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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1995)
15,15; m E X S &c ]V[ U N I X E R S I T Y 101, No. 159 (6 pages) The health center fee and iidence hall rent will in- irease for Fall 1996. /es Swift ie Battalion The Texas A&M Board of Regents proved several fee increases to effect in Fall 1996, and ap- ved hearings on a future increase the general use fee. The Board approved a raise in the Tth center fee from $25 a semes- Ito $40 and various increases in Inence hall rents. With a 15-hour Is schedule, the health center fee ould increase from $375 to $600, a 22f increase. The Board also decreased the stu- ent services fee from $8.25 to $7.75 er semester credit hour. The fee 'as decreased because the student haru arvices fee no longer helps fund the ..P. Beutel Health Center. Dr. Barry B. Thompson, Texas .&M chancellor, said the Legisla- )nOiure has given Texas A&M officials * awlother options. lought “It is the Legislature’s mandate, I ;teep. elieve, that we increase the fees to woulduplport the expansion, enrollment icreases, operations, salaries and ^ to whatever,” Thompson said. “If we said. re going to maintain the same Battauj na Hoi vote to quality, we have no alternative. “I don’t think we can balance our budgets. I don’t think we can sus tain the vision that we have for the Texas A&M Uni versity System, its members or com ponent parts.” Regent T. Michael O’Con nor said he op posed raising the Thompson health center fee. “I’ll just say that I’m just opposed to a fee increase at this time,” O’Connor said. “I would also like to see the fees incorporated as part of our budgeting process.” The Regents are scheduled to con sider the budget for the Fiscal Year 1995-96 during their August meeting. It was the second consecutive meeting in which the Board raised fees. Regents increased parking, equipment and late registration fees during their April 7 meeting. The Board also authorized all University presidents within the A&M system to hold public hear ings on raising the general use fee, as requested by A&M President Dr. Ray Bowen. Bowen said the University lost $6.7 million in appropriations from the Legislature. He added that Established in 1893 University officials have identified only $4 million in reserve funds for next year, $10 million less than this past year. Bowen said raising the general use fee from $12 to $26 per semes ter-credit hour will replace those lost funds, support a 3 percent staff- and faculty-salary increase and add to the University’s need-based finan cial aid funds. Bowen said the raise would come at a cost. The increase will add $210 to a 15-hour semester. “It’s a deal with the devil,” Bowen said. “It’s definitely a hit.” Bowen added that the addition al revenue is desperately needed. He said the faculty pay raises are necessary to maintain the Univer sity’s quality. “Historically, we’ve been able to attract good faculty and staff,” Bowen said. “They deserve a raise. Some of the staff, especially toward the lower levels, need the money too. They’re living near the poverty line.” Bowen also explained that A&M will still be very competitive with other universities across the nation. He pointed to comparable universi ties like the University of Michigan, University of Missouri and Louisiana State University, all of which cost at least $1,000 more per See Regents, Rage 6 Monday •June 19, 1995 Tenneco given OK to sue A&M System q Company hopes to reach a settlement in regard to the co- generation power plant project. By Katherine Arnold The Battalion As of today, Tenneco Power Generation Co. was officially able to sue the Texas A&M University System for up to $37 mil lion for breach of contract. Senate Concurrent Resolution 41, which approved the action, was passed by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate May 29, and was sent to Gov. George W. Bush for approval. Bush did not sign or veto the bill by last night’s midnight deadline, making it effective as of this morning. Russell Johnson, Tenneco’s spokesman, said Tenneco is pleased with the Legisla ture’s decision. “Litigation is our last resort,” Johnson said. “Our intention is to work with the University to reach a settlement.” Johnson said continuing with the con struction of the plant is one option for reaching a settlement. However, System of ficials said there is no plan to continue the project. Dr. Barry B. Thompson, Texas A&M chancellor, said he remains optimistic about the situation. “We are hopeful that negotiations will lead to a solution,” Thompson said. “Re gardless of how it turns out, we will be pre pared to act.” The System contracted Tenneco to build a cogeneration power plant on West Cam pus. A cogeneration plant produces steam used to drive a turbine that creates electric ity. A portion of the University’s electricity is currently supplied by the cogeneration power plant on the main campus. The plant would have satisfied all of the University’s power needs through 2012. The entire project was expected to cost $120 million, and would have been the most expensive construction project ever undertaken by the A&M System. Construction was completed in Decem ber 1994 on Phase I of the project, which supplies West Campus with hot and cold water. The System announced June 17, 1994, See Tenneco, Page 6 1 hard Eddy Wylie, The Battalion Let's go fly a kite Carl Hyltin, Class of '92 and co-owner of Painted Horizons, a kiting company in Hous ton, flies a Delta Conyne kite at Research Park Sunday afternoon to promote his business. Holiday honors freeing of slaves q Saturday's celebra tion included a pa rade, an awards cere mony and an evening banquet. By Michael Simmons The Battalion Juneteenth, the June 19 cel ebration which commemorates the day Texas slaves were freed, was celebrated in Bryan and College Station Saturday. Speakers at this weekends’ celebration said Juneteenth serves as a reminder of past struggles for the African-Ameri can community. Hugh McElroy, A&M’s asso ciate director of human re sources, spoke of the historical importance of the celebration at a banquet in the College Station Lincoln Center Satur day night. On June 19, 1865, Gen. Gor don Granger sailed to Galve ston, Texas, to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been written by Abraham Lincoln 21/2 years earlier, McElroy said. The theme for this year’s lo cal celebration was “Children today, hope for tomorrow.” In addition to the evening ban quet, the celebration which in cluded an afternoon parade in Bryan ending at Sadie Thomas Park, where five scholarships were awarded. The celebration promotes awareness within the communi ty, McElroy said. “We want to encourage mem bers of the community to get in volved in the many civic-related opportunities that are avail able,” McElroy said. “This will help ensure a stronger com munity.” The banquet was dedicated to Lillian Robinson, a former direc tor of the Lin coln Center, McEl roy said. Dr. Jim Scales, guest speaker at the banquet and superintendent of the Col lege Station Independent School District, said the celebration serves as a reminder to the African-American community. “We must remind ourselves as a race of the struggles we’ve had—to come as far as we have,” Scales said. He also noted the positive ef fects the celebration has on the community as a whole. “The annual celebration serves to enhance the African- American community, as well as the community in general,” Scales said. “It gives us the op portunity to reflect on past woes and look to the future.” Sherry Smith, Brazos Valley Juneteenth Committee secre tary, said she was pleased with the turnout for the scholarship awards ceremony at the park, with 300 to 400 people in attendance. She said the pur pose of the event was t o award five $500 scholar- ships from the Brazos Valley Juneteenth Com mittee to graduat ing seniors from high schools in the Brazos Valley. One of the five students was a Bryan High School student. “The whole mood of the event was very entertaining and peaceful,” Smith said. “We are already anticipating a more publicized, larger event next year.” Campus recycling kicks off today □ The pilot program in residence halls could generate more than $37,000 this summer. By Wes Swift The Battalion On-campus residents now have the op portunity to help the environment and the University through the residence hall summer recycling pilot program. Recycling bins are at six central locations for the 1,300 summer residents to deposit newspapers, magazines and colored and white paper. There are also bins for alu minum cans in 10 residence halls. Joe Sanchez, recycling coordinator for Texas A&M, said student participation is vi tal to make the program successful. “It’s going to take a little coopera tion from the residents,” Sanchez said. “We’ve tried to make it as convenient as possible and still follow all the rules, like fire hazards.” Sanchez said his biggest worry is that stu dents use the bins appropriately. ffle dormI “My only concern is that the residents won’t see what [the bins are] for and use them as garbage cans,” he said. “That contaminates the whole bin and makes it harder for the workers.” Cassandra DeLarios, chair of Student Govern ment’s Environmental Issues Commit tee, said the program allows students to help in two ways. “We want to show students that re cycling can not only help the environ ment, but also help the University,” De Larios said. “They can help both ecologi cally and economically.” Texas A&M currently spends $21.50 for every ton of garbage it dumps into the Bryan-College Station landfill, which is expected to reach maximum capacity in five years. In contrast, the materials that are recycled are bailed together and sold to make money, not expend. DeLarios said that prices for recyclables are at an all-time high, due to industry demands. She estimated that the sum mer program could generate as much as $37,435 in revenue during 14 weeks. “Recycling can be very profitable if we See Recycling, Page 6