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WEATHER
TOMORROW’S FORECAST:
Partly cloudy with a chance of
thunderstorms
HIGH: 85
LOW: 68
Wednesday, April 25,1990
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iruses
abound
A&M campus not
immune to infection
KEVIN M. HAMM
(The Battalion Staff
Viruses have been infecting com-
mters at Texas A&M for at least
years and computers across the
:ountry for many more than that, a
irogrammer in the Computing
iervices Center said. It is, however,
problem without a simple solu
tion.
“This is obviously one of those
iroblems that’s going to be around
r a while,” Bill Hobson said.
Although viruses have existed
[for a number of years, one of the
first instances of the problem the
media reported was in November
‘1988 when a virus spread through
Ithe Internet system. The system is a
network consisting of university,
military and commercial comput-
]ers, of which Texas A&M is a part.
The virus found a weakness in
Ithe network’s security and com
pletely shut some systems down.
Texas A&M recently has had
[problems with the Ping-Pong virus,
which affects personal computers
such as IBMs, and WDEF, an Apple
[Macintosh virus.
, IT
I his is obviously one of
tee problems that’s
going to be around for a
while.”
— Bill Hobson,
programmer
“A computer virus is any pro
gram that spreads itself secretly,”
Hobson said. “It may be destruc
tive, a prank or even intended to be
helpful, but it does spread.”
He said Macintosh viruses are
more prevalent than personal com
puter viruses, but PC viruses do
more damage. Additionally, many
viruses are not intended to be
harmful, but turn out that way be
cause they are written sloppily, he
said.
Hobson said “it’s almost inevitab
le” that any public-access computer
lab will have an outbreak of viruses
at least once.
The Graphics Lab in the Teague
Research Center requires students
scan their personal diskettes with
an anti-virus program before they
can use them in the lab, he said.
According to information Brad
Epps of the ACC provided, there
are two types of viruses: boot sector
viruses and program viruses. BSVs
are loaded into the computer’s
memory as soon as the computer is
booted up and subsequently infect
any program run until the com
puter is turned off.
Program viruses infect executa
ble files and are loaded into mem
ory when an infected program is
run.
Viruses spread by two methods.
They can stay in the computer’s
memory and infect any program
run, and they can seek out new files
to contaminate once an infected file
has been run. Eventually a virus will
spread to a computer’s hard disk,
Hobson said.
Most viruses spread from one
computer to another via infected
floppy diskettes.
“Scanning floppies is probably
the most effective thing that you
can do to slow down the spread of
viruses,” Hobson said.
In addition to viruses, there are
programs that pretend to do some
thing useful, but actually produce a
harmful effect when run. These
programs are called “Trojan
Horses.” Unlike viruses, they do
not infect other programs.
Some viruses and Trojan Horse
programs might contain a “time
bomb” intended to destroy pro
grams or data on a specific date or
when a condition has been fulfilled.
The “Sunday” virus, which has
infected some computers at Texas
A&M, is an example of a virus with
a time bomb, Epps said. This virus
causes a computer to display the
following message on Sundays:
“Today is Sunday! Why do you
work so hard? All work and no play
makes you a dull boy! Come on!
Let’s go out and have some fun!”
This virus also can destroy parts
of programs.
The information provided by
Epps also corrected common mis
conceptions people have about
computer viruses:
• A virus cannot spread from
one type of computer to another,
for example from a Macintqsh to a
PC.
Heavy rain, winds take C S by storm
Before and after
(Above) Photo by Scott D. Weaver
(Left) Photo by Jay Janner
A student makes his way down Asbury Street during the sudden
thunderstorm early Tuesday afternoon. The picture was taken
with a 50mm lens from inside a car. Compared to the A&M stu
dent, there is nothing artistic about this house after Tuesday’s
storm. The flood waters reached the windows of the garage.
Patsy Williams, a staff assistant for the nuclear engineering De
partment, lives alone in the house. No one was injured.
By CHRIS VAUGHN
Of The Battalion Staff
The normal April showers turned ugly
Tuesday night as storm clouds dumped al
most five inches of rain in parts of College
Station and spawned one possible tornado
near Southwest Parkway in College Station.
The airport recorded 3.62 inches of rain
Tuesday night, but across town at College
Station’s central fire station on Texas Ave
nue, 4.48 inches of rain were recorded. Resi
dents of Caldwell were attempting to dry out
from more than 12 inches of rainfall in a mat
ter of hours.
Emergency vehicles stayed busy during the
heaviest part of the storm, approximately 6 to
8 p.m., responding to downed power lines,
trapped vehicles, car accidents, a gas leak and
a reported tornado.
No major injuries were reported in College
Station, but one person involved in an acci
dent on Tabor Road in Bryan was trans
ported to St. Joseph’s Hospital with back inju
ries.
The tornado, which was unconfirmed by
emergency personnel, was reported to the*
College Station Fire Department at approxi
mately 7:20 p.m., Capt. Tim Fickey said.
Fickey said firefighters discovered a stor
age shed on Laura Lane off Southwest Park
way completely destroyed in addition to
blown over fences, tree limbs in the road and
debris in the area.
The College Station Fire Department also
responded to a natural gas leak near the east
bypass and the Emerald Parkway exit. The
gas line, reportedly four inches in diameter,
took more than an hour to shut off because a
contractor dumped a load of dirt on the shut
off valve, Fickey said.
The Bryan Fire Department made 14 runs
from 6 to 10 p.m., which officials called a very
high number. Bryan police said officers were
called in early and made to work overtime to
cope with the number of calls.
Fickey said the College Station Fire Depart
ment made 15 runs during the evening, but
he said it was a low number for the severity of
the storm.
“We had less calls than what we’ve had for
some storms of less severity,” Fickey said. “We
didn’t have near the problems of some past
storms. And this storm is one of the worst
we’ve had in a long time, too.”
Research, not teaching receives top priority
See Virus/Page 4
By DEAN SUELTENFUSS
Of The Battalion Staff
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The hollow
ing is the second of a four-part series
focusing on undergraduate educa
tion. Part three will be a question and
answer session with Texas A&M
President William Mobley.)
It seems like an age-old question:
Does a university’s research mission
interfere with its ability to properly
educate undergraduates?
Some people say yes. Others say
no. And many say the issues that are
involved run much deeper than just
“research versus teaching.”
One thing is clear: Texas A&M is
no longer simply an institution de
signed to teach undergraduate stu
dents. Research, graduate educa
tion, community service and a host
of other goals attest that A&M’s mis
sion involves much more than sim
ply filling the heads of eager young
students with information.
Many people at A&M believe edu
cation is no longer even the main
concern of this and other universi
ties. The cause of the decline in edu
cation, some say, is a system that
places prestige, rewards, recognition
and emphasis on research and rele
gates teaching to a role of secondary
importance.
A faculty member in the Depart
ment of History, who spoke on con
dition of anonymity, said teaching is
sometimes discouraged at A&M.
“The system is geared to promote
research,” the faculty memoer said.
“The system works against effective
teaching in that, I think, in many
subtle ways it tells teachers who are
putting too much time in on their
teaching, ‘You’re going to suffer for
this,’ or ‘You’re not really a good
scholar. That’s why you’re putting so
much time into your teaching.’ ”
Dr. Clinton Phillips, associate pro
vost and dean of faculties at A&M,
disagreed.
“I really question that assump-
Professor shares opinions, says A &M
misuses money, neglects education
By DEAN SUELTENFUSS
Of The Battalion Staff
Donald R. Smith is an associate professor of indus
trial engineering at Texas A&M whose views might be
unpopular with some.
T oo much money is wasted at A&M, good teaching is
not properly encouraged by the administration, and ed
ucation — the original mission of the University — has
been neglected, he says, adding that some colleges and
departments are exceptions to that rule.
But Smith, who is quick to point out that many other
state universities are encountering the same issues, is
not alone in his assessment of A&M’s problems. Profes
sors In other colleges at A&M have similar opinions.
Others say teaching is rewarded well.
Smith, the recipient of a teaching excellence award
from the Association of Former Students, said good
teaching is not adequately rewarded at A&M
“We’ve gone too far in one direction,” he said. “We
have left our teaching mission off on the side and taken
it for granted. Now, the question is how do you circle
back to it.
“But I would argue that under the present philoso
phy, those people who do a good job teaching and ad
vising and spending the time with the students — I
guarantee you they will get the lowest pay raises. Now,
what speaks louder? Actions or words?”
Responsibilities such as conducting research and get
ting articles published sometimes take precedence over
a professor’s teaching duties. Smith said,
“Within A&M there is little or no reward for spend-
ing a lot of time working with students," he said. “If vou
don’t publish, if you don’t bring in funded research, if
you don’t work with the graduate students — you have
to do those three things here.
“Spending a lot of extra time with underclassmen can
get a faculty member in trouble at Texas A&M. I am
sure die administration would take a far different view
on that and say, ‘That is not true.’ Well, I’m sorry; It is
true.”
Smith, former director of undergraduate programs
for the industrial engineering department, puiis no
punches when he discusses his views about teaching at
A&M.
“I haven’t been promoted to full professor yet, and
that’s because I don’t have 87,000 publications — I have
about 15,” he said. “I don’t have enough.
“See, I don’t have enough of this, enough of that, be
cause I chose to spend my time talking, working, coun
butt and I’ll leave.
“See, the administration has to tell us, ‘Look, well
make it worth your while to be a good teacher and to be
a good adviser and to spend the time with the students.’
They ain’t saying that to us now.”
A&M spends money on frivolous items instead of
spending it on materials needed for education, Smith
said.
“Go look at some of these administrators’ offices,” he
said. “You tell me they have to have walnut paneling
and two-inch plaid carpet and fancy paintings on the
wall?
“They say, ‘Well, we have to look good to the outside
See Professor/ Page 5
tion,” Phillips said. “It’s put forth, I
suppose, by some teachers who don’t
do research and use this as an ex
cuse, that if they did research they
wouldn’t be able to teach as well. I
think that’s more of an excuse than
an explanation.”
The history professor said some
deans and other administrators are
partly to blame for the declining em
phasis on teaching.
“If you read their speeches, they
always say good things about tea
ching,” he said. “But if you’re
around them you see what their
priorities are.
“The simple truth is that at an in
stitution like this, deans get ahead by
bringing in the best researchers, be
cause it’s research that gives you a
national reputation.”
The professor said the size of the
University and the emphasis on re
search make it difficult for profes
sors to work with students as much
as they should.
“Nevertheless, I know of no one
in this department who doesn’t keep
their office hours and isn’t accessib
le,” he said. “The question is whether
they really think much about teach
ing, and the answer to that, I think,
is ‘No.’ ”
He said the growth of A&M, cou
pled with decreased teaching loads
in some departments, has made
larger classes a necessity at A&M.
Large classes and limited interaction
between professors and students has
affected the quality of undergrad
uate education, he said.
“I have numerous students who
come into upper level classes who
have written almost not at all in their
years at A&M,” he said. “Well, that’s
pathetic, just pathetic. If you can get
to be a junior or senior in college
and you haven’t written, then you
haven’t been forced to form ideas
and formulate opinions, and that’s
tragic, because that’s not an educa
tional system.”
Larry Hickman, a professor of
philosophy, said teaching and re
search are not mutually exclusive.
“I’m not one of those people who
says that one can either do teaching
or research, that they’re inimicable,
because they’re not,” Hickman said.
“They’re complementary. But the
point is that we all have a finite
amount of time.”
Hickman said research often is
emphasized more than teaching.
“I would say that when it comes
time for tenure, for promotion, that
teaching comes in a poor second to
research,” he said. “It’s a problem all
over academia, because there’s more
and more pressure to publish.”
The solution is not to decrease
emphasis on research, Hickman
said, but to make teaching more im
portant.
Another faculty member, who
spoke on condition of anonymity,
said some administrators are at least
partly to blame for the dominance of
research over teaching.
“Administrators seem very good,
in general, at saying the right public
relations things to make it look like
they’re concerned about students,”
the professor said. “And, like I say, I
think they are (concerned) up to a
point.
“By a point, I mean they don’t like
See Teaching/Page 5