The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 26, 1991, Image 1

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 26, 1991, Image 1

Newspaper Page Texti Thursday's Forecast: Mid 90s Isolated Thunderstorms A&M Soccer Club “European Football” is alive and kicking at Texas A&M University. page 3 (Let's) create a Community Service League that directs students into concrete community service experiences." - Tim Truesdale page 5 Professor creates computer graphic programs to teach children. page 2 9 l 0t tones ^ 'gskeep: hrst,*' litlo n is P } P heant s a surplij u perct; 1 wer ek wsityhj; lar oundtt nued. as :a n asset A not del : Univeis: in t n ee; The Battalion Vol. 90 No. 160 USPS 045360 6 Pages College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" Wednesday, June 26, 1991 TCA Cable might cancel 'objectionable' rock video channel By Tammy Bryson The Battalion I for mote P'nng entn- matioo, '80 for mote i meeting- invironmen- 7 or Peter at m. at Can- eld at m Present negotiations between TCA Cable and MTV Networks could result in the cancellation of the popular rock video channel throughout tne Brazos [Valley, said Randy Rogers, general I manager of TCA Cable. "There have been numerous com- 1 plaints from customers for the past few 1 years about the objectionable content lof the videos on MTV," Rogers said. 1 "Due to their content we are not will- ling to continue carrying the video I channel on a broad basis." Rogers said TCA Cable officials have been in negotiations for several months with tne MTV Network, which also controls Nickelodeon and VH1. He said TCA is willing to provide MTV on request and not as part of the basic cable package, but the MTV Network has not responded favorably. "It is not our desire to cancel MTV, but this is not the type of programming that should be part of basic cable," Rogers said. The deadline on negotiations be tween the two companies is midnight Sunday. Rogers, however, said MTV probably will reject the cable compa ny's offer. "We know that many of the people who would like MTV to continue are Texas A&M students, but we just can't do it (continue service)," Rogers said. "I think that the students will agree that this programming is not appropri ate for young children who now have access to MTV on basic cable." Rogers said TCA Cable presently is negotiating for access to VH1, which is also a rock video channel. "Hopefully, we will be able to offer VH1 as a substitute for MTV, but noth ing is definite at this time," Rogers added. He confirmed that the change in for mat will not affect present cable prices. "If we drop MTV, they (MTV offi cials) will raise our present rates for Nickelodeon, which is also owned by MTV Networks," he said. "But this will not be reflected in TCA Cable's prices." Rogers said he believes the most im portant factor in the company's deci sion to limit access to the video channel was a concern for what MTV was broadcasting. TCA Cable, however, is aware that many people will be against the MTV's cancellation, he said. "We know there will be many com plaints about this change in format, but we will stand firm on our decision," he said. Budget proposal iity Lutheran House subcommittee approves funding sophyata 9 f° r University at near-current levels fcOonalcU >/) the narn o is a Batti un on a fe i have que- By Chris Vaughn The Battalion to ^ I University President William | Mobley said Tuesday he is en- I couraged about Texas A&M's fi- | nancial future after a House sub- 1 committee narrowly passed a I new budget proposal late last I week. A House Appropriations sub- ; committee on higher education □ Columnist looks at task force recommendations /Page 5 passed a proposal Friday, 11 votes to 10, to fund A&M at cur rent services plus growth. Mobley said during an open forum for the Multiple Missions Task Force report that he was pleased about the committee's proposal. "We're in a lot better shape to day than we were last week," he ! said. "I assure you of that." Mobley and A&M's other ad ministrators have been sweating | out the budget crisis since March when the state ordered the Uni versity to return about $3.5 mil lion from this year's budget. Shortly after that bombshell. House Bill 10 was drawn up by legislators, calling for a $26 mil lion cut in A&M's budget for next year. The bill died when the Legislature adjourned its regular session in May. Then, last week, rumors sur faced that the House subcommit tee was discussing funding higher education at double 1991 levels, which would be far below the current services level. Mobley, however, said the new budget proposal is better than any previous plan. The president said A&M would need about $10 million more than this year's budget just to stay even, not including raises for faculty and staff. But given the state's fiscal problems, the Legislature might not meet that need. The budget proposal from the subcommittee will go before the full House Appropriations Com mittee when the Legislature's See President/Page 6 CAREY BOETHEL/The Battalion Fire drills Firefighters at Brayton Firefighting School practiced extinguishing oil well fires on Tuesday. The class continues for the rest of the week. Committee favors re-emphasis on teaching By Chris Vaughn The Battalion Balancing teaching and research in fac ulty reward structures was the primary topic Tuesday during an open forum to discuss the release of Texas A&M's Task Force on Multiple Missions report. The 90-page report by the committee makes 28 recommendations to Univer sity President William Mobley, who ap pointed the members 17 months ago. The task force, chaired by Dr. John Calhoun, studied six areas: undergrad uate education, graduate and profes sional education, scholarship and re search, public service, international programs, and diversity and pluralism. The open forum was designed to give faculty and staff members a chance to comment on the report. Much of the dis cussion centered around the task force's recommendations that greater attention be given to teaching. "Some evidence indicates that the bal ance among missions at A&M is skewed toward an emphasis upon research," the report states. "This is a relative shift that in perspective can be said to represent the success of past decisions of the insti tution to achieve research pre-eminence. An emphasis upon teaching and its qual ity should be approached with a similar University commitment." The task force also recommended that the University should consider teaching and public service, not just research, in the evaluation of faculty for promotion and tenure. Mobley raised the question of how it would be best to measure a teacher's ef fectiveness since research is easier to as sess. Dr. John August, a committee mem ber, suggested the possibility of teaching portfolios to judge a teacher's compe tence. Another suggestion was made to ask former students about the teaching abilities of their ex-professors. But the task force members and many of those present were clear that teaching needs to play a greater role, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. See Report/Page 6 AAP sends professor to South Africa By Karen Praslicka The Battalion prc uric CATf — Stasnt' 220 -s — -f __ $5-99 _ $7.99 $9-99 r«nW v r c u5tomtf ——a cHc 65 ** Soldiers wake to news of Scud attack, raid on Iraq Editor's note: Michael A. Kel ley, a Class of '89 political sci ence graduate, worked for The Battalion as a reporter in the fall of 1989. What follows is a chroni cle of some of his experiences as an M1A1 tank platoon leader during the Persian Gulf War. This is part two of a four-part se ries. The 16th of January was an other day of training my platoon on NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) operations, first aid, taking of enemy prisoners, friendly and enemy vehicle iden tification and various other basic skills used to prepare us for the unknown road down which the war would travel. I went to bed that night at midnight after finishing another letter to my parents. Two hours later we were all awakened to the fact that U.S. warplanes were on their way to Iraq. We were then a nation at war. Analysis of the Persian Gulf War I pulled myself out of the same dream I'd had off and on for two months, in which artillery was falling all around my tank. We put on our chemical protective overgarments to prepare for a possible retaliatory Scud strike. We gathered up our gear and sat around, listening to radios all morning as we waited for buses to take us back to our tanks. Ex citement filled the air as every body cheered during the reports the Baghdad and the Republican Guards were being bombed hourly. But fear quickly filled our hearts when we were ordered to put on our gas masks and get up against the wall because a Scud was reportedly on its way. It flew over us and onto Dhahran, where it was shot down by a Pa triot missile. This wasn't Gre nada or Panama — this was war. We moved our tanks to our tactical assembly area (TAA), near the Kuwait border, by large, heavy equipment trucks. See Soldier/Page 6 2nd Lt. Michael A. Kelley , Class of ’89, gives the “Gig Em” sign while stationed just outside the Iraqi border during Operation Desert Storm. fessor will travel to South Africa on Monday, becoming the first person sent by the African Arts Fund (AAF) to visit the troubled country since apartheid began. Dr. Roger Schultz, director of Aggie Players and head of A&M's theater program, said he is looking forward to practicing voice and acting styles with South African producer/director Mbongeni Ngema and South Af rican student artists in Johannes burg. Plans for the trip began in De cember when the members of the AAF contacted Schultz to see if he knew of anyone interested in traveling to South Africa. Schultz immediately volun teered. _ "It was a long struggle getting the trip put together," he said. A cultural boycott was im posed along with economic sanc tions in South Africa in opposi tion of apartheid, Schultz said. It took almost six months for Schultz's trip to be approved by the African National Council, Pan African Council and the Per forming Artists Workers Equity. Schultz said the organizations See Schultz/Page 6

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 26, 1991, Image 1

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