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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1995)
30, r JS/L U N R ixclusiti 3nts fir n said. '\vner k store: aded - 1°1> No. 149 (6 pages) si ness* Established in 1893 Wednesday* May 31, 1995 l &M System braces for possible lawsuit ■vas ne: fairne : i rking Ran s. B renneco contends that A&M fl a ves $63 million for a canceled newiiwer plant project. n won!: atly. Wes Swift n you e Battalion h or t A resolution passed by the Texas House on you cej^uxiay will allow Tenneco Power Co. to sue ie But, Texas A&M University System for $37 mil- n over a canceled power plant project, s notiThe resolution also requires that the suit ing ai fi^ed in Brazos County. The Texas Sen- andstj passed a similar resolution last month, 18 wilt did not limit any damages the Tenneco aid receive. t, Ch Tenneco contends that the University ricakres $63 million for a $120 million co-gener- i<V ion plant project, which was scrapped by you fJ Texas A&M Board of Regents in July >le.” 194! after a conflict arose between the power 1 ser mpany and the University about whether ma ! e plant was necessary. progn: The plant was designed to meet all of the University’s power needs through 2012, and it would have been the largest capital con struction project on the campus. Dr. Barry Thompson, A&M chancellor, said that although Tenneco has been given the go-ahead to sue, he hopes the conflict will not reach the courtroom. “We hope to resolve this situation without going to court,” Thompson said. “But if it goes to court, we’re prepared.” Thompson added that the University has been in constant communication with Tenneco. Ed McIntosh, a Tenneco spokesperson, de clined to comment, saying that they were still developing a course of action in response to the bill. “We have just now been made aware of the situation,” McIntosh said. “We’re certainly going to look at it.” McIntosh said Tenneco will release a statement later this week. Thompson declined to comment on how much the University believes Tenneco is entitled to, but said that much of the truth has not been exposed. "If it [the suit] goes to court, we are prepared and will proceed with vigor." — Dr. Barry Thompson AdrM chancellor “Our stance has been that not all of the facts have been revealed,” he said. “There is a lot of information that has not been brought to light.” In January 1994, state Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, who voted against the bill, said that giving Tenneco the right to sue A&M would State legislature restores A&M utilities funding See Lawsuit, Page 6 □ Funds will also be redirected to the Col lege of Medicine. By Javier Hinojosa The Battalion An appropriations bill passed by the Texas Legisla ture will redirect state funds, which will increase funds for the Physical Plant Department and the College of Medicine. The Physical Plant Depart ment will receive $8 million for utilities, and the College of Medicine will receive $2 mil lion for programs. Funding for Texas A&M util ities was proposed to be cut by nine percent at the beginning of this year’s legislative session. However, Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said a House and Senate conference committee worked on several funding is sues that restored the total funding for Texas A&M. Thomas Taylor, assistant vice president for budgeting and administrative planning, said the how the funds will be redirected is undecided. “The money comes through a formula structure,” he said. “In the end we should come out even.” Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M president, said it is important for the students to know where See FUNDS, Page 6 vCampaign continues :o raise money for ;cholarships, faculty position support A&M officials hope the Capturing the Spirit If campaign reaches its goal of raising $500 mil lion by the end of August 1996. h as ’ge Javier Hinojosa ie-Battalion Texas A&M officials an- unced that fund-raising efforts The University’s Capturing e Spirit campaign is $48 mil- n jjfrom completing its goal. Jim Palincsar, the Develop- ental Foundation capital cam- ign director, said the cam- ign was launched in Septem- ;r 1990 with the goal of raising >00 million by August 31, 1996. tMip At the time, it was the largest '|C I Jnd-raising effort undertaken by ly I institution. The Universities Illinois and Michigan have n nee announced billion dollar \—-\Jra|paigns, he said. “The Capturing the Spirit unpaign for Texas A&M is a mcerted university- ide fund-raising 'fort to ensure mtinued ex- ^llence in lejUniver- L -ty's per- y >rmance it’s tultiple lis- ions,” alinesar aid. He said ae majority t jthe funds 'ill be used for ’ ie support of fac- Ity positions, student npncial aid and program lipport. jjpalincsar said $75 million is ftrgeted for scholarships, some f which have already been es- blished and made available. These scholarships include 70 resident’s Endowed scholar- ips, 43 Opportunity Awards nd 140 Sul Ross scholarships. About $65 million of the $75 million for scholarships is be ing used for departmental scholarships, graduate fellow ships and the University Hon ors Program, he said. Palincsar said the money is re ceived in the forms of trust agree ments, cash gifts, will provisions, equipment and real estate. “What’s wonderful is that $4 million has been donated from the people who work here as staff and faculty,” he said. Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M president, said the campaign is having great success. “We’ve been trying to work real hard to help the Develop mental Foundation reach their target,” he said. “These people are just wonderful. They and the former students have worked so hard.” Mark Klemm, assistant direc tor of develop ment for the College of Engineer ing, said the schol arships and gifts being re- c e i v e d through the Devel opmental Foundation have been help ing a great deal. “There are always more students in need than there are scholarships available,” he said. Klemm said the campaign has also donated necessary equipment and other non-cash gifts needed to continue turning out quality engineers. “Without them, we flat out, carmot teach the things that are on the cutting edge,” Klemm said. Working To Make A Difference Recycling center employees focus on abilities □ Junction Five-O-Five gives disabled workers a chance to become functioning members of society. By Libe Goad The Battalion A woman diagnosed with multi ple sclerosis watches late-aftemoon television in her bathrobe. Her sup portive friends have slowly faded from her life and left her alone to deal with a disabling disease and unemployment. But the picture is different today. Today, the woman arrives at work an hour early, lunch bag in hand, and she laughs and jokes with fellow workers until her day at Junction Five-O-Five begins. Junction Five-O-Five fronts as a recycling center on College Main, but behind the glass bins and piles of compressed plastic, it is an em ployment center that gives people with disabilities a chance to become a functioning member of society. Marsy Clarke, co-founder and board member of the company, said the center has provided therapy for the woman with multiple sclerosis. “I asked her why she was here so early, and she said, ‘You don’t know what it means to me to have someone to talk to,”’ Clarke said. “I think she got better just because of that.” Five-O-Five Employment Coordinator John Tammela said the center aims to get disabled people off their couches and into the working world. At work, they can focus on their abilities instead of their disabilities. “We’re more than a recycling center,” Tammela said. “Junction is a crossroads in people’s lives.” Logan Martin, operations manager, said Tammela and the Five-O-Five staff tries to set people on the road toward becoming functioning members of society. The staff assesses the talents of each person that comes to the employment ser vice and places them in jobs provided through Five-O-Five and other local busi nesses, including Texas A&M University. “We’re not looking at the disabilities at all,” Martin said. “We’re looking for the abilities.” After an initial interview, applicants have a three-day trial period when they perform services provided by Five-O-Five. In addition to working at the recycling cen ter, employees of Five-O-Five may also Eddy Wylie, The Battalion Gary Iverson, a worker at Junction Five-O-Five, sorts plastic containers to prepare them for recycling. work on a parks clean-up crew or a Five-O- Five assembly plant, the newest addition to the service. Tammela said after a person successful ly completes the trial period, a job coach takes over and helps them find a job that can meet and stretch their abilities. “A person may have a desire to be a dishwasher,” Tammela said. “So the job coach tries to find them a position as a dishwasher. ” Marsy Clarke and Trish Barksdale found ed the employment service in 1979 and called it Geranium Junction. Back then, the center helped rehabilitate disabled people by giving them jobs planting flowers. “It started to give people permanent- type jobs to people that couldn’t get a job,” Clarke said. The service struggled in their horticul tural endeavors and evolved into a full-time employment service that also focuses on re cycling and manufacturing. Tammela said the employment agency has placed 400 people in jobs, and businesses call Five-O-Five for job placement assistance. For instance, Tammela said McDonald’s wanted to help a disabled person strength en her abilities, and the manager called Five-O-Five for help. “They told her that she could make breakfast biscuits,” Tammela said. “So I went in as job coach and worked with her making breakfast biscuits.” It only took two weeks before she sur passed McDonald’s time requirements for making biscuits, Tammela said. “I walked in there at the end of her sec ond month,” he said, “and she was on the register.” This year, the employment agency helped 68 get jobs and become functioning community members. “They are so excited about being free to make their own decisions,” Clarke said. Joseph Burrow, senior mechanical en gineer major, said students can help Five- O-Five help others. As a recycling center, the non-profit company serves as a stomp ing ground for environmentally conscious students. “The nice thing about Junction Five-O- Five is they recycle plastic and the city doesn’t,” Burrow said. The center accepts two types of plastics, newspapers, aluminum cans and glass. “We’re recycling people,” Martin said, “as well as everything else.” &M to research possibility of allowing ASL to satisfy foreign language requirement A resolution passed by the Faculty enate asks the University to recog- ize American Sign Language as a breign language in all colleges. *y Wes Swift pHi Battalion e Faculty Senate passed a resolution asking I he University to investigate the possibility of idding American Sign Language, ASL, classes ■hat would fulfill the foreign language require- nent for bachelor of arts degrees. e resolution also requests that the University w students with a proficiency in ASL to receive Hredit by examination. This would be similar to Receiving credit by examination for experience in Spanish, German or Latin. Hit also states that the classes would be similar to os/tf 'hose taught at other universities. The University of ^■^Texas at Austin, the University of California and darvard University currently teach classes in ASL and accept them as foreign language credits. Katherine A. Dettwyler, associate professor of anthropology and the senator who spearheaded the request, said she was approached by two stu dents, one hearing impaired and the other an in terpreter, who wanted their knowledge of ASL to fulfill their language requirements. One of the students had been denied credit; the other had been approved. Dettwyler said that after she had learned more about the language, she realized that there may be some issues involving the American Disabilities Act of 1991. The American Disabilities Act re quires all universities to make “reasonable accom modations” for handicapped students, including those with hearing impairments. Dettwyler said that an important part of the resolution was the demand for a University-wide policy that would recognize ASL as a foreign lan guage in all colleges at A&M. “Right now, each student has to apply to the deans of each college,” Dettwyler said. Dettwyler added that the Texas Education Code has recognized American Sign Language since 1971. But Dr. Steven Oberhelman, head of the depart ment of modern and classical languages and faculty senator, said that he supports the bill. He said that as a member of the academic affairs committee that proposed the resolution, he became aware of the lan guage’s distinct cultural component. However, he said, the Modern Language Associa tion does not believe that ASL is a foreign language. “The association believes that it does not have the cultural component that other modern lan guages have,” Oberhelman said. The academic affairs committee’s report on ASL confirms that those who use ASL do have a differ ent culture than those with regular hearing. The report states that the culture can be studied, ana lyzed and taught, and it cited several books and articles on the subject. Oberhelman said that while the resolution has been passed, funding it may be a problem. He ex plained that although the University is tightening its belt, it was important that the Senate put out the recommendation to the administration. “We appreciate that the University is strapped for money right now,” Oberhelman said. “If they don’t have the money for a year or two, so be it.” Dettwyler explained that ASL differs dramati cally from Signed American English, which most people often associate with sign language. She said that ASL uses not only hand signals, but also posture, body positioning and facial expres sions to communicate. “If you watched someone use ASL, the hands only tell half of the information,” Dettwyler said. “It’s very difficult. The grammar is not the same; the syntax is not the same, like Signed American English.” Student organizations have also requested sign language classes. The Student Senate passed a bill The resolution also requests that the University allow students with a proficiency in ASL to receive credit by examination. in Spring 1994 asking that ASL classes be taught on campus. If their request is granted, then the Texas Education Code requires the University to accept it as a foreign language credit.