"Most foreign students at A&M
constitute the brightest and best of the
countries they are from. Therefore, when
they return with degrees from America, they
will likely be placed in key positions. You just
might get to know the future president of Korea or
Egypt or Colombia during your career at A&M."
- Tim Truesdale page 5
/■
Fiqhti ‘ "
ignting Fire with
Fi ref ig hters:
' A&M’s Texas Fireman^
raining School ^
^3
The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 174 (ISPS 045360 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
"Serving Texas A&M since 1893"
Wednesday, July 24, 1991
II
Agriculture chief faces criticism for emphasis on biotechnology
By Chris Vaughn
The Battalion
In less than four years as Texas
A&M's agriculture chief. Dr. Charles
Amtzen changed the face of his college
and reversed a declining enrollment,
yet continued criticism and rumors of
his resignation nag his tenure.
Amtzen, System deputy chancellor
for agriculture and University dean of
the College of Agriculture & Life Sci
ences, says he came to A&M in 1988
from the Dupont Corp. with a decided
emphasis on biotechnology.
Sources say that bias toward biotech
nology has been the root of many of
Amtzen's troubles and fodder for Uni
versity gossip.
"It seems Dr. Arntzen would like to
have the A&M agriculture program
move toward biotechnology rather
than animal and plant production,"
says state Sen. Bill Sims, D-San An
gelo, chairman of the Senate Natural
Resource Committee.
"We're very hard-headed," contin
ued Sims, also executive secretary of
the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers As
sociation. "We're used to working with
specialists in beef and the professors
who taught those courses, but Arntzen
is not replacing them with those spe
cialists when they retire. It's a serious
concern."
Jimmy Owen, president of the Texas
and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Asso
ciation and a Tyler rancher, says he
does not know much about biotechno
logy, but has reservations about some
of the research.
"I feel like some of the emphasis has
been on some pretty exotic research,
which may prove beneficial way down
the line," Owen says. "But I've always
been one to lean toward practical re
search that would benefit the cowman
on the short-term."
Talk even surfaced in the Legislature
this spring about removing the Texas
Agricultural Experiment and Extension
services, also under Arntzen's lead
ership, from the A&M System and put
ting them with the Texas Department
of Agriculture.
Arntzen, however, points to his re
cord as dean and deputy chancellor for
his defense. He cites a 16 percent in
crease in the college's enrollment since
he came here and helped reverse seve
ral years of steady decline.
He points to the modernization of
programs, including a focus on agri
business, and environmental and food
sciences, three of the fastest-growing
agricultural fields.
He points to a rising number of Na
tional Merit Scholars in the College of
Agriculture, and to a broad external
support base for research.
Lastly, Arntzen defends the college's
emphasis on biotechnology by defi
ning the term.
See Critics/Page 6
Bush may
ease Iraqi
economic
sanctions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Bush said Tuesday he is
considering a letup in the eco
nomic strangle hold on Saddam
Hussein's
Iraq, declaring
the United
States doesn't
want the “suf
fering of inno
cent women
and c h i 1 -
dren."
The White
House said
the United
States will not
nation of the
President Bush
agree
U.N.
to termi-
sanctions
against Baghdad, but may allow
Iraq to sell oil to buy relief sup
plies for its people.
"We have not resolved yet ex
actly what we're going to do at
the United Nations," Bush said
at a Cabinet meeting.
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan,
in charge of U.N. humanitarian
efforts in the Persian Gulf, has
warned the situation in Iraq
"could degenerate into a catas
trophe unless we do something
about it quickly."
He briefed the U.N. sanctions
committee on Monday and
called Bush Tuesday to discuss
the crisis.
Afterward, Bush said, "We'll
see what we can do. ... The
United States is not going to see
suffering of innocent women
and children there."
His press secretary. Marlin
Fitzwater, said that short of lift
ing the sanctions altogether
there was "some consideration
about whether or not to allow
them to sell oil to get money to
buy food and medicine."
Baghdad is seeking permis
sion to sell $1.5 billion worth of
oil in foreign markets.
Water straight up, please
SONORA ROBBINS/The Battalion
Paul Roome, a senior from Bay City, stops at the 17th The yellow coolers can be found throughout the course
tee for a water break on the Texas A&M Golf Course, to provide refreshment for thirsty golfers.
Students
may clinch
Board seat
Legislators consider amendment to allow
students a voice as non-voting member
By Greg Mt Joy
The Battalion
A non-voting student member
could join the Texas A&M Board
of Regents next fall if a proposed
amendment co-written by Rep.
Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, is ap
proved by the Legislature.
The addition to H.B. 2, pro-
E osed by Rep. Sherri Greenberg,
►-Austin, was the last legislation
to reach the House floor Tuesday
night.
Rob Giesecke, spokesman for
Ogden, said the amendment
was the same bill the Higher Ed
ucation Committee passed dur
ing the regular session, but it
never reached the floor.
The amendment would allow
Texas universities to appoint one
non-voting member to each
school's board of regents. The
student regent would serve a
one-year term, and have all the
powers of a regular regent with
out the vote.
"The student regent would be
able to make recommendations
and do everything else a regent
can, except vote," Giesecke said.
"They would also be restricted
from executive sessions of the
boards, when real estate and
personnel matters are dis
cussed."
Giesecke said the student re
gent might eventually be given
voting rights but stressed the
need to first build a base of sup
port for the amendment.
"This is the first step, and the
first is always the hardest," he
said. "It is a good start, but this
is an incremental policy. If the
support is there, the position
mignt eventually be given more
power.
Giesecke said the amend
ment's sponsors stressed secrecy
to keep any opposition from or
ganizing.
Ogden and Greenberg did not
know where opposition might
come from, Giesecke said.
"It's difficult to say who might
oppose the amendment before it
gets to the floor," he said. "But
they (opponents) will probably
say students don't have enough
experience to be regents and that
they (students) don't know the
complications involved and a
one-year term is not long
enough to learn them."
Giesecke said Ogden will ar
gue that students should have
more representation, especially
in the face of possible tuition in
creases.
The legislation creating the
student regent would expire in
two years, Giesecke said, and
changes or modifications might
be made then.
Ogden wanted to see how the
student regent position would
work before considering adding
a vote or permanancy to the po
sition, Giesecke said.
"His position during the regu
lar session was to support this
form of the student regent, not a
See Student/Page 6
Texas universities ban together
to protest cuts in higher education
By Susan Maguire
and Timm Doolen
The Battalion
AUSTIN — Students from the
Texas A&M University System's
eight academic institutions gath
ered Tuesday at the Capitol to
voice their opinions about pro
posed cuts in funding for higher
education.
Organizers hoped to get 2,000
students from across the state to
join "Quality Students Fighting
for Quality Education."
Students from the University
of Texas, Texas Tech, Southwest
Texas State and various junior
colleges also participated.
The rally on the steps of the
Capitol was organized by the
TAMUS Student Advisory
Board, which includes student
body presidents and representa
tives for each System university.
At A&M, the Student Govern
ment, MSC and Off-Campus Ag
gies worked together to organize
a delegation to send to Austin.
Lisa Cash, a Student Govern
ment representative, said plan
ning for the rally began a month
ago but picked up momentum
along with the Legislature.
"We expected close to 20 peo
ple to go from here," she said.
"The Aggie Moms' Club in Aus
tin called Aggies there, and we
hoped they would come."
The rally lasted from 9 to 10
a.m. and featured speakers from
across the state, including Ty
Clevenger, former A&M student
body president.
Clevenger spoke out against
Sharp's proposal to raise tuition
by $20 to a total of $40 per credit
hour.
"We're willing to pay for our
own education," he said. "And
we're willing to work for our
own education. But we want to
make sure we get our money's
worth."
Clevenger pointed out that the
A&M System is working at the
same funding levels as 1985,
while growth has increased con
siderably.
Clevenger also rebuked legis
lators who have said higher edu
cation has seen no significant
cost increases during the past
five years, saying rising fees, in
cluding the computer access fee,
have increased educational
costs.
Off-Campus Aggies president
Wayne Taloot said the rally was
See Budget/Page 6
Graduate
students
frustrated
Lack of housing
concerns leaders
By Tammy Bryson
The Battalion
Graduate students' housing
needs are not being met at Texas
A&M, and graduate student
leaders say not much is being
done about it.
Mary Ann Oprisko, vice presi
dent of the Graduate Student
Council, said graduate students
have a housing problem and the
University either is not aware of
it or does not think it is a critical
situation.
There are presently 800 to
1,000 people on the waiting list
PENNY DELOS SANTOS/The Battalion
Many on-campus graduate students live in married student housing.
Between 800 and 1,000 people are on a waiting list for graduate housing.
for the already small number of
graduate student apartments
available, she said.
"Nobody thinks graduate stu
dents need a place to live," she
said. "People think there is some
kind of magic housing that grad
uate students disappear into."
Graduate student housing
consists of 650 units at Univer
sity-Owned Apartments, at the
See Graduate/Page 6
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