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The Battalion
nd grapt Vol. 90 No. 161 CISPS 045360 6 Pages
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College Station, Texas
"Serving Texas A&M since 1893"
Thursday, June 27, 1991
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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
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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-
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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.