The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 19, 1990, Image 3

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    845-3;
►rtl
do the lab
d $6.6millif/
: works?
i financial
;)ther librarj
Itlish a shuilit
rary, (as oun
■ spendingil-
1 money
intages of
tracks
that thetis
:ular or
se levels
d the da%
nt would i
x>d, butnoi
is but
'exas A&M;
jnds.
The Battalion
STATE & LOCAL
Thursday, April 19,1990
Local PTA sponsors TV-free week
By BILLHETHCOCK
Of The Battalion Staff
Students and teachers in Bryan’s Crockett El
ementary School are going to spend a week with
out what often is considered a necessity in today’s
world — the television set.
The Crockett Parent-Teacher Association is
sponsoring a program to encourage students and
their families not to watch TV for one full week.
The program, called “TV Turnoff Week,” will
start Friday.
The purpose is to show people involved in the
program the role television plays in their lives,
Nancy Simpson, a PTA TV turnoff committee
member, said.
Simpson said the idea for the week without TV
came from a book she read by Marie Winn titled
“Unplugging the Plug-In Drug.”
Simpson presented the idea for the week-long
turnoff to the PT A and to Crockett principal Er
nest Johnson.
Johnson liked the idea and decided to give it a
try at the elementary school.
Johnson said he hopes all 650 students at
Crockett will give up television or at least cut back
on the amount they watch during TV Turnoff
Week.
“The idea is to have fun with it,” Johnson said.
“There is no penalty for watching TV this week.
We’re just trying to discourage it and emphasize
the fact that watching television is a choice we
make.
“Every time you turn on the TV, you are
choosing not to do something else.”
Simpson said she does not expect drastic long
term changes in students’ viewing habits.
She said, however, that hopefully the week will
force people to consider how much time they
spend watching television and evaluate what they
watch more carefully.
“It’s hard to predict whether this week will
E-very tune you turn on the TV,
you are choosing not to do
something else.”
— Ernest Johnson,
school principal
change how much TV people watch,” Simpson
said. “I don’t think anyone will throw out the TV
for good, but maybe they will think about what
they’re doing before they turn it on.”
Teachers and students have been brainstorm
ing this week to come up with alternatives to tele
vision viewing. Some ideas include reading, exer
cising, cooking, playing board games, writing
letters, camping and cleaning house.
Community organizations and businesses have
provided activities for students who sign a con
tract saying they will not watch television this
week.
The Bryan Public Library, Brazos Valley Mu
seum, Bryan Parks and Recreation, Texas A&M
Athletic Department, local bowling alleys and
Putt Putt Golf are giving Crockett students spe
cial discounts or activities to fill their spare time.
Jenny Hobson, a fourth grade student, said
she doesn’t think giving up television for a week
will be a problem. She plans to entertain herself
by reading books.
Monica Thomas, one of Hobson’s classmates,
said she might have a hard time making it
through the week because she’ll miss her favorite
TV shows.
Thomas said she enjoys “The Cosby Show,”
but plans to skip it this week because of the pro-
ject.
Fourth-grader Travis Whipkey said he is
going to cut his TV viewing down and only watch
for 30 minutes on Saturday morning.
Whipkey said the only show he plans to watch
this week is his favorite cartoon. Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles.
Allen Pride, a Crockett third-grader, said he
doesn’t expect any problems curtailing his heavy
TV viewing for a week.
“I usually watch about four hours of television
a day,” Pride said. “But it won’t be that hard to
live without it for a week. I will have to miss my
cartoons, but I can think of other things to do.”
Hightower converts
vehicles to propane
AUSTIN (AP) — Taking the
wheel of a propane-powered
pickup. Agriculture Commis
sioner Jim Hightower said
Wednesday his agency will con
vert several vehicles to propane
and urged other Texans to “get
tanked up” on the cleaner-burn
ing fuel.
Using readily available liquid
propane gas instead of gasoline is
cheaper, more efficient and bet
ter tor the environment, High
tower said. One-third of the na
tion’s propane supply is
produced in Texas.
“It’s a Texas tried-and-true
fuel. A fuel that really looks good
for the environment, for the con
sumers of our state and for the
economy in Texas,” he said.
As part of the Earth Day envi
ronmental awareness efforts,
Hightower said his Texas Depart
ment of Agriculture will convert
14 trucks to propane and study
their use to see how much can be
gained by using the alternative
fuel.
“Compared to gasoline, pro
pane generates up to 50 percent
less harmful hydrocarbons and
70 percent less carbon monoxide
— two pollutants that contribute
to the Greenhouse effect and
jeopardize human health,” High
tower said.
Converting the new white
TDA pickup truck he drove
Wednesday cost between $1,000
and $1,500, Hightower said. That
includes the costs of fuel lines,
carburetor and a large propane
tank.
But propane costs less, at 44
cents per gallon, reduces mainte
nance expenses and provides
greater range, he said.
“The investment is repaid by
savings on fuel costs and savings
on maintenance to the vehicle, as
well as extended life of the vehi
cle. In three years, you’ve paid off
the investment you’ve made in
this new fuel,” he said.
■ at A&M
nous funds lo
>r make
■ campus (lik
.nderground
money when
into account,!
1’s willingness
posals suchi
lition.
nior electrial
inuously
es about
> million
here are
April, so
Manet to
>
iy office
diploma
oma is a
that the
jie” wal-
nne that
,anted it
1 will be
1 steal a
v-as used
re read-
e the di-
ti mental
iff reserves
(lintain the
nted. Each
me number
to Campus
on Jr.
Speaker advises women to seek opportunities
By PAM MOOMAN
Of The Battalion Staff
Change always brings problems,
but it brings opportunities as well.
This was the message of Zanna
Stepanek, the first speaker in MSC
Great Issues Women’s Issues Sym
posium.
Stepanek, director of the Manage
ment Information Bureau for the
Houston Police Department, talked
about ways of handling discrimina
tion in the workplace.
“Thirty years ago, if someone had
a symposium for women, I would
have attended it,” Stepanek said. But
30 years ago there was no such op
portunity, she said.
When she took her first job at
IBM as a computer programmer, it
Symposium looks at conditions in business world
was legal to discriminate openly
against women, she said. Employers
could pay a woman less for the same
job as a man, limit promotional op
portunities based on sex, and refuse
to allow women to use sick leave for
pregnancy.
Women were told how to dress
and were asked personal questions,
including the kind of family plan
ning they were doing, she said.
“The good news is we have come a
long way and hopefully will never
see anything like this again,” she
said.
But she said to keep in mind that
women only have a few civil rights
rulings to turn to now. An equal
rights amendment is the only thing
that will give women long-term con
stitutional protection, she said.
Handling discrimination in the
workplace is difficult, but it can be
maturely done.
“One of the best ways to handle
discrimination in the workplace is to
avoid it,” Stepanek said.
To do this, a woman needs to re
search the field or company she is in
terested in, she said, and look for op
portunities.
“Pick a field that’s new and grow
ing rapidly,” she said. Some exam
ples of these fields today are tele
communication, genetics and
environmental sciences, she said.
Also, a woman needs to keep her
options open, Stepanek said. She
needs to know the organization she
works for and the environment she
is working in.
“At some point in your career, it
will probably be good for you to
move,” she said. It is good if moves
can be kept within the same com
pany, but if conditions aren’t satisfy
ing, don’t be afraid to look for the
door, she said.
Women can do certain things to
invite or deter discrimination, Stepa
nek said.
First of all, people don’t hassle a
woman who looks like she can’t be
hassled, she said. Stand up straight,
she said, and because height helps,
act tall and eventually everyone will
consider you tall.
Another thing a woman can do is
lower her voice by talking slowly
from the diaphragm, she said.
“Little girl voices don’t play well,”
she said.
Other tips Stepanek had were to
dress appropriately and profession
ally, meaning no high-fashion or
sexy dressing at the office. Also,
women should be careful to keep
their personal and work lives sepa
rate.
But women should not hide be
hind discrimination to cover up their
shortcomings, she said.
“Be honest with yourself,” she
said.
She said not to assume that being
passed over for a promotion or get
ting reprimanded is discrimination.
Stepanek identified certain types
of people in the business world that
women should be aware of.
Big Brother, or Bubba, considers
women capable, but never loses sight
of the fact that they are women and
wants to protect them, she said.
The Autocrat usually is an older
See Women/Page 7
2 Day Video
“Where Video Is Fun ”
"Two lltumbs Up."
-SISKEL&EBERT
"Totally delightful."
- Dixie Whatley, AT THE MOVIES
"The stork has
delivered a
boundng baby hit."
- Joel Siegel, GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Columbia
Picture*
HOME VIDEO
NOW AVAILABLE ON VIDEOCASSETTE AND ON LASER VIDEODISC.
PG-13
© 1990 Layout and Dettgn RCA/Columtx* Picturas Home Video All Righis Reserved
A Tri-Star Release.
11989 TRI-STAR PICTURES. INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. mTtTTT*
Life from a baby's-eye-vievv, with John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and Bruce Willis as the
voice of baby Mikey.
1800 Texas Ave. S., College Station, Tx. 693-6677