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lo\. 90 No. 13 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas
Communication issues addressed
By STACY ALLEN
^>-7313
)fThe Battalion Staff
A process allowing Texas A&M
tudents to register complaints about
:ommunication problems existing in
lassrooms is expected to improve
eacher-student understanding.
Implemented this fall, the Class-
oom Communication Enhancement
Aogram was designed by the pro
mt’s office to give A&M students an
mtlet to voice formal, written con-
:erns about problems students and
irofessors may have understanding
;ach other during class.
Complaints submitted by students
ire supposed to receive results
vithin seven class days to minimize
iny disruption of the learning proc-
:ss.
Ty Clevenger, student body presi-
ient and a senior genetics major,
ays this program is extremely inno
vative and is believed to be the only
me of its kind in the nation.
“It is far from typical of most bu
reaucracies to have a problem ad-
Iressed in seven days,” Clevenger
ays. “This is the single most impor
Classroom program to enhance
teacher-student understanding
tant advance we have made in years
as far as our undergraduate pro
gram is concerned.”
Dr. E. Dean Gage, A&M provost
and vice president for academic af
fairs, says the program is designed to
promote the highest quality of class
room communication between stu
dents and faculty.
Gage says the educational process
consists of the content of a course’s
materials and an instructor’s deliv
ery of that material.
This program, he says, targets
how the material is being explained
to the students.
“We want to try to promote and
maintain the highest quality of schol
arly exchange,” Gage says.
The program is designed to help
students who previously have ap
proached professors to no avail
about communication problems in
the classroom.
In this situation, students should
complete reporting forms available
in the offices of department heads
and each college’s dean.
The forms should be returned to
the college in which the class is being
offered.
After receiving a student’s com
plaint, the department head will for
ward a duplicate of the form to the
associate dean of the college. Both
will investigate the problem and
work to resolve it within the seven-
day time period.
If the problem cannot be resolved
by the department head and asso
ciate dean, students should appeal
the issue to the dean of the college
and, if further appeal is needed, the
provost’s office.
At the conclusion of eaich investi
gation, complaints are sent to the
provost’s office where the Universi
ty’s centralized data are stored.
At the end of each semester, a re
port of the data will be sent to A&M
President William Mobley and will
serve to monitor classroom commu
nication problems on campus.
Each college is establishing its own
master teacher resource panel to
help remedy communication prob
lems after they have been reported
and stop future ones from occur
ring.
The panels, which will vary from
two to five members depending on
the size of a college, will be com
prised of instructors who have dem
onstrated superior teaching skills
through receiving national or stu
dent-nominated teaching awards.
These panels will be utilized by
deans and department heads in de
signing programs to assist professors
in communicating course material to
students.
Additionally, the panels will meet
with the director of the Center for
Teaching Excellence, a center estab
lished to enhance college teaching at
A&M, and its advisory council to
propose programs to alleviate com
munication problems in classrooms.
See Class/Page 7
Wednesday, September 19,1990
Student Senate votes
for bonfire resolution
By BRIDGET HARROW
Of The Battalion Staff
The Student Senate Tuesday
night endorsed eight of ten recom
mendations in a bonfire resolution
from a faculty and student commit
tee. The Senate voted against en
dorsing clauses that called for reduc-
ing the size of bonfire and
establishing minimum academic
standards for those who work on
bonfire.
The bonfire resolution was tabled
at the last regular Student Senate
meeting during the spring semester
and was reintroduced to the Senate
by David Shasteen, student services
committee chairman. After a
lengthy debate, senators voted
against requiring bonfire workers
who are not bonfire leaders to have a
minimum grade-point ratio. Several
senators said setting a minimum
GPR was not only unenforceable but
also unfair.
Senators also disapproved of a
recommendation which called for
reducing bonfire by 50 percent over
the next four years. Senator Adam
Vanek said city ordinances and uni
versity regulations currently specify
the height and circumference of
bonfire, and no reduction is needed.
Student Body President Ty Cle
venger told the senators that the
Board of Regents will have the ulti
mate say in what happens to bonfire.
“Bonfire will not be reduced by
the Board of Regents,” Clevenger
said.
Brennan Reilly, a member of the
committee that created the report on
bonfire, said the report was passed
by the Faculty Senate in June and it
was then sent to President William
Mobley.
Reilly said Mobley read the docu
ment and sent it to the Bonfire Com
mittee, which is headed by Bill
Kibler, associate director of student
affairs and adviser for bonfire. The
Bonfire Committee is an oversight
See Government/Page 4
ion To
oice...
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rly enroll-
19
Review
Suite 250
77002
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
Mark Yokem, a freshman business major from Houston, uses a rolling sponge to soak up mud puddles created by recent rains on the intramural soccer fields.
A.&M Student starts pen pal program Candidate: New ideas needed
to help U. S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia in lieutenant governor’s office
y JOE FERGUSON
)f The Battalion Staff
ble
ce
»90
Texas A&M students wanting to
upport American forces in Saudi
\rabia can help out best by becom-
ngsoldiers’pen pals.
A&M junior John Shultz is orga-
tizing a pen pal program at the re-
juest of his older brother, Wes, a
Marine stationed in Saudi Arabia.
T wish I was there to help, but
his is the only thing I can do,” John
ays.
He says some soldiers don’t have
iamily members who write, and
iome do not have a family at all.
^ John says letters from college stu
dents would help morale greatly.
“(The soldiers) would love to be
ible to write to college women,” Wes
says in a letter to his brother.
Wes says the soldiers don’t get a
ptof outside news. They get intelli-
;ence briefs every day, but he says
it’s usually ugly.
When John writes his brother, he
[says he includes the weekly football
Scores of the Aggies and Dallas Cow
boys.
John says students wanting to
Graphic by Eric Wong
write don’t have to agree with all the
political aspects of the United States’
involvement in the Iraq-Kuwait af
fair.
He says the basic idea is to support
the soldiers who probably would
rather not be there themselves but
have to because it’s their job.
“These Marines are not numbers
or pawns,” writes Wes. “They are the
children of worried mothers. They
are the fathers of children and the
husbands of terrified wives. They
are the best this country has.
“We are not allowed to mix with
the people here. Our existence here
is spartan at best,” he says. “We are
all very tense here and we have no
outlet.”
The pen pal program is designed
to relieve some of that tension. To
participate, students can sign up at a
table in the MSC.
The table will be open Mondays
through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. starting Thursday. It will be
open for two weeks to obtain enough
people to write to a whole company
of soldiers.
The first batch of letters will be
sent together to Wes, and he will
hand them out to soldiers in his com
pany. Correspondence between in
dividuals will begin after that.
Anyone who knows soldiers in
Saudi Arabia can help spread the
program to other service branches
by leaving addresses at the table.
John says help is needed to work
the table and anyone wanting to help
can go by the table and volunteer,
For more information, call John
at 847-0996.
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Pro-life activist stresses importance
of ordinary people in abortion issue
By JAMES M. LOVE
Of The Battalion Staff
i The president of Texas Collegians for Life, Pierre
Riou, said it is crucial for students to get involved with
(the abortion issue because every bit helps.
Riou, a graduate of Texas A&M, has been a pro-life
activist for over two years and is hoping to recruit more
jnembers into the TCL. Riou spoke Tuesday evening at
an Aggies for Life meeting.
The TCL is a non-profit, charitable organization
with representatives from universities throughout the
state, which seeks to promote respect for innocent hu
man life and to oppose abortion, infanticide and eutha
nasia as violations of human rights.
“The strength of the pro-life movement is in ordi
nary people,” he said. “Ordinary college students who
get active can make a difference.”
i Riou urged anti-abortion participants to prepare for
pro-life debates by staying informed.
“It’s important to be informed because many times
the opponents of pro-life are impervious to logic and
facts, and it helps to be ready to deal with it,” he said.
Riou added that it takes a lot of time and dedication
to be active in the pro-life movement.
“The satisfaction comes from dealing with life and
death issues and making a difference,” he said.
Riou said that pro-life has made much ground in re
cent years with several states that have activated paren
tal consent laws. He said many states with these laws
have had a substantial decrease in abortions and even
pregnancies.
“This is a window of opportunity,” he said, “and we
can make a difference.”
Aggies for Life is a recognized student organization
of Texas A&M that wishes to protect human life
through education, legislation and promotion of alter
natives to abortion.
By SUZANNE CALDERON
Of The Battalion Staff
Rob Mosbacher, Republican can
didate for lieutenant governor, said
new ideas and a fresh perspective —
a businessman’s perspective —- is
needed in the lieutenant governor’s
office.
Speaking to an audience of about
45 in the Memorial Student Center
last night, Mosbacher, said he is
against tax increases and pouring
money into problems in order to
solve them. He said he wants to
bring new leadership, new choices,
new opportunities and common
sense business management to the
office.
Mosbacher said his opponent,
Democrat Bob Bullock, is an “Austin
Rob Mosbacher
political scene man” who describes
himself as a problem solver, but
Mosbacher said he feels Bullock may
be part of the problem.
“Bob Bullock has been in Austin
for 30 years, he has been the state
tax collector for 15 years — Bullock
describes himself as a problem
solver, I’d be interested in knowing
which one of the many problems in
this state he is proudest of solving,”
Mosbacher said.
“Bob has built an empire — a
gold-plated agency,” he said. “What
I plan to do is try to convince my fel
low Texans that now is the time for
change — I am not convinced that
you have to spend 30 years in Austin
to figure out what the problems are
and if you’ve been there that long,
there is a good chance you are part
of the problem.”
Bullock was invited to speak, but
declined to attend, said Ron Heath,
chairman of political forum.
Mosbacher is currently president
of Mosbacher Energy Company, a
small, independent oil and gas com
pany in Houston. He said that his
experience in the oil business has
taught him to spend money effi
ciently.
Texas is increasing in size, Mos
bacher said, and with the increase in
size there also comes the challenge
of doing things better like improving
the quality of life and getting better
jobs and health care. The way to ac
complish those goals is not by spend
ing more money, but instead by
spending the money you have effi
ciently.
Mosbacher’s new ideas for im
proving Texas include a plan called
the Texas Business Enhancement
Fund which would make it easier for
small businesses to get loans so they
remain in business and create jobs
for Texans.
He said for a state so wealthy,
Texas manages its health care dol
lars inefficiently. In Texas, he said,
the emphasis is put on curing peo
ples’ illnesses instead of preventing
them from occurring. He has pro
posed a private sector low-cost
health insurance program that cov
ers preventive health measures in
stead of covering hospitalization and
catastrophic illness.
Outside eyes are also needed in
government to review how money is
being used, he said.
As volunteer chairman of the
board for the Texas Department of
Human Services, a state agency
overseeing low-income assistance
programs, Mosbacher said he called
for an audit of the agency and found
$15 to 30 million of wasted over
head.
“This bureaucracy had not had an
outside impartial management audit
of how it allocates overhead in over
12 years,” he said. “It is impossible to
get your arms around the waste and
inefficiency of government if you
have no one on the outside telling
you what it is — if you leave it up to
the agency they will never find it.”
Ogden plans
to give power
back to juries
By MIKE LUMAN
Of The Battalion Staff
Pointing out negligence and inef
ficiency in the criminal justice sys
tem, state representative hopeful
Steve Ogden proposed a plan Tues
day to “give the power back to the
people.”
Ogden, a Republican opposing
Democrat Jim James in the Nov. 6
election, said during a news confer
ence that juries should have more
authority to sentence criminals.
“Our criminal justice system is
controlled not by the people who sit
on juries but by liberal federal
judges, unelected bureaucrats, pro
fessional politicians and the crimi
nals themselves.”
He said juries should be able to set
minimum sentences that cannot be
reduced by parole.
Prosecutors and defendants
should have the right to request jury
sentencing, he said. Juries also
should have access to the same fac
tual information judges receive
when deciding a case.
To be eligible for parole, inmates
should be required to have a high
school diploma or G.E.D. earned in
prison, Ogden said.
He said 83 percent of state prison
ers did not graduate from high
school.
Better education means less
chance of returning to prison, he
said.
He also said the state will continue
prison construction.
Ogden said he favored “streamli
ning” the appeals process for death-
row inmates.
One appeal should be permitted
Steve Ogden
in state courts and one in federal
courts, he said.
“Eliminate frivolous appeals and
cover all arguments the first time.”
Discussing other subjects, Ogden
said he supported legislation to limit
the number of terms in the Texas
House to six and the Senate to three.
That means a 12-year maximum in
cumbency for both.
He said he did not favor a tax in
crease, but would reconsider if con
vinced Texas A&M’s operation
would suffer.
Basic needs in the state are safety,
education, public transportation and
health and human services, Ogden
said.
Security is a major public concern,
he said. Many local citizens live in
crime-watch neighborhoods or dis
play signs warning would-be intrud
ers.
“I want to get the criminal justice
system back on its feet.”