Tofu turkey?
Vegetarians look for
answers to the dilemma
faced at Thanksgiving.
Aggielife, Page 3
Awkward absence
Hill: Without a game,
celebrating Thanksgiving
will be awkward for Aggies.
Opinion, Page 7
VT--T'".*;-"' : H:
Hacking away
Aggie center Koby
Hackradt has improved
steadily this season.
Sports, Page 5
Bat tali
Vbl. 102, No. 63 (8 pages)
Established in 1893
Wednesday • November 22, 1995
Bowen rejects Faculty Senate’s cultures bill
□ The Texas A&M
President turned down
the proposal because
of the difficulty of
monitoring its
requirements.
By Wes Swift
The Battalion
K Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M
president, rejected the Faculty
Senate U.S. and international
cultures requirement, disap
pointing the Senate leadership
and drawing mixed reviews
from student leaders.
I The Senate proposal, passed
October 1993, called for A&M stu
dents to takes three hours each of
U.S. cultures and international
cultures classes.
E In a three-page memorandum
to Dr. Pierce Cantrell, Faculty
Senate speaker, Bowen said he
supported the motives behind the
proposal, but the administrative
changes necessary to implement
the proposal could not be allowed.
“My reason for turning down
[the proposal],” Bowen said, “is my
belief that if it is adopted without a
parallel set of administrative con
trols designed to monitor the im
plementation of the proposal the
University would be harmed by
the ensuing controversy.”
The letter explained that oppo
nents of the cultures proposal
have demanded that Bowen insti
tute a mechanism to ensure ■■
that the number of courses
fulfilling the requirement
would not be reduced.
A high-level academic ad
ministrator, such as the
provost, most likely would be
placed in charge of monitor
ing the requirements. Bowen
called this “unacceptable.”
“Frankly, I am offended
to have someone to watch
over the faculty,” Bowen said dur
ing an interview.
Bowen said in the letter that
the most disturbing aspect of the
cultures course debate is the lack
of trust between different groups
on campus. More than 600 people
have contacted him, angry about
the possibility of a “multicultural-
ism” requirement.
After discussing the proposal
with the angry students, par
ents and former students,
Bowen said he was questioned
about how he would control the
requirements to ensure the pro-
"Frankly, I am
offended to
have someone
to watch over
the faculty."
— Dr. Ray Bowen
Texas A&M president
posal remained unaltered.
“Almost immediately, I am
challenged as to what procedures
I am going to implement to keep
the current proposal from evolv
ing over time into one that is not
the moderate proposal made by
the Senate ...,” Bowen said.
The president’s decision
brought varied reactions from
campus leaders.
The Faculty Senate released
a statement Tuesday saying
Bowen gave in to the criticism
of the proposal.
“ ... He has yielded to groups
"He [Bowen]
seems to have
taken control
of the curricu
lum."
— Dr. Pierce Cantrell
Faculty Senate speaker
who have politicized an academic
decision that was made after
three years of extensive discus
sion among faculty, students and
administrators,” the statement
said, “a process which the presi
dent himself describes as
‘thoughtful.’”
Cantrell, also a professor of
electrical engineering, elaborated
further on the decision, saying
Bowen “seems to have taken con
trol of the curriculum.”
Although the Faculty Senate was
disappointed, student leaders were
divided about Bowen’s decision.
Toby Boerug, student body
president and a senior agri
cultural development major,
said it was good that a deci
sion had finally been
reached.
“After two years of much
discussion and debate,”
Boenig said, “it’s time the ad
ministration took a stand on
this very controversial issue.”
David Brown, College Re
publicans president and a senior
political science major, said he sup
ported the rejection of the proposal.
“I’m ecstatic,” Brown said. “To
be certain, it’s a great thing this
proposal is dead.”
Brown also said that Bowen’s
decision will probably not end the
debate over the requirements,
saying, “It’s always going to keep
popping up.”
Shawn Williams, A&M’s
NAACP chapter president, said he
hopes the proposal is brought up
again and said Bowen’s decision
was made without proper input.
“The students, faculty, politi
cians and community leaders nev
er sat down and talked about
this,” Williams said. “I hope the
Faculty Senate will continue to do
whatever they can to include di
versity in classes.”
Cantrell declined to speculate
about what action the Faculty
Senate might take.
Battalion reporter Tara Wilkin
son contributed to this story.
belkel hopes to initiate
cadet exchange program
□ The program would help Corps
recruitment and give participants
a better understanding of all
military programs.
By Courtney Walker
The Battalion
P The Corps of Cadets commander is helping
cadets contribute their ideas and opinions
about military schools around the country.
Tyson Voelkel, a senior engineering tech
nology major, began contacting military
schools this week, in an effort to launch a
Cadet Exchange Program for the Corps.
! Currently, the only exchange programs
for the Corps are the annual trips to West
Point Military Academy and the Citadel,
y The annual trips are designed for mili
tary schools to meet in roundtables and
group discussions and share military pro
gram ideas.
Voelkel said the proposal for a full-time
Sadet exchange program is in its prelimi-
ary stages and has not been approved yet.
If the program is approved, he said, it
should be implemented at the beginning of
the fall semester.
P The program would send at least two vol
unteer cadets to schools nationwide to ob
serve other military lifestyles and programs.
I “Cadets will go a few days, see other pro
grams in action and evaluate their program
Battalion File Photo
Tyson Voelkel, Corps commander, is hoping
to launch a cadet exchange program be
tween A&M and other military schools
around the country.
with ours,” Voelkel said.
Exchange cadets will be underclassmen,
including one junior. Cadets will be chosen
on an individual basis.
“We need send at least one junior so, as a
senior leader the following year, the cadet
can make a difference and give the Corps
long-term benefits,” Voelkel said.
Chad Franklin, judge advocate general
officer and a senior business management
major, visited West Point with Voelkel and
See Program, Page 2
Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion
Birthday blowout
Liz Terry, a freshman biomedical science major, celebrated her birthday Tuesday as she carried off a chocolate
chip cookie that her parents ordered for her.
Midnight Yell
Academic assistance offered on the Internet
Yell practice for the Texas A&M - TCU football game will be
: held Friday night, November 24, in front of Billy Bob's in
Fort Worth.
□ The information can be
accessed for free through the
Academic Assistance
Clearinghouse on the World
Wide Web.
By Melissa Keerins
The Battalion
Students can access through the Inter
net a directory of academic assistance
programs and services provided by Texas
A&M departments.
The Academic Assistance Clearing
house, a site on the World Wide Web,
includes information about many assis
tance programs. These programs in
clude review sessions, University-spon
sored tutoring, copies of old exams and
the names and e-mail addresses of de
partmental contacts.
The clearinghouse includes informa
tion links for 20 departments, and many
more are expected in the future.
The main advantage of the clearing
house is that students can access all of
these sources from one location. Student
participation is expected to increase in aca
demic assistance programs because of the
ease of accessing helpful information.
Pat Walch, Center of Academic Assis
tance program coordinator, said there is
a lot of helpful information for stu
dents on the clearinghouse site.
“It is a directory of all the free as
sistance at A&M,” Walch said, “De
partments have homepages for cours
es, with lecture notes and old exams.
“There are listings of help desks,
review sessions and free tutoring
that the departments sponsor, or are
held by groups sponsored by the de
partment.”
Students can also find a supplemen
tal instruction schedule,” Walch said,
that is updated several times a week.
“Supplemental instruction leaders
have started recommending the Acade
mic Assistance Clearinghouse to stu
dents,” he said.
Mike Fenton, a Network Availabili
ty Center student worker and a
sophomore landscape architecture
major, said not all systems are up, but
many are.
“There are some departments listing
lectures taught by [teaching assistants]
that will help students,” Fenton said.
A few departments are also listing
deadlines for certain classes and project
due dates.
“The computer science department
lists direct contacts for e-mail,” Fenton
said, “and the civil engineering depart
ment has information to prepare stu
dents for real-life situations.”
A&M students are the clearinghous
es’ intended audience, but prospective
students, parents and alumni are inter
ested as well. They want to know what
programs are available to assist stu
dents in their studies.
The Academic Assistance Clearinghouse
is found on the Texas A&M homepage,
listed under Academic Assistance in the
Academic heading. The URL is:
http^www. tamu,edu/aac, and the Center
for Academic Enhancement is available to
give information and help.