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ol. 101, No. 156 (6 pages)
Established in 1893
Tuesday • June 13, 1995
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Faculty Senate makes recommendations
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i Proposals include
hanging the atten-
lance policy and the
late of withdrawal
rom the University.
"VY Katherine A rn °ld
"hf Battalion
ed Press Jl‘he Texas A&M Faculty Sen
ile approved recommendations
rry ss Monday concerning the students’
ffht se^tendance policy and the with-
i as Eflrawal date from the University,
r proift’he proposals will be sent to Dr.
lay Bowen, Texas A&M presi-
nder lent, for consideration,
has i As part of the revised atten-
5 fiigrlance policy proposal, students
y r ad vho receive an excuse from the
V.P. Beutel Health Center may
lave to show proof of treatment to
/alidate an absence as excused,
n p, §?pr. Kurt Ritter, senator for the
IK 3 0 J] e ge of Liberal Arts, said the
recommended policy is the result
if several previous proposals.
The current policy states that
1 a faculty member may inquire
a coir with the health center to deter-
n
billti
treated on a specific day.
This policy met resistance be
cause medical records are pri
vate and cannot be released, Rit
ter said.
With the change, faculty
members would no longer be
able to inquire about whether
students were treated. Instead,
the student would be responsible
for proving they were treated by
the health center, he said.
“Believe it or not, I actually
have students who are not ill
who go to the health center just
for an excuse,” Ritter said.
Dr. Katherine Dettwyler, liber
al arts senator, said a revised pol
icy would be stricter on students
who miss class and are not ill.
“The health cen
ter will hand any
one who signs in an
excuse that says
they were seen by a
doctor,” Dettwyler
said. “It’s more of a
‘student sighting’
than an actual
medical excuse.
“Having such a relaxed atten
dance policy encourages irre
sponsibility,” Hall said. “The
problem for the faculty is the
large number of students who
are not really ill.”
The approved policy is an at
tempt to keep students honest,
Ritter said.
“If a student doesn’t want to
document that they were ill,
then they don’t get an excused
absence,” Ritter said.
The Senate also proposed
changing the number of days in
which students must provide ex
cuses to professors. If approved
by Bowen, students will have to
show proof of an excused ab
sence within two working days
"Believe it or not, I actually
have students who are not ill
who go to the health center just
for an excuse."
— Dr. Kurt Ritter
College of Liberal Arts, senator
rializi
mine if a student was actually
Dr. Michael Hall, senator for
the College of Science, said
some form of treatment verifi
cation is necessary.
instead of five.
Changes to the policy on
withdrawal from the University
were also approved for recom
mendation in Monday’s meeting.
The Student Senate had
passed an amendment propos
ing the elimination of the
“withdrawal passing” and
“withdrawal failing” classifica
tions. Currently, “withdrawal
failing” grades are taken into
account when determining the
grade point ratio.
The Student Senate recom
mended that instead, a student
who withdraws would receive a
“W” for the classes from which
they withdrew, which would not
be figured into the GPR.
The Faculty Senate approved
this, as well as recommending
the date of withdrawal from the
University be moved to the Q-
drop date. Currently, students
can withdraw until the semester
is completed.
Stan Carpenter, senator for
the College of Education, said
exceptions will still be made for
students who need to withdraw
at a later date.
“Some students will always
have circumstances that require
them to drop out of school,” Car
penter said. “Students will still
be able to withdraw after the Q-
See Senate, Page 6
Dr. Pierce Cantrell
presides over meeting
q Faculty Senate
speaker begins first
year in the position.
By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
Dr. Pierce Cantrell, associate
professor of electrical engineer
ing, did an exceptional job at his
first Faculty Senate meeting as
the speaker of the Senate, his
peers said.
“I think things ran rather
smoothly,” Cantrell said. “I
still have some reading up to
do on parliamentary proce
dure, though.”
Cantrell was elected as the
new speaker at the Senate’s
May 8 meeting. Monday’s meet
ing was the first meeting of the
13th session of the Senate.
Dr. Mark Weichold, professor
of electrical engineering and for
mer Senate speaker, said a suc
cessful Senate speaker has first
hand knowledge of the activities
on campus and is well-versed in
the issues discussed by the Fac
ulty Senate.
“Pierce is very well qualified:
for the job,” Weichold said. “He
has the right mix of experience
to make him an effective speak
er. He has a diplomatic de
meanor, which you need to con
trol this kind of meeting.”
Cantrell, who is entering his
sixth year on the Faculty Sen
ate, has been with the Depart
ment of Electrical Engineering
since January 1982.
Cantrell will be the Senate
speaker for one year. His term
as a senator also ends at the end
of this Senate session.
s recruits new
students
cpt j Members of the Corps Sum-
twK ner Recruiting Company en-
v :ourage freshmen attending
ttDm\ekM student conferences to join
heir organization.
y Tara Wilkinson
he Battalion
roaoi
-oducffi!
Franc
haver Sixty cadets are working this summer to
• „ I ecruit incoming Texas A&M students for
; g hejCorps of Cadets.
Sgt. Maj. Thomas Epting, assistant re-
ruiting coordinator for the Corps, said the
lorps Summer Recruiting Company, in its
• econd year of operation, encourages fresh-
llltian attending new student conferences to
^)in the Corps.
jecial® “The goal of the recruiting company is to
>rk is ecruit quality young men and women for
nterache Corps of Cadets,” Epting said,
be ab: The company is striving to recruit 850
jle in adets this summer, Epting said. Hopefully,
ry saihe said, 250 of these recruits will be stu-
i peop tents who have not previously expressed in-
metr erest in the Corps.
All of the cadets in the company live on
se th-he Quadrangle and work two nights a week
ter at t New Student Conference programs, while
leetinhttending summer school.
ents is The cadets are also conducting an “exten-
ition ive phone push” to contact students identi-
ied as prospective cadets at least three days
a reahefore their conferences, Epting said,
pie at
viousiy
3 cour
“They spend about three hours a day on
the phone, contacting anywhere between 60
to 100 prospects,” he said.
The names come from a list of high school
students who participated in a recruiting ef
fort called Spend the Night With the Corps.
Epting said the program hosted 1,911 high
school students during the fall semester.
Thirty percent of the students were high
school seniors.
During the first night of each New Stu
dent Conference, at the Convocation Pro
gram, three cadets will speak about the
Corps. Five more cadets will help explain
special units like Parsons Mounted Cavalry
and the Ross Volunteers.
About 35 cadets will interact with the au
dience and talk with prospective recruits.
The company, divided into Team Maroon
and Team White, work conference programs
on alternating nights of the week.
The recruiting company will operate four
resource tables in front of Duncan Dining
Facility. Epting said the company will pro
vide information, not only about the Corps,
but about many aspects of the University.
Epting said cadets in the recruiting com
pany are required to wear their uniforms to
class once a week, in an effort to give visitors
to the A&M campus an accurate picture of
what life in the Corps involves.
Heath Larkin, Corps staff recruiting
sergeant, said summer recruiting efforts are
especially crucial because the prospects have
already been accepted to A&M.
“I think the Summer Recruiting Compa
ny is the most important recruiting pro
gram for the Corps because it’s crunch
time,” Larkin said. “We can see the
prospects up close and personal and con
vince them to join from there.”
The cadets in the recruiting company
were selected by their outfit commanders
and outfit recruiting officers based on their
recruiting performance throughout the year,
Epting said. All of the Corps’ special units
and the Aggie Band are represented.
Thirteen of the 60 cadets in the company are
women. Epting said this female to male ratio is
purposely disproportionate to the actual ratio.
“We are trying to increase the number
of females participating in the Corps,” Ept
ing said.
David Flores, a junior political science
major and senior Corps staff recruiting offi
cer, said the cadets in the recruiting compa
ny are motivated, have good speaking skills
and know how to present the Corps.
“The Corps is not for everybody,” Flores
said. “You have to know how to give both
sides of it. The best communicator will tell
you the good and the bad and let you make
your own decision.”
Epting said the summer program height
ens the year-round recruiting efforts of
cadets, full-time Corps recruiting officers
and the approximately 175 former- students
who volunteer to make up the Corps Leader
ship Outreach.
Epting said the recruiting efforts of these
three groups compliment one another.
“But if I had to rank them, I’d say cadets
are the most influential recruiting tool we
have,” Epting said.
Eddy Wylie, The Battalion
Ian Townsend, member of the Corps Summer Recruiting Co., stands
in front of a slide show Monday during the New Student Conferences.
\thlete graduation rates drop
in sub
r, eng-
i The decrease may be
—-lue to students leaving
[p l&M to play for pro-
r essional teams before
IllUeceiving their degrees.
ugboa*' y Wes Swift
: a 60f’hi Battalion
at ran
joftfr Graduation rates for Texas
antucik&M student athletes dropped
1 ferrie percent from last year, but
shore i&M Athletic Director Wally
ity g p Iroff said the figures may be
if Nar misleading.
, whib Of the freshmen student ath-
iuda i stes who entered A&M on full
3 enger : cholarship in Fall 1988, only 47
n500 »ercent had graduated by Au-
- or brust 1994.
appa>'. Overall, A&M students had a
d, sai c l7|percent graduation rate,
nd th f Groff said the drop in the ath-
[ajesi ete graduation rate was not as
dgnificant a change as the fig-
ajesl' ires suggest.
rasvisi;' “I wish it were up by 6 per-
’ feet i ;ent,” Groff said. “But this is not
lowwahn appreciable drop. This last
water :lass was bigger than others,
was irind that can make a difference.”
e shiP’ Within the breakdown, His
panic athletes had the highest
f helpjraduation rate, with three of
jnottlhe four athletes enrolled since
.gttkbr’all 1988 graduating. White
jd. athletes had the second highest
jr^chiation ra t e> with 31 of the
31 enrolled graduating, a 51 per
cent rate. Five of the 18 black
athletes enrolled graduated, a
28 percent rate.
Kevin Carreathers, director
of the Department of Multicul
tural Services, said the rates
may be lower since many black
athletes leave A&M to play pro
fessionally at the end of their
senior seasons, before receiving
their degrees.
“I think that if you talk to the
18 athletes, you’ll find that
many went to the pros,” Car
reathers said. “Those figures do
not take into account that many
return to get their degrees seven
to eight years later.”
The NCAA calculates the
graduation rates as a percentage
of student athletes who have
earned their degrees within six
years after enrolling as fresh
men. Graduation rates do not in
clude athletes who have left
school to play professional sports
before receiving their degree.
The NCAA began monitoring
the graduation rates of universi
ties after Proposition 48 was
passed in 1986, establishing aca
demic requirements for incom
ing freshmen athletes.
Groff said that the rates for
successful sports programs
like Texas A&M’s can some
times be misleading.
“The NCAA very often penal
izes successful programs like
ours,” Groff said. “We have a lot
See Athletes, Page 6
1988-1994
Full Scholarship Student
Athlete Graduation Rates
Financial aid cuts in debate
Total number
of student
athletes who
entered A&M
on full schol
arship in
1988
Total number
of these
same athletes
who graduat
ed from
within six
years
83
39
The percentage of first-time
freshmen that graduated from
A&M within six years is 47%.
The NCAA calculates the
graduation rates as a per
centage of student athletes
who have earned their de
grees within six years after
enrolling as freshmen. Grad
uation rates do not include
athletes who have left
school to play professional
sports before receiving their
individual degrees.
q Congress may vote on federal
budget proposals involving reduc
tions within the next few months.
By Tara Wilkinson
The Battalion
Congress may vote on federal budget propos
als involving financial aid reductions within the
next few months.
The proposals, being debated in a conference
committee, would eliminate subsidized Stafford
Loans, Perkins Loans, College Work Study and
Supplemental Education Opportunity
Grants if adopted.
A report from Rep. Chet Edward’s
office, D-Texas, said that although
half of the savings from the elim
inated Student Education Op
portunity Grants, College Work
Study and Perkins Loans
would be redistributed as Pell
Grants, the plan is harmful to
students.
“The proposal will add
nearly Si3 billion to the cost
of going to college for Ameri
can students over the next five
years,” the report said.
Vance Gore, spokesman for Ed
wards, said the proposed financial
aid reductions are part of a plan to bal
ance the national budget by the year 2002.
“They are non-binding recommendations, but
they do carry a lot of weight,” Gore said.
The proposed policies would not be effective
until Oct. 1, 1996, the start of the next fiscal
year. However, Gore said if the policies are ap
proved, Congress will most likely implement por
tions of adopted programs before that date.
“I think it would be highly unlikely not to do
anything this year and then try to implement it
next year,” Gore said.
Sherry Marsteller, legislative assistant to Sen.
Jack Fields, said the proposals are not “cuts.”
She said the proposals would involve pulling
back some of the 1995 financial aid funds, limit
ing the growth rate on the amount of money des
ignated to financial aid next year and restructur
ing the system of loan distribution.
Marsteller said the redistribution is necessary
and logical because it will force students to be
more accountable for their loans and will make
the process of getting a loan simpler.
‘Loans are not going to be eliminat
ed,” Marsteller said. “There will be
some effects, but for the most
part I don’t think these are go
ing to be drastic changes.
There will be students out
there applying for loans,
though, who won’t get as big
of a loan as they want.”
Toby Boenig, Texas A&M
student body president, said
he is worried about the affect
that the reductions might have
on students.
“I’m fully against them,” he
said. “I’m scared of what they are
going to do to lower- and middle-in-
come students going off to school.”
Since Student Government is not allowed to
lobby, Boenig said that concerned students
should voice their opinions to the senators and
representatives of College Station and of their
home towns.