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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1994)
A Pril 20, | iPii :■ ■ •. • ; THER SERVICE Texas A&M m M Tt ® ie Battalion ■31.93 No. 135 (12 pages) Serving Texas A&M since 1893 Thursday, April 21, 1994 Jen New president sets sights on solutions By Eloise Flint »(- Battalion I Dr. Ray Bowen hopes to have solutions to some of Texas A&M’s toughest prob lems when he takes over as University psident this summer. I Bowen, who is a member of the Class of 58, was chosen by the Texas A&M Bowen returns to a different A&M, prepares to engage campus leaders in dialogue on important student issues Editorial/Page 11 |ard of Regents last week. ]"With all the issues to deal with, my load goal is for the students to become comfortable with me and understand I am concerned with all their needs,” [wen said. ‘‘I will have lots of meetings Ith students, and I also extend an open lor policy, providing modern ways of laling with any problems.” [Interim president E. Dean Gage said : are a number of issues he would like Iwen to focus on. think it is extremely important to continue recruitment and retention of minori ty students,” Gage said. “We have some excel lent programs that have yielded high results, and we need to make a com mitment to meeting those needs.” Bowen said students need to understand Bowen what they share in com mon with other cultures. “Focusing on multiculturalism prepares students to work in the international eco nomic environment,” Bowen said. Student Body President Brooke Leslie, a senior agricultural development major, said she is highly committed to diversity and is looking forward to working with Bowen in support of students’ needs. Leslie said it is to A&M’s advantage to have a president coming in from another university. “I think he needs to look internally at restructuring of the administration,” Leslie said. “That is one of the great benefits of someone coming in with fresh ideas.” University Chancellor William Mobley said Bowen needs to focus on undergradu ate programs and research issues. ‘ We have a lot of opportunities for re search such as biology, ocean marine is sues, and many others that he’ll have a chance to be a part of,” Mobley said. Bowen said the strength of a university is often measured by its research ability, and when he. eventually leaves A&M he wants to leave it an even stronger universi ty than it is now. Leslie said that although research is im portant, she would like to see Bowen focus on employing good instructors. “I know we get more money from re search, but we need to focus more on teaching,” Leslie said. “The way tenure is structured, it’s weighted more towards re search professors, but we need to research and find good teachers.” Gage also said he would encourage Bowen to focus on undergraduate programs and emphasize excellence in teaching. “We have initiated a number of pro grams and would like to see them matured and enhanced,” Gage said. Another issue campus leaders stressed was A&M’s athletic program. Mobley said athletes must adhere to NCAA rules and regulations. “We’ve got to ensure total integrity and compliance in athletics,” Mobley said. Gage said Bowen is fully aware of the problems that have occurred in the ath letic program. “We share a commitment to zero toler ance of any problems in any area of educa tion,” Gage said. “I have already pledged my complete and full support to help him make the transition smooth.” Matt Segrest, Corps commander for the 1994-1995 school year, said Bowen must be aware of changes the Corps has undergone. “Bowen was a former deputy Corps commander, so he can relate to us and will be behind us,” Segrest said. “Leadership and training in the Corps have changed a lot, and he needs to be aware of where the Corps is going now.” Leslie believes Bowen was the perfect choice for president and that he will have the ability to improve A&M’s image. “I was on the presidential search com mittee and had the chance to interview him for four hours,” Leslie said. “You automatically respect him when he says something. He has the exact mixture of ingredients of a president we need.” Searching the skies r ■ vpartmi Kristy Conn, a senior marketing major from Houston, checks out a view of the A&M campus from the obser- Jennie Mayer/7'he Battalion vation deck of the O&M building on Wednesday. The deck is open to all students. Residents voice concerns about asbestos in Hotard By Angela Neaves The Battalion Residents of Hotard Hall are concerned about their safety after pipes containing exposed asbestos were discovered in a basement laundry room. Cary Tschirhart, a resident of Hotard Hall and a senior business analysis major, said a represen tative of the Texas A&M Safety Department wrapped the pipes with duct tape, but he is worried that the asbestos has yet to be adequately covered or removed. Dan Miser, assistant director of resident life fa cilities and operations, said there is no immediate concern for the safety of residents of the hall. “The pipe has been temporarily wrapped with duct tape,” Miser said. “The physical plant will take care of hardcasting the pipe, which will be the per manent solution. We are waiting for an estimate.” Tschirhart said even after the pipe was wrapped, it was not labeled as containing asbestos. James Reed, project manager of the State of Texas General Services Commission, said it is re quired by law that asbestos be labeled. “Asbestos must be completely covered,” Reed said. “By law, it also must be labeled. This is espe cially important in public places, for the benefit of maintenance personnel as well as residents. This has been a constant law for the past few years.” Tschirhart said students in the dorm have not been officially notified about the presence of the asbestos, which has been linked to causing cancer. “If we were to be told about the asbestos, it might change our minds about living here,” Tschirhart said. “We could choose not to go into the laundry room. Either that or we could tell our parents about the asbestos and have them write to state representatives to have the problem corrected.” Tschirhart said the problem is not being taken seriously. “Dan Miser is the head of safety for residents,” Tschirhart said. “He is supposed to be looking out for my safety. Why isn’t he? I’m sure if the as bestos was in his office he would be allocating emergency funds to take care of the problem.” Miser said Robert Allman, a regional asbestos inspector, was at the University Wednesday to in spect asbestos in Hotard Hall and other areas. Rusty Thompson, coordinator of resident life, said some Hotard residents misunderstood the safety department’s handling of the asbestos. “A few residents believe the duct tape was the permanent solution,” Thompson said. “It is not. The asbestos will be hardcasted this summer. It is a priority.” Ray Long, supervisor of the Brazos County Health Department and laboratory technician, said asbestos poses a serious health risk. “Small asbestos fibers get into the lungs,” Long said. “They cause fibrosis or even cancer. Although results develop over a long period of time and in creased exposure greatens the hazard, short-term exposure could also have an effect. If a lot of dust is stirred up, even a brief exposure can be harmful. A few inhaled fibers, however will not cause a problem.” Miser said asbestos was discovered in a bath room in Hotard Hall two years ago. “The asbestos in the bathroom was hardcasted by the physical plant,” Miser said. “Had we known about the asbestos in the laundry room, it would have been taken care of then.” Remembering the past County dedicates marker to original GS train depot By Jan Higginbotham The Battalion Texas A&M University will add a piece of history to its campus today when the Brazos County Historical Commission officially dedicates a his torical marker near the site of the original train depot built in 1883. Dr. Charles Schultz, chairman of the Brazos County Historical Commission, said the city of College Station will pay for the marker to promote interest in historical preservation in Brazos Coun- ty (< “The railroad was a very signifi cant structure in College Station his tory,” Schultz said. “It was a source of transportation for the first students of Texas A&M. It was a social gather ing place in some respects.” Dr. Gary Halter, chairman of the College Station Historic Preservation Committee, said the railroad helped bring a land grant college to this area. “The reason why A&M is located where it is is because of the railroad,” Halter said. “It was a very significant factor in choosing Brazos County for the site of the college. Without it, A&M might not be located where it is. You can’t divorce the railroad from the history of the school and the city of College Station.” Halter said the railroad was strate gic to the school because it provided a means of transporting students. The first depot built in the area was constructed in 1883, and Halter said it was a very simple structure. A second depot was built in 1911, and another railroad started serving the area about the same time. “In 1963, when Wellborn Road was widened, the depot was torn down,” Halter said. “The original site of the depot would be in the middle of Wellborn.” Halter said the historical marker is being placed about 150 to 200 yards from where the actual depot was located. David Gerling, special facilities su perintendent for the College Station Parks and Recreation Department, said Edmund Davis, governor of Texas in 1871, was looking for a site for a land grant college that had access to good transportation and was close to Hous ton. “He chose this site because there was already a current railroad in place,” Gerling said. As trains went through the area, Gerling said, the conductor would walk down the aisles and announce, “College Station, next stop.” See Marker/Page 12 Aggielife Campus Pg. 3 Sports Pg. 2 Opinion Pg. 7 Pg.11 Senate discusses changing calendar Senators indicate approval for more exam reading days By Kim McGuire The Battalion The Student Senate indicated it would approve a change in the academic calender the Faculty Senate is considering that would implement two reading days and six days for finals. Ben Dale, former academic affairs chair man and faculty senate liaison, took an un official vote to gage the Senate’s opinion before the academic affairs committee of the Faculty Senate votes on the change. Dale said the committee is considering converting the academic calender to in clude either four reading days and four days of finals or two reading days and six days of finals. “I feel like if the academic affairs commit tee voted tomorrow, the 6-2 plan would go over with a little discussion,” Dale said. “The 4-4 plan would be a fight.” Dale said he felt students were fully jus tified in asking for more reading days. “Most universities have an average of two reading days for finals,” Dale said. “A&M and Texas Tech are the only schools in the Southwest Conference with one reading day.” Dale said if the 6-2 plan passed, reading days would be on Monday and Tuesday with finals beginning on Wednesday and ending a week later with the weekend off. He urged the senate to propose a resolu tion either approving or disapproving of the action the academic affairs committee takes before they present their recommen dation to the Faculty Senate. In other business, the Senate heard the initial plans of the athletic department to change the way students acquire tickets to athletic events. Instead of using student identification cards to draw tickets, students will now use an athletic identification card, department officials said. Penny King, assistant athletic director for business, said the card will have the student’s social security number and an en coded strip on the back, similar to the identification card. She said the athletic department decided to go for a new system because students having to leave their ID card with friends when they got tickets caused problems. “When students have to leave their ID to get tickets, they can’t use their card to eat or use their Aggie Bucks,” King said. She said next year all of the dorms are going to a system where students will use their identification cards to enter the build ings, which the athletic department thought might also be a problem when drawing tickets. Jim Kotch, athletic ticket manager, said the person drawing tickets will have to bring their student ID along with the ath letic identification cards. He said for athletic events other than foot ball, students will have to show both cards. King said students who register for the athletic options will be sent the card in the mail during the summer and incom ing freshmen will be given their cards at orientation. In the Senate elections, they elected Darla Marburger as academic affairs chair, Becky Silloway as elected external affairs chair and Pete Manias as student services chair. Marburger said one of her goals as See Senate/Page 9 U.S. Senate approves Easterwood funding By Juli Rhoden The Battalion Easterwood Airport got a helping hand from the federal government Tuesday when the U.S. Senate approved emer gency legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Adminis tration’s (FAA) Improvement Program Tuesday. The reauthorization of the program will offer $800 mil lion until June 30 for airports nationwide. The program grants airports funding for ex pansion and safety projects. Easterwood, which is located on FM 2347 in College Station, is one of 46 airports in Texas to receive funding. U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm (R- Texas) said in a press release that Easterwood will receive $838,080 to reconstruct drainage facilities, construct perimeter fencing and install a new handicap lift system. “The passage of this legisla tion will free up needed airport improvement funds over the next 60 days to help pay for safety construction and expan sion at many Texas airports,” Gramm said. ‘‘Improvements to the Easterwood Airport are on the FAA’s list this year, and I am hopeful they will be funded as soon as possible.” Harry Raisor, director of avi ation at Easterwood, said since the bill is not law, they have not decided what position to take. “Until the president of A&M gets something on the matter, we aren’t reviewing anything at this time,” he said. Julie Hillrichs, a spokes woman for Gramm, said the process to receive funding was verj/ competitive. “The funding is based on need,” she said. “Each airport submitted proposals, and based upon projects, the needs were met as best possible.” Hillrichs said a bill is being handed to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. If the bill is approved by the House, it will go to the White House for President Clinton’s signature. Officials in A&M s Office of the President were unavailable for comment.