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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1995)
• June 19, A &z 1VL U 1ST E R Y Pexas and tt- 160 (6 pages) Established in 1893 Tuesday • June 20, 1995 3owen to host student forum Bl11 money appr 1 he System, motions ordis awsuit mayfe- 1 arded may nt i by theLegisA&M's president will hear udent views on the possibil- v contributey of fee increases. oy to the Un hty. In 1992, Wes Swift u)co and h iE g ATTALION > Gas, parec umies toTt: j-j r j^ a y Bowen, Texas A&M presi- Power Gene’j^ w iB host an open forum for stu- n ‘•°’nts to share their views on the propos- uted S45,50 ^o[ raise the general use fee Wednes- I.bOO, and tfciy j un e 21 in 292 MSC. $85,500. At a meeting on June 15, the Texas xmefit the G fcM Board of Regents authorized Uni- icering and tr rsity presidents of the A&M System to k* Studies, dd the public hearings. In reducecc use of negotitH See Editorial, Page 51 ' •; f 'v HR \elp individu , „ , ^ « -Johnson sa The general use fee is currently $12 l /ed bora :r semester credit hour, and the propos- wpuld increase it to $26 per semester ^■t hour. Texas House Bill 815 autho- zes university systems to raise general • r* se fees as high as tuition rates. .ies ra Currently, tuition rates are $30 per semester credit hour, and may increase to $32 by Fall 1996. A provision in House Bill 815 requires each university to hold an open forum for students to voice their opinions on proposed increases of the general use fees. Bowen said he thinks that, while fees will likely go up, student input will be instrumental. “We will listen to the students’ con cerns,” Bowen said. “It is more than likely that fees will go up, but their input could determine how much is put in financial aid and things like that. I think well hear a lot about what problems come up and hear their ideas about how the money should be spent.” Bowen said the University has a $10.8 million shortage in its 1995-1996 budget. The University wants $6 million to raise staff and faculty salaries 3 percent, add $1 million for need-based financial aid grants, $1 million in deferred maintenance and another $2 million for special needs. Overall, the University needs approxi mately $19.4 million, $15.4 million of which would be paid by the revenue from the general use fee. Bowen said the fee proposals are in dicative of a new trend in Texas higher education. “Our fees are set by the Legislature,” Bowen said. “Historically, they’ve been able to appropriate more general revenue and keep fees down. This time they have indirectly said ‘OK, we’ll allow you to raise your fees; we don’t have any more general revenue.’ “No matter how you look at it, the basic conclusion is that it’s going to cost more to get an education in Texas,” he said. “We’re part of that, and it’ll cost more here.” Bowen said it may be necessary to reduce funds from several ar eas in the budget if the Regents do not approve the increase. He explained that without a higher general use fee, there will have to be cuts across the Universi ty, including a $5.3 million in academic affairs. to pay proposes to allow Army ay commandants’ salaries Bowen See Forum, Page 6 □ A spokesman for the Citadel said allowing an ac tive-duty officer to serve as commandant may increase the number of cadets seek ing commissions into the armed forces. By Michael Simmons The Battalion The 1996 Defense Authorization Bill could give Texas A&M University and five other colleges with military programs the opportunity to have their commandants’ salaries paid by the U. S. Army. Retired Army Col. Roger Popham, the commandant of cadets at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., said the authorization bill would give the col leges the option of allowing their se nior army officer to also act as their comm andant. Rep. Steve Buyer, a 1980 Citadel graduate, penned an addition to the authorization bill which would allow A&M and the five other essential schools with military programs to have their highest ranking army offi cers serve a dual role — as both the professor of military science and the commandant of cadets, Popham said. “This would give the school the ability to have an active-duty profes sor of military science serve in a dual- hatted role as the commandant,” Popham said. “This would ensure that the college would stay up-to-date on current military practices.” Like A&M, the Citadel currently commissions less than 35 percent of its cadets into the armed forces after completing school, Popham said. “I believe an active-duty comman dant would draw more cadets to pur sue commissions,” Popham said. Maj. Gen. Thomas Darling, A&M’s See Bill, Page 6 llor ^acuity reacts positively to proposed withdrawal, attendance policy changes ne politicia: ics. Gov. Hot: d,” said Sar; coordinator | jhe Faculty Senate's proposed >ol. "Evenir 7 ^ , for examphanges regarding attendance histono t j|| ma y k e j n violation of confi- tias a bacheklentiality laws. ry but no mi Le, shrugs wty Katherine Arnold lever wentfe'Hg Battalion ick up ani: Faculty reactions are positive to the policy es workinghanges regarding withdrawal and atten- ant professc ance proposed by the Faculty Senate during > deanship. ; S June 12 meeting. ecause some The proposed withdrawal policy will elimi- irking spa ate the “withdraw passing” and “withdraw i’t vote for ^ailing” classifications. Currently, if a student l ago,” Hobbydthdraws from the University and is failing g in Sunday? class, the credit hours the student is in dan- iston Chroni-erlof failing are calculated into the grade- some experifioint ratio. “Withdraw passing” does not af- >f thing.” Ghe GPR. cal skills sho Dr. Sallie Sheppard, associate provost for ndergraduate programs and academic ser- stem hasbei ces > said the elimination of WP and WF s past year b will benefit students. et ween the it p a student has to withdraw, then thepe is Hite schools G su piiy ari extenuating circumstance that ini- (Hear Lake^T 68 that decision,” Sheppard said. “When a tudent withdraws, then they’ve lost the diole semester anyway. [The new policy] is a dn-win situation all around.” 1 J Sheppard is the chairwoman of the Acade- ('■') 1 1 I f] he Operations Committee, which made the CLAV4 ecQmmendations for the policy changes. The I | ommittee consists of deans from each of T'* I I pn-A&M’s colleges. The Senate also proposed moving the with- ^ rawal deadline from the last class day to the ration more'jfirop date. get ax. Dr. Brent Paterson, associate director of ild then sim tudent affairs, said moving the date will ease said. helconfusion of the withdrawal process, ed, public ro “There used to be hundreds of students try- 1s coming to} a g to withdraw on the last class* day, mostly ?. re money, Lcademic reasons,” Paterson said. “We feel irst? ’ Olivas hat students know by the midterm if they ling News for rd failing one or all of their classes and are s : . Scb 00 ^ Ganging on when they shouldn’t be.” iition. Paterson added that the Senate proposal :ial planner ^11 a n ow withdrawal past the Q-drop date d the progi or students with extenuating circumstances, investment, ? iition and f fi ~ as they havf d the purcha? tax liability- E x p e r : also quest whether > state mi?’ have to bi out the fat with taxpa; money. The legir tion allo f people to two- or for year contra from the st to prepayf fees for child: 18. riust be Tel le children d enrolls in «■ colleges or a: nptroller trait lue of the e ol. The stud' nteed that' uld be coverec letails have} it, but officii pay for itself- :pect the into rue on the cot re than enoto >gram. goes into eff state will be?. after Jan. 1. which will be determined by the dean of the student’s college. Changes in the attendance policy were also proposed. The Senate has requested that stu dents must show proof of an excused absence within two working days of the absence, and the documentation must show proof of treatment. The Senate proposed the second revision at the request of the Academic Operations Commit tee, because they believed the revisions would clarify the attendance policy, Sheppard said. “There have been students who have abused the attendance policy,” Sheppard said. “The new policy will accommodate students with a legitimate illness.” Dr. Kenneth Dirks, director of A.P. Beutel Health Center, said the proposed policy may violate laws of confidentiality. “I have requested that the proposal be eval- "There have been students who have abused the attendance policy. The new policy will accommodate students with a legitimate illness." — Dr. Sallie Sheppard associate provost for undergraduate programs and academic services uated by general counsel to see if it is consti tutional,” Dirks said. “From our perspective, we cannot release medical information re garding a student to a faculty member.” The Senate attempted to avoid problems with confidentiality by revising the regulation to state that a student must obtain proof of illness and treatment from the health center to show to professors. However, this still may be violating confi dentiality, Dirks said. “We cannot release information regarding treatment and diagnosis,” Dirks said. “The student taking that information to the profes sor would be a similar situation.” Paterson said issues still remain to be worked out regarding the attendance policy. “There is the question of how much a facul ty member actually needs to know,” Paterson said. “From a faculty member’s perspective, professors just want to know that a student was justifiably sick.” Nick Rodnicki, The Battalion Workin' hands The Rec Sports Center slowly approaches completion as workers seal the windows to the building on Monday afternoon. Restaurant EMPLOYEES PROTEST Several former employees of Ninfa’s restaurant in College Sta tion protest outside of the restau rant on Harvey Road Monday. The signs, written in Spanish on one side and English on the other, read, "Not to be treated badly," "Respect the right of peo ple," "Justice for workers," and "With your help we can do it." Juan Carlos Cardenas, protest organizer and former employee, said through a trans lator that the protesters are all non-English speaking, former kitchen staff who were either fired or who quit. Cardenas said a letter based on the employees' complaints was sent to Manuel Rodriguez, owner of the College Station Ninfa's, and to Ninfa's corporate headquarters. Julio Pineda, a cook at Nin fa's for six months, protests the unfair treatment of employees by Stew Milne, The Battalion the management. Experts study potatoes’ antioxidant qualities □ The Texas Agricultural Ex periment Station is re searching ways to breed healthier vegetables con taining antioxidants that fight cancer and heart disease. By Tara Wilkinson The Battalion Researchers at Texas A&M have discovered that potatoes are second only to broccoli in content level of disease-fighting antioxidants. Dr. Creighton Miller, Texas Agri cultural Experiment Station potato breeder, said eating potatoes will help slow down harmful oxidative processes in the body. “This is important because there are so many oxidative activities in the body that contribute to cancer and heart disease,” Miller said. Oxidation, a natural metabolic process of the body, produces unsta ble “free radicals” that take electrons from DNA molecules which damages proteins and lipids. Howard said nat ural defenses against oxidation are weakened with age, stress and expo sure to tobacco smoke and pollution. Dr. Luke Howard, TABS food sci entist and assistant professor of hor ticulture, said after comparing an- tioxidative levels of various vegeta bles, it was surprising to find that potatoes ranked so high. “You always hear about broccoli being good, but we didn’t know pota toes were too,” Howard said. With the help of antioxidants, free radicals can be disarmed, making them unable to break DNA down, Howard said. “That’s why it is so important to eat five servings of antioxidant rich foods a day,” he said. Howard, Miller and graduate stu dent Mohamed Al-Saikhan, have ranked vegetables based on antioxi dant content during three years of vegetable research. On a scale of 100, Howard said broccoli rates a 96, potatoes a 69, carrots a 32, onions a 25 and bell peppers a 15. Preliminary results indicate the high antioxidant level in potatoes is caused by a protein called patatin, Howard said. Once the protein is identified and understood, it can be used in potato breeding. “If we can positively identify the compound, we can try to increase it in potatoes,” he said. Patatin levels are particularly high in potato skin, he said, but See Potatoes, Page 6 Percentage of U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances (U.S. RDA) (1 medium potato. 5.5 ounces) Protein € Vitamin A * Vitamin C SO Thiamin 8 Riboflavin ..... 2 Niacin i o Calcium * Iron... 8 Vitamin Be i s Folicin (folic acid) 8 Phosphorus e Magnesium 8 Zinc 2 Copper 8 Pantothenic acid 4 iodine is * insignificant amounts Agricultural Communications, The Texas A&M University System Correction: A page one story Monday on the fee increases should have stated that the health center fee has been increased from $25 to $40 per se mester. The increase is effective in Fall 1995.