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olj 101, No. 177 (6 pages)
Established in 1893
Monday • July 24, 1995
Jre
u i Applications for the
[position of vice presi-
ldlht lent and provost were
Reopened.
e, said l '
't ve y Wes Swift
1 ,u ’he Battalion
II br The search for Texas A&M’s
v ew executive vice president and
n ' rovost, which was almost com-
m lete, is likely to stretch at least
exa uto the fall semester.
ih er An A&M search committee
ay ttempted to fill A&M’s second-
p.nu
search resumes
highest administrative position
as early as July 1. But that situ
ation changed when the commit
tee’s nominee accepted the presi
dency at another university.
Dr. Alan L. Sessoms, former
executive vice president for acad
emic affairs for the University of
Massachusetts System, was
picked to fill A&M’s executive vice
president and provost position.
Sessoms accepted a position as
president of Queen’s College in
New York, and withdrew his name
from contention before the com
mittee could extend a formal offer.
“I’m still in love with A&M,”
Sessoms said. “I visited the
school and fell in love with the
school and the students. The
only reason I didn’t take the
[A&M position] is because this
other offer came along first.”
Dr. Mark Weichold, an elec
trical engineering professor and
head of the search committee,
said he was disappointed by Ses
soms’ decision.
“I was disappointed because I
thought he was a very good can
didate,” Weichold said.
The search committee began
the screening process again.
See Provost, Page 6
Bill may bring storm clouds
for A&M’s weather center
| oThe bill proposes to eliminate
services for aviation, marine or
agricultural communities.
; By Katherine Arnold
The Battalion
The forecast for the Southwest Agricultural
i Weather Service Center at Texas A&M is not
bright if Congress approves legislation eliminat
ing services specifically for aviation, marine and
agricultural communities provided by the Na
tional Weather Service .
The Southwest Agricultural Weather Service
Center is a subsidiary of the National Weather
Service, which falls under the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Association.
Jon Zeitler, a meteorologist at the weather
See Bill, Page 2
Eddy Wylie, The Battalion
^ Look out below!
Sun.
—n David Johnson, an instructor at Blue Skies America, practices indoor sky diving in the Blue Skies wind tunnel Sunday afternoon. Blue
Skies just opened for business. It is located behind Wolf Pen Creek bowling alley.
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:olle?i
College of Vet Med researches causes
of birth defects in Rio Grande Valley
Fall
ffice.
*
IRED
50/to ttf
icruitiQ A birth defect registry
,3-303:.
:Shi[ in the area monitors
EOtrieural tube defect cas
hes. Information from
the registry is needed
2jto find causation.
./'By Javier Hinojosa
NVJFhe Battalion
apparent increase in the
JIN'aumber of children born with
neural tube defects along the
Texas-Mexico border has Texas
A&M researchers investigating
possible causes.
Every day, 12 babies in the
United States are born with
neural tube defects, which
leave them without a brain or
with incomplete back or spinal
cord development.
Neural tube defects occur dur
ing the third or fourth week of
pregnancy when the embryonic
neural tube, which ultimately
forms into the spinal cord and the
brain, does not close properly.
Anencephaly, the absence of
the brain, and spina bifida, the
incomplete development of the
spinal cord, are the two major
types of neural tube defects.
Spina bifida leaves children
severely disabled while anen
cephaly is a fatal condition for
the child which often results in
miscarriages. Infants born with
anencephaly will die within the
first weeks of life.
Dr. Richard Finnell, an associ
ate professor with the College of
Veterinary Medicine’s anatomy
department, said a birth defect
registry in the Rio Grande Valley
along the border is now monitor
ing neural tube defect cases.
“Since Texas is one of 16
states that did not have a birth
defect registry until last year,
there was no ongoing surveil
lance,” Finnell said. “We did not
know what the rates of neural
tube defects or other birth de
fects were.
“When we became aware of
what appeared to be an increase,
there was no background infor
mation to say, ‘Yes this is two
fold or four-fold more than what
we normally experience.’”
Information from birth defect
registry databases is needed to
See Defects, Page e
Looking toivard_ diversity
Multicultural Services
dispels myths through
diversity education
□ The department spon
sors conferences to
promote minority lead
ership, retain minority
students and inform
others of race issues on
campus.
By Michael Simmons
The Battalion
The Department of Multicul
tural Services appeals to all stu
dents at A&M, regardless of race
or gender, while offering insight
into diversity, said Kevin Car-
reathers, department director.
“The dual role of the depart
ment is to educate the A&M com
munity on the true meaning of di
versity, while also offering a sup
port system for minority stu
dents,” Carreathers said.
Through diversity education,
the department attempts to dispel
the myths and rumors about dif
ferent races.
“We don’t want to make you
think a certain way, but merely
teach you to respect the differ
ences in all of us,” he said.
The department sponsors sev
eral programs aimed at further
ing diversity education
and retaining minority
students at A&M.
U-ACT, a two-day
retreat for students,
and the Southwest
ern Black Student
Leadership Confer
ence (SBSLC) pro
vides diversity edu
cation for students at A&M and
across the nation.
The U-ACT retreat gives stu
dents information on stereotypes
and the effects stereotypes have
on A&M students.
Tanya Williams, graduate as
sistant for the Department of
Multicultural Services, said the
retreat enables students to speak
freely about their cultures, while
learning more about the cultures
of others.
“Student leaders become better
educated about the importance of
diversity,” Williams said.
Student organizations can
nominate a representative to at
tend the retreat, or A&M stu
dents can attend the open re
treat, which allows any interest
ed University students to attend.
Another diversity education
event is the annual SBSLC held
on the A&M campus, which dis
cusses topics like living in a black
family and coping with attending
a predominantly white university.
Niki Bisor, chairwoman of
SBSLC, said the conference’s fo
cus is leadership, and gives
A&M students the opportunity
to show their leadership abili
ties to a host of individuals who
attend the conference.
“The annual conference draws
over 1,000 students from not only
the southwest, but from all cor-
nersi of the
United States,”
Bisor said.
T'he four-
day conference
in January in
troduces stu
dents to sever
al different
topics, guest
speakers and
workshops, al-
Carreathers lowing them to
learn about
anything from secrets of success
to economic empowerment within
the community.
The conference also provides
students with a career fair.
“A&M students have an ad
vantage over students from oth
er schools, because they can vol
unteer to work the career fair
and network with any number of
the businesses that attend,”
Bisor said.
The Department of Multicul
tural Services begins
the process of assist
ing minority students
well before they are
accepted to college.
Excellence unit
ing Culture, Educa
tion and Leadership
(ExCEL), a freshmen
orientation program,
and the Minority Enrichment
and Development through Acad
emic and Leadership Skills
(MEDALS) conference enhance
the retention of minority stu
dents, Carreathers said.
The department sponsors
MEDALS, a conference which
prepares minority high school stu
dents for continuing education.
More than 500 high school stu
dents participate in the confer
ence, which culminates with the
awarding of three $1,000 scholar
ships funded by the Southwestern
Bell Corporation.
ExCEL, a freshmen orientation
conference, introduces students
and their parents to college life by
showing them what to expect and
who to turn to for help, Car
reathers said.
The aim of the department is
to ensure that students are ade
quately prepared for college life
and life after college by providing
them with a home away from
home, Carreathers said.
'AMPU<S>
'Mm
isBinge drinking during pregnancy can affect unborn child
□ Consuming several alco-
■^holic drinks within a couple
of hours can lead to the ef-
feet's of fetal alcohol syn-
^ drome, which is the leading
cause of mental retardation.
H This story is written to expand and clar-
o ify a July 19 Page 1 story, "Researchers
^ study effects of alcohol on fetuses. ”
Atf> Researchers with Texas A&M’s Col
lege of Medicine found that binge drink
ing during pregnancy can affect the un
born child.
Dr. James West, professor and head
of the college’s Department of Anatomy
and Neurobiology, said binge drinking
can be defined as consuming several al
coholic drinks within a couple of hours.
“We have found in animals, that ex
posure to less alcohol can have more
damage, provided that it is consumed in
a manner that produces higher blood al
cohol levels,” West said.
Humans can get drunk with fewer
drinks if they consume it faster, be
cause the liver does not have a chance
to metabolize the alcohol.
“Drinking a little bit at a time, over
time, the liver would be able to metabo
lize the alcohol,” West said. “But drink
ing four cans of beer in a half hour or an
hour, alcohol levels would be higher.”
The blood alcohol levels are good in
dicators of the effects alcohol can have
on a fetus, West said.
All Fetal Alcohol Syndrome studies at
A&M are done on animals, mostly rats.
“The reason for that is, while we know
that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome happens in
the human population, you can’t ask a
pregnant woman to drink certain
amounts of alcohol at particular times for
practical and ethical reasons,” West said.
Because mammals go through the
same stages in development, animal
data can be applied to studies in preg
nant women, he said.
“We have found that one day of expo
sure to high blood alcohol levels can
produce significant damage in animals,”
he said. “Based on that evidence, we
can say that if a woman drinks until
she is intoxicated, she is putting her fe
tus at great risk.”
Binge drinking can lead to Fetal Al
cohol Syndrome or its effects, which is
the leading known cause of mental re
tardation, West said.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome effects are low
birth weights and lengths, abnormal fa
cial features and central nervous system
damage. An estimated 7,000 to 8,000
children in the United States are born
with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome each year.
These children have lower IQs,
learning and memory difficulties, hy
peractivity and motor control damage.
When these children become older, they
are easily persuaded to do bad things
and often develop social problems.
“Some of the boys get into trouble
with the law,” West said, “and the girls
often get pregnant.”
Central nervous system damage may
occur at any time during pregnancy, but
abnormal facial features develop during
the first trimester only.
“In binge drinking, many children
See FAS, Page 2