The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 04, 1991, Image 1

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    Wednesday
Partly Cloudy
High low-90s
Texas Music Festival
Classical series returns
to A&M campus
pages
“Amnesty International reports
widespread torture and killing in the
liberated” Kuwait."
— Michael Worsham
pages
Crime Stoppers
Bryan police investigating
convenience store burglary
page 2
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 147 CISPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas
'Serving Texas A&M since 1893'
Tuesday, June 4, 1991
Bush library receives gift of public opinion interview data
By Greg Mt.Joy
The Battalion
The announcement of a major dona
tion of public opinion interviews
comes as the latest boon in a string of
eood fortune for Texas A&M's Center
for Presidential Studies.
Less than a month after receiving
word that the George Bush Presi
dential Library would be located at
A&M, center director Dr. George Ed
wards said more than 1 million nation
ally conducted interviews would be
given to the Bush library.
Edwards said the interviews, called
the Tarrance Collection of Public Opin
ion Research, would provide insight
on public support and candidate eval
uation for the presidency since 1977.
The collection, donated by V. Lance
Tarrance Jr. of Houston of the national
survey research firm Tarrance and As
sociates, includes about 300,000 inter
views conducted in Texas.
Edwards said the center hopes that
in addition to donating the interviews,
Tarrance will meet with students seve
ral times a year during seminars and
other programs to give them an insid
er's view of electoral politics.
The center, which will be in the pres
idential library complex, will benefit
greatly from the library, Edwards said.
Edwards said the center was created
before the site for the library was deter
mined. He also added that the Univer
sity would have carried on with or
without the library.
"The library and the center are the
perfect complements for each other,"
Edwards said. "As a result of the cen
ter and other academic programs that
will be located in the presidential li
brary complex, Texas A&M will be
come the premier place to study the
presidency."
Edwards said the library will enrich
programs already thriving at A&M
such as the master of public adminis
tration degree. It also will lend prestige
to other degrees in similar fields, he
said.
The complex will be located on a 90-
acre site on west campus at the inter
section of George Bush Drive and FM
2818, Edwards said.
The exact design of the library has
not been determined, but the exterior
and landscaping will be modeled after
the University's research park, located
next to the site, Edwards said.
The library will be funded largely by
gifts from Bush's friends and admirers,
including A&M alumni and other Uni
versity supporters.
The acquisition of the library on May
3 ended months of competition with
the University of Houston and Rice
University. Those schools had tried to
use their location in President Bush's
adopted hometown to attract the li
brary.
However, Dr. Daniel Fallon, dean of
the College of Liberal Arts, said A&M
officials were confident of their propo
sal and never wavered from their origi
nal plans.
i!
A little horsing around S0NDRA ROBBINS/The Battalion
Maria de Keratry, a fourth-year veterinary student, checks a seven-day-old miniature horse and its mother at the A&M Large Animal Clinic.
Regents may
still face suit
Possible violation of Open Meetings Act
has not yet resulted in legal action
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University
System Board of Regents has not
yet faced any legal action stem
ming from a possible violation of
the Texas Open Meetings Act,
but the possibility for a lawsuit
still exists.
The Board discussed a
statement on harassment and
discrimination during a closed
executive session on May 16 and
17. The Board later approved the
statement.
The Texas Open Meetings Act
g rohibits governmental bodies
om holding meetings closed to
the public, except to discuss real
estate, personnel or litigation.
Violation of the act is a misde
meanor punishable by a $100 to
$500 fine and/or one to six
months in jail.
Ron Dusek, public informa
tion officer with the state attor
ney general's office, said his of
fice does not investigate
violations of the act.
He said a group or individual
with knowledge of a possible
transgression can take action by
filing a lawsuit against the violat
ing governmental body.
"The attorney general's office
has no enforcement powers for
the Open Meetings Act," Dusek
said. "A person must have the
court determine (any viola
tions)."
The statement is similar to one
adopted by University President
William Mobley. Earlier this
year, groups including A&M's
Gay and Lesbian Student Serv
ices (GLSS) protested the poli
cy' s- vague wording.
Dr. Larry Hickman, former
faculty adviser for GLSS, said
several parties are interested in
pursuing the matter, but he de
clined to name the groups.
However, Genevieve Stubbs,
first assistant general counsel for
A&M, said she was unaware of
any lawsuits filed against the
Board.
"No one has given me notice
(of any action being taken),"
Stubbs said.
The Board's statement forbids
harassment and discrimination
against anyone, but does not
mention specific groups.
The statement reads: "Faculty,
staff and students should be
aware that any form of ha
rassment and any form of illegal
discrimination against any indi
vidual is inconsistent with the
values and ideals of the Texas
A&M University System com
munity."
Dr. James Mazzullo, the pre
sent adviser for GLSS, declined
to comment.
Tips for communication
Editor's note: The Battalion will run a weekly
column on better health habits provided by the
education department of the A.P. Beutel Health
Center.
By Andrea Beshara
Special to The Battalion
Communication between people often is a very
confusing matter. Sometimes people might have
difficulty talking to another person or maybe say
one thing and have others understand it as some
thing else.
Women and men can often communicate in dif
ferent ways, even though they are trying to ex
press the same ideas.
Successful communication occurs when the
person speaking or gesturing achieves the impact
intended.
Remember that although communication can
he verbal or non-verbal, actions can often speak
louder than words.
Some people communicate better verbally.
Whatever the differences, it is important to keep
in mind that these differences will vary from per-
s °n to person, woman to man.
Here are some tips for effective communcation:
□ Be honest with your partner or friend from
beginning of your relationship. Let them
know if you like to share your feelings or if you
are a person who keeps things to yourself. This
will let your friend or partner be prepared for how
you might react to certain situations.
□ Strive to understand your partner or friend.
Background, culture and personality all play a
part in how a person values and acts in a
relationship.
□ During an argument, try to avoid "kitchen
sinking" or griping about everything that is both
ering you for the past month instead of sticking to
one issue at a time.
□ Listen to one another. It is human nature to
keep things in check. Take time to say, "Hey, I'm
here and things are fine," or "I'm feeling pres
sured and we need to discuss this."
Enjoy the time you spend communicating with
others. Communication is a vital part of our ev
eryday lives.
Always be conscious of all your communication
ACTS: Appropiateness of communication, Com
prehension of words and actions. Truth should be
expressed. Sincerity will be demonstrated.
The Health Education Center of the A.P. Beutel
Health Center offers educational programs on
communication and relationships.
The programs focus on techniques to establish
successful communication in all relationships. For
more infomation, call 845-1341.
Sigma Chi donates $2,000 I
to library for new terminals
By Karen Praslicka
The Battalion
Texas A&M's chapter of the
Sigma Chi fraternity counti-
nues to lead the way for stu
dent groups at A&M by donat
ing $2,000 to the Sterling C.
Evans Library, said Irene
Hoadley, director of the li
brary.
Sigma Chi raised the money
during its annual Derby Days
project.
Hoadley said the money will
be used to purchase two new
NOTIS terminals for the cur
rent periodicals department.
She said the new terminals
will benefit students because
all the libraiy'sjoumal hold
ings are on NOTTS. The one or
two terminals now in current
periodicals are not sufficient
for students' needs, Hoadley
said.
"When students are looking
for something in current peri
odicals, they don't want to
have to go to another part of
the building to find a termi
nal," she said.
Hoadley said last year's do
nation was used to buy two
terminals in the main catalog
area, which is another busy
section in the library besides
current periodicals.
The main advantage of the
new terminals is the shorter
waiting time for use, she said.
"Everybody has a limited
amount of wait time, including
students," Hoadley said.
She said at certain times
there is a problem with stu
dents waiting to use terminals.
"You can't have enough
equipment to satisfy needs all
the time, but you want to mini
mize the wait," Hoadley said.
The terminals have been or
dered and should be ready for
the fall semester, she said.
Fraternity member Greg
Balko said in a previous inter
view it was important for the
fraternity to support some ac
tivity on campus.
Fraternity members said the
current periodicals and refer
ence areas were "high use"
areas where the terminals
would be most beneficial to
students.
Hoadley said Sigma Chi is
the first student group other
than graduating classes to
make gifts to the library. The li
brary's goal is to raise $40 mil
lion over a five-year period.
Hoadley commended Sigma
Chi for their leadership and
said she hopes other student
groups will follow the fraterni
ty's example.