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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1990)
2 The Battalion STATE & LOCAL Tuesday, February 20,1990 ns iuichofa - v 'dencet! tocoiKj ecs ‘'I'eser, e y need to "Hgasthe, ‘nsion ben gement.W, ; ' on ) little j <1 there is i! alters cou| 0 bs, like^ Inn. What employee . J Kroger to allot 'em maker ■ecs wereiij they shouli :o success): ‘ilitytolistf I as long as: II the pick; her going t: n/or jourik wereappat ? arm oftli experimej gathering c upon his j International students get help with English By ANDY KEHOE Of The Battalion Staff Living in a foreign country can be exciting, but if you’re unable to speak the country’s native language, it can be a frightening situation. Through the Conversation Part ners program, Rita Marsh-Birch of the Texas A&M English Language Institute is trying to make the En glish language a little easier for in ternational students. With the annual program, Marsh- Birch will match up one interna tional student from her oral skills classes with one American student who volunteers to spend time talking to the newcomer. She said this pairing of students will encourage learning the English language outside the classroom and serve as a cultural interaction for the foreign students. “It’s very important for these stu dents to have English contacts away from the class,” Marsh-Birch said. “Conversation Partners gives them an opportunity to sit down face-to- face with an American to practice speaking and also learn more about the American culture.” Student volunteers are recruited from several organizations. Among them are the U.S. Students Associa tion, Student Y Association, and the local Pi Kappa Phi chapter. Also, vol unteers are required by professors of. certain Linguistics and Honors His tory courses. The volunteer campaign began during the third week of the semes ter. Currently, 107 student volun teers work with 112 international students. “This year’s volunteer turnout has been about average,” Marsh-Birch said. “I’m still looking for a few more to make the numbers even.” Foreign students participating in Conversation Partners hail from 27 different countries, including China, India, Japan, Peru and Turkey. Marsh-Birch said all international students will benefit from working with a partner. “Many of these students have studied the English language in books for years,” she said. “But now they will actually be able to practice speaking it, which is extremely im portant in the overall learning pro cess.” As part of its year-round Cultural Activities Program ELI is planning its spring trip to San Antonio. Activ ities such as these are reserved for full-time ELI students, those inter national students taking 25 hours of English a week. Other annual activities include a summer trip to Austin, country- western dancing at the Texas Hall of Fame and a visit to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham. Deanna Wormuth, ELI coordina tor, said the trips encourage a com- E lete immersion into the English inguage. “They let the international stu dents have a chance to learn about American culture in a more relaxed setting,” Wormuth said. “They can have a fun time while learning.” 'VinboUt er all, wit.; In being# io real pro! in beingi Army, ki who carriti right to ok as on a can tion thank Luby’s Cafeteria manager, Class of ’87, dies of heart attack, buried in San Antonio Armando Cigarroa, 26, Class of’87, died Jan. 13 of a heart at tack in San Antonio. He was a bi omedical science major. Services were Jan. 14 at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church in Harlingen with Father Adrian Correa, Class of ’78, and Father Samuel Arizpe officiating. Cigarroa was employed by Lu by’s Cafeterias as a restaurant manager. Survivors include his wife, Anna Cigarroa; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Cigarroa; a sis ter, Alejandra Cigarroa; and five brothers, Joe, Robert, Valentine, Ernest and David Cigarroa. Williams continues with campaign Mourning gubernatorial candidate reaffirms plans Battalion File Photo STAFF & WIRE REPORTS Republican Clayton Williams, who stopped making campaign appearances last week after a plane crash killed five business as sociates, confirmed Monday he will continue his race for gover nor. “I’m going to keep it going,” Williams told the Associated Press after attending the funeral of one of the victims of the Wednesday plane crash near Putnam, which is located near Abilene. Williams suspended his cam paign and withdrew TV advertis ing after the plane crash that killed four of his longtime friends, two of which were Texas A&M graduates, and the pilot. The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Avi ation Administration and Mitsu bishi, the manufacturer of the plane. The cancellations fueled spec ulation that he would drop out of the race despite leading in the polls over GOP opponents Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Kent Hance, former Secretary of State Jack Rains and Dallas attor ney Tom Luce. Mona Palmer, deputy press secretary for Williams’ guberna torial campaign, told The Battal ion Wednesday that it was not a time to campaign. Monday, in Austin, however, his campaign manager Buddy Barfield read a statement by Wil liams that said the Midland busi nessman considered dropping out of the race but decided to continue. “I realize there may be some rough roads ahead, but I’m sure that — God willing — this cam paign and I will gain the nec essary strength to plow ahead,” Williams said in the statement. “So, starting tomorrow, the Clayton Williams campaign will be back in the saddle,” he said. On Monday, Williams attended Clayton Williams the funeral for Randy Kidwell, the last funeral for the plane crash victims. IJarfield quoted Williams as saying, “I’ve just been through the roughest time of my life, and believe me the pain of the last few days will take a long time to ab sorb. “In the first couple of days af ter the crash, the heartache and the grief were so overwhelming that I did consider dropping out of the governor’s race.” But Williams said the widows of the plane crash victims encour aged him to continue his cam- paign. He will make his first campaign appearance Tuesday in Dallas af ter visiting his newborn grand son. Then he will go to Bryan- College Station to meet with A&M students at 5 p.m. in the Grove. Williams’ television commer cials began again Monday and a new round of campaign ads are scheduled to start Tuesday, Bar- field said. Barfield said Williams’ private plane will not be used for a while to allow Williams’ company pilots more time to mourn. “They’ve got some grieving to do,” Barfield said. “It would be pretty tough to put one of his pi lots back up in the air.” He said Williams will depend on his sup porters to provide air travel for the next few days. Barfield said Williams appre ciated the moral support pro vided by other candidates, both Republican and Democratic, since the plane crash. But he said he doesn’t expect any of them to pull any punches’ for the remainder of the cam paign in the March 13 primary. “Everybody has got to get out there and start executing their game plan,” he said. “As of to morrow (Tuesday), we’re back on the campaign trail.” Barfield said he didn’t know whether the past few days helped the campaign. “We have not evaluated this or looked at this as an opportunity to further the campaign,” he said. “This has been a very grieving time for us.” Campaign staffers have planned rallies in which Williams will lead voters to absentee poll ing places after Wednesday, when the absentee voting period begins. 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