo by Kathy Havcman
pitched a tent at 2 a.m. Saturday in order to
get tickets for the A&M-Texas game. Senior
tickets will be distributed to day.
Bentsen, Vandiver featured at meeting
to charter state space grant consortium
UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE
AUSTIN - The two-day charter meeting for the
Texas Space Grant Consortium begins here Tuesday
and will be highlighted by addresses from Sen. Lloyd
Bentsen and Texas A&M University President Emeri
tus Frank E. Vandiver, originator of the Space Grant
Program concept five years ago.
Bentsen and Vandiver are credited with most of the
responsibility for establishment of the national pro
gram of new space-related education and research.
The Texas Space Grant Consortium — consisting of
21 universities, two state agencies and 18 aerospace or
research organizations — was one of 17 such groups es
tablished nationally in August.
Bentsen will speak at 4 p.m. in Bass Lecture Hall of
Sid Richardson Hall at the University of Texas at Aus
tin, and Vandiver will speak at 8:30 p.m. at the Radis-
son Plaza Hotel.
Other agenda items for the meeting are a Texas
Space Grant status report and a report from the Na
tional Aeronautic and Space Administration on its per
spective of the national program which NASA will ad
minister.
Under provisions of the program, both Texas A&M
and UT hold the title of Space Grant College and share
the consortium leadership by virtue of past records in
space-related research and number of graduate de
grees in related fields.
The Space Grant Program director’s office is located
at UT while the consortium’s board of directors is
headed by a Texas A&M representative.
Also attending the meeting from Texas A&M will be
Oran Nicks, chairman of the board of directors of the
Texas consortium and director of the campus’ Space
Research Center.
Associate consortium director Dr. Sallie V. Shep
pard, associate provost for honors programs and un
dergraduate studies, also will attend the meeting.
Carbon monoxide deaths appear accidental
By Julie Myers
Of The Battalion Staff
A Texas A&M student and a Ce
dar Park woman died in a College
Station home Friday after being
overcome by carbon monoxide
fumes from an unventilated gas
heater.
Police said Allen Ludwig Jr., 22, a
senior civil engineering major from
San Antonio, and Stephanie Beach,
21, were found dead in a bedroom
of the home by Ludwig’s roommate
around 1:25 p.m. Friday.
Preliminary cause of death for
both has been listed as carbon mon
oxide poisoning. The deaths are be
ing treated as accidental, but partial
autopsies were ordered to determine
the exact cause of death.
Authorities said the carbon mon
oxide probably backed up into the
room from a closed vent hood on a
gas heater. Bryan Fire Department
officials registered readings of more
than 300 parts per million near the
bedroom where the bodies were
found. The Environmental Protec
tion Agency allows a maximum car
bon monoxide level of 50 parts per
million in the workplace.
Services for Ludwig will be held
Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Luke’s
Catholic Church in San Antonio.
Services for Beach will be Tues
day at 2 p.m. at Schmidt Funeral
Home in Brookshire.
Bus passes
Shuttle bus passes for the
lie Service Booth in Rudder start
ing today. Bus passes are $50 per
semester, and students can pay
for them through registration fee
options or at the booth.