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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1993)
V >er 16, ie that is r e about w ledge a dththet- The Battalion V*uy yjoO I Vol. 93 No. 15 (10 pages) 1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993 Friday, September 17,1993 mse, ffs itthew J. nith and without nake the dght was r the ab- 1 special 'ffs again ily main- ense that back. Students air opinions at multiculturalism forum By Kim McGuire The Battalion Students expressed concerns and aired opinions Thursday night at a public fo rum to discuss a Student Senate bill amending a Faculty Senate proposal that would add an American Cultures and In ternational requirement to the University core curriculum. The Faculty Senate proposal would re quire students to take a six hours of courses relating to minority or interna tional groups. The requirement would add two new categories, but would not increase the number of hours to the core curriculum. Student Senate Academic Affairs Com mittee Chairman Ben Dale introduced the bill at the forum and informed the stu dents of amendments the committee has implemented. The committee has revoked its initial proposal to change the name from Ameri can Cultures and International Require ment to "Cultures Course," Dale said. The committee also revised some of the wording to clarify the meaning of the bill. College Republicans President Phil Meuret said he is concerned about the section of the proposal requiring the Uni versity to offer at least 25 classes. "Pm worried about the number of choices we would have if this is passed," Meuret said. "Twenty-five classes is not enough. Even as a minimum, it's not enough." Agriculture Sen. Trent Ashby said he thought 25 classes was not enough and urged the students to contact their sena tors so they could voice the concerns of their constituents because the proposal has not yet been"set in stone." Dane Ray, chairman of the Young Con servatives of Texas, said he thought the 120 classes being considered to satisfy the requirement contained a hidden political agenda. "You need a much broader spectrum of classes to choose from," Ray said." "I can understand what a literature class might do for me but not a women's histo ry course." Mark Me Elwain, vice chairman of the Young Conservatives, said the classes did not cover every racial group. "If this is going to be about multicul turalism you need to represent everyone," Me Elwain said. "Why aren't there any classes about whites or males? If you can bend over backwards to make sure women are represented you can represent them too." A list of the senators' phone numbers would be available Monday in the stu dent government office and students are to voice their opinions about the propos al. Another public forum will be held next week. rd ism f l iberal mtrover- lulti-cul- mmend- istration e of Lib- o not be any way interna- istration rs to en- ent from to any- to move the Col- enough 's: trap udents 1 cks cor- person ieein to >wn our of a cor aping" a ied, you ;le-strap razed at ly worn ut what ;ain. believe, reedom, i Sellers ss of'95 ■ S Preparing for real life Gus Morgan/The Battalion Attendees of the Brayton Fire Training School extinguish a tanker truck fire during an afternoon drill at the school Thursday. Group to help fight illiteracy in B-CS By Jacqueline Mason The Battalion A local organization is calling upon the community to help eliminate the problem of adult illiteracy in Bryan and College Station. The Brazos Valley chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) recruits A&M students and local residents to help adults who are not able to read, said LVA volunteer Alex Potente. Currently, 15 A&M students volunteer at LVA, but the organization needs about 50 more tutors to aid functionally illiterate adults on a one- to-one basis. "Tutoring requires a commitment of a nine-hour training class or video training and at least two hours a week of tutoring," Potente said. There is initial frustration between tutors and students, but there has never been a real problem among volunteers, he said. Laurie Ellington, LVA volunteer in charge of Family Literacy, said, "If there ever is a problem, we can pair them up with someone else." About 40 of the adults needing help are A&M employees, Potente said. "These people have made it through school," he said. "Many of them have graduated from high school without being able to read a newspaper." A national study conducted by the New Jersey group Educational Testing Service reported that almost 10 percent of Americans do not understand news articles. Researchers blame insufficient education for much of this illiteracy. "In order to be functionally literate, you need to know not only how to read but how to write," Potente said. LVA uses a technique called Language Experience in which students prepare a sentence or two based on their own experiences. Tutors read the sentences back to the students, analyzing the various components. "This kind of approach is good for students who have some minimal reading skills," Potente said. "What we do with more advanced students is go to more structured formats," he said. These formats emphasize grammar and sentence construction, he said. This year, for the first time, some LVA volunteers will travel to max imum security jails to tutor inmates. Volunteers tutor students referred to LVA from churches, county jails and public service groups like Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Food Stamps. G. Rollie White to face renovations upon Board approval $29 million expansion plans would improve air system, restrooms, seating; Bush Library construction on agenda By Lisa Elliott The Battalion G. Rollie White Coliseum could get a major face lift if the Board of Regents approves a $29 million ex pansion plan submitted to the Facilities Planning and Building committee Thursday afternoon. The proposal would expand the seating capacity to more than 9,000 up from the current 7,800, and im prove and increase the number of restroom facilities as well as bring the building up to current American Disabilities Act standards and fire safety standards. The improvements would expand the walking area around the arena and add new dressing rooms for men and women athletes. In addition, the heating and air-conditioning sys tems would be updated. If approved, these changes would make A&M's basketball facilities fourth in the Southwest Confer ence in terms of overall capacity. In other business, the committee viewed the pre liminary plans for the $82 million George Bush Presi dential Library Center, which is expected to begin construction in November 1994. The center will consist of three main buildings, the main library center, a shared use facility and aca demic facility. The main section will contain a museum area as well as a document storage area. The shared use facility will consist of an auditori um, banquet hall, kitchen and a center for interna tional studies. The center for public leadership and presidential studies offices as well as political science and eco nomics faculty and classrooms will be housed in the academic facility. The Board will vote on these proposals tomorrow in addition to proposals on: • emergency repairs to the sanitary sewer at the John J. Koldus Building • a site of the Support Services Building on Ray mond Stotzer Parkway • a contract for asbestos abatement of the power plant boiler and smoke stack • the design of the Easterwood Airport storm drainage renovation. A&M architecture students to design Chicago medical center for children By Geneen Pipher The Battalion Texas A&M University architecture stu dents got a taste of the real world last Wednes day when they began a semester-long research and design project with a trip to the North- Western University Medical School in down town Chicago. The group will develop a 10-year master plan for the Children's Memorial Medical Center (CMMC), a pediatric teaching facility for the medical school. CMMC covered all expenses for the 17 stu dent's first visit to Chicago and will pay for their return trip in December when they pre sent their ideas. George Mann, project director and en dowed professor of health facilities design, said the CMMC contracted with the Depart ment of Architecture to develop design con cepts to improve the existing facility and cre ate a more healing environment for children. "We are going into a whole new system of children's care," Mann said. "We will be working on education, preven- hon and care for the entire family. "They came to us, I think, because we are bown for our health facilities work." Jenny ^otner, a representative for the Col lege of Architecture, said studies have found fhat friendly surroundings aid healing. "The project will focus on children and How to make it more friendly toward chil dren," Cotner said. "They are finding more and more that peo ple get better faster in less sterile looking facil ities." The students will provide the CMMC with (fresh ideas and designs that professional archi tects might not have considered, Cotner said. "The hospital will benefit from the new cre dit's a big, challenging job. This is the kind of thing we dream of, the kind of thing ca reers can be based on." - Chris Cope, senior enviromnental design major ative ways of thinking," she said. "They are also benefiting from George Mann, who is well-known in health facilities design." Chris Cope a senior environmental design major, said students have a different perspec tive than older, more established architects. "You could look at us as kids because everyone we dealt with in Chicago was in their late 30s and beyond," Cope said. "When they are designing for children, the older architects tend to look at the building in a way an adult would look at it. "I think having us and our ideas gives them ideas they'd never think of in their lives." Heather Robertson, a senior environmental design major, agreed, "I think the Medical Center will benefit from our ideas. We have the capability to look at a project from a younger person's point of view. We will find out what the children and families need and center it around them." Robertson said she is excited to finally get some hands-on experience and a chance to use the things she has learned in the classroom. "It is really practical," Robertson said. "This is what we will be doing once we gradu ate. "It is the first time we've gotten to do some thing outside of the textbook and classroom. This will really help me in the future." Cope said he believes he and the other stu dents have the skills to do a good job on the project, but, he said, it will take a great deal of work to do it well. "I think we have learned the skills to do a good job, but we only have a small amount of time to do it," he said. "It's a big, challenging job. This is the kind of thing we dream of, the kind of thing careers can be based on. "If they like one of our designs, our build ings could be built! Can you imagine having on your resume that you designed a building that was built in Chicago? This is the chance of a lifetime." Law improves home security By Jennifer Kiley The Battalion A new Texas law that specifies security guidelines for owners of rental housing went into effect earlier this month, but a representa tive of the Texas Apartments Association said some College Station apartment complexes may not feel its effects. "Some of the provisions of the bill will have more of an impact than others," said David Mintz, TAA government affairs director. See Apartments/Page 7 Inside Sports •A&M / Missouri football preview Page 3 Opinion ►Pro-Con: Should schools teach morals along with sex education? Page 9 Campus How to beat the heat Page 2 Weather ►Friday: partly cloudy, highs in 90s ►Forecast for Football Saturday: also partly cloudy, highs in 90s ►Extended forecast: still partly cloudy, highs near 90