“Hold on to your pews folks, because
our churches, the last bastions of
conservativeness, are beginning to
change as well."
— Trey Jacobson
page 2
Three-game sweep
Aggies sweep TCU
on the road for the
first time since 1977.
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TRADE
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Study says Texas
dominates the export
market to Mexico.
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The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 141 USPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&Msince 1893"
Monday, April 29,1991
Aggies collaborate on Black Student's Guide to
By Melinda Cox
The Battalion
A group of Texas A&M students is
trying to make choosing a college eas
ier for graduating high school seniors
by writing a guide about the nation's
universities.
Dr. Marilyn Kern-Fox worth, an asso
ciate journalism professor, is oversee
ing efforts to put together the Black
Student's Guide to Colleges.
"This guide tells students about in
terests for black students," Kern-Fox-
worth said. "It informs students about
the options they have."
Kem-Foxworth said the guide tells
students about different black activities
and organizations on a particular cam
pus.
It also provides other criteria such as
how many black faculty teach at the
school and how many black students
are enrolled at the university.
Kern-Foxworth became involved
with the guide when the Beckham
House Publishing Co. in Virgina con
tacted her to inquire about her possible
interest in the guide.
Publisher Barry Beckham was
looking for students to put the guide
together and be responsible for compil
ing the 198 profiles that would make
up the guide, Kem-Foxworth said.
Beckham wanted to get the National
Association of Black Journalists in
volved in the project and came to A&M
to attend a NABJ meeting to propose
the idea, Kem-Foxworth said.
The idea was well-received by nine
students including Pamela Lee, presi
dent of NABJ, volunteering to work on
the project.
Lee, managing editor for the guide,
is responsible for looking over the pro
files and making sure work is com
pleted.
"The guide helps acquaint high
school students with different colleges,
both black and white," Lee said.
Black students also have a tremen
dous variety of black universities to
choose from, she said.
The guide helps students look for a
college because the profiles are under
standably written to highlight different
organizations for black students on the
campus, Lee said.
"Each profile is about 1,000 words
long and is written by an A&M student
from questionnaires sent to (other)
campuses and filled out by deans and
students," Lee said.
"The university then returns the
questionnaires with any other bro
chures or pamphlets they wish to
send," she said.
Kem-Foxworth said the guide is nec
essary because many blacks students
do not know where to go to school.
"If a student is interested in the
Voices of Praise or the Black Aware
ness Committee, the guide would tell a
student if these organizations are of
fered at a university," Kem-Foxworth
said. "The guide also gives information
about services on a campus and finan
cial aid available."
Colleges
Kem-Foxworth said students need a
well-rounded education with academic
and extracurricular activities.
On the surface a university might
seem to provide these, but the guide
would let a student know everything
the campus has to offer, she said.
Lee said although the guide is a
NABJ project, writers still are needed
for the summer. Students interested
can come by 230 Reed McDonald for
further information.
"Students don't have to be journa
lism majors," Lee said. "But they do
need to nave a real interest in complet
ing the profile and have some writing
skills."
The publication is due out in August
and those interested in a copy can
write to Beckham House Publishing,
P.O. Box 177, Hampton, Va., 23669.
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Emergency teamwork
College Station Fire Department and EMT personnel remove a pas- afternoon at the corner of New Main Drive and Texas Avenue. Two peo-
senger from a Plymouth Horizon involved in a two-car accident Sunday pie were transported from the accident by ambulance.
B-CS raises
$30,000
for charity
Volunteers participate in WalkAmerica
to collect money for March of Dimes
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
More than 800 people partici
pated in WalkAmerica on Satur
day by strolling almost seven
miles to raise money for the
March of Dimes Birth Defects
Foundation.
Carolyn Fish, director of the
Bryan-College Station division,
said this year's local turnout was
even better than last year's.
WalkAmerica is the founda
tion's largest fund-raiser and the
largest walking event in the
country. Fish said.
It began during the 1970s and
is an annual March of Dimes
event.
Fish estimated that from
700,000 to 1 million people par
ticipated in the fund-raiser na
tionwide.
The money raised from the
event puts the local chapter close
to its $30,000 goal, she said.
The local organization had
raised $21,000 before the na
tional fund-raiser on Saturday.
Local businesses, Texas A&M
organizations and individuals
collected pledges to raise money.
Prizes also were given away
for the groups that raised the
most donations.
Fish said WalkAmerica funds
are automatically transferred
into the March of Dimes' na
tional budget.
The national organization's
funds are primarily used for re
search and education about birth
defects.
The Bryan-College Station di
vision is the largest recipient of
foundation grants in Texas, Fish
said.
"We get back between $40,000
and $50,000 a year," she said.
Fish said most of the people
working for the March of Dimes
are volunteers, including the or
ganization's chief director in
New York.
The March of Dimes was cre
ated in 1938 by Franklin D.
Roosevelt to fight polio.
See Local/Page 5
Discovery launched
Shuttle blasts off on difficult Star Wars mission after 7-week delay
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
(AP) — The space shuttle Dis
covery thundered into orbit with
seven astronauts Sunday on a
"Star Wars" research mission
that promises to be one of the
most complicated flights in shut
tle history.
The spaceship roared from its
seaside launch pad at 7:33 a.m.
EDT, climbing through a fairly
clear sky flushed by the rising
sun.
Once Discovery was settled in
its 161-mile-high orbit, shuttle
commander and veteran space
man Michael Coats told Mission
Control that "everything seems
to be going pretty well."
"We've got a bunch of kids in
the candy store up here having a
ball," Coats said. It is the first
trip into space for five of the as
tronauts.
Project managers were just as
thrilled.
"How sweet it is," gushed Mi
chael Harrison, a research offi
cial for the Strategic Defense Ini
tiative, better known as "Star
Wars."
The launch, stalled seven
weeks because of faulty shuttle
parts, was delayed a half-hour at
the last minute by yet another
problem.
Launch director Bob Sieck
held the countdown clock at the
nine-minute mark after one of
two data recorders aboard Dis
covery turned on prematurely.
There was no safety hazard, but
officials wanted to make sure
there was nothing wrong with
the shuttle's computers.
The countdown resumed after
engineers concluded the com
puters were fine.
Sieck put that problem and
others behind once Discovery
was safely in space.
"You don't keep score and you
don't look back ... you go to
school on lessons learned," Sieck
said. "As soon as it's up there
and everything is working fine,
that's just history."
Most of the eight-day flight
will be devoted to Star Wars tests
aimed at helping scientists de
velop sensors for tracking and
destroying enemy missiles. The
astronauts will split 12-hour
shifts to obtain as much data as
possible.
The toughest experiments will
be Tuesday and Wednesday.
That's when a satellite released
from Discovery will measure and
analyze the shuttle's exhaust
plumes. It also will examine
chemicals and gases sprayed
into space — potential missile
camouflage — before being cap
tured for return to Earth.
NASA considers this one of
the most complex shuttle flights
because of all the tricky, split-
second turns required. Discov
ery's engine nozzles must be
pointed right at the spacecraft
during the plume observations.
A collection of five scientific
instruments will remain in the
cargo bay to study natural phe
nomena, such as tne atmospnere
and aurora, that could mask a
missile's path.
West campus expansion
Engineer predicts relocation will cause
transportation difficulties for students
By Monica Pollock
Special to The Battalion
Texas A&M's plans to ex
pand to west campus will cre
ate transportation problems
for students traveling be
tween the two campuses, a
University transportation re
searcher said.
Joe Blaschke, an assistant
research engineer with the
Texas Transportation Insti
tute, said he presently is re
viewing plans to move the
College of Business to west
campus.
He also said he is evaluat
ing the move's potential ef
fects on students and faculty.
Blaschke said the present
10-minute break does not al
low enough time for people to
travel from main campus to
classes located on west cam
pus.
A minor shifting of class
times probably will be nec
essary to accommodate the
growing number of students
attending classes on both
sides of the University, he
said.
"Five minutes would make
a big difference," Blaschke
said.
He said the extra few min
utes should take care of stu
dents leaving class early or ar
riving late.
Lowering Wellborn Road
also is another possibility that
might aid students get to class
on time, he said.
The Bryan city government,
the Texas Highway Depart
ment and the University all
support this alternative al
though the proposal has been
delayed due to the lack of
support from College Station
residents, Blaschke said.
The initiative was voted
down in December because
College Station voters proba
bly believed the change
would benefit only Texas
A&M, Blaschke said.
However, two present op
tions for the Wellborn Road
proposal still exist, Blaschke
said.
One alternative is to wait to
see if College Station agrees to
contribute financially to the
project. The other possibility
would be to lower Wellborn
only next to the University
and in Bryan.