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“Without an adjustment to correct
these obvious inequities (in the
census), Mosbacher will have failed to
uphold this country’s basic principle
of fair representation.”
— Todd Stone
pages
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 170 USPS 045360 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
"Serving Texas A&M since 1893"
Wednesday, July 17, 1991
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Proposed fee could help expand Study Abroad, Mobley says
By Susan Maguire
The Battalion
A proposed $1 per student fee could
lessen a serious gap between Texas
A&M's Study Abroad program and
most programs in the nation. Univer
sity President William Mobley said.
Mobley said state legislation has
been approved that would allow the $1
fee and a special student-faculty com
mittee to evaluate its possible estab
lishment at A&M.
Despite running one of the premier
study abroad programs in the state,
Mobley said A&M only involves about
0.5 percent of the student body in in
ternational education.
"The national goal ought to be more
toward 10 percent, according to a re
port by the National Governors Asso
ciation" he said. "Obviously our pro
gram has a long way to go."
Mobley said about 500 A&M stu
dents participate in Study Abroad pro
grams each semester, a figure he says
the proposed fee could double.
"Money is obviously a major reason
for the shortcoming at A&M," Mobley
said. "If we can put the funds from the
fees into the program, we can elimi
nate that impediment."
Dr. Emily Ashworth, assistant pro
vost for International Programs at
A&M, said there would probably be a
delay in the program's implementation
due to the upcoming budget crunch.
"We would probably have to wait
until spring," Ashworth said. "We
would like to get the full support of the
student body before we start charging
the fee. But, given the possibility of a
tuition increase, we need to be sensi
tive to student needs."
Mobley said the fee will come up for
approval by the Texas A&M Board of
Regents in July before it can be imple
mented during the Spring 1992 semes
ter.
"Study Abroad can provide one of
the most meaningful facets in an edu
cation," he said. "With this fee, the
Board has a good opportunity to make
sure it is available to interested stu
dents."
Ashworth said a fee similar to the
one proposed is already in use at the
University of Texas and has been suc
cessful.
"The committee visited UT, and had
a sense that the students there felt
good about their program," she said.
"It was because of the positive
See Study/Page 6
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-91 I
University
leaders rally
at capital
Mobley, Gage give testimony in Austin
to protest budget cuts in higher education
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Officials from Texas A&M and
other schools are rallying in Aus
tin this week to contest state
Comptroller John Sharp's recom
mended budget cuts for higher
education.
University President William
Mobley and Dr. E. Dean Gage,
vice president and provost tor
academic affairs, are at the capi
tal this week to testify about tne
effects Sharp's proposals would
have on A&M.
"We're helping all the people
here solve the fiscal dilemma of
this state," Gage said. "There's
been a lot of testimony, and it's
going pretty well."
Gage said he has been telling
lawmakers about the effects of
Sharp's budget recommenda
tions on research, tuition and
other facets of higher education.
"We're providing testimony
on how it would affect us and
our students," he said. "We're
trying to work with Sharp's peo
ple (on the budget)."
The Legislature started its spe-
d1\
cial session Monday to resolve
the state's budget shortfall.
Sharp's recommendations in
clude increasing tuition with ex
tra revenue going back to the
state, taking money from
schools' private funds, delaying
construction and eliminating
funding for certain programs.
Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan,
said the outlook for higher edu
cation is not as bleak as it was,
but the situation is still serious.
□ See related stories/Page 2
"Our reference point is not as
low as it was a week ago," he
said. "But we should continue to
ask for what we need."
Ogden said the state's fi
nances are not as bad as every
one thinks.
"There is no justification for
slashing higher education fund
ing," he said. "State revenue
funds are doing better than peo
ple have been led to believe.
From Sept. 1, 1990, to March
31,1991, Texas had a $1.3
billion surplus, and the state
presently has $5.6 billion in its
accounts, Ogden said.
See Ogden/Page 6
Campus Charity Drive gears up for fall fund raising
By Susan Maguire
The Battalion
apply to benefit from the drive.
ov\y
Shei
Preparations are under way
for Texas A&M's annual Cam
pus Charity Drive, a University
administration spokesperson
said.
The Campus Charity Drive,
which will take place in Septem
ber, is affiliated with United
Way, though other charities can
>heran Riley, chairwoman of
A&M's Charitable Contribution
Committee, said the drive gives
people on campus an opportu
nity to devote extra assistance
through the workplace.
Bob Fleischer, director of the
local United Way office, said a
brochure will be sent to faculty
and staff containing an explana
tion of each charity and a pledge
card.
A&M students, however, do
not participate in the same proc
ess, Fleischer said. Student orga
nizations get involved by throw
ing fund raisers, such as Greek
Week or volleyball tournaments.
Fleischer said the donating
process for A&M will have a
slight twist this year.
"People wanting to donate on
campus will have the chance to
donate to a charity, even if it
wasn't chosen in the screening,"
he said. "The organization has to
be a health or human service that
provides services in the Brazos
Valley and can't be a private or
ganization.
"We're doing this because we
realize that people might have a
favorite charity that isn't includ
ed."
Fleischer said the committee is
testing this option out on cam
pus first because it requires a lot
of administrative work.
In 1989, the University ex
panded its charitable program
oeyond only the United Way
and began accepting applica
tions from other organizations.
Fleischer said A&M accepts or
ganizations that do not operate
locally, whereas the United Way
only accepts charities with a local
board of directors.
A&M will include only tax-
exempt, non-private health and
human service organizations.
Applications to be included in
the charity drive can be obtained
from the Office of the President
and the deadline for completed
applications is July 19.
A committee of students,
faculty and staff are appointed
by University President William
Mobley. The committee reviews
applications and determines the
groups to be included in the
drive.
See Donation/Page 6
A&M rebukes reported $400 million error
By Chris Vaughn
The Battalion
ory
lienc
Texas A&M System officials
bristled Tuesday at a newspa-
er story that said they "made a
Lilli
00 million flub" in calculating
the effects of Comptroller John
Sharp's proposed budget cuts.
"Tne report is grossly inaccu
rate," A&M Provost F. Dean
Gage said about a story in Tues
day's Bryan-College Station Ea
gle. "There is no way we could
make that error."
The Eagle reported that A&M
officials miscalculated figures
from Sharp's budget-cutting re
port, the Texas Performance Re
view (TPR), to the tune of $400
Gov. Ann Richards' speech
Monday to the Legislature.
But A&M officials attacked
the story.
"To say that Texas A&M offi
cials made a '$400 million flub'
is absurd, and to attribute such
an obviously incorrect
statement to Gov. Richards is a
disservice to her," said a news
release from University Presi
dent William Mobley and Sys
tem Chancellor Ed Hiler.
"The fact is, A&M does not
even receive $400 million in
general revenue appropriations
m a two-year period," it contin
ued.
Gaj
ceivec
coffers for the current fiscal
ear, so A&M officials could not
ave made that kind of error.
r
ni
enacted all of Sharp's plan, forc
ing the University to cut faculty
and staff positions, increase
’The report is grossly inaccurate. There
is no way we could make that error."
— E. Dean Gage,
A&M provost
-year peno
:e said the University re-
l $178.8 million from state
The confusion over Sharp's
report apparently resulted from
A&M officials using a different
set of numbers to calculate po
tential losses to the University
in the next biennium.
A&M calculated it would lose
at least $53.6 million in fiscal
years 1992-93 if the Legislature
class sizes, reduce library hours
and decrease enrollment.
Using a different starting
point, Richards and Sharp ar
rived at different numbers.
"It has become clear that two
different bases of reference
have been used to calculate the
net increases or decreases of
funds for higher education dur
ing the next biennium," the
A&M statement said. "These
are not errors or miscalcula
tions, but rather different as
sumptions on the point of de
parture for the next period's
ousiness."
While Sharp's report might
not be as severe as once thought
by higher education officials,
A&M and other universities will
likely not get the level of fund
ing necessary to maintain cur
rent services.
Richards and Sharp said
A&M and the University of
Texas were the only universities
to misread the numbers and in
sinuated that the two largest
schools were scrambling for
public sympathy.
In its statement, however,
A&M said all state higher edu
cation officials "were of the
same mind regarding the effects
of the TPR."
State Rep. Steve Ogden, R-
Bryan, said Tuesday he was
sure A&M did not purposely
misrepresent figures.
"An honest person starting
from the point A&M did and
the point Snarp did would come
to different conclusions," he
said.
University and System rep
resentatives were in Austin on
Tuesday to testify before legis
lators attempting to write a bud
get by Sept. 1. A rally for higher
education also was scheduled.;