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dI. 101, No. 158 (6 pages)
Established in 1893
Thursday • June 15, 1995
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:Bowen proposes doubling general use fee
iThe increase is aimed to
ii 116!
5t er >oost A&M's budget and
—illow for a 3 percent raise
n faculty salaries.
ida ' y Wes Swift
hi Battalion
Ray Bowen is to propose
. o the Board of Regents today
w .hat hearings be held on a pro-
osal to more than double the
wh eneral use fee with a $14 per
semester hour increase.
Bowen, A&M’s president, said
the money generated by the
higher fees will be used to re
coup the $6.7 million that the
Texas Legislature cut from the
school’s budget during the 1995
legislative session. The money
will also fund a 3 percent raise
in faculty salaries and will in
crease need-based financial aid.
Bowen said the fee increase is
necessary to keep the Universi
ty’s high standards.
“It’s a question of institutional
quality,” Bowen said. “We need to
retain the
quality we
have here — the
quality in the
classroom and
the quality of
the faculty.”
Students
currently pay
$12 per semes
ter hour for
the general
use fee, with a
typical 15-hour semester total
ing $180. The proposal would in
crease the fee to $26 per semes
Bowen
ter hour, adding $210 to the typ
ical 15-hour semester.
Bowen said that if the Board
approves his proposal, he hopes
to conduct the hearings as soon
as possible. After the hearings,
the increase will be taken to the
Board for a decision.
Bowen said he knows the in
crease may not be well-received
by students.
“I fully understand that most
of the students won’t be happy
to hear about this,” Bowen said.
“But I hope they’ll see the sil
ver lining.”
Toby Boenig, A&M student
body president, said that while
he could not support the in
crease, he was sympathetic to
the University’s position.
“I understand the president’s
situation,” Boenig said. “I really
put a lot of the blame for this
on the Legislature.”
Many students expressed
similar sentiments, saying they
were unhappy about the in
crease, but supported the moti
vations behind it.
Donna Okruhlik, a senior
speech communication major.
said she sees the increases as
necessary to keep the Universi
ty up to the highest standards.
“I think it comes down to
whether I’d rather pay the
higher fees or lose some of the
programs here,” she said.
Mike Breier, a sophomore
business management major,
agreed.
“I’m really not excited about
it, but the money has to come
from somewhere,” Breier said.
“If there’s no other way to do it.
See FEE, Page 6
;nis.
iV‘Don’t ever underestimate the
HEART OF A CHAMPION.
— Coach Rudy Tomjanovich
Rockets roll over Orlando 0 . !a . i . uv y on named FinaIs
1995
AP Photo
Rockets guard Sam Cassell rejoices after a playoff win over Utah. Houston de-
jfeated Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio before beating Orlando in the Finals.
HOUSTON (AP) — The unlikeliest of
shots came at the end of the unlikeliest of
championship repeats.
The clock was ticking down on a 113-
101 Houston triumph
that finished off a sweep
of the Orlando Magic,
and Hakeem Olajuwon
was thinking he could do
just about anything. But
a 3-pointer?
Left open on the right
wing with 11.5 seconds
left Wednesday night, he
swished a perfect 23-footer and sprinted
back down the court, arms stuck in the air
and grinning broadly.
It was only the fifth the center had made
all season and the 15th of his 11-year ca
reer. And it was only fitting, because this
Rockets team has made a habit of making
the unlikely and improbable look like sec
ond nature.
“He’s been working on it all year long,”
said Clyde Drexler, who savored the shot just
like he savored winning an overdue champi
onship ring with his old college teammate.
Driven by the electrifying Olajuwon, who
had 35 points and 15 rebounds, and sparked
by the return of favorite son Drexler, the
Houston Rockets earned their second straight
NBA championship by beating Shaquille
O’Neal and the Magic, whose joyride through
the playoffs ended with a jolt.
“All the stuff we heard at the start of the
season about lack of respect,” Rockets coach
Rudy Tomjanovich said, “if those days
aren’t over, something’s wrong. We beat the
number one, two, three and four seeds, and
nobody’s ever done that. I’m the proudest
guy in the world. Every team that we beat
could be the champion of this league.
They’re all that good.”
Now the Rockets, who bore the label of
one-title wonders all season, are part of an
elite group of NBA champions. When the
buzzer sounded, Houston joined recent con
secutive title winners such as the Bulls, the
Lakers and the Pistons.
Those teams had Michael, Magic, Ka-
reem and Isiah.
This team has Hakeem, who topped 30
points in each game of the series and in 16
of his 22 playoff games. For the second
straight season, he was the Finals MVP.
Unlike last year, Olajuwon shared this
championship with Drexler, who after 12
seasons in the NBA finally got his ring.
“I am grateful and just so happy for
Clyde Drexler for winning his first champi
onship,” Olajuwon said. “I am so happy to
be a part of it.”
Drexler, who missed winning the 1983
NCAA championship with Olajuwon at the
University of Houston and made two unsuc
cessful trips to the NBA Finals with Port
land, had 15 points, nine rebounds and
eight assists for the Rockets, whom he
joined after a Feb. 14 trade.
“How sweet it is!” he said as the trophy
was presented to the Rockets by NBA com
missioner David Stern.
All through the series, Olajuwon and
Drexler had plenty of help, and Game 4 was
See Rockets, Page 2
Olajuwon
MVP for second time
HOUSTON (AP) —
Like so many other
teams this season, the
Orlando Magic simply
had no answer to Ha
keem Olajuwon,
“If I knew how to
solve him, I Wouldn’t be
sitting here 0-4,” Magic
coach Brian Hill said.
Olajuwon - control
ling the boards, power
ing through the lane,
even hitting a 3-pointer
dominated the playoffs
and carried the Rockets to a second
straight title Wednesday night and a
four-game sweep of the Magic.
“I don’t know of a player who ever has
played as great as Hakeem Olajuwon in
the playoffs,” Houston coach Rudy Tom
janovich said. “It’s his basic character.
He’s a winner. The cream always rises to
the top.”
It was the second consecutive year
Olajuwon was honored as the Finals
MVP, and the vote was unanimous. This
time, he averaged 32,8 points, 11.5 re
bounds and shot 48 percent. He put an
; exclamation point on the 113-101 victory
; with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
“Fm surprised,” an elated Olajuwon
: deadpanned when asked his reaction to
the honor. “That’s a big accomplishment
j being voted MVP. I think it’s a special
}: award. I’m grateful.”
Exploring career fields o Liberal Arts forum aims for excellence
n cr-kt-ir-in ment to outline the colleee’s eroals for leere of Liberal Arts itself. Jones said.
M\
IT# |
pinp I
Office of Minority Student
Services hosts 20 students at
innual Explore conference.
By Michael Simmons
fhe Battalion
Minority high school students explored
caching career opportunities and A&M’s
College of Education this week.
Explore, a conference sponsored by
i&M’s Office of Minority Student Ser-
rices, offered 20 students insight into
|eaching careers.
Myma Dartson, assistant director of mi-
mrity student services, said the confer
ence’s mission is to recruit and retain mi-
lority students in the College of Education.
About 50 students applied to attend the
uxnual conference, and 20 were selected
>ased on recommendations, essays and
their willingness to enter the teaching pro
fession, Dartson said.
“They participate in various workshops
related to education, which are designed to
give students a look at a wide array of
teaching opportunities,” she said.
The students participate in a teaching
workshop, which enables each student to
plan and present an actual lesson to their
peers, Dartson said.
“The students also go to area schools and
spend the morning working side-by-side
with actual teachers,” she said.
Dr. Gwen Webb-Johnson, professor of
educational curriculum and instruction,
said she believes the conference opens
doors for culturally diverse students.
“The Explore conference benefits both
A&M and the students who participate
amidst a growing, culturally diverse cam
pus,” Webb-Johnson said. "This conference
gives these diverse students the opportuni
ty to get to a school like A&M.”
The conference is the major recruiting
tool for Office of Minority Student Services,
Dartson said. The high school seniors spend
a week at A&M, becoming better acquainted
with what to expect when they get to college.
□ Organized this spring,
the group is composed of
endowed professors.
By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
• F*rofessors from the College of Lib
eral Arts formed a group this spring
to promote, enhance and define acad
emic excellence, said Dr. Alex Mintz,
chairman of the Forum of Endowed
F*rofessors.
Mintz, also the holder of the
Cullen/McFadden Professorship in
political science, said the forum was
formed this spring, and in April be
gan holding meetings every other
week. The forum is composed of 20
professors who hold endowed chairs
and professorships in the College of
Liberal Arts.
“Our mission is to capture the in
tellectual spirit on campus,” Mintz
said. “We want to place an emphasis
on long-term strategic planning.”
The forum is working on a docu
ment to outline the college’s goals for
achieving academic excellence that
will be presented to Dr. Charles Lee,
interim vice president and provost,
and Dr. Ray Bowen, A&M president,
Mintz said.
Some of the forum’s goals are to
improve the endowment policy of the
University, increase faculty mem
bers’ pay and create more fellowships
and scholarships for graduates and
undergraduates, Mintz said.
Dr. Bryan Jones, holder of the
Charles FNaryear Professorship in lib
eral arts, said the most interesting
aspect of the forum is that all the de
partments in the College of Liberal
Arts are represented.
The diversity in the forum makes
it more objective in working toward
its goals, Jones said.
“This is a huge campus with a
tremendous amount of faculty mem
bers,” Jones said. “The forum gives
me a chance to sit down with faculty
from other departments and learn
what is going on in their arenas.”
Another purpose of the forum is to
focus on the broad goals of the Col
lege of Liberal Arts itself, Jones said.
“A lot of times professors get
caught up in the day-to-day button
pushing of teaching and researching,”
Jones said. “We forget the broad aims
of transmitting excellence to our stu
dents.”
The College of Liberal Arts has of
ten found itself in the shadow of oth
er colleges, Mintz said.
“We operate under difficult bud
getary conditions,” Mintz said. “We
want to ensure that resources are
well-allocated and quality is not sac
rificed.”
The forum is still in the experi
mental stages, and all of its capabili
ties are not yet known.
Correction:
A Page 1 story in The Battalion
Wednesday should have stated that
the Security Awareness Committe is
considering 26 campus areas for
additional lighting.