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ol. 101, No. 155 (6 pages)
Established in 1893
Monday • June 12, 1995
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store owner’s concerns prompted investigation
A&M's scuba program was
ancelled after an audit de-
s j;« artment report found an al-
iRouged conflict of interest.
y Michael Simmons
■^he Battalion
wsi!
The concerns of a local dive store
\wner prompted the investigation of the
exas A&M scuba program, which
ventually led to the June 1 cancella-
lO ior of scuba classes, according to an
CutjuMit department report.
— An attorney representing Wayne Cot-
( 2r, owner of Paradise Scuba, submitted
s I letter to the University on March 8,
suggesting misconduct by A&M scuba
instructor Tom Meinecke.
According to a report by the Texas
A&M University System Internal Au
dit Department, the letter outlined
practices which it called conflicts of in
terest by the scuba program offered at
the University.
The report defined the alleged conflict
of interest as the solicitation of business
for local dive shops and the refusal of
A&M instructors to sign referrals for stu
dents who wished to complete their scuba
certification elsewhere.
Robert Armstrong, head of the De
partment of Health and Kinesiology,
said the cancellation of classes and dis
missal of the scuba instructors ad
dressed the concerns outlined in the let
ter from Paradise Scuba.
The department will develop mecha
nisms to minimize the possibility of a
conflicts of interest in the future, Arm
strong said.
The University canceled five scuba
classes offered this
summer and 12 class
es scheduled for Fall
1995. The University
may begin offering
classes again in the
Fall 1996, Armstrong
said.
During the 1993-94
academic year, over 1,300 students
were enrolled for scuba at A&M, Arm
strong said.
Cotter said that local dive stores
will suffer because A&M shut down
its program.
Gary Caldwell, the area representative
for the National Association of Underwa
ter Instructors, NAUI, said he has an in
terest in the scuba program at A&M.
“I was aware of the situation and
"I was aware of the situation and went to
the university to offer them assistance with
the reorganization of their program."
— Gary Caldwell
area representative for NAUI
went to the University to offer them as
sistance with the reorganization of their
program,” Caldwell said.
The report from the internal audit
department surveyed eight universities
in Texas and found that A&M was the
only school that required students to
rent or buy equipment for their class.
Tom Meinecke, one of the two A&M
scuba instructors dismissed and part-
owner of local dive shop Sea U Underwa
ter, said he was unsure of the Universi
ty’s motives throughout the investigation.
“I’ve been doing this at A&M for 10
years,” Meinecke said. “Why they decided
it was wrong now, I don’t know.”
Stephen Whaley, a senior environmen
tal design major, said he took scuba at
A&M and was shocked by the complaints
made toward Tom Meinecke and Jim
Woosley, the second instructor dismissed.
“I never once heard Tom promote a
dive store,” Whaley said. “There were
fliers from both Paradise and Sea U
Underwater in the classroom on the
first day.”
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Nick Rodnicki, The Battalion
ext stop ... College Station
Union Pacific "3985" Challenger makes a final stop by the Recreation Sports Center for refueling be
lt is the world's largest operating steam locomotive
bs ove
i/an y fore heading to Hearne on Saturday afternoon.
a nSe-’ and weighs 1 million pounds.
leSeifc’
A&M to continue search
for new pig farm location
q Local residents on
FM 60 did not want the
Swine Center relocated
near their homes.
By Jill Saunders
The Battalion
A new location for the Texas
A&M Swine Center, also known
as the pig farm, is currently be
ing evaluated.
The Swine Center, located on
the corner of FM 2818 and
George Bush Drive, was origi
nally to be relocated to the Ani
mal Science, Teaching, Research
and Extension Complex that will
be built on FM 60.
The new Science Complex will
house the Sheep and Goat Cen
ter, the Animal Euthenics Cen
ter and the Nutrition and Physi
ology Center.
Dr. John Beverly, associate
vice chancellor and associate
dean for agriculture and life sci
ences, said community concerns
influenced the decision to not in
clude the Swine Center in the
new Science Complex, because
residents in the area did not
want the pigs near their homes.
“We’re moving to satisfy the
expressed concerns of the com
munity,” Beverly said.
Beverly said the construction
of the George Bush Presidential
Library Complex near the Swine
Center’s current location is not
the reason for the move.
For more than 10 years, the
agriculture and life science de
partment has planned to move
the Swine Center for three rea
sons, he said.
“First, the campus is expand
ing every day,” Beverly said.
“Second, we need more research
facilities. Third, West Campus
has expanded, and we have
teaching needs and students’ ex
tracurricular needs.”
Beverly said there are many
possible sites for the relocation
of the Swine Center.
He said McGregor, located in
central Texas, and an outlying
area near Navasota are being
considered.
He said A&M’s 14 research
and extension centers are also
possible sites.
Mike Wallace, Swine Center
feedmill foreman, said relocating
the Swine Center has concerned
people about the continuance of
classes that teach about swine.
“The sows are born here and
grow up here,” Wallace said.
“People are worried that there
will not be any classes regard
ing swine while the relocation
is going on.”
Wallace said that almost all of
the agriculture and animal sci
ence classes visit the center at
least once. Classes learn how the
pig farm is run, and reproduction
classes use the farm to do ultra
sound tests on pregnant pigs.
Dr. Darrell Knabe, professor
of animal science, said the new
Swine Center should be located
near campus.
“If it gets moved close to cam
pus, it won’t impact students ad
versely, it will only be better,” he
said. “But if it’s far away, then
teaching functions will be compro
mised because of the distance.”
Knabe said the new facility
will vastly improve the Swine
Center, which was built in 1952,
because the new center will have
modern facilities.
“It’s not going to bd like most
people think, which is a. big pile of
manure,” Knabe said. “There will
be slotted floors, a flush system
and a good ventilation system.”
Kenton Lily, Swine Center
foreman, said he was also con
cerned the Swine Center would
not be located near the A&M
campus.
“The distance will hinder us
to teach classes if it is far away,”
Lily said. “For example, schedul
ing labs could be a problem.”
Beverly said initial actions
concerning the Swine Center’s
relocation will begin this week.
“During the next week or two
we will advertise for bids,” Bev
erly said. “In late summer the
Board of Regents will vote on the
bids. Maybe construction will be
gin in the fall.”
Mike Friend, The Battalion
body
Corps hosts Texas Aggie Youth Camp
Sen 2 250 teen-agers will partici-
^■oate in the leadership camp
ayi over the next two weeks.
's po" '
?als Jy Tara Wilkinson
() iv The Battalion
,Ught tE
, ra |k JTeen-agers from all over the nation are
g 0V e visiting Texas A&M this week to attend the
d alii bird annual Texas Aggie Youth Camp, a
cies eadership camp organized and run by the
i>apoOarps of Cadets.
i hailf I About 250 teen-agers will attend two
5- r veek-long sessions run by 37 cadets working
U PP® uli time, and 15 cadets working part time.
6 IITJBDuke Fisher, a senior marketing major
,a ' and member of the Aggie Band, said the
|ec Tamp gives teen-agers between the ages of
iwer l3 and 16 a taste of life in the Corps.
, n j! [“They get to act like cadets,” Fisher said.
^ kjnThey go through a lot of leadership train-
n " thing that cadets go through, like the obstacle
/'ItwTojurse and the stamina course. We teach
if them how to work in squads and develop
ge i leaders in those squads.”
bill ^ l Fisher, who also worked at last summer’s
iamp, said the campers learn a variety of
inti-!' concepts, including A&M traditions.
(eeM ■ “I was very surprised at how much they
actually got out of it,” Fisher said.
ipl lDavid Melcher, camp chairman and
-neef 1 *
bills-
member of the Aggie Band, said the
teen-agers will live on the Quadrangle
and eat three meals a day in Duncan
Dining Facility. They will be divided
into outfits and participate in morning
and evening formations.
Melcher, a senior management ma
jor, said campers spend their after
noons playing tennis and racquetball,
bowling, lifting weights and swimming.
They also learn CPR, marksmanship or
hunter safety.
After dinner, they will play intra
mural sports and have free time at
night to visit the MSC or go swimming.
At the end of each week, there is a
barbecue and an awards ceremony.
“It’s competition, but we try to make
it team competition rather than indi
vidual competition,” Melcher said.
Lt. Col. Duke, assistant camp direc
tor, said 30 percent of campers this sum
mer are returning campers and five
campers are staying for both sessions.
“From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., they never
get a chance to sit down except to eat,”
Duke said. “We really keep them mov
ing. Because they get choices in their
activities, it will be a completely differ
ent experience each time.”
Duke said campers develop strong
See Camp, Page 6
Pigs wallow and squeal at the A&M pig farm at the intersection of FM
2818 and George Bush Drive.
Business school to begin
distance learning classes
□ By the end of the
summer, two-way au
dio-video videoconfer
encing will link the
College of Business
Administration with
other system schools.
Mike Friend, The Battalion
Texas Aggie Youth Campers learn to salute and
march in formation Sunday afternoon on the Quad.
By Scott McMahan
The Battalion
Texas A&M’s College of
Business Administration
plans to be connected with
the Trans-Texas Video
conference Network,
TTVN, by the end of
this summer in order
to begin distance learning
classes with other A&M
System schools.
Dr. Dean Wichern, as
sociate dean of business
administration, said the equip
ment must be installed in the
Wehner Building before they de
cide exactly how to use it.
“We are just in the early
planning stages,” he said.
The network allows an inter
active two-way audio-video
meeting between two or more
locations which will enable par
ticipants to see and hear each
other simultaneously.
Videoconference locations
spanning hundreds of miles can
be connected to create an inter
active meeting or class. Travel
time and
cost are no
longer fac
tors in plan
ning meet
ings or provid
ing courses to
locations across
the state of Texas.
TTVN has video-
conference connections
with the University of
Texas System, the Texas
Woman’s University Sys
tem, the Sprint Meeting
Channel, the Texas Educational
See Classes, Page 6