Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 1991)
Friday's Forecast Mid 90s Isolated Thunderstorms now beii one, Tiinute p |; - boresigt ling all a t ank pet, d pack:, . toiletrift 11 gear t; as stored: at the FA;, time S^/^ummer Theater Aggie Players'Deathtrap Stage Center's Caught in the Villain's Web Reviewed page 5 An improved early warning system ^fo? Texas A&M page 2 The Battalion nd grapt Vol. 90 No. 161 CISPS 045360 6 Pages n leader j: WlHRnMWMMffiMMHHHnnHHHHnBHHHHH College Station, Texas "Serving Texas A&M since 1893" Thursday, June 27, 1991 s men, at; le order, rnissio: ows: |\&M provides resident advisers with lowest compensation moves e. axis of a; troy ener initsinse >repared: Republic; md." be our cat s Husseir is. Our be t Iraq's be: i everycsw. "Who ch By Tammy Bryson The Battalion : Texas A&M provides its resident ad- isers with the least compensation in terms of hourly wages and housing benefits compared to eight other uni versities in Texas. 1 The other seven universities sur veyed were Sam Houston State Uni versity, University of Houston, Ste- E *nen F. Austin State University, diversity of North Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech Univer- Ifity and Southwest Texas State Univer sity. A&M presently pays its RAs $4.20 an hour for 16 hours a week, which comes to about $1,200 a semster. University RAs do not receive any housing bene fits. UT-Austin has the highest compen sation for RAs, who receive a monthly cash stipend that pays for their room and board. They get to keep the money that is left over after paying expenses, about $90. Total compensation is esti mated at about $2,400 a semester. Southwest Texas State University provides free room and board to its ad visers along with a stipend based on experience. Average compensation tor advisers at Southwest Texas is between $1,600 to $1,800 a semester. A&M is the only university surveyed that did not offer either free or dis counted room and board as part of payment to advisers. Tom Murray, associate director of Student Affairs for Residence Life, said A&M handles RA compensation differ ently than other universities. "We (department of student affairs officials) have elected to use a straight- salary system because there are six dif ferent rent scales for dorms at A&M," Murray seid. The amount that advisers are paid depends on how much money is in the budget, he said. "I would like to be able to pay the RAs more, but we have a limited amount of money to work with," he said. "We have increased the number of hours that advisers are paid in an ef fort to raise their salaries." Murray added that advisers do not receive private rooms as partial pay ment because of present occupancy de mands. "It is hard to compare our amount of payment with other institutions be cause different schools have different responsibilities for their advisers," he said. "But I was not aware that we were low compared to other universi ties. If this is true then we need to do something about it." Steven Schoolcraft, a resident ad viser in Neeley hall, said he believes the experience gained through being an RA makes the job worthwhile, in spite of the low wages. "I don't think I get paid enough for what I do," he said. "But this is not a paying job. This job helps you to build experience, build character and build a resume." Information about resident advisers' compensation was obtained from phone interviews with surveyed schools' housing officials. oldiers advance deep into Kuwaiti territory ?ducatio: greater ok 'eon facir should to the ii ng and tf t at affe j| Editor's no te: Michael A. Kel- Sey, a Class of '89 political sci- . ,, ence graduate, worked for The u 2 Battalion as a reporter in the fall ide Td 1989. What follows is a chroni- a cle of some of his experiences as . orni: an M1A1 tank platoon leader during the Persian Gulf War. ' is is part three of a four-part eries. Day 1, G-Day, Feb. 24 We pulled out of our FAA at 8:30 a.m. and moved a few kilo- ilfneters up to our pre-attack posi- ■ion. It started raining and did not stop until night, when it be came a light drizzle. A sand storm kicked up at 10 a.m., just as we were told we would attack today, not tomor row, as planned. Our scouts out front found no enemy in the bunkers to our ront, so the division and corp commanders decided to cross the line of departure (LD), the Iraqi border. We crossed over a 10-foot high earthwork that was once a de fensive berm. Our engineers cut hole through the piled up sand md rock so we could keep roll- should F a Board at group ent wM ent of i 1 mission! Jsponsive ic. :M brim to A& :M a Seiphir * most prc: will stuck in AAF tive direc Fund, first for: as a piloi ," shesai; ire otherc o South. 1 :e aclaves it mainly if regioni Croat: Croatiar hs. eak awaj rrritorytt l ?, roato." pt cento ■nt said: e deciar: rsue the: goslavia e refuse: :he Yuf .ed his if vs confe: tate nei' jradeto- the fed n andra inderta' ugoslav- picked up to 30 mph, and the rain came down in sheets. It was miserable to be sweat ing inside of our chemical pro tective suits while having cold rain drip down our necks at the same time. By this time, nobody smelled good either, but nobody cared. At about 10 p.m. the sky was lit up and filled with the thun derous swooshing of over 100 of our MLRS rockets, heading off to "prep" the enemy objective we would hit in the morning. Artil lery howitzers, 152mm self-pro pelled guns, soon joined in on the action, adding to the fire works display while clearing the way for the next day's advance. Account of the Persian Gulf War e did not stop until 8 p.m., nee we were about 50 kilome- ers into Iraq. During this first day we saw no enemy. Day 2, Feb. 25, we started roll ing again at dawn and saw no full supp Jenemy all morning, although lovemeni our scouts out front did capture a few enemy soldiers. Once again it rained all day, and once | again we were happy about this IS T1 fact - 1 The rain keep the dust down <Jr w fi so as not to alert the enemy of our position, and it decreases the ■ dirt that builds up in the engine filters. The best thing about the precipitation is that it severely decreases the effectiveness of chemical and biological weap ons, as it washes these deadly vapors to the ground. At noon we halted to refuel and do some maintenance, while Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRSs) were fired at known enemy positions to our front. At about 1 p.m. we headed toward the positions. An infantry battalion from our brigade hit the objective on the furthest left, so we swept around this position to destroy or cap ture any fleeing enemy. At 3 p.m. we had to stop be cause so many enemy soldiers were walking around with their hands up trying to surrender. As our attached infantry guards gathered up these 80 or so pris oners, the military police pulled up to haul them off to a holding area. An interpreter found out that these are just farmers and shee- pherders who were made to bear arms by their government. They were only too happy to finally have somebody to surrender to so they could get some food and water. Their tom and tattered uni forms and the tired look on their faces told their whole story from a glance. At 4 p.m. we moved out again until well after dark, at about 10 p.m. By this time the wind had pushing deeper into Iraq, dlel to the Kuwaiti border to Day 3, Feb. 26, once again we moved out at daybreak, as our huge armored formation contin- uet’ paral our east. What we had just ac complished in the first two days was a flanking maneuver around the huge Iraqi minefields and obstacles along the Kuwaiti- Saudi border, and a penetration into Iraq that would set us up to hit the Republican Guard forces on their weak flanks. This was all part of the United States' new Air Land Battle Doctrine, and it worked superbly here. The only signs of the enemy all day came at about 10 a.m. when we passed three destroyed Iraqi supply trucks in a com pany-sized bunker complex. We then kept going until 1 p.m. when we stopped to do a thorough maintenance check. We would be moving all night, so we had to keep our equip ment running through checks of the tracks and engine. We then refueled and rolled out again at 3 p.m. We drove until about 9 p.m. when we halted so that our scouts could clear obstacles made of tank ditches, earthen berms, barbed wire, and mines. The MLRS and howitzers then took this time to clear the way for our night movement. Once again this hauntingly- beautiful display lit up the night sky and warned the Iraqis of our presence. By 10 p.m. we were rolling again, this time for the duration of the night. As we kept going, our scouts destroyed buildings and vehicles along the way. Our lead com pany - "D" (Delta) Company - had to supress enemy sniper fire from one building when one of its tanks threw its tracks. We were running into more Iraqi soldiers who wanted to quit as well, as we were now well into enemy territory. Having reached the northwest tip of Ku wait, we gradually began to move east, toward Basra, and the Republican Guards. Thursday: The trip home SCOTT 0. WEAVER/The Battalion Too hot for ice Jeff Yanko, a junior from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, changes into roller- blades to practice his slapshots in the Grove Wednesday. A&M may escape cuts Economist: Budget plan won't affect campus By Mack Harrison The Battalion State Comptroller John Sharp's deficit reduction plan should not have any negative impact on Texas A&M's budget, said Dr. Tom Saving, director of the Center for Education and re search in Free Enterprise. Saving, an A&M economics professor, said the comptroller's plan will not affect the Universi ty's budget and might even ben efit the school. If the Legislature accepts Sharp's plan, it will not have to cut state universities' budget. "What happens depends on if the plan works," he said. "It could have a positive effect if there is no budget crunch." A&M Controller Thomas Tay lor said the University's total budget is approximately $550 million, and more than half in volves educational and general programs. The rest involves aux iliary enterprises like residence halls, food services and the air port. Taylor said $182 million of the $265 million for educational and general purposes comes from the state's general fund. The rest comes from grants, lab fees, the University Fund and other sources. Earlier this year, a $3.2 million budget shortfall forced A&M to cancel some summer classes and eliminate certain student worker and graduate student teaching assistant positions. Saving said budget cuts hit the University worse than other state agencies because it cannot change its fiscal plan like non scholastic institutions. Funds are spent in advance to plan the aca demic year. "(A&M) can't cut back like other agencies can," he said. "We don't have the flexibility be cause we make a nine-month commitment." Sharp's plan includes consol idating state agencies and bank accounts, eliminating some state jobs, and raising tuition at state colleges and universities. Saving said he would not be surprised if tuition rates went up at A&M. Tuition and fees at Texas schools are presently among the lowest in the nation. "When you consider the qual ity (of state universities), it's a gi gantic bargain," he said. "But it's not a bargain for the taxpayers." State leaders receive blueprint for audit AUSTIN (AP) — State lead ers Wednesday received a blueprint for saving and rais ing $5.2 billion, and Gov. Ann Richards said the massive au dit should head off talk of a state income tax. "My personal feeling is that you will not see an income tax in Texas," Richards said. "I said repeatedly I didn't think you were going to see an in come tax in Texas, and I do not believe that anything's changed." However, the governor stopped short of predicting that the nearly 1,000 changes f >roposed by Comptroller ohn Sharp's audit could pre vent all taxes from going up. "As far as what will be needed, though, in terms of additional revenue — I don't think we know that yet," she said. The governor praised the audit's proposals, saying adoption of tnem by the Leg islature would put the state on the road to a dramatic overhaul. Campus multicultural program offers resources, materials By Melinda Cox The Battalion Texas A&M's Office of Biling- ual/ESL Multicultural Education offers resources and materials in multiculturalism available to A&M students and the commu nity. The office also offers programs for master and doctoral stu dents. Dr. Viola Florez, director of the office, said the programs and facilities offer essential infor mation. "There is a need in Texas to look at the demographics," Flo rez said. "We need to educate everyone about other cultures." The programs offer courses to those interested in teaching bil ingual education and English as a second language. These classes are then taught to children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The office acts as a center for anyone interested in multicultu ral education. Hugh Fox, a graduate student with OBEM, said the center pro vides resources which encourage and help develop interests in multiculturalism. "The office is the nerve center for anyone interested in educa tion," Fox said. "The multicultu ral concept is a complex issue, but the center allows students to become aware." Fox said the formal course load offered by OBEM is funded through a federal grant, provid ing fellowships to students studying bilingual education or teaching English as a second lan guage. The center loans out library materials, language tapes, re search programs and a network ing system. People can come and see what sort of materials they can use in the classroom to teach students and also to increase their personal awareness. Fox said the center fills a vac- cuum by providing a place for in terested parties to gather infor mation. Florez said it is important that multiculturalism is taught as an everday part of life and not as a fragmented or isolated issue. She said multiculturalism should be intergrated into the core curriculm of teacher educa tion to provide effective teaching to minority stuents. Those interested in resource material or programs offered through the OBEM are encour aged to call the office at 845-0874.