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r ? oret >l. 101, No. 154 (8 pages)
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Established in 1893
Thursday • June 8, 1995
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fV&M cancels scuba classes after investigation
)y fede:
? rooke:
i years,
e bird 1
becaus:
estheiThe two instructors
tjf vere fired after an audit
ibiem.Tvestigated an alleged
he ng sa onflict of interest.
izar V M'chael Simmons
he Battalion
palitie Scuba classes offered by the
?y mtiexas A&M Health and Kinesi-
d stsiogy Department have been in-
ng definitely suspended in re-
ponse to an investigation by
:roducae A&M System,
ir, the The Texas A&M University
'dgetiystem Internal Audit Depart-
MK-aent investigated an alleged
Up onflict of interest between two
L &M scuba instructors, the Uni-
ersity and its students.
I gf ■ Investigators found that
James Woosley and Tom
Meineke, A&M scuba instruc
tors, might give the appearance
that their personal scuba certifi
cation businesses are connected
with the University’s classes.
Among the allegations inves
tigated were the use of A&M
equipment off-campus, the sell
ing of course materials directly
to the students in the classroom
and the unfair use of the in
structors’ positions to promote
area dive shops.
Robert Armstrong, head of
the Department of Health and
Kinesiology, said the depart
ment took two actions on receipt
of the audit department’s report.
Armstrong said summer scuba
classes at A&M were canceled
and future classes postponed. The
two faculty members involved
were dismissed from the Univer
sity on May 31, he said.
The audit department found
that Woosley, by selling books
directly to the students, violated
the System policies prohibiting
the University from competing
with private businesses.
The report said Meineke, who
owns one-third of a local dive
shop, made efforts to promote
sales and rental of scuba equip
ment from the store he co-owns.
Meineke, former activity coor
dinator for the Department of
Health and Kinesiology, was in a
position to make purchase re
quests for the department’s scu
ba equipment, according to the
audit department report.
Meineke, who has been in
structing scuba for 24 years, ques
tioned the accuracy of the report.
“I resent the fact that the re
port tries to make it look like I
pushed the bids, to my store,” he
said. “The purchasing agents
said they would distribute the
dent referrals.
“That was a big issue with
A&M,” he said, “but I did not
feel comfortable with giving out
referrals, because if something
"I resent the fact that the report tries to make it
look like I pushed the bids to my store."
— Tom Meineke
AdrM scuba instructor
bids throughout the state, and I
even tried to go through the
manufacturer.”
The audit department inves
tigated the refusal of the in
structors to sign referral slips,
which allow students to com
plete their scuba certification
outside of A&M.
Meineke said A&M was op
posed to his refusal to sign stu-
were to happen to the student, I
could be found liable.”
According to the report, this
limited A&M students who de
sired certification. They either had
to pay the instructors or retake
the course at a local dive shop.
Scott Sipe, a former A&M stu
dent, said the scuba course at
A&M can be misleading.
“You pay for credit hours and
lab fees, then you walk into class
and find out you have to buy ba
sic equipment and a certification
fee,” Sipe said. “By the time you
pay all the fees, you end up pay
ing two or three times more than
local stores charge.”
Wayne Cotter, owner of Par
adise Scuba, said he will be af
fected by the cancellation of scu
ba classes at A&M.
“Because A&M completely
shut down the program, the local
dive stores will suffer,” Cotter
said. “It would be like A&M can
celing classes, the bookstores
would suffer.”
Armstrong said the Depart
ment of Health and Kinesiology is
interested in offering the scuba
classes in the future. He said he
hopes the scuba classes will be of
fered again in the fall of 1996.
id.
; lived
: thar.i
,his ar
le to
irds,
il sir
Gramm’s office will
not dispute A&M’s
possession of records
□ Letters written from
.he office of the presi-
Jential candidate were
bund in Texas A&M's
I irchives.
ly Tara Wilkinson
’he Battalion
Sen. Phil Gramm’s office de-
id0d Tuesday not to dispute
'exas A&M’s ownership of 29
oxes of office records and corre-
pondence from Gramm’s 1979
d 1982 congressional district of-
ice in Fort Worth.
Gramm spokesman Larry
leal said he was unaware that
he files existed until an upcom-
“ ^ng article in Mother Jones mag-
zine referred to them.
Neal said the files might have
*^een released to A&M in the ’80s
y someone on
^ Jramm’s staff.
Ie said
E ecords usually
ire sent direct-
y to the feder-
il archives,
nembef don’t
hink anyone
o mows how
FEE hey got into
rClaseA&M’s posses
ion,” Neal
aid. “But it
las been Gramm’s intention for
'ears to donate his papers to
k&M, so we decided it is fine that
hey already have them.”
B/CSnr. Mary Jo Powell, associate di-
^^^ector of University Relations,
aid A&M archives’ records
how correspondence between
A Iramm’s former secretary, Mar
garet Foster, and former A&M
irchivist Charles Schultz. How
ever, an official “deed of gift” has
lot been found.
pThe Gramm records, filling 29
>ne-cubic-foot boxes, are among
3,000 linear feet of boxes
loused in the archives. Powell
laid the majority of these boxes
ire not indexed.
■“It takes a long time to go
Gramm
E,
rd!
through all the material we
have,” Powell said. “It would take
70 years at current staffing to do
it. It’s not just that we don’t know
what’s in Gramm’s records, we
have only a general idea of what’s
in all the other boxes.”
Powell said anyone can sort
through archive material, but
A&M officials do not conduct
these searches.
William Sultan, reporter for
Mother Jones, searched the
archives and found letters writ
ten from Gramm’s office seek
ing release for several convicts.
One of these men. Bill Doyle,
was convicted of dealing drugs
and burglary.
Mary Fae Kamm, director of
constituent services for Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchinson and casework
er for Gramm from 1979 to 1985,
admitted to writing the letters.
“At the family’s request, but
without authorization or knowl
edge of Sen. Gramm, I wrote in
Sen. Gramm’s name to federal pa
role authorities expressing the
family’s concerns and advocating
consideration of early release,”
Kamm said in a statement.
Gramm also released a state
ment confirming that he knew
nothing of Kamm’s letters.
“Since coming to Congress, I
have made it a strict policy not
to intervene in matters involving
pardons or paroles,” Gramm
said. “The former staff person
cited by Mother Jones magazine
is reported to be a neighbor of
Mr. Doyle’s brother. I have nev
er written or authorized any let
ter on his [Bill Doyle’s] behalf,
and I certainly did not conduct
any ‘investigation’ of charges
against him.”
Gramm will not pursue legal
action against Kamm, according
to the Associated Press.
According to the Associated
Press, Neal said the incident
was not intended to do harm.
“It was a clear and obvious ab
rogation of a policy that we have
held tight to these many years,
but when you get right down to
the bottom line, it was simply a
lapse in judgment,” Neal said.
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Chewy is one of many cats in the FIV study. He has not been infected with the virus yet.
Cat research may help AIDS fight
□ A&M researchers are studying
the effects of a virus that attacks
the immune system of cats in
hopes of finding a vaccine that
will fight HIV in humans.
By Michael Simmons
The Battalion
Researchers at the Texas A&M College
of Veterinary Medicine said medical re
search on cats could offer valuable insight
into finding a cure for HIV.
A research team is examining the feline
immunodeficiency virus, FIV, which attacks
the immune system of cats in the same way
HIV affects the human immune system.
Dr. Ellen Collisson, a virologist and head
of the research team, said the team sees pro
teins in the cells as the key to FIV research.
“Our hope is to induce immunity
through individual proteins,” she said.
Dr. Alice Wolf, associate professor of vet
erinary medicine, said FIV is in the same
family as HIV.
“FIV is species specific,” Wolf said. “It at
tacks cats in much the same way HIV at
tacks humans.”
Wolf said the research team isolates in
dividual proteins within the cats’ systems
and examines their effects on the virus.
“When you think of traditional vac
cines, they literally contain millions of
proteins,” Wolf said. “We alter the virus to
carry the specific proteins we want the
cats to respond to.”
Regina Hokanson, a research assistant
and graduate student, said the research
tests how parts of the genetic sequence re
act to altered forms of the feline virus. The
research team hopes to find a specific ge
netic sequence that will react to all forms of
FIV, she added.
“By exposing the cats’ cells to dead ver
sions of the feline virus, we hope the cats’
cells will later recognize a live version of
the same virus,” Hokanson said.
Hokanson said that if the cats’ systems
recognize the live versions of the virus,
their systems will respond against the FIV,
much like a vaccine would.
The research team, funded by the Na
tional Institutes of Health, hopes to find a
combatant to the feline disease that could
also be used to fight the human disease,
Collisson said.
The team examines the immune re
sponses of infected animals to find an effec
tive vaccine, she said. Cats have difficulty
fighting off secondary diseases when they
are infected with FIV, and humans have a
similar reaction to HIV, she said.
Collisson stressed the importance of FIV
research across the nation in the fight
against HIV.
“FIV research is conducted at several
locations across the United States, includ
ing North Carolina, Colorado and Flori
da,” she said.
Locomotive to visit College Station this weekend Environmental program
g|yuffils|p^i|crease diversity!
-^Members of the Corps of Cadets
will escort 700 passengers of the
^Gulf Coast Eagle through campus.
By Tara Wilkinson
The Battalion
■ Seven hundred train enthusiasts will ride the
world’s largest operating steam locomotive into
Cpllege Station Saturday.
1 The excursion is sponsored by the Gulf Coast
Chapter of the National Railway Historical Soci
ety and Dr. Frank E. Vandiver, Texas A&M presi
dent emeritus and distinguished professor.
|| Tura King, Texas A&M information represen
tative, said Union Pacific Railroad’s Challenger
No. 3985, known as the Gulf Coast Eagle, is 122
feet long and weighs 1 million pounds.
H The locomotive will be accompanied by several
refurbished 1950s passenger cars and seven glass-
topped Vista Dome cars. King said.
I Leslie Knight, secretary to Vandiver, said the
National Railway Historical Society asked
*. See Locomotive, Page 8
;:,:i' ..C- : :
• xy;- \U- *'r
Union Pacific "3985" Challenger, the
ride into College Station Saturday.
Jim Ehernberger, Special to The Battalion
world's largest operating steam locomotive, will
q Chancellor Thomp
son and Land Commis
sioner Gary Mauro en
couraged minority stu
dent enrollment in the
engineering program.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
The Texas A&M System is
trying to solve the problems of
oil spills and poor education of
minorities through the Environ
mental Ph.D. Pipeline Program.
Texas A&M University,
Texas A&M-Kingsvilie, Texas
A&M-Corpus Christ! and
Prairie View A&M now offer
graduate classes and research,
'opportuni
ties about
oil spill
clean-up
methods.
The schools
are linked
through en
vironmental
research,
distance
learning
and technol
ogy transfer.
Gary Mauro, commissioner
of the Texas General Land Of
fice, and Dr. Barry B. Thomp
son, Texas A&M chancellor, an
nounced the program in a
Wednesday press conference.
See Diversity, Page 5
Thompson