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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1996)
MUSIC MASTERS KEEPING QUIET BLOWOUT A&M choirs provide harmony to Watson: Friends who argue about matters of religion The Lady Aggie Basketball Team students' ears. Aggielife, Page 3 will never reach a consensus. Opinion, Page 11 rumbled past Rice, 89-58. Sports, Page 7 The Battalion 102, No. 79 (12 pages) Serving Texas A&M University Since 1893 Thursday • January 25, 1996 AP) - With Hamby out for t game, top- setts needed mating Pitts- ay night be- Carmelo jmained the in major col- set a school ) consecutive Tien had won fore, most re- ?ir last nine improved to ce John Cali- just the 11th ix years at se. for the first Led before a 3onaventure, Fhe 6-foot-11 9 points, 7.5 cks. nard to tell use it. 3 said. “The game have . There are ms on this ne to time.” spinks said hr shooting nd a lot of ?d," Spinks percentage tames. She ig and re f-eight free rs against She scored three-point points in ties to lead urnament lowen to propose fee hike A proposed general use fee crease would generate $8.8 lion for the University. Wes Swift it Battalion Dr. Ray Bowen, Texas A&M presi- nt, will address the Texas A&M Sys- Board of Regents today, asking per- ission to hold public hearings about a ed increase of S8 per semester Edit hour in the general use fee. See related EDITORIAL, Page 11 This will be the second increase of ie general use fee that Bowen has re- lested in less than a year. The University would use the money rfaculty and staff pay raises and issroom maintenance. Texas law allows state universities to crease general use fees to the amount year’s tuition. Bowen’s proposed in ease would set the general use fee at 12 per semester credit hour, the cost :r semester credit hour of tuition. Bowen said the administration has itset a timetable for the hearings, but would like to have all pertinent in- itwithin the next month. Our window is the month of Febru- ry,” Bowen said. “Dr. (J. Malon) iiutherland (vice president for student ffairs) is going into his schedule and intacting the Student Senate and oth er student leaders, because we want to reach as many students as we can.” The proposed fee increase would gen erate $8.8 million for the University. That money, combined with $2.2 million dollars from last semester’s increase, would provide $6 million for facuhy and staff salary increases, $2 million for graduate teaching as sistant salary increases and $2 mil lion for classroom maintenance and improvements. Dr. Pierce Cantrell, speaker of the Faculty Sen ate, said the raises for teaching assistants are es pecially necessary. “There hasn’t been a raise for many years for TAs in most departments,” Cantrell said. “When you look at what we pay for TAs, (the University) is not competitive.” University faculty and staff received a 3-percent salary raise in August after the Board of Regents in creased the general use fee from $12 to $20 per semester credit hour for Fall 1995. The proposal originated in June 1995, shortly after the Texas Legisla ture ended its biannual session. Facing a multimillion dollar budget cut from the state, Bowen said the gen eral use fee increase was necessary to cover the University’s deficit. The proposal angered some students who thought the increase was too much and objected to the proposal’s timing. The proposal originated during the summer, when fewer students were on campus to protest. But students were warned this time; Bowen told them in the summer and fall to expect another proposed increase for fiscal year 1996-97. Toby Boenig, student body president and a senior agricultural development major, said Bowen will make sure the administration listens to as many stu dents as possible this year. "There hasn't been a raise for many years for TAs in most (A&M) departments." — Dr. Pierce Cantrell Faculty Senate speaker “I think he is going to go above and beyond what he is expected to do,” Boenig said. “He’s willing to go out and talk to as many organizations as possi ble and have several public forums.” Boenig said Student Government will make an enormous effort to ensure that all students have an ample oppor tunity to voice their opinions. “Student Government will be involved with as much (publicity) as needed,” he said. “We will post fliers, hold discus sions and provide as much information as we can.” Senate seats adjusted to represent student body 3The Senate also called for an increase in voter registration the A&M population. 8y Heather Pace The Battalion The Texas A&M Student Senate took measures to increase student voter regis tration and reallocated Senate seats Wednesday night. Richard Holt, a business senator and ju- ir finance major, said the Voter Respon sibility Resolution calls for students to take voting initiative and show the community that they want a voice in local government. We’re an integral part of the communi- Holt said. “The only way people are go- iiigtoknow that is if we vote.” Jesse Czelusta, Northside senator and a junior agricultural eco nomics major, said the bill is an important step toward reducing voter apathy. “It was a good ges ture,” Czelusta said. “I hope it gets noticed, be cause if students don’t take notice, it will be useless.” The second piece of legislation, The Stu nt Senate Seat Allocation Bill, reappor- toned seats so that they more accurately ^present the number of students living on md off campus and studying in each college. Jason Herrick, an off-campus senator and lUnior industrial engineering major, said Gators want proportional representation 'orall segments of A&M’s population. . “We’re going straight by the numbers,” wick said. “The more seats we add, the fowerwe get the difference in percentage.” The Colleges of Agriculture, Education See Senate, Page 6 The Student Senate introduced the two ^ills Wednesday night on which action will ^taken at a later meeting. • The Elections Regulations Revisions bill, designed to increase student voting in fil iTipus elections, would restructure elec- foon policies. Possible changes include giving the Senate Power to disapprove of campaign literature J nd allowing student organizations to sup port candidates with $59 donations. . • Members of the Senate Student Semce W Allocation Committee are seeking Senate approval of their recominen^mns W.^ s t'ease funding to some student o g. and decrease funding to others. * 'i ^ Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion MEN AT WORK H&L Mechanical workers replace chill water lines that cool the water tower offices Wednesday. Tim Moog, The Baitalion Dr. Vaughn M. Bryant, head of the Texas A&M anthropology department, examines a human feces (coprolite) specimen from the Rio Grande Valley. Bryant studies coprolite to see what man ate 40,000 years ago. A&M first infield of fossilized feces findings □ An A&M professor said he owes his superb health to his coprolite research. By Lisa Johnson The Bat t alion It is difficult for students to imagine Dr. Vaughn M. Bryant, head of the Texas A&M anthro pology department, clad in a cave man’s traditional trappings of leopard skin. But that is just what Bryant was wearing in a photo accompa nying a 1979 People Magazine ar ticle about his “caveman diet.” Shortly after the article ap peared, Texas Monthly satirized Bryant’s pet research subject, fossilized human feces, and called A&M “the crap capital of the world.” Bryant, whose early publicity did not earn him favor with the University’s administration, took it all in stride. “1 really got in a lot of trouble when I first came to work here,” he said. “But my dad was an At 1 corre spondent for a long time and he always told me, ‘any news is good news as long as they don’t mis spell your name.’” Bryant said “trouble” is in evitable given the nature of stud ies he has conducted throughout his anthropological career. He is one of the few anthropol ogists in the country who re searches fossilized human feces, or coprolite. In fact, his feces findings af fected his personal life, inspiring him to adopt a new diet and exer cise program. In feces that Bryant studied, he found large amounts of plant remains and fiber, along with strands of hair, bone fragments, insect remains and teeth. Phil Dering, associate director of A&M’s ethnobotany lab, said fecal remains indicate that pre historic people ate small animals, such as mice and lizards, whole. This does not mean, however, that Bryant forages for rodents and snakes during his lunch hour. “What I have done is take the best of both worlds,” he said. “I live on a diet that has nutrient contents similar to that of prehis toric man. I eat lots of fresh pro duce and foods that are high in complex carbohydrates.” In addition to his healthy diet, Bryant swims one mile or bicycles 15 minutes each day to simulate the amount of exercise prehistoric men got hunting for food. In the first six weeks of adher ing to this diet and exercise plan, Bryant shed 25 pounds. Prehistoric people’s lifestyles did not allow them to get fat, he said. “The greatest mistake that hu mans ever made was domestica tion,” he said. “Since domestication, population has become uncontrolled and obesi ty has become a plague of society.” Bryant began studying copro lite in the 1960s along with a pio neer in the field, Dr. Eric O. Callen of the University of Edin burgh in Canada. Callen was the only person at that time conducting extensive analyses of fossilized feces. When Callen died in the early 1970s, his coprolite collection, the world’s largest, was given to Texas A&M, where Bryant was head of the anthropology department. It is an inheritance for which Bryant said he is grateful. “The collection serves as a nice reference to show the historical de velopment of a science,” Bryant said. “This is Dr. Callen’s personal research material, and having it is like having a collection of the personal letters of a diplomat.” The collection is accessible to students from Texas A&M and other universities. Dr. John Jones, a former grad uate student of Bryant’s and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Tropi cal Research Institute, said the collection comprises mostly micro scope slides of fecal remains from Mexico and Peru. “The collection is basically a reference material for students,” he said. “Because of its complete nature, it will never be broken up or added to in any way.” Students miss chance to share concerns with regents □ The regents hold an open house the night before each Board meeting. By Eleanor Colvin The Battalion Several members of the Texas A&M Board of Regents said students do not take advantage of opportunities, such as the open house held Wednesday night on campus, to voice their opin ions to administration. The regents recently began hold ing an open house the night before each board meeting for students to discuss topics concerning them indi vidually or the student organizations they represent. Although controversial issues such as a proposed general use fee increase are on today’s Board meeting agenda, stu dent turnout Wednesday at the open house was low. Robert Allen, a regent, said the Board needs student insight. “It’s truly disappointing that there is not a larger student turnout,” he said. “This is an opportunity for students who think we’re unapproachable to come and talk to us. “Students should feel free to tell us about their issues and to find out what is going on with the Board.” Allen said students should speak out at open houses instead of waiting until Board meetings. “We want students to understand that we are available,” he said. “However, it’s difficult for students to address issues in the meetings as they would like be- cause of the rules and formalities.” Mary Nan West, chairman of the Board, said since open houses are the regents’ prima ry source of student feedback, more stu- dents should attend. “This is a way for us to open com munication lines between the stu dents and the regents,” she said. “The students are our customers, so we want them to utilize this service.” Leo Sayavedra, the newly appointed A&M deputy chancellor and former president of A&M at Laredo, said stu dent interaction with the administra tion is crucial. "This is an opportunity for students who think we're unapproachable to come and talk to us." — Robert Allen member of the Board of Regents “As a university president, I was al ways involved with the students and faculty,” he said. “My new position takes me off the front lines, and I must watch from a dis tance. So it’s even more important for me to come to programs like this — to keep in touch with student needs.”