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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 1994)
Opinion jmmi ■ 'Shi I I v : 4\ ilk * j s ’ seven food sup- leaded to an Is- t the village of lissiles hit, said y said all 11 Is- /ere airlifted by ter to Rambam em Israel, died off artillery iges between Is- jrrogate militia- Lebanon Army tezbollah’s guer- ired Katyusha ars on out- li army and its Lebanon Army Stanford: If I knew there was a God, I would ask why innocent ftvandans must starve while I can't eat all the food on my plate. Page 5 Barry Switzer The Cowboys' new coach says the only thing he has to complain about are personal pains Page 3 Weather B THE ATTALION Partly cloudy with isolated afternoon and evening showers. Low in the 70s, high near 100. — National Weather Service WEDNESDAY July 27, 1994 Vol. 93, No. 180 (6 pages) “Serving TexasA&Msince 1893” /V&M considers creating central Texas campus SyJan Higginbotham UHE Battalion ; The A&M Board of Regents is con sidering a proposal to create a branch tampus in the Killeen-Temple area, bringing the University of Central Texas into the A&M System. State Rep. Layton Black made a pre sentation to the Board last week, ask ing the members to consider the poten- il of the central Texas area. “We think we have a lot to offer,” Black said. “We have the potential needed to be successful. “The ingredients to the recipe are right, we just need the chef to shove the cake in the oven,” he said. The Killeen-Temple area currently is a junior college, Central Texas CoT ge, which offers an associate’s degree. The University of Central Texas, in Killeen, offers ju nior and senior lev el and graduate courses. Col. Roger Mum- by, an officer at Fort Hood, said central Texas needs a four-year school. “We have a big requirement, not only for our soldiers, but also their fam ilies,” Mumby said. “I think there is a great need in the area for an institu tion with a four-year capability.” Mumby said he has been encouraged by the positive reactions of the Board and the A&M System in recognizing "The ingredients to the recipe are right, we just need the chef to shove the cake in the oven." — State Rep. Layton Black the educational needs of the area. Dr. Jack Fuller, president of the University of Central Texas, said the proposal is a great opportunity for cen tral Texas and Texas A&M. “It is the belief of our community that Texas A&M is the premier educa tional institution in the state,” Fuller said. “The proposal we’re making is a unique opportunity for A&M to extend its prestige and its distinction as one of the best universities in the world.” Because the University of Central Texas is now a private institution. Fuller said joining the A&M System would create lower tuition rates. “There is a problem because a sol dier does not make a lot of money,” he said. “If we became part of the state system, we could make education much more affordable.” Bill Clayton, a member of the Board of Regents, said he supports the pro posal. “The university really needs some body to take over its upper level and expand its programs,” he said. But Clayton said creating a branch campus in central Texas is going to take a great deal of work because the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has not shown support for the idea. “I think it’s going to take some leg islative action,” he said. Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, commanding of ficer of Fort Hood, said in a letter to Board members that a possible branch campus in the area is fully supported by Fort Hood and its soldiers. “As the United States Army march es into the 21st century, we will de mand more educated soldiers,” Funk said. “We are in the process of develop ing an information age force capable of moving rapidly to any corner of the world and defeating a numerically su perior opponent. This capability will Please see Branch, Page 2 ►*> ^ ^ r - <?* 4 »«v t a * - V i T‘ - a- " - - T ■" V * ,• * * :% s t S' Vu* *•« * »•'.*?■ ^ ■.*» * ** .,*> / * - AP photo der in Tanzania. :amp. tack .-'T —r- I ^ ITT ■ • ■ lllir ,u;;| s! '%‘ Stew Milne/ The Battalion These boots weren't made for walkin Pennies scattered at the feet of Lawrence Sullivan Ross bring good statue’s base may have begun because the sculptor molded a penny luck for the Aggies who left them. The practice of leaving coins at the into the sole of one of Ross’s boots when he made the statue in 1919. August grads each to receive 7 tickets to commencement By Stacey Fehlis The Battalion Summer graduates at Texas A&M will be limited to the number of guests they can bring to commencement, unlike previous summers, when they could invite as many friends and family members as they wished. This summer eligible graduates will receive seven tickets for their guests. Steve Hodge, manager of University Center at Texas A&M, said there are two main reasons tickets are being issued. “There are more degree candidates this summer than in the past,” he said. “And we want to create the feeling of equal expectations from all graduates whether you gradu ate at the end of the fall, spring or summer semester.” Don Gardner, associate registrar at A&M, said there are usually six tickets per degree candidate given out for December and May graduations. “Basically, it is a number game,” he said. “G. Rollie White Coliseum holds about 6,500 people and our goal is to fill it up, but not to overfill it.” Hodge said estimating how many tickets will be need ed and how many will actually be used is like gambling. “All eligible graduates are issued tickets, but some pick up the tickets and then don’t end up graduating or don’t come to graduation,” he said. “Those tickets usual ly end up being given away or sold.” Gardner said if space is available, eligible graduates are issued extra tickets. But he said students cannot count on there being extra tickets. Phyllis Vercher, a political science major graduating in August, said graduates have been told they may get Please see Tickets, Page 2 - Statewide trend shows more students above age of 30 enrolling in college Heat wave parches College Station s attacked rillas attacked h Lebanon, rs. SYRIA —_ BANON / M. | Israel Security Zone eir Mimas Met Loubieh Solan Heights AP/Carl Fox By Stacey Fehlis The Battalion The percentage of older col lege students is increasing in Texas as the percentage of tra ditional age students is de creasing. Texas A&M, howev er, does not follow this trend. According to a survey con ducted from 1968 to 1993 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the num ber of students at Texas col leges over the age of 30 rose from 10 percent to 25 percent. At the same time, the num ber of students between ages 18 and 21 decreased from 59 percent to 38 percent. Don Wood, assistant direc tor of planning and institution al research at A&M, said that while A&M is experiencing an increase in non-traditional age students, it is not experiencing a decrease in traditional age students. “At Texas A&M, the age group of 30 and over has expe rienced an 11 percent increase between 1988 and 1993,” he said, “while the traditional col lege student age group of 18 to 21 has experienced a 1.7 per cent increase.” Statewide, there has been a five percent increase in older students since 1988 and a five percent decrease in traditional age students. The increase of older stu dents can be attributed to the economy. Wood said. “With the ever increasing importance of a college educa tion, many people are going back to get a degree,” he said. “When companies start down sizing, the people with more education have more stability.” Jeff Cole, research analyst for the board, said this change is because of demands in the workplace. “People are changing ca reers in midstream more fre quently than they did 20 years ago, requiring them to further their education,” he said. A&M’s total enrollment is increasing, which Cole said he thinks is good for the school. The total enrollment from fall 1988 to fall 1993 increased by 9.1 percent. “A&M is keeping a good mixture of students,” he said. Gary Halter, associate pro fessor of political science at Texas A&M, said he hasn’t no ticed an increase of non-tradi tional age students in his class room. “Over the years the mixture of students at A&M has re mained pretty much the same,” he said. Lack of rain, high temperatures combine to increase water usage, danger of fires Conservation checklist Because of the current dry spell, College Station’s water use is a million gallons higher than last year. Lawn watering is the major culprit. Some tips to keep your lawn looking good with less water: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ One deep watering (6-4 inches) is better than several light waterings Water only every 5-6 days in hot weather Don’t water in mid-afternoon— up to 1/3 of the water can evaporate Use sprinklers that spray low to the ground instead of arching above the grass Big drops of water are better than fine mist Position sprinklers so they don’t spray sidewalks, streets and porches Wash your car on the lawn instead of in the driveway Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission By Tracy Smith The Battalion College Station ds experiencing the effects of drought-like conditions as part of a dry spell that has hit Texas this summer. Bob French, chief meteorologist for KBTX-TV in College Station, said College Station hasn’t received any significant rain fall in over a month. “We have experienced sprinkles here and there, but nothing substantial to end the dry conditions,” French said. “The last signifi cant rain was on June 24, and it was only half an inch.” French said July and August are the dri est months of the year, but June usually pro duces enough rainfall to pull College Station through the rest of the summer. “This spring was not as wet as we expect ed,” he said, “and the rainfall in June fell from 15 inches in 1993 to 3 inches in 1994.” “This could result in several potential problems,” French said, “since so little rain has been received over the last few months.” Jeff Coska, water superintendent for Col lege Station Utilities, said that in the 1994 summer months people have been using six percent more water than last year. Coska said, “College Station has in creased its water usage by one million gal lons of water.” Coska said the reason for the increase is that people are watering their lawns more often and at inopportune times, wasting wa ter that could be conserved. People need to water their lawns in either the morning or the evening, he said. “With the intense heat, the water may not get a chance to hit the ground because it is evapo rating,” he said. “People should conserve more water and be aware of what can hap pen as a result.” George Spain, fire marshal for College Station Fire Department, said if the weather continues to stay dry, people should take precautions to help avoid fires. “We haven’t seen a problem yet, but if rain doesn’t come soon there could be a prob lem,” he said. To help protect themselves in case of a range fire, he said people should cut all tall grasses 20 feet away from their houses. “That way we could put a fire out before it got out of hand,” he said. Coska said College Station is developing a water conservation program to educate peo ple about how to save water to protect the city from extended drought-like conditions. “The system will have an emergency drought plan in case water production and usage around the area exceeds 90 percent,” he said. The program will allow people to volun tarily lower the amount of water used and, if necessary, move it to a mandatory request. “This will hopefully help eliminate the amount of water wasted during times of drought-like conditions,” he said. Comics 6 Opinion 5 Sports 3 State & Local 2
