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— Matt McBurnett
page 2
Spring Scrimmage
Texas A&M football players
end spring drills with
scrimmage for fun, food
pages
Campus Crime
UPD reports crime
page 4
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 138 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" Wednesday, April 24, 1991
Dean calls A&M proposal for presidential library strongest offer
By Greg Mt Joy
The Battalion
Anchored by the new Center for
Presidential Studies, A&M's proposal
for attracting the George Bush Presi
dential Library is the strongest offered,
an A&M official said.
Dr. Daniel Fallon, dean of the Col
lege of Liberal Arts, said A&M's
unique facility would make the library
a living exercise, not a museum.
"No other academic research center
in the country focuses solely on the
presidency," Fallon said. "The variety
of programs and facilities available will
help make the center an ongoing and
living entity."
Dr. George Edwards, director of the
center, said its creation was not merely
a stunt to attract the presidential li
brary.
"The center was considered for a
long time before the question of the li
brary was brought up," said Edwards,
also a distinguished professor of politi
cal science. "The center is independent
of the library, although it would be an
important complement to it."
The center's existence does not de
pend on the library, he said.
"If disaster strikes, and we don't get
the library, we will keep the center,"
Edwards said. "The University has
made a strong commitment to the cen
ter."
The center, located in the basement
of Bolton Hall, probably would be
moved if President Bush decided to lo
cate the library at A&M, Edwards said.
The proposed site for the library is
the southwest comer of George Bush
Drive and FM 2818.
A&M's proposal, however, is not the
only one. Several proposals have been
made by both the University of Hous
ton and Rice University.
Fallon said he believes none have
matched A&M's at this point, includ
ing a joint plan by Houston and Rice to
attract the President's library to his
hometown.
"We continue to believe our propo
sal is the strongest," he said. "The
Center for Presidential Studies, as a
part of that proposal, is something no
other school in tne nation can match."
A great leap in the credibility of the
center was made recently, when both
Gallup and CBS/New York Times polls
agreed to store their presidential polls
in the center, Fallon said.
"It is surely an indication that we
have a serious research center, not
some fly-by-night, superficial attempt
to lure the library," he said.
Edwards said the archives, by their
nature, would not interest tourists.
"Digging into several thousand ar
chives would not interest the public,
though it would be open to them," he
said. "Students and scholars, on the
other hand, may find them very inter
esting."
The archives, however, are only one
facet of the center, he said. Research
into the presidency also would be
sponsored by the center, in areas such
as the president's work with Congress
and the president's ability to lead the
public.
The third mission of the center is
what Edwards calls the outreach com
ponent. This would involve a lecture
series on campus and a national con
ference on some aspect of the presi
dency about every four years.
Edwards said the first of the lectures
would be next fall.
"We have a lot going on, considering
the short time we have been in existen
ce," he said.
Fundraising efforts are underway,
and two major announcements con
cerning archival donations were forth
coming, Edwards said.
"We are about to announce the do
nations, which are very impressive
gifts," he said. "Unfortunately, I can't
say more until the offers actually come
to fruition. One should be announced
in May, though, and the other this
summer."
Fallon said efforts like the renaming
of Jersey Street would no longer be
made and the University would stick
with its present proposal.
"No action at this point would be
productive," Fallon said. "The presi
dent has made it clear how he wants
this handled, and we will follow his
wishes. He expects nothing further,
and we will follow that queue."
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ttHGA 11
Registration starts
in reopened classes
Spaces available for summer
By Timm Doolen
The Battalion
Several spaces in sections of
SCOM 403, ENGL 104 and
ENGL 301 still are open and re
served for August graduates.
Registration resumed Tuesday
for previously closed first-term
summer classes.
On March 25, dozens of sec
tions of liberal arts classes tem
porarily were closed, due to a
$3 2 million budget cut for the
present fiscal year.
Several sections were re
opened during the last month af
ter funds were made available
through the provost's office.
Seniors wishing to register for
either English course should go
to the English department to be
forced in.
David Anderson, director of
undergraduate advising for the
Department of English, said sev
eral dozen spaces are open for
301 and several spaces for 104.
Susan Gilbertz, coordinator of
undergraduate advising for the
Department of Speech Commu
nications, said about two dozen
spaces of 403 are open.
She said for students to be
forced in, they should bring a
signed letter from their depart
ments stating they will graduate
in August.
Both departments are in the
Blocker Building.
"We're doing everything we
can with the limited resources
we have," Anderson said. "We
do sympathize with students
who need classes."
Other liberal arts courses that
were reopened:
□ ANTH 205
□ ENGL 227
□ HIST 345
□ JOUR 214
□ JOUR 273
□ POLS 207
□ SOCI205
□ SOCI 315
Charles Johnson, associate
dean for the College of Liberal
Arts, said the college and its de
partments will try to give grad
uating seniors top priority for es
sential classes.
"The departments have done
their best to provide the courses
needed by graduating seniors,"
Johnson said.
Johnson said his office is tak
ing care of problems caused by
early budget cuts.
"I think it's resolving itself,"
he said. "Things are working
out."
Because of the budget cuts,
some faculty members expecting
to teach in the summer will not
be able to, and several student
working positions, including
teaching assistants, will suffer.
Committee passes bill
altering voter's cards
By Timm Doolen
The Battalion
The House Elections Com
mittee Tuesday unanini-
mously passed House Bill 879
which, if made into law, will
change the wording on voter
registration cards to avoid con
fusion on what "permanent
address" means.
Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, who
introduced the bill, said it
would make the voter registra
tion process free of the prob
lems of last fall's election in
Brazos County.
During the fall election,
about 1,800 A&M students
unintentionally registered to
vote in their home county and
were confused as to whether
voting in this county was ille
gal.
HB 879 would change the
wording of the card from "per
manent address" to "resi
dent's address," and would
add a line under that —
"county in which you intend
to vote."
The bill also calls for coun
ties to notify registrees if their
registration card is forwarded
to another county.
Ogden said the bill was
passed onto the Local and
Consent Calendar Committee,
instead of the regular Cal
endar Committee, which
means the bill has a better
chance of moving faster and
being passed by the full
house.
He also said the bill should
do well because there is little
controversy and no real oppo
sition to the bill.
If the bill passes the House,
Sen. Jim Turner, D-Crockett,
will back the bill in the Senate,
Ogden said.
He said the bill addresses a
roblem that is evident across
exas, not just Brazos County.
He said the current wording of
the card is probably a result of
past political motivations.
The present legislative ses
sion ends in late May.
, MIKE C. MULVEWThe Battalion
Where’s the lift?
Like penguins.John Adams and a line of classmates waddle up Mt. Aggie
to complete a short ski quiz for their beginning ski class Wednesday.
Professors
doubt plan
Bush's education proposal
too simplistic.
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
Professors in Texas A&M's
College of Education support
President Bush's intentions to
try to improve public schools but
doubt his proposed education
plan will work.
Dr. Stan Carpenter, associate
professor of educational admin
istration, said Bush's plan is sim
plistic, almost to the point of not
being useful.
"The plan is vague, and the
education problem won't re
spond to vague solutions," he
said.
Bush's plan calls for national
testing in English, math, science,
history and geography. It urges
colleges and employers to use
students' scores as part of the
students' evaluation.
It also allows parents to
choose schools their children at
tend, while urging businesses to
become involved in education.
Carpenter said the national
testing idea will not help im
prove the nation's educational
system. He said it might cause
educators to "teach to a test" and
not allow for curriculum diver-
say educators
sity and experimentation.
Carpenter said the test idea
might mislead educators by di
verting their attention to areas
where help is not needed.
"We're trying to find the light
of education, but we're looking
under the light of the tests," he
said. "The answer may be some
where else."
Carpenter said school choice
for parents has not worked well
in tne past, and the issue has
many unaddressed problems.
"It's a ticket to government
subsidized racism," he said.
School choice might benefit
those who have transportation
to get their children to better
schools, but those who do not
will be forced to send their chil
dren to schools within their
neighborhoods. Carpenter said.
Neighborhood scnools might
be good or bad, but parents
without means will not have any
choice in the school their chil
dren will attend, he said.
Carpenter said the plan has its
good and bad points, but it is too
vague.
He said, however, he believes
See Professor/Page 10
Speaker urges emissions control
Global warming may affect environment, food production
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Countries must reduce carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions to pre
vent global warming, whether
the warming is artificial or part
of a natural trend, a visiting pro
fessor said Tuesday in Zachry-
Dr. Othmar Preining of the
University of Vienna said atmo
spheric models differ from actual
data on whether global warming
will occur in the coming de
cades.
"It's something we can't tell,"
Preining said. "But all evidence
shows a vast increase in CO2 re
sults in a vast temperature in
crease."
Carbon dioxide is a "green
house gas" which traps heat and
prevents it from radiating into
space. This effect keeps the
planet warmer than it would be
without an atmosphere.
However, too much green
house effect could raise global
temperatures, affecting food
production and living conditions
all over the world.
Preining said the Earth com
pensates for CO2 production
with the carbon cycle, which re
moves carbon from the atmo
sphere. However, scientists can
not account for half the carbon in
the cycle, he said.
"(CO2 generation) is covered
by feedback mechanisms we
don't understand," Preining
said. "The system is very sensi
tive, and a small input can have
a considerable effect on the cli
mate."
The oilfield fires in Kuwait are
one example of how man's ac
tions attect weatner patterns.
The fires will result in tempera
ture changes and precipitation
increases as far away 10,000 kilo
meters, well into India and Af
rica.
However, Preining said the
main impact will be in a form fa
miliar to residents of Los An
cles. He said sulfates, un-
urned hydrocarbons and trace
metals will form a smog cloud
the size of the United States,
lasting several years.
"That's something we've
never seen before in the history
of the planet," he said.
Observatories worldwide have
noted an increase in carbon diox
ide, methane and other green
house gasses since the 1950s,
Preining said. Atmospheric
models predict an average global
temperature increase of 3 de
grees Celsius, he said.
Scientists also use information
taken from meteorological re
cords to establish a long-range
E icture of weather patterns.
lowever, data from the last cen
tury may be inaccurate or dis
torted, Preining said.
"To evaluate data from 100
years ago is a difficult task," he
said.
Peining said this data shows a
cyclical trend. Over a period of
time, average temperatures in
crease to a certain point, then be
gin to decrease. The sequence re
peats itself over and over.
Researchers also use other
means to gather meteorological
information.
Trees provide a historical re-
See Speaker/Page 10