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bl. 101, No. 168 (8 pages)
Established in 1893
Thursday • July 6, 1995
earch committee to A&M hosts diversity institute
onduct interviews
event if it
?an about
Relations
sity-wide
the calen-
Web and
Universi-
ary for the
r
b Six candidates will
be informally inter
viewed this month for
the position of vice
president for finance
and administration.
ly Wes Swift
The Battalion
A search advisory committee
Selected several candidates for
off-site interviews this month to
fill the position of vice president
#)r finance and administration
at Texas A&M.
The 11-member committee
plans to make final candidate
recommendations to Dr. Ray
Bowen, Texas A&M president,
within a couple of weeks after
concluding the off-campus, infor
mal interviews.
Dr. Charles Lee, chairman of
the search committee, said that
although six applicants have
been selected for off-site inter
views, the committee will contin
ue to accept applications.
“This process is still open,”
Lee said. “We don’t want to turn
any good candidates away.”
Lee said it is likely that as
more applications come in, there
See Committee, Page 8
□ The Diversity Educa
tion Institute will pro
mote diversity educa
tion in universities and
colleges throughout
the United States.
By Michael Simmons
The Battalion
Texas A&M’s inaugural Di
versity Education Institute will
teach the theory and principles
of diversity education to repre
sentatives of colleges and uni
versities from across the nation.
The Department of Multicul
tural Services is sponsoring the
institute, which will be held
from July 8-12.
Kevin Carreathers, director of
the Department of Multicultural
Services, said there is a growing
need in the United States for di
versity education.
“Diversity education means
valuing differences in order to
create a more complete campus
community,” he said.
Sheri Schmidt, student de
velopment specialist and A&M
coordinator of diversity educa
tion, said this is the first time
an institute like this, aimed
solely at institutions of higher
education, has been attempted
in the United States.
Carreathers said the insti
tute was developed in response
to a growing need for diversity
education as it relates
to higher education.
“The idea behind the
institute is to train the
trainers,” Carreathers
said. “The institute will
enable representatives
to return to their re
spective schools and
give a workshop or
seminar on diversity
education.”
The representatives
will be from 28 colleges
and universities, ranging from
small private schools to Indiana
State University and the Univer
sity of Southern California.
Schmidt said he participants
will gain insight into diversity
education through A&M’s insti
tute faculty, as well as through
group discussions.
“The institute will enable the
participants to understand the
tenants of diversity education,”
Schmidt said. “They will be
able to tell the difference be
tween stereotypes and preju
dice for example.”
Kuto thefts continue to decline
□ According to UPD,
itnproved monitoring of
p irking areas and in
creased awareness have
contributed to the de
crease in car thefts.
By Michael Simmons
T>ie Battalion
B A decrease in automobile thefts
on the Texas A&M campus is the
result of increased awareness of
crime prevention techniques, ac-
cdrding to University police.
Ih Over the past two years, the
lumber of automobile thefts has
iropped from four during the first
!ive months of 1994 to none during
he first five months of 1995.
Sgt. Betty Lemay, a crime pre
vention specialist with the Univer-
nty Police Department, said mo
torists can help prevent automobile
hefts by using common-sense tech-
liques for crime prevention.
■ “It is important for students to
ae aware that car theft does occur
it Texas A&M,” Lemay said.
E Lemay attributes the decline to
setter awareness and the ability to
■nonitor parking areas.
H “Thefts on campus have declined
Jecause the police department can
concentrate on the parking areas
around campus,” she said.
It is impossible to stop a criminal
who has a strong desire for a car or
valuable items in a car, she said.
“The best way to combat this
type of crime is to equip your car
with any number of anti-theft de
vices on the market today,” Lemay
Car Theft and Burglary
Prevention Tips
• Always lock your car, even if you do not
plan on being gone long.
• Park in well-lit areas.
» Roll up windows completely when
leaving your car.
* Do not leave valuables visible in your car
or in the glove box; lock them in the trunk
of your car.
* Park under street lights when you know
you will return to your car after dark.
♦ Do not put
anything on
your key chain
that would ( I I x-x
link the keys ^ \ ) | * I \ )
to your car or
; address.
* Keep doors locked while driving.
* Remove the distributor cap from your car
when you are going on vacation or on a
long trip.
• Alarm systems, kill switches and visual
deterrents prevent theft and lower insurance
in some cases.
said. “A visual deterrent, such as
The Club, is not foolproof, but it
may make the criminal look for an
easier target.”
Lt. Scott McCollum of the Col
lege Station Police Department
said automobile thefts are diffi
cult to prevent because they are
sporadic crimes.
Automobile thefts in College Sta
tion decreased from 45 during the
first five months of 1994 to 22 dur
ing the first five months of 1995.
Car thefts often are committed
by either local offenders who have
found a market for the stolen cars,
McCollum said, or by an automo
bile theft ring operating out of one
of the large surrounding cities.
Lynda Rieger, a crime analyst
and statistician for the Bryan Po
lice Department, said the number
of car thefts in Bryan has declined
from 106 for the first five months
of 1994 to 76 for the first five
months of 1995.
Although the number of automo
bile thefts has declined, there has
been a rash of car burglaries,
Rieger said.
“Most of the burglaries occur be
cause people leave car phones,
radar detectors or expensive stereo
systems in their cars,” she said.
Car thefts and burglaries tend
to occur in apartment complex
parking lots, nightclub parking lots
or in poorly lit areas.
Tackling Traffic Troubles
Task Force studies special event traffic
The traffic control
liethods used at Tues-
iay's July 4 celebration
it Olsen Field will be ap-
lied this fall during foot-
all game weekends.
ly Wes Swift
Phe Battalion
^ Information gathered during
Tuesday’s July 4 celebration at
lllsen Field will help the Traffic
Management Task Force alleviate
jraffic problems that often accom-
mny special events like football
STUDIO r&mes.
p College Station police officers
'bserved how altered traffic routes
vould affect traffic congestion.
1 Denise Fischer, Texas Depart
ment of Transportation public in-
prmation officer, said the police
loticed several parking lots along
draw 3.0
Texas Avenue and George Bush
Drive were filled making it difficult
for cars to leave the lots. Curb ar
eas around FM 2818 were filled
with cars that people had pulled
over to watch the fireworks.
Fischer said these problems in
dicate that traffic problems are not
confined to the immediate areas of
a local event.
“This tells us that it’s a bigger
issue because it just doesn’t affect
the local areas of traffic,” she said.
The data now will be analyzed
by the task force to determine
what needs to be corrected to im
prove traffic.
Fischer said that while there
were problems, the plan could be
called a success.
“This was a success in terms of
the raw data that we obtained,”
Fischer said. “We didn’t expect this
to be a cure-all. We have places to
improve on in these situations.”
The task force, a cooperative ef
fort between several College Sta
tion and University agencies and
the Texas Department of Trans
portation, altered traffic routes
along George Bush Drive, Olsen
Road and Agronomy Road.
Police officers were posted at
several stops along the three roads
to keep traffic moving steadily. The
section of Olsen Road between
Olsen Field and George Bush Dri
ve was confined to one-way traffic.
Tim Lomax, task force member
and research engineer at the Texas
Transportation Institute, said the
task force knew it could not solve
all traffic problems, but wanted to
tinker with the traffic patterns to
let drivers bypass the congestion.
“We understand that this is not
going to eliminate the congestion,”
Lomax said. “But this will provide
an opportunity to miss a lot of it.”
Task force leaders unveiled the
plan during a press conference
Friday.
They said the findings could be
used to ease traffic congestion dur
ing special events like A&M home
football games.
Nick Rodnicki, The Battalion
Perfect pottery
Corliss Early, junior chemical engineering student from Houston, creates pottery in the Univer
sity Plus Center in the MSC Wednesday afternoon.
tllVFS
i 135,
itivesl
ather offers
sAl&M faculty members honored for historical preservation
sr as man)
il topping 5
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,n with other]
:oupons.
Mr P Gatti’s- Heritage Club lifetime
>uilt in memory of Dr,
□ly 4 celebration.
Nick Rodnicki, The Battalion
members Dr. and Mrs. Van Riper stand next to the gazebo
Knobel's son at Heritage Park Tuesday morning during the
□ The Knobels and Van Ripers
helped develop and restore
historical sites in Bryan.
By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
Three A&M faculty members will be
honored this month by the city of Bryan
for their dedication to the historical
preservation of the area.
The Annual Mayor’s Award for His
toric Preservation will be given to Dr.
Paul Van Riper, professor emeritus of
political science, and his wife Dorothy
Van Riper, senior English lecturer; and
Dr. Dale Knobel, executive director of
the Honors Program, and his wife,
Tina Knobel.
Judy Pruitt, from the city of Bryan of
fices, said this is the fifth year the honor
has been awarded and the first time it
has been awarded to two families.
“This is a recognition of their great
accomplishments for the city,” Pruitt
said. “There is a rich history in the Bra
zos Valley, and a lot of people are con
cerned about preserving it.”
Paul Van Riper is one of the founders
of the Bryan Heritage Society, which be
gan in 1975. He is also a member of the
Brazos County Historical Commission.
Paul Van Riper said he and his wife
have restored three old houses in
the area.
“We have a policy on restoring,” he
said. “We like to leave houses as they
once were, keeping them as close as possi
ble to the original structure and design.”
The first house they restored was the
Wilson House in Bryan.
The second was a house that was
once located on campus, primarily used
as living quarters for administrators.
The house was moved off campus in
the 1940s, and is the oldest house in
College Station.
They currently reside in the Cavitt
House, which was built in 1880 and is
the oldest house in the county. The
Cavitt House was the first house in the
county to be placed on the National Reg
ister of Historic Places.
Dorothy Van Riper said she is inter
ested in restoration because she hates to
see anything wasted.
“People were shutting up these old
houses and just letting them go,” she
said. “They are old and beautiful and de
serve to stay that way.”
Dorothy Van Riper said they do not
restore homes for the recognition or
attention.
“I think it’s nice to be honored, but I
don’t think in terms of awards when
we are involved with the community,”
she said.
The Knobels have been active in the
See Preservation, Page 8