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Texas A&M m M Tt ®
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■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.