Texas A&M Battalion Dick Tracy “Tracy†entertains but fails as blockbuster for Warren Beatty. See review page 4 bl.89 No.161 USPS 045360 8 Pages College Station, Texas Thursday, June 21,1990 s at 7 p,ni reachers, students flee from Texas to avoid certification regulations iichry Cal PROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS McDonald, nly publish 'hat's Up is Many would-be teachers are fleeing from Bexas because of new state regulations that em- â– hasize academics and de-emphasize courses on â– ow to be a teacher. aaker, Joe a The law requires students at public universities hgineering seeking teacher certification to earn a bachelor’s legree in an academic major. I Students also may not earn more than 18 â– ours of credit in teacher education courses, with hild Place Jjxof those hours in the field as student teachers, od parents I The bill was signed in 1987 and universities e informa Have been phasing in the new requirements since Ben, even though the law does not take effect Bntil September 1991. Dr. Bryan Cole, associate dean for student af- irs in the Texas A&M College of Education, id he doesn’t think the legislation is totally fair. “The intent of the law to increase the amount MS are tw, Bf hours in the academic discipline of the individ- 'run. Ifyou H a ) j s grood,†Cole said. “That’s essential. On the Jther hand, the restriction and limitation of pro fessional courses to complement that discipline is 1 negative part of the law.†" Richard Ishler, a former dean at Texas Tech, id he went to the University of South Carolina st year mainly because of the 18-hour teacher lining restriction. “You cannot prepare a teacher professionally . 18 hours,†he said. “It’s definitely inadequate. ien, shesiHio ot her profession has those restrictions on it.†ear about ill the sail: eased to still conrn s. “Event d open,"!, 1 hope â– second ing with the old at eally chant Ernest Dishner, dean of education at South west Texas State University until his recent move to Penn State University, said the bill was the driving force behind his decision to leave the uni versity, which yields the most education majors in the state. “I had difficulty providing leadership for a program that I did not believe in,†Dishner said. A&M’s Cole said the law will heavily impact teaching at the secondary levels in Texas, espe cially in the math and physical science areas. There was a 30-percent drop in the number of students seeking certification in math and science at A&M during the past two years. Cole said. “I can’t help but feel a certain amount of that decrease is due to the law,†he said. “It’s hard to say people leave the state for one reason alone, but it is contributing.†Cole said new teachers are evaluated in Texas primarily on the basis of their ability to commu nicate and manage a classroom, not the com mand of the subject matter. Research has shown that teachers, particularly at the elementary level, leave the profession in the first three years because they don’t have the competency to manage a classroom, he said. Cole said the Legislature apparently gave no attention to the fact that the new law decreases the amount of hours which previously taught tea chers how to communicate and manage in the classroom. “The overall attitude of the Legislature and the governor is making people wonder whether Texas is the place to participate as a professional educator,†Cole said. The new restrictions also prompted John Mc- Levie’s departure from the University of Hous ton-Clear Lake, where he was associate dean. “It made me realize Texas, for the next five or six years, was not going to give me a chance to re produce the quality I believe is necessary,†McLe- vie, now a consultant for California’s Commis sion on Teacher Credentialing in Sacramento, said. Renee Clift, an assistant professor at the Uni versity of Houston, is moving to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne after six years at Houston. “We were proud of where we were going when the Legislature stepped in and said, ‘We know how to do your job better than you do.’ It’s very disheartening, and I think they’re wrong.†Asked about the departing deans and faculty, state Sen. Carl Parker, the Port Arthur democrat who sponsored the bill, said, “Good riddance.†Parker said education colleges have been the weakest departments on campus. “They have the least challenging curriculum,†he said. “They are not revered on campus as be ing challenging.†Fire aboard U.S. aircraft carrier injures 16 heritage ti eally brin; ». These W e’re realf Lewis d YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — A fu raged for several hours aboard tb< U.S. aircraft carrier Midway on Wednesday, injuring 16 crewmen, at last nine seriously, and blocking at- tampts to find a missing sailor, the â– avy said. I The accident prompted demon- strations in the snip’s home port of â– okosuka, where city officials de- Handed that the Midway be barred â– oin returning until its safety had pen confirmed and the cause of the te clarified. Japanese news reports lid there was concern because the [idway was capable of carrying nu- lear weapons. It was the second serious Navy ac cident since a series last fall that caused 14 deaths and resulted in a two-day suspension of operations in November for a safety check. Smoke was detected aboard the Midway shortly before noon during flight exercises at sea off Japan, said Lt. Jeff Gradeck of the Public Af fairs Office at the U.S. Navy base at Yokosuka, near Tokyo. An explosion occurred on the ship about half an hour later, and a second blast followed shortly after, Gradeck said. The fire still burned more than 10 hours later but was confined to an emergency equip ment storeroom four decks below the flight deck. The room contained wood, gas masks, fire-fighting gear and other emergency equipment, but no explo sive material, he said. Gradeck added that the fire was unrelated to the flight exercises and said its cause was being investigated. Nine of the injured were flown to hospitals in Japan, and seven others were treated aboard the ship, the Navy said. Of the nine, one was in critical condition, four suffered very serious burns, two were in serious condition, one was in guarded con dition and one was stable. War on drugs Brazos narcotics force ranks third statewide By KEVIN M. HAMM Of The Battalion Staff Gradeck said the Navy was noti fying families of the victims, some of whom lived in Yokosuka and some in the United States. About 4,500 crew members, in cluding fliers and aviation crews, were aboard the Midway, the Navy’s oldest carrier in active service, at the time of the accident, the Navy said. The 1,000-foot-long ship was commissioned in 1945 but has been extensively modernized. The Broadcasting the Midway from a helicopter and said there was no visible damage. public Japan Corp. photographed helicoptei The Brazos Valley Narcotics Task Force arrested enough drug offend ers in 1989 to rank third of 35 such forces in Texas, beating out Hous ton’s Harris County, Dallas and San Antonio. The task force arrested 233 peo ple and filed 291 cases, resulting in a 34percent conviction rate. It also seized $314,809 in drugs, $65,515 in assets and $39,343 in for feited cash and property in 1989. El Paso and Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, ranked ahead of the local force in 1989. Brazos Valley task force com mander Steve Hanel attributed his team’s success to hard work. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who are getting out there and busting their tails and doing a good job,†he said. Hanel expressed mild surprise at the task force’s ranking above the larger metropolitan areas which have more manpower and money. “We did not realize we were doing so well against these other agencies,†he said. “We weren’t in any type of competition. It’s just how the stats “It took it a year or so to get off the ground, but right now it’s proba bly a little more successful than we thought it would be,†Hanel said. The Brazos Valley force ranked 29th in 1988, in what Hanel called a building year for the program. Brazos County District Attorney Bill Turner said the larger metro politan areas may report fewer ar rests due to long-term investigations, while the Brazos Valley force de cided to target street dealers. “There’s a lot of small-time deal ers out there on the street corners dispensing crack cocaine,†he said. “Our community decided to do something on that level.†Hanel said about 75 percent of the cases were made in Brazos County, most of which were cocaine delivery and possession. Task forces in Texas have seized more than $1.1 billion in illegal drugs, $23 million in drug-related assets, 299 drug labs and arrested 17,246 people on drug-related charges from January 1988 to March of this year, according to fig ures provided by Turner. There are presently 50 narcotics task forces in the state, up from 35 a year ago. The forces were created under the Texas Narcotics Control Program in 1986, with $10.5 million in federal funds allocated to the state by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of the same year. This year Texas received $24 mil lion from the federal government for the program, and the budget for the Brazos Valley task force is almost $500,000. National drug czar William Ben nett applauded the efforts made by the Texas task forces in a speech to the Legislature in March. “You’ve been in the forefront of the drug war and we need you to maintain your leadership in this area,†he said. The task force had eight agents in 1989, has 10 presently and Hanel hopes to have 13 by October. The Brazos Valley Narcotics Task Force includes officers from the Bryan and College Station police de partments, the Brazos County Sher- riffs Department and the District Attorney’s office. Turner said the task force’s suc cess is a result of the cooperation be tween these agencies. “I’m real proud of the work they’re doing,†he said. “They’ve done an excellent job with the man power they have to combat the drug problem in our county.†Turner also expressed confidence the force could match its 1989 per formance this year. In addition to Brazos County, the task force serves Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Robertson and Washington counties. The force also served Mad ison County in 1989, but this year that county is participating in Walker County’s program. &M sponsors catalogue for remedial programs MIKE LUMAN The Battalion Staff jTexas A&M is li[ «xas Academic sponsor of the 'iHH AltJ xas academic Skills Program glOifTM learinghouse Catalogue, a new ME- 50A£ liblication to include suggested re- MORE hit! iedial teaching programs. IHIP 5 Af I The catalogue, d ue for release flNKE-R 15M r j n g 1991, will be distributed to THEJLHiblic colleges and universities /C~“'7Shmiighout Texas. state law passed in 1987 re quires incoming freshmen at Texas Ipublic colleges and universities to ta!e the TASP test before complet- ini; nine semester hours. TThe move was in response to indi- pons many college students and aduates lacked basic academic [The test evaluates reading, writ- and math. Those failing any sec tion must enroll in a non-credit de- llopmental course in that subject. â– Margaret Smith of A&M’s Center tir Teaching Excellence said the cat- Itgue will contain outlines for such >95 developmental teaching programs. She said A&M is a clearinghouse cause the University, specifically Kr department, is the collection i)int for teaching programs from around the state. “The idea was that in the state of â– xas there were some good reme dial programs in place,†Smith said. ■“Institutions across the state, if ley have something to submit, mail itto me,†she said. JSmith said Oct. 15 is the deadline Irnew submissions. M 2 riTIES f< 5-8345 Alter the cutoff date, teaching programs will be evaluated by a spe cial committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin. “They will choose the ones they think are best,†Smith said. “I don’t select what goes in the catalogue. People who are authorities in that fiela will judge the quality of the pro grams.†Smith and a colleague, David En gland of Southwest Texas Junior College at Uvalde, will then compile and edit the catalogue. “The programs that are accepted, we will work up into the catalogue and send it out over the state,†Smith said. “Say someone at Texas Tech sees in the catalogue a good writing pro gram,†she said. “They can write or call A&M’s Center for Teaching Ex cellence and we will send them a copy of the program they want.†She said the only charge for most teaching programs is shipping and handling. “It’s sort of a feather in the cap of A&M to say we have the TASP clear inghouse, but it is to benefit all the schools in the state,†she said. According to the TASP summary test results for 1989, 95.3 percent of first-time freshmen at A&M passed all sections of the test. The document, from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said students at A&M scored higher than students at any other universityin the state in 1989. Within arm’s reach â€â€œ"T Photo by Mike C. Mulvey Mike Evans tries to grab a ground ball during baseball camp practice at Olsen Field. ^Mandela receives hero’s welcome on first U.S. visit â– NEW YORK (AP) — Nelson Mandela â– treated to a hero’s welcome Wednesday I â– â– â– dignitaries and ordinary citizens alike as I crowds turned out to help the South p â– rican freedom fighter kick off his first lit to America. The African National Congress leader, his first speech on U.S. soil, called for a jntinuation of economic sanctions against homeland — a theme he has echoed |roughout his worldwide tour. ‘We appeal to you in all humility and in sincerity that you must join us in the in- Ie9 e ™»nal actions that you are taking to force S46'2695le government to abandon apartheid,†C 0llegs( an3e l a said shortly after landing at Ken ysl nedy International Airport. “You must join us and the only way in which we can walk together on this difficult road is for you to ensure that sanctions are applied.†Hundreds of thousands of people watched a ticker-tape parade up Broad way’s “Canyon of Heros.†The ANC leader was in a specially designed “Mandelamo- bile,†a flatbed truck outfitted with a bullet proof glass shed. The crowd cheered wildly as Mandela passed by, many wearing Mandela buttons and waving posters with his picture. The avenue was ankle-deep in ticker tape and other paper. Trees and traffic lights throughout the area were dripping with streams of computer paper. Along with those who showed up to cheer Mandela were thousands of city po lice, and federal and state agents — part of a security detail dubbed “Operation To paz.†Mandela was greeted at the airport by dignitaries including Gov. Mario Cuomo, who said Mandela’s visit was “not a victory lap but a long distance journey to remind us that until South Africa is completely free the march toward freedom has not reached its final destination.†Mayor David Dinkins, the city’s first black mayor, gave the man he has called his hero a giant bear hug upon meeting him and promised,“One day in this lifetime we will reach freedom’s gate together and ... pass through to a land where we all will be judged by our fellow beings for the content of our character rather than the color of our skin.†Despite a two-hour arrival delay, Man dela insisted on stopping at a Brooklyn high school where thousands of students and residents from the predominantly black Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood greeted him with cheers of “Man-del-a!†ana “Keep the pressure on.†Mandela told the crowd, “I sincerely feel very strong and encouraged because if in our struggle we receive the support of the youth of the world, then our cause can never fail, can never be lost.†He then ate lunch at the Goast Guard sta tion in Battery Park overlooking the Statue of Liberty. After lunch, he and his wife, Winnie, stepped outside to look at the statue before leaving for the parade. The Mandelas arrived from Canada nearly two hours late after tour organizers decided the 71-year-old Mandela needed extra rest. Mandela had a benign cyst re moved from his bladder less than three weeks ago.